#i think it makes for a more interesting dynamic and character for her as well

[sepublic]

Fascinating to me how in the pilot, Luz found the Boiling Isles because of AMITY... Because she's trying to return this exchange student's passport to her. She chases a bus on foot the entire way just to repay her kindness. And so she follows her through the door.

I think the final version works just as well, considering it emphasizes Luz's connection to Eda and King, as well as her relationship with her mother. But there's also something special about how in the pilot, Luz's pretty obvious crush, and hopes of finding a friend in someone who unwittingly showed her kindness (though she doesn't realize it was unintentional) is what leads her into the Boiling Isles. It's what begins everything, it's what starts her journey and helps her find the place and people where she belongs.

There's just kind of a parallel between Luz trying to return the passport, and Luz wanting to hold onto the book, her father's last gift to her representing their mutual weirdness and kinship with one another. And there would’ve been another Lumity in parallel in them being students of two worlds. The crush vibes are so much more explicit and present from the start, it's like the queer aspect of Luz and the show is intertwined, since the beginning, since the very inciting incident, with the weirdness of our cast and their found family dynamics and everything. Like you can't discuss the weirdness without mentioning the queerness, without acknowledging it as just as much the foundation to the story and Luz.

Plus there's Amity rejecting the drawing from Luz, only for it to be appreciated by Eda unknowingly... Once again, someone, unwittingly, is kind to Luz. But in this case Eda is more explicit about encouraging and welcoming Luz, and it makes me wonder if Amity necessarily dismissed the drawing as much, or only did so because she was around her peers? She's much more of a traditional, popular girl prep in the pilot. But then she DOES throw away the drawing, and her seeing Luz later could represent the shift in attitude, her reconsideration.

It's just. You have the mother figure. You have the love interest. And they bring and affirm Luz's ties to the Boiling Isles respectively. Luz doesn't get the approval she was initially looking for, but her quest for it leads her to find approval from someone else; And obviously, her chances with Amity aren't entirely off of the table! Her girlfriend brought her here. She lit up Luz's life in a way, as the final version had Luz barge into Amity's life and light up hers without meaning to.

Plus Eda not being the friend Luz expected or was looking for -they cross paths by pure coincidence- but being the one she truly starts off with in the end. Like how in the final show Luz doesn't quite get what she's looking for, but she finds something else just as great and beautiful. Luz braces herself to be mocked through her drawing by Eda only to be supported and encouraged! All three of these characters are cut from the same cloth, tied together. I love it.

#the owl house #lumity #the owl house pilot #luz noceda #amity blight #eda clawthorne #edalyn clawthorne #analysis #meta

[cottoncandyafterdark]

Parenting Heacanons - Chuuya, Atsushi

Character(s): Chuuya Nakahara; Atsushi Nakajima (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Tags: SFW, fluff, familial, headcanons

Warnings: Mention of pregnancy

Notes: AFAB reader; originally posted on ao3 here; this is old and I'm not caught up with the manga now so sorry if anything seems strange

Chuuya

I'm not going to lie, Chuuya's initial response to finding out his partner is pregnant is not going to be very positive. He's not angry or anything, but he didn't really want kids and doesn't feel the slightest bit ready to be a father. He isn't going to run away, though; he knows it's sorta his fault you're in this situation to begin with so he's going to swallow his pride and stick around for your sake.

He spends the whole pregnancy low-key dreading having to take care of a baby. Mostly because he's got no clue how to do that. That's not to say he isn't trying to find out how; if you check his browser history at this point, it'll probably be a lot of parenting articles.

He'll say he wants to leave naming the baby to you but if you come up with name ideas and ask him for his thoughts on them Oh Boy will he have some opinions for you.

As soon as the baby is born and he gets to hold it, it's like all his apprehension just vanishes into thin air, he is immediately in love. Like, he looks this tiny, helpless human he helped make in the eyes and immediately knows he would kill and die for them.

I think that it would be a more interesting dynamic if he had a daughter; he'd still be a good father to a son, but with a daughter, he would truly be wrapped around her little finger. That little girl will be SO spoiled, she'll be the one all her classmates want to be friends with because she has all the newest video games and the best dolls.

Lord have mercy on anyone who tries to bully his daughter, not just because he'll be more than willing to beat them up but if she's inherited any of her dad's personality, so will she. If she gets in trouble at school for fighting back against a bully, she will get high fives and ice cream from Chuuya.

When she's old enough, he'll teach her to fight for real. He knows he won't always be there to protect her, so he wants her to be able to keep herself safe.

Once she's old enough to start dating, Chuuya will do the entire protective dad routine to any boys she might bring home. He will all but do a full interrogation about what they're planning, make it known that he knows how to hide a body, and if they bring her home even a minute late he is going to lose it.

Word will get around about this. It is not going to be easy for Chuuya's daughter to find a prom date.

Atsushi

In the early stages of pregnancy Atsushi is going to feel sicker than you.

This poor boy is straight-up terrified to be a parent at first because of what his own childhood was like. It isn't that he doesn't want to have children, exactly, he just doesn't want to end up continuing the cycle of abuse. Of course, the fact that he's worried about that at all is enough to tell you that he'll be a fine father, but good luck convincing him of that.

Once his child is born, all his worries are going to lead him to go so far in the opposite direction, he's probably never going to so much as raise his voice at the kid. He is a major pushover of a parent, Atsushi's child could get away with murder.

He's also going to have a hard time denying them anything they want. This is going to be another spoiled child for sure. The kid's probably going to end up as a bit of a brat because of this, and Atsushi can't even get mad because he knows it's no one's fault but his own.

On the positive side of things he's going to be such a supportive dad as well. He'll be in the front row of any recitals, plays, spelling bees, anything like that his child participates in and he is going to clap the loudest because he's so proud of them!!!

He'll try to help them with their math homework at some point, but quickly realize that he doesn't really know how to do math either. Much frantic googling will ensue as Atsushi tries to quickly learn long division for his child's sake.

When they get old enough to start hanging out with friends on their own, Atsushi is going to be so worried if they stay out later than they said they would, even if it's just by a few minutes. He'll also want to know exactly who they're with and where they're going. He isn't trying to be overbearing, he just has anxiety.

Voted most likely to cry when his child moves out. Empty nest syndrome is gonna hit him so hard. His child is probably going to get daily texts from their honorary aunts and uncles at the Agency reminding them to call their dad.

