#I think this is actually the first comic I've made that's set during the show and not before or after?
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MORE behind the scenes Sonic info and other tidbits from the BumbleKast as I continue to get caught up. These range from September 2022 to early December. (This means there are spoilers for Frontiers in here.)
They're doing episodes even more often now, so I've got a lot to catch up on and I'm sure most of y'all do too!
1. The IDW comics are, in fact, canon to the games now. Ian was a little coy when first asked about it, saying he "would not argue against it" if people said the IDW comics were canon to the games now. "I have made it clear that the comics follow the lead of the games, so… as long as there's no contradictions anywhere, we're good." So, yeah, come on. The comics are canon.
2. Ian apparently pitched another idea for incorporating Sticks into the IDW series last year that was once again shot down, although he says this only makes him want to dig his heels in and try harder. (I'm assuming most of you are already aware of her shout out in Frontiers, confirming she's out there, somewhere...)
3. If Surge was a streamer, Ian thinks she would just grief people on Fortnite
4. On the October 7th, 2022 show, Ian says there is a behind-the-scenes answer for how the depiction of Silver's future in '06 can fit together with Rivals and Rush... but he can't talk about it right now.
It's hard to convey his tone through text, so just imagine he's saying all this with a big, defeated shrug:
"Here's the thing. Working on something else, I actually did get a straight answer, and it was... frustratingly simple. And, it's like, 'That works. [sigh] Okay!' No, I can't get into it - that's all private work stuff - but maybe it'll come to light eventually. But... there is an answer. And it works. And I kinda feel dumb for not thinking of it."
I honestly have no idea what this could be if it's something Ian hadn't considered, because he has talked about popular theories and readings before, such as the reading that Blaze was transported to the Sol Dimension at the end of '06. Maybe we'll hear about it in the comics, since Silver and Blaze are both back right now, or maybe they'll be the subject of a TailsTube episode.
5. Froggy is not sentient in any way he really is just a frog
6. Unrelated to Sonic, Ian was asked "who is best pony" and he said Fluttershy. My longest yeah boy ever dot jpeg
7. With Surge and Kit originally being pitched as purely synthetic beings before Sega suggested they be cyborgs instead, Ian says they would've struggled with whether or not they're even real, as opposed to the end product where they struggle with not knowing who they were before Starline modified them
8. When the female cast of Archie Sonic stopped getting drawn so busty all the time that was, in fact, a very specific editorial mandate from someone at Archie. Sega, on the other hand, has never cared.
9. Now that we're back to Classic and Modern being part of one nebulous timeline and the divide being more of a branding thing, Ian explicitly confirmed that the Classic-themed IDW Sonic comics are set in the past of the mainline IDW Sonic comics. They're set sometime after the events of Mania, and before all the Modern stuff. Just don't think too hard about it
But hey! If it's any consolation, this now means all the Classic characters like Mighty, Nack, and Honey are out there off-screen in the world of the regular comics, even if the casts are remaining separate for branding reasons for now. It also means Shadow is out there being held in a pod in a maximum security off-shore military prison during the events of all the lighthearted Classic comics lmao
10. Ian reiterates yet again that he's still pushing to try and get the Freedom Fighters back in some capacity where he can (as are others). He also says that he's pushing for them to return as a group rather than requesting individual members because he believes that's the best shot at getting any of them through Sega's approval process.
(I can't remember when the last time this came up was, but Ian has also implied that he thinks their best shot is to return as Classic characters since their one game appearance is Spinball.)
11. Ian outright confirms that the forward-looking character arcs in Frontiers are reflective of what he would like to see out of the main cast moving forward in the games. Not surprising since that's, like... the whole point of those arcs! But nice that he wants it to only be the beginning.
Ian does also say, however, that he's not guaranteed to return as the writer for future games since he's still a freelancer, but to editorialize here, I don't see why they wouldn't want him back for the next project.
12. On the subject of Amy's characterization in Frontiers, Ian personally pins her general seriousness mostly on the fact that she's the companion for the first island, where the mysterious and somber tone Sega wanted for the story is being established and Sonic is still trying to figure out what to do. He says that she'd probably have been more bubbly if she was interacting with Sonic on the second or third island, after he starts to get his bearings. I hoped this was the reason why she felt a little dry compared to Knuckles and Tails, so it's nice to hear this isn't the new direction for Amy or anything.
13. While "officially" Sage's name is just an anagram of Sega and a reference to her wisdom, Ian seems to be cheekily implying that it's also a nod to the annual Sonic Amateur Games Expo. Hell yeah.
14. When asked to clear up some Frontiers lore from the Egg Memos, Ian explicitly confirmed that some of the Ancients left the Starfall Islands and went on to devolve into the Chao as we know them today over the course of tens of thousands of years. He says, however, that this doesn't mean that Ancients and Chao are literally the same species, comparing it to the difference between humans and australopithecus. But yes, they're related.
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Top Ten Posts of 2023
I decided, why not? ^^
I'm limiting this to fics/analysis/headcanon/etc posts I made during the year and skipping over anything that isn't my actual creative work. That said, if you're curious, my actual top post was this funky screenshot from episode 2.
10. Everyone's just fine with Donnie modding the moon buggy? (362 notes)
It occurred to me that despite being MASSIVE nerds for the Jupiter Jim franchise, the bros seemed awfully chill with Donnie taking an actual on-set moon buggy and modding the hell out of it.
A few people argued with me in the notes that the Turtle Tank is so cool no one could possibly be mad about it and I do think that's fair. The Turtle Tank is easily my favorite thing Donnie made in the show.
9. Splinter and Leo talk post movie (443 notes)
And then his dad walks in and says, “I would like to talk to Blue, please. Alone.”
And suddenly Leo doesn’t feel so good anymore.
This is the most recent tumblr fic I've done (I think lol), so seeing it make it this high felt pretty good. I love Splinter and his boys... they make me emotional.
8. A headcanon about the Disaster Twins (445 notes)
I have a headcanon that the twins are lowkey always trying to get each other to laugh.
This is still true.
7. A showcase of Donnie's injuries in End Game (462 notes)
So everyone talks about Donnie getting his shell shredded by the Shredder in Many Unhappy Returns but I feel like it’s underappreciated that that happened to him coming off of getting his ass beat in End Game like
One of the first posts I made when I made this blog haha. Poor Donnie |'D
6. Donnie records everything (617 notes)
broke: Donnie listening to what happened in the prison dimension
woke: Donnie showing Raph Leo’s big damn hero speech since he wasn’t there the first time
The main reason why this has so many notes is because @roseverdict wrote a great fic down in the notes that you should all go read.
5. Leo asks Donnie a favor (829 notes)
“You might as well tell me what you need,” he says, turning to his computer and pulling up his list. “I’ll assess it and prioritize.”
“No, no, that’s okay. It’s nothing,” Leo insists.
“Nardo.” Donnie levels his best stare at him. “What is it?”
I love writing the Disaster Twins being soft and you guys love it when I write it too.
4. Present Donnie and Future Donnie have a little disagreement (CAS AU fic) (1,242 notes)
“What was I supposed to do, tie him to a chair?”
“Yes!?” says Mini-him like he’s stupid, which warrants a scoff.
Shoutout to @skcirthinq who doodled a comic version of their conversation.
3. Casey Jr. and Uncle Tello troll Present Donnie (CAS AU fic) (1,701 notes)
Casey Jr, says Uncle Tello’s voice.
Uncle Tello?
Do you want to see something really funny?
This is my actual fic with the most notes! I'm glad you all enjoyed this silly little take on what was actually an incredibly intense moment in Cass's original comic.
2. Mikey contacts the Hamato ancestors (2,054 notes)
future Mikey: *trying to contact the spirits of the Hamato for advice and guidance in the apocalypse*
Donnie’s spirit: Hello, you are now communing with Donatello.
I can't believe you guys gave over 2K notes to the stupidest joke I've ever made. Shoutout to @nonymous06 for this artist's rendition.
and finally, drum roll please.....
My top post of 2023:
1. A very silly idea for a separated AU (4,283 notes)
non-angsty ROTTMNT separated AU where the boys meet online and bond over their shared love of Jupiter Jim and skateboarding and Lou Jitsu. Then one day they agree to meet irl for the first time at a con and decide to dress as turtle aliens.
This post spawned an adorable fanart by @thatsmutbean , this hilarious fanart by @onionninjasstuff , and an entire fanfic called new phone who dis by @rbtlvr
This has been an incredible year! My love for ROTTMNT has not diminished in the slightest and I still have lots of ideas, so I hope you guys stick with me for 2024. Thanks again! Happy New Year!!
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Man the one thing Bionicle will allways have my respect for is the whole giant robot reveal amd planning, that shit was cool.
Like I never read any books or comics (just watched the movies as a kid lol) and of what I read of the lore I feel iffy, but just that idea alone is legendary
Funny thing is, the movies are actually the single WORST part of the bionicle franchise XD
Not only are the 3 good one, only decent movies at best, but they were made explicitly FOR fans, and fans alone, and has no shame about not telling you stuff because they fully expect the viewer to know all the lore through the books, the comic books, or games.
They are also absolutely terrible in terms of action, as the Toa in pretty much every other medium are stupidly powerfull, with elemental powers easily on level with an avatar state avatar if not beyond, physically capable of lifting over one ton, and as the toa mata estimated during their fights with the Bohrok swarms, while they might ultimately win if they just went all out, they would certainly destroy the island of Mata Nui(about the size of mainland denmark) in the process.
To say the movie toa arent quite on that level is... kinda an understatement XD Not to mention that the comics actually fills in scenes in between cuts in the movies, or just makes actual movie scenes better. It's kinda a mess to follow.
overall, I've always described the Bionicle franchise as the actual Star Wars extended universe. It's a whole mess of in-canon with each other stories, that has a very clear cronological flow, but would have been way better if they just made a tv series that covered the main story(which was basically the only thing bionicle DINDT have).
That said, i can tell you exactly why you think the lore is iffy. It is related one one, single sentence.
"Doing in the wizard".
Doing in the wizard, is a story telling trope, where something that was presented as magical or mystical, is later revealed(wheter it was planned or retconned in later) to actually have a mundane, scientific explanation.
And man, is Bionicle the single WORST example of this trope ever made.
So to explain this, and how it all relates to the series big twist reveal, I need to explain how Bionicle started out, and what it became over time.
Because when it began, Bionicle started out as a myth in the making.
On paper the story of the story of the six toa coming to deliver the land from a great evil is as stock as you get it.
But what made it special from day one, was that it managed to capture the feeling of a deeply spiritual tale, of faith, destiny, and myth.
The story of the six toa coming to deliver Mata Nui and his chosen people is treated, both by the narrative, and the people in it, as a great religious story, with the coming of the six Toa Mata essentially being this universe's coming of christ.
There is a moment in the mata nui online game that really encapsulates this, as when Tahu first meets the Ta-Matorans he is supposed to deliver, they attempt to trap him, and he easily breaks free, but then the fighting is halted as Vakama, the turaga(basically priest king) of the ta-matoran shows up, orders his men to stand down, after which he walks up to Tahu seemingly to talk, only to kneel down before him.
because for him this is basically the equivelant of the coming of christ. the divine prophecy that came from God himself is finally coming true.
