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plantsjustwannahavefun · 6 months

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I used to think that the reason I wasn't satisfied with Izzy's death was because I was too attached to his perspective as a character and couldn't focus on the big picture of the season and the main Gentlebeard relationship enough. I mean, I was still convinced that his death and the way it was carried out was a shit writing decision, but everyone else outside the Izzy Canyon circles seemed fine with it, so I was starting to think that maybe they were right.

So I looked back on the rest of the season and rewatched the finale... And realised something that I'd been trying to ignore because it was too painful to admit. A huge part of why Izzy's death hit so hard (in a bad way, not that delicious masochistic pain of having a beloved character die a good, narratively satisfying death) was because throughout this season he was the only character who actually had a satisfying arc and development. Practically no one else did. I didn't actually care for Gentlebeard this season, not the way I cared in S1. From episode 1 to 8 and a half, Izzy's arc was crafted with more care, kindness, subtlety and narrative weight than the main Gentlebeard arc which, in comparison, felt like a string of choppy beads badly tied together in an approximate shape of an arc, but collapsed as soon as you looked at it too closely.

Yes, we all know this season suffered for being 2 episodes too short, but I don't think that's all there is to it. This is starting to feel like GoT season 8 all over again. Would it have been better if it wasn't so rushed? Maybe. Or maybe it would have been even worse because this season just didn't seem to know what to do with itself or the characters. The themes and symbolism are all over the place and completely inconsistent. Ed and Stede's characters are practically back at the same place they left in S1. All they did was bounce off the walls back and forth with no real growth. As soon as they took a step towards fixing their relationship or growing as people, they either tool three steps back or it just got dropped. Stede letting fame get to his head? Interesting and realistic development. And how was it resolved? It wasn't. Stede and Ed being whim prone? I'm glad they brought it up. And then they just fell for another whim and it was presented as a satisfying ending.

Ed went from the Kraken, to taking the first steps towards being Ed, then suddenly all the way to being Ed by way of a Night of Magical Healing Sex that he he didn't actually want to happen because he wasn't ready. And then all of a sudden he pivoted to abandoning Stede and piracy and becoming a fisherman... for 5 min. And then back to Blackbeard again because two fishermen were mean to him for 5 minutes. And then abandoning it again to open an inn. How was any of this even remotely coherent or satisfying? They didn't even have a single conversation about any of it. Ed had more proper closure and communication with Izzy during his dying scene than with Stede and the rest of the crew put together. Izzy's arc got sacrificed to do the heavy lifting for Ed's arc and became nothing more than a shortcut to speed run his character growth. Except it didn't even lead anywhere. "Ed, they're your family, they love you" no they don't, he didn't even have a single positive conversation with any of them except Fang. Of course this could have been the point, and Ed could have seen Izzy's death, his own discovery of found family and his dying words as a pretext to repair his relationship with the crew. But he just left them and stayed with Stede instead.

Sure, you could say this was only the second act of the story, and S3 will resolve everything. But the second act is still meant to move the story and the characters forward in some way. Yes, of course if we get S3, I imagine Stede and Ed's life as innkeepers won't exactly be idyllic. But the problem is that the conflicts they'd have will only be a rehash and repeat of the same conflicts they've already have, or were supposed to have, this season. Multiple times, even. We already know that Ed is simply unable to live with himself no matter what life he chooses. The title of S1 was literally "wherever you go, there you are". We already know Stede's love isn't enough to fix him. We already know their goals in life are completely opposite. Maybe they could have shown Stede realising, after his humiliating in S7, that piracy wasn't all it was cracked up to be or he isn't suited for it, and that's why he chose to leave it behind and open an inn, but that's not the explanation we were given. It was just another whim. They literally didn't learn anything this season. They had two baby conversations in E4 and E5 and didn't take anything from it, just kept doing the complete opposite of anything. "We're both prone to whims, let's take things slow" became "let's take things extremely fast by moving in together permanently and becoming entrepreneurs". They never talked about the actual, deepseated, longstanding trauma issues they needed to resolve before they could even begin to have a proper relationship. They literally got a heavy-handed glimpse in what their life would become if they just stuck together without addressing their own personal issues, and chose to do that very thing. It that's what S3 is going to address, then why were Anne and Mary part of this season instead of the next one?

I remember everyone saying they wanted Ed and Stede to reunite as quickly as possible in S2, and I get why. They have great chemistry together. The season is about them. But for it to work, spending more time apart is exactly what they needed. They needed to learn how to live with themselves and others, first. Romantic love alone can't fix you as a person. You have to fix yourself first. Community can help (as with Izzy's case), but you still have to put in the work. In retrospect, I'm glad that Izzy didn't get a love interest this season - because he wasn't ready yet, and had to learn how to have normal relationships and friendships with other people before attempting an intimate romantic relationship, lest he ended up falling head first unit another toxic mutually dependent relationship. That's what Stede and Ed should have tried too. Instead the show just ended up using Izzy's death as a quick surgical fix, robbing Ed of his agency and having to do the hard work repairing himself and his relationships with other people. There's a sad irony in getting exactly one character's arc just this, and then using it as a sacrificial lamb to patch over the main character's arc.

