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citadelspires · 3 years

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P1 - Given how great you're track record's been for doing hypothetical interactions of Amphibia kids with the Duck kids and Owl House kids, let's try doing the Duck kids meeting the Owl House kids and who they'd like the best. I'll exclude Violet for this for the sake of evenening things out 5 to 5. I'd assume Luz would get along best with Dewey (both jump into adventure), King with Louie (could see em teaming up for a scheme), Willow with Huey (eh, more leftover interaction but can work)

Screenshot of second half of the ask provided. Text: P2 Gus with Webby (would totally ask each other lots of questions about their species), and Amity with Lena (both got abusive figures they stood up to and would totally talk about their crushes on Luz and Webby LOL). Would love to see you take on Duck kids and Owl House kids interactions.

First of all I’m very pleased to hear you find my track record on these posts good, they’ve been really fun to write and it makes me really happy people like them! Second I am so sorry it’s taken so long to get to this ask, it’s a really in depth one and it took a long time to write, I hope you’ll find it was worth the wait!

Aight! Oh and one last thing real quick before I get into it. I hope you wouldn’t mind me adding Violet back in, partially due to the fact I love her, but mostly because there’s actually another owl house character I think works significantly better with Louie than anyone else and I really want the chance to talk about that. Saving that one for last hehe. This’ll be another long one, writing below the cut.

Luz and Webby So I do like a lot of the possible interactions brought up by your suggested grouping but my mind went in a few different directions. I’ll start with Luz, who would fit in best with another excitable adventuring partner, as pointed out, but I think the best fit for her in that regard would actually be Webby. While Dewey would no doubt get along great with Luz, there’s a special element to the potential relationship between Luz and Webby that really elevates the potential of their friendship to another level, that being: they both want to eat a hamburger.

An aspect of Webby I wish the later seasons of the show got into a little more, but is definitely something I would consider a core part of her character, is the fact that she got held up in the mansion her whole childhood, with no opportunities to interact with the world around her, have all the adventures she wanted, and most importantly to just be seen as the kid she wanted to be. And while Luz was technically able to go out into the world, the place she found wasn’t one that was willing to see her, or give her any of the chances she longed for. Both Webby and Luz fully understand that feeling of being trapped in your own life, of finally getting the chance to break out and just doing your best to make the most of it. I think there’s a lot the two could gain from spending some time together.

(Also, to borrow the bit about gushing about their crushes but from the other end, these two would totally get sidetracked talking about their respective crushes and also trying to play wingman for each other. It’s a massive comic disaster in both cases, but somehow both Lena and Amity manage to find it endearing).

Amity and Violet Okay wait lemme explain. While the two of them don’t have a whole lot in common at first glance, I think they would genuinely get along extremely well. While a lot of Amity’s focus on school came at the force of her parents, you cannot honestly expect me to believe that girl isn’t a studious nerd on her own anyway. Heck even outside the realm of studies she throws her full dedication into literally every single thing she does. Remind you of anyone? Beyond just being extremely intelligent Violet is clever and ready for anything. She takes everything in stride and always has a plan, she can go from “we were sleeping over and you said everybody get on the plane, so we got on the plane” to “I brought an axe” in a minute flat.

I like to think the two of them would have a mutual respect for each other based on their respective intellects upon first meeting, but as they become closer friends they find they can move from more serious respect to a casual enjoyment of each other. I would go as far as to say that both of these characters really value dependability in a friend, and that they each provide a lot of that. To wrap back around to the stuff about intelligence I think Violet could provide a lot of insight to Amity as far as showing her that pursuing studies and academic heights of her own volition can be something that she can just do because she wants to, and that’s no excuse for unhealthy parental relationships. Getting along so well with someone like Violet only to see that her parents are actually really loving and supportive, that would be really eye-opening for Amity I think. For Violet’s part she could get a lot of help from Amity as far as her pursuit of the secrets of magic goes. I suspect Amity would be much more interested in the study of her magic than Violet would be able to get Lena to tolerate lol.

Bonus Round: Amity would absolutely be a senior junior woodchuck and she would love it you cannot convince me otherwise. She starts quoting the JWGB around the owl house kids and they all look at her like she’s crazy.

Lena and Willow I feel like this one might seem a little out there at first but trust me on this one. Initially Lena doesn’t think too much of Willow, being as close as she is to Webby she knows liking flowers and cute things doesn’t mean Willow is automatically to be taken lightly but she feels like she’s got a good read on her that she generally prefers to avoid trouble and turns down opportunities for violence, which isn’t really Lena’s deal. Over time Lena figures she was right about her first impressions as Willow doesn’t seem to take many opportunities to expose some hidden power, even when Lena knows the people around her kinda deserve it.

She learns to adjust her opinion when she finally does get the chance to see Willow in action and realizes that girl is more powerful than any of the other kids she’s met in the boiling aisles bar none(yes this is my genuine opinion of willow if you don’t think she could kick your ass you’re wrong). It’s at that moment where she starts to pay more attention to Willow and notices a lot more of the strength she puts into all the little things, how much she cares for everyone and everything, and it does a great deal to show Lena that maybe having super strong magic powers isn’t mutually exclusive with being kind and gentle. And maybe gentle isn’t her thing but still, it’s nice to know.

For Willow’s part she’s just happy to make more friends. Especially if the opportunity arises, as I like to think it would, when they’re close enough friends, that Lena would start to hint around asking questions about how Willow remains so casual and nice with the ability to do so much damage, and Willow takes the chance to help Lena figure out her magic a bit more, and learn how to better appreciate it as an aspect of herself she doesn’t have to be scared of. (I mean come on Lena never really learned how to do any of it except barely kind of from Magica of all people she could really use something like that).

Huey and Gus Now there are some certain things about Gus that would drive Huey absolutely nuts. His lack of primary and reliable sources for any of his information being a big one, but at the end of the day I think he’d enjoy Gus’ desire to learn in the first place. Gus would probably be a little dubious about Huey’s “sources” and “citations” but if it helped him get more info on the human realm he’d certainly go for it in the end. In that way the two balance each other out pretty well. Gus is studious and intelligent but he’s a little off the wall, he’s got a big creative streak, and he’s really excitable. Huey is really really good at facts and analysis but he lacks the strength in imagination that Gus has. Huey is able to take all the grandiose concepts Gus is able to think up and help make them actually happen. Gus has that specific brand of an adventurers soul matched up with the fact he’s not actually the type to get into danger and fights, meaning he’s able to drag Huey out of his comfort zone a little and help him reach new heights with his mind that his struggles with creativity prevent him from reaching, while managing to not make him feel like he’s actually in danger. I actually believe the two of them together could get some really incredible stuff done.

What I’m saying is that with Huey’s help Gus could absolutely complete his tunnels under Hexside.

Dewey and King Now this, this is the pair who would go incredibly well together, at the detriment of literally everyone around them. If there is one person King “I Will Rule Everything” Clawthorne should not be exposed to its Dewey Duck. Within minutes of meeting each other the two of them would immediately have so many bad ideas. Between Dewey’s insistence on being the best and most daring adventurer while putting his name on everything and going down in history & King’s trying to rule everything and everyone, the attempts to raise the stakes would be constant and the two would spend literal hours endlessly trying to one-up each other. All in one day they search for legendary treasure, discover an entirely new civilization, try to take over said civilization, create a new species just to name it after themselves, and build statues of themselves in the middle of Bonesbourough. And that’s all before lunch.

Louie Here it is. The one I waited till the very end for out of sheer excitement. I even kept the second name out of the heading thing. That’s how secretive I’m trying to be about this. See, there’s one character in the owl house that works so well with Louie it’s practically canon. Their interactions have so much potential, they each bring so much to the table, I just couldn’t Not talk about it. And yeah, I know this ask was specifically asking about the owl house and ducktales kids, but I just couldn’t resist talking about the relationship between Louie and Eda.

A con artist from another world who was so successful she became nationally famous? There’s no way Louie would pass up an opportunity like that. For his part I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already managed to set up another underworld identity in the boiling aisles, or at the very least that Eda could totally have been to the ducktales realm and heard of his one there.

Either way I’m convinced the two of them would start planning a heist as soon as they figure out who each other are. Eda is a little prideful and wants to show this kid he can’t out-con her, but Louie knows what he’s doing just as much. Honestly with the two of them combined Eda wouldn’t have to worry about losing her stand for a long time. Over the course of their planning and seeing Louie in action Eda begrudgingly gains some respect for the kid, and while Louie was definitely just using her as a learning/profit opportunity at first, he’s pretty susceptible to getting attached.

For Louie, it’s the fact that she actually respects him for being good at what he does. Even back with his family who all love and care about him and all that he still feels like most of them don’t really get what he does or see what’s special about him, so having someone who made a whole life of it be even a little proud of him feels really nice.

And of course, at the end of their heist when they finally have the money in hand, and Eda just casually hands over his half, he stares at her like she’s crazy.

“You’re just.. Giving it to me?!”

“Well, yeah. That was the deal wasn’t it kid? I mean if you really want I definitely have a few ideas for it.”

“No! Uh, no, thanks, I’ll keep it. It’s just that you really remind me of someone, I guess I was expecting something else.”

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sstar-nerd · 3 years

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Me, a casual Crosshair enjoyer, walking into the fandom space this morning:

I see the the N*zi and Fac*ism talks regarding the Empire and I will just say this as my opinion on it:

The Empire, and the Fac*ism it represents is deplorable and it’s wrong to support its ideals and actions

Do I think Crosshair was reasonable in his talk about being left behind and feeling abandoned?

He is valid in those feelings of abandonment and he is allowed to feel angry at the Batch

Do I agree with Crosshair on joining the Empire and his “we’re better than Regs” crap?

No and I’m angry and pissed off with him. I understand that after his perceived abandonment that it was easy to cling to the Empire however he now has a clear out with people who have obviously been doing things outside of the military life with purpose. If his chip is truly out and he said that stuff with a clear mind then I am absolutely going to criticize his behavior and be angry with him. What he is choosing to support is wrong and if he continues to support them without the chip then he is WRONG. He is not correct with his ideology and needs a good punch like he did in TCW.

Do you think the chip is still in?

Eh? I don’t really know. Both sides have made good points of why the chip is gone and why the chip is still in. I’m just gonna view from the sidelines and see what happens in the meantime.

What are your feelings on Crosshair Anti’s?

They are VERY valid in their hate for Crosshair. To them he represents a cog in a system that has repeatedly dehumanized and hurt them. Right now they are criticizing Crosshair Stan’s that are saying his WHOLE speech is right. I can see that maybe a few of them are going too far in this aspect but they are correct to criticize Crosshair and be on the lookout for red flags or signs of apologists/supporters of the Fa*ism ideology in the fanbase. (Also I agree on the rat comments)

Than what are your thoughts on the Crosshair fans?

Tbh my page has mostly been filled with people who are happy the abandonment feelings got brought up. The other half is hoping Crosshair isn’t being a super big jerk and that the chip is still in. I’m not a fan of UWU ing Crosshair cause it sorta takes a lot away from his character. He is MEANT to be the jerk of the group. That’s his role! I’m also not a fan of them excusing his agreement with the Empire. Like, yes it’s understandable, but it’s WRONG OF HIM. He is doing something WRONG. He is being a big DIMB DUMB and being STUPID.

TLDR: Empire is bad and if Crosshair agrees with them without chip he is also bad.

#crosshair

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shinylitwick94 · 3 years

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Shinylitwick's summer (SF/)Fantasy reads - Part I

As it turns out trying to complete the r/fantasy book bingo and not wanting to get into heavy reads this year meant that I spent most of my summer reading almost exclusively SFF, and I read a lot of it. I'm sharing my thoughts on these with anyone who might be interested in them. This covers books I read between july and the first week of september 2021. I'll be doing this in two parts because it would be too long otherwise.

As a reminder, these are personal thoughts, not professional reviews, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Without further ado:

Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay

By this point I think I can say pretty firmly I’m a fan of GGK. I just really enjoy his “alternate history with a dash of fantasy” stuff, and I like his writing and the fact that he’s so good at capturing that sort of bittersweet melancholy I’m a huge junkie for.

That being said, Under Heaven started off amazing, spent a lot of time in eh, and finished solid. I like it, but it’s my least favorite of his books so far. I think it essentially suffers from making promises it doesn’t deliver on. There’s a lot of stories which go nowhere, which I’m sometimes fine with, but I don’t think it worked here. Especially with the sister. I have very little familiarity with Chinese history, but from what I’ve read in other reviews, he stuck rather more closely to the history here than he usually does, which maybe limited his ability to maneuver his characters. Still, I would recommend it, if this is your style.

The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski

I’ve tried reading this before…in Russian. Don’t know why I thought that was a good idea (something about maybe a better translation?). Anyway, my Russian obviously wasn’t up to scratch and the books are polish anyway.

