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stem-sister-scuffle · 3 months

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STEM SISTER SCUFFLE: ROUND 2 MASHUP 7

Alphys (Undertale) vs Jade Harley (Homestuck)

Alphys is a Roboticist, Biologist and Souls/Determination Researcher!

Jade Harley is a Nuclear Physicist!

Why you should vote for each contestant:

Alphys:

"Because she messed with DETERMINATION and made Amalgamates, blending monsters into each other to form horrible combinations of undead beings. She’s a lesbian"

"Man made horrors, overwhelming guilt, cute lizard girl, bisexual"

"SHE'S SO CUTE. She's awkward and shy but you can tell she knows a lot about what she does!! She's also a bit of a tragic character considering her biological endeavors have gone kinda. wrong. SHE'S BI AND LIKE ANIME 🫶"

"Ultra qualified women with deep scientific knowledge who are also massive anime nerds and can't hold a simple conversation represent!"

"idk she's kind of just. The Royal Scientist . built a robot and put a soul in it. tried to bring monsters back to life, this failed miserably. did research on souls and determination. has a kickass lab. also nerdy as hell and can't just. tell the truth to save her life. love her"

"I don't think we have a word for "works with SOULs and DETERMINATION, including fusing ghosts with robot bodies and creating immortal abominations of multiple people stuck together." I guess you could probably just put her down as Robotics. Mechatronics or something. Like sure she melted a bunch of guys, but she takes responsibility! Feeds em dog food! That takes responsibility. Bisexual"

"She had a friend who was a ghost, and they wanted to be famous! So she used her knowledge of robotics to build them a new body how they wanted! He became famous, as he wished! And Alphys worked on a bigger, better body that fit him well, though it used up a lot of power and needed more upgrades, hence why it wasn’t used often until the final battle with him (Him being Mettaton). But basically, Mettaton got a new body the way he liked it, changed his name, and started going by different pronouns (Mettaton is only ever referred to by they/them when people reference the ghost). Alphys allowed him to feel much happier as himself, and they’re great friends! Though, she did pretend that she created Mettaton and his SOUL herself, no ghostliness involved. But Mettaton did agree to that.

Because of her perceived achievement, (though her actual achievement was also pretty cool) Alphys was hired as the Royal Scientist for the Underground, and got to work with Asgore, the king of all monsters! She continued working with Mettaton, and Asgore asked her to try and find a way to break the barrier that was trapping them Underground without killing humans. Alphys found an interesting thing called Determination, or DT within humans using the SOULs of humans Asgore had killed and allowed her access to.

She tested it on some flowers in his garden to see what would happen, and nothing did. That she realized at the time, anyway. She had actually injected DT into a flower sprinkled with the remains of Asriel, the king’s dead son, and brought him back to life as a flower. Problem was, Asriel, or Flowey as he eventually called himself, didn’t have a SOUL anymore, since he was a flower. Thinking that nothing had happened, Alphys decided to try and see if it could really bring back monsters that had fallen down/were on the verge of death. She asked people for their family members that had fallen down. The monsters that had fallen down were basically dead, but the last of their magic hadn’t quite run out yet. However, their magic was being spent keeping their bodies from turning to dust, and they were unable to move, pretty much in a coma. So really, if it didn’t work, no harm done! Either it works and they live, it kills them, or it doesn’t do anything and they still die!

Alphys conducted her tests, and at first, it worked! All of the monsters were getting up and moving around! She contacted the families to send them back, but when she was about to, she discovered they had all started melting and had stuck together and merged into one being. She chickened out for fear of how the families would react, and proceeded to ignore a bunch of letters for quite a while. Eventually, she did own up to it, though she was immediately fired (by the EX-queen, not Asgore. Was that even legal?). The families were just happy to have their loved ones back, and while they were still somewhat upset, understandably so, they didn’t really blame her all too much.

ALSO!! She got a girlfriend!! She’s canonically expressed interest in Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard and who would eventually be her girlfriend, Asgore, and the unknowable! She has made mistakes. Big ones. But honestly, I don’t blame her for the mistakes. The real problem was that she is incredibly anxious and let that get the better of her, leading to her not telling people important things that they deserved to know. She’s not the best at being honest."

Jade Harley:

"She's soo fun and silly and her symbol is literally an atom. she regularly irradiates steak to feed her weird dog"

"She and her nuclear powered dog creating a new universe. she's cool"

"Built a modded bass guitar that's only playable when she's in her robot form and has extra arms. Became a doggirl. She also plays the flute :)"

"i think you have enough ramblings about her already but i couldnt NOT submit her, she is so dear to me <3"

"bbg has THREE scientific specialties!! she genetically modifies plants and makes them grow beautifully high just because she can and loves science. in her alpha timeline she’s a tech mogul and creates technology that challenges the evil empress that brought earth to ruin. AND she’s a furry"

"Doggy"

"She plays a silly flute refrain. She's a furry. Literally, she's a doggirl. She's also a god and created the universe. JADE BEST GIRLIE!!!!"

#stem sister scuffle #round 2 #alphys #ut alphys #undertale #utdr #jade harley #hs jade #homestuck jade #homestuck

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tiyoin · 19 days

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Hiii this is the first time I’ve sent in an ask so I’m a little nervous but your work especially twisted anxiety🌀 just makes me feral❤️ (also feel free to delete this if I make you uncomfortable)

But twst🌀reader being good at sing has got me in a choke hold, it feels very princess coded lol

I mean 🌀reader has grim, so they have an animal companion, they can sing🎶, they have a ‘prince’ the twst boys+yuu and they have a curse! anxiety‼️

This idea has just been giving me so much brain-rot I had to share it with you<3, and don’t forget to take care of yourself because I know how hard making & writing is so have a nice day/night

WELCOME ANON 🫶

and dont worry!! im not uncomfortable in any way, and I apperciate you looking out for my comfortably, truly.

and im so glad you like twisted anxiety!!🙈

but holy shit I never thought about reader being princess coded CAUSE YOU'RE SO RIGHT???

I DONT KNOW WHY THIS HASNT OCCURRED TO ME

THINKING ABOUT MANAGER 🌀 READER AT THE VDC FOR SOME REASON ATTRACTING ROYAL SWORD STUDENTS????

yeah 🌀 is very closed off, not looking at people in favor of the ground, hovering around other manager yuu and the rest of the nrc squad.

but that just makes the rsa students go 👁️👁️

reader is freaked out and starting to get paranoid that everyone is watching them and that there must be something wrong with them. is there something on their face? does this uniform make them look fat? is there sweat stains on their back?? arm pits?? oh god can they see their underwear?? and they're clinging to yuu like a life line

(yuu doesn't mind because they're just happy that reader is clinging to them so yuu can keep an eye on them hehe🤭)

of course vil sets reader off to cool down because he can't have their manager bring anxiety to the rest of the performers. so they go to get food!

until they bump into an rsa student...

"oh sorry, I didn't see you there!" all while they're staring at you like this:

LIKE SIR BACK AWAY!!

reader coming back to the vdc crew with a thousand yard stare as they're clutching a churro.

going back to singing reader,

maybe they're in their little hiding place the woods just letting their feelings out. maybe they go a little too far and wonder onto RSA property (hypothetically because I dont know how far away the schools are. but if it's far... they take a magical little short cut that chenya uses to sneak on over 🤭)

or maybe rsa guys are doing a 'test of courage' and are sneaking tot he woods of nrc. MAYBE THEY'RE EVEN PLAYING A SCHOOL PRANK TO START A PRANKING WAR-

but one of you are in the wrong woods and the rsa guys hear and see you singing. while yes, 75% of the population is some kind of nobility they know that there aren't any princesses here. especially on sage island.

but maybe you are?? because you're a girl, you're singing about true love, the animals seem to like you, you're wearing a.. dress? a robe, even. and you look so good 🙈

and when they see you- oh no! you saw them first!

its like the fucking hunt from snow white HASDBIWEUFB they're chasing after you and you're literally trying not to scream or cry

oh god everything is so much more amplified. and luckily you escape and race into ramshackle like your life depend on it (because it did.)

AND OH MY GOD YOU ALMOST GOT MURDERED!!!

but the rsa boys are gushing and spreading rumors of a beautiful ghostly girl who sings for her true love in the forest... BROTHER WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT???

so much lore to the twisted anxiety saga, and so little motivation to map and write it all out 😔

#ANON YOURE TRULY A GENIUS #CAN I POP THROUGH THE SCREEN RQ AND GIVE YOU A FAT SMOOCH #twisted anxiety 🌀#twst x reader #tiyoin’s cuties 。　 ඞ 。#tiyoin 🔎#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #ive lowkey gotta make a solid plan for twisted anxiety because ive just been going off of impulse HASHDAIUDB

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steddiealltheway · 10 months

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Part Four of Six of Meddling ;). Part One. Two. Three. Ao3 Link.

Steve gets in the back of Nancy’s car and barely listens as Robin rambles on, “Okay, so I was thinking we would go to the fair in town today but a little earlier to get at least a photo on the Ferris wheel. Just a selfie of you two kissing at the top, and maybe a few pictures of you guys playing the carnival games and eating a funnel cake. Gosh, I’ve been craving a funnel cake recently. So, let’s do games first, funnel cakes when we get our appetite back, and Ferris wheel last! Oh, and we can eat while we wait in the Ferris wheel line.”

Steve, tunes back in for a moment and says without thinking, “You’re rambling.”

Robin shoots him a look with wide eyes. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. You always get rambly when you’re nervous. Why are you nervous?” Steve is not prepared for any more tricks hidden up her sleeve.

“I’m not. I’m just excited for the funnel cake,” Robin explains, obviously lying.

Steve shoots Eddie a look to see if the lying is clear to him too. But Eddie isn’t paying attention. He’s just staring off deep in thought.

Steve slowly moves his hand to Eddie’s and laces their fingers together. Eddie breaks out of his thoughts momentarily to smile at him and squeeze his hand. Then, he’s looking out the window again, and the car becomes weirdly silent.

Steve would text him if only Eddie didn’t get so motion sick when reading in the car.

There’s tension radiating off of everyone as they approach the bright lights and carnival rides. Honestly, Steve would much rather go back home than to a fair to deal with whatever is happening. It feels like everything is either going to blow up in his face or magically turn into something great.

Steve buys his and Eddie’s tickets as soon as they get to the stand. Then he rushes off with him, leaving the girls stuck buying their own tickets.

“Eddie, now is definitely not the right time to say this, but-”

“Off to the ring toss!” Robin yells, tugging Steve’s hand and excitedly dragging him away with her.

Christ. Always coming in at the wrong time.

Steve reluctantly lets her drag him away, but soon, he’s focusing on winning Eddie a little yellow bat plush while Robin cheers him on.