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bungou stray dogs x reader #atsushi nakajima #bsd chuuya #bsd atsushi #bsd headcanons #old fic

[ming-sik]

georgine is such an interesting character and she was such a good villain and im. so conflicted on her last scene. the detail of sylvester begging for her to explain why she's doing this and georgine refusing to even tell him, because it's so obvious if you understand her at all, and the fact that he's never needed to is part of why she's so agonized by losing the archducal seat to him of all people that if she can't have ehrenfest, nobody can, is so good. it's narratively foreshadowed so early too, really it's foreshadowed when ferdinand tells rozemyne that it's obvious that the child with the most mana should become aub before more and more worldbuilding elements are introduced that explain why women are nevertheless mostly shut out of the position even when they want it, and it makes perfect sense that that would drive you absolutely insane. it's such a well-done take on fantasy governmental misogyny that, even though i find that trope devastatingly boring and often stemming from regular misogyny on the part of the creator when it's positioned as a matter of course, i really like georgine! i wish they let her cook a little more!

i think what i'm most unsatisfied with especially at the climax is how much of her spotlight is taken up by detlinde who i can only describe as "the generic villainess character the protagonist reincarnates as in villainess isekai manga" and gervasio who got his schtappe yesterday. so little of the admittedly complex plan to trap georgine even is shown onscreen and her actual plan is foiled by sylvester happening to leave the foundation at the correct time. i wish sylvester and the woman whose life he stole and georgine and the man who stole her life got to fight over the duchy that they were each meant to protect and that forced them into this position, in like a cooler way. the fact that even though everything was working against it being satisfying their actual conversation still got me is a testament to the strength of their dynamic.

in conclusion:

me explaining what georgine could've been

#ascendance of a bookworm #aob spoilers

[myminecraftfantasy]

DSMP x Encanto AU

Character Concepts:

This post is about my thought process why I assigned each character the role they have. Along with some concept art. (I’m not an artist, but I tried T^T)

Character Selection:

Philza — as Alma Abuela. The reasoning is simple, “His name is Philza Minecraft and he is quite old...” Also, he’s part bird because the wings are iconic

Nihachu & Puffy — Niki as Julieta. when I made this AU, I immediately casted Niki for this role because of her kind nature and the bakery she once had (in DSMP). Puffy as Augustin. I originally had Wilbur in this role, but I changed it because I thought Puffy would be more fun and I wanted to do something else for Wilbur. It’s a shame I can’t make Puffy a sheep, but I made Niki a cat because she has cats irl.

Sapnap & Karl — as Pepa & Felix. I immediately knew I wanted this couple in the AU since they’re a really fun dynamic. Karl would’ve suited either of the roles well, but I thought that Sapnap would suit Pepa better than Felix. Also, I made Sapnap a panda because Pandas.

Technoblade — as Bruno. they’re both quirky & introverted characters that I like (yes, I’m a bit biased). Also, he would fit in the song “We don’t talk about Techno, no, no, no~”. I think it was meant to be. And of course I made Techno a pig, he is “The Pig”.

Dream — as Dolores. their characters both have a ‘lying in wait’ sort-of-vibe, it’s hard to explain. It’s also pretty entertaining in terms of character interactions, and I put George in Mariano’s role. I also made Dream a wolf because of that popular GNF video.

Quackity - as Camilo. they both have really fun and goofy personalities, I think it’s a perfect fit. Quackity likes to change his mc skin a lot, so it matches Camilo’s gift. Also, Quackity is a duck because quack.

Wilbur — as Antonio. I was originally going to have Wilbur as Augustin, but I thought this would be a more interesting dynamic with Tommy with the flip in ages. I made Wilbur a fox because of his son Fundy in DSMP.

(I really wanted the bench trio in this AU, and I thought the 3 siblings would be perfect)

Ranboo — as Isabella. The character dynamics and relationships is really interesting with him in this role (prolly gonna make a mini-post for some hcs for this). Also, with Isabella’s gift, I could give Ranboo a flower crown. I chose a deer for Ranboo because the antlers and ears matched well with popular fan interpretation.

Tubbo — as Luisa. Not much to say for this one, I’ve seen the strong Tubbo fanart. This combo is perfect. Tubbo is obviously a ram for popular easons.

Tommy — as Mirabel. Main character energy, of course. Not to mention, their characters are often underestimated despite the attention they get. Tommy remains a regular human until the Casita gets rebuilt. He gets a bird too)

(Also, Casita’s nickname in this AU is Chat.

So remember those scenes with Mirabel saying “Casita”, now imagine Tommy saying “Chat” in the same way

Idk, I think it’s funny)

#mcyt #dsmp #dream smp #dsmp fanart #dsmpxencanto #dsmp art #minecraft #encanto au #encanto #dsmp au #crossover

[absenthearted]

THE QUARRY | CHAPTER 7 | THE PAST BEHIND US

If you knew all this, why didn’t you just kill it in the storm shelter when you had the chance?  It’s not so—I’m—I was—when I—  Straightforward?  No! It’s not—They’re not so easy to hit. I was trying to protect you two.

CYNICAL or ENCOURAGING → SUSPICIOUS or ACCUSATORY 

#the quarry #thequarryedit #laura kearney #travis hackett #hackearney #supermassive games #im so out of practice with making gifs rip the lighting in this was so hard to colour for #so pls... ignore... the inconsistencies... #anyway i chose the supportive dialogue in my first runthrough but i actually think this is the more interesting choice #if you play it this way laura isn't just trying to just get on his good side; she's just calling his shit out #i think it makes for a more interesting dynamic and character for her as well #i have more gif ideas but maybe when i have more time in a couple weeks lol #ALSO if anyone knows how to actually make caption text small pls... let me know... my html isnt working... #mine #sorry these gif sizes are so large too im not used to this

[seagullcharmer]

i don't think this applies to any mutuals but i've been stewing vaguely over tp fans who think link only fell for midna when he saw her true form. like. we did Not play the same game apparently

#libra.txt #i don't even ship midlink that hard but people who make link sooo shallow #and say he could only have fallen for her when he saw her true form just. ugh i can't stand it #like. they have such an interesting dynamic + relationship #starting out from 'begrudging coworkers' to 'maaaybe friends......?' to 'yeah we vibin' to 'Oh.' #and for awhile i didn't really see midlink as a very romantic dynamic #but then. idk. getting to the desert the first time. and midna shares a secret. the way she presses close to link #and not in a flirty way or trying to get on his nerves but as. 'hey. this is really important to me and i'm actually kind of scared but #i Trust you. i believe in you. we can do this together' #/that's/ when i said 'Oh.' #and now i'm almost done with the game. i've beaten zant and i've headed to the castle #(sidenote: love the freaky spider form midna has with the fused shadows. need to do more with that) #and the way link catches her!!!!! the way they smile at each other!!!!! #they care about each other!!!! they're fond!!!!!! #need to actually finish the game but. maybe i like midlink more than i think. hmm! #i'm just sick of people who only use midna as a reason to give link manpain. or make link shallow etc etc #midna is an interesting character on her own!!!!!!! so is link!!!!!! #they just so happen to work well together too!!!!!!!!!!!! #and don't get me started on midzelink okay

[fragmentedblade]

Also, Ruan Mei was the one who lent the Phase Flame to Ratio, wasn't she?

