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thevulturesquadron · 3 days

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The truth is in TAS and Xmen97 (I'm talking about cartoons only) Gambit had never had eyes on anyone except Rogue. He was never married to Belladonna in TAS and never showed any signs that he still had feelings for her or wanted to come back to her (voluntarily). Rogue, on other hand, had almost run away with Cody (but didn't want to be a reptile in the end), had come to Magneto the first day he appeared in school, rejected Gambit for Magneto. Yes, Gambit and Rogue weren't official, they didn't own each other, noone cheated on anyone physically. But emotionally Rogue did, she did cheat on her feelings for Gambit.

With Rogue's fixation on physical contact (her ultimate dream and goal in relationship) her actions are quite understandable. It's just that it was badly executed. She was shown as ping-pong ball between men, who didn't know what she wanted. So frustration in her character is also quite understandable.

And, yes, Gambit shouldn't criticize Rogue for hiding her past as every member of the team has secrets, him including. But I couldn't find any other faults.

Howdy! ✨

Oh, that is a good point! I will admit I had my wires partially crossed with the comics on this one - in the TAS Gambit and Bella Dona weren’t married, they were engaged. And in all honesty, TAS (both the original series and ‘97) treated Gambit way better than the ups and downs he had in comics.

Even so, the full context is that they weren’t together, they weren’t committed to each other in any way. In the original series they flirted and entertained the idea of feelings but never sat down to decide if they wanted to be more to each other. He might have said ‘I love you’ and ‘Your powers are not a problem to me’, but his words are weighed against his actions. And I think that’s something people forget when judging Rogue’s situation. Gambit is afraid of commitment - most of the time he is afraid of being serious about the things he feels. And that leaves Rogue with a strange ‘we’re dancing around each other, but nothing is THAT serious.’ (regardless if it’s because he wants to give her space and not scare her off, or if it’s because he doesn’t want to catch himself with how much she means to him). So I would argue that Rogue is not only showing interest in someone that she can touch, but also in someone who looks at her with honesty when it comes to their feelings. (the case for both Cody and Magneto)

Another thing that I absolutely agree with is that, yes, the show is guilty of doing a poor job of balancing the way in which it portrays both ends of their struggles. Whatever Remy does is wrapped in a tone that makes the audience feel bad for him, and always focuses on his wish to be better and redeem himself. It's always in his service (also because it needs people to care about him so that his moment in Ep.5 can hit hard). When Rogue is shown navigating her emotions and insecurities the audience is told that she is in the wrong. THAT is what people should be taking out of it and should be talking about, not nodding their heads along and calling her a cheater.

Hope it’s ok for me to say it, but I completely disagree with your statement that she is cheating (and especially on her feelings). We need to step out of this internalised double standards we have when we talk about cheating. In Season 3 when she leaves with Cody there was no commitment so there is no cheating. In ‘97 she has feelings for both men and people need to accept it, she is not cheating on any of them and not cheating herself. She is trying to understand what she wants (under a lot of pressure based on how fast the events in episode 5 were unfolding) while also trying to be honest with both of them. She isn’t acting on her feelings until after she has spoken with both (and when it happens, layers of guilt are added to her confusion). Also I’d go one step further and say that no, she didn’t reject Gambit for Magneto. In Episode 5 she went to Gambit to tell him about her past and say that she wants to be part of the future, do something that is not just about herself in Genosha. I’d actually argue that he’s the one that’s making it about their relationship instead by asking her to pick on an emotional level. He’s the one calling it quits.

I guess the question that it all boils down to is ‘what are we calling cheating’, right? Having feelings for more than one person without acting on it - is it considered cheating? Not in my books. Emotions are not simple ‘white and black’ statements. They are messy and extremely difficult to navigate. And for some reason we refuse to understand that or allow female characters to navigate that without passing judgement. Because heteronormativity tells us that if you love someone you love only them, and at the same time male characters are allowed to have flaws while female characters aren’t. It’s what’s happening with Rogue. It’s what’s happening with Jean. Because in the middle of all the confusion, grief and pain she leaped at something that could give her comfort by trying to kiss Logan, she is held accountable for the smallest attempt to explore her emotions while being ridiculed for daring to be upset at Scott.

There is also much that I want to say in defense of both Gambit and Scott but the internet has that covered (and then some) so I will just continue to be bitter about how female characters are perceived. 🙃But also, to the last point that you brought up, there are things in the way he reacted to Rogue during the fireplace scene that should be seen through a critical lens: the fact that he refused to look at her while she went on her knees asking him to meet her half way, the fact that his ‘I played the swamp rat’ was thrown at her in a hurtful/guilt tripping way that absolved him of the consequences of his decisions in whatever game they were playing, that in the end he told her she chose ‘wrong’ and that she would suffer for it - ‘he’ll break your heart’). But all of those speak of his own hurt, regrets and low self-worth and I loved him SO MUCH for it in that scene because I love flaws and growth in a character. The problem is that those are all subtle things that get put under the umbrella of ‘love’ in media, while being insecure and coming to terms with the fact that we can love different people for different reasons is vilified.

Hope that my answer wasn’t too much of a turn off - I am guilty of starting a thought and writing a million words about it. And I am thankful for the ask because it opens up a conversation and corrects context that would otherwise be swept aside by us looking at just the parts of a whole.

#x men #x men 97 #x men '97 #rogue #gambit #remy lebeau #anna marie #marvel #x men the animated series #textpost #romy #fandom critical

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luck-of-the-drawings · 21 days

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smth smth about 'the thing that the character did that you thought was rly rly funny in the moment is actually linked to a terrible trauma that lies within said character.' or wahtever.

#jrwi show #jrwi fanart #jrwi riptide #gillion tidestrider #made this within a short span of wahtever bc i gotta go up to the mountains for my stupid gay job tonight n im trying #nnot to frrRREAAAK THE FUCK OUUTTTTTTi dont wanna work but. get that bread we fuckin shall i guess #ONWARDS TO THE FISH TORMENT!! sometimes flowers feel pain when you trim them before their blossoming. atleast i imagine so #i used to draw gillion with loooong hair tied into a big ol braid. and then it was confirmed that he had short hair when he was little.#AT FIRST I WAS SAD. but then i realized the duality of. when they were little. gill had short hair. edyn had long hair.#AND NOW THEYRE OLDER. and gillion has long hair. and edyn has short hair #both mirroring eachother. looking up to eachother. subconsciously or not. they most certainly care. and most certainly miss eachother.#GILLION ALWAYS LOVED HOW LONG HAIR LOOKs. atleast i imagine so. he hasnt cut it since he left the undersea. sure he wanted to go back home #but even at the very start. he knew he was free in some way now. free to grow out his hair. an adventure would await him before he returns.#he knew it would be a while. so he cant let this go. he cant let this sought-after hair-length get cut away from him again #not yet. not yet. i like to think he loved music too. I SAW SOMETHING INTERESTING A BIT AGO #i see alot of ppl commenting on my baby gill comics like;'i wouldFIGHT this teacher i wanna KILL EM i want them DESTROYED #all very good and nice sentiments! i LOVE the energy here! and it would be nice. to have that catharsis #but the story of young tidestrider is not a story of catharsis. it is a story of agony and being so so small and so special and also so dum #and sucking so bad. and just being a kid and doing the things that a little kid does and so many tired tired people reacting badly to it #youre supposed to be the hero that will save us. our world hangs in the balance and you are the one who tips the scales.#YOU are supposed to SAVE US!! you NEED to SAVE US! CAN YOU PLEASE STOP SQUIRMING IN YOUR STUPID CHAIR!!#you'd think that young tidestrider ought to prevail. and be tucked someplace all safe and sound.#elders gone missing and rotting in a jail. their cultists nowhere around. but theres no happy endings. not here not now.#this tale is all sorrows n woes. you may dream that justice n peace win the day. but thats not how this story goes #BIG ideas for this lil baby gillion series. if anything i make ever gets disproven im killing myself in a well as to poison a water supply

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comicaurora · 5 months

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Congratulations on finishing Arc 1! I've been following this comic since pretty much the beginning (I remember when everyone thought Alinua was a cat girl because of how her ears looked under her hood). This comic has come a long way since then, and it's been a pleasure and inspiration to watch your journey!