He eventually gets it and turns around to find that only Robin is with him.

“Where are the other two?”

Robin puts her hands up. “I don’t know. My bet is Nancy is at whatever game has those little water guns and Eddie’s with her. But hey,” she says as she gets closer to him. “I’m glad we have a moment to talk. Because I kind of need to tell you something.”

Steve raises his eyebrow and crosses his arms. “That you’ve purposely meddled to get me to confess that I’m in love with Eddie, and you know that you didn’t have to go through all this effort for Veronica?”

Robin bites her lip. “Okay, yes and no. But-” she stops and gasps. “Wait, did you just admit that you’re in love with Eddie?”

Did he? Steve’s eyes widen. “Uh-”

“Hey!” Nancy says and directs her gaze at Robin.

Steve runs a hand over his face. Why is the universe so cruel to him?

“I got you something,” Nancy says, holding out a weird looking red robin plush, and Steve nearly laughs. He’s pretty sure that Robin’s going to laugh at the clear joke, but she just looks at the little creature in awe and cradles it to her chest, telling Nancy that she loves it.

What?

“Hey,” Eddie says, and just like that, Steve forgets every single thought he’s ever had.

“Hey,” Steve echoes. He looks down at his hands and realizes he has his own gift. “Here, I won this for you. Ring toss isn’t as hard as it looks.”

Eddie stares at the little bat and glances back up at Steve. “Thank you,” he says sincerely, hands brushing Steve's as he takes the stuffed animal.

There’s a bright flash as Nancy’s camera goes off and ruins the moment. “Sorry, I need to adjust the settings. I must’ve nudged the knob.”

Right. That’s why Eddie’s here with him.

“Okay, darts! We all have to give it a shot. But I want a few pictures of Steve teaching Eddie how to throw them,” Robin announces, holding her hands up to make a rectangle as if framing the two together.

“I thought you agreed to no more poses,” Steve states.

“Let a girl dream,” Robin says as she races off to wherever she spotted the darts.

Everything is going so damn fast, and Steve is slowly getting frustrated because he can’t put off this conversation any longer.

He makes Robin and Nancy go first to try to get Eddie to himself.

Robin has no sense of hand-eye coordination which makes the girls laugh and turn around to get Steve's and Eddie’s reaction every time she throws her darts. And considering that there are only three, the whole talking to Eddie plan goes up in the air.

Maybe when Nancy... Steve flinches as two pops ring through the air and suddenly Nancy’s darts are out of her hand. Then, Nancy is asking for another small plush which she hands to Robin who gives it right back and insists that she keeps it. It’s cute and incredibly frustrating.

Eddie leans in and whispers, “It’s okay. We have all the time in the world to talk eventually. For now, let’s enjoy ourselves, okay?”

Steve turns to him and nods with a tight smile because he wants to talk now.

But Eddie leans in and plants a kiss on his cheek that makes him feel like maybe he’s right, maybe they do have all the time in the world.

“I bet I can beat you in darts,” Eddie says with a big smile as he collects his darts.

Steve scoffs. There’s no way Eddie has better hand-eye coordination than him. So, Steve says, "Keep dreaming," then winks at him before throwing his dart.

He misses.

He shrugs it off thinking he’s just nervous about Eddie watching him.

Eddie smiles at him victoriously but as he turns away, he gets a serious look on his face. Well, serious enough with his tongue poking out at the corner. Steve can’t help but stare at it with a fond smile.

He startles when there’s a loud popping sound. Nancy and Robin cheer and Steve looks to where the dart sticks in the wall around the small remains of a balloon.

Eddie smirks at him, and Steve rolls his shoulders back. Alright, time to get a little more competitive. He takes a deep breath and focuses on a pale yellow balloon before throwing the dart.

It pops.

Eddie chuckles. “Of course you destroy the yellow one.”

Steve nudges him in response. Eddie winks at him and turns to the balloons.

Before he knows it, another balloon is popping.

Steve’s jaw drops. He has to be cheating.

He looks down at his last remaining dart and takes another deep breath. If he gets this, he has a chance at tying with Eddie.

He focuses on another yellow balloon - just for Eddie - and tosses the dart.

Robin whoops in celebration as it pierces the balloon.

Steve smiles widely and leans toward Eddie. “I bet you won’t be able to make this next one.”

Eddie raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “Why are you so sure?”

Steve shrugs with a smile.

“I could do it with my eyes closed,” Eddie presses on.

“Really?” Steve asks, stepping closer and getting in his face.

“There’s not a single thing that could make me miss this last shot,” Eddie says overly confident, tilting his head slightly to the right.

Steve leans closer until their noses are brushing. “Even if I kissed you?”

Eddie raises his eyebrows. His left arm wraps around Steve’s waist and he tugs him closer, kissing him smoothly.

It feels so right, and Steve is immediately melting.

Pop.

The kiss ends quicker than Steve would like. He finds Eddie giving him a wicked smile before he pulls away, going to pick a large prize.

“Holy shit,” Robin hisses behind Steve.

That’s what wakes him up. He’s in public with Eddie. He still needs to talk to him. And Eddie just somehow threw and landed a dart on a balloon while kissing him.

That is way hotter than he’s willing to admit.

Eddie comes into sight with a large yellow teddy bear that he thrusts into Steve’s hand.

“How’d you do that?” Steve asks.

Eddie shrugs. “My dad used to take me to the bar with him. I played darts while he got wasted.” He shakes his head as if he’s trying to clear the memory away.

“Eddie-”

“I got some great pictures from that, so I think we’re ready for funnel cakes and the Ferris wheel,” Nancy announces and cocks her head toward the food stands.

Steve shifts the teddy bear to his left side, freeing up his right hand to grab Eddie’s and squeeze it. He shoots him a sympathetic look before they take off after Nancy and Robin.

Steve’s eyes widen when they get to the stands. It’s a Saturday afternoon, so the lines stretch a bit far. He can only imagine how long the wait for the Ferris wheel will be.

He and Eddie turn to each other at the same time with similar horrified looks.

“Come on!” Robin yells at them.

Steve sighs and starts jogging toward the girls. Eventually, eventually he and Eddie will talk.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The wait is pretty tolerable once Nancy puts her camera away and Robin stops bringing up the whole fake dating mess. And waiting for the Ferris wheel is great when he gets to watch Eddie make a mess of himself with all the powdered sugar on his funnel cake. Robin and Eddie unintentionally start to make a game of who can get more sugar on their face, hair, and... everywhere really.

Nancy and Steve watch in amusement, not helping them indicate where they’ve got the white powder as they clean up with a single napkin. Once they get toward the front of the line, Steve carefully swipes at the sugar on Eddie’s cheek and somehow his eyebrow. Eddie closes his eyes and leans into the touch.

“Next!” the attendant calls out.

Robin and Nancy step forward into a pod and wave goodbye to the boys.

“Next!”

Steve walks forward and puts the teddy bear on the opposite side of the pod as Eddie climbs in and puts his little bat next to it.

“They look cute together,” Steve comments.

Eddie smiles at him tightly and looks like he’s about to throw up.

Right, this is the first time they’re able to talk alone.

“Eddie-”

Eddie holds up his hand and takes a shaky breath as they begin to move. “I know we need to talk, and we will. But please not right now.”

Steve’s heart breaks a little. He doesn’t even know what he’s done wrong. “Okay,” he says dejectedly.

Eddie’s hand squeezes Steve’s arm. “Hey, no. No. It’s just...” he takes a deep breath as Steve turns to him. “This is probably a bad time to mention it, but I’m really scared of heights.”

Steve can’t help but laugh. “Sorry, but didn’t you tell me all about how you used to love spending nights on top of your trailer staring at the stars?”

“When I was high out of my mind!” Eddie says.

Steve slips his arm around Eddie’s shoulders and glances at the people below them as they approach the side of the Ferris wheel. “Do you think anyone can see us up here?”

Eddie shrugs. “I doubt anyone would want to, especially since looking up here is a sure way to let the sun blind you.”

Steve leans in close to Eddie. “Then I know a way to distract you.”

The look on Eddie’s face is priceless when he gets what Steve is saying. His eyes flicker down to Steve’s lips. “Just remember to get a picture when we’re at the top or the girls will kill us.”

“Don’t worry, it goes around a few times.”

“It does what?” Eddie squawks.

Steve laughs loudly. “Didn’t you watch it go around any of the times while we were waiting?”

“And see my impending doom? Yeah. No thanks,” Eddie says with wide eyes. He eventually smiles. “Besides, I had something better to look at.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says, kissing Steve swiftly.

Steve smiles a bit too much into it which makes it hard to kiss Eddie, but he wouldn’t change anything about it.

He definitely needs to properly ask Eddie out... after he makes sure this isn’t just part of helping Robin with her Veronica situation. But Steve seriously doubts that’s why Eddie is doing all of this, especially with the way he’s kissing him right now.

Steve reluctantly pulls away and glances out. They’re about one stop away from the top, so he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He smiles at the lock screen, opens the camera, and hands the phone to Eddie. “Here, you took the picture before and were able to focus enough to throw that dart. I think I would forget as soon as I kissed you,” Steve confesses.

Eddie gives him a quick peck and hides his head in Steve’s neck. “I think I just looked out,” he groans.

He squeezes onto Steve who kisses him on the head. “I’ve got you.”

The ride slowly moves and stops again. Steve looks out and can’t help but admire the view for a moment. He looks straight down, and his stomach churns a bit. Yeah, he can understand Eddie’s fear.

“Eddie,” he says gently, “Why don’t you keep your eyes closed while we’re up here? I can quickly kiss you and take the picture.”

Eddie shakes his head and pulls back to look Steve in the eye. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’ve got you here.” He slowly glances out and takes their city in. He takes a breath and looks back at Steve. “Yeah, I never want to do this again.”

“And that’s perfectly okay,” Steve states. “Once everyone is loaded on it’ll go around a few times, and it’ll be over.”

Eddie nods and holds up his phone. “Let’s get this picture first.”

The picture goes smoothly. At least, he hopes it does, because he’s deepening the kiss almost immediately. He can’t help himself when it comes to Eddie.

He secretly hopes he left his live photos on.

When the Ferris wheel starts moving, Eddie breaks away and buries his head into his neck. Steve smiles and holds him close, letting Eddie hold on tight and curse as much as he wants.

Eventually the ride is over, and Eddie quickly jumps off, runs down the ramp, and dramatically falls to the ground to praise it. Steve just rolls his eyes and picks up their yellow prizes. He makes his way down the ramp at a speed a normal person would take and joins where Robin and Nancy are standing, looking down at Eddie.

“Is he okay?” Nancy asks with concern and confusion in her expression.

