#the background part of the blog is pretty much done

[eternal-reverie]

got the posting anxiety bad tonight

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Danger Zone (Part 3) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC

Word Count: 2.2k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY

Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Secret Relationship; Angst; Undefined Relationships; Overprotective Family; Background Relationships; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description

Summary: You struggle to keep your secret. Maverick's birthday dinner is off to a disastrous start.

Series Master List

Master List

It had been about two weeks since Phoenix and Coyote’s wedding and you hadn’t slept well a single night since. There was a weariness to your movements that wasn’t there before. Jake’s words were still echoing around in your head, threatening to upend what was left of your sanity at any second. 

And you still didn’t know what to do. 

Jake was pretty much ignoring you, doing what you did to him before the wedding. He dodged your calls, didn’t answer your texts, and the only thing that you hadn’t done yet to get his attention was show up at his apartment. You did have a key, but you were worried about pushing too much into crazy ex-girlfriend territory. 

And you weren’t even his ex-girlfriend. You were just the woman he fucked around with and knocked up. 

But could you really raise a baby on your own? Maybe. After all, your mom was a single mom for most of your life. And you knew that even though Maverick and Rooster would go apeshit for some time after finding out, they wouldn’t turn their backs on you. You would have help. You would have support. There was no way that your family would leave you and the baby to fend for yourselves. 

But was that the future, the life you really wanted? 

“Are you okay?” Emma asked you as you slowly worked on Maverick's birthday cake.

You were standing in Maverick’s kitchen with your sister-in-law, preparing Maverick’s surprise birthday dinner. Emma was cooking dinner with some help from Bradley, though his real job was to go out and grab ingredients that his wife forgot to buy, Penny was distracting Maverick for the day, and you were in charge of baking the cake. 

You always found baking soothing. It took you back to the Sunday afternoons that you spent with your mom while she taught you how to make everything from scratch. Bradley never really had an interest in baking, just eating, so it was always your alone time with your mom. And after she passed, you always turned to baking when you needed some kind of comfort or a simple, meaningless task to focus on. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you murmured, lazily frosting the cake in front of you. 

“Are you sure? You haven’t really been like yourself for some time.”

“I’m just tired.”

It wasn’t even a lie. You were exhausted. And it didn’t help that your stomach decided when it was happy with the food that you gave it and when it wasn’t with the flip of a coin. You felt so tired and drained already. Pulling the cake closer to you, you started writing out ‘Happy Birthday’ with the tube of blue icing. 

“Is it something with work?” 

“No.”

“Something wrong with your apartment again?”

“No, it’s just . . . it’s nothing.”

Since Jake walked off at the reception, you hadn’t told anyone else about your pregnancy. Penny asked you about it once a few days after the wedding and you just told her that you were still trying to tell the father and that was it. You didn’t really have the strength to mention the fact that Jake was ignoring you and you were very quickly beginning to spiral. 

“Alright,” Emma replied softly, going back to chopping vegetables. She left you alone for about a minute before turning back to you. “Did you want some wine? Bradley nicked some bottles from the reception. Including that rosé that you like so much.”

“No, I’m alright with water.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m . . . not drinking right now,” you replied awkwardly.

“Really?” Emma asked, sounding honestly surprised at your poor attempt to get out of drinking that evening. “So, no more Wine Down Wednesdays then?” 

“Not for a bit, no.”

“Alright,” Emma replied quietly, now more than a little suspicious. 

Emma had known you for longer than she had known Bradley. The two of you went to the same college and knew each other through sports. She was one of the captains when you were a freshman and took you under her wing. And when she moved out to San Diego, you offered to take her out for a drink at the Hard Deck. Rooster was there and you introduced them and the rest was history. 

And she knew that something was off with you.

Emma knew that both you and Bradley had a tendency to shut yourselves down when you were feeling a lot of emotional stress. She chalked it up to unresolved childhood trauma, of which you both had a decent amount. 

And it was written all over your face. You were stressed. You weren’t sleeping well. You weren’t eating well. You were cutting yourself off from the world around you. And she was getting seriously concerned about you and your health.

Emma set down her knife and slowly turned to face you, though you ignored her gaze, and gently called your name. You kept your head stubbornly down, focusing on the design on Maverick’s birthday cake, piping meaningless designs to just try and bide your time away from the conversation with your sister-in-law. 

“Did something happen at the wedding?”

“Can you drop it?” you snapped, finally turning to face Emma. 

She paused, not looking offended, but all the more concerned. Sighing, you set down the icing bag and walked out of the kitchen. Emma didn’t follow after you immediately, giving you some space to breathe for a moment as you stepped out for some fresh air. But when she saw you starting to cry, she hurried outside after you. 

As she approached the bench where you were sitting outside, you didn’t look up. But when she sat down beside you and gently pulled you in for a hug, you immediately turned to her. Latching onto her, every emotion that you plugged up inside since the wedding just came pouring out. She brushed your hair and just let you cry, not entirely shocked by your reaction. 

“You know, if you tell me anything, whatever it is, I’m not going to share it with Bradley without your permission, right?” Emma spoke softly, rubbing your back supportively. “And that goes for any topic here, okay?”

You wanted the first person you told about your pregnancy, minus Penny that is, to be Jake. He was the one who knocked you up. This was his baby. But Jake wasn’t listening to you. And holy shit you wanted to get some of the burden of this secret off of your shoulders. You wouldn’t last much longer just holding onto this by yourself. 

“You can’t tell Bradley, okay?” you whispered out shakily, causing Emma to nod. 

“Lips are sealed,” Emma promised you, giving you a supportive squeeze. 

You pursed your quivering lips together, just trying to take a moment to pull yourself together so that you didn’t start sobbing again. Sniffling, you buried your face into Emma’s chest a bit more, thinking for a moment about how your mom would have reacted to this situation, before finally letting it out. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

You could feel Emma tense up, but she didn’t say a word. Your stomach started to grow tight as the stress and anxiety of the last few weeks reached a new peak. But right as you started to go down the train of thought that you were truly on your own, Emma pulled you in for a tighter hug and steeled her own emotions in the moment. 

“You’re sure?” she whispered, rubbing your back again.

“I took three tests. Penny knows. She was there when I took them.” 

“Have you been to see a doctor?” 

“No,” you croaked out, straightening up on your own. Wiping away your tears and snot, you stared down at your lap for a moment. “I got an appointment. But I don’t really know what to expect with the whole . . . situation.” 

“And how are you feeling about it all?” Emma asked softly. 

“I’m . . . I’ve been better,” you replied lamely, wiping some more tears away. 

“Has the . . . father been supporting you through this? What did you say when you told him?” Emma questioned quietly. 

“Well, I haven’t told him yet,” you stated, causing Emma to nod slowly.

“Do you want to?” 

“Yes, of course,” you responded a bit sharper than you meant to, turning to meet Emma’s concerned gaze. “I meant to, but he’s . . . sort of . . . ignoring me now.” 

“Ignoring you?” Emma demanded, frowning protectively. “Why do you think he is ignoring you?”

“I sort of . . . pushed away from him after I found out I was pregnant and then he tried to talk to me about it when I wasn’t ready and I tried to push it off a little bit more and then he got mad and stormed off and hasn’t spoken to me since.” 

Without digging too much into how much the situation reminded her of petty high school drama, Emma straightened up in her seat, trying to come up with some sort of plan to get the father of your baby to grow the fuck up. 

“Who is he anyways? Does he live around here?” 

“You’re not going to break down his door,” you sighed, rubbing your face. Biting your lip, you turned to your sister-in-law. “I would tell you, but I think that you’ll freak out.” 

“I promise that I won’t freak out,” Emma assured you. 

“The father . . . is Jake,” you announced after a few moments of silence.

“Jake who?”

“Hangman,” you rephrased, a bit harsher than you intended. 

“Hangman?” Emma repeated, clearly trying to manage her tone and expression. When you nodded, she tried to manage her expression further. “The father of your baby is . . . Hangman. And he’s the one ignoring you?”

“Yes,” you stressed, your anxiety starting to spike again. 

Before Emma could reply, the sound of the fire alarm inside caused you both to get to your feet. Running and swearing, you raced inside. Smoke billowed out of the oven as soon as Emma pulled it open. She hurried to turn it off as you started to open the windows and beat the smoke away from the fire alarm. 

“What the fuck!?” Bradley cursed, running into the house after returning from the store. 

Grabbing the fire extinguisher by the front door, he ran over and put out the fire. You kept fanning the smoke away, but soon the smell of burnt food caused your stomach to roll and you were rushing into the bathroom. 

“For fuck’s sake,” you groaned as you yanked the lid up. 

Emma ran into the bathroom once the chaos in the kitchen dwindled down and Bradley got control of the situation some more. Cursing, she kneeled down beside you and delicately pulled the strands of hair that unfortunately made their way into the bowl. 

“Sorry,” she apologized, wincing as you wretched again. “I forgot to turn off the oven before I ran outside after you.” 

“It’s fine,” you sighed, picking your head up. “It’s just how my life’s going at this point. What’s another disaster?” 

“Well, it’s all settled,” Bradley sighed, walking over to where you and Emma were in the bathroom. Spotting you leaning over the toilet, he quickly stepped into the room, concerned. “What happened to you?” 

“The smoke just made me nauseous,” you replied softly, not meeting your brother’s gaze. “I’m fine, Bradley.” 

“This is like the tenth time I’ve seen you throw up,” Bradley stated, folding his arms over his chest, like he always did when he was about to lecture you. “I think that you should see a doctor at this point.” 

“I’ve got an appointment,” you sighed, closing the lid and flushing your stomach’s contents away. “I’m a big girl, Bradley.” Sitting on the floor and leaning against the vanity, you looked up at your brother. “How’s the cake?” 

“A little smokey, but it should be fine. As for the rest of it . . .” 

“There’s always take out,” Emma stated, standing up. “But maybe we should host it somewhere that isn’t so smokey.” 

“The only other option is my apartment,” you replied, getting to your feet. 

“Great,” Bradley sighed, earning a nudge from his wife. “I mean, that’s great.” 

“Hilarious,” you muttered, getting to your feet as well. “I’ll text Penny and tell her about the change in plans. I’ll take the cake and go set up at my apartment. You two clean up here and figure out dinner.” 

You left Maverick’s house shortly thereafter, returning to your apartment. It didn’t take too long to set up the cake and dinner. Bradley and Emma arrived with the food about thirty minutes later and the three of you were hurrying around trying to make it look homemade. 

“Shit,” you cursed when your doorbell rang. “Just hide the containers in my pantry.” 

Rushing over to the door, you pulled it open, just expecting it to be Maverick and Penny. But when you looked up and saw Jake standing there, you instantly tensed up. He stared at you for a moment, looking a bit nervous, but with that usual reserved air of confidence about him. 

“Jake,” you breathed out, gripping the door so hard it hurt. 

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[cutecatlov3r]

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨?

various x reader ! [hinata, kageyama, tsukishima, nishinoya, sugawara, iwaizumi, oikawa, atsumu, osamu, suna, bokuto, akaashi, kuroo, and kenma]

synopsis: my head cannons and my opinion on which songs they'd fuck you to .

warnings/tw: all characters are 21+, praise, degradation, and my personal head cannons on what they are like during sex .

a/n: dont copy my work ! like, re-blog, and comment ily ! not proofread ;(

jjk ver. aot ver. ft ver. bllk ver. bnha ver.

Shoyo Hinata

HEAVEN AND BACK [Chase Atlantic]

✰ This song just is so Shoyo Hinata coded. I love it so much, I can see him loving it too. He is for sure a switch, mostly dominating over you though.

✰ I don't see him being very into foreplay, I feel like he can get hard just from looking at you, thinking of what he wants to do to you.

✰ His stamina makes him go on until he gives out, which is after 3 to 4 rounds.

✰ This song makes him want to please you, making sure to have you rolling back your eyes.

✰ You are addicted to him. You love him so much but he loves you just as much.

✰ He can't help himself but to go fast, he doesn't like being slow. Yet he is sensual, never too rough, kissing you passionately as he goes as fast as he can, in hopes of making you see stars.

✰ "Are you feeling good baby? Should I go go deeper?"

✰ Hinata always makes sure to focus on your pleasure before his own. He loves you, more than anyone.

✰ You are everything he needs. You're like his drug. Without you, he'd be nothing.

"She just went to heaven and back"

-

Tobio Kageyama

PILLOWTALK [ZAYN]

✰ Tobio is... In my opinion, a switch.

✰ With this song on he will start off slow then speed up, your moans with this song make him so happy.

✰ He isn't afraid to pillow talk you in bed. "S...So tight for me... Want me to go faster?"

✰ The passionate sex between you two with this song is euphoric. He loves everything about you.

✰ He won't be afraid to tell you how much he loves you, praising you here and there whenever he feels like doing so.

✰ If he wanted to he could last 2 rounds but he usually has you asleep by then.

✰ He shows you how much he loves you by making sure to go harder and deeper right before the song ends.

✰ After you two are done, he kisses your forehead, whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

"I love to hold you close, tonight and always"

-

Kei Tsukishima

Lollipop [Lil Wayne]

✰ This man is a dom and I'd say a sadist.

✰ He'll degrade you, making sure you know you're just there to be his plaything. "Such a slut, don't worry, I'll take good care of you,"

✰ He loves you but won't be the one to tell you that, he'll let you know when he fucks you harshly and depply.

✰ "Slut" "Whore" "Dumbass" "Bitch"

✰ Tsukishima won't be afraid to spank you whenever you're acting extra feisty.

✰ He loves as this song plays in the background as he inflicts pain on your pretty little body.

✰ His favorite thing to do is... Well, fucking your mouth, making sure you're crying and gagging.

"She-she lick me like a lollipop"

-

Yuu Nishinoya

Down On Me [Jeremiah]

✰ He is pretty kinky, he doesn't mind letting you take control of him. With that being said, he is a switch.

✰ Now... His dick is big, all of his height went where it was supposed to.

✰ He loves watching you moan and having his dick all in your mouth.

✰ "So good...! Keep sucking baby, I'm so close!"

✰ He never degrades you. It isn't in his heart to hurt the feelings of the person he loves.

✰ This song just matches his energy, he can't stand being in such a quiet place. He adores your movements when this song comes on.

✰ Nishinoya is a loud moaner, he needs to have some sort of sound throughout the room as this song plays.

✰ He admires you, making sure to kiss every part of you. You're the light of his life.

✰ Hickeys. He loves receiving and giving them. Receiving them because he wants everyone to know he has someone who actually fucks him and giving them to show everyone you're his. Only his.

"I love the way you grind that booty on me"

-

Koshi Sugawara

Into It [Chase Atlantic]

✰ Sugawara is such a nice guy to those who know him but in the bedroom he's a bit different. It depends on his mood, he will always be a dom though.

✰ With this song playing he will degrade you, in a sexy way. A possessive way.

✰ "You're mine, say it pretty girl,"

✰ He would be the type to smoke while fucking you from behind, he loves doggy style, he likes seeing your ass bounce against his hips.

✰ He makes sure to go slow and deep as this song plays, biting your neck, putting you into missionary.

✰ With this song playing, he focuses on your pleasure, cumming deep in you over and over until he feels like you're done.

