#too many guys who are sillier than him

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

Hey, Utchy… did you know the Shinkengers???

[see-arcane]

Today’s entry is one of many that really drives home why I can never quite bring myself to get into softer ‘uwu he’s just misunderstood and sexy-liberating’ versions of Dracula. Just. I can’t. I really really can’t.

Up to this point, he’s already had a monstrous moment in bringing the ladies their first on-screen kids meal crying and squirming in its sack. He’s had outright predatory back-to-back moments in imprisoning, coercing, robbing, and getting increasingly threatening and handsy with Jonathan. This, capped with the fact that he plans to kill/drink/gift him to the Undead Girl Gang by the end of June.

‘But what about his, “I too can love,” huh? He’s just loving as best a monster can! He could be tearing everyone around him to ribbons for annoying him, Brides and Jonathan included! Instead he goes out of his way to feed the ladies, albeit gruesomely, and has no retort when they laugh at and insult the lonely old bat. And he isn’t planning to kill Jonathan. He wants to keep him! Sure, it’s a sick version of it, but to him conscripting and collecting Jonathan rather than executing him outright is the height of affection! Surely that’s grounds for some of the more ~romantic~ takes in warped gothic flavor?’

To an extent, yeah. 

But he also just dressed up in Jonathan’s stolen clothes to cover up for the man’s own abduction, imprisonment, and undeadifying, while also increasing the odds of Jonathan already getting mistaken for a vampire, bringing home another child for the ladies to devour, and then ordered a pack of wolves to eat a grieving mother alive for making noise at his gate.

And this? This is just the tip of the iceberg for how downright hellish he gets as the novel progresses. 

Dracula can absolutely be a nuanced character within canon, offshoots, retellings, re-imaginings, and so on. And he should be! He’s a very interesting bastard who’s got so much more going on than a few one-liners and a taste for good cloaks and yummy company. But his actual actions in the book--even the smallest ones--just automatically torpedo 90% of my audience enjoyment when I run into yet another ‘Oh, but he did it all because he was in love!/misunderstood!/depressed!/unfairly maligned by the eeevil human Victorian characters in their journals and newsprint and body count records!’ version of the Count. 

Even sillier takes that try to heroify him for kids like Hotel Transylvania just kind of make my brain trip and fall into a pit of ??? 

‘Look kids, Dracula is really a nice guy and a sweet dad who runs a fun little hotel for his misunderstood Universal Horror monster buddies! Isn’t he neat?’

It leaves me biting my tongue and holding this mental grimace as I think about the sacks full of weeping children, the slaughtered mother, a young man imprisoned for making the mistake of endearing himself so much to a sadistic monster that the latter has decided to keep him as a tortured toy and undead pseudo-slave for eternity, with an entire blood buffet of human cattle still waiting to fill out the rest of the novel with trauma, horror, and death. 

‘Ohhh, but look at Francis’ tragique sweetheart version who stole all his redeeming qualities from Jonathan Harker! Ohhh, but look at the funny silly Adam Sandler cartoon and his new everyman-settling daughter! Ohhh, but look at how #cool and modern-sexyedgy an antihero/villain he is when penned by every projecting director and their grandmother! Lighten up, it’s just a different interpretation!*’

*Of the character whose whole deal is psychological torture, being a predatory creep, casual murder, and worse-than-murder of innocents.

I know it skews me towards being a whiny purist. I know. Let folks have fun. I know. But still, it feels so wrong every time I see someone try to ‘awww, he’s not so bad!’-ify him in new media when. No. He is exactly that bad and probably worse. If he’s not, then that’s not fucking Dracula.

tl;dr: Can people just make some new fun/sexy/antihero vampires instead of stapling Dracula’s name on all of them? Can Dracula just be an interesting villainous monster again?? Please??? (Please save me Renfield 2023 and The Last Voyage of the Demeter, you’re my only ho--)

[the-s1lly-corner]

Eyeless jack and reader raising twins together

Prize 1/5 for @reivelmin ! Hooray!! I hope you enjoy this !!

Note for clarity to anyone else who reads this, one child is a girl and the other is a boy

If you're a normal person and still living at your own place, you guys move around a lot between each home to spend time with both of your children together

Or better yet, you might be able to convince Jack to move in with you! It's easier if you dont have neighbors that are too close by...

You having access to.. society.. makes things leagues easier when it comes to doctor's appointments, food, and education

Jack keeps the kids when you have to go to work, effectively becoming a stay at home dad

Hes.. not the most entertaining, given that his sense of humor can be a little dry or sarcastic.. the kids definitely pick up on that and develop a similar taste

Just like with you he refuses to eat in front of the kids... the whole.. flesh eating thing is going to be a real big conversation to have later on- assuming neither of the children inherited something

You both take them out on walks when its darker/not as many people are out and about

Imagine you're the sillier/more emotional parent in the house in contrast to Jack's straight forward and to the point interactions- leads to you having to interject and interrupt jack when a child asks a question that's not exactly age appropriate or appropriate based on the time or setting

You guys rotate who puts which child to bed every night, so if one might you put down the girl and he puts down the boy the following night will be inverted

You've caught jack fast asleep with both of the children sleeping on him

Oh he definitely softens up a lot when they're actually born, I can totally see Jack being wary when you get pregnant/propose adopting

You're going to have to help him with your daughter with things, think styling hair or dressing up, you.. most likely have a lot more experience than jack

As soon as he gets it down hes got it!!

Very responsible as a parent as well, he keeps on top of everything and reminds you when you need to take a child somewhere (appointments of all sorts), he makes sure they get their meds if they take any, get their proper nutrition ectect!

Speaking of, he packs lunches.. you.. give him points on how to arrange them to look cute

Sometimes you guys go out to the woods to walk around and just look at the nature... woe jack with a baby strapped to his torso be upon thee

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippets: Free Day Thursday (Second, sillier part to follow Friday)

Poll Results: Trespasser Jak

Picking up from HERE, Jak and Daxter have been taken back to Spargus

The drive back to the city was not quiet. Every couple seconds, the kid with the amulet he shouldn't have had was pointing to something else, talking a mile a minute to the fuzzy orange thing. The red rock bluffs fascinated him. The crocadeer on the clifftops fascinated him. The frith-rotted cactus was interesting to this stranger.

Jak started to lean out of the seat again, trying to take in every speck of the horizon.

"Will you stop that?" Damas asked irritably, "You're going to fall out, and I'm not turning this car around to go get you. What are you so entranced by, huh?"

Jak's enthusiasm wasn't dimmed in the slightest. "After they took us to Haven- I thought there was nothing left out there but wasteland!"

"You're in the Wasteland," Damas reminded him.

"Nah."

Jak stood up despite the driver's protests and clung to the turret gun to watch a flock of birds.

"This place isn't wasted. It's alive."

"And you won't be if you don't sit down right now-!"

Damas’s headache only multiplied -- exponentially. once they had actually returned Spargus.

The stranger gawked at everything, sometimes lagging as many as ten behind to look at the most mundane things. Forges. The communication hub/post office. Leapers. A stray chickalope he tried to pick up-!

Getting him into the Gate District garrison building took five minutes longer than it should've, by which time Damas’s patience was almost completely gone. It was all he could do to keep some modicum of professionalism as he herded the boy and the talking spirit thing into a clean, well-lit room for interrogation. He left them with a stern warning to wait there until someone came to figure out who they were.

Then he left to make a very strong pot of coffee. He wasn't going back in there without it.

He quickly decided that needed another kind of drink when he returned ten minutes later only to find Jak, barefoot, sitting on top of the table like a moody teenaged gargoyle. That ratty blue winter tunic was tied around his waist now, and the loose scarf and oversized undershirt didn't quite cover a surprising amount of scars for someone his age -- or maybe not so surprising if he was an Heir, given the proclivity of Haven to put those through the wringer-

No. No jumping to conclusions.

Old burns on the soles of his feet that looked roughly six to seven years old -- a childhood accident or stubborn adventure, most likely -- were the most benign of them. Damas saw old, healed clawmarks, and strange fractal-like patterns not unlike those struck by lightning, crossing his upper arms, shoulders and chest. Here and there he saw raised lines -- the telltale sutures of do-it-yourself shrapnel removal. Regardless of whose blood flowed in his veins, this kid was a soldier. And it looked like he'd been a soldier for a depressingly long time.