#That Ratio and her were working together seemed to be the case since we first found him but idk #Ruan Mei plays dumb when we ask about him but I thought it was clear that she did know him #Herta also pretends she doesn't know him for some reason #cringefail acquaintance #Jokes aside I wonder why they did that. Is it because they both are ehm working behind each other's back #(Herta when it comes to the IPC‚ the SU and the bet‚ Ruan Mei kind of with everything)‚ or is it due to some other more complex reason? #Based on we've seen thus far I do think Ratio and Ruan Mei were working together in something #and that she was in the known of at least some things. Perhaps not everything #She seems to care about things beyond her research even less than Herta does #But given what we're told it seems fair to conclude the fire Ratio had was given to him by Ruan Mei #Herta said Ruan Mei needed it for some research. So either she didn't need it anymore and didn't mind giving it to Ratio afterwards #or maybe what Ratio was doing was something she was a part of. Or did Ratio steal it when he was around the seclusion zone? #I'm not inclined to think that tbh it seems to me Ruan Mei must have been knowingly implied. Yet now she owes Herta a favour #Which is more valuable according to Herta. This quest has left me very curious about the development of all this #Screwllum suspected Ratio since the beginning. I wonder if he suspects Ruan Mei too #Ruan Mei's line about Screwllum makes it seem like they don't get along too well I think. I have so many questions xD #I am very curious about all this‚ satisfied and potentially excited. Not yet excited but I sure have hopes for an exciting development haha #Maybe it will all end up being nothing but the relationships between the characters in the Genius Society (especially these three) #seems kind of messy and that intrigues me. The relationship the three of them have with Ratio seems intriguing too #Any iteration of these dynamics seems to be very interesting #Maybe it will all end up being nothing or I may be misreading or seeing more than there is but I am looking forwards to knowing more #I talk too much #Traces

[shadowedvales]

i!!! i think i am about to change my canon once again (is anyone really all that surprised?) in the case of jane’s interactions at school. i am simply craving for her to find a group of girls, or even just one girl to befriend. someone who knows jane has some problems, but doesn’t care. (there’s a lot of rumours about her at school. that she was kidnapped as a child and grew up in an abusive household, and only recently was found by police and put back into the care of her mother and aunt. no one knows what’s true and what isn’t, but after the roller rink incident sam owens has to make an official story about her.) they genuinely like her. they don’t care that her speech pattern is a bit weird or the way she jumps at the sound of the school bells. or that she quite frankly, appears to be academically dumb. someone who thinks jane is a nice girl, fun to be around. someone jane can meet on her own, without connection to the party or anyone she knew previously. jane being able to make a friend on her own would majorly increase her confidence, and help her feel like she’s normal. her having important interactions outside the party / people connected to the upside down. someone who doesn’t know that side of her life, who just knows janessa ives, a girl who has some issues but is getting through them! i think it would be so fundamental to her social growth.

#out. #you can’t tell me that the angela / jane situation wouldn’t have been so much better if angela was nice. #the popular bully scenario was so cliche. #and while i genuinely enjoyed those scenes and thought they were very well done. #IMAGINE A POPULAR GIRL LIKED JANE AND TOOK HER UNDER HER WING??? #it would have called for a way more interesting dynamic! #i’m gonna make this girl a canon character in jane’s story. #it will be done! #and then that girl having her own friends. and jane hanging out with them. #this girl probably feeling a bit sorry for jane at first bc she sees the way she’s treated at school. #so she offers to sit with her in class. a little out of pity. #but comes to REALLY enjoy her company. #and invites her to go out with her group of friends! #DHSKSKSKSK. #i’m fine i’m fine. #i have had this nameless character for 3 seconds and already she’s important to me and jane. #and this girl staying by jane after the roller rink incident??? #as soon as she hears about it. she goes to the ives house to check up on jane. #TRULY THINKING SO MANY THOUGHTS!

[fightingdragonswithwho]

hate to be a hater on the main … but this season of ted lasso excels (once again) at team dynamic and the found family elements and i think the finale absolutely nailed that, i cried, i laughed, it was perfect on that. now as for the individual stories and relationships… yeah, let’s leave it at that

#(rant below ignore me) #i think making longer episodes allowed them to add stories that felt so pointless to me #what was the point of zava? to make jamie understand something about himself? could have done that better with just the roy plot #i would have understood roy and keeley breaking up of it was like ‘let’s both grow as individuals’ #and roy kinda did but apparently not enough because his plot at the end is how he do better so i guess he didn’t #jamie had the best development only to then lose part of it by throwing the random video comment?? like why?? #keeley my love … from the random friend that added nothing to the story to an undervelopped love interest plot line … they did u so dirty #why the hell was ted so emotionally off this last episode instead of actually talking the time to proper end things with london and everyone #rebecca was SOBBING and ted was like ‘well gotta go’ ?? #it’s not about the ship or anything but what ?? and rebecca … love that she stayed with the club #but to have her end up with some random creepy man she met once and whose name WE DONT EVEN KNOW #i have no issues with ted going home to his son. it makes perfect sense. but it felt so weird #the nate plot was wrapped kinda poorly too?? #sam colin and most of the guys from the team were amazing #and the found family and team dynamic was still amazing as always #the beard and jane relationship was always weird to me because it feels like joke after joke of.. abuse? #do they get married or was it a dream?? and if so was the whole sequence a dream? and if it wasn’t WHO DID THE CGI FOR THE WEDDING 💀 #we spent more time with these characters this season and it doesn’t feel that way and idk this season felt weird at so many points #I LOVE THIS SHOW I DO!! first 2 seasons are one of my all time favourite seasons of a sitcom!! and i still enjoyed a lot about s3 <33 #anyway sorry to be a hater on the main but it was just a weird season to end it on #anti ted lasso #<- i really don’t wanna upset anyone i just felt like ranting a little 💀 pls don’t hate me #ted lasso spoilers

[cherrymoonvol6]

.

#k so i started watching the shera show just to see if catradora is as bad as people say it is #(because seeing that people hate a ship makes me 200% more invested fyi) #and like. i do Not see it girlies #i do think the show is as shallow as they come and maybe the whole catradora backstory is too much for it #currently on ep 4? 5? of s2 and i'm pretty comfy with the fact that catradora will be endgame #because their dynamic is easily the most interesting one in the show #although crab lady (what was her name....) and catra scratch an itch of mine too #mainly bc i am really into one sided pining #and i like that (oh it's scorpia i remembered) scorpia is the easy option for catra #someone who idealizes her and is already invested in the idea of getting together with her #and catra having this realization of the nature of scorpia's feelings in that episode (4? 5?) like UGH that's some good shit right there #but what stood up to me about the show was how uhhhh like there's so much ship bait everywhere #not in a malicious way. just in the way that there's ship teases for a lot of pairings in the show #like glimmer and adora and bow with uhh everyone (disaster bisexual characters my beloved) #like it just feels very queer positive and casual. i really like that #but yeah. so far i'm not head over heels with catradora but i definitely think it has a lot of potentiak #and the fact that they are the endgame couple is pleasing to me #like IMAGINE identifying the couple with the most potential and making it canon. some other shows could've learned that lesson #oh well! (lumity why are you so fucking boring it pains me)

[varley-of-torment]

So I'm thinking about writing a fic in my Prof. Mercie AU where her merchant adoptive "father" comes to the monastery to talk to her face to face after finding out she's a professor (not the only thing that happens but it's a part of it), and since this character isn't in the game, I can do whatever I want, and I'm trying to figure out how I could write him in a way where he... Actually Has A Point?

