#is a genuinely fun series and its colorful and pretty and i love the characters

[hobiebrownismygod]

Why Spiderman-India/Pavitr Prabhakar is one of the best examples of Indian representation I've seen in a long time

Mumbattan

Lets talk about Earth-50101, Mumbattan, Pavitr's home dimension. Mumbattan is displayed as a beautiful, colorful dimension with lots of traffic, lots of people, and lots of culture. When we see Gwen, Miles and Pav swinging through Mumbattan, we see people wearing saris, people driving scootys, Indian-style billboards and even temples in the surroundings. This is an extremely accurate depiction of large Indian cities.

Mumbattan on the left, Mumbai on the right

See how similar these look?

Now compare this to how Hollywood's Slumdog Millionaire movie depicts India.

Every single movie depicting India made by Hollywood portrays India as a country full of slums and dirty people. I have never seen Hollywood portray India as the beautiful, culture-filled country it is, and I have never seen one of the many beautiful temples, or the advanced cities represented in western media until now. Slumdog Millionaire is a fantastic movie, but India isn't only made up of slums.

Hollywood tends to romanticize struggle and when depicting India, makes it seem like a very depressing country. Yes, there are slums in India. Yes, there are people struggling in India. But that doesn't mean that India isn't beautiful. It doesn't mean India is behind. Mumbattan is the first depiction of India I've seen that I feel portrays the beauty and culture of India well. It is a fantastic representation.

2. Pavitr's personality

One of the most recent and most popular Indian representation series right now is the show, Never Have I Ever. In my opinion, this show is terrible. The main character, Devi Vishwakumar, is the stereotype of all stereotypes and doesn't accurately portray most Desi girls. She is rude, selfish, and extremely narcissistic. Her entire personality is being Indian and I find that extremely hard to watch. They make fun of her by addressing stereotypes like an excess of body hair, fashion, and even accents but instead of shutting down these stereotypes, they amplified them by making fun of them.

In western media, Indians are either portrayed as IT workers, scammers, grocery store owners, or nerdy, try-hard teenagers. Every show with an Indian teenager in it portrays them as cheap, unhygienic or unattractive which I, as an Indian, find extremely offensive.

Pavitr is portrayed as an optimistic Indian teenager who's smart and strong, without bragging about it, proud of being Indian without making it his whole personality and genuinely funny. He isn't portrayed as some skinny, nerdy guy with glasses. In fact, he's literally shown flexing his muscles, and performing well in class without going overboard about it. He's so full of culture, I can't even begin to explain it because I'll never stop. His suit, his mask, his webs, the way he moves, the way he fights, its all beautiful and I could watch for days on end without getting bored.

We were finally served an attractive, funny Indian character who isn't a walking stereotype, who loves and embraces his culture and just seems like an awesome guy to be around. Seeing him on screen made me feel so proud, of my religion and my culture. I hope Hollywood takes notes on this and continues providing the media with proper Indian representation and strong Indian role models for characters!

This article explains everything I said a little better, because I know my writing style can be confusing sometimes. It really goes into depth on how impactful it is on Indians to see this kind of representation for the first time in western media and how important this is.

He's so pretty <3 I'm so proud that I look like him

Might go even more in-depth eventually, I just really wanted to get this off my chest because I love him so much 😭

#atsv #across the spiderverse #pavitr prabhakar #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman india #spiderman into the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #miles morales #spiderman across the verse #spiderman #spidey #spider verse #pavitr my beloved #atsv pavitr #spiderverse pavitr #spider man india #indian representation #mumbattan #earth 50101 #Pavitr prabhakar

[paddingtondos]

I will fully cop to the fact that Undead Unluck is like basically a melting pot of shit that is quintessentially me-core, and that 100% colors my view of it. However, on the other hand, I don't care, this shit is still fucking complete fuego top to bottom.

Like, i get that the humor at the start is very unsavory and hard to swallow for some people, and I don't hold that against them. But the way it pays off on the initial rocky relationship between Andy and Fuuko is 10000000000000000000000000000% worth the price of admission.

And like, the character designs coupled with the art scratch a fucking primal itch in my brain. I could *look* at Undead Unluck forever. It's such a goddamn FUN style, and it's matched by a strong grasp on slick, readable page layouts. Not to mention the way the series is constantly moving its setting. In the first, like, thirty chapters alone, they go to Japan, Russia, The USA, Brazil, Australia, etc. I'm such a sucker for globe trotting.

The cast is very visually diverse. They all look cool, and so it's appealing to me on that level, but you can also just TELL that Tosuka adores his OCs. Like, fucking Void Volks, the basically nameless and faceless redshirt from volume 1? Yeah he's a core member of the cast now. Gina? The woman who died in volume 2 to advance Fuuko's plot? No she gets her happy ending actually and she gets to actually be friends with Fuuko. Like you want to talk about side cast utilization, this series should be setting a new fucking gold standard in WSJ as far as im concerned, One Piece notwithstanding.

And the worldbuilding. God, the worldbuilding. I'm a sucker for SCP/Magnus Archives-esque shit on a subatomic level and UDUL doesn't disappoint at all.

God, and how the powersystem is intrinsically tied to the worldbuilding on such a goddamn fundamental level, and how basically every superpower in the series has a purpose outside of combat, and just god shit fuck it's so fucking god damn good and I just wish I could like fucking bottle up the feelings that I feel about this series as an Imbibable Liquid and have you all drink it to actually understand how much I love this series because I genuinely feel that a) I will never be able to *fully* articulate why I love this series and b) I also totally understand why someone would think I'm a fuckin maniac for just how strong my feelings about it are. Like it's probably the epitome of like, "That Pretty Good thing that is just randomly a masterpiece to one specific person on the planet." But I happen to be that one specific person, and to me, Undead Unluck is That Pretty Good Thing.

#undead unluck #shonen jump #please read it

[jewishcissiekj]

Since Asajj Ventress appeared in recent media and is set to appear in future shows and Star Wars content, I've seen a lot of people starting to read Dark Disciple. but besides that book, there are so many stories featuring Asajj over her 22 years of existence. So if you are looking for some recommendations and entry points to Asajj outside of the TV shows, here are some recommendations to get to know her a bit better, in both the Canon and Legends timelines:

(for anyone looking for a definitive list of everything she's ever been in, I also have that)

for anyone looking for just the list of recommendations without all my babbling, scroll down to the bottom, it'll be there.

Canon

Dooku: Jedi Lost Audiodrama - Script by Cavan Scott, preformed by full cast (also available in Script format) Starting off, this masterpiece. Telling the dual story of Asajj and Dooku, Jedi Lost is genuinely some of the best Star Wars content out there, in my opinion. Taking place early in The Clone Wars, it tells Asajj's journey battling her ghosts and uncovering her Master's history. It requires only the context of the prequels and The Clone Wars, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes the Prequels, Dooku, or Asajj.

Brotherhood - by Mike Chen Continuing with the book that serves as an introduction to Asajj in canon (chronologically), Brotherhood presents an interesting take on her first meetings with Anakin and Obi-Wan. She's far from the main character here, only supporting the book's plot as the villain and the initiator behind some of the troubles Obi-Wan faces on Cato Neimodia. This Asajj is more calculated, working behind the scenes while still facing off face to face against Obi-Wan and Anakin, and it uniquely handles her character. The book is a Clone Wars adventure taking place before and it requires only the movies' and TCW's context, once again. *While technically taking place after Hyperspace Stories #5, it contradicts that issue's events and makes more sense if it takes place before, so I listed it first (for more info on the contradictions you can go here)*

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #5 - Written by Amanda Deibert, with art by Riccardo Faccini (Variant cover by Cary Nord) Taking place shortly after Anakin's knighting, before The Clone Wars show, this is a short and interesting comic story for Asajj. While tying into an over-arching plot of the series, this issue stands alone well. Simply put, Asajj is sent to retrieve a mysterious item by Count Dooku and encounters Anakin and Obi-Wan in the process. It has fun art, fun dynamics, and it's really good.

Worthless - a short story from Stories of Jedi and Sith - written by Delilah S. Dawson with an illustration by Jake Bartok This one is not as set on the timeline, but we do know it takes place while Asajj is still working for Dooku. In short, without too many spoilers, Asajj falls into a pit and has to trust on a Clone Trooper's help to get out. The story is a part of an anthology, but it completely stand-alone on its own. If you can read it on its own, I recommend it, but the rest of the book is also very much worth it if you want to buy it for the story. Dawson captures a version of Asajj that rarely gets attention, before the Nightsisters, and manages to show her identity and tell a wonderful story without that tool that's often overly used (in my opinion).

Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle #3 - Written by Cavan Scott with art by Francesco Francavilla & Nick Brokenshire Jumping forward in the Timeline, we have another Asajj story by Cavan Scott! It has Bounty Hunting, A baby Sarlacc, pretty art, fun coloring, and Asajj. So what's not to love? Like Hyperspace Stories, Return to Vader's Castle also has an over-arching plot, but that's 4 framing pages of Vaneé being a bitch and has no effect on the rest of it. Solid stuff. (it is also the source of the first picture in this post)

Sisters - a short comic story from the Age of Republic Special - written by Jody Houser with art by Carlos Gómez Next, we have a wonderful short story taking place just before The Clone Wars episode "To Catch a Jedi". In just a few pages, Jody Houser brings conflict and personality to Asajj's time on Coruscant. And there's gorgeous art.