So, English translation it was. As many of you will know this is actually a short story collection, which is the first part of the Witcher book series. I’d already watched the tv show, and played a bit of the game, so some of the stories were new to me, and others weren’t.

I liked how the book highlighted the “twisted fairytale” aspect of some of these (e.g Snow White, Rumplestiltskin) – that didn’t really come across so well in the adaptations. I think altogether it was a fun and enjoyable read.

The Farthest Shore, by Ursula Le Guin (Book 3 in the Earthsea Cycle)

Ursula Le Guin made me cry again. I’ve been talking about Le Guin a lot recently, with a friend who’s read a lot of her nonfiction, but none of her fiction, while I’ve for the most part just read the fiction. She’s one of those authors who just seems to get it, and who knows how to use the genre to its full extent. Magic and dragons aren’t just a toy, but a tool to actually say something.

She does that across the board, of course, but Farthest Shore hit me harder than the other Earthsea books have, maybe because imho it’s the saddest so far. There’s a lot about death, acceptance, and time passing, and responsibility in this which I really liked. I feel like it manages to get its themes across in a way that is crystal clear, but not ham-fisted. I loved this book, I really did, but I feel like I will need to read it again in a few years, and I’m sure it will be a different read then.

One of many nice quotes:

“When I was young, I had to choose between the life of being and the life of doing. And I leapt at the latter like a trout to a fly. But each deed you do, each act, binds you to itself and to its consequences, and makes you act again and yet again. Then very seldom do you come upon a space, a time like this, between act and act, when you may stop and simply be. Or wonder who, after all, you are.”

The Black Company, by Glen Cook (Book 1 in the Chronicles of the Black Company)

This was sold to me as the granddaddy of grimdark fantasy, and I can certainly see it. It’s clearly influenced a lot of later fantasy authors (Erikson, Abercrombie, to some extent Martin). Yet somehow it manages to be less explicit, or graphic, than some modern grimdark. It can be pretty gross too, but it knows how to cut away when necessary and is usually smart about implying things. I also really liked the basic concept of following characters who work for the Dark Lord (or Dark Lady in this case). The characters themselves are interesting enough – in this first book we don’t go super in depth on a lot of them, but the ones we’re stuck with are decent, and the story holds. Still, I felt like this was more a worldbuilding book than a character book, if that makes sense. And I did like the world. It’s appropriately dark and petty and sucks, but hey that’s what we’re here for.

So overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who is interested into the more grimdark side of fantasy. Stay away from it if that’s not your thing or you’re super squeamish.

(most of Tumblr dni I guess)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo

This was a fun little read. I had no idea what to expect going in and I ended up enjoying it. The story follows a nonbinary monk as they go through the affairs of a deceased empress and in discussion with Rabbit, the said empress’s servant, learn her story. The story is mostly told by Rabbit and each section follows a particular object. I liked how that was set up and the way in which the whole picture was slowly revealed to the reader. It’s apparently been read as a feminist story and I can see where that reading comes from, and it was likely intentionally so. It wasn’t the most important part of this to me, but up to you to judge.

I will say though, and this is not the book’s fault, but mine, that reading a story where the POV character uses they/them pronouns was more confusing than I anticipated. I kept expecting there to be more of them at random points in the narrative, and having to backtrack to understand.

It’s a short nice read, but definitely something I feel more comfortable recommending to people here than irl.

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett (Discworld)

Not much to say here. Discworld is Discworld and can do no wrong, apparently. This might be one of my favorites so far. Loved Granny to pieces, it was fun, it was funny, it was thoughtful without being heavy. It’s the Discworld, what can you do.

The House in the Cerulean Sea, by T.J. Klune

This was pure tooth-rotting fluff, which I think I kind of needed to balance out my reading. It’s cute, it’s cheesy, it’s wholesome it owns it and is proud of it. It’s very LGBT friendly. It’s a good guys win, bad guys lose, discrimination dies today kind of thing.

I’m surprised it’s not bigger on Tumblr tbh (it’s not non-existent either, I checked, just smaller than expected; maybe it’s too nice?).

Anyway, I did like it, and I’m exaggerating just a little bit on the cheesiness. It’s a sweet little story about a character who would normally be played by Martin Freeman (if a bit chubbier) learning that there is more to life than Rules and Regulations and finding love and a family.

If that’s your sort of thing, give it a shot.

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hecallsmehischild · 3 years

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Recent Media Consumed

Books

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. First, I actually appreciated the foreward to the “Left Book Club” copy, even though it says that anyone who is not a member should disregard it. It gave an interesting rebuttal to parts of the book. That aside, I’m not totally sure what to make of the book. On the level of descriptive writing, I rarely find something this richly penned. But it’s loaded with concepts and lingo and even a monetary system I’m unfamiliar with, and that hampers my understanding of the points. I get the general gist, but all the finer points are very lost on me, simply because I’m an American millennial.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson. I’ve seen the “F*ck” series titles floating around here and there, and I’m intrigued by a couple of them. The idea of this one is that people give way too many f*cks about everything, and that you really need to pick where you give your f*cks in life and never give a f*ck about anything that doesn’t line up with your values (in a nutshell). It’s an easy and interesting read. It’s interesting to me that, in the wake of what I hear was many years of positive-mood and high self-esteem type self help books (most of which I’ve only heard of and never read, were they before my time?), we’re getting a backlash of “Yes, life sucks. Yes, life has pain. Dealing with pain and failure appropriately is a part of life. Accept that, or lose yourself to complete entitlement” type self-help books. I’m curious what this trend produces in people over time. I’d also like to highlight that this book has the best discussion of dividing “fault” and “responsibility” that I’ve ever read.

Shows

Loki. WHAT EVEN. WHAT EVEN. WHAT. WHAT THE. WHAT THE. FRESH… THE FRICK FRACK PADDYWHACK???!!!

Mushi-shi. So, turns out the first time I watched this I somehow started on Season 2, and my source cut out before the season end… no wonder I was pretty confused. So I started re-watching this and… I remember how incredibly unsettling this anime is. It’s equal parts gentle wonder and soft horror, a blend that is very difficult to describe unless you’ve seen it. Much like Mushi themselves, eh? I think I’ll balance this out by ending each watch session with an episode of Log Horizon rewatch. That’ll keep the emotional balance intact.

Claymore. I ended up dropping this one halfway through. It has an interesting concept, but the “things that bug me” points mounted pretty fast. In the early episodes, everything is so dark that it’s hard to see what’s going on. There’s a huge amount of monologuing and info-dumping IN monologue, and this goes on even mid-fight, and even CALMLY mid-fight. Yes, this isn’t the only anime that does this, but it decreases my enjoyment. It’s difficult to take the story seriously when the big bad yells, “Why can’t I defeat you?” to the weakest-but-somehow-also-the-strongest member of a team, and then have a colleague of the team member calmly explain to the big bad exactly why he’s unable to land a blow, then they take off his head together. This show has a lot of that sort of thing. I’ll read up on how the series ended, not interested in slogging through the other half.

Elfen Lied. This is a re-re-rewatch for me. I stumbled on this anime when I was newly inducted into anime-watching and, well... given that Princess Tutu was my very first anime, this one was a real shock to my system at first. By all accounts I should have dropped it and run screaming at the time, but I couldn’t. There was something about the sheer tragedy of the story that called to me. Plus it was VERY short. So I returned to it from time to time. Now that I’ve developed more of a feel for what I do and don’t like in a story, how does this hold up? The relationships are terrible, imo, and the whole thing about diclonius is never explained enough (and I still don't understand the ending) but it's STILL hard not to be pulled in by the sheer tragedy of the series.

Movies

300. I haven’t seen this movie since college. Is it weird how much I enjoyed it as a romp? Yes, there’s death and tragedy, but the dry humor and utter gung-ho-edness of it is infectious. It’s a good flick, I’m really glad I went back to see it. And I also finally understand Leonidas telling the traitor, “May you live forever.” Damn, man. No wonder he flinched.

Weathering With You. GORGEOUS. I need to see more by this animator… LIGHT. WATER. FOOD. I hear they’re calling this person the new Miyazaki? I CONCUR. And the story is sweet and beautiful and just yes. Yes. Oh, look, he made something else before this movie…

Your Name. Okay so I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, fantastic story and, once again, gorgeous animation that all makes me want to track with this creator in the future. And the twist definitely socked me in the gut, I didn’t see it coming. On the other hand, I feel like this movie hits an extreme of “show, don’t tell” in a way that comes awfully close to a negative. I didn’t think that was possible, but this movie switches timelines, POV, points in time, etc, so rapidly that it becomes difficult to keep track of what’s going on, properly. I could not imagine watching this movie in theaters, it has to be watched with a remote in hand to pause, rewind, rewatch, discuss what the heck just happened. It’s like watching Mystery Skulls videos, with that level of rapid fire little details that are incredibly important to the plot, but for a feature length film. Also, after some discussion, I came to see (and agree) that there’s a foundational issue in the main relationship that doesn’t bode well for the future, as much as I rooted for them to be together. Still, it’s an incredible movie and I can see why it was the highest grossing movie for Japan a few years back.

Games

Diablo II. I’m really happy. I live in a house with my husband and his best friend, and in the past year or so we’ve begun playing games together. This is the sort of game I would never have gone to on my own because I actually need someone in the room who I can ask, “Hey, how do you assign attacks again?” or “Hey, is this piece of gear better than the piece I’m wearing?” I don’t like playing the number game on gear so much, but I let the two of them dress my character up and then I back them up in a fight and enjoy myself. Looting and exploring for treasure is probably my favorite aspect (says the person who plays Breath of the Wild just to forage for mushroom and herbs), although as a level 20 Amazon I’m now shooting out waves of 8 arrows at a time, and that’s pretty epic too. It’s a special kind of joy to find out you actually like a type of gaming as long as there’s people there who can explain things along the way and who don’t get annoyed at re-asked questions. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m having a blast playing Diablo II in a group. And as for the other game we play together as a group…

WoW Classic. I covered this before, but back then I was a lowly level 17 Dwarf Hunter. Now I’m a lowly level 36 Dwarf Hunter. With a mount! I have epic skills like explosion traps, poisonous shots, and multi-shot. My wolf has gained a ton more skills, too, and is (or so I’m told) a pretty effective off-tank. I have been told I am an effective DPS person, which makes me very happy. I really enjoy this kind of gaming, but specifically when I’m in the same room as the people I’m gaming with. Communication is a lot easier and we work really well as a team that way.

#recent media consumed #child loves books #child loves movies #child loves shows #n00b gamer child

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phanlight · 3 years

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Imagine Living Like A King Someday

prompt: Southview Boarding School isn’t a castle and Phil Lester isn’t royalty, but he has everything. His father owns the school, he’s popular, has the best room, gets all the best treatment – there are very few things that aren’t handed to him on a platter. Dan is a cleaner/Phil’s personal maid there, and he isn’t as lucky. Everyone seems to take an aversion to the outsider, including Phil (at first).

[CHAPTER MASTERPOST]

theres something so funny to me abt having written all of this over a matter of months and then picking it up 4 entire years later like nothing happened

still thinking of the enormous steaming mess past left future me to clear up in terms of plot but i think we're finally there THANKS 2016 SHELLEY

[AO3 LINK]

Twenty-Three (fINALLY)

By far the best thing about this job, Dan decides, is the Thursday afternoons. They allow for a lull in the week, a window wherein Phil is enveloped in a research project and Noah equally as swallowed up in rehearsals. December being only a breath away had made for a sudden increase in workload for both of them; it seems leaving the holiday season for an actual holiday is far too big an ask for the education system. Dan feels sorry for them. He remembers his burning resentment toward academic responsibilities; how much he’d loathed being made to study while the sky loses its light. He’d taken pity on the pair of them and stocked up on various study supplies – all edible and a few drinkable, much to their delight. He’d left them with all the Kit-Kats, Doritos and Jaffa Cakes they’d possibly be able to cram into a four-hour session. He’s becoming something of a mother figure, he giggles when he tells Lawrence.

There’s something about conversations with someone as wise as the head caretaker, the nicest boss he’s ever had, that jolts everything back into perspective again. Sometimes, when anxiety gnaws and every breath feels uneasy, the only thing that helps is a few words of wisdom. Of true compassion. And as caring and as gentle as Phil is, sometimes it’s worth listening to someone over triple his age; with triple his life experience.

And way over triple his collection of mugs. They stand in rows in a cabinet next to the desk, a glass door keeping them on proud display (there’s no way he doesn’t polish that regularly). He can’t count the teas they’ve had together, but he’s never had the same mug twice. It makes the overall experience just that little bit more enjoyable; a guaranteed smile no matter how bleak the day.

“Wallace, or Gromit?” is the first thing Lawrence says when Dan creaks open the door.

He frowns. Bit of an odd way to say hello, but he’s had weirder.

“Sorry?”

“If you had to pick?”

