i like pomegranates

hi I have a bachelors in talking too much welcome

[naarlar]

so FINALLY saw Project Hail Mary in theaters today (yes I know I’m late) and uh… I don’t think I’ve ever cried that much over a movie EVER. Absolutely incredible

[inamindfarfaraway]

WordGirl villain OC: The Man

She (yes, she) is a seemingly grounded and serious crime lord who covertly controls Fair City’s underworld through her organisation, a parody of Mafia-esque supervillains like Batman's the Penguin and Spider-Man's the Kingpin. Her real name belongs to a very trustworthy and legitimate businesswoman. After WordGirl exposes her alter ego the first time, she typically goes by the Man because of the fear and respect it inspires and the villainous contacts it allows her to keep, but sometimes pretends to go straight or at least be seen as a minor villain anyway.

Her linguistic gimmick is that she frequently uses idioms and figurative speech, like “taking care” of her enemies. Or “the Man” being an idiom for any and all powerful people who oppress you with their unjust authority keep you down and must be resisted by righteous youths, hence her vague, ominous title. While she does use figurative language deliberately to be dishonest, manipulative or ambiguous, it also manifests as an instinctive, involuntary habit. She’ll do it even when being clear would be easier and more effective, and sometimes struggles to speak literally at all. Like, she’ll sincerely try to explain herself to a confused WordGirl, but just keep rattling off synonymous expressions because she can’t find any other words. It’s the only deviation from her sensible and efficient behaviour. Even her henchmen can get confused, limiting her competence. She could lampshade or defend her euphemisms or by noting that there are things you can't say plainly on a PBS Kids show.

This is so profound that if she wants to say the words of a common expression in a literal sense, she might accidentally say the meaning of the expression instead. E.g. you let her beloved pet cat out of a bag and she gleefully exclaims, “You revealed my big secret!” Cue a joke where she wants to say something like "whack" (as in 'hit with a stick') and realises that she can't say "kill" on a PBS Kids show.

Her other quirk is that she takes having an honour code and wanting to uphold a good reputation to the extreme, to the point of compromising her own criminal activity. Despite her ruthlessness and cunning, selfish schemes, she’s genuinely polite to people as a rule. It really is nothing personal. If she believes, or you can convince her, that taking a certain evil action is too cruel and unfair for such a civilised criminal, she’ll refrain no matter how much she wants the rewards. By appealing to her public image, you can convince her to do quite a lot of straightforward good before she catches herself. She insists that she doesn’t enjoy being nice or helping people. She just has standards. It’s a matter of principle. It’s pragmatism, that’s what it is! The notion that she’s anything less than a stone-cold kingpin of crime will either offend her or make her proud that you've fallen for her facade.

Above all her redeeming qualities, she’s caring, respectful and protective toward her employees, just as loyal to them as they are to her. “Of course I am! We’re a family. Ya didn’t think I was pulling your leg about that, did ya?” The same applies to her cat, and a few cute cat motifs could offset her suave, sophisticated aesthetic. No, this doesn't undercut her villainy.

Her relationships with other villains range from functional to amicable, the latter especially regarding the most intelligent ones like Dr Two-Brains and Tobey. Although she looks down on all of their zany, impractical antics and obsessions. That foolishness is beneath her. How is she the only villain in town who just wants money and power? And doesn’t waste funds on crazy contraptions that will inevitably be smashed? But hey, if a lack of common sense means they aren’t competition, good for them. And they’re so flashy, loud and obvious that they distract people from her quietly, patiently pulling the strings. (Don’t check her ‘Henchmen Birthdays’ budget. That’s private. Her spending is entirely reasonable!) She sometimes hires her fellow villains to do her dirty work for her and will use blackmail or leverage over them to keep them in line, aware of how unreliable they are. It tends to backfire nonetheless. This doesn't affect her friendships with them, the same way they can rob her totally legimate stores or fire their silly ray guns at her every now and then and she doesn't take it personally. Important lesson here, folks. You can do evil in wildly different ways and still be friends.

The one person she truly hates and might bend her own rules to take revenge on is District Attorney Sally Botsford. WordGirl might be a nuisance, but she’s also a naive child with no legal jurisdiction. If she can’t back up her suspicions with evidence, that’s that. And half the time, the Man is too subtle and sneaky for superhero dramatics… but with or without them, the DA somehow puts her behind bars again and again! She's that good! And she can't be bought or scared away, certainly not with WordGirl protecting her. A do-gooder like that needs to be dealt with, if you know what I mean.