So with Arc 1 done, how do you feel? Any thoughts about the early days of the comic, or some lessons you've learned? What are you most looking forward to in Arc 2?

(Side note- thank you for Erin. My brain chews on him regularly and I gave a presentation on him in speech class. He brings me immense joy)

Whoof! I feel like it's slowly sinking in, tbh. I'm pretty bad at appreciating my own accomplishments - I have a tendency to Fire And Forget to avoid getting bogged down by "oh I'd have done this better now" or "eek I don't like how I did that" or "oh no this aged badly" or "what if I just redid it but Better this time" - but I've gotten better at accepting all those things as Not The End Of The World and they do not make me a Bad Artist or Bad Person, and as a result, I'm able to look back and just be happy about this one. It's an odd feeling.

At some point in the last several chapters I decided the ending of Arc 1 needed to feel like a conclusion. Not a full series finale, but a season finale. Character arcs needed to hit points of resolution; setup needed to pay off; cool moves needed to get some airtime. It's not in my nature to end stories, but as I worked on this arc I got comfy with the idea that an ending wasn't mechanically locking in the last part of a story and saying Nothing Past This Point, it was resolving the major elements of the story that cried out for completeness. Stories can have many endings before they're actually done, and in order for Arc 1 to feel like a complete thing, I knew it needed to bring those dangling plot threads home.

The fun thing about resolving chunks of the plot is those resolutions open the door for entirely new problems, and I'm excited to play with those! Part of why I wanted to make sure I had the rest of the year off was so I could take my time and just sit in the new status quo, because freeform creative idea-spinning is my favorite part of the writing process, and it's a rare treat for me to have such a wide-open swath of possibility ahead of me.

#asks #aurora #writing stuff #behind the curtain

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sleepysnk · 1 year

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a/n: thank you @kxmisato for convincing me to make a pt. 2 of dirty secrets. i’m genuinely loving this, so it might be a mini series. who knows! but i hope you guys enjoy, tehe 😁🤍

pairings: hanma shuji x fem!reader

warnings: modern au, college au, nsfw, smut, hanma is reader’s older brothers best friend, mentions of alcohol, some possessiveness if you squint, dirty talk, praising, use of pet names (babydoll, doll, princess, good girl), kinda public sex, rough sex (?).

taste ft. hanma shuji

Your dirty secret.

Unlike some people, your dirty secret wasn’t something embarrassing. Everyone had at least one in their life, but it was the total opposite for you. Your dirty secret was that you were fucking your older brother’s best friend, Hanma.

For the past two months, the two of you had been seeing one another.

Hanma had kept up with you since the night you both hooked up at that frat party. He made sure to keep your agreement under wraps because of your brother. He wouldn’t exactly be thrilled with the fact that his younger sister was having sex with his own best friend. You two maintained secrecy for a while. Sometimes, you’d see Hanma at parties and give him that “look” to hint that you wanted him. He knew very well what that meant, and he’d make sure to fulfill any desire you had. Other times, he’d link up with you in the middle of the night and fuck your brains out in his car. It was a recurring pattern, but neither of you gave much care.

Despite your “thing” being strictly sexual, Hanma often took you out. He would take you to some pretty nice restaurants or pick you up to watch a movie at his place. He told you that as much as he was attracted to you physically, he adored your personality.

You and Hanma weren’t exactly aware of this, but some people had figured out the two of you were a thing.

Some of his very own friends had seen the two of you walking around town together. They were friends with your brother, but none of them had the balls to actually go and snitch. Hanma could be kind of intimidating and he’s even gotten into some fights where the guys were left stunned by the damage he’d leave behind. They didn’t want to meet the same fate, so they kept their mouths shut about it. However, it could be comical at times to see the lengths you’d both go to keep it private.

It was a surprise that your brother hadn’t figured it out.

Speaking of your brother, he was hosting his annual birthday party that day.

It was his twenty-first birthday, to be exact. He had been hyping up the party for the last few months, and, of course, he allowed you to come because you were his sister. He also wouldn’t hear the end of it if your parents found out, so he decided to save himself a few arguments.

All of his friends would be there, including Hanma. It was also going to be a pool party since his birthday was in the summertime. He was beyond excited to have everyone come over. You were happy to celebrate, but you were also excited to see Hanma. He had been non-stop messaging you about how he couldn’t wait to see you and how badly he missed your presence beside him in bed. The idea of seeing him shirtless in the pool made butterflies swarming inside your stomach. You saw him naked enough, but it never got old for you.

You didn't think the circumstances would lead to what happened the day of his birthday party, but it aligned perfectly.

A little while into the party, your brother began to complain that the alcohol had been running low. His main goal that night was to get blackout drunk to the point where he couldn’t stand, but he couldn’t do that if he didn’t have enough alcohol. His friends were also there too. They wanted to drink with him, so the only choice they had was to go out and grab more.

Your brother had announced to you that he was going to go out with his friends to get more drinks. You figured as much, so it wasn’t really that shocking.

However, what was most surprising was that Hanma had offered to stay behind.

He had explained to your brother that he’d stay back because he didn’t want to tag along. He claimed that he’d rather wait and it wasn’t a very far drive anyway. Your brother, of course, believed Hanma because this wasn’t the first time this had happened. They were also best friends, why would he not believe a word that came from his mouth?

Well, truth be told, Hanma wanted to stay behind for a different reason.

You.

You didn’t think things would unfold so fast. As soon as your brother departed with his friends, Hanma dragged you up the stairs to your bedroom. You wanted to resist him so badly. You knew your brother was bound to come back with the hour, but Hanma kept kissing you and touching you in places that made you melt. Your body completely betrayed you and gave into his touches.

Soon enough, you were lying against your mattress with Hanma’s cock bullying your walls.

It didn’t help that you looked so fucking sexy in your bikini. The black lace hugged your body nicely and showed off everything he wanted to see. He got so fucking pissed when he caught one of his friends staring at your ass as you walked by. He may have not known it, but you were Hanma’s. It took everything inside him to not sock his friend in the jaw. You drove him crazy.

He hovered over your body, tracing your waist and your hips with his fingertips. God, you were a fucking angel to him. He couldn’t have found a more perfect woman than you. “Fuck.. baby, you’re so fucking beautiful..” he groaned, squeezing your thighs with his hand. “Could fuck you like this for days and I’d never get tired..”

Your hands went into his hair, tugging at the curls on his head. Nobody else could fuck you like he did. He did everything perfectly when it came to you, and you couldn’t get enough of him. “H-Hanma! More.. please!” you begged, looking up at him with desperation swirling in your pretty eyes.

Hearing your voice made him smirk. He felt your pussy squeezing his cock. He fucking loved when you hugged him like that. “Yeah?” he asked. “Don’t worry, princess, I’ll make you feel really good..”

Hanma then used the hand with ‘Sin’ tattooed on the back to toy with your clit. His ego was stroked immediately when he saw you jolt instantly from the added pleasure. One perk of fucking you all of the time meant he learned what made your body go nuts. He picked up on everything faster than any subject he took in school. He took care of you so well.

You were his best friend’s little sister. You deserved all the princess treatment.

A sharp gasp pooled from your mouth at the double pleasure. His pace was absolutely relentless. You had already felt that coil in your belly appearing, and your vision turned slightly blurry every time his cock brushed against your g-spot.