Now Bionicle has a lot of things to love, as other than the movies, it has great action, it's characters are generally actual people with flaws and developments, and it has lots of awesome moments, amazing and deep world building that is stupidly thourough, and sweet character moments, and of course one of the biggest twists in fiction... but it is this very religious and spiritual tone that sets Bionicle apart from pretty much... everything else western childrens media has ever made.
It is this deep, unfliching and honest portrayal of a world that feels like a myth come to life that drew so many people to this story when it first came out, what ellevated it over yet another story about good and evil clashing.
The people in this story feel real, not only because they generally have actual character(some way more than others), but because they Believe in their world. as in, they believe in Mata Nui, his tennants, his story, and the six saviors he promised would come to deliver them and wake up their god.
this is how you create a real, genuine setting. it is why Bionicle has a feel to it that you never see in western childrens media(nor that often in adult either), other than some very, very few exceptions, due to our deep aversion to showintg religion to children.
and then of course there are the gods in question.
Mata Nui and Makuta. the two brothers who set this story into motion. The first who came here to this world, and created the matoran, and the second who followed him from paradise, and cast a spell that put mata nui into his current deep, deep sleep.
Now these two could have been just another set of "evil brother who who was jealous of, and hates his good brother and attempts to usurp him".
but that's not quite what we get.
When the toa Mata finally do confront Makuta, they get his perspective on it all. Now they ultimately write this off as just an evil villain trying to justify his actions... but if you actually break down what makuta is saying, he is a way more interesting villain than the very simplistic reading the devil figure the matoran believe he is.
"Destroy me? You cannot destroy me. No more than you can destroy the sea, or the wind. Or - the void."
"You are like the sea? The sea bears life! The sea bore us!"
"I bore you, for I am Nothing. And out of Nothing, you came. And it is into Nothing that you will go. I stand with Mata Nui, side by side. I am his brother. The people of the world are builders. But look into their hearts ... and you will find that they also have the power to destroy. I am that power. I am destruction. And I WILL destroy you."
ultimately, the story of the gods Mata Nui and Makuta is not the story of heaven and hell, but instead a story of yin and yang.
Mata Nui is the god of light, and that is the element that everyone associates him with... but thats not his main trait. his main trait, his defining virtue, is creation. That is what he is most famous for after all, creating the matoran and this island home for them.
Similarily, Makuta is tha god of darkness, as that is his element... but his main virtue is destrution.
as the creators themselves noted, using a lego methaphor, mata nui is the drive to create new things, to make something bigger and more interesting out of the parts you have... but Makuta is the drive to destory that creation, to take the lego set apart either before creating something new, or to put it away into the box so that you can use it later. before you create something new, you must destroy.
And this ties into the actual story as well, as one of the big main plots from the start is that to reawaken their god, one of the things that would happen, is that the toa and the matoran would have to give up on Mata Nui the island, their home, their promised land, as only by it's destruction could their god reawaken and lead them to the paradise he originally came from.
its really, really good stuff, and one of the things that ellevated Bionicle over so many other children stories.
now, you might have noticed i said, and continue to say, early bionicle.
There is a reason for that.
and it ties into two very, specific turning points in the development of the story.
the big twist that Mata Nui was actually a giant robot was always going to be the center of everything, the explanation for all the wierd mysteries of the series. Even if his final form didnt end up being quite as big as this above concept piece made him out to be, the overall point stands.
The god of the Matorans was a gigantic robot, and his childrens proper place was inside of him, both to live their lives, and to serve as part of the great ecosystem that was the universe inside of mata nui.
Mata Nui the island, which he created for the Matoran to live on, was always a temporary thing, and their true destiny was him brining them back to "Paradise", aka the great planet of the solar system this story takes place in.
Spherus Magna. a planet that was broken into 3 before he left, and left a hellscape.
his original home that he left long ago.
Now, you might have noticed that i said not a word about what Mata Nui's backstory on said planet actually was.
The only thing that is important as it was originally portrayed, was that Mata nui left the planet for whatever reason, ended up on the water filled moon he currently rests on, and his brother followed him there from paradise.
now, you could create a scenario where there was some scientific, "Mundane" reason for all of this, but if you read this summary so far, the first thought in your mind is probably that what broke this planet into 3 pieces was probably related to something Mata Nui and Makuta, the two known gods of this universe, did. Maybe it is the reason why Makuta no longer has a body, and ended up on this moon in a much weakened form as basically a spirit who can only inhabit souless machine parts.
and im going to take a wild guess that this is probably what was originally planned... but you see, there was a shift at some point. actually on two points.
The first shift was at the very start of Bionicle as we know it, for the series was actually meant to only last 1 year. The toa would defeat makuta, then awaken Mata Nui, and that was that. The end.
However, Lego, who was at the verge of bankruptcy at the time, saw potential in the setting, and given it was a hail mary to save their company said "Screw it, lets expand on this universe!
and so the original one year story became 3 years.
now this artifical extension could have been disasterous, but unlike so many other similar tales, it was the exact opposite.
Mata nui the island got more fleshed out, the big mystery got more build up, the characters got to go through more development, both in the form of a kickass new upgrade, but also character arcs as a result of their power increase going to their head.
new villains, new places to go, new developments.
all leading up to the point where it was now decided that they would end the story. The arrival of the seventh toa of light, which would be where makuta was finally defeated, and at the end of the planned movie that would be the finale, mata nui would finally awaken.
Except this part didnt happen.
at the last moment, Lego essentially pulled the plug and decided to extend the series, and the point where they would reveal the big twist for a second time.
that said, the following storyline of the big flashback to explain metru nui was always going to happen, its just that as originally envisioned, this would be a flashback as the Toa, Turaga and Matoren traveled to Metru nui, as Mata Nui was flying through space back to spherus magna.
So essentially the story was over, but lego got to get one more line of bionicle toys out of it, while the bionicle team got to have fun one more time.
But thats not what happened, as not only did mata nui not awaken(it would take 3 more storylines past this point before that happened), but the big flashback was where everything went wrong so to say.
this is where bionicle shifted hard from a story trying to be a myth with very clear religious and spiritual overtones, into full on sci-fi.
and you can tell that shift occured very clearly as they abandoned all their original plans for how metru nui was supposed to look like in the poster above, showing the very alien like enviornment that was mata nui's insides, into the far more boring and safe(as well as full on science fiction) setting in the poster below.
now im not going to say that everything that came after this point was bad, far from it, there was a lot of really awesome stuff that happened afterwards, but it was the critical turning point where Bionicle steered away from the essence that made it more than just another toyline, an attempt at creating a myth that while it had sci-fi aspects, was ultimately a story of faith, destiny, and trying to find ones place in the universe, into just another sci-fi story.
Basically you can sum it up as the point where mata nui went from a god who was also a giant robot, into just a giant robot.
and man, does it make the lore, and tone a mess.
while the new universe does make logical sense, it lacks the soul(pun very much intended) of what made bionicle, bionicle.
and you know what the really sad thing is?
The final part of the story, where Mata Nui is FINALLY awakened, only to lose his own body, and find himself trapped in his mask as its launched into space before crashing back on the shattered planet that he came from, could so easily have fit into this mythical storytelling.
what actually happens is that mata nui learns he was actually just a giant robot created by some scientis in a lab 100 000 years ago to travel the cosmos, learn about the universe, then come back and fix the broken planet. then he repairs his own, unstable, proto type body that wasnt really working out, makuta senses him and follows him, they duke it out, mata nui kills him, then uses the last of his energy to fix the planet, before dying. oh, also rather than being his actual brother, makuta was actually just a computer program mata nui created. and Makuta isnt even his real name. his actual name is Teridax. im not kidding. oh and the actual thing that destroyed the world? it was a fight amongst some tribesmen using the resident dues ex machina substance that began oozing from the planet's core. again, im not kidding.
here is how you could easily fix it, while keeping in the same tone with what was suggested in the first three years about makuta and mata nui's origins.
The exiled and humbled divine being, cast from heaven, and forced to wander the world he himself played a role in wrecking so long ago, as he travels across the world, and befriends the people he essentially left behind to create the matoran in a better place, rather than fix the mess he, ironically enough given his defining attribute, created.
basically a bionicle take on the atonement/labors of hercules.
and then, having wracked his brain on how to solve the problem of his brother having taken control over his own body, he stumbles upon the solution.
his brother's own, broken, non-active body, which after their ancienct, and catacylsmic clash his brother left behind to follow him to the ocean moon.
and so his journey becomes to essentially take a page out of his brothers book, and do what he did to him in reverse. Repair the mighty body of a god, and then take contrel over it.
after the great journey of hardship and pain, now comes the ressurection before ragnarok, the final battle.
see how easy it is to rewrite this story about what is essentially two computer programs fighting over different continent sized bodies into a story about gods fighting a thematic and climactic showdown on the ruins of a planet they themselves wrecked to pieces to begin with?
but of course the story has to end, and it ends on a note tying into the original message. you cannot create, withouth destruction coming first, and so to win this conflict, mata nui has to destroy something. himself.
His own body.
Like any good jesus analogue, he gives his own life in a sense, as he chooses to give up on the possibility of regaining his own body and with it, regaining his true power and goodhood for the sake of the future of his people and this planet, driving his own skull into the oncoming moon that served as his home for all these years.
and with his final bit of power as his brother's dying body begins to give up on life, he spends the last moments of godhood to do what he, the god of creation should have done from the start. fix the mess he and makuta left behind.
putting the massive planet back together into one whole, while also terraforming it into the green wonder it used to be.
then, we end the story as we began. with a prophecy, where Mata Nui predicts before his toa, as his spirit returns to slumber once again that he will return, but for now, they must make their way forward withouth him, in this new world, that they now must make their own destiny here on the Paradise he promised them so long ago.
I dont know about you, but i think that would have been a lot more interesting that desperately trying to rewrite the entire setting to be full sci-fi because you didnt want to continue with the spiritual and religious themes that you never managed to shake off anyway.
mind you, it's not impossible to have this kind of twist and make a good story about it, but when you commit to telling what is essentially a religious tale that is basically the coming of christ, Ragnarok, the exodus, and the eternal kingdom on earth into one, you are not going to be able to swerve into making it full on sci-fi withouth it feeling, really, really jarring.
And guess what? it makes Bionicle Lore feel really, really jarring. Or iffy as you put it.
#bionicle#bionicle lore#meta analysis#questions and answers#mata nui#makuta#toa mata#toa nuva#spherus magna
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Hi! I read your TMNT 2012 separated au that you made with ellestrade and it really gave me brainworms so I wrote a small one-shot for it! The characters kinda ended up writing themselves haha.
anyways, wanted to share it with you and also make sure that you're okay with it. Not sure how you feel about other people taking inspiration from you ideas, so if you would like me to take it down, just let me know!