✰ His hands are godly, overstimulating you after you beg him you can't do it anymore

✰ "Y/n, shut up, I know you can take it. Be a good girl and fucking take it,"

"I wouldn't change it for the world, I'm fucking into it"

-

Hajime Iwaizumi

Wicked Games [The Weekend]

✰ Iwaizumi is a dom, no questioning. He is such a sweet one though.

✰ He'd never hurt you in any way, even if you asked him to. He just can't see himself hurting you.

✰ This song just turns him on, he loves seeing you naked as this song plays. It makes him feel some type of way.

✰ With this song, he will hold your hands, pinning them down. Then he will go deep and hard inside you.

✰ "Taking me so good, good girl,"

✰ He lives for praise, he enjoys getting praise from you. He will also praise you as well.

✰ His strong build can easily man handle you.

✰ I'd say he can last 3-4 rounds, considering he is an athletic trainer.

✰ He loves you, the way he takes care of you after is so astonishing. He will clean you up and make sure you're okay. You both truly love each other.

"Listen, ma, I'll give you all I got. Get me off of this, I need confidence in myself"

-

Toru Oikawa

Party Monster [The Weekend]

✰ I feel dom vibes from him. I can see him mainly having a teasing personality during sex.

✰ "Aw, you wanna cum? Alright! Let me pick up my pace then cutie,"

✰ I see him loving this song because it kind of describes him in a way. He is known to be a flirt.

✰ Most definitely would fuck you in a mirror while this song plays. He'd have you face down ass up, grabbing your throat so you can watch him destroy you.

✰ "Watch as I fuck you, kay?"

✰ I don't see him as someone who is very into making out with people, I can see him kissing your neck though, not leaving hickeys.

✰ He doesn't really feel love towards you, he isn't focused on love, but whenever he fucks you, he appreciates you.

✰ Still, he has a special spot for you, not really for anyone else. He makes sure to fuck you sensually, he cherishes sex.

"Say you're mine, I'm yours for the night"

-

Atsumu Miya

Acquainted [The Weekend]

✰ Rough dom. I don't need to elaborate .

✰ This song just reminds him so much of your relationship. You flirted your way to get where you're at. Usually he'd turn down every girl but you were different. There was something about you that turned him on.

✰ He loves you. LOVES you. This song really just keeps him sane as he's fucking you.

✰ He will be rough with you like pulling your hair, choking, breath-play, etc. But he won't ever think of degrading you.

✰ Hickeys and bruises is what he wants to see on himself, he doesn't mind giving you them here and there.

✰ He is super over protective over you, one guy speaking to you could cause a whole argument... Ending with his dick being shoved down your throat.

✰ He would love to make you his rope bunny but he hasn't really decided to bring it up yet.

✰ He will grunt and groan as he fucks you roughly to this song, occasionally humming to the tune.

"You got me puttin' time in, time in. Nobody got me feeling this way"

-

Osamu Miya

Call Out My Name [The Weekend]

✰ I can see him being a dom but more soft yet can sometimes be rough.

✰ He plays this song just because he likes the melody... It's dark and sad and he likes that type of vibe.

✰ He will fuck you slow and deep to this song, wanting to cum inside you.

✰ "Stop squirmin'... Let me fill you up baby,"

✰ He doesn't like pulling your hair or choking you but he will dig his nails deep into your skin, for example... Your thighs.

✰ He is more on the quiet side of things, a little too shy to moan for you.

✰ After having sex he will take a shower with you and hold you until you fall asleep.

✰ "Love you so much... You're so perfect,"

"So call out my name when I kiss you, So gently"

-

Rintaro Suna

I Wanna Be Yours [Arctic Monkeys]

✰ Suna is so Arctic Monkeys coded. He just fits that vibe so well, I love it .

✰ Currently you and Suna aren't together, only fucking whenever you feel like it but... Recently he had started developing feelings for you.

✰ Playing this song helps you see how he feels, and with that he fucks you to it.

✰ He is rough but soft. He will start off slow and then speed up the pace when you begin whining for more.

✰ He likes smelling your hair as he fucks you, breathing in your scent.

✰ "You smell good... Did you get a new perfume?"

✰ He barely makes any noise during sex, not feeling too comfortable yet. He doesn't know whether or not you like guys who do that or not.

✰ He tries his best to please you. If he cums first and you don't he will eat you out.

✰ Very good with his hands.

✰ After all of the sweat and panting, I could see him offering you a cigarette to smoke.

"Secrets I have held in my heart, Are harder to hide than I thought"

-

Bokuto Koutaro

Touchin And Lovin [Trey Songz]

✰ Gives off major switch vibes.

✰ With this song on, he will be fast and deep when fucking you. He wants to make you feel good.

✰ LOVES PRAISE ! One little nice thing said to him can make him cum on the spot.

✰ He genuinely loves and cares for you.

✰ He is a head pusher, you don't mind though, you like him being rough with you.

✰ He whines . For sure .

✰ I can see his childish self singing along to this song thinking he sounds sexy while fucking you but you're dying of laughter.

✰ He isn't afraid of being serious when needed, he will fuck you hard and serious if the mood is right.

✰ Guys . The ass jiggles as he's hitting it from behind... And no, I'm not talking about your ass...

✰ He could toss you around like a rag-doll but he's too scared to hurt you.

✰ After sex he always cracks up jokes to make the awkwardness go away.

✰ He will french kiss you softly until you agree to go to bed with him.

"Touchin', lovin', fuckin', can't make up my mind"

-

Keiji Akaashi

Versace on the Floor [Bruno Mars]

✰ I can see him being mean, dominating over you. Never too mean though.

✰ He loves this song because he likes taking your clothes off slowly, the melody of the music compliments the slow sensual acts between you two.

✰ In this song, he would fuck you slowly, almost too slow (low key cockwarming).

✰ He loves you and the feeling of being inside you.

✰ He barely makes any noise but will moan here and there to feel your walls clench down on his dick.

✰ He is very sweet when he speaks to you, his actions being the only mean thing about him.

✰ "Stay still. Feels too good~"

✰ He likes being alone with you, in the dark as this song plays. He just feels so safe and secure with you.

✰ Afterwards, he will make sure you're all cleaned up and go to sleep on his own accord.

"There's no place I'd rather be in this world. Your eyes are where I'm lost in"

-

Tetsurou Kuroo

Loveeeeeee Song [Rihanna]

✰ He is a respectful man when it comes to having sex.

✰ He will be sweet with you, talking you through it as he sinks his cock deep inside you.

✰ "You can take it, yeah? Yeah, you can,"

✰ He isn't the type to be super kinky or pull your hair... But he would be the type to steal your panties after you two have sex.

✰ He fucks you to this song however he feels like in that moment. It's just a song that expresses his emotions towards you. He cares about you a lot.

✰ You both cherish each other, deeply. It's on a level that no one can understand.

✰ I can see him moaning for you, not too much but quite a lot.

✰ His nerdiness can get the best of him sometimes, finding himself distracted when it comes to logical decisions like cumming inside you.

"I need love and affection"

-

Kenma Kozume

Hentai [Cigarettes After Sex]

✰ Look... He's a gamer and sometimes some games can be connected to hentai... Of fucking course he was going to fuck you to a song named hentai.

✰ Switch (dom+)

✰ This song is exactly how he feels about you, it's crazy that it is his literal feelings.

✰ He will fuck you slow and try not to make so much noise so he can listen to the song as he fucks you.

✰ With that knowledge, he tries not to moan or whine but sometimes his little gasps and panting is sexy.

✰ You find it cute how much he desires you, wanting to fuck you any chance he gets.

✰ "Come and sit on my lap while I play games... What? No... I wasn't planning on... Idiot,"

✰ Loves using toys during sex, finds it easier to make you cum.

✰ He'd be the type to record videos of you two.

✰ Kenma... I know for sure he makes you roleplay as anime girls, video game characters, or even animals for him.

✰ This song is his favorite one, he just needs to cum on your body after hearing it. You're his little toy.

✰ He loves you so much but shows it through actions instead of words. That's why he touches you so much.

"I've been waiting for you to fall for me and let me in your life"

-

[indestinatus]

The silent art of gif making

The gif above has 32 layers plus 6 that aren't shown because this is part of a larger edit. I wanted to share it to give everyone a glimpse of the art of gif making and how long it usually takes for me to make something like this. This one took me about an hour and a half but only because I couldn't get the shade of blue right.

I use Adobe Photoshop 2021 and my computer doesn't have a large memory space (I don't know what to call it) so usually most of psds get deleted because I'm too lazy to get a hard drive. It doesn't really bother me that much because I like the art so when it's done, it's done. Off to somewhere else it goes.

Here are the layers:

Everything is neat and organized in folders because I like it that way. I prefer to edit it in timeline but others edit each frame. There's a layer not shown (Layer 4 is not visible) and it's the vector art. Here it is:

Now it is visible. I don't plan to make this a tutorial, but if you're interested I'd love to share a few tricks about it. I'm pretty new to the colors in gifmaking but the rest is simple to understand. Here, I just want to show how much work it takes to make it.

I opened Group 2 and here's the base gif. I already sharpened and sized it correctly but that's about it. Let's open the base coloring next.

Yay! Now it looks pretty! The edits are in Portuguese but it doesn't matter. There's a silent art of adding layers depending on how you want the gif to look but you get used to it. The order matters and you can add multiple layers of the same thing (for eg. multiple layers of levels or curves or exposure).

This was pretty much my first experiment with coloring so I don't know what I'm doing (this happens a lot with any art form but gifmaking exceeds in DIYing your way to the finished product) but I didn't want to mess up his hair, that's why the blue color is like that. Blue is easy to work with because there's little on the skin (different from red and yellow but that's color theory). I painted the layers like that and put it on screen, now let's correct how the rest looks.

I was stuck trying to get the right teal shade of blue so yes, those are 10 layers of selective color mostly on cyan blue. We fixed his hair (yay!) we could've probably fixed the blue on his neck too but I was lazy. This is close to what I wanted so let's roll with that.

BUT I wanted his freckles to show, so let's edit a little bit more. Now his hair is more vibrant and his skin has red tones, which accentuates the blues and his eyes (exactly what I wanted!). That lost Layer 2 was me trying to fix some shadows in the background but in the end, it didn't make such a difference.

This was part of an edit, so let's add the graphics and also edit them so they're the right shade of blue and the correct size. A few gradient maps and a dozen font tests later, it appears to be done! Here it is:

Please reblog gifsets on tumblr. We gifmakers really enjoy doing what we do (otherwise we wouldn't be here) but it takes so long, you wouldn't imagine. Tumblr is the main website used for gif making and honestly, we have nowhere to go but share our art here. This was only to show how long it takes but if you're new and want to get into the art of gif making, there are a lot of really cool resource blogs in here. And my ask box is always open! Sending gifmakers all my love.

[project-sekai-facts]

i recall some kind of theory or pointing out of the fact that tsukasa's focus sets have had him getting less and less authority each time, and with the role of a minor character, it seems to have been intentional

oh i remember a lot of players on JP and KR side pointing that out when Phoenix released! and yeah I think it's definitely true

he went from king -> commoner -> jester/circus performer (for the king) -> a shadow

actually i have a lot of thoughts about his new card and i doubt this set will get an official blog post so i might just ramble a bit. (ftr: haven't read the event yet, sekai.best isn't updating and i surprisingly haven't really found anything from looking through JP/KR side either). specifically, i have a few thoughts about tsukasa being a shadow in this card because it's actually way more than that. oh to be a media student

first off the costume name: phantasmagoria. according to wikipedia, this was an old form of horror theatre that involved projecting scary images. (it's quite interesting actually you can read the article here). the effects in phantasmagoria productions would be done using magic lanterns, the ones you slide a disc with a picture into so it projects it onto a wall. usually, they'd use rear projection, where the lantern is placed behind the surface it's being projected on (so the surface would usually be smoke or some sort of semi-transparent screen) to keep up the illusion (rear projection is how old movies did backgrounds for reference).

now here's where the light in the card comes into play. for starters, rear projection clearly isn't being used here because he's on the stage-thingy (that will be relevant later). also instead of the light shining at him as if he were the subject being projected, it's shining down on him. while partially this was definitely done in part for composition cool points (the composition on this card is so fucking good actually it has nothing to do with symbolism but like holy shit), it's very reminiscent of a spotlight. as i said, i haven't had the chance to read the event yet but i'm assuming this will connect with him having to play a minor role (or play the shadow as the gacha says) and still putting himself in the spotlight.

i like that idea actually because if you link the fact he's standing in the spotlight that means he is still casting a shadow. it may appear to the viewer as if he's the centre of attention - he's right in the light, literally hitting all the composition marks to make him the sole focus of the card - but he's still just a shadow in a larger phantasmagoria. and actually, the spotlight sort of goes around him, he's pretty much cast in darkness despite being in the light and i love how that reflects him being part of a smaller role or "shadow". he stands in the spotlight and puts on a great show no matter if he's truly the star.

lastly: the pose. now look at this 4koma where he does a bird pose:

familiar? while in this 4koma he's meant to be imitating an eagle, i can't help but notice some striking similarities in how he's posed.

also the gacha has a feather! specifically a black one. unfortunately since there are no actual birds on the cards, nor are there feathers, I can't tell you exactly what bird he is meant to be..,

although if you wanted to really grasp at straws then his last event was called Towards the Phoenix at the Sky's Edge the play from that event was called Happy Phoenix and both the play and the lead role in it are incredibly significant to Tsukasa personally and he ended up cast as the lead role in that play and even though the lead role isn't the phoenix that bird is still significant to him in some way.

also going all the way back to the original point of his class decreasing with every set i think while yes in this set he has been reduced to nothing more than a prop, or even less so a mere shadow, but at the same time if you chose to go with that incredibly reachy phoenix idea, it's a comeback. the phoenix rises from the ashes, tsukasa can be reduced to nothing and still be the star owning the spotlight, the most powerful one in the room. hell, he's still on a stage despite everything. i think it's super neat actually that despite this being him at the lowest rank, he's actually in the place where he belongs.

i believe i've only briefly mentioned it in passing on this account before, but theatre is his life. above all else Tsukasa is an actor and the stage is where he thrives. i think it's so interesting how with each set he loses authority, but he also gets closer to being on the stage. the king is at (well, near) his castle where he leads (link to WMS), Torpe is at his piano where he performs (link to Dazzling Light), the Jester is at the circus where he performs, and then you get the one that's hardest to define as any set character. it's not a king or a pianist or jester, it's just some performer on a stage. this time there's no character, and it's not just "some performer" because this is tsukasa. it's still another role, but this time the role is, as the event synopsis states, more "real". this is tsukasa where he belongs, he never needed any sort of power or to play the role of another performer in order to shine because he himself is a performer at his core. Torpe is a performer, but Torpe is not Tsukasa. Tsukasa is Tsukasa, and Tsukasa is a performer. Something like that.

sekai.best please update

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Some Stuff I Should Probably Address.

Alright, For most of you lot who knows what fandoms I write for, this shouldn't come off as surprising to you:

But yes, this is about the Demand to Recasting Certain Voice Actors, Natlan's Characters Being Whitewashed, and my personal thoughts about these matters. They will be under the "Keep Reading" cut if you wish.

TL;DR If You Want to Avoid This, But Want Updates About My Blog: I am closing requests for Genshin and HSR for the time being. I will still be open to discuss HSR and Genshin, but not controversy. I'm sorry.

People Waiting For "Barren Lands, Final Wishes" Letters:

They're on their way, I promise! Unfortunately I haven't been able to make time for them as much as I wanted to, but they Will be out soon!

