#idk does it make sense why I chose this for impress others right | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ashleybenlove · 2 months

Note

Okay so I’ve been struck with an idea I really want to share and you seemed like the type of person who might like it? It’s kind of a ramble so I’m sorry if this is bothersome

You personally really opened my mind to HTTYD polyships (love your OT6 works) and in the idealized universe in my head (everyone has one of those right? 😂) I’ve been constructing a polycule and just a few days ago while thinking really hard about this fic based on all those with Hiccup raised by dragons but with Dagur instead; rolling it around and exploring the idea of how that Dagur might interact with the other characters when I was hit by a sudden brainwave. What if he became smitten with Toothless? Like if he was raised by dragons it would make sense that he would be attracted to dragons first and foremost however his relationship with Hiccup might develop. And then it was only a small jump to apply this to a more canon-adjacent universe; where after some time in a relationship with Hiccup (who is separately dating Toothless amongst others) Dagur would sometimes hang out with Toothless separately maybe if Hiccup was doing something neither felt the need to tag along for(he is the only person other than Hiccup to call him by a nickname, T, after his redemption but that might just be a Dagur thing he calls a lot of people by nicknames but something about him calling Toothless T just struck me as awfully friendly of him). And as they spend time just hanging out maybe they both become fonder of eachother than they were expecting. And then they date too.

And this also like connects Toothless in the polycule more if that makes sense? Like if he was only dating Hiccup and was just committed to his Soulmate for the rest of his life that’s one thing but after THW (which of course has to have it’s bones picked for good parts that are few and far between) he also has the Lightfury who I guess he could just be seeing for family-rearing purposes if that’s a direction he wanted to take his life in but couldn’t before. But it does show him committing to a romantic relationship outside of Hiccup so the fact that he wasn’t dating anyone else almost seemed weird like he never had romantic feelings for anyone but his rider? No one was interested in him? IDK I guess it just seemed interesting to me to explore Toothless in a relationship with someone who wasn’t his soulmate or the drakina he had kids with

And I’m imagining after Toothless realizes he has feelings esp requited he decides to court in a human manner bc I headcanon Toothcup just kind of falling together easily. Like they have a conversation about love and romance, probably after GOTNF, actually now I’m trying to outline a separate fic at you I’m sorry but just know that I’m my head they skip straight from besties to almost literally married (as in, literally but in the dragons culture) in like, one conversation. So Toothless has never courted before so he does things like grabbing a mouthful of flowers ect. ect. And Dagur I’d like ‘Oh gods why is this happening again. I was terrible to him, I hunted him, WHY DO I NOW HAVE A CRUSH WHY DO I KEEP MAKING TERRIBLE IMPRESSIONS ON PEOPLE I WANT TO LIKE ME’ and is genuinely baffled but delighted that Toothless reciprocates. I’ve only been turning this over for a day or two so I’m not sure how he acts in the relationship but I’m so invested in the two of them slowly building up a relationship outside of their shared feeling for Hiccup. Like I’ve always liked them being genuine friends but this just hit me out of nowhere and I really wanted to share it.

And I guess I chose you because when I thought of the intersection of Dagcup, Toothcup, and general HTTYD polycule madness I thought of you. I love your work in this fandom and I love the way you build encompassing relationships between so many disparate people. I’d love to hear what you think about this little ship idea

Please accept this picture of my HTTYD studies cuddling as payment for reading my excessive ramble

Aww, thank you!!! That's very nice of you to say!!! 🥰

(Very cute picture!!!)

I like your idea! Dagur being raised by dragons (technically, a feral child) definitely works considering how feral he generally is.

As for Dagur and Toothless, I always point repeatedly at the fact that the number one thing that gave Hiccup pause, that made Hiccup want to trust Dagur is that Toothless let Dagur (who had previously been pretty hostile to him) ride him to save Hiccup. Toothless is a good judge of character. (He let Hiccup live, after all.)

And yeah, Hiccup and Toothless being practically married by the end of GOTNF is good. I mean, one could easily be like "oh the forehead touch in HTTYD2 is when they got married." Sure, but also: Hiccup and Toothless have been married for like, years by that point. That's like, them renewing their vows.

Also love this: "IDK I guess it just seemed interesting to me to explore Toothless in a relationship with someone who wasn’t his soulmate or the drakina he had kids with". Because like, yeah, that's the whole point of fanworks. Let's play in the sandbox a different way!!! Let Toothless have a separate relationship with Dagur (whether it's casual or serious!).

Anyways! Great stuff!!! I hope you have lots of fun with it!!!

#askbox #secretmarial #long post #how to train your dragon #Race to the Edge

3 notes · View notes

benedettabeby · 1 year

Text

OK OK I DID IT. I wrote something,idk why,idk who wanted it (nobody) but here it comes. Tiva present but not really Tiva (it will make sense I promise). I want to thank you @indestinatus cause her prompt list inspired me to try (even if this story isn't about one of them). Sorry for some english mistakes(I don't speak the language as native) and just sorry if the story doesn't make sense 😅 ok, stop talking now here the story:

MEATBALLS AND PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

Tony was cold. No,not cold,freezing. In addition to the artic temperatures of January,Tony forgot his gloves and scarf at home that morning. He would have given anything to be inside one of the multiples pastry shops sipping on a hot cocoa,one with tiny marshmallow. That was impossible,however,as doing that would mean losing sight of *Littlemeatball* and *LankyRicky*, which were the code names for the two suspects he was following.

It was his professionalism and dedication that was keeping him on that park bench with a red nose that could give Rudolph the reindeer a run for its money and chattering teeth. From that point of view he could see every move of the couple now innocently ice skating,hand in hand, in the middle of the ice rink. The girl,aka Littlemeatball, was the picture of radiance as she laughed to something LankyRicky whispered to her ear. Tony wished he could actually hear what they were talking about but he was too far away so he could only observe their faces mimic and gestures. For example, it was very obvious to his extraordinaire and expert eyes,how LankyRicky was trying to impress the girl by doing some skates tricks he must have practised just for this moment. All the signals were there: cocky smile, muscle flexing,fake humble aura... Tony did it all before(ok maybe he still does). He tried getting close, hiding between the crowd. If he couldn't get close,the data mission was useless,moreover getting closer would assure a faster and more effective intervention if the situation needed it. As he was getting closer,he had to back down when the couple was approaching the ice rink exit. Always laughing the young duo got rid of the skates and headed to the city center,which allowed Tony better camouflage but the same did it to Littlemeatball and LankyRicky. After a ten minutes walk, where DiNozzo was scared he got caught thanks to a shop window reflection and where he had almost lost them when they took a right turn near the McDonald's where a young man playing his guitar created quite a public.

Right now Tony followed the two young partners inside a little café.

"Oh maybe it's finally time for that chocolate!" Tony tought with sheer relief.

While the two sat and started chatting,Tony carefully chose a table that would allow him some control over the situation.

They were planning some sort of a meeting to LankyRicky's beach house,the conversation was starting to get interesting when the waitress rudely interrupted Tony's investigation. Ok,ok,she only asked him his order. But still... now?!

Ordering that hot cocoa resulted in him missing the address of the house and when they decided to meet. Damn. It seemed they were sitting in a comfortable silence now,when suddenly LankyRicky's reached for Littlemeatball's hand across the table. Tony almost fell off his chair trying to see better when his phone rang.

It was the second time someone interrupted him on a key moment.

"Ziva! What? I'm busy" Tony whispered hastily,answering the phone.

"Where are you?" Ziva asked unimpressed

"Uhm. Out"

He was met with a sigh from the other side of the phone

"Tony... Tali sent me a message,she knows you are following her"

Ouch,denial was now the only option

"What? Tali? Following her? I don't even know where she is..."

"She saw you at the park and she is seeing you at the café too"

As she said it,Tony raised his head to glance over the table where the couple was. As she sensed it, Littlemeatball,or better Tali looked right at him before rolling her eyes and turning her attention to her boyfriend.

Tony knew that ninja abilities were hereditary...

"Tony,leave her alone! I know you want to protect her but she's almost 17,she is big and mature enough to create her own life" Ziva's voice reached him through the phone.

Tony knew she was right,but Tali was his little meatball and didn't want to see her getting hurt. He just wanted to be sure nothing bad would happen...

Tali's laughter echoed into the tiny cafè,right before she leaned to kiss the boy's lips. She looked so happy and... in love.It was like Tali aged in front of his eyes.

"Tony...you come home or I need to drag you by the hair on your butt?"

"You're right,there is no need to harm my beautiful butt woman. I'm coming"

"Good boy"

"I know, good boys deserve a prize you know?"

Ziva closed the call with a chuckle:"only if you bring me the pain au Chocolat from where you are. I heard it's the best of Paris"

While he went to pay(and buy a thousand of pain au Chocolat hoping that would calm Ziva and make her forget he actually spied on their daughter), he gave a look at Tali's table only to find it empty. Where was she?

"Richard went to the toilet" his daughter's voice from behind him made him jump

"AAARH. I know I look young but I'm not, you're gonna give me a heart attack"

"Better that than a kick where sun doesn't shine"

"Hey,who educated you?"

"Who educated you?? You believed you were James Bond on a Mission,while following me?"

Tony couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"Little meatball... I'm sorry if I... I just wanted to keep an eye on you,I... I know I'm wrong..."

Tali arched an eyebrow,exactly like Ziva did and Tony had to smile at that.

"Very very wrong " he admitted

"Dad...I know you meant no harm but I'm almost an adult now "

"I know... it's just hard. For a parent "

"It's not like I can't defend myself"

"But what if something happens and..."

"IF something happens" Tali stopped him " and I can't handle it,I'll call you or Ima,easy"

And that hit Tony. When he was Tali's age he would never sound so confident that Senior would be there for him and he was sure Ziva could say the same about Eli. Tali, on the other hand, was so calm,so confident in him and Ziva. He felt a rush of pride, they were not perfect but they were able to be better than their parents.

He must have taken a minute too much thinking about it cause Tali tapped his shoulder

"Sorry,you zoomed out....? Isn't that a little early for senile dementia?"

Tony snorted,she inherited Ziva's and his sassiness.

"Funny,really funny...Tali I'm sorry this won't happen again. You're right,it doesn't matter why I did it"

His daughter surprised him by hugging him

"I know why you did it,how you felt... thank you for that...and for stopping it "

He kissed her hair and she took a step away

"I need to go now,I don't want Ricky seeing you're here. Go away,bye bye. Say thanks to Imaa" and she ran to the table where Ricky was returning from the toilet.

He smiled: she was becoming a woman who had to live her first experiences but it didn't change how she would always be his Little meatball,he hoped Richard will treat her right cause otherwise...otherwise Tali would kick him where sun doesn't shine.

He was about to exit when his phone rang,text from "little Meatball": "buy me pain au Chocolat,pls? :3 you owe me"

He laughed

#ncis #tiva #tony dinozzo #ziva david #tali dinozzo #tali david #my fanfiction #first ncis fanfiction #long post

11 notes · View notes

blue-wings111 · 1 year

Text

After playing Duskwood for the third time i just noticed something very interesting and idk if this's a valid theory but it i think it does make sense

I decided to choose different answers to discover other possibilities and here i came across a good thought. Until now nothing explained why our number was sent from Hannah's phone but the other thing that bugged me is we didn't get the answer to why phil recognized our number right away, what if he was the one who sent our number in the first place? And in this regard he had to know our identity from the start. Now at first glance this doesn't sound very convenient but i do believe that we can form our own backstory in this game. Take for example Dan's accident, later on when we discussed this in the group chat to inform the others and lily asked "how do u know how many whiskys he had?" There was a choice that said " because i was with him at the black swan" i decided to go with it this time to see what will happen, and to my surprise many things changed and they actually treated me as if i really was in Duskwood, even Dan believed i was there and asked me for reassurance because "he doesn't remember and i was pretty convincing"

I do believe that the same thing can be applied to some details too, like when you choose to say to Jake " i learned from the best, my dad, a famous detective" and when you answer Richy 🤫 to which he said that the exact reaction someone from the fbi would do. I think it's a possibility that these details would shape our journey in the next game. And for the last thing,

After Phil get arrested and the group started talking about phil and how he knew your number and what was your impression of him Thomas asked if we knew him before we got involved with Hannah's case and there was an answer " probably i know him before he came to Duskwood" or something between these lines and i wonder if these kind of possibilities would change our backstory, supposedly we have one. But seeing how they believed my lie with Dan i bet that can be applied to many things and one of them when they asks us from the start if we knew Hannah. They asked us 3 times if we knew each other and everytime there were options in the answers that mentioned we know each other if we decided to choose them.

Back to phil.. what raised my suspicions about him (about the possibility that we can choose to be acquainted with him whether in past\future) besides the fact that he knew our number somehow and the given answers that indicates we can say we know him, the thing when he asked Jessy about our address and the fact that Jessy addressed this suspicion when we were talking about him, she could have said that he was simply interested but it seems that she got another hunch from his question. What if he was the one who sent our number bcz we knew him from the past? And if we chose that we didn't know him the story would be like we were aquinted but we forget about him but he still remember us and thus he tried to involve us because he knows we're capable of solving the mystery and then asked for our address . And judging by how the choices in the game all point out to somethings that would happen in the future even if they weren't the right answers ( remember when some of the choices shows some dark jokes then something bad would happen afterwards or when there r suspicions they'd came true ), i can say that these theories r possible.