Dan chuckles, his frown melting away. Months of this place has made him warmly familiar with Lawrence’s eccentricities and quick-fire questions upon entering. The only one who works here with a personality, Phil often calls him, before quickly adding Below fifty, of course.

“Gromit,” he says decidedly. “He’s cute.”

“Gromit it is,” he whips around, presenting Dan with a steaming ceramic version of the dog, his left ear protruding into a handle.

“How did I not see that coming?” Dan chuckles, taking the mug and nearly burning his fingertips. “Thanks,” he sips a little too quickly. “Let me guess; you have a Wallace one too?”

“A-ha!” Lawrence spins around again holding with an identically sized mug, the other character still grinning despite having a head full of boiling hot liquid.

“You never cease to amaze me,” Dan grins, shaking his head in disbelief. He plops himself down on Lawrence’s enormous armchair, shifting a jacket off of the seat. Despite his repeated insistence that he really doesn’t mind and the stool looks really comfy, actually; Lawrence insists he takes his chair every single time he comes over.

‘It’s just lovely to have a chat with you, kid,’ he’d say. ‘I don’t get many visitors.’

The whole thing swamps Dan’s small frame, the upholstery devouring most of him, but the comfort is unbeatable. He could fall asleep here.

“Look at his nose! His- look at that! Hey- you’re missing it!”

Dan’s eyes dart around the room. “Wait- what?”

“The mug!�� he urges.

Dan frowns, peering at the steaming Wallace. His grin looks like the taste of Brie.

“It’s-…” he squints. “Big?”

“Not mine you daft thing- yours!” he points.

“Mine?” Dan looks down. Gromit stares forward, his black button now a cherry red. “Oh!”

“Clever, that, ain’t it?” Lawrence enthuses, his eyes shimmering. “Must be a heat detector! I don’t know how they do it, these things,” he beams. “It’s like they’re finding something new every day.”

Dan’s heart glows. It would come as no surprise if he’d been waiting all week to show him that.

“I’ll keep an eye out for it next time,” Dan smiles, looking down. “I used to have a Pac-Man mug that did a similar thing, actually.”

“Pac-Man, eh?” Lawrence says as if it’s the eleventh Grand Theft Auto. “What used to happen? Did he do his little routine?”

“Not quite,” Dan giggles, assuming his ‘little routine’ constituted flying around a maze uncontrollably. “The ghosts just appeared. Nothing moved, though.”

“That’ll be the next step, I tell you,” Lawrence says. “Goodness knows what they’ll be able to do even one year from now. Come next Christmas you’ll be buying me a mug that can sing.”

Dan’s grin doesn’t stop. How someone so many times his age can still bear such child-like enthusiasm for the small things really is something treasurable. The gem of Southview, he decides as he takes another sip and studies the bottle opener collection beside him. Lawrence makes this job bearable. Worthwhile.

He doesn’t tell him such mugs actually exist; doesn’t let on the Cherusker stein is a particular favourite of his. The cabinet full of them was in fact possibly the only tolerable aspect of the May Fair experience; – he’d forever spend lounge duty dusting them, lifting every one and smiling as gentle lullabies spilled out until barked at to ‘stop wasting time’. He makes a mental note to make another addition to his Christmas shopping list. He’s certain Lawrence is aware of their existence, but he’s sure he wouldn’t be expecting to unwrap one only three weeks from now. Seeing those eyes crinkle with joy under years of laughter lines is a gift in itself.

He only realizes he’s smiling when Lawrence matches his grin.

“You’re at a funny age,” he sighs, clinking the spoon against the china. He places it on an Abbey Road coaster. “That’s what my mother used to say,” he pauses, forehead lined with thought. “Mind you, she’s been saying that at every age I’ve been,” there’s a silence. “Even now.”

Dan grins, imagining a woman twenty-odd years older but about a metre shorter. It warms his heart to hear she’s still with him, with them. Here.

“What does that say, eh?” he continues. “There’s never an age you’re going to look back and everything around you will have fallen into place. Never a moment you’ll dust off your hands and think ‘well, that was easy’. Because that isn’t life.”

The final sentence resounds all around the hemisphere of his consciousness. What absolute truth there is to be found in that.

This is precisely what he loves about his conversations with Lawrence. It isn’t just the tea. Not even the comfort both physical and emotional alike; the guarantee that whatever he confesses to doing won’t go any further than the office walls. It isn’t even the advice- which he’d go so far as to admit is more beneficial than Phil’s, at certain times (there’s just something about hearing it from someone who’s double their combined age).

It’s the lack of judgement. The listening ear. The only person he can truly guarantee is without a single trace of bias or underlying ulterior motive. The ‘I’ve experienced, lived, truly knocked down but bounced back every time’ tone that resonates through every pebble of advice, each wise word he gifts away.

And he feels safe, talking to him. He feels comfortable. It’s everything every single past job wasn’t, and even now, when Dan drags a scalding sip to his lips and listens to Lawrence’s stories, his pellets of wisdom and anecdote after anecdote involving life in the Sixties, he realizes he’s truly safe here. Happy, almost.

“How old is she? Your mother?” The question escapes his lips before he can exercise any control over what he’s asking. Shit, he hopes that wasn’t too personal. Not a lot of things are off-limits when it comes to conversations with Lawrence, but boundaries are still unclear.

Lawrence remains unfazed, his expression still thoughtfully soft.

“She’ll be ninety-eight this June.”

“Eighty-eight?” Dan frowns. He must have heard that wrong.

Lawrence points a finger to the ceiling. “Up ten.”

His jaw drops.

“Wow.”

“Yep,” Lawrence contradicts with a warm head nod. “She’s lived through a lot, has our Maggie.”

“I can imagine,” Dan breathes, leaning against the desk. His respective lifespan has already thrown enough in his direction. He can’t imagine what four times that would be.

“Lived through two world wars, bless her,” he sighs, his eyes studying the windowsill. “Lord alone knows what the woman must have witnessed,” his eyes flicker to Dan. “Then bringing up three kids on top of that,” he shakes his head, slurping the steam. “I don’t know how she does it. Still going strong, mind. She’s an angel.”

“Truly,” Dan sighs, his gaze leaning further and further out of the window. A crow comes to a soaring descent onto one of the branches, leaving a flutter of yellow leaves in its wake. If he narrows his eyes he can make out the very outline of a nest somewhere further in. “You’re lucky to have her,” he says before his thoughts can catch up.

Lawrence huffs out a chuckle. “You sound almost as old as I do, kid,” he hesitates. “Though you’re right. I am. I love her.” There’s a silence. “And I make sure I tell her every single day.”

Something tightens in the back of Dan’s throat. He blinks a couple of times, sipping carefully. “That’s lovely,” he mumbles into the mug, masking the crack he knew was going to appear in his voice.

“It’s important to say it as often as you can, you know,” he says, tearing open a box of Leibniz and giving Dan the first pick. They’re orange – his favourite. Last week’s rant over the white chocolate ones had clearly been taken on board. “However you say it. In whichever respect you mean it. You have to tell them how much they mean to you. You have to tell them you love them.”

A crumb goes down the wrong way.

“Careful, kid,” Lawrence gives him a firm thump on the back. Dan erupts into coughs, pausing to choke on his own breath a handful of times.

“You okay?”

It’s an amusing question given he’s a shade of scarlet and can only gasp in response, but he nods anyway, reaching for the tea.

All good, he mouths.

A couple of scalding sips later his lungs finally begin to recalibrate.

“Fuck-…” he huffs out a sigh. “I don’t know where that came from- I-…” he chokes again. “You’re right, though, about the-” another cough interrupts him.

“You’re meant to eat it, not inhale it,” Lawrence chuckles. “You donut. Here-“ he pulls out a drawer, scrabbling through loose sheets of kitchen roll and various CDs (without cases, much to Dan’s anxiety) before thrusting a half-opened packet of Soothers into his hand. “Finish them off, kid.”

“Oh, Lawrence,” Dan’s heart all but melts. “Thank you.”

He only takes one, but Lawrence insists he keeps them.

“Just in case you inhale your dinner tonight,” he chuckles, before adding, “Don’t you go choking on that, for God’s sake.”

“The irony of choking on a Soother,” Dan giggles. his speech a little indistinct. They’re a little on the sticky side but they still taste good. The peach ones have always been his favourite.

“Remember what I said,” he reminds him as Dan chews.

“Thank you,” he says again.

“Not at all, pet,” he smiles. “They need eating up.”

Dan chuckles. “I meant for the-…” he trails off when he spots the gleam in the older man’s eye. He doesn’t even need to finish his sentence to know he knows.

“It’s my pleasure. As long as I can be useful for something,” he raises his chipped mug to his lips as if it’s a champagne glass. “Always remember to give your energy to the right things. And the right people.”

Dan smiles, twining a loose thread around his pinkie. Another pellet of wisdom to come back to when he feels his mind darkening.

“I never used to be much good at that,” he admits. “The right people were always the wrong.”

“Ah, but never forget how far you’ve come,” Lawrence says. “You’re telling me things you wouldn’t have even been able to even think about months ago.”

Dan looks up. “Seriously?” Shit, he hadn’t even noticed.

“Would I be joking?” Lawrence simply says, furrowing a large silver eyebrow. Dan looks down at his tea, sipping carefully. It’s reached a perfect temperature, the liquid hugging his lips. “You tend not to be able to see your own progress, but others can. Others do,” he insists, grey eyes promising.

Dan feels like he’s going to cry.

“Thank you,” he breathes, disguising his mouth with the mug again.

“You don’t need to thank me, kid,” he chuckles.

“It’s unbelievably hard not to,” Dan admits, chuckling too. His eyes threaten tears but he can’t stop grinning.

“If anything, I should be thanking you,” he says.

Dan stares at him.

“Me? What for?”

“Oh, kid,” Lawrence sighs, his eyes glittering. “You have no idea how much I appreciate you. We’ve had some real characters in and out of here, I’m telling you – between you and me, and don’t even let this get to Phil, but-…” he shakes his head, his eyes following another crow headed in the same direction. He’s probably watching the same tree; Dan briefly thinks before he continues. “Some were okay,” he says almost as if to convince himself if anyone. “Mary, she was lovely. But some,” he closes his eyes, shaking his head. “Look- I really shouldn’t be telling you this- Lord alone knows how unprofessional it is to be-“

“I wouldn’t worry,” Dan interjects, immediately apologizing for interrupting. “Workplaces harbor all manner of dark secrets. I’m sure a little venting about a couple of difficult colleagues doesn’t even come close.”

Lawrence chuckles, dusting biscuit crumbs off of the desk. “That I can’t argue with, kid,” he continues wiping, as if to process his next thought. “I’m not one to speak ill of people- of anyone, but-…’ he shakes his head. ‘You have no idea how much easier a time you give me, kid. It’s a joy to have you here,” he lowers his voice. “Some of them didn’t even turn up.”

Dan feels his face burn a little. Something warm floods through his veins. Shit, he’s never been told anything like that before. Never anything even remotely close. There’s also something particularly wholesome about Lawrence giving a recount of lousy employees like it’s a business-shattering affair, all hushed tones and closed doors.

“It’s great to be here,” he says quickly, his heart thumping. “It really is. It-…” he stops himself, interrupted by the abundance of possible phrases. Saved me, is the only one that adheres.

“I know,” Lawrence says before he can even open his mouth. He reaches forward and gives his knee a quick pat, and Dan wonders how such a small motion can harbour such reassurance. He doesn’t even need to finish his sentences he’s this understanding. “You’re a delight of an employee, I hope you realize,” he grins. “Everything you do is so appreciated here, kid. I ought to tell you that more often,” he pauses. “Sometimes the advice we give is advice we need to take ourselves, eh?

“And vice-versa,” Dan smiles, before hesitating. “Maybe I ought to express myself more.”

“Oh, you already do, kid,” Lawrence says. “We know.”

Dan’s grinning at his tea when he catches the end of his sentence.

“Especially Phil, did you say?”

“Oh, tell me about it. He can’t speak too highly of you, can our Phil. He can’t stop talking about you altogether, mind. ‘The Dan Button’, we call it.”

This conversation isn’t doing Dan’s sensitive blush reflex any favours whatsoever, but he’s past caring. He’s something of an open book to Lawrence anyway.

He stares at the row of vintage Cadbury mugs lining the top shelf of the cabinet (the 1970s Caramel edition is his favourite – there’s just something about the golden writing) as he continues. He wonders if he has a Phil Button. Does he talk about him a lot? Fuck, he hasn’t even thought about it. Usually there’s so much to say; whether it be an anecdote from the passing day or a conversation they’d had or something they’d watched or witnessed or read. It’s difficult to keep track of his own train of thought whenever anyone mentions him. The topic usually leads itself, his own mouth merely a guide. He’ll have to ask Noah if it’s getting excessive.

His eyes stay with the branch. The two crows huddle around the nest-like cluster. By the time this conversation is over the tree will probably be completely leaf-less, he notices as more fall.