He was about to keep up with his pace, but suddenly slowed down when you both heard the front door open downstairs. Panic began to flood through your body at the realization that your brother was now home with his friends. Neither of you were close to finishing, but you didn’t want your brother to catch you with Hanma. There’d be no proper way to explain this, and it’s not like he’d actually believe something wasn’t going on. Your brother wasn’t stupid.

Hanma felt somewhat nervous, but the idea of fucking you upstairs again only made him want to continue. The thrill of possibly being caught and having to shut you up drove him up the wall. Fuck, he wasn’t gonna get blue balls because of your brother. There was no way he’d let that happen.

Hanma’s hand went over your mouth as he slowly pumped himself into you. He could feel how shaky your breaths were from how he fucked you. “Shh.. keep quiet.. we don’t want your brother to hear us, right, doll? Don’t make a peep.. or I’ll stop right now.” he spoke into your ear. “Understand?”

You tugged at his wrist, signaling for him to remove his hand so you could speak. “Hanma.. you know I can’t keep quiet..” you whispered, intertwining his fingers with yours.

He knew it was difficult to maintain silence in that kind of moment. You were also really close to your orgasm, and who was he to shut you up? He couldn’t do that to you, no. He was going to make sure he heard your voice when you came on his cock. He knew it was risky, but he had a plan in mind that might get that risk out of the way. It’s not like your brother would come up anytime soon. He just had to finish you off, and that’d be it.

Hanma reached over to his cell phone which was beside your bed on the table. He quickly pressed on Spotify and played one of the many songs he used to play in his car while he fucked you. He turned up the volume nice and loud so it could prevent anyone from possibly hearing you.

He started to pick up his pace now that the music was playing. “How about now..?” he inquired. “You know how much I love hearing your pretty voice when you cum..”

Whimpers and whines began to fall from your lips from his thrusts. The familiar feeling of his cock reaching that delicious spot inside of you soon returned, making you feel such great ecstasy. You couldn’t hold in your moans anymore. It was too much for you to handle.

“Hanma! Oh, god, Hanma! Right there!” you cried, placing your arms around his neck.

Hanma placed your thighs around his waist, gaining a greater access to your cunt. He took the open opportunity to give you a deep kiss. His tongue darted inside of your mouth instantly, swallowing any moans that escaped your throat. You, on the other hand, struggled to kiss him back from how great the pleasure was. Your bottom lip trembled and paused at every move of his hips. Fuck, you were losing your damn mind and right now.

He then pulled away from your lips. He stared at you with lust-filled eyes. “Tell me you’re mine..” he grunted. “Fuck, say it.. now..”

Your mouth fell ajar from his request, but nonetheless, you wanted to fulfill it. “I-I’m yours, Hanma!” you moaned.

“That’s right.. fuck! You’re my good girl, (Y/N).” his pace then quickened, allowing his balls to slap against your sensitive clit. “All mine..”

The knot in your stomach threatened to snap at any second. There was so much going on around you it became almost overwhelming. Your brain had become foggy, your eyes saw white stars, and your body was shining with sweat. It was coming, and it was going to come hard. His dirty talk was only winding you up more. Hanma Shuji was fucking perfect, and you were perfect for him.

Hanma felt your walls slowly closing in around him. He knew your orgasm was close. He was going to give you the best one ever. You were his pretty princess. He wasn’t going to deny you a single damn thing.

“Come on, babydoll, cum around my fucking dick..” he cooed. “Don’t disappoint me, princess..”

Suddenly, your orgasm washed over you. “Hanma!” you screamed, your body trembling from how hard it hit you.

Hanma grinned so hard when he heard his name fall from your lips. Your gorgeous face looked amazing while you came. Your lips were glossy and so fucking pretty. He could kiss them for hours if he really wanted to. “Yeah.. that’s my girl..” he said, trailing his hands down your body.

“What the fuck?”

A familiar voice rang inside your ears. Hanma turned his head to meet your older brother standing right in the doorway of your bedroom. He quickly went to cover you, making sure that he didn’t possibly see you naked. He could see the embarrassment cover your features the second you realized he was standing there, watching as Hanma shielded your body with his own.

“Seems like the secret is out now, huh, doll?”

#summer speaks #smutty talks #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers x you #tokyo revengers smut #tokyo revengers fanfiction #hanma #hanma shuji #hanma shuji smut #hanma shuji x y/n #hanma shuji x you #hanma shuji x reader #hanma x you #hanma x reader #hanma x y/n #anime fanfiction #anime fanfic

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burst-of-iridescent · 5 months

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Hi! I love all your posts regarding atla and deep diving into Zuko and Katara's relationship-those analysis's are *chief's kiss* perfect

Anywho, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm guessing you heard about Bryke wanting to expand the atla universe, and will be creating a new movies, one of which, with the Gaang as adults, but as far as I know won't have any of the returning head writers like Aaron Ehasz..

so my question is: do you think there is any hope for these movies? Because to me I feel like it might just be a fully animated comic (we all know how those turned out) & just be 2 hrs of Katara and Aang saying "Sweetie" back an forth. Yes I'm still saltly

frankly? no.

and that's not even me saying it as a salty zutara shipper who doesn't want to see kat.aang as an established relationship. i doubt how good these movies are going to be because bry.ke have little-to-no understanding of their characters, especially katara and zuko, and at least since atla, haven't shown the self-awareness to hire a writer's team that can compensate for their shortcomings. i've said it before and i'll say it again: they have great, creative ideas and an excellent eye for stunning visuals and an immersive world. but when it comes to the nuances of characterization and story-building, they cannot do it on their own. lok proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

but more than bry.ke, these movies are also emblematic of a larger problem that i see in multiple franchises: the subordination of creative, meaningful storytelling in service to shameless nostalgia cash-grabbing. ask yourself, do we really need a story about the adult gaang? most of the main plot threads that they could've expanded on from atla have already been (mostly badly) answered in the comics: what happened to ursa, azula's potential redemption, decolonisation, industrialisation vs tradition, the founding of a new air nomad legacy, zuko's struggles as fire lord. any new story would either have to retcon previously established "canon" or put a new spin on old themes. the latter of which i severely doubt bry.ke's capability to pull off, particularly if any level of nuance is required.

atla is slowly but surely heading in the direction of star wars/harry potter/the mcu in producing new material just for the sake of making money instead of truly adding something impactful to the canon. the fact that absolutely no new atla material since the show itself has ever managed to live up to the original is proof that the franchise has no idea what it's doing.

and before someone comes at me to say that it's impossible to ever live up to the original - just take a look at the hunger games revival happening right now. the ballad of songbirds and snakes has been received so well because it isn't just a shameless cash-grab. it's a valuable contribution to the series that expands on the universe and themes of the original trilogy, giving more depth and nuance to the original books instead of detracting from them. because collins adds to the canon only when she has something meaningful to say, and for a franchise that she could have milked to absolute filth, that restraint reflects not only her integrity as a creator, but the value she places on the stories that she tells - which in turn makes her readers value and respect them as well.

and that's a lesson that i think every single storyteller should take to heart. if you want to be respected as a writer, you have to respect your characters and your stories first. because if you, the creator, don't... why should anyone else?

#anti bryke #anti atla comics #anti atla movie #anti kataang #not to include my hunger games brainrot even here but #i think it's the perfect example of a storyteller who respects their craft and the difference that makes #compared to bry.ke and everything they've put out since atla

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matt0044 · 6 months

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Post like the the "you couldn't even handle [insert infamously hated female character here]" get me thinking about claims like what they quote.

To start with those claiming we need more [blank] female characters will often be the same that agree that there's a cultural stigma against girls who will "step out of line" socially and how that's been leveraged against female characters enmass.

Though it's also interesting to think about the other group this claim will come from. Namely those who carry their unconscious biases against "badly written" female characters but act as if they don't.