Damas pushed the thoughts from his mind and took a seat in the chair the trespasser had ignored.

"Alright. Let's get this over with as quickly as we can, shall we? I have a lot of work to do today."

"Oh...kay...?" Jak gave him a puzzled, wary look and scooted back across the table to rest his back against the wall. "I mean, I can't answer everything, and half of what I do tell you won't sound believable, but that's honestly not my problem."

Patience, Damas. Inhale, slowly. You're just stressed. You can't kill him if he's related to you.

Damas took an exaggerated breath and folded his hands on the top of the table. "I don't much care about your activities in Haven. My agents deliver news regularly enough. No, I want to know how you opened a locked door with a Seal of Mar on it."

The kid looked surprised, and then intrigued.

"Mar? Wait, really? He made it out here too?" Jak looked almost impressed. "Huh! Guy got around!"

"Answer the question."

The orange one answered in the kid's stead.

"Jak here's got the distinct misfortune of being descended from the guy-"

*Allegedly," Jak interrupted. His voice was distinctly harder than before.

"What "allegedly"? Dragging me into the frickin nightmare tomb wasn't enough for ya?"

"Everything we know about that guy we got from Krew, or Samos," his companion argued, "And most of the Oracles didn't bother to warn us that Samos was lying to us our whole lives. So no, I'm not taking that on faith."

Clearly this was a sore spot for the young man.

It just so happened to also be a very sore spot for Damas.

They were just going to act like they so happened to "conveniently" let slip that this boy was supposed to be related to him? Did they think he was a fool?

"What are you playing at?" he snapped, startling them both. "Do you think I am so easily taken in?"

"What-?"

"Tell me, boy," Damas said, much more quietly, "What makes you either brave enough or stupid enough to try to pull that story with me?"

And Jak blinked at him with eyes that were a little too familiar. Wide. Full of shadows and pain and anger but still clinging to the vestiges of innocence. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

"Um. Who? Are you?"

If this was a con, the kid was a decent actor, Damas had to give him that.

"You're telling me you're a survivor of the House of Mar."

"No? I said other people told me I was related to that guy. People with a vested interest in controlling me."

Jak scoffed bitterly and spread his arms wide.

"Little "abandoned" orphan boy kept isolated to train as a soldier, so he wouldn't know what they planned for him. Wouldn't run. And then magically suddenly he's heir to the worst city on the planet? Give me a break. The guards in Praxis's lab came up with better lies than that."

Damas wanted to agree with the kid. He wanted so much to agree with him. Whatever else he might be, clearly Jak was not the kind of person who bought into delusions of grandeur. In fact, he sounded like he actively resented the thought. Damas could appreciate that. Rot, he could even sympathize with the kid.

But.

He had opened a sealed door.

And the river-weasel had just said something about a Tomb.

He really really didn't want to be right, but if they could give an accurate description of the Tomb at some point, that information would be pretty hard to fake.

"Why did they think they could pass you off as Haven's heir?" Damas asked bluntly.

"Because I can make old Precursor crap work, I guess? And the Oracles like me." Jak folded his arms and shrugged. "They're useless when it comes to actually protecting anyone, but at least they tried to help after the fact. More than most hu'mens did."

Oh. Alright, okay. Maybe he's a sage prodigy and he's never been trained. That would make sense-

"Pal, the Oracle called you a "chosen one". That's gotta mean something."

"Chosen for what? Time looped torture?" Jak's entire posture had become rigid. He was beyond agitated, but Damas couldn't quite pin down if it was anger or fear or something closer to grief.

"....I...sorry." The orange one looked down, clearly ashamed. "That's- fair point. I won't bring it up anymore."

Damas didn't want to hear another word of this. Not one. Without stopping to think lest he talk himself out of it, he drew a knife from the back of his belt. The boy tensed even further, looking like he might snap as he watched Damas pull a sheet of paper haphazardly from the notepad that came standard in all the interrogation rooms. Damas ignored him and placed the tip of the blade to the pad of his thumb, pushing until two large drops of blood dripped onto the paper. The boy's tension eased slightly, but he still looked vaguely alarmed.

Damas wiped the blade and, steeling himself, held it out hilt-first to Jak.

"Your turn."

Jak glared at him.

"Are you nuts?"

Damas remained stonefaced. "You want to prove those people wrong? Blood comparison. Computer will be able to identify if it matches old records or not."

"Then why'd you cut yourself?" Jak challenged.

"Control sample," Damas answered shortly, staring until the boy gave in and set the blade against the tip of his little finger.

He declined to specify whether he meant for or against.

Jak twisted his pinkie between his fingers and let a single drop of blood fall onto the paper. He narrowed his eyes at Damas.

"And this is supposed to take...how long?"

"Two months if they're not busy."

Jak unfolded his legs and slid off the tabletop. "Months?! What good does that do me? They'll probably have found a way to guilt me into going back to Haven by then!"

Hm.

Damas leaned back in his chair and studied the boy with a new perspective.

"You're a runaway. Aren't you?"

Jak scowled and folded his arms.

"I'm not! I'm just...there's something I have to do out here. And I can't go back yet."

Suspicion trickled in cold at the back of Damas’s mind. He folded the edge down over the bloodied paper and tucked it into his belt.

"And what," he asked warily, "is this "something" you intend to do?"

The boy's ears dropped, broadcasting uncertainty despite his belligerent posture.

"I...don't know yet. There's just...something was calling me. And I can't leave until I know what it is."

This boy was going to be a walking migraine trigger, wasn't he? But unfortunately there was a reasonably high probability that he was Damas’s kinsman, which meant that under no circumstances could he just toss the kid back to Haven and say "not my circus, not my moncaws".

Just get through this until the blood tests come back. Who knows, maybe the guy will find a place here in the meantime. Or he might decide to fight the squid and die horribly. One step at a time.

Damas opened the door and beckoned to one of the district guards down the hall. Commander Shui left her subordinates immediately to respond.

"Sir?"

Damas nodded back towards the trespasser.

"Have someone show him to the showers. Once he's cleaned up, see if you can't determine his age."

Shui glanced at Jak, but never lost her stoic expression. "Understood. Is he a candidate for the trials?"

Damas ignored the harsh whispering between the boy and the...okay that was called an ottsel apparently. Didn't have those out in the desert.

"I doubt even he knows. For the moment, we will proceed as though he is a refugee."

He sighed.

"I have matters to attend to. Inform me if he causes any problems."

Jak wasn't sure how to feel about this turn of events. Six days of maddening dreams of eco comets and a broken string of beads. Five days of something pulling on his eco core, or his soul, the way the Precursor Stone had.

He wasn't sorry for leaving Haven in the middle of the night. The Grand Council had been getting more and more vocal with their more...Praxian...views on his right to life and liberty, and Samos just kept telling him to focus on what was "more important", fighting metalheads and new Krimzon Deathbots.

When the Call took him down that ancient eco mine, it had felt like an escape. He'd told himself he'd go back after he found what was at the end of the tunnel. And he'd meant to, if only because he thought he had nowhere else to go. After all, Daxter had built a life in Haven. He had a mentor. A girlfriend. A whole business!

But regardless of all the pretty lies Samos and Onin and Ashelin filled his ears with, Haven was not Jak's home. He would not take responsibility for their evil. And even if he was descended from their founder, they all let Praxis kill whatever blood relatives he might've had! They decided the line of Mar had no say in government, so who was Jak to contradict them?

It was strange -- almost unfathomable -- how his perspective could have changed with a rebalancing of eco. The Oracle down in that desert temple, it had pushed through old scars, given him access to light eco, when he'd thought the substance didn't exist anymore. The constant aches that ruled his every waking moment when it was even slightly cold out, the irritability, the burning in his core, it was gone.

How had he become so accustomed to at least low levels of pain as a daily companion? Jak hadn't realized how bad his condition had been until it was gone. And his mind felt clearer than it had in months. Maybe even years. Home was far behind them now. Sandover was forever lost to them, along with all remains of Jak's innocence. Because of Onin. And because of Samos.

Without his thoughts dulled by pain and lack of sleep, Jak thought of his heartfelt thanks to the manipulative old sage and wanted to be sick.