“I don’t have a Phil Button, do I?” he says before he can stop himself. Fuck. He just couldn’t resist.

Lawrence only smiles. An eyebrow thinks about twitching upward.

Dan smirks at the silence. Okay. Enough said.

“You kids,” he sighs, swallowing the remains of his tea. “Look out for each other, won’t you? Remember what I said. Tell people how much they mean to you. They aren’t mind-readers.”

Dan smiles, and promises.

“Always.”

Lawrence grins. “I’m glad you ended up here. Doctor Lester is particularly fond of you, y’know.”

Dan stares at him. Surely not. He’s never even seen the man talk, let alone crack anything close to a smile. Any communication between the two had always been by proxy – usually through Lawrence but Phil a lot of the time too. It’s eerily easy to forget they’re even related at all, let alone father and son.

“Oh yes,” he continues, reading his expression. “I shan’t embarrass you with the details, but he says it’s simply a delight to have you on board.”

Dan stares out of the window. Another crow had joined whom he had presumed to be the mother (how can you even tell with birds like that?), both fluttering close to their respective nest. More leaves fall with every judder.

“Well, that-…” he giggles, already feeling his face flush again. He’s going to have to invest in some makeup at this point. “That means a lot. To say the very least, I guess,” he widens his eyes, staring into space. “Wow. God, that’s-…” disbelief silences him. He shakes his head. “That’s the first time like-…” his eyes flicker wider. “Ever.”

“Yeah,” Lawrence remains tactfully quiet. Any allusions toward past jobs are always met with nothing other than gentle sympathy – never questions, never any further comments. Dan can’t thank him enough for that – the past is to be referred to, not relived. If its only reflective purpose is to one day be used as a comparison, something highlighting the incline of quality of life thereafter, then so be it. “You’re appreciated here, kid. By all of us,” he leans forward. “Between you and me, I think he can see how happy you’re making Phil. Y’didn’t hear that from me though, alright?” he nudges his foot with his own and throws him a quick wink.

Dan goes from pink to peony. He makes sure to chew his biscuit properly this time, dunking it in the remains of the tea. Another choking fit at his point would probably send him head-first into the recovery position. He doesn’t reckon being carried out of Mr. Headforth’s office on a stretcher would be his finest hour. Not when he’s finally made it onto the good side of the school, of the staff and communities therein; unusually tight-knit for such a vast population.

He looks up. He smiles.

“No, I didn’t.”

Lawrence’s eyes flicker down to his cheeks. He doesn’t need to say anything.

And I make sure I tell her every single day.

It resides with him for the rest of the afternoon, the phrase burning itself into his consciousness like a tattoo behind the eyes. He can’t let it go, not when he’s studying that pineapple streak the sunset left behind, Phil a breezy nuzzle to the cheek. Not when they’re pacing through the corridors somewhere in the evening, somewhere between the fall of the sun and the rise of the moon. Not even when their hair becomes a confusion of two shades and every breath is shared.

However you say it. In whichever respect you mean it.

He wonders how Lawrence tells her; his mother. When. Where. Does it depend on the day? The hour? Circumstance? He knows there are more than eight letters involved in the action, more than three words to its weight. Does the meaning bleed through his everyday phrases? When he asks her about her day? Whether she’s eaten?

He gulps, his heart thudding.

“Have you had lunch?” was how he’d greeted Phil this noon. “I have loads of pasta in the fridge. I made too much again.”

He stares at the ceiling.

“Text me when you get there,” was how he’d said goodbye this evening. It had started as a joke between the three of them – the campus, although spanning acre-upon-acre of land is still nothing but a speck when compared to the rest of the outside world – but had quickly become something of a tradition (to the extent Dan would often find himself receiving ‘i’m ok <3’ texts from someone in the next room as him).

“Take care,” is how he punctuates most ending conversations with the other boy in hindsight. Still eight letters. A different combination of such, albeit, but a mirrored meaning.

Oh god. He’s fucked.

You’re at a funny age, grey eyes remind him.

Every cell in his body agrees with that, and apparently it’s something they’ll have to get used to. It looks like that’ll never stop, not even after ninety-eight trips around the Sun.

Remember what I said.

Dan does.

#phanfic #phanfiction #phan au #dan and phil #mywriting #writing #chaptered #im still refamiliarising myself w this so it might take a couple chapters to properly settle in #but i hope this is ok omg

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marlsbuck · 4 years

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task 08 | marley’s high school experience

let’s start with the simple stuff first. what classes did you take in high school? which ones were you most and least excited for? did you have a favorite teacher that made the days more enjoyable?

“oh, just the basics! math, english, science, social studies. i took a couple home ec classes, too. p.e., obviously. i was also one of, like, two girls in my shop class? maybe? it was probably one of my favorite classes in schoo, actually! aside from biology. i live for anatomy and physiology. my senior year i ended up in ap bio and actually managed a 4 on the exam and nearly lost my mind. coach thompkins taught all the bio classes - and coached basketball as well, obviously - so he wins favorite by default. he just always made class so fun! even when we were talkin’ about something like dna and rna and the super boring stuff, he found a way to make it enjoyable.”

and now, outside of the classroom. did you participate in any extracurricular activities like sports, band, or other clubs? were you apart of the prom planning committee or did your parent always sign up to chaperone field trips? or did you bolt home or to work at the end of the day?

“i didn’t join a whole lot if anythin’ until my junior year ‘cause i was focused on gettin’ out of my house and away from my parents. once i did, though, i did a lot. i joined ffa (don’t judge me), yearbook, dance team, track, student council, and then i worked on the ranch when i wasn’t runnin’ around with school stuff. i didn’t do band or anything like that. my artistic abilities end with dance. the most i ever did with prom or homecoming was fundraiser stuff and, like, making’ sure we stayed within our budget. i left the party plannin’ to the kids who had that kinda vision, because it definitely was not me. my parents were, obviously, not involved in the slightest. my grandparents were pretty prominent in the community, though, and they definitely got involved and helped chaperone stuff, which was a blessin’ and a curse. there was definitely no sneakin’ off to make out under the bleachers when paw was keepin’ an eye on things.”

a night to remember. did you go to prom? if so, did you have a date or fly solo, and was it a good time where you danced all night, and what were you wearing? if not, did you have an ‘anti-prom’ party, or why else did you decide not to go? what about other school dances or pep rallies?

“i actually went all four years of high school. i loved dances - more so for the dancin’ and social aspects than the dresses and dates! obviously the first two years i had dates - different guy friends - but my junior year i went solo! it was easily the most fun i had! senior year i went with a guy i dated for, like, three seconds. y’all know how high school relationships can be. i actually think i still have all four of my dresses tucked away at maw and paw’s somewhere? i’m a sentimental girl; i couldn’t get rid of ‘em. the first two were second hand because i bought ‘em myself. maw and paw bought my last two - my dress junior year was by far my favorite. it was, like, this periwinkle color? and so sparkly - i looked like a disco ball - and just a little risque. at least by high school standards, anyway. it was one of the first times i felt genuinely beautiful. as far as other dances went, we really only did homecoming? we never had any of those sadie hawkins things, thank god! i never woulda been able to ask the guys i liked to go back then. shockingly enough, i went to all my homecomings, too! i actually ended up on court my senior year! i didn’t win, but it was still fun! plus, the guy who won king that year was a giant jerk and i would have ended up kneein’ him in the groin or something while we danced. i didn’t have much of a choice with pep rallies - the dance team was always expected to perform, so i went. i was also a varsity athlete my junior and senior years, so when you letter you gotta go. i never minded, though! i liked the energy and bein’ over-the-top excited about things has always been my forte.”

some more of the hard hitting q’s. who did you sit with at lunch? did you keep the lock off your locker or decorate it? were your headphones always snaked through your sleeve? was cutting class a normal occurrence or would you never dare? did you ever get detention?

“ooohh, good question! if i remember correctly, my freshman and sophomore years i sat with a bunch of the more….troublesome upperclassmen. as a lovely little ‘screw you’ to my parents. if i couldn’t actually go out and be a giant pain in their asses, i was damn sure gonna make sure it looked like i still was to all their friends. middle of my sophomore year was when i ended up switchin’ schools and after that i usually sat with a few of my dance friends or other kids that i ran track with. i bounced between them and my ffa and student council friends through my senior year, but my dance friends were always my go-to. definitely never locked my locker. i had a helluva time rememberin’ my combo and i was damn near always runnin’ late, so i always left it unlocked. it was also always a giant disater. it’s a miracle i ever knew where anything was in my locker. we were never allowed to have our headphones in during any of our classes, so definitely not. i woulda gotten in so much trouble if i’d been caught doin’ that. i cut class pretty regularly my freshman year, but got my act together after that. every once in a blue moon i would after movin’ in with my grandparents, but it was always very strategic and i was very careful not to get caught. sorry maw & paw! eh, a couple times my freshman year, but not after that. definitely not after i started dancin’ and runnin’ track. my coaches would have had me runnin’ suicides until i passed out.”

upward and onward. what did you want to be when you were sixteen? was there a career path in mind, a certain college, another route worth taking? were you excited to see your high school in the rearview mirror or was moving on bittersweet? if you graduated, was it scary or exciting or a mix of both? did you end up where your younger self expected you to?

“emancipated.” she laughed. “truly, though. that was the only goal i really had up until it happened. after that it took a minute. i didn’t really think i’d ever get to a point where i’d get to choose what to do with my life? there had always been this unspoken rule that i did what they said so long as i was their kid and nothin’ i wanted ever mattered to ‘em. for a while i thought i’d just work on the ranch, maybe take over when paw couldn’t do it anymore. some days i still think i might go back and take over and open my own vet clinic. somehow figure out a way to do both - carry on the buckley legacy and forge my own. but who knows! i gotta finish vet school first! speakin’ of, i never imagined college; definitely never thought i’d end up with multiple degrees. sixteen year old me would be floored to see me now. by the end of my senior year, though, i was kind of excited to see what i was actually capable of. i knew i was gonna miss high school and all my friends, but i also knew college was gonna be this new, excitin’ challenge? i’ve always loved a challenge and it was a chance to show my parents that they were wrong to shove me in their tiny little box and...i really do live for those moments, if i’m bein’ honest. that bein’ said, every time i’ve graduated or hit a milestone with school it’s been a little bit of a shock. i think it’s more or less that other people are still proud of my accomplishments - it never fails to throw me for a loop. definitely a mix of both scary and excitin’. i always try to lean into the excitement a little bit more, though. my younger self never woulda dreamt of bein’ here, so absolutely not. i really thought i’d end up married to a carbon copy of my father, hatin’ my life by now when i was a kid. i’d like to thank the powers that be that it didn’t happen.”

and last but not least. if you could tell your younger self one thing - what would it be?

“this is always so hard because there are so many things i would say to a younger me? i’d probably tell her to just...enjoy it more. don’t worry so much about disappointin’ the people who matter to you because there’s nothing you’ll do that’ll make them love you less. so, y’know, just be a kid and enjoy the moments when you’re in them.”

#task8 #malnatitasks #×○┆task⌇the hearts i have touched will be the proof i leave

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crystalelemental · 4 years

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Voting is complete. Now to wait a week for results that will be utterly predictable, in which no major shifts in popularity occur at all, and not a single one of the new characters, who all seem really cool, will break top 20 because god forbid the fandom collectively stops sucking EoSD’s dick for one year.

Anyway, my picks for everything’s under the cut.

Characters:

Okina. I really love Okina. I don’t get how she’s so (relatively) unpopular. Like I really don’t. She’s so much fun! Like, every time she’s in the spotlight, you’re constantly caught between what she’s telling you and what you think her hidden motivations are. And oftentimes, I think both are true. I also just like how she operates. She’s drawn to ambition and willpower. It’s why she likes Marisa so much and is determined to get Marisa to work for her, and why she’s so insistent that Aya take pride in beating her, even when she was holding back. It’s why she helps Sumireko in Violet Detector despite having nothing to gain from it. She love ambitious, strong-willed people, and seems to motivate those qualities in others. She wants to see people overcome hardship on their own merits, which, after the reveal in Visionary Fairies that she is disabled and sometimes needs a wheelchair to get around, adds a great new layer of context to this aspect of her character. Okina is a fantastic character, and my only wish for future works is to see her play a bigger role.

Keiki. Surprisingly, I adore Keiki too, despite not having played WBaWC. Keiki just...hits right, you know? You have this world where everything’s fucked, and humans are used more as resources than as people by the powerful beast youkai in charge. Keiki’s spawned into existence by their desperation, but all she can think to do is fulfill her role and turn everything static. I honestly enjoy how she’s super well-intentioned, but her actions are questionable over whether they’re effective or the right thing to do. Plus she was adorable in the Komachi manga.

Kanako. Look, we all know I’m a Mountain of Faith person at heart, and especially love the Moriya Shrine, so I’m not gonna waste too much time here. Kanako’s awesome, she’s the lowest ranked of the three, this had to happen.