Now back to more Serious Matters.

⌨︎ Warnings: The Follow Will Contain Mentions of Sexual Abuse, Abuse, and Whitewashing. If I Missed a Warning, or Wrote the Wrong Warning, Please Notify Me Immediately!

Alright, first off: The Voice Actors of Sunday and Moze.

I frankly am not the kind of person who indulges in drama, nor do I like reading/watching them in my free time, but it can't be overlooked at this point. Griffin Puatu and Chris Niosi are quite the controversy recently.

For those who don't know, here's a (probably oversimplified—apologies, on that part) basic idea of what's happening:

Chris Niosi has been accused with sexual and emotional abuse by his ex-partners, as well as friends.

Now, the real big problem, however, is that Hoyoverse, the company who owns the HSR character by the name of "Moze" has decided to hire Niosi to become his EN Voice Actor, which is sparking a lot of disapproval, for Hoyoverse is being blamed for not checking his background/history well enough.

(For More Information About Him: Click This For an Article About the Matter.)

Now, I don't have much to say about Griffin Puatu, who is the current EN Voice Actor of Sunday, but judging from screenshots and tumblr posts I have seen by the Reddit post he wrote, many people are not liking him as well because Puatu is standing up for Niosi.

Now, my Personal Thoughts on the matter, and, as much as I hate getting into drama (apologies, these personal thoughts will be a rant):

Just why? I'm unsure who was at TRUE fault of hiring Niosi, and I don't have full context of WHY Puatu is backing up Niosi when people say he hasn't changed, but seriously, why?

As much as I really hate to say this, but honestly, with this amount of controversy around a game people download to have fun and enjoy, all of it is pretty much ruined for me at the moment. I'm fed up with this—Again, I'm not sure whose fault it was, but they seriously need to be CAREFUL.

I also don't believe that Niosi should have gotten the role of Moze (HSR), but at the same time, who the hell decided it was a good idea to get/give him the role? As I live under a rock, I didn't know who Niosi was. At the time of Moze's drip-marketing, I really thought it'd be cool—for the first time in a while, I actually felt excited for a character rather than the plot of a game. After hearing all this, and taking time thinking about it, I really just don't want to touch HSR content anymore at the moment. It's annoying, because HSR has really good content—it has the potential to be great.

I seriously just can't wrap my head around who hired this guy. I'm not going into Puatu specifically because I don't know much about what he wrote, and (again) I don't like getting into drama. My apologies on that part, but honestly? I'm just done.

Alright, Second off: Natlan Characters—Skin.

I'm pretty sure most people are aware of THIS controversy, but to simplify: Natlan Characters are too pale and it's inaccurate.

Geographically, it makes no sense. They're in warmer temperatures, they should be more tanned. On top of that, their skin tone DOES NOT MATCH their cultures, or where they're taken inspiration from. Hoyoverse are being boycotted (from what I heard) for whitewashing and neglecting to represent the people of said-cultures/said-traditions.

My Personal Thoughts?

COME ON, HOYOVERSE. Do better! It was one thing to drop Natlan Teasers about the characters, but seriously? Please, try a little harder! Genshin Impact has GOOD POTENTIAL—EVERYONE SEES THAT! But you can't make them tanned? Why?

This was the first thing that has been bugging me BEFORE the entire Moze EN VA bullcrap. Come on, Hoyoverse, do better. You are losing respect out here. I am so disappointed, and even that is an understatement! You are losing your respect and recognition as a worthy company brand! What is going on in their building???? Hello???

Someone better fix this skin tone problem soon. I am so fed up with this. As much as I love the characters they just drip-marketed, it's also quite unfair: Take Liyue, for example. Their culture and their people are represented accurately, as far as anime can go.

Natlan? Yikes, suddenly they aren't able to create that same amount of accuracy potential. Why though? What's stopping them? Why are they not doing what is ethically right?

Everyone's waiting for a proper answer, myself included.

Alright, With that all being said—the final Part: What's Happening to the Ghost Rebel's Blog?

Well, for starters: I need a break. I am not only disappointed, but mentally drained. I am so done with all of this, and I need an utter breather. I usually go on Tumblr to cool down or read some nice, wholesome writing posts I find on some fandoms I like. Now, however, I am in dire need of staying away from Tumblr.

I'll be on a little bit of hiatus from writing so much—but not for now, as I currently have an event going on.

However: I am no longer taking any HSR and/or Genshin requests until these issues are either resolved or fixed. That is my stance, and I hope you can respect it.

Yes, this will mean my blog will decrease in activity. However, I am still open to Genshin/HSR discussions—so long as they are not about drama/controversy. I think I'm drained from all of this.

To everyone who read to the very end of this post: Thank you for reading to the end, and I apologize if you were also trying to avoid witnessing these kinds of controversies. However, some things can't be overlooked.

Hope y'all are doing safe/good. Have a good day/night.

[angel-of-hunky-doryness]

Disney's Hercules: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Inaccuracies

Ah Disney's Hercules.

Now I'm sure I've made it no secret that this is one of my all time favorite movies. Both for it's witty charm and impressive character design, there is something to be said about this film that makes it stand out among the line-up of Disney's Renaissance films. It's not one of it's finest, nor is it your classic fairy tale movie up there with the likes of Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, but just like Lion King, Hercules takes a unique spin on a timeless tale for a more modern audience.

Perhaps my love of this movie and other Disney films are biased. We had quite a lot of these movies on VHS and since I was still learning english, they were a great introduction before I started kindergarten.

Now as I watch these movies again I'm still surprised how well these movies have aged. I recently rewatched B&B with my dad the other day from flipping channels and even he was blown away with how good these movies really are after nearly 2 decades of not seeing them. It's astounding especially now in an age where we have started to see a decline in the quality of Disney movies. Back when there was a greater focus on art instead of profit.

While there was a rise in harsh criticism on Disney movies and their protagonists(like Snow White, Cinderella, etc) primarily in the 2010's that was perpetuated by internet culture (i.e. memes, Youtube critics, pick your poison) I am glad to see that we are starting to dial it down again and see just how progressive many of these movies were for their day and age.

Now this post isn't about any of that.

There are much better blogs here on tumblr that go into that, so I highly recommend @marciabrady, @artist-issues for their look at early Disney princesses and other similar blogs I will hopefully tag before I post this.

There is one movie though that kinda got the worst treatment and that is, to no one's surprise, Disney's Hercules.

And it's kind of deserved.

Now I'm not here to cast stones. Like I said in the preamble, it's one of my favorite movies and I've written quite a bit of fanfiction in this fandom. So I've done it dirty quite a lot. Sorry HS me, we need to talk a bit.

So instead, we will be going over why the inconsistent depiction of the Greek Mythology presented in this film had to be done and some small examples. Nothing too deep. The Mythology Guy on YouTube made a great video going over all the inaccuracies in the film and I highly recommend giving it a watch if you are interested in learning more about the Greek myth of Herakles.

With that out of the way, let's get started.

Part I: Child-Proofing

As I've mentioned before in one of my earlier posts, Disney films are made for children. Now that doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it, but the content within the films are primarily so children can watch and enjoy. Sure there are adult jokes and themes that will go over kid's heads, but they are generally pretty minor or toned down enough that can pass the films off as rated G/PG.

After all, Disney films have very easy and digestible morals: true beauty lies on the inside, don't judge people on their background, follow your dreams but don't lose sight on what's important, don't talk to strangers unless they're hot, invite everyone to the christening- things like that.

Disney films for the longest time have been a sort of moral standard since they have such a big influence on Western culture. Because of that, many fairy tales they have made films about tend to throw out some of the more grim and dark details attached to these tales.

Take Cinderella.

In the original Grimm's Fairy Tale, the happy couple ride off into the sunset while her step-sisters get their eyes plucked out by Cinderella's birds. In fact, before that, the step-sister's lopped off bits of their foot to try and fit into the glass slipper, only to be found out as the slipper gets soaked in blood.

Now I don't know about y'all, but I don't see anyone complaining that Disney left out those details. Okay, well the general consensus, at least.

But Cinderella is a classic fairy tale that had many adaptations and versions from across the world that allowed Disney to pull inspiration from, so who cares that they didn't follow the Brothers Grimm line-by-line?

And that's a good point.

There are versions where Cinderella isn't as gruesome. Charles Perrault, another very famous fairy tale author, had his own version of Cinderella where her step-sisters are fully intact by the end of the story. So it's quite obvious Disney was more attached to this version since it was much more decent.

Just like Cinderella, Greek Mythology has hundreds of different versions about just a single myth. You have Hesiod, Homer, Apollodorus, Ovid and those are just the writers from thousands of years ago. Nowadays, we have thousands of modern adaptations, translations, and rewrites of Greek myth to comb through.

There's just so much to choose from! And that's not even considering how interchangeable Greek myth is with its Roman counterpart.

What that means is you're never going to be able to get everyone to agree on one myth. Sure we can agree on certain details, but just like Ancient Greece, every city state had it's own version of a myth.

Herakles or Hercules was no exception.

Yet it's like I alluded to as well. There are some certain details that remain consistent from myth to myth.

Now let's look at a story that doesn't have a lot of versions to pull from, and just like Disney Hercules, it was heavily toned down: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This Disney film is arguable the most sanitized of the animated adaptations. A personal favorite of mine that far outranks Hercules in every way, but it was a huge hurdle to adapt.

From Esmeralda's attempted SA and death, racism, Quasi being bound and abused in jail, Phoebus' less than honorable pursuit of Esmeralda, Frollo's creepy obsession and his horrific control over Quasimodo, the religious themes and motifs, it's crazy how Disney was able to adapt it at all.

While it is pulling from Victor Hugo's original novel, there were a dozen films made before it that also tried to adapt this famous tale. The 1939 version of this film starring Maureen O'Hara is one of the greatest films ever made. For it's time, it made an incredible movie that sanitized many of the darker aspects in a way that cemented this classic tale into a more modern audience.

So is it any surprise that a lot was dialed down in Disney's version so children could also understand the message Victor Hugo was trying to tell? That the deformity Quasimodo was born with unfortunately led him to have a very harsh life- not because his disability affected his quality of life, but because of how society viewed/treated him. Their own perception led him to be isolated, ostracized, abused, and pitied. Likewise with beauty and race in Esmeralda's case.

They are different sides to the same coin.

I have a lot to talk about with Quasimodo. The next disney movie I will begin analyzing will be Hunchback, so prepare yourselves as I wrap up on Hercules.

But I digress.

Because Disney films are catered towards children, is it any wonder Hercules got the same treatment?

Part II: Greek Myths for Dummies

Greek Mythology is not an easy thing to adapt for a single film. Disney films, especially animated ones, are gonna get you at most a 90 minute timeslot and that's already a lot to ask for a highly-trained team of animators, musicians, writers, actors, artists, etc.

There are a lot of bases to cover.

Especially since this may very well be a kid's first introduction into Greek mythology. So we have a lot to answer

Like...

Why is Zeus king of the gods? Why does he have so many kids? How does the afterlife work? Why do I have to pay a man to get into hell? Are winged horses normal here? Why are the Titans bad? What goddess is that with the funny flower headband? Why won't they name all the background gods- are they important in the world? Is being compared to Aphrodite a good thing? Why doesn't Zeus realize his brother is trying to kill him? Why can't I have hubris as a treat?

All good questions, dear reader. And with a limited timeslot, there's not a lot they can talk about, so animators are throwing as much visual exposition as possible.

But who is this glittering assemblage?

That's why to understand what's going on you have to have prior knowledge to get what's going on in the background.

Like Lord of the Rings. Big world, lots of story to tell. The Silmarillion will help, but that's already a lot for a first time fan.

And since Hercules is written with kids in mind, it has to be rewritten some. So the established canon is kind of being thrown out the window, rearranged, and patched up like an old man who threw off an emperor's groove.

But Gerald Scarfe and a team of Disney animators managed to combine the former's caricature design style to the Disney standard to create Disney Hercules' unique style.

These gods aren't given the background character design treatment you'll find in other Disney movies, they are very stylized and exaggerated to visually convey their personality, their role in this universe, and if they're good or bad.

And the nice thing is, Greek mythology has an extensive list of symbols associated with each god that allowed Disney's own technicolor pantheon to reflect the very same icons.

Look at Athena above. There's her war helm, her breastplate, a cute little owl. She screams war goddess, but look how gentle she is with the bird. Her glass of nectar is a prop to show off her generosity, her self-restraint, and her desire to keep the peace.

But on the flip side, Ares is in the same get-up as her, war helm, breastplate, but his sword is drawn and his stance is one of action. We can see both these war gods are similar, but their temperaments and approach to war (same as their personalities) are so drastically different, and their color scheme helps so much as well.

It's incredible how much detail was poured into this and while I can go on gushing about the designs, we must push on.

Say what you want about how accurate the greek mythos is shown downgrades the overall movie, but the background story is lining up with a lot of the context we would lose were this in any other medium. The gods, how they look, their personalities- it's there.

It's accurate.

Sure the same cannot be said about the gods and mortals who have a role in the overall story they made, but that's the last issue this post will hopefully tackle.

Part III: A Hero's Journey

While Disney had already dipped their toes into Greek mythology with the likes of Fantasia and Goddess of Spring, Hercules was the first try to make it more than just a short.

So the myth they chose to adapt had to be iconic. They couldn't do it about the gods- that's just too much drama. They needed a hero, someone who struggled and fought and had a support group comprising of supernatural beings. And who is the most famous hero of Greek Myth?

Herakles.

There's just a few slight issues with that, heh...

Herakles is a really rough story.

To summarize, Zeus magics up a disguise to look like the mortal Amphitryon to woo the guy's wife, Alcmene. She gets preggers, Hera finds out and naturally goes ballistic. So Zeus pulls a fast one on his wife to save his kid, and thus Hera nurses baby Herk giving him god-like strength. A few assassination attempts later, Herakles grows up, marries, and has kids. Despite this, Hera isn't done, but she doesn't target the H man anymore, oh no, she sends him into a fit of madness whereby he decimates his entire family. Once it passes he works for a king, like his distant cousin, and he does 12 increasingly intense labors as a sort of penance and at the end of it, he's promised immortality or an indefinite Hera leaves him alone pass. Wonder Boy finishes that, but then he gets infected with centaur blood after taking on his dad's worst personality trait (adultery), he dies via his own funeral pyre, but at the last second his dad saves him and he becomes a god.

And Disney is gonna try adapting that???

That's about a dozen labors in itself, so how are they gonna do it?

To summarize here are the elements Herakles has going on that can be adapted to your standard Disney film:

Protagonist: Hercules (b/c the Roman version is much more popular)

Damsel in Distress: Megara or Deianeira (most notable love interests in myth)

Side-kicks: Iolaus (Hmm those undertones, huh)

Antagonist: Hera

Flaw: wrath / impetuous/ salacious

Unique ability / quirk: super strength

We have a pretty solid line-up for a story here. But at the time in the 90's, there is already another adaptation of Hercules going on strong: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

This show first came out in the mid-90's and ended a couple years after Disney's Hercules dropped.

So how are they going to make it distinct from that?

It's really easy actually.

Super easy.

Disney's Hercules got a lot of inspiration from Superman (Christopher Reeves version).

Hercules is literally an innocent farm boy (mild-mannered Clark Kent), Meg is your hotshot spitfire Lois Lane, and Hades is your bald megalomaniac investing millions of dollars trying to axe one guy - Lex Luthor.