Thanks for sharing such fun ideas. Here's the post (I've also tagged you in it but sometimes tags are weird and don't always show. Also its on my fandom specific sideblog, but I am the same person haha)
Gotta love those brain worms! (Ironic statement from a 2012 viewpoint, actually-) HOLY CHALUPA, BRAIN WORMS IN THIS AU UNIVERSE, WAIT WAIT ACTUALLY WAIT-
*background rambles and spazzing*
Okay, I’m back.
I’m always a-okay with whatever fan things anyone wants to create with inspiration from something I made or helped make. As long as it isn’t containing some stamp that says “this I deem canon” when neither me (nor my partner) deemed it canon, no one ever has to worry with me getting upset over some story/comic/art.
I’m going to give some thoughts and I want to disclaimer.
When I discuss my thoughts on your POV of events in the AU, I will never, in any way, intend to diss or attack the story. I think the flow was excellent and Raph’s analysis of the events occurring was intriguing. I loved it! And nothing I say will be a statement otherwise.
But, since I have a distinct inability to keep my mouth shut when it comes to turtles and you asked, I have thoughts 🧐
My brain is now turning and ya’ll have to deal.
Characterization:
Donnie: Much distrust. Much sass. A strong sense of duty to defend his brethren turtles who don’t deserve it but he’s doing it anyway.
Very on point. Much approval 👌
Mikey: Could not be more perfect. I love him. Sweet soul ✨
Leo: He’s a bit less… Forceful. Cold and calculating. Than I envision.
I’d imagine that he had to learn to shut feelings down in order to survive. Fidgeting/smiling/visibly hesitating is out of the question. Staying in Shredder’s graces meant learning to play the game. His silence is what earns Raph the ability to be loud. The only times that he’s himself is when him and Raph are alone, outside of the sight of cameras, or when someone in is danger and fear/fury overwhelms all else. He seems bland to outsiders and it takes the Hamato brothers a while to see that that he’s just a scared little boi at heart that’s just trying his best in a cruel world.
He’s also set in his beliefs, so he’s going to assume that they’re being tormented mentally, if not physically. There’s no place in his mind that wonders if they were actually safer elsewhere.
I do like your POV, though. Plenty for me to play with.
Raph:
He’s ABSOLUTELY the first to question the differences between how Shredder treats them and how Splinter treats their brothers. He doesn’t jump the gun, but as devoted as he is, he’s never really liked Shredder. I love the implications that he’s been filing away concerns subconsciously and his brain keeps poking him like “HELLO?!”
He’s very deep. I can’t decide how I feel about that 🤔
Shredder would have wanted to fan that temper into something unforgiving and vile. Or course, that doesn’t mean he stops being a sensitive soul. It could… Have something to do with Shredder manipulating him into being angry when he wills it (basically all the time) and solemn and still when he doesn’t (such as during lectures, punishments, etc).
His brain registers this situation as one where he’s not meant to be loud and angry, and so he’s kinda… Shut down. Sassy, but mellow. Processing. Adapting. Letting what happens happen because he’s not meant to stop it.
It’s a reason that Leo gets so defensive when punishments come into play. It forces Raph to feel small. It make him vulnerable.
HOLY MOTHER OF MUTATIONS- I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS NEW TAKE ON THE AU @ellestrade TELL ME IF I’M ONTO SOMETHING
Anyway, commentary:
“in one of Takeō's strategy books he couldn't care less about”
It’s like Space Heroes. He claims so and YET he read, recalls, AND clearly has DEBATED the passage so I call sus vibes.
I get giddy when I think of Takeō discovering Space Heroes-
“Junkō and Kōta— or Donnie and Mikey, whatever false name they’d been given—”
My brain made connections. I don’t know if it was intended, but I always believe that they knew them by Shredder’s names through the beginning of season one, end of season one/beginning of season two they were associating them as both, and then by the time that the City is under attack, they’ve adapted to using their real names. (But the Saki brothers still keep their Foot names.)
So, now I assume this is somewhere in that middle plot.
Fun little Easter egg~
“Takeō and Akihitō were the offense, and Donnie and Mikey were the defense” “They held their own. In fact, they dominated.”
I’m in love with Raph’s simple acknowledgment of their roles in battle. It’s a very practical outline of exactly how their dynamic on the field plays out and he's so certain of his place.
On the other hand, I’m a bit uncertain about whether they’d dominate. I do believe that they are trained and can hold their own, but I don’t know about them being as impressive as Raph&Leo, simply because Splinter trained them to defend and Shredder trained them to kill. The Hamato brothers haven’t had much time to practice in the offensive, especially since that’s Leo&Raph’s job. (In non-AU canon, they are all offensive/defensive.)
I think Mikey might learn that kinda strength at the farmhouse after being taught by Leo&Raph, and Donnie will step back from that, finally finding his place not as a fighter/leader, but as a scientist.
Definitely an interesting take, tho 🤔
“Only now does he think that, perhaps, there was a reason their master made their primary weapons blunts and not blades.”
I am chewing on this line so hard. It’s so powerful.
I can’t even tell you why. It just is.
“Akihitō knows that Takeō isn’t lying. He’d already tried to take tonight's blame all on his own shoulders, spare Akihitō of the punishment. But Akihitō knows all his tricks and he won’t let his brother suffer alone. Again.”
100% behind Raph learning to butt in when Leo tries to take the fall as they get older and punishments get worse.
“Seeing the situation, the evidence glaring at him, Akihitō cannot deny that this wasn’t exactly a great sell. Takeō and him are tied to the ground, trying to convince these two strangers that they would be safe with them. That their clan would not hurt them while that same clan was just about ready to beat them to a pulp.”
I was thinking the same thing 🤣
Leo, dude, seriously. Look around. Think for a second. You are not selling your point. You are doing the opposite.
In the end, it doesn’t even matter. Sensei will always find them no matter where they run. It was better to follow than be chased.
SOMEONE NEEDS TO TEACH THESE KIDS THAT THIS IS A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP. YOU SHOULD NOT FEEL MOTIVATED TO STAY WITH DAD BECAUSE HE WILL FORCED YOU TO REMAIN OTHERWISE. BRUH. RED FLAG.
These were Foot Ninja binds made specifically to hold them. Mutant strength and all.
It makes sense that Shredder would make these. But.
But man. He made those. For them.
Takeō tries to take control of the situation again, the bossy oldest sibling coming out in him.
HA. Got him. Leo is Leo in any universe.
“His name is Mikey.” Donnie glares.
“The rat is lying and he has—”
“Donnie, its fine.”
Absolutely how they view things. Mikey doesn’t care what they think or do as long as no one he cares about is paying the price. Donnie feels it is a manner of principle that they accept logic and truth.
Leo talking over both of them is valid. This kid, I swear.
“Then tell your older brother to shut up about—”
LEO IS IT OFFICIAL YOU HAVE BEEN DISOWNED
“Sounds like a you-problem.” Donnie stands. “Mikey, we saved them. It's time to go.”
Donnie would die for them <3
A hand lands on his shoulder, and he recognizes it. Takeō always knows when to give support. He’s a good brother. He hopes Donnie and Mikey will know that one day too.
OH. OKAY. WELL. 🥺
THOSE FEELS CAME OUT OF NOWHERE-
He loved his big bro sm hjkhkjhkjhjkkjhkjhkjhku
If Akihitō didn’t know any better, he’d say it was longing.
Oh, don’t worry, he is dying to have other people in his life who genuinely care for him, but as long as you guys are with the enemy, you’re a threat to his baby brother and daddy and not to be trusted
And, just maybe, it could be their world too.
Oh, so that’s what pain feels like. Glad to be reminded.
#IS Asks#tmnt separated au#teenage mutant ninja turtles#splinter hamato#imagionationstation#leo tmnt#raph tmnt#donnie tmnt#mikey tmnt#leonardo tmnt#raphael tmnt#tmnt michelangelo#tmnt donatello#tmnt donnie#tmnt mikey#tmnt raph#tmnt raphael#tmnt leo#tmnt leonardo#2012 tmnt#tmnt 2012#tmnt 2k12#teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012#tmnt au#donnie 2012#leo 2012#raph 2012#mikey 2012#tmnt fandom#tmnt donnie 2012
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So. The "Lois being mad at Clark for Not Admitting He's Superman" Thing Got Resolved and...
Okay, I'm glad Lois and Clark made up, but they didn't REALLY address the hypocrisy issue. I had a feeling they wouldn't. Otherwise, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit, especially finding out Jimmy's known all this time. Now...
FULL SPOILERS BELOW. BEWARE.
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...
...
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...you ready?
Good.
The episode begins with them realizing Jimmy is just plain GONE. Clark swept the campsite. The forest. No sign. He's not answering their phone calls. Lois agrees to go help find him, but NOT cuz she wants to be around Clark. But because Jimmy needs them. During it, she reveals she knows a ton about tracking people through the woods cuz her dad took her on wilderness survival weekends.
If you know anything about the comics, you'll know what this is leading up to. Her dad wasn't just being all super prepared...her dad wasn't just military. He's General Lane. He's the bad guy in charge of Task Force X.
They find his phone and...holy crap! Bigfoot is real and it kidnapped Jimmy! Well...not exactly. It's Monsieur Mallah and the Brain.
Jimmy however is actually super psyched that he's gonna be killed by a talking French gorilla and a brain-robot thing that can hover. Mallah and him bond, Jimmy getting to look around the laboratory the two came from. The Brain was a human, Mallah an ordinary gorilla, and they were in Cadmus's research lab, designed not around big fancy weapons, but around more "make cool stuff" in that regard, like mutants, or analyzing portals to other worlds, and of course in Mallah's case...creating superintelligent gorillas. Task Force X however came in and tried to shut it all down, a black hole sort of went off and it destroyed the Brain's body, but Mallah saved his...well...brain.
Meanwhile, Clark and Lois find a graveyard of dead soldiers. They tried to get in and failed miserably. And why? Well...see...that alien tech that keeps popping up got left behind. And it activates when Clark accidentally bumps over it with his foot. Worse still, Mallah and the Brain have been shielding themselves, keeping hidden with a red sun energy generator...which means Clark's powers aren't working well.
But Lois wants to know why Clark has never even told JIMMY the truth, when Jimmy's known even longer after Clark admits he's told Lois more about himself than anyone. She asks "Were your feelings towards me a lie" and he asks how she can think that...juuuuuuust before the robot swarms show up to get them.
They manage to barely get away but Clark takes an onslaught of lasers to his chest, blowing his clothing off except his pants and...
Well...hot damn. Super abs on display.
Seeing this, Lois is obviously concerned. She asks how he knew he was bulletproof and he says "I didn't. I just knew YOU weren't". Lois is now, obviously, feeling guilty about doubting what Clark had told her before and all that.
Through all this, Jimmy's been finding more and more secrets of the Brain and Mallah. They had said the black hole generator there had been shut down...but they kiiiinda sorta set it off to begin with to fake their deaths and cover their escape, and they've got it working again to try and stabilize it, so they can go to another dimension where they can live in peace.
