#man if I'd known in the 90s about these games I would have been so obsessed | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

twistedtummies2 · 2 years

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Okay, so you've magically gotten the resources, time, and skilled developers you need to create your dream game, what would it be? It can be any genre (fighting, platforming, open world), starring your own original ocs you've had for a while or completely new ones made just for the game. Or a game adaptation of a movie,show, or novel, or even a sequel or spinoff of a video game franchise. Or you could just tell us about both options if you want.

I think someone has asked me this question before, but I'll answer again, since it's been a while if so. If I had the chance to make any video game in the world, it would be one of two things. Both of which are adaptations of earlier works, and both are SLIGHTLY on the obscure side. Only slightly though. LOL

First up is The Shadow. The Shadow is a character who started off as the narrator for a crime/mystery program. The character became so popular, he was turned into the protagonist of his own pulp magazine series, and then a new radio show all about his adventures. Since then, he has mostly survived in comics, and has passed through various publishers over the decades - both DC and Marvel owned him at different points, and he is currently the property of Dynamite Entertainment. The character is most well-known today for being "the father of modern superheroes," as he inspired characters like Batman, Daredevil, the Punisher, V from V for Vendetta, Rorschach from The Watchmen, and - to a lesser extent, mind you - Superman. He also spawned a series of other pulp-y characters with similar concepts, such as the Green Hornet and the Spider. He's even been parodied in cartoons: Darkwing Duck is actually based largely on The Shadow, with a bit of Batman thrown in. For you all, you'll probably recognize him best because his universe was the inspiration for my "Black Dragon AU," with Malleus Draconia as the Shiwan Khan to the MC's Shadow-esque hero. I've always loved the Shadow, and I've always wanted to see him in one of two types of games. One is a Telltale-style choose-your-own-adventure murder mystery game, similar to "The Wolf Among Us" or the "Batman: The Telltale Series" titles. The other is a stealth-action game similar with controls similar to the Arkham series or the PS4-started Spider-Man games. The big draw in either case would be the style: everything done in black and white, with a noir-esque sort of aesthetic and matching music, with splashes of color - like red and maybe occasional hints of gold or green - to emphasize characters and moments. I'd pick Maurice LaMarche or Roger L. Jackson to voice the character, personally; not sure who I'd choose if you wanted someone more celebrity-like.

The other option would be a game based on Frank Beddor's "The Looking-Glass Wars" trilogy. This is a series of novels (with some spin-off comics) that are reimaginings of the "Alice" stories. The premise sees Wonderland as a war-torn universe, with elements of dark fantasy and sci-fi sort of blended together to create its world and aesthetic. The overarching plot of the series has Princess Alyss Heart and her allies - including Hatter Madigan, Bibwith Harte, and Dodge Anders, just to name a few - battling the sinister forces of Alyss' evil Aunt Redd, and a mutual enemy of both of their sides, the treacherous King Arch. I would specifically like to see a game based on this universe done in either a "League of Legends" format, or, even better, a "Star Wars: Battlefront" format. In the former, you can play as different major characters from the books, with different types of enemies to conquer depending on where in the conflict you stand. Or, in the latter, you can actually play as soldiers from each of the warring factions, as well as Hero figures from each end of the spectrum, with perhaps some minigames that allow you to play with those different elements more. Admittedly, both of these TECHNICALLY have games already: the Shadow was originally planned to have a beat-em-up game in the 90s, but the game was canceled. However, you apparently CAN find the unfinished game if you look hard enough to play; not sure if it's an emulator or something, but it's out there, trust me. LGW, meanwhile, has (or had, not sure if it's still up) an online card game you could play themed around the books. However, neither of these are really what I would like to see from either franchise (and the Shadow game wasn't even really properly released or completed), so there's still room for these dream games to exist. They likely never will, but there's room. :P

#ask #answer #q&a #video games #the shadow #the shadow knows #the looking-glass wars #frank beddor

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k00299539 · 4 months

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Movement Project Artist Research - Mamoru Hosoda

Above: Guy has somehow looked the exact same for 20 years

Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese animator and director best known for his family focused feature films. Hosoda got his start in the animation industry in early 90's with Toei Animation, initially as an animator before moving into a directorial role by the end of the decade. While his career was already on an ever accelerating rise, his work on the second Digimon film; Our War Game, catapulted him into being the most sought after talent in the industry.

While still an employee of Toei, he was drafted in to direct Studio Ghibli's feature; Howl's Moving Castle. This ended in disaster with Hosoda feeling as though the company wanted him to mimic Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki rather than direct on his own terms. Having abandoned the project it wasn't too long after he left Toei as well, going freelance.

He next directed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time for Madhouse, becoming a sleeper hit for them. This was followed up with Summer Wars, the success of which afforded him the opportunity to open his own studio; Chizu, and work truly on his own terms. He has since directed a number of films under the Chizu banner, with 2018's Mirai having been nominated for an Academy Award.

Above: Stills from Our War Game

...That was probably too many words. Hosoda is a director I'm overly familiar with and it's dfficult to sum him up in a couple of paragraphs. I guess if I had to sum up what it is about Hosoda I'm so drawn to it would be his unrelenting desire to express exactly what it is he wants to express on screen for better or for worse. I actually think a number of Hosoda's films have suffered as a result of his hardheadedness but I have to admit all the same that's interesting to see a film fail not for the myriad of factors it normally would but instead for the uncompromsing vision of it's director. I guess what I mean is, no matter what I make or whether I fail or succeed, I'd like to do it on my terms and take responsibility for the result. Now that I write that out I'm begging to doubt if it's even an admirable quality ...but that's how I feel and I don't want to rewrite this whole blog post.

The other thing I wanted to give specific mention to in regards to Hosoda is his continued use of the kagenashi, or without-shadow style. Hosoda's stated philosophy is to ignore shadows and unnecessary details and let the drawings speak for the themselves. He employs this approach in particular to capture the essence of children in his work. It is a style derived from a desire to portray something accurately, not realistically.

Of course this is easier said than done, as the drawing has to be perfect when you can't fall back on shading or detailing to convey information. Hosoda has a ringer however, Takaaki Yamashita.

Above: This is literally the only picture of him on the internet...

Takaaki Yamashita is Hosoda's right hand man, having mentored him early on in their Toei days and eventually following him to Studio Chizu. He has served as animation director on virtually all of Hosoda's films. He's also just really good at drawing and animating. For as good as Hosoda is, his philosophy in depicting life on screen through strict adherence to the kagenashi style wouldn't be possible without Yamashita's skill. Yamashita can create drawings that express themselves as open and honestly as children, this is something I try to emulate when animating (and usually fail).