And let's be honest, the myth of Herakles reads like a modern superhero. He has super strength, he fights monsters, there's a damsel in distress every now and then- he fits the bill!

At this point in time, Disney didn't have a superhero and since that started to be a bigger appeal as the 90's marched on (*laughs in Marvel*)

It was a smart choice to bridge this tale to the modern time.

So for that reason, if they were going to make Hercules a super hero-esque character. He needed a villain and Hera wasn't going to cut it.

Part IV: A Hera-Shaped Hole

Hera was absolutely vicious in myth. This lady orchestrated the entire demise of Herk's family, his sanity, and his freedom. She wanted him to suffer just so Zeus could see how betrayed she felt every time he had a dalliance with a mortal.

Zeus never learned, but Hera's tactics did. And it was by her hand that sent Hercules into servitude under his cousin, the king. A title Herakles should've had had Hera not intervened.

And while wicked step-mothers are abundant in Disney's canon, it wasn't going to work because she's Zeus' wife. Yes, Hera received repercussions for starting a coup against her husband once in myth, but it was a brief punishment. Most of the time this couple can't stand each other, but they are what's keeping the pantheon together. And Hestia's cooking.

But here's the thing, Hera may be a bad person in this myth and others involving sons of Zeus, but she's a good person in other myths. Even at the beginning of this one, Hera found an abandoned baby and nursed him because he was all alone and crying out of hunger. She has her virtue, she's a good queen.

Yet with her iconography of peacocks, marriage, family, cows, and queen of the heavens and gods, she gives off very ethereal imagery.

This was the lady sending monsters and horrors of Typhon and Echidna's brood- that's her?

It can be done, I'm sure someone will do it better than Blood of Zeus, but it's much harder to adapt, especially with Treasure Planet on the duo of director's mind.

Just see Lindsey Ellis' Disney Hercules video, you'll understand.

But y'know that thing with the monsters.... Kinda cool. Monsters coming in from the pits of hell- pretty rad i guess. Well who else could throw a litany of monsters at our little hero?

Oh.

Yeah, okay, fine.

Hades, you're hired.

Yeah, the direction of this movie absolutely did a backflip the second the writers wanted Hades as their villain.

However, based on concept art, this was something they wanted from the very start and I'm sure we can all see the appeal.

I mean as soon as this movie came out so many other greek myth adaptations jumped to make Hades a bad guy, and like kudos to y'all, but this really is the easiest god you can paint as a villain. Home boy literally is dark and dank and emo as can be. Congrats we found another goblin sewer man to dress up as the mustache twirling evil-doer!

Like... This writes itself.

And pitting a god of the dead vs a mortal who's striving for immortality? It's poetry. It's an on the nose symbolism. I can't make it any clearer.

There's even an excerpt in Revelations that Disney references:

"Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire." 20:14 (NIV)

Hades is written as a Devil character. He's a deal maker, soul stealer. There's so much you can do with a Mephistopheles archetype. It's always a show stopper, I mean Ursula did it with extra steps.

Hera is a goddess of the heavens. Hercules is fighting the heavens to get into Heaven(TM). That's all kinds of complicated to simplify in a kid's film.

We want a villain to be scary, to be mean, and unjustified in their cruelty.

Hera wasn't going to work since Herakles' mother (though unwillingly) is the other woman. It would paint Zeus as another morally bad person. Why on earth would Herc look up to that guy? In fact, why would he want to join a band of morally corrupt people?

So let's make a new villain.

We can have the hero endure a different kind of pain.

The damsel's story doesn't have to end tragically because of a betrayal.

Make the story relevant and simple.

What archetypes can we match up to make this ancient myth fit into the modern day?

Make it clean, and make it understandable for kids. Throw in as many myths as possible so kids can see how big this world is.

The mythology is wrong, sure, but we'll spark that interest. We can make mythology fun. It'll make kids curious to learn more about them.

It certainly worked for me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Part V: Conclusion

This movie is an absolute blast. I think many fans can agree and though the story does have its issues (See Conflicts series), it did it's job. With such a fun and memorable cast, lovingly animated characters, and mind-melting musical numbers, it stands uniquely among the other adaptations of Greek Mythology and perhaps it's why there was a bit of a resurgence in it's popularity as time marched on.

Herakles is a tale of struggle, sacrifice, and courage. One man battled and fought to achieve the divine, but at the end of his life, he did what few other mortals were ever able to do.

And Disney's Hercules took that character and developed him in such a loving way. To see his struggle both internal and external, it's a beautiful circle when he accepts his mortality and gives up his greatest dream for love. He didn't belong anywhere, caught between heaven and earth. Yet somehow he found it with someone who had been through hell and was hungry for heaven.

And just remember.

Not every work of fiction has to adhere to these magical bylaws that dictate how your Greek Myth AU must follow. However, I would like to softly counter-point my own point and say if you are going to make interpretations of greek mythology, be they musicals, video games, fanfics, or modern retellings, one must include the soul of the character they are based on. Hadestown, Hades(the game), Percy Jackson (most of the time), and the God of War franchise being prime examples.

Disney's Hercules took these characters and made them more exaggerated and updated to fit modern archetypes that are prominent in a Western Christian based-society. To me, I still see the soul of what these characters represent, even if some things were heavily condensed or rewritten.

Stories evolve. As is the nature of living things.

Till next time, Dear Readers.

[remotepixel]

Hi, how would yandere avengers react if their platonic teen obsession threatens to disclose their yandere tendencies or has actually done so to the media?

Hii, thank you for requesting!!

Tw: yandere themes + kidnapping mentions

-I’m assuming this is somewhat far into the obsession, enough where it’s obvious to you that something is very wrong, but not to the ‘they’ve gone completely off the rails and everyone can tell’ point.

-Getting the evidence would already be pretty hard. Sure, you have the obvious fact they’re always hanging around you, but, they’re superheroes, people are naturally going to support their side unless you have enough proof (or, sometimes, no matter what).

-Any clear red flag (e.g. trackers) would be specially manufactured by a world-renowned genius, so a casual police search likely wouldn’t find anything, and it’d be pretty nerve-wracking to try and record a conversation with a superspy.

-However, if you do collect enough, it still wouldn’t be easy to get rid of them.

-If you threaten them, the amount of guilt-tripping would be mental. Some of them are more self-aware than others, but all of them share the same sentiment that, at the end of the day, they’re (or, think they are) helping you. They know some of their behaviour crosses normal lines, but look how much your life has improved since they’ve been around, isn’t it a good thing someone cares about you?

-All of them would be hurt by your threat, and likely back off at least for a while if you strike some sort of deal (e.g. you leave me alone, I won’t tell). But they’ll be back, or still lurking around in parts of your life.

-I think members like Natasha and Bruce, who are more self-aware yet never speak out against the more delusional ones (since they’re still working together at the end of the day), would back off the most. They don’t want you hating them even more, and, currently, your relationship is on a thin line - it’s better to back off and subtly guide you back to them then force it.

-None of them fully take your threat seriously, even if it hurts their feelings. They know they have the upper hand here: government links, popularity, influence - you’re completely out of your depths even if you think, or act, otherwise.

-If you’re still very consistent on disclosing everything to the media despite their efforts to chill, you’re likely getting kidnapped. Drastic, obviously, but it’s the only way to guarantee you’re both in their grasp and others aren’t concerned.

-If you already disclosed it however, the methods you used to go through with it play a big role in the outcome.

-As I mentioned, there’s probably trackers in your phone, both for location and general monitoring, e.g. a keylogger. The second you post your blog, or send your email to the news, it’s getting deleted and completely wiped if possible. In this case, it’s probably going to follow the same route as before, but with extra emotional pain because you didn’t even “try talking” to them.

-If you focus more on meeting up with reporters in real-life, maybe getting them to collect their own evidence in the background, there’s a higher chance of success. However, that does require having insiders in a hopefully-popular newspaper company, something a teen probably wouldn’t have.

-Assuming the avengers haven’t noticed the news coming out about them, for at least enough time that citizens are able to read and share this, panic would ensue the second they realise.

-They would experience a range of emotions, most mentioned above but some would also hold a bit of rage (not necessarily at you, your actions more so). They have one, very obvious thing they need to do now though: address the ‘rumours’.

-Deleting the reports would raise more suspicions, and they can’t just admit everything the news is saying is technically true, so they decide to try and twist this into their favour. They’ll (mainly Tony as he’s probably dealt with this sort of thing before) make up some sort of story that puts you into the wrong - like you’re lying for attention or were trying to purposely ruin their reputation for petty revenge.

-If they’re feeling really nice they may try and chalk it up as a misunderstanding, but I think it depends who has a role in writing the response. For example, Steve would think it’s slightly too far, while Tony would just think of it as a necessary outcome - he also just doesn’t like listening to Steve’s advice so.

-You become a pretty big talk in the media, but, when people start believing the avenger’s side, it’s mostly snide comments or dragging your name through the mud. The avengers would probably feel bad for the amount of slander you’re getting, assuming they didn’t before, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they deleted a few, just plain evil comments. But you forced their hand, if you haven’t had ‘lied’ in the first place, this would have never happened.

-In a way, this may just bring you closer to them. With what feels like the whole world against you, the only people who really seem to care anymore are the avengers. They might even offer you a deal - you admit you were lying to the media, apologize, and they’ll publicly support you. Sure, it won’t get everyone off your back, and you’re be scared to even go outside in case reporters are there, but it means you have the most powerful team in your corner again, and isn’t that what you need?

[thetempleofthemasaigoddess]

Dracule Mihawk's older sister headcanons (part 2)

Dracule Mihawk x sister!reader

This fic is part of the Beast in Black series.

This idea was born from a conversation with @giurochedadomani, as well her amazing blog. This is part two of two, part one is here.

If you're expecting an happy ending, please go read somewhere else.

*****

🗡️ The lord dies unexpectedly, a sudden heart attack as he sleeps. Informed by his sister, Mihawk returns immediately; they haven’t seen each other in two years, and as they embrace, she marvels at how much he has grown up, how tall and strong he has become. He is still her little brother, quietly affectionate and attentive to her needs, who kisses her hand and holds her against him as if never wanting to let go, but there is a new inflexibility in him, the steel-like determination of a man who goes his own way, content with his own company and leaving everything and everyone behind him, because he respects few and has patience for even fewer. She doesn’t fully know whether this is a new facet of his personality, born of the solitude and the hardship of his life as a pirate, or something that has always been part of him, and the last two years simply brought it to the surface; what she is sure of is that she doesn’t like it.

🗡️ They take part in the lord’s funeral, standing arm in arm, both all too aware of the gossip fluttering around them. She looks straight ahead, simply but elegantly dressed, making sure to offer her condolences to the lady but otherwise avoiding small talk; she knows they are talking about her, her impoverished background, her time as a maid for the lady during which she waited on some of them, and their improved situation thanks to her brother’s piracy. She ignores them; she has nothing to be ashamed of and she knows, and why should she care for those people’s opinion when none of them ever cared for her and hers?

🗡️ Mihawk utters maybe ten words in two hours; he stands for a while in front of his old teacher’s grave, aware that the man had nothing more to teach him, but also of everything he owed the lord, who gave him the chance to become the man he is and to take care of his sister, who cared for him when no one else did. Their relationship was close but formal, he wouldn’t say he loved his master like a father or that he was loved like a son; but Mihawk mourns him, and I’ll never forget what you have done for me, he promises in the privacy of his heart. I swear I’ll make you proud.

🗡️ Mihawk should technically sleep in the master bedroom, the one that once belonged to their father, but his sister knows him and has prepared his old one - after having a bigger bed moved in. Mihawk promises to stay until her upcoming birthday; he’s happy to see her, and relieved to see her happier and more confident than two years back. She has made friends with some women in the nearby town, she excitedly tells him, and has started helping one of them who owns a photographer’s studio, having developing an interest in the art; one day, perhaps, they can formally start working together, because while it is a relief she doesn’t need to worry about the future or that her leg will prevent her from earning her living, she needs to keep herself occupied. She offers Mihawk to discuss their expenses, because she wants him to know she’s not wasting his money, but he assures him there is no need, because he has full and complete trust in her and actually would be happy to know she can now afford whatever she wants, be it a new dress, a lady’s maid (ah!) or a palanquin to ride around. That is a sort of life he could never be happy, or even just content, with, but she is, and Mihawk is proud he can now repay everything she has done for him, taking care of her as it is her duty as a brother.

🗡️ Before he leaves, she takes a picture of the two of them together, makes two copies, one the size of the pretty bedside frame she has bought recently, to keep next to their mother’s old painting of the two of them, and the other small enough to be carried around, and gives it to her brother. “I know we have no need of tangible tokens to remind us of each other, and you are not the sort of man who wears a locket, but please, keep this with yourself. And remember you can always come back, no matter where you are, no matter what you have done. I don’t care about the money, or the house; I just want to know you are safe.” He promises; he gifts her a ridiculously precious necklace for her birthday, with a gem carved in the shape of a rose, and two days later she sees him leave once more, and she misses, and fears for, him again before his little ship has disappeared beyond the horizon.

🗡️ Years pass. Mihawk’s name is now known all over the four seas and the Grand Line, and many are the swordsmen who both fear and admire him, but Mihawk’s mind is focused on two goals. The first is to find a sword worthy of him, one capable to channel his strength and power without breaking; like any swordsman worth his salt knows, though, the best swords are conquered, not simply bought, and while he wouldn’t be against killing a fellow fighter to take their sword, were it worth the effort, for the time being he resigns himself to wait for the right weapon to come his way. His second objective is to find the greatest swordsman in the world and defeat them to conquer their title and have the whole world witness his strength. His sister, while aware that ambitious outcome is well within her brother’s abilities, suggests him to wait, since he is still so young and still hasn’t found a sword worthy of him, but Mihawk is determined: his opponent, a man whose name is not spoken but whispered all around the world and who even the most veteran Marine officers fear to face, is getting on in years, and unlike what many others would do in his place, he plans on facing him before he starts losing his strength and Mihawk’s victory is devoid of any value.

🗡️ The man, mainly known by the moniker The Blue Crane, doesn’t bother to hide his whereabouts, aware that only a fool would search for him with the intent to cause trouble. Mihawk (the fool) easily finds him. He challenges the Blue Crane to a fight to the death. The man accepts. The fight is hard, brutal, bloody, several centuries-old trees felled and enough blood lost to support a whole transfusion centre, but in the end the result is the one any witness aware of the history of the two opponents would have expected…

🗡️ … Mihawk has been defeated. Soundly, unquestionably, and sustaining injuries serious enough to make the doctors doubt his survival. His sister is called, and runs to his bedside; for ten days (and nights, so much that the doctors start worrying about her) she watches over him, thinking this cannot be the end, not for him, not for them, not when he is still so young and she has barely had the time to learn to miss him while he’s gallivanting around the Grand Line. She doesn’t pray, she never has; but she talks to him, even though he remains unconscious for days and she doesn’t even know if he can hear her; she begs him to be strong, to return to her, because he has a whole life ahead of him and can’t leave her alone…

🗡️ In the end, he wakes up; the recovery is long and slow, which is frustrating for a man who has never idled a moment in his life, even more because he knows he has been lucky and he survived only because the Blue Crane thought he had already killed him and let him be. It is not the first, but it is the bitterest defeat of his life; he was able to hold his own against the strongest swordsman in the world, he should be proud of himself, but he is not and, he swears, one day he will regain his honour by killing his opponent, even if it means losing his own life in the process.

