#their colors also mesh so well with the villain feel. like

[fdrsamericanflagduckfloaty]

i hate to say it but

southern motherfucking democratic-republicans

[watermelonsloth]

So... Sarada's Timeskip Design

First some positives:

The design works in both Haruno(choker, red) and Uchiha(earrings, black) elements. Even though they are few, I prefer it over the complete absence of both like we got in her last manga design

I like the somewhat unique choice in headband placement

The outfit is pretty fashionable and I can easily picture a teenager wearing it

Her earrings are a nice touch

Her haircut is really cute

Now the negatives(oh god are there negatives). I can't shorten this to simple bullet points so I hope you like the paragraph format. First, the obvious:

It Doesn't Look Practical In The Least

She's wearing big-ass heels, her leg warmers are loose enough to get caught under her feet, her shorts(the bottom half of her romper?) are short enough to give her a wedgie, she has pretty much no leg protection, the shuriken holster attached to her leg without bandages looks uncomfortable, the belt is completely useless, her jacket is baggy and unzipped and begging to fall off, her sleeves look like they'd get in the way during combat, her glasses feel noticeably fragile, and what woman in their right mind would wear a strapless bra into combat? (I can only let the last one slide because it's two men who're working on this manga) If not for the metal plate, shuriken holster, and open-toed shoes, I wouldn't even think she was a ninja(or from the Naruto franchise, for that matter). Lack of practicality doesn't tend to bother me since this is fantasy and every character wearing maximum practicality outfits would get boring, but Sarada looks like they didn't even make an attempt at making her look combat ready. Still, all of this would be fine if not for my next point.

This Doesn't Look Like Something Sarada Would Wear

If impracticality was in character or served a narrative purpose, it would be a point in the designs favor. Except, Sarada isn't the type of character to wear something so impractical. In the manga, she's the character that takes being a ninja the most seriously, she's one of the few with clear goals, and she's the resident team leader and smart one. What part of her design tells us any of that? Yes, manga Sarada is weirdly flirtatious. But that aspect of her personality already contradicts her otherwise disinterest in boys and romance, it doesn't mesh well with her portrayal in the anime(which is also supposed to be canon), it's already an inconsistent part of her personality, and there's already been so many complaints about it(even in Japan from what I can tell) that you'd think that Ikemoto wouldn't continue with it.

Why Does It Invoke So Much Akatsuki?

This might just be me, but I think the design has too many nods to the Akatsuki. The oversized jacket, the fabric around the bottom of her leg, and the black, red, and white/silver color scheme in similar ratios. I'm not saying you'll confuse her for an Akatsuki member by any means and there were certainly more things they could've done to make her resemble the Akatsuki if that was their goal. What I'm saying is that if I were trying to make nods towards the former villain organization in a character's design, I'd use similar design elements.

The worst part is that this was entirely avoidable. Even ignoring that they could've scrapped the more impractical aspects of her design to avoid this, her color palette didn't even have to be this way. Red isn't the only color that can invoke connections to Sakura; shades of pink, light green, and white are also colors of Sakura. Black isn't even the most common color that Uchiha's wear, shades of dark purple and blue are. Purples and blues would've also been a better nod to Sasuke. Maybe they wanted her to wear "Uchiha colors," but, once again, those aren't really Uchiha colors. Black is, but red has only appeared in Madara's armor, the sharingan, and the clan crest and white has also only appeared in the clan crest(I don't even remember an Uchiha that ever wore silver). If you wanna argue that Sarada's color is red, then I ask why wouldn't they just keep red as her primary color instead of making it an accent? Her last manga design had black and white as accents, I don't think keeping her color palette the same would've bothered anyone. I know that Kishimoto added black to Naruto's design to help make him look more mature, but Sarada's design doesn't invoke "mature" anyways and it certainly isn't a more mature version of her last design because, much like the majority of the two blue vortex designs, it looks nothing like her last design. It's even worse than when they started adding too much black to Naruto's design because now it reminds people(or at least me) of an organization that I doubt she's meant to be affiliated with. But who knows? Maybe like the metal plate of her headband being on an easily removeable jacket, this is all foreshadowing to something.

I don't blame anyone for thinking this is a nitpick, but it bothers me and I wanted to express it.

Conclusion

Sarada's design is the worst for the same reasons her last design was the worst plus it looking too much like she took inspiration from the Akatsuki's wardrobe. Forget needing a second draft, this design needs to be scrapped and replaced. Maybe the anime will find a way to fix it, maybe it won't. Only time will tell and it'll hopefully tell us good news.

(Side note: why is she constantly drawn with her feet pointed inwards? it makes her look insecure.)

[the-masked-reviewer]

Wish (2023) Review

Potential spoilers ahead...

The writing, the animation, and even the color choices are nowhere near what one would expect from MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR company that is not only known for their animation, but a company widely considered to have revolutionized medium time and time again.

The writing is questionable at best, and at worst it, it feels like it was written by AI to some extent. Most of the dialogue feels rushed and incomplete. The questions with the writing really come to fruition when you look at the lyrics from the music, which, in musicals especially, is where the writing should shine and communicate the majority of emotion. The reason this movie doesn't succeed in this drastically important task could be for multiple reasons. One could be that the hiring of pop writers, who generally wouldn't feel the need to worry so much about making the lyrics carry any weight just so long as they are catchy songs. This led to less musical genre songs and more pop songs. Or… they used AI, which I feel is the more likely answer. I refuse to believe any human being would write the words "watch out world, here I are"(I'm A Star) and think it's good and acceptable under any circumstance, even when writing a pop song. Additionally, many of the scenes you'd expect to have any impact or relevance simply have no effect. For example, Asha at one point, fairly early on, wishes upon a star and the star comes to help her on her quest, but the star and whole idea of wishing on stars are practically irrelevant.

In terms of characterization, there isn't much to say due to the lack of establishing personalities and character arcs in general. Asha has little exposition, which isn't necessarily strange, it's actually fairly common in Disney Princess movies, but the lack of exposition coupled with the lack of believable motivation and growth results in a main character that is flat and a pure archetype with nothing unique. Every character in the movie lacks depth, development, and in most cases, personality. This makes it almost impossible for the audience to care about the conflict, the motive, and everything in between. This lack of development also makes it difficult for the audience to connect with anything or anyone within this story.

The Disney animation style is well-defined and well liked, however this movie's animation is just strange and feels un-mouse like. The animation ended up looking unfinished due to a lack of rendering and lighting. They tried to combine 3D and 2D animation which doesn't translate. As well as meshing the modern style with their classic animation style, despite the fact that these styles don't mesh the way they were trying to execute them.

The casting was really good. Which makes the mistakes, and questionable decisions, especially those in the writing, even more bitter because you know the cast is capable of delivering an amazing performance.

Many of the color palettes and choices were just simply unusual. The expected palette for example, is having Villains be associated with greens, purples, and blacks. This expectation was not only popularized but frequently attributed and associated with the company. And yet, they choose to disregard the precedent and history that they themselves fostered to put this movie's villain in white and gold, with the only sight of green being when ANY character does magic, while purple is Asha, the protagonist's, primary color. The color palettes may not bother everyone, but they are one example of where the choices made for this movie are weird and unexpected in negative ways.

The "message" that you have all the power to do anything you want, with no message of having hope, doing the right thing, or trusting someone/something to help you is done extremely poorly. Such a large company with such a successful history failing to even deliver this simplistic moral even a little is honestly sad. The plot of the movie makes little to no sense. There is almost no motivation for the audience to care about any of the characters, except possibly Asha, the main character. Many of the events throughout the movie feel disconnected and aimless. The entire movie feels like a series of "references" to other Disney movies, so blatant they should be called "callouts" instead, with few events pretending to be a plot between them.

In conclusion, this movie vastly under performs and fails to meet any of the standards expected of it. The only highlight i can think of would be Alan Tudyk's performance as the comedic relief goat. But even this character faces the same problems as the rest.

[augment-techs]

If there was a card season for PR not Megaflop

Like say something like fantasy or yugioh then what would your ideal team be? Could have any character from the series.

Unfortunately for anyone reading this, I don't care about the actual card part of YGO, but I can think of fantasy oriented card sets with a collective of Rangers that would work rather well with them. The first thought is Tarot, the other is the Cardcaptor series. One works for slightly darker genre, one works for much lighter. As this is PR, a mesh would work well. To keep things organized, I would probably use the Major Arcana for the three primary Color Rangers, and the Minor Arcana for the Alt Colors, the aids, and the two necessary background characters. They can alternate as needed, but some of the cards can usually be found with one person. To appease myself, I would probably take up a sort of interdimensional/time stream scenario not terribly different from Shattered Grid or Forever Red. Bound together by necessity and to get the hell back to their own places. Red: Grace Sterling. I'm not going to sort out all the cards the top three Colors get, but I will explain my choices. Grace has PTSD from her first and only mission because of Zordon and Psycho Green and had been trying to relive the feeling of being a Red her entire adult life. She needs this, and I am going to give it to her.

Blue: Tori Hanson. No lying, I was VERY tempted to give this position to Ollie Akana...buuuuuut he wouldn't work well with people he doesn't know, and Tori is very flexible (as seen in her Good Villain/Evil Ranger misadventure). Also it's funny how short she is compared to Grace and Terona. Plus the age disparity.

Yellow: Terona Washington. This man deserves nice things, and one of them involves getting to be a Ranger when he doesn't have to go back to war and when he has people around that he knows and trusts. Plus, plus, also, AND--people seem to forget that he and Grace are leaders in their own rights. He needs and deserves this.

Pink: Kapri. SHE IS KICKASS AND POWERFUL; it is a CRIME that we never got her or her sister in a battle that meant something (Tori's visit to the land of Oz doesn't count). So she gets the Four of Wands and the Chariot.