So they've sort of...kiiiinda lied a LITTLE about the circumstances of how they ended up here. But hey, as long as the power stays on-
Theeeeen the power fluctuates as Clark barely manages to get the big steel front doors open. At first it looks like Mallah and the Brain are gonna fight, but then Jimmy insists they talk it out. Clark and Lois apologize for ignoring Jimmy and not going on the camping trip with him and Clark's about to tell him the truth of him being Superman, but Jimmy is like "I KNOW you're Superman, you tore the handle off our door at college, I've known all this time". And he's also mad that Lois was told before he was. Though technically Lois wasn't "told", she found out. But Clark says they have robots chasing them, can they discuss this later?
They all try to fight them off, and we learn they're "OMACS", the head fighting force of Task Force X, which attacked Mallah and Brain years ago. Things look bad cuz Clark's powers are on the fritz and during the firefight Jimmy and Lois ask why Clark didn't just tell the truth and he says he was scared.
"All I've ever wanted was to be normal...I don't want you to treat me like an alien. I just want to be your friend."
Jimmy tells him he doesn't have to worry, they're friends with him cuz of WHO he is, not WHAT. And Lois says she just wants him to be open with them. This...gives Mallah an idea. "Open"! They've got to get the black hole open to stabilize it...and they open it enough to suck in the robots, and Clark's JUST able to hold on long enough to keep them steady while the black hole is then stabilized.
With the robots gone, Mallah and Brain decide they have to leave and it's clear Lois and Clark have patched their relationship up as they hold hands. Brain brings up how the tech, the red sun radiation field, the robots...all of it reacted to HIM. Cadmus set up shop there around 22 years ago...the same time Clark landed on Earth. All of this has to do with him, and this means the head of Task Force X is gunning for him, and he's a super patriot who would blot the sun out if he thought it would help his nation. He's got to be careful.
Not long after, General Lane shows up, realizing the place was recently vacated. SOMEBODY'S been there...and not long ago. But there's still a bunch of tech lying around and he wants Dr. Ivo, his prisoner, to work on putting it to use...to destroy Superman.
Heyyy, wait a minute, this guy's hair was all gone last time we saw him. How'd he get it back?
Still...I liked the episode a lot. I was a bit annoyed they never addressed the whole hypocrisy argument, but as long as Lois doesn't KEEP doing things like stealing people's IDs to sneak into places or the like, aka, lying to get a story, AFTER promising Clark no more lies, then it should be fine.
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WR&R MYSTERY KIDS LORE & WORLDBUILD MASTER POST
Gear up, kids, because this will be a long one.
It's been a while since I posted a new comic. Pretty soon there'll be a bunch, because I've been sitting on a mountain of scripts and just started making progress on actually making them into comics. I wanna build up a nice little backlog that I can queue up and not worry about for a long while. In the meantime though, I have something I hope will tide you guys over.
There's been a problem with my comic from the very beginning I've never really thought to address for years, and until now, I never found a good place for it. That problem is "worldbuilding." Originally when this comic started out, it was just a Psychonauts comic. Then I got into Mystery Kids, and the MKs just showed up out of nowhere.
If you're still interested, click under the cut. If you already find this post boring and kind of long, just skip it.
We never got any information on how the Mystery Kids club started or how they all met. For the longest time, I kind of just defered to the collective fandom's various disorganized headcanons and ideas and stuff. But I think enough time has passed that those ideas have all changed, been forgotten about, or branched off into their own individual works.
So, it's finally time for me to fix that by giving this comic its own set of lore and backstory. In this post I'm going to explain how everything happened, how the kids came together and what order everything happened in. This is kind of written for my own personal amusement, but also as a guide to keep in mind when I'm writing new stories in this setting, to keep things consistent.
PART ONE: THE CANON HISTORY
The first step for this little exercise is to figure out when all the stuff in the original "canon" happened. This is where things get a little messy, because we have to figure out a proper order for everything so all the pieces can fit into place.
First, we have to come up with a system for naming the different eras and phases where things happen, so we can more easily compartmentalize the different events. So we'll call the first year the Mystery Kids are together "Year One." Anything before that we'll call Year -1 or -2.
Year -2 is where we'll put the events of Paranorman. They happen in Fall, around Halloween probably. Nearly the end of the year. It's important to set this part the furthest back for reasons we'll get into later.
Year -1 is where we'll put Coraline and Psychonauts. Dipper and Mabel are still in Pidemont. There are a few references in the comic to Raz still having a water problem due to "the curse." But in PN2 he conquers the curse. We'll chock that up to lingering after-effects and him trying to get past the mental block.
Near the end of Year -1, Aggie returns and reunites with Norman in events identical to how they played out in Ask-Norgatha. A lot of things that happen are very similar to that old blog, with the exception being Norman and Aggie don't get together. That comes later.
Year 1 is when Gravity Falls happens. Coraline and Norman are family friends (or cousins? I haven't decided, maybe not. Maybe 'honoary cousins'?) Anyway, so: things play out pretty much how they did in that fan episode people made. Doctor Loboto (during a villainous relapse, or a manic episode) comes to Gravity Falls, Raz and Lili chase after him, Coraline and Wybie come with Norman's family on a vacation to Gravity Falls. Aggie stays behind because Norman doesn't want her to get lost. At this point, her Poltergeist powers haven't kicked in yet and other people can't see her, meaning she'd have no way to get home.
So, during Loboto's shennanigans, the kids all come together to stop him. That's when we move into…
PART TWO: THE FANON HISTORY
Note: in this period, my comic has a lot of Holiday specials. We're operating on Peanuts rules here, where the time-scaling slides around to keep the characters from aging. But we'll say in the "real" canon, the stuff that happens on Holidays actually happen on regular days, for the most part. If things "have to" happen on a Holiday, they'll all happen on the same one, just at different times. We'll try not to think too hard about this, because it's just a cartoon. We're out to make a consistent world, but not to arbitrarily restrict ourselves. None of this stuff happened in the "real" world anyway.
Anyway, moving right along to the rest of "Year 1." This is for the comics I made while the show was still airing, so things all kind of click together.
This is where the first Mystery Kids Adventure happens. The kids are all united and save the day. All of this happens right in the middle of the events of Gravity Falls. From then on out, the kids have adventures together on and off, but its a little hard because they have to travel a pretty great distance to hang out together. They keep in touch on social media and stuff, occasionally finding ways to fake excuses to go out and travel together. But mostly, the group is pretty disorganized.
Dib is also a mindless fanboy of the group and wants to join, but everybody thinks he's weird and annoying, so they try their best to politely blow him off. Then he builds a teleporter that lets the kids get together easier, but the thing just barely works. Dib is made a "junior member" and just sort of hangs around.
The kids have a "clubhouse", but it's just a shanty shack built by Soos, half a mile away from the Mystery Shack.
At some point during this period, the Bedlam returns and the kids have to team up to stop her. Aggie helps somehow with her newly-emerging poltergiest powers. The Bedlam is defeated, and that's the last "real" adventure they have for a little while. They don't have a reliable way to meet up anymore, so they only get together for parties and stuff. This is where the Season 3 Finale happens, if you've read my archives.
PART THREE: THE CURRENT SITUATION
From Season 4 and onwards, everything that happens to the Mystery Kids happens in Year 2. That's where we are now.
It starts with Dib on one of his own little adventures. Somehow, he ends up stumbling on an abandoned treehouse that used to belong to the Kids Next Door. It hasn't been populated in years, but its full of still-functional tech that just got left behind. With it, Dib's able to power-up the teleporter technology and now the Mystery Kids can come together whenever they want. You need to stand perfectly still for like five minutes for the teleporter to work, so it isn't a "get out of danger free" plot device.
Seems like a REALLY important development to happen offscreen and go totally unmentioned, right? Well… I thought of it retroactively, so, whoops! But it's fine. We'll just have to make a flashback comic later where the kids find it.
So, from now on, everything that happens in the comic happens here, in Year 2.
If you've read this far, I'd like to thank you for humoring my nonsensical fanfiction ramblings for my silly mspaint webcomic. I hope you had fun and got as much out of that as I did. I'm really happy I was finally able to put it all together in one coherent place.
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Fav Series to get to know me a little better.
Been seeing a few posts do this and thought it could be fun to try too. No pressure but feel free to join along if you want!
The Sandman- While I've read a few chapters of the comic (which I still need to read more of) par say, the Netflix show adaptation is so freaking good & seriously exceeded my expectations in terms of the visually effects also the storytelling is done so well & seeing Morpheus in live-action is also great too. So hyped for S2.
POSE- I swear this series doesn't get enough attention on it as far as I can tell. Because it's honestly I think one of the best shows I've seen so far, Set during 1980s America during the AIDs crisis with a mostly Black and POC casting that's focuses on Ballroom culture which offers a place of belonging to NY gay/queer communities. This show is a emotional roller-coaster that had me feeling so much for its great characters & it should be watched more by everyone because it's so good.
Arcane- Just seriously one of the best mature adult animated series thus far. Before I got into Arcane the only one or two thing I knew about it was hearing how awesome it was and that its based off of the long time popular online game League of Legends & that was pretty much it. But actually seeing this show upon first episode had me hooked from the start, everything dealing with this show is top-notch. From the fantastic, incredible 3d animation to the mature well-written compelling storytelling, along with well-rounded, morally complex flawed characters that feel so human in terms of the choices they make be it in the wrong or right, also the real banging soundtrack along with it. Just one of the bests series I so far seen.
Primal- Yet another example of really great adult animated series that have come out recently way ago. By the creator of Samurai Jack and Dexter Laboratory, Gennady Tartakovsky Primal is to me a good, well done showcasing of visual storytelling. Just a epic & awesome story about a caveman dub as Spear and his Dinosaur pal "Fang" that bonded over the loss of their families & now goes on a journey together through the violent prehistoric times. I consider this animated show to be akin to art, like a show with zero dialogue & all atmosphere & raw emotions. Just a piece of like animated art.
American Gods-Ah this show, Yet another one of Nail Gaiman works. I have a bit of some conflicted feelings on this show because while its so damned good and I seriously love everything about it on the premise of Gods and Deities from other cultures and mythology living within the modern world & trying to rebuild the influence they've once had on humanity & everything else how this show is put together in terms of visuals also storytelling is great...except for that damn cliffhanger and the fact that the show was cancelled...so yea. Still love it a bunch but eh...yeah.
Tuca & Bertie- Yet another fav adult cartoon show of mine that also got done so dirty yet again but also I feel don't get a lot of attention on it. Made by Lisa Hanawalt who in case you didn't know was the character designer of BoJack Horseman, and I would say Tuca & Bertie is like the less depressed and lesser cynical sister series of Bojack while still tackling some real heavy mature issues and problems. The world of Tuca & Bertie is one filled with mainly anthro bird people and dogs also talking plants people too. The show just has this more off-beat , zany , fun optimistic feel-good vibes going for it that's feels so inventing. But similar to Bojack in a way were its not afraid to get emotional serious about adult problems like sexual abuse or dealing with harassment & treating said issues with tact & maturity while still keeping the show overall light-hearted tone. Should be watched more.
The Midnight Gospel- The short way to giveaway on what this show is or deal with? Can be phase in one way. And that there's should be more animated Podcast. Made by Pendleton Ward the same man behind Adventure Time, I swear this show was quite the experience but in a good way. The animation is so trippy and yet so uniquely creative with using different styles. It follows a dude who goes inside a simulator to different worlds to try to interview people. The talks within this show can hit on many different levels with discussions of coping with loss and death or dealing with the struggles of hoping, a show you should take your time with, but so worth it.
