#a natural cartoon forms BC THEIR DYNAMIC IS SO GOOD!!!!!

[releasemefromthevoid]

MY ATLA LIVE ACTION S1E2 THOUGHTS

EP1 - EP3

We all know that ATLA’s character arcs and just. character building in general is one of if not its absolute biggest strength. This show has a lot to live up to on that front, and if it can manage it, then that’s all the better. I’ll probably be critical of this aspect in particular, keeping in mind that this is generally meant to be an alternate canon which leads to Some changes in order to fit a shorter form.

Without going too far into it, I’ll say I will continue to be a little worried about the new spin on Aang’s character arc until I can see it play out all the way through. 

I’m also a bit worried about Zuko’s character. He seems a bit more willing to hurt people than in the cartoon, so I think they’re gonna have to play that pretty carefully moving forward. 

There are, of course, some things they’re doing incredibly well. Zhao’s character is On Point, and Suki feels about right too. I also am generally liking how they’re adapting plot points so far. There’s at least one episode from the original cartoon that I can tell won’t be adapted because of something in this episode, and it feels natural enough, I guess. I don’t have too many complaints on that front. 

Stay tuned for episodes 3-8! Live reactions/spoilers under the cut!

really fucks with me to not start with The Monologue

still don’t know how i feel about this iroh yet. is it just bc he isn’t mako? idk it’s like. uncanny valley iroh

also still not a fan of aang being so serious already. hopefully there will be a substantial enough character arc to replace that

katara so far is reading the most like the original to me

MOMO

gran gran. just had a waterbending scroll?? i mean. i guess. bringing back the southern waterbending style. i do think i like the original more in this case, it’s just a little more horrifying to have that style basically wiped out completely. that being said this is definitely a way to consolidate the waterbending scroll episode right? i shouldn’t expect to see pirates?

ok the iroh and zuko dynamic in the marketplace was on point

there is NO unagi, where is she

SUKI!!! suki looks GREAT no notes.

suki’s. mom? interesting.

kyoshi island seems a lot less welcoming to aang, even though they know he is in fact the avatar, which does a lot to remind us that they were supposed to be a neutral party in the war. this is not a bad change

zhao definitely has the right vibes

omg, suki 😭get some queen

okay so we finally get to see aang being a kid for a minute (please just let them be kids sometimes it’s okay)

SUKI IS EATING AND LEAVING NO CRUMBS. love that we still get the classic suki beats sokka’s ass scene

oh,, is that what they’re doing with aang in this series?? not a learning to be serious thing,, he’s learning to deal with the fact that he is powerful and he has to control that so he doesn’t hurt people. that’s interesting, so i’ll reserve judgment until it plays out. it just. doesn’t feel the same

the sukki romance is almost playing out in a more believable way than the cartoon, so that’s pretty great

so like. what happened to avatar roku? is he just gonna be replaced with kyoshi? like she’s a badass and we love her, but. why?

sokka is not hearing a goddamn word suki is saying. he is Too Entranced. i have never been more on board with this ship

how are they dealing with this without the unagi

gotta say the spirit world appearance is really cool. chromatic aberration was a good choice

oh yikes kyoshi that’s a bit harsh. i miss roku

was zuko. about to kill katara?? he would never. tell me he would never.

ok so this is a winter solstice at the fire temple moment. happening now so it doesn’t have to with roku later? interesting.

“only call upon the past avatars when i’m at their shrines” lol okay. fair enough. roku did Not adhere to that in show

zuko’s digging himself a hole with zhao here. bro IMMEDIATELY called the fire lord

ngl i’m loving this iteration of zhao. absolutely despicable vile man. hate that guy. great character. 

liking: SUKI <3, Zhao's characterization, set designs, sokka and suki's relationship

worried about: aang's character, zuko's character

disliking: roku's absence (though i do love kyoshi, god bless), no unagi :(

#atla #atla live action #avatar the last airbender live action #avatar the last airbender #gonna keep chugging along #expect to see another one of these in just over an hour #long post

[wabbitseezun]

(( you're too powerful and hilarious and i love you twinny oh my god ))

jkjhfsdkj AHHHHHH I love you too Red!!! my equally hilarious twin!!! 🤗💖 I’m seriously laughing over these shenanigans so much xDD I DIDN’T EXPECT THIS TONIGHT BUT I’M SO GLAD IT HAPPENED LMAO