Legends

While Legends, and especially the comics, have some of my favorite stories with Asajj, it's hard to recommend individual issues. They can be stand-alone but still connected and ingrained in the ongoing story of the comics. But I tried to hand-pick the best for introduction and knowledge of who Asajj is a character there. So I won't recommend the 12 issues she's in, I set myself the limit of sticking with the same number of recommendations I had for canon.

Star Wars: Republic: The New Face of War - 2-issue Comic arc - written by W. Haden Blackman with art by Tomás Giorello Although I'm assuming you all have at least a passing familiarity with Asajj's character, introductions are still important. And, yes, Asajj first appeared in a different comic and after a month or so in Clone Wars (2003), but chronologically, in-universe, this is her first appearance. The Face of War is comprised of issues #51 and #52 of the Star Wars: Republic comic series, and although Asajj is only in the last page of #51, it's necessary context. This one isn't a must for me, but it sets the ground for her. And it's good. Giorello's art brings a unique perspective to Asajj's character, and by that I mean it may not be to some people's taste. So take your pick with this one.

Star Wars: Republic #53 - written by W. Haden Blackman, with art by Brian Ching If the last one isn't a must, this one is. It is a stand-alone adventure, almost feeling like a (better) TCW episode. Obi-Wan is off to infiltrate a Techno Union base with a team of all-star legendary Jedi that are introduced, and everything goes wrong when they run into the Confederacy's best, Durge and Asajj Ventress. I say it's a must because it establishes the nature of the rivalry between Obi-Wan and Asajj, and gives us such a sense of who those people are. It also lays the foundations to my next comic recommendation.

Dark Heart - short story by August and Cynthia Hahn This one, a 1784-word story, originally published on Wizards.com as a part of The Living Force roleplaying campaign, is definitely not a must, but it's barely 2k words, just read it. In all seriousness though, it captures Asajj's essence and I just. love it. You can read it right now, that's the link in the name, it's up online for free legally. While it is a part of the RPG campaign, I read it individually and had no trouble at all.

The Cestus Deception - by Steven Barnes (The Japanese cover is prettier and has Asajj, ok?) Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kit Fisto head to the planet Ord Cestus to try and convince Ord Cestus's government to ally with The Republic. But under the surface, a mysterious scheme had developed and it gets messy. Never ask me to write a publisher's summary. Asajj is the villain of this one, and I don't have much to say about it, but it is good. Fair warning: it hasn't aged the best in my opinion, and not even in a politically correct sense, some of the descriptions and relationships were questionable at best. If you like Kit Fisto and political adventuring and Clone Wars fights and a mascarade ball, if I remember correctly, this one's for you. It's not much of a story for Asajj but it is a fun read.

Star Wars: Republic #60 - written by W. Haden Blackman with art by Tomás Giorello I have never ever not once said it but this right here is my favorite Asajj story of all time ever. It does require context, though, so here's it: after the battle of Jabiim, Alpha-17 (Legends Arc Trooper, you may have heard of him) and Obi-Wan (a staple in Asajj's stories, he needs to gtfo women's business) are blown up and declared dead. Turns out Asajj Ventress has been holding them in her castle on the planet Rattatak and this is the daring story of their escape. In this issue, Asajj's origin story is revealed, before the Nightsisters had anything to do with her. More than any other Legends issue, it differentiates greatly from anything you know about Asajj in TCW/Canon. She's a warlord, with armies at her beck and call, a military commander, And it's fun. Her origin story is told in this issue, and it's such a great story that shifted my understanding of her a lot. The art, once again, is by Giorello, keep it in mind.

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous - by Sean Stewart (Japanese cover, once again) Last but certainly not least, the Legends Clone Wars book I've heard the most positive reviews of, and was not disappointed in the slightest. It is as good as they say. The story doesn't focus on Asajj, and she isn't even the main antagonist, but she gets a meaningful role in it and has her place and her arc in the story. It's also my favorite approach to how Asajj would act when she has to deal with children. Worth the hype and an excellent book to read unrelated to Asajj.

Alright, that's all! I hope you check out at least one of these, they're all great. As said before, I also have a complete list of everything Asajj in chronological order. Feel free to ask me anything about the list and the things in it. I can also give a complete comic reading list for her, since it's a bit more than just the issues she appeared in. For anyone struggling with the accessibility of these recommendations, I have a hopefully comprehensive guide in the complete appearances post. And now just this list because I promised that:

Canon 1) Dooku: Jedi Lost Audiodrama - Script by Cavan Scott, preformed by full cast (also available in Script format) 2) Brotherhood - by Mike Chen 3) Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #5 - Written by Amanda Deibert, with art by Riccardo Faccini (Variant cover by Cary Nord) 4) Worthless - a short story from Stories of Jedi and Sith - written by Delilah S. Dawson with an illustration by Jake Bartok 5) Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle #3 - Written by Cavan Scott with art by Francesco Francavilla & Nick Brokenshire 6) Sisters - a short comic story from the Age of Republic Special - written by Jody Houser with art by Carlos Gómez

Legends 1) Star Wars: Republic: The New Face of War - 2-issue Comic arc (Star Wars: Republic #51-52) - written by W. Haden Blackman with art by Tomás Giorello 2) Star Wars: Republic #53 - written by W. Haden Blackman, with art by Brian Ching 3) Dark Heart - short story by August and Cynthia Hahn 4) The Cestus Deception - by Steven Barnes 5) Star Wars: Republic #60 - written by W. Haden Blackman with art by Tomás Giorello 6) Yoda: Dark Rendezvous - by Sean Stewart

tag list: @thechaoticfanartist @charmwasjess @metalatl @redsandspirit @slutshartsstuff @housepartyfortwo @karma-malfoy @thelivingforce

#daily asajj thought of the day #asajj ventress #star wars #star wars recommenadtions #star wars comics #star wars books #dooku jedi lost #hyperspace stories #stories of jedi and sith #return to vader's castle #age of republic #star wars legends #star wars republic #the cestus deception #republic 60 #yoda dark rendezvous #cavan scott #amanda deibert #riccardo faccini #delilah s dawson #jake bartok #francesco francavilla #nick brokenshire #haden blackman #tomas giorello #brian ching #steven barnes #sean stewart #star wars brotherhood #mike chen

[midnightkolrath]

Dante and his deeper layers I've noticed in the 2007 anime

I originally meant for this to be a WAY bigger dig/analysis, as I want to go episode by episode...but I decided to minimize it for now because this anime gives me brainworms so often, lmao.

So, lets get into this light dig of added bits for Dante's character from the anime and just how neat the anime is on what it covers.

Early on in the anime, there's parts of the anime where Patty unknowingly berates Dante about having a picture of his "girlfriend" on his desk, not knowing its actually his mother. Same episode, she talks to Dante about her own mother, and how much she wishes to meet her, after being orphaned for unknown reasons (We learn why later but you know).

And BOTH times, Dante doesn't respond, save for a quiet distant stares off into space or seemingly ignoring her. For the first case, he very much likely excuses it with the fact that she's just not aware of the truth of the picture but not outright scolding her over it.

Like...he doesn't snap or correct her or anything. He just remains quiet. And we know how much Dante loved his mom (his color palette even matches hers for gods' sake) and how he got when facing Trish in DMC1 (which this takes place after). Shows just how those events really changed him afterwards. Especially since this is also after he thought he killed Vergil with his own hands...which the anime VERY MUCH shows the depression he has. He's in it deep for alot of it.

Back to the second part of the Patty thing though, as much as he pretends he isn't listening or doesn't care, he very much WAS listening to her, as later in that episode, he easily figures out where she went (into a trap where a demon disguised itself as her mother to lure her) due to the poster she was gazing at which reminded her of her mother, and the discussion they had right before she ran off.

Like, this man may be the way he is and PRETEND he isn't paying attention to people sometimes, but like...no, when its important, he VERY MUCH is. Speaking of which...episode 3.

This is one of the fun parallel episodes where the situation reflects a part of Dante's life...such as when a demon falls in love with a human, who was originally supposed to serve his master. Obviously, a parallel to Sparda and Eva's relationship, Dante's parents.

Even when its found out that the guy is the target dante's supposed to be after, Dante literally takes time to hear him out and question him over his love for a human woman. Dante's the result of such a relationship, so it makes sense he'd stop to listen.

In the end, he decides to go against killing this demon, despite what his client wanted. He sees firsthand and knows that this is actually a couple in love. Like...he gets it. For obvious reasons, but he also MADE SURE it was a true love relationship. Pretty wholesome actually.

An obvious one if you've seen the instruments and jukebox in his office, but episode 6 adds on that Dante 'gets' music and how it can touch/relate to people. I think its a cute additional touch. :' )

I wanna dig into this episode more eventually, but its obviously music themed. And Dante hangs out as a bodyguard for some fellow music enjoyers. Just one of those nice further looks on the general work Dante does, which this anime does a great job in doing.

Episode 7 onward is where shit gets deep into more parallels and just the kind of guy Dante is, while going through it this whole series. Helping a spirit get laid to rest by pulling a prison break and rescuing her brother (Episode 7)...