Not in a way like "yea, Mercedes is in the wrong for not wanting to get married for this guy after he basically bought her", but like, he argues his point of view in a compelling and reasonable way that makes him sound... kind of justified? something that makes you go, oh, that's actually a good point. like he would be right if he wasn't wrong. To humanize him essentially.

One idea I've knocked around is he has a boss he has to answer to, and he sees himself as more of an employer and Mercedes as an employee, and this would just be so much easier if Mercedes cooperated with him. But I'm not satisfied with that.

I think it's interesting to find an angle that would humanize a character who's trying to marry off someone unwillingly in a way that makes one go, "I see where he's coming from".

#like have an actual debate a little bit! stories are more interesting when both sides have a fair argument! #i credit this to watching House btw. House does this exceptionally well. every character (even one off ones) get across their pov so well #it's like the show itself is captain of the debate team. makes sense since the conflict is usually moral conundrums #i THINK its to do with universal ideas. as in boiling their point down to something everyone can relate to #and then mercedes's fathers in her life would cover the morality spectrum. which i just. kind of like that? #her dead bio dad was presumably a nice guy and Bartels was a narcissistic abuser dogshit of a human being #so the merchant father would be in the middle and Mercedes can have a layered dynamic and dialogue with him #idk dhrheueidb. thoughts <3 #(would love to hear your thoughts if you have any!!!!!!!

[chisatowo]

I'm slowly getting to the point where like legitimately Kanade and Mafuyu have the least interesting dynamic in 25ji to me. Tbf the fandom is Not helping

#rat rambles #sekai posting #like. any ways they could make eachother worse is not rly feasable in their current state since theyre not close enough #like I love them I rly do but in canon I think they currently have the least to explore until both of them develop more seperately #mafuyu is getting closer but kanade is still quite the ways off rn #so for now I just find their dynamic to be kind of stagnant and just. not as interesting as some of the others #primarily cause theyre the most passive ones in terms of developing their relationships #they arent gonna fix eachother they arent gonna make eachother worse kanade is a comfort to mafuyu that does mean a lot but the big thing #is that kanade doesnt actually know how to help mafuyu other than just. trying to understand them more from a distance #which is still interesting to me mind you but not for the reasons ppl act like it is #my big thing is that it makes for a good showcase in how clumsy and awkward kanade is with her relationships #she has been incredibly socially isolated for a while and even before that she evidently didnt have friends then either and was also #dealing with parental neglect as well so like. all in all it makes sense that she has not a clue how to actually interact with ppl who #arent the ones initiating everything for her #she doesnt know how to initiate casual conversation or even deeper conversations the best she can think to do is just observe and #occationally ask how mafuyu is feeling which does mean something to mafuyu but still leaves them as somewhat distant beyond music #which is fine but I think we're getting to the point that I hope we can see a bit more from them sooner than later since I do wanna see #kanade get more development in that front #but again that requires solo developmemt for them both first so we'll see if we get to that anytime soon #kanade is just generally a tricky character to give character development that isnt super slowly cause she currently has to be pushed into #most things and doesnt have much of a drive to do things for her own sake #and I love thinking abt that sort of long term kanade development but it does make it tricky to get the ball truly rolling #spojoy park gave us a bit if some of those first steps tho so I do hope we're leading up to more #but ya this is all to say I still find them interesting but more in an individual way than a group way #I dont see them talk and go omg them I just go omg kanade or omg mafuyu and the other is also there ig #in the unit swap au tho? I could go on abt them forever now thats a pair of disfunctional mentally ill teens #cause whem unit swap mafuyu goes 'I can fix him' they dont just waffle around passively they immediately go into action #and there are elements in which they do help and elements where they. super dont. #like when you get to the point where fucking kanade is like hey can you back off like actually maybe just maybe youve gone a bit too far

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

yooooo!!! you’re my favorite ethan winters artist i just wanna say that first and foremost, thank you for the wholesome content of my comfort character and father figure 🥹🫶

i’m really curious bc i feel like i see a lot of people against mithan (not me personally, i’m p neutral on them!) but i’m curious to know all your thoughts on them! thoughts on their canon relationship, their fanon portrayal, the backlash against them/mia accusations, and your headcanons? i’m just really interested!!! hopefully that’s not weird :”)

have a good day!! sparkle on!!! ✨💖

i heart mithan... i think that they can be so cute...

i personally hc them t4t and i like to think that the dated in highschool before they both had fully transitioned

mia likes to bake and ethan likes to scrap book and he always likes to take pictures of mias cakes/ baked goods and has a album for them 😭

i am a multishipper so i draw a lot of ethan ships so my girl is left out sometimes and im sorry mia 😔

i actually really like their relationship, its a really complex dynamic that i like to talk about with my friends

i think the issue is that when talking about mithan or mia in general, theres just SO MUCH misinformation that its honestly a pain the butt to talk about

people still think that she was responsible for the creation of eveline, people still think that she experimented on eveline, people still use examples of her attacking ethan as if she did it on her own will instead of being mind controlled

in reality she was just someone who oversaw the transportation of evie. im not excusing her or anything because obviously she knew what she was doing, but people really try to accuse her of doing something she didnt and it bothers me alot lol

the problem with the fandom is that people either try to water her down to girlboss who did nothing wrong and fail to acknowledge the complexity/ moral grayness of her character and the other side is misogynists 😭😭😭😭

its hard to talk about her without people either going "stop trying to villainize her and make her look bad!" or people ACTUALLY villainizing her and acting like heisenberg would have treated him better 😭😭

mithan is such a sad relationship because they loved each other so much and that ended up being the reason their relationship fell apart (sort of... its not like the broke up... ethan kinda just straight up died)

i get a lot a trouble for saying this, but mia is a selfish person.

its not a bad thing! well i mean it is but it doesnt make her some evil witch who is somehow worse than the guy how made a werewolf american ninja warrior. its just a major character flaw she has! which is good! mia being a flawed person who makes mistakes and morally gray decisions make her a more interesting person!

she is selfish in the way that she wants to keep her family with her no matter the cost. even if it means lying to ethan about her job so that he wont think different of her. here is a interrogation from the re7 DLC, which is easy to miss!

she isnt necessarily trying to apologize for the things she has done, she is more of a, "u wont need to forgive me in the first place if we just forget it all and move on"

she doesn't try to redeem herself for what she has done, she tries to move on and return to the normal life that she wants so bad. which is fine! everyone copes a different way and she has to right to move on from her trauma. the problem that lies in this is that she has a shared trauma with ethan who still has no idea what went on in dulvey and still effects him till the present (he is mold! this is a important thing to know! most people would want to know if they were a walking corpse)

she played a direct part in what happened in dulvey, and im not referring to the email, she did not send that. she never wanted ethan to come in the first place. she tried her best to send a video to him, begging him to forget about her because she wanted to protect him, BUT it didnt send.

he got involved because she was involved. its honestly a series of really really unfortunate events.