#i love it so much xDD #i love how when elmer and bugs and daffy are all together #a natural cartoon forms BC THEIR DYNAMIC IS SO GOOD!!!!! #i'm also still laughing so much at elmer and daffy's chaotic energy exploding when #they get close to each other xDD #( remember that bloodborne post with the helmet hitting the ladder?? #still them. LMAO! ) #I LOVE WRITING WITH YOU!! #Daffy and Elmer have such a cute relationship too! #I should post comics sometime xD but daffy would always try and get food from him lol! #AND I LOVE SEEING YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH AMANDA!! #and love when all three of these crazy toons play off each other xDD #BFFs but constantly destroying each other lmaaao! #. • ★ ( ooc ) #hollywoodhangar

[tfw-no-tennis]

beast warhrerhbjgdsf

ok so at the end of the beast wars opening when they go ‘BEAST WARS’ the end sounds all garbled so its like ‘BEAST WARGHISHUDFBJKSFNS’ its really funny

so we’ve watched more beast wars!! woohoo

we've watched thru ep 21 now wrow

I continue to really like this show despite the cgi continuing to be painful

I like the characters and plots a lot...it feels pretty episodic rn but there's a throughline of character development and dynamic establishment that keeps things fresh

plus, new characters!! blackarachnia returned offscreen right after she left I guess, so she's here now...I like how she like immediately has her own agenda and isn't loyal to megatron (or tarantulas, who had a hand in her creation) 

and tigatron!! what a cool dude I love him. he’s so chill, and I like that he’s into nature and stuff, that's awesome. he is super epic and I feel like he’s saved the maximals sooo many times lmao. for some reason I feel like he’s eventually gonna be like ‘no I'm gonna go be one with nature sorry guys bye’ and leave the cast - specifically if we move the setting to space/cybtertron later in the show I feel like he’d stay on earth. that's just my hunch tho idk 

and airazor!!! she is super cool, I like her design a lot. cool bord lady...the maximals definitely needed someone who could fly other than optimus (which, why can he fly, he’s a GORILLA). and airazor is dope, I hope she sticks around

also the pods are a great way to introduce new characters and create conflict - all the eps w/the pods have had great tension, and I like that the good guys don't always win (like when the predacons got a pod to make blackarachnia, and later inferno)

ah yes inferno, that was a fun one - I liked how he was more ant-like and that translated into him trying to protect the pod, calling it ‘the colony.’ he’s so massive for some reason which is kinda funny. also ruth and I both hate that he flies around with his spinning ant ass. cursed 

also ruth implored me to include the fact that we’ve been calling scorponok a beta cuck bc he’s just such a loser hbvjakhdsfnaks

on that note its sooo funny to me that literally all of the predacons aren't really loyal to megatron, w/the exception of scorponok, who isn't very useful anyways. like, we start the show off with dinobot defecting like IMMEDIATELY and all the other predacons are trying to take over or undermine megatrons authority constantly. he doesn't seem to care that much tho which is funny. I feel like they spread out the megatron-starscream dynamic from g1 throughout like all the predacons lmao 

also megatron is so funnyyyyyy I love him lmao. he’s so dramatic, he’s like a theater kid but more advanced - like a classically Shakespearian play actor. 

and I find it funny that megatron like, barely ever leaves the base?? he just kinda chills out there and sends his underlings to do stuff, which they’re almost never successful at accomplishing. I feel like megatron has participated in like 3 fights this whole time and almost never actively participates in the plot, unless the plot is taking place at the predacon base. I wonder if he’s busy plotting or something...

also ruth and I both noticed that the characterizations kinda changed around a little from the beginning, like rattrap being less mutinous, optimus being more understanding, etc; which tbh seems to be a bigger Thing in 90s/2000s cartoons (that is, the whole ‘not having the main cast’s characterizations nailed down at the beginning of the show’ thing)

ok what else has happened...I find it super funny that there's been TWO episodes where megatron tries to reprogram a maximal in some way to give the predacons an advantage, and both times it backfired spectacularly. like, didn't he learn from the first time!? 

the starscreams ghost ep was WILD omg. also I saw that that ep was up next and I was like ‘oh we should watch the g1 s3 ep where starscream is a ghost bc there might be important context we’ll need’ and ruth was like ok fine and then we watched it AND IT WAS SO BAD. MY GOD

like, we watched a fair amount of g1 before starting beast wars, and I’ve watched a couple s3 eps (which, I know s3 isn't as well regarded as the pre-movie stuff, but I guess I must have watched some of the better eps bc they weren't like THIS), so i knew this ep probably wouldn't be very good...but we were NOT prepared for the level of badness we were presented with vbahdjkfhbahsjkdf