Black: Leelee Pimvare. I don't need a reason to make her Black. If she's not Purple, she's Black and she EARNED THIS. She also earned the High Priestess and three of the Wands at any given time.

Green: Matt Cook. I am so sick and tired of Tommy in this spotlight, and while I love a lot of the Greens, this guy needs a fucking break. Which is also why I'm giving him Temperance and the Hanged Man to keep.

White: Udonna. Queen of White Rangers and wonderful in her own right even without Powers; she gets the seat here because it's so very important to keep her. She has most of the Cup cards, as well as the Empress.

Gold: Eric Myers; making him a Gold because it would be SO FUCKING FUNNY. Finally, he gets to a Color before Wes did--and he can't rub his face in it. How sad. Though it helps that he gets all of the Knights in the Minor Arcana.

Purple: Bulk. I don't care what age or timeline he's from, but Coinless or Lost Galaxy age seems vaguely appropriate. He has the Pages of Cups, Coins, and Wands; and the Magician.

Orange: Skull. Like Bulk, I don't care what age he is, though his Coinless counterpart would be IDEAL in this situation. Mostly because I am giving him ALL of the Sword cards, except for the Knight--which was exchanged for The Devil.

Aid/Tech Support: Billy Cranston. Can take the Blue Power Coin when he needs it, but he mostly gets used for his tech savvy. He gets the Hermit, the Kings of Wands and Cups, and the Moon.

Necessary background 1: Fran. She gets the Tower, the Star, and all of the Aces in the Minor Arcana (except Sword). She makes sure everyone is fed and watered and stitched up as needed.

Necessary background 2: Betty. Oddly, she helps out Billy when he's stuck as she has a POV and experience where he doesn't. Except for the Sword, she gets three Queens in the Minor Arcana, and the Wheel of Fortune. She also helps clean up when everyone is too exhausted, but she's not a pushover.

[ahb-writes]

Comics Review: ‘Batgirls’ #1

Batgirls Vol. 1 by Becky Cloonan My rating: 3 of 5 stars Gotham is on fire. Again. (Still?) And fortunately or unfortunately, by this juncture, fewer and fewer people truly care whether anyone is around to douse the flames. Which could be a good thing for Team Batgirl, whose combined ranks of Gordon, Cain, and Brown might slip among the shadows a little bit easier. But nothing really goes as one hopes when crimefighting in a city on fire. In BATGIRLS v1, readers breeze into the chaos midstream: Team Batgirl fights off a street artist with a knack for mind control, encounters a trio of well-equipped militant extremists, defends against a prodigy hacker, and as often happens when dealing with teenage superheroes, the team, from time to time, must also combat its own stupidity. BATGIRLS v1 successfully executes what many recent iterations of Batgirl have done: blend new stories of familiar heroics for new readers. Barbara Gordon is the big sister with a mind for strategy and gadgetry. Cassandra Cain is a strong, silent, and efficient partner looking for comfort among close friends. And Stephanie Brown, who is especially chatty, hates villainy with a casual efficiency that would be terrifying if she weren't so exceedingly upbeat. Few comics fans who thrive on more parochial ("classic") narrative tales of any of these characters will fall in love with this new comic. But that's okay. For what BATGIRLS v1 hopes to achieve, the character relationships and plotting mostly hit the target. The book struggles to balance its quest to entertain as well as the necessity of narrative focus. Does the team settle on relocating its hideout after a bomb threat, does it pound the pavement in search of an upstart mind-control freak, does it crack down on a hyped-up group of well-armed militants, or does it track down a hacker who has infiltrated Oracle's network? Lots of entertaining stuff. But ultimately very poor focus. Some of these stories are relegated to C-level priority, despite being introduced as a big deal. For others, the reverse feels truer than not. For example, The Saints, sharp assassins bearing some sweet gear, enter the story early only to falter and feather into the background. Team Batgirl gets its butt kicked the first time around, but in the end, the headhunters are a piece of cake. Is this another casualty of Big Two comics promising more than it can deliver? Regardless, it's kind of a letdown. BATGIRLS v1 leans heavily on the antics and dynamics of its co-protagonists. Cass is generally mum, but she doesn't hesitate to voice her opinion when her emotions rise to the fore. Steph is written precisely like a modern teenager, which is to say, she somehow balances being incredibly productive while also being dreadfully annoying. The two girls would make for the center-point of a killer series, when they're older, about Batgirl Roommates. But for now, side stories and commentary involving oddball pajamas, burned pancakes, and pierced ears will have to do. Visually, the comic employs an effective art style that works well with these iterations of Cain and Gordon but doesn't always mesh with Brown's ebullience. The book's sharp, angular, fed-from-the-shadows visual design is inherently cryptic, and more than suitable to the storytelling atmospherics of a city lulled to sleep while still on fire. The art in this book really stands out, from the geometric silhouette of Cain's cape to the incredible color-mix of psychosis and psychedelia readers engage, once fear gas is introduced into the story. Perhaps if the book reduced its villain count and narrowed its narrative trajectory, then the art team's work would've been even more effective. BATGIRLS v1 thrives, but ebbs and flows considerably in the process. The character voices are distinct and the art delivers on all accounts. But the story problematically overloads when it should instead pick and choose its challenges.

Comics Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads

[mysteriawrites]

Hello! I'd like to ask for a bnha match up :)

Zodiac sun: Aries

Zodiac moon: Cancer

Zodiac rising: Sagittarius

Favorite color(s): pink, black

Favorite artist(s): Lumi athena, Melanie martinez, lil peep and lovejoy

Favorite movie(s): Scream, titanic, corpse bride

Hobbies: reading, writing, gaming, cooking

I'm 5'4 and kinda chubby

I have black hair with red chunky highlights that's down to my mid back with bangs

I dress in a 2000s fashion but more on the alternative side

I'm socially akward but really fun once you get to know me

I'm more on the quiet side and don't really speak unless spoken to but have alot to say when I do get the chance to talk

I prefer someone who enjoys staying home rather then going out, I'd also prefer someone with similar interests.

When looking for a lover, I tend to want someone who can make me laugh, I don't care for looks I just want someone who'll treat me right. I'd love my partner to be very loving and vocal about how they love me!

Thank youu<3

Hello hello thank you for the matchup I hope you don’t mind but imma make this my first female matchup because you didn’t list whether you wanted male or female and I thought this person was a good match for you, but if you would prefer a male one just lemme know and I’ll make you another one. With that out if the way let’s get to the matchup…drumroll please!!!

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

ASHIDO MINA!!!

No other reason for this pairing other than yall would be cute and mesh well.

You and Ashido met as soon as you stepped in the door of the UA classroom on day one. It's no secret that Ashido is a social butterfly, she makes friends with whatever person she meets even bullies. The minute you walked in she was already introducing herself and asking you questions. She saw when you came in how you were shy and awkward, so she wanted to make you feel more comfortable.

After that you had basically been adopted into her newly made friend group. She knows you prefer to be on you own though so she lets you have your space when necessary, but sometimes she will bring you out with a few of the others (not too many as not to overwhelm you). She also speaks up for you so you can say what you need to say and feel heard, plus usually you be spitting facts anyway.

You two hang out one on one as well because you have similar interests. As pink, energetic, and peppy as she is she loves horror movies, video games, and Melanie Martinez (personal headcanon). When everyone moved into the dorms, and everyone comes out for movie nights they dread when it's you guy's turn to pick the movie because they'll be screaming their heads off as you two just gush about the film.

Ashido also likes to take you out clothes shopping. Whether with the others or just the two of you (preferably just the two of you) she likes to take you to find clothes that you like that best suit your figure, make you feel confident, and make your inner beauty shine (all my knowledge of fashion is from barbie movies I'm sorry).

You and Ashido actually started dating pretty early on (aka Mina doesn't get enough screen time during big battles for me to fit this in) during your time at the training camp when the villains attacked, she was so worried about what happened to you. She fought villains as fast as she could so she could find you and make sure you were ok. Once it was all over, she ran up to you and hugged you so tight you thought she'd be the one to kill you instead of the villains. When she pulled away you saw her crying her eyes out and she told you how worried she was of losing you. After everyone was taken back home, she confessed how she loved you and how she always wanted to be by your side to protect you.

After things calmed down you two officially started going out. Nothing much changed after that except you two became way more affectionate. Ashido had a lot of cute nicknames for you, teasing you and seeing you get flustered, and loved showing off and making you laugh. You love to run your fingers through her fluffy hair and rub her horns to make her blush for once and compliment her on her fighting technique. There are a lot of stories of people loving their lover "despite their shape", but Ashido loves your body so much the way it is. So cuddly and soft like a human body pillow.

Dates between you two go from having horror movie nights with the class to having horror movie nights cuddled up in one of your dorms together, and if you're at one of each other's homes then expect cooking dates filled with food fights, laughter, and ordering pizza in the end.

You and Ashido are the introvert and extrovert couple. You two practically speak a different language and always know what the other needs. You have plenty of passions to share and love to give. You'll also do whatever it takes to reach your dreams together and protect one another no matter what despite being confident the other can more than protect themselves.

Alrighty another matchup down. Sorry it took so long and is short, but I'm pretty proud of this one so I hope you like it.

Runner Up: No one rn

[twistedtummies2]

Howdy!  I was wondering if you could give me advice. I want to create twisted wonderland characters out of some obscure Disney movie villains, such as Alameda Slim(Home on the Range), Professor Ratigan(the great mouse, Detective), and Mr. Sikes and his two dogs(Oliver and Company), etc, and I was just wondering if you had any ideas. They can be from character design to personality to even which dorm they would fit in. Anything would be helpful. 