Having his status as the son of sparda ending up getting someone originally close to him (Supposedly anyway, its implied that Dante grew up with this guy and was raised by the same mother figure...which Dante denies, but we know how he can be, and he was likely trying to protect him in a way) hurt and said person thrusting hate on him for it as that was why a whole village got burned down...and the guy originally believed and had genuine faith that it wasn't Dante's fault (Episode 8)...

Meeting students (who are brothers, one older and one younger) of his father, arguably bonding with one of them and having to put both down in the end (Episode 10), which can be seen as a cruel parallel to himself and Vergil...(And even going through the effort of respectfully setting a grave site together for them)

And the final episodes, 11 and 12, are the conclusion of the whole arc that was built up in the background...but its also a show of Dante and Patty's relationship becoming so close as she goes to personally save him after he was impaled by the big bad. Its a pay off for the growing bits of them spending time together from episode 1, and later a neat easter egg nod in DMC5 where Patty calls to invite him to her birthday party, showing they still very much keep in touch. (And the novel Before the Nightmare goes more into why, exactly, he actually didn't want to go, but we'll dive more into that later one day).

I'll likely more deeply elaborate about the anime one day, but like...there's a reason why its such a gem in the series. Short, but did great with the episodes it had. A treat for those who want to see more layers for Dante. Its so SO good.

Like you may or may not like the 'slice of life' parts, but its necessary for what they were going for, I think. I know I skipped a few things, but I hope I got the big highlights atleast. Go check out the first anime, its a pretty damn solid ride.

#devil may cry #dmc #This was abit chunky so this gets a read more #but man I love the 2007 anime SO MUCH #One of the best things this series has tbh #I'm glad it exists #leo's DMC analysis

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 2, Match 3 MAGIC vs. MEME

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for MAGIC:

MAGIC MY BELOVED MAGIC!!! Its one of the best MVs in the entire series, even including T2. Magic is visually stunning and has some fantastic art direction but also is very clever in how it conveys its themes and ideas. Magic doesn't really hide anything from you, not really. It's all symbolic but it Tells You Things. It shows you the abuse, it shows you the cat. There's a fun little relationship going on here where, In Magic. Amane's pain and suffering isn't taken seriously by the people around her and the Audience we are discouraged to take it at face value due to the fictionalized nature of Magic. It's so cool. I'm so fond of the song as well, it's one of the best in the series purely cause of the Layers in it. The implications of this Inability to be good is seeped into Magic. Amane knows this isn't reality, Magic knows it's a show, she watches it at the end. And it's so Sad to me that even in her fictionalized happy world she Cannot be a good girl. It's a standard completely out of reach for her and that idea is just conveyed so well visually.

Im not even talking about the goddamn cat yet- the cat symbolism goes Deep. That cat is HER it has the same wounds Amane has in Purge March. I- I cant talk about the intertextuality of Purge March and Magic here this is Magic propaganda only- I- there's so much good stuff to Magic. I Re watched it over and over again. It has some the Best Writing and Visual Communication in Milgram and I will Die on this Hill.

---

shoutout to magic for having pretty props AND being vague as fuck about the crime! diversity win!

seriously though amane looks SO cute in it! the mv has such a pretty and colorful style and even with that it's able to show the horrors of what amane went through.

adding onto my last point. that scene where the cat is hyperventilating and you see the camera shaking???? that scene where the mascots find amane helping the cat and they're all standing over her? CHILLS. im repeating myself but the fact that they were able to portray the awful things amane went through in a genuinely emotional way while still keeping the cute cartoon look is soo impressive

there are SO many layers to itill the entire cartoony style making it look like a tv show… utilizing the cartoony effects and bright colors to show amane downplaying her own pain… the transformation after she gets punished barely changing anything to show just how manipulated she was from the start… ueueueue

ALSO ALSO ALSO THE SCENE AT THE END WITH AMANE STARING AT THE SCENE? OHHH ITS SO GOOD it adds such a feeling of dread and reminds you on top of this whole thing that all of this is truly horrifying! something is going on here!

this song is so catchy it gets stuck in my head CONSTANTLY

"Dear wise one, Am I worthy? Is it ok to spoil myself?" AMANE... UEUEUUEUE

the little ding sound effects in the instrumental?????

amanes voice is ADORABLE

THE INSTRUMENTAL IN THAT PART WHERE SHES HELPING THE CAT HAS THAT GODLY TYPE SOUND YOUD TYPICALLY ASSOCIATE WITH CHURCHES AND STUFF AND I DONT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT PROPERLY BUT JUST RELISTEN TO IT AND YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I MEAN. ITS SUCH A NEAT DETAIL

i could go on about this mv for days but i am not a theorist unfortunately. just. magic sweep

Propaganda for MEME:

"MeMe is fantastic because it plays off the audience’s assumptions about Mikoto as a character and tells a “double story”. There’s layers to it and it’s deliberately deceptive in the way it presents the events out of order. Even the instrumentals themselves tell a story. The shift from piano in the second chorus climax is so good - and the way they combine in the last chorus, plus the addition of a violin culminates the song perfectly."

---

"For propaganda: I love meme so much because even the music alone tells as whole story. It goes from heavy metal to calm to heavy metal to calm and that happens a few times and then there’s an epic and creepy intermission with an amazing guitar and a scary of sound of Mikoto’s heavy breathing. And then the psychedelic music and BAM the final chorus. The final chorus of meme just gives me the absolute chills. Like it’s the calmer chorus we see earlier but with epic symphonic metal and an amazing build up and climax like it’s perfectly encapsulates a story through music alone I just love it so much. Also it’s literally called meme lmao."

---

"I could go on about the motifs in MeMe - like identity loss, living and dying, dreaming etc. It's a song, more than with any other character, about the inner self and what hides from the surface. Of the fear that comes with one's identity and place in the world being challenged and crumbling. The intricate designs on the tarot cards have so much depth to them"

#milgramtournament #milgram #amane momose #momose amane #mikoto kayano #kayano mikoto

[master-of-the-railway]

Sue me for this if you wish but I think Big World Big Adventures: The Movie wasn't actually as bad as everyone says it is and it's high time we gave it the appreciation it deserves, like it's a bit too overhated in my opinion. Maybe it's just my inability to be overly mean and aggressive abt pieces of media that line up with comfort interests but I genuinely don't get the hate towards the BWBA movie....like nothing was bad abt it in my own opinion? The songs were fire all the way through, the visuals are very pretty (the LIGHTING!!!), and I mean like Nia is there and how can you possibly hate anything that features Nia she CARRIES that movie so hard. I've seen some ppl say the movements are too much but like...it makes the engines far more expressive and I highly prefer them having a bit more movement to being entirely stiff because being stiff restricts their expressiveness even more, and tbh realism was left behind the second the cgi series made its debut (Ex: D51s were first produced in 1936 and yet Hiro was somehow the first engine on the island of Sodor) so I don't really look for realism too hard when it comes to TTTE because I mean...the trains talk and are fully sentient, and that's already grounds enough for me suspend my disbelief a TON.

Maybe it is just my Nia bias (AND YONG BAO IS THERE AT ONE POINT!!! Absolutely love him.) but I think BWBA is pretty good, it's one of my favorite TTTE movies. It's just really whack that half the fandom seems to hate or at least mildly dislike this movie, which was a huge shocker to me because I was happy stimming the ENTIRE time on my first watch. It was fun and colorful and expressive and thinking about how it introduced so many international machines to the lineup...like I physically cannot hate a movie that caters to my favorite thing EVER in shows with sentient machines (seeing the machines from other countries). I don't mind the fact that ppl dislike it at all (bc everyone's entitled to their own opinions and all that jazz) but it's more just I can't really find any negatives about it, the only character introduced in it that I dislike is the one they (assumedly) want you to dislike and even then I gotta admit his song slaps. To each their own in the end, I suppose, but the point I'm trying to make is that I think we gotta be at least a LITTLE bit nicer abt this movie. (And if anyone interacts w/ this post, please don't like. Start fights on it or anything. This post isn't mean to spark any discourse or aggression, it's just my personal thoughts that I'm sharing with the fandom because so far all of you that I've met are EXTREMELY kind and understanding and so I trust you all to be normal abt it.)

#ttte #thomas and friends #thomas & friends #Hero of The Rails is my favorite TTTE movie of all time tho :) #always will be #but yeah everytime I've seen someone talk abt this film they rarely say positive things which is just fine y'know- #-it's not like I'm mortally wounded over the fact that ppl don't like it #I just find myself unable to see what could possibly be so bad about it #but that's kind of just a me problem I suppose lmao

[stardynamite]

OH MEE GOSH I’M SO HAPPY ROTTMNT IS FINALLY GETTING THE CREDIT IT DESERVES TSKSGSK

BEHOLD MY RANT BELOW THE CUT🕺✨

⬇️

Its really my favorite cartoon series of all time and there is SO MUCH I COULD SAY ABOUT IT THAT IT FEELS OVERWHELMING

The art style is literally my favorite art style ever and even as a kid I just know that it would’ve also been my favorite. The blocky yet detailed characters are so cool and OH MY GOD THE COLOR SCHEMES GSKSHS I love them so much. I could just eat that art style UP, MAN. You have NO IDEA how drastically it has affected my current art style.