Above: Yamashita's work on Slam Dunk, Below: a link to more of his work

#movement #lsad #animation #research

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tmlfan1977 · 11 months

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For those who don't know, I've been a singer for most of my life. I'd first discovered my love of singing when I was 11 years old when a friend of my sister's had invited us over to visit one day. It was there when I was introduced to karaoke. The girl's father owned a machine and a plethora of tapes. Up until that point, I'd spent much of my childhood singing along to songs on the radio. But karaoke was a game changer. The ability to sing my favorite songs using instrumental backing tracks was a concept I'd not known about prior to then..... and I was hooked!

It wasn't until I was 14 years young when I decided to take a chance by calling every bar and restaurant in town which ran karaoke. I was brutally honest with each of them by stating my age and that all I wanted to do was sing. Surprisingly, 95% of the places were cool with it! Even better, my mom was ok with me going to these places to do it!

I still remember the first bar I'd ever sang at. It was a place called "My Uncle's Pub". As coincidence would have it, the man who ran the karaoke there was none other than the father of my sister's friend who had introduced me to it only 3 years prior. Small world!

Needless to say, I took every chance I could to go out and sing, and even became a "regular" at a number of places. Friday nights (and some Thursdays), I'd sing at a bar called Brewsky's.... and Sunday nights you would always find me at the Desert Inn in a lounge called Stingers. A few years later, I'd spend my Friday nights singing at RJ's Bar & Grill, which was located inside Woodlawn Bowl (a bowling alley).

When I turned 19 (the legal drinking age in Canada), I switched up RJ's for Knights of Columbus on Friday nights, which became my watering hole for close to 20 years. I have so many great memories of that place, and had made a lot of friends!

It was around 2009 or so when I was asked by a longtime friend if I'd be interested in joining his band. He was a drummer, and his friend was a keyboard player. So the 3 of us played together for a few years. We didn't really "go" anywhere, save for a couple of private parties. Unfortunately, the drinking and the drugs between the two of them were a little much for me to deal with, so I chose to leave.

From that point on, I'd sang very little. I would go to karaoke at the Red Chevron Club maybe 2 or 3 times a year at best. I really didn't have the passion for it anymore.

This past October, I'd received a call from the aforementioned friend from my previous band of which I'd left, asking me if I'd be willing to sit in with him and another fellow who played guitar. Knowing why I'd left previously, I was promised that drinking and drugs would be non-existent. So I agreed.

We called ourselves The Basement Dwellers, a name I concocted as we played in the basement of 90 Carden Street in downtown Guelph. Google that address if you'd like to learn of its significance.... or lack thereof.

We didn't go far as a 3-piece, aside from a Facebook live stream we put together in mid-December. But, we were asked by the Pastor of the Royal City Mission to perform as part of their "Beat the Winter Blues" fundraising concert in March of this year.

That night will forever be ingrained in my mind as one of the greatest nights of my life. We performed a 7 song set along with a guest bass player. Prior to the show, I was incredibly nervous about being a "front man". After all, I'd done nothing but karaoke my entire life. They call your name. You get up. You sing your song. You sit down. You wait your turn to do it again.

For weeks prior to the event, I'd rehearsed in my head what I was going to say before and after each song. I'd literally never had to do anything like it before. So when I went up there that night, I'd put all insecurities aside, and I was a FRONT MAN! I had people clapping and cheering. I was cracking jokes. I sang "Happy Birthday" to one of the attendees. After our set, we even received a standing ovation. Watching the footage back, I'd absolutely shocked myself. I didn't realize I had it in me to do what I did that night. It goes without saying that I didn't come down from that natural high for days!

Anyway, we had decided before that point that this would be the Basement Dwellers' first, last and only gig. There were a number of issues surrounding a particular member of the band, which at that point had reached a level of absurdity.

But as they say.... When one door closes, another one opens.

I had started attending these Thursday open jams at a downtown establishment, where shortly after I was asked to join a newly formed band by the guy who was running the open jams. The rhythm guitarist from my previous band was also asked to join. Soon thereafter, a drummer had joined us, as well as a bass player, who concurrently played with the drummer in another band. We were known as the Downtown All-Stars.

From February until June, we'd play at the same place every Thursday hosting these open jams. It was fun for the most part, but quickly became cumbersome as many times our only audience were the same few regulars week after week. We had a handful of weeks where a plethora of talent would come and grace the stage. Those were the nights I enjoyed most. Unfortunately, in the four months we'd hosted this event, we received no payment of any kind. It seemed unfair because, especially on the busy nights, the establishment was thriving. I'd advertised the open jams to the hilt on as many platforms as I could find, and I gave 110% every single week on that stage to the point where my throat would be hoarse for most of the following week.

In late May, a gentleman saw us perform and had asked us to perform a set for Royal Distributing's inaugural "Bike Night" of the summer, an annual 2-month long event where bikers would come and show off their hardware, etc. I was absolutely ecstatic about being asked because I'd considered it our first big break!

During our soundcheck, I literally could not hear myself through the monitor to save my life. As any singer will tell you, you HAVE to be able to hear yourself. Otherwise, you're more or less tone deaf. I was quickly in panic mode because I literally didn't know how I sounded to the audience because I didn't even know how I sounded to myself. The problem was, the guitarists always had a tendency to be VERY loud. Even during open jams, you would constantly find the rhythm guitarist turning up his volume. The lead guitarist, who concurrently played in a punk band was equally as loud.

A few days following the show, I'd addressed the issue via group chat. The drummer and bass player were in agreement, whereas the rhythm guitarist's reply was standoff-ish, as though he'd done nothing wrong. It took 4 DAYS to get any kind of reply from the founding member and lead guitarist of the band..... Only for him to create a short video telling me that he didn't think anything needed to be changed. After all, he'd been in the business for yadda yadda years, and that there are a lot of places where singers can't hear themselves.

All this told me was that he didn't give a shit, and wasn't going to accommodate my concerns one iota. So I chose to leave. They'd held an open jam that following Thursday. I fully intended on going for one last go-round, but I'd decided against it at the last minute. If I was going to be disrespected THAT much, well..... What's good for the goose.

A couple of weeks after leaving, I'd posted an ad on the Guelph Musician's Hook-Up group, basically in search of another band looking for a vocalist. I'd specified that I was looking for like-minded musicians who were free from drama, ego and substance abuse issues.

Well wouldn't you know? This past Friday, I receive a private message from my former lead guitarist literally THREATENING me to take the ad down. He claimed that I was taking cheap shots at him, his band and his production company by stating "substance abuse" in my ad. The truth is, it had absolutely nothing to do with him. This was a personal preference..... a preference I'd even made when I created an ad 10 years ago when I was looking for a band. I told him. "Show me EXACTLY where I mention you, the band or your production company...... I'll wait......". He said if I didn't take it down, he would publicly defame MY character. For the sake of avoiding any kind of bullshit, I reluctantly took it down. After all, you can't reason with the unreasonable.