And now he was on an island, eighty nautical miles from Haven. A wild, living, sanctuary of Wastelanders and open wilderness. They called it "wasteland", but Jak couldn't understand why when it was so beautiful.

That Call still pulled at his heart, told him he wasn't done here yet. And he was relieved, because the longer he spent under clear, blue, sky, the more he hated the thought of returning to that corrupted city.

Just because he'd told Ashelin it was worth saving didn't mean he belonged to it.

Damas -- the angry man he'd startled when they came up out of the catacombs -- left, and a well-built woman about his height entered the interrogation room.

"Holy crap, a lady Sig!" Daxter hissed in his ear.

The Wastelander did have a prosthetic eye -- her left, not her right -- of the same make, but that was really the only similarity. She carried herself like Ashelin -- someone in command, used to cooperation if not obedience -- and that alone put Jak on-edge. He met her searching gaze with a hard stare, determined not to be the first to flinch.

"Hm." The woman clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"I see what he means. When's the last time you washed?"

"Do pools of water count?" Jak asked. If there was sarcasm in the tone, so what? "Expendables don't get time to wash."

"Eesh." The woman curled her lip. "Well that's not going to fly in my garrison."

She turned to shout down the hall, "Strom! Get the rookie to the showers before the flies move in!"

"Oh rot you!"

[bitter-panacea]

Goultard's backstory, comparing the Dofus manga and the special episode Part 3 - The Horrors part 1

Part 1 Part 2

Aka the Katar incident aka everything's just gone to shit

One day, Goultard comes home to an empty house and finds a letter, with a plan, signed by Katar.

Goultard : Oh, dinner's not served... That's not normal.... / Dear Goultard, I've invited your family to a little shindig at my place... You're cordially invited to join us. Katar. P.S. : I've drawn a little map on the back of this letter.

(Look at him... so angry... fangs... so cute)

Here's the letter in the special episode :

Surprise! Tu ne me connais pas mais j'organise une petite sauterie en ta faveur. Comme tu n'étais pas là, nous nous sommes permis d'inviter ta famille. Suis la carte au dos et rejoins nous vite. P.S : N'oublie pas d'affuter ta lame. Katar.

Surprise! You do not know me but I'm hosting a little shindig in your favor. Since you weren't home, we took the liberty of inviting your family. Follow the map on the back and join us soon. P.S : don't forget to sharpen your blade. Katar

First off, this letter (the voice actor's performance of it) alone has more personality in 15 seconds than Katar does in the entirety of the dofus manga. Katar looks and acts very differently in the special episode and in the manga. And I won't lie, the latter is pretty boring, especially in this volume. In general, I don't particularly care about Katar and think very little about him. But I really like what they did with him in the special ep. And of course, how can I not mention Mathias Kozlowski? Who does such an AMAZING job as Katar... He's soooo good. He does many voices in this universe, he's also Kriss La Krass, Guy (in the Dofus movie), Grany Smisse, Ogrest (Giant) and additional voices. (Bruno Choël is also FANTASTIC as Goultard btw... The entire cast is gold actually but I'm not here to talk about french voice acting)

Both letters have Katar use "une petite sauterie". "Shindig" is the closest thing I could find but it's not exactly right. Une sauterie is a small intimate and informal gathering. It's a very old fashioned word and is now only used jokingly. It's a cute and silly word and adding the "petite" in front of it makes it sound even cuter and sillier.

"Surprise!" No comment, perfect. I love characters who act silly but in a very unnerving way....

"We took the liberty of inviting your family" already hinting that Katar isn't alone!! I love that.

And Goultard runs all the way to where Katar is keeping his family hostage.

Goultard : If anything happened to them, I would never forgive myself! (And it's true, he never does)

Goultard : Good grief! I'm finally here! The moutain of a thousand screams.... aka boob mountain... (fucking boob moutain man i dont know)

The dialogue between Katar and Goultard right before they start to fight is a little different too.

Goultard : What... What is this sensation? Every muscle in my body is tensing up and... I'm shaking...

Katar : Impressive! Your body reacts instinctively to my presence! A bit like a sixth sense... I was not wrong about you! / Goultard : Who are you and what have you done to my family?

Katar : My name is Katar and your family is fine for now! They're in the cave behind me! You only have to do one thing to see them again.. Beating me!

Goultard : Very well! Now, let me tell you one thing, Katar! I meet lunatics like you every day. It's my job. But you, You're gonna suffer! I'll be merciless... Because you see... No one messes with my family.

Goultard : Ready? / Katar : I was not asking for that much... A violent fight... Gratuitous, with no justification! Now that suits me wonderfully!

(Can they both just shut up??? Oh my god!!!)

In the episode it goes like this :

Katar : Welcome Goultard. I'm Katar. We were impatiently waiting for you. We've wanted to meet a hero of your caliber for so long.

Goultard : Where are they? I swear, If you did them even the slightest harm..

Katar : Settle down. Let's not get worked up. I assure you they want for nothing. If you wish to see them, grant me a dance.

(WHY IS HE SO PRETTY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH)

It's shorter, straight to the point. Goultard doesn't give a shit who this guy is or what's his problem. He wastes no time, refuses to indulge Katar's sick sense of humor and immediately asks about the only one thing that truly matters to him. You can clearly tell he's furious AND panicked. Terrified of what might have happened to his loved ones.

They have a very interesting dynamic... I think what works so well here is that, Katar dismisses and minimizes the brutality of the situation, not taking it seriously, like it's a joke or a game. Which is exactly the way Goultard behaves most of the time. But in this specific situation and with what's at stake, he can't not take it seriously. Very destabilizing for Goultard.

In the manga, Katar initiates. Goultard is taken aback. At first it looks like he doesn't stand a chance against Katar.

Goultard : Where is he? / Katar : Tired already? Impossible, I can't have been this wrong about you... Move... You can do better... Come on hero, fight! Or i'll kill you, your shitlings and your bitches...

But he manages to turn the tables.

Katar : Seems like you're getting caught up in the game! / Goultard : Believe me... This is everything but a game.

In the special episode, Goultard attacks first and immediately has the upper hand on Katar.

Katar is a sacrier, it makes sense for him to wait until he's injured before fighting back and taking control of the situation.

Get wrecked <3

There's a little moment i like in the manga that's not in the special ep, right before the reveal that Goultard's family is already dead. Interesting to know that at this point Gou holds the belief that hunting monsters is fine but killing humans isn't.

Goultard : I know terminating a human being is wrong.. But I sense an evil too great inside you! You have to disappear! / Katar : Tell me, Goultard... What makes you think I'm human? And above all, what makes you believe you can defeat me? You hit like an old lady, Goultard! It looks like you're holding back, like you're scared to let loose... I think I have the solution! Come over here... Go say hello to your dear family!

Kicking him in the balls, grabbing his hair and dragging him through the dirt. I like that. I really like that.

(baby baybay bayayy bayby baby byabbaby baabyy)

This is horrible.... AND BRUNO CHOEL MY GOD!!! I'm begging them to make Goultard go through the horrors in the next season because I need more of that. He's just so good at crying and begging and whimpering and and and. He did say in an interview that he's very passionate and usually cries for real when playing these kind of scenes so the emotions in his voice feel as honest as possible. Simply amazing.

Part 4

[thefanboyhub]

Bronte headcanons?!??!

(Sorry if I've already asked you that)

Do you want to give Bronte a kiss on the forehead and cuddles???

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I LOVE HIM MORE THI OBVI ALSO YESSSSSSS I DO AND YES I WILL GIVE YOU MY HEADCANNONS

He started the whole vampire shit with humans. He was so emo and brooding and all that silly stuff when humans were around and it made the myth/legend of vampires.

He actually loves his curly hair but refuses to be taken as a joke so he keeps his hair buzzed. (Too many people said he looked soft with his curly hair long)

If he were to step down from the council it would be to adopt a child. DONT ASK ME WHY I JUST HAVE A FEELING HE WOULD OK.

Use to be reckless and wild until he accident hurt people he cares about which set him down the path to becoming what he is today.

Is more up to date with the times than any other ancient elf. He is actually surprisingly patient and loves to learn the new stuff no matter how hard he tries to bullshit it and say he doesn't care and all that emo bs.