Well, I don't want to get too involved HERE with helping you in terms of personality/designs, for two reasons. One, those are elements that are probably best discussed in private, and they're also things you should probably work out on your own terms. Two, some of these characters I actually want to make OCs of myself, or already technically have done so. XD However, I can give you a few basic pointers on when you're crafting your TW characters. First of all, you'll need to find a balance between good and bad: while all of NRC's students are based on villains, the entire point of the game is that these "villains" aren't monsters. Unlike their source materials, who are more or less purely evil creatures of darkness, the students of NRC all have their dark sides (except maybe Kalim and Silver), but they also all have their nice or sympathetic qualities. Finding what gives them their good side without making them TOO good is going to be a challenge. Second of all, try to play by the rules of the game. By which I mean, your characters should feel they mesh more or less with the rest of the main characters. Making them too old, or the wrong gender, or connecting them too closely to established Disney figures can all upset the balance, because it brings too much of the universe itself into question or goes against information we already have established in the canon of the game. The only way they can properly fit then is with a complete AU setting. Third of all, as far as the designs go, pick and choose what you think are the most important accessories or color choices for those characters, and try to build around them in some fashion. Sometimes it's going to be difficult, but it's necessary, because you want the villain the character is based upon to be at least semi-recognizable in your own OC. I hope all that makes sense, and I also hope that I've helped a bit. ONE LAST THING THAT I WILL DO FOR YOU: I can definitely tell you which dorms I would personally place those characters in, if I were to create OCs for them that were students. Alameda Slim = Savanaclaw; while the Savannah is different from the Wild West, I think the motifs used in the uniforms and overall look of the place would mesh the most easily with Slim's sense of style. On top of that, with Slim's background and setup in the film, the idea of him in a dorm made up seemingly entirely of beastmen opens the doors to possible story concepts. ;) Professor Ratigan = either Ignihyde or Diasomnia; both feel like they'd fit Ratigan's sense of style and intellectual capacities the best. Not much else to it. Sykes & His Dogs = Octavinelle; this may seem an odd choice, but they are mafia-based characters, and Octavinelle is a mafia-styled dorm, so where ELSE would they fit better? XD That's one thing I do want to add: when picking the dorms for my characters, I focus less on what the dorms represent, and more on the style of the dorm itself. What aesthetic or story-based elements fit best where? Keep that in mind when creating new...well...creations. LOL

[illegiblewords]

Decided to redo glamour progression for Maerec, my dark knight WoL! Edited/updated several of the designs. Explanations under the cut.

Focus isn’t on what is level/gear acquisition-accurate so much as what is tonally accurate. Going left to right, top to bottom. Sprout: Wanted to go with a simple, monochrome, Ishgardian-feeling look since my guy’s from there. Checked what armors are common in in the region as inspiration. Made a big point to give him a simpler sword here since story-wise Maerec’s supposed to start off as a run-of-the-mill mercenary. Wanted to hint at later style a bit but not to feel terribly noteworthy or impressive. This is his baby adventurer gear, I figure if he was thrown in with a group of newbies he shouldn’t feel super out of place. Paid attention to what early gear looks like in the game too and tried to weave that in. Worth noting, he has no helm/no horns. I find the angel/demon angle for Ascians versus mortals really interesting and decided to play into that with Maerec across his designs. End-A Realm Reborn: This is the one time I allowed myself to re-use a headpiece lol. Technically speaking I maybe should have used the Fray-helm with the Admantite Barbut of Fending since it would have been a fun lore bit and start the progression from no-horns/no headpiece into having something. Ultimately though, I just like the way the helm looks with that glamour too much not to use it and I think it has the exact tone I want generally speaking. Used a slim but more ornate sword than the first one, switched gloves and boots to be more visually cohesive in terms of patterns and metal. This was an easy choice as well because at this stage, even if overall costume design is getting a bit more elaborate for NPCs it’s still kind of blocky and simple overall. Beginning-Heavensward: I split Heavensward designs because to me, it felt necessary to transition toward more complex visuals. For the initial look, I went with a dual-finned Deepshadow helm as a quiet evocation of dragons and chose the top both because it’s not over-complicated and has some fur to offer a sense of being at least a little warmer. I figure since again, my guy is Ishgardian and this would be a time he’s actually going to the main city-state it fits for him to have more visual references to the Dragonsong War here. Silhouette is still generally consistent though. This was also the point I felt comfortable bringing in a big-ass sword. Went with Shadowbringer because it meshes with the metalwork.

End-Heavensward: Went much more complex for this point, and I get a lot of fun from being visually similar-but-not-identical to Dragoons. Mostly the same here but I used the PVP blade because I worked hard to get it, it goes, and I love it. I also think giving a bestial look here is fun given what’s ahead in Stormblood with Zenos. Stormblood: THIS WORKED OUT ASTOUNDINGLY WELL FOR HOW MUCH DIFFICULTY I HAD WITH IT. I have a bunch of Stormblood-inspired tank glamours overall, but the main look that would reflect Maerec specifically at that stage (in Othard or in Gyr Abania) took a fair amount of thought. I’d decided I did want to shift the open-faced glamour into Shadowbringers instead, and set my heart on the Diabolic Helm of Fending to shape the rest of this look around. That it meshed in spikes and color scheme/metallic accents with the Asuran Hara-ate of Fending was incredibly exciting! Also worth mentioning here, while Maerec’s overall color is black, the main accent color I want in-place for him is red for the full goth-y effect lol. It started creeping in for Heavensward but this is the stage when it really starts to show. Sword is still big but a little less bulky here compared to Heavensward too.

Shadowbringers: Face revealed here with horns, I feel like there’s fun to be had with the dark hero/villain duality and for adventures on the First decided to maintain the dark aesthetic but in a more open way to easier communicate heroic connotations visually. Red accents firmly established here with a look like embers. This point begins a visual callback to the long train in the ARR design.

Endwalker: Deathbringer is basically my favorite dark knight weapon for having the Azem symbol, but I decided to save it for this point since here is where we really know our role as the Shepherd of Stars/Sun/Traveler. This look continues the call-back to the ARR design started in ShB with the train, but now includes the helm too. The red accents are also much brighter at this stage, and the overall look has become much more ornate.

Azem: I finally decided what Maerec’s Azem would have looked like. Maerec is intended to feel a step off of Meteor, so I wanted to draw from something else in-game for his Azem. I have affection for the idea of Azeyma drawing influence from both Venat and our Azem, and I’ve been doing a lot with red in Maerec’s color scheme. So I decided to weave that in with his hair and eyes. Figure the beard was still there, but he once had luxurious flowing locks and more golden undertones to his skin. Facial structure is consistent.

[espion7971]

havent kept up with new warriors books for like years so idk why i suddenly care but after hearing the blurb and watching akira's video on the new warriors arc (changing skies) i have a few thoughts

-please please please make moonpaw either a) just a warrior who happens to have visions or b) an antagonistic medicine cat. give me some actual drama. hell, make her a villain if you want. not evil because of the voice in her head, just kind of an asshole who does bad things. we really need a character like that. we cannot have another carbon copy of every other med cat pov or i will explode.

-also pls make her not gray. i dont care what other color. personally im a fan of black and white moonpaw, or a dilute tortie or something. just not gray.

-im super torn on the idea of a focus on the elders. for one, yes, its awesome to think we might have older pov cats, who have some level of wisdom and experience and might break the usual 'coming of age' mold. its also nice to think they wont be romance focused. but it also just feels like an excuse to reuse cats that people recognize, so they dont need to put effort into actually fleshing out the new generations. the erins are in denial about losing their old well-known characters and being forced to reinvent the cast. they arent really equipped for it and i think thats where this is coming from.

-leafstar going blind could be really interesting. i hope it brings other cats' blindness back into focus (jayfeather, and brightheart's missing eye, longtail when he was alive). we've never really explored cats going blind or deaf as they get older, especially with cats in power. personally i think a blind leader could be awesome, but i'm betting they're just gonna retire her. too bad.

-im so sick of this whole 'oh no our connection to starclan!!!!' bullshit. i hope this time they arent able to fix it. i hope starclan is gone forever. maybe an arc focused on a societal reconstruction after the center of their cultish beliefs gets ripped away. thats never gonna happen obviously, but it would be really cool.

-in general this kind of feels like a mesh of all the other arcs. focus on adult cats (dotc), tawnypelt and crowfeather coming back and, if akira is right, moving territory again (tnp), skyclan problems (avos), moonpool threatened and evil spirit communication (tbc). i hope they do a few unique things because my hopes arent too high for this if it really is just a mash-up. it feels to me like theyre running out of ideas.

[d-field22-blog]

Story link: https://www.deviantart.com/d-field22/art/Batman-Oc-Villain-16-Red-Riding-Hood-Digital-867360346

Bio: Real name: Rufina R. Dooh Occupation: Murderer, Professional criminal Base of Operation: Gotham City Eyes: Green Hair: Black, (ends dyed Red) Height: 5ft 7 in Weight: 130lbs

Attributes: Obsessed with old fairytales, particularly Little Red Riding Hood Suicidal Uses hand crafted baskets as not just her means of fitting her gimmick of filling it with dead body parts, but also as her calling card. With a quote of a famous fairytale written on a white card tied to the handles. Uses an exaggerated personality of an innocent girl. Surprisingly good in hand to hand combat. Mainly sticks to knives, or her cleaved she hides in her cloak Mainly sticks to old people as her victims. But is known to kill much younger folk that cross her, or whom she feels like killing.

Dream voice actress: Chloë Grace Moretz. You could say I have sort of a crush on Chloe, I can say that instead of some old perverts on Facebook or Twitter because she and I are a lot closer in age. But aside from that, she has grown to be a very competent actress, whether it be kickass heroes, smart allices, or even tortured souls, she for the most parts gives it her all in acting. I can't seem to recall seeing a "bad" performance from her. Though I think her choices need to be a bit better for some movies, Chloë Grace Moretz has the perfect voice for Rufina. I also tried to model Rufina's face after Chloe, but I'm not that very good at drawing real people. But I did my best, and I think I did it well enough.

