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theboombutton · 13 days

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Ok so Alex was the main writer for this casement, and obviously he knew we would latch on to incidental characters that seem a lot like Jon and Martin.

The questions I have are: first, whether it was a prank on TMA fans; and second, if it's not a prank, what he intended to convey by including them. Alex doesn't seem like the kind of guy to leave jmart fan service for its own sake; if those are truly alternate Jon and Martin, I suspect they're there for a story or setting reason.

Was it a prank?

I'm inclined to answer no. Darrien didn't just describe them, he wondered aloud while recounting his story if what happened to him also happened to them. That's not out of the question for prank red-string-bait, but the more you harp on incidental characters that seem like Jon and Martin, the more plausible it becomes that they are. People red-stringing over things that the author draws a circle around and writes "look at this!" next to isn't funny - it's just analysis.

Prank is still on the table, but it's not my preferred explanation.

If they are alternate Jon & Martin, what does their presence here imply?

One thing it probably implies is that we're dealing with more than one alternate universe here.

So far we've only had evidence of two: the Protocolverse, and Celia's home universe. We're reasonably sure that Celia's home universe is the Archiverse, because the character voiced by Lowri in TMA only took the name Celia after she lost her memories in the Eyepocalypse. And if Darrien comes from a universe where Martin worked reception at a therapist's office and Jon was a client, then he didn't come from the Archiverse. He came through from another, until-now-unknown-to-us universe.

Wild speculation ahead

Turn back now if you only want thoughts that are well-evidenced

There's also another possibility we could stack on top of the implication of a third universe. This is primarily supported by Doylist reasoning, rather than in-universe evidence.

Alex wrote ?Jon and ?Martin in close proximity to Darrien's universe shift. He brought attention to the fact that Darrien didn't recognize either of them - ?Martin being a new hire, and ?Jon being a new-enough face to be worth pondering. This would imply it was fairly likely ?Jon and ?Martin's first meeting - likely even their first time being in a room together. And Alex, through Darrien, further invited us to wonder if ?Jon and ?Martin had been pulled across universes as well.

Is it possible that the universe shift happened because of Therapyverse's Jon and Martin being in close proximity at the time?

Jon and Martin are apparently cosmically important in at least the Protocolverse, given that they manifested as two of FR3-D1's voices. What if something in the Protocolverse is pulling in Jons and Martins from other universes? It might be easier or more efficient to find or to pull them when they cross paths, and Darrien just got schlurped up with them this time.

Who would be interested in collecting alternate Jons and Martins? I can think of a few possibilities:

The Fears. They've got Jon and Martin reading case files, maybe they need more Jon & Martin to make FR3-D1 go.

The OIAR. Lena said some entities are benevolent, most aren't, and they're trying to maintain a balance. If Jon and Martin are their "benevolent entities," then maybe they think pulling additional copies into their universe's fear-space strengthens them. Maybe they're even right.

The Magnus Institute itself. It was still around at the time of Darrien's shift, given that the case is from the Institute's files. Jonah Magnus may have figured out (or found out) that Jon and Martin had something to do with his ascension in another universe, and started abducting alternate versions of them as part of his research.

Maybe Chester and Norris started talking a year ago because someone or something finally pulled enough Jons and Martins (and J2s?) into an extradimensional JMalgamation to give them the necessary power.

Maybe Darrien got spat out practically starved to death because he couldn't feed on fear, nor were there versions of himself that could that he could amalgamate with.

And who the fuck is the second J?

#tmagp spoilers #tmagp 17 #tma spoilers #tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp speculation #tmagp theory #tmagp theories

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geekgirles · 4 months

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I'm actually quite proud of Armand right now. Openly admitting to Amalia the reason their relationship was always strained was because he'd always been jealous of her and her relationship with their father is such a great character moment for him.

One thing season 4 is definitely delivering is some much needed depth and exploration of the Sadida Royal family. And I find myself fascinated (not only because Amalia is my favourite character and I have a soft spot for her people).

Personally, Armand is a character I have a lot of trouble having a clear stance on. I don't hate him, and it's true his motives become clear and even understandable once you give them some thought, it's just that Ankama does a wonderful job at making him both outwardly dislikable given his abrasive personality and some of his most questionable actions.

For example, season 3 Armand and season 4 Armand are almost like night and day. Maybe it is indeed that his new role as king has forced him to be more responsible and emotionally mature, but the vibes between L'assamblée and Falling Down are completely different.

In season 3 he just oozed contempt for his sister, and his actions towards her reeked of ulterior motives. The fact that Aurora has been described as manipulative (even her hairstyle is meant to hint at her true nature) and was purposely placed in between the two siblings as a visual nod to how she's keeping them apart doesn't help matters.

Which is another factor to take into account: Aurora's character and the role she plays in the siblings' deteriorating bond.

Even if so far she seems to genuinely love Armand, I really can't bring myself to trust Aurora. Not only because of all the behind-the-scenes facts I already mentioned, but because her actions are just sketchy and clearly veered to the betterment of the Osamodas rather than the Sadida.

First of all, her contempt for Amalia is genuine and she legitimately seems to be planning to send her away to keep her from interfering with her plans. After all, this is literally what she had to say about her sister-in-law:

"Ne vous en faîtes pas mon prince, nous finirons bien par redresser cette mauvaise herbe."

Translation: "Don't worry, my prince, we'll get this weed straightened out in the end."

(I haven't watched the English dub, so my apologies if the translation doesn't match the official version).

There's also the fact that, despite being the new Sadida Queen, her intentions in season 3 clearly laid in the benefit of her own kingdom, the Osamodas. Such is reflected in her choice of suitors for Amalia:

She intended for Amalia to marry Ashdur, her own cousin, thus, strengthening the Osamodas' hold over Sadida politics. In fact, it becomes quite clear Aurora's choice in suitors, only supported by Amalia implying back then her sister-in-law had already tried the same thing with her brothers, was much less about the future of the Sadida Kingdom and more about the Osamodas' sake.

After all, while arranged marriages between royal families isn't anything new, usually the sensible and even most strategic thing to do is for rulers to"spread" their children and marry them into different families around the world. That is exactly what Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabela of Castile did with their own children, they married them off to the royal families of England, Portugal, and Austria.

With that in mind, having both Sheran Sharm children marry Osamodas royalty just seems dumb, doesn't it? It all comes to show Aurora is more concerned over solidifying her power over the Sadida Kingdom than its actual well-being.

Which is why I'm still going to keep my guard up regarding her character until the season ends. After all, we still have 9 more episodes where everything can go up in flames.

But going back to Armand, even though he is in love with his wife, his treatment of Amalia in L'assamblée is leagues better than it was in season 3. Unlike most of his appearances and his interactions with his sister, where he kept treating her like a child who didn't know any better (what she just so happened to accuse him of when presented with Ashtur, as a matter of fact), here not only does he finally open up to his sister about his insecurities and his reasoning for his behaviour towards her, but he offers her support in the wake of their father's passing and even invites her to attend the assembly with him.

He is entrusting her with responsibilities befitting a queen, not a child.

Their relationship is finally healing.

As I said earlier, despite the undeniable depth behind his character, it's difficult to really side with Armand in plenty of occasions. Not only because of his difficult personality and flaws, but because it is so much easier to sympathise with Amalia.

And I'm not talking exclusively about the fact that, as one of the main characters, we've been by her side throughout everything, witnessing her true selfless, responsible, and brave self, but the fact that her position within her own family certainly tugs at our heartstrings.

Amalia is the youngest sibling, the princess. For all the sheltering and privileges that can get her, it also became her gilded cage. And for the most part, not even her family was a safe haven.

Queen Sheran Sharm died when Amalia was probably still a kid, whereas Armand was most likely already a teenager. As King Oakheart revealed back when he explained to Amalia it had been Armand who insisted they let her go, the queen's death shook their entire family, making the king and prince unintentionally turn their backs on Amalia during a time she needed as much affection as possible. And so, her royal duties became stifling, her royal upbringing unbearable. Thus is the reason for her wanderlust.

And then we have Armand's reason for not always being fair to her: jealousy. He resented her for being Oakheart's favourite, despite constantly going off to adventures while he remained in the kingdom by his side. Now, as I said, this was a great character moment for Armand, one that also belies his character development. However, it doesn't change the fact that, while easier to relate and sympathise with him, we still sympathise with Amalia more or have been doing so for far longer because we knew the effect this had had on her.

We all have been someone's scapegoat to their frustrations with a third person, we have all been treated unfairly by someone who, for whatever reason, couldn't solve their own issues with the person they had problems with in the first place and took it out on us. This is the crux of Armand and Amalia's strained relationship: for years, Armand took his frustrations and insecurities out on Amalia instead of having an honest conversation with their father.

That's why it's easier to sympathise with Amalia, because we know that, deep down, for all her flaws, she was never at fault for how their relationship turned out. Because we can understand her frustration and pain when, even with their dying father, Armand still chose to listen to his wife over her and try to marry her off instead of being there for each other when they both needed most. As Amalia called him out for before leaving with Yugo, he still chose politics over family. Everything involving Armand and Aurora is about politics.

But now that they are at least beginning to rebuild their relationship, I sincerely hope things get better for them. Unless their original intentions back in 2017 have changed, I seriously fear Ankama will still use Aurora to complicate things further between these two.

Please, Ankama, I'm literally begging you. They're all the family they each have left, don't let their relationship be ruined forever.

#wakfu #wakfu spoilers #wakfu season 4 #wakfu season 4 spoilers #un nouveau monde #a new world #l'assamblée #the assembly #wakfu analysis #wakfu season 3 #falling down #amalia sheran sharm #armand sheran sharm #king oakheart sheran sharm #aurora #wakfu aurora #ankama #osamodas #sadida

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cherryfennec · 5 months

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what are some of your favorite Super Paper Mario headcanons?