Mamizou. How a character who’s so routinely important to the stories and plays her role this well is so low ranked is beyond me. Mamizou is such an interesting character. She’s like this sweet old grandmotherly figure up until she reveals her master plan and desire for power. She’s like an active version of Yukari and Okina, out in the open and pulling off her grand schemes, and it’s a ton of fun to watch.

Doremy. My blood pact to vote for her aside, Doremy does sustain as one of my favorites. She’s just...I don’t know how else to describe it but “unique.” She’s different from a lot of the cast, in that she’s overall just really nice. Like she genuinely seems to care about people, and her dream people especially. She’s got her job to do and will carry it out, but mostly stays out of the way otherwise. She’s a bit mischievous, but this is Touhou.

Junko. I like Junko. Vengeance mom who won over a part of Hell by swearing to bring chaos to the Lunarians. I don’t have a ton to say, because unfortunately she doesn’t get much play. I wish she did. Maybe in the next Fairy-focused manga. Everyone goes for a sleepover at Clownpiece’s mom’s place, and has to travel into hell and Junko’s just around. That’s all I really need.

Sumireko. While Sumireko’s fallen a bit as a favorite, and is almost certainly going to continue falling, I do like the kid. She’s a bit of an obnoxious dingus at times, but I find her antics funny. The way she sometimes just goes off on a ranting tangent that’s spot-on is just...it’s very in line for a super smart teen who’s just disillusioned with everything. I dunno, I just enjoy her a lot.

Music:

Concealed Four Seasons. Turns out, Okina’s not just a great character, but has a kickass theme song. I love this battle theme, I think it’s my favorite. It’s got such a good energy to it.

Desire Drive. Best stage theme in the series. It’s so catchy.

Lullaby of Deserted Hell. I love this one entirely because it’s this soft, gentle music that plays as you’re traveling through hell. And I mean that in the literal sense of it was once physically hell, and also this stage is a fucking disaster and I love it. It’s like why the sixth stratum theme from Etrian Odyssey 2 is good. Nightmare land with the most calming theme imaginable.

Heartfelt Fancy. Listen, SA did good music. I actually like the stage theme more than Satori’s boss theme.

Lost Emotion. Kokoro’s theme is great, and one of exactly two themes I remember from the fighting games (the other is the Yorigami sisters’). Fight game music tends to not be very good, in my opinion, but Lost Emotion hits all the right notes with me.

Shining Needle Castle. Fun fact! I don’t like DDC. At all. I think the cast is pretty boring, especially in the second half. I don’t like the collection system. The only cool thing visually, for me, was fighting music-themed enemies in a thunderstorm, which is cool as shit. But goddamn this song is good. It’s one of the few highlights of the game for me.

Dream Palace of the Great Mausoleum. I really like just how grand it sounds. Like it sounds awe-inspiring, and fits the area you’re in well. I like the track on its own, but I really like when a track syncs up with the atmosphere of a place.

Fires of Hokkai. Speaking of, good god this song. This is probably the single best establishment of atmosphere in the series. After everything else in the game, and all the craziness of the last stage, you hit the final destination and it starts out with a quiet heartbeat sound. Then it just builds and builds into this powerful, driving theme that loops perfectly back to near silence as you encounter Byakuren herself. Stage 6 is so fucking good, shame I suck at this game too much to ever get there.

Beast Metropolis. This is purely off sound, since I haven’t played the game. But you may notice that, thematically, it fits in with a lot of my favorite tracks. Softer vibe, stage theme setting the mood of an area that you’d expect to be crazy but turns out to be eerily...not that.

Faith is for the Transient People. This was a toss-up, with a lot of options I was considering, but Sanae’s theme won out. I do like it a lot, and I didn’t vote for Sanae in characters despite her being one of my long-standing favorites, so she got this one.

Works:

Hidden Star in Four Seasons. Okay listen. I get that this game is not popular among fans. I do not get why. Are you seriously going to look me in the eye and tell me this game wasn’t a relief to play? After the last four games had bullshit collection systems for resources, having a game that just played lives based off score again isn’t a good thing? Yes, it was easier. Good. Did you miss how bullshit LoLK was? Sometimes you gotta backpedal, right into the range of things I can actually play. I know some people don’t like the cast at all, some nonsense about “Why are they so familiar with characters if I’ve never seen them” or something. But the cast is spectacular. Eternity Larva’s a fun new fairy to add to the group, and her short-lived stint in VFiS was great, proving that she’s the only fairy who has her own reserve of braincells. Aunn is precious and wonderful. Okina. OKINA. This was easily my favorite cast since Subterranean Animism, and that was a strong cast. I just do not get the dislike of this game at all.

Mountain of Faith. Hey, look at that, I like the games that are simple and fun for me to play. What a surprise. MoF was the first game I beat, because Suwako was the first character I encountered and I had to one day git gud enough to beat her. So I did. After like three weeks. That was an adventure. Anyway, I think MoF holds as one of the best in the series. Aside from simple gameplay that’s actually fun instead of painful, it had a great cast of characters, and honestly the best environments. Like, this game just looks good. Maybe that’s personal bias because autumn theme and autumn is the best season, but I loved the backgrounds in this game.

Forbidden Scrollery. Hey, it’s the thing that got me into the written works! Yeah, I really like Forbidden Scrollery. It’s a fun exploration of things from within the human village, from the perspective of a human who lives there. Plus we got some of the more interesting lore bits for the series from this work, which is valuable. And of course...human disguise Mamizou. 10/10.

Visionary Fairies in Shrine. While there are many fairy-focused manga, this one’s my personal favorite. Because it’s got Clownpiece. No really, that’s it. I like the general fairy shenanigans that the trio gets in to, but I really enjoyed how this one almost focused on Clownpiece’s integration into Gensokyo. I think it’s a lot more compelling to have that sort of arc for the character, and it really endeared Clownpiece to me as a whole. My only complaint with it is that Eternity Larva didn’t stick around too. I know she had less to contribute and that Clownpiece is the central focus of this one, but it would’ve been nice to have Larva stick around and get a bit of development herself. Maybe next manga, eh?

Subterranean Animism. I debated this and Cage in Lunatic Runagate. I actually regret my choice. Subterranean Animism won out based on my enjoyment of the music and characters in the game, and (if you can believe it) my enjoyment of the gameplay. Yeah, it turns out when the game rewards just surviving, even if resources are more scarce, I do like 10x better than when resources are only obtained through flying headlong into a storm of bullshit like the next four games demanded. FUCKING IMAGINE THAT. Anyway, CiLR was a serious contender that, again, I kinda regret not picking. Bougetsushou in general was a strong compilation, but CiLR is the one that made it really stand out. SSiB was a fun silly story, and Inaba was hilarious, but CiLR was by far the most serious and poignant of the works. It focused really strongly on the characters, something Touhou...hadn’t really done at the time, and still doesn’t always do, and expanded them beautifully. We get a lot more insight into Kaguya and what her life is like, we get the backstory for the new Reisen, we get background on the Watatsuki sisters, we get the Mokou chapter, arguably the best character development in the entire series. So it really comes down to a game that I like because I can play it, or a written work that also did a lot for the characters in it. Both excellent but I locked myself into one or the other.

#touhou #touhou popularity poll #touhou popularity poll 2020 #long story short vote Okina

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guyveranimefan87-blog · 5 years

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The thing about old cartoons...

Lately I had watched some YouTube video talking about few nostalgic cartoons from 80's and 90's, and it made me think.

Most of those shows that we call classics, fondly remember and talk about to this day were shameless cash grabs, created solely to promote some new toyline, that somehow got popular enough on their own, sometimes eclipsing the stuff they were supposed to promote.

Is this still a thing?

I mean yeah, series that started like that, for example “Transformers”, “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” etc, are still getting new cartoons, but at this point they are a cultural phenomenon on their own, that would sell new toys regardless of the cartoons.

And when thinking about new shows based on that idea, off top of my head I can only recall cancellation of "Young Justice" since toys did not sell, and "Stretch Armstrong and The Flex Fighters" from Netflix, since it was kinda-sorta based on a toy that was rather obscure for modern audiences.

So, IMO probably it is not a thing anymore, but maybe we should give this idea a chance once again?

I know it sounds kinda weird, but we don't get so many creatively insane cartoons today, as we did then.

For example let's look at...

Inhumanoids (1986)

youtube

We have a trio of ancient monsters with frightening powers awakened in the present times... well at least present at the time of the show's airing... threatening to destroy the world, and a group of brave scientists clad in advanced powered armors, and using various vehicles to fight them, sometimes with the aid of other, more friendly monsters.

Seems standard, eh? I mean, a group of good guys, a group of bad guys, battle for the sake of the world, etc, with a lot of options to add new characters or vehicles to sell as toys later on.

And then we get to see the clips from actual show, and start to wonder how the heck not one Concerned Parent Organization protested about it...

youtube

As a bonus we also got some blood, limbs being cut or crushed...

Heck D’Compose was a different class of being non-kid friendly in itself, since aside from changing people into monsters, and ruling over an army of undead, he also trapped enemies inside his chest, with internal organs visible...

You know... For kids!

But aside from that, it was actually quite a well-written show, at least for it’s target demographic and standards of the time, since it had resigned from self-contained one-episode stories, instead building longer story-arcs, with numerous subplots etc.

Sure, it did get silly from time to time, especially in later episodes, but when it did, it was at least silly to an insane degree, which actually made it enjoyable, and memorable.

For example in one of those later episodes we got a plot about a love potion, that caused Inhumanoids leader Metlar to fall in love with... Statue of Liberty.

He then uses his powers to bring her to life... only to regret it later, as she turns out to be a high-maintenance, overtly demanding harpy, who loves to shout at him...

Yeah...

80′s were weird.

OK, or maybe something a bit less obscure, and a little less bizarre?

Jem and the Holograms (1985 - 1988)

youtube

So...

A young woman inherits a failing record company and an incredibly advanced, sentient A.I. that can create a hard-light holograms, and instead of selling the tech and becoming obscenely rich, she uses it to create a second identity for herself, and becomes a music star.

OK, why not?

Now, regardless of what I had written above, I really admire this show, for perfectly embodying the times it was created in, for example taking cues from the growing popularity of MTV and music videos in general by creating their own song, and accompanying videos.

Which in my humble opinion still held up quite well, despite the fact that series itself is over thirty years old.

youtube

Yup, still awesome.

Aside from that we had a strong cast of diverse characters, longer story-arcs, and quite a lot of heart, which seems quite nice for a series intended as a commercial for a line of Totally-Not-Barbies...

OK, let’s get into obscure and bizarre again :)

Mummies Alive! (1997)

youtube

Yup, a superhero series about a team of resurrected Egyptian mummies with power to transform like Power Rangers or Kamen Riders, to protect a kid from San Francisco who is apparently a reincarnation of the pharaoh they had served in the past from an immoral ancient sorcerer.

Things like that could only happen in the 90′s...

Still despite how bizarre the whole idea was, the show did took time to introduce viewers to some aspects of Egyptian mythology... even if it was watered down a bit, and kept “kid friendly”, characters had their story-arcs, and well... it kinda looked cool, I am not going to deny it.

I mean, mummies doing henshins through “Strength of Ra”? How could it not be cool?

What I am trying to say, is that those cartoons created solely to sell us stuff were quite often very original and distinct, and more often than not, writing teams had to be very creative to sell viewers bizarre concepts they were forced to work with, resulting in interesting products.

I mean, they could either try harder, to justify the weird stuff, or just embrace it by not treating it too seriously.

And it worked somehow.

Plus, those show usually looked a bit better than their counterparts, since toy producers could afford to pay animators better than usually, since if it worked out as planned, they would still earn more on the toys.

And I mean, could You imagine someone green-lighting some of those classic shows today? Exec who would push for it would probably be fired...

I mean, show about anthropomorphic rodents from space who rode bikes and fought evil greedy corporation led by a guy who was a space fish in disguise couldn’t possibly be popular, right?

Or maybe a series about a group of “radical” kids obsessed with junk food, skating and so on, who were changed into humanoid sharks by mad scientist?

Nah, that’s just sounds dumb, it would never sell...

And don’t tell me You can make a good, engaging, and kinda dark show based on those Polly Pocked rip-offs for boys, that pitted a kid with a baseball cap against various monsters?

Now, I am not saying we’re not getting good cartoons nowadays, quite the opposite, but I kinda miss this mad, unrestrained creativity that could only be achieved through corporate greed and unreasonable restraints put on the creators...

So, maybe we should try this again?

Edit:

Since it was fun to write, I had uploaded a second part. Cause why not?

The thing about old cartoons #02.