The different character designs are so different yet fit them perfectly. Even thought they don’t all look the same, none of them are actually ugly and when you think about it, thats not always the case in media (what I mean is that when a character doesn’t conform to the classic protagonist look, they’re usually pretty caricatured and usually even ugly :/)

I also love the humour and the writing jdldhdm the jokes just jeep on getting better and you can TELL that the writers are having fun with it (thats my favourite feeling in the world)

And the voice acting??? Hello??? I love it????

Animation and writing wise, you can tell that it was a passion project. Until I realised that the show was un-officially cancelled, I was seriously wondering HOW a show with such detailed HAND-ANIMATED animation could survive. Even though it has been cancelled, just knowing that it could even EXIST gives me hope in the future generations of animation (in which I will hopefully be WORKING IN)

Although i was sure the show could never last long I’m SO MAD THAT THEY COULDNT GIVE IT THE ENDING IT DESERVED AGHHHHGDKDGDJDH it’s incredibly frustrating and it had so much potential. It was supposed to be only 3 seasons too😭😭😭 with the story, they could’ve honestly gone for 5 to 6 seasons, they were just being humble istg.

Anyways, sorry for the rant but I could say SO MUCH more and I just HAD to get some out, if you’ve read this far, I genuinely hope you have a wonderful day and thank you💖

#rottmnt #unpause rottmnt #save rottmnt #GOING INSANE RN #LMAO #I’M ON AN ROTTMNT INDUCED ADRENALINE RUN AND IDK HOW LONG IT WILL LAST BUT IT FEELS AMAZING #save rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rant #I wanna buy rise merch so bad rn #Youtube

[is-jan-jan-is]

Dawn of Dc fucking slaps my dudes.

I've been meaning to make a post about the Dawn of Dc for quite a while but haven't due to depression and 80 hour work weeks.

My pull box used to be one third marvel, one third dc and one third indie. Nowadays, with marvel focusing on more of those godawful movies it's producing more and more garbage. Meanwhile, dc-who has been struggling since the 90s-seems to have found its stride. My box is honestly two thirds dc and one third indie.

I've maybe three or four marvel titles. Captain marvel, mckay's avengers run and ewing's thor. I did also pick up Sentry but havent read it yet. I was about to deep dive into the fall of the house of x stuff but the whole 'Genocide' storyline is in bad taste to say the fucking least. With last year's Symbol of Truth sam wilson run over i dont have much more marvel stuff catching my eye.

Meanwhile I'm collecting most of dc's catalog. The Dawn of Dc rebrand has been phenomenal through and through. Part of it is due to color coding which my autism especially likes. Mostly, it's great storytelling.

Here is how I would rate the Dawn of Dc titles I've been collecting so far on a scale of 'bruh' to 'BRUH'(all of the ratings are made up terms):

*******Spoilers*********

Jon Kent Adventures of Superman: absolute banger...if not a tad formulaic. If seems poetic to have Jon kent-a product of Joshua Williamson- fight injustice superman-a product of Dan Didio. Dan famously hated legacy characters and loved the idea of fascist superman so-get fucked Dan. 11/10 because he beats him with a hug

Action Comics: fuck yeah dawg. It's been great. The wholesome super family shenanigans, the inclusion of Kenan (finally) on top of just damn good story telling. 10/10 would super again.

Superman: BRUH. So, after years of piss poor 'superman' books we get the warworld saga (certified banger) followed up with this delightful story from Josh Williamson. All of the classic villains get the correct treatment. Lex, parasite, banshee-with the current 'Chained' reveal. Im so glad somebody understands how to write superman. This has genuinely become a title i look forward to every week. 10.5/10

Superboy Man of Tomorrow: Certified Banger. Listen, Connor Kent was the first love of my life. 90 percent of my personality is Teen titans and Young Justice was always my favorite flavor of teen titans. Either way I was always going to love a boom about Connor Kent. That said: this book is pretty good. It clearly skews young as far as its obvious intended audience but it was still fun.

Steel: CERT-FIED BANG-ER! God I love Worf. I'm glad that my boy Steel is getting the proper treatment. Michael Dorn does a damn good job. It was a good run, just read the last one (6 out of 6) today.

Powergirl: fuck yeah dawg. I love powergirl, and this series is not as annoyingly thirsty as previous stories. She's presented as a complex yet baddass character. Her motives are complex and her actions are badass. I also like that she's part of the super family officially.

Blue Beetle: Certified Banger. Pretty damn good. Once again it's a tad formulaic but still a fun read. 8/10

Green Arrow: Certified Banger! Pretty damn good, tbh. I love the fact that my boii Roy Harper is back. Pretty strong familial vibes all around. 9.5/10

Green lantern: bruh. Listen, I only picked up this title originally because it held the preview to John Stewart's 'War Journal'. Its well done, don't get me wrong. Jeremy Adam's is an asset to D.C. at this point. Quality wise, it's a knockout. Unfortunately, it's also Hal Jordan. He's as much of an unbearable p.o.s. as he's ever been. 6/10.

Green Lantern War Journal: BRUH!!! Fucking Slaps. John Stewart is back at it in an incredibly endearing story. I was really interested to see where they would take it after Gregory Thorne basically made my boii a demigod. The ultraviolet corps are super interesting and the b plot with his mother is heart wrenching. 100/10

Green Latern Alan Scott: fuck yeah dawg. Pretty good. Love the gay representation. Been meaning to get back into JSA stuff. Haven't read the huntress or sandman stuff yet but might after this.

Hawkgirl: absolute banger. Ngl, they kinda phoned in the antagonist but that's ok. Its a fun read about a cool character we've always wanted more content on anyways. Also Jadzia is god tier. 8/10

Wonder Woman: BRUH!!! I've never been a huge fan of Diana honestly but this story had me hooked from the beginning. It's a complex, heartfelt political intrigue. Tom King can do NO wrong. 20/10

Birds of Prey: absolute banger. Super fun to read. I definitely look forward to it every month. I love cass and I love barda so- 11/10

Batman and Robin: bruh. Listen, I love Joshua Williamson but all the love in the world won't make me tolerate Bruce fucking Wayne. After the catastrophic mess that was the Gotham War event we get this run by Joshy boii and Simone DiMeo. It's a decent little story which I follow only to ensure that Robin is OK. The breakout star of this title for me was DiMeo's art. It's so kinetic! Honestly, the art is the only reason this isn't a 0/10. That said...6.5/10

Outsiders: Fuck yeah dawg! The this series only has two issues out so far but it's been fun. I love Kate abd Luke respectively and together they are lots of fun. Also this title seems to lean in to the whole 'superhero fatigue' thing. So fuck yeah! 8/10

Nightwing: BRUH!! Tom Taylor has been in charge of what is honestly the best Superhero title on the market for the past couple years-and its Nightwing. His Grayson is charming, endearing and resilient: All of the good qualities of his deadbeat dad without any of the bullshit brooding and class warfare. This Dawn of Dc title feels different because it's less a relaunch and more a continuation. It's a super interesting deep dive into the BludHaven lore that Taylor began teasing years ago. Also pirate Dick Grayson-90/10

Titans: BRUH. 10/10 MY BOIIS (boiis is gender neutral) ARE ALL GROWN UP!! THEY'RE IN CHARGE. THEY RUNNING SHIT NOW. Seriously it's very good.

Titans/Beast World: heartbreaking but ill allow it. Crossover events are always iffy, we'll see where this goes. So far-7/10

Cyborg: fuck yeah dawg! I love cyborg and I love to see him getting his own title. It's been a good one and I can't wait for the finale next month. 9/10

Flash: BRUH! So far it's a very good Wally story but we're only a few issues deep. I like the Linda subplot. 9.5/10

Speed force: fuck yeah dawg. MAS AND MINOS ARE BACK!!!!! listen I was almost ready to write this series off as another story pandering to the youth. There is a Panel wherein someone describes the scene as 'bad vibes' and is told-'bet'-in response. That said, Joshy boii is clearly happy to be writing Wallace and Avery again AND MAS AND MINOS ARE FINALLY CANNON LETTSSSSS GOOOO!!!! 7/10

Jay Garrick Flash: fuck yeah dawg! Pretty good so far. I love Jay. Love the addition to his family. 7/10

Spirit World: BRUH! Crazy fucking good. I ADORE the way this title handles deadnames. Cassie, Envoy and John make a pretty good team and this depiction of the afterlife is really neat and engaging. 15/10

City Boy: BRUH! A+ for originality dudes. I love this character's motivation, powers and personality. This title genuinely makes a positive impact on the overall dc universe. 10/10

*note* I tried to color code the titles with the corresponding comic colors but tumblr mobile didn't have yellow so

#dc comics #dawn of dc #batman #superman #action comics #hawkgirl #dc flash #teen titans #superboy

[planefood]

Hooray! Barrage attack!

1. Are you thinking of pitching this as a show? Or as a comic series? Or have you not decided fully yet? What shenanigans are they gonna be up to?

2. How long have you had your OCs for? What inspired you to make them, and what were their previous incarnations?

3. How did Sonnet and Lithium meet? Does Sonnet know he's... *underneath breath* kind of a stupid idiot? Or does she love him for that?

4. How does fashion work for robots? Since a lot of them have stuff like wire-tails and bright colors. Or does it not really affect them?