See, they can handle evil, comical or even morally grey female characters... in their minds. They love the hypothetical strong female character in their heads. Detached from any narrative context. No other characters, male especially, for them to foil off of. Nothing to "ruin" them as it were.

Korra, the character, had initially been received well at the idea of a female protagonist leading a new Avatar series. However, when applied to an actual story and cast of characters to bounce off of, you better believe that a lot of people busted out the "unlikable" card like it was Exodia's Head.

RWBY's practically the poster child. Each Trailer showed off a dimension of the four leading ladies with a lot of blanks to be filled in later. Whatever one thinks how the series lived up to the hype or not, a lot of the hatedom seems to express that they only wanted the girls to be the basic traits we saw initially.

Ruby, a smol bean of cuteness.

Weiss, a prissy ice queen with a snide aside at the ready.

Blake, a "naturally submissive" goth who totally still loved Adam.

Yang, a party girl of a bimbo and a dumb blonde.

None of these were all the characters were. Not even in the Trailers. Yet those comfy assumptions devoid of the narrative context of a Magic School for Warrior or a Final Fantasy globe-trotting epic appealed to the male geek in our brain.

That's no even getting into how individual taste factors into it. Not to make this reply any longer but if I have to see another godforesaken YouTube video about Mary Sues or "how to write female characters" or how Arcane is somehow this exception from "the rule" in modern animation... I'll do something not very nice.

So... yeah.

#female characters #girl character #girls in fiction #storytelling #rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #monty oum #rooster teeth #lok #legend of korra #the legend of korra #korra #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of aang

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mygwenchan · 5 months

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Since I still see people complaining about the sex scenes in Playboyy:

The stark contrast between artistically crafted shots of non-sexual scenes (some of those truly look like they could be art installations) and sex scenes that seem unaesthetic, hasty, somewhat badly performed and sometimes even comical, highlights the conflict between what we expect and dream of versus the true nature of interpersonal relationships.

Dream versus reality is one of the big themes in this series. We can see it in the way the characters expect certain things from their relationships, only to be repeatedly confronted with the fact that they won't get what they want. Teena dreams of sleeping with a virgin, but both his feelings and Zouey's hesitation get in the way of it. Zouey wants to conform to society's expectations about sex, he really does try. But in the end sex repulses him for some reason. First dreams of running away from home to have a steamy affair with some hot guy, but he learns that Soong isn't really into the idea. Soong seems to like First, but he is hit with the reality that affection won't be able to buy you dinner and it won't pay your rent. And then we have Nont who tells himself that his brother is still alive, while deep down he already knows that something bad must've happend to Nant (I'm delulu about that too, so I feel you Nont!)

Likewise the viewer is also forced back into reality. The dreamlike sequences end abruptly and instead quick humping and bad audio (the Japanese!) is thrown at us. Did you expect something kinky and hot? Did you expect romantic kisses in the rain? Well, you won't get any of that! In Playboyy sex scenes are used as a tool to make the viewer look beyond the dream. Sometimes sex is used for educational purposes or it tells us more about a character and sometimes it makes us think about our own relationship with kink and sex.

In addition, I believe it is also a direct critique towards the majority of BL series that are out on the market right now. Because those shows usually try to ascend sex between two men onto a higher plane. They only highlight the dreamlike romantic aspects of gay relationships and ignore real life issues, even the really small things (how many sex scenes have we all seen where they don't even use the lube and simply go straight at it...). Sex is not soft background music, slow motion shots, perfect hair and pretty make up, the right pose at the right time... Instead it can be messy, funny, weird, with sweat pouring down your face and smeared mascara.

#playboyy the series #playboyy #playboyy meta

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piningprecussionist · 5 months

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Howdy, Pine! Can we get three headcanons for all your favorite Scott Pilgrim characters? :-)

Oh absolutely!!!! Lemme think for a minute...

((FUTURE FUTURE ME: I LITERALLY JUST PROCESSED YOU SAID THREE HEADCANONS IM SO SORRY--- YOU WILL UNDERSTAND 😭))

Okay I had a whole thing here, but we're gonna try this again but slightly more Hinged-- forcing myself to format so things don't get out of hand again. I will HAPPILY elaborate, though!!

((Whoop this is future me. This post is going to be so long if I dont do this, so I'm going to put this all under the cut! I'll try to remember to come back up here with the characters I talk about- alternative, should I not do that, maybe check the tags! I'll try to only tag the people I'm directly talking about))

KIM PINE

sexuality: very likely canonically Bi, I am a very big fan of her being a comp. het. lesbian, though (I get this both from my read of the comics/her character and just me Injecting myself into my favorite characters ✌️)

pronouns: she/her usually, but I think she'd be very open and vibe with they/them (me injecting myself again, but also she's just chill like that. I think she prefers if strangers use they/them for her, and her friends or partners use she/her. I'm undecided if she prefers her partners call her their girlfriend or their partner, though.)

Characters I think she has feelings for: RAMONA FLOWERS, Lisa Miller, (MAYBE Scott Pilgrim, still)

Elaboration on that:

I honestly think I can just. Point at some comic panels for Ramona. And the goat thing again. They make me Unhinged that's how canon that is.

Lisa!!! My beloved!!! I think she had a tiny crush on her in high school and had no idea that it was a crush until way later in life- maybe shortly after seeing her again, actually. But like. She's so obviously smiley and happy when she's around, I really can't help but read it that way! She, at the very least, gets an extreme mood boost in her presence, so she really likes having her around.

Scott Pilgrim.... *scrubbing at my face* okay. Okay. So, I have a couple different reads on her feelings for Scott, they're kind of complicated for me to dismantle. Especially since I haven't started my reread of book 6 (I've been giving my thumbs a break, which I am currently prolonging but I have been DYING for someone to ask me to talk about this series.) I'm going to go with my more canon read and leave it at that I think, because it's already becoming this text wall.

Scott was really important to her, I think. She's this aloof, sullen, bitchy girl and she knows it- and then this dorky idiot walks into her life and they really hit it off! They date, they have really sweet, private moments together- it's everything to her. It's someone loving her in spite of the hard shell she initially puts out, and managing to reach her soft, easily bruised heart in ways no one had before. But then he left so abruptly, and that heart was crushed under the weight of her own ribcage. I think she carried that hurt with her every day from that point- I don't imagine her having a particularly roaring love life after that. I think she kept that hurt bottled, and it made any relationships she DID attempt fall apart. It's a wound she's been nursing for way, way too long, and I think she knows that- that's why she wants so badly to forget about it. But then she goes to Toronto and runs into Scott again at the lowest point in his life, and she can't get herself to step away, because this is the only person who ever claimed to love her in a way she felt. I think her decision to stay was sort of... detrimental to her moving on. If she'd detatched herself and stepped back, maybe she could have moved on eventually- she could have worked on herself, or maybe lucked out and found someone who could get through those walls without a sledgehammer, and she would have been better for it. But that's not what happens. She stayed, and I think the longer she stayed the harder it became to keep herself completely shielding from him, because he's still that same goofy guy at his core- he's just a bit worse than she remembered him being. But damn near everything he does throughout the comics just continues to crush her until she HAS to leave- he can apologize, and she can accept it for the version of him she loved, but he's not enough to convince her to stay anymore. I'm going to cut my canon analysis there until I reread their next scene, rather than just continuing incase my thoughts have slightly changed, but like... man... they hurt me in a very unique way. If it was anyone other than Scott, it'd be tragic. (Maybe it still is, maybe that's the Kim Bitterness talking)

For a brief touch on my less canon take, with Kim being a lesbian: I think Scott would have been better placed in her life as a best friend than a partner, but when you're young, and honestly even when you're not all that young, emotional distinction like that can be so, so confusing. So all of the hurt remains very genuine, because she does love him, just not the way she thought she did.