#jake donfort #duskwood jake x mc #jake duskwood #jake x mc #duskwood fanfic #duskwood game #duskwood fandom #duskwood everbyte #duskwood fanfiction #duskwood incorrect quotes #duskwood mc #duskwood memes #duskwood hacker #everbyte duskwood #everbyte studios #everbyte game

18 notes · View notes

ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 2 years

Note

Idk why Rakepick keeps saying she was aiming for Ben whenever we bring up the fact that she murdered Rowan, like that changes literally nothing. Her aiming to kill Ben instead doesn’t suddenly make it all better, she was still intending to kill an innocent person that night, it makes no difference if she killed the wrong one here. And idk why MC never says anything about that like Ben is meant to be their friend too wtf? They just keep quiet like it’s a good defense or something which it’s not

See, what gets me is that you're right. You're absolutely right. "I was aiming for Ben" is hardly a good defense. She tried to kill a child. The fact that another child intercepted the curse and died instead has nothing to do with Rakepick's choices, nor their results. It's a detail that has no impact on her morality as a killer.

But the thing is, Rakepick must know that, right?

It's so obvious. She's a not of things, but she's not stupid, and she's not repentent either. She has to realize that building her case based on "I was aiming for Ben" isn't going to impress anyone and it changes nothing...but beyond that, why would Rakepick even try to build a case? She's not sorry. She's not even close to being sorry. (I suppose Vault Rakepick may feel remorse, but Azkaban Rakepick mentions Ben as well.)

The only way this comes even close to making sense is if Rakepick has a reason for dwelling on that one detail, other than the delusional idea that it would make her actions okay. Why would she keep mentioning it? In The Sunken Vault, and in Azkaban, she brings up that Rowan was an accident, and that she was after Ben. And why, oh Merlin why, is it always Ben?

Seriously. It almost seems like R has some kind of special interest in him. He "went missing" during Year 2 and sustained memory loss that (apparently) may or may not be legitimate. Then they imperius'd him in Year 4 and made him into The Red Cloak. What did they want with him in Year 2, did he just stumble upon their operation or something? Is it a coincidence that they chose him in Year 4? I know he challenged Rakepick to a duel in the Forbidden Forest, but I just find it quite odd that she keeps fixating on how she meant to kill him instead of Rowan. What does she care? She killed one of MC's friends, she got the job done.

...Right?

I keep wondering if R didn't order her to kill Ben specifically. Vault Rakepick goes on and on about how R punishes failure...maybe that just refers to her mission to recover the treasure of The Sunken Vault, but maybe it's more than that. Maybe she was supposed to eliminate Ben in particular. I don't know why...it could be due to whatever he learned during Year 2? But it's been years. If he was going to tell anyone, why wouldn't he have done it already? Maybe his memory loss is real, maybe they oblivated him as a short term plan, but are worried that he'll remember whatever he saw? It could explain why he was so scared of Rakepick - if he met her before, and his fear of her is bleeding through the amnesia?

#Patricia Rakepick #Ben Copper #HPHM Theory #HPHM Spoilers #HPHM R

3 notes · View notes

asingleheart-shapedbraincell · 3 years

Text

Obey Me! Brothers react to MC wearing their cologne

Gender Neutral MC

k, so the basic premise is that Asmo borrowed your perfume, forgot to give it back and you’re running late so you just go to the brothers bathroom (I seem to remember cannonically everyone but MC and Lucifer have a shared bathroom, but I also know that Asmo has his own???? idk) anyway, you just grab the nearest one and give urself a spritz before booking it to whatever class you’re about to be late for. They smell it on you in class and now they’re in their feelings.

I have no idea how you got hold of Lucifer’s cologne. Maybe Mammon had stolen it and left it in the shared bathroom while he figured out how to sell it.

Do we really care about the context???

Lucifer

hmmmm??

confused at first - wonders if maybe he put more on this morning than usual bc he’s not sure why he can smell it more than usual

Realises when he leans over to help you with some classwork and freezes as he tries to process 1) how did you get hold of his cologne? and 2) why does he like it SO MUCH????

Like, yes, he likes the smell of his cologne that’s why he bought it but he REALLY likes the smell of it on you

You got him feeling territorial and soft and he just wants to bury his face in the crook of your neck and stay there

Is extra smug the rest of the day, even if he won’t tell anyone why

Will just sit back and watch as other demons throughout the day pick up the scent and watches their faces change as they realise who you smell like. People are giving you extra room in the hallway and just generally being VERY respectful to the point where it’s almost fearful.

It’s a massive ego stroke for him and he definitely wants to figure out a way to make this a regular thing

Mammon

hhhnnnnnggggghhhhh tsundere.exe has stopped working

the SECOND he realises you smell like him his hair is on end and his face is tomato red ‘ARE YA WEARING MY COLOGNE????’

‘uh, probably?’

I mean OF COURSE you want to smell like the Great Mammon - He smells great!!!! You smell better tho

Cannot think straight when he’s around you (or, more aptly, he less able to think straight around you than normal)

Desperately hopes that you chose his cologne on purpose bc you want to smell like him

Loves seeing other demons twig onto your scent; letting them know that you’re HIS human without him needing to say it (he still says it tho)

wants you to smell like this all the time - and isn’t as smooth about that as he thinks ‘hey, yaknow, if you don’t like your perfume or whatever...i GUESS you can borrow mine...since yours sucks and all...’

Levi

omg!!! are you wearing the limited-edition Ruri-chan pink sakura surprise cologne???? from her most recent spring event???? They only made 500 bottles!!! And he owns 10 of them!!!!!!

Is very impressed that you managed to get hold of a bottle, because it straight up doesn’t occur to him that you would borrow his cologne (because he’s a yucky otaku and because he normally keeps it in his room, he just forgot today)

When you mentioned that you borrowed it, he realises that HE LEFT HIS LIMITED-EDITION RURI-CHAN PINK SAKURA SURPRISE COLOGNE IN THE SHARED BATHROOM WITH HIS AWFUL NORMIE BROTHERS!!!!!111!!!11!

Then also realises that YOUR WEARING HIS COLOGNE??????? LIKE COUPLES DO??????

He’s unable to hold a conversation with you now - man is blue-screening he has no idea how to process the fact that you smell like him (and also Ruri-chan merch)

Is bright red literally anytime he’s near you - the blush is insane. He’d make a good traffic light

Refuses to believe you would ever CHOOSE to smell like a yucky otaku like him...but he wishes you would

Satan

Doesn’t really know how to react, just knows that he likes it

More open about it than his older brothers, he’d tease you about it ‘oh? MC? I didn’t realise you liked the way I smelt so much’

Would also probably end up going on a tangent about topnotes, heartnotes and basenotes and the more scientific side of fragrance if you let him

He is however, clearly more animated than normal and his cheeks are slightly more red

Definitely will tell you you’re welcome to borrow it whenever you like

Asmo

MC!!! YOU SMELL SO GOOD!!!

Notices right away and is SUPER excited

If you were tired of your old scent you should have told him!!! He’d have happily let you borrow any one of his collection and would have organised a shopping trip to help you find a new signature scent

I mean, it makes sense - who wouldn’t want to smell like him??? His perfume smells amazing

Knows how important having your own signature scent is but also really likes it when you wear his

will definitely buy you your own bottle if you really like it (and then you can match!!!!)

Also loves the implications that come with you smelling of him and spends the whole day shamelessly REVELLING in it

Beelzebub

He’s the one who takes the longest to notice

It’s just not something he pays attention to - probably goes most of the day without noticing

He notices when he hugs you - he doesn’t bring it up but he does blush slightly and feels very warm and fuzzy for the rest of the day

Doesn’t really notice other demons reaction to it (he doesn’t really notice other demons tbf) and the implications don’t really occur to him unless Belphie points them out, he just really loves how close it makes you feel

Still not really sure why you’re wearing it, but hopes you wear it again

Belphie

Notices pretty quickly

Smirking immediately and insists on napping on you

All he wants to do is snuggle up with his nose right on your neck so he can smell you and fall asleep breathing in the smell of his cologne on you

And since he really doesn’t care about classes that’s exactly what he tries to do

Is gonna be following you around all day nagging you to ditch class and nap with him and also mocking you a little ‘MC if you wanted to smell like me you could have just said’

Keeps slinging his arm over your shoulders so that he can lean on you and also put his head in the crook of your neck

Honestly just so smug and affectionate

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me headcanons #obey me fluff

2K notes · View notes

beyondspaceandstars · 3 years

Text

Renegade

Relationship: Din Djarin x Reader Warnings: N/A Summary: [based off the song Renegade by Big Red Machine feat. Taylor Swift] You're a shopkeeper in a remote corner of the galaxy just trying to get by. For some reason, every now and then a certain Mandalorian pops into town. He comes and goes as he pleases until one day you finally get the courage to confront him on his drifter habits. Unexpected confessions spill out. A/N: I haven’t written something for The Mandalorian in a long time but i just had this idea for a while and i wanted to actually try to execute it. Idk if this came out good but i think it’s still sweet. I hope someone enjoys it :)

Masterlist

You never knew when he was coming into town.

It would happen pretty much in the blink of an eye. You’d shut down your store for the day, retire to your home, then he’d be there, in the middle of the village, bright and early. The Mandalorian kept no schedule it seemed but his surprise visits were always welcomed by you.

He’d make it a point to stop at your store first. He never really bought anything, just browsed the fabric and clothing you had to offer. The Mandalorian seemed to appreciate your craftsmanship, always taking time on his stay to ask about your newer items or what your plans were for your next collection. Your shop was modest but it helped bring in some kind of income which was very valuable as the fate of the galaxy hung in limbo.

You built up some kind of rapport with the masked man but feelings have been shifting within you for a while. You didn’t really understand how it was possible. You had begun falling for a man that never even gave you the courtesy of saying goodbye. But at the same time, the hours you would spend chatting meant everything to you. It felt so good to confide in someone as a life as a solo storekeeper could be quite a lonely one. He also seemed to be no stranger to loneliness as a man roaming the galaxy, taking odd bounty jobs. Nowhere to really call his own.

A deep, deep part of you wished he would call this village his home. He seemed to enjoy it here, evident by his numerous stops. When he’d come and go from your shop, he was always bringing back new treasures. The woman down the road would be testing a new stew recipe or the jewelry maker at the end of the block had talked him into buying something. Most of the time, he’d just give the items to you, claiming he couldn’t resist the shopkeeper but had no use for the trinkets. The pseudo-gift giving was a little ridiculous to you but it couldn’t help but fuel your burning crush. You always accepted and wore whatever the Mandalorian presented.

Yes, you two definitely had formed a relationship over time. You didn’t know really what to call it and you two never seemed to want to speak about it but it was no secret that it was there, and you were a bit thankful for it. No matter where he had gone or how long he had left for, you were always there to welcome him back to the village with open arms.

As many times before, the Mandalorian arrived unexpectedly one beautiful, clear morning. He was hovering around your shop, seemingly waiting. His armor shined so loudly in the daylight, it was nearly blinding, but you appreciated how powerful he was. He may show you his soft side in the village but you’d heard plenty about his hunts. If the truth was even half as alarming as the gossip, you were impressed he could have such a gentle side.

“You’re early,” you called out, pulling your shawl tighter around you as you walked towards the passing bounty hunter. He stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing your voice.

“It would appear I am,” he said, letting out a breathy laugh. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the time.”

You came to stop right in front of him. You peered up at his helmeted face. You certainly couldn’t see anything through that insane gear but some part of you still felt him staring into your eyes, deeply. Instinctively, you fiddled with the necklace resting on your lower neck. The charm was a piece of some dark crystal. You didn’t know what it was and you were slightly too nervous to inquire the jewelry maker about it but the Mandalorian standing before you had given it to you the last time he was here. He simply said he thought it would look nicer on you. You didn’t ask anymore.

“It’s alright,” you smiled. “I’m just glad to see you back here in one piece.”

He seemed a bit taken back by that. You worried you had overstepped the boundary between flirting and kindness but then he tilted his head, curiously. “Yeah?”

Oh, you felt yourself blushing a bit. You ducked your head and stepped around him, beginning to work on the lock of your shop.

“Yeah,” you shrugged and opened the door. The Mandalorian followed closely behind. “I’ve heard your work can be demanding. Lots of opportunities for you to get hurt.”

“Does that worry you?”

You stopped in front of the pile of new fabrics you had just woven. You sighed. “I’ve come to think of us as a little bit more than acquaintances. It’s normal to worry about others.”

You swore you heard him let out a low chuckle at that but he didn’t acknowledge it. Or your statement. You chose to do the same. You walked around to the counter and began prepping the logbooks for the day. The Mandalorian continued to hang around, gaze and hands roaming the new pieces you had set up last night. You were hoping this new collection you were previewing was going to bring in some hefty credits. Maybe allow you to take a holiday.

The Mandalorian broke the tense silence with the most unexpected comment. “I worry about you too, you know.”

Your finger stopped abruptly as it scanned your list of sales for the week. When you had offered your care, you had never expected it back. You two technically weren’t on that level, at least not verbally. In other formats of gift-giving and worried looks, it was a different story.

“You worry about me?” You inquired, brows raised in surprise.

He gave a very Mandalorian-like shrug, his gaze still fixated on your for-sale items. Something in you was crushed when it looked like you weren’t getting any more from him. Maybe he’d disappear tonight, embarrassed by this exchange. But then by some miracle, he spoke again.

“Of course,” he said it like it was so obvious. “You’re a very kind shopowner living out in this village alone. This galaxy, no matter what corner you hide in, can be dangerous.”

You smiled to yourself. “I’ve done this for many years, Mandalorian. I think I will be alright.”

He hummed in acknwoeldgement. “I’m sure,” he mumbled. “But can you blame me for having concerns?”