I mean maybe we were missing in-show context, but also we just had no idea what was going on the entire time basically. the entire episode was so wack. the only takeaway I had is that octane and sandstorm are dating

anyways enough about g1. the beast wars starscreams ghost ep was actually good, I missed g1 starscream, that iconic bitch...none of the predacons are quite on his level in terms of sheer legendary bastard energies

I liked that blackarachnia was like starscreams protégé, complete with her betraying him at the end lmao 

also idk if this is something we’re supposed to know from the beginning, but ruth didn't realize that beast wars megatron and op aren't g1 megatron and op and she was like :0 when that was kinda revealed this ep - idk if that's a spoiler or not but I already knew that going in lol 

oh and the part where op said ‘LETS MAKE THIS A DOUBLE DATE’ and busted dinobot out of the cr chamber? Gay™

oh my god and that ep where the maximals were stuck in beast form and like, reverted to their animal instincts was...sure something vbhajdkfsnbskjf that was a lot 

it was like a much more goofy version of the stuff in animorphs about the characters being influenced by their animal morph’s instincts (which was almost always presented in an absolutely horrifying manner)

but yeah we have 6 eps left in the season (!!!) which we’re looking to finish soon, I’ll probably make another post for those eps and s1 in general woohoo

#lj and ruth watch beast wars

[constablegoo]

alright so i have. a lot of questions and thoughts on changeling physiology

tldr it’s quite unorganized so; asexual reproduction, shifting is a natural instinct but can be expanded through study and discipline, Form is easier to reproduce than Function, changelings passively absorb energy via background radiation, conservation of mass... ha, energy efficiency, regeneration is an aware but subdued/vulnerable state, you can sneak up on odo but not most changelings, exaggerated and inhuman movement, language and body language learning, Viscosity tm, vital organs exist, injury and physical tolerance, focusing the senses...

asexual reproduction. loads of possibilities here. they might split in two (which could mean they’re really all clones of one another or else slight variations on an original) or lob a bit of themselves off which then begins to form a new individual. they might fragment off and start growing more individuals from themselves until they’re mature enough to carry on, or they might produce spores!!! OR they might reproduce the way coral do. the main complication is that this is meant for simple or single-celled organisms and also maybe leaves them all more vulnerable to that Clone Problem of being wiped out by a single virus. but perhaps their ability to mimic other types of dna is involved in providing new individuals with a robust enough mix of original genes to be baseline Adaptable

also a problem with simple organisms is that they propagate Extremely quickly and tend to be short-lived and. unintelligent (think fruit flies) so - changelings could have a fair few ‘simple organism’ traits but are ofc complex in reality

the mimicry -- do they actually become the material?? if you scan a changeling as a rock, they have the make up of a rock. but what about more complex materials? or systems? like fire? that requires energy input. im gonna go with: 1. depends on skill level 2. some things like fire they can mimic visually, maybe even with proper light and heat, but does take energy to do so.

speaking of which HOW do they get energy. i think i rambled about this a little in another post, but basically im going with the idea that they’re sort of filter feeders on the dust of the universe... they’re just VERY energy-efficient and collecting these little bits of radiation being thrown around space is a passive activity. i.e. odo probs wouldnt even know he does it, even though he does it constantly.

um. conservation of mass. the biggest thing ive seen odo turn into is that blob-monster, which was maybe 10′x10′ ? 15 at most? large, but probably somewhat unstable, and not huge. the smallest thing in canon is probably the mouse. ive seen the idea that humanoid-formed odo might be. hollow? there’s no need for him to actually form internal organs or any of that, its all surface-level, and besides. if we’re going with the idea that they can reproduce Form more than Function, they wouldnt actually work. he doesnt even eat anyway, so why waste that kinda energy?

that said!! there are probably some basic object functions they can reproduce. im gonna say that maybe your average changeling isnt going to be able to make a microwave that actually microwaves (not without a great deal of practice and scientific understanding), but could more easily become a lamp, for instance, that does actually turn on. that means they have some ability for bioluminescence, but again that requires energy and would shorten the time they can hold that shape.