🗡️ He doesn’t share his intentions with his sister, but she has expected it ever since she was informed of what had happened; she knows how important it is for Mihawk to conquer the title of the Blue Crane, and that he would let nothing and no one stop him. She has always promised herself she would never get in the way of her brother’s dreams, because he must be free to live his life as he wishes to and she doesn’t want to clip his wings, but she is exhausted, still scared and already convinced that no matter how powerful he becomes he is destined to lose his life before he gets his first grey hair, either because of an opponent’s stroke of luck or the Marines who have sent a whole platoon to capture him (they have already tried. Thrice.) or whatever danger he may encounter in his life as a pirate.

🗡️ For the first time since he was a child, and for the same reason as the other, they fight; bitterly and loud enough the whole hospital hears. Mihawk tells his sister she doesn’t get to mollycoddle him, because he’s an adult and he will not let her stop him from achieving his full potential; she calls him a conceited egoist, who thinks being able to wield a sword gives him permission not to care about everything else and who has never matured beyond the child who was abandoned by his father. They are both hurt; they both forgive. Mihawk recovers, goes back home for a while (because he has missed his sister and does need to rest, but most of all to please her and because he knows he owes it to her) and promises that he will not challenge the Blue Crane again before he has improved sensibly. It is quite possibly the least reassuring promise he may have made; but she accepts it, and never speaks of it again. 

🗡️ He has known Shanks since they were boys; Mihawk has told his sister about the red-haired pirate, and she was happy to learn her brother has something akin to a friend, but Shanks knew nothing about her until one day he found her and Mihawk’s picture, fallen from his jacket’s inside pocket. “Who is this pretty lady with you, Hawkie? Is she single?” he asks; Mihawk knows he’s merely joking, and in any case Shanks is not the sort of man who bothers women, but he glares at him with such ferocity the red-haired pirate raises his hands and swears he meant nothing by it.

🗡️ Their father dies. Neither cares.

🗡️ Mihawk’s sister starts working in her friend’s photographer’s studio; she doesn’t really need the money, but enjoys it and soon becomes good enough at it her services are requested for private events and newspapers ask to print her pictures. At a party given by her friend, she meets the hostess’s brother, a man who is as different from Mihawk as he could be: shy, a bit awkward, but friendly and openly kind and who is content with a tranquil, predictable life, with his job as an accountant and, one day, a family. Their eyes meet across the room; he smiles; she waves, but neither has the courage to approach the other until the hostess takes both out of their misery and introduces them. When at the end of the night he shyly asks for her company at dinner, she is flabbergasted: she is well beyond the usual age for women to be courted, and considering she has been called bland in the best of cases and the situation with her leg has not improved since she was twelve, she never expected someone she just met to be impressed with her. But he is; and she says yes, and this is not the sort of exciting, thwarted love story teenage girls like to read about, but it is theirs, and it is true, and it makes her happy.

🗡️ Exactly ten years after Mihawk has taken to the sea, both siblings experience a turning point. Mihawk finally finds the sword he had spent a decade waiting for; it is the fruit of the work of a famed swordmaker, an old woman who had disappeared years before and who everyone thought dead. Mihawk meets her by sheer coincidence, and immediately asks her to forge a sword for him, whatever the cost may be; the artisan replies that she cares not for money, but will only put her art at the service of a man who deserves it. She puts Mihawk to the test, some terrible endeavour that brings his strength as a man and as a fighter to their limit; still, he succeeds, and true to her word, the swordmaker gifts him a huge black swords: it is her masterpiece, that she has spent months creating a decade before, after her own master had come to her in a dream to tell her she would one day find a man worthy of it. 

🗡️ The sword is beautiful, huge but light in his hands, as if it were really made for him specifically; Mihawk likes the black blade and the gemstone-ornated hilt. This is no cutthroat dagger, nor simply one of the greatswords some try to use in the hopes the length and weight make up for their lack of talent; it is precious like a jewel, beautiful to look at, but severe and forbidding, openly dangerous enough anyone would think twice before approaching it - not unlike Mihawk itself. This is his sword, and he is its wielder; a perfect match, the sort of feeling other people experience about a soulmate.

🗡️ He’s so satisfied he decides to show the sword to his sister, returning home for a surprise visit; she welcomes him with open arms, and is happier than ever to see him, and impressed by his new weapon, which is way bigger than her. “They say the best swords have names.” she points out “Any ideas?” Mihawk shrugs; he’s content with simply having conquered a weapon worthy of him, and doesn’t feel the need to name it as people do with a lapdog or a country house. He is more interested in his sister’s own news: her gentleman friend has asked for her hand, and she has accepted. “He is a good man, and he loves me very much; he treats me very well. I love him too, Mihawk, I really do; I am not asking for your permission, like you wouldn’t have to ask for mine, but it would mean the world if you approved.” The dinner during which he meets his future brother in law is slightly less tense than they all expected; Mihawk finds his sister’s fiancé a bit insipid, not to mention he is already losing his hair, but he must admit the man does seem to treasure his sister, and the research Mihawk has charged a detective to do on him, to make sure the man is not a fortune hunter or in the habit of hitting or cheating on his partners, yields reassuring results. He gives his sister his blessing; he accepts to give her away (actually, he would have been offended if she hadn’t asked) and only asks her to write a prenuptial agreement with her fiancé, to protect her interests in the event things go bad. He still thinks she deserves better; but she is happy, and so he is as well.

🗡️ They decide for a spring wedding, and the ceremony is just a month away when Mihawk receives the Marines’ proposal to join the newly created Warlords of the Sea. As they have always done when one of them is faced with an important decision to make, he asks for his sister’s opinion, but she is unsure: knowing her brother no longer has an enormous bounty on his head would reassure her (even if bounty hunters have never been a danger for Mihawk and the few who have challenged him quickly learnt that he may not be the greatest swordsman in the world yet, but he’s already too superior to be bothered by people of their sort) and the alliance would give him more leeway to pursue his business as he wants. On the other hand, joining the Warlords could do more harm than good. “They may need you, but you don’t need them; this simple fact suggests you have nothing to earn from allying with the World Government.” she points out one day as they enjoy an evening stroll, walking leisurely close to the rose garden that is her pride and joy “I know you are too strong and clever to let the Marines order you around; but why should they send you to deal with their problems?”

🗡️ As usual, even though she’s not a pirate herself, she has understood the matter perfectly, giving him valuable insight while leaving the choice to him; Mihawk doesn’t need his sister to decide for him, but he values her opinion and knows she is cleverer and more capable than her gentle disposition and reserved nature may suggest. Whatever decision he may take, he promises herself, her security will be his first priority: what if, once he joins the Warlords, the Marines look for something to use against him should he refuse to do as he is told, discover her existence, and threaten her…?

🗡️ Mihawk has always done his utmost to protect his sister, even since he was still a child, and especially after he took to the sea; the small, sleepy town she lives in is a safer place than most, and she knows better than to wander about after dark by herself, but he has hired three guards to ensure the safety of the house, and who escort her every time she travels by carriage - a precaution she deems excessive, but she has accepted for his sake. He has made good on his promise to provide her with a cane with a blade hidden inside, even though they don’t have much time to practise its use together; she makes sure to have all doors and windows bolted at night, as well as the main gate.

🗡️ All those precautions are put to the test exactly once; and they prove futile.

🗡️ Mihawk has never forgotten the promise he made to himself, as well as to his sister, to wait before challenging the Blue Crane again, and he feels the moment has come to reclaim his honour and conquer the title he has desired since he was still a child. His abilities have improved enormously since their first, disastrous fight, and he has not met an opponent worthy of him in years; almost as important, he now owns a blade capable of withstanding any attack and to channel his full strength. He is ready, he feels it in his bones, in his blood. He decides to wait until after his sister’s wedding, to make sure she is not alone in the event that the fight claims his life; once she has settled in, he will go meet his destiny, and this time he knows he will emerge victorious. 

🗡️ What Mihawk doesn’t know is that the Blue Crane has also been obsessing about him, and their duel years ago. The greatest swordsman in the world is all too aware that advancing age has been sapping his strength for years; no challenger has defeated him yet, but it is simply a matter of time, and he, the man whose name has made any fighter in the world quake in their boots for decades, will be disgraced, bested not by a superior opponent but by the simple weakening of his muscles and reflexes. Nothing in his life has ever mattered but his title, and soon, maybe in a matter of months or even weeks, some callow youth who simply had the good fortune of being born a few decades after him will take it, and the Blue Crane’s name will be forgotten…

🗡️ … and then the man opens a newspaper, sees the picture of a familiar hawk-eyed man, and his heart sinks.

🗡️ No one in maybe thirty years has been as close to defeating him as that young man; no one’s ferocity and disdain for his own safety and life if it meant emerging victorious from the fight has scared him as much as his. The Blue Crane might have admired and even liked him, if that young man, that Mihawk, hadn’t forced him to use all of his strength and ability in order to win - in order to survive. The young swordsman’s strength and willpower had been like nothing he had ever seen; the Blue Crane, who in his life had defeated and killed hundreds of opponents, had known in his heart that had Mihawk been just a little more mature, just a few years more experienced, the outcome of their duel would have been very different. That thought alone had made him feel ashamed of himself, and he had made sure to kill his opponent, to avoid the risk of a more mature and fulfilled Mihawk returning to ask for a rematch.

🗡️ Or at least, he was convinced he had killed his young opponent, even though the newspaper tells a different story. How could Mihawk have survived his wounds? And why did he simply leave, without checking to make sure his opponent was actually dead? Is old age making him lose his wits, as well as his strength and speed? The Blue Crane reads of Mihawk’s exploits in the newspaper, and his fears are confirmed: the young swordsman has come into his own, becoming a feared pirate and an even formidable fighter. Why hasn’t he returned to ask for a rematch? He doesn’t seem the sort of man who would be cowed by his past defeat, and the danger of losing his life. Is Mihawk still training, aiming to further hone his skills before challenging him again? Or does the young man consider him too old now to represent a worthy opponent? The thought makes the Blue Crane seethe with anger and helplessness; but whatever the truth, he decides, he has to do something, to prevent his honour from being besmirched by that bird-eyed man. He can’t help ageing, with all the consequences the process entails, but he is the strongest swordsman in the world, and he wants to die with the title grasped in his hands, which means… that he has to kill Mihawk before Mihawk comes to kill him.

🗡️ Finding where Mihawk lives is harder than he expected, but the Blue Crane is able to call in a few favours, and to track the younger swordsman down to his old family house where, he hears, Mihawk is expected to return soon for a family wedding. He arrives at night; he makes quick work of the guards standing outside and penetrates the house, hoping to take Mihawk by surprise, and unharmed - the only way, he must admit, he is sure to win. Unfortunately Mihawk is not at home, his return having been delayed because of the bad weather; but his sister is, sitting at her desk despite the late hour and busy organising the RSVPs she has received for the wedding, her white dress hanging from the wardrobe’s shutter, ready to be worn on the next morning. She hears a noise coming from the corridor, but before she has time to reach for her cane and go check, the door opens, and an older man appears in front of her; she has never seen him, but he is holding a sword in his hands, which explains everything - or at least most of it.

🗡️ “Mihawk is not here. Whatever you want, coming here without his permission is the stupidest thing you could have done.” she calmly states “Now you need to leave; return in two days, and you can challenge him…” The Blue Crane doesn’t listen; he understands this woman, whoever she is, is trying to protect him from Mihawk’s ire, which from his point of view is so offensive it hurts physically. If the younger man really doesn’t consider him a worthy opponent anymore on account of his age, he reasons, maybe he should prove the master of the house he’s still as dangerous as he was twenty years ago, and that it would be highly unwise to take him lightly. He’s usually not the sort to harm innocent civilians, especially women, and he realises that harming a relative (or fiancé? No, it can’t be his wedding as well, the Blue Crane reasons, this woman is too old) would make Mihawk even less merciful than he normally is, but he is not afraid (really, he’s not!), and this will at least mean his opponent will take him as seriously as he had on their first fight…

🗡️ To her credit, as she realises the man intends to hurt her, maybe to send a message to her brother, Mihawk’s sister reacts quickly; she grabs a heavy paperweight from her desk and throws it towards him, hoping to distract the man at least for a moment, and then quickly reaches for her cane, at the same time filling her lungs to scream. “Help me!! Please, help…!” Neither attempt yields results; the guards are dead, and even if she could reach her weapon she is no match for the Blue Crane, for his resentment and shame and hopeless rage. He grabs her by the hair; she can feel the gelid kiss of the blade across her naked throat, and a moment later a waterfall of blood is splattering over the front of her dress. She stammers, trying to ask for help, to ask for her brother to save her like so many times he has promised to do, even if it meant dying himself; she had forgotten how helplessness felt, and being reminded like this, now, is terrifying. She knows she is being killed for something Mihawk has (or hasn’t?) done, but feels no anger or resentment towards him; only sadness, and regret, they won’t have more time to spend together, and she won’t get to marry, and be happy with her husband, and perhaps even though she’s probably too old they had been planning to have…

🗡️ It’s brutal, and excruciatingly painful, and somehow dispassionate, the man not even looking at her as he robs Mihawk’s sister of the gift of life, as if he were carrying out a task he finds no interest or pleasure in, because he doesn’t care for her, who is simply a means to an end, a message he wants to send. But at least it’s quick, and a minute later, as he cleans his blade on the skirt of her dress, the Blue Crane is contemplating whether he may as well wait for his opponent or it’s best to leave and return once he’s sure Mihawk is at home, when suddenly he’s not alone anymore. Mihawk has returned; he has been hit by a sense of foreboding the moment he stepped on land, back from one of his first raids as a member of the Seven Warlords, a full hour later than expected and inexplicably sure something terrible was about to happen, and he has run home, fearing to find out his sister had been cheated on, or even beaten, by her fiancé, or that she had had an accident.

🗡️ The truth is immensely, irremediably worse, and he is more and more worried (more and more scared) as he finds no trace of the guards patrolling the house; he enters, and the Blue Crane is looking down on him, literally since the older man is standing at the top of the long staircase leading to the upper floor where the bedrooms are, and the man is not known for his violence towards women and civilians, not to mention his sister would pose no danger to him, but Mihawk just needs to look at the older man, at his gelid and triumphant expression, to feel his legs give way under him. What have you done to her, you bastard?!, he’s about to ask, a moment before realising he doesn’t need to.

🗡️ He doesn’t ask why; he doesn’t need to, and he doesn’t care. If only I hadn’t waited, he thinks, and a moment later he has grasped his sword and launched himself towards his enemy. Not a word is uttered. Swords clash; Mihawk’s fury is terrible, merciless and bloodthirsty, and the Blue Crane has barely the time to realise how big of a mistake he has made before Mihawk kills him, not using one his most sophisticated techniques, like most swordsmen would deem appropriate when facing a worthy opponent, but with a brutal, simple lunge at the heart - and through his back. He lets the body of his opponent fall tumbling down the stairs as he runs towards his sister’s room, abandoning his sword unheedingly on the floor and hoping against hope it’s not too late, that there’s still time to save her, but there isn’t, and while her body is still warm and the blood still dripping from her wound, Mihawk knows she’s already gone. He cries, holding her in his arms and kissing her brow, and remains by her side for what feels like hours, feeling himself victim of a terrible nightmare he cannot wake from and at the same time all too aware what has happened is true, real, and is only his fault.