This conversation sure was going to a funny place, you thought, but you were along for the ride. If he was going to talk about concerns, you could for sure rattle off yours. He was worried about your safety in this little village while you worried for his health. It cannot be good for a human, assuming he was human under all that gear, to be wandering the galaxy with no rhyme or reason besides the bounties strung about this galaxy. You never thought you’d express these things to him but the Mandalorian appeared to be a talkative one today. And you felt you two were beyond strangers.

“Well, I’m flattered you think of me,” you admitted. “But I fear it’s you who faces more dangers than me.”

The helmeted man gave a little scoff at that comment. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

Sure, you didn’t doubt that, but that wasn’t what was on your mind. “I’m not talking about bounty hunting. I’m talking about your habit of being a drifter.”

The words didn’t feel very impactful in your brain but when they hit the open shop it was like you had dropped a bomb. The Mandalorian stilled, his gloved hand letting go of one of the scarves you had laying on a table. He began making his way suddenly towards where you still stood behind the counter. You frowned.

“A drifter?”

His eye gaze wasn’t seen but it was sure felt. You shrugged. “I’m not a fool. I know you bounce around from planet to planet throughout this galaxy. Maker knows why you keep coming back here but... I just worry you don’t have a home-,”

“I don’t,” he confirmed. Your heart all about stopped. Well, you didn’t exactly want to be right.

“Oh,” you said, averting your eyes to the wood counter. “And that doesn’t bother you? You must want someone waiting for you. Someone to just spend...moments with.”

“Don’t I have you?”

The question hung in the air between you two like a heavy pendulum. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. He… He thought of you like that? Of this village? But why would he… Oh, but didn’t it make some kind of sense? The reappearing? The coming and going… He waltzed in and tried to get to know everyone. Got to know you.

Your head was a jumbled mess, so much so the only thing you could get out was a soft, “Me?”

The Mandalorian nodded. He wasn’t looking anywhere near you, finding such interest in the wall of your shop. But you noted his stiff stance. Maybe he hadn’t meant to say that… Except he had. And now it was out there. Something in the mysterious bounty hunter made him let out such a grand confession.

“Yes,” he eventually confirmed. “You. This village. I have that. I have this to come back to.”

With thoughts swimming violently, you had to ask, “But why don’t you stay?”

“I have jobs to do.” He almost sounded offended you had asked that. You shook your head.

“N-No, I mean… Get a place for yourself. You’re always sleeping on that ship. Maybe accept the invites to dinners the sweet lady down the path invites you to. Or you and I could…” Your words faded fast, slightly scared of what was going to slip out. But the Mandalorian wasn’t letting it go.

He turned his gaze back to you. “We could what?”

“S-Spend time together or something,” you mumbled. Real smooth, you thought. Just the perfect way to flirt. You expected him to now be so offended, maybe even storm out such a suggestion, but the armored man didn’t move. Instead, he cocked his head, curious.

“You’d want to do that?”

You sighed. “I want you to start a life somewhere. Really start it. Drifting around this galaxy cannot be very promising. You deserve this. You deserve a home, Mando.”

“Din.”

Your brows furrowed. Now it was your turn to be curious. “What?”

“My name is Din,” he explained. “You don’t have to call me Mando.”

If a heart could sing, yours would be a full chorus. He finally told you his name. After collecting jewelry and stories, he had finally opened somewhat to you. That was a good sign, a great sign.

“Din,” you said, testing the name. It rolled off your lips easily. “We’d love to have you around.” A beat. “I’d love it, especially.” It was a bold declaration but he had given you something, the least you could do was make your intentions more obvious.

“Thank you,” Din said.

“Of course,” you shrugged. “We all need to find the place where we belong.”

Din let out a bit of a chuckle. You frowned at that.

“You think I belong here?” He asked, amused.

You didn’t like that he wasn’t taking you seriously but it would be okay. Just gave you more of a reason to show him everything this place had to offer. From the nice shopkeepers to the lovely food. This would be some kind of home for him or at least a place where he’d always be welcomed. Your heart fluttered at the idea of him leaving less, maybe even never leaving. He could train people on fighting or - or…

You had to stop yourself as your brain was getting beyond reality. You shot the Mandalorian a smile.

“I think you’ve always belonged.”

107 notes · View notes

jess-the-vampire · 3 years

Note

Idk how u feel about the Grimwalker theory, and idk why but that 3rd meme (all those memes are drawn rlly well btw, and are rlly funny) reminded me of this idea I had that the palismen that choose Hunter was Like... Actually Belos' at one point way b4 he became the emperor. And the reason why Lil' Rascal choose him not only was bc he recognized that want - no need to choose your own path, but also saw the remnants of the person his old friend was.

oh thanks very much!!!

ok first off when it comes to the pailsman, i think that theory only works under the condition belos isn’t philip and is just...some other dude. Since phil has now canonically been confirmed to have a spider pailsman.

Interesting choice for him for sure.

Not sure if rascal’s previous owner will be important or not, they could be but i can easily see them not being important either. (Maybe one of phil’s friends who died owned him or something?)

thing is i think it’s fair to confirm the reason rascal bonded with hunter was more akin to their feelings or wanting to escape and explore, hunter and rascal bonded because of hunter’s desire for freedom.

They bond through emotion, as confirmed by the bat queen, but that might be the only reason.

this does not dismiss the idea he could have belonged to belos (Though that would imply belos had a desire for freedom too at one point), but it’s not likely rascal chose hunter solely on much relation since it doesn’t appear to work that way.

It would make me ask why rascal wouldn’t have a stronger reaction to belos upon seeing him if he knew him too.

Though it is a cool idea.

As for the grimwalker thing, yeahhhhhh, there’s no denying that the idea of hunter....being this...thing, is VERY heavily implied based on the book alone. The same eyes (Unique too, never seen another witch with his eye color yet), his nose, the fact the creature is raised from infancy.

People say belos might be trying to make a new one and that’s why the book is out, but i doubt it.

Because if he wanted to make one, then why did he just want the selkidomoius dead? He didn’t even harvest it, and if he needed to harvest it they’d figure out it was never killed in the first place! And hunter, since that was his job, would very much be punished for failing if that’s what the point of him doing that was. So basically there’s no way belos had that out attempting to make one right now because hunter would be SUPER in trouble for it.

So why have it out? Well outside of it being there for us, the viewers, and imply what might be foreshadowing for hunter. I think in canon belos had it out because it has details on the creature in question, and if belos made hunter....and NEEDS him, he’s probably just reading up on him for the future plans with him.

It would have details on grimwalker abilities and things belos would need to know about is he wanted his grimwalker to function for his plan.

but no, it’s very implied belos already made a grimwalker, he isn’t planning to make one right now. I think someone even pointed out a galdorstone actually is already missing if you go back to TTLGR.

And yeah, hunter right now makes the most sense to be it.

Because i knew something HAD to be special about him for belos to need him, it was a matter of what make hunter in particular so unique belos couldn’t use anyone else.

I don’t think it’s to harvest him or something, i think it’s likely a grimwalker has unique abilities that belos requires for the plan, but we need more on that for now.

I don’t know if belos wants to take over his body or not, but i def don’t think killing him is what they’re going for either.

It does raise the question about hunter’s “Ancestor” talk, and being “Found” by belos. Like that whole thing only gets more confusing under the condition belos like....made him.

But there is a likelyhood belos gave him false memories, there’s enough room here for that to be a likely reason, we have no reason to believe currently that belos didn’t just.....tell hunter stories of their ancestors being magicless just to avoid telling him what he is.

the show could be trying to throw us off, but also like, there’s strong evidence to support the idea hunter is something belos...made:

He clearly already made a grimwalker, and isn’t making a new one.

the grimwalker ages, and there’s even a CHECKMARK right now to the “Child/teen” stage.

Hunter has to be unique in some way to be part of the titan’s plans.

it would explain his lack of powers.

and it’s hard to deny he bears resemblance to the grimwalker depicted.

i’m pretty much expecting hunter’s next appearance to be centered around this grimwalker thing honestly. I’m curious to know more about what it is and why belos needed one.

cause if he wanted a body, couldn’t he just....find a random kid to do this with? Why did he MAKE one?

so i like this idea, it’s honestly funny cause one of my early assumptions about GG was “Maybe belos made a clone?”, cause i felt we were gonna get weird parental vibes with them and belos seems like the weirdo who’d do that.

And i guess that came full circle now.

i def don’t think it’s creepy luz cause that’s both a waste of resources on belos’s part and couldn't even happen to begin with since he barely knew luz before the creature was already on earth and he can’t even get to earth to begin with so there’s no way that thing got sent by him.

But no, in conclusion, i like this idea.

Hunter is already an interesting character, this idea.....only builds on the pile of things that make him so interesting.

i’m impressed how in so few episodes they made him by far one of the most interesting characters in the series.

#the owl house #toh #emperor belos #the owl house hunter #golden guard #toh golden guard #the owl house golden guard #the golden guard

105 notes · View notes

stephenstrange-md-phd · 2 years

Note

This is for the Mod! Since you're a doctor and you can relate to strange, why do you think he went crazy over his hands? Is it normal? Like would it be a real life situation to get so obsessed with it? Like I understand establishing a career completely different at late 40s (Is he 40s? Idk or 50s? Marvel never told us) is hard but wouldn't it be better than spending whatever you had left on his hands? What is your take on it?

This is a very..... Impressive and different kind of ask, first off all thank you, for the ask ! I don't know if I can do justice to it, but I'll try, because i think I know when I say that I know why he did, what he did!

Stephen Strange was an extremely bitter and withdrawn personality , forged by his childhood, as we know , he had a very strained relationship with his family which is why he despises even trying to use a Midwestern accent, he loved his sister dearly and when he lost her, it drove him to become a surgeon! A big part of Stephen's life was essentially built on the fact he wanted to be a surgeon, it's a big part of not only his life, it's a big part OF HIM essentially!

For years and years his brain has formed a world around being a neurosurgeon, it was a big part of what gave him a sense of purpose, achievement! And Stephen was ambitious, very ambitious! He didn't want JUST MONEY contrary to what a lot people think, because he could've still been an Consulting Neurosurgeon, not performed surgeries but given his valuable advice on the most difficult cases, answer consultation calls from other neurosurgeons and still be heavily rich and that would be a better work life balance ,for a neurosurgeon in the USA works around 120hours a week (168hours ) ! Ofcourse he did want the money, but let's be real! Every single one of us do! Does it essentially make you a bad person? No! Hell no! Money reduces obstacles in life, provides luxury, WE all want luxury, if you deny it you're lying! It was his hard earned money , but if he wanted just money he could've just let his shaking hands go down and continue being a consultant! HE DIDN'T! Because he didn't just want money or fame, Stephen wanted A LEGACY! He wanted his hands back because what he could do with his hands brought him happiness, brought him purpose in his bitter withdrawn life!

And as for , if it's a real life scenario.... I don't generally talk about this , infact never have, but today I will! And it gets personal here in this post so Trigger Warnings : bad mental health, psychosomatic symptoms!

I had a similar experience in my 2nd year of medical school...... Where I chose my hands over anything else for myself! No I wasn't in a car crash! I have had depression for ages when I reached to Medschool, 2nd year was a nightmare , I developed mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, haunted by nightmares, 4-5peaks of anxiety a day rendered me many days on bed having difficulty to breath or even open my eyes! And my right arm would start having shooting pain all through out when depression got worse! It was hard for me to avoid that pain but I still kept working in my postings in the hospitals, my friend dragged me by the collar to the psych , I didn't want to ! Mental health is a taboo in our culture I wasn't ready to be judged like that! CBT didn't work for me, the psych prescribed 3 high dose antidepressants and anxiolytics!

Here's the thing! A major side effect of those pills were : TREMOR , and I wanted to go into Surgery! My world was spinning that day, but I made a choice! I couldn't bear the thought of risking my hands for my mental health, it was too big a price! I was scared, I was terrified, I knew the risks of tremor were low, there was a significant risk and I couldn't trust my Luck! Surgery brought me happiness, it brought me a sense of purpose, I grew up with my mind developing a world for me around this one thing! THE one thing that made me happy! It was a price too high to pay! So I chose my hands over my mental health! It was a rough decision! Do I recommend you to ever do it? No! But would I do it all over again? Yes! Because for me..... My whole life revolved around it and as easy as it is to say get a better vision of life, when you ornament your life around 1 thing , 1 passion, it becomes very difficult to just let go, to even risk it! For me taking a pill was risking my career as surgeon, taking the dream and looking at it slip away slowly, I couldn't bear it! And I do believe the same was with Stephen which is why he reacted violently to it! Till this day I remain unmedicated, doing much better than those days, and I realise my experience was also very different from Stephen's, I made a choice to suffer mentally for the sake of my hands, he had to no choice! His hands were destroyed , his fight was against Mother Nature and whole process of healing! He reacted violently to not being able to return back to his work , to the thing that gave him purpose! And I think I know why he did , what he did! He was passionate about his work, and passion a very very deadly weapon! I remember a very beautiful quote from my school time english teacher : people say love is the strongest ,you can leave a 1000 things you like for 1 love, but it is also true that you can leave a 1000 loves for 1 passion!

Would all surgeons do that? Probably not! But would many? I do believe so!

I hope I could do justice to your question!

#stephen mod speaks #tw : mental health talk #stephen strange #loss #sense of purpose #a very different ask #i hope i could do justice to it #long post #a bit personal

10 notes · View notes

faith-trustpixiedust · 2 years

Note

One thing I love about your blogs is the complete lack of anti sentiment toward any character. The Descendants fanbase is full of so much hate and I really admire how you can be above it all, just in your own little area enjoying the characters you enjoy while people flog them.