After talking to a few people however, I decided to re-instate the ad. I chose NOT to allow myself to get bullied, and I certainly don't take too lightly to threats. There were times over the past month where I had regrets, questioning whether leaving was the right thing to do..... but after he had threatened me, there was absolutely no question about it! I HAD done the RIGHT thing!

Anyway, as it stands. I don't know what the future holds in terms of singing. I'd like to think that the right band is out there somewhere. It's like someone said. You need to go where you are WANTED..... not needed. Truer words have never been spoken!

#singing #karaoke #band #musicians

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bookishchef · 11 months

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As promised, here's my very belated April 2023 wrap-up. I originally posted this to my Instagram in early May, but I forgot I could post it to Tumblr too 😅.

I read 13 books in April. Quite a lot, but many of them were audiobooks and manga volumes (which I always get through faster).

In April I finally started my Hunger Games reread and I really, really enjoyed it. 13 year old me thought the first book was okay, and the rest sucked. But 13 year old me was also completely incapable of media literacy. 22 year old me thinks the books are mindblowingly good.

During April I also continued the Shatter Me series (which I still do not enjoy), and I decided to read some books I'd been hyping up in my mind. Mainly: The Turn of the Screw and Red, White and Royal Blue.

I'll start with Red, White and Royal Blue.

God... What a disappointment. I was a bit hesitant about it to begin with because it's a mlm story written by a non-man (as far as I'm aware). And while I do think that people can write about whatever they want, I prefer to read own-voices when it comes to queer books.

This book is disgustingly millenial. It centres 2 Gen Z kids who prefer to calls themselves millenials "because the press likes them better that way." Which is such bullshit (avocado toast, anyone?) that my brain can't even comprehend it.

It is also filled to the brim with H*rry P*tter references. This book came out in 2019! R*wling's TERF behaviour was well-known, even then. Millenials really need to let that series go. Get a fucking grip.

The author is projecting their own Millenial thoughts on Gen Z kids and it just doesn't work. It feels wrong. I'm reading about people in their early 20s, who think and act like they're in their mid-thirties.

No fucking self-respecting Gen Z would say "wow, you're definitely a Hufflepuff". Not even ironically. Yet it happens in this book. Multiple times.

They call a dog a Slytherin for fucks sake.

The way Alex interacted with his siblings also gave me the ick. Besides, he had no reason to hate Henry. And the press acted quite unrealistically and was only a problem for the characters when the plot demanded it. I'm also a bit too cynical to believe in a world where a divorced female US president with an interracial family could exist.

So yeah, rant over. But the Turn of the Screw was kind of disappointing too.

I expected to get the Haunting of Bly Manor in book form. And I kind of did? Even the lesbian tension was there. It just wasn't as good as the show. And I still highly prefer the show over this book.

I also finished the Attack On Titan manga, which I've been reading on and off for 10 years. I haven't liked it much since the Marley arc started and I still have very mixed feelings about it. I'll never forget how mindblowing the anime was when I was 13. And how much I enjoyed the first ±90 chapters.

But then it turned kind of meh and everything started dragging on for way too long. And the blatant imperialism and possible fascism and antisemitism came up. And just no.

So yeah, now that I've finished it, I'll let it go. Maybe I'll think about it once or twice but I definitely won't post about it (not in a positive context anyway).

ART: A Thorn amidst Roses by James Sant (1887)

Edit by me.

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frappe-art · 2 years

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(And 18 im v interested in frappe art)

I accidentally deleted the first answer I'm a clown

anyway at first I hesitated before reblogging, like "am I enabling Lucy to ask for all of them? is it wise to give her all this power?"

8) uuuh this is already hard but I think lineart and sketching! like, in general. I just feel like my drawings are more expressive when only in rough form, more dynamic. If I have to choose tho I'd say hair and sometimes hands (I'm weird that way)

9) since I'm quite content with my lineart, the most of problems come with coloring, especially color painting. thats the part I'd loved having someone teaching me the most. 90% of my art is self taught and I managed to learn anatomy and proportions through experiments, books and other artists speedpaints but man. color theory, shading, lights are hard. also my pc works against me bc its screen makes everything a bit lighter and bluer than ANY other device known to man

another thing I'd love to understand better are backgrounds. architecture school taught me (half assedly) perspective and composition, but often when I draw i try to use complex scenery to get used to doing it digitally and not with 3d softwares. those are also the drawings I end up not posting because I'm not satisfied with ;-;

14) uuh I'm not sure how to answer this one. up until I was 14/15 I really liked making realistic portraits and drawing animals, but then I went through a loooong art block where I hated everyone of my drawings, so to improve i started copying other people's art, screenshots and fanarts. after a while I was so unsure about what to draw that I thought I forgot how to draw original things.

just recently, like 2 years ago, I started watching jojo, and its artstyle and colors were so weird, and the fanarts so beautiful, I started trying things on my own, bought a thick sketchbook and started filling it with drawings that progressively were more personal and I decided than at the end of the sketchbook i would have bought a graphic tablet. and since then, I've been fighting with colors lmao

I don't always feel inspired, sometimes it's really frustrating and it feels pointless, but I think right now it's one of my happier periods, artistically speaking (and you and the things you write and your reactions have a huuuuge part in it, you have no idea)

16) if the most fun is composition, sketching and lineart, the most daunting is color painting. I love finding shades that go well together, but sometimes it is stressing, because I feel like I'm ruining the vibes of the sketch and the painting is completely different from how I imagined it :/ and also for all the reasons above, like, yk, my asshole of a pc.

18) a big big dream (not really a project) is to use illustration experience for architecture, or architecture knowledge to work in illustrated books, animated series or fantasy/sci fi movies backgrounds, but it's something that's still very abstract in my mind.

the more concrete project you already know about obv, and it's one of the things I'm more excited about, is collabing with you for your next big project!

basically, for everyone not aware, I'm going to illustrate Lucy's next long wip, a jujutsu kaisen gang au, satoru's prequel story of her oneshot rabid dreams, and I'm so excited about it that as soon as it's out I'm never going to shut up about it >:3

thank you for the ask lucy! (and you know u don't have to wait for an ask game for listening me ramble about art lmao)

#ask game #also known as frappè rambles about art more than dante simps for beatrice #charmspoint

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ofieugogyshz · 2 years

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1, 2, 9, 35 for the writer ask?

asks from here!