There’s an episode where she and/or her loved ones are in trouble and WordGirl saves them. From that day on, WordGirl is family. The oppositional hero-villain dynamic doesn't change since neither budges on morality, but now the Man is a much more affectionate, sentimental enemy who keeps trying to give WordGirl motherly advice and gestures (like a packed lunch) between or even during interrogations, death traps and battles.

[inamindfarfaraway]

@locution-youngster-enjoyer Thanks for your compliment! Unfortunately I cannot draw, so you’ll just have to imagine her. I picture her as very butch, with short hair, broad shoulders and a dapper suit, perhaps with a cat brooch or patterned tie for a little flair. So when she’s dramatically framed in shadow you could mistake her for an actual man. She has tan skin, curly black hair and of course, the stereotypical New Jersey mobster accent. Especially in full villain mode and when she’s authentic and sincere. Depending on who she’s with and her persona at the time, she masks it with the area’s normal accent to sound more respectable.

She’s definitely friends with Leslie. They have regular hangouts to drink wine (or coffee onscreen, because it’s PBS), make fun of Mr Big and the other villains’ latest ridiculous schemes and trade advice for each other’s criminal careers.

[meowloudly15]

I see this and raise you: She wears a lot of fancy goods, including a Chicago overcoat (it's got pinstripes that make it look like wood) and cement shoes. Off the top of my head I wanna call her Manuela Manson. She runs a chain of laundromats (the joke here feels self-evident)

Artist's depiction is pending :3

[naarlar]

Exqueeze me @meowloudly15 when were YOU a Wordgirl fan? Maam we have so much to discuss

[naarlar]

I know a lot of people are upset about byler right now but just a quick PSA since I feel like a lot of people are saying kinda weird stuff:

Mike Wheeler was not written to be gay. There is no subtext or really any kind of text in the writing that definitively suggests he’s gay (especially in contrast to Robin or Will).

And even IF he was gay or bi, Mike is under no obligation to return Will’s feelings.

Will isn’t OWED anything from Mike past platonic love, which Mike is more than willing to give.

Some of y’all are spewing borderline incel talking points in regards to these two characters and please you can be upset about byler (yes there was some level of queerbaiting happening in this show) but like… Im sorry guys but Mike to me felt written straight as a pole.

Again not trying to insult or hurt anyone just my two cents on the discourse right now.

[zinesforfiends]

If you feel the same as this rat about the Online Safety Act in the UK, you should have a look at online petitions such as this one, and contact your local MP.

[itsabouttimex2]

You guys know MK will like… kill people. Right? You guys know that he’s not a blubbering little baby who insists on “being the bigger person” even in the face of everything he loves being destroyed??

And he has directly killed someone before.

Because she was threatening to destroy the world and kill his friends?

You guys know MK likes fighting. Right? MK from the very start has enjoyed fighting. Still enjoys fighting. Has always loved beating the tar out of his enemies. In the Calabash episode, one aspect of his “perfect life” was a very notable panel of the entire Demon Bull Family beaten to a pulp and sidelined- explicitly told to him that he was responsible for driving them away. Because MK liked fighting from the start.

You guys know that MK; who only starts having reservations about this behavior in season five, enjoys being violent. Right?

So much so that he threw Azure through Flower Fruit Mountain long after he had beaten him into degradation, even though he had dozens of other targets to aim at?

You guys do realize that MK was entirely in control of himself during this sequence, and was choosing all his actions?

And he chose to hurt Azure as bad as possible in revenge for being deceived?

You guys understand that he’s not like… a little blubbering baby who runs off to throw tantrums when he engages with basic violence? That MK understands that sometimes fighting is necessary and won’t fall apart the second he learns that people sometimes have to settle things physically?

You guys understand that MK has never held the use of violence against anyone, and has never blamed his friends or family or mentor for needing to engage in violence to protect themselves and their loved ones, right?

Right??

Right??

Right???