BUTTTT one character whom I truly dislike I just wanna get your thoughts on something I've thought up about them recently. I might be being bias or maybe I'm onto something, idk.

Y'know how a lot of people blame Ben for the serenade to Mal and how it upset Audrey? Well obvs it wasn't Ben's fault as he was drugged, but if you look at the Did I Mention music video *Chad* just seems.... So into it? And happy about it? And unlike Ben, he wasn't spelled! And unlike the other jocks there I'm pretty sure Chad and Audrey were friends right? So Chad perceived his friend's boyfriend to be humiliating her in front of the entire school and just happily danced along. So essentially what anti Ben's describe Ben as here is essentially what Chad is; someone who humiliated someone he was close to in front of the entire school. He didn't run off to see Audrey and check she was okay but was just delighted. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth because I suspect maybe some of that joy was because he saw a chance to get with Audrey himself.... I find his feelings for her quite creepy tbh.

Yet Chaudrey is like... Shipped? So when Ben does something by being magic spelled into it it's the end of the world, but when Chad does it of his own freewill it's fine? Make it make sense lol.

I don't mean to bring hate into your blog, I just get the impression you aren't a Chad fan either so we can kinda mutually dip on him. If you like him though then I apologize and will leave my anti Chadness off your blog in future.

Chad is honestly such an interesting character to me. For starters it's how did Cinderella and Prince Charming's kid end up Like That, and then just...why is he Like That?

I've come to the conclusion that Chad likes a good time, and doesn't really care that much about how his having a good time affects others. With Did I Mention it's "oh we're singing and dancing now? sick I hope this Mal chick enjoys it". When Audrey announces that Chad is her boyfriend and she doesn't need Ben's "pity date", he's excited about that too. (Then in Descendants 2 he gets excited about the fact that Ben has been kidnapped and hopes that means he's king, which in my opinion, is the most messed up thing he's done. But again, it's Chad wanting what he percieves as the good time of being king and winning back Audrey, not really caring that Ben is hurt in the process.

We really don't know what Chad and Audrey's relationship is like before the movies. They very well could be friends, I'd assume they're at least friendly with each other, given that their parents are both royals and they go to school together. Audrey dating Ben and Chad likely being one of Ben's friends would mean they spend even more tiem with each other's social circlesm But we really don't know where they lie on the range of friendly to friends. (I kinda vibe with the idea that Audrey, Ben, and Chad have all been close since they were kids, Ben and Chad both had a crush on Audrey, but Ben acted on his feelings for her first. Or maybe Audrey already had her eye on the crown and chose Ben over Chad. Either way, Chad having a long-term crush on Audrey would explain a lot of his behavior towards her.)

But yeah, I think if we're to blame anyone for Did I Mention, it would be Audrey's friends that aided Ben in serenading Mal, and embarrassing Audrey in the process. Then again, Ben was the crown prince and soon to be king, and that's not really someone you can tell to stop doing something and cause a scene with in front of the entire school.

Yeah. Not necessarily a Chad anti but I think a lot of things he's done are pretty icky. But he's definitely my least favorite of his generation of characters in the movies.

#chad charming #chad charming salt #but like. not hate necessarily.#descendants

9 notes · View notes

mythicamagic · 3 years

Note

As usual... I can never just choose one... soo here are my top choices you choose one. Lol

1. Are you flirting with me?” “You finally noticed?

2. The worst thing is, that even after all of that, I’m still in love with you.

3.that ship has sailed. i’ve had my one great love already

4. we’re just…friends.” “friends don’t do this type of shit!

5. Did you just slap my ass?” / “Actually, I firmly grasped it.”

Why did I decide 2 of the hurt/sad/angst.. idk.. i suppose im glutton for punishment. Dont hurt me too bad if you choose to do one of them myth.

Decided to do a part two for - this ask.

I chose; The worst thing is, that even after all of that, I’m still in love with you.

---

The air felt crisp and clean, biting at Kagome's cheeks as she wound her scarf tighter around her neck. Winter markets were so much fun. The vast array of cute little items on display made warmth light up her chest, even as the candy and children's toys reminded her of a certain fox she'd left behind in the past.

Kagome smiled at Ayumi as she prattled on about something or other.

She shouldn't feel guilty. Shippo had barely visited the village in the last year she'd been there. Everyone had moved on. Including herself, somewhat. She'd been so wrapped up in her whirlwind romance with a certain Daiyoukai- the feudal era had been irreparably damaged as a home for her the second they'd broken up.

But she missed her friends. Dearly.

She shook herself. It was too late to go back on her choice now. The well had sealed shut for good.

Ayumi stopped to grab some hot chocolate from a street vendor, allowing Kagome a moment to warm her hands, rubbing them together.

Snowflakes gently danced about like powdered sugar, kissing Kagome's face as she turned- almost bumping face-first into a muscular chest. Fresh scents of wild forests and thunderstorms filled her nose, and she stiffened.

He smells the same.

Kagome bit the inside of her cheek, blue eyes narrowing. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing."

"Haven't the faintest idea of what you mean," he arranged his features into mild innocence, which was near impossible due to his smiling eyes.

"Riiight," she muttered, wishing Ayumi would hurry up.

Sesshoumaru gazed down at her, a pink gift bag in hand. Kagome grit her teeth, hating that she wondered who it was meant for.

"I did not intend to run into you here, before you accuse me of anything," his silky voice caressed her hearing once more. It sounded so lulling, designed to draw her back in. "Did you take my gift home with you or did you throw it away?" he asked, deceptively casually.

"Home. But don't think that means anything- it's not the plant's fault you're trying to worm your way back into my life."

The Daiyouki smiled to himself, obviously absurdly pleased. He began pursuing the street vendor's items right beside her, gazing at children's toys with a touch of gentleness in his steady gaze. Kagome was prepared to ignore him- until he leaned down, breath fanning 'accidentally' over her cheek as he picked up a doll and straightened.

"Do you remember Rin? And the other children-"

"Don't," Kagome said, unable to move away. She hated the thrumming of her skin so much. The way it cried out. Hated him.

Her skin flared alive, body humming with hunger. Like a shot of adrenalin to the heart, Kagome dipped her chin into her scarf to try and mask her escalating breathing due to his proximity. When they'd had sex- so many years ago- it hadn't been like human lovemaking.

He'd wired new pathways within her system via his youki. Sometimes she felt like it still lived inside her, having made a home for itself. They hadn't mated, but she felt irreversibly changed by it.

Kagome made a faint noise, squeezing her eyes shut.

Resist him-

"Kagome?"

Oh thank God.

"Ayumi, let's go," she said abruptly, facing her friend with an urgent look in her eyes.

Ayumi tilted her head slightly, eyeing Sesshoumaru curiously. "A-alright?"

"You do not need to leave," he turned, exuding a magnanimous air. "I am the one who intruded on your time, please continue," he gestured to the market, ensnaring Kagome's gaze with his own. Unblinking, unable to hide his more animalistic habits even after so many years.

"I hope to see you some other time when my presence does not disturb you," he said softly, walking away.

---

When entering work that Saturday, Kagome could already sense the buzz in the air. Someone had generously donated some priceless artefacts to their museum. The previously undiscovered finds that shaken everyone due to their rarity and mint condition. No one could stop talking about it.

Kagome's blood ran cold the second the items in question were described to her. Pushing through the crowd that had gathered, she stared in horror at the display case.

Itching for a fight, she immediately stormed to his office downtown, opening the door to reception and letting herself in. "Is Sesshoumaru here?" she burst, stopping in front of the secretary's desk.

"Mr Taisho?" the woman blinked, obviously thrown by the petite, angry miko currently glaring at her and using his name so informally. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No. Just tell him Kagome is here."

She was let into his office soon enough, trying to keep a lid on her crackling reiki. Sesshoumaru glanced up from his computer. "Miko? What a pleasant surprise."

Kagome slammed an article atop his desk. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she snapped.

He raised a brow, briefly flicking his attention to the contents. A photo of red and white silks, coupled with polished spiked armour sat in a display unit. "Something wrong? It was just a donation, given in good faith."

"Donated to my workplace!" Kagome seethed, groaning and burying her face in her hands. "Don't you realise I'm going to have to see your things now every day? I've worn those clothes! I've slept in them as pyjamas! Are you trying to mess with me because you want me back?"

"That's a little dramatic, dear one, I'm not trying to 'mess with you.' It was just a donation," he rose from his seat, face inches from hers. "And if I wanted to romance you, I'd go about it much differently."

"Don't 'dear one' me," she snapped. "You could've donated that stuff years ago- or to a different museum. But no, you had to give it to mine."

"My gift was not meant to distress you, but," he rounded the table slowly, fingers dragging over the wood. "It does make me worry, seeing you so worn thin. Is something else going on? Separate from...us?"

Kagome stiffened, avoiding eye contact. Things with her boyfriend had been strained as of late, and the Daiyoukai's sudden appearance back into her life wasn't helping matters.

"There is no 'us.' I'm frustrated and exhausted, that's all. Don't make things even more complicated by asking about that stuff."

Sesshoumaru lingered close, and Kagome didn't shy away. The one person she couldn't bear to be near was also the only being who could offer some semblance of comfort to her due to his familiarity.

"This one meant to give you something," reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a business card, handing it over. Kagome immediately froze, staring at the name. "You miss him," Sesshoumaru murmured. "The kit lives in Kyoto now with his wife and children. Call him."

Tears pricked her eyes, and Kagome bowed her head. Full lips crumpled into a wobbly line.

"If there is something I regret more than our parting, it is that you felt compelled to leave. The fault lies with me."

Shaking her head, a saddened laugh bubbled up her throat. "It was my decision to break up, and it was my decision to leave the Feudal Era. Don't...blame yourself for that part."

"You did not do anything wrong," a long-fingered hand reached out, blunt nails losing their glamour. Sharp claws stroked dark curling hair back from her neck. Kagome's breathing hitched. "When we were together- you did not do anything wrong. We were both so young. It was foolish of me to act as I did, but I think it is now... that we are in the right place for something more."

Kagome shivered, body warming to him. Intuitively, the brush of fingers on her neck made her foolishly anticipate a kiss- sorely disappointed when it didn't come. "I'm not," she forced herself to say. Seeing the disappointment darken his brown eyes, she sighed. "I miss you," Kagome admitted quietly, turning away to escape from his touch. "I miss how... we were. I'm terrified of that, though. I was...under the impression we'd be together. Permanently. Then you had to go and tell me you needed 'pure' heirs to continue the family bloodline."

She laughed bitterly, loosely holding her arms. "The worst thing is, that even after all of that, I'm still in love with you."

"You are frightened that I will hurt you again."

Kagome nodded mutely. She then forced a giggle, giving a weak smile. "Besides, you may not like me as I am now. I'm more jaded than before."

"I like what I see very much," moving closer once more as though experiencing a gravitational pull, he stopped inches away. "I have missed you too," he muttered quietly, genuinely. She could feel him inhale her scent through her hair. "Very much."

Her mouth suddenly became dry. "I'm with Natsuki-"

"Leave him," a rush of passion entered his voice as Sesshoumaru swept closer, backing her into the desk. The wood dug into her thighs, their hips meeting. "This one is not interested in being 'the other man' in an affair. Nor am I interested in watching you remain with someone less than ideal," he snorted, resting his hand over her wrist and grazing his thumb over it.

"Y-you don't know anything about it!"

"I could smell your scent. It was not bright and cheerful even before I re-entered your life the other day. His feels...murky on you. Unhappy."

Kagome swallowed thickly, glancing away. "Observant as ever," she admitted softly.

"Or perhaps you did a poor job of hiding it," backing off a little- he rested his hip next to hers beside the desk, remaining near but barely touching. And yet everything felt so close. "You've changed. But you're still the same at your core, miko," hot breath fanned over her neck, teeth ghosting over the shell of her ear. "If you permitted me, I would not be reckless with your heart again, as I was in my youth."

Her palms traitorously slid up, sliding over firm muscles- running across his chest. He felt warm. His heart was beating fast. Was he nervous? Such a thing sounded impossible.

She bit her lip, secretly longing for the sensation of silks under her hands again instead of the modern cotton of his shirt.

"I don't know that I believe you," Kagome met his gaze, rewarded with the golden glow of his eyes instead of human brown.

"I've gotta go," she said reluctantly, forcing herself to pull away. "I need to be at work."

"Very well," he hummed, unmoving. "But if you...need something. You know where to find me."

He sounded almost desperate for an excuse to talk with her. Giving a curt nod, she let herself out of his office with a long breath, shaking her head. Sesshoumaru's static youki haunted her steps for the remainder of the day.

#Sesskag #Sesshoumaru x Kagome #asks

62 notes · View notes

its-chelisey-stuff · 3 years

Text

I watched “Imitation” and it was surprising (... okay, I loved it!)

Full disclosure: If you haven’t the slightest interest in kpop, not even in the drama or juicy gossip that produces, this won’t be your thing. I know it’s not a drama for everyone. Stop reading. Just know that OTP (and most characters) had a happy ending but there was a bunch of drama to achieve it. Typical. And a death may or may not have been in the mix.

Well well well... I'm pleasantly surprised, that's the perfect three word review for this drama. It would seem that when those little projects that come out of nowhere and you have no expectations about, turn out to be even a little big good, they made the strongest impression. And this drama is up there in my top 3 of favorite dramas of the year, it has my heart.

Yes, it was about kpop idols and 90% of the cast was made of idols (even one from the very first kpop gen hahaha), yet the acting was decent (and from some, truly great), yes sometimes it got a bit cheesy and silly and yes, there was a ton of drama concerning fans, reporters, dating scandals and bad and greedy CEOs of entertainment agencies BUT it was also sweet, really romantic, funny, lively, full of music (I'm OBSESSED with the last OST which was sung by the whole cast, it makes me FEEL things) and dancing, it had lots friendship and found family AND at times, it was heartbreakingly tragic.