Castlevania- I'll try to keep this one short & sweet. But another real awesome and oh so good adult animated series based off the classic game of the same title. great and amazingly done action /fight scenes as well as also just as wonderfully engaging and entertaining characters that you'll truly end up feeling so much for and the crap they have to deal with. Fantastic beautiful animation also the storyline and plot is just as good as the look of the show. Truly another banger.
AMC Interview with a Vampire- Now, this might sound like a controversial statement. But I deeply think and feel that this series version of interview with a Vampire is ten times more better then the movie. Not! That the movie is bad or anything, I very liked and enjoy the movie...but it never been one of my top fav movies to be honest. But the show on the other hand is so Top-notch on many levels, especially with the great performance of each actor. So Love Jacob Anderson playing as Louis de Pointe du lac and with him as an black man during 1900s America and how that's play into dealing with his vampirism, also his sexuality in terms of black queerness and showing the intricacies of the many challenges also jump ropes a black man having to keep the front of hypermasculinity especially black masculinity in a time era were being black your already seen as less than human is written so damned well. Also Sam Reid playing Lestat De Lioncourt is so fucking both great and entertaining to watch like for real, and Claudia in this show I feel is so much better then the one in the movie. Like I felt so much for her in this series. Like its so good.
Documentary Now- One of my most favorite comedy series that's never fails to creak me up. Like for real if you're interested in or into mockumentaries style of comedy then this show right here is right up there. Each episode focuses on a different "documentary " topic from dealing with a band rise & fall from success to the son of a famous chef overcoming his fears of chickens and taking over for his dad to a broken man that's ends up having a deep connection with a monkey. This show is just something else ^0^ .
Final Space- Final Space is probably one of if not the best adult animated series that I truly feel belongs right alongside with Bojack-Horseman to be honest. It's severely underrated in terms of adult animation which I think it's a shame because it really surprises me with how good it ended up becoming. At first glance looking at this sci-fi themed average typical comedy adult cartoon ended up being and becoming a much more well-rounded, emotional thought out very developed top-notch mature series. What I love about final space is that unlike other so-called “adult” animated shows is that it doesn’t try so hard with its adult humor or go overbroad with how much it tries to make it so “adultlike” such as having non-stop cussing or unnecessary super crude gore or out of place sex & nudity ( which I feel isn't always a bad thing when done right...but some adult cartoons tend to go overboard with it) This show has such a great balance of its comedy while also not afraid to get emotional serious about loss & grief or deal with some real heavy dramatic moments that are treated as serious as can be & isn't treated as a joke or a one off thing like how it would in certain other adult cartoons. One of the most mature animated series I've had the pleasure of watching & still pissed that it was done so wrong.
Welp that's about it! Sorry if this got too long ( ￣▽￣). This is just a couple of series I love. Tag in if ya'll want too!
@iamnmbr3 @dorkynerd23 @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @lokomotives
@feministfandomforever @uncleasriel
@zinexine @itwv-brainrot @vulgar-mary-p-ppins @captainbarinius @eddawrites @that1-otter @ghostbauhaus @freedom-and-beyond @dreballinarts @youlackconviction @toe-star @gey-scout
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May ask 2, 6, and 12 from the fanfic asks, please?
2. What fanfic do you wish you got more response on?
The Horizon Line. I love Horizon, I think it's one of the best things I've written, but (by my standards) it's not very popular and didn't get a lot of response. I do know why -- it's a prequel in an established AU, it does something completely different than the other story in the series, it focuses on different characters, it's set during an awkward period in the canon; there's too much Loki for Cap or Widow fans and too much Cap and Widow for Loki fans. But it still makes me sad, and it has made me really hesitate on going back to the Yonderverse.
6. Have you written any fanfictions featuring OCs? If so, elaborate!
Yeah, most of them. Marvel's actually an outlier for me because I write very few OCs here, though Home has a bunch -- all the matryoshki but Lorraine and Dottie (who is showing up in 10), Kim Pantcheff and Hana Korematsu from the SSR cryptanalysts; technically the members of the Winter Guard are comics canon characters but that's just me tacking on canon names to OCs. Horizon's got a handful of Asgardian OCs -- Ullr, Forseti, Rota, Signy -- and of course the various Widows and Hulk-Widows are OCs.
Back in Star Wars, Backbone has some very major OC characters -- Alecto, Doriah, and the rest of the extended Syndulla clan being the main culprits, along with every other Twi'lek other than Cham and Hera. (Backbone was written before SW introduced Hera's mother in canon.) Roberto Beneke, Hera's ISB handler, is an OC; the bulk of the Inquisitors are OCs. (Backbone was also written before SW introduced the numbering system for the Inquisition.) Gambit also has a number of OCs, mostly in the Naboo military.
Back in Narnia the bulk of my characters were OCs. Writing in Marvel and Star Wars, there are a lot of background canon characters, both from the mainline canon (films, TV) and from comics and EU, and very often I can just pull someone from there. I only use OCs if there's no way around it. The trick, of course, is to write them without making them seem like OCs and like I am pulling them out of an obscure piece of canon. I've gotten a lot of comments in my day from people saying that they don't usually read fic that features OCs in main roles, so I am cautious about using them heavily; Backbone's a major outlier. (And back in the day I did not think that Star Wars would ever give Hera's mother a canon name.)
12. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Except on very rare occasions (usually for clarification), I only respond to direct questions in comments and even then I only do it about half the time.
About fifteen years ago, back in the LJ days, I lost my temper at someone who'd left a comment mixing my fic up with someone else's, and after that I instituted a strict 24-hour cooling off period between posting and replying to comments. Eventually, that changed to a week, and then to only replying to the comments on the last chapter just before the new chapter was going to be posted. I stuck to that for a really long time, I don't remember when exactly that changed, but I think it had to do with when I started getting a lot of hate on Gambit -- I don't respond to negative comments, period, but I felt weird about replying to every comment on a chapter but the negative ones, so often I wouldn't reply to any comments on that chapter. I used to also reply to comments on the first couple chapters of a story, and then just peter off answering comments on the rest of it -- I think I did this for Morning -- but it eventually has just turned into not responding to comments at all. I also don't like answering comments because (1) it messes up the comment numbers on a story and I'd rather that be an accurate reflection of how many comments people other than me have left and (2) I do reread my comments and I don't like rereading my own responses, since they tend to be variations on "thanks for reading, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!" If you want to come talk to me about my fic, do it off AO3; I'm happy to talk about it on Tumblr or Twitter, in person if you know me IRL, but I don't want to do it in my AO3 comment section.
I do respond to non-AO3 comments, i.e. if I'm posting concept writing on Tumblr, I'll respond to those comments. But I don't get that many of them.
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🌊 Aish hairstyles 🌊
Literally oh my fucking god the designers can't think of more than three fucking hairstyles for Aisha, if I never see her with twin puffs again it will be too soon. Put her in a unique fucking hairstyle you assholes. This anger at the complete lack of interesting hair for Aisha is what sparked me to do this series in the first place. Just so I can show how fucking cool her hair could be if they weren't fucking cowards about it. Unsurprisingly this one took me the longest, with all the braids I had to line and color (tho it didn't take as much time as expected), but it was a lot of fun to do. I was easily the most excited to this one for obvious reasons. She looks great. I went a little ham on the gold jewelry but Aisha deserves it ok?? Her hairstyles in the show are so dull, she needs some fun
Side note, Aisha has the second longest hair out of the Winx, longest naturally, but it isn't visible due to how coily Aisha's hair is. My hair goes from barely toucing my shoulders to below my sternum, and my hair is curly as where I draw it Aisha's the 4 range. So yeah, her hair gets like at least 6 inches when straighten, going all the way to her butt. I also challenged myself to style her edges differently with every drawing djsjs which you can probably tell
Anyways on to the individual styles
Classic Aisha: this is the hairstyle I've started to usually draw Aisha in. Sporty and practical meet fun and feminine! I also gave her a nose piercing bc she, Musa, and Tecna have the vibes, and to fit the slight vibe of Andros. Aisha's hair in canon usually looks like it's on the low side of curly, and the reason why is made p clear by the miss magix ep and s8/WOW, so I decided to give her tight coily hair. Btw yeah that's her s2 camping outfit
Twists Aisha: this was my first foray into drawing this hairstyle, I usually draw dreads and box braids in this area, so it doesn't look super good but hey I tried jdnsjs. I wanted to stylized them so I'd didn't spend years trying to finish them, and you can visibly see me give up on that with the next drawing, but I think if I were doing a comic or quick doodles this is what I would go with. Anyways, I did this one because it really makes me think of Aisha athletic nature. Idk they just look super athletic to me, and I gave her a little extra ponytail for the fashion of it. Sporty chic
Mermaid-y: When I first drew these braids with the flat bottoms, they kinda looked like Mermaid tails to me?? So my brain was like, Aisha in her mermaid era <33. So my heart is set on her having this hair during s5, mermaid season, mermaid hair. It's literally perfect. Also I thought this top was super cute. This is where I really went overboard with the gold, but she's in her mermaid era, princess, guardian fairy, and dame. She can have a little (lottle) gold, as a treat. She deserves it, she's been though a lot lately with her family and Nabu being in a COMA. Some fun hair is good for the soul
Date night: light rage. They put Aisha's hair into pigtails for every causal event that happens and it inches across my last nerve like you wouldn't believe. Much like how that uniform outfit ruined one of Musa's hairstyles, pigtails feel ruined for Aisha, but making the. Apart of a braid really lessoned the blow. Half of me wishes I did a head wrap instead, but I can't just not include them. The outfit is super cute tho. She's going on a date!!! Yess!!! So pretty. I'm so happy with her earrings and dress. She and Nabu are gonna go have a picnic together, it's gonna be great
Box braids: I just got my braids taken out this Friday, which was fun (it hurt a lot, especially taking the small ones out ;-;) and I think it's a really good hairstyle for Aisha. I used to think that they'd be super impractical due to being so long, but because they're so heavy they're not actually annoying to deal with at all. They don't move all that much and they don't really get in the way. These would work perfectly for Aisha. Giving her the long hair, and the practicality. Absolute win! Of course I had to go for her outfit from her date with Musa. These kinds of braids always make me think someone has an important event coming up or they're trying to look cute, and a first date is a perfect occasion. I had so much fun with the earrings and braid decorations
Work out: I wanted to go for something simple, less fancy, and that doesn't require braiding, for of her hairstyles to just like her hair be itself and vibe. Here it is in a classic half up half down look, completely unbraided and vibing. Outfit slightly inspired by Serena Williams's entire aesthetic, including the headband. I didn't wanna put her hair over her shoulders, which admittedly looks a little weird but I wanted the high low part to be clear fjsjdnd
Poodle puffs: Personally I think Poodle puffs are really hard to styles, because it's hard to get the size of the puffs right without going too far in either direction. I think I got it right here? I think four is a good number of puffs. This is probably one of my favorite looks, mostly because of how warm and royal it looks. I'm a sucker for shiney jewelry and warm colors. I think this one came out especially well, I love the earrings, and the dress looks really good! I was worried it was gonna look silly but thankfully it doesn't
Bantu knots: She just looks gorgeous here. It adds so much to her orginal red carpet energy. Her hair is now all done up and fancy. Her nose ring also adds to the energy. I really like the earring, despite how lopsided it is lol, but I do wonder if it was a little too much for such a elegant outfit? Idk. Either way I didn't do anything to this look because I love it and she looks amazing. Not thoughts, head empty, bantu knots pretty
Princess Aisha: Hehe this one is probably my favorite out of all the hair. Not the outfit top XD. I don't like poofy European dresses rip. I got to go as fancy as I want!! I feel like Aisha usually tries to stay away from super fancy and complicated one event only hairstyles (which is why she usually goes for protective hairstyles she can wear for a while with low maintenance before needing to change it), but she's making a formal appreances, which means I can loop a gem into her hair. I also got to put big gems on her outfit and earrings which was super fun. This perticualr hairstyle always looked super royal to me and I had to include some proper beads on the look too. They match the gem she's wearing. Extra royal look. Her headgear as a child did something similar, but now that she's older she can just get proper braids put that do what the head gear was doing but better. Also can you tell that I was worried about getting too close to the edge of the page XD
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X-Men 97 Episodes 1 and 2 Review
Okay! My thoughts on the new X-Men Animated series on Disney+
I'm going full on spoiler-y, so I'll put it under a cut
Okay - so over all tone/atmosphere/nostalgia stuff...