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

usually default/tnr until I've only been writing in that and/ or have read thru something so much that a font change is the only way to handle it. and even then i try to pick a clean, even font, nothing with big spacing or too thin or wide, but one that's a little less used than arial

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

i mean, yeah, i could. it would be frustrating though bc i got so used to my typing speed being faster than my thoughts so writing would be very annoying very quickly. but i started out writing that way until i found out i could type it up on the computer (remember, i'm 31, so this was late 90s/early 2000s and individually owned computers weren't common back then. house/shared computers or none at all. if my dad wasn't such a techie macintosh fanboy i wouldn't have eventually had one as the sole user by junior high. and back then it was for games lol)

i have also handwritten scenes or parts of story on paper in recent years because i was stuck at work with ideas lmao. it just feels like weird texture some days or i forget how to comfortably hold a writing utensil for a longer period of time. so i've somehow come to hate the texture/hand-position parts of physical writing. something that never used to happen until after hours on end of writing.

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

all of them /jk i dont remember any of them anymore. but stuff like "don't start with a preposition", s/v/o requirement for complete sentences (or whatever it was), or the more mundane essay rule of 5 sentences = paragraph. just. it's all whatever man. find what works for you by finding what you like in books. whatever makes you happiest as a reader, i see no reason to NOT emulate it in writing? unless, like, it's a bunch of poorly used rules/lack of rules.

but ultimately i've never been a "by the books" writer that school tries to drill into you bc i've always known how to start with prepositions in an effective way. or whatever that one was about the -ly verbs. fuck man idk grammar/writing rules was the one thing i hated bc i cba to remember all this shit.

also, i think "write what you know" should be limited to specific contexts, like social struggles and not like, anything you couldn't realistically do anyways without years of study or some several bits of luck. otherwise, i'd never get to write about anything except being hyper and broke and lacking the immense enrichment i needed as a kid with adHd so i wouldnt feel so frustrated all the time. H emphasized for extreme hyperness.

it could make for an interesting read in a very very niche group, but it means i could never write about fantasy things or being in love or having the support that i lacked in many pages of my life. couldn't be able to heal my child self and get over things if it meant i had to stuck to what i knew, because what i've known most of my life is extreme loneliness and a very little, practically non-existent support network.

#ngl i forgot all about these #either i thought i had answered or i just. plumb forgot it existed lmao 🤣

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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I got witcher!Ciri too! I kind wonder wha would happen if she died tho, dont wanna put geralt or her through that but I love angst lmfaoo. The game got really confusing at point cause I you have to learn a bunch of politics and how this world works and I didnt pay that much attention so I'm sure I'll get those moments in my second playthrough too I'm playing something in the hearts of stone thnig, it was lower level so I'm assuming you should play that first? a main quest with the asshole ghost in the wedding and wow I fucking hate it, it's so umcomfortable to watch geralt be this gross n weird lol, I'm not too familar when Shani either so watching her get mad when I get geralt to say he wouldnt do what the ghost is doing is so annoying lol, OH AND the ghost is a creepy fuck! shani babe you can do much much better than an asshole who talks about his dick and fucking "maidens" every other sentence!! Geralt really does get thrown into so much shit huh I'm tempted to read the books cause I do rly like the world and most- some characters but yeah reading about yen being yen wold be one of the things to stop me, what are some of the plot points that put you off? if you don't mind sharing And yeah I'd so be up for more content esp with ciri, would be cool to see them work together, even with how combat works in this game with npcs lmao

Woo witcher Ciri ending! :D If you enjoy putting yourself through pain I recommend looking up that other ending on YouTube because there are definitely some nice angst shots in the cut scenes. I watched and then promptly went, “I don’t need to play that for myself” lol. But yeah, hard agree on things getting confusing, especially towards the end. I completely missed stuff like the fact that my actions would actually impact this war, rather than the war simply being backdrop, or that Ciri’s powers were more than just the ability to teleport short distances. So by the time I was getting called on to murder kings and Avallach was taking us to totally different worlds, I had a very John Mulaney approach of, “This might as well happen. Things are already so goddamn weird.” Which, you know, really isn't the game's fault. It's what I get for jumping into the third game first and while I don't regret that at all, the story has absolutely deserved a second playthrough where I actually understand all the basic stuff I should have known going in.

Yeah, Hearts of Stone comes first. You can do any of the side quests you’d like from either DLC, but I’d recommend keeping Blood & Wine’s main storyline for the final push. But yeah, that ghost dude is, uh… something. I quite like the wedding on the whole—I really enjoy Shani, dancing is fun, O’Dimm is being a wonderfully evil dude—but yeah, dead dude is definitely a creep. Which is partly one of the things that turned me off from the books. It has the same ‘Guy trying to write women’ energy of the games but… worse. I’ve read a lot of excerpts over the years and so many of them turn me off. There are a ton of small things, like Triss importantly informing the witchers (who are all like 100+ years old??) about periods and that Ciri can’t train today because of hers (a moment that much of the fandom celebrates as... progressive?), or Triss and Yen getting super catty with one another over Geralt, to much bigger things like Ciri nearly getting raped/being involved in intimate acts with really questionable consent. A lot of the Witcher has a “This didn’t age well” vibe to it which, to be fair, isn’t entirely the fault of the author. The story is the product of 90’s Polish culture and, again, a man trying to write some pretty complex subjects from an arguably ignorant place, which makes much of the work eye-rolling for me at best, outright uncomfortable at worst. (Which I think is why I enjoy the games far more. I have agency in this questionable world, the ability to tailor it somewhat to my own beliefs and desires, which makes moments when that's taken away, like Geralt automatically commenting on how good Yen looks at a funeral, all the more frustrating). I obviously am not a Geralt/Yen fan, which sours a great deal of the plot. From what I got through the pacing felt like a slog and, more importantly, much seems to have been lost in the translation from Polish to English. (I continually hear about how amazing the dialogue is, but sadly that hasn’t come across in translation for me. Much of it is... awkward.) The parts I’ve heard about/read excerpts of that I’m most interested in—Geralt’s hanza—ends tragically and I’m… just not here for that right now. Which isn’t to say it’s badly written or anything, just that it’s not my personal cup of tea, especially nowadays with a pandemic and what all going on lol. I look at what I know of the series as a whole and go, “Do I really want to read five books filled with outdated representation for women, that old-school fantasy violence that turned me off GoT, with a super depressing ending, all wrapped up in an iffy translation and a style I don’t think does well in long-form storytelling? … Not really.”

Still loved most of the short stories and I’ve heard that many people liked the audio book versions when they couldn't get into the text, so I might give that a go someday. I’d prefer to actually have read all the source material for a fandom I’m spending so much time in, but I sadly just haven't had the urge yet. If you do read them, anon, you’ll have to tell me what you think. It’s becoming quite the divisive topic, especially as Netflix fans turn to the books, and—putting aside that everyone’s tastes will always differ—it’s interesting to hear not just whether someone had fallen in love with the books or not, but if they haven’t what about them prevented that. It's very much a case of one person's "That was awful" being another's "Are you kidding me? That's the best part!"