[itsabouttimex2]

Super cool that I made this whole post about how massively out of character it would be for MK to pitch a fit or be upset over his mentor or anyone else he cared about killing people and at least five anons came into my inbox to say “BUUUTTTT MACAQUE!!! HE WOULD BE UPSET ABOUT MAACCAAAAQUEEE! MACAQUE WOULD MAKE HIM BE OOC!! MK WOULD be a blind blubbering hypocrite and castigate his mentor for killing an enemy as long as that enemy was the fandom’s ever-woobified darling!!!

No you absolute fucking goobers that is EXACTLY what I made this whole post about.

About the entire phenomena of “MK becomes a shrieking lobotomite who runs away to blubber when he learns the world-famous hero he’s adored from childhood who’s been smashing people over the head with a big stick for centuries wasn’t a self-sacrificial pacifist” type content when it doesn’t make any fucking sense for MK to be angry or heartbroken that people have to kill each other sometime, especially in regards to someone that literally tried to murder MK TWICE in cold blood after grooming, deceiving, and betraying him.

[averytiredcatboi]

People are still doing that? MK knows that Monkey King isn't the greatest hero ever, he grew up from that ideal a while ago! Plus, I have a feeling MK still harbors distrust towards Macaque because of what he's done to him. I mean cmon, bro tried to kill him multiple times, manipulated him, stole his powers, etc.

Macaque is a wonderful character and I hate seeing him downsized for the sake of making Wukong the villain. And I hate seeing MK downsized into a little bean who can't believe that sometimes people have to die.

I get that a lot of people in the fandom want to project themselves onto Macaque, and I get that some people want to do the same with MK. And that isn't inherently a bad thing! But forcing others to or being mad that others don't like and don't want that? That's not okay.

Just thought I'd throw my two cents in.

[itsabouttimex2]

->Macaque is a wonderful character and I hate seeing him downsized for the sake of making Wukong the villain. And I hate seeing MK downsized into a little bean who can't believe that sometimes people have to die. <-

Genuinely Macaque has SO many subversive characteristics that I LOVE and I get so mad when fans take them away to make him a sad little bean.

Manipulative, power-hungry villain is a shallow stereotype, but Macaque subverts it by succeeding his first gamble for power, making him a legitimately threatening villain.

Cowardly villains are ALSO a one-note cliche but Macaque, in spite of being a massive coward for 1-3 subverts the trope by being sincerely cool-headed and thought out in his actions instead of a squealing wreck, but also making it clear that he’s also a self-destructive person because all his brainpower goes into hurting innocent people instead of improving on himself.

Being brainwashed into doing bad things is a common excuse to let characters go all out, but prevents character development by having characters be incapable of autonomy. Macaque subverts that flaw by remaining in control of himself through the Lady Bone Demon’s control, which gives us a clearer shot at the sort of person he is when strained.

HES ACTUALLY A REALLY COOL DUDE WHEN THE NARRATIVE LETS HIM TAKE CENTER STAGE AND BE FLAWED!! HE’S MESSED UP IN THE HEAD AND UNKIND AND DEEPLY SELF-PRIORITIZING AND THATS WHAT MAKES HIM SO INTERESTING

There is SO much awesome stuff about Macaque that is lost when people make him a “sad wittle bean”!!

[alilcherrysramblings]

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK MOOTIE 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[naarlar]

Dude this is exactly my biggest problem with the LMK fandom rolled into one big beautiful thread. Like even popular artists within the fandom have this issue.

[naarlar]

Welp it finally happened. Apothecary Diaries latest episode made me cry. Like I knew it was coming (from reading the manga) BUT BOY WAS I NOT READY STILL.

[naarlar]

so someone correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Silksong in an XBox game showcase a while back? And then it got taken off game pass and radio silence afterwards until today?

Assuming this info is correct, all I have to say about the Silksong announcement (especially with how low key it is but maybe we will hear more tomorrow and Friday) is that this is exciting but MAYBE we should take it with a grain of salt.

I dunno I feel like everyone is forgetting that an announcement like this has in the past lead to disappointment. I don’t think what we have gotten so far is deserving of this kind of reaction until Team Cherry explains themselves a little bit and gives information about what has been going on.

I dunno though that’s just my two cents and nothing against everyone getting excited I just hope we all manage our expectations.

[gigili-jiggly]

odysseus to palamedes the moment he's forced on the boat taking him to war

reference under the cut:

[naarlar]

And then he did

[naarlar]

quick question yall, was I the only one who didn’t get the final conversation between Joker and Akechi in the cafe after Maruki left?