- 🔌

P.S: Do you have any tips for escaping... "debt collectors"? I may have accidentally pissed off the... "insurance company".

okay Hi im taking a short break from drawing thangs to answer this :) 1. I don't think i'd ever pitch any of my personal oc stories as a TV show or film. I don't like the idea of losing control and copyright of a story so near and dear to me and esp with the current state media is in a lot of stuff would be censored/edited and because I don't live in the states pitching an animated show or film would probably be near impossible for a story like this anyway. A comic on the otherhand is something im genuinely considering, I'd have to figure out the plot fully and find the time to do something like that as well. The story was written to be easily made into a comic format though. 2. These specific robot characters I've only actually had for like,,, 7 months? A lot of work has gone into them in that time span tho. But I'm sorry there isn't a huge timeline where I'm like "I drew my first robot in 2008 and that is where tandy begun" I kinda always had a background interest in robots that just needed the right spark. Back in 2020 I did some AU art of already existing characters as robots (if you know who these are, hi) but these weren't really proper characters, just a fun art prompt.

But I bought Tandy as an adoptable back last september by the artist @acid-redux heres the original design I bought here:

It's actually by a pretty slim chance that I bought this guy! I saw the character a couple months earlier and decided not to buy him initially and came back, saw it was unsold and thought about it. Even after some people told me it wasn't worth the money to buy it I decided to buy him anyway. I said I had "ideas" for him, and that I did. This is the first drawing I ever did of Tandy, if you're wondering if there's like any art earlier than this like sketches or anything I don't really do that when it comes to drawing characters a lot of the time I just go right in. (also the most recent for comparison)

But yeah I totally fell in love with the character after that! I was instantly keen on doing a story with him though with who or what was debatable. Initially he had literally nobody to interact with, I was already openly objectum at this point so the earliest drawings of him show him interacting with computers.

My bestie Marty tho @bytevamp did a character trade with me and I asked if he could design me a character to interact with Tandy, all I specified was a computer robot that wasn't too close in model as Tandy and he made me Sierra :) his design alongside my first drawing of her:

this was the first drawing of Tandy and Sierra interacting. Tandy doesn't act this meekly in the current story and Sierra is a lot nicer than this to Tandy initially.

and after that I had a third robot that I still haven't found a proper place in my story/introduced him properly. His name is just "Tinbot" and he was meant to be a robot Sierra and Tandy help get back on its feet. I might have plans in the future for him but in the meantime he's on the backburner. (side note wtf is Tandy wearing)

I'd be here all day if I were to say all the robots vs their initial designs. I usually have other people design my robot characters though (sometimes in exchange for robot characters I designed) in the story the robots are built by different people so having a mix of people design them would better give that impression in my mind. My robot characters I design personally usually come from me scribbling ideas on a procreate canvas, saving them for later and if I can't stop thinking about that one robot I drew I'll fully design them, Lithium's first drawing was in the corner of one of these random sketches, something about his lack of fingers and him telling someone to KYS really spoke to me.

3. Speaking of Lithium... I had a few ideas rattling in my brain for how they met, It was either through Cathy, through Max or Lithium met Sonnet while she was working and went OO TINY ROBOT.

As for whether Sonnet realises Lithium is a bit of a dipshit, she's fully aware of his behaviour as much as anyone else is but prefers to view him through his more positive traits. Lithium isn't irredeemable or anything, Tandy just really really hates him

4. Fashion with robots is funny, the tails don't really come into play as much since they usually just stick them over their waistband or cut a hole in their pants since their cables aren't super big. I will say one thing that I don't think I've said before is that robots can actually remove their cable tails and stick them back on when they need to charge or whatever. But if you had the option to have a tail I think most people would say yes, and robots decide that as well. Phillip and Newton decide to do this a lot, Phillip is almost never seen with his tail and Newton takes it on n off or just sticks it in his pants where it doesn't stick out since its shorter. As for colour choice robots don't have any distinct reason to choose the colours they do? Some might prefer high contrast clothing or lighter coloured clothing if their eyesight is better suited for clothes like that.

#ask

[it-happened-one-fic]

Quickstep - Cause for Celebration - Strictly NRC Dancing

Author Notes: Maybe someday I'll get used to writing this character. I certainly hope so.... The quickstep in this fic was heavily inspired by the quickstep performed by Charlie and Tommy to "Do Your Thing" by Basement Jaxx on Week 5 of So You Think You Can Dance (UK) Series 1 (2010). Keeping with the rest of this AU, reader is female. I hope you enjoy!

If you would like to read more of this AU the fics can be found here: Strictly NRC Dancing AU Masterlist.

Type: Platonic or Crush/Female reader/Fluff/Dance AU

Word count: 958

The quickstep was, as Sam described it, the terrifying love child of a slow foxtrot and the Charleston. That, added to the fact that it definitely lived up to its name in terms of speed, was why I was beyond relieved to hear that at least one of my partners was an experienced dancer.

Kalim may not be as used to ballroom dances, but he had done dancing in the past and, from what I’d seen, seemed pretty good at it. Additionally, NRC’s resident personification of sunshine matched the overall happy energy of the dance.

My primary concern actually lied with myself and my ability to keep my shoulders in alignment with Kalim’s. Getting out of balance would immediately result in a loss of points. While that wouldn’t bother me in my own performance with Crewel, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I caused Kalim or anyone else to fail their class.

At odds with my worries, Kalim had utter faith in me, “You’ll do great, Y/n! Just like you always do!”

He pressed my hands excitedly as he gripped them just before we headed out for our lively performance, “You’re a great dancer, and technicality isn’t as important as having fun!”

I smiled at his sunny nature that allowed him to be constantly optimistic and supportive, but shook my head, “Yeah, but if I mess up, you might end up failing the class and having to take another one so that you won’t get held back.”

He outright laughed at my words, ever unconcerned, “That doesn’t matter! I was planning on taking more classes anyway! Dancing is fun, and it isn’t easy to find a partner as good as you are! I bet you could even keep up with Jamil!”

Before he could continue lavishing me with praise, the music started. Blessedly cutting him off as he made a comically surprised expression before hurriedly turning to face the judges and starting to dance.

Starting separately, in an open position, had been an idea that I’d almost hugged Sam for. The idea of immediately stepping lively around the floor and keeping myself level with my lead partner was daunting. 

But by the time Kalim and I entered closed hold, I’d relaxed, slowly but steadily matching the perky housewarden's joy. I was smiling before we’d ever even started trotting quickly around the floor, matching the notably quick tempo of the upbeat song.

But that was the great thing about Kalim, with as happy as he always was, it was almost impossible to not relax and simply enjoy yourself when you were with him. Which was why, despite his occasional struggles in class, he managed to stay on par with the other housewardens. 

While he may not have been as awe-inspiringly powerful as his peers, he was very good at being there for his students and anyone else who needed him. He lived in the moment, and if you were with him, you had his full attention.

He was a rarity at NRC. A genuinely and almost painfully sweet individual whom you simply could not hate. Even Jamil, who had to put up with numerous inconveniences throughout his life caused by Kalim, could not fully bring himself to detest the person he viewed as his rival.

So how could I be anything but happy as I whirled around the floor in the elegant yet peppy dance?

It came as no surprise when Kalim passed the class with both flying colors and a standing ovation. Apparently, our performance had been incredibly enjoyable to watch, with even Trein describing it as a delight to see.

Kalim himself was elated, hugging me excitedly just as he had when we’d first received word that I would be his partner. I couldn’t help but laugh, ever charmed by the cheerful young man who’d already requested I come over for yet another meal in Scarabia that Jamil would no doubt be cooking. 

“You were amazing, Y/n! You lit up the floor like the sun and were more than anyone could ever hope for in a dance partner!” As always, it was hard to look directly into those sparkling garnet-colored eyes as he showered me with compliments.

He chuckled slightly, rubbing at the back of his neck as he still smiled at me. "I almost feel bad; I want to keep dancing with you rather than letting others take their turn," he says, his grin a little smaller than before. 

I couldn’t deny that I was slightly taken aback by the young man’s words. But I still smiled, half embarrassed by his shower of compliments and half touched that he’d enjoyed himself that much.

“Well, if you want, we can dance again later…. And if you’re taking more classes, we can dance then too.”

At my words, I watched as the young man brightened, nodding his head enthusiastically as he once again took my hands in his, “Yeah, we can dance tonight at the celebration and have Jamil join us! And I’ll work hard and do my best to get lucky again in later classes so you can be my partner again!”

I laughed slightly at the young man’s enthusiasm, even though I could practically already hear Jamil’s annoyed complaints about the laid-back nature of his friend. At odds with Scarabia’s vice-housewarden, I was beyond thankful for Kalim’s easygoing personality. 

After all, it was largely thanks to that carefree disposition of his that our quickstep had been such a success and he’d passed. A relief to me and cause for celebration for him.

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#Twisted wonderland x reader #kalim al asim #Twisted wonderland imagines #Kalim x reader #Strictly NRC Dancing #Dance Au #quickstep #dance #female reader #fluff #platonic #possible crush #Scarabia #Twisted wonderland x you #Twisted wonderland x y/n #Kalim x you #Kalim x y/n #Twst #Disney TW #twst x reader #twst x you #twst x y/n #mywritings #fanficion #fanfic

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Zombie Boys Review

Synopsis: It’s been a year since Will disappeared and was rescued from the Upside Down. Now he and his friends are attempting to adjust back to normal with little success. Will is struggling with PTSD, and his friends are on-edge as they’re failing in school. At Mr. Clarke’s suggestion, they team up with a new transfer student named Joey Kim, an aspiring director, who encourages the Party to make a zombie movie for extra credit, as well as to help them come to terms with what happened the previous fall.......