#nostalgia #80's nostalgia #90's nostalgia #nostalgic cartoons #classic cartoons #classic animation #classic tv shows #stretch armstrong #inhumanoids #jem and the holograms #mummies alive #biker mice from mars #street sharks #mighty max #rant #i have too much time on my hands

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fuckyeahcharmcaster · 5 years

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An Ode to Omniverse!Charmcaster

OV’s Charmcaster is the non-Man of Action-involved Charmcaster that doesn’t entirely suck, and she has as much good points as bad points, all of which I’m analyzing in this post.

PROS:

Sensible progression in her story - Charmcaster’s story in OV went from point A to point B and so on in a logical way, a far cry from how it went in UAF. We understand why she first gets involved in the show to start with (because the Alpha Rune was stolen by Zs’Skayr while she was busy contending with Darkstar trying to steal magic from her realm), why she goes to Friedkin University (to take the family heirloom staff from Hex in order to replace the Alpha Rune as a power source), why she goes for the power of Bezel (she hears about it while trying to get the staff again and decides it’d be an even better power source), and why she seems so much more rational and reasonable in the game show episode (she’s been deprived of power for a while, and this has a healing effect on her mind). It all adds up.

A return to form in villainy and point of character - The original Charmcaster was all about seeking various sources of power for the validation of her own ego (she has a Inferiority Superiority Complex), with the point being that she did so in place of seeking love, which she subconsciously wants but consciously considers a weakness, a contrast to Gwen who is just as ambitious in the pursuit of growing stronger but does so with love and support from others. After UAF’s version of Charmcaster completely dropped this angle, it’s nice to see it restored with the OV version, who is blatantly portrayed as a troubled young addict to magic power that is too hung up on getting back at people she hates, only hurting herself in the process.

A fantastic design - Derrick Wyatt may have not had any interest in Charmcaster as a character, but he knocked it out of the park with her design, combining her OS design with aspects of her UAF design and topping it all off with stitches in her coat, giving the sense of someone broken trying to put herself back together. The purple hair highlights are cool too.

Badass magic powers - I was far more impressed with OV Charmcaster’s skill with magic than I was with UAF Charmcaster’s. The writing also backs this up, returning to the OS fact that Charmcaster was “always the better sorceress” compared to Gwen, rather than the bullshit retcon about Gwen always being the stronger one because she’s “made of magic”.

Kari Wahlgren’s performance - Just listen to it here. Kari sounds like she’s actually having fun with the role again, as opposed to the drab take on the character she performed in UAF.

Great character interactions - Charmcaster got to have some fun and interesting interactions with Darkstar, Adwatia, Zs’Skayr, Ben, Rook, Hobble, Hex, Gwen and Bezel...she even had non-verbal interactions between many of the other female contestants in the game show episode (providing plenty of crack ship fodder as a result). That was highly appreciated.

A far better ending - UAF’s Charmcaster ended on the worst note you could possibly leave the character on: alone, unloved and mentally broken inside of her awful home dimension. It was a slap in the face to her and to any fan who wanted better for her. OV’s Charmcaster ends in the custody of people who love her on Earth and is mentally recovering. Despite UAF’s Charmaster being the one saddled with the name of “Hope”, there’s actually far more to be hopeful about regarding OV’s Charmcaster. Seriously, just look at the difference here. I am forever thankful that this is where we left the original continuity’s Charmcaster* on.

*The original Ben 10 continuity before the reboot, known as the Prime Timeline, was a timestream, made of three different branches: OS, UAF and OV. So the OS and UAF branches and their Charmcasters technically still exist separately from OV, but not as part of the Prime Timeline. The Prime Timeline’s Charmcaster thus started as OS!Charm, shifted into UAF!Charm, and then finally into OV!Charm which is what she is left off as. Complicated, eh?

CONS:

Mischaracterization - I’m not going to say that I didn’t find the zany, cheerful, energetic, high-on-magic Cloudcuckoolander personality OV Charmcaster had entertaining. I did. But the fact remains that it’s not the personality Charmcaster is supposed to have. Take away all the witchy trappings, and Charm is a “thug life” girl. Strip her of her magic and she’d be ready and willing to throw down with her fists. She’s sarcastic and tough-talking, insolent to authority figures, competitive and kind of tomboyish. Basically, she aspires to be the kind of woman Rojo is: the baddest bitch around who nobody oughta mess with, and she’s constantly frustrated when her own awkwardness gets in the way of this and she is unable to back up this egotistical self-image, though she often blames the likes of Gwen for it instead of herself. UAF’s varying depictions of her as a sultry femme fatale, high school alpha bitch, sadistic and obsessively vengeful murderer, sympathetic outcast and freedom fighter, troubled daddy’s girl, or whatever the Hell she was supposed to be in “Couples Retreat” were not the right characterization, and neither is what was done with her in OV no matter how much more enjoyable than those UAF characterizations it may be. Only the reboot got it right.

Her story hinges too much on UAF’s crap - Just when you’re enjoying OV Charmcaster’s story, you suddenly hear things like “Ledgerdomain”, “Alpha Rune”, “Spellbinder”, “Adwatia”, or “Darkstar” get brought up, and you zone out thanks to the bad memories that are awoken. OV Charmcaster would’ve worked better without all this baggage from her previous self.

Unfortunate Implications - Some of this connects to the previous point, as it exists solely due to the UAF crap (ex: OV Charmcaster’s story means denying the route of Charmcaster becoming a better ruler in Ledgerdomain, sending the message that women aren’t capable of being good rulers because they just aren’t mentally up to the task). Others are just OV’s fault, particularly where Hex is involved - I get what they were going for with him, but to do so they had to whitewash the fact that he and Charmcaster weren’t a loving, mutually evil family; Hex abused Charmcaster in order to drive her to evil. To make Hex sympathetic by having him reformed and upset at his niece’s self-destructive behavior that ends up harming him while dancing around the fact that said behavior was Hex’s own damn fault to start with is gross.

Her relationship with Gwen is a non-factor - OV didn’t butcher the dynamic between Gwen and Charmcaster the way UAF did, but this is mostly because it barely did anything with that dynamic at all. The third act of “Charm School” is the only time the two actually get to interact, and it’s as basic as you can get, with Gwen being all “Charmcaster, you’re not well, stop this so that we can help you!” and Charm being all “How dare you get in my way? I wasn’t even looking for a fight, but now I’m gonna finish you once and for all!” They fight, Gwen wins, Charmcaster retreats, and that’s it. In “Third Time’s a Charm”, Charmcaster turns Gwen into a stone totem right at the very beginning, paying little thought to her for the rest of the episode. Gwen, meanwhile, doesn’t really have anything to do with Charmcaster until the very end of the episode, with her line about hoping to finally make friends with Charmcaster now. For a character who is meant to be Gwen’s foil, Gwen barely mattered to Charmcaster here.

No character development - UAF attempted character development for Charmcaster and did it badly. Once again, OV’s answer was to simply not even try. OV Charmcaster is static to an irritating degree, with the exception of her final appearance, in the game show episode, where she appears to be mentally healed...which naturally happened completely off-screen, since putting it on-screen would mean taking Charmcaster’s mental issues seriously, which OV was not willing to do...after all, it hardly takes anything seriously. I think that this was a missed opportunity, as it could have made OV Charmcaster’s conclusion even stronger.

Horribly paced, minimal appearances - Charmcaster appears in 5 out of 80 episodes in OV. Worse still, her first appearance is a brief cameo toward the end of episode 42, showing up afterward in episodes 47, 63, 75, and 78. This means that Charmcaster and her story is primarily a factor in the episode 61-80 period, which is considered by many to be the worst period in the whole show! It is transparently clear that the people behind OV did not have any real interest in Charmcaster whatsoever, she didn’t fit in with their preferred focus on Ben, Rook, the Plumbers, and stupid shit like “harem” antics and Blukic/Driba shenanigans.

The spin-off that never happened - A justification as to why Charmcaster was so underplayed was that Gwen was not a regular on OV and thus too many Charmcaster appearances without Gwen would feel weird. As it stood, an OV spin-off focused on Gwen at Friedkin University was being planned, and Charmcaster would have been a regular character on that show. The problem is that this spin-off didn’t happen due to OV bombing and the franchise getting rebooted, so Charmcaster having few appearances and no character development in a story arc dedicated to putting her in place for her role in that spin-off just ends up feeling like a total waste. As painful as it is for me to admit this, even UAF Charmcaster ultimately felt more meaningful to UAF than OV Charmcaster does to OV thanks to this misguided decision.

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goddessofgamma · 5 years

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Extreme Lengths to Prove Loki Wrong (Ao3 link)

Summary: Annoyed by his brother's teasing, Thor tells him that he has a boyfriend. The holidays are fast approaching and Thor needs to come up with someone to be his ''partner" quick, and luckily for him, Bruce doesn't have any plans.

This was written for the lovely @ragnarokwrites who requested some ‘Fake a relationship for the holidays’ fic. I’ll write the second (and last) chapter sometime just before Christmas if all goes to plan.

It had all started with a snide comment from Loki over what was supposed to be a good-natured catch-up brunch. They had been bickering again, Loki telling Thor all about his new boyfriend (Thor thought that ‘sugar-daddy’ would be the more appropriate descriptor), and Thor holding fast to his belief that anyone who went around asking to be called ‘the Grandmaster’ was not right in the head.

“Well at least I’m not going to have to spend this Christmas alone with our parents,” Loki had said. “I might have thought that two years after Jane dumped you-“

“- She did not! It was a mutual –“

“- That you might have tricked some poor soul into dating you rather than moping around all the time.”

“I am seeing someone!” The words were out of Thor’s mouth before he could stop them, the need to prove his brother wrong stronger than his need to be truthful.

“Really?” Loki’s tone was sarcastic, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Thor tried his steadiest tone.

“Who are they, then? Go on, tell me all about my possible future in-law.”

Thor scanned his mind for friends he had who weren’t already in relationships.

“Bruce. His name’s Bruce, he’s a scientist.”

Bruce had shot to the front of his mind; they had had a conversation the day before about his plans for the holidays, and Bruce had awkwardly mentioned his lack of family to spend them with. At the time of their conversation, Thor had wished it would be possible for him to keep Bruce company over Christmas, but he knew that his family tradition and powerful parents demanded he should come back home.

“Right, a scientist.” Loki did not sound convinced. “And why haven’t I heard of him before?”

“He doesn’t like the spotlight.” That, at least, was not a lie. “If father knew about him, you know he would demand to meet him and I don’t think Bruce would be comfortable with that.”

“I suppose we’ll find out.”

Thor’s head spun.

“What? No, Loki don’t tell father, he wouldn’t –“

“Whyever would I keep how happy you are from father? You know he would love to meet this ‘Bruce’ for Christmas-“

“Loki –“ Thor’s tone was warning.

“Unless, of course, he doesn’t actually exist.”

“He does!”

“You won’t mind bringing him along for Christmas then.”

Two days since that conversation and Christmas was fast approaching. Only an hour after Loki had left, Thor had gotten a commanding message from his father about how he expected to meet Thor’s new ‘suitor’, accompanied with a rather sweeter message from his mum about how she was glad he’d found someone that made him happy.

He had yet to deal with the unavoidable future backlash, avoiding Bruce’s messages and cringing every time his name came up as a notification on his phone. It would be unbearable now to tell Loki, to admit that he’d lied just to prove a point, but Thor knew that it would be more ridiculous for him to continue the act further. If Bruce found out the lie that he had told, he might get spooked, might get angry at Thor. Still, the way things were going, Thor worried he might end up insulting Bruce anyway with his lack of contact.

Braving the prospect of admitting to Bruce what he had done, Thor sent a message to Bruce asking him to come over the next day, ostensibly to arrange to buy joint Christmas presents for some of their mutual friends.

Sat awkwardly in the small space between his Christmas tree and the power socket, Thor fiddled with the plug of the fairy lights, trying to stop them from flickering fast enough to induce a seizure. The screeching tones of Merry Christmas Everybody swam down from his speakers, and every conceivable surface in his living room was covered in either tinsel or glitter.

The chime of the doorbell made Thor spring to action, trying to jump up from the ground but finding that his back was aching from all the time he’d spent sitting on the floor. Rubbing his back with his hand, he went to open the door.

“Hi, Thor,” Bruce greeted him.

“Bruce! Come in.” He motioned for him to move to the living room. “I’ve made some mulled apple juice, would you like some?”

“Mulled apple juice? Non-alcoholic?”

“No, I know you don’t partake in alcohol so I thought –“

“I’d love some, Thor.” Bruce walked into the room and looked around him, taking in the decorations. “Someone’s really gotten into the Christmas spirit.”

Thor let out a small, low chuckle.

“I do like the Christmas season, warm colours and shiny decorations, they remind me of home.”

“Back in Asgard?” Bruce checked.

“Yes,” Thor nodded. “Or at least, it reminds me of the better parts of home. The palace is beautiful, all gold, with red embellishments, dazzling, with such warmth.” He thought back; there was a part of him that missed it, but the freedoms of living away from the country where everyone expected you to behave like a prince were too good for Thor to pass up on. “Although, I must say, the gold there is real, not glitter.”