#witcher #mymetas

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croatian-nt · 3 years

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Badelj podcast

For @lovren-la-vida-luka who wanted to see why everyone likes Badelj

Host: *asks first question about the club and the second is immediately "how is Pjaca?"

Badelj: Pjaca is well. He is getting back into shape after that injury. I am sorry he isn't with the nt right now

Host: every kid that plays football dreams of playing in the nt. Tell me, at what point in your life did you realize "oh, I am someone who can play in Dinamo and in the nt" and was the support from people around you important in that?

Badelj: well, I don't think I ever thought that. Don't get me wrong-I didn't doubt myself. But when you watch TV and you see people playing for big clubs or for the nt...you don't know how that works. What's going on in their heads. I think people around me believed that I could do it more than i did, to be quite honest

Host: do know anyone who you expected to make a great career in football but didn't, for whatever reason?

Badelj: from my generation? I thought Tomecak would go out of the country and make a big career there. There was also Lovren. You see, the rest of us went step by step in our career but Loki skipped steps, climbing higher. I think he made international career first from all of us. But yes, I expected Tomecak to do so as well

Badelj: *explaining how while he was in Lokomotiva they were second in second league *

Badelj: I think the club that was first was called...Mladost Suhopolje? I think? Is that possible?

Domo: *yelling something from the background *

Host: Vida says that's not possible

Domo: it doesn't exist anymore!

Badelj: but it didn't exist. I am talking about something 12 years ago

Other host from the background: there was a club called Mladost from Suhopolje

Badelj: so I wasn't wrong

Saša(a doctor, second podcast guest): *quietly* damn

Badelj: you want me to be wrong don't you? You are just waiting for it

Sasa: maybe

Host: Could you name what other 4 players except for you transfered first from Dinamo to Lokomotva?

Badelj: Oh, I can, but you see, you are wrong, First transfer from Dinamo to Lokomotiva happened 4 years before ours, and it included 10 players. But, second transfer you think of was ours. *proceeds to number the other 4 guys*

Host: you came to Dinamo as a replacement for Luka Modric, but you played a bit with him before that, right?

Badelj: yes, in 2008, for about 5 months before he transferred

Host: could you have guessed back then that he would be such a well known player?

Badelj: I personally don't think you can tell those things. He always had that something. That quality, that kind of special talent you don't forget. But for a player to win all the awards that he did you need your cards to fit just right. And lots of media exposure. The fact that he won all that, that's incredible

Host: could you tell us some things you remember from your time in Dinamo?

Badelj: in Dinamo? Well the problem is that I remember everything from my time in Dinamo. But to sum it up, the first and the last game. The first, in which we played against Rijeka and I scored a goal. I'll never forget that. I remember thinking I was on top of the world back then. And the last, against Maribor, where in first half I gave autogol and the fans booed me as I exited the pitch, and second half, where I scored a winning goal for us. I think that last game sums up my time in Dinamo very well. Ups and downs

Host: okay, first card break. Please take your cards

Sasa: *reaches out and turns one card *

Badelj: you turned them! Why did you already turn them?

Sasa: I only turned one

Badelj: we are supposed to wait until he tells us to turn them and read

Sasa: well, I did have a habit of cheating on my exams

Badelj: Well, I for one am glad for cards break. I was starting to think my friend Vida will fall asleep

*Domo yelling something from the background *

Sasa: quiet. I don't want to choose hard questions

Host: okay, okay. Miki, read it for doctor

Badelj: oh I am reading it to him? *smiles * see? You fucked up

Badelj: extra time or penalties?

Sasa: *pause * penalities?

Badelj: in football, you know?

Sasa: of course I-

*everyone laughs, Vida's laugh is literally echoing *

Badelj: okay, okay. I am just saying, because questions are mean. It could have been a metaphor. So in football. Extra time or penalties

Sasa: penalties

Sasa: popcorn or chips?

Badelj: chip

Sasa: of course, that was easy. I would have answered the same

Badelj: I am sure you would. Besides, I saw the question beforehand when you turned it on the table

Sasa: okay, I definitely already know your answer to this but anyway-

Badelj: no, wait. Don't read the question, tell me what I'd answer and I'll guess what the question is

Sasa: Beer

Badelj: Wine or beer?

Sasa: ...yes

Badelj: I know your answer to this one too

Sasa: tell me the answer then, I'll guess the question

Badelj: cat

Sasa: cat or a dog?

Badelj: yes

Sasa: hmmm. A dog

Host: I think Milan won this round guys

Sasa: wait-

Domo: *laughs again *

Sasa: why did he win? When I am a dog?

Badelj: I didn't ask if you'd rather be a dog or a cat. I meant what would you rather have

Domo: *laughs harder *

Sasa: yes. A DOG

Badelj: oh. A dog? But if I ask what kind-

Sasa: a small one

Badelj: ah. So you want a cat. Next!

Badelj: prosciutto or kulen?

Sasa: joooj

Host: careful, careful what you say

Sasa: Vida is here but- prosciutto

Vida: Then I won't send anything to your house!

Badelj: at least you know who not to send it to. Send it to me

Sasa: except if it's from black pig

Vida: yeah, yeah, now. It's over now. No more deliveries to your address

Host: so, I want to hear a bit about towns you lived in. Firenze specifically, as one of centers of culture

Badelj: well it isn't only cultural but also gastronomic center and general hedonistic city and region. You can really enjoy yourself there. People are also interesting...I am afraid Domo is falling asleep

Host: I am sure he finds that interesting as well

Badelj: well, I don't know. I tried to get him to visit me while I was there but he never did. As a manager I failed

Host: speaking of travelling, Iva told me she almost didn't manage to contact you for WC in Brazil

Badelj: well that isn't my fault. Whenever she can locate me or not is her issue. I was...located. The fact is I was in an plane while we played our first game in Brazil. I am sorry Iva, I know this isn't a very good advertisement for you-seriously she is amazing and she usually plans everything ahead and I think without her at least one person would get lost on a airport before every game. But the fact is, that time I didn't play the first game because I was in an airplane

Host: so tell me, did you ever get an offer from Milan? And if you did how close you were to signing. And the most importantly if you have signed, would you have "Milan" or "Badelj" on your jersey?

Badelj: definitely Badelj

Host: is there more pressure to do an operation on a professional football player than let's say, your neighbor?

Sasa: of course. I mean, their whole career depends on that. If I operate my neighbor and it isn't as good as it can be he can just stop playing football in his free time. If I tell Badelj he can't play football anymore-

Badelj: don't drag me into this mess. I don't want to imagine that

Host: it seems only charmers come from Gajnice. I mean, football wise(charmer isn't exactly the right word but...I can't think of a better one to fit)

Badelj: yes. We bully the strong ones out of football. They can do athletics

Host: the most memorable part about you for me actually isn't your career, but the speech you held at your teammate, Astori's funeral. How did you manage to do that? To hold yourself together and make such a speech?