regeneration obvs. is a chance to re-acquire energy, but we’re told odo doesnt sleep - it’s still a resting state, but maybe he’s still at least somewhat aware of his surroundings, if a bit unable to focus. he certainly seems to still undergo thought processes, etc. but if attacked in this state, he’ll be quite vulnerable, esp if he’s just reached hour 16, but he wont be completely defenseless. WAY more likely to hide than retaliate though, esp depending on where in the cycle he happens to be at the time -- even if that werent also kinda his personality. maybe its like bein rly rly rly tired but ur brain wont keep quiet.

kinda enjoy the idea of changelings becoming a little translucent or misshapen when they zone out. it takes some effort, practice, skill to remain present. a habit!

im sure he doesnt really bother to maintain constant humanoid-shape unless someone’s likely to look at him. could see him MAYBE being caught unawares, on occasion, whoops. very rarely, but how embarrassing

on that note, if you’re able to sneak up on odo and surprise him, he might momentarily jump a little out of shape (like a cartoon, exaggerated). other emotions like disgust or haughtiness might come off a little exaggerated too

at large, humanoid body language is a learned language for changelings, even if they can pick it up very quickly

odo’s got his humanoid walk cycle down pretty good but probably not perfectly, actually. i sort of imagine it could be a little more flowing -- not always -- but if he’s doing something he normally doesnt do, he moves a little less like a human bc he hasnt practiced it enough

ok whats the viscosity of changelings? like..... really runny and liquidy? j.... jelly? i kinda refer back to single-celled organisms again. cytoplasm w control.

in fact odo probably has some very simple (or maybe very complex, considering, but able to disguise themselves accordingly. so simple-appearing?) organs going on in there as well as cytoplasm of some sort

they dont sweat, they dont bleed, they dont smell, they dont taste, they dont sleep

they DO see, hear, are tactile, and feel most emotions that humans do. some of that emotions stuff is cultural

losing a little tiny bit of themselves (injury, i.e., a bit chopped off by a weapon) probs doesnt really hurt much more than getting a scrape, but if u like chop em in half thats gonna be Bad. but most surface level damage is just like getting a haircut or something, no pain. re: that scene with odo stopping the turbolift like.... that could’ve been painful

FOCUS!! sight, sound, etc - im writing senses as things that dont necessarily need to be located in the. face. bc they dont. but im thinking odo tends to concentrate it of course to better interact with others. that means technically - he could. .. . ‘accumulate light sensors’ and see out the back of his head, for instance, even without forming eyes, but because odo’s odo and he’s really trying to fit in he usually wont do that sort of thing and you can still sneak up on him. sometimes he even forgets he can do that kind of thing, when he’s humanoid-formed (unless he’s startled -- then he might revert to more ‘natural’ reactions) - bc he really hasnt spent any time with his people at all

this doesnt even get into the Great Link and changelings being a little bit touch-psychic

another thought !! i like the idea of one limitation being that he has to have seen / experienced in-person / studied / encountered / been exposed to an object, person, or animal to really become it. that’s where skill comes in -- some things are going to come very naturally, like shapes that are common in the universe such as rocks or. plants, in star trek .  they can learn by description or by looking at images and making their best guess, but its not gonna be totally accurate. so - some shapes come from study, like humanoids, and others come more by instinct like rocks and dirt and water, like learning to talk.

so when did odo meet a klingon targ omg

also means they are instinctually EXCELLENT observers, both of material and behavior

but imagine a bird or smth speaking in odos voice yikes

speaking of speaking, odo speaks bajoran and doesnt really know any other languages on his own, except workable cardassian. i.e. he’d have to learn to speak seagull

what if bc odo’s learning and sort of stunted in skill bc of his upbringing and inhibitions his face is..... actually made of latex, sometimes, like when he needs to save energy he goes Low Poly Rendering cos its close enough, and easier, and he’s interacted with plenty of latex and other Made materials bc he’s hardly lived at all anywhere that wasnt built-up by life forms. (probs partly why he seems so interested in practicing other animals and plants -- natural shapes are not shapes he’s been as exposed to, so they’re more interesting - and dynamic - than say, furniture / appliances)

he gives off no body heat, but neither is he cold. room temp, with a wide tolerance

can survive in space and vacuums

they seem somewhat naturally stronger than humans, esp as a sturdy material

some of them can become a magnet, thats just aligning poles / can then reproduce some basic electronics functions

at least they seem to have pretty comparable intelligence to humans so that’s relatable