I wasn't sure how specific you'd want those to be but I tried to think of a few that I personally enjoy/tend to apply myself!Includes spoilers.

Some general headcanons:

SPM takes longer than than a day/few days (maybe about a month or two)

Flipping into 3D is a nauseating experience and it takes time to fully adjust to it (especially for Mario, he never really managed to get over it).

Pure Hearts emit a comforting aura, a sense of warmth and calm, while the Chaos Heart feels like a thousand voices are whispering in your ear.

Some character specific headcanons:

Mario finds himself confused and lost more than he ever did in his life during this adventure. His usual confidence and grounded attitude are shaky because almost everything in these other worlds makes no sense to him, which is rather frustrating, especially at the beginning of his journey where he's completely surrounded by strangers and forced into the hero role. (Seriously, Mario couldn't even go home if he wanted to because he's stuck not on an island but between dimentions where he was TELEPORTED IN. There isn't really a door that leads to the Mushroom Kingdom.)

Peach's parasol is hardened by steel and enhanced by magic with a sharp tip at the end. She changed her heels to something more comfortable on the Flipside and put her hair up so it doesn't get in the way during travel and unavoidable combat.

Bowser takes his 'marriage' very seriously. He cares more about Peach than Mario in the team so when she's trouble he'll dash to assist her (he can run when he really wants to huh), but if the red plumber's in trouble he'll pretend to not see it or brush it off. (unless his lovely wife nags him about it).

Luigi, after landing is the Underwhere, finds lots of stuff in his pockets that he doesn't remember squirreling away like firecrackers, bolts and a small screwdriver. He is in fact very confused.

Count Bleck isn't very emotional. Most of the time he only has one, sad and dull expression. Any type of larger emotion showing through means that you've REALLY pushed it to the extreme.

The minions know the kind person that the Count is deep at heart so they're not put off by his frown, except for Mr.L. A default reaction that the brainwashed soldiers get as a 'bonus' from Nastasia is the highest respect for the Count, yes, but also fear of him. The fear ensures that they are most obedient but it's more of a failsafe than anything. You can imagine how it looks when Mr.L, an exploding and tempered personality, runs around the castle causing havoc like a brat and then suddenly just FREEZES on the spot at the sight of Bleck.

On the topic of the quirks of Nastasias ability, usually a person only needs to be brainwashed once. HOWEVER due to a certain someone who likes to provoke the man in green and his subconscious she is required to sometimes strengthen the control on Mr.L as she doesn't trust the magician with keeping his mouth shut. At one point she directly orders L to actively stay away from the jester, even forcing him to follow her around when she works.

Dimentios poncho and hat are covered in glitter and his mask is porcelain-esque, also the idea of him being the "son of the magician". I just think this theory is quite fitting and I like the thought of him being actually 3000 years old. He's not very popular at the castle but everyone has a silent agreement to not bother him. He however bothers everyone and likes to stare. When he's intrigued he tends to tilt his head slightly.

Mimi enjoys designing clothes and tries to give fashion advice to her teammates (to absolutely no avail because who cares we're literally ending the world, we're evil and depressed blehhhh). She and Dimentio have an 'annoying sibling' dynamic and she wouldn't hold back against him in battle at all for all the times he's messed with her. She also enjoys filing her nails to be super sharp.

Nastasia is a very strict person who takes her duties seriously but she does have a side for fun. You just need to search for it a little.

O'Chunks likes to spar with Mr.L in his free time. Mr.L is in general one of the few people he can do this with since Mimi says that 'she doesn't want to ruin her dress over such a stupid thing' and Dimentio always finds an excuse or simply dissapears.

Post SPM headcanons:

There is little conflict with the neighbouring kingdoms after the void incident. Peach, Mario and Luigi use that free time to have fun and just relax after everything that happened. They need eachothers support for the time being.

'Team Bleck' still meets up often after everything and hangs out. They don't necessarily talk about the Count but it's nice knowing that there are other people who understand what you're feeling right now. *They've been trying to have a full group reunion with Luigi included for some time now. Things are a bit awkward among them but it's still nice when he agrees to come along.

Luigi inherits some of Dimentios mannerisms which shine through from time to time such as laughing patterns, hand gestures and a rather malicious looking grin... A bit more unrelated and physical change is that his hair tends to turn white when he's around strong sources of power. (Dream Stone and Dark Star levels kind of powerful ykyk maybe Super Star as well or stardust in general cause star child origins) and the eyes somewhat darken.

He's also never really informed about the specifics of his Mr.L and Super Dimentio arc. Mario doesn't really want to burden his brother with something that was in the past and not a necessary in his eyes knowledge since it wasn't truly him.

The Chaos Heart isn't completely gone. It rests, slowly regaining power within it's host, accumulating all the scattered fragments like puzzle pieces. Try all you want but you can never fully get rid of chaos, it's an inescapable force.

I might gather up some more another time but I'd say that's it for now! You might've already heard some of these before but I hope it was at least a good read.

#spm #super paper mario #myart #askbox

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electronickingdomfox · 2 months

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"Yesterday's Son" review

Novel from 1983 by Ann C. Crispin. The author would continue the story in a sequel, a few years later. This one is somewhat different than the average Star Trek novel. For starters, it presents an interesting premise: what if Zarabeth had a son after her encounter with Spock (in the episode "All Our Yesterdays")? And what kind of dad would be Spock? (spoiler: a pretty bad one, at least at first). Thus, the main plot is not about battles in space or encounters with new civilizations, but about the relationship between Spock and his son, and how they overcome their emotional barriers. Of course, there's also a subplot involving Romulans to spice things up, but that's not the meat of the story. And the Romulan threat is there, above all, to strengthen the father-son relationship.

I liked this novel overall. Poignant at times, and with a rather bittersweet (yet satisfying) ending, it offers good character drama. Zar, the son of Spock with Zarabeth, is well developed and sympathetic, and his failed attempts at reaching out to Spock are pretty moving. It's also funny to meet another secret, emotional relative of Spock, years before Sybok appeared in canon.

Spoilers under the cut:

During a casual conversation about Sarpeidon (the now destroyed planet that Zarabeth lived in 5000 years ago), Spock comes across some disturbing photographs of paintings, taken from a cave in the planet before its destruction. The paintings depict a Vulcan face very similar to his own, but with basic differences. So Spock puts two and two together, and realizes how badly he screwed up; some fathers may forget their son in a car, but he forgot his own in an ice cave, five milleniums in the past! Spock decides that it's not fair to abandon his child like this, and convinces Kirk to bring him to the Guardian of Forever, so he can rescue the kid (and Zarabeth if possible).

Since Spock can't get rid of Kirk and McCoy to attend to his family business, the three of them are sent to Sarpeidon's past, around the time when his son was still a kid. The weather is frigid, and after a few days of pointless search and avoiding dangerous beasts, they finally find a trail. Just then, a hooded figure attacks them, but they subdue him, discovering it's actually Zar. They miscalculated while travelling through the Guardian, so instead of a kid, they find a grown-up man in his late twenties (thus too old to pass as Spock's son). Back in the cave, Zar explains that his mother died seven years ago. So completely alone now, and thrilled at the prospect of meeting his father and exploring new worlds, Zar agrees to go to the present with them (it's not like he needs a lot of convincing, anyway).

In the Enterprise, Zar makes some new friends and starts adapting to the modern way of life. However, once the rescue's done, Spock retracts behind his Vulcan wall, and starts being really cold toward his son. He barely shows interest in him, other than giving him lessons in science and teaching him how to control his telepathy (and you thought that Sarek was bad...). Things get even worse when Zar discovers that the warm, passionate Vulcan that his mother talked about, was just the result of Spock suffering a regression in his trip to the past, and that he probably never loved her. Unlike his father, Zar is a much more emotional Vulcan, due in part to his greater human heritage, and he shows a different empathetic ability. He can sense other people's feelings, and he can also project his own feelings on others. Under these conditions, Zar becomes much closer to his other dad McCoy, instead of his own father.

Meanwhile, some Romulan ships have been sighted around the Guardian of Forever's planet. The secret of time-travelling through the Guardian is only known by a few in the Federation, but the Romulans suspect something, and if they learn how to tamper with time, it could be disastrous. Zar starts feeling sick, and finally faints, a feeling he later recognizes as an omen of impending death. He also realizes something while looking at pictures of Sarpeidon's paintings (though we don't know what at this point). Effectively, upon reaching the Guardian's planet, the Enterprise finds the archeological personnel and the first landing party massacred by the Romulans. The intruders have also set a cloaking device around the Guardian, so they can't see how many Romulan soldiers are deployed.

Given his ability to sense the enemies' feelings at a distance, and his survival skills, Zar volunteers to infiltrate the Romulan camp. Spock goes with him, to install a force-field around the Guardian, so the Romulans can't use the portal. However, more Romulan ships are approaching, and Kirk gives them a deadline. If they fail to keep the situation under control, the Enterprise will have to destroy the whole planet, whether Spock and Zar are still there or not (WTF Kirk!!?). During the mission, Spock grows closer to his son, and Zar comes to understand his father's true feelings for him, and why he has such difficulty expressing them.

In the end, the usual status quo has to be restored, so Zar needs to return to his own time. It turns out the painting from Sarpeidon's past that alarmed him so much, was his own drawing of the Enterprise. He's thus the one who brought many technical and scientific developments to his planet, after his experience in the starship. And time-travelling shenanigans are confusing, but I think that an apparent plot hole was properly explained: why did Zar speak English? Of course, it was him who teached the language to the other inhabitants upon returning. So many generations later, Zarabeth would speak it (remember she came from the future in the episode), and would in turn teach it to her son in the past. It's... complicated, but the circle is closed. On the downside, I feel that Zar's departure was a bit rushed. I would have expected a greater resistance from Spock, and definitely from McCoy.