I think this drama tried to tell the audience two important lessons, worthy of mention: the first, work hard for your dreams, don't give up on them but also, you never know what opportunities might come your way that could end up changing your direction and perhaps make you chase something that you never thought you would, so persevere, breathe and hang in there just a bit more; the second, one that we all know if you have a little bit of sense and even if you are mildly informed about the k entertainment which is that idols are just people(most of them teens when they debut some not even 18) who want to and deserve to have a pretty f-ing normal life, so f-ing let them! the consequences of putting these youngsters over a pedestal are catastrophic and there are real life, heartbreaking, examples of this.

Main characters

Ryok: the Golden Boy of kpop, from the most popular boy group, also a an actor (a decent one? Idk they never said). Perfect in every single aspect, except when he is nice to girls who aren't his fans, then they will crucify him. SUPER clumsy whenever his crush is nearby and does something he finds cute, otherwise super cool and chill. Also great at pining for his crush. A romantic, which means he chose the worst career path. My favorite character.

Maha: A bright and optimistic girl with a strong might of perseverance in going after her dreams. Loves dancing. Very sweet and very tiny. Despite appearances, she's not a pushover or weak FL. And that's why I loved her.

Yujin: Second ML by the book. Became an idol because he was pursuing FL (who in turn was pursuing ML). The only reason why I never hated him is because he was a great friend, knew he wasn't doing anything healthy and decided to end his one sided love and opened his eyes. Two words: Character development *chef's kiss*

LaRiMa: A soloist. A Queen. At the start, it looked like she was the typical and mean second FL. But she wasn't, and I adored her for that. She had a heart of gold. She deserved the world, and she knew that so she made decisions accordingly (a Queen chases no one, least of all a man!) lol best character in the drama and my second favorite character (sorry Maha!)

Also starring: The members of SHAX (the leader, SF9′s Hwiyoung, the maknae from Ateez and the funny guy who spoke random english) the group of Golden Boy. Tea Party members (bffs with FL, Riah and HyunJi), Maha’s group. Sparkling members (the very angry and frustrated leader and two members of Ateez whose names I don’t know), second ML group. AND in the longest and most important cameo (ala Go Kyung Pyo in My roommate is a Gumiho) SF9′s Chani, a former member of SHAX, who disappeared into thin air one day.

The story

On paper it doesn't sound like anything groundbreaking (and tbh it really wasn't lol): a story about idols who willingly chose their career path, trained for years while underage, got treated like products by ugly men in suits and realized it kinda sucked, especially when you don't become a hit group and have to protect your personal life like it's a dirty secret that could damage your image and maybe end your career this is why I said it’s not a show for everyone. But this drama is what Dream High 2 (2012) wanted to be and never could in the aspect of actually making you feel something for these idols and the situations they were facing while loving the musical side of the show and making it all believable.

Even if it's not exactly about teens in high school sort of thing, it does give you the same hopeful and uplifting feeling of a coming of age story, especially because the characters are still youngsters trying to be happy and realize their dreams for the future.

You can just stop reading here if you want to go watch the drama with no spoilers. And if I haven’t convinced you despite not being appalled by kpop themed dramas, then I guess you should keep reading lol or trust in my taste and judgement when I say the story is worth it (but to be fair the first two eps are a bit slow).

The romance (super spoilery!)

At the core, this show was a love story. What started the plot is the fact that main couple reunite in the same work field as idols, and they actually met and befriended each other years ago; so being older and able to spent more time together brings them closer to finally accept and give into their feelings, but soon enough their relationship becomes a ticking bomb threatening their careers and then this big mystery of how and why SF9' Chani disappeared and abandoned the group becomes really important in the last third of the drama

Because once upon a time, Chani had a gf but she was still a trainee so once their love was exposed (the truth of who exposed him is devastating) and their respective companies threatened them, it all becomes too much too fast and with seemingly no other way out, the girl makes a terrible decision, that ends up changing the lives of most of the characters.

I’m sure this is from a bts but their chemistry was really good and sweet. Also, height difference to die for!!

Yet, there is a happy ending for main couple but it's only achieved after certain people learn from their mistakes and support Ryok and Maha, which makes it clear that no matter how in love and willing you are to face adversities for and with your loved one, you still need a support system (and maybe the right people in a position of power) because sometimes two against the world isn't as romantic as it sounds, but sad and lonely.

And the main reason why I loved this is because of the way the show drew a parallel between the two most important couples in the story and tells the audience “had it been even a year before, under different circumstances and less luck, had they had no friends and no people to support them, main couple would’ve ended in the same tragic way” and I think that is a haunting realization. That also makes you appreciate things.

*cries* they were adorable

The bad (spoilers!)

I do wish this drama would’ve elaborated on some bits that were really worth diving into, or that it would’ve shown how some things came intro fruition instead of just skipping it and showing rigth away the outcome of conversations that were never had or reunions never shown. It is clear to me that they wanted to make the drama longer and could have told a better story had it been a 16 ep show.

Basically yes, the main story, main romance and side couples' arcs got resolved but ugh a list of plot holes:

Why was LaRiMa so obsessed with Ryok for half the drama? The minute the girl knew he was dating someone he truly liked, she gave up right away, so I gotta believe the only reason she didn’t quit on him before, is because he did gave her a reason to hold onto him. Perphaps they dated before? Or maybe they like each other at one point? I can only do fanfiction in my head to explain this.

Why was the angry leader of Sparkling such a bitter bitch? How did he end up in another company?

I wanted to see SF9′s Chani reunion with his ex-members from SHAX. It NEEDED to happen. At least they showed Chani with Ryok (which was really emotional) but arrgh.

Also, Chani deserved a kneeling apology from SHAX leader, I mean, come on!!

If everyone knew about Maha and Ryeok at some point, they needed to use that. You can’t just have a bomb like that in your drama and not use it. Is a principle of storytelling. You can’t just have the thing that your main characters fear the most, in your hands, and do nothing about it. But I guess it was not done because of lack of time.

Also, they never showed how they announced their relationship. Instagram post? Company statement? An exclusive to Dispatch? And how did the fans took it?? Answers, drama! Damn it!!

Final thoughts

Despite its many flaws, I loved it. It had heart. It seemed low budget and even more so due to the fact that it was done in the middle of the pandemic and a big part of kpop are the fans and concerts, you know what makes it all the more big and shinier. But the drama people and the actors put effort into it, and you could tell (and the fact that there were also original songs and choreographies made for this drama amazes me, and that they chose to promote the drama by having some of these fake groups perform on actual music shows). So there you go, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Before I finish, let me just say that the actor who played Ryok is a REVELATION in my eyes.This boy needs to stay in dramaland and get more main roles (and after some research I’m happy to say that he is thriving!!). Also, he has great timing for comedy. The actress who played Maha elevated the quality of every scene she was in. (Not for nothing she was God in DAYS). Jiyeon (LaRiMa) was excellent. It really showed at times that she’s not only an experienced idol but also an experienced actress. The contrast with most of the cast was noticeable, sadly. The drama wouldn’t have been the same without these three.

Also, watch AND listen to the last OST sung by the whole cast here. Beautiful song that just makes you cry if you’ve seen the drama.

#imitation #lee jun young #jung jiso #jiyeon #jeong yunho #kbs imitation #kdrama #kdrama review #i wanted to tag all actors but omg that's a nightmare #they're too many

25 notes · View notes

lover-of-trash-and-people · 3 years

Text

bittersweet netflix shadow and bone finale (s1 e8) rewatch; accoutrement: white wine with ice cubes in it (no YOU'RE a mom drink shh)

my wine's like fruity I love her

light and darkness title card we love to see it

Inej looking at Alina before she goes below deck to hide <3

okay that 'what can you really do on your own' was like not fun that shit hurted

okay but Jesper's 'not enough'? <3

oh no my baby Zoya's first inkling that Darkles does not really care

omg Helnik just appeared and I remembered how much heartbreak I have to face in this episode

gods I love Danielle as Nina so so much

'this can't be it' said she with her pleading smile with downturned eyebrows MA'AM I-

don't break my dumb little heart

I might hate Calahan's little accent but they're making me tear up

oh gods I literally cannot keep a hold on myself when Dani's accent bleeds through with full force, it's like she comes more alive or smth

'I will keep you warm' SIR WHAT-

I am surprised they showed a leaning in for a kiss so soon but I'm not mad about it

her little eyebrow twitch at 'what are waffles'

when that rando said 'i hunt slavers now' a dread settled into me because I knew what was about to go down

Matthias looking somberly at the stuffed wolf's head </3

I am so incredibly entranced by this exchange between Fedyor and Nina and what it represents, it's very interesting that they pushed up their storyline to match with the timeline

damn it's kind of jarring to be back in the Fold

'REMEMBER WHO'S DRIVING'??!!!! *you better stop* meme, *i am, disgusted* meme, *oh wow, oh wow* meme

Mal you fucking idiot you could never take the crows by surprise

the music rising as Kaz starts explaining his thought process, fucking perfection

haha Mal bitchass Inej caught you

'Because if he isn't with Kirigan's crew, he's with ours' WHEN I TELL YOU I SCREAMED

'And why would we destroy the Fold? It's the greatest weapon we've got' valid point at the moment but you know I don't necessarily agree with your methods

the use of the light tunnel in the show instead of Alina just being a super flashlight in the books is quite an interesting addition as well

is this an inappropriate time to point out how pretty Ben Barnes is

okay I kind of love the depiction of the shadow powers okay sue me

'they are traitors who tried to kill you' why are you suddenly making valid points despite having kind of committed low scale genocide

'i never said I was smart' YES MAL BE THE VOICE OF HIMBOS EVERYWHERE

Kaz's face going from 'can you believe this idiot' at Mal to 'fuck me I'm gonna do the same thing aren't I' at Inej

'For who would oppose us now?' *himbo romantic rival appears out of nowhere and shoots at him* god I love this show

him standing calmly in his ridiculous all black attire after nodding at his soldier to stop the himbo in his tracks, i fucking can't

could she summon light without the Darkling making her after he put the collar on her until the uhm moment in the books? idts but in the show she can hmm

'only because I'm not in the game' you tell him Jesper

not me snickering at 'you'll be seen not as a saviour, but as a heretic' LMFAO

'Shame. I'll have to give that speech again now.' THIS SHOW IS A FUCKING COMEDY AND YOU CAN'T PROVE ME WRONG

YES LET'S FUCKING GO SULI SOLIDARITY

Darkles casually whipping the Cut out like a shuriken or a throwing knife at Jesper because he shot at him lmao I can't

INEJ FUCKING GHAFA STABBED ONE THE OLDEST AND MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THAT WORLD AND THAT IS VERY TELLING OF HER POWER

that moment where you actually think that affected him despite having read the books and watched the show

and then he has to go and fucking say 'it will take more than this' and I can't be help but be a little bit impressed at this old fool's resilience

throwback to when he said 'the king is a child' sir you make some valid points sometimes and it does make it difficult to hate you

I would just like to inform everyone that it is currently 6:09 am IST and I am sipping my second mug of wine while watching netflix sab for the second time instead of doing my three papers that are due tomorrow

I'm sorry but Inej jumping to check on Zoya after she gets knocked over by the volcra? first class display of solidarity and sisterhood as well as Inej's inherent kindness

Kaz jumping in front of a FUCKING VOLCRA AND STABBING IT WITH HIS CANE to save Inej, you best believe love is true, kids

god the volcra are so ugly and gross, they did such a good job with them

they kind of remind me of these creatures (I think they might have been called Hollows or smth) from the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children movie

STAG VISION TIME

despite my dislike for the callous nature with which the stag plotline was handled, I kind of dig the stag vision scene

'It's just me and you now, Alina. And we're all we need, anyway.' I actually feel bad for this old fool simping for this wonderful gorgeous powerful woman despite lying to her and manipulating her and exploiting her power

okay 'I never needed you' *stabs the bone fragment out of his hand* beautiful power move I fucking love you so so much

alright ben looking like ✨ that✨ not only in physical pain but also emotional pain at what the Darkling clearly considers another betrayal from this girl he wants to give the world and maybe? loves? maybe? or at least has feelings for makes my fucking heart hurt while simultaneously soar at Alina taking back control and reclaiming her power as her own and stepping into her own

'how do you claim such power' okay could have had better dialogue there writers

the fucking score lifting as she says 'you cannot claim what was not given to you' good people my heart is full

one day I'll talk about my defense of the chosen one trope because god damn I kind of love it

hmm I wonder was that brief hesitation that we saw on Alina's face due to her thinking about the 'you chose to betray our people' comment or the 'i was trying to save us' comment because that will define some of her actions in the later seasons (hopefully god if we get some, I honestly don't know what with this stupid brownface debacle)

I'm not saying talking about brownface and pointing out that it is wrong (for further context, I am actually brown) and harmful is stupid btw I'm talking about the incidents involving brownface in question

I don't wanna talk about this anymore but I might feel like I need to and end up posting about it idk

goodness Ivan actually believing in this cause makes me so sad because he too has been victimized by the system that ostracizes Grisha and he has every right to feel the way that he does

Ben actually fighting in that ridiculously heavy cloak and kefta when he's about to turn 40 this year makes me super impressed because I as a 19 year old sometimes wake up with muscle pulls after weeks of inactivity it's weird idk

also I understand that this Mal Darkling fight is completely fanservice and serves nearly no purpose to the plot in general but like I? love it?