Badelj: well I. You have to understand, outside of Croatia, he was my best friend. We were captain and vice captain so it began as a duty to keep the team together at first. And during that time...when he died, there was lots of new, young player in Florentina and they looked up to us for guidence. So...so it made sense for me to hold that speech. One thing that made it easier that I had period of 3 days before the speech after he died. Three days of crying and suffering but at least you get some of that grief out. I wasn't empty of it when I held the speech but I wasn't overflowing either

Host: alright, next card break

Sasa: who has the best free kick?

Badelj: oh man, there are quite a few. Brozo, Orša and Bruno is good as well. If Srna was here I'd say him. Or if Raketa was here. Perisic is also good. He can shoot with both legs too. Not in the same time though

Badelj: who eats the most?

Sasa: well-

Badelj: and not on your table. Our table. But how would he know, he doesn't eat with us

Domo: why not from his table? It says who in the team as a whole!

Badelj: but that isn't fun! How about who in the history of the team?

Sasa: hmmmm. Let me think. Who would it-

*voices overlapping, Domo laughing *

Badelj: you are really mean. Really mean

Domo: I didn't say anything

Badelj: but you thought of it. Few times

Sasa: who takes the most to get ready? I even know that one

Badelj: Peri always comes in last. But I don't think he takes that long to get ready. But he does come in last

Badelj: best sense of humor?

Sasa: oh there are a lot of players with a good sense of humor. Hmm

Badelj: it doesn't have to be a player

Sasa: it doesn't?

Host: well it's more fun if it is, but it's okay if it isn't

Sasa: hm Someone off the camera: Miki!

Badelj: I am not funny. He likes to talk to me but I am not funny

Sasa: well you can be funny. Sometimes. But Vida I guess. He really cheered me up this morning

Badelj: what did he tell you?

Sasa: oh he was pestering me

Badelj: and you love when people pester you?

*everyone burst out laughing *

Sasa: no! That's not-it was just funny!

Host: so, there has been a question in our podcasts, who would you choose as a partner in Potjera and 90% of our guests said Miki Badelj. What kind of cheating did you use to get that kind of reputation?

Badelj: I have no idea. You'll have to ask them that

Host: if you weren't in football, what fields would you be interested in?

Badelj: I'd still be in sport. Even if I didn't end up as a football player I'd do something with sport. That always interested me, even as a subject itself

Host: would you be a sport doctor like Sasa?

Badelj: god no

Sasa: no huh?

Badelj: I really don't think I am the type for that

Sasa: favorite subject?

Badelj: Geography

Sasa: same! I guess we really are friends for a reason. Favorite movie?

Badelj: it was brave heart for a long while but not anymore-

Sasa: it was my favorite too!

Badelj: you know you don't have to answer this question right? I also liked Interstellar for awhile but I watched it too many times

Sasa: Interstellar is too long for me

Badelj: and Brave Heart wasn't??

Sasa: favorite female or male singer?(we have different words for each)

Badelj: female singer

*all laugh *

Badelj: Alright, alright. Nina Badric

Sasa: as a singer or...?

Host: so tell me, who doesn't complain a lot about...well, everything?

Sasa: well, Luka, Vida, Miki...older players generally complain less than younger ones. *Looks up, sees Livi *And Livi of course! But none of goalies complain, really

Host: a lot of players from bronze generation became coaches. 14 of them, actually. If we say hypothetically 14 of silver generation will do the same, who do you think would become a coach? You can switch on saying names

Sasa: Miki

Badelj: hah. Sasa

Sasa: you can't choose me!

Badelj: fine, fine. Carli then. He already is but it still counts, right?

Sasa: I think Lovren would want to be a coach

Badelj: hmmmm *looking at Vida * would you want to be a coach? Vida!

Sasa: Luka would probably want to be one

Host: that's five

Badelj: hmmm. Piva

Host: okay, we won't go to 14 since it would probably be hard to get to that number. Next card break

Sasa: who would you choose as a co-driver in rallying?

Badelj: Vida. Yes, yes, Vida

Domo: you sure about that?

Badelj: it's because Vida has that sort of personality that in last seconds, when that kind of character is important, he makes a step forward. Because you can't stay in place. Either you make a step forward or a step back. And he'd take a step forward

Badelj: who would you choose to score a penalty if your life depended on him scoring?

Sasa: uff

Badelj: remember, your life depends on it!

Sasa: Kramaric

*uhhhing and ahhhing from the background *

Vida, barely audible: not bad

Sasa: as a partner for tennis?

Badelj: oh god. I have no idea how anyone plays

Sasa: *streching *

Badelj: is that you volonteering or...?

Sasa: no!

*Domo laughs *

Sasa: besides, you have to choose a player, not me

Badelj: hmmm. Brozo. He can run a lot. A lot more than me. *laughs * so it wouldn't be so bad

Badelj: to choose a movie for you?

Sasa: hmmm, not you, you'd choose something too serious. I'd choose Vida, he'd pick something funny

Domo: *says something

Sasa: you don't watch them either? Miki do you watch them?

Badelj: I do, but I wouldn't know what to recommend

Domo: Livi!

Sasa: Livi is young still. He didn't watch a lot of movies

Livi says something it sort of sounds like: Oh com'on!

Sasa: I don't know who I'd pick, really

Badelj: can he say I don't know?

Host: yeah, I guess so

Sasa: but I said you first!

Badelj: no, you said I'd pick something too serious. You said Domo would pick something funny first

Domo: But I don't watch movies!

Sasa: fine, then Livi, if I must

Badelj: if I must do you hear that Livi? How do you feel about that?

Host: he looks truly honored

Badelj: who would you choose to help you cheat on a test?

Sasa: you

Badelj: and I'd be already cheating by reading someone else'd answer so that's a good idea *laughs *

Sasa: who would you choose as a partner in a fight?

Badelj: Vida

Host: As a doctor would you explain to us how during WC in 2018 there wasn't a single game where one of the players couldn't play because of an injury? What is the secret?

Sasa: well, motivation mostly. Everyone wanted to play. Even if someone had some issue-and we had them, they would push through it and play anyway. I'll be honest. There were some players I thought wouldn't be able to get through the game but not only did they manage it but they manage to play until the end of the WC

Badelj: yeah, Šime

Sasa: yes, it was Šime. I didn't want to use the names but it was him. I didn't expect him to play after the game against Russia but he did and he played the England and the France one. I-I really don't know how to explain what he did

Host: so when we made pairs that will come to the studio I'll admit I was really looking forward to interviewing the two of you-

Badelj: now you are just talking shit. You say that to everyone

Sasa: Vida did he say the same thing to everyone?