If he cares about you he's very attentive and does a lot of silent acts of service; like making food and having it sent to you and all that jazz. But it's hard for anyone to get in his heart, mostly because he takes his job seriously.

Definitely not straight. His sassy ass is most definitely bisexual but also not really into anyone. He just thinks everyone is hot and doesn't think much farther than that.

The OG emo/goth but when he was younger he was the OG punk/scene kid. Don't ask, I just know it ok.

When not sober he's literally the softest and silliest guy ever: one time he flirted with Emery while drunk (he made an excuse the next day saying he thought Emery was a women while drunk. It was a lie. He knew.)

Switches from the parent of the council to the bratty child who doesn't like complying with the group.

Very close with Oralie, even before Sophie. He was one of the few people to support her and actively gossips with her. They are besties your honor.

He used to be much sillier and laid back when he first joined the council but after the thousands of years and all that he's seen he learned to become cold and do what has to do.

Out of all the council he would be the least likely to have his mind shatter from guilt: especially if the guilt would be murder of any kind. He's seen a lot and he's desensitized to it in a sense. He wouldn't feel an ounce of guilt if it was to protect the helpless.

He is very against hurting helpless people in any kind. He was only aggressive with Sophie because he knew she wasn't helpless and that she was probably dangerous; He never wished her to be harmed in the way she was. Even when inflicting he went easy on her.

I also think he only basically bullied Sophie to push her to be better to prove him wrong. He did not want her to be evil, so he was the bad that pushed her to do good ifykwim.

Likes to nap any chance he gets. He just likes how comfy his bed is tbh.

Not fond of land animals unless they're fluffy as all hell and adores sea creatures.

Use to hate change when he was younger and now he's so used to change that he handles it the best out of anyone on the council.

Mourns his old friends as if they were dead because he cannot connect with anyone due to his job. Secretly thinks of Oralie and Emery as his friends but never tell him. (They know and they also don't say anything.)

Emery and Him have kissed. I just know it.

Disassociates a lot. Dawg is traumatized, like he's been alive for how long? Ain't no way he ain't traumatized.

Anyways

That's all <3

(I could make this man smile I swear I could. Like I could make him happy. Once chance Bronte PLEASE. AGE IS JUST A NUMBER 😭/J)

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

Please scream about Ghostbur to me.

Coming soon: me screaming about Halo

OKAY here goes nothing !!

Also this is one of my favorite gifs :)

ANYWAY! MOVING ON TO THE!! RAMBLE!!!

Okayokay I just recently had an epiphany in regards to Ghostbur + the rampant mischaracterization that the fandom gives to him, and the epiphany is this: Ghostbur is an extremely multi-faceted character.

That doesn’t sound too monumental on its own—well-written characters should be multi-faceted!—but with Ghostbur, I feel like it’s much more extreme… which also makes him more confusing.

It’s so freakin rare to find anyone who actually understands Ghostbur’s character & doesn’t wildly mischaracterize him/have a super strange idea of who he is, and for the longest time I couldn’t understand it! I chalked it up to fans being unable to actually look at his character and dig deeper, or only being able to see a very surface-level Ghostbur, but now I think it’s a little different than that :0

Ghostbur is a very complex little guy—which most people don’t realize! He’s mature but also childish, and he’s happy but also depressed, and he cares so deeply for everything but he also doesn’t value his own life, and he wants to die but he’s scared of death. It all sounds very contradictory, but if you understand his character then you realize it makes sense!

And I’m pretty darn certain that the reason fans misinterpret him so much is because they’re only paying attention to one of his many facets!! Rather than seeing All of Ghostbur’s facets and quirks, they only focus on one, and the result is a very very mischaracterized ghost.

There’s a big issue when it comes to infantalizing Ghostbur; it’s definitely the most common mischaracterization I’ve seen. And I think the reason it’s so rampant is because it’s… sort of grounded in truth? Ghostbur is very whimsical and silly and smiley, and he does quite a few things that would be seen as childish—things such as refusing to talk/think about sad things, only focusing on “happy” things, deriving the most fulfillment and satisfaction from simple tasks, etc etc. I don’t think it’s wrong to say that Ghostbur has childish traits! Not wrong at all!! It’s an important part of his character, I fully believe that!

The problem comes when people only see Ghostbur as childish. When they only pay attention to his sillier aspects. When they cannot understand that yes, parts of Ghostbur are childish, but he is still an adult and he’s really quite mature!!

Another mischaracterization I’ve seen, though not as frequently, is sort of… I guess “dark Ghostbur” would be the best way to put it; they think of Ghostbur as creepy, as unsettling, as dead, as unnatural, as disturbing. They see him as something wrong, as something that is not supposed to be moving and talking and smiling. Someone who watches pleasantly as terrible things happen all around, someone who’s ready to kill and torture. Basically, this version of Ghostbur leans more into the ghost aspect—specifically, a creepy, supernatural ghost who’s clearly, undeniably inhuman.

This, again, is founded on a bit of truth! Ghostbur has definitely done or said creepy things—most notably whenever he talks about death. He’ll say things like, “Alivebur blew up the nation and killed everyone, it looks like Tommy killed himself, I want to die” and he will say it all in an easy, pleasant, smiling tone of voice, as if he sees absolutely nothing disturbing about the subject matter.

But the problem happens when fans only see this side of his personality, and make it into his entire personality. Because truth is, Ghostbur isn’t a generally creepy character! He’s super sweet and wants to help people, and he’s always looking for the good in others. He just happens to also have a bit of an unsettling side to him, but that is by no means reflective of his whole entire personality, and shouldn’t be viewed as such!

The many complexities of Ghostbur is something I could literally go on and on about, but this kinda scratches the surface of what I mean. He has so many wonderful sides to his beautiful & unique personality, and I think most fans are incapable of understanding all of them :( It’s very unfortunate, because he really is SUCH an amazing character!! He’s incredible!!! He does not deserve how the fandom treats him, not at all.

[elderwisp]

Oooh.. OC Asks you say??? Don't mind if I do!! How many can I ask for at once? I'm feeling nosy 😅 Can I get: Betrayal -> "Unnamed" 👀 And if you're up for more... Mistake -> Atlas Desire -> Frances Alone -> Icarus Midnight -> Kai Skin -> Taryn

HWHEHEE YES!

Betrayal for Unnamed: Has your OC ever been betrayed by someone they thought they could trust? Has your OC ever betrayed someone who trusted them?

⌾⃝ OMG this one is so good SO GOOD U DON'T UNDERSTAND- ok SO! Yes, Unnamed is ultimately betrayed by Atlas. I would say Unnamed is very much a do whatever the fuck you want kinda guy but if there's one thing he asks you to not do, it's for good reason. There was one thing, one thing, he asked Atlas not to do and what does this fucker do? The thing that in the end brings their relationship to a close. HOWEVER, he's also a bit of a hypocrite because he also betrays Atlas in a different way but this doesn't end their relationship. Their relationship is quite volatile and once Atlas comes to this understanding, he still gravitates towards Unnamed until Atlas fucks up. Bad.

Mistake for Atlas: What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

☾ So piggybacking on the previous ask, Atlas makes a huge mistake with Unnamed when he was seventeen. While he was already in some deep shit around that time, all self-inflicted of course, it ends up backfiring on him and affecting the one important person in his life. Which is honestly the last thing Atlas wants to do because at the end of the day, he knows what it's like to hurt so he doesn't want to inflict it on others. It's a huge reason why he lies to people because if it hurts less, then good. OK OFF TRACK so he's still figuring out how to fix it but sometimes you can't turn the clock backwards so he has to eventually come to terms with it.

Desire for Frances: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?

𖦹 BOOF! Stability for sure! Frances feels like life has always been unstable with them and it started the day she and her brother were put up for adoption. While she doesn't remember too much of it, it was an early memory and did set a tone for her life. She is incredibly grateful for Elliot and Toni for taking them in but things started to go out of whack in high school and after certain events, she made herself a few promises: Not to rely on her parents and to do anything to stabilize. She's quite open about it, her friends attempt to help her out, especially in the beginning because Frances will do anything to meet that goal. In school, she made sure to take all of the accelerated classes and secure a scholarship. In college, before working for Icarus, they did so many odd jobs. I would say the one misstep Frances took was she got so tired of her dorm roommate, she moved out on her own and that was what put her in a financial pinch which is when we meet her.