Steve glances down to where Eddie is sprawled out on the ground and smiles. “Yeah, just a bit dramatic.”

Eddie sits up and gasps. “I’m not dramatic!”

“I can’t wait to tell Dustin that.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Robin cuts them off. “I’m glad you two are having fun, but we need to discuss something.”

That sounds serious. He gives Robin a look.

“Oh, not serious! We were just wondering if you wanted to have the trial run dinner tonight? We would have Nancy act like Veronica and have you guys answer any question she has. After, we’d watch a movie then I was thinking about getting Chinese takeout for our real dinner?”

“I’m down as long as Steve wears the sweater,” Eddie says still sitting on the ground.

Steve rolls his eyes but answers, “Sounds good.”

Yeah, they need to talk, but Eddie’s right. They have all the time in the world. Because really. What could go wrong with a trial run dinner?

Part Five

Tag List:

@henderdads @little-gae-shit @dreamingtheimpossibe @leethegay @lazyavenuewhispers @olibxr @thegayestpersonever @heartsforhawke @estrellami-1 @messrs-weasley @evillitteguy @miss-hit @infrogulous @romanticdestruction @liz5100 @evix-syne666 @bebe07011 @corrodedseraphine @meganwinchester @manda-panda-monium @heartdinosblog @ellietheasexylibrarian @newtstabber @irregular-child @turboprops69 @envyadams-vs-me @dude-as-in-i-love-u @slv-333 @jillfriend

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie fanfic #robin buckley #nancy wheeler

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hoooooooooot · 19 days

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Worm AU but instead of shards it's a magical girl/miraculous AU. Every power has a fucked up plushie or creature that embodies it. Instead having to make a costume the shards give you a magical girl transformation. Also the thing changed with you and your transformation with it. Let's try and come up with different new looks for the characters and have some fun with it.

Okay so I'll start with the guys who actually matter, the underseiders. I'll go easy/interesting to hard/boring.

Let's start with my boy Brian. Favorite wallflower. Now, you might be thinking "Brian would never wear frills, he can't be a magical girl" and you'd be correct. Plus, the whole point of his power is to hide him and his so he won't be too sparkly. Instead, he gets and elegant black suit with medieval armour haphazardly added on top. He looks like if a modern day bouncer in final fantasy. Also, his darkness is constantly leaking out of gaps in the armours and where it would have a feather.

As for what fucked up plushie I want to give Brian... At first I wanted to give him a pair of eyes that can only exist in the dark but then I realized that was basically just a grue. Then I realized a grue would be perfect! Yes, I'm not very creative but it is fun.

Next we have Taylor. Good old Taylor Hebert... What to do with you. See, I kind of want to give her a tapeworm that grows alongside her. Something literally eating her up inside, growing to consume more of her. To the point that she eventually puppets herself to be slightly faster than humans should be using it. The only problem is that it feels too on the nose. Eh, workshop later.

Now, what dress do we give good old Taylor... Taylor would hate wearing anything that calls attention to her, so she would probably get something lame. Boring even. A long dress with plenty of bulk and frills to hide her actual figure, some victorian era type thing. Expect as she grown into skitter the dress aquires layer for her to keep bugs in. The fold of the dress begin to resemble the layers of a hive. Or something idk.

Jean-Paul! See, this guy is interesting because I don't quite get his deal. I do think his final costume will be more or less what he wears in canon but the change form Hijack to Regent sounds fascinating. I can imagine his first transformation being more so based around his father, and either dramatically changing into canon or slowly adapting into canon until he escapes.

As for what his little animal will be... Instead of an animal I kind of want to give him an object. Be it his scepter, a crown, a series of puppets strings that wrap around him, or maybe even the ceramic mask. He's just an object kinda guy, yannow?

1/? I'll think more about this later

#parahumans #worm #wormblr

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raining-dreams · 7 months

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Best Underrated Shows

Saving Me

Saving Me is about a lonely old guy who invents a time machine so he can go back to his child self and fix all his past mistakes. I learned about this show from this video titled Watch THIS instead of Hailey's On It by M!n!mal M!ss Art. Despite this video, I was still very excited to watch Hailey's On It. It seemed like a story with a cool premise and cute art style (and ultimately I do really like the show) But Hailey's On It wasn't gonna be out for weeks when I came across this video and this video really sold me on giving Saving Me a try. I never would have even heard of this show without that youtube video which would have been a real shame because Saving Me is fantastic! I hope this show reaches more people and I'm dying for a season 3!!!!!

House of Anubis

Mystery is my favorite genre and House of Anubis is chuck full of it. I used to be obsessed with this show back in high school. I had so much fun coming up with theories and live-blogging my thoughts and opinions about each new episode. Some of the acting & dialogue could be a little cringe sometimes but the story is just so good that it doesn't matter. I've heard that Het Huis Anubis (the Dutch version of the show that House of Anubis is based on) is even better, though I haven't gotten around to watching it yet.

Over the Garden Wall

Those of us who have seen Over the Garden Wall seem to agree that this show is amazing! Which makes it feel a little weird to call it underrated. But it seems like so few people have actually seen it. Maybe because it was a mini series, it couldn't reach the same level of popularity as other shows of similar quality. If you like Gravity Falls, you'll likely enjoy Over the Garden Wall as well. (Wirt is even voiced by the same guy who voiced Dipper!) I would highly recommend anyone that hasn't seen it already.

Dead End: Paranormal Park

I feel like it's pretty rare for animated series to exist in the horror genre for some reason. It truly is an untapped market. But if you love horror and animation, Dead End is the show for you! (Of course it's kid friendly horror since the target audience is children) The two main characters, Barney and Norma get jobs at a haunted park and work together to fight ghosts and demons. Dead End has a super cute animation style, in my opinion, and a very diverse set of characters. I encourage everyone to watch it!

Just Add Magic

Just Add Magic is based on a children's book by the same name. It's a show about three girls who love to cook and basically discover that they can use cooking to do magic. It's a pretty interesting take on how magic works in their universe. It's very fun to watch. All of the actors are also so talented! And one of those actors is Zach Callison (the voice of Steven Universe)!

The friendship between the trio is awe-inspiring! They have so much chemistry. It's a pretty fun watch.

The Last Kids On Earth

Based on a comic of the same name, this show is about a group of kids who have to survive on their own when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. And other various creatures start to threaten them (or even become their allies) It's basically a cute found family story. The premise is pretty simplistic but that's what I love about it. The animation style of The Last Kids On Earth is so beautiful as well!

I'm still waiting for a season 3!!!!!

Code Lyoko

I remember as a kid being aware of this show and thinking it looked kind of interesting (and I always loved the theme song!!) but I never ended up watching it back then because I let peer pressure get the better of me. I remember I met someone who brought up how much they loved the show. When I heard them express that interest, I was at first excited to ask them more but before I had the chance, everyone else started making fun of him for liking Code Lyoko.

I guess it was like the nerd show or something? I don't really know why it was considered cringe to like Code Lyoko but upon seeing my peers act this way, I decided I can't like Code Lyoko if I want to fit in. So, I avoided watching it. But earlier this year, when I was flipping through channels, they were showing old episodes of Code Lyoko! I was intrigued since I remembered it from childhood and thought I'd actually give it a chance this time. And it's actually a pretty good show! It can be slow at times but overall I enjoy it.

If you're like me and avoided watching this back then due to peer pressure, I highly recommend leaving that in the past and just letting yourself enjoy this show!!

Slugterra

Slugterra is honestly pretty similar to Pokemon, except it's slugs! And the entire series takes place underground. Basically, there's a whole underground world called Slugterra, home to slugs, trolls, moles, etc. And all the slugs have cool powers so the people collect & befriend slugs so they can use them as weapons ("slugslinging"). If you like Pokemon, you're sure to like Slugterra!

Detentionaire

I discovered Detentionaire randomly while I was searching through Amazon's library of cartoons. I was looking for a new show to watch and just stumbled upon this one. It looked pretty interesting and I was surprised to see it was a show from 2011. I don't know how I missed this show back then. Idk if maybe it only aired in Canada or something? (cuz it's a Canadian show) But anyways, Detentionaire is such an intriguing show where the main character, Lee, discovers some grand conspiracy and has to try to expose it to prove his innocence so he can get out of detention. It's such an interesting concept. And, as I mentioned earlier, mystery is my favor genre, so I had a lot of fun with this one.

The only problem though is, of course, it ends on a cliffhanger. The show got canceled before they had the chance to conclude the story in a satisfying way (or any type of way) so watch at your own risk.

Catscratch

I honestly don't even remember what this show was about but I do remember enjoying this show and being excited when I saw a new episode was out. I remember thinking it was so funny. I just don't think enough people know about this show.

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marcmorrigan · 1 month

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finally delivering on the princess tutu headshots i promised... love these dysfunctional teens 🩰💖💕

LOTS of notes about headcanons/design choices under the cut! like. a lot. dont say i didnt warn you

starting with my specialest guy fakir:

i had a suuuper clear vision for fakir, and i couldnt be happier with how he turned out, he looks exactly how i imagine him! trying to translate his Bird-Shaped Hair into my style gave me SERIOUS homestuck flashbacks. my affinity for knights with Problems knows no bounds...

adding the hyperpigmentation around his eyes and his acne scars is what really solidified this for me-- i put those in and was like oh!!! there you are!!! my boy!!! and you can tell because i gave him acne scars + thick eyebrows that he IS my boy... there are very clear trends among my headcanons for my faves lol. big noses, thick eyebrows, skin imperfections, heavy eyebags, long dark hair... and fakir truly has it all 😤 he is so Ideal Character Design to me

i think fakir is actually pretty self-conscious about his appearance tho! we see characters like pike and lilie say hes handsome to ahiru, but i dont know how often he actually hears that? and im sure its hard not to compare himself to mytho, who is straight out of a fairy tale; being a regular teenager dealing with regular teen body stuff is hard enough without your roommate being a magically beautiful eternally youthful storybook hero. i think he probably internalises more that people see him as scary and angry, and that the girls who do have crushes on him always frame it in contrast to mytho, who is Good and Kind and Handsome, implying (or sometimes outright stating!) that fakir is Bad and Mean and... Well...