Badelj: you should have written it on the cards "I looked forward to talking the two of you the most"

Host: -and you fulfilled my expectations despite the fact that Miki obviousy isn't funny-

Badelj: I am not! But I recommend bad, too serious movies. Serious and boring ones

Sasa: I only said serious ones!

Host, turning to the camera: Thank you for watching our newest podcast! Watch us tomorrow as well!

#vatreni podcast #milan badelj #croatia nt

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sebastianshaw · 5 years

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hello! headcanon ask: hi i'd love to hear about bi Shaw. What are some hc(s) you have? I notice in some of the content out there with him he uses his masculinity, confidence, and power to seduce women; would he ever seduce or use any of that with a gay or bi man who was a Hellfire protege or prospect? how much does the shirt come off with guys?

Hi there, thank you so much for question! I’m sorry for the wait, I wanted to get home to my laptop where I had my comic scans all saved. But once I got home I also had to do responsible things like sleep, eat, and exercise before I could let myself get on.To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be seductive to a woman in canon? Like he is definitely having sex with women, that’s made very plain, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him SEDUCE someone in canon. In the 80s/90s canon, it either seems like the women are hired or, in the case of Madelyne Pryor, she came on to him. She very LITERALLY came on to him, like to the point it’d probably read as rapey to most readers if the genders were reversed. In the 2010s stuff the got added to his backstory Emma (which I hate and don’t include on my version, but it is canon now whether I like it or not) it doesn’t really seem seductive either so much as domination and preying on her.Which isn’t to say he’s not attracted to women. He definitely is. He’s very textually attracted to his late fiancee Lourdes, to Madelyne Pryor, and to Storm in the Legacy Quest novels, as well as just nameless ladies he’s shown with. Just I don’t see him as being seductive, probably because he doesn’t really have to be. When you’re that rich, a lot of women are just going to be available to you. The hot bod probably doesn’t hurt. But I don’t see him as “seducing” so much as very plain and direct about what he wants. He’s a busy man with no time for games unless there’s a safeword involved. At least that’s my interpretation.He’s kind of cute and goofy with Lourdes at one point but that’s set years before he became the Shaw we know now.As far as guys go…so, textually, he’s never been explicitly shown as attracted to men. But sub-textually, whether intentionally by writers or not, he does read as bi to me. I didn’t want that, I don’t want Shaw for bisexual representation, but that’s just how it came off to me at a lot of points. Under cut for length! Also all of these images are from the comics so none are explicit, but some are…suggestive enough that you may want to consider whether you read it at work or not:

So, we’ll start with Harry Leland, the late Black Bishop of the Hellfire Club and probably Shaw’s only friend. Probably the nicest member that the Hellfire Club ever had.In Shaw’s backstory issue (X-Men: Hellfire Club #4) there’s a spread that depicts the allies Shaw gathered for his Inner Circle. Harry is the heavyset fellow in the bath towel.

So, this was in the 90s, which was way before the whole “Shaw was Emma’s mentor and abusive lover” thing was retconned in. Looking at this picture, who would you think he was sleeping with? My guess would not be Emma, who just looks like a businesswoman at the airport. It would be Tessa, who is in lingerie, and Leland, who is…well, like you can see. The fact he specifically looks like he’s in a sauna is especially significant, because gay bathhouses have long been a thing where men, even if they did not identify as bi or gay in their daily lives, would meet up and have sex. This has lessened in the modern day, where more men are “out” and the dangers of anonymous sex are better known, but during the 90s they would still be going strong, and it would be a good way to get across a coded message of same-sex activity to adult readers while also not violating any comics code rules about depicting that kind of thing.Also, why the hell ELSE would they use THIS for Leland’s “recruitment” pic to represent how he met Shaw/what kind of dynamic he had? Like what else could this be meant to represent?…if you’re wondering about the guy with cables on his nips, that’s Donald Pierce, and it’s not a sex thing (for once), he lost his limbs and owes Shaw for giving him cybernetic ones.We also know that Shaw and Leland were so close that Shaw’s son, Shinobi, grew up knowing Harry as “Uncle Leland”. That doesn’t necessarily mean they were having sex, I grew up knowing my mom’s female BFF as my aunt and her husband as my uncle, but it feels worth noting in conjunction with the rest of this stuff, especially since Shaw is NOT a man normally close to ANYONE. Harry is very, very unique in having been Shaw’s friend, whatever else he may also have been. ….and Shaw still thinks of him as “less than a man” like WOW Shaw why are you so awful? Why are you so mean? LELAND DESERVED BETTER!Also, there are some parallels between Leland and Lourdes? Both give their lives for Shaw, and both against a Sentinel. I don’t know if that’s deliberate. I don’t know if it’s meant to represent they were both lovers to him. I don’t know. I’m just pointing it out. Like the “Uncle Leland” thing, it’s not something I would have thought represented anything besides friendship, if not for the bath house pic, which pretty much calls all this stuff into question as whether it’s romantic/sexual or just bros. Up to you I guess! But me personally, I think they were fucking.Next is Magneto. Yup, Magneto! Now, unlike movie!Shaw, comics Shaw is not a Nazi at all. I actually think he’d despise them, not because he’s good at all but because he’s a very DIFFERENT kind of awful. Comics Shaw is the ultimate in bootstrapper mentality, so the idea that anyone gets to be “superior” based on genetics rather than hard work and things they earn/do is repulsive to him. Hell, he literally calls Magneto a “racist” for his attitudes! I’m serious!Anyway. Just because Shaw is no Nazi doesn’t mean he and Mags don’t butt heads. See, during the 80s, Magneto joins the X-Men but rather than becoming a team member, he becomes headmaster of the school and takes over the New Mutant. In the rise of mutaphobia (the 80s is when the “mutant metaphor” started taking off) he decides that joining forces with the Hellfire Club might be the best shot at survival for his kids, so and Storm join jointly, both sharing the position of the White King.And there’s um…there’s some conflict between Shaw and Magneto.It starts with a scene where they both come out of the Hellfire Club men’s bathroom, shirtless, with no explanation what they were both doing in there.And maybe they weren’t doing anything. Maybe they were both just peeing at the same time by coincidence. Maybe they both just happened to be shirtless at the same time by total coincidence and had to pee at the exact same time next to the exact same bathroom. Maybe.And then…then they decide to wrestle around shirtless with metal tentacles getting involved.