Featured song: Little Red Riding Hood by Amanda Seyfried.

Notes.

Red Riding Hood was a rogue that desperately needed a redesign, and I was so looking forward to the day that she would get one. And dare I say, this one blows the original out of the water.

I decided to draw the basket in the crutch of her arm and placed her trademark killing weapon in where the basket use to be, along with an additional butcher knife, 3.Some of the colors of her outfit were changed and now she pops at you much more, because I didn't think to do the inside of her cloak in a different shade of red.

How could I not incorporate the Mad Hatter into her origin? It would have been a missed opportunity if I didn't have them meet/ work together in any point in time.

Now as I have said in my Joker page, I am not a big fan of the film, However I do like elements/ characters from it. I like Murray, I like Gary, and Randall(to a point) so I decided to incorporate the former 2 into Red's origin. For the Batman universe that I am creating is taking bits and pieces from all across Batman history, official, spin-off, or fan created, and finding a way to mesh the elements without going completely nuts.

I am a big Stephen King fan and one year on Christmas I asked for Carrie. I read half of the book in one day and I had to stop myself from reading it to have Christmas. Carrie in the book and the films was a huge inspiration for Rufina right up to the actress and even the main tormentor of Rufina, who shares the name of 2 other characters from the book.

[spidey-bie]

Hey, hey! We should talk about how beautiful the diversity is in this fandom. I wanna talk about how cool it is that everyone you meet is different then you and how much fun that is to learn about. Moxie is holding onto the serotonin and dopamine and they want to talk about beautiful people are. I am merely the hostage with fingers to type. It's really fucking cool that one piece of media could bring so many different communities together simply to make creative shit. It's really cool. I like it alot. That is all.

-In Moxie's college, due to the fact that in mainstream media there isn't alotta talk about how to draw someone who isn't white, there has been a long running project over the course of 30+ years where every art model who comes in gets a paint swatch of their skin match. Once someone gets it, they paint a full card, have it dry, and then put instructions on the back of how to replicate or make the paint match the shade. There is some who have been put on a block of wood, and then hand-carved out the instructions so someone who is hard of seeing can feel the indents. You ask, why would someone be painting if they can't see the canvas? I tell you that painting is for everyone including people you wouldn't expect to be able to. Everyone should paint, no matter what. There's a wall of little plastic clear sleeves that covers every corner of wall in both the outer hallway and their main campus ready drawing room. It's actually really pretty and arranged via skin-color, so it's like a light to dark rainbow. Really fucking cool, this is my favorite thing about their world and it's been the first thing I made when I rewrote it.

because comic Hobie is more street smart then Moxie is, when moxie gets confused they look at him for social cues to follow. This has both helped, and have given their personal dynamic an interesting mesh of follow and lead. Moxie knows alot about how to play the game of capitalism and elitist because of the place they were born in, but Hobie knows how to actually get to know people and Moxie didn't get that luxury until they move out. You did read that right, Moxie has a brand of spider-man Loser Dorkness. They're also a slow thinker, so Hobie is also talking for them sometimes.

-Moxie does have a relationship with Movie! Hobie, but it leaves moxie very confused. Moxie is very untrusting of him, and they won't admit it but most of it is irrational. They don't actually judge him that hard for being in the spider society considering where he came from (they can look into dimensions from the infinite, they know about the racial segregation and how bad things are over there too) and how well adjusted he is. Things like spider-society prey specifically onto young people who are mentally Ill and Moxie isn't ignorant to that. They are actually mad because they're afraid that if they let Movie! Hobie too close, It'll hurt like it did when Comic! Hobie left them to go back to his chosen family. Remember, Moxie is the selfish one in their world. All of their villains are people who end up in bad places for selfless reasons. Admitting that, means that Movie! Hobie would have a sense of power over them and they can't stand that. So, They lie and say it's the fascism. They just can't stand the fact that he looks like comic!Hobie means he inherently has emotional sway. I did write Moxie with flaws, thanks for noticing.

Movie! Hobie looks at this dumbass kid who's saying all the right things to him, who so clearly wants to help people and knows exactly how wrong the spider-society is for the mere fact that they're caging people and the flaws in their ideology but they're confused on who the enemy actually is. Moxie is an anomaly. No spider-person is just supposed to fucking inter-dimensionally teleport with their fucking DNA. He could rat them out to Miguel at any time and have an all out war happen between the two forces because Moxie doesn't want to be separated from Roses (Comic! Hobie's nickname) and Miguel who's got his head up his ass. He, Instead, Looks out for them from a distance. It's a dumbass kid with a target on their back who just wants to care for some twit. How could he put them in a cage? He ain't got the heart for that shit. They're cool in his book, He'll admit they've got a good couple licks at him too when they puff out their chest and get in his face. They're a good kid, solid shit. Too bad Moxie isn't sticking around to have a relationship, though.

Moxie is, as the field notes I sent ya first if you remember, are first generation French and Indigenous! They, however, have never been to France or can even speak the language despite their very recognizable natural accent. They also weren't raised by their custody holders, so they don't know shit about their tribe despite the fact that the paperwork says they belong there. So, they lie and say they're white because the fact that they're pale as fuck gives them that luxury. They do have some Indigenous beliefs that were told to be passed on to them from their hired caretakers. Moxie religiously takes care of their hair (though they don't know what a curl pattern is until Hobie comes along. That's racism and another story. It's incredibly uncommon for knowledge for like, coil hair to go through white environments. Guess where Moxie lived growing up.) They have "cotton candy" hair until after Hobie leaves. Read: Heat damaged, burnt, dehydrated under conditioned overly washed frizz ball of unhealthy proportions. It looks like "cotton candy" because it's so whispy and unable to form a full curl that it instead puffs out despite the fact it shouldn't. Another character flaw, they have healthy shit before the story ends. They also like reading and researching alot of native stories. Storytelling is a better form of learning, in their most egotistical of opinions.

Because Moxie is able to change pigments, it sorta just happens without them thinking sometimes. Moxie could be looking at their jumping spider and then suddenly their skin and hair is jet black with big yellow pupils and retinas, or they'll stare at Hobie for too long and accidentally confuse someone who just walked in into thinking they've got natural melanin, black hair and brown eyes. It's not intentional, they swear. It happens with frogs too. If you touch them while they're lost in thought their skin will ripple with color like the effect of water, but they'll look like a lava lamp as those lines flow across them. They're a fun little cartoon person.

-Because Moxie's art style is an oil painting, they sometimes get mistaken as a work of art when they're sitting very still. This is flattery to them.

-Moxie has a rule against painting people or landmarks because it's more challenging to paint into tangible into a concept. They've recently started breaking this rule in the mental place with Hobie. I cannot describe to you the volume of fucking paintings of this one motherfucker in their room, in their bed. Ya'll are fucking disgusting (lovingly)

-Moxie doesn't wear…. clothes. Like, they wear fabric, but you'll more likely find them, when they can actually wear what they want, wrapped up in folded fabrics instead of a shirt. They wear skirts, but it's not so much as a skirt but a blanket tied around their waist with their thigh sticking out. Once they get top surgery, they walk around topless alot because there's no point in hiding a lack of titty. (There is many reasons, they just don't see bodys as the issue.)

-Moxie is a relationship Anarchist, they have no social cues, and they kiss everyone on the lips. What scenario would they not? Boundaries. These two motherfuckers talk about consent like it's the coming of jesus in american politics. It's a good thing, honestly really good. Unfortunately for your time, they also need a full indepth conversation before everytime they do something with you. "Are you certain you are com-" "Moxie, I swear to god you can just hold my fucking hand. We're cool."

-Moxie is slowly getting a face, I made a personality and a world and a background, and now they're getting a face. In previous writing, I gave them blue eyes like movie gwen, they're now light green and their eyeshape is round and downturned. Heavily freckled on the cheeks, Emotes less with the mouth and mostly with the eyes and brows. Sometimes Roses is a better social cue follower then Moxie's expressions are in conversation.

-Moxie will literally forget other people are in the room completely if they're more interested in Hobie at the moment. Hobie came back from a patrol with a bruise or a scratch? Are you okay? Shall I help you? "Hey mox, are you don-" "Shall I get the medkit for you Hobie? Run a hot bath for you to relax?" "And these fuckers say they're platonic. I've never ran up to a homie and asked them to get naked before." "That's because you're bitch-less and rizz-less, Ms. Marvel." (Moxie speaking) "Hey, fucking friendly fire you lava lamp!"

Part 2 soon

I eas just thinking about that with some friends in Discord. We all have Spidersonas and with each Sona you can see a variety of different cultures and ethnicities and backgrounds. Just the asks I've gotten of others Sonas shows how important representation is and I'm happy ATSV paved the way for that.

OMG the paint shade reminded me of a project I did in college where we had to color match with an object in the room and we had to hide the swatch in plain sight for others to find. Unrelated but it just came to mind 😂

I love the imagery of just somebody grabbing some wood from like the woodwork class and everybody is just used to them coming in to carve out the instructions. Like, "Oh Javier yeah they don't take this course. They just like to carve." And you turn and see a slab of instructions all perfectly chiseled out and sanded.

Socially awkward sonas my beloved 😔. If your spidersona isn't a loser dork in some way then what's the point?

PFFFFFT Moxie like I don't trust him and Hobie's like I must protect this kid with my life is so real and funny. (Also Roses 🥺. How'd he get that nickname actually?)