Alone for Icarus: How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there's no one around to see them?

◍ Being alone is the one time Icarus can truly be himself. It's the moment when he can unclench the jaw, lower the shoulders and unwind. He's not uncomfortable with being alone, when his parents died, Aponi would argue that he did it too much but it was his way of grieving. He hasn't been completely alone because family is always around the corner. I would say he's a bit sillier, a lot more loose and fluid. In the recent story post, he's still a bit more put together around Frances (with little pops of his personality) but the more he gets comfortable around them, we'll start to see that side of him and the dialogue there makes me chuckle hehe!

Midnight for Kai: What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?

✿ I think Kai's crush on Atlas brings up the bigger question on being gay in a religious community, especially one that is less accepting. When you're apart of something for such a long time, even if it isn't aligned with yourself, sometimes we seek approval from that because it's a community, it's a feeling of belonging so you don't want to be the odd one out. Kai holds a lot of shame for his identity because it's been drilled in his mind that it's wrong so for that shame to be uncovered, keeps him up at night. He likes to game a lot when he's feeling this way/unable to sleep because it's a form of escapism from these problems, he can pretend for a bit to be someone else.

Skin for Taryn: How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

𖤓 Ok so. Current Taryn is not comfortable in her skin. When she told Atlas "I keep asking myself why you’re so nice to me all of a sudden. Why would someone like you be around someone like me and it’s such a… Mind-fuck." while it was about their confusing situation, the low-confidence towards herself automatically equated that Atlas just wanted a one night stand. Taryn does view herself as undesirable, she really doesn't see herself as beautiful so she's dealing with that version of herself and it's heartbreaking to say the least. She acknowledges it completely and in a way it makes decisions for her. Facing this current self brings a lot of hopelessness and while she does enjoy her time around Atlas, hearing his compliments flies over her head because she's so lost in herself and that to me... Is a tragedy. She is slowly getting better, I think her setting boundaries and speaking up is her doing right by herself but damn does the rejection of her publishing book stings.

[yellowhollyhock]

thinking about Donny developing a crush on Angel

Because I don't think it would be until after btts. There are moments in earlier seasons that are seeds to me, where I think they'd be in love looking back on it, if that makes sense? But when she gives him the best of the outfits in her intro episode and he enjoys dressing up more than we usually will see from him, I don't think it means anything at the time. Or in the Darkness Within when the creature makes him see her fall--I like best to read that as purely platonic in that moment. They don't know each other well yet--but it does tell us something about how deeply he values his friendships. And the fact that she comes to their Christmas party--okay she mostly seems to be there to help Raph torment Casey and April, but still, it shows some trust and level of effort that she's there. Because it's not like she can tell her grandma where she's going.

On my mind lately has been Donny, finally truly coming back to the present after getting Master Splinter back, wanting to move on quickly to the next big thing which he now knows is helping April start her own tech company, but he can't tell her that because 1) messes with the timestream and 2) she just got married. He needs to find ways to keep himself busy because when he doesn't have something immediate to deal with, he ends up having to deal with nightmares and shutdowns instead.

And then here's Angel, settling into her job as a hairdresser, just moved back in with Gramma because she needs help at home, trying to spend more time with the turtles because 1) they disappeared, that freaked everyone out, stuff is is always happening to them and this time she's not gonna miss it, and 2) trying to recapture memories because her life has gotten away from her so fast and now it's 9 to 5 and what ever happened to graffiti and beating up thugs? (she'll get those things back just dealing with early 20s time management struggle). She's not a very openly verbally affectionate person, she's always been super independent, she doesn't really know how to say 'hey i missed you guys, do you wanna hang out because sometimes if i don't see you for too long i get worried.' So she tries to feel useful. Invites herself on patrols with them. Hangs out a lot with Leatherhead learning first aid for mutants (lots of skills apply to both but he's the medical expert in their friend group of mixed creatures and given their various hobbies they could always use more friends who can help with injuries). And--most importantly for this post--brings things by that she thinks the turtles could use. Just little gifts. Fun accessories to help them blend ('trust me mismatched socks are cool, the sillier the better. No one's gonna be checking how many toes you have if you're wearing these'), her own art, extra screws and bolts upon noticing that Donny can always find a way to use them. It becomes a bit of a game, with her trying to spot things that could be taken apart and repurposed to see what he ends up doing with them.

Gifts are a big deal to Donny. Especially since, as noted above, without a crisis to deal with he's finding himself vulnerable as emotions he previously couldn't confront due to being in survival mode are coming to the surface. And now someone he already respects and cares deeply for is bringing him Items and taking an interest in what he does with them. I think this is the main thing that gets his attention. And once you have Don's attention you have All Of It because that's how his brain works what, projecting? me? . He's seeing how much she tries to take care of other people while trying to maintain this aloof 'whatever I'm just here for the free food' facade. Noticing that she likes to do her nails in colors that clash with her hair, when she does them, usually she keeps them plain. Taking an interest in human cosmetology (what an academically interesting subject). Finding her jokes funnier than he ever remembers finding Casey's even though they have a very similar sense of humor. Admiring how brave she is, heart swelling with warmth when she does little things to take care of her grandma, stomach fluttering when she comes over to play video games with Mikey and specifically asks him to join. Taking note of her favorite foods, taste in music, what types of games and movies she likes.

Slowly realizing that his feelings have evolved, trying to ignore it because he has no idea how pursuing a relationship would even work. And then one day as he's shaking himself out of his daydreams to refocus on fixing the dishwasher, realizing that more and more often it's her filling up his thoughts in quiet moments, instead of Shredder or Triceratons or Viral. Huh, cool. Maybe it's not a permanent solution, Master Splinter's been telling him he needs to allow these feelings to run their course, but--well, maybe he can apply that to the crush he's developed. That's something he has to deal with, too, and it sure feels nicer.

And then Angel (who is more observant and more confident than her friend group, mostly older than her, ever remember), asks him on a date. Now he has a big thing to focus on! And for the first time in what feels like ever, it's a happy thing. He's going to be the best boyfriend, Angel deserves to be so spoiled and he's good at that!

[grovershire-girl]

I'm not really sure if I should call this a rant or just simply putting my thoughts out there. Mostly, it's just me trying to give some defense to the Royal Romance Mc. I don't really interact with the Choices fandom very often, but whenever I do see stuff, especially towards mc, it's mostly negative. Now, I by no means believe that there are NO issues with the books, but I do feel like mc receives more of the blunt of those frustrations than she really deserves.

First, before I get into this, I will be honest and say that mc is one of my favorite choices characters, so there is some bias. The way I view the story, the characters, and the various events that happen throughout are completely my own. I personally kind of add to the stories as I play through them. I'm definitely going to try to give valid reasoning here, but it's totally understandable if you disagree or dismiss this. I don't want to start any arguments. I personally greatly enjoy her and have played through the entire series multiple times now (I'm currently in book 2 as we speak). The main thing I've noticed throughout these replays, the thing I'm going to be using as my main driving point, is that mc is doing her best in strange situations that do not let up for even more than a moment.

At the very start, mc is just a regular person living in New York, working as a waitress/bartender, and probably isn't living the best of lives, again just trying to work with what she's got. Along comes this guy and his friends. She'll probably just thinking that their her last customers before she can go home and crash into bed, but then the guy comes up to HER and asks her to accompany them for the night. Her reaction is sort just like, "You know what, sure. Why not? I ain't got anything going on." If you do the diamond scene, she arranges an impromptu boat tour for Liam mostly just because she noticed how down he was, and then pretty much just shrugged her shoulders and gave Maxwell a thumbs up when he asked her to go with him to Cordnia.

Right from the start, it's shown that mc is impulsive and tends to just go with the flow and do without thinking too much about it. Now, if you're like me and like to mentally fill in the (many) gaps that the writers have left, you probably came up with your own reasons and background stories that explain why she's like that. Most likely on purpose, as even though mc is her own character, she is still supposed to be a representation of you. Her impulsiveness is simply an outline of who she is, and you, as the reader, color her in.