And then Emma and Selene walk in on it. Pity they didn’t join. I love how Selene and Emma just watched Shaw and Erik catfight over and over without ever getting involved, like “ok no matter which idiot kills which, we win” To quote a friend of mine, “I love their “philosophical discussions.”It’s worth noting, this was written by Claremont, who is notoriously kinky and into bondage, so….yeah those tentacles very much could be intended that way. Claremont liked tentacles, though he seemed to prefer them on women. Like there are no less than three instances of his writing in which a woman has her arms transformed into tentacles. But back on topic…Magneto eventually leads to Shaw being ousted from the Hellfire Club after a massive fight, and Shaw…doesn’t take it well. Like at one point he wants to get back at Mags and he’s like “OUR MUTUAL HATRED IS LEGENDARY!” and like…legendary to who, buddy? It seems like he wants Erik to care as much about him as he does about Erik. And he must care a LOT about Erik (”legendary”). And this is…kind of odd for Shaw? Shaw (at least classic Shaw) is not usually someone who gives this much of a shit about what someone, especially an enemy, thinks about him? I understand him hating Magneto for getting him kicked out of the club. I don’t understand his apparent NEED for Magneto to feel just as strongly about him. Maybe it’s because Shaw is such an egoist, but like I said, he’s never acted this way about anyone else. He’s never been this way about the X-Men, for instance, and they were WAY more trouble for him every step of the way. He likewise never seems to have a grudge against Selene or Emma for their part in kicking him out either, let alone saying anything how LEGENDARY OUR MUTUAL HATRED is, and he and Selene hated each other since the day she walked in. What I’m saying is, it’s weird. There’s definitely something going on here, but I don’t know what it is. Maybe Shaw is a bitter ex-boyfriend over Erik. Maybe it’s just comic dramatics. But damn, even AFTER they retconned Emma and Shaw as having been lovers and Shaw being a gross possessive piece-of-shit ex, he didn’t even get that upset over HER leaving. So…yeah, take this as you will. Especially with the bathroom thing.Next is Gambit, and, um…you know what I’m just gonna let these images speak for themselves.

Gambit really, really cannot keep his hands off those bear-tits. And like…he did not NEED to grope Shaw here to charge him? He could have fucking tapped his shoulder or shook his hand? But no, gotta get a BIG BARA TIDDY IN EACH PALM. And of course Shaw has to GRUNT like that.I just cannot buy that this was not deliberate. I cannot believe that no one at Marvel didn’t “hey this looks kinda gay”. They knew. They fucking knew.And they did it anyway.Also, this grainy scan of an earlier battle between them from years before:

Gambit charges up a playing card, throws it at Shaw. It doesn’t hurt him, but it disintegrates his shirt (he rips off the tattered remains next panel) But it does have SOME effect, namely that SHAW ARCHES HIS BACK AND SMILESClearly this gives Gambit an idea, because he orders the two women (BOTH OF WHOM ARE BETTER EQUIPPED TO FIGHT HIM) out of the room and to “leave Shaw to me”…..this explains so much about their later chest-groping escapades.So yeah, I read Shaw as bisexual. I didn’t WANT to. I tried NOT to. Because he is a terrible awful shit human being and bisexual’s do NOT need him for their rep. But this shit kept piling up. And I couldn’t NOT see it. So yeah, I see him as bisexual, with a preference for beautiful powerful women in their 20-30s and men his age or older with a “bear” body type (Gambit being the exception there)Also I would like to add this comment I made to a friend once who asked if Shaw was a switch or a bottom:“ he’s totally a verse. Like you’ve got one panel where he is fucking MOUNTING WOLVERINE, like there is no way his dick is not against Logan’s ass right now, but also in his first appearance he gets hit across the face by Colossus and SMILES LIKE HE’S LOVING IT. And this one time, this lady villain I love (MADELYNE PRYOR 4EVER) literally just comes into his room at night, tells him no talking til morning, and starts taking off her clothes. Which I guess would read as way rapey if the genders were reversed (and objectively still is) but Shaw is CLEARLY HELLA INTO IT because they wind up together for awhile. And at one point Storm literally carries him to rescue and I recall he’s A-okay with this because of course he is. Dude is hella verse, seems to have a tendency to especially want women who can own/destroy him. #RELATABLE” The Wolverine picture in question:

In the words of one comic book forum poster: “Never underestimate Sebastian Shaw’s ability to mount someone.”And notice Logan giving him the reacharound there too :3So, how much do I think was deliberate?Well, joking aside, I don’t think the pic with Logan was meant to be gay, I think it just came out awkward. Hilariously so.I think Gambit art was deliberate, because god just LOOK AT IT, but I don’t think the writer was going for that.I don’t think Claremont intended for Shaw and Leland to be anything more than friends, Claremont’s emphasis on Shaw’s love life was focused on Lourdes and her loss, but I do think the writer/artist for the bathhouse panel definitely wanted to imply something, especially since the 90s was a big time for “decadent evil bisexual” villains in comics, including Shaw’s own very-textually-bisexual son Shinobi. Also, again, why the fuck else would they use that for his “recruitment by Shaw” image?And while I don’t think Claremont intended anything with him and Leland, I do think Claremont might have been deliberate with the Magneto stuff. Claremont liked to do lots of homoerotic subtext in general and is the guy who invented Cherik and the whole Charles/Erik dynamic in all its subtextual shippiness, the guy who made Mystique and Destiny and made them a couple and pushed his hardest to get them to be canon, and who has explicitly said he considers Rachel and Kitty to be soulmates. I pretty much go with “if it seems gay and Claremont wrote it, it’s probably intended that way” as a rule of thumb.So, that’s my thoughts on Shaw’s sexuality, and my reasons why. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t. Maybe you feel it’s reaching or totally bogus and not homoerotic whatsoever and you’re very disappointed. That’s fair if you do. These are just the conclusions I drew, and admittedly part of it is just me thinking this stuff looks hilarious.Now, on to your question about if he’d seduce a guy—Since I don’t see him being “seductive” with women I don’t think he does with men either. I think that as with women, he’s pretty damn plain and direct, no dancing around it. Sidles up to the guy at a party, drink in hand, grips his shoulder with one hand, and says something in his ear. Admittedly he might test the water with men a bit more first just because of how some guys might react if they’re NOT into men, but Shaw also doesn’t have much to worry about in that department. I think if he thought that him seducing a guy was what it would take to get him into the HFC and he wanted him there, I certainly don’t think he’d have a problem doing so though.Also, bonus—as with the Wolverine picture, I don’t think this is any actual bisexual evidence at all, it’s just a fight scene that came out looking suggestive in this one shot, but:

Shaw vs Red Lotus, who actually ends up joining him later despite Shaw having been responsible for the murder of his grandfather. We’re never really told why Red Lotus would do that, when he wanted to kill Shaw in vengeance…so uh hey, who knows! It can be whatever you want! ;)

#sexuality headcanons #Anonymous

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