fakir is very sensitive but quiet about it, so i think its a very private point of self-consciousness. i think he puts a lot of semi-secret effort into his appearance; canonically he has a lot of very funny and clearly customised clothing, and he chooses to keep his hair long and in a very particular style (i have a whole breakdown in my mind of how he achieves that style and it involves a surprising amount of pins and an unsurprising fuckton of teasing. i think his hair is a little fried from heat damage!), and i think that probably extends to other things, too, like manicuring his eyebrows and doing a lot of very Teenage Skincare that doesnt actually help his acne much lol. i think he probably has a lot of self-injurious habits and BFRBs like skin picking and chewing, mostly at his acne and around his nails (both of which he hates, because he knows he shouldnt but does it anyway). i think if he does it enough that theres noticeable evidence it feels, like, world-ending for him, ESPECIALLY if anyone asks what happened lol. do not perceive him except in the very specific ways and contexts he approves of THANKS

on to the narratives favorite princess, mytho:

again, i had a pretty clear idea of the vibe i wanted mytho to have going into this-- i want him to have, like, extreme prince charming vibes, very Classically Handsome without necessarily being 'conventional.' i thought a lot about 'the happy prince' story while i was working on this, and really wanted him to look like a cross between how the prince statue looks in my head and a porcelain doll. and also a cross between jonny brown and brigitte bardot? lots of very direct influences for him lol. so! lots of gold tones, gemmy eye color, cute little tooth gap, quivering wide-eyed thousand-yard-stare doe eyes and big ol dolly anime lashes, which were the very last thing i added because i was NERVOUS about pulling those off lol. they turned out cute tho! ive only done a handful of pieces for this series and i can already tell princess tutu is gonna make me up my lash drawing game considerably, these kids all look like they blink and cause a hurricane from the gale force wind of their falsies

also wait i lied the very last thing i did was add his freckles/beauty marks because he needed that little extra oomph and those were It. i think he probably has some on his hands/wrists too 💕

i was a little unsure if my idea for his hair would translate with this flat-color approach but im pretty happy with it! its supposed to be afrotextured hair (somewhere between 3b and 4c i think? wide range of potential i knowww but im still kind of hammering out my headcanons okay, this is exploratory lol) thats been rolled and finger-styled into his little feather shapes. i think loose, chunky twists would be another fun way to interpret his hair and twists are one of my fave styles to draw do i might draw him like that at some point too...

i guess fakir is the one who styles his hair for him before mytho gets his heart back? i imagine fakir is pretty meticulous about maintaining mythos health and appearance, even at the worst stages of their relationship. i think itd be hard for fakir to frame the way he treats mytho as For Mythos Sake if he wasnt doing some level of actually beneficial care for him, so being really fastidious about things like mythos diet and sleep hygiene and hair care and such gives fakir an outlet for his 'you just have to do what i tell you' thing that helps him convince himself it really is helping, no really, hes doing this for mythos benefit and he just has to be strict with him because mytho doesnt UNDERSTAND he needs PROTECTING and fakir is the ONLY ONE who can do it so mytho HAS to let him because if he doesnt then why does fakir even EXIST, if he cant manage this then what is he good for, and--

yknow. the usual complexes. and their relationship is so complex!!! but also so simple, but like. in a good way. fakirs behavior is complicated but his motivation regarding mytho is SO straightforward which makes that downward spiral into harm really easy to map out... i wont go much into that in this post since this is about visual/appearance-related headcanons but just. augh. i love this show and i love these characters!!! and i hope its apparent in my work that i do love them so <3

im hoping to do a set of these for the girls next!!! i have some other stuff to finish first but hopefully... Soon... Some Birds...

#princess tutu #fakir #mytho #prince siegfried #my art #i had sooo much fun playing around with style in these... the super strong white highlights + underpainting combo looks SO lovely #i should take this approach more often i almost never do!!! it rules and is fun to do #i was listening to my fakir playlist nonstop for DAYS while working on this and still intermittently since...#it feels like ive been sitting on these for a month but its only been 5 days omg. crazy... good to know tho #anyway i love themmm theyre everything. SO fun to draw i really hope i can do more art of them. i Want To... i have Ideas >:o)#btw is putting notes on my thoughts under a cut like this interesting for yall? its fun for me but idk if yall wanna read all that #i will probably continue regardless bc i love to hear myself talk esp abt my design choices but #im curious if my notes on my thought process are interesting to anyone else #if not oh well! thats what the cut is for 😤 nobodys gotta read it if they dont wanna im doing this for Me #full color

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apomaro-mellow · 9 months

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Demon!Eddie 5

At some point, Eddie had cleaned Steve up a little and dressed him in a tank top and shorts. The shirt had a band he’d never heard of but maybe Eddie would tell him about it sometime. Steve had tried to get up on his own only to immediately fall back onto the bed when he felt a sharp pain. That would be last night, coming back to literally bite him in the ass.

“Job hunting’s gonna have to wait”, Eddie grinned.

Eventually they migrated to the couch back in the apartment, Eddie lying on his back and Steve right on top of him. He found it very easy to imagine if the rest of his life was like this. In Eddie’s clothes, in his place, completely surrounded by him.

Steve didn't even know where his clothes from the first night went and he didn't give a flying fuck. Not when he was laying on top of Eddie, getting his lower back rubbed.

"Don't get a big head about it. That was the first dick I ever took."

“I didn’t say anything”, Eddie said.

“I can feel it in your hands”, Steve replied before letting out a soft hum as Eddie’s fingers pressed a spot on his spine.

The morning was spent so lazily and for the first time in a long time, Steve wasn’t thinking about his future or what he was supposed to do about it. He just relaxed in Eddie’s hold. The only time he worried was when Eddie got up to say he was making breakfast. Steve ignored any soreness to confirm if his suspicions were correct.

And to his horror, Eddie dumped ground coffee into a pot, filled it with water, and then set it all on the stove.

“You’re an animal”, Steve said.

“I think we established that last night”, Eddie smirked.

“I’m talking about your coffee set up. Where’s your coffee maker? Your filters?”

“What’s wrong with the way I make coffee?”

“Tony the tiger wouldn’t make it that way.”

Eddie’s retort was cut off by a knock on the door and a man’s voice. “Eddie? Edifice Edacity Edger you open this door right now!”

“Shit!”

“Who’s that?”, Steve asked.

“Uhh, that would be my uncle. Stay here for a second and don’t make a sound.” Eddie pushed Steve towards the magic door and before Steve knew it, he was floating in a dark abyss.

He wasn’t in the lavish bedroom from before, nor was he in any of the places Eddie took him yesterday. It was just an endless void with no gravity. Steve was no stranger to hiding in girls’ closets, but this was definitely different.

“His uncle, huh...”, Steve whispered just in case. He wondered what he was like. Probably terrifying if Eddie was trying to hide him. Maybe he was closer to a more traditional demon and would’ve eaten Steve up or sucked our his soul.

Steve felt like he was flying and floating and descending all at the same time and just as he was starting to feel disoriented, he saw the light of the door opening right next to him and Eddie reaching in. Steve took his hand and was pulled back into the apartment.

“Wayne, this is Steve, my current contractor. Steve, this is my Uncle Wayne.”

Uncle Wayne looked more like the kind of guy who spent his free time at hardware stores and bait shops than a demon. But now Steve felt like it would be rude to ask.

“Hi there, sir. Nice to meet you.”

Wayne’s hands were on his hips as he looked Steve up and down. “Hmph. He’s easy on the eyes, I’ll give ‘im that. But you should know better than to be swayed by a nice face.”

“I’m not being swayed”, Eddie said. “It’s just taking some time to fulfill his request.”

Wayne gave him a disappointed look. Steve knew they were talking about him but couldn’t see what the exact problem was.

“You know how this story ends, son.”

Eddie crossed his arms. “No actually, I don’t. Why don’t you enlighten us, oh wise storyteller.”

“Eddie, don’t be rude to your uncle”, Steve chastised.

Wayne held up a hand. “He’s a brat, but he ain’t misbehavin’. But my official designation is ‘storykeeper’.”

“A what?”

Wayne waved a hand and glowing tomes materialized all around them. “Every single person that has ever existed, has a story to tell. Demons too. When a life ends, everything gets compiled and their story comes into my hands.”

“So...you know everything that’s ever going to happen?”, Steve asked in awe.

“I’m not omniscient. I only know what happens when the story’s over. But after doing this for as long as I have, you start to notice patterns.”

“And what’s my pattern?”, Eddie raised a brow.

“How does bullheaded young buck gets too caught up in one deal sound? Does that sound like a fit?”

“I’m not-” Eddie rolled his eyes but made the mistake of looking at Steve while doing so and had to quickly avert them.

“I don’t understand how any of this works, but is Eddie doing anything wrong? We have a deal and he’s seeing it through”, Steve said in his defense.

“Most demons ain’t so thorough”, Wayne answered.

“You and I both know most demons ain’t honest either”, Eddie said.

“Eddie, get the deal done. And move on.”

Eddie didn’t respond but Wayne wasn’t waiting for one, already on his way out the door. Steve waited for the door to close to speak again.

“Am I....are you breaking any rules because of me?”

“Rule breaking is a part of my creed, baby. But technically, no. Wayne’s right, most demons would’ve set you up in a new place with a new name and considered their job done. But I pride myself on my customer service.”

Steve smiled. “Right. You serve all your customers the same way?”

Eddie saw the way Steve was looking at him and faltered. “N-no. No, I don’t. But you’re special.”

It certainly made Steve feel special to hear it straight from Eddie. He got the deeper meaning of Wayne’s warning. They were both supposed to be very short chapters in each other’s lives. Ships passing in the night or whatever. Steve knew, once he had figured out what he wanted, Eddie would leave and he’d never hear from him again.

“I think I’m all rested up now. Let’s keep looking.”

“You sure?”, Eddie asked.

“Yeah. After we get some decent coffee.”

--------------------------

Maybe it was because of his uncle’s words, but Eddie kept his distance for the next few jobs. Steve tried not to mind too much. He was going to have to do whatever he chose without Eddie anyway. He spent the rest of the morning into the early afternoon in a summer camp, working as a sports counselor.

He had plenty of fun teaching some boys the basics of basketball and running them through drills and even getting through a mini game that they all seemed to enjoy. After a couple periods though, he had a free moment and explored the camp. He ended up being wrangled by a group of boys who needed some muscle for a satellite project.

“I didn’t even know we did this kind of thing at this camp”, he admitted, while lugging around machinery he couldn’t even begin to name.

“Yeah, no duh. You sports counselors barely leave Jock Row”, one kid snarked.

“You should come by the Arts and Sciences building some time”, another said. “We’re always doing something cool.”

“Even if it’s not totally legal!”, the one who had grabbed Steve beamed.

“Uh, what’re you guys’ names again?”

“I’m Dustin, the nice one’s Will, and those two are Lucas and Mike.”

“How does Will get ‘nice one’?”, Lucas asked.

“You know Will’s the reason your cabin didn’t get Cinnamon Toast night, right?”, Mike said.

Dustin gave such a gasp, Steve was worried he’d swallowed a lung.

“Our cabin had to do it with biscuits! How could you?”

“They made it a competition and that’s the one kind I can win”, Will shrugged.