Spirk Meter: 7/10*. They're brief moments, but pretty powerful. First, and despite the statement that Spock can block other people from intruding into his mind, it seems that Kirk has developed the ability to read his thoughts, even at a distance. Kirk also insists on going with Spock through the Guardian, to the point of blackmailing him if he refuses. Later, Zar complains to McCoy that "there's only one person that Commander Spock cares deeply for, and that's... [...]Not me." In the end, and before departing, Zar asks Kirk to "take care of him" (meaning his father). And when Spock hesitates and attempts to follow his son through the portal, Kirk grabs him, and this happens:

"Spock. He doesn't need you." And he wondered if the Vulcan caught the unvoiced addition, "And I... we... do."

At least, poor Zar seems to take well the fact that his dad didn't love his mom, because he has this weird thing going on with his Captain...

More subtle, yet perhaps more interesting, are the Spones elements, even if they seem one-sided on McCoy's part. McCoy joins Spock in his trip to the Guardian in an even more forceful way than Kirk. Basically, he bursts into the turbolift uninvited and with all gear ready, and blackmails both Spock AND the Captain so they bring him along. Then he's pretty worried about Spock's feelings upon meeting his son for the first time. Once back in the ship, McCoy develops a close relationship with Zar, calling him "son" all the time. Which makes Kirk wonder why he acts as if he was his father, instead of Spock. And the doctor argues with Spock about Zar's education, and also reprimands Zar for rebelling against Spock. So it's easy to see a parallel here between Sarek and Amanda, and Spock and McCoy, as a "distant father/loving mother" pair. And it's noteworthy that the author of this novel was in contact with Howard Weinstein (who writes the intro here), since the latter's novel "The Covenant of the Crown" has also Spock and McCoy acting a bit like parents to a young girl. Besides this, Spock wonders about all the people that have tried to be physically close to him. Those include his mother and now his son, of course, but also Leila and... McCoy.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

#star trek tos #star trek novels #novel review #spirk #k/s #spones

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evilkitten3 · 7 months

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do you think another reason the chuunin exams were created (besides filtering out the "untalented" nin & introducing them to the life of a shinobi) was to create a trauma-bond between the teammates that survived/passed it? it's no secret that kid's lives or their innocence were never really valued in Konoha (or anywhere else for that matter), so I wouldn't be too surprised to find out this was done to strengthen the bond between teammates & better their teamwork/spirit

also, do you think the chuunin exams were especially traumatic during the sannin era, especially bc they were 6 (or a few years older but defo younger than naruto's gen) ??? and even if it wasn't the chuunin exams goal to create a traumabond, it certainly did for the sannin?

honestly, no. it's possible that i'm just the sort of person who tends to assume the best of people, especially fictional ones, but it's also true that i just tend to find fucked up shit more interesting when it was done with good intentions. i'm only into cartoonishly heinous motivations when they're applied to individuals rather than systems, i guess.

the thing you need to keep in mind concerning my view of the naruto universe is that literally every single character is deeply traumatized, whether they're aware of that or not. for starters, the vast majority of characters were raised to be child soldiers in a world where that's considered normal. our modern view of the 18-21 age group as the youngest adults doesn't apply there - legally, these people are becoming adults at ages as young as twelve (and that's the improved version - a lot of the older cast members have been shinobi since as young as five or six).

even the characters who never became ninja have all been through some pretty serious trauma. ayame and teuchi lived through the kyuubi attack, tazuna and his family had to deal with the whole gatou situation, and so on. no one in this world is remotely okay by our standards. but what that means is that being a neurotic mess is the norm. for the whole. entire. world.

a world based on structures so fucked up is going to be full of thoughts that to us seem entirely contradictory - how can konoha say it cares for its citizens when of the five most famous genin-by-six, the most functional is jiraiya (kakashi is a mess, tsunade is drinking and gambling away her problems, orochimaru is out there inventing to moral event horizons to cross, and itachi murdered his whole family and tortured his little brother about it)? but - and this is something that is understandably hard for people to wrap their heads around - we're shown things from people like the sandaime's point of view. we know - for a fact - that hiruzen cares deeply about his village and its citizens, and that most of the people he was personally involved in fucking up are the ones he - genuinely - cared for the most.

the second thing you need to be aware of is that the rankings in the naruto world are based on real life ninja ranks - jounin, chuunin, and genin are all real world terms that were modified to fit the world of naruto. whether irl ninja could move up in the ranks or not is something i don't know, but given that naruto is a shounen, it makes sense for the protagonist to have a clearcut explanation of the steps he needs to take to achieve his goal (ninja president) laid out early on, and that he and his friends be given the opportunity to move through the ranks throughout the course of the story (although, as many people have pointed out, naruto stayed a genin pretty much the whole time)

from an irl perspective, the chuunin exams are a way to introduce other characters, give the main trio a chance to level up, and also have a tournament arc for funsies. in-universe, the purpose is for genin to get a chance (or six chances kabuto) to become chuunin, and to strengthen ties with other villages via a show of trust - we're showing you our next generation. this is incentive to maybe not go to war again pretty please heart emoji poop emoji.

the thing is, life and innocence are valued in konoha, and likely the other villages as well, though we don't see it as much. but it's such a twisted, foreign concept to us real world non child soldiers that it doesn't seem like it (more accurately, it's valued by the people but not the system, and the people in charge of the system ignore that bc unfortunately for the entire naruto universe sakura didn't get around to inventing mental health until after the fourth war ended)

danzou and hiruzen exemplify this perfectly imo. hiruzen is full of ideals and beliefs and trust, and bc of that isn't able to see the system for what it is and can never fully understand why all of his good intentions keep churning out shitshows. on the other end of the spectrum, danzou is very aware of the world he lives in, possibly more than almost any other character. but bc of that he views the nature of humans as a flaw for shinobi to overcome - ninja are tools for the good of the village, and can and will be discarded just as easily. from a brutally practical viewpoint, danzou and hiruzen were probably genuinely extremely effective at keeping konoha together. it's just that how that worked out and how they did it is morally abhorrent to the majority of people (including hiruzen himself)

lastly, the concept of trauma as we view it not only doesn't but honestly can't exist in the world of naruto. say someone has a jutsu that allows them to create a brain scan similar to something we can do irl. the effects of mental illness on an adult brain wouldn't register as anything abnormal bc that's what everyone's looks like. you aren't having a "panic attack" or a "trauma response" or a "flashback", you're just going through the same shit everyone else is. that's all par for the course, it's just what life is like. that's how the world of naruto sees it, at least.

so where we see "children going through horrific events together and bonding bc they have no choice", the residents of narutolandia see "tuesday". so no, i don't think the chuunin exams were formed with the intent of gluing people to each other via trauma - they don't need to be. that's what life is for.

concerning the sannin, i'm not sure they ever took the chuunin exams. i honestly don't even know if the chuunin exams would've been a thing yet - the earliest one we know of is the one kakashi and his team were at, which was konoha-only and thus already fairly different from the one naruto went through. the sannin lived through all of the first three ninja wars, and though they probably didn't fight in the first one, they likely became genin just as it ended (otherwise i'm not sure how sarutobi would've had time to teach them...?). orochimaru's parents were already dead by the time he became a genin, so it's not hard to imagine they died in the first war. the sannin are actually relatively lucky - the second world war didn't happen until they were in their 20s, so they got a good two decades of not being at war (this is the longest space of time between the wars, followed by the time between the third and fourth wars (~15 years) and then the time between the second and third wars (less than 1 year)).

actually, thinking about it now, i think it's possible that spend early pre-ninja childhood with their village at war, then spending the rest of their youths in (relative) peace, and then finally getting tossed right back into shitshow two electric boogaloo might've been why they ended up more fucked up than most. so i guess the solution really was the moon coma after all

tldr: madara was right. not where i thought i was going with this but it does seem to be where we ended up

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hamofjustice · 2 months

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Okay, so, I said I was working on Pokemon Scarlet / Violet fanfic and that's still kiiiinda true? But for the most part the past few months I've instead been working on...

HamOfJustice's League Club Expansion Pack

... which is a text-file-based imaginary mod of the game (but a blueprint for a real one if someone is able to make it, I guess) that massively expands the DLC postgame to include like a hundred things for characters to talk about, adds new friendship storylines, expands their team rosters and battle AIs, and lets them follow you anywhere in the world, making it not really a League Club thing at all except in spirit.