🗡️ He doesn’t cry at the funeral, even though he knows his broken heart will never feel whole again; part of him wishes he could, even though it wouldn’t make him feel better, so much that he looks with envy at his sister’s friends (she has so many, she who had long thought she was too shy and demure and uninteresting to be liked) who weep openly, unashamed in their pain. He has informed his sister’s fiancé of the identity of her killer, as well as the fact he has been punished, but the other man doesn’t blame him, doesn’t accuse him of being the reason of the death of the woman they both love; part of Mihawk wishes he would, and while he has never particularly liked or respected his former-future brother-in-law, he now feels a kinship between them, and when the other man says he will never stop loving her, Mihawk believes him. They mourn her together; but in his heart, Mihawk also knows he’s saying farewell to the best part of him, the one capable of kindness and compassion, and that after spending his whole life despising their father for abandoning them, he has now committed an even more unforgivable sin.

🗡️ She is buried in the rose garden, her engagement ring on her finger and her favourite necklace on her breast. Mihawk plans on closing the house as soon as he can, without putting it on sale, to make sure nothing and no one will ever disturb his sister’s sleep; he has never felt so guilty and ashamed, and most of all so alone, in his life, but he knows he deserves that pain, he accepts and even relishes in it. He has let her down, he thinks as he looks at the casket being lowered in the grave, leaving her alone when she needed him the most, and even if he could he wouldn’t ask for forgiveness because he knows he doesn’t deserve it. He is now the strongest swordsman in the world, uncontested, but he feels no joy; he feels the weight of his sword on his back, thinks back to a brief conversation he had with his sister years back, and the hint of a joyless smile appears on his lips.

🗡️ There are roses on her gravestone, their beauty as eternal as her kindness and grace deserved to be, and then the date of her birth and of her death, and an epitaph Mihawk has carved himself…

Lady Dracule Yoru. Beloved sister. Wherever I go, I will carry you with me…

[charmac]

is there any season that you'd say does the best (or worst) at character development for the gang? personally, i've always thought that season 1 did wonders in helping the audience understand the gang's individual characters (minus frank) right away, but i'm interested in your opinion on the topic

Season 10 absolutely, 100%. It’s my favourite season of Sunny (and one of my favourite seasons of television ever), especially for the fact that it does so much insane character work in its span of ten episodes.

I don’t want to discount seasons before it, there’s an insane amount of foundational work that should be mentioned, but Season 10 being a milestone they never thought they would reach really sticks out as a major turn in the idea that the Gang don’t “develop” as characters by making the Gang face their own devolution. I've written about how Misses the Boat touches on this on the Paddy's Pub Blog, but Season 10 really as a whole just turns a lot more inward to the characters.

Charlie Work rotates around one of the Gang's schemes while having quite literally nothing to do with the scheme at all and everything to do with Charlie's character. This is the perfect example as to how the whole season operates, pushing the characters ahead of the plots, the schemes are just background work to revolve around. (Really, this is how the show operates a chunk of the time, but Season 10 is really really telling you that.)

It's hard to talk about each individual character without spiralling and trying to hit every S10 episode for everyone, but in brief summary: Frank unearths his own childhood trauma and starts to understand he's running out of time here; Dennis is diagnosed and his mask starts slipping more and more as he's forced to face (and attempt to disregard) how he is seen by outsiders; Mac is no longer able to front to himself that he's into women and he destroys his relationship with his father one step further; Charlie really sees he's viewed as less-than by Mac and Dennis and grows much more persistent to (dis)prove Frank is his father; Dee is shown as an even more 'successful' predator than Dennis, though just as pathetic at each turn.

All of this is not only built off what their characters were, but really are the very central parts of their characters that they clearly keep in mind as we push into the later seasons. (Arguably every character is still grappling with these core issues except Mac.)

(Briefly on worst season for character development, I think 13 is kind of the obvious choice. While there are some things I think they did well and are built on later (i.e. Bathroom Problem), episodes like The Gang Wins the Big Game are a prime example of how Sunny does not work well when the whole basis of an episode has nothing to do with the characters and everything to do with the plot. There was really negative character work done there, imo.)

I think it's funny you mention Season 1 for character development, because while I think it’s so so insanely essential to watch (and understand) as a foundation for the show and who the characters become, those versions of the characters are pretty distant from the Gang to me. Season 1 reads very much as Rob’s original idea: these are the worst versions of themselves; characters, but still a little too clearly RCG. Season 2 took those guys and built on them to create actual characters outside of themselves as terrible people, but I don't see the Gang as fully formed individuals until ~S4 (which I think RCG have mostly (?) admitted as much on TASP, lol)

Obviously every season contributes a lot to the characters as we know them, and some do a lot more for certain characters than others, so these are just my personal opinions... But I will argue for the rest of time that Season 10 is that bitch (and the best example of who the characters are).

[swordfright]

https://www.tumblr.com/swordfright/756502816281018368/what-do-you-think-is-your-most-controversial-dsmp?source=share

I remember sending this to a bunch of dsmp blogs (starting with elmhat I think ?) bc I like when people share ideas/opinions who diverge from the main consensus because I find it the most efficient way for people to stick to canon and not fanon since people can have different interpretations of event

And it was super interesting to see the one about the experimentation being after prison rather than before (loved the two LN and Q ones too but as you said they were a bit more common. Would love to see your take on c!slime though now)

(And I wouldn't have a problem with you giving unpopular opinion about the fandom either but to be clear I was not trying to start anything with my first question, I just like seeing uncommon takes)

Don't worry lol I didn't assume you were trying to start shit. Ok, so c!Slime is pretty interesting in that he's the closest thing we have to an NPC in what is otherwise a roleplay, which implies certain things about how he can be used in the narrative.

A little bit of quick background: I spent a LOT of time as a kid doing RP online (it was an original story set in the Death Note universe and it happened on a website that went bankrupt in like 2017 and no longer exists lmfao don't worry about it) and idk what RP etiquette is like in other communities, but in the community I was a part of, it was sort of frowned upon for players to outsource heavy plot/character development material to NPCs. It was allowed and people did it, but it was seen as sort of a cop-out. The underlying idea being that if you're gonna bother to do RP, your character's most important interactions should be with other PCs, in part because it helps build/strengthen the RP community and in part because it better entrenches your character's storyline in the storylines of other PCs, which in turn encourages other players to keep RPing and keeps the story going. Again, creating NPCs was very common, but players were discouraged from having entire arcs or character trajectories be highly dependent on NPCs. It was seen as sort of a cheap, low-effort way of progressing your character's development without having to coordinate plot beats with other players, and doing it too often was seen as sort of antithetical to what RP is trying to achieve as a form of gaming-storytelling. To me, c!Slime is a classic example of when an RPer outsources a little too much narrative weight onto an NPC.

First of all, I wanna clarify that it's kinda difficult to define what an NPC is or isn't on this server, but I'd say c!Slime is more of an NPC because even though he's played by a CC with some degree of improv, we know that cc!Quackity specifically wrote c!Slime's character to fulfill a narrative role and asked cc!Slime to play that character - as opposed to alternate characters played by CCs of their own accord (Sam Nook, Dream XD, Sam Bucket, Mexican Dream, etc.) So, for example, I don't see Sam Bucket as an NPC but I do see c!Slime as an NPC. c!Slime wasn't an original creation on the part of the player, he's a narrative tool (which is fine, but it does mean that what he can and can't do in the story is limited to what cc!Q needed him to do.)

There are some things I think the addition of c!Slime did accomplish. For one, Q's interactions with him provide a platform for more introspective character work on Q's part. And while I that character work could've been done by having Q interact with a PC instead, I do think Slime is better positioned to act as an apprentice figure because he had almost no lore prior to Las Nevadas and didn't enter the story with baggage or ties to any other major characters. He's a blank slate, which makes him really easy to use as a narrative device. Q voices thoughts and ideas to Slime that he can't voice to other characters (usually because it would be OOC for him to do so, or wouldn't make sense in context), which means that Slime is sort of a vehicle for delivering Q characterization to the audience.

This is all fine and I think a lot of it was done fairly well. I like cc!Slime's acting and I think the character is a fun addition to the LN crew. That said, I don't think the payoff was great. Slime being an NPC really undermined what I assume cc!Q was going for with End of Las Nevadas, in large part because he doesn't have well-established relationships with other characters. Aside from Q, Slime basically only ever interacts with Tommy, Foolish and Ranboo, and even those interactions are limited to a really tiny handful of streams. Punz capturing and manipulating him, Slime helping c!Dream confront Quackity...all that stuff could have been a lot more interesting if it had more time to marinate. Like, I love the IDEA of Slime and c!Dream interacting, but we don't really get any meaningful interactions between them outside of Slime's function as a storytelling tool. He's there when he needs to be, and only ever when he needs to be.

For instance, I would've loved to see what Slime thinks about Q's slime army. It's really weird to model your mindlessly obedient slave army after your friend. That was a weird ass thing for Q to do, and it would've been cool to see Slime react to that. But because he's more NPC than PC, and because highly scripted lore like the LN series doesn't really encourage deviation, we never get to find that out. Slime doesn't ever really get to be his own character, which in the end kinda undermines a lot of the character development he triggers for c!Quackity because at the end of the day, it's really transparent that Slime only exists to be a prop. It's a kind of one-sided relationship that's unique to RP.

I think End of Las Nevadas was weak for other reasons too, but uhhhh yeah the Slime stuff bothered me a bit. Would've liked to see him do more. And he disappears after pushing Q off the ledge and, to my knowledge, we never see him again! If he had been more PC and less storytelling tool, presumably other characters would've had opportunities to react to Slime's role in the events of that stream, or notice that he's missing/back again/missing. But instead, he's able to just vanish from the story after he's fulfilled his role because that's all he was ever supposed to do.

[maulfucker]

hiii I know I rarely ever mention it, but I do have a kofi where you can tip or commission me, and I am now faced with reason to promote it as loudly as I can

- I can draw both canon and original characters, not limited to star wars (I'm only posting here because this is my biggest blog) - additional characters and backgrounds add to the minimum price, as you can see if you check the commission option in my kofi - I am not very verbal and these are pretty simple things that I can get done in a couple days, so after accepting the commission I will probably only contact you again when I'm done with it -- on that note! if you have ideas of what you want, tell me when supplying references, or else it'll be too late

my sister is a small tattoo artist and rented a small two story building to build herself a studio. she knew she'd have to spend some money on fixing parts of it, but neither she nor the engineer she hired to do the construction work had guessed just how much had to be fixed. and by that I mean they pretty much have to rebuild the whole damn thing. the worst part so far is that they've recently found out the building has no support pillars, which was impossible to predict before working on the walls, and which forced them to stop work to install temporary pillars and decide the next steps. without the pillars the building could collapse if they put weight on the second floor, meaning it's currently unsafe to work on a whole half of the building. the agency that rented the building says that since my sister signed a contract saying the building was "usable" then it's none of their business and the best they can do is not charge rent for like two months.

the engineer she hired is also a lawyer, and is looking into suing the agency, and potentially the owner/builder of the building as well. but in the meantime my sister already has to pay part of the construction cost, and it's going over the original budget. we are both unemployed and mostly live off an allowance we get from our grandpa, which is obviously not enough to pay for all this.

so yeah tip or commission me so we can survive this shit and open her tattoo studio

[velvet-vox]

The insane, untapped potential of Rebecca from Murder Drones.

Hello Murder Drones Tumblr. My name is Markiplier, and I'm the fastest man alive.

To the outside world, I'm a regular Reddit user hiding in their mother's basement, but secretly, I've done nothing except consume Rebecca content for the past 72 hours, with only one objective in mind: spread the truth about this one, singular character that I didn't give a single damn about to convince you that she could have been someone important in an alternate universe.

To do so, I had to consult the classics. Rewatch the entire series again, hogging the murder drones rebecca tag, checking out her Wikipedia page (which has to be rewritten by the way, cause it sucks), create a new Rebecca centered gallery on Pinterest, and stalk the channels of her main worshippers, all in the name of my research.

Once I had collected enough data and ideas, I was finally ready.

Today, I'm going to shed light on some unknown traits and misconceptions surrounding the character, all the while showcasing all the ideas that I've gathered that would have made Rebecca a more prominent part of Uzi's and maybe even N's development.

This was by far the hardest undertaking I've ever imposed upon myself in the history of this blog. Please, enjoy the following content at your own risk and expense.

Chapter 1: The Origins.

Some context for those of you who are uninitiated in the Becca cult, Rebecca is this girl:

She's a minor side character inside of episode 3 and 4, and a background character inside of episode 2; she's infamous in the community for being a "bully" and trying to steal N from Uzi while already dating and making out with other classmates.

Despite never committing genocide and being the only member of the cheerleader trio to not have been responsible for anybody's death, she's pretty hated by the fanbase at large or plainly forgotten/dismissed, at best people just don't care about her and see her as just too unimportant to be hated, at worst they kill her in the most gruesome of ways or accuse her of racism, homophobia, eccetera (before killing her, of course).

Although pretty unpopular, she still has her own niche of fans who gather up at the table to worship her; furthermore, there are a lot of fanarts from people who don't even like her where she survived the events of Cabin Fever but is now disabled and confined to a wheelchair.

The reason behind such treatment is due to the fact that Rebecca has committed five of the worst cardinal sins a fictional character can make: being an obstacle to the most popular ship in a fandom; being mean to a fan favourite such as the main character without any clear motivation; being annoying by proxy according to other characters reactions without doing anything to disprove it, thus reinforcing the idea in the audience that you are annoying; being unimportant to the overall story without having any obvious redeeming or interesting qualities while being perceived as graving in each and everyone of your few scenes; and, of course, being a woman.

But besides all that, whose mostly common knowledge, what else is there to say about Rebecca? What are some of her less noticeable traits and characteristics that make her worth it of an analysis and a rewrite to better include her inside the plot?

Well, unfortunately, the answers are not as uplifting and as satisfying as Rebecca's stans were hoping they would be. Even in an alternative universe, I doubt she would really be as important as some of the other characters, more so an important character for Uzi's development. Maybe even N's.

But don't let this statement fool you into safety: I genuinely believe canon Rebecca is simultaneously so much better and so much worse than the community believes her to be. Rebecca is as much of a freak as Uzi, but not in her obnoxious, extroverted way, nor in Doll's sociopathic, introverted way: she's their uncommon middle ground who somehow manages to be more messed up than the both of them in certain aspects.

Chapter 2: "The quirks"

Upon commencing my research, I've quickly realised that I might be even more unnerved by Rebecca than I was with Yeva, and it's all due to the fact Rebecca facial expressions and body gestures might be the single most obtuse and undecipherable details that Liam has decided to insert into the background of his story. You probably don't understand what I'm talking about because you haven't been losing sleep at night like I did, but let me show you the pictures:

Noticing anything wrong?

Everyone else upon seeing V is immediately frozen in terror or just surprised by the Disassembly Drone presence, but Rebecca instead just looks mildly.... annoyed? Intrigued? It's hard to tell by the image's shots alone but the only time where Rebecca's facial expressions change to the shocked looks of the Worker Drones on the right is when Lizzie says her infamous line and socially excluses her from the popular kids table.