I think they did a really good job recapturing the feel of the original animated show. I'm not sure I love the throw back to the messier animation style, but it works. It's also more adult, too -- there's more explicit violence, and the adult themes are a little more present. I'm sure it was intentional because I think this is made, less for actual kids, and more for people who grew up with the original show who are now adults.
I think the second episode was stronger than the first. The first felt a lot like, not even a where are they now, but a - let's throw back to sentinels and the issues at hand. And. Meh. I've never been a fan of the sentinels. I did like the second episode kind of expanding and exploring the world more. I think it set the stage, more, for the show that they want to do....
The Introduction of Sunspot: I've never been a huge fan of the New Mutants (I'm sorry!) but his incorporation of being a young mutant new to this world worked really well. I kind of loved his attitude and his energy did exactly what it needed to!
Jubilee: Oh, she was so annoying in the original -- so it was nice to see she wasn't in this. She works for me, and I'm curious as to what they do with her - as she's the only one who didn't really get a trajectory spelled out for them.
(Also as an aside - there are new voice actors and I think they all do a really great job.)
Beast: I don't think he got much to do, either, but he was his delightful self. I really hope he continues to add a great flavor to the show.
Bishop: It's nice that he's now included -- but I wish they would have done more with him!
Morph: Was really there for all the cameos and sometimes comic relief.
It makes me super curious as to who else will show up in this show. I hope they don't try to cram everyone into this first season...
Which reminds me.... Professor X is still in the opening credits. But he died in the previous series. So.... ??
Wolverine: I'm so grateful that he wasn't front and center. I get so tired of Wolverine-centric things, and they included him very much as a team member. I still kind of eye roll the lusting after Jean thing, but one of my favorite moments is him figuring out that Jean is in labor.
Cyclops: Oh ole Cyke with all of his demons. But they made him so much more interesting than in the original series where he was so dull and dry. And they did some interesting things with this powers, so I'm curious as to where they go with this...
Jean: Look, if you guys know the original show, you know how annoying Jean Grey was. It took me really reading the comics to have an appreciation for her, because she was by far my least favorite part of the show. She just... was so useless most of the time. And I was grateful that they've made her less so here but....
The twist: OMG THAT'S ANOTHER JEAN GREY AT THE DOOR WHAT??? Look, guys, I was surprised when they had her give birth so early, but they're doing the whole Cyclops/Jean/Madilyn Pryor/baby Nathan mess and I am so here for it. I have my popcorn ready because it's such a disaster and yes, please give me all the clone drama. Because I find it hilarious. And I have no personal care about how it works out....
Storm: My girl! MY GIRL! I love Storm so much, and she really shines in this. She is so. good. And then she loses her powers, and they're doing what the original show did -- referencing the comics in a big way. There's a whole arc about Storm losing her powers (though that was during the 80s) but it was so good for her character development. I'm super curious if they're going to let Storm go through that same journey as in the comics.
And as an aside - I kind of wonder if they're going to let each of the characters (or group of characters) have their own focus? That is how the old show worked. Hmmmm....
Gambit: Is going through his 90s slutty fashion phase and I love that for him.
(More on him in a minute.)
Magneto: *side-eyes* Okay. ... Okay. They did the whole Trail of Magneto thing, and I think where they're going is interesting. it works. But there's going to be a flip at some point. I mean, y'all know that is coming.
I just... whatever. You know what I'm going to say, I will get there...
Rogue: My dear love Rogue.
I didn't love her delivering the baby -- that's not how... oh whatever. Her powers are often nebulous.
That's not what you want to hear me talk about anyway.
Okay, guys, okay.... here's my thing. I get it. I get it i get it i get it. But of all the things they've decided to resurrect from the comics -- the love triangle from hell -- the very reason I stopped comics for half a decade, i just... okay.
So. Yes. Rogue and Magneto had a fling in the comics. Once very briefly before Gambit was even created. And one very tedious time later when I decided I didn't have to read such crap and stopped reading comics all together until Rogue dumped his ass and came back to the X-Men (it's... a very long story).
I get the why here -- Rogue's story has always been her powers and controlling them and longing to touch, etc, etc. It's one of the reasons I liked her so much originally. There was a tragedy there.
I do think it's kind of weird that they retconned a previous relationship when there wasn't one in XMen TAS. But it is comics accurate. And there's a full story about Rogue figuring her shit out. I get what they're setting up here. (I mean -- unless they throw us a complete curveball and go the Age of Apocalypse time line where Magneto and Rogue are married -- but I don't think they will? If they did, I probably would let this go because I couldn't with this.)
I don't love it. I've made my peace with the fact that it is a thing that happened in the comics. And it helps that Rogue and Gambit have been happily married for the past six years (and that's a long time in comic years) and have put all of this past stuff behind them.
If the story plays out the way I'm sure it will, then I'll ultimately be fine with it. I did like the smaller moments we did get between Rogue and Gambit. There's definitely a connection there. And they're definitely pulling the whole love triangle thing with Gambit seeing stuff at the end of episode 2.
I just... don't want him to be a sad sack through the rest of the series. And I don't want Rogue's entire story to be about her relationship with two men. All of these characters deserve better than this.
But -- overall, I did like the show. I'm curious to see what they do with it. And just hope they don't try to cram too much into it - because they do have a ton of characters and a lot to service.
What did you guys think??
I may have to rethink our friendship if any of y'all are rooting for Rogue and Magneto. But <3 <3 anyway.
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Ever since you mentioned Tim I've been rolling around how one could do a crossover with Shikako like a bouncy ball at the tips of my fingers.
And I've got it! ✨️Due to Trigon's Jashin vibes he accidentally pulls Shikako off course mid-dimension travel to Titans' Tower and due to Jason's post pit vibes Shikabane-hime is pulled to a certain time. Add Tim's pov and we've got a viable crossover. :p
Not a prompt/request; just a fic idea logistics ask. ✨️
I think if we’re going specifically for a Tim & Shikako crossover fic with either Tim POV or eventual friendship then the most direct route would be to set it during Tim’s first year as Red Robin when he’s specifically looking for evidence of space-time shenanigans with bat symbology. Like, yes, it’s aimed at Bruce. But that could also be Shikako. And given his big bad during that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year is Ra’s who is, if not the master of the Lazarus Pit, then the person who has used it the most that’s doubly a more direct connection.
If we want her to show up earlier than that, while he’s Robin proper and not Red Robin, I think it depends on the vibe/energy of the fic we’re going for.
Like, if we want it to be a meditation on the nature of life and death, love and grief, we could maybe lean into the Shikabane-hime = Shinigami and if instead of going for cloning, Tim went for necromancy/magic rituals ala spqr’s The Next Life. We could go for that stretch of time in which Tim’s dad, Kon, Bart, and Stephanie were dead or—a little less bleak, and slightly less soul crushing, but still similar vibes—would be when his mom dies/dad is in a coma and he doesn’t want to be adopted by Bruce so he invents a FAKE UNCLE. So, like, necromancy isn’t too much of a stretch for that boy.
Alternatively, if we don’t feel like breaking his heart first, given how his parents were doing “obscure/random archaeological digs” there could be a “mystical artifact” that the Drakes send home that summons Shikako? Or, given how wacky the original comic run of Young Justice is, it could be from that stretch of time, like one of their quirky one shot type of missions. And, well, they did have a literal ghost on their team so a interdimensional ninja isn’t too off base. There’s also Klarion the Witch-boy who Tim is, if not loosely allied with, then occasional tolerated acquaintances with I think? And he does interdimensional stuff so it’s not like that’s entirely outside the realm of possibility—although that’s maybe moving too far away from the Tim-centric vibe we’re going for.
I’m also just like… Janet Drake is straight up a mystery. She’s so infrequently seen canonically as opposed to Jack who has a personality and a character arc (even if it is small) that it’s easy to attribute any AU-ness Tim may or may not have to her. Like maybe she has a family heirloom necklace that we know is actually Shikako’s Gelel stone. Or she’s made some kind of faustian bargain with the non-Shikabane-hime Shinigami and then X years later, Shikako is there to collect on the Shinigami’s behalf (knowingly or not.)
I mostly bring it up because I do love how malleable Tim Drake is (he’s so fun to throw into AUs!) and the earlier in his Robin career—or even before he becomes Robin—he meets Shikako the more she can do to either prepare/divert him from his very sad, all-the-people-you-love-are-dead fate. Like… instead of Tim being sent abroad as a 13 year old(?!) to learn from some of Batman’s old teachers and then getting found/mentored by Lady Shiva instead, it would be cool if Shikako was there also. Like either as an occasional partner to Lady Shiva, or a similarly temporary student, or something similar. Or maybe instead of Lady Shiva if we want to streamline?
Although I am now recalling many moons ago that my last "in which Tim is trained by Lady Shiva post but NOT to be Robin" was a sneaky Assassin's Creed crossover and given that the Isu in Assassin's Creed are the gods of mythology, it would be interesting if Shikako's in to this world was as a theoretical (actual?) corporeal Isu against Ra's League of Assassins (who are actually Templars who have nearly wiped out actual Assassins and have taken the title for themselves)
But… yeah… most Occam’s razor version is her showing up during his year from hell finding Bruce in spacetime and fighting a creepy immortal man. Most fun version is her showing up when he’s younger than her apparent age (of… 15?) and then these two weird teenagers, one of whom is mentoring the other in techniques/abilities previously unseen in this world, are just… absolutely bewildering the superhero world.