I'm aiming to do the following:

1. Give the players the living-happily-ever-after postgame that they deserve, and that Pokemon SV basegame really seemed like it was leading up to after Area Zero and all those friendship strengthening storylines

2. Prove I know this gamedev thing isn't easy and do all the work myself to see how viable it really could've been for SV and Pokemon games in general to have more meat on its bones, inspired by what we did get from it so far. I'm not asking for much of anything that requires new models, code, or animations, just text, menus, and repurposed features. Even the AI is pseudocoded by myself

3. Live up to the characters' potential more and leave less up to speculation and fanfic to really explore, explain, heal, capitalize on, and have fun with (okay, this is basically fanfic formatted as a fake datamine, but still) while still being consistent with the tone of the game and leaving plenty of subtext and small details to have fun discussing with other readers rather than stating everything outright

Basically, I wanted this so bad I just did it myself instead of complaining some more, and I want everyone who feels the same way to get to have that experience through me. I've been steadily working on this thing for months (the scope got a little out of hand as you can imagine) and I'm pretty close to releasing Nemona's files, which are the parts I'm most passionate about, but I'm hoping to keep at it after that if I can (Nemona, Penny, Arven, and maybe Kieran and Carmine, at least)

Reviews from people who've seen early previews of my project on Twitter or in DMs:

"You legitimately know more about [Nemona and Penny] than Game Freak, there's really no question about that at this point"

"OH MY GOD IM OBSESSED WITH THIS. it amazes me all the time how your characterisation and voice is PERFECT"

"Holy shit this is so cute... This dialogue is stellar"

"Oh wait this is ur fanmade dialogue? DAMN I THOUGHT IT WAS REAL"

"Goddamn, you went HARD. Congrats on writing more and better story in one day than was put into the DLC"

"AKJCJAJFHQBXBXB nemonas dialogue is so perfect like its EXACTLY her 😭😭😭😭 so is everyone's like Penny's too??? you must be some kind of secret game freak writer…. THIS IS AMAZING 💓💓💓💓💓💓"

There's a big ol' batch of old and new samples I've picked out for you today under the cut if you wanna look. Either way, expect the Nemona part of the actual project to be posted for real soon-ish and her friends one at a time after that, once I get past a bit of writer's block on one part and stop trying to make the angsty cathartic bits perfect

#pokemon #pokemon sv #pokemon scarlet and violet #nemona #hamofjustice league club expansion pack #hamfiction #nemonaposting #there's still going to be actual hamfiction maybe but it's lower priority when people are so excited about this

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jelixpo · 1 year

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So... did you like the movie? 😏

i thought it was really good! But I also joked with my parents that i probably would have enjoyed it regardless of what was on screen lol

my non-spoiler opinion of the movie is this

Mario and Luigi have a super wholesome relationship

Jack Black killed it as Bowser

Chris Pratt also did a really good job as Mario! I was surprised

Anya Taylor-Joy was just okay as Peach. Sometimes I thought her voice was a bit too deep in delivery for Peach but like 95% of the time I enjoyed it

I thought Seth Rogan was good as Donkey Kong but then again i'm not big into Donkey Kong so I might not be a good judge

also the movie seemed a bit short? And that's not just me saying that cause I wanted more, it felt like some scenes weren't fleshed out enough or had weird cuts between them. And I think I know who to blame for that (Mr 'let's remove all the story elements from Mario Galaxy 2 so it's basically just a Mario Galaxy DLC')

But!! Really enjoyable and I super recommend!

Okay, now under the cut I'll share my spoiler opinions

I'm gonna break up these bullet points differently cause like. It's a lot

THE BRO HUG AT THE END OF THE MOVIE. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!

I know we didn't get a lot of Luigi which is a bummer but omg when he was on screen he stole the show!!

I also really liked the scene where they showed Luigi being taken onto the blimp and him envisioning his life where he's always had to be saved by Mario, and now he's in a situation where he doesn't even know if Mario is alive or not. It was a very quiet and introspective moment that, while it was rather short, I thought was really inciteful into Luigi's character and his relationship with the idea of bravery and how he views himself in comparison to Mario. And then!! The pay-off at the end of the movie where Luigi gets to be the one who saves Mario!! That was very sweet and I love that they showed that just cause Luigi's scared, doesn't mean he doesn't have courage!!

I liked the backstory that they gave Peach! And also the movie directly confirming that Peach is human in canon since that has been a question for people for a long time. I loved to watch her bounce around and show off her moves. And i love that they confirmed she's the ideas person! If they ever make plans, Peach is the one to recognize what to do, how to do it, and when. She's a proper strategist. I wonder if her parents are still alive in the human realm? And since she's from Brooklyn (I'm assuming she is anyway and that the pipe in Brooklyn is the only pipe on Earth, but maybe not) I wonder if her parents would have seen her face in the paper? Stuff to think about

Mario and Luigi have more brothers??? Once the movie comes out on services I'll have to get a closer look at both them and their VA's in the credits. I'm interested to see the age gap between all of them, since it seems like Mario and Luigi are closest with each other and not anybody else, which leads me to believe they're the closest in age and therefore grew up together in a more literal sense than with their other brothers (I assume so cause my dad has like 8 siblings and he's closest with my uncle who's only one year younger than him. Sibling bonds strengthen when you go through those toddler years together)

Also the movie was just really fucking funny. The Bowser song?? (I'll swing back around to that) Donkey Kong was super funny. Bowser himself had a ton of great lines. The line that made me laugh the hardest was when Mario and Donkey Kong were in the belly of the beast and Donkey Kong laments that his dad thinks he's a failure, Mario repeats the sentiment about his own dad, and Donkey Kong goes "Oh yeah? well HE WAS RIGHT YOU SUCK" that shit had me rolling. Great set-up and bait-and-switch.

okay Bowser song? HOLY SHIT THAT WAS INCREDIBLE. IT WAS TOO SHORT. I WOULD WATCH A 5MINUTE EXTENDED MUSIC VIDEO OF THE SONG GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!! (Also i watched Pretty Woman within 24 hours of watching the Mario movie and the two piano scenes had me... thinking about things (bowuigi))

I like that they didn't directly set up for a sequel. Like there are elements in the movie that could easily set up for it. Like Bowser being small and only needing to be hit once to be made big again. Peach's potential parents in Brooklyn, a more Luigi-centric adventure that fleshes out his small but present issue with courage and bravery, the clear set up for Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade, the fact that there were multiple different areas they could have gone into in the pink cloud 'work between worlds' place. I doubt it, but it would be very nice

also the ending kind of threw me for a loop? Honestly with Mario taking the giant bullet bill towards the warp pipe I thought the story was going to be that he sent the bullet bill through and it destroyed their warp pipe back home. And then that would directly set up for a sequel to try and get back home and explain why they would choose not to stay in Brooklyn

Also, i'm not entirely sold on why Luigi would want to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom? Like yeah Mario chose to stay, but he got to frolic in fields, do training missions, and get with a princess. Luigi got captured immediately, beaten up and thrown around, then almost died in lava at the end. Where does he see the positives in staying in the Mushroom Kingdom? I don't believe Mario would have been entirely sold on staying either given Luigi being in peril there the whole time. For them to stay, it would have had to be a unanimous decision between the two of them that I couldn't really see them making? But i guess it doesn't really matter. They needed Mario and Luigi to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom for continuity, so i guess it's fine

Kamek was great. 10/10 best supportive dad. "Dress in drag to help my adopted son practice his date with the girl he has a crush on? Say no more. Get me a matching tiara."

okay i was surprised how much they directly talked about violence? Like i'm super used to children's media where they dance around the topic of death with different phrases. "She's gone. She was shattered. He was forgotten. He didn't make it." That sort of stuff. It especially threw me off when Bowser was screaming about killing Luigi and making Mario watch. Like, damn. Dude is sadistic. The line almost felt like something out of a fic? But honestly it worked to make Bowser seem like a villain that really shouldn't be messed with. I think Bowser is often seen as a bit of a goofy villain, especially in comparison to some of Nintendo's other villains like Ganondorf who are and were depicted as sinister from day one. But this movie? Bowser has guns. Bowser kills people. Bowser beats the ever-loving shit out of Mario the second he meets him. This Bowser is not a force to be reckoned with.

Also his line when he's beating up Mario "You ruined everything! I was FINALLY gonna be happy!" like yooooooo. That has Bowuigi potential fr fr. And it's also crazy that Bowuigi fans have been saying this for years? Like Bowser is a very lonely, touch-starved individual, even with having kids. Every Bowuigi fic i've read has this element in them. And this movie really confirmed that those theories are true and I love that

and i think that's it! Once it comes out on services i'll watch it again and probably have more points to give

#super mario bros movie #super mario movie #super mario movie spoilers #spoilers super mario movie #mario movie #spoilers

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i-did-not-mean-to · 7 months

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Tea Party

UUUUUH Gen!fic, my nemesis...Have a slice of family drama, hot beverages, and sad memories...

Characters: Elrond & Galadriel

Words: 1 362

Warnings: absolutely nothing (Kidnap fam maybe? Finrod is mentioned?)

Elrond took a sip of the mysterious brew his friend was pouring, paused, and then took another, deeper, gulp.

His eyes closed for a moment, and his mind was transported back.

“Is it to your liking?” Galadriel asked with a soft smile. “I have tried to emulate the recipe as closely as possible with the ingredients at my disposition in these woefully ravaged lands.”

“It tastes—” Elrond waved a vague hand through the fragrant air in search of the right words—even though he was old now, he felt as if all the years of his life were slowly melting in the aromatic steam rising from his dainty cup.

He was almost surprised—upon dropping his gaze—that the hands holding the demitasse were indeed his own as he now knew them rather than the clumsy, cold fingers of a half-even child, huddled against the stiff warmth of his captor’s body.

“They stole it anyway,” Galadriel laughed. “Did you know that? My mother brought home the first version of this tea from one of her seafaring voyages—or did my grandfather give it to her? Either way, it was always ours, but—as you well know—some people have no consideration for the property, intellectual or otherwise, of others.”

Tutting out of habit rather than conviction, Elrond gave her an exasperated look; his own feelings towards the dangerous murderers and kinslayers who had kidnapped, sheltered, raised, and loved him were much too complicated and contradictory to defend them before the Lady of Lórien.

How would he even dare? She—who had grown up with Maedhros and Maglor and whose kin had perished at the end of their ruthless blades—had welcomed him in her heart and her family despite his questionable allegiances, and he did not seek to dismay her.

It was too late to change the narrative that had fossilised into history, and all the longing, regret, and resentment they might stir up between them would only be dancing ashes of a fire long dead.

“You never speak of them,” Galadriel remarked softly, “and it worries me. Do you spare my feelings because they are my kin?”

“No,” Elrond contradicted slowly. “Nevertheless, I would ask of you to extend me the very courtesy I have so cruelly denied you.”

She cocked her head in curiosity and pity.

“I hate them not, you know? Long have I poisoned my heart with bitterness, but no more—would you tell me about the tea, just that, nought more? It seems obvious to me that you recognise the flavour—when did you first taste it?”

Looking up at one so glorious and timeless, Elrond once more felt like a mere child before her.