That's not to say that she can't stand on her own at all, though. One thing I find that I notice in all the books, at least in my perspective, is that mc is incredibly observant and clever. It may not come across that way all the time, and those two things definitely don't always mean smart, as mc has more than enough fumbles to show for it, but by no means is she at all stupid. Even in her sillier moments, she seems to knowingly like messing around, both for her own entertainment and to be petty and get under people's skins. Like with her whole "fwieeeends" bit with Olivia, for example. She is definitely well aware of the fact that it's annoying and seems to take great enjoyment out of it.

But that is to say, in circling back around to my earlier statement, she's just trying to work with what she's got. From the very beginning, when she arrived in Cordnia, she has people looking down on her, namely Drake, Olivia, and Bertrand. I'm not sure if Pixelberry ever gave them official ages, but I'd say she's around 24 or 25, maybe. She also clearly didn't have a whole lot of people close to her in New York. So all and all, she's a young girl brought to a foreign country to compete in a competition to marry a prince, but now also has the entire weight of the Beaumont legacy suddenly thrown on her back, is sorting through complicated feelings that she might be developing for other people, and has been all but shoved front and center into the national (and global) spotlight. Despite all of that craziness, she is STILL able to navigate through it all until the end when forces outside of her control send it all crashing down.

And it it pretty much like that in all the books. Mc is working with a semi steady bombardment of issues (mostly do to an extremely flawed monarchy system) and rarely really has time to actually stop, come to terms with what's going on, properly plan, of even just breath. Regardless of whether she's queen or duchess (especially if she's a duchess), she has way more thrown on her that she actually should. And all she can really do about it is roll with the punches, try to figure things out as much as she can, and make silly little comments and jokes to keep herself from having a breakdown.

[starrysharks]

today, i watched "saw 3D". it was a moving picture.

i'm surprised that they went off the rails for the most part of this movie (not in a good way) like this. firstly, this movie probably has the worst starter trap in saw history 💀 it was framed so ridiculously that i thought "oh, they're showing a fake trap that's being done as a prank or something" until the girl actually got sawed in half. even when blood got spilled i thought it would be revealed as ketchup later, and it was supposed to be a parody of how people view saw as over the top and silly.... but no that prank was legit.... the traps in general were a bit mediocre here, and the gore was really meh especially with the bright pink blood. iirc this movie and danganronpa came out in the same year which is a funny coincidence.

generally this movie was just sillier than the others and it was hard to suspend my disbelief with it. i think the breaking point was the car crash trap. hoffman killing a bunch of racists is lowkey #BASED but the way it's more or less him saying "when the lights turn off we're ALL black" is kinda funny. as well as that, the weird fanservicey parts (like the girl's outfit in the first trap) also took me out of the story.

other than that, the story of the movie was actually an interesting concept - guy fakes being a saw trap survivor and actually has to go through a saw trap, but compared to the other saw trap house guys, this one kind of blends in. also two teeth related tortures in one movie i feel like they're kinda running out of ideas (but that's just me nitpicking)... though i don't want to be too hard on this movie. my favorite trap was probably the one with his friend cale as it was pretty unique, didn't rely on gore, and had a good stressful atmosphere.

ignoring the main trap house plot, the continuous story here was pretty nice. hoffman going crazy and killing everyone is entertaining (even tho he killed jill </3), and gordon's big reveal was also cool, even tho i knew it was coming because i accidentally got spoiled. i think him looking at his severed foot at the end in the OG bathroom kinda showed how he left behind his compassion/a part of himself died, which if intentional was cool symbolism. i assume this really was supposed to be the final conclusion, so it makes sense that they had so many callbacks to the 2004 movie. but i wish they had more clues towards it besides bringing up gordon as much as possible in the previous movies.

this saw was not like the other saws i saw. people weren't lying when they said it was the worst - the story, while easy to follow along, was a bit dull and very silly (i know i've said silly a billion times i'm not good with words), and it really feels like its leaning in to the misconceptions and stereotypes that people give to these movies. however, it did show a huge plot twist that had an alright buildup and good conclusion. i'm giving it a solid 1.5/5, with .2 points added for john kramer's fire fucking fit at the book signing holy hell that shit was raw. hopefully saw 8 shows us who the other pig heads at the end were (maybe the other survivors at the therapy talk?) and also redeems the franchise.

[twisting-roads]

I AM VERY NORMAL AND SANE ABOUT JELLY AIB. HERE'S AN ESSAY ABOUT HIM.

I’d like to preface this by saying I’ve already added like 3 paragraphs of text to Jelly’s personality page on the wiki, but I’m not quite done yet with him either. Please hear me out on this.

Jelly as a character may seem very self centered at the surface. Some might even say he’s using Popsicle Stick’s affection for him as an ego booster, but I doubt he ever had any malicious intentions. Only a few times did he act self centered, and I believe there's more a reason behind this than just him wanting attention. In this very long character analysis, I hope to explain Jelly’s motivations, what's wrong with him, and his relationship with PStick and the rest of team 2.

In the 2nd episode during the team 2 icebreakers, Jelly starts introducing himself as Can becomes upset with how this is all going. He brags about being a social butterfly, and drops the iconic line “And before anyone asks… Yes.” This is usually just interpreted as Jelly wanting attention on him, but I think he’s just doing an elaborate bit (he does enjoy attention though I will not lie about that). He notices how poorly this all has been going for Can, and wants to add something silly to lighten the mood a bit, even if that means being a little obnoxious about it. He knows he has the charisma to pull it off. He might’ve dragged on the bit too far though if Bouncy Ball didn’t fly in the last second.

Later on in ep 2 after Sock kicks Jelly in the head, possibly being the reason Jelly went stupid mode instead of it being BB’s fault. During this, I believe he's showing a bit of his “true side”. of course that's debatable, since he’s just received major brain damage, but either way, he becomes less filtered and sillier, just hanging out on the sidelines up until ep 3. PStick seems to be his self-employed caretaker for the time being.

Speaking of PStick, we should address the elephant in the room here. Jelly does seem to genuinely care for her, even if it's hard to tell in his tone in ep 1, he does show many other instances where he likes spending time with her. Unlike her, he’s able to exist alone and work alongside other people, and knows he can still be friends with her and hang out during off hours. When she joined Team 2 and Hailstone pestered her and Jelly about this, he wasn’t hesitant to ask Oodle if it was ok to switch teams. He clearly likes PStick being there, but doesn’t want to upset Hailstone or break the rules either, meaning he’s not completely biased.

Later on, esp in ep 5, Jelly seems a bit startled or worried about PStick being on the team or so attached to him. He’s starting to become uncomfortable, but instead of saying this to her, he hides that fact. He doesn’t want to hurt her, and is especially afraid of conflict. When Hailstone is upset at the fact PStick is on team 2 now, Jelly tries to console her, and understands where she's coming from, but he doesn’t want to directly tell PStick to just leave. At the start of ep 5, Jelly tries to ask Hailstone if she can go ask Oodle to do something about the heat, calling her a “good negotiator” in reference to the conversation they had in ep 4, and also not wanting to confront Oodle himself. He’s possibly afraid of confrontation or upsetting others, always being the guy who gets caught up in conflicts and tries to reach a compromise where both parties are the least unhappy. Him also trusting Hailstone shows he still respects her as his teammate, even if she isn’t a fan of PStick.

I haven’t talked much about his character in ep 3, but there's still some important things to note. He still remains silly in this ep (bababooey). When team 5 ends up disqualifying themselves and Safe is pulled out of the machine, he’s the one to go up to her and tell her it wasn’t her fault they almost lost. TBH the whole team thinks this too, with Can blaming Oodle’s oversights for why they were unable to get Safe out, but that’s not the point here. He does somewhat motivate her to go join them in their little victory party as well.

Point is, Jelly is a charismatic guy who wants to be a bit silly. He understands and respects others and just wants everyone to get along and be happy, typically being the one to comfort others. He dislikes confrontation, however, even to the point where he starts getting uncomfortable but doesn’t say anything about it in fear of hurting his closest friend.