THOUGH! she did know what she was getting into. im tired of seeing the narrative that mia was innocent and didnt know what was going on or was simply a bystander. she knew what she was doing, she knew eveline was a bioweapon, she knew eveline was a child. she used a MACHINE GUN! she knows how to use weapons and was obviously trained for it.

she tried her best to keep everybody out of the mess, ex: warning the bakers not to take them in, warning ethan not to find her, sacrificing herself for ethan in the later half of re7

but again, those are the consequences of HER actions

her consequences just happen to get really big and end up hitting ethan on the head like a metal sheet 😭

their relationship is really so interesting, it makes me really sad to think about sometimes 😭they both went through something that nobody else would ever understand, in the end they really only have each other. they get moved to an entire different country and the dulvey incident gets covered up with a "gas leak"

its really tragic because their marriage definitely had some flaws and bumps. and i know im repeating myself but its because people always take this in the worst way possible but just because i say their relationship was rocky doesnt mean im saying they dont love each other!!! thats the entire basis of mias character!! saying she doesnt love ethan would destroy her entire character!

you can see in the re8 DLC how fondly ethan talks about mia! he loves her so much, though im not sure if his comments in the DLC are him narrating current (post re8) or his thoughts before everything went down and he died (pre re8)

everything mia did was because she LOVED ethan. she would never do anything to intentionally hurt him, she is not a cruel person. she hides the truth of her job from ethan pre re7 because she loves him and doesnt want her job to drive them apart. she CONTINUES to refuse to tell ethan the truth post re7 because she wants to move on a live a happy normal life with him and knows something like her being directly associated with the connections would probably cause (more) problems. she refuses to tell ethan that he is mold because again, hard to live a happy marriage with your husband after you tell him hes a bioweapon.

obviously i dont think it was right that she did this, thats what makes her selfish! she did it for herself! she did it for her family! she thought it would work out, she thought that they could move on and be happy together.

the issue is that ethan didnt want to forget. he wanted to know what happened, he wanted to know the part mia played, he wanted answers! which is reasonable! he knows to some extent that mia was partially responsible for his involvement and he was always suspcious that mia was lying to him about her job which is implied when mia says "you were right, i did lie to you"

she doesnt learn, she doesnt stop lying, her lies get bigger and worse and it sucks yeah but it makes her so interesting!!! she keeps doing stupid things under the idea that this is whats best for her and her family, that if she hides this everything will work out and it will be for the better but its not!

just because telling your husband hes dead and a bioweapon is a hard subject to bring up doesnt mean you DONT bring it up. people shouldnt use that as a reason to excuse mia 😭, its a very bad excuse and honestly highlights how horrible their communication skills were. you cant just not tell your husband that he is actually infected with the mold and not tell him for the tree years between post re7 and pre re8.

im not saying these things to put mia down, or try and villanize her. these are all just actual things her character does! she isnt evil, but she isnt a knight in shining armor either. we need to be able to have talks about complex characters without crying everytime someone points out a flaw. characters have flaws! and mia just happens to have a lot of them!

im not mad at her, i dont dislike her because i think this way of her. shes a fictional character! you can like characters that are morally gray, or villains that drink blood and make corpse soldiers. they are fictional! pointing out the flaws of a character does not mean i dont like them.

i wouldnt call her "the real villain of re8" but i wouldnt treat her like a damsel in distress either. she is a competent person, she knows what shes doing, she has her reasons for doing them. she made bad descions with good intentions behind them! they can coexist and we should let them!

i like mithan! its a complex relationship because they both love each other so much but hurt each other in the process

talking about them is just a pain in the butt because talking about mia is a pain in the butt lol

i really hate how she keeps getting sidelined, its super frustrating to see mia get put in a cage in every game 😭

its even more frustrating that mia straight up just disappears???? in the shadows of rose DLC... like she just stops taking care of rose and theres nothing said about it. no reason or explanation. i dont think mia would ever ditch rosemary because she didnt care about her, but we probably will never know because capcom sucks at writing and they probably forgot the mia ever even existed.

all in all, i think the fandom is really just full of misinformation which make people either think mia is some horrible evil person, or its full of people who think that saying mia messed up is the equivalent of comparing her to wesker lol.

i really love mia, shes a incredibly fun and complex character, its just hard to enjoy her sometimes with the people in the fandom haha.

also ive got no idea what u meant by "the backlash against them/mia accusations" so sorry if i didnt answer that!

thank u for the ask! sorry for the long response!

#mia winters #resident evil #ethan winters #mithan

[showtoonzfan]

Now that the episode is out officially, here’s my rant review of Oops!

PROS:

- Fizz and Ozzie were adorable and I honestly love them. Despite the sex jokes, you can tell they love each other for who they are OUTSIDE of sex. While I did wish we would have seen more, (like how Ozzie took him in and fell in love) they’re still adorable to watch. They’re the better version of Stolitz, can the show be about them instead?

- Brandon’s voice acting holy shit, he really knows how to sound like he’s in tears or is broken. As much as I hate the character and feel no sympathy, he displayed genuine and broken emotion very well.

- Alex Brightman Alex Brightman

Okay that’s it. Moving on to the Cons. Bear with me, it’s a lot and I go back and forth a bit. 😭

CONS:

So for a quick short summary, this episode:

- Once again puts more focus on the filler plot rather than actually focusing on the relationships between the characters, so all we're left with is a 10 second clip of Fizz being burned while the rest of the episode is surrounded on sex jokes/petty bickering and Stolas and Ozzie sitting around.

- Completely erases what made Blitz and Fizz's dynamic interesting in the first place because it retcons it with a dumb miscommunication trope about how Fizz actually wanted to see Blitz and Blitz tried reaching out to him. Not only does this feel like a cheap attempt to make Blitz out to be sweet/sympathetic and NOT the one in the wrong so Fizz can suck up to him, but this also makes no sense within the narrative.

- Has Fizz forgive Blitz despite him being the last person anyone would think would forgive him. (So honestly ruins Fizz himself because it turned him into a soft boy who's forgiving compared to the asshole he was in Ozzie's) All because Viv would sell her whole soul before she even remotely considers painting characters like Blitz and Stolas out to be the one's in the wrong.

- Takes Stolas out of the hospital completely, erasing all the drama/tension Western Energy had and proves that that episode was utterly pointless.

- Turns Striker from an interesting complex villain to a Saturday morning cartoon goon.

- Proves to us that Crimson is just a flat tool and gives us more prove that the world building rules Viv set up in season 1 legit don't matter.

-Ruins Blitz/Barbie's feud now because now you're making Barbie look like the one in the wrong since the fire was an accident. God forbid a female characters emotions in this show are justified.

But if you want my more in depth rants, it’s under the cut! (There’s a lot so bear with me lol)

- As usual WAAY too many sex jokes and swearing. It gets annoying and repetitive at times and some of them distract from the main plot. There’s a long and I mean LONNG dragged out joke of Fizz talking about Ozzie’s dick, then later saying he’s hard when Striker has a gun to his head, as well as Blitz making a joke about him and Fizz making out once they hug. Again, Viv can’t be serious for 2 seconds without an unfunny shitty gag. I genuinely wonder if Hazbin is ganna be like this, where a character is in a life threatening situation or a deep dark serious scene happens only for the next scene to be sex related.