“It was winter, and so very cold. Even though it is exceedingly rare, it is possible for Peredhil to be taken ill.” He stopped to rub his brow, lost in the memory of the torturous, delirious fever that had assailed him.

He had been sure then that he was doomed to die, in an unfamiliar camp, utterly alone except for his shivering brother, to be thrown aside by the murderers of his kin and friends.

Galadriel made a soft, cooing noise—it was the instinctive sound of maternal soothing that seemed to be the same across all peoples and lands. The very thought warmed Elrond, and he smiled wistfully.

“They kept their packs close and only opened them very rarely, but—on that night when the sickness was burning through my blood and bone—I saw them upend the worn knapsacks almost frantically.”

Frowning to pierce the haze of centuries, Elrond looked into his cup as if the mere sight of the sloshing liquid would bring back memories he had long repressed.

“There was a box—tiny, evidently invaluable, and beautifully decorated—that they emptied into the cauldron they had stolen from a young mother in Sirion. This was the first and last time I’ve ever drunk this tea, but it strengthened and heartened me, and I was soon on the mend.”

Elrond took another careful sip, and Galadriel leaned forward to replenish his cup generously which earned her another wavering, grateful smile.

“They’ve never spoken of the brew again, and I believe that Elros took away the little container as a memento. It must lie on the bottom of the sea now—what a shame!”

Holding up her hand in the universal gesture of asking for patience, his mother-in-law swept out of the room and returned promptly, her fist closed loosely and carefully around a small, rectangular object.

“Was it like this one?” she asked and revealed a box quite similar in make and decoration to the one Elrond remembered so clearly.

It was confusing and alarming to him how the mere sight of an inanimate object could flood his mind and soul with whisps of recollection—beautiful as much as terrible—and how eagerly he now leaned into that maelstrom of stale emotions even though he knew that his aching heart would pay a terrible price for letting those ghosts back in.

When he nodded slowly, she uttered a long, shivering, undeniably pained sigh.

“I take back my cruel words then,” she whispered. “They did not steal the tea. These have been crafted by my brother—Findaráto, Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, Prince of Hearts—and he must have given it to them as a token of goodwill.”

Her eyes closed as she sank into the swirling, treacherous pool of her own memories. “It must have been old and exceedingly valuable to them. These leaves had been brought over from the Blessed Realm, and even though I trust that my dear brother has managed to grow something similar, both Valinor and Nargothrond are lost to us now.”

“Not forever,” Elrond opined gently but resolutely. “Surely, our efforts will be rewarded.”

Her answering chuckle was as bright and cold as the stars overhead, and a sudden weariness slipped over her beautiful features. “Yes,” she finally hummed, “yes, I must have hope. Drink your tea, Elrond, and think lovingly of those who are no longer with us.”

“Shall you join me?” he asked quietly, afraid of reopening wounds that had festered for ages and might only have closed reluctantly under the strain of her imperious, unbreakably headstrong will.

“I have not—I did not believe anything good could come from dwelling on the past,” she admitted. “All our nightmares were reality—plain and beloved—to me once and going back means recognising the glaring errors in judgement that I—amongst others, of course—am guilty of.”

“Not so,” he protested again and lifted his cup gingerly. “This tea shall be proof that all that has been perverted and twisted into evil cannot stay lost forevermore—maybe, one day, all these things and people will be cherished dreams and comfortable reality again.”

“You would see them again and call them father?” Galadriel asked, astonished and humbled by the understated fortitude of character and soul of the mysterious creature who had become a beloved son-in-law, a valued friend, and a trusted ally.

Shrugging lopsidedly, Elrond drained his cup and smiled at her indulgently.

“Pray be so good as to show me how you’ve recreated this restorative brew. I have amassed lore about many plants over the years, and I’d be honoured to add this ancient, hallowed family secret to the Great Library of Imladris—for generations to come.”

“Take this,” she whispered and placed the little box in his warm palm. “I shall give you a seedling later. If you manage to make it flourish—as I have no doubt you will—I’d ask you to plant and tend to it in honour of my valiant, desperately loved, and sorely missed brother.”

Nodding gravely, Elrond thought of the jealously guarded remnants of those they had lost—gemstones, vials, and unextinguishable lamps—and smiled wistfully.

The sands of time might have buried their names and faces, extinguished the fire of their crimes, and sublimated the stories of their bitter calvary, but—or so he hoped—the essence of their valour, loyalty, and care were still alive and would be passed on for all eternity.

Thank you so much for reading <3

-> Masterlist for November

#og post #IDNMT writes #fanfiction #writing #tolkien writing #jrrt #November #Nanowrimo2023 #Elrond & Galadriel #Elrond #Galadriel #Tea Party #Kidnap fam #finrod mentioned

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beautiful-02-08-18 · 8 months

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Ephesians 6:10 (KJV)

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

I’m trying to go back to my regular upload schedule, so here’s a FanCharacter/OC for the Running Man Animation show.

I had placed a lot of effort into this design, even though I created her because I feel bad for a character in the show. She ended up looking more like a DnD character than a RMA character but nonetheless I really like how it turned out. I had this character idea for a long time now, but she had a different premise with a much more “edgier” backstory. She was also going to be an albino peacock but somebody else already kinda thought of that and I did not want my characters to look like anybody else’s so I ended up changing it. If God is willing I’ll be reusing this design in the future.

Her design is based mostly on what scrap of information I can get from her tribe, which is Pikok, but it’s just mostly headcanons. It's so bad that I had to reference Charming Gold’s parents for her even though she is in no way related to them. I also wanted to give her a dress because I like the idea that the tribe has rather strict gender roles but opted to give her loose pants. It's kinda disingenuous to think of that because we were never really shown what a female Pikok member looks like. Besides, fighting in a dress is weird for show that relies on action.

For now, here’s a summary of her character:

Dazzling Diaspore, would be the villain of an AU called: Running Man: Judgement. Filled with hatred she strived to awaken Ulcus to erase humanity once and for all. Similar to Charming Gold, who was her former childhood friend, she is also 1,000+ years old as well as having the ability of energy absorption, while although much weaker than Charming Gold she is able to casts illusions of people. Dazzling Diaspore has immense knowledge of medicine, including the red crystals and potions, which she regularly drinks affecting her health but strengthening her powers. She is quiet and serious, as well as observant with a great memory.

Here are the inspirations I used for her:

References:

Running Man Animation was created by LINE Friends Corporation and SBS

#God #Christian #Christian artist #Christian art #Christian creative #Christian faith #Christian blog #fan art #fanart #Running man animation #oc #running man animation fan art #Fan character #original character #oc art #oc artwork #character art

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nevis-the-skeleton · 11 months

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Hi Nevis :D

I found your Transformers story requests on AO3. And I thought I may as well give it a go and give you a prompt (this is my first ever prompt by the way).

I am slightly worried that you might find it a bit intimidating by its sheer length. But then again, you can just pick apart the bits that resonate with you.

My favorite Prime character is Knockout, and to be fair, a lot of his and Starscream's character development is intertwined.

Without further ado:

Episode 11 'Speed Metal' and future episodes

'What if' when Knockout was lining up on the dirt race track in the episode intro, another rather flashy illustrious, Mustang pulls up besides him. The door on the window lowers, a pale skinned woman with jet black hair pops a gum bubble as her scrutinizing gaze devours his entire frame. A smirk begins to creep up the side of her mouth and then into a full blown out grin, she whistles and then states, "Man, those are some seriously sexy steel belted radials. I'm diggin the gold trim too, brings out a fine contrast to that cherry red sheen."

Knockout in all of his astonishing vanity and pride, is hapless but to reply, " Dhow, why thank you! I believe there is no such thing as to over in gross in the finer detailing of my esteem- my car's esteemed, appearance." The woman's grin appears to widen again.

Let the race begin.

Together, they tear up that dirt track like hellfire. An intricate dance that no other competitor can compete with, they are essentially, left in their dust. Not only can that human dish out a fine complement, but she can also drive too! This is far too exciting! There is no foul play, there is, just only skill. Dedication of their whole lives to the craft of driving. It is, simply beautiful.

Knockout engages his turbo on the final bend to the finish line, he catches her off guard with his sudden burst of speed and takes the lead. A cherry red blur crosses the finish line first. She pulls up besides him after crossings the finish line second and congratulates him on his pristine driving ability. He begrudgingly admits that she's the finest driver he's encountered (on this mud ball). They part ways after a few more praises to the flashy finishes of the others car.

In subsequent future races, Knockout is astonished and yet bemused that she turns up in her car for every other race. The two grow to become familiar acquaintances and develop an exceptional rivalry on the racetrack.

Starscream notices Knockout's increasing absence on the Nemesis and discovers his little covert frolicking with the humans. Especially with Knockouts' 'human femme'. He despises this, and sets out to make it his personal mission to separate Knockout from this human and ruin her racing career.

This however, with each attempt, always manages to spectacularly backfire on him. Instead of separating Knockout and the human, his actions only helped to draw them closer together and allow them to develop a strengthening friendship.

I also give you permission to use my Tumblr name, being anonymous or not really doesn't bother me.

Hope I have an intimidated you too much 😅.