((Because I do love the trans!fem Scott HC as well, I will say. I feel like it would be really, really funny for Kim to realize she's into women and be like "wow sure dodged round two of the Scott Pilgrim bullet" and then one day Scott shows up having started her transition and is like "Oh hey Kimmy!! I'm a lesbian AND a girl, like you now!!!" And Kim just. Crushes her drink or something in her hand like "oh no... oh no she's attractive again... FUCK FUCK FUCK." Obviously a lot more nuanced than that, though. I should probably clarify that I started answering this ask almost IMMEDIATELY after waking up and also BEFORE I've taken more pain meds. If this post has been or starts to become very scattered again, that's why lol.))

Bonus consideration: Hollie. I can dig her having a crush on Hollie, but I feel like it faded a little living with her, and then shattered entirely after the Jason Kim situation. Even an overwhelming attraction to women ain't savin that one, chief. That's just too severe a betrayal.

The Knives Situation: Oh Boy. So in the original answer for this I had a whole thing done up, lemme try to condense it. Basically, I think Kim woke up the next morning HORRIFIED by what she'd done. Like, dry heaving in the bathroom horrified. And this likely really hurt Knives's feelings, should she see! Which Kim would feel horrible about. I'm undecided on if she just runs from the situation before Knives can wake up, or if they have a sort of agrument/one-sided rant on Kim's part afterward where she just really tries to hammer home for Knives how not okay it was for them to do that- for HER to do that, given their ages and inherent power imbalance. In the event that this discussion happens, Knives absorbed none of it, and probably leaves that conversation a little wounded. I think it would proceed to play back in her mind when she and Stephen are talking at one of Julie's parties later on, though, and she'd probably approach Kim after that to thank her for being a reasonable adult about that, unlike how some of her friends had been. Once that understanding is reached, I think they could be good friends, although Kim probably teases her for how she started to dress like her after they first met.

Silly little things: If anyone's familiar with Night in the Woods, do you know the part where Mae's like "that's not drums... that's a computer..."? I feel like that has Kim energy. To me.

Also I think Kim sucks at Rockband- I know that releases like, way afterward or something so far as comic timeline goes, but bare with me, okay? It's my silly little headcanons! Anyway, she'd suck really, really bad on the drums, since so far as I can recall, they don't REALLY correspond with the music. If her friends force her to play, she demands either the mic or the bass, because "fuck you Scott, you try playing their stupid fucking drums." He proceeds to play flawlessly, much to her chagrin. She fairs better on the bass, but only a bit better than the drums, since her fingers aren't quite used to the movements.

Kim didn't think she liked cats for a while, mostly because she was only ever around them fleetingly, and generally in the homes of people who should have been cleaning their litter boxes more regularly. After hanging around Ramona's house more, though, she discovers she really love them! She feels a sort of kinship watching how they actually behave, and I think Gideon ends up warming to Kim very quickly, which probably helps with the very quick turnaround on her opinion. I think it'd be funny if sometimes, when Kim's over, Scott will try to beckon Gideon over to him for cuddles or affection, and the cat will just. Stare at him entirely unimpressed before jumping up into Kim's lap with exaggerated purring and chin rubbing before curling up for a "nap." Kim was in awe the first time this happened, and Ramona finds it ceaselessly amusing every time it happens. ((Funny additonal scenario: once after this happened Scott was whining to Ramona, who was coming to join them on the couch, looking generally very sad/cute/pathetic, and overcome with a sort of playful evil, Ramona proceeded to sit by and cuddle up to Kim as well. Kim immediately froze up and went bright red and wide eyed, Scott's jaw probably dropped before he dove into a theatrical, exaggerated spewl about the betrayal of it all, and Ramona just got to blissfully enjoy Kim cuddles while giggling at both of their reactions and petting Gideon.))

Conversely, I don't know how Kim feels about dogs. Like, I don't think she hates them or anything like that, but maybe they fill her with a sense of pity, for their associations with unwavering loyalty. Something about that specifically runs too close to things she considers about herself, at times, maybe. Idk, just kinda spit ballin here.

I think she does like rats! And mice. Idk. They're cute little guys and I like them, let me have this--

Oh man... just Kim's section is so long. And I have other characters to get to,,, buckle up I guess--- I mean, I did start with My Girl, so maybe the others will be shorter?

((This is future future me again... this is where I actually went back and processed the ask properly :') I have no words to describe my current emotional state beyond that I am trying really hard not to burst into a little fit of laughter at myself and wake my roommate--))

Three! Three headcanons!! I can do this (restraintrestraintrestraint)

Okay! Let's try being Normal About Media- and just as a note, they aren't really in any particular order, beyond Kim being the first because she IS legitimately my favorite, I think. Idk she's very Me.

Ramona Flowers

1. She doesn't really do labels, for things like her idenity; she does think pride flags are pretty, though. Scott got her a bi flag once and she decided to keep it and hang it in her room for this exact reason, though she did explain to him that she doesn't really consider herself anything but herself- Ramona Flowers. He's very understanding about that, although a little confused in the typical Scott manner! They eventually come around to just considering it being his flag, when he comes to terms with himself (yeah, spoilers, I HC him as bi)

2. Her hair actually does have magic properties to it that prevent it from getting absolutely butchered by all the bleaching she does- she doesn't know how or why, though. Maybe it's less magic and more to do with the supplies themselves? Unlike Scott, she's not as meticulous when it comes to reading the status effect labels on things she uses or consumes.

3. Of her former partners, I think she does have genuine lingering feelings for Roxie. So far as the comics/movie go, she simply repressed the hell out of them and plays the Deny Deny Deny! game, but so far as the show goes, I think she's come to terms with the fact that she still loves her, but horrifically fumbled her- she doesn't want to hurt Roxie like that again, so she's unlikely to ever try things again between them, I think. Not unless Roxie was the initiator, and even then, it'd take some coaxing.

Bonus 4. She absolutely has feelings for Kim. I feel like maybe further into their relationship she'd 100% ask Scott like "hey... you know your really hot friend Kim?" and proceed to discuss with him if being in a polyamorous relationship is something he could get behind. Maybe it'd happen after a period of time with Kim living with them too, or something.

Roxie Richter

1. She gets ALL the girls- all of them. She's an unholy TERROR for men where she lives, because she is notorious for giving women the night of their lives and making them never look back so far as dating men goes. Now, I don't think she deliberately breaks up people or goes after "straight" girls or anything, but it's probably something that's happened on accident before, so she's A Menace. I will say that she might deliberately swoop in and woo a girl she knows is taken if it's extremely clear that their relationship is just Not Right- like if she's seeing clear signs of abuse, or something. She isn't intending to get with these girls when she does this, but she is fully intending to get them out of shitty situations. She's even turned girls down after their (ex) boyfriends have stormed off in a huff, simply out of respect for them- she'll try to give them advice, and if they're adamant in trying New Venues, she might play matchmaker where she can, but she isn't really comfortable sleeping with them after doing stuff like that- to her, it feels gross, maybe even exploitative.

2. I actually don't know if this is meant to be canon or not, because it's noted alongside some of her sketches, but she's german/japanese in my eyes- but raised in the states. She knows English the best, and some German, but she doesn't really know much Japanese, much to her own agitation- she just struggles with it a lot, for whatever reason. She can kind of read some things, but if she tries to speak it she runs the risk of butchering the words. I personally further HC her dad as German and her mom as Japanese- dad by process of elimination, mom based loosely on how I read some of her and Ramona's conversations in the comics.

3. She is in fact whistling the tune in the show intending it to be from the Robin Hood movie- in fact, I think I'm going to HC it as one of her favorite animated films from childhood. (... do I HC her as a furry now?)