Custody holders 💀 Not even life giver, sperm provider, incubator, nope just straight custody holders 💀💀💀💀

KICKING AND SCREAMING AT LOSS OF CULTURAL ROOTS. Does this have any impact on them mentally? Like do they feel at loss because of the culture they'll never come to know? Do they feel empty?

I remember you reblogging that one post of the woman with the fabrics and explaining how that's basically what Moxie does and I can better picture it now. If I can find it I might link it later.

Moxie going off on Ms. Marvel is hilarious. YOU TELL EM ANYTHING CAN BE PLATONIC IF WE WANT IT TO BE.

[dausy]

My review of Disneys Wish which isn't at all organized or even well thought out. I'm just spamming text at the screen and hope it makes sense. Spoilers

I went into Wish with super high hopes because the internet was already tearing it to pieces based on the character models alone. I had high hopes that just meant people were missing an artistic style choice that the trailer didn't show. I also had hoped it would be a classic Disney Princess fairy tale. I really just wanted that, the classic disney princess. I have not been a fan of the animated films that are more artsy or explorative on different types of villains that aren't just a traditional badguy. We've had a lot of puberty/growing up as the villain or generational trauma as the villain. Theres nothing wrong with those, I sometimes just want a film thats prince/princess + badguy. Heroes journey.

The last Disney movie (and I'm lumping both Disney and Pixar together) that gave me real feels was Tangled. Do I think Tangled was absolutely perfect? well no, but I was willing to ignore the magical true-loves-tear because I just loved the goofy nature of Rapunzel and Eugene together. It was perfect because its a timeless movie. It will age well.

So Wish unfortunately was a huge disappointment. It didn't so much as follow a classic fairytale recipe as obviously it was a nod to classic Disney films. I appreciated that. I didn't realize how many easter eggs were hidden within it until the movie was done actually and I saw somebody elses review. To a point this actually made me more upset.

I went in focusing on the animation primarily because everybody said it looked like something off of Disney Junior. I actually liked how they pulled the 2d/stylization off of classic films like Sleeping Beauty. People said it made it look dull and the color choices were ugly. I don't think so. I love the Sleeping Beauty style. I thought it looked very nice. The problem is that the characters didn't blend in. It was like Disney was trying to make the characters also 2d but also 3d at the same time and they didn't match. I actually thought the characters looked like they were floating around on a greenscreen rather than physically present within the environment. I understand what they were trying to do, I just think it didn't quite work and it added to the illusion that it was a low-res Disney Junior tv show instead.

I also really liked Asha and Magnificos characters designs. I even liked how the Queen matched the King. At the beginning too I thought the Queen and King had a decent healthy sounding relationship which was nice.

What I didn't like was all the rest of the characters were useless including the goat. I understand peoples complaints about Ashas personality being a quirky girl or being a combination of all the disney princesses combined and I dont think she stayed that way for long. She was a bit goofy at the beginning of the film but then wasnt. The "seven friends"..I was going to go on a long rant but now I don't feel like it anymore. Now that the movies done I understand they were supposed to represent the 7 dwarves but they were supid. None of them had a personality. None of them had enough screen time to even obtain a personality. I never would have known they were the seven dwarves until I saw somebody elses review, with the exception of the one guy "thats why they call me grumpy". That one made me do a double take, like I guess he's got a similar color scheme. They should have just been nixed. All of them were useless. The scene where they used teamwork to pull on the ropes to release the dreams. You could have given more screen time to the goat and just had him do it by himself. The movie was too crowded. The song of friendship at the end...don't even get me started. It was so stupid.

That poor goat. They were trying to use him as another animal companion silly pal but even he didn't have that much screen time to even justify his silly voice. His one liners also didn't mesh with the tone of the film. He was pushed to the side but all these other useless characters.

My biggest beef was, I didn't think the king was that bad enough of a villain to be a villain and I think he actually had a point to an extent. The monkeys paw affect. The king literally has a utopia going where everybody lives a nice life, he just offers every once in a while to grant your wish. If its too vague or dangerous he wont do it. The catch is you forget what your wish was and you carry on with your life. Asha is mad nobody gets their wishes back. In particular she's mad her 100 year old grandfather whos wish was "to inspire the young people", his wish was too vague so it couldnt be granted. So she decides to break in and release everybodies wishes and give them back. My qualm is I guess is that theres a song about "be your own star" you don't need anybody else. And technically grandpas wish came true anyway. He did technically inspire the youth, infact they formed a rebellion and overthrew the country. So if you can still accomplish your dreams, why are you overthrowing the country? It infact was actually a dangerous vague wish because the country was overthrown and yall are all happy about this. I mean I do get it but it just didn't feel like it was enough to form a movie about it. It wasn't enough to tip the villain over the edge to be the villain.

My one question is, how old is King Magnifico? if him and his wife created the country and they do a wish ceremony when kids turn 18..are they immortal? has grandpa been waiting for his wish since he was 18? or is the country like 10 years old? What I would have done (even though I'm not a story writer at all), what if Magnifico had been eating the wishes to keep himself young forever (I guess kinda like mother gothel) cause then I'd be a little mad if he wasn't giving wishes back. I think that'd be a little more understandable.

and then quickly, I cant remember any of the songs. The songs I do vaguely remember did have a very similar Encanto/hamilton vibe to them. Particularly the intro Welcome to Rosas song...I understand it was a different writer for this film but Im just not a fan of that style of music. Just the fact that I can't remember any of the tunes anyway...its just kinda..meh...

anyway, I could rant more but this is already too long and it may be full of mispellings but Im not going back to read what I just wrote. Ha.

[xgiannax]

Just something for Dabi bc he really is my most favorite😖🤞🏾(readers quirk is black ice, it’s stronger and colder than regular ice. Also darker in color)

🦋Made For You🦋

“They nearly took us out!” Toga groaned, flopping on the grass and wincing when she made impact. The league had just finished invading the hideout of another group of villains, Shiggy said they were getting out of hand so he sent you, Dabi, Toga, and Twice thinking you guys could handle them. The four of you got rid of the problem, but not as ceremoniously as you would’ve liked. He didn’t tell you guys that you’d be severely outnumbered, he probably figured you wouldn’t have accepted if he mentioned that. He was right. Toga and Twice groaned dramatically, rolling across the grass in our camp and fussing over their scratches and bruises.

“Will you guys shut up?” Dabi grumbled sticking a cigarette in his mouth, seemingly in a sour mood since the mission. You raised an eyebrow at him but he just looked at you from the corner of his eye, waiting for you to tell him off.

“Dabi, we got our asses kicked! We as in you too, so don’t be a dick” Toga sassed back, making a point of turning away from him and crossing her arms. Twice squinted at Dabi

“Look, now you’ve gone and upset Toga” Twice accused, making a point of mirroring Togas movements as well. You crossed your arms, looking up at Dabi expectantly. He rolled his eyes and wrapped a arm snugly around your shoulders

“We’re going to sleep. Night” he mumbled pulling you along with him without waiting for your response

“Dabi, all of us are in a bad mood don’t be an ass” You scolded, making him smirk down at you as he smoked. He led the two of you through some trees, a ways away from the rest of the group.

“I was waiting for it to come, are you gonna be mad at me too?” He whispered in a low voice, sitting to lean against a tree. He closed his eyes and squeezed them shut, clenching his fists. You sat in front of him cross legged, watching him wince every time he moved.

“Your quirk?” You asked as you watched his expression twist in pain, explaining his bad mood. He glanced at you and nodded, tossing the cigarette and reaching for your hand. The action caught you off guard, and your mouth fell open slightly. You’d been apart of the league for only a few weeks but from the moment you came, you and Dabi just meshed together so easily. Even being so close to him, he’d never initiated physical contact more than dragging you along with him somewhere. This just felt different...

“It hurts that bad?” You joked nervously, the both of you now glancing down at your intertwined fingers. He cleared his throat before speaking again in his raspy voice

“I’m not holding your hand because I’m in pain, y/n” He didn’t look at you, instead giving your hand a reassuring squeeze

A simple “oh” was all you could muster, eventually you gathered your thoughts and asked

“Dabi.. where does it hurt?” He sensed the intention in your voice and even though he didn’t think you could help him, he humored you anyway

“Uhm. Everywhere, it’s like I’m always on fire even when I’m not using my quirk. When I use it for too long, it feels like I’m being burned alive, I’ve tried everything. My cremation quirk is hotter than regular fire by a landslide, so regular ice won’t help shit” his voice was low as he spoke, you almost couldn’t hear him over the rustling of the trees.

“You’re always in pain?” He nodded once, and you hummed in displeasure. The noise brought a sly smile to his face

“Don’t feel bad. I’ve gotten used to it” he spat, reaching in his coat and pulling out his cigarettes

“You haven’t tried me” Dabi stopped in his tracks, looking at you. You almost wished you’d shut your mouth, growing more nervous the longer his quiet and intense gaze lingered on you.

“The hell are you talking about? Y/n -“

Dabi’s sentence was cut short by your sudden movement, rising to your knees in front of him.

“Can I?” You whispered, but he didn’t respond only released his grip on your hand with a suspicious nod. Cautiously, you raised your own hands to cup his face which was hot to the touch. Your quirk meant that everything was cold to you because your body temperature was just lower, but the heat of Dabi’s face in your hands was a stark contrast to everything and brought out a warm sigh you didn’t know you held in. He shivered at the touch, finally opening his blue eyes to look up at you. In the darkness of the forest they seemed to glow, staring up at you vulnerably. Carefully you focused your ice onto the palm of your hands, trying to make them as cold as possible. The coolness was nothing like he had ever felt, his quirk always burning him from the inside out.