- This is one of those “shit happens because the plot demands it” and it shows. Crimson and Striker COINCIDENTLY meet up with each other, and Fizz and Blitz just so HAPPEN to be in the same exact area they are. Viv wonders why we call her shit a fanfic and this is what we mean, when she creates wild wacky plots and focuses more on THAT rather than the actual character writing. This entire episode hinges on a useless poorly last minute planned kidnapping plot that didn’t need to happen. Also way to once again make the characters idiots so the plot can happen, cause Fizz KNOWS Ozzie worries for him and that the Greed Ring is dangerous, yet purposefully puts the spotlight on him.

- Stolas did NOT need to be in this episode. The plot completely ignores the fact that he was in the hospital the last time we saw him, and he’s only here for Stolitz banter. You’d think that a character admitting they have feelings for someone would be a big deal but he just flat out says it and it’s so underwhelming and feels half assed with no weight to it. Fan comics have made more dedication to this than Viv has. We're supposed to believe him too despite the show failing to actually SHOW us this. Same for Blitz ranting about how “nice” Stolas has been to him, laughing at his jokes and liking his posts…hey Viv, can we actually SEE that on screen so it’s more believable? Or are you only determined to show them sexually flirting? 😑

- Once again Viv felt the need to shove a B plot into this episode and this one sucks because it’s just two characters sitting and doing fucking nothing. It felt like Viv had no idea what to do with Stolas and Ozzie, and I refuse to believe that Ozzie just sat there knowing Fizz was in danger. If anything he would have said “fuck the paperwork” and went to save Fizz himself. Way to show that gif of Ozzie getting mad as a sneak peak to get fans excited, only to see that Ozzie spends the rest of the episode sitting in a dark room LMAO what a let down.

- Ozzie is weirdly chill and cool with Stolas and it’s something I don’t get. While he did say that Stolas had the real “spirit of Lust” in S1E7, it still gave you the impression that he was also more poking fun at Stolas rather than respecting him. The whole point of House of Asmodeous was that Ozzie outs him and publicly embarrassed him. Stolas literally was intimidated just by Asmodeous’s mere name, and hid his face around him. It seemed like Stolas certainly didn’t want someone like Ozzie to know about his private life especially since they’re both part of the Ars Goetia. Now here Ozzie is just cool with him and it feels like a missed opportunity for their dynamic.

- Stolas confessing his feelings about Blitz also makes…no sense narrative wise. I thought the whole point of The Circus and the ending to Western Energy was that he was realizing that Blitz didn’t like him that way and was finally waking up. I thought that’s why he was doing this whole crystal deal in the first place, so he can let Blitz go, yet the show keeps flip flopping and insisting that these two love each other and are good for each other. It’s really making you realize how this season and the previous stuff set up is becoming nonsense because the writers retcon EVERY damn episode. Also….why the hell is Stolas telling Ozzie his feelings for Blitz? Out of all people, why is it Ozzie, the person who outed Stolas and embarrassed him. Why is Stolas even respectful of Ozzie? He has no reason to, and he’s not under the impression that he’s dating Fizz either. I get that he needs the crystal but mentioning his love for Blitz makes no sense.

- Striker and Crimson teaming up to kidnap Blitz and Fizz was such an ass puller last minute decision. It feels overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time, more because it feels like Viv has no idea what to do with these two villain characters other than give them something evil to do to start the plot. Also…why…are they working together? It feels so random.

- Striker’s character especially is all over the place. First he’s working for Stella, then he’s painted as the best assassin in hell, and now he’s…looking for more work I guess and working for Crimson? Why? Does this guy even have a motive anymore? It feels like his character is just dangling around until Viv wants to use him for another wattpad kidnap plot and it ESPECIALLY shows when Striker escapes for the THIRD fucking time. Can this character/storyline actually GO somewhere or are you just going to keep introducing him and have him run away. ���🏽‍♀️

— How did Crimson not know who Striker is despite him being labeled as “the most popular assassin in hell”, and how the hell does Crimson know Ozzie and know all the information about him being in a relationship with Fizz?? Oh right because we needed the plot to happen somehow. Still, even if Crimson did know that Ozzie was the "weakest" and loved Fizz, (which….what about Beezlebub?)) he still should have known he was playing with fire. I get that he's supposed to be evil and intimidating but how could he have predicted that Ozzie would actually stand down and fill out the paperwork? He could have immediately came there and killed Crimson for all he knew. It's just distracting how..not planned this shit was.

- Fuck this episode for calling Striker a supremacist. It makes no sense?? Viv is trying SO hard to villainize him despite him being the one in the right and it pisses me off. He has every right to be mad at the upper class, he’s part of the lower class that we’re said Hell takes advantage of, but god forbid we call out Rich and powerful Stolas because that would mean he’s a b-bad person and we can’t have that complex morality! This is so not a “eat the rich” story and it shows bc Vivzie is rich as hell. Striker as a character deserves so much better man. Congrats writers, you had an interesting character and motive set up for him, now he’s nothing but a silly goon that you might as well kill off already cause you clearly don’t care about him. Crimson meanwhile is just a piece of paper, a boring plot device I could give less of a shit about. I thought his motive was to go after Moxxie, now he’s just doing fuck whatever because this show desperately wants a bad guy for their filler fanfic plots.

- We get more world building issues, Ozzie and Fizz are so determined to hide their relationship for obvious reasons, but then at the end of the episode just say “fuck it, no one would dare tell anyway”. So now they’re being open about their relationship and lmao I told y’all the newspaper scene of Ozzie being called out for being a hypocrite wouldn’t go anywhere. Even if Ozzie did threaten his workers to not tell, they can’t be so sure that someone wouldn’t see or snitch, it’s kinda a retcon too cause they were pretty lovey dovey in Ozzie’s. Still, it makes the characters look dumb and it makes the rules Viv set up for Hell once again not mean anything.