They made it to their destination and Steve followed their disjointed directions but eventually the satellite was built and they were talking to the girls camp across the lake. It was completely juvenile and fun and Steve couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something like this.

The lunch bugle rang and Steve was approached by a black and red frog while the campers went off to eat.

“And what have you been up to? Frog stuff?”

Eddie croaked, then hopped a couple times in place. Steve crossed his arms.

“I’m not picking you up like this. You’re all, slimy. And you look poisonous.”

Frog-Eddie croaked and hopped onto his shoe, still urging at him but Steve was a rock. Eddie transformed back into himself, wearing the camp t-shirt and red shorts that was the counselor uniform.

“You weren’t so picky about my fluids last night”, Eddie smirked, while wrapping his arms around Steve.

“Yeah there’s a difference.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, beautiful~ Lunch and then on to the next?”

“Let’s.”

----------------------------

Eddie had zero idea why Steve wanted to work in an office. But hey, who was he to judge? At least he wasn’t trying to be a cop anymore.

Steve really just wanted to experience office culture for himself. It was the sort of thing his father had been setting him up for. Before the ritual sacrifice of course. He was put on mailroom duty and that was where he met his worst enemy - Robin Buckley.

She sneered and scoffed at him most of the time. And when she deigned to use words, her comments were always biting. Delivering mail wasn’t too bad, except the fact that most of the employees barely looked him in the face while delivering. He came to the break room and Robin was already there. He tried to ignore her while getting a yogurt from the fridge.

He leaned against it when another guy came in. Steve was pretty sure his name was Kenneth.

“Hey, it’s the mailroom crew!”, he smarmed while refilling his mug with coffee. “You know Robin you should, maybe not scowl so much the boys here appreciate a nice smile.”

Kenneth walked out before he could see Robin’s megawatt dirty look. She glanced at Steve and saw he had the same look as her.

“What an asshole”, Steve said.

“That’s putting it lightly. There’s so much as, there’s no hole left”, Robin snarked.

Steve slid over closer to her so they could continue to talk in whispers. The people here were jerks but he might choose to work with them one day.

“At least he’s better than Nick.”

Robin wretched with her tongue out. “You know he slept with Norma at the Christmas party?”

Steve raised a brow. “Nick? With the ring on his finger and the happy family picture in his cubicle?”

“Yeah.”

“Scumbag.”

They spent more than was probably allowed on their break, trading gossip. Steve only got distracted when he saw a very attractive janitor roll by with his mop and bucket. Without a word, he walked off and followed him right into the closet.

“You’ve been wandering around more”, Steve said as the door closed.

“Just tryina give you space baby. Wouldn’t wanna influence your decision”, Eddie grinned, taking the cap off his head.

“And what if my decision was to blow off work and have some fun with the cleaning guy in the broom closet?”

“Sounds like the opposite of climbing the corporate ladder”, Eddie grinned while unzipping his jumpsuit.

“The opposite of climbing is what again?”, Steve said as he sank down to his knees.

Part 7

Tag Team

@swimmingbirdrunningrock @flustratedcas @estrellami-1 @weirdandabsurd42 @lololol-1234 @chaoticvictorianspirit @giopandaonice @marklee-blackmore @blackpanzy @kacatshi @stevesbipanic @goodolefashionedloverboi @panicatthediaz @gregre369 @littlewildflowerkitten @starryeyedpoet17 @envyadams-vs-me @abbiecadabi-blog @genderless-spoon @stxrcrossed186 @l0st-strawberry @willowsmelody @bornonthesavage @mxmakessense @roaringgoodshow @potato-of-the-lord @actualwakingnightmare @meccaminayah @irregular-child @cherr1ehead @anaibis @finalmoondragon @sani-86 @bestwifehaver @tinyplanet95 @mc-i-r @abstractnaturaldisaster @livgil273 @crowley--aziraphale @formacoon @slv-333 @just-a-tiny-void @beckkthewreck @awkwardgravity1 @plasticcrotches

#don't worry steve's thinkin some thoughts #eddie is tryin not to #but they get thunked anyway #apo writes #stranger things #fanfiction #steddie #preeetty sure the next part is the last #but dont quote me on that #i want one more sex scene #we'll see if the board of directors (my brain) allows it

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natlacentral · 2 months

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The cast of Netflix’s adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender knows they can’t please everyone.

It’s a difficult life lesson that many of the show’s young actors have come to learn since they were chosen to star in a live-action reimagining of one of the most beloved animated series of all time.

Like any great saga, the latest iteration of Avatar has taken a circuitous route to the small screen. In 2020, two years after Netflix announced that it was developing a remake, original creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino departed the project over creative differences. A year later, former Nikita and Sleepy Hollow writer-producer Albert Kim officially assumed the role of creator and showrunner, intending to honor the Asian and Indigenous roots of his source material.

Since the debut of the new Avatar last Thursday, longtime fans have remained divided over the many changes that were made to turn a 20-episode half-hour children’s cartoon into an eight-episode serialized drama that has multigenerational appeal. But by maintaining the essence of the original while expanding the world that Konietzko and DiMartino have created, the new creative team is hoping to recapture some of the magic that transformed Avatar into a cultural phenomenon.

Every diehard fan can recite the basic premise by heart: The four nations — Water, Earth, Fire, Air — once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping the peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads. A century later, Aang (Gordon Cormier), a 12-year-old Air Nomad frozen in an iceberg, reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. With his newfound friends Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley), siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang sets out on a quest to save the world from the onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim) while avoiding being captured by Ozai’s tempestuous son, Crown Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu).

Almost every Zoomer who grew up watching Nickelodeon seems to have their own relationship with the original Avatar. Kiawentiio, whose older siblings would always have the show playing in their house, recalls being drawn to its depiction of a young Indigenous girl, at a time when there was scant representation of Native Americans. Ousley credits Avatar and Star Wars: The Clone Wars for inspiring him to take up martial arts. Liu has a vivid childhood memory of watching a restless Zuko and his tea-drinking uncle Iroh’s first scene together on a boat. Cormier, as the youngest of the bunch, admits that he had not watched the show prior to auditioning. But by the time he entered production, all he could do was live and breathe Avatar.

Daniel Dae Kim, who watched the original with one of his sons when it first aired, tells Teen Vogue that he held a kind of family meeting with his now-adult children and some of his nieces and nephews after receiving an offer from Albert Kim (no relation) to star in the new version. “I called all of them, and I said, ‘What do you think about me doing a part in Avatar?’ And they were like, ‘You should do it!’ without hesitation. Then I asked the next question: ‘Well, I’m playing Ozai. He’s a bad guy…’ They paused for a second, and then they all screamed, ‘You should still do it!’” he says with a laugh.

Once the cast was assembled, the creative team began the seemingly gargantuan task of trying to breathe new life into each of the characters. While the animated series dealt with weighty issues such as genocide, war and imperialism, there is an added human component in live-action storytelling that requires a more grounded approach to depicting real-life reactions and emotions. “We were all definitely allowed to look into the darker sides of each of our characters,” Cormier says. In Aang’s case, he is tasked with a responsibility that he doesn’t necessarily want but feels obligated to assume after discovering that he is the last living Airbender of his kind.

Aang is “naturally a really fun-loving, goofy 12-year-old, so to be hit with something so serious like a genocide [affecting] all of his people, it really affects him badly,” Cormier says. “We see in the first episode where I blow Katara and Sokka off the mountain how badly it’s affected me. It hurt me so much [that] I blasted into the Avatar state and started destroying my home. I think it just shows how serious and traumatic it is for Aang, but slowly, he’ll get through it and become the Avatar.”

The themes of loss and grief remain prevalent across all eight episodes, with each of the young characters being forced to confront their own unresolved trauma.

Katara is forced to reckon with how her memory of her mother’s death has affected her ability to become a full-fledged Waterbender. “Another thing that I feel like impacted her so much, without even really explicitly touching on it, is being the last Waterbender of her tribe,” Kiawentiio says. “She really feels so deeply connected with that part of [herself], even though it’s something that she can’t really access [at first], and she feels this sense of, ‘This is what I should be doing.’”

After his father left years ago on a mission to fight the Firebenders, Sokka was forced to grow up quickly and protect his tribe, especially his younger sister, from the waterbending abilities that had caused them so much pain. “Sokka is a perfect example of somebody that is not healed, is pushing stuff down and won’t let it come out, is putting on different masks to the point where he doesn’t even know who he is when we first find him,” says Ousley, who insisted on finding a way to bring out a more serious side in Sokka without losing his signature sarcasm in this adaptation. “I think the trauma that he has is covered up by humor often and covered up by acting silly, and he will have lots of moments where he actually discovers who he is.”

Zuko, however, may have the most compelling arc of the first season. Having been banished by Ozai from the Fire Nation, Zuko has effectively lost one father but gained another father figure in his Uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), who takes it upon himself to look after Zuko on his journey to capture the Avatar. In the first season, viewers see Zuko’s Agni Kai — or traditional Firebender duel — with Ozai, who was responsible for giving Zuko his prominent facial scar.

While Ozai “may not have the tools to do it the right way,” Kim understands that his character “is trying, in his own way, to shape his children into what he feels is necessary to secure the future of not only his family, but of the entire Fire Nation.” That kind of tough love, unfortunately, has done irreparable damage to his children.

In a dramatic departure from the original series, the writers decided to introduce Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula earlier than in the original series. In doing so, the family dynamics between Ozai, Zuko and Azula become even more complicated. “Since Zuko’s away on his ship in the first season, you get a glimpse into, while he’s away, what is going on in the Fire Nation and who’s pulling all the strings,” Yu says. “For Azula, Zuko is very much more like a roadblock than anything else. You see that sense of family is not really there.”

“I think the writers did a good job of showing a rivalry between the two fighting for the father’s approval and attention without us directly interacting or speaking with each other,” Liu adds. “Zuko is just trying to prove he is worthy of his father’s love and attention just as much as Azula is. I think people will really come to root for Zuko because of everything that he’s been through.”

The production team was also keen to honor and recreate the costumes of the original series in a way that was not only beautiful but practical for the actors; Kiawentiio and Ousley had to wear heavy coats made of suede and fur, while Kim, Liu and Yu wore layers upon layers of corseted material with large shoulder pads.

“They really helped me complete the character because there was something about when I put on the wardrobe that made me walk [and] feel a certain way,” Kim says, “and it turned my character into someone more regal and powerful.”

It’s almost fitting that the most regal character is played by Hollywood royalty among Asian Americans. For the better part of the last three decades, Kim has been at the forefront of the movement to increase the visibility of Asian Americans in film and television. “The fact that I’m still working and able to see [the change] and be a part of it makes me feel very grateful, because success is not guaranteed to anyone in this business,” he reflects.