“Your hands..” he croaked, leaning into your touch and nearly knocking you over as he pressed his hands against the cold skin of your back under your shirt. His relaxed facial features spurred you on as you leaned in closer pressing your lips on his, you felt his lips part and you took a deep breath before releasing a cool stream of frost down his throat. Dabi let out a strangled groan of relief gripping whatever part of you within reach desperately and pulling you as close as he could, his form going limp under you. Your lips molded perfectly against his and he soon answered with his own quirk, the heat from him warming you in a way that you’d never experienced.

Dabi’s arms wrapped around you and this time it was you who pulled him flush against you, needing the relief that his hot body allowed you. When fatigue from using your quirk so much started to creep in, you released your grip on him letting both your bodies slide comfortably onto the grass. It was quiet for a few beats after that, both of you panting.

“Well shit, y/n” Dabi laughed in disbelief after a while and you laughed too easily finding his blue eyes in the dark, you reached up to cup his face again which he welcomed closing his eyes blissfully. You could get used to having that effect on him.

“You know you’re stuck with me forever now, right?” Dabi added playfully pressing his burning lips against your freezing ones again, you hummed in agreement letting your eyes flutter shut.

[prettywarriors]

Mini Mahou March Y2 Week 3

Hey everyone and welcome to the third week of Mini Mahou March! You can find the main post for the event here X.

The Prompt for the week of March 18th-26th is...

Rave Fashion Phantom Thief/Kaitou!

The sub-genre of magical girls that needs more love, the phantom thief has a long history of non-magical girl entries such as Lupin and Magic Kaitou. MGs include Shadow Lady, Saint Tail, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, and the recent Phantomirage.

Magical girl kaitou often steal with good purpose- returning stolen goods like Saint Tail, or exorcising demons like Jeanne. With a much smaller pool of inspiration to draw from, there is very little consistency in designs for these characters, although they always have a way to make a quick escape. They often leave behind a calling card, sometimes as a form of cheeky flirting with their officer rival.

Ah raves. Bright colors, loud music, weird fabrics, the antithesis of what one thinks of when they think of a thief. 

I’m only looking for a visual character design, something as simple as a single fullish-body picture, but you are more than welcome to go as wild as you want with trinkets, backstory, information, alt outfits, all that good stuff. Also I say girl but girl boy nb other as long as it’s a magical humanoid gender be damned, thumbs up. (Also nothing 18+ please. Your characters can be, just not your art for this)

Make your post and tag me before end of day March 26th (11.59EST) and I will be re-blogging participants here next Sunday/early Monday, with everything tagged Mini Mahou March.

Saint Tail uses stage magic to distract while stealing stolen goods and returning them to their proper owner while leaving calling cards for her crush who is the detective trying to catch her. Shadow Lady uses a magic eye shadow pallet to transform into different forms depending on the color, and steals, well, for fun until the plot happens, while the local cop is in love with her thief form. Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne transforms with assistance from her mascot to remove demons from pieces of art which makes the art disappears, and her rival is transformed boy who wants to stop her (and her best friend is the obligatory cop) D.N.Angel is the long accept magical boy, and he transforms into his older alter ego to steal magical artifacts made by the ancestor of the obligatory cop who has his own magical alter ego and there’s a love square. 

Phantomirage has girls transform to steal evil jewels from the hearts of people transformed by (extra)evil magic cops, and the head of the magic cops eventually becomes a magical cop Tuxedo Mask just steals jewels because he’s looking for the physicals manifestation of his gf’s soul to get his memories back, and Phantom Ace was an idol who also stole people’s energy because he was a villain but look I gotta post what we have and it’s not a lot okay?

So uh. Complicated romances & police enemies with possible overlap in those categories, transformations range from ‘new dress’ to ‘new body’, stealing is good sometimes. It’s not my fault there aren’t more Kaitou MGs we deserve this sub-genre c’mon Toei. Pierrot? Anyway there’s always non magical girl kaitou like Skye from Harvest Moon or whatever is happening in Persona 5. Masks are generally not a magical girl thing beyond proto-senshi and a couple of weirder male-target series, but it is a thief thing so your call.

I’ve gone on record multiple times about hating the underwear/bathing suit cut for bottoms on MGs but that does seem to be a legit type of rave fashion so feel free to make something you think I’d personally hate. 

How are you going to rob a museum to return their stolen artifacts back to it’s rightful owners? However you do it, you’ll do it in mesh chaps over a cut out leotard in clashing colors with some truly strange hairstyle.

Oh maybe it’s like that guy who would rob a bank while wearing a truly hideous shirt or something where it was so distracting no one could identify him. But instead it’s stealing back stolen pets from creeps while decked out in kandi and an outfit that stays together with the types of buckles you see on a school backpack and a big furry hat with those paw sleeves.

[musclesandhammering]

Loki (2021) Positivity from an Anti

Ok so all of my mutuals know I’m extremely anti-Loki (2021), anti-sylki, and anti-sylvie. But at a certain point, even we antis get tired of all the negativity. So! Here’s some Loki series commentary in the opposite direction! This is a list of all the things about the show that I loved :)

Also adding a disclaimer that all of this is just my opinion and some of my fellow antis (or even people who liked the show) might disagree, and that’s fine! I’ve been planning this post for awhile. I always say in my other posts that I don’t entirely hate the show and I wanted to be a little more specific about what I think are its good aspects. Feel free to leave your thoughts!

• Mobius is a gem (Owen Wilson owns my whole heart) and his relationship with Loki is so so great. He’s not one-dimensional at all, he has conflicted loyalty and is morally complex, and he has the tragic backstory- which makes him a perfect choice for eventually becoming Loki’s first genuine friend.

• The casting was really really great. Lots of women and people of color. Most of the female actresses (as well as the males) are over 30, which isn’t very common and is fantastic!

• Superb acting all around. I can’t think of a single scene where the actors under or oversold it.

• Beautiful set design, incredible cgi, and gorgeous cinematography overall. It looked more like a movie than a tv show, which is really good.

• Kang being the big bad was a huge plus for me. Johnathan Majors was perfect in the role, his vibes were immaculate, and I was honestly pretty worried that the man behind the curtain would end up being another Loki variant, which imo would’ve been boring and predictable and counter-productive, so it was a big relief when that didn’t happen.

• I like that it sets up a bunch of future marvel movies, rather than being contained to its own little world. It gives it more importance and (hopefully) will encourage writers to not just toss Loki’s character aside in future projects.

• All the Loki variants were delightful. All of them except Sylvie. Kid Loki has my heart. Boastful Loki is a fashion icon. Alligator Loki is a savage. President Loki is the superior variant. Classic Loki became my fav character in less than half an episode.

• It showed some more variety in Loki’s magic. A lot of his powers we’ve seen before, but it feels like they were portrayed a bit more blatantly in the show. The energy blasts, the telekinesis, the teleportation… Outstanding.

• It also implied that Loki has the potential to be waaaay more powerful than he knows he is right now, which? Yes.

• Some of the quotes- and the themes behind them- are just profound as hell. Such as:

“I think we’re stronger than we realise.”

“It’s never too late to change.”

“You can be whoever you wanna be, even someone good.”

“We’re Lokis. We survive. It’s what we do.”

“Loki, God of Outcasts.”

“The universe wants to break free, that’s why it manifests chaos.”

• Technically Loki was Marvel’s first canon lgbt (bi) character, which is a win. His genderfluidity is also technically canon, even if it wasn’t really acknowledged on-screen.

• There were a lot of throwback references to Thor 1, Avengers, and Thor The Dark World. Which I loved.

• Sylvie’s so pretty. Her hair and makeup and costume were all perfect.

• Big fan of Loki finally getting Laevateinn.

• Sufficiently slutty imagery, courtesy of a female director (Loki in a collar, kneeling to Sif, President Loki looking down into the bunker, the hair flips)

• The music was Excellent Wonderful and Superb.

• I love that Loki being a good singer is now canon.

• I love that Asgardians having their own language is now canon (even if it’s basically just Icelandic).

• I also love that they disproved all of those “Loki was a shy nerdy wallflower pre-canon” theories in Episode 3. The drinking/eating/singing scene was fun, if a bit wacky.

• There’s a million different reasons why Loki does what he does, especially in regards to the New York attack (I’m literally writing a huge meta on them), but somehow I never considered that Loki being desperate for control was one of them. It makes a lot of sense, and I always love getting new insights into his motivations.

• I love that Loki finally outright acknowledged that he doesn’t enjoy hurting people. We Been Knew™️ but it’s still nice to hear it out loud from his own mouth.

• The TVA outfit wasn’t as hideous as some people make it out to be. It could’ve been A Look, even. You know, if he’d just accessorised a little better. And kept the jacket on. And not gotten sweaty. And not gotten dirty. And maybe had at least one other costume change… But it had potential, though!!

• Even though I despise the Obvious One, I did actually like some of the other romance crumbs they tossed us (sifki, Loki x the flight attendant).

• The whole DB Cooper thing was iconic idc idc.

• Loki’s hyper sort of overly excited puppy attitude in episode 2 was actually pretty refreshing and funny (for awhile). And now I can headcanon him as adhd, yeehaw.

• “We’re all villains here.” That quote was iconic, my favourite one in the show. And the entire theme that it summarised was really great as well. When you think about it, every single main character in this series has been the villain at one point or another. I mean, I know all marvel characters do bad things etc, but none of the Heroes are ever narratively categorised as Bad. This show did just that with all of them, though. . Loki was framed as the psychopath that attacked New York. Sylvie was framed as the murderous fugitive. The TVA/Ravonna/Mobius were framed as the murderous fascists. Kang was framed as the crazy totalitarian. It’s made clear that all the Loki variants were the villains of their stories.