Shaking his head in mild disbelief, Bruce smiled.

“I can’t believe I’m friends with a prince.”

“I can’t believe I’m friends with a Nobel-winning scientist,” Thor countered. He was met with a bashful look in response.

“I’d love to go there, one day. Asgard… it’s not exactly my usual sort of place, but it always sounds amazing when you describe it.” Thor was about to respond, tell him that he could go to Asgard in a week’s time, if only he agreed to go along with Thor’s deceit, when Bruce’s attention was caught by something behind him. “Oh my god, should your lights be doing that?”

They were flashing more than ever, not just rippling, but turning on and off at an alarming rate that no one could have found enjoyable.

“Eh, no. I was trying to fix that when –“

Bruce sat on the floor by the tree, trying to figure out how to set them right.

“I think it’s just on the wrong setting.”

Nodding, Thor went to the kitchen get the apple juice from the pot he was brewing, figuring that Bruce would be occupied for the amount of time he would take. As he got out some mugs, Thor tried building up the courage to ask Bruce to pretend to be his partner, thinking about what the best way to tell him would be.

Thor walked back into a living room devoid of any flashing lights.

“You did it, wonderful! I’d been trying to sort that out for half an hour.”

Bruce smiled, almost smugly.

“I guess there are some plus sides to having a Nobel-winning friend.” He pushed himself off of the floor and sat down next to Thor at the table.

“Bruce?” Thor said the name questioningly, working his way up to ask him his real question.

“Hmm?”

“You know how you said you would like to see Asgard someday?” Bruce murmured his agreement. “Well, you may have the opportunity to do so, although I am afraid that I may not be offering the circumstances you would hope for.” Met with a puzzled look, Thor could tell he wasn’t explaining himself well. “My parents and Loki, they have been asking for two years -since I split with Jane – whether I have since moved on and started seeing anyone else. And Loki – well – Loki was taunting me and telling me all about his partner and he asked whether I was dating anyone and I told him I have a boyfriend.”

“You have a boyfriend?” Bruce seemed shocked.

“No!” Thor clarified. “I told him I have a boyfriend. Except when he asked more about this imaginary boyfriend, I couldn’t come up with an imaginary person on the spot so I sort of told him you and I were dating.”

Bruce nearly laughed, which was not at all the reaction Thor had been expecting.

“It’s a good thing he doesn’t know what I look like or he’d have seen through that straight away.”

Aghast, Thor tried to correct Bruce.

“Why? You are a handsome man, Bruce, you must see that.”

“Maybe a while back, but right about now I’ve got more of the overweight, aging professor look going on, not exactly someone that a guy as hot as you would look twice at.”

Thor took Bruce’s hands in his and looked him in the eyes pointedly.

“You are truly a very good-looking man, Bruce, I would do much more than look twice at you.” Suddenly Thor felt his hands overheat. “Anyway, if Loki saw us together, he would not doubt our plausibility as a couple. In fact, I had hoped that you would meet him.”

“Meet Loki?” Bruce was even further in his confusion.

“Not just Loki, my parents and my sister as well.”

“What? Why would I do that?”

“Well, since I told Loki that I had a partner, my family expects me to bring said partner to Asgard for Christmas.”

“And you want me to meet them and lie to them?”

“There wouldn’t be a lot of lying, more just letting them assume that aspects of our relationship are more romantic than platonic.”

“You want me to lie to the King of Asgard? Isn’t that treason?”

“No!” Thor said defensively. “Well, maybe but they wouldn’t ever know. I only see my parents in person a few times a year, you’d only have to meet them once. Then I can tell them we went our separate ways, but are still friends.”

Holding his head in his hands, Bruce looked baffled.

“What made you think that this was a good idea? Loki torments you for a few minutes and you decide a fake relationship will sort it all out?”

“Loki’s been tormenting me his whole lifetime. I thought this would be a way of getting him and my father to cool off about it a little while. And I had also thought that it would be nice for us to spend our Christmas’s the same side of the Atlantic.”

Bruce bristled at that.

“Oh right, you thought I would love to spend my Christmas not alone for once, thought I would be somehow less sad for me to be someone’s fake boyfriend than it would to spend the day alone.” Anger was slowly growing in Bruce’s voice and Thor wanted to put it right.

“I know it was selfish of me, but it wasn’t just that, I had thought it would be nice to choose who I spent the holidays with for once.”

They were quiet for a moment before Bruce responded.

“You’d choose to spend the holidays with me?”

“Yes. You put me at ease, Bruce, and apart from my mother, that’s not something I’m used to at Christmas.”

The silence roared as Thor watched Bruce’s mind whir for a moment as he decided.

“Okay. I’ll do it, so long as it’s a one-time thing and I’m not expected to buy expensive presents I can’t afford for your relatives.”

Thor beamed.

“Don’t,” Bruce objected but he was smiling too.

“I’m not doing anything! Just appreciating how fine my lovely partner is looking today.”

Bruce responded with only a shake of his head and a nervous fiddle of his glasses.

#Hope you like it!#thor #bruce banner #thorbruce #gammahammer #my fic #thunderscience #loki

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thirdmagic · 5 years

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now that we're done with part 1 for real, my personal chapter/singularity ranking

1. solomon - look, man, it's perfect. start to finish. or as close to perfect as you can get. i don't think i have to explain why. i am a changed woman after this chapter. barely as long as half of these and still standing above all of them, and i'll never be over it. peak nasu in all the best ways.

2. camelot - almost perfect, but thankfully the few issues/caveats i have honestly don't even match up to the good parts. just a very powerful emotional rollercoaster as a whole and with an absolutely brilliant set up of antagonists. if solomon is peak nasu, then to me this actually shows a very different side of nasu, but also in the best way. i was a changed woman after this chapter too.

3. babylonia - the heaven's feel of fate grand order, not quite to the level of camelot for me for reasons i've talked about before (the emotional aspect peaks at a much earlier point than camelot and the final half doesn't quite live up to the rest, some tone/mood issues) but still very, very close and more than worth of being the second to last in terms of set up, emotional investment, and thematic resonance.

4. america - the start of fgo Gettin' Good, and a fun experience that i had the time of my life with. an absolutely fantastic cast, excellent and fun character dynamics for everyone. everyone is loveable and i mean everyone. maybe one or two exceptions. maybe. a good merger of higashide and nasu's strengths, and while the story isn't quite on the same level as the three above it's more than made up for in the experience of it.

5. okeanos - like america, but in early fgo brand. character dynamics/interactions aren't as strong but i have a soft spot for this cast anyway, and it's got this charming action/adventure movie vibe that i like. drake nearly carries the entire chapter on her own because she's just so cool, and both hector and lily actually do good work as fairly interesting antagonists.

6. orleans - also like okeanos which is like america, but even more overwhelmingly early fgo brand. lighthearted and fun when it’s not being clogged by boring battles every other second, and has some of the most fantastic characters and interactions. marie, mozart, jeanne, and jalter were the ones to nearly carry the entire chapter on their own because they were so wonderful, on their own and with each other, and i want to rank this higher based on my affection for them alone. Is Plot Something You Eat? because this chapter never heard of that. but i have a deep fondness for it anyway. i want to squish this chapter's face in my hands and pinch it's cheeks because it's trying, god bless its heart.

7. london - eh, it's fine. a little blander than orleans and the plot is also ???? and i don't understand half of what happens, but the enjoyable characters and dynamics, between mordred and jekyll and fran, hans and shakespeare, and the tesla-kintoki-tamamo banter-- these and the entire confrontation with ''''solomon'''' in the end save it for me and make me feel that it deserves a decent spot at least because these were honestly pretty good.

8. fuyuki - there are a couple of good parts and the ending and general darkness of it is really fucked up in a good way, but overall it's very Tutorial Mode Syndrome and mostly very uninteresting. thank god for the first order OVA.

9. septem - i feel bad putting this so low because it makes me seem like i hate it more than i actually do, because i don't even think this chapter is bad like everyone claims it is, it's just... really aggressively forgettable? like, i barely remember anything that happens here except that nero was there and some stuff from the end. and you know i still really do love nero a lot and don't feel too strongly about her role here, but that’s also because i struggle to feel very strongly about it in any way in general.

#fgo tag #thinky thoughts

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rose-lighters · 5 years

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Time to rank every MCU film

Yes I am doing that oh so original thing of ranking every marvel film from worst to best. Criticisms and debates are welcome. (Disclaimer: I like all these films unless stated otherwise)

X. Incredible Hulk - I haven’t seen it. Sorry.

21. Guardians Of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - I can honestly say I hated this film. The only likeable part of the whole film was the soundtrack and the first few minutes with Groot dancing. Beyond that it was dull, cringy and oh so predictable. The second that Ego (???) appeared and said he was Quill’s dad I was just like “Oh so this guy’s the villain then” and noped out of there. I never saw past that point and don’t intend to.

20. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - People praise this film till kingdom come and I for one do not get it at all. Many say that it is unique in moving away from the typical superhero film and towards the spy genre. Maybe I just don’t like spy films but it is in no means a great Marvel film. I liked it enough but it’s so forgettable I had to google the plot for this review. I liked the characters and all but it just never stuck with me as anything special.

19. Guardians Of the Galaxy - Maybe I just don’t like the guardians??? I don’t know but this was another film that just didn’t stick with me. I like Rocket and Groot but beyond that the Guardians themselves hold no interest with me. I don’t care for the humor particularly and whilst the music is great that really shouldn’t be the best part of a film unless it’s a musical.

18. Avengers: Age of Ultron - People hate this film, I however do not. It’s an okay Marvel film, I don’t care for it enough to hate it. I like that scene where they’re all trying to lift mjolnir and I think I liked the ending (I watched it like two years ago so I don’t remember that well) but I have to agree with a lot of the criticism of white washing the Maximoffs (despite how much I love Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor Johnson, it was still shady). I didn’t hate the ‘giving Hawkeye a family’ like a lot of people did because the already made it clear he wasn’t like comic Clint.

17. Thor: The Dark World - Now we’re moving into films I do like (I love Marvel films more than I dislike them, it's literally just GOTG2 that I don’t like). This was a good film from what I can remember (as I said it's been a while since I’ve seen a lot of these films). I liked the story arcs, I liked that it was set in places other than America and space (ok, so I’m from England, sue me), I loved Tom Hiddleston in this film and I like Darcy. All in all it was an enjoyable viewing, a little dull at times but generally harmless.

16. Doctor Strange - This would be further up if it wasn’t for how dull the first half hour or so is. I had to go back and watch this months after I had first tried just because the start was so boring. Once I moved past it however it was a great origin film. I liked the humour in it and I have always had a soft spot for magic so it was a brilliant film. The effects were absolutely stunning and on aesthetics alone it would place as the second or third best marvel film. I loved the good guys and was genuinely rooting for them despite Strange being a bit of a snarky arsehole.

15. Iron Man - Is this a very important film? Yes. Is it a great film? Also yes. Do I remember it? Not at all. Okay, so I remember some stuff and what I do remember was great but to say its a film that sticks out would be a lie. It’s THE origin story in as much as it’s a formulaic one: flawed character is traumatised and realises their flaws in the process, is influenced by important person, becomes a hero and is betrayed. It works though. That’s the thing, it works so damn well that its almost not in the formula. It's a great watch and honestly RDJ looks great in it (so not the point but I digress). That bit with Stane ripping out the arc reactor made me feel betrayed and I kinda knew it was coming. ( https://tonynatashas.tumblr.com/post/184375713429/that-scene-in-iron-man-where-obadiah-stane-is this post explains why this scene is so great important)

14. Captain America: The First Avenger - Another (enjoyable) origin story. If Sebastian Stan wasn’t in it it would probably be three places down but hey I have a type. No but seriously this was a great film because not only did it show off the brilliance of Roger’s transformation and gave us an idea of who he was and what motivates him but it also then gives us details of his waking in the 21st century and begins to expose his issues with this time travel (for want of a better phrase). This film shows you what you’re gonna get whilst still having pretty good effects, a good, solid storyline and a pretty badass comic book villain. The serum guy creeps me out though and there are so many ethical issues of that level of human experimentation on a person whose only friend went off to war, had Steve died they chose someone no one would really miss which is so concerning.

13. Captain Marvel - A lot of people may have a criticism of this film being so far down but for me it needs to be. I like superhero films where the main character overcomes a flaw and amnesia is not a character flaw. This is a good origin story but it is not a great marvel film. I like Carol but I don’t love her. I love the fact that we have a superhero film with a female main character and i liked that scene where she talks with biker guy but it felt like Samuel L Jackson was a more interesting character at times. I often rate characters on humor so there’s that. It was a good film but I’m mostly looking forward to what will be done with the character as she has so much potential.