'I don't have to kill you Darkling. Your past will do it for me' YES HIMBO GO OFF YOU TELL THAT OLD MAN GODS THAT WAS SEXY AS FUCK

maybe it's because I know Darkles will survive and will come out of it more powerful but I can't get myself to feel bad for him at the moment

Inej and Mal tearing up at Alina's condition made me almost feel something despite it being super obvious she was gonna be fine and save their asses at the last moment

HER POWER

a solitary Kaz in spotted on the western side of the newly expanded fold in his signature all black emo boy look

okay but the crows with zoya and malina is such an adorable team? I literally love them so much?

INEJ'S FUCKING SMILE AT ALINA GIVING HER THE DAGGER AND KAZ LOOKING AT HER AGSGSGSHSJSJSK MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE

SHE KNOWS JUST WHAT TO NAME IT WELL GIRLIE I KNOW IT TOO AND MY FUCKING HEART IS LITERALLY GONNA BURST

okay I know they had one interaction but Mal and Jesper would be besties in another universe

Kaz glaring at Jesper when he answers ''course not' to Alina's 'will you still be trying to kidnap me?' tell me one fucking adaptation that got the dynamics between characters this perfectly

okay why do I love that Alina kept the jewellery as maybe a small nod to she has the wits to, um, you know, I don't wanna say steal, but, um, yeah, steal it because she knew she would need money to survive on the run

oh Jessie I love you so much I wish you hadn't said those things on you ig story about the brownface

it's like every single celeb I grow attached to god's like nope that one is going to do or say something problematic (hey btw im not reassigning blame to god for stuff people have done out of their own free will, 'twas a joke)

AAAAAAAH them saying 'the deal is the deal' in the show even though they didn't have to but like they did and I love them for it

Inej literally not being able to not stare at Kaz's face and smile after this <3

'I didn't expect it to burn at all. But it can be destroyed in the end. Just like him' babe you're not wrong but like um just you wait

god Mal being on supportive boyfie mode is well, absolutely adorable, obviously, but I wish we got to see more of him as a person outside of his attachment to Alina

kaz my little demjin I wish you hadn't have had to suffer so much to meet the crows and find your calling

fastforwarding Zoya's arc is also an interesting choice to me

I wish the hug hadn't been done though, it didn't feel earned

maybe Alina awkwardly and half-heartedly (remember, at this point the alliance is fresh and they still don't entirely trust each other) reached for a hug and Zoya avoided her? and then the rest of Zoya's lines followed? that would have made more sense to me at least

I love Sujaya as well, she brought life into Zoya with whatever little screentime and scraps of writing she got

inej asking kaz 'what's your angle?' beep bop bleep morp I sense another incoming embarrassing love confession

'but we do need you' *stares at her face intensely* 'I need you' ah look at the clock, look's like it's time to screech and flap your arms like you're a volcra because you're incapable of containing your emotions

NO YOU CAN'T GO DIRECTLY FROM KANEJ PROGRESS TO HELNIK BREAKUP (TEMPORARY, MIND YOU)

helnik my loves you don't deserve this I'm so sorry for both of you

Matthias fucking smiling ruefully while he says 'this was... just a cruel joke all along' THIS IS NOT FUCKING OKAY

omg hellgate

AAAAAAAAH NINA IS ON THE SAME FRAME AS THE OG CROWS I CAN'T HANDLE THIS

CAMERA PAN FROM KAZ SAYING 'JUST HOW THIS ALL STARTED... WE'RE GONNA NEED A HEARTRENDED' TO NINA OVERHEARING HIM AND LOOKING OVER?????!!!!!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING THIS TO ME?!

Nina genuinely being curious as to the status of the sun saint because she obviously still cares

Also, 'But she is a Saint' okay Kaz trying to earn brownie points you have succeeded

DID THAT SAILOR JUST SAY 'GOED MORGEN FENTOMEN' TO MALINA BECAUSE I AM NOT OKAY WITH THEM JUST THROWING THAT IN MY FACE ALL OF A SUDDEN

gods I know I'll probably see them again but my heart is full of sorrow as my eyes drink in the sight of my crows for the last time for a while

I know people were annoyed at the meadow flashbacks but guess what? as a darklina, I loved them

'now that the Darkling is dead' could have phrased that a little differently my dudes that line needed to hold more weight

am I glad that they showed Darkles in this state with his nichevo'ya as a tasty little cliffhanger despite not being entirely true to the source material? maybe but only because Ben Barnes saying 'follow' and the nichevo'ya doing exactly so sent a chill down my spine

well, that's it for now, I'll have to move on I guess, get back to my real life which I'm obviously not ready to do

thank you to whoever actually read these things

I probably should have just made reactions or commentary videos instead but I'm lazy

my tumblr will probably go into inactivity once more as I emerge from my stint in the grishaverse

it was quite short (less than 2 months), considering the length of my other obsessions but it was definitely more intense than the other ones

22 notes · View notes

candiliam328 · 3 years

Note

Season 1 was SO musically superior! Like imma be honest, there are very few songs I remember or liked from season 2. I think in hell I’ll be in good company, golden brown, and major Tom are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Season 1's soundtrack is iconic. Phantom of the opera? I think we're alone now? The Walker? Shingaling? Kill of the night, hazy shade of winter, happy together, run boy run, picture book, don’t stop me now... they’re all so good! No mistakes were made XD

YES. YES. YES.

ok this is going to be an extremely long answer and...

Necessary disclaimer: these are just all my personal opinions (pls don’t attack me)

Season 1 was a musical masterpiece. The OST and the pop music worked really well together. But I... wasn’t impressed with the music in S2. There’s lots of reasons why.

But what you’re talking about... honestly same. I just looked through a playlist of the pop music in S2 and I didn’t remember most of them? Couldn’t even guess what scenes they might play in? That’s... an immediate failing. If you put a song in a show, it needs to be a deliberate choice and it needs to mean something or else why would you bother including that song?

yike I can literally talk about this for hours (more below the cut)

Music in cinema is really... weird. Even more so when you introduce pop music.

Ok, let’s go from the beginning... a good musical scoring is supposed to reflect what is happening on your screen. It’s meant to support but not overwhelm. A good musical scoring will implicitly tell you more about the story than what you are visually given... but it’s incredibly subtle. You’re not meant to realize that you’re getting some extra info because that would distract you from what’s actually happening on the screen. Some background processing of info, if you get what I mean. (more to come in my OST analysis, should it ever be finished I guess lol)

This isn’t the case with pop music. This can’t be the case with pop music.

Remember, the OST is original composition. Written specifically for this show. Only introduced to you in the context of this show.

Popular music, by definition, exists outside the context of this show.

So there’s a really subtle balance that needs to be kept here when introducing pop music because you risk taking your audience out of the moment and making them think of other memories they already associate with that song.

How do you combat that? Well, diagetic music (music built into the show, like “I Think We’re Alone Now”) tends to be more easily digested and accepted as part of the show material, since the characters are obviously hearing this music as well and interacting/reacting to the music. You have visual confirmation that this music is part of the show as well as auditory stimulation, so brain is less likely to wander off on its own journey.

But the more clever way? Have an incredibly meaningful scene tied with it, something that fits in all the right ways and allows it to work like the score, giving you additional information without you even knowing it. Something that overpowers your brain’s tendency to get distracted by whatever other context you may associate with that pop song. Something that will grab your brain and be like “Sorry, brain. This song is officially a TUA song.”

This obviously works best if you have very little memories associated with the song, so the more obscure the song the better. But if you’re an absolute mad genius with your music and your cinematic timing, you can overpower any association with any song, no matter how popular it is. (... ever wonder why every song in Shrek became an immediate Shrek song? yeah lol)

You also have to recognize that the pop music in TUA or in any other piece of cinema that includes pop music? It does not exist in auditory isolation. There’s a running stream of background music and sounds and noises. Clever sound production will make the jump between music as smooth as possible. Clever scoring will think about how to weave a narrative, while keeping in mind the pop music that will be inserted as well. Make everything as subtle and smooth as possible. Your job is to not take the audience away from the narrative of the screen.

Ok, that was a lot of background info. You may be asking, “LOL BEAN WHAT’S YOUR MAIN POINT?”

Alright, so here it is.

The pop music in season 2 was pretty much doomed to be less effective from the get-go.

The original score of TUA is composed by the lovely Jeff Russo. From my understanding, he knew what pop music was already planned for season 1 before he even got to scoring. This is important. Because he could make choices about the score and the motifs, while keeping the pop music in mind. He could make a more cohesive sound and music experience. And it worked.

There were deliberate choices made with the pop music. They prioritized and made sure you heard them in the right contexts. I will tell you now that there may be some pop music in season 1 that you completely forgot about. That’s OK. You weren’t necessarily supposed to remember them that much. You can’t be expected to pick up on everything. But the ones that played during the most important scenes? “Run Boy Run,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “The Walker,” “Never Tear Us Apart”? You know them. They played them longer and they took the time for your ears to appreciate the music and recognize its context in the show. None of this works if your ears and your brain don’t have enough time to process and form the associations of this song with what is happening on the screen. And they resonated with you the most because they reflected what was happening in the show the strongest. These are the important scenes you were supposed to care about and will play in your mind now whenever you hear those songs.

But an even stronger testament to the integrity of pop music in S1: The other songs you forgot about and can’t name off the top of your head? You can listen to them again and maybe even make a good guess at when they were playing in the show. They... fit the show somehow, even if you can’t exactly place it.

And this all makes sense if they chose these songs even before they started filming. Even before they started most of the scoring.

In season 1, choices were made because of the pop music.

... not so much the case for season 2.

I’ve spent less time on the music for season 2 and honestly I don’t plan to spend much more ahaha... But here’s my two cents:

The music in season 2... is incredibly confused. You no longer have this cohesive sound experience that showed up in season 1. The OST is stuck with motifs that were developed with pop music from s1 in mind. Also, Russo played really hard into the fact that Vanya played the violin in season 1 and now there’s no violin at all on-screen, but he’s stuck with an excess amount of violin in the scoring, so there’s already less of a connection there. Not only that, but Russo is no longer the sole score composer, was working on other projects while scoring this one, so there’s less time from him dedicated to make this score work, but also a slightly different sound being introduced from another composer.

Now, add in the messiness of time travel to the 1960′s. The OST is not the 1960's. Not even the new tracks introduced. So the 1960′s sound is... trying to come from the pop music. The pop music that doesn’t blend in with your OST because your OST was developed for a time set in the present.

But wait! Your S1 soundtrack got really popular because of its prime pop music choices... music that fit really well with your scenes. Let’s do that... but even more. Let’s use really popular music !! Backstreet boys, maybe some covers of Billie Eilish, and Adele. Everyone knows these songs !! They’ll see how clever we are and it’ll make them laugh !!

(Notably, this kinda ruins the charm that they were hoping to replicate from S1? Honestly, several times while I was watching S2, I literally shook my head and closed my eyes, thinking.... “of course, they would play this.” Took me completely out of the show. Yeah, it can be really fun, but idk if you are thinking about the people behind cinematic decisions during your first watch of a show, those people probably messed up at their job?)

But wait, I thought you were using your pop music to establish the 1960′s theme? Now some of your music is directly clashing with that and the environmental setting? You’re confused. What are you supposed to be taking away from the pop music now?

And here’s something even more messy: the pop music in S1 was so incredibly important in establishing the musical identity of your characters, since they were played during some of the most defining character moments. Consciously or not, you have some musical expectations already for each of the characters. Not only that, but you’re expecting this pop music to be telling you more things about your characters than what you’re seeing on the screen. What happens when those expectations are not met? There’s some cognitive dissonance. You’re mentally taken out of the show, thinking about other things. Confused about what you’re supposed to take away from this music. Bad. Musical. Decisions.

So... what does that leave you with for the music in season 2?

A mess of 1960′s music and clunky ‘on-the-nose’ music choices, which may or may not clash with the established musical identities of the characters and all clumsily tied together with a struggling OST for the musically confused ears of the audience.

Tldr; Season 1 was a musical masterpiece. The Season 2 music never even had a chance.

#wow this got out of hand lol #it also should be said that the pop music in either season is not objectively better than the other #season 2 has some bops!#its all dependent on the context #anywhos #thank you so much for this ask !!!#🥺💕#sorry it... became a monster lmao #whether this made any sense is actually extremely questionable #tua music #asks #ford-ye-fiji #my ramblings #tua #tua music thoughts #musical beans

51 notes · View notes

the-acid-pear · 3 years

Text

I just can't get enough it seems, time to start the next Baki the Grappler book!

It seems that this one will take on the saga i saw on the anime (at least by the end) so that's exciting

Chapter 1

First off quality is SHIT lmao

Yesss i remember this. I still think that shit about everyone trembling is a lil... Mmmm bullshit.

Baki be like <:] but in a smug way

Look at Tokugawa my man

OH RIGHT HE LEFT THE TOURNAMENT WITH A CAST

This feels so random

Oh right the synchronicity shit

Baki is so -_- in this manga

Look at the old timer go

YEAH FR TOKUGAWA JUST BROUGHT EXPLOSIVES TO A SCHOOL FULL OF CHILDREN TO MAKE A SHITTY ANALOGY SHSHWKWGGE FREAK OLD MAN

Chapter 2

Ahegao

Epic grandpa

HO NICE

Mf really swam thru the Pacific ocean

Chapter 3

Huh i thought he was Scottish

This random guy was pretty interesting looking, the one executing Doyle

Fucked up shit how they still do this stuff

King, i can somehow still remember his voice in particular fsr

Also since no one reads this i will say it: Doyle does NOT look white ahagdbafhsdbc

I like that he didn't bother killing the doctor

Is that Strydum? 🥺👉👈

Chapter 4

Shagddjd i was going to say that, this dude could have easily taken a different path from violence

GAARN? MY MAN? MY BELOVED GARLAND? IS HE ALIVE STILL?!