Good luck darling

galbrandy xx

Interesting ^^! I prefer to warn that it will not be a ship, because I do not do Transformers x Human, but I see a friendship between the two X). I'm also thinking of adding Soundwave to Starscream's schemes, because surely he too preferred KnockOut to do his job, rather than spending his time with this human XD. Thank you for your request ^^!

~~~

KnockOut loved racing, he found it much more rewarding and exciting than his job as a doctor. He didn't hate his job, of course, but he still had a preference, a much more forbidden one.

The sports car didn't see why he would waste his time doing something he wasn't interested in, especially since Megatron's coma. Everything was in constant tension, especially with Soundwave and Starscream constantly arguing over whether to unplug the leader of the Decepticons or not.

Well, arguing was a big word, since the Communications Commander never had much to say to convince the Seeker not to. Basically, even if the jet didn't admit it, he was listening to the spy plane. And that surely more than he listened to Megatron.

The red robot was on the starting track, ready to start, then he saw a new vehicle arrive, a royal blue and yellow car. He had researched about earthling vehicles, and easily recognized that it was a Ford Mustang. Very good choice of vehicle.

The car pulled into the starting track beside him, and KnockOut saw the window roll down. The woman behind the wheel popped her chewing gum, before smiling. She brushed a lock of her black hair away from her eyes, and peered at the Decepticon, then whistled in admiration. The Velocitronian moved his rear-view mirror to better see the human who had whistled at him, and the latter's smile widened, before she declared:

"Dude! That's a fucking good car! I see you have good taste! Good choice of paint too! Gold and red is always a great mix!"

The doctor huffed a laugh, and was not insensitive to the compliment. He decided to answer this human, who deserved his attention a little more than the other pitiful members of her species.

"Well thank you! But I still think it's rude of you to scrutinize my appeara – the appearance of my car!"

This amused the human who laughed in turn. The flag was soon raised, and everyone started revving their engines, ready to win this race! The Decepticon laughed at these pathetic beings, who didn't stand a chance against him anyway. Let the race begin!

KnockOut wasted no time in overtaking the others, and laughed at his more than easy victory, when he heard the loud sound of an engine rumbling behind him. He moved his rear view mirror to see the Ford Mustang following close behind.

The woman quickly came up to him, the two following each other around the bends, heaving the road in a torrent of dust and sand! The Velocitronian felt the feeling of real racing welling up inside him, as it was the first time in a long time that he had found a real opponent. It seemed to him that the great desert plains of Velocitron were redrawn in the clouds of sand, bringing KnockOut back to lost times.

It didn't take long for the finish line to appear, and the Decepticon revved up, drifting around the final corner. The human gave a start of surprise and admiration, and could do nothing to prevent the Aston Martin from crossing the finish line.

The woman approached, and parked next to him, before opening her window. She looked a little disappointed, probably because of her second place, but her gaze was also shining with admiration and respect. She sincerely applauds KnockOut, before saying:

“Wow! You are awesome! I rarely see drivers like you! You were clearly born for this!

- You're not bad either. answered the doctor. You're one of the best drivers I've met since I've been here!

- It's a pleasure!"

The human smiled defiantly, then said:

"Watch out for your beautiful finish, because the next time we see you will eat my dust!

- That's what we are going to see!" smiled the Velocitronian.

The two soon separated, and the Decepticon already wanted to meet her again for a race.

Time passed, and it wasn't long before KnockOut's wish came true. The human and he saw each other often in underground races, their rivalry growing with each victory of one and the other. The red robot was not ashamed to consider her a friend, because she was the only one who allowed him to have fun on the road.

The doctor grew increasingly absent on the Nemesis, and it didn't take long for Starscream to notice. The Seeker was quick to confront Breakdown for answers, but even KnockOut's partner didn't know where that cursed doctor was spending his nights.

The jet took him in tail, and was more than perplexed when he saw him taking the ground bridge for coordinates that had no interest. Starscream frowned in confusion, really not understanding KnockOut's behavior.

“< Weird… >”

The Seeker jumped with a scream, before quickly spinning around to face Soundwave. The Communications Commander just tilted his head gently, as Laserbeak hovered above him.

"Primus… Soundwave… You can't appear like that behind people… I already told you that…" the jet stammered, putting a hand on his chest.

The spy plane drew a smiley face on his visor, feigning an innocent look. Starscream sighed, but wasn't particularly upset, it was impossible to get upset against Soundwave anyway. The Seeker quickly focused on their current problem, and crossed his arms as he looked at the ground bridge, before saying:

"Send Laserbeak, I want to know what is so important to KnockOut that he ignores his medical duties!"

The Communications Commander nodded, before opening a ground bridge on the same coordinates, and signaling his minicon to accomplish his mission.

KnockOut won the race again, and laughed in his victory, before exclaiming:

"That's 10 for me, and 8 for you!

- No way! defended the woman. It's 9 for me, you forget our friendly run, you literally saw the aft of my car the whole way!

- How vulgar you are!

- How weird you are!"

The two laugh together, then the Decepticon asked :

“By the way, I would like to know.

- Yeah?

- What is your name?

- My name?

- Yep.

- Why would I tell you?

- Why not?

- I don't even know what you look like, you never get out of your vehicle when we see each other.

- I like to keep my anonymity.

- Pffrr!"

The human laughed, before huffing, and sitting down on the hood of her car. She gazed for a time at the stars, seeing a large bird piercing the clouds, before returning her gaze to her running mate.

“If you want to remain anonymous, I don't see why I shouldn't.

- Oh ! Come on!

- Nope! Unless you give me your name!

- It's KO.

- That's not a name!

- It's a nickname!

- Ah! The agreement is not fulfilled, I don't give you my first name!

- Come on! I'm not gonna call you "Hey" every time we see each other.

- Hm… True!

- Ah!

- In any case, I will not give you my real name.

- Rho…!"

The woman laughed, then got back into her car, before KnockOut called out to her:

“Wait, how do I call you then?!

- You can call me Liberty!"

Starscream raised his wings in anger as he stared through the screen at what Laserbeak was seeing. He banged hard on the operating table of the computer, and cried out:

"So that's what he does instead of his fragging job?!"

Soundwave took the jet's hand away from the machine, shaking his head, indicating that he wanted the hardware to work. The Seeker sighed in annoyance, but it was mainly against KnockOut. This idiot was wasting his time befriending a human, instead of doing his job! There was reason to be angry!

“There's no way I'm letting this go! I have every intention of keeping him away from that accursed human! declared the flyer.

- < Proposal > < . >"

Starscream turned his attention to the Communications Commander, while the latter displayed the image of the human that Laserbeak had photographed, before displaying a cross on her.

The Seeker smiled, easily understanding the idea of the spy plane. He nodded vigorously, flapping his wings. He quickly thought of a plan, and wasted no time in coming up with one.

“You are right, Soundwave! The best way to get KnockOut to stop messing around is to get rid of that human! I also intend to make him give up the urge to continue these stupid races!"

When the sports car arrived at the new race, he quickly noticed that the atmosphere was strange. He greeted a few drivers, who all stayed in their vehicles, and who didn't even deny answering him.

The doctor thought that they were particularly rude, and that he was going to be happy to humiliate them on the track. We were not disrespectful at KnockOut without taking the risk of tasting bitter defeat!

He found the mood really heavy, but it quickly lightened when Liberty stopped beside him. The brunette opened her window, and made a sign to the Velocitronian, before exclaiming:

“Hey! Hello, KO!

- Liberty, hi!

- Ready to eat my dust?!

- Talk for you!

- That's what we're going to see!"

The human popped her chewing gum in warning, before an arrogant but no less endearing smile appeared on her face. She revved her engine as the countdown ticked down, and she was the first to go!

KnockOut followed her not far behind, when he noticed the drivers behind them getting into a triangle formation. The Decepticon quickly sensed that something was wrong, and his doubts were confirmed when some cut out of the way, to go faster!

“Hey! This is cheating!" the Velocitronian was indignant.

A lot of things may have been allowed on the track, but certainly not going off the road. Even on Velocitron it was immediate disqualification! His Spark jumped into his spark chamber when he saw Liberty being surrounded by two vehicles, and violently jostled.

Starscream smiled, and crossed his arms, as his wings rose smugly. The main room was lit by light from the computer, which broadcast what was happening on the track, courtesy of Laserbeak. The Seeker scoffed, while Soundwave watched in silence, then the jet sneered:

“Bye, bye, vermin!"

KnockOut froze when he saw Liberty's car being pushed off the road, straight into a ravine!

"NO!" shouted the Decepticon.

He sped towards the human, and raced down the ravine with her, under the shocked gaze of Starscream and Soundwave. The Seeker tensed, and squeezed his wings, before screaming:

“What the frag is he doing?! »

The two Commanders froze when they saw the doctor begin his transformation into robot mode, and put their hands to their faces as KnockOut pulled the human out of the vehicle.

Liberty couldn't hide her shock, as she was held back by a giant robot, which had the exact same colors as KO's car. The sports car landed as best as he could, and picked himself up without a problem, before dusting himself with his free hand, complaining about his poor finish.

He quickly put the woman down, who still hadn't said anything, which made him quite uncomfortable. He scratched his head, a little embarrassed, before leaning towards her and asking:

“Uh… are you OK?"

Liberty ended up screaming in terror, which startled KnockOut, who clearly didn't expect it, even ending up being offended by the human's reaction.

"Oh ! Come on! I don't think my appearance justifies such a reaction!" the Velocitronian got a little upset.

Starscream and Soundwave had a rush of hope that this would end the ridiculous friendship between these two, and the Seeker found the strength to look at the screen again, after the disaster the doctor had caused in revealing himself.

The brunette looked around her, before laughing and running a hand through her hair, reflecting her nervousness. She took several steps, never really knowing where to go, before scanning the surroundings again, and saying:

"OK! OK! I see ! It's a hidden camera, right?!

- Would you have preferred…? KnockOut asked.

- You were a car not even five minutes ago!

- Yes and?

- And… And holy shit! What the fuck!

- Language...

- Yeah, well, you'll excuse me, but I have every reason in the world to swear! My racing buddy is a fucking robot that turns into a car!

- So, already, I'm not a robot. I'm an alien."

Liberty tried to say something, but she couldn't come up with anything coherent. She pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed heavily, before murmuring sarcastically:

“Oh yes…! It makes so much sense…!"

KnockOut raised his optics to the sky, then ended up saying:

"Besides, I saved your life, you should thank me!"

The human decided to look at the Decepticon, and found a trace of his very particular smile, before saying:

"You're right.

- Of course I'm right!"

The brunette laughed at that, and added:

"You're KO, there's no doubt!"

The two resumed a much more animated discussion and without the slightest ounce of fear on Liberty's part. The fact that the human discovered the truth about KnockOut had ultimately strengthened their bond, especially thanks to the fact that the Transformer was ready to reveal his secret to save her.

Starscream had his elbows resting on the computer desk, his head buried in his hands. Soundwave, him, could not hide his dejection at the situation, a hand resting on his forehead.

When KnockOut returned from his getaway, he didn't quite understand why his Commanders looked so dejected, but he didn't ask himself any more questions. As long as they weren't hurt, it wasn't his problem.

The doctor continued to visit Liberty, and with much more freedom. And, all of Starscream's and Soundwave's attempts to separate them always proved fruitless, often going so far as to strengthen the two riders' already stubborn friendship.

#tfp #transformers prime #starscream #transformers #maccadam #tfp starscream #knockout #knockout tfp #soundwave #soundwave tfp #request story #thanks for your request ^^!#it was funny XD #human oc #friendship #what if #sorry for the wait ^^;

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breakingcatbad · 3 months

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Anime Time! Again! Today, I wanted to talk about another show that I have an undying love for: Mob Psycho 100. For a little context, Mob Psycho 100 is about a psychic middle school boy who tries to live a normal life and while he keeps his powers (strengthened by emotion) under control. Initially, I thought the show was really weird, and I figured I'd just find it weirder as I progressed through the first few episodes. Little do I know, I lacked any sort of personality what so ever. Anyways, the further along I got in the show, the more I fell in love with the characters and was able to apply the skills they learned in the show to my own personal abilities.

In my opinion, the main character himself makes the show. His personal ability to strive for improvement and his humility are qualities I always strive for in myself. He's a very mature protagonist who still has a lot to learn and grow from, which makes him both relatable and while giving him room to grow throughout the story.

Mob is the perfect character because he doesn't fall into the stereotypical tropes of a self-insert character. He's not particularly attractive or popular, but he finds his group of friends through his commitment to self-improvement and his positive traits, which he has built up through discipline and hard work.

The final message of the third season, where Mob finally decides to accept himself, is one of the most powerful things I have ever seen on television. This message of personal development and growth through consistent effort and the challenging of oneself is something I find incredibly relatable in life (just see my Bojack Horseman essay). Because of this, Mob serves as essentially a perfect model for what one should strive to do in order to improve themselves in the world. Another aspect that further this idea is when Mob gets rejected by the girl he likes at the end of the story. Rather than following the trope of him getting what he wants in the end, he ends up not actually getting what he wants through hard work alone, which is somewhat bittersweet yet somewhat happy. Mob is able to handle the loss, not without any tears of course, but he is able to handle it, empathize with the girl, and understand her feelings, using that as an excuse to truly move forward as a person. He was able to truly express himself by asking her out, and that's all he needed to do in the end. He achieved his goal and grew and developed because of that and that's a philosophy I believe that we should all strive for in life.

Because of stuff like this, I feel like the show, and more specifically Mob, is a stellar example of a character that people can learn and grow from.

Basically, I love this show because of how the main character grows and changes through the work, and how one can then apply those ideas to themselves as a means of personal growth. And that's not to mention all the other fantastic aspects of this show that go on and on. Anyway, thank you for listening to my rant.

#mob psycho 100 #mob psycho shigeo #mob psycho reigen #mob psycho anime

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unofficialadamtaurus · 1 year

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Like a week ago you answered an ask about how the black trailer could’ve hinted at Adam being an abuser etc etc and it made me realize how much my own projection colored my view of Adam. I project HARD onto Blake. I started watching RWBY right after volume 2 finished and I honestly interpreted him as an abusive ex from the beginning but only because things paralleled MY experience. My abuser would’ve caught me if I fell. I used to draw him sometimes as a coping mechanism to get him out of my head and because it was hard to let him go even when it was right thing. Ironically, I used to think then portrayal of Adam as an abuser and Blake as a victim was so well-done (though I always thought the way the white fang plot was handled was super racist. I never hated Adam as a character) but since I read that a week ago I’ve been thinking about it more and realized that I was just interpreting so much that simply was not actually in the show, lol

Part of the reason it took me so long to answer this ask is that it prompted some genuine reflection on my part. In the past, I've looked at the relationship between Blake and Adam, at the discussions and dissections of it and the theoretical abuse in the show, and wondered how anyone could see what the show presented as any kind of compelling arc of an abuse survivor breaking free and healing.

Any time someone brought up those kinds of sympathetic connections, I wondered if they were serious. If they were, I wondered how they could possibly find catharsis in RWBY's presentation. There are, I thought to myself, so many other shows that do these kinds of arcs better, so RWBY should not get any kind of credit for doing it badly.

Blake drawing Adam when he abused her? Confusing at best.

Blake's there-again-gone-again backbone when standing up to Adam? Terrible writing.

Adam catching Blake when she fell and never giving a single hint of that kind of character before the Beacon confrontation? More terrible writing.

But stepping back and looking at it from a different perspective - yours - I realize that I was being a callous asshole about it. Something being badly written doesn't stop people from forming attachments to it or seeing pieces of themselves in it. I mean, c'mon, the hypocrisy of me seeing bits of myself in Adam's self destructive rage yet refusing to see how someone could sympathize with Blake? You have to laugh.

Besides, abuse isn't a concrete experience. It's wrong of me to say that "Blake doing X means she cannot have been abused" because, as you've pointed out, there are abuse survivors out there who have undoubtedly done what she does. People are messy and complicated and the ways they deal with messy and complicated things don't always make sense to an outside observer.

That said, there is a chasm between fictional media and real life. I think there are many, many things the show could have done to better sell the abuse angle to the audience, which I stated in that post all those weeks ago. The show has the advantage of not being limited to Blake's perception of the world; one or two cutaways during scenes preceding Beacon, even in the Black trailer itself, could show Adam's supposed facade dropping when Blake is unaware. (And yes, much of this lacking foreshadowing/exposition is due to the issue that the abuse angle may not have been planned from the start.)

The abuse in canon is a black hole of supposition. There is as much evidence to support it as there is to refute it and much of the evidence on both sides falls to personal interpretation. Thus we get situations like this, situations in which you - someone with experience - fill in (subconsciously or otherwise) what the show does not have to strengthen the story in your own eyes. Then I, someone without that experience, look at the same show and, rather than filling in those gaps, trip over them.

I'll be more cognizant of this interplay between personal experience and canon in the future. I knew it existed, of course, but I didn't realize the extent to which it could affect someone's enjoyment of the show and its more lacking aspects.

I believe it would also be useful for people who enjoy the show and find themselves clashing with others over how "good" some aspect of it is to examine why they find a part of canon so compelling. Is it because what is strictly there in canon is compelling, or is it because they are filling in the gaps with personal experience and emotion?

Thanks for giving me a look behind a curtain I hadn't even realized warranted investigation.

#anon #unofficial adam answers #adam taurus #blake belladonna #rwde #anon i am wishing you all the best #i hope you are in a healthier and happier place now

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badedramay · 1 year

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You're probably sick of Fairytale asks so feel free to ignore this, but rest assured I don't bear any ill will! I shared a very similar frustration with Umeed (and the sheer unreality of her circumstances) when I started watching the show. But eventually, I did come to enjoy how one of the main focal points of her growing relationship with Farjaad was for her to learn the consequences of her immature, haphazard actions and to be more patient and grateful for what she actually has. Obviously, you don't have to pick it up again if you really don't want to, but if you happen to continue, you may come to enjoy that aspect. I certainly don't believe Fairytale is the most unique story, but it is sweet to see how much Farjaad cares about helping her understand she should pave a path for herself on solid ground and take more time to consider the consequences of her actions. To me that is what really ended up enrapturing people. There are a lot of drawbacks to the story (e.g., few of the side characters are well developed, some of the plot stretching to meet the full thirty days of Ramadan gets exasperating, and whenever the focus moves away from the leads the show is horrifically boring), but I have a feeling you would at least enjoy what Farjaad and Umeed's relationship becomes eventually in the latter half of the show. It reminds me a little of the affectionate scold-teasing from Wali and responsive cluelessness from Faarah (although obviously Diyar-e-Dil has a way, way more well developed story). Hamza and Sehar get really good at dealing in the wholesome friends to lovers banter.

Anyway! I hope this ask doesn't bother you, and I'm sorry other people feel so entitled to judging you for having an opinion. I wanted to maybe be the one person sensible enough to extend an olive branch, lol. The fandom for the show is arguably over-the-top and exaggerative, but I have a feeling you may not hate the show as much if you see it through. And if you still do hate it, no hard feelings. Thanks for always posting great commentary on here, and have a nice day!

lol i am not tired of the FT asks (itne zyada mile bhi nahin tbh)..i am just super convinced that no matter what anyone says it will never push me to watch this show xD the comparisons to DeD will only strengthen my resolve to never give this a try. of all the shows in the world to draw comparison with, doing so with Wali and Faraa of all the people who were both individually so complex as characters is just...c'mon, you can see how ridiculous it is right? anyhoo..I guess the bottom line is just this: i am too old to enjoy a narrative as lacking as what Fairytale is. I don't want to resort to projecting my fantasies and inserting headcanons in a story to make it enjoyable for me (been there..DONNEEEE that!). cool that there are people who enjoy it such but just as they are allowed to hype the show for how they interpreted it to be rather than what it was, I am allowed to not be fond of what it is.