12. Spiderman: Homecoming - This is a weird one for me. It’s the only marvel film I own on DVD and it’s the only one I like where I skip scenes. I can not deal with cringy humour so I skip 80% of the jokes and awkward moments in this film however it’s a really good film. It’s funny and the music is great, I love Zendaya and Jacob Batalon probably more than Tom Holland, their roles are great and the film’s emphasis on friendship is one of the elements from the Iron Man and Captain America films that I love just further amplified. The references to Ferris Bueller and the fact that it is, at its core, a teen flick makes it a brilliant film. The vulture twist was also amazing.

11. Ant-man and the Wasp - I feel like it isn’t talked about enough but I really bloody love Scott Lang. He is one superhero that I can really get behind because above all else he is just the nicest guy. He is probably one of the most human seeming characters in the MCU and it always makes for such an enjoyable viewing. This could probably draw with ant-man in terms of great films. I loved Ava Starr so much and my heart really went out to her and that FBI guy was a total joy to watch. The Ant man films are so funny and light hearted that they don’t have that sort of weariness that other MCU films have. If only Luis told more stories in the MCU.

10. Ant-man - Honestly just look above. Also I love Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne so much. The villain was kind of eh but I loved the heist aspect.

9. Black Panther - I watched this film for Shuri and to an extent because I felt obligated to so I had low expectations. People were talking about it for the significance of fighting for equality (which I am all for, don’t worry) so I was expecting it to not live up to the hype and it didn’t. That being said it was a bloody great movie. The movie was beautiful, the use of colour and the CGI tech was so damn pretty. The plot was brilliant and for a while I wanted Erik Killmonger to win, he put forward a good argument and I like a ‘baddy’ so to speak. The fights were great and I was so here for their version of going under cover finally not being a hoodie and cap. Was it over hyped? Hell yeah. Was it still a great film? 100%

8. Iron Man 3 - This gets a hell of a load more crap than it deserves, mostly from comic book fans who can’t stand that their precious mandarin was a hoax but honestly I respect the fuck out of marvel for that. Rather than having a stereotypically asian terrorist they turned that stereotype on its head and made the white guy the actual terrorist. Ben Kingsley is one of my favourite actors and he was amazing. I, obviously, also loved the representation of PTSD as a serious issue and how it was displayed in all of its real ugliness. For once it didn’t just show a damaged person who was fixed with romance. So yeah, this film was a masterpiece.

7. Captain America: Civil War - Zemo may just be my favourite MCU villain to date, why? Because he fucking won. This was a film about a man who knew his victims and rather than stupidly trying to attack the big scary strong guys he exposed them and made the best of circumstance. He got under Captain America’s skin and played him like a puppet. This was more than just a villain, this was finally a smart villain. Not to mention that this film had some of the best action sequences and heart breaking moments whilst still having time for a laugh. It’s also the first film (in my opinion) that called out Steve’s morals and his obsession with the past. Bucky was hot used against him and it showed that above all else, even the little people, Steve’s loyalties are with his past.

6. Thor - Most people would disagree and rate this film far lower however for me this was the start. I didn’t grow up watching superhero films because I didn’t like watching TV as a kid so it wasn’t till I was 13 that I saw a superhero film and this was it. I honestly watched it because my friend had it on DVD and I thought Tom Hiddleston looked hot but from what I can remember this was one of the best films I ever saw. I wasn’t too bothered by Jane Foster but I absolutely loved Darcy, Loki and Thor. Whilst I’m not adopted I do know what it is like to be the younger and smarter sibling with an older thuggish brother who is still the favourite so I loved Loki with a passion and was so upset when he fell.

5. Iron Man 2 - This was the film that made me realise that I liked girls, Scarlet Johansson in a black cat suit and red ringlets was an amazing thing to little 13 year old me. Beyond that it was just a solid film, it had spies and daddy issues and sass and Samuel L Jackson. What more can you want?

4. Thor: Ragnarok - This is the peak of Thor, I’m calling it now. Never had a director before been able to capture the absolute chaos of Loki and the sweetheart-ness of Thor so brilliantly. As far as representations of characters this, Captain Marvel and Iron Man 3 may just be the best of all the MCU. This is the full completion of Thor’s arc, this is the film that the first Thor set up. Finally Thor is ready to be King. This film had so much humour but still set it all up so perfectly that it was more than just a comedy. Jeff Goldblum was amazing and honestly Taika Waititi should direct the whole of the MCU. He knows the characters better than anybody.

3. Avengers: Endgame - I cried three times. That scene with the portals was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed and whilst many criticize much of the plot I don’t have too much I’d change, though in fairness I did like the cursed child so maybe I just have a soft spot for all things time travel. Dynamic timelines are not used in cinema enough and the three alternate timelines create have all sorts of implications for future films in the MCU. If Thor is not fat in the next film this may go down to 20th though.

2. Avengers Assemble - This is the film that I believe best represents what the MCU has to offer. It’s a light hearted superhero film with all the characters that were needed at this point in time. For its time it was ambitious and honestly it shows. I loved the dynamics between the characters, the plot was engaging and not overly complex and even if you haven’t seen any other MCU films it makes perfect sense. In some respects it probably is the best the MCU has to offer.

1. Avengers: Infinity War - Oh boy do I love this film. This isn’t just a film, this is the film. Did it have the same emotional impact as Endgame? Fuck no but it didn’t need to. It was serious. It was funny. It had just the right amount of just the right characters and may I just say that is the best that Captain America has ever looked in the MCU. I (controversially) really loved Gamora dying and most of the Guardians being dusted. The memes were great.This was the most ambitious cross over event since Wizards of deck with Hannah Montana. One thing that I can’t get out of my head though is Bruce’s comment of “broke up like the beatles?”. Does that make Bucky Yoko Ono?

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curestardust · 5 years

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if you want: mediocre idol anime with a lot of missed potential

It had a promising start and a letdown of an execution.

The first episode is actually quite interesting. We’ve an idol group called “Ongaku Shoujo” aka Music Girls who’re quite unpopular. At one of their busking events in the airport, our main character Hanako runs into them. She is the daughter of two musicians who’re there for their Japan tour. After the girls do their performance they find out that Hanako has an extraordinary ability of learning dances just by seeing them once. However, when she gets on stage it turns out that she is absolutely shit at singing.

So you’re probably thinking: aaahhh, so she will join the group and work hard to improve her singing and then they get popular in the process? Well, no. Hanako is immediately shafted into a staff position and...that’s it. So what IS it about then?

The group getting popular. Obsviously, this is an often used schtick in idol anime but the way they went about it was horrible, you know why? Cause WE DON’T SEE IT!

Ongaku Shoujo has 11 members and this anime has 12 episodes. Each episode advances the “plot” a tiny, tiny bit while it also puts one or two of the members in the spotlight. This formula is fine. I can at the very least list one personality trait of each girl even if I don’t remember their name.

Back to the plot, we’re barely shown them getting popular. It’s obvious from the fact that they’re invited to shows ans given CF opportunities but besides a few moments it really doesn’t come off as them being a “popular”.

Even worse is the second main character of the anime, Ouri who is the leader and the center for the group. She has an incredibly annoying personality. Has a really short fuse, likes to shout at people and act on impulse and doesn’t discuss her problems with her members.

Aaaand the finale episode. Without spoilers: the biggest bullshit of a deux ex machina I’ve ever seen.

Technical side isn’t even worth talking about. Average to laughable art and animation and mediocre music, of which there’s few anyway.

So, yeah. The majority of the cast is kinda lovable but it’s really just. Lame. Not worth watching if you have any standards whatsoever. [4/10] (x)

BONUS: Ongaku Shoujo’s “origin” is worth a few words. A 25 minute long OVA by the same name aired at the Anime Mirai in 2015. And it’s pretty good! The animation is fluid and the artstyle is soft and nice to look at. They manage to fit all the highs and lows of the story, which IS a quite typical idol anime themed but it’s not too jarring. I honestly thought that the TV version was going to rework the story we saw here but unfortunately besides 2 of the characters resembling and having the same names as the 2 protagonists of the OVA, there is no further connection between the two. But if you want something short and sweet idol stuff, I’d recommend. [7/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

if you want: family movie / interesting take on the flow of time

Mirai no Mirai is a movie with an interesting basis.

Our main characters are a family, the Ootas. At the start of the movie we find out that the mother has given birth to their second child, Mirai. We mostly follow around their first child, Kun.

The movie presents an idea: what if time was not linear but fluid where characters from other times could visit you and you could visit them? We’re shown this idea through Kun. He is goes through the many problems a boy his age would go through. Jealousy because of his new sister, the frustration of not being pampered 24/7, trying to learn new skills for the first time etc. Each time he dashes out into the yard out of impulse where the tree would light up and throw us into the fantasy side of the story. The first few times he meets the personified version of the family dog and her sister from the future but as the movie goes on these time jumps become more extreme. Kun meets multiple of his relatives in numerous points of their lives where he learns something related to the problems he is facing...or he is supposed to.

The idea of the movie is fascinating and was the reason I decided to watch it, but multiple problems plague Mirai no Mirai which can drastically take away from the enjoyment of the movie.

The most drastic one is Kun’s personality. Making an impulsive, loud, rebellious and rude 5 year old boy the main character of the movie was a questionable desicion. However, this wouldn’t have been as annoying if he showed improvement. Each time he comes back from the other world the tree took him to, he seems like he learnt a lesson. But when we cut into the next scene that’s all gone and he is acting as annoying as ever. It doesn’t really show that his meetings with his other relatives left any long-lasting impression on him.

The others are more technical. Many of the voice actors are rookies and it shows, especially on Kun which is another questionable decision, considering that we have to listen to him throughout the whole movie.

The animation and the art direction are both quite well done, with the background being expecially gorgeous. However, they used CGI with certain scenes and it’s quite obvious due to the different movements of those scenes. When used sparingly, they were fine, but there was a scene near the end with a HEAVY use of quite ugly CGI that didn’t really fit the tone or the look of the movie and it was...weird.

I’m pretty sure that I’m simply not the target demographic for this movie. People who could relate to the struggles of the parents trying to balance work and kids while also being able to find Kun and Mirai’s constant whining adoring would most likely enjoy this more. [6/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

if you want:an amazing magical girl anime / one (1) actual healthy romance / nice cast of main characters

Haying reached another milestone, I yet again decided to rewatch one of my childhood favourites and this time I settled on Tokyo Mew Mew.

TMM, Mew Mew Power in English and Vadmacska Kommandó (Wildcat Commando) as I personally knew it, still holds up surprisingly well.

Having aired in 2003, Tokyo Mew Mew sticks to the magical girl themes mostly present at the time which is the story putting just as much emphasis on the romance as the magical girl aspects. The latter of which uses formulas that are still in use today: monster-of-the-week, colour coded characters, the Big Bad etc.

While we have 5 Mew Mews in the team but Ichigo, our leader and pink magical girl, gets the most airtime our of all of them. The other girls get a few episodes mostly focused on them here and there but it’ll be kinda a letdown for those who’re HUGE fans of one of the other Mew Mews.

Which is why it’d be quite a big problem if Ichigo was insufferable but she isn’t! She does have the usual tropes: ditzy, noisy and all-over-the-place. However, she is also loyal, kind, hardworking and strong.

Now I’d like to say a few things about the romance. It’s incredibly rare to get that right in magical girl anime. Almost every relationship I’ve seen was unhealthy or annoying. But not here, oh no! In the very first episode we find out that Ichigo has landed a date with the school’s most popular guy, Aoyama. This makes it so that we don’t have to suffer through the “will they, won’t they” and we arrive when their relationship begins to take root. They go through highs and lows but they support each other all the way and I just love them.

But as good as the Aoyama romance is, the others are....not so much. As usual the romances center around our main character, aka Ichigo. The 2 culprits are Ryou and Quiche. Ryou is the brain behind the Mew Mew Project so he’s sort of like Ichigo’s boss. He doesn’t outright pursue her nor seems too interested in her however he has a bad tendency of kissing Ichigo a few times and NO. I very much didn’t like that. However, while he kinda exists the picture toward the end we have the rapey romance aka Quiche. He is an alien aka the enemy. He become infatuated with Ichigo for seemingly no particular reason and is just generally uhhhh...rapey. Unfortunately, his character doesn’t really go through much of a development which is a shame.

Anyway, before I finish, let me bring up the transformations. U G H. Yes they are much more simple than the ones today but I’m still in love with them. My favourite was Minto’s. The fluidity of her movements, the angles used, the material of her clothes and the pure creativity....they’re just gorgeous.

So, my true score of this is a 9/10 but my nostalgia would kill me if I gave this anything other than a perfect score so there’s that, If you’re a magical girl fan, Tokyo Mew Mew is a MUST! [10/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

#dusty reviews #Mirai no Mirai #Mirai of the Future #Mirai #Ongaku Shoujo #music girls #Ongaku Shoujo (TV)#Tokyo Mew Mew #Mew Mew Power

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