FFS NOT FOR LONG HHH LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY...

I mean it's fair, Sirkosky uses weapons, but man, Garland... :'/

This all hits so different once you know the characters :]]]

Chapter 5

That pic is still so brutal

What an absolute troll shsshwgxgd

Also fun fact when i watched the anime i didn't pay much attention at first so I assumed the Russian was Spec (i didn't even know Sirkosky's name)

I love how that was unnecessary shagdhsr

ADAGDFAGAFAD this guy was also great

Spec was fucking insane man aggsggahsfg

I love he's full of tattoos

The absolutely king

OH RIGHT Spec is sus *laugh track*

Chapter 6

Oh hell yeah, grandpa's ex

Baki tf you doing there in the cover you madlad

...bottom storage.

THEY ARE SO MEAN LEAVE HIS SHORT ASS ALONE SHSGJSGS

He's my size btw

Was there a motive for him to be naked or was he just a freak btw?

I love the shape of his eyes ngl

I love how scared the guards are while he just calmly rambles

I don't wanna call yanagi my grandpa because i think yanagi can get it and it would be like calling him daddy but the Gilf™ is Dorian man life is so hard when you are me

I love Yanagi's face lol he's handsome

Chapter 7

Poor Baki lmao he just got better from the maximum tournament and now this

Lmao Baki has a point

Unnecessary, Doyle

Chapter 8

I love how they were recruiting dangerous mfs to beat up this random guy bc his vibes are fucked up

This guy looked a lot like jack

You gotta be brave to shove a knife that sharp into your pants

I love how Baki literally did nothing to em

Baki's face just looks wrong this isn't my beloved child

Imagine you are about to fight this mf and he just shoves his hand inside his pants

Chapter 9

This dude really looks like, fully japanese jack hanma

JWGWKEGWKSGE I LOVE HIM

I love how Spec just showed up dressed up as a fucking monk or something

Chapter 10

You guys know, Dorian reminds me of my now dead great grandfather, with the moustache look even more.

Not impressed, 15 yo Hanayama did the same when throwing a tantrum

He's so insane i luv him

Okay but look at the cut of that outfit look at how well it hugs his chest and waist but flows bellow... Spec my dude you could have been a mad good model 😐 he's even giving me gender envy! 🥺

I love how Baki used both his hands for the handshake

Chapter 11

Ho, speak of the devil, i was just talking of this fucker with Blood

Mf got so old

I like how there was no motive for him to be naked he literally is just Like That

Also it's from here that he got that wasp waist lmao

Mf just flexing at this point lmao

GRANDPA!! <3

Yanagi got cake

That's so unnecessary rude, obsessed. Also, as if you weren't old Yanagi. I see why they broke up now ;/

Chapter 12

11 and 12 are the same fsr

Chapter 13

I honestly wonder where these prisoners got their clothes, like, aside from Doyle that one time everyone else is never shown shopping or even owning money

Also i love the fact that on a daily basis i dress the same as Spec, that definitely says something bout me jagsjsgwhwfwg 😭

To be honest, considering the size of Spec's body, they should definitely feed him more

He didn't wash his hands 😢

Dick and balls too strong ajgshsgsg

I love how fucking, polite he is.

Oh i see, i thought he might have stolen a wallet or something but nah

Btw i genuinely don't remember shit JAGSKSGWJGS even if it watched the anime i forgot most of this

Chapter 14

GOD the way the anime butchered Katsumi, he's so handsome in the manga in comparison 😐

Also i like how they aren't explaining this like, Katsumi was the one who lost, did he wait until Retsu was okay to fight again in HIS ("") dojo?!

RETSU STOP DOING THESE SORT OF TRICKS THAT'S PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE AJDGSJSG

HE'S JUST BUILT DIFFERENT

Okay he actually explained, oddly nice of Retsu to accept tho

Hoho this scene hits different now that i know and like Katsumi

Also I'm not even gonna question where Doppo is, dude is never just around skdgksgd

Chapter 15

I love this genre of cover

WHITE BOY SJDGSJGSHS-

I love that retsu is just watching, he's still an asshole QJGSJSGWH

If i didn't know Katsumi I would say he died

I did actually think he had died when watching the anime

Retsu still has his thicc ass i see

Chapter 16

See all this makes sense now that i know retsu and the shit he has seen and been thru!

Angry lad, lucky his hair didn't burn

I DIDNT EVEN REALIZE HE EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE WITH HIS SCREAM

Chapter 17

Ahegao in the cover

I'm looking at the pages and I'm obsessed with Doppo being described as a "bold, badass karate master", it's so accurate <3

Also Igari being called eccentric, and the mention he defeated Mount Toba!! <3

Baki is slowly looking more like Baki

"my mother is dying"

Tasks keep failing successfully

Chapter 18

mAh boy...

That happens and it's the worst

Musashi you good boy 🥺

Chapter 19

Igari <33

That's insane

Chapter 20

I love that Igari looks legitimately worried and sad, not sweating tho

I love how he didn't have any serious damage until the punches like, okay.

Poor Igari tho

DID HE CHEW EM OFF OR SOMETHING? SHSHWGEGCH

Was anybody going to tell me is Sikorsky and not Sirkosky?

Also i love how legitimately scared Tokugawa is, probably more than when Yujiro picked him up

Chapter 21

The heights are so off in this saga

Oh my fucking god i didn't know Spec was 221

Either heights are all over the place or Yanagi is not 160

Either way HOW CAN YOU BE THAT SMALL? 🤣

GAFSFWEAD Tokugawa like "i own this place 😐"

Doyle is still the most decent one of the bunch

URSURSUTSUSTSRU

LOOK AT YANAGI DORIAN AND SIKORSKY ALREADY GETTING THEIR HANDS READY SBDGSHW

I googled how big Andreas from the tournament was and like, 2.40 😦

LET'S GOOOOO EVEN WITH A BEARD OMFG 😳😳😳

I see Hanayama descended into alcoholism after losing in the tournament. Also tf is with that bag? Was he hiking or something?

Jsgsjsgd Shibukawa is so excited too

I think this is chronically the first time Doppo appears with fully casual clothes, usually he either was in a suit or in his karate uniform

I'm straight up simping to the public now sgsjsgwhw

Chapter 22

LOOK AT THESE DUDES..... 💞

FUCK I WAS GONNA SAY THERE WERE MORE BAD THAN GOOD GUYS THEN LOOKED DOWN AND REALIZED THAT NO, SHIBUKAWA WAS JUST NEARLY OUT OF FRAME 😭

They all look so upset about that information

SIKORSKY NAME GOT SPELLED AS SILCOSKI...

Looking at them drives me insane i developed such a bond with all these fighters

I haven't seen Doppo this excited since last time his wife showed up

BAKI SWEARING?! 😰

How did Tokugawa grab Baki's shoulder?

ALSO WHY TF IS BAKI SO SURPRISED AS IF HE DIDNT GO AROUND BEATING UP PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS 13...

Don't worry Baki y'all will, Tokyo is not that big it seems

Shibukawa swearing 😨

"Imagine being mid but and Spec pulls up on you" "imagine having sex and she takes the mask and it's fucking Spec"

To be fair i would fuck a 2.21 muscular lady without going "hmmm this doesn't seem like a good idea..." in any moment

Chapter 23

I love how Dorian is just looking up

ACTUALLY ALL THEIR STANCES, Yanagi making dead eye contact with Gouki, Sikorsky with a firm pose just as Hanayama, Doyle with hiss chest up but eyes down giving a sense of pride, and, well, then there's Spec being Spec.

I like seeing Sikorsky having fun

I love Spec he played so smart SGSGSGS

😳 love wins!

Oh i had already forgotten about the dojo

Old man Dorian just has that effect on people

Threesome i see /j

He really was just fucking hiking i would love if they ever explained that ough 🥺

Did his facial hair just disappear?? STSGSFSD

BWHEKEGWJG THEY REALLY JUST FORGOT TO ADD IT FOR ONE PANEL IM OBSESSED

Such a good kick tho

The relationship these men can have is so oddly nice like not Doppo and Retsu specifically but all of the fighters in general. Like many of them barely know each other, but they all know their fighting styles and respect each other, plus have no reason to be in bad terms with one another and specially not now that they are all fighting for the same cause. It's just so nice to see em idk JAGSHS

Hey Igari.

Chapter 24

Thank God Doppo went <3 again it had been so long

Babe are you okay? You hadn't put a lil heart in your speech bubble for a while...

King really punched the fire

I will chose to believe that's true bc it's impressive 😍

You know it's funny like, Katsumi is mad good but he doesn't has as much experience as his dad and that leaves him in disvantage

Hehe i remember that guy

The manga is so much better than the anime ffs

I love that he didn't even realize

Chapter 25

Manga i don't think that's science

Also Baki just chilling with some doves lmao

I'm looking thru old messages see how my og reaction to this was

Huh i found nothing, that's odd. Well my reaction would have probably been like NOOOOO anyway so, y'all can imagine it

You left my dilf handless you fucking asshole good thing he has a wife

Imagine this dude cuts your hand and then just flexes his knowledge about science or whatever

HSSGGSFS THEY FIXED THE NO BEARD ERROR

Illiterate king <3

A guy did this to me once btw!!! Obviously in way smaller scale but he just touched something and the bleeding soon stopped!!!!

Honestly that's the most huge dick energy thing Doppo has ever done

Pfff I'm starting to remember why i liked Doppo so much 🥴

Bitches confused over him running away, tf was he supposed to do? He played it smart since there are no rules

Though yeah an eye and NOW a hand, insane

Chapter 26

Sjshhdhsn tanuki?

Oh, fox, he was calling him slick

Manga is pretty faster than the anime

Chapter 27

Where's your honor, Igari...

He is right sadly enough 😔

Oh i keep forgetting Igari's nature, he was probably trying to pull his silly little tricks again

This is just brutal honestly

Hehe this time i didn't get scared ☺️

I like that at least I'm not the only one who needs their mind off the gutter

Chapter 28

Love seeing em datin <3

He's so aggressive accidentally i love these dorks sm 😍🥺💞

SPEC FFS SJGDHWGW

Chapter 29

SPEC FOR FUCKS SAKE SJSVSJWGSH

Hanayama is such a real bro man

I LOVE THAT HE WAS JUST STALKING BAKI TOO BTW SJDGJDGDHSBDGDGS

To think i will still love hanayama but for entirely different reasons 😌

Chapter 30

Kaoru looks different but idk how

What the fuck is Spec even saying?

The fact that that makes no sense, i still love it a lot tho.

ALSO I ADORE HOW QUIET HANAYAMA IS WHEN FIGHTING

Okay Spec really has a point it really is beautiful

GOD I'M STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THESE CHARACTERS TOO MUCH I NEED HELP AJDGSJSGSHS 😭

But it's beautiful in the sense like, look how built he is! Look at all those scars!!! It IS beautiful it's a masterpiece!!!!!!!

"i choose to believe this is how hanayama always undresses" KSHSKDGSJ THE AMOUNT OF SUITS THIS MAN DESTROYS.. OBSESSED

Though yeah Hanayama in general is also beautiful isn't he?

Chapter 31

I would sob man look at him. Look at Shiba.

NO ONE RISKS HIS LIFE MORE THAN SHIBA YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE I STILL HOLD A LOT OF RESPECT FOR HIM!

A BENCH...

I really don't get why he's letting himself get hit, is he just flexing?

I cannot way to see him do his Technique ™

Chapter 32

Manga is so much superior to the anime, like, i haven't complained about Spec even once bc he isn't annoying anyone, in the anime he was so infuriating!!

I love when they just steal their standing poses sjsgjssgsh

That distortion effect so good

Chapter 33

I still think it's weird they used humans and not machines, though it was effective

I love how Spec managed to punch that statue without calling the attention of much people that's impressive

And i love that he keeps saying man he sounds like me with bro

Hanayama my beloved

Chapter 34

Yeah I'm not reading all that 😐

Oh this explains the holes in his clothes

#luly talks #btg #having a shitton of fun #the anime is NOTHING compared to the manga #the only good thing about the anime is the voice acting which is just on point #but everything else SUCKS man #they made me hate my man Spec and now im seeing he wasnt as nearly as annoying as in the anime #AND THEY BUTCHERED SO MANY FACES... EVERYONE WAS SO FUCKING UGLY #HANAYAMA... KATSUMI... EVEN BAKI WAS MAD UGLY 😭😭#but everything is better now ☺️#also i hit the limit of letters again 🥴#baki liveblog

9 notes · View notes

kareofbears · 3 years

Text

persona 5 strikers thoughts and feelings

This is going to be a long post. Like, the type of post you’d only really have time to read when you’re trying to sleep but you’re not ready to be unconscious yet so you’re just looking for something to do to spend your time with minimal effort.

So in 2018, a masterpiece was born into the world: Into the Spider-verse was released and it was amazing—it’s honestly the best spiderman movie we have without a doubt, and it’ll be very far into the future before Spider-verse is beaten as the best spiderman movie. Them’s the facts. Then in 2019, Spider-man: Far From Home was dropped. It’s a great movie! Great characters, great continuation of who these characters are and works fantastic as a continuation of a story. It’s really hard trying to take the torch of a previous movie (or in Marvel’s case, juggling twenty something movies) and come up with a new movie that both works on its own, as well as being the next step in this series of films. Thus, with that idea in mind, I think it’s kind of unfair to judge into the spiderverse and far from home, because these are two movies with two completely different objectives in mind.