There could be more to say about Rebecca's following lines "Fine, I forgive her! Settle." and how they don't really mean what you think they mean, because, just like we are going to see in a moment, Becca really doesn't give a damn about murder, in some ways, even more than the other Workers, but I haven't found a single more compelling meaning besides, you know, Rebecca's family, which we are soon going to be talking about.

Other weird facial expressions that she does are the weird look that she has when escaping Prom, her reactions to people dying in Cabin Fevers, and probably every single scene she's in when you think about it hard enough.

She also does this weird thing with her fingers. A sign of anxiety? She looks fairly inexpressive. Yet again, she might have learned to mask her emotions and the hand gesture could be a way to let it all out without putting too much attention upon herself. But why? Is the guy standing right beside her one of her parents? More of that in a minute.

Finally, and this is the biggest point of speculation, there's a high possibility that Rebecca might have sensory issues, a possibility that we are going to treat as fact, thus explaining why she's so afraid of falling out of the boat in this scene: aside from the fact that Worker Drones are probably not waterproof judging by the text in episode 1; Rebecca is literally experiencing sensorial discomfort from the erratic movements of the boat, and even if she was able to survive in water, she wouldn't be able to swim due to her disability. (Other possible evidence of this is the squirm she emits when the door of the abandoned cabin Uzi is in slams shut. Darren also reacts to it, but in a much more normal manner).

But now you might be asking: "If she really had sensory issues making these moments where she lacks balance scarier, why did she pick up cheerleading?" Which nicely segway's us into the next part:

(Side note, I've only specifically searched for sensorial discomfort in relation to sex, and based the rest on preemptive knowledge, thus I might have messed up some parts of this analysis; I'm sorry to anyone who experiences these issues and didn't find their inclusion in this essay accurate.)

Chapter 3: Becca the 13th

In the following segment, the line between canon and fanon, reasonable and made up blurs, but I beg you to stay patient and follow my thought process: the far fetched parts are based on the elements already present in the show to make Rebecca a more interesting characther while tying her to the themes of the show and to the preexisting dynamics.

In my research to answer the question "Why did Rebecca pick up cheerleading" I looked up a site explaining all the reasons why girls decide to get into cheerleading, and I've singled out these answers as the most likely possibilities for Rebecca's interest in the sport.

Passion for the Sport: Many women who become cheerleaders have a genuine passion for cheerleading and enjoy the physical and artistic aspects of the sport. They may see cheerleading as a way to express themselves creatively and be part of a team.

Opportunities for Performance: Cheerleading provides opportunities for women to perform in front of large audiences, which can be a rewarding experience for those who enjoy being in the spotlight and entertaining others.

Team Camaraderie: Cheerleading often involves working closely with a team of other cheerleaders, which can foster a strong sense of camaraderie and friendship. Many women value the sense of community and teamwork that comes with being a cheerleader.

Scholarship Opportunities: In some cases, cheerleading can provide opportunities for women to earn scholarships for college or other educational benefits. This can be a motivating factor for women who are looking to further their education.

Personal Development: Cheerleading can help women develop valuable skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership, and time management. These skills can be beneficial in both personal and professional settings.

Love for Dance and Performance: Cheerleading often involves elements of dance and performance, which can appeal to women who have a passion for these art forms. For some women, cheerleading offers a creative outlet to express themselves through movement and choreography.

Which one of them is the most likely?

If your answer is all/some of them, then you are probably right, as there could always be more than one reason driving an individual to commit the actions that they do.

If your answer is none of them, then you must be pretty bold to make such an assumption, but you can't be blamed as it's finally time to bring up the two big elephants in the room:

These two.

Rebecca's relationship with the other cheerleaders can't be anything but toxic, it just makes sense to me: Lizzie's not afraid to throw people under the bus if it means that she gets to stay on top of the social hierarchy, with Doll being the clear exception at this point of the story due to their closeness and intimacy, making Rebecca the most direct victim of Liz and Doll the main target of Becca's jealousy; she can't act too much on her jealousy though, cause Lizzy can just cut out her wings whenever she feels like, so most likely all of the bullying that she does on Doll is subtle and only at most convenient of times. Doll probably doesn't react to Rebecca's bullying seeing as she is Lizzy's second best friend and killing her would inconvenience the cheer's squad, but if her reaction to Rebecca's speech in The Promening is anything to go by then she has at least built up a certain resentment for her throughout their time spent together.

Rebecca is kind of like Heather Duke with the personality of Heather McNamara and Veronica's shaky presence inside of the trio. No, I'm not going to diagnose Doll and Lizzy as Heathers, do that yourself.

But we're going to bring back up the DLR trio back in a moment, as the time has come to fire up the Chekhov's gun:

Remember when I said that we were going to bring up Rebecca's family later on? It's finally time.

In the same boat scene that we talked about earlier, Rebecca asks N this question: "So, my friend wants to know if you've killed her family... and are single."

In case you didn't pick up on it, this is a common tactic used to taste the waters in a relationship, when someone uses the excuse of having another friend who has a crush on you to see if you are up for dating. Naturally, the underlying message of this tactic is "I'm the one friend who I was talking to you about, I'm interested in you. Are you interested in me?" but that's not where Rebecca's sentence stops, no, before doing that Rebecca specifically asked N if he might have killed her friend's family, with the implication that she's talking about her own family.

So... Rebecca is without parents, just like Doll and she was probably left with just her dad much like Uzi. Where the differences between Rebecca and the rest of the cast starts to shine is in her reaction to the death of her parents. Where Uzi's and Doll's mood worsened after the death of one or both of their parents, Rebecca seems to be happier for it.

We can take this a step even further and assume that the possibility that N might have killed her family could be the big reason as to why she's so attracted to him, even more than the other classmates (keyword "family". It means that she could have had a brother or sister too, though I doubt it): she hated her parents, is happy with their deaths, and views N as her saviour and white knight in the dark for killing them.

If we look back at the shot from episode 2, we can come up with a couple of theories: she's probably alone at the parents teachers conference, or, and this is the most interesting alternative, the guy who stands right beside her is her dad, the weird hand gesture that she's doing with her fingers could be genuine anxiety about her dad finding out that her teacher has some bad things to say about her school performance and punishing her for it, which could also further explain why she does anything that Lizzie says if the theory that Lizzie's father is the Teacher is true.

Due to her sensory issues, it's possible that Rebecca's hatred for her family stems from a streak of physical abuse received at home and exacerbated by her already frail physique. She probably has been living alone with her dad for a while, like the girl from the 2017 It movie; so for her to hate her mom too, unless she was still alive and didn't show up to the parents/teachers conference, there are a couple of possible explanations: A, her mother died when she was too young for her to give a s##t about her; B, her mother was also just as abusive as her dad; or C, the most compelling explanation, as it parallels Khan's and Uzi's relationship: Rebecca's father uses the death of her mother as an excuse to wallop into self pity and be abusive, similarly to Khan but ten times worse, thus leading Rebecca to hate her mom even if she never knew her just by virtue of constantly hearing her name being used as justification for her dad's awfulness.

Rebecca could have, in just a couple of minutes, grown attached to N in the same way Uzi's grown attached to him throughout the course of the series: by viewing him as a sort of comfort net for the horrible things that have happened to her and as the one who saved her from her awful home life (by killing her parents).

Her dad probably did the interview right after Khan and thus implying a small space of time where he left her alone for god knows whatever reason, died to Eldritch J right before Uzi and N came in to stop her and Khan finally arrived to the crime scene, thus leading Rebecca to assume that N killed him in episode 4 and, through a connection made up by her wild immagination, her mom aswell.

So, for Rebecca, unlike Uzi and Doll, the day her parents died must have been the best day of her life; knowing how Doll lost her parents and looked pretty happy on the outside, Rebecca took this as a positive that her life could only improve; leading to the time spent between the ending of episode 2 and her death in episode 4 to be happiest period of her life, especially after episode 3 where Doll was revealed as a serial killer and went into hiding, making Rebecca the only friend Lizzie had left and solidifying her place in the social hierarchy.

When you think about it, we never see Rebecca being "happy" before episode 3, and while it could just be because we don't see enough of her, it could also really be that she was unhappy with her home life; Lizzie and Doll clearly weren't helping as despite Doll being at the bottom of the abuse trio of Lizzie and Rebecca, it's pretty clear by the framing of the show that Rebecca was always the most replaceable member of the trio, Lizzie was the master manipulator holding all of the cards of the social hierarchy thanks in part to her dad's influence, and Doll was Lizzie's irreplaceable (until V) main enforcer who at any moment could have just snapped and physically threatened Lizzie with her powers; leading Rebecca to feel constantly anxious of her every move. Plus, it must have been fairly obvious to the entire school that Doll and Lizzie had an affair going on and Rebecca wasn't part of it, therefore other students could have definitely picked up on her anxiety and started a gossip behind her back, leading her to feel even worse about herself than she already was. Which also, in turn, parallels Uzi and her feelings of being socially ostracized, making them even more of a foil to each other, with the main difference being that Uzi tried to fit in by becoming a hero to the colony and failing, while Rebecca carved her own unstable niche into society that she has to constantly struggle to maintain (Doll being at the positive end of the spectrum in this case, by being popular without struggling and willingly giving up said popularity for her revenge fantasies).

Her fear of losing the social stability and bullying immunity provided by Lizzie and Doll eventually turned into paranoia, forcing her to make up lies about dating people, like the guy "Brad" who she supposedly went to Prom with despite that apparently never being the case. To maintain the lies as truthful, she eventually benefitted from the ripple effect that those lies had created for her thanks in part to her good looks: now having the reputation of a nymph, she could get people to have sex with her, probably using it as an excuse for never actually being in a relationship with anyone (Darren is one of those people, she wasn't dating him, she was just making out with him).

There's also much to be said about the way Rebecca views sex and relationships as a whole; I'm not too sure about this talking point due to the aforementioned sensory issues that she has, but she could view sex as a sort of escapism fantasy, which also carries over in her love fantasy of N, and her relationship with the other cheerleaders as a semi functional support system, yet again other similarities with Uzi who, at the start of the series latched onto her fantasy of becoming a hero as escapism from her unfortunate school and home life, and, with a little stretching, we could say that Lizzy and Doll were to Rebecca what N and V are to Uzi, though not quite as healthy.

To ensure that Rebecca's views and actions on sex don't jive with her possibly having sensory issues, I've looked up information regarding the way people with these types of problems engage in sexual activity, and luckily for me, none of what I've found seemed to contradict any of the points I've brought up.

Here I have isolated all of the results of my research that fit Rebecca the most. Note: all of these apply to "some" individuals, not "every" individual. You don't have to check out all of these to have sensory issues regarding sex and other similar activities. I'm not a medic, so don't take any of these as gospel.

Perhaps the most obvious way that disordered sensory processing can affect sexuality is through physical touch. Some individuals may dislike hugs and embraces. Others may seek out a lot of touch or intense touch experiences.

Bright lights may agitate individuals with disordered sensory processing during intimacy. Play around to find the best lighting for you and your partner. Try using candles, soft bedside lighting, or turn off the lights completely! Avoid engaging in intimacy directly in front of a window or another uncontrollable light source.

An environment with a surplus of visual stimulation can be overwhelming and distracting. A cluttered environment can limit your partner’s ability to engage in intimacy because they are using energy to process visual inputs. For this reason, seek out clean, neutral, and minimalist spaces! In turn, assure your partner that it is okay to close their eyes during intimacy. This can help to calm their senses and allow them to focus on you, rather than the environment.

Background noises such as music, television, or roommates speaking next door may be distracting to individuals with disordered sensory processing. Find a quiet, private place to engage in intimacy. Avoid integrating music into the environment unless your partner suggests it!

Some individuals with disordered sensory processing have difficulty understanding where their head is in space; they may become disoriented or sensitive to different head positions. On the other hand, they may seek out intense vestibular sensations by engaging in extreme movements and positions. While some individuals may feel more comfortable being stable and stationary, others crave motion.

Sex is also most likely viewed as a coping mechanism for Rebecca, even if the main reason why she probably does it is to remain upon the popular girls in the school.

All of this added context makes Rebecca's death in episode 4 far more tragic, yet less random than some of the other campers. It comes as a result of one, yet fatal flaw: Her need to stay at the top of the food chain.

At this point in the story, Rebecca was getting closer to N, she could have just simply kept nurturing this relationship until it would have developed into something more genuine and mutual. It could have come to the point where eventually, once N would have chosen Uzi over her (because of course he would), she could have come to accept it and move on with her life instead of keep chasing her escapism fantasies and fawning over her parents possible murderer, maybe she would have even befriended Uzi in the process. But no. Her ego was her downfall: once N went away and could no longer satisfy her current needs, she decided to keep improving her social position, an easier thing to do now that Doll was out of the hierarchy, and proceeded to reinforce her reputation by making out with Darren, which got her accidentally killed by Uzi.

Accidentally, just like the death of her parents probably was.

Her death is almost perfect, even better than some of the others in the show: while Doll's death was brutal and heart wrenching but not really satisfying, Tessa's death mostly happened in the background and the show spent very little time on it, Alice's, Beau's, Yeva's and her husband's death depend on how you view their characters and if you think it fits, and V's death is the closest to perfect but wonky in certain aspects of its execution (just like V's arc in general), Rebecca's death is the perfect conclusion to her character.

She dies segmented, broken in pieces, part of her still lives for a couple of minutes, while the other gets eaten by what is essentially the character's foil of the one girl she was jealous of, and whose disappearance greatly benefited Rebecca. While crawling to the other campers, she must have suffered the whole time, just like she suffered her whole life before episode 2, the split of her torso represents her inability to pick up just one road, and in a meta context represents the fact that she is the middle ground between various character's situations.

It also represents the split in her life's trajectory: she was unhappy with her parents and was happy when they died, then became happy with her life and is now unhappy as she's slowly dying of a pain comparable to the one provided by her dad. All of this because of her ego.

And then lastly, as the final nail in the coffin, once she finally reaches the other students, her insides spilling out (reference to Melissa-titanium Doll's death post), everybody immediately forgets about her, just like they did with Uzi. She spent so much time climbing the social ladder, afraid and paranoid that she might tumble down and her parents would punish her for it, only for her to be immediately forgotten about once her systems shut down, still considered meaningless, tying her death also to Doll's and possibly Uzi's one, as the middle ground exploration of the theme of failure: Uzi fails but manages to achieve everything she had ever wanted, Doll fails but manages to achieve nothing, Rebecca fails but manages to achieve half.

It also ties back to Tessa as an alternate version who got freed from her parents abuse and had a chance to live a better life but still died soon afterwards because of a mistake she made.

Chapter 4: The Results

As you can see, just by using all the stuff present in the show if you squirm hard enough for it, with some added details we get a lot of utility out of Rebecca as a character:

- She develops Uzi, develops N, and develops and challenges Nuzi even more than she does in canon, but in a much more meaningful way.

- She works simultaneously as a foil to Uzi and Doll due to her benefiting from the death of her parents, and as well as a foil to Uzi and Tessa, who both had pretty bad parents but never wanted them to die.

- Her relationship with her dad also serves as a foil to Uzi's and Khan's father/daughter relationship, possibly helping to strengthen Khan's arc by showcasing a worse version of himself to the audience, rendering the reconciliation between father and daughter all the more sweeter.

- She deepens Uzi's and Doll's relationship in a different way than the Nori/Yeva parallels, by showcasing us a middle ground between the two characters that is simultaneously so much better and so much worse than the both of them.