Observations:

Unlike prior reviews, this one won’t be thick with theories and speculations about season 5. This is a stand-alone graphic novel that focuses on the trauma and internal issues the characters go through following the events of season 1. I appreciate this because, while I do like what season 2 did with its exploration of trauma and grief, there were aspects the show didn’t have time to fully flesh-out before they threw these characters into life threatening situations again. Having a story that goes more in-depth about their struggles (and does so in a mature way) is refreshing.

This graphic novel is written by Greg Pak. He would also go on to write for Stranger Things The Bully, the short story Erica’s Quest, Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen, and Stranger Things Erica the Great!

The artwork for the graphic novel is beautiful. Hats off to Valeria Favoccia for the artwork, Dan Jackson for the coloring, Ron Chan for the cover art, and Nate Piekos for the lettering.

The idea of the Party making a Zombie Movie and drawing on past experiences to write their story and craft certain scenes was fantastic. There are plenty of people in real life who use creative outlets (writing, filmmaking, drawing, etc) to deal with personal stuff that’s happened in their lives, and I’m glad the graphic novel touches on that. Bonus points for showing some of Will’s drawings:

They do explore the issues other members of the Party are dealing with, but Will is at the center of the plot. At this point, he hasn’t really dealt with what happened to him in the Upside Down. His drawings, as well as his attempts to have Joey direct the film as a comedy, are a coping mechanism so that he doesn’t have to relive past trauma. There are parts of the graphic novel that are difficult to read because his friends have a hard time understanding where Will is coming from and why he treats the movie as a joke. It doesn’t help that, barring Will, none of them really want to talk about what happened.

But of course, making the zombie movie allows them to open up. Not only do they have fun doing so, but it also leads to a comforting scene towards the end:

Speaking of which, they introduce a new character named Joey Kim, who directs the Party in his Zombie film:

Joey falls into the category of “Characters who sadly weren’t on the show, but should have been” levels of cool.

Not only is he an aspiring director with a knowledge about how films are made (and whose mom works for Sony), but he manages to blend in well with the Party, and his friendship with them feels authentic. He’s empathetic towards Will, listens to Will’s creative input (even if he doesn’t always agree with it), and it’s heavily implied he isn’t just making the movie because it’s a fun idea, but because he’s trying to help Will deal with his issues:

On top of that, he’s one of the few characters who comes to Lucas’s defense when he’s targeted by Troy and James.....

.....and he genuinely listens to Lucas when Lucas worries about their film invoking the “Black Character Dies First” trope:

I wish he'd been on the show and became a permanent member of the Party. I love his character! 😊

Speaking of Lucas, they pretty much cement that while Troy and James frequently target the Party for bullying, their harassment of Lucas is racially motivated. From their slurs directed at Lucas, to this particularly nasty moment:

I know this isn’t the only time in the series Lucas has been targeted out of racism (*cough* Billy Hargrove *cough*), but for all the fans who repeatedly insist this isn’t something Lucas to deal with.....................YES IT IS! Even the novel Lucas on the Line goes in-depth about it, and provides Lucas with a first-person perspective about all the hateful bullshit he puts up with on a daily basis. To put it bluntly: I don’t have any patience for fans out there who either want to pretend Lucas hasn’t been subjected to bigotry, or who want to downplay/erase the racism that other characters on the show and in the comics/books have directed at Lucas.

I also like how they call back to Mike’s grief over losing El, and how Dustin (despite initially appearing to be adjusted) is also trying to sort out his own problems:

It’s sweet to see the Party bonding and continuing to reinforce their friendship. I love how the Zombie movie they made was a success, and how the graphic novel ends on an uplifting note:

Also, the makeup they used for Zombie Will and Zombie Mike was great 😅 :

Overall, this is a must-read. I enjoyed it, and it’s one of my personal favorites.

Side Note: I recently got a new phone that I’ve been using to get photos for these reviews, and I’m still figuring out how to use it. I know previous reviews I’ve done have had pictures/photos that appear sideways instead of upright, and I will be going back to fix those.

#stranger things #stranger things zombie boys #will byers #mike wheeler #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #joey kim #troy walsh #james dante #stranger things comics #tgh opinions #tgh reviews #the duffer brothers

[chibishortdeath]

Fuck it, Simon Belmont, because why not you basically themed your blog after him

You don’t have any specific numbers, so I’m just answering every question >:3c mwahahaha—

1. “Why do you like this character”:

A lot of reasons!!! First off, most of his games are super fun and some of my favorite platformers just in general. I replay CV1, Simon’s Quest, and SCV4 most often cause they’re a real joy to play! I also absolutely LOVE Simon’s story, I’ve considered making comics about it if I could ever get out of recent art block whoops, even though I’ve seen many people say he doesn’t have one (´TωT｀). His designs are really cool, he’s got great music in his games, there’s just a lot to love and I’ll explain more in detail in other questions.

2. “Favorite canon thing?”

I really like the concept that he looks up to Christopher as this legendary hero and then ends up considered the same kind of legendary hero by Juste and others after him. It’s pretty ironic, kinda bittersweet, especially after being hated for so long. Castlevania loves its cycles like that. Also just Simon’s Quest in general, I love that game.

3. “Least favorite canon thing?”

Ooo that’s very hard. There’s kinda a lot of things about him that aren’t explained or confirmed, especially personality wise, but I kinda like that in a way cause it leaves room for interpretation and whatnot. Idk hmmm. I’m gonna go with Grimoire of Souls in general. I had some hopes for it, but it ended up being kinda lame. A lot of the characterization was weird and don’t even start me on things like the Cursed Whip theory being in there 💀. So I just choose to ignore it and not consider it canon.

4. “If you could put this character in another media, what would it be?”

I have thought about drawing him as if he was a character in other series for ages lol. I’ve already drawn him as a Pokémon trainer, I’ve thought about drawing Castlevania and Soul Eater crossovers before, and I tried drawing him in the style of Resident Evil 1 but could not get the art style down. Idk put him in Fortnite or something that’d be funny we already got Solid Snake so Konami has been in talks with them I guess X,,,,,,,,,,D

5. “What’s the first song that comes to mind when you think of them?”

Probably either Simon’s Theme (of course lol) or Bloody Tears, but I do wanna mention that I have a YouTube playlist of songs I wanna make Simon animations with eventually (alas animation is HARD).

6. “What’s something you have in common with the character?”

Mostly negative things unfortunately d(;w; ). Like self comparison, doubt in my own abilities, trouble making and keeping friends, etc etc. Although a lot of these are based on assumptions and interpretations, as a lot of him usually is. Simon does have a really similar hair color to me on the NES box art tho so that’s cool.

7. “What’s something the fandom does with this character that you like?”

There’s a lot of really nice art of him!!! Usually portraits, but sometimes there’s other doodles and whatnot too :3. Cool fan redesigns too! I also have seen a lot of neat headcanons, a lot of which I’ve adopted. I also appreciate the Captain N reunion stuff for the most part, it’s pretty wholesome.

8. “What’s something the fandom does with this character that you don’t like?”

I’ve seen a lot of comics, especially around when Smash Bros Ultimate came out, that were really… weird. I think all of them could kinda be boiled down to “old = bad” in the way that the artists probably just found out he was from the 1600s and then decided to make him the Boomer to Richter’s Gen Z for whatever reason (ya know despite Richter being from the 1700s but anyway). Simon would either be the jerk in the situation and/or the butt of the joke. I don’t think that Simon would have any issue with any of the female characters’ outfits let alone start harassing them for it. I saw some comics that made fun of him for not speaking very much in some genuinely disgusting ways too. Like making him not able to read or practically just the generic caveman stereotype. Especially in cases where the artist would depict other silent NES protagonists really nicely after making Simon out to be a complete idiot and asshole. There was also the trend of making him generally be all “oh no witchcraft!!!!!!!!!! What sin!!!!!!! The horror!!!!!!!!” about like anything and everything. I guess a lot of this comes from Smash Bros fans not usually being fans of Castlevania, but I’ve seen it in the Castlevania fandom too just less frequently. There’s also the “Simon has no story” thing oof. I’ve seen people tell people to skip his games or play fan games instead before :(

9. “Could you be roommates with this character?”

Realistically, no, my room is too small for another person :(. If that wasn’t an issue, then yeah probably :).

10. “Could you be best friends with this character?”

I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO—

11. “Would you date this character?”

No, he’s probably married, generally feels more like a bestie, and I’m aroace lol

12. “What headcanon do you have for this character?”