Lisa Miller

1. Disaster Bi! She's a bit of a Menace and she knows it; she likes to rile people up, but she can't really take what she dishes out. Like, if she'd done the kind of seductive teasing she does to Scott to Kim and received any sort of flirting back, her brain would shut down and she'd need to reboot. She doesn't know how to handle when someone else takes the reigns, which is why it was so easy and fun to play with Scott- he was too stunned/shy to play back, which she enjoys. Not to imply she doesn't enjoy having her brain melted a little, of course.

2. I think she makes it big after she heads to America! Or at least, bigger than she was. She sends her friends back in Toronto signed copies of movie posters and CDs and things when she can- she doesn't expect them to keep them, although she loves it when they do, but at least in Scott's case it's sort of a "incase of emergency, please sell" sort of situation. He does not, obviously. (Ramona probably does, though, both from admittedly petty lingering jealousy and because they just don't have room for all of it; Scott rarely seems to notice anyhow, and the money usually goes towards rent or random gifts for him anyhow)

3. I forget if everyone's sudden absence is noticed when they Poof briefly during the finalt episode of the show, but if it is I feel like Lisa starts to talk to Kyle, since he's in front of her, like "hey, what exactly happened there-" before looking out over everyone else who reappeared in their seats and noticing Scott is actually up there with them. She spends the rest of that night chatting up him and the league, and maybe even scores an in with Matthew for getting a foothold in her acting career!

Matthew Patel

1 . He absolutely has a dedicated cult following for his theatrical works, and it's warranted! He's genuinely good at what he does, and his passion is clear as day; any production is lucky to have him, and he knows it, which can kind of lead to butting heads behind the scenes. I feel like he might come across to his fellow performers as full of himself, especially given his proficiency with one man performances, but he truly is just deeply, deeply passionate about his work, and he wants to feel that passion with anyone he works with, too. He NEEDS his energy matched to feel like it's going to be a grand performance, and he simply doesn't notice how off-putting this can be for his coworkers as a result.

2. The demon hipster chicks have always been the visual age they are now, even when Matthew was a kid; he viewed them as older sisters growing up, and they're very protective of him perhaps as a result. At his current age, they're his best friends and personal body guards- they'll descend like rabid dogs on anyone that steps out of line around him, if he doesn't call them off. Sometimes it's a bit much for him, but they're usually pretty good about understanding when they do and don't need to interfere on his behalf.

3. Ya know I'm not sure if it's a HC I've seen at all but I could really vibe with trans!masc Matthew. I would love that for him, truly.

Scott Pilgrim

1. Look... I really love any trans!Scott headcanons. Like, any direction, I've said before; I genuinely have such a problem figuring out which version I enjoy best: he's trans!masc and has been all along, or trans!fem and Ramona eventually helps to crack that egg. But also, while I'm saying this, he is. So stupid. Not like maliciously stupid in this sense, absolutely not, but I feel like he's the kind of person to like. Run into someone from his past post their transition, with THEM coming up to HIM to be like "oh long time no see, Pilgrim," and then he would say something to the affect of "oh, you have the same last name as (DN)!!! Are you related? Kim, Kim!! Do you know if (DN) had any siblings?" while Kim and the other person just stare at him deadpan for a bit before bursting into laughter at his expense. He would then proceed to be really confused and just not get it, either until they explain it to him or like, he'd just suddenly sit up in a cold sweat later that night realizing what he did like "oh my GOD that WAS them, I said their dead name at them like seven times!! I am Going To Hell!!!" (And Ramona would just kind of blindly, lightly slap around in his general direction, like "honey you're not going to hell for basically affirming the effectiveness of their transition, go the fuck to sleep. They would've said something if it was a problem." Idk, that's just how he feels to me.)

2. When he has his own money for things, and space living with Ramona, he spends it on video games or video game related merch- it's probably a lot of patches and t-shirts, but I can see him starting to collect plushies, too! Like some of the really old kinda silly looking Sonic plushies, for example? If I had my Knuckles one on hand I'd use him as an example, but I think he's in storage somewhere :(

3. Gets into really heated arguments about video game mechanics and stat stuff where applicable; like, Ramona has to drag him away or else he will actively start fighting people kind of heated. He can hold chill conversations, but if he feels like he's being talked down to about a game that he's REALLY into, like Sonic Adventure (he has the director's cut!)

Wallace Wells

1. MENACE TO SOCIETY. He's comparable to Roxie in this way except he is so much worse (I say this affectionately <3) because he does just straight up, in canon, do things like steal Stacey's boyfriends! And that's his friend that he's doing that to! So I cannot IMAGINE what mischief he gets up to when he goes out drinking. He's probably ruined so many lives, naybe even marriages. What am I saying, maybe? Definitely. And he feels no remorse about this! In his eyes either your man was already gay or you needed to treat him better, sweetie; he HAS been rejected before, so clearly his charms can't ruin what ain't already broken.

2. While he does have feeling for Scott, which is basically canon I don't even want to hear it, he KNOWS better. Like, he'd been living with Scott for a while, so he knows if they were legitimately dating he probably would be even more sick of him than he already is. When they were still living together, though, there were times where he couldn't help but wonder if it would really be all that bad... right before Scott comes in and does or says something that just highlights for Wallace that he's making the Sane choice. Besides, Wallace is (and i hate using these terms but I straight up don't know what other words I could possibly use) a sugar baby; he can't keep up being both a sugar baby and Scott's effective sugar daddy (HATEHATEHATE THAT WORD) while ALSO paying rent. It doesn't really work out that well, especially with him having, at the time, such a shitty apartment to begin with.

3. I feel like Wallace really enjoys his nightlife and getting to sleep around, so I'm unsure if this is something still in play while he's with Mobile, or if he respects Mobile enough to do away with that entirely. Like, different situations work for different relationships, so if Mobile is fine with it then maybe it's something that continues! But taking into account the sparks from the show, maybe he'd actually be really fine being exclusive with Mobile. Especially given how well their future selves seem to be doing. Idk! Basically the sum of this one is just that, if Wallace is exclusive with Mobile, he misses be a bit of a whore, but he's very happy where, and with who he is, now.

Envy Adams

1. She gives me vibes.. queer vibes... in some sort of direction.... idk if I'm fully behind her also being a comp. het lesbian or just labeling her a disaster bi, but I also get a vague sense of gender fuckery. It's entirely her name thing, probably, but I can see Envy being genderqueer.

2. She probably hunted Lynette down after that show- an arm was likely Not Enough to quite satisfy that rage. Especially since she didn't get the satisfaction of beating Todd more thoroughly herself, since Scott stepped in. Conversely, for the show canon, Wallace has a target on his back for the rest of her life, as far as she's concerned, even in a world where her feelings for Todd were just misunderstood- she considered him her best friend, and you don't get away with hurting her friends like that unless you're her.

3. I think I'd like to HC that some part of her regrets booting Scott from the band the way she did back in college? Maybe not immediately, or even soon, but I feel like sometimes she would think about him and their relationship as a whole and just feel bad, Idk. Like, she doesn't want to get back with him at all, but I could maybe see her offering to promote Shatterband (or Sex Bob-Omb, in the show,) or even play with him as a genuine apology instead of a coy trap somewhere down the line.

Knives Chau

1. Look... look I know I'm about to sound like a broken record... comp. het. lesbian or bi. HEAR ME OUT: her puppy dog love for Scott is really just that- something cute and innocent, but very intense, especially once he cuts her off in that honestly really brutal manner. Teenage heartbreak is messy- even if you feel like it was real, true love you had, you can often realize later in life that what you felt was just admiration, or something else innocuous like that. I think she reaffirms it to herself as a deep and true love because of how intense the pain of that breakup was, paired with everything that comes after, and I think the show really highlights that for me? Because in the show, with Scott out of the picture entirely, she's just a lot less intense about it. I think after playing music and hanging around his friends, she realizes she didn't really love him all that much, just thought he was a cool older guy and liked that he took an interest in her, even if she recognizes how wrong that was now. ((I probably have more articulate thoughts on this but I am really starting to feel the lack of pain meds so I need to get through this--))

2. Knives is really good at rhythm games and things like DDR or, when it's eventually released, Just Dance. Like, freakishly good. She picks them up just as well and just as quickly as she did her instruments.