#jacksgreyson#damnsmartblueboxes#prompt response#brainstorm#fanfiction#dc universe#dreaming of sunshine#tim drake#shikako nara#lady shiva#links
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artists self rec! when you get this, reply with your favourite five arts/sets/edits/gifs that you've done, then pass on to at least five other people. time to shine and spread some self-love and appreciation 🥰 <3
oh my god sia i am SO SORRY i am only just now seeing this ask it's been so long i am so so--
Sia!!!
This was so hard to choose wow.
FANVIDS FIRST:
I'm Sorry | Merlin & Arthur from BBC Merlin [tumblr link] [direct yt link]
This took me over 2 months and, so far, it's the best fanvid I've ever made. I'm ridiculously proud of it and I only have a tiny bit of shame in saying so XD. The finished product ended up far better than the original concept I had in my head. I wanted to make a video that focused on how Merlin and Arthur forgave one another; Merlin, since the day he met Arthur, and Arthur when he learned the truth. Because the core of their relationship was unconditional love, to their own strength and detriment. I cried almost each time I worked on it.
2. I Became Greedy | Kurosawa & Adachi from Cherry Magic [tumblr link] [direct yt link]
This took me about .. I want to say a month? I'm also proud of this one. Cherry Magic is a light-hearted BL j-drama that - at its core - is about the importance of reaching out to others, and the bravery of reaching out and accepting someone else's outreached hand. I eventually want to edit a video on the overarching meaning of the show. But I... am a sucker for pining lol and I was so taken in by Kurosawa's pining. It was so poignant, I was literally clutching my chest in sympathy pangs. So, I wanted to edit a vid that emulated that and focused just on that feeling. And I think I??? did!
3. it's not living if it's not with you | Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji from The Untamed/CQL [direct yt link]
This was the second fanvid I had posted to my youtube channel and I used a lot of editing techniques I had never tried before, so I learned a lot! I wanted to show as many aspects of wangxian's story and relationship in one video as I could without mucking up the pacing or making it messy in general. I love the colour palette and font I chose. Something else I really wanted to achieve was using a light-hearted song with a sad meaning over both sad and happy scenes, because that's a recipe for EMOTION. And judging by the comments I got on this vid, I dare say I succeeded XD I had a lot of fun making this! Even if I got stuck on it for a month and then thankfully could finish it when I was hit with an epiphany. I also cried quite a bit while making it shkgjhdf
Listen. I have. Emotions.
ART:
4. A Favourable Misunderstanding | Merlin & Arthur [link to full comic here]
A meme re-draw turned into a fluffy comic because it took on a life of it's own and Merlin & Arthur are a force to be reckoned with when being idiots in love. I was also super proud of this! Despite the many styles in one comic (which is fine, I was just worried about nothing looking like it matched) I was happy with how I drew them! Especially as I find Merlin's face very difficult to get a grasp of, for some reason. And I was also proud of their characterisations! I still get so happy to see how well-loved it is, and so perhaps it doesn't need its own rec but what the hell. I love it, too hehe.
5. Balls the Unfathomable | a comic about a weirdly wholesome demon summoning [link to full comic here]
My friends and I, while on a call, fell into doing a bit. That lasted a really long time. And during it, I became a summoned demon nicknamed "Balls". No, I'm not joking. It was ridiculous and hilarious.
Thankfully, I remembered most of it and immediately tried to commit it to paper for - what I thought - was going to be a short, half-assed sketch comic. Nope. I ended up with a multi-page comic with clean lines and everything.
Funnily enough, I hadn't actually ever finished a multi-page comic before this. Not one so polished anyway. Balls has that effect on people, I suppose. skjdhjkfdg
So yeah, I was proud of finishing it, and of choosing a cute, simple style and sticking to it (cute, "less realistic" styles don't come easy to me, so I struggled more than you'd think trying to figure out how I was going to draw this skdjhkfg) and of how I structured the panels, especially when I really was just winging it. I do not know how to panel (yet).
Basically; I adore my friends and the fun we have together and I had to share this particular shenanigan and Balls themself. They've become a beloved character amongst my friends and I.
_________
That's it! Long-winded commentary and all.
Thank you again for the self-rec, Sia! 🥺💕💕💕
psst hey, you should go totally check out Sia's blog - she does amazing edits and gifs
#once again i'm so sorry I saw this so late skjhgdfg#ask#ren replies#courtjestermerlin#self-rec#my art#pyjamacryptid edits#fanvid#artists on tumblr#merthur#kurodachi#wangxian#the untamed#cherry magic#mdzs#viddingisart#merlin#gayble tag
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BLOGTOBER 10/8/2022: HELLRAISER (2022)
I think this movie is shining a light on the difference between how horror fans judge modern movies versus older ones, and perhaps especially versus the films of their childhood. I feel like I'm seeing a lot of responses from viewers who were immediately hung up on the glibly-deployed elements of addiction and recovery in HELLRAISER 2022, and so found themselves unable to engage with anything else in the movie. Personally…I just didn't take it so personally, and it occurred to me that I've never heard anyone complain about the ludicrous portrayal of mental illness and autism in HELLRAISER II, or the specter of incest that haunts HELLRAISER '87, and I could easily branch out into other much-adored movies that are not too socially-just, but that remain cozily swaddled in nostalgia, loved and forgiven. Maybe there's a feeling that newer movies should know better, coming as they do from an enlightened era of being fully informed about the suffering of others via the educational power of the internet, and therefore taking everything as seriously as possible. Maybe that makes modern viewers feel like it's too late to correlate the scourge of addiction with the quest for experience sought through the lament configuration. I mean, everybody has a right to their reactions and I think it's culturally healthy for even a really great work of art to take a few slings and arrows, to keep us all off autopilot. But I think that holding the human grist in HELLRAISER to the standards of neorealist drama is sort of missing the point of a movie like this—which is, of course, the cenobites.
And the cenobites are great! Director David Bruckner gives good monster yet again, having delivered a fabulous beast in 2017's THE RITUAL, and true to the spirit of 2020's THE NIGHT HOUSE, he shows a refined understanding of infernal geometry. David S. Goyer joins the screenwriters of the latter movie, Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, to set up a plot about a rich pervert (Goran Visnjic) who has a typically disappointing transaction with the cenobites, and so he manipulates a group of young dirtbags into helping him negotiate a new deal. I guess there are never enough survivors of cenobite commerce for word to get around that they only offer a monkey's paw type of thing, but I don't really care if the characters make a lot of dumb decisions so long as the tradeoff is always that I get to see cenobites.
The story centers on recovering addict Riley (Odessa A'zion, who I just have to mention is one of Pamela Adlon's kids!) who discovers the lament configuration during a robbery planned by her sleazy boyfriend Trevor (Drew Starkey). Riley's lapse of judgement allows the cenobites to make off with her brother (Brandon Flynn), and so Riley and her friends pursue the secrets of the puzzle box to try to save him. While HELLRAISER '22 has been described as a remake and a reboot and a reimagining in various quarters, David Bruckner has been clear that it's, like, just another Hellraiser story. There are a lot of books and comics and movies about all the different people who fall prey to the box's enticements, and it's totally reasonable to just make another one of those based on the series' abundantly flexible premise. Actually, while my husband and I were watching the movie, we started compulsively riffing on all the different things you could do: First we felt like Riley's misadventure with her unlucky friends was just like an episode of Search Party, which made us think about how funny it would be to introduce the lament configuration in other Bad People sitcoms like Seinfeld, or Curb Your Enthusiasm, or It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and then before long we were imagining a whole season of The Rehearsal where Nathan Fielder tries to get a series of unfortunate rubes to open the box for him.
What HELLRAISER '22 offers is not grand insights into human nature, but fun experiments with the basic conceit. The lament configuration is one of the greatest designs in horror to be sure, and yet somehow nobody has ever gone into detail about why it assumes so many shapes. I normally do NOT want a bunch of anal retentive rules and dry explanations added to my horror movies; I find that the less mysterious things are, the less emotionally effective they are. In this case, the coding of each of the box's configurations as representing a different human longing both honors the original lore, and adds complimentary flavors—and speaking of flavor, I'd love it if someone would realize my idea for a breakfast cereal with freeze-dried marshmallow configurations. But anyway, the love of design and its expressive capabilities is laced through the whole movie, from its inventive architecture, to its fabulous new cenobites. A lot of love went into crafting these things, and Jamie Clayton easily earns her place in the expanded scheme of things. Viewers who are too distracted by HELLRAISER '22's tangential references to the real-life horrors have my sympathy, because if you can watch around the corners of that issue, there is much to enjoy.
#blogtober 2022#blogtober#hellraiser#hellraiser (2022)#david bruckner#david s. goyer#Ben Collins#Luke Piotrowski#odessa a'zion#drew starkey#jamie clayton#Brandon Flynn#clive barker#horror#monster#cenobite#supernatural#occult
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Ghost Adventures - Bobby Mackeys
A while ago I made a post criticizing the Bobby Mackey's episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved, and I cant believe that I haven't made a post about the Ghost Adventures episode set there. Thats actually where I first heard about Bobby Mackey and Pearl Bryan, when my AutoCAD teacher in high school put on Ghost Adventures in the background while we worked on the computers. This was back when my brain still had a part that was afraid of impossible things and I lost a lot of sleep that night because I was so terrified of ghosts. I killed that part of my brain in college so now I'm all about haunted stuff!
The classic haunting sign! This sign has been updated to a more modern one, but I prefer this one.
Okay, this jackass has no idea what hes talking about. Hes talking about the investigation into Pearl Bryan's murder and how blood hounds were used to track the killers scent. Hes saying that it was tracked to the building where Bobby Mackey's is now. That is completely false, all police activity reported in newpapers at the time said that the killers were tracked to a nearby reservoir but then they lost the scent. In fact, there's not a single contemporary source that directly ties this murder to Bobby Mackey's building.
To make things worse, he believes that the head was brought to the building to act as a sacrifice to the devil. Scott Jackson was not a satanist! He murdered Pearl because she was pregnant and wanted to keep the baby and marry him, and he wanted to abort it and cut off contact. He removed her head to prevent identification and it worked until her identity was proven by using her unique shoes.
His last blatant lie is that Scott Jackson swore on the gallows that he would haunt the area around Bobby Mackeys. A newspaper at the time reported that his last words were him still insisting he was innocent. Alonzo Walling said the same thing.
Okay, he makes another lie later in the episode where he repeats the legend of Johanna and her lover Robert Randall. In my research, there's no evidence of anything in the legend bring real. All the Johannas and Robert Randalls who died in the area during the 1930s were either very old or babies.
"We came in here one night, I was the first one down here. Right in this general location right here there was a satanic circle. It was glowing green." Dude, can you give me a bit of what you were smoking that night? I don't want to tear into people's personal stories but the claims of satanic activity happening just annoys the hell out of me.
Oh my god theres a staircase there?! I couldn't see that in any of the reference pictures I found! Thankfully I don't think I had to draw the room at that angle so its not really missing from the comic.
Someone claims that Pearl died at 3am, which is considered the witching hour, but theres no solid proof of that. She died between 10pm Friday night (it was raining until then and she was dry when her body was found) and 4am (she was dead at least 4 hours when she was found at 8am). So its possible, but no proof.