y'know..I legit thought maybe FT was another case of Ishq Jalebi for me. where maybe *I* was the odd one out for not being able to enjoy a drama which has a significantly enduring fanbase. but when I watched IJ, I really found nothing special in it and my initial thoughts about it remained unshaken. FT is gonna be like that for me. even if years later i find myself giving it a try..i am 99% convinced it will do nothing for me. also "hate" is a rather strong word. I just have some passionate disagreement over this show's perceived uniqueness, that's all. hate is what I feel for Ishqiya's finale.

#fairy tale #ishq jalebi #type: opinion

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deezeyrabbidy · 1 year

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✨And now, for some rabbids ship dynamic headcanons !✨ (Edge Edition lol)

Edge x Midnite (Ghostblade): Edge and Midnite, in my AU, had an non-serious relationship later on during Edge's stint as the Spark Hunters' Leader. While they never exactly declared themselves to be dating/an item/together, they enjoyed intimacy with one another, their bond also strengthened by Midnite being one of Edge's only childhood friends during her rough childhood. However, as you could probably tell, their relationship took a nasty turn when Edge, having turned against Cursa, tried to leave the Spark Hunters once it was clear nobody else was budging. The ensuing chaos ended in tragedy; Edge's own blade struck her straight through her chest, killing her after she struggled, bleeding, in the snow for what felt like hours.

Now that the game's events are over and done, Edge has managed to somewhat reconcile with Midnite. though the scars from their separation still remains like an awful stain. Edge and Midnite both find themselves enjoying seeing the other flustered, and Midnite's teasing is one of the easiest ways to shake Edge's cool, steely personality. Lots of gentle cuddling is also a bonus to loving this ghost~…even if it can give you the chills sometimes.

Bedrock x Edge (Stonecutter): Edge was closer to Bedrock than she was with Daphne (not exactly like that was hard for Bedrock to achieve when the competition is freaking Daphne), though obviously she wasn't as close of a friend as Midnite by a long shot. Part of their difficulties getting along was both Bedrock being an overall silent, reclusive character……on top of the fact that even Edge found herself intimidated by her sometimes. Edge's skills in combat are obviously top tier, but Bedrock, using sheer strength alone, could be a dangerous opponent when pushed to her emotional limits. But despite obstacles, they had their moments, and after the events of SoH, the two are finally beginning to warm up to the other again. Bedrock has an unfortunate habit of holding in her emotions, thoughts, and concerns, even when it's detrimental to her mental wellbeing. And while Edge understands that Bedrock needs other's support, she herself struggles with emotional control and sometimes finds herself unable to be there for Bedrock in her own darker moments. As a couple, Bedrock is a gentle lead/dominant over Edge, and, admittedly, sometimes finds herself amused when she catches her off guard. Playful intimidation is certainly on the table, though limits and boundaries are drawn out informally by both parties. December 5, 2022

Edge x Daphne (Sharpblossom): Oh boy, this one is COMPLICATED for sure. Edge and Daphne never got along well, even while Edge lead the Spark Hunters. Edge found Daphne loud, nagging, rude, easily distracted, unpredictable, and obnoxiously blunt. They butted heads frequently, usually ending in cussing, threats of violence, and sometimes even actual violence (though thankfully none of it did permanent damage to either party). Though……even during this era, Daphne would, at times, especially when she was already feeling frisky, would take a shot at flirting with Edge, even it was in a rather teasing, demeaning manner, and obviously Edge shot these efforts down as soon as they came. It was just another way for Daphne to be annoying, after all.

Post-game, Edge honestly doesn't even know how they feel about Daphne anymore. Since Cursa's defeat, the sheer extent of her mental/emotional abuse she inflicted upon the plant rabbid became more and more painfully apparent with Daphne struggling to even slightly adjust to managing on her own. Cursa had the strongest hold on her by far, since she had been the closest thing to a mother figure she had ever had in it's life. Edge had never stopped to think about just how badly she'd been treated specifically by their former boss, nor the fact that, in general, her thinking was just……different in general. Nowadays, Edge somewhat regrets not trying to understand her earlier on……….Though that doesn't mean it's still not an annoying little shit to her from time to time. As a couple, Daphne and Edge seem to have a constant, silent power dynamic battle between themselves. Pestering is sometimes just another way Daphne likes to show it's affection to it's beloved…….....sometimes not. And Edge's not afraid to get her own odd forms of playful payback~

#mario rabbids #sparks of hope #mario rabbids sparks of hope #rabbids headcanons #rabbids sparks of hope #rabbid daphne #rabbid edge #rabbid bedrock #rabbid midnite #rabbids fandom #raving rabbids #what am i doing with my life #also reminder that my au edge uses she/they #and daphne uses she/it pronouns #shipping #shipping headcanons #ship dynamic ramblings

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aspoonofsugar · 2 years

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What is your favorite RWBy trailer?

Hello anon!

Great ask :D

Sooooo, I love all 4 of them! They are great and as the story progresses, they cement themselves as key to interpreting the characters correctly. This is true in terms of psychology, of symbolism and of themes linked to them! They are just gems!

Anyway... I love each trailer for different reasons! Here they are!

RED TRAILER

This trailer might have been thought to simply present Ruby's weapon, rather than her, but they managed to integrate some of its elements into Ruby's arc beautifully!

2 details come to mind:

It is a Killing Grimms focused trailer, which fits Ruby's arc because her story is about slowly discovering the people behind the monsters (Cinder as the victim swallowed by the Wolf, but also Salem as the Witch who creates Grimms and the Shadows of the adults around her).

The song is about team RWBY as a whole, which fits Ruby's tendency to put others and the major conflict before herself and her internal struggles.

In short, this trailer wonderfully sets Ruby's conflict to be about Summer (Red like Roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest) and it presents her as a Little Red Riding Hood with the strength of a Hunter. These are clearly the key elements Ruby's character is built on.

FInally, it is great how the lyrics accompany the scene transitions. The "red like roses" lines are sung while Ruby's hood and petals are in focus together with Summer's grave. The "white is cold and always yearning" frames have Ruby walking in the frozen wood. "Black the Beast" has the wolves appearing and finally "yellow's beauty burns" highlights Ruby jumping in a light yellow moon. Perfection!

THIS TRAILER IS 1ST FOR > Its music and coreography. The way Ruby walts around with her Crescent Rose and kills Grimms while the music plays is gorgeous!

WHITE TRAILER

Weiss's trailer is special to me because of how poetic it is! What makes it powerful is the juxtaposition between Weiss's 2 sides. On the one hand the Heiress sings for a symbolically empty hall. On the other hand the Huntress fights a giant Knight trapping her. What keeps these scenes together is the mirror metaphor conveyed by Weiss's song.

The whole trailer is strongly defined by a sense of loneliness, which its adaptation in IQ manages to strengthen. No matter how many people come to hear Weiss sing or that her whole family is there to look at her fight with the Knight. Weiss still perceives herself as lonely because nobody really sees her real self or truly listens to her words. Just beautiful!

In short, the whole trailer conveys Weiss's main conflict and major motifs strongly. The struggle between the Heiress and the Huntress, but also the one between the Princess and the Knight are perfectly shown and everything comes full circle with a great use of symbolism.

THIS TRAILER IS 1ST FOR > Its metaphor and poetic symbolism. The mirror metaphor that permeates the trailer is just perfect poetry and a great psychological element.

BLACK TRAILER

This trailer is different from the previous ones because there is dialogue and a plot. What is more, 2 characters are given focus.

The choice to give both Blake and Adam focus ties into Blake's 2 major motifs:

The Beauty and the Beast

The Shadow motif

Blake is introduced as Adam's Shadow hence her strong reliance on him while fighting. Similarly, her fairy tale's allusion is built on her often playing the part of either the Beauty or the Beast with other characters.

At the same time, here are shown for the first time important worldbuilding elements. The conflict between the SDC and the White Feng is hinted at in this trailer. The same goes for the existence of the Faunus.

Finally, people vs robots is a constant motif in RWBY and it is poignantly already present here. It also has the advantage to differentiate this fight from the others.

THIS TRAILER IS 1ST FOR > Its story. It is the most well defined narratively. Blake's conflict is well set up, her final choice to leave Adam is given enough context to be understood and it successfully starts her whole arc up.

YELLOW TRAILER

Yang's trailer is like her. It seems straightforward and simple, but it has much hidden behind a burning heart worn on the sleeves :P

It is a perfect rewriting of Goldilock with Yang entering the Bears' house (pub in this case) to look for her mother (symbolically her home). In her pursue, she makes a mess of the place and finally disappears through a window.

What is interesting is how the trailer is full of symbols that link it to the other trailers and characters. Obviously, the other girls' songs comment Yang's fight with the bears and twins. However, there is more... throughout the whole fight Yang is surrounded by white, red and black. Moreover, Yang in a sense fights shallower version of her teammates. The twins are realized with unused designs for Ruby and Weiss and may allude to Snowhite and Red Rose (Weiss and Ruby's secondary allusion) that protect Junior and fight Yang as 2 versions of the Bear/Prince. Finally, Junior is symbolically a black beast, who flirts with Yang. He represents everything Blake, -Yang's beloved black beast - is not.

In a sense, the Yellow Trailer is a perfect conclusion to everything started by the Red Trailer. The latter introduces the girls thanks to Red like Roses, while the former brings all the trailers together into one and tops it off with the revelation of Yang and Ruby's familial bond and opposite symbolism (sun/moon).

THIS TRAILER IS 1ST FOR > Its references and conclusion. The Yellow Trailer is perfect to bring everything full circle and to connect the dots among our 4 protagonists. This is accomplished through references to the other trailers (the music, the colors, etc.) and the final beautiful revelation of Ruby and Yang's connection.

And here you have it! These are my major thoughts on the trailers! Obviously they can be juxtaposed and foiled with each other and with the character shorts of volume 4 and 5 :D However, this may be a meta for another time.

Thank you for the ask!

#rwby #chain of faves #rwby chain of faves #team rwby #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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