3. With how quickly she picked up her instruments, she kinda gives me honor student vibes? Idk. I feel like it'd be a little stressful for her later on, because I do think her passionate drive for music makes her grades take a slight spin, but she just gives off that energy for me. Knives is a lot smarter than people give her credit for, I think, Idk.

... yes, I am very normal about media... spending 3 hours on 1 ask that offered me a lot more simplicity than I can apparently manage...

#asks #txt #kim pine #ramona flowers #roxie richter #lisa miller #Matthew Patel #scott pilgrim #wallace wells #envy adams #knives chau #i think i might have said this in the post but maybe i didnt or removed it- they're not necessarily ordered by like. most to least favorite #i just kinda chucked same names on there and went. debated starting some for lucas but i think my hands need a break- and my stomach a Snac #spto #sp comic #spvtw #headcanons #scott pilgrim takes off #scott pilgrim comic #scott pilgrim vs the world #potential spoilers for both the comics and the show i think?#if anyone wants this tagged w ship stuff for my little blurb under Kim lemme know #also I didn't include Roxie in the list of characters I think she likes but she should have been an honorable mention. i mostly had comic +#+ brain with that section #long post #woollyworm #demon hipster chicks

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miguels-talons · 10 months

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Speaking as someone who doesn't read comics and just has the movie to work with, its rather concerning how resistant some people are to showing Miguel even a small amount of sympathy. Like if people aren't hyper sexualizing him they're acting like he's pure evil and didn't make a series of decisions based on very human emotions. I'm not trying to justify how he treats Miles, I love Miles and want him to succeed (pretty sure he and Miguel are gonna have some very emotional stuff in the next movie), but even when discussing Miguel's personal tragedy regarding his family I see people twist it to be "he broke canon to have a life he felt entitled to" which like...how do people misread characters this badly?

ugh i know. this kind of thing frustrates me to NO END!

like, did you watch the movie?

miguel learns from his past mistakes- good or bad- and continues on with that knowledge. going into the transdimensional travel, he knew nothing, and had no idea that him interfering so much in another world would have such catastrophic consequences. but he learned that when the daughter he'd come to love literally dissipates in his arms. with this knowledge, he's doing his goddamn best to keep any other worlds from falling apart because that's what will happen based off of what he's seen and experienced.

and he didn't feel "entitled" to it, he yearned for it. as i've stated before, miguel's family and life growing up with them fucking sucked. all of his family are horrible people (him included in some areas, but that's what makes him so real- he has flaws); they're abusive, manipulative and neglectful. he just wanted to have a normal, HAPPY family.. of course he's going to try and have one in another world.

and don't get me started on the hypersexualization of this man. look, i'm attracted to him too. he's very sexy, but to see that that's the only thing people talk about him for now... to see HOW they sexualize him... it's really saddening. he's a loser and awkward when it comes to emotional things, and especially when it comes to sex... the dude has been with two women sexually in the past... and he wasn't good at it. he's not some dominant sex beast. he's an awkward loser who sucks at rizz. ugh. people get my man wrong constantly

#wow i talk #ask #miguel o'hara #spider man 2099 #spider man across the spider verse #atsv #across the spiderverse #spider man #marvel

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beesmygod · 5 months

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I hope you don't mind a general question about comic making. Do you write your pages out well in advance via script, or what's the general process there? (If you don't mind my asking)

sorry i take so long to reply, but i dont mind answering these at all. i never know if my answer to questions about web comic creation are useful or not. but there's also not a lot of resources out there describing how it DOES get done. someone give me a million dollars to fund a series like urasawa's manben but for web comic artists.

i write AGS basically in the most haphazard way possible (lol) in the hope that it doesn't show too badly.

in general, i have the long arc of the comic planned out in my brain. i didn't know where i was going at first; AGS was intended to be a "monster of the week arc" type series where i just put jack and maxine into situations, but it sort of evolved past that because i needed to work on something more substantial. now i know where the characters are going, where they've been, and what i want to say. just maybe not in the specific words i want to yet. i cant decide if its arrogant and stupid to write down how the comic is supposed to end in case i die but like. im not miura.

for every "book" (the overarching storylines) of AGS, i usually write down a rough outline of what i need to happen to move the plot forward, WHY it moves the plot forward, and then shuffle that around and/or add things until im satisfied with it. the last chapter's outline would have looked like this (sorry for the image but tumblr fucking sucks at making bulleted lists):

and so on and so forth.

but most of the time i think of shit that's funnier/a better idea last minute and rather than stick with the old plan, most of the time i end up switching things up last minute. USUALLY not major plot beats, those are pretty nailed down. but the path i end up taking to that beat might be shorter or funnier or just more entertaining

#a ghost story #web comics #webcomics #webcomic

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blackautmedia · 7 months

Text

Sly Cooper: Bentley, Asylums, and Disability Representation in Video Games

Revisiting a Classic old series, we analyze the portrayal of Disability in the #SlyCooper series and how it portrays Bentley who uses a wheelchair as of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

Some Excerpts:

There are two villains I want to discuss people might not think of in the context of disability--The Contessa and Arpeggio.

The Contessa's levels are my personal favorite in Sly 2, so anything I say here is with love but these ideas don't come in a vacuum. Aesthetically it's a mix of a prison level, a haunted ghost setting with mystical elements, and most importantly is an asylum drawing on a number of tropes surrounding the allure of a haunted asylum.

The next villain I want to talk about is Arpeggio. He runs into a common pitfall in that he's the disabled villain. He's an engineering parrot who cannot fly and seeks to reassemble Clockwerk's body to claim it as his own and achieve the immortality that comes with it. The important element is how Arpeggio's villainy is intrinsically linked with his body and his disability.

Oftentimes, able bodied writers will write a villainous disabled character where the concept of being disabled is so burdensome and awful to the eyes of an able-bodied audience that they will do anything and immediately jump to evil in order to not be disabled. You can see this in how a lot of the dialogue about or with Arpeggio reviles in how pathetic he is and how the story frames his inability to fly.

There was a promotional comic that came out as a midquel between the events of Sly 2 and 3.

Throughout all of Sly 2: Band of Thieves, things spiral badly out of control, the Cooper gang's plans fall apart, and they often have to improvise, barely succeeding in several of the levels and flat out failing in others. This game is a ride.

Many articles, discussions, and posts about Bentley as a disabled character often reinforce a harmful and ableist belief that he is a good disabled character because he is a genius able to engineer a solution that doesn't allow his disability to "slow him down." Whether explicitly mentioned or not, the discourse surrounding Bentley repeats this narrative in some way and falls into a line of trying to exceptionalize Bentley's actions.

Sly 3 does reserve its most overt ableism for its villainous characters in Don Octavio, Muggshot and Captain Lefwee. But scenes like this are still reliant on the helpless disabled person trope at Bentley's expense, where he's literally kicked to the ground and stripped of his autonomy to center the agency of an able bodied character.

The game doesn't try to act like Bentley can do better if he just pushes more and tries harder. There are things he can't do and it's frustrating, but they celebrate his strengths in what he does.

It doesn't tokenize his disability and the final villain has a confrontation with him entirely because of his relationship to the Cooper family, a fight that Bentley is initiating, not Dr. M.