So here is what I've been excited to address, the mysterious pipe! So part of my research involved looking at Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, which show structures across cities and towns going back over a hundred years. I have a fire map from 1894, two years before Pearl Bryan's murder, and it shows both the slaughterhouse and all the pipes in the area.
There is no pipe coming out of Bobby Mackey's. There IS a pipe coming out of the distillery that was there. I have maps going into the 1940s that show no pipe connected to the building. I'm not 100% sure that the pipe is the one in the distillery, but a pipe that large would show up on a map like this.
So Zak is saying that the caretaker found a piece of a skull while digging up the well? This is the first I've heard of that. Did he hand it over to the police? What happened to it? They do not answer this in the show. You would think they would elaborate on this.
So theyre claiming that these are blood stains under their black light, but blood shows up black under black light unless they spray luminol fluid. A LOT of fluids glow under black light, including sweat, spit, urine, and other non-biological stuff like tonic water, whiteners, laundry detergent, and vaseline.
Conclusion: I know this show purposefully played up the spookiness for the viewer, I just like directly addressing things with evidence and truth. You can enjoy shows like this, just keep in mind they exaggerate a lot and shouldn't be taken too seriously.
And a message to Douglas Hensley: Fuck you, Scott Jackson wasn't a satanist and he killed Pearl to get rid of her and their baby so he wouldn't have to marry her.
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if you could make a movie based on the history of early modern ireland (not a documentary but a movie with characters that takes place during that time period) what would it be about/like/what specific time period or events would it be set in?
My first disclaimer is that "Early Modern" in the context of Irish Studies generally means a bit of a longer time frame than people usually think -- most people think about 16th-18th century or therabouts, from about the time of the European discovery of America to the time of the Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions. Irish Studies looks at that timeline and laughs, since we date these things linguistically and we have traces of what would be known as Early Modern Irish as early as about the 13th century. The good news is that none of the examples I thought about, when I was thinking about what I know and what I would like to see, come that early on, but that's just a small disclaimer about what you get if you ask me about Early Modern Ireland, since I know that's not really common information outside the field.
But, I have been thinking about this (I've NOT been sitting idle for the last two months) and I have about....four suggestions:
Aodh O'Neill. Fascinating man, I wish I could have done more work on him over the years, but one of the key figures in the Nine Years War -- his departure, along with the departure of other major Gaelic chieftains in The Flight of the Earls, struck the mortal blow for Gaelic Ireland. A wily and pragmatic leader, going between both sides as needed to secure his power until finally throwing it all into the rebellion, as well as being a notorious thot, he died in Spain, possibly by poisoning. There actually has been one film made about this time period from an Irish perspective (generally, 16th century Irish chieftains only show up as dirty, unclean rebels in biopics on Elizabeth I....not that I'm bitter), Disney's The Fighting Prince of Donegal, but it is (1) wildly historically inaccurate (SHOCKING I know) and (2) Centers on his contemporary and ally, Aodh Ruadh O'Donnell (the legendary Red Hugh), though Aodh O'Neill does feature as the comic relief (they DID get his thottiness accurate.) I would really like to see a dramatic take on his life, that really delves into the moral ambiguity of the time period while also humanizing the Irish chieftains as a whole. I wouldn't mind it being a dual biopic, where he shares the spotlight with Aodh Ruadh, because the two of them really were politically linked from about 1593, when Aodh Ruadh helped Aodh O'Neill become the O'Neill, to their flight to Spain and deaths in exile. You can't really talk about one without the other, and they absolutely defined an era of Irish politics and represented that kind of last hurrah for the Gaelic world. So it'd be very interesting if someone could do something with that, show how they developed over the years, what that kind of non-stop pressure and non-stop politics would really do to you, especially since neither one of them, as was relatively typical in 16th century Ireland, had a smooth ascent to the throne, and I think it's safe to say that, over the course of their time...they did become monsters. Not as monstrous as the monsters they were fighting, in my opinion, but they both did terrible things, and, nationalistic idealism aside, I think it's safe to say that a lot of it was self-motivated.
Which leads me to choice #2: Iníon Dubh. Often dismissed as not being as cool as Girlboss Gránuaile, the mother of Aodh Ruadh was no slouch herself -- Her son was abducted when he was 14 years old, imprisoned in Dublin Castle, and, the entire time from that point until his escape four years later, she played what was functionally a game of whack a mole with the other potential claimants to the throne while also trying to secure Aodh Ruadh's release (including one failed attempt involving survivors of the Spanish Armada -- the English murdered the survivors and kept Aodh.) Praised in the Annals of the Four Masters (which, as everyone knows, are incredibly sexist for not bringing in Girlboss Gránuaile, because she was such a Girlboss that they clearly deliberately erased her) for her intelligence and courage, she was born in Scotland and sent to Ireland for a political marriage with Aodh Ruadh's father, Aodh. (Yes. Really. 16th century Irish nobleman were creative in many ways, but not with their names.) Ultimately, she got her wish -- Aodh Ruadh did become King of Tirconnell, with his father stepping down to give him the title, but she ultimately outlived all four of her sons. I really feel like we need more feminine perspectives of Irish history and, especially this time period that don't just involve "BADASS WITH A SWORD" -- I think that it's a shame that she's often just relegated to Aodh Ruadh's Mother, when she had a really interesting life on her own and she was clearly a really formidable woman.
Another option would be Dubhaltach mac Fhirbisigh -- Not an option most people would think of, because he didn't lead what a lot of people would consider a really action-packed life, but he survived over 80 years of very turbulent Irish history, with his murder really, for me, striking the final death blow to the Gaelic learned class. His dedication to learning, with him going all over looking for manuscripts, his dedication to his work, which survived him and has been reworked in an epic five volume tome on genealogy, two of which are indexes...he was an interesting fellow, that's all I'm saying. And, by pretty much all accounts...he was a genuinely good, compassionate man. A fear uasal, you could say. And, even though he had to keep his political opinions close to his chest, since we're looking at the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland at this point, he put subtle *clues* into his book. I'd really like to see at least an animated short on his life, something that showed how much we owe to this man, especially since he's pretty much unknown outside of relatively niche areas of Celtic Studies (a niche within a niche, essentially.) Like, I love how The Secret of Kells showed how the work of Brendan and the monks survived in the present artifact, I love how much *love* you can feel for the Book in it, and I would love for something similar to show how he really...tied his life into this thing. And it worked! We have it! It's still around!
The fourth, that I came up with in the shower, since I was just in Limerick this last week, would be the first siege of King John's Castle. The 17th century was a very busy period for the castle, but the first siege is probably the better suited for a cinematic adaptation because it really had everything: You had a betrayal by the Lord Mayor of Limerick, you had a tense race against the clock on both sides (with both sides BURROWING UNDER THE FORT in order to weaken one another), you had intense periods of fighting, with people reduced to repelling rebels with *glass bottles*, you had a slowly rising death toll, you had moral ambiguity (the rebels leading the siege are men who are fighting against the English. They're trying to preserve Catholicism in Ireland, they're trying to get Ireland free of England. But then you weigh that against 700 people, many of them women and children, crammed into a castle, food running low, disease rampant, knowing that, if they go outside, they will be executed. And up to 300 of them did die. How do you square that, morally?) I think you could really make an excellent film that preys on that sense of anticipation, on the dreadful psychology that must have been there, with no one sure whether the relief ships would get through (they didn't), who would win, how many would die, with fighting being kept to small bits here and there to make it effective when you do get a battle scene. (Also you could really do a lot with the darkness of the tunnels, since that's where most of the fighting of the siege took place.)
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Please tell me I'm not alone:
#writers on tumblr
Going what is intended to be a maybe 1 or 2 hour story ramble that had a set purpose. Start talking about situations, forgetting or being caught in the midn as you record or just ramble to think through the story. End up going past two hours as you describe only to yourself for notes intricate plot details, random facts on other characters, or more world building. Next you check another two hours goes but you are on such a streak you promise to go and get soemthingntoneat to your growling stomach soon as this thought finishes which is almost clearly done. But then over explaining the plot to no one but yourself more of what you know but want recorded down. Going I promise at this time to turn it off. Next you check it's an hour past that point of stop time you set fir yourself. But your finally wrapping it up! Just a little more, few more minutes you tell yourself. Only to check the clock realizing there is no stop and it's agin two yours since you made that comment this sesh keeps going what you were enar wrapping up only found a way to add m.j ro plotted scenes to your mind and dekwelling on what if scenarios for a story that hasn't yet been released.🤣😂
Literally describes me making recorded note from 8:40 PM-6:40 AM.🤣😂😅😭😢
I've got a headache now!!! It worries me that my recording program says only 3:47 (hrs/min) but it was continually recording. Makes me wonder if I missed and or wasted more talking and it will come out as jibberish.😢😭😅😂🤣
Heres the art work that kept me company during these long periods.
Note comic is not the actual comic, but another proof of concept to a later scene I wanted to play around with for some time now, and I'm near writting the chapter out for, fully. I've written certain scenes for it throughout to keep plot details consistent of what has to happen. Before I have written it. Although most of the outline has been written story elements ahve changed from my initial outline. Just was jotting down on paper before I tried anything with it digitally.
This is mostly a mess & not in anyway my best drawing (looking to the weird outstretched hand. That was just a random quick drawing without reference jsut trying tonmoce through the drawing quick. But leaving enough deletsik for me to hbderstandbthebintetion should I go with the same story movement here when implementing the chapter. This was me just trying out a few things I wanted to see out on paper to make sure what I was seeing in my head would translate well in a comic. Not all are detailed slides but with enough detail to what I for myself am going for and wanting at said times to understand with a quick glance.
E.g the quickly drawn hand is so not the best drawn hand just a quick render to know what I wanted. Or for reference I had one short box presenting a dark area of thhe short dialogues pacing between frames. This I later returned and drew the figures standing instead over the current dialogue given instead the same impression the short dialogue gave using perspective to shape this and drawing over dialogue that may be unnecessary. But instead make it in between two more prominent frames a similarly long one added pulled back image of the scene. Allowing for more emotion to be felt through the black space surrounding the characters.
Similarly in my first proof of concept I hinted to a while bsck in a previous update shwoing some images from it. Where elements have since been added like this change and added slides as it is like yg to make it into the story, but the concept remained to ensure the way I was intending things would work to be added. But it in itself may be as is or in an adapted way make it in the comic or stay outside it maybe to be posted as a side story alongside a rest period or just something I show later patreons, etc . This is just a frame of reference to use as I get further along and a way for me to ensure directions I'm headed would work in the way I intend.
The below is related to S.T.R.Y.
#writtingcommunity#writerslife#writeblr#writers and poets#writing#writers on tumblr#writerscreed#writersofinstagram#fanfic writers#writerscommunity#female writers#henry stickmin#henry stickmin au#henry stickmin collection#someone to remember you#henry stickmin ask blog#someone to remember#the henry stickmin collection#henry stickman fanart#henry stickmin comic#henry stickmin fanmade#henry stickmin fanart#henry stickmin oc#henry stickmim collection#thsc henry stickmin#toppat henry#thsc art#thsc oc#thsc au#thsc
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