- She also deepens the parallels between Uzi and Tessa, by showing us what could have happened if Tessa had the same sadistic tendencies of Uzi and left her parents to die intentionally (side note: Rebecca leaving her parents to die intentionally is also what could have happened in this made up canon. I doubt Rebecca finds joy in other people's suffering, but I can't help but think that she might have finally felt relief when the source of abuse in her life was finally gone), basically doubling as the middle ground between Uzi and Tessa but without their engineering skills, yet again, being so much better and so much worse than both characters.

- She serves to make Uzi more interesting by virtue of being foils but not in the obvious, narrative way of Doll, rather, in a more subtle, social way: if played right, her death could have hunted Uzi in ways the deaths of her other classmates didn't, by finally making Uzi question if she was ever in the right or if she isn't as much of a monster as Doll is.

- Further explores the themes of abuse present in the show and better ties said themes to Lizzy and Doll, who are currently lacking.

- She could have been used as a "tease" for Cyn, something that I haven't talked about until now (Uzi's and Cyn's middle ground). From what we know about Cyn, it seems like she was coded with some sort of robo neuro divergence, similar to the one that Rebecca possibly possesses; the details of Bec's story could have been reworked to parallel some of Cyn's story details, giving Uzi (and the audience) a taste of what Cyn's story or personality is like before meeting the real deal.

- She also, canonically, served to develop me.

Before I started working on this project, I never gave too much of a care about Rebecca. I didn't hate her like many people did, I actually liked her even if that liked soon turned into contempt once the serious writing for this essay actually started, but now I can confidently say that I'm a Rebecca enjoyer, the ideas that I've come up with for her are just too interesting for me to view her in the same way ever again, and I hope that this lecture might have also slightly changed your opinion of Rebecca as well.

[sunsetcarnation264]

I've been thinking about the pitch pilot more, and I wouldn't mind having a separate blog for that stuff even if it's not too much, but I dunno how much y'all would be interested.

More information below the "keep reading" line if you need it, like background and what the AU might include.

For Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go fans who dunno, a pitch pilot of the show was found around a year or two ago on eBay and put onto YouTube for archival purposes. There's plenty of things different between the pitch pilot and what we got, such as Chiro being much younger (like 6-8 from the looks of it), the monkeys being referred to by their colors, and Shuggazoom City being called Pachinko Town to name a few.

It's something that interests me because it's cool to see the changes and people can go wild with the pitch pilot, especially with how Chiro would've been around when he was younger than when he found them in canon; at thirteen years old. I do have ideas, but I know I'm a little slow to getting to things I wanna do.

The Ultra Force part of the AU name is because, if I remember this correctly, the name of the show was gonna be different and Super Robot Monkey Team Ultraforce Go! was in mind before getting picked up and going with Hyperforce instead.

For the AU itself:

It'll most likely just focus on them being a family and a team with the only ships on the blog being Poly Monkeys and Chinmay (mainly when they're teenagers). If I do any other ships, it'll most likely be on the main blog under the AU name to keep things separate. I would throw Slingshot in there for SlingChinmay, but I dont know how I'd get him in there yet.

It'll also explore what could've been different, like the team's dynamics with each other, any little design differences, etc. There'll probably be other things that's different, but I dunno just yet. Still getting like a big ref sheet done of the team + height comparison.

If you guys have any thoughts you wanna share, I'd love to hear it.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Likable vs Complex vs "Good"

EDIT: Couple people came up to me thinking of alternatives for category 3 "Good" and my favourite is Kimberly's suggestion of "effective". I think "effective" is great because it means well utilized. It's pretty much exactly what I was going for when writing the descriptions in this post.

I feel that when it comes to describing characters, there are strong differences between a

Likable character - Someone you enjoy watching, like to have on screen, might want to share a drink with. Most protagonists. Usually a blorbo with a mass fandom who says they were done wrong if theyre a side character.

Complex character - how many layers does this one have? how much do you have to talk about them to explain them? Do you see people defending them with massive text posts? Do you follow this blog? You have experience with complex characters.

"Good" character - I don't mean a good person. That is more of a "likable" characteristic. I mean, does this character serve a solid role in the story? Do they have a job, and do they perform it well? This can include minor characters you don't care for, and it can actually exclude complex characters if their motivations don't seem to make sense or have relevance to the story.

I think a "good" character can be further broken down into subcategories but it's impossible to define whether a character is good by a basic description for all series. It requires comprehension of the source material and what it's trying to do.

Allow me to illustrate this with some examples.

I was considering what show to use for this. Let's go with She-Ra for now because it's my current thing and I don't want to be roasting SU or Owl House, and I think Adventure Time is a bad fit due to how episodic it is. I'd have to categorise by season for each example. Let me know if you want me to talk about any specific characters.

Sea Hawk

Likable: Yes Complex: No Good: No

Sea Hawk is a side character in She-Ra who gets kinda sidelined. He hasn't got much to do with anything but he makes me smile when he shows up. I don't think Sea Hawk has a purpose other than to make chaotic background noise. I think that's fine? But he's not a good character and the show would lose almost nothing if he was gone.

Edit: I feel kinda bad for implying sea hawk is not a good character so remember that I mean he isn't used effectively, he doesn't have much involvement and presence. I think a key example is his absence from season 5 entirely when he could have been used more effectively and wasn't.

Light Hope

Likable: Not really Complex: Not really Good: YES

Light Hope is Adora's mentor as She-Ra who is actually manipulating her. Light Hope has a tragic story that adds to her complexity but she's deeply overshadowed by other characters in the story.

What makes her a good character is how strongly Light Hope ties to the themes of the story. Her reveal as being "actually evil" could have been shallow and bad in a different series (anyone else playing Halo recently?) but Light Hope having her agency stolen from her, just like Adora, makes it liberating and heartbreaking when she is destroyed alongside the Sword of Protection.

Light Hope represents the oppressive regime of the First Ones and the ways they would control Etheria, while being a victim herself. She heavily parallels Adora. She does not require being complex or likable to have an important impact on the story.

Micah

Likable: Yes Complex: Yes proportional to screentime Good: Not consistently

I really like Micah. He's one of my favourite side characters. So why can I not call him a good character?

It's because he only serves to drive the actions of others, and when he is onscreen as an actual character, the show doesn't know what to do with him.

Micah was "dead" for most of the show and his life and death drove the decisions of plenty of others. He learnt from Shadow Weaver and was an important part of her corruption arc, being better at magic than her but scared away by the dark magic, which ended up attacking her. His disappearance is why Angella and Glimmer's relationship is so strained, why Glimmer is so determined to prove herself, and when he was in the Portal World, both characters had to give up the "wrong future" with him to restore the world.

Micah has a character with way more depth than you'd expect from a dead dad. He has a funny likable personality and is a highly skilled mage with a variety of relationships, who has survived on an island for god knows how long.

However, this kind of speaks to him being the protagonist of his own story, and She-ra is so chock full of characters aiming to a specific goal. Micah actually being alive has very little to do with the story of season 5. He isn't part of the space mission. He has an episode with Frosta, another character who has little to do with anything, and then he gets chipped for the rest of the show.

The reason Micah ended up this way is because he's a complex character in a story that has no room to do anything with him. He's not the only victim of season 5's crunch time, far from it, but he never got any screentime or "arc" and his actions don't tie in to the show very much.

Glimmer

Likable: No Complex: Yes Good: Yes

Edit: I'm guessing this one was what got me flack? But Glimmer is easily in my top 3 favourite characters and imo she is the character i by far most greatly resemble. I used her here because I think she's a much more interesting example of a disliked yet very well written character than Catra for this post. But it's evident, if you look at the fandom behaviour, casual viewers don't like her much. People either love her for her everything or kind of hate her, and she's treated badly in a lot of fanfic. The reasons for this exist in the show's writing and framing and how people interpret her. She's far from the first blorbo of mine to exist in these conditions, i mean just look at PB from AT who is a thousand times more hated but also the best character.

So Glimmer's likability yoyos significantly across the series, she's far from the most offensive abrasive friend character, but she's one of the least likable characters in She-Ra. This is down to the show not having any particularly unlikable characters apart from Shadow Weaver, if I'm honest, and Glimmer's constant rubbing against other far more liked characters such as Adora, Bow, Catra, so on.

Glimmer is annoying as a bare minimum and nasty as shit at other times, going through challenges that turn her against her friends and make her seek power and lash out against others.

However, these are flaws the show is hyper aware of and has baked into her story. They are all part of what makes her Glimmer, they are all what makes her so memorable and interesting.

It is the push and pull of Glimmer's courage, her desire to be there for her friends, with her insecurities about being weak, her failure to protect her mother, that mean... When Glimmer is handed the powers of the moonstone and offered tutoring in magic, you're giving a powerless beaten down puppy a MACHINE GUN. Of course she's going to use that power ineffectively.

Complexity doesn't always make a good character. If you look at Steven Universe or even Adventure Time, you have a lot of complex characters in that series who fail to serve any strong role, or who zigzag in so many directions taht you can no longer make sense of their motivations.

However, Glimmer's motivations are not only internally consistent across the entire series, the show gives her a complete character arc where she goes from a powerless brat, to a responsible commander, to a brokenhearted powerhouse, to someone who understands where she fucked up and is trying very very hard to lead her friends into a hopeful future using the very same character traits that led her to go astray - Her love, courage, and rage.

There are a couple of weaknesses for Glimmer. I would say mainly that the show goes too far to make her snap at Adora in season 4. I don't think she needed to go that far, and it would've been fine if they dealt with it properly in season 5, but Adora and Glimmer's relationship is completely brushed over in season 5. Adora and Glimmer aren't the only victims of this - there is Micah, and season 5 is the difference between Scorpia being a good character vs an "ok" character - but it is a very very good story, and it's hard to say how it could've improved these characters with the timeframe that it had.

Entrapta

Likable: Yes Complex: No Good: Yes

What makes Entrapta different from Micah and Glimmer and Sea Hawk is that she's a very basic, likable character, but she has a severe impact on every single season on the show. Entrapta is second to Catra, in my opinion, in terms of making a "good" character in She-ra, but she doesn't require any of Catra or Glimmer's complexity to get there.

Entrapta's character does not change much, but she does have challenges, which tie strongly to the base themes of She-ra - understanding, acceptance and love. Entrapta is thrown around the plot like a pinball but her movements are being noticed by all the other characters. When she joins the Horde, it changes both the Horde and the Rebellion. She puts Hordak on his path to independence. She's a big reason Catra descended into desperation, going through a repeat of the cycle of abuse. She's also why Adora and Glimmer went into hardcore martyrdom, though that has less to do with Entrapta herself and more to do with how her "death" triggered their prior conditioning. She did the runestone experiment, and created the portal. And when Entrapta is removed from the equation, it is a major catalyst for other characters to step into the hole she left behind.

But while these feats are impressive, they don't say much about Entrapta herself. What makes her a good character and not just a plot device?

Well, Entrapta has an internal logic and a strong sense of personality that is present throughout the show. While other mad scientists might act randomly and not have much character going on, Entrapta has an entire arc that has less to do with science and is instead focused on her goal of connection. She has a deep love for science but also for friendship and she wants to connect those things together, she wants to express love through her science and be liked for who she is.

That's what makes her compelling and likable. It's not that deep but it ties in to everything she does. It's what connects her to the other characters.

That's why Entrapta can seamlessly work with the good guys, and the bad guys, and be ideologically opposed to the true big bad of the series just as the rest of the characters are, without having to change much as a person or to be that complex. The show moves her around where she is most effective at serving its story themes as her current self, and she never has a period of inactivity in the story even when absent. And she never has to do anything that contradicts her previous actions.

I have strong opinions on other series. I'm thinking a lot about SU, because it's full of complex characters who get discarded, but also I'm thinking about Princess Bubblegum. I think I'd rate Princess Bubblegum differently for every season of Adventure Time.

[shoot-of-corruption]

Blog Announcement

Hi there my lovelies! It is a rare guest, Ria here :D

I put on an Oblivion Let's Play to hold my blood pressure low while formulating this announcement, so you better settle down with me xD

I would like to announce here how I will deal with my main blog and all my side blogs on tumblr from now on.

As most of you know, I am working a full time job in retail, so my nervous costume tends to be a tiny bit thin after around 9,5hrs of shift. I am happy to announce to you all that my time as a worker in retail is finally a finite one. If everything works out right, I won't just be able to start a homeoffice job by next year, but also live at a completely different place and city. Sadly there is still a good while of wait ahead of me until then and a lot of things are unsure as of yet. But I will do my best to get to that destination, because right now everything is pretty much murdering me.

What does that mean for my blogs? I have been on Hiatus for a long while, on and off, over years. And yet I have always returned here, more or less satisfied or happy with my performance or the RPC.

From this day on I will treat myself better about being able to come here and also, I will not spread myself thin anymore. I will transform Mariku into an Ask- and Art-Blog. Interactions are always welcome, on and off Anon, as well as dash commentary or writing pieces and updates of myself. You can tag Mariku and me in everything, the followed tags will stay the same, I will just update a few things on my BIO in the next days etc. [maybe I'll finally force myself to make a card, should the mobile pages not work anymore].

Things that will for the close future not be done on my blogs:

RP-Threads: no matter if long, short, or anything. I am torturing myself, because I cannot say no to new thread ideas and the moment I really get invested into plots, threads, ideas or anything alike, my partners tend to just leave and let me drop like a hot potato and I honestly neither need nor want that hate in my life anymore.

Anon-Hate: Will NOT be displayed on this channel. I will keep my Inbox with anonymous messages on, but every piece of disgusting hate will be immediately plucked out of the screen and burned in a bonfire. You will not get a stage here and you can be assured, that I will piss and shit on your disgusting hatred and then laugh about it for the coming week, because you are the most pathetic thing that I had the displeasure of even having to lay a momentary glance on <3

RPC/personal Drama: I will ignore drama and strictly remove myself from it. I will not be part or target of any hatred, impulsive meanness and/or random bouts of radical opinions. If you don't feel seen/represented in my opinions, turn around and find a place you fit into, but leave me and my muses alone.

Things that will be done on this blog (and partly my side blogs):

Ask-Memes: Of any kind. Ask-Plots, random asks, symbol ask memes, color memes, background memes, AU-memes and YES, also art related asks.

Open Commissions: I will open art commissions again after I had a bit more training on my tablet, for everybody, who wants to commission art. They will likely be limited and they may also for training reasons only be for free for training, thus included in art memes, but I will open paid commissions eventually again, definitely this year. I cannot tell you details, yet, but keep your eyes peeled ;)

IMs and Mun related things: You are definitely allowed to write IMs and ask me questions!! I am here to have fun as all of us are, so if your fun includes coming into my IMs and leaving a cat meme each day or send me weird asks, I am all here for it!! All of this might sound very dickish of me, but I just feel like I get too emotionally hurt and immersed and I want to protect me from bad feelings and you from my wrath xDDD

Thank you for reading all of this and I hope all of us can stick to those ground rules (for now) - we will get on peachy! If the fact that I am not RPing (for now) on here is breaking you beyond compare, I do own a Discord and I am usually willing to share it. Please contact me on here before adding me, so I know who exactly is adding me on there, otherwise, I might not accept your request. Discord: sangnoire

I will warn you though, that I will be very selective with accepting RPs and partners on there still and that any unwillingness to accept that will be met with... a uno-reverse card reaction x'D