If nothing else, I hope this video gave some food for thought regarding how a lot of disabled people are portrayed. I don't claim to be the arbiter of all things disability, but hopefully it'll give more insight into what games and media in general can do to improve in its storytelling.

It's a shame that the Sly movie or a TV series never came to fruition because it'd be a great opportunity to portray a disabled character, actually consult and include disabled people in the creative process and make something really memorable.

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beevean · 3 months

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Ah man i really dislike fandom's general behaviour regarding canon vs not-canon (shoutout to the ff7 fandom for not being normal abt the compilation :) ) There is this belief that canon means good or is some sort of prestige, and that's why some ppl insist so much on placing their favorite spin offs or side stories at canon level, or try to "downgrade" some canon story bc they didnt like it. And in the end canon in terms of quality means nothing! I acknowledge that, for example, metroid other m is technically more canon than the metroid prime trilogy (including how it went out of its way to make the mp games explicitly not compatible w the main canon 🙄), yet i also will say that mom sucks horribly and will ignore its mistake of an existence while the mp trilogy is Peak. Heck i personally like the lore introduced in AM2R despite it being a fan game (aka def not canon). Or for a diff example, the CoD manga could be said to be less canon than PtR, but both are beautifully written and introduce plenty of interesting elements and themes to the main CoD story (plus Hector look at Hector the he hes so- ).

Canon doesnt equals quality, but rather it means what was an actual event in a series, and is mostly relevant in terms of analisis, putting together what happened, and trying to predict what events will be mentioned again in the franchise and their influence (and also retcons exist, for good and evil). If you like canon, good! If you like an spin off, good! If you like the fanon/headcanons, good! You can try to mix up elements from both into your own version or interpretation, to do fanfics or fanart, etc. Something being canon or not is an objective (if debatable in certain cases) fact, but that doesnt means you need to like it or not

Thank you for putting it better than what I've been trying to say fdhsjhfdskhfks

Ohh boy the OM example. I would rather. Not touch that :) I am aware of the backlash after Dread dared to include an image of that game's events... (but speaking of AM2R, I really believe it shouldn't be mentioned in this conversation lol. I suppose you can say that we can accepts its ideas like headcanons!)

The CoD mangas are an interesting example. PtR was written by Ayami Kojima, who had a hand in creating at least Hector and Isaac, so it's technically a more "official" product than the MF manga which was written by a hired writer; but Kojima herself considers the MF manga more canon, likely because it's more detailed:

Although there are some restrictions on representation when accompanying a game, there is a comic in Japan that can be freely established as a story and can be thoroughly enjoyed, by Kou Sasakura ("Castlevania: Curse of Darkness'', published by Media Factory). It was written by hand, so I apologize for the inconvenience, but please read it as well. This is how I ended up with it this time, and it may be confusing for those who worry about the story. Each person's setting, interpretation, and representation are different, but I'll leave it to you as the true story... Hector is also cool and handsome! ... How should I say it? It's like the child I gave birth to as a surrogate mother (wow!) is now doing even better with their foster parents, and I'm crying tears of gratitude behind the telephone pole.

(this quote is so wholesome I wanted to share, even if badly translated <3)

So who is right? And speaking about that, how much can prequel mangas be "canon" in a videogame series? I never mentioned the Sonic promotional material, now that I think of it lol. (admittedly that's another issue, the one of accessibility for newcomers, which oh man oh man do the CoD mangas suffer from :'D)

Anyway, I have nothing smarter to add, so let me emphasize this:

#canon #for reference

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teecupangel · 8 months

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So last night I watched Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (and if you haven’t seen it/heard of it it’s about this Chinese woman who basically gets recruited to fight of an evil version of her daughter by tapping into different timelines of herself via an earpiece and very weird actions. It’s hilarious and very strange at times. Beware the hot dog fingers…)

And my brain went “Desmond Desmond Desmond Desmond Desmond-“ so. I guess I’m writing this? Any “different timeline” ideas, oh great alchemist of stories?

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is such a wonderful movie. If you guys haven’t seen it, please check it out if you can. It’s a multiverse movie that stands on its own with a touching story at the center of it.

Well… you’ve come to the right place because I made this badly edited poster last year which is actually all Desmond from his canon appearances + a few concept art + Desmond the Dog and Desmond the Drone.

Also, here’s my ‘pitch’ of how Desmond is the ultimate isekai protagonist and we have enough fodder just to freaking make a multiverse of Desmonds getting thrown into any other series/franchise/story out there.

But if you want something concrete…

Let’s make it easy for ourselves.

We’ll start with why Desmond starts hopping thru the multiverse and we’ll keep the reason consistent for each idea so we can focus on the multiverses themselves:

We can have our canon Desmond get thrown into the different universes as the Reader and the Heir informed him that he has to touch at least one Apple all over these multiverses to connect them to one another, creating a connection with one another that would finally destroy the Calculation that keeps adding a node that would create a catastrophe no matter how many times it was thwarted.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the multiverses:

Idea 1

Now, for the multiverses, (shameless plug) this story’s Desmond could be thrown into the branches of the Yew Branches series. Perhaps this is the final story (it’s not, I’m just throwing ideas) and we’ll add in not just the branch that I’ve written in AO3 but the branches that you guys sent and we talked about here in Tumblr as well. So we’ll have Desmond have to get the help of these Desmonds with their ‘colorful’ history like being Kadar Al-Sayf, being the son of a pirate (who may or may not be related to the Kenway family), being the aunt of an Assassin who was supposed to be the most frightening Assassin hunter in Templar history or the son of the one who 'created' sadomasochism and… his own son? Wait. He has a son???

Idea 2

Another idea is that the multiverses Desmond gets thrown into are pure chaos, no rhyme or reason. Simply Desmond’s being transmigrated or isekai(ed) to other series/franchise/story. We can make this contained to simply other Ubisoft games/franchises but why would you want to do that? The sky’s the limit! Hell, if you can’t choose, how about make it a challenge like “the multiverses that appears in this story is a combination of the last games you played, series/movies you watched and books you’ve read. Pick 10 from them or something” XD. Of course, we’ll have a universe that’s ProtoCreed as well as an Infamous x AC one because those two are the main Desmond crossover stories (with AlexDes and DelDes thrown into the mix if you want). But there’s also Desmond in DC or Marvel (and canon!Desmond knowing them as comic books while those Desmonds may or may not know that). We’ll also add Desmond in Pokemon and it’s up to you if he’s a trainer or if he’s actually Sylveon. Hell, have a Desmond in Overcooked and Desmond as an Amongus in that as well because the main point is to make Desmond suffer (affectionately) XD

Idea 3

Now, for a more ‘serious’ idea, this would be more contained as well. The multiverses are possible Calculations of Desmond’s life. So we would have the following:

The Desmond who didn’t leave the Farm and became an Assassin (who will always be never enough for his father no matter how hard he tries) – may or may not appear like a distorted image of Altaïr himself

The Desmond who learned of Elijah’s existence and became a good father to him

The Desmond who was found by Abstergo and thought of Warren Vidic as his father figure, becoming a Templar out of his own ‘free will’ and leading the Templar to victory, making the 'Eye' project a success

The Desmond who let the world burn and rebuilds it from its ashes, tired and guilt-ridden while pretending to be the god that the people worship

And we can add more Desmonds from there. Desmonds who didn’t become bartenders, instead having another profession (maybe even famous by his own right), maybe even a Desmond who decided to use what he learned from the Farm to become a world-renowned thief… Hell, we can even add in Desmond who was born a woman in the mix in this one if you want.

If you really, really want this to be a chaotic mess…

Roll up all three ideas and just… mix them all together XD

#ever desmond everywhere all at once #I think I can repost the poster since I made it anyway XD #dear god #how am I even going to tag this?#eh #ask and answer #assassin's creed #desmond miles #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed #that challenge though #i mean...#i could?#maybe?#lollol

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