[paper--moons]

CG!Gildarts Headcanons

While the guild might all be considered Makarov's children, Gildarts is unofficially the guild's dad. Maybe it's because he's got this larger than life image surrounding him, but the kids have always flocked to him in that trusting way children do when they recognize somebody as a nice grown-up. And this appears to be the case regardless of whether they be literal children or regressors—no matter their age, he doesn't make any difference between how he treats them. Even guild members that have a one-off regression experience after being on the receiving end of some regression magic on a job run awry seem to ask for Gildarts, should he be at the guild. He's got that super comforting aura that little kids just soak up. But he doesn't begrudge the role that has been given to him, far from it in fact! Gildarts loves being able to help out and takes on that nurturing, parental responsibility with surprising ease. Moreover, because of this he leans into his little ones giving him more traditional cg titles (i.e., daddy or papa) should they feel the need to do so. Not because it makes him feel all warm to be honored with such a title or anything, ssh nobody can know he's a big softie (even though he totally is and does not actually try to hide it).

As a general rule, Gildarts is pretty easy-going. This aspect of his personality, naturally, carries over into his caregiving style. He doesn't necessarily get involved until he has to—not in a neglectful way of course, but rather in the sense that he believes kids can and should try to figure things out for themselves first. Kids are a lot smarter than people tend to give them credit for, after all! Also, it's a good way to help them grow emotionally, both when they are occupying their smallspace and potentially when they are big as well. But should his little one ask for his help early into their conundrum, they won't be ignored in the name of teaching them a lesson; that helps absolutely no one and is nothing more than an excuse, in his opinion. Although depending on the problem, Gildarts might be just as stumped. He isn't the type of person to pretend he knows everything, and thinks it's best to be honest with them rather than foster some false sense of infallibility. So to circumnavigate all of this, he is going to teach them the art of pestering their elders (i.e., going to Makarov and asking for help).

This man is incredibly verbally affectionate when it comes to his kiddo. That isn't to say he doesn't show other forms of affection—no one is safe from his bear hugs—but he gives physical affection more freely to everyone in general as it tends to be easier for him. An arm slung around someone's shoulder or a hand ruffling their hair isn't uncommon behavior for him. But when he's taking care of his kiddo? All the endearments and baby talk come rushing out because they're just too adorable! Practically every other sentence is getting peppered with whatever he feels suits his little one at that particular moment in time. And while he will default to classics such as "sweetheart" or "sunshine", Gildarts tends to favor more elaborate (some might say perhaps sillier) ones. Because who is going to call out one of the strongest mages in Fiore when he says things like Where's my bubbly bugaboo run off to, or Oh no, what's got my honeybun baby bear all upset now? (Also, it's pretty important to note that when he does string out some silly endearment, it's always prefaced with "my", because he wants everybody to know that's his kid and he couldn't be prouder!)

Not only is he one of the strongest magic users out there, but Gildarts is a pretty strong guy in general. Which means when his little one wants up? They are going up. Even if they didn't ask, he can always tell when they want uppies; he is going to scoop them up and pop them on his hip before they can so much as blink! Gildarts has also been known to pull his kiddo up by their ankle and dangle them about, which earns him many delighted shrieks; though if they happen to not be feeling it for whatever reason he is quick to actually pull them up in a more favorable position to bounce and rock them, apologizing all the while (Is that too scary today, sweetness? That's okay, Daddy's so sorry for upsetting you). However he doesn't always use this power to pick them up for good, at least in his little one's opinion. Are they about to get into something they have been told not to mess with? Gildarts plucks them up the second they think they're in the clear for baby crimes. They don't want to take a nap? Protest all they like, but Daddy has already got them slung over his shoulder and is hauling them off to bed.

Continuing in a similar vein with the concept of bedtime, Gildarts always has to rework his bedtime stories on the fly. Mostly because he doesn't know too many actual bedtime stories to begin with, and instead he tends to relay the events of the many different quests he has gone on over the years. This wouldn't be a problem since his kiddo practically begs him to tell them stories about what he does, believing that he is the absolute coolest wizard out there. No, the problem lies in that he sort of forgets that not every aspect of his adventures are suitable for tykes, and so he has to dial back certain elements. After all, it might scare them if he goes into too much detail about how he lost his arm, his leg, and some of his insides to Acnologia (and so they get a veerrryyy watered down baby-friendly version of the time he fought a dragon). Though most of his stories he plays up the fact that he's a little bit clumsy and has used his magic when he shouldn't, because that seems to make his little one laugh the most. By far their favorite story (and the one he's had to tell the most times) is the day that Magnolia finally decided they needed to rearrange the entire city every time he comes home.

Gildarts is really, extremely well-suited to minding after regressors with a lot of energy and that typically fall within the three to seven age range. Really, it's quite impressive how well he is able to match their energy level and keep up with them during their playtime, no matter the game being played—earning him the highly coveted "fun dad" label. He will be the big scary monster in their game of chase and does all the legwork that comes with that including the big scary monster voice, thank you. And honestly? He has just as much fun as they do, as he genuinely enjoys being able to play with them. The excited shrieks and giggles as they run away (always stopping to make sure he is indeed following) bring a smile to his face, and so he can't help but pull more out of them by the time he finally catches them. Because the minute he's got them, they are in for a visit from the big scary monster they've been trying to escape: the tickle monster. Gildarts laughs nearly as much as they do after a quick tickle to their side results in another giggle fit bursting out of his kiddo.

However, for as boisterous as he can be when it comes to enjoying playtime with them, he also has an incredibly calm and attentive side as well. No issue is a small issue if it is something that is bothering or upsetting his little one, and those big emotions should never be ignored (even if they might make them feel like they are being too much or too difficult, or that they are acting like a baby over "nothing"). Gildarts knows that to be strong you have to acknowledge your vulnerability and weaknesses, and allow yourself to be gentle. Out of everything he has to offer, all of the life experience he can share, this is the one belief that he wants to be able to teach his little one above all others. Because even when he isn't there to soothe their tears on a particularly rough day, they will know that there's no shame in admitting that they are hurting and that it's more than okay—necessary, he would argue—to treat themself with no small amount of gentleness and kindness like they deserve.

[feekins]

fell a little behind, so today imma cover the extras in Trigun vol 2 - "Day In Day Out" and "Trigun Pilot" 😁

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

after all the heaviness of ch8, depending on how you look at them, these extras are either a palate cleanser or they give you a bit of whiplash 😅 personally, I enjoy them. they're good fun, and it's interesting to compare these earlier Vashs with him at the end of vol 2. now, without further ado...

DAY IN DAY OUT

(Dark Horse on left, Overhaul on right)

just an interesting little translation discrepancy here - there aren't too many context-changing ones in these extras.

oh but I do love that both translations describe how early Vash wakes up (which, judging by the clock, is 4-5am so about the time Charlie gets me up for First Breakfast) the same way - "Earlier than the rooster's crow, children on Sunday, and the morning paper."

...ah yes, the Noman's Land rooster...

[[insert Trigun character recreating the "look at all those chickens!" vine but with toma here]]

Overhaul at it again, providing more context and clarity =u= although I do think both translations, while different, give off a similar vibe, pointing out little contradictions or things that seem counter-intuitive here.

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

again, similar enough imo - but I enjoy the Overhaul's translation more bc it's sillier 💕

speaking of which...

...minor translation discrepancies here, but "All Days" VS "Oldies" is cracking me up bc I think I know how Dark Horse got what they did - it's a mistake/some confusion in what foreign (to Japan) word Nightow meant!

in Japanese, "imported" words tend to be written in katakana rather than hiragana. it's kind of like how, in American English, you might see "imported" words printed in italics in some books. anyway, I looked up the Japanese word for "Oldies" and it brought up オールディーズ (literally "oorudeiizu"). and here's the thing: there's no "dee" (like in "deer") sound in Japanese. to denote that in katakana for an "imported" word, then, you'd use the character デ ("de" like in "den") + the modifier ィ ("i" like in "eerie") + symbol to indicate an elongated vowel sound. hence, "oorudeiizu" - which I guess Dark Horse then mistook, thinking it meant "All Days"

(...but if that were the case, wouldn't it originally have to be "aarudeiizu"...? dgixgujgx I'm getting sidetracked, sorry - I am ① an anthropologist who ② took some Japanese classes way back when, so I got excited 😵‍💫)

ANYWAY.

......"Sonic Sodom" eh? I mean, alright! 😆

notable translation discrepancies, but either one does its job: makes this creep seem like more of an ass

now, the second extra...