Too many oh my god. I think he probably makes things. That’s a very vague sentence lol, but think like armor, knives, general woodworking, all his necklaces and headbands and stuff, etc. He generally seems like he keeps to himself and lives mostly alone, so I can see him doing all that by himself. He keeps some bones and teeth of things he hunts most of the time. A lot of people have him as the most super Christian of the family, but I see him as like Christian but really not organized or strict about it, if that makes sense? I’ve seen someone else describe the Belmonts as like “Christopagan” before and yeah I think that fits. Idk why but I have consistently drawn him with his cross necklace in his mouth sometimes. I headcanon him as semiverbal (I think that’s the correct term for it, basically like inbetween speaking and nonspeaking). I like to think he’s like really average height for the 1600s cause he’s about as tall as other townspeople and skeletons and stuff. Which is funny cause that’d make him like 5’5-5’7 ish and that’s kinda short in modern day lol. And I guess that makes his 8bit sprite being used all the time make more sense XD. I have way more, I didn’t even get into Simon’s Quest related ones, but I don’t wanna make this too long aaaaaaaaaaaa

13. “What’s an emoticon that reminds you of the character or you think they’d use a lot?”

Ok this is funny cause I actually do have one for this and it’s got context. It’s the “:3”. So I was watching a bunch of people’s playthroughs one night cause I was bored and ran into a channel with a toooooon of speedruns of maps from Harmony of Despair. Whenever they’d get to a boss battle they’d use the typing feature just to go “hi” with a different cutesy emoticon every time, but when they got to Dracula they specifically went for the “hi :3” and then went “oh no :(“ when Dracula started attacking and now that’s the way I think he’d text I guess.

14. “Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character”

How does one properly explain how much this guy slays in one aesthetic term—

15. “What’s your favorite ship for this character?”

Oooooo, in canon probably like his wife (Selena) and/or the Mysterious Woman (who could be the same character depending on what theories you go by), but outside of that Simon Belmont x Getsu Fuma and I can’t even explain exactly why, but it’s pretty cute.

16. “What’s your least favorite ship for this character?”

Any BelmontXBelmont shipping ugh, it’s unfortunately really common on some places… also the whole Lucas or Pit or whatever other child character thing the smash bros fandom had ugh. I guess I also just don’t see the appeal of shipping any of the Belmonts with Dracula.

17. “What’s a ship you don’t hate but it’s not your favorite?”

I’ve also seen people ship him with Solid Snake, Palutena, or Bayonetta before. Ummm he doesn’t really have a lot of other characters he’s shipped with tbh. Idk I saw someone ship him with one of the priests from Simon’s Quest once.

18. “Relationship in canon you admire?”

Unfortunately he doesn’t really talk to people enough in game to form canon relationships 😔

19. “Relationship in canon you don’t like?”

I don’t even know if I can answer this one for the same reasons as the above 💀💀💀. I guess the townspeople hating the hell out of him, but I don’t hate that cause it’s kinda integral to the plot???? Yeah idk lol

20. “What character is the ideal best friend for this character?”

Simon and Shanoa would get along a lot I think. Sara too. Hmmmm… I think he and Alucard would probably also be good friends. Christopher too for many reasons. Simon just really needs friends my poor dude is out here in Dracula’s Castle and the Romanian countryside after being cursed alone like this poor guy :’(

21. “If you’re a fic writer, what’s your favorite thing to do when writing this character? What’s something you don’t like?”

I have not written much at all, however what small comics I have done I looooove to make sure to sprinkle in whatever symbols he has in the games into it. He has a lot of cool things ranging from like rose thorns to The Hanged Man card and a lot of them end up meaning things like martyrdom and whatnot idk I made a post about it a while ago :3. I also like specifically Simon’s Quest speculation stuff, like what if scenarios for the vague, left open spots of it. If it’s not something super angsty or lore heavy, it’s usually just wholesome character interactions or doodling him being comforted by Christopher or Trevor cause I was sad or something lol. As far as things I don’t like writing uh idk that’s hard, maybe just any kind of filler scenes cause I’m not very good at those oof. Dialogue is hard too 💀💀💀

22. “If you’re a fic reader, what’s something you like/don’t like to see in fics?”

I’ve mentioned a lot of things I don’t like seeing in uh question 8, but things I do like is when people really try to go full horror with him. I’ve seen some Simon’s Quest fics (sadly there’s very few :’3) that really try to get that same feeling of anxiousness and dread the game does and I love that honestly. It’s a really dark story in the series! I also saw one that went psychological horror with it with him kinda losing himself a little at night it’s just ough it’s cool :D! Simon is a horror protagonist! Make him afraid!!!

23. “Favorite picture of this character?”

Again, too many!!! X3

24. “What other character from another fandom reminds you of them?”

Not from fandoms I am in (yet, hopefully I’ll get into these), but Ragnvaldr from Fear and Hunger I’ve heard is just directly inspired by him and Alfred from Bloodborne also, to me, seems heavily inspired by him. The whole Vilebloods section seems very Castlevania inspired tbh. From other fandoms I’m in, that’s hard to say, there’s not really any I don’t think.

25. “What was your first impression of this character, is it the same as now?”

Well I got into Castlevania through Smash Bros and at first was completely indifferent about him, he was just kinda fun to play as. Then Richter got me to play SotN and actually get into the series more. I had no idea I had SotN on XBOX360 for a long time, but that made it pretty easy to start playing. And now I am absolutely hooked and Simon is my favorite character so uh yeah X3.

26. “Freebie!”

I guess I just say anything? Ok, I am currently half trying to cosplay Simon’s Simon’s Quest design rn! I have like everything but the armor, but I’ll have to wait a while to be able to get materials for it oof. But yeah :). Hopefully that works out. 

Ok yeah that’s pretty dang long wow, but yeah, thanks for the ask!!!! I am happy to rant about Simon anytime :3

#castlevania #castlevania games #text post #simon belmont #asks #ask game #yay! Simon :3 #I feel like I could probably go on even longer with other questions but uh yeah #more reason to do more of these ask things they’re fun :) #incoherent rambling #idk if I should put a cut somewhere in this cause WOW that is LONG jesus #hmmmmmmmmmmmmm idk #I should post some of the Simon and Fuma art I have sometime when I’m not feeling weirdly self conscious about it—

[datastate]

@enterbrain

ohhhh is that the apothecary diaries? i heard its good ive been wanting to watch it... how is it so far?

YES! IT'S REALLY GOOD <3 this won't have any real spoilers, i'm just rambling

i'm really, really fond of all of the characters -- definitely its strong point, especially with the complexities of characters who are sympathetic to the audience but you can very much understand the anger/resentment with the limited (or abundant, depending) information other characters have to form that dynamic. even with those who you initially have a flat impression of, it really does its best to flesh them out the most... really the only one that felt unjustified to me at all was the doctor's story (guen), it felt very quick and out of place (at least in the anime) but for that to be the only moment it stood out negatively to me is impressive! i'm usually wary of " loredumps " (especially with my recent experience with the yakuza games OTL... i love you exposition but please integrate it smoothly...)

& it's honestly surprised me with the balance of eccentricisms (especially easy to overdo the humor of maomao and her mad scientist tendencies… but they did well imo!) and genuine emotional moments, but it really did know when & how to hit those beats... <3 especially fun when it leads into them from character traits that were once used as gags... you thought it was a joke? it was! but now we're backing it up to show more about the character as a person (mao's experimenting, jinshi's flattery, etc.)

speaking of! maomao's friendships with others felt really. natural, as well! which i really appreciate... i don't quite know how to put it into words, but also the humanizing regard for [sex work] was relieving too - which i suppose is a given when the main character was raised in a brothel, but even so x'] seeing her casual interactions/friendships with both verdigris workers and those who work under gyokuyou for no reason but to genuinely support one of their younger peers... it's nice. even xiaolan... i regret to say it, but i was expecting her to be killed/betray maomao for drama due to other stuff i've watched, but like. they got it! she's cheerful and bounces off of maomao really well without being overbearing. it was really nice. also look at them. they are literally avg high schoolers

the animation as well was really smooth and nice to watch! there was clearly a lot of effort put into it; very beautiful art and i admire the ways that they draw flowers... i have to take notes on that (and also the flowers they've used to represent each of the main cast... wails) -- they also have nice color coordination here! even without it necessarily being plain and uniform (at least, as the series goes on), i feel like it's really easy to pick up on which courts you're in or the position of who is on screen solely through their outfits. it's a really nice touch! also very pretty

let's see... i would warn that it does acknowledge age gaps and kidnapping/assault by virtue of the main line of work a lot of the characters take </3 nothing is explicit, but it is referenced occasionally - as well as talk of heirs and infant death (particularly with the first arc)

anyway :P all this is to say... i've really enjoyed it! was a really fun watch <3

#in its own post because the reply function wasn't. ideal :P #funnily enough i actually do have more to say but my brain's kinda fried atm... #anyway. yes. thumbup. ofc it might not be for everyone but this was in line with how mp100% made me feel... #and it's been a long time since i've felt so. invested in something instead of idly enjoying it #jestersvaguely #mutuals #reply #knh tag

[acewithapaintbrush]

Is Rise of the TMNT really that good? I was a fan of the 2012 series and was wary to try it out because from the trailers it seemed like another Teen Titans Go situation. What do you like the most about it?

I'm sorry anon, I'm sure you meant no harm, but reading this made me have a visceral reaction because NO! NONONO! Rottmnt and Teen Titans Go have nothing in common!! Nothing! Nada! Nichts!

Do these look ANYTHING like they might even be remotely similar shows??? ?

And I am so sad and mad that talk like that and thinking like that by "old" fans caused them to not give this show a proper chance and in turn is one of the (many unfair) reasons why the show ended way before its time. And also, I mean, all these "old" fans who watched the movie and are now suddenly like "OMG this is so great, I regret not watching this sooner, where is season 3" are pretty telling, aren't they?