- We finally get to see Fizz’s backstory in action and it’s executed in the most underwhelming way possible. It’s literally a fucking 10 second clip of what went down, and rather than experiencing the event for ourselves, it’s in flashback mode but with Fizz’s voice talking over it. That’s it. I’ve seen fan comics/fanart that built this shit up better than Viv did, that actually took the slow time and dedication it needed, and here it feels like such an afterthought, like Viv could care less. Maybe if this actually was a character driven show like Viv claims, Stolas, Striker, and Crimson would be taken out of the picture and then that would leave us with PLENTY time to actually explore and develop Blitz/Fizz, bc most of this episode is just them pettily bickering and Stolas and Ozzie sitting around. But nah, we gatta have our fanfic kidnapping plot. Same goes for the reveal of Blitzo’s mom dying in the same fire. Glad to know that she got the same treatment Moxxie’s mom did, where we don’t even know her and yet we’re supposed to feel moved and care about her death. You nailed that one Viv. 👍

- I predicted that this episode would victimize Blitz and have the fire incident be an accident, (because Viv is a pussy writer and can’t make her characters actually do bad things like god forbid) but I never thought they’d actually have the balls to have Fizz forgive Blitz immediately in the same episode and pull the “actually turns out that horrible thing you did to me helped me in a way”- trope. Biggest flaw of the episode, fuck you Viv. I was actually going to applaud Blitz for taking accountability, but then the dialogue reminds you that an abuser wrote this, and he shifts his apology to “okay but I lost something too see so it’s not all about you” as if he’s fucking dismissing Fizz’s trauma and making it about himself. “I love flawed characters” my fucking ass. I would have smacked a bitch if I was Fizz because Blitzo loosing his mother in the fire too isn’t an excuse?? Fizz lost his fucking ARMS AND LEGS, and at the end of the day Blitzo STILL KNEW HE WAS HELPLESS IN THE FIRE BUT LEFT HIM BEHIND. He could have gotten help and came back, but didn’t. If this were a good show Fizz would have threw that apology back in Blitzo’s face and said “I don’t care if it was an accident or not, you still left me there and then proceeded to loathe me for years”. This is why Helluva will never be Bojack cause at least characters in that show who got treated horribly by him knew when to say “no, fuck you.”

- The episode retcons again, this time they make it out to be that Blitz TRIED contacting Fizz the years they were apart but no one would let him see him. Then they say that Fizz actually WANTED to see Blitz but assumed he didn’t want to, so their entire feud was solely because of miscommunication?? Number one, show don’t fucking tell omg. And number two, that makes ZERO sense. Blitz talked badly about Fizz in Loo Loo Land, and when they finally reunited in Ozzie’s, it was clear they fucking loathed each other. You got the impression that Blitz was petty and jealous just because Fizz was more popular, and Fizz not only loathed him for the accident, but liked to rub in his face about how much of a big shot he was. They literally do that in this episode too, so the episode is literally contradicting itself. Blitz and Fizz had multiple chances to meet up with each other, you can’t just say “oh they couldn’t because no one would let them”- So which is it? Did they hate each other because of bad blood, petty drama, or that they thought the other didn’t want to see them? Pick ONE Viv and stick to it, but she never does. Their feud was interesting and now you ruined it just to have some sweet happy ending. “Adult mature show” my ass lol.

-Bottom line is Fizz shouldn’t have forgave Blitz so easily, or forgave him period. I find it funny how he says “it’s hard to just forgive you” and then he literally does lol. I feel so bad for Fizz fans, him and Blitz’s feud was honestly interesting, so to see all of this go down in a half-assed piss poor way as if this was Care Bears is….wow. The fan interpretations had more thought and care put into this storyline but what else is new lol.

- I’m really tired of these shitty annoying songs. If you’re going to get Broadway actors, please put effort into your songwriting and actually have them sing something good, not something that’s literally nonsense. This Fizz song sounds like it took less than a minute to write and Sam Haft was just thinking of anything he could think of at the top of his head. Also Why the fuck are Striker and Crimson just STANDING there while Fizz sings. They look like idiots, just SHOOT them omg. If this were a funny show, Fizz would have started his first note and Crimson just rolls his eyes and pulls his gun out.

- Fizz and Ozzie kill the lawyer but not…Crimson? Despite Fizz knowing what ring he’s in and even Ozzie knowing what he looks like? Same for Blitz, he doesn’t try to make sure Striker is dead. I get that the plot demands for these two to still be around, but there’s a way to keep them alive without making the main characters look like fucking idiots. Also Stolas just leaves without doing or contributing anything to the plot yay.

- Fizz: “Let him have it, you could say he’s earned it”— Uhm….Nope. Blitz did NOT earn shit. He didn’t even earn Fizz’s forgiveness. Last time I checked, the moment Blitz cried and said it was an accident, Fizz forgave him, knowing he didn’t mean it. What effort did Blitz do to “earn” that as well as the crystal? Because he saved Fizz and didn’t leave him behind for the SECOND time near the end?? Cause if so than the bar is extremely low. That’s the bare minimum, just because Blitz cried and felt bad about it doesn’t mean he should be let off the hook Viv. I hate this so much, what a shitty conclusion, it feels forced just so Blitz can have the crystal and just so the writers can once again paint him as the one in the right. It’s almost insulting that they make it seem like Fizz was in the wrong for assuming Blitz starting the fire too, same for Barbie.

God what a shitty day it is to be a Fizz fan, I’m sorry. The episode did NOT do him justice. Fizzarolli deserved better than that half assed gaslighting apology for someone who lost their arms and legs man, and I’m tired of the show letting every character suck up to Blitz and Stolas for their horrible treatment just because they feel bad. Not only that but the episode (as most recent HB episodes) was a huge time waster. Everyone was really hoping for an in depth walkthrough of his character/backstory but again, when he’s not with Ozzie, the rest/most of his screen time is dedicated to him being helpless and pointlessly arguing with Blitz, plus a long dragged out nonsense song that didn’t need to happen. It felt like SO much time was wasted when we could have used the runtime we have to dive deeper and see more, like….again it would have been nice to see Fizz’s life AFTER the accident and how he became well known as well as how he fell in love with Ozzie, but his backstory is briefly scratched upon in a single scene and that’s it, all because Viv wanted this filler plot and wanted to dedicate more time to THAT rather than actual character expansion/development, something we could have got had you took out Stolas and Ozzie’s B plot and Striker and Crimson.

Viv is so on her way to murder/ruin every character that isn’t Blitz and Stolas and I won’t be here to watch further. I’ll check out the Mammon music video thing but that’s it man, this show is going off the rails, Adding Fizz to the character adoption list!

#vivziepop critical #spindlehorse critical #helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #helluva critical #anti vivziepop #helluva boss #fizzaroiii #fizzaroli helluva boss #helluva boss oops #helluva boss review #vivziepop criticism

[heytherecentaurs]

Burrow's End is an absolute masterpiece.

In the span of ten episodes Aabria and Co. weave an exciting and emotional adventure story about a family of sentient stoats. It delivers huge laughs, interesting societal criticism, remarkably emotional and well-acted scenes and concludes with a series of epilogue scenes that feel appropriate for each character, some heartfelt and subdued and others bigger than life and all the funnier for it.

Siobhan and Izzy play the perfect pair of siblings. They fight and argue but they also love each other. Jaysohn (Siobhan) looks up to Lila (Izzy) and believes she's the smartest stoat in the world (and by the end she probably is) and Lila hypes up her little brother's athletic skills. They both fully embodied these kids and I could watch them do fun stuff for more episodes. Give me a version of Saved by the Bell with them. Stoat by the Bell.

Brennan and Rashawn, playing sisters, also knock it outta the park, showing a more mature sibling dynamic. Brennan portrays Tula as the quintessential overtired single mother of excitable kids, and Rashawn as younger sister Viola straddles a very interesting line of being intimidating to outsiders but very much more naive and looking to her older sister when she starts a family.