Kim believes the new Avatar is a reflection of today’s changing landscape in Western entertainment for more diverse stories that center Asian and Indigenous communities. “I don’t think it’s any secret to say that a live-action version has been done in the past, but it wasn’t done this way,” he says, referring to M. Night Shyamalan’s disastrous The Last Airbender film, which whitewashed many key characters. “I don’t think that it would have been done this way even five or 10 years ago because there wasn’t the same emphasis on proper representation and real diversity [that there is now].”

“I feel like we fought hard for the progress that we’ve made, and at the same time, I acknowledge that there need to be others outside of those of us in the community to push things forward,” he adds. “It takes a community working together along with allies.”

As the most accomplished actor of the group, did Kim have any advice for his younger castmates? “I don’t feel like it’s necessarily my place to be giving advice where it’s not needed or wanted, but it was nice of them to ask me about my experiences and how they could chart their own path forward in a business that’s very difficult,” Kim responds. “I can tell you that I really have been impressed by all of them, and I’m so excited to see the next generation of Asian American actors in particular come in with this attitude, with this opportunity. I would really love nothing more than to see them succeed beyond what we’ve seen in generations previous.”

The first season ends with Aang, Katara and Sokka successfully helping the Northern Water Tribe fend off a vicious attack from the Firebenders. Rather than following the advice of past Avatars, who stressed that he would have to bear the burden of his title alone, Aang realizes that he needs his friends to master all four elements.

“The Avatar still has to learn other elements, so we had to get the ball rolling on water and earth. If we did reach Season 2, I believe that we’ll find Aang already practicing water just because in the group he has quite the master to teach him,” Kiawentiio says with a smile, alluding to her own character.

But the last minutes of the finale also reveal that the attack on the North was actually a decoy for the Fire Nation. Ozai, as it turns out, had his sights on the Earth Kingdom — and his daughter, Azula, has taken over the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu with her own army. Aang’s old friend, King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar), has now been taken prisoner.

“You have this idea of the prodigal son and you put all of your attention to someone who, in Ozai’s eyes, is failing him,” Kim says of the state of Ozai’s relationships with his two most powerful children at the end of the season. “So when there’s another child that you are not looking at in the same way that ends up surprising you, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it changes the way that you see the future. I think Azula was a surprise to him, and it brings him some joy, and he may have overlooked her in the past, but now he sees her as a real heir apparent.”

The revelation that his father has passed him over for his sister, at least for now, shakes up Zuko’s entire world, Liu says. “He feels a weird sense of betrayal because even though it is his sister and his father working against him, they are part of the Fire Nation, and his loyalty towards the Fire Nation was something that we know he was very persistent about, even though he was banished.”

Going forward, Kim would be interested in deepening the portrayal of Ozai’s relationships with his children, as well as his older brother, Iroh. “What is the relationship between the two of them when the second son supersedes the first? And how does Iroh feel about all of that? We never really see that explored,” he remarks. “I’d also like to see what happened to Zuko and Azula’s mom. These kinds of things are crucial to deepening the character, and I would love to see a little bit more of his history and how that informs who he is now.”

While the show has yet to be renewed for a second season, the young actors all have their own hopes for future seasons. Ousley would like to see Sokka “pick up the pieces” emotionally after the beautifully tragic end of his first love, Princess Yue (Amber Midthunder). Yu is ready to “do some of the really iconic Azula lines and scenes that we all know,” especially the Agni Kai in Season 3. Cormier is most excited to potentially adapt “Appa’s Lost Days” and the final fight scene between Aang and Ozai. “Throughout the show, I feel like he's going to learn more and more about why he has to be the Avatar,” he says.

#article #teen vogue #gordon cormier #kiawentiio #ian ousley #dallas liu #daniel dae kim #elizabeth yu #natla #atla #netflix atla #atla netflix #avatar netflix #netflix avatar #avatar the last airbender

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fairytale-poll · 2 months

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ROUND 1B, MATCH 6 OUT OF 8!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Sayaka:

It's a clever play on the story where, rather than the littlest becoming human for love and a soul, instead she becomes a mermaid after loosing both, even gaining the bittersweet ending of having a chance at heaven but she still needs to do good after death

i was surprised to learn that sayaka's story is based on the little mermaid, but it makes more sense the more i think about it. such a heartbreaking, tragic tale that i get emotional ocer every time.

A lot of Madoka Magica fans believe she is based off of the original Little Mermaid story cuz, just like the original Little Mermaid, Sayaka loved a boy and said boy did not reciprocate. SPOILERS, she makes a contract with Kyubey to become a magical girl and in return her wish was to help Kyosuke (the guy she likes) who was disabled. Later on when she becomes a witch cuz she felt she wasn't good enough for Kyosuke and doesn't tell him about her feelings, her witch form is a mermaid. I suck at explaining but I hope my propaganda helps 🙏

(Major spoilers for madoka magical)Okay so I will admit her allusion to the little mermaid ain't super obvious, but let me explain, she is based on the original story for the little mermaid, she makes a wish for the sake of a boy she loves basically sacrificing her soul, well he ends up in love with another girl, and as a result she ends up going on a downward spiral and transforms into a monster known as a witch, her witch form is a mermaid.

Even though she's not a mermaid outside her witch form, her story is made to be a direct parallel to the self-sacrificial nature of the little mermaid, even letting herself die. This isn't the end tho because in one of the happier endings of the little mermaid she still becomes sea foam/dies but she also has a chance at becoming a sea spirit and helps others, this is very similar to Sayaka's final fate in the anime where after Madoka rewrites the universe Sayaka still gets corrupted/dies but instead of becoming a witch, she becomes apart of the law of cycles and helps Madoka save other magical girls. There are way to many similarities to her story and the little mermaid for it to just be coincidence imo.

Poor girl is stuck in a craptastic world where horrible monsters kill you, the only way to fight back is to become a zombie child soldier killing what remains of your own kind for survival, the wish you made will inevitably blow up in your face because the person granting it is a jackass, and the writer is hellbent on shitting on the girl power ethos of the magical girl genre by making it so that girls suffer and die for trying to achieve reasonable desires like "not starving to death" and attaining agency in their lives dooms you even harder because of womanly emotions. She needs a win. Also, she is explicitly paralleled with The Little Mermaid--she is a tragic figure who makes a deal to help the boy she loves in exchange for putting her life on a ticking clock, only to be passed up in favor of another girl. As a result, she dies and becomes something else--in this case, Oktavia von Seckendorff, "the mermaid witch."

Ponyo:

determined 5yo girls are more powerful than god

PONYO!!!!

As a child i did not even realize this was a little merm adaptation, but it really reads. She is sooo strange and other worldly and the movie absolutely captures that dreamlike fairy tale vibe

Ponyo a roughly five-year-old magical goldfish who can transform into a frog-type thing and a human girl. She's the eldest daughter of the literal goddess of the sea and a former human sailor given immortality. She falls in love with the five-year-old boy who cares for her and is thrilled to explore his ordinary yet magical world. She's bouncy, exuberant, and joyful. She loves ham. She doesn't have to give up her voice.

ponyo ponyo ponyo little fishie in the sea!

Little fishy

THEY LOVE HAM

#sayaka miki #ponyo #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #studio ghibli #the little mermaid #little mermaid #fairytale #fairy tale #poll tournament #poll bracket #character polls #polls #round 1 #round 1b #the little merpoll #ik i used 2 pictures for sayaka but i thought seeing her witchform was worthwhile bc of its mermaidness

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ayoitspatricia · 2 years

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Hi do you still write for disney's descendants? if so can you do headcanons of being siblings with the VKs? and if possible the siblings came with them to the school. sorry for my bad english

Being siblings with each VK + going to Auradon with them would include :

IM BAAAAACK!! It has been a while since I have posted so I am currently working through requests :)

Mal :

Homie would be overprotective af

This lady ain’t having any Auradon dweebs getting you on her watch

Always encouraging you to be the best version of yourself

Or in Maleficent’s case the worst

Y’all are not that big on boys, girls etc before Mal meets Ben

Mix and matching leather jackets

Being the biggest chaos causes wherever you guys go

Finding it hard to be positive about school when Mal wants you to be miserable about it all

Her helping you to control your powers which are cool im gonna be honest

Sharing differences and similarities with Mal

She just wants to keep you safe from bad people in the world

Ironic for a VK right?

Especially from rats in Auradon

Feeling pressured by your mom when she wants you to steal the magic wand

Liking Ben and not finding it difficult to adjust to being good

Evie :

Now this one encourages you to interact with others

She wants to get you as far out of your shell as possible

Cause poor girl ain’t got a clue what will happen if you all get caught stealing the wand

Wanting you to get a partner

But asking them lots of intimidating kind questions if you do

Doing group sewing + art!

Always trying on each other’s clothing

Having matching magic mirrors

Creating a Chad hate club

Evie being the favourite child but always defending you

Going on shopping sprees when you arrive at Auradon

Trying hard to empress everyone

But then realising that it is really impossible

Evie wanting to dye your hair

Her chasing you around with the hair dye

Actually secretly wanting to be good from the beginning

Carlos :

Always being super close to each other

Thing 1 = you / Thing 2 = Carlos

Actually quite liking dogs

Lol your brother did not like that one

Until you got Dude obviously (you was his fav)

Always having super fluffy jumpers or cardigans

Enjoying sweet treats with him at midnight

Literally menaces to the cooking club

Softest member of the VK’s

Collecting stuffed animals to annoy Carlos

Then proceeding to throw them at each other

Fairy Godmother actually really liking you

You going into Remedial Goodness 101 early so you both can have a chat

Honestly loving the Auradon vibe

Cheering Carlos on when he plays Tourney

+ shipping him with Jane!!

Literally acting like kids the whole time

Wanting to open an animal club in Auradon

Tbh you was already sliding to the side of good as soon as you arrived

Jay :

My mans is on a whole other level of protective

Like you thought Mal was bad

Whether your on the isle or in Auradon this boy has your back

Him always glaring at the boys whenever they look at you for too long

Even at poor Carlos, who has no clue what is going on

Teaching you how to steal

Reminding your father of Jasmine

You + Evie + Mal are the perfect trio

Doing laps around the museum to try and find any lamps

Not your proudest moment ngl

You plus Lonnie equals BESTIES!!

Jay making you always watch him play sports

Stealing his beanies all the time

Hiding in spots around Auradon so he has to try and find you

You best hope that none of them princes disrespect you

Cause they gon get an ass whoopin

Honestly not caring about whether you’re good or not

As long as you have your brother and your friends

#x reader #y/n #reader insert #x fem!reader #x female reader #x fem reader #x female!reader #fluff #would include #descendants x reader #descendants #evie grimhilde #mal descendants #jay descendants #carlos devil

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gremlinaristocrat · 5 months

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Overthinking Sylvie’s Strategy

So, I know the Gio&Molly vs Sylvie fight in Ep2 was mostly about getting the protagonists to show off their personalities and powers . . . but I think if you read (way too far) into the strategy Sylvester uses it tells you a surprising amount about him.