However, every single main character in the series is also framed as the Hero at a certain point. Loki is framed as the main protagonist who throws a wrench in the TVA’s dastardly plans. Sylvie is framed as the persevering freedom fighter who wants to take down the fascists. The TVA/Mobius/Ravonna are framed as the ones who maintain order for the greater good. Kang is framed as the weird but ultimately benevolent wise man who’s just trying to prevent something worse from happening. The Loki variants are framed as generous allies who befriend the main character and help him on his journey.

Everyone in this equation is openly acknowledged by the narrative to be morally corrupt, but not entirely morally bankrupt. There are no Straightforward Hero Figures (like the Avengers) in this entire scenario at all, and that makes for a super interesting dynamic that marvel has never done before. So yes: “We’re all villains here.” But also: “No one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good.” I loved that.

• Even if it wasn’t really enough imo, I still treasure the crumbs we got of Loki being competent and capable (him putting the collar on B-15, him figuring out Sylvie’s hiding place, him teaching himself to enchant on the fly while fighting a giant cloud beast of eldritch proportions).

• I love that B-15 was the one who stepped in and saved the day in Episode 4, when we all thought it was gonna be Mobius. What a queen.

• Marvel usually has a bit of a problem with creating compelling and memorable side characters. But aside from Sylvie, I genuinely got attached to every single character in this show. Like Casey, C-20? I was seriously emotionally invested in them and they were only in like 2 episodes. Wtf.

• Introducing the TVA storyline in the Loki series specifically was a really good move. I’m not saying they executed it well, just that it had a ton of potential. A lot of people have wondered why marvel even thought to put those two (the TVA and Loki) together, when they had literally nothing to do with each other, nothing in common, and essentially no connection at all. But when you think about it, it’s a really interesting twist on both of those stories. Forcing the embodiment of destructive chaos and the pillar of rigid order to interact could make for some seriously entertaining and compelling television. And as far as meshing these two completely unrelated entities together goes, I thought they did it pretty well- at least just the bare bones of the story (loki being arrested by the TVA and being one of their most common variants).

So that’s it! If you guys (fellow antis) wanna add stuff you liked, feel free. If anyone wants to discuss (or debate) my list, feel free to do that too!

[whump-a-la-mode]

Villian-Sicle | Part 5

I feel like now would be a pertinent time to mention that this is my first attempt at writing a sort of drabble series. The majority of my work is 50k-100k word nerd ass novels, and I think that this part will make that unfortunately abundantly apparent. I’m sorry for just how long it is, but I’ve absolutely loved writing these characters, and I got a little bit carried away with fleshing out the world a bit more ^^

Also, I feel I should probably mention that, though characters in this story speak Latin, I do not know any Latin. I wrote this using dictionaries and very basic grammar guides, and I sincerely hope I did not mess up too bad.

Thank you for reading! It’s a long one, but I hope you’ll enjoy.

CW//Superhero whump, villain whumpee, hypothermia, military setting (kinda), pet whump, dehumanization, past trauma, muzzles, restraints, conditioned whumpee, depiction of an implied panic attack, denial of water

Taglist:

@whatwhumpcomments

@sola-whumping

@professional-idiocy

Villain couldn’t help but shake and buck their head as a corrugation of metal and leather was slipped over their face, securing their jaw in its current position and forcing them to bite down against the pressure. It had been fitted since last time, they noted rather hollowly-- with a piece of padding now standing between the bridge of their noise and the harsh metal wires. Regardless of how many adjustments were made to the piece, however, making it comfortable seemed beyond their ability.

They, in this specific circumstance, referred mainly to the two soldiers before Villain. Trainer was the only one of the two that they knew the name of-- though they were nearly unrecognizable beneath the layers of gear shrouding their appearance.

The helmet they wore resembled more so that of a motorcyclist rather than that of an armed combatant, but the rest of their kit was far more military. Beneath their uniform bulged the clear outlines of a tac-vest, with their hands shielded by Kevlar gloves, constructed of an intricate mesh of triangular pieces, in a similar manner to chain-mail.

The other soldier was dressed in nearly identical kit, just without the gloves-- those were for handlers, which this other soldier must’ve surely not been. They turned to Trainer, noises in an odd language curling off their tongue. Trainer replied with a laugh.

With practiced hands, Trainer took the muzzle’s straps and secured them behind Villain’s head, tightening the metal until it dug into their skin, tearing at old sores created by the same device. Their leash was quickly hooked to a ring protruding from the muzzle’s wires.

“Manibus.” Trainer’s voice spoke. They nearly flinched at the sheer speed at which Villain offered their hands. Momentarily, Trainer ghosted their fingers over the leather mitten restraints that kept Villain’s fine motor abilities under control. They checked the wrist straps, ensuring their tautness, nodding their approval.

“Abeamus?” The other soldier suggested, to which Trainer gave another nod. They wrapped Villain’s leash around their wrist, halving its length, until there was negligible slack in the line.

Another group of soldiers, all dressed in military-style garments of their own, loitered together by the door to the staging room. They looked to Trainer, marginally straightening their postures, and, presumably, minimizing the amount of swearing in their speech.

With a few words and a flick of the wrist, the squadron was off.

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Leader couldn’t stop looking at Villain’s eyes.

They weren’t quite certain what had pulled them into such an odd trance. It was nothing about color, certainly, nor anything else physical or inherent-- they were unremarkable, in such respects. No, it was certainly something about the expression they portrayed.

A moment ago, they’d seen shattering fear turn to fury in these eyes. Now, they seemed blank, as though constructed of glass and merely painted upon. There was no expression beyond them, no recognition, no indication that Villain’s mind was occupied by anything at all. Their gaze stared straight through Leader, through the ceiling above as well.

Leader was torn from their daze by a commotion from behind them as the door was thrown open. Medic was nearly knocked over as Hero burst in, followed more ploddingly by Counselor.

“Be careful.” Leader warned, looking up and turning to the group. “There’s broken shit everywhere.”

Hero’s eyes darted around the room, seemingly taking in the mess. Broken glass coated the tile floor in a thin dusting of shards, while various mechanical parts still smoked in whatever place they had happened to end up. The lights had been blown out completely, leaving the lighting in the room to be provided by a flashlight laid on a countertop, as well as, now, the light soaking in from the hallway.

After their panicked scan, Hero settled their gaze on Villain.

“Are they...”

“They’re fine.” Medic interrupted.

“They’re not moving.”

“Well... I’m going to hazard to say that that’s a good thing. If I had to guess, it seems like a shock response. It’s not exactly my biggest concern, right about now.”

“What about the, uh, bleeding hole in their chest?”

“That would be my biggest concern.”

Medic grabbed a variety of, miraculously undamaged, medical supplies from a cupboard, setting to work at Villain’s wound. It was small, deliberate, having been incised to be used as an access point for the dialysis machine, but Leader had a feeling that even minor blood loss could be a death sentence, at this point.

Hero and Counselor hovered, for a moment, at Villain’s bedside, while Medic did their work. Leader stood back, nearly having to forcibly tear their gaze from that of Villain.

That odd sort of silence remained for several moments, if not minutes, as Medic’s deft hands worked to close the wound. It was only when the last suture was tied that Counselor spoke up-- one of the only times they had done so for the whole mission.

“Leader?”

“Hm?”

“What’s our plan, exactly? What are our orders?”

They raised a brow. Counselor was never that direct-- nor that military.

“Um...” It felt quite stupid, being caught unprepared like this, but in their defense, they had nearly just been killed by an exploding air conditioner. “I... I don’t want to hazard doing anything until Villain is stable.”

“That was your plan before.” Medic muttered as they pried latex gloves from their hands. “It almost got us killed.”

“Right. Yeah, um, are they stable enough? For transport?”

“They’re not going to bleed out, if that’s your concern. Physically, I’d say they’re stable. Mentally? I think we need to get them to a secure location before they snap out of this fugue state.”

“Alright.” Leader chewed their tongue. “Let’s get the van ready, then.”

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The ship’s deck was notably busy, despite the fact that it was relatively late at night. The vessel’s skeleton crew hurried about, keeping it afloat and on track, while outdated Humvees drove in chaotic paths. What the commotion was about was beyond Villain’s knowledge, or their capacity to care. All that mattered was fighting their instinct to cover their ears, and ensuring that they were keeping up with Trainer.

They could feel it-- the boat-- beneath them. The millions of systems and circuits and electrons, thrumming and being jolted about by a swaying sea.

The small company that Trainer had gathered made their way to the far end of the deck, where a VTOL plane was already humming, waiting for its crew to board. They did so, clustering themselves into the compact cabin. There was, notably, no room the vessel for a pilot-- all steering operations would be handled by an artificial intelligence of sorts. Villain greeted the computer program, but it did not respond.

Trainer settled themself into a middle seat at the front of the cabin. Villain sat obediently at their side, at which point their leash was secured to a handrail sticking out of the wall. They rested their head against the window. Though the cabin was crowded, at the very least, Villain was no longer forced to make the trip in the K9 compartment.

Once every member of the company was settled and seated, the VTOL’s doors slid shut, and the engine thwapp-thwapp-thwapped until the aircraft was off the ground. It shot upwards for a second, traveling several hundred feet in the time, before entering a linear dive and settling for a position around fifty feet above the choppy waters.

Villain closed their eyes, allowing their mind to wander to the creature around them. The VTOL contained what was likely the most complex computer program that the Organization had. Despite all its bells and whistles, however, it paid no mind to Villain’s prodding and wandering.

The plane’s route was not awfully complex. The vehicle was designed, surtout, for water-based travel. Though it could move over land, it struggled to rise above three hundred or so feet, making it useless for far-inland routes. Wherever it was going today was, luckily, on the coast-- somewhere in the forests of Washington state.

If they so wished, Villain could alter the route in any way they so pleased. They could send the aircraft into the ocean below, or back into the ship, or into the first land they saw. It would be simple-- all their problems gone in a moment.