Jasper as Thorn, a guy everyone just lets be a cult leader because he really wanted to, is fantastic. His is a difficult role as the only non-blood relative. Jasper plays Thorn with such real humanity of a guy in over his head and letting his ambition wife call the shots, but also one who agrees with her goal, really loves her and has moments of real menace. He has some very funny scenes, his big speech is perfect, and I just enjoy him.

Erika is wonderful. They play the epitome of generational trauma as many have said but as much trauma as Ava has, she is also loving and willing to learn. The fact Erika took this adversarial role is incredible. The tense dramatic scene primarily between Ava, Tula and Viola is amazing. They act their asses off and make hard choices that I imagine are difficult even for such an experienced player.

Aabria's DMing always feels fun. She doesn't get bogged down in the rules. She knows them. She plays by them. But as a master, she knows how and when to break them too. Her seasons on Dimension 20 have all had a tenseness, a particular edge to them that can give me anxiety during dramatic scenes between two characters. It always feel like one of her NPCs may say something devastating and the tension between characters reaches really thrilling heights. This is present in other seasons, but I don't think anyone does it as well as she does. The first season of hers to have battle maps, Aabria really swung for the fences and gave us some of the wildest maps to date.

Shout out to Carlos Luna's voice acting. He did an incredible job. And shout out to the whole crew who have put together one of the best seasons of D20. They keep finding ways to build on what's come before and they should be commended for it.

Dimension 20 is most successful when the concept is very streamlined. They don't do huge 100 episode campaigns capable of handling huge winding complex narrative, but short focused D&D stories, which is why many of the Side Quests have been so fantastic. They embody this philosophy most clearly, but it's apparent in the most beloved Intrepid Heroes seasons as well—John Hughes/High Fantasy, Game of Thrones/Candyland, Retrofuturism, Film Noir but in a Brain... Burrow's End fits this perfectly. It's streamlined concept paired with great storytellers and great chemistry sets it up to be a smash hit before it begins. And goddamn does it deliver.

Thanks Stupendous Stoats!

#dimension 20 #d20 #burrow's end #aabria iyengar #brennan lee mulligan #izzy roland #isabella roland #erika ishii #siobhan thompson #jasper william cartwright #rashawn scott #rashawn nadine scott #carlos luna #dropout.tv #hey there centaurs

[iridescentscarecrow]

what frustrates me about fandom interpretations of makima as a one note Source of evil, apart from the fact that the manga itself refutes this, is that her character haunts and ties together so much of part two that it's impossible to fully understand without understanding her.

makima isn't ever a unilateral antagonistic force. she's an agent of the institutional evil that looms over all of CSM. she's in as much a commentary on gender and performance of gender as denji is.

and fjmt in part two enacts the "haunting the narrative" trope in such an interesting manner because you see flashes of makima in every female character. you see elements of her diluted into, most visibly, the characters of asa, nayuta and fumiko.

in asa, i see makima in that yearning for connection. i see her in the way that asa herself is fundamentally unable to approach the relationship of equals that she so desperately desires, partly due to her own social awkwardness but also because of yoru's threat: everyone she gets close to turns into a weapon. the fundamental inequality to human relationships that makima is unable to overcome.

during the aquarium date, you see asa echo makima again and again in lines that evoke makima's purposing of denji. that weaponising. "i'll grant you any request / save me chainsaw man! / you don't have to think about a thing."

and her connection with denji also founds itself upon this. yoshida talks to asa about parasocial relationships -- rerendering makima's idealisation of the CSM in how asa sees denji as a love interest. asa and denji parallel each other so organically in their gendered suppression and portrusion of desire. it's a punctuation of denji's search for intimacy that's mirrored by makima's in part one. exploring how asa is different from makima is perhaps the most intriguing part of this reflection though: an example being the way asa overthinks her outfit for her date with denji while makima seamlessly models herself into an Effortless woman.

[it's not like asa borrows just from makima. for example, there are things to be said about the way she views her Body (as compared with reze and quanxi) but examining how mkm's character bleeds into asaden is quite compelling.]

nayuta being the most visible remnant of what makima was is also interesting because makima herself appears so little in nayuta beyond the surface. nayuta's role as the control devil is hinted at frequently as is her appearance resembling makima's

but her and denji's dynamic more often echoes the hayakawa family and pochita than anything else. consider: aki giving up his goal (his 'easy revenge' that he finally sees for what it is) for the sake of his family, that warmth of blood and platonic bodily intimacy that power embodies--

it's all referenced to again with nayuta and denji, in direct panel callbacks and the plot itself! nayuta is The Family that makima constructs for denji in part one to pull him along the plot she prepares. i'm thinking about how makima is an allegory for capitalism. and what the family unit means in a capitalistic structure. the propagation of an ideal that hinges on birth and descendancy, about narrative and reproduction of narrative, about how nayuta births herself from makima and denji's relationship.

and this is also why nayuta herself exerts so much control over denji in the plot, as well as why she's used as a piece to control him. in part one, family was used to create the Chainsaw Man from denji. in part two, it's used to make denji abandon the Chainsaw Man, this icon that the church and the public now take possession of. [something something alienation of the worker from the product. from the collective. from the self.]

fumiko is perhaps the hardest to pin down here because her role evolves as the fandomisation of the Chainsaw Man evolves too. in fact, as a denji fan, she represents not just makima but multiple people who see something in and want something from denji! (think of how she references reze in her highlighting how denji is just a child; how reze uses her commentary on denji to engage with her Self. it's fandomisation,,, and what is makima but Chainsaw Man's fan?)

fumiko most obviously calls back to these wants and their conceptualisation of denji in the raw sexual violence that the events in the theater scene moving into the karaoke scene embody. the undercurrent of sa that runs through p1 and p2 is brought to the forefront in this scene -- denji falling back into these cycles of abuse, him slipping into habitating the wants of others (his initial horrified expression and then his grin during the fight. his initial inner monologue and then the cut to him licking the tentacle.)

so much of CSM rests on this fandom of denji, this theme of what production and idealisation means, one you can trace through fjmt's body of work. and this fandom reaches its crescendo in p2. what's even more interesting about fumiko is her pathos under this layer. her seeing denji as denji at some level but in the end, her handling of him is so selfish. her echoing makima's uninhibited laughter at the horror of denji's situation, her predatory cruelty. denji simultaneously humanised and dehumanised through her fandom.

fjmt's characters exist as foils, as parallels and ideas. makima's character has such a stranglehold over part one and these ideas run over into part two naturally -- as a consequence of denji being a reciever of these themes, but also deliberately in fjmt evoking the Thing that is makima repetitively -- to underscore the forever re emerging structure that denji and now asa are trapped in. the same structure that makima produced and was simultaneously caged by.

#csm #also ahaha this was written pre csm 150 and then they drop those lines on family. okay. sooo good #chainsaw man #denji #makima #asa mitaka #csm part 2 #huuge thanks to my friend wingdings banger thoughts on fumiko #crow.txt #csm meta #csm 150