I genuinely find it just sad. The rottmnt crew wanted to do something new. Watching this show you can just tell that these people had FUN with the material, they were adventurous and innovative, using old concepts and putting a new spin on them. They took risks, some of them bigger than others. Splinter was admittedly a big risk but goddamn, it payed off big time! They played the long game (which was forcibly cut short) and they fucking won, but because people took one look and were like "Ew not my Splinter, not my turtles, not watching that" almost no one witnessed them winning by a landslide which is such a shame.

Yes the show is silly. Yes the show is goofy and fun and fast paced. But it's not JUST that! It's also heartfelt, has some of the best action scenes I've ever seen, is genuinely suspenseful at times and it has amazing character developments.

Which brings me to your actual question and again I'm sorry for ranting at you anon but back to your question: what do I like most about it?

Apart from the technical stuff, like the animation, the writing and the color palette they are using (some of those backgrounds are breathtakingly beautiful) I love the family aspect of this.

This show is all about family to me. Those brothers fight and they annoy each other but not for a single second you doubt that they love each other so so much. They are goofy guys but they will commit murder if you hurt one of them. The love just pours out of every pore in this show. There are so many hugs and moments where they encourage each other and it's just *chefskiss* Also love how they treat April and her interactions with them. Never has there been an April (to me!) that felt more like their sister.

Contrary to many, I also really love Splinter in this one. More than in all the other versions actually. This Splinter just feels real to me in a way the others never really did. And also (and again this is just my opinion, there are many ways to interpret his character) I think the team did a really good job portraying his depression. Yes I think Splinter has depression. And I mean wouldn't you? You are a moviestar and suddenly have to fight for your life in an pit and then get turned into a rat who has to live in hiding.

Like I said, there is so much character development with Splinter throughout the show and I wish more people had stuck around to actually see it.

So to actually circle back to your question anon (and sorry again for rambling I'm sure you didn't ask for that) is rottmnt really that good?

Yes. Yes it is.

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #unpause rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #save rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #save rottmnt #unpause rottmnt #Seriously give this show a chance #It's silly yes #Some episodes more than others #But overall it's just really a super fun experience

[wiredalienvampire]

OK so, my thoughts on the don't hug me I'm scared tv series (warning for spoilers)

I don't know how to fully organize them so I'll just start with my biggest thought

The characters (specifically the main 3) are much more fleshed out and have more defines personalities and while it's much different than the original series and was much different than I thought it would be I still love how they're characterized. They're assholes who share a brain cell but at the same time you get the idea that they still care about each other no matter how often they bicker and fight?? U know with how red guy interacts with yellow during the car scene when he was talking about living in a community in episode 5, yellow guy and red guy grieving over duck in episode 2, that one fucking scene when red guy and duck guy say they like looking at each other in 6...love wins/hj. Sure it's mainly the trio being assholes for the sake of comedy but idk those moments kinda tell me that they secretly care about one another. When it comes to the individual trio themselves they're wonderful, duck guy is this fussy unhinged chipper asshole and is the funniest character of this series,every time he yells or says something out of left field in episode 2, it always kills me I love him. Red guy is an absolute blorbo, he's much more different than he was in the YouTube series,he has more emotion and enthusiasm in his voice instead of being monotone and bored sounding which felt surreal to hear but I got used to it pretty quickly,its still deep and calm sounding but I don't mind the change, he has a similar wacky quirk to him like the other 2 characters but is still more of a middle man and is much nicer than them,he's pretty dorky,weirdly friendly and just really laid back and awkward,and I love him <3, I loved him in the YouTube series and I love him even more in the tv show. Yellow guy is an interesting case,he's kind of a punching bag when it comes to some of the shows jokes especially when it comes to the trio but hsi personality is much more close to his pilot counterpart, he's naive,innocent and child like but has a sense of edge to him like when he literally hit duck with broken glass the end of ep 4, he's also more blunt? I love him alot and his role in the 6th episode is something I think about alot.. if you know then u know..

Another thing I wanna talk about is pretty much the tone and changes the tv show has in contrast to the web series

This series is more focused on comedy with the banter between the cast and also the surreal humor being put up to 11 which is the best parts of the show, its much more fast paced and wacky which is super entertaining, it still had the horror from the original series and while I perfer the more eerie horror of the web show the tv show is amazingly terrifying,it's much more gory and you get this sense of dread when your further in the episode and it really makes you uncomfortable at points like the end of episode 5 or just the entirety of episode 2,like Roy being implied to have cannibalized the family in the end is genuinely scary like Jesus christ 😭. I appreciate how it kept the spirit of the show in general even if it's much different than its counterpart and it just feels like don't hug me I'm scared.

And I also wanna talk about the production value of the show and God is it amazing

I love the different art mediums the show uses,like 2d animation,stop motion, claymation,it makes the series much more unique and it's just so well done, the set design is great, and everyone looks so colorful it makes me so happy, off topic is but I love the references and fanservice the show gives like teacher cameos and references to iconic lines from the web show, like pesky bee, the old teachers like tony,Colin, the fucking lamp, and even the steak guy at one point,it's fun Easter eggs for fans while also being enjoyable for newcomers, everything looks so polished.

And last thing I wanna talk about is the story, like the original show,shit hits the fan during the later episodes but are hinted with the continuous shenanigans with the teachers, it starts getting real with episode 5 and I genuinely got really invested,wondering what will happen next and man the ending is something I won't stop thinking about aside from the scene with the gay puppets, I wanna know more about Lesley and how the whole thing shoe does works because she seems so interesting and I hope that they're would be more episodes so we could know more about her

So those are my thoughts on the series, tldr it's freaking wonderful and worth the 6 years of waiting,it might have alot of differences from the web series but there's something for fans like myself to enjoy! I loved it alot and I'm just so happy this show got to see the light of day <3

#dhmis spoilers #dhmis #dont hug me im scared #*ramble txt

[bookwyrminspiration]

i am thinking about the fifth season too now. man i would love to experience THAT book all over again... i think i read it last year and it immediately became top 3 alongside gideon the ninth and a place for us (by fatima farheen mirza) just because. the sheer. everything of it all. those three books changed the ENTIRE game for me in what is possible in stories, in the ways they're told and what they're told about. it's--also SO off track here and i do not mean to add more books to your tbr 😭😭 common experience any time i read a book i will pull out ten more books and be like WOW JUST LIKE ALL OF THESE but--it's about earthquakes, and fear, and a world where everything ended and nothing exists anymore but the people and earthquakes and fear, and cycles and love and probably imperialism etc etc. i could probably talk about it forever but mostly i just want to read it again i am slapping it onto the train in my brain with a sticky note. it's such a powerful story, and everyone and everything is so flawed and that is what makes them so beautiful, i genuinely don't know how else to describe it. anyway yes. stories that play with timelines are SO MUCH FUN when you do it right and i have not gotten far in this one but they definitely seem to be going in a very good direction, and also stories that are confusing are even more fun if you let yourself get swept up in all of it so i shall be doing that! who needs to understand things when the evocation of feelings exists 👍 will definitely report back as i go!

No no you don't need to apologize, I specifically started a section of my books spreadsheet so that my TBR could grow wildly out of control, you're more than welcome to continue adding to it. Because those kinds of books are exactly the kind I'm looking for--of course I still have fun reading other series, but every so often you want one that just hits. That challenges how you understand and tell stories. And a chorus of dragons and black sails both did that for me. It was like wait a fucking minute we can do that?? And then when they challenge how you understand and see the world...Babel has changed how I interpret and understand the impact of other books on me it's like I gained a new color. And then there's also the kind where you kinda just exist alongside the story, and it's nothing huge and dramatic but it's profound and it holds its hand out to you in a peaceful offer to wander through it...Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto was such an experience. I make no promises, but the fifth season is on my radar now :)

if I think about the stories that stand out too hard I will explode (In a good way). But anyway! Back to timelines and acod! I think the series goes in a wonderful direction, though the timeline switching I think is best in book 1. It doesn't really do that later in favor of switching between povs of different characters instead, which the variety and intrigue of the characters makes up for it, I think.

And yeah!! It's one of those stories where you just wanna let yourself be swept up in it!! if you try and dissect it too hard immediately you'll just give yourself a headache because there's so much and also. You don't have all the information you need to do that. I found that just going with it you figure out like 95% of things--sometimes I had to back up and be like okay wait let me read that again. But the author does a pretty good job most of the time of subtly but clearly explaining things to you if they're likely to slip under your notice. Summarizing things and laying things out when needed, reminding you of things you might've forgotten. And with time you understand things that would've turned you in SO many loops in the beginning. Though I must confess it wasn't until I finished the series i realized usigi was a style of underwear. So you might not pick up on everything

anyway! I am So tempted to reread them just to experience it alongside you again but also. I know I have so many other books to read. but also...a chorus of dragons...they make me FERAL god it's like my brain shuts down AND goes into overdrive

#quil's queries #a chorus of dragons #soryasongsaa #long post #its the kind of series that's meant to be reread #because with new light you understand so many things you missed the first time #by intention #and I. haven't done a reread yet I've only read it the once #and I just know it's gonna be SO much fun to reread #and I'm really looking forward to it #i keep stimming this is so !!!