[mumaji-rabid-fangirl]

[naarlar]

Hi friend don’t hide in the tags you are spitting some wisdom

[naarlar]

Sorry to the peeps who knew me before the Ithaca saga came out, yall gotta deal with a new mess now

[naarlar]

It is so jarring to go through the mouthwashing tag. One moment it’s a funny video of J*mmy and Swansea having a dance off. The next is a guttural depiction of a horse baby inside Anya.

What the hell even is this game

[naarlar]

Jinx’s story is not about redemption or forgiveness. It is about change. It is about rebellion. It is about finding the will (through the people in your life both past and present) to create something new in spite of everything.

It is about breaking the cycle.

[naarlar]

okie say what you will about arcane s2 but Ekko is the goat, king among plebeians, hero in a sea of messes

[naarlar]

MEL BLACK ROSE THEORY

Spoilers for Arcane Season 2 Act 2…….

So I think back when Leblanc as Amara was speaking to Ambessa, the thing she stole that’s more valuable than gold was… Mel.

I think Leblanc was being honest with Mel in the hole. Kino started hearing rumors about his mom and that caused a domino effect that lead to the Black Rose learning about the child and getting really mad at Ambessa.

These people clearly value their powers and magic and are most likely angry at Ambessa for never revealing that she was pregnant with their “sister”. They see it as stealing one of their own.

My question is what will Mel do now? I mean, she does not like her mom (and is probably mad at her right now for lying). And she definitely hates Black Rose for killing Elara and Kino. I don’t know where her story is headed honestly

EDIT: quick extra note to add, when they were attacking Mel with chains and talking about having hopes for her brother, I think they initially thought he was the child and they tried to confirm it by attacking him the way they did Mel. The only difference is that Kino didn’t have the powers to save himself like Mel did. That is why they haven’t stopped since killing him. If Mel didn’t have the powers, then she would be just as dead as Kino.

[naarlar]

I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I think I can finally put into words why 600 strike just did not work for me.

It's the tonal dissonance. It's the breaking of immersion.

600 strike in my opinion does not keep up with the tone of the musical or even the tone set by Get in the Water. Think about it: we go from a tragic song about a god adamant about killing a man just trying to get home, both tired but completely at odds… to a song of a mortal man jetbacking and striking a god with his mortal sword before stabbing said god with his own trident. And somehow not getting killed by said god he is torturing in the process, with no indication from the song or visuals that he is being aided by divine intervention. It completely destroys any tension from the previous song and paints Poseidon as not really a threat (after all he just got owned by a mortal).

I'm sorry the saga was great and the music was amazing but honestly? I just couldn't take the last song seriously at all, which sucks bc that is supposed to be the highest moment of the musical in terms of themes and pay off.

Absolutely no hate to Jorge though, that man is my hero and an inspiration (especially as a writer and painter). I’m being serious he is an amazing and cool person and he should be proud of himself for what he has managed to create. I hope he can be fulfilled in his life as he continues to create art for himself and others.

[naarlar]

Okie so I actually want to hear everyone’s thoughts on the Vengeance Saga, cause I have some mixed thoughts.

On one hand, IT WAS SO GOOD FROM A VOCALS PERSPECTIVE AND THE SONGS BEING BOPS. I was impressed by everyone’s performances (seriously I know in every saga everyone sounds awesome but this saga is just so visceral and surreal?!) Odysseus (Jorge the king himself) especially was so good in this musical?! His desperation and anger?? THE SCENE WHERE HE NEARLY DROWNS??? AAAAAAAAAAA

On the OTHER hand, I can’t be the only one that found the saga a little… corny? Not even the saga honestly just 600 strike. Idk I just couldn’t take 600 Strike seriously and I don’t think a song with that kind of narrative weight should have that effect. I recognize the musical is inspired by video games and anime, and that’s fine. But I feel there is a difference between being inspired by different works of anime versus using overused cliches and stereotypes from anime as a genre. (and maybe I’m taking it a little too literally but how the hell did Ody actually manage to torture Poseidon, like did the souls of his crew give him the power to stand to a god?)

Idk these are just initial thoughts I’d love to hear everyone’s takes bc I honestly don’t have a concrete judgement on 600 strike.