Start at the start. Sylvie overhears our heroes talking about how they’re villains. Instead of sneak attacking them while he has the drop on them, he starts a dialog, to confirm they’re actually bad guys (and maybe to satisfy his own desire for drama and/or indulge in his sense of invulnerability). Gio responds by confirming he’s a criminal, calling Sylvie a kid and initiating combat.

It’s kind of overshadowed by what he does later in the fight, but the doc is pretty reasonable early on; I get the feeling he’d have been even more willing to talk things out if dealing with Indus’ stupidity and Mera’s manipulation hadn’t shortened his already-short fuse and made him Done with Trying To Talk To People.

Sylvie’s first move is to use sleep pollen like he did with Indus earlier; unlike all his other attacks, he doesn’t call its name when he uses it, probably to minimize the chances that his targets will figure out what it does in time to stop it. This is a 10/10 opener, with the potential to harmlessly incapacitate enemies and end fights before they start.

When that fails thanks to Molly’s quick thinking and Gio’s creativity, he follows it up with Counting Sheep. This is another solid decision, and unlike the last one, it actually works out for him: his minions swiftly swarm and overwhelm his opponents.

Pictured: Flawless Victory.

Note that – as far as I can tell – Sylvie has basically won at this point. Molly and Giovanni have no way to stop the sheep before they nibble and poof them into unconsciousness; all he has to do is stay the course.

And then our boy screws up. He banishes his own army – or maybe incinerates them, the animation isn’t clear on that point – in order to confront a twelve-year-old girl with her worst nightmare, while having no idea what that nightmare is or how he’d be able to use it.

He also picks this point to sacrifice his vantage point, achieving no obvious gain. I don’t think Jello did this on purpose, but it fits very well that Sylvie literally gives up the high ground for no reason – while forcing his opponents onto a different patch of high ground – at the same time he’s metaphorically doing that.

Let me psychoanalyze the psychoanalyst: what the hell is the good doctor thinking when he unleashes (almost literal!) hell on the adorable cosmic brownie? What’s going through his head when he passes up sure victory for the chance to re-traumatize a child?

Well, it’s possible that Counting Sheep drains stamina faster than it appears to (though he doesn’t seem winded after using it). It’s also possible that he’s worried about one of them using ranged attacks on him, and feels the need to end the fight ASAP. The magic system in EE is intentionally kind of loose and vibes-y, so there’s an endless list of possible excuses.

That said, I think the most likely answer to “what was he thinking?” is “absolutely nothing”. This whole thing looks like a (legitimately!) clever synergy-exploiting strategy he thought up a while back, rarely or never got to see in action, and is just unreflectively executing on even though a more humane approach would have straight-up let him win.

I didn’t notice this until the Youtube comments pointed it out, but I think it’s neat Gio never calls Sylvie a kid again after he finds out the doc has issues with it (except that one time he does it to signal that he’s putting on a show for the cops). He’ll mock you mercilessly, and maybe steal your stuff, but our glorious pink-haired overlord will not use That Word You Dislike to describe you once he knows you dislike it.

Anyway, back to the fight. Sylvie tries to negotiate with his prisoners in the Flame Vortex, since apparently his Psychology PhD never taught him that confronting people with their literal worst nightmares might make them unreasonable and/or push them to extremes. Gio escapes with Molly; Sylvie doubles down on the Nightmare Fuel; Gio responds by thwacking a ball of yarn at him.

This is another point at which – again, as far as I can tell – Sylvie has basically won. The fact that Giovanni resorted to such weird and desperate measures suggests Gio & Molly don’t have any better ways to attack or escape from their current position. All the alleged genius needs to do is take cover behind an exhibit and let his summons finish the criminals. Instead, he cancels his own winning move (again!) so he can summon Dr Beefton, escalating (again!!) in a way that doesn’t actually help him (again!!!).

Like, seriously, what was the plan here? There are a lot of words you could use to accurately describe Sylvie’s colleague/alter-ego/fursona, but ‘agile’ and ‘nimble’ aren’t among them; if Gio and Molly had decided to hold onto their high ground on general principles after Sylvie (apparently) fainted, or if they’d sprinted off in different directions instead of trying to stand their ground, what would he have done then?

From here on out, the beef revolves around Beefton. This tells us very little about Sylvie, except maybe in terms of how much frustration he’s repressing, and what being powerful means to him.

Pictured: What Peak Performance Looks Like

So, what does all this say about Sylvie? He’s clever, willing to hear people out, and merciful when he can get away with it; however, he makes dumb or pointlessly cruel decisions under pressure, and follows a prescribed plan instead of adapting to the enemy; will escalate when surprised or provoked, even when it’s counterproductive, choosing moves which feel strong instead of ones which make sense. In summary, he’s the world’s smartest dumbass, and (at least in this part of the story) acts more like a stereotypical cop than the actual cop character.

He’s getting better quickly, though. I think a lot of this is symptomatic of him being new-ish to fights, and especially new to fights where people get hurt and/or which last more than one move . . .

Yeah, it shows, and not in a good way.

. . . since he gets more flexible and responsive when fighting Mera . . .

Pictured: Character Growth

. . . though, uh, apparently not enough for him to realize that he could demoralize her and/or broker a truce by offering to remove her Epithet with the amulet if he wins.

Out-reasoned by the tweenager; that’s embarrassing.

#epithet erased #sylvester ashling #overthinking

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turboacek-blog · 7 months

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Aqualad: most underrated Young Justice story

Just wanted to kind of layout how interesting his story was as I feel of the OG team his reserved personality makes him not stand out over the rest and some only thought he was interesting when playing the bad guy in season 2

Aqualad a young adopted kid training to be the next Aquaman with his best friend, and is in love with a girl. But he takes the opportunity to be Aquaman’s sidekick which takes him away from his best friend and crush

Only for him to come back in some months just to find that his best friend got with his crush…

And he has to essentially still save the day and be the hero, come to terms that he lost her due to his “job” while not being upset at them the arguably two closest people in his life

Like this is in any other medium is a movie in itself

Add through season 1 he’s the leader of a bunch of interesting personalities and was like the calm big brother of the team

Then in the time skip, his crush joins the team meaning he can finally spend the quality time with his crush he had to sacrifice before, and it’s a bit unclear if they ever got together during this time but on the mission she dies on your watch…

Not much time later you find out that your mentor/King’s enemy is your biological father so dealing with all these emotions is again it’s own movie itself

Not even going to go into the whole double agent thing in season 2 that people already like

But then one of your best friends Wally dies and you’re thrusted back into the job as your other best friend grieves his own way leaving mostly on your own

Then in season 3 he does it he becomes Aquaman he’s another leader of the Justice league everything is going seemingly fine

But does fall too deep with the secrets again…

And between seasons 3&4 he finds a new love

But all this time his first issue keeps coming back of balancing work and life which is how he lost Tula before and how he perceives to have lost Superboy until later revealed he’s fine

Idk I think Kaldur has the sneakily best story through the show in total

Characters like Nightwing adjust with each season more to fit that season's story than something overarching, and Miss Martian will always have her identity problems and so on but I feel the others weren’t as detailed as Kaldur I feel

I’m just saying you could easily make an amazing movie animated or real life about Kaldur the secret son of a villain learning under a hero and on the way has to juggle the problem of hero and villain and work and life and love or duty

You would literally just need to adjust his hero name tbh as I don’t think general audience will wanna watch a movie called Aqualad tbf

Like Garth got the Tempest alternative when he’s not Aqualad either swap that as Garth is still kinda seen more as Aqualad due to comic history and teen titans or just give him a new name as a character like Tim Drake will probably always be Robin primarily but he still has a couple of alternate names he can go by

Random but I kinda of like Tide, from Tidal Wave or Rising Tides or a play on his comic counterpart Jackson Hyde

And for visuals Kaldur has the Atlantean magic that Aquaman doesn't have so he can water bend for a more interesting power set as Aquaman is basically just super strong with no aquatic life around

Plus can generate electricity has weapons etc. giving him a mix of Queen Mera and someone like Robin

Idk I just feel that this version of Aqualad you could make its own version of the story just about him and be well received by a majority

#young justice #dc comics #dc animation #aqualad #kaldur'ahm #kaldur #tempest #teen titans #dc

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fave-fight · 10 months

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ROUND 1, MATCH 36

NO MAGIC, POWERS, OR WEAPONS

Ace Trappola:

“honestly this fuckin guy could not win in a fist fight he would TRY and then get his ass beat in 2 seconds unless its someone of equal strength as him and then it's just a battle of endurance. of which he does not have much of. he usually relies on his magic to get through battle conflicts but even then that's also not very good and since he isn't able to use magic his chances of winning a fight are kind of down the drain. UNLESS he tries to do a distraction thing with magic tricks and run away which he probably would if he's not pissed off at the person he's fighting. all about the misdirection babey”

“Gonna be honest: I don't actually expect this guy to win the entire bracket. But I do expect him to get decently far - maybe somewhere in the middle. He doesn't have any official training, but he's still strong and decently athletic enough (and has canonically threw good punches) to defeat the weaker characters in the bracket. Ace is smart enough to trick the dumber physically stronger opponents, but it's also possible to get HIM angry enough to make reckless decisions. (Saw someone else submitted him and thought, "why not")”

“He has so much confidence in himself and yet keeps getting his ass beat. He could probably take down some people with pure rage and 15-year-old-ness though”

Kanade Yoisaki:

“She can't even leave the house without almost passing out, eats nothing but instant ramen, and sleeps about once a week”

“she is a wet rag of a girl but i think if she had enough rage she could topple anyone. plus anyone would feel bad about attacking her”

“She's gonna lose SO. BAD. Girlie pop CANONICALLY can't take a five minute walk without fucking disintegrating ohhhh my god no matter who she's put against she'll end up as a smear on the pavement... i love her.”

“Kanade should lose every fight. She has canonically fainted because she forgets to eat for too long, passes out on her desk instead of going to bed, hates the sunlight, she only eats instant noodles, and she gets winded after walking one block. She's from a rhythm game and they can't animate any songs that are too up-tempo with her in them because it's out of character for her to dance that energetically. She's so frail she looks like a breeze would blow her over.”

#fight fight fight #round 1 #tournament poll #poll tournament #polls #poll #ace trappola #twisted wonderland #kanade yoisaki #yoisaki kanade #project sekai #project sekai: colorful stage

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stardustizuku · 1 year

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Part 1: The Love Square. Why it worked, and why it failed.