Once the plane’s angle had leveled out, Trainer stood, moving to the front of the plane. Villain gnashed their teeth, attempting to rise from their seat, but finding themself limited by the taut leather line on their muzzle. They were too far, they were on mission, they shouldn’t have been so far, come on, come on. The leash refused to give way, however, leaving them firmly affixed in position.

Trainer cleared their throat, drawing the attention of the gathered company. They began to speak, words taking on quite a commanding air, though Villain only understand a few choice phrases.

“Incursus” was the one that made them prick their ears. They had heard it only a few times before. In conversation, once or twice, but more notably during mission briefings. The last time they had heard it... several missions ago, before they had been briefly confined to the medical wing.

The word itself was meaningless-- its implications less so.

Villain gulped, their jaw straining against the wires of their muzzle.

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Leader walked at the side of the gurney, ghosting a hand over one of the siderails all the while. A pair of doctors pushed the gurney itself, with Medic trailing close behind, and Hero and Counselor at their sides.

In contrast with the upper floors, the hospital’s lobby floor was brightly lit, almost overwhelmingly so, with expanses of floor-to-ceiling windows. The beige carpeting was bathed with the last remnants of sunrise orange-- it had been a long night.

The few patients in the hospital at such as hour were hurried out of the way as the gurney moved through. A scattering of nurses and varied hospital personnel were littered about, watching the Heroes’ procession, but staying several yards away, unwilling to even be in Villain’s vicinity.

Leader looked down at the gurney. A blanket had been draped over Villain, working to keep them at a stable temperature. Their fabric and webbing restraints had been replaced by those made of metal.

Their eyes were open. They had been the whole time. Despite, they had yet to struggle in any form.

The automatic doors at the front of the lobby rumbled open, allowing the gurney to be pushed through. A team of doctors and Leader’s own personnel stood outside, gathered around an ambulance with its back doors hanging open. The doctors pushing the gurney passed it off to some of the stronger personnel, who lifted the contraption into the vehicle’s back, securing it.

Leader nodded their thanks, and moved to get behind the vehicle’s wheel.

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The ship hadn’t been too far off of the East coast to begin with, making the trip to Washington a relatively short one. It took one hour, thirty-six minutes, and eighty-two seconds, to be exact-- far more amicable than the 16-hour trips they had endured in the past.

The VTOL had made a measured descent into a forest clearing, shredding the grass below with its landing gear. With the doors open, the company had scrambled out; Trainer taking Villain’s leash in hand once more.

In the clearing, there had been no sign of life besides a scurrying songbird or two. Villain had only then realized a far more unpleasant aspect of the mission.

They were going to be marching.

Not marching, exactly, they supposed. There was no regimented order to it, it was more like hiking. Just... hiking for hours. The VTOL couldn’t go too far inland, and landing it close to a target was often impossible.

So, they marched.

Sometimes, heaven would be merciful, and the trek would be short, of only a mile or so. On crueler days, though, they would move for hours-- breaking only for water, which Villain would watch the soldiers drink with a parched throat.

Even just from the look of the clearing, and its location, however, Villain had been able to tell that today was not one of those more merciful occasions.

When the plane had landed, the moon at been at its highest point--signifying that midnight had struck. For the first few hours, they walked in darkness, until dawn slowly began to creep up.

All in all, the trek had taken four hours, most of which were spent walking. By the time the group stopped and crouched down, Villain felt their legs were about to snap. It had been far too many hours and far too many miles since they had cared to look at their surroundings. All that mattered was Trainer, and staying awake.

The company made themselves small among an area of heavy undergrowth. Trainer let Villain’s leash loosely hang around their wrist. Even if the technopath had any desire to flee, they doubted they could even get their legs back under them.

One of the soldiers spoke up, somehow sounding hardly winded. Though most of their words served as nonsense to Villain’s ears, one did stick out: Scopum. It was one of the words Trainer had used, back when they were teaching Villain how to search and retrieve objects.

Trainer nodded, took a drink of water from a canteen, and got to their knees. They pointed to something behind the bushes-- Villain got on their knees to look at well.

Over the wall of undergrowth, a building could be seen. It wasn’t particularly notable-- it would be best described as a cabin, with rustic architecture and an array of out-of-season Christmas lights. It seemed to be a vacation home of sorts; large enough to fit a family, certainly, but not a place anyone would live permanently.

Was this their Scopum? Their goal?

Trainer took hold again of Villain’s leash and stood. The real mission was just about to begin, and Villain could hardly stand.

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The drive from the hospital to their base was longer than Leader would have preferred, enough to make them nervously request updates every few minutes, much to Medic’s distaste.

The base stood at the edge of one of Washington’s denser forests, about half an hour out from the city proper. The location provided security, and in their group’s early days, secrecy, but it made transport difficult.

“Hey, Medic?” Leader started.

“Villain is fine. They’re still out of it. Cabin temperature is staying steady at 70, their body temperature is just about where it should be. Keep your damn eyes on the road.”

Leader nodded, biting the inside of their cheek. City traffic had been left behind a few miles ago, leaving only empty back roads. Seven minutes to go, the GPS diligently reported.

“We’re close now, then.” Medic spoke, starting the conversation for once. They weren’t usually the one to do such a thing, but Hero and Counselor were in the ambulance’s back. “What are you thinking?”

“Thinking?”

“Your plans. Please don’t forget that you’re the leader around here, you give the orders. What do we do, when we get back to base?”

Leader bit their tongue to prevent themself from snapping at that passive insult. They were glad for the change in topic, at least.

“Our first priority is keeping ourselves safe. Villain’s safety is second priority-- I’m not sacrificing anything to keep their wellbeing. But I wouldn’t consider them a threat, right now. I assume you would like to keep them in the med bay?”

“For now, at least. They’re stable, but the fact that they’re still breathing is a miracle. I want to have my equipment nearby if they crash.”

“As long as it’s safe, then.”

“And then what?”

“Then... they’re still a prisoner, injured or not. Then we put them in the cells.”

“We don’t have any cells?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

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The company moved swiftly, forcing Villain’s legs to wake up to the horrible feeling of pins and needles. Trainer remained at the group’s head, leading them forth to the cabin.

It must have looked quite ridiculous, to an outsider. Villain would have laughed if they were able.

The group stopped before the quaint structure.

“Aperire.” Trainer ordered. Villain gnashed their teeth.

The command was a simple one, generally. It meant that they were to open something-- usually a door, or a box, or an encrypted device. The wooden door before them, however, had no electric component; it didn’t even seem to have a lock at all.

Still, they dove into the few electronics that the building did host. The Christmas lights seemed to be meaningless noise-- they tore through those, searching instead through the inner electronics. They were uncomplicated, so much so that their purpose couldn’t be so much as guessed.

Villain panicked, gnashing their teeth, shaking their head against the muzzle. They didn’t know what to do. They could feel their heartbeat, pounding in their head, throbbing.

“Aperire.” Trainer repeated. It only increased Villain’s heartrate-- what were hey doing wrong? Please, what were they doing wrong? They dove back into the systems. There was no door to be seen, just the lights, just some random system. They decided on the latter, tripping the system, just as they drew blood from biting down on their own tongue.

The house rumbled.

Instead of opening as a door should, the rustic home’s door slid into the wall, revealing a brightly-lit interior-- devoid of both furniture and interest.

The only point of interest was at the very center of the floor: A ramp, leading downwards.

Villain gulped. With rougher hands than before, Trainer yanked at their leash, forcing them forth. Together, the two descended, the company right on their heels.

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The base-- it had no real name, it was simply “the base”-- was an uncomplicated corrugation of concrete walls and sparse entranceways. It had been constructed as the shell of a factory, years ago, a factory which eventually fell through. Since then, Leader had organized quite a renovation of the property.

They drove the ambulance to the base’s parking lot, backing up to the curb as near to the entrance as they could.

“You worried?” Medic asked.

“Mhm.” Leader nodded, hopping out of the cockpit and to the asphalt below. The ambulance’s rear doors had already been swung open, with Hero and Counselor working to guide the gurney from it.

Villain still laid on the bed, shrouded with blankets, nearly comatose.

Their eyes moved.

Leader did a double-take, looking back to the figure on the gurney. Villain’s gaze had moved, now directing itself straight at Leader. Whatever expression they were portraying... it looked like fear.

Leader frowned. They moved to the transport bed’s side, placing their hands on the rails.

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The ramp descended at least a story into the earth.

With every step they took, Villain could feel their mind become more and more cluttered. At first, they could only hear the simple lighting and ventilation systems, but as they grew deeper, more noises joined the cacophony. Computers and servers, medical equipment and weaponry, it all blended together, all humming, all whirring, all chanting until it made Villain’s head hurt.

At the base of the ramp, which they only reached after what felt like an eternity, stood a simple door. Nothing more than a steel barrier.

“Perdere.”

That command was about as simple as they came. Within a split second, the door, and half of the wall, before Villain had been decimated to rubble.

On the other side of the newly-torn door, a figure moved. Villain flinched, gnawing again on their bloodied tongue. Trainer forced them forward.

The room was empty, devoid, as the past one had been. There was no furniture, no weaponry, no defense. Only a person, standing squarely before the door at the far end.

Their wings brushed the room’s walls.

Leader glared.

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As they leaned over Villain’s bedside, Leader smiled-- an expression as gentle as they could make it. They weren’t sure what had suddenly turned them so soft. Pity, maybe? Somehow, though, it tugged at them in the same way as nostalgia.

They brushed a hand over Villain’s shoulder.

“Hey. You’re gonna be okay.”

The next part was the stupid one. The soft one, the one that would have made anyone in any faction laugh. One that, if anyone had heard it, Leader surely never would have lived down. Even they were not sure why they spoke it.

Five simple words. Five words without meaning.

“Welcome to your new home.”