#LONG POST / #body horror tw #look out beloooow !!! #almost a stream of consciousness ramble sfdkgh #featuring some awfully shorthand Science #pretty much a headcanon dump . notes on specific choices im making etc #things that'll def change over time im sure #⌀ EVERY SIXTEEN HOURS I TURN INTO A LIQUID! [ about. ] #oh god this is so long but i had so much time to think at work #scary notes to myself #⌀ UNKNOWN SAMPLE. [ ooc. ] #im SO SORRY mobile users

[historians]

rian, why do so many people have to be negative about fanfiction? it makes me feel kind of uncomfortable with myself, honestly :(. can you maybe name some ways in which fanfiction (+ shipping etc.) can be good? because 1. i think the world could use that right now and 2. in real life situations i can never think clearly enough to come up with reasons myself.

i actually went off about this on twitter a while back!! from a writer’s perspective, albeit, but you can read it here. (tl;dr: fanfic is uniquely useful writing practice and shouldn’t delegitimize a writer’s talent or potential) but like. now i’m gonna go off. i could talk about this shit for hours.

in general though, there’s a lot of reasons why fanfic/shipping/etc are often good and productive things! aside from the importance fanfic and shipping has to marginalized communities in fandom (who disproportionately write and consume them), in general they provide a space to creatively engage with media to personal and creative benefit. media a reflection, but it’s also a form of escapism. if you’re not reflected in it, the escapism part requires a little bit of creativity. for fans who don’t see themselves in media very often, or at all, it’s a powerful way to feel the same connection to media that we can’t get just by passively consuming it. for creators, especially ones interested in crafting narratives, fanwork is a creative outlet to examine the themes and boundaries of other works using your own medium. it’s invaluable. writing and reading fic has made me a better writer than classroom knowledge or talent alone ever could. full stop. at its most basic level, all fanwork, including fanfic, is a way for fans to connect with the content we love, and let it push our own creative boundaries. (to whatever extent you let it, that it is). the very nature of being a fan of anything makes its existence inevitable and necessary. 

i’ve seen people argue that fanworks/fanfic itself has credibility, but shipping within it doesn’t. (or straight up-discredits it.) it’s an arbitrary line to draw. shipping can be easily done in a way that is unhealthy (y’all remember misscribe?) or problematic (republican coworker who ships wincest but thinks lesbians are weird, i’m talking to you.) but even in the fucked up places it can sometimes wind up, the practice itself (imo) isn’t that hard to understand. it’s wish fulfillment, and extreme examples or ‘not getting it’ aren’t legitimate reasons to dismiss anything that includes it when wish fulfillment is all but inherent in fiction. i can’t speak for everyone, but i started shipping things because i wanted to see experiences i felt like i could relate to, and i write shipping fic because it’s an incredibly useful and fun way to play around with character dynamics, emotions, and motivations. it turns out it’s pretty good at doing those things! but more importantly, if it’s fun for you, it’s really fucking fun for you. some people get their kicks from watching sports teams win. others get their kicks from reading about two cartoon dudes falling in love. life sucks, you cling to what you can, and wish-fulfillment has never been an acceptable reason to dismiss the value of creative work. 

fanfic gets an unfair rep, and i can’t help but feel there’s a correlation with how often it’s presented as mostly shipping related (aka sexual, aka written for female sexual gratification), and how that’s conflated with low-quality writing. it’s frustrating how fanfic is still seen as harlequin romance for nerds, especially when it feels like other forms of fanwork are starting to be seen as legitimate skills. in reality, fanfic is just like everything else. there’s bad fanfic, with all those awful cliches and shoddy continuity, but we also have a very bad, very distinct sort of image that pops into our head at the mention of deviantart, don’t we? (no, not the furry porn.) but there’s also good fanfic, and fanartists who turned into the reason you picked up the pen. with anything, there’s a spectrum.

good fanfic is written by talented, skilled people who have spent years and years honing their craft and are choosing to do labor-intensive work for free out of passion. i’ve read countless works, with and without shipping, by people who are clearly publishable, but are gifting the communities they love with substantial works of art (bc writing is an art!) its detractors never seem to really grasp this. there are works that contain just as much technical skill, just as much character depth, and just as much emotional nuance as the majority of what you could pull off the shelf. the author of your favorite fic has probably put in just as many hours and years writing as the best fanartist you know has drawing. it can be really fucking good.

but honestly like who fucking cares if people don’t like it bc the principle itself is fucking harmless and we’re going to die someday! life is short! anyone who thinks it’s weird or fucked up can eat my whole entire ass!

#this could have been answered in two sentences but no gotta write an essay how predictably me #long post #i sound so pretentious jesus #Anonymous #witness testimony