People who aren’t as interested in Magical Girls as I am, specifically Magical Girl Animes with Romance, may not understand why the Love Square was such a big deal. Why it was the core; the life of the series.

Okay, so how many times have you seen a love triangle unfold? Quite many, I must guess. Some really good, and some, uhm, not so much.

In Magical Girl Animes they’re common – and the most popular ones have one very particular dynamic. Let’s run down it, shall we?

Our main character falls in love with another man, someone unreachable, unattainable. It’s someone she genuinely looks up to, and is most likely popular already.

I call this character “The Prince”

In Princess Tutu, it’s Mytho. In Shugo Chara it’s Tadase. In Tokyo Mew Mew it’s Aoyama. Sailor Moon has Motoki Furuhata in Season 1, and Mamoru in Stars.

He is the type of guy you want to fall in love with. Nice, kind, good-natured, a good leader, pretty and everything.

There’s one issue, though. The person who our Main Character’s crush likes is not her, but her alter ego. Mytho is in love with Tutu, not Ahiru, Tadase is in love with Amulet Heart not Amu. The one she becomes thanks to super natural magic.

Then, there’s the opposite. I like to call them the “Rebel” character.

You know who I’m talking about. The Ikuto, the Kishu, the Fakir or even Seiya of the story. They serve to be a contrast to the “Prince”. They’re often times, the only one who gets to see through the MC’s disguise and comes to understand her. “Rebel” characters are rarely in love with alter ego, but instead feel attraction to the MC or the “real one”

These are all fan favourites characters that fall under the “Bad Boy” trope. And for good reason.

Bad boy characters are popular with little girls, teen girls, women or even AFAB people in general since they call out something in our society. There’s very real pressure put forth by either parents or society to adhere to certain gender roles, and what they mean.

In other words, you’re “supposed” to be a good girl.

You have to get good grades, you have to smile all the time, you have to be polite, and you have to play nice. A bad boy character in fiction allows the viewer (in this case and for simplicity) girls to push back or be rebellious in a very safe way.

You don’t have to be good, you’re just following the steps of a bad guy with a heart of gold. He will help you break out of your shell, and be more confident. You get to feel like you’re trying to be the good girl society tells you to be, while finally exploring these darker aspects of your personality.

In YA and more mature books, this can involve anything from trying alcohol, having sex, or allowing oneself to be angry (exploring the “bad” or “not good” emotions AFAB people are always told they shouldn’t have).

But in audiences more aimed towards children, like those in Magical Girl animes, shoujos or tween cartoons, they exist in a more subdued way – although still tapping into this idea of rebellion against the status quo.

That’s why these characters are fan favourites.

So, to summarize. You have the MC in love with a “Prince” who in turn is in love with the Perfect Girl version of the MC. And a “Rebel” who is in love with the Real Version of the MC, flaws and all.

This particular dynamic is used as a thesis of sorts in any good story. Only by understanding both the real and idolized version of the MC can a man can “win” the love of our protagonist. And only by our MC knowing who she is, what her alter ego means, or how she relates to these dichotomies, can she understand herself.

And really, depending on how each show tackles its themes, it can have different answers. Tokyo Mew Mew offers the idea that the Prince is the correct option, while Princess Tutu says it’s not. Then there’s those with open endings such a Shugo Chara. Again, they use the dynamic, the thesis of their characters, to come to a conclusion that neatly ties to the theme.

Princess Tutu, for example, ties the ideal version of Mytho with the tragedy of a fairytale. Ahiru has to let go to be able to reach a conclusion. In Tokyo Mew Mew Ichigo sees her flaws (the cats ears) as something someone as perfect as Aoyama could never love – yet he shows he isn’t perfect and that he loves her with or without the perceived flaws she has.

That said,

It’s exactly why I loved Miraculous Ladybug when it first aired. It managed to boil down this interesting dynamic into the Love Square. The perfect and the real, the idolized and the true.

Ladybug represents the perfect version of Marinette. Adrien represents the perfect version, while the real one is Chat Noir. Chat was both the “Bad Boy” and the “Prince” all in one. Both Marinette and Adrien were in love with the “Perfect” or Idolized version of each other.

This was something never before seen. It would make for amazing content, right? Explore why we prefer an idolized version of someone, realize that true love means caring even when you’re not perfect. What our perceived “flaws” meant to others, and if they were truly flaws – or if our environment was the one teaching us they were. The possibilities and themes were limitless. We could have had something great-

No.

Sorry, we. We didn’t get that.

What we got were padded episodes, new love interest that refused to deal with this complexity, and a stagnant rship that refuses to explore any of the flaws of their characters - why they’re not perfect, or even a reason why they stay in love

This is why the Love Square fails. This, is the core of why and how it works. People can expand upon this in million different ways, but you inevitably come back to this.

The real and the idolized. The want vs the duty. The expectations and the responsibilities.

Instead of having an episode where Marinette realizes that Adrien isn’t perfect, that he isn’t a model 24/7 or that he has flaws, secrets and fear just like anyone else, we got Kagami.

Instead of Chat realizing that Ladybug isn’t perfect, that she isn’t always composed, that it’s just a persona put forth to feel more in control of a situation, we got Luka.

Both characters that I love, but they bring very little to the themes the Love Square was introducing, to begin with!

More focus should have been put in how these two bounce off each other.

How much better would the story had been if we got to see Marinette and Chat have a conversation? The two very flawed, very real, very confusing version fo these characters, just trying to understand each other.

And by the way, this is exactly why MariChat is the most popular dynamic.

Marinette acts like a girl. Scared, confused, and lonely. She isn’t a hero, she isn’t her perfect version. She is just Marinette. While she can put the mask on, at the end of the day, it’s still just a mask. And Chat? Well, we get to see him. Not the model, not the paper cut out, but a silly kid who wants to break free from a life of imprisonment by the parent who’s supposed to love him.

We get to see something real.

But, unfortunately we do not get that.

Their relationship stays static. The reason for this is a bit obvious.

The writers, to my opinion have come to this bizarre conclusion:

Developing this dynamic would mean changing dynamics, ending the status quo morphing the story into something new. And they assume a “new” means an “end”.

They’re thinking that the endgame is Adrien and Marinette realizing their identities, so they don’t wanna develop it for fear of bringing an ending “too close”.

Say you have 7 seasons prepared, you can't have them find out their identities in season 5 because their reveal should be in season 7. It should be the last couple of episodes even. After that, they'll date and it's over. So better drag this on for seasons on end.

This just proves to me: flawed writing skills and lack of direction.

WHICH wouldn’t surprise me seeing how Chloe ended up.

It is plain bad writing. Changing stuff doesn’t necessarily mean an endgame is near. It just means things are changing.

I’ll be mean to this series and compare it to the Magnus Opus of Magical Girls: Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon got together with Tuxedo mask in the first season, yet the writers were able to up the steaks of their relationship through its 5-season run: Through memory loss, a long distance romance, anxieties of hurting one another, or simply…developing their relationship. People change. And so does how they interact with other people.

These created amazing episodes that highlighted how much Usagi and Mamoru loved and cared for each other. It wasn’t just chance, it wasn’t just fate. This took work, it took time, and it took trust. This wasn’t something so easily lost. That’s why SailorMoonStars hits the hardest.

In the very last season, Usagi is in a long distance rship with Mamoru. And it breaks her. We see that she misses him, dealing with the turmoil of him not answering her messages. She’s devastated, seeking comfort in other people, but unable to forget him. Not even as Seiya begs her to take him instead of Mamoru, can she bring herself to give him up– because they’ve been together for a long, long time. And we’ve seen that.

We see her reminiscent. We see her break down and cry because he hasn’t called her. We see her thinking of him when she’s with Seiya. We see her be in love with him and we see how much it affected her that he’s ignoring her.

And by the last few episodes, we get a payoff. We find out Mamoru is dead, and that he died confident that Usagi would be strong enough to protect the Earth in his stead. That he believed in her, and he thought of her until the moment he died - uttering her name as the last thing he could do.

That’s why when Sailor Moon defeats Sailor Galaxia, the woman who killed the man she loved, through purification and not violence – it all feels right.

It’s a very simple but powerful story, packaged in 45 episodes. With enough room to breathe, digest it, but not drawn out enough for it to be annoying.

All this, when the relationship was already established. We could have had something like this in Miraculous Ladybug, if the writers WERENT drawing out the reveal and get together until the very last second!

ChatBlanc could have been an AMAZING multi-episode mini-arc.

No time-travel thing. They find their identities, they date for a few episodes, something goes horribly wrong, and Marinette has to find a way to fix the mistakes she's made. Much like Sailor Moon R.

Maybe by the end of it, she fixes it but sacrifices most of her memories. The only thing she recalls is that she knew Chat's identity, Paris almost got destroyed, and that leads to her putting distance between them.

Or maybe one day she wakes up with the memories of Chat Blanc and spends and entire season trying to know what happened, and when she does, she's horrified.

Idk, million amazing things could have been done with this episode to further develop these two's relationship. Complex, interesting, beautiful things.

But no. Because, apparently, thinking of love post-reveal is too much. Instead, we watch them run and run in circles. Chat Blanc was a single episode, and half of it was time travel shenanigans.

And all of this, just because the writers don’t actually know what they want to do with the love square. So they add new rivals, new teams, new accessories, side plots - all to avoid touching the actual core of what made the series great.

It strongly reminds me of Star vs. in that scenario the creators also weren’t sure where to take the show.

It wasn’t until season 2 where they started the subplot of Star realizing Mewni colonized Monsters that it started having a sense of self. And it showed in the romantic subplot, which was all over the place. They didn’t know what they wanted, so the romance in that show was a mess. Lack of direction and intention, aside from the knowledge that Star and Marco were the end game

I personally don’t hate Star vs. I don’t like how it handled romance but I will give it much leeway because the actual plot of Intergenerational conflict and coming to terms with the harm your ancestors have done to others - is quite compelling and not something I see tackled often.

But Miraculous does not get that. Its episodic plot is simple and refuses to get into the murky waters of its own premise.

The only thing it had going was The Love Square. Because I assure you, very few people give a crap about the Miraculous being stolen.

So, their lack of willingness was the first thing to ruin the Love Square. Fine.

But it’s not the nail on the coffin. The real reason why this suffered, was something that happened waaaay before all this.

Because one thing that the show refused to explore up until late into season 3 and start of season 4 was the specific parts of the “Ladybug” character. What I mean is, what “ideal self” she is as “Ladybug”. And how her existence affects Marinette. This is the fundamental flaw that issss...

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#miraculous ladybug #MLB #MLB SALT #miraculous lb #2k magical girl essay #magical girl #short essay #sailor moon

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