Okay, so this is still a persona 5 strikers post, I promise, but the idea is the same: Persona 5 could basically do whatever it wanted—new story, new characters, new everything, and it’s just plain old awesome. However, Persona 5 strikers did not have that sort of freedom. It was bound to the original game, and it had its own rules and stuff it had to keep intact, characters they had to work with, and on top of that, it had to justify its existence as a sequel (lets pretend money doesnt exist lmfao).

SO, the big question is: did it do that? Did it justify its existence?

And my answer: holy fuck did it ever do that

I came into this game knowing the extreme bare minimum. I knew there was someone named Sophia, and i knew there was roadtrip, and i knew there were Personas. That’s my knowledge of it before i played it on the Switch. I should also clarify like, early on, that i was not expecting anything from this game. At all. I was the world’s biggest cynic of this game—if you scroll down my p5s tag far enough, youll just see me complaining about a game that hasn’t even come out yet. I was fully expecting to have this be a Waifu show, and any male character that isn’t Akira to just be shoved aside like some kind of nerd in a high school hallway, and i have never been more pleased to be wrong. In fact, i actually owe it an apology, because of how fucking rude i was for no reason!!! Because this game deserves everything to be honest.

Persona 5 strikers is, frankly, insane. Insane in the sense that it got to pull shit off that just would never have existed in the original game, because the original game is scared. It had to be as impressive as possible and garner as much attention as possible. Strikers does not have that problem—every single person who bought that game does not need to be convinced that persona 5 is a good game. They already played it. That means Atlus can just fuck around and have a good time, and man did they have a good time. There’s still scenes that still shock me if i think about it too hard, because i’m used to atlus having to follow this sort of rule set when it comes to persona 5 (or any of the main games im assuming, but i havent played them.) And on top of that, there’s still shit that’s Atlus Trademarked Branded in a good way. The style of story of story telling, and revealing the mystery that is so integral to what p5 is, is still there.

So, to make this even a little bit comprehensible, i will make a list!

First of all, What is this game?

In short, this game is an OVA of an anime. It’s bonus side content that has one thing in mind: to showcase these lovable characters more by putting them in fun situations. That’s it, and it is just phenomenal. That was the main point of, i’d say, like forty hours of the game. It’s just fun times with fun characters.

But to get deeper of what i think is happening, or what they were thinking during the development, is that this is a second opportunity. Persona 5 (as we all know) had a lot of problems, and we were not quiet about those problems. We yelled it all out, made posts, made complaints on every social media platform ever. And Atlus heard all of them, and Strikers is a way to mitigate those mistakes. Aside from being a fun OVA, Strikers also works to be a deeper exploration of these characters—more specifically, the characters that did not receive much in the original game. Creating this sequel is having the ability to redo what they felt (or to be more specific, we felt) in the original game while adding new ones. I will get to that in a second.

The format of the game

Absolutely brilliant to throw them on a road trip. P5V already forced us to experience Shibuya for 200+ hours, and im so glad that they didn’t do that again. Going from town to town, making us experience these new places alongside our favorite characters is so good, and it just makes sense. It’s fun, it’s lighthearted, and it’s actually shockingly good. But one thing i do want to talk about early on is the way the story unfolds and the villains that they use, and what they do with it because it’s very interesting.

So as we explore japan and stuff, we encounter jails, and with those jails comes an antagonist. This antagonist works to be a parallel to one of our characters. That character will find it in their hearts to feel bad for the antagonist, because the antagonist could have been them had the original game not happen. At first I thought all of the thieves were gonna get an antagonist, and i was really hyped for the ryuji one. And then came to hour forty of the game where i realized “yeah that’s not gonna happen. There’s just not enough time.” And i was right, and the game ended. But i am not salty at all, honestly, because the people who got a direct antagonist were: Ann, Yusuke, and Haru. (we wont count zen and sophie).

Is there a trend??? Yes. these are all characters in the original game that have received the worst treatment by atlus. The three of them are basically cast aside the minute they finished their original arc, and its horrible! BUT that’s why this is the path that atlus chose for them—to give them more depth, and screentime, and a way to show their inner self. That isn’t to say that the ones who aren’t those three (makoto, futaba, mona, akira, ryuji) didn’t get anything. Futaba still has her thing at the end with ichinose, and she was very prevalent and animated during the rest of the game. Mona and Akira have to be a focal points, that’s just the nature of the game. The other two though, I will talk about in depth in a second.

Makoto

Y’all i poke fun at shumako fans sometimes cause its kind of easy and fun, but i honestly love makoto. In my very first playthrough of p5 (my first ever jrpg game, first persona game, i had no idea what i was doing), i had only maxed out two characters: ryuji and makoto. And i know she had a lot of screentime and love in the original game which is great, but i truly felt like she was dissed in this game. Her only roles were

A driver

Someone to tell them “we don’t have a choice. Let’s keep going and see where this takes us.” (seriously, if you replay this game, you will see how much she does this)

Idk, i just wish she had more to do, especially compared to how much love they gave the other characters.

But let’s talk about some of the new characters!

Zenkichi

Damn you atlus. Damn you and your insistence at bringing in cop characters. I was fully on board with hating zenkichi, i was fucking ready for it. I was convinced that there was nothing they could do convince to like zenkichi. I was immune to their copaganda.

And then i ended up loving him, which makes me sad a little bit. I didn’t realize how desperate i was to have an adult who has a persona. Someone who wants the world to change just as much as they do, while still having that aspect of them that makes them adult. Like??? As someone who is technically an adult, its a breath of fresh air. An adult. Who fights. For justice. Using a persona. And god i love akane so much, and her obsession with the thieves (that scene is probably in my top ten fave scenes of the game). Also what i loved about zenkichi is that he fucking hates the cops!! He hates the system of the cops!! And thats why i actually really started to love him!! Because i thought it was atlus saying that the systematic problem of the police cannot be solved by one person, and zenkichi threw away his badge. I actually cried at that part!!

But then he became a cop again, and i was just :/ but as a character, i really love him to bits and would love to do a study on him, or at least use him as an outside pov. But! i absolutely love his persona, since im a les miserables fan hehe

Sophia

she’s probably my favorite new aspect of the game. I was ready to not like her—again, i just suck like that, lmfao—and when i saw her, i was scared that she was just another waifu. I mean, she was very cute after all. But then as the game went on, i thought she was a little too cute. And even further into the game, i finally slapped myself in the face and realized oh my god shes not a waifu. Shes a sister.

That blew my mind, im ngl to you. A female character that isn’t supposed to be romanced? By jove, what a miracle!

And she…is an amazing character. Im sorry, i just love her so much. I love her so much that she probably ranks as my fifth or sixth favorite character which is surprising even to me. Everything about her is delightful and invigorating. She’s funny??? Her comedic timing is amazing, and she has such chemistry with the rest of the team. She’s actually useful to the plot, and while her character design is a little too on the nose for me in terms of cuteness (i mean, good god she’s wearing oversized sweater to show how cute and tiny she is, and her hair has literal hearts in it), she is absolutely lovable.

But what i actually really wanna gush about for a second is sophia at the last stage of the game. You get the idea, i dont really like to get excited over things, so at this point i figured that there was nothing this game could do to shock me.

And then sophia had a persona awakening.

Like. holy fuck did i yell. I didnt realize what was happening until the music had already kicked in. and its just so fucking smart!!! Sophia??? The ai?? With no heart?? gOT A PERSONA???? AWAKENING??? BECAUSE SHE LEARNED WHAT THE HEART IS AND THE PASSION THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO GET A PERSONA??? I started crying honestly, because it was just so smart. And looking back on it now, its obvious!! Of course it would lead to this, it only made sense that the culmination of her character arc leads to her getting a persona, nothing else would have been as good. Also, her voice actor is just amazing?? When she was talking to ichinose at the end, i actually got incredibly emotional because of the line reads. Its just so spot on and it really captures the essence of sophia.

Muah. five stars Atlus. You got me.

Ryuji <3!!!!

Oh man. Oh boy. Okay. so where do i start.

Yall know i love him. Hes probably my favorite fictional male character of all time, and he is the one i was the absolute most cynical about in this game. I was expecting literally nothing. Nothing. Like. nothing. I thought he was just gonna keep being used as a joke, or a gag, and he’s gonna be super horny all the time for the other girls and it was gonna make me mad and there was gonna be some insane homophobic/queerphobic jokes in every other scene and i know i was being unfair, but i cant help it.

And then i played the first two hours of the game, and i cried the entire time. Because ryuji has never been better than he is in this game. Its crazy.

The ryuji in persona 5 strikers is who ryuji should have been/how he should have been treated this entire time. From the actual funny jokes (for example, the gold bar joke + his reaction to it in the beginning of the game), defending his female friends instead of being the one people need to defend from (natsume arc), and the fact that he was the one to be there with morgana and akira in the very beginning of the game. Its such a small thing that they didnt even need to do, but it was such an integral part of the original game for me, that i just was convinced that nothing like this was going to happen. But then it happened. Its just small stuff like that that could have been overlooked but it wasn’t because this game? Persona 5 strikers? Fucking loves ryuji.

The actual respect they gave this boy is insane and i wasn't ready for it. Like, they gave the shujin trio lunch, they gave the little charm of the katana when they were in natsume’s jail, and, in my opinion this is the second-best thing that they could have given ryuji is sophia. Ryuji and sophia are the pinnacle of a brother & sister bonding relationship in the game that isn’t akira & futaba. And its really prevalent too?? Small stuff from the beginning of the game (pulling her out of a jail, calling her shorty), but then you have the iconic “shut the fuck up” scene, and that scene was so well characterized and written and voice acted, that somehow him saying “fuck” was the least exciting part of that scene to me. Ryuji is an older brother to her, like its undoubtable, and its only further cemented at the end of the game where Ryuji helps out ichinose because he knows how much sophia cares about her. This game. Love ryuji. And i love. This game.

You know what else i love? Akiryu.

Guys. i was fully prepared to starve in terms of akiryu. But theres just. So much of it. I wont get too deep into it, because i think this aspect of the game for me still needs marinate a little bit. Like, what was that last shot when EMMA died and Ryuji walked to approach Akira so they could relish in their victory together?? And the smile from both of them??? What the fuck. That was amazing. Also Joker being saved by Ryuji when he was about to fall from the cliff to save sophia??? WHAT. The LEADER AND HIS RIGHT HAND MAN? WHAT. anyway. If theres anything i want to keep for myself in my own brain, its the akiryu aspect of this game, so i wont talk too much about that part of things (instead, itll probably manifest in fic lmfaooo).

Sure, there’s tidbits of stuff i dont like that they gave ryuji: sexualizing ann in that one cut scene and making him touch the jails even though it hurts, and i recognize those and frown at them, but for the most part, i am blown away with how they treated him.

Basically, Ryuji has never been better. From the opening of the game with him being the first text message and the one to sling his arm around akira, to the very last cut scene where it was ryuji wordlessly leaving because he’s so confident that they would never be separated for long, this game adores Ryuji and i am so so happy to say that.

The Royal aspect of things

Yeah, i had to talk about this, but itll be a short thing i just wanted to point out. Because the last part of this game...is persona 5 royal. Which is curious. Like taking reality and giving that power to someone else so you dont have to experience suffering anymore? And even like, the final section just looked a lot like the top half of maruki’s palace?? And whats even crazier is that we had a boss fight with sophia, just like how we had a boss fight with sumire? Royal and Strikers have like, the same thesis statement. It’s kind of uncanny.It’s interesting, it’s like atlus came up with these two ideas, and then just decided they liked both of them so much that they just did it twice. I don’t mind though—actually, in terms of how the last Palace/Jails go, i probably like them both about equally.

Though i did love the final battle in this one more than i did in royal. Splitting into teams?? Thats cool as fuck, and really innovative and i didnt see it coming. It also kicked my ass. A lot.

Now for the last stretch: the small stuff!

The music — bomb as fuck. In my heart, Daredevil is ranked the same as Rivers. Axe to grind is also amazing, but Daredevil owns me

Akechi — i really debated whether or not to talk about him, but i figured a bullet point should be enough. Im really shocked that he wasnt in this at all. Like not even a name drop. If this is an OVA, and the point of the game is to please the fans, and akechi is arguably the fan favorite character, i was really ready for something. But there was nothing, except for the pancake hallway if that even counts as a reference. Thats it. Thats all i wanted to say about him.

The humour — FUCKING HILARIOUS im convinced that in my fifty hour playtime, five of that is dedicated to me laughing and unable to continue the game

Akira — so much personality! His lines of dialogue are crazy sometimes (like. Whats up with him saying Ryuji has ‘nice abs’ when they were in bath? Im crazy and even i dont know what the fuck that could mean)

Battle system — oh my god i almost forgot to talk about this. I love it! I kind of miss the turn based aspect just because i found it very comforting for some reason, but this hack and slash style of gameplay is so invigorating because i do feel like it justifies shit like the baton pass and huge attacks. This battle system fully encompases how the Phantom Thieves are supposed to fight, you know what i mean?

Anyway, thats my thoughts on strikers. Loved it. Amazing. 9.3/10, wouldve been higher but Konoe’s Jail almost bored me to death. Also im a monster and i didnt do any requests that isn’t a fun one, teehee. As if i play persona 5 for the persona aspect of things.

#cant believe im done #but you know what?#i was actually at peace when i finished it #so i consider that a good healty thing #p5s #alex plays p5s #mine #p5 #my moon and stars #the leader and his right hand man

20 notes · View notes