TRIGUN PILOT

first page, first translation discrepancy. it's minor, but again, the Overhaul gives us more info. second panel, first block of text. Dark Horse has "Even if we're sheltered beneath a giant umbrella, we don't know what tomorrow may hold." meanwhile, the Overhaul has "Even if we're sheltered underneath an umbrella of our old technology, we don't know what the future holds."

there's another discrepancy on the second page, second block of text. more significant difference here. Dark Horse has:

Vash the Stampede is now known as a "localized disaster."

meanwhile, the Overhaul has:

Having caused massive amounts of destruction, he is now under suspicion of being the world's first "localized disaster."

lmao what an ass

and it's interesting how we see the kind of person Count Bostalk is right from the start...

and then we have Vash dancing in listening to his transistor radio. classic. 🤣

🤨

blegh. translation discrepancy that changes the context. I already liked this bandit guy, but the Overhaul makes me like him more. less "macho" more "I HAVE to take revenge for the heinous things Bostalk did"

the pilot does such a good job setting up the complexity of the conflicts in the Trigun 'verse 💕

and I don't like this one 😑 Dark Horse's translation here is...kinda jerk-like. condescending, kinda? anyway. let me sing another love song to you, Overhaul~

finally, I had to put these panels together. the translations are close enough, so no complaints there - the sass of this exchange just didn't hit me until now. Vash is such a lil shit and I love it 💕

[mysteriawrites]

hello!! could i please request a romantic matchup with a honkai star rail men

my pronouns are they/them, my mbti is intp-t, my zodiac is virgo.

personality: im really shy and kind of awkward when socializing others bcos im not really good interacting with them so i just stay in the sideline where i observe people and their behavior and thats the reason why people depict me as intimidating and hard to approach and also bcos of my stoic expression too but when im with my close friends, im really bubbly and more comfortable with them. im really quite moody sometimes and i also tend to overthink things. i always listen to my friends whenever they're having a problem and just be there for them sometimes pitching in some advice now and then. im also the type of person to run away from their problems and tend to push people away bcos i dont want to burden them, i also laugh at small things, im also the type of person to read a body language very well bcos of my observant nature. i also get insecure with my appearance too. im also blunt with my words i do not sugarcoat things.

my hobbies/likes:writing stories and reading books, poetry composition, learning about stars and outer space, watching horror videos on yt, staying up all night writing down my ideas about my next stories, sleeping, i also have a fascination to ocean and i tend to stare at it, dark academia, i also like abandoned places especially if its haunted, i also love matcha green tea, i really love a meadow full of lavenders.

my dislikes: loud people including loud places too, vegetables (depends on my mood), cheaters and playboys, worms, hot weather, arrogant people.

what i like in a person: someone who's very loyal and someone who can be my safe haven when everything's overwhelming.

- 🦋 anon

Hello hello and danke danke for the request. Sorry for this taking so long, I really appreciate gettting so many in the short time this blog has been around. Now enough rambling this match was easy...CUE THAT DRUMROLL!!!

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

DAN HENG!!!

Congratulations! You've been matched with the ever elusive but very caring Dan Heng (lowkey jealous, but I must adhere to my duties as matchmaker).

So, because this game still doesn't have a lot characters, Dan Heng was kind of the only match that made sense. You're both so similar it's kind of what drew you two together.

You both can be rather quiet and reserved people. You prefer to keep to yourselves and mind your own business, but kind of for different reasons. You're more shy and awkward while Dan Heng is aloof and just overall preferring to keep to himself more than he's shy. I think because of this you two may need a bit more of a push to get to know each other.

After you both have been part of the Astral Express for while Welt will have started a book club as a sort of team bonding activity (encouraged by Himeko). Whenever it comes to you or Dan Heng's turn to choose a book you start to notice that you have as similar taste in literature. After that (and some nagging from march because she also likes to play matchmaker) Dan Heng approaches you about some other books you like.

From there the conversation will spiral to other topics such as your own writing and if he can take a look at it some time, the vast universe you guys are traveling through and theories on how it works, what your next destination will be, and so much more. In time you two will come to a mutual comfort with each other.

Now as time goes on and you start to get closer to him and the rest of the express crew, Dan Heng starts to see the real you come out. The happier, sillier, bubblier version of you that reminds him a lot of March. However, unlike with March he finds that part of you rather cute, and that's when he's realized that he's slowly falling for you.

Now even though he doesn't want to admit it, we've all seen that Dan Heng is the type to run away from his problems. Once he realizes his feelings for you, he may start to distance himself from you for a little while to sort out his feelings, but don't worry it won't be for too long because despite his introverted nature he does begin to miss your presence. However, it may take a little push from the others (and maybe a minor life or death situation on another planet and him realizing his fear of losing you-) for him to come around.

Once you two finally get together I imagine some of the dates you guys will go on will be calm and quiet things like tea dates, exploring the libraries and bookstores of different planets, walking through nature, and some may just be simply sitting in silence and enjoying some music or watching a movie. (I would add going star gazing but you guys kinda see the stars regularly so)

Dan Heng is rather private so I don't think he would be into too much PDA, but on missions he would slowly hold your hand and intertwine your fingers. It gives him comfort to know you're right next to him safe and sound and so he can be ready to protect you at a moment's notice if he senses any danger.

Dan Heng is more of a listener than a talker, so he'll always be there to listen to your troubles when you mind starts to spiral and his calming voice will reassure you to quell those voices in your head. However, he is also more of a man of actions than words so he will do whatever he can to disprove any negative thoughts and stress you may have.

All in all, I think you two are so similar it makes your relationship easier because you understand each other so well. You are both running from something whether that be from your pasts or your problems, but together you'll give each other the strength to face and overcome them.

This one was actually pretty hard because like I said there are few characters right now and we still don't know a whole lot about the ones we have. Man did it get long though, but I hope you still like the matchup.

Runners Up: Welt Yang, Gepard Landau, Loucha

[pompadorbz]

*Insert Monkey Emoji*

OK SO IVE BEEN PUTTING THIS OFF FOR A WHILE SINCE I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF TAKA AND MONDO LINES THAT MAKE ME SO SO CRAZY. in other words, it'd be SO difficult to actually choose just ONE. So I'm gonna try and drop two lines per character! Some serious lines that make me think way too in-depth, and then some of my favorite, sillier lines (there are a lot of those). We'll start with Mondo for a change! Favorite serious line:

I ACTUALLY GOT SCREENSHOTS OF THIS ONE! This is the line I've been so so crazy about lately because where Mondo did obvious harm to Chihiro, Chihiro also caused harm to Mondo. If her OWN actions didn't hurt him, then he wouldn't have phrased it like this. While Chihiro obviously wouldn't know the specifics, she still absolutely knew that everybody was under the pressure of their secrets, and due to the severity of her own secret there was know way she couldn't have guessed that Mondo's may also carry a level of severity. This is Mondo at his literal breaking point. He has another line later where he describes his anxiety over his secret as "A rock in my stomach". This is a guy whose entire perception of himself is hanging on a thread, and I think the revelation that Chihiro is his definition of strong (AKA capable of violence) is what makes everything completely unfurl. The façade can't remain stable if it's lost all meaning.

Favorite silly line:

HES SO STUPID also there are so many lines in school mode about how he NEEDS TO GO OUTSIDE so fucking bad like he has GOT to get out of here. I think you have adhd queen OK now for la Smackas Favorite Serious Line: Ok so my favorite is less of a singular line and really just. The BULK of his final FTE. We learn SO much about Taka in that last event obviously, and it all contextualizes him as a person, but one thing I NEVER see people discuss is the implication that he and Makoto are direct OPPOSITES of eachother. Where Makoto feels ordinary and even somewhat wishes she could be put on a pedestal, Kiyotaka is put on a pedestal against his will by Hope's Peak, and DESPERATELY, more than ANYTHING, wants to be viewed as normal. A task that is made damn near IMPOSSIBLE because of his past with Toranosuke, as well as the path he decided to go down on his own accord. It's kinda like this self-fulfilling prophecy that he is destined to NEVER have the normal life that he so desperately wants. Meanwhile, here's Makoto, who is living his dream before he ever gets a CHANCE to realize it.

Favorite silly line:

Everyone likes to point to trial 1 or the endurance battle for the funny Kiyotaka lines but he spits out some fucking DIAMONDS in school mode. This guy has so much wrong with him its insane...