#another long rant #I should probably start tagging this accordingly #ofmd critical #I mean I still love the show and always will #I don't want to be associated with unhinged haters or anything #the reason I criticise this season so much these days is precisely because I love the show so much #it deserved better #it had so much good going for it #so much promise and potential #and in the end much of it was wasted #ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers

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maislovebot · 8 months

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Top 10 bsd characters oral scenarios: Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Hello! Here’s the Ryu chapter! I did everything yesterday but I guess I forgot to hit publish or something?? Sorry about that, as an apology I’ll be posting the Chuuya chapter today as well:)

Contains: afab reader, no pronouns, face-sitting, overstim, kinda ooc, nipple play I think, orgasm delay, teasing, kinda angsty but like what do you expect it’s Aku, Rashoumon but like sexually, she’s used as light bondage

Check the original post out on ao3! (same user)

“ Can you come home? I want you. ”

“What?”

You were enjoying your day in some mall, spoiling yourself just a little. Of course, it would’ve been nice to invite your lovely boyfriend, Akutagawa, but he was busy with something involving the Port Mafia, he didn’t go into detail. He probably felt like saving you from the gory details. He was even kind enough to supply you with a fair amount of money, silently sliding it into your hand when you were about to leave. It’s crazy how much money he makes because of his jobs at the Port Mafia, and he’s only a part of the command unit.

Your day at the mall was cut short when you received a call from the one and only Akutagawa, and you assumed it had something to do with the money he gave you until you picked up the phone.

“Huh? I thought you had a job today.”

“I finished it early. I need you right now.”

You stood for a few seconds, confused and now slightly turned on. Understanding all too well what he wanted, you complied with his wishes.

“Alright, I’ll be there in about an hour, I have to check out at the store I’m at, and the drive is 45 minutes.”

Silence stood on the other line, then a short “hurry.” Was said before Akutagawa hung up abruptly.

Now that whatever Akutagawa was planning was on the schedule for tonight, you wanted to get home as soon as you could, bouncing your leg in line, waiting.

‘ Finally, that line was so long. ’

You fiddled with your keys, trying to get inside of your car, the desperate way you searched through your keys and wallet making it harder for you to actually get into the car.

‘ God, finally. ’ Once you made it into your car, you shifted uncomfortably in your seat.

‘ Damn it Ryuu, why’d you have to be so demanding when I’m so far away? ’ you kept thinking about whatever it was he wanted to do, and it made you more and more needy, picturing whatever it was he wanted you to do to you.

With you taking a considerable amount of shortcuts and speeding a bit more than what was ethical, you made it back in record time. Only 45 minutes.

Fiddling with your keys yet again, you were cut off by Akutagawa opening the door for you and pulling you inside hastily.

“Took you long enough.” Akutagawa commented, noticing how you were lightly rubbing your thighs together. You wanted to give some snarky response, but you were cut off by Akutagawa grabbing your hair and leaning into you, kissing you rather roughly.

You were embarrassed because you hadn’t even gotten a chance to shut the door yet, and you pushed it shut with your foot.

You pulled back, already desperate for air from how vigorous Akutagawa was with his kissing. You pulling away didn’t deter Akutagawa for even a second, and he instead brought his lips down to your neck and began kissing and licking at it intently.

“Aa—Ryuu—what’s gotten into y—ah!” You were cut off by him licking at your sensitive spot, and him lightly groping you. Noticing your reaction, he paused and asked if you were alright.

“Is this not okay?”

“No—it’s fine, it’s just.. this is different. You never act like this.”

“I finished work early so I wanted to spend some time with you.”

You have a puzzled look, then a small moan from Akutagawa reuniting his lips with your neck, slowly trailing down to the tops of your breasts, while bringing his right hand down to grasp your bottoms and underwear at the same time, pulling them down just enough for you to be on full display, this made the blood rush to your cheeks while you questioned him.

“And you being done with work early caused this? I mean, I’m not complaining but it’s different.”

He gave a sigh “can we talk about this later? I just want you right now. We can talk about work after.”

You looked at him and nodded. “Alright, but let’s at least get up the stairs before we go any farther.”

Akutagawa nodded, and pulled you up the stairs by your wrist and then walked to the closest room with a soft surface that he could lay on, which happened to be your front room.

He laid down on your couch, luckily it was fairly large, it could fit the both of you.

“Could you sit on my face?”

Your eyes widened, and Akutagawa rephrased his question.

“Would you be fine with sitting on my face?”

You laughed a little, and Akutagawa looked at you rather blankly.

“Well that was blunt.”

“I’m blunt.”

You nodded, “that you are.”

Akutagawa looked at you expectantly, awaiting your answer. “Well?”

You said nothing, and instead pulled your bottoms down, completely stepping out of them. You smiled then straddled his hips and leaned down, quickly giving a small and quick kiss to his neck, not wanting to make him wait much longer, he was clearly a little desperate after all.

“Of course I will.” You spoke into his collar bones. You moved yourself upwards until you hovered just too high for his mouth to reach. Akutagawa didn’t sit and wait, and instead pulled your hips down till your heat was touching the outside of his lips.

Akutagawa opened his mouth and darted his tongue out straight to your clit, licking a circle on it.

You gave a barely audible groan, and immediately ground your hips down onto his tongue, increasing the amount of friction on your clit, causing you to repeat the process over and over again. Akutagawa gave a cute small moan under you due to the slightly suffocating feeling that arose from you grinding yourself onto him. How was he already driving you crazy from just one small lick? I guess you had been waiting for this for almost an hour, and he went straight to your clit with no precautions. Akutagawa kept licking at your clit before eventually beginning to suck on it. As of right now, Akutagawa was gripping the couch harshly, although it was fruitless due to the fact there weren’t really any blankets to grip onto.

You being so desperate for release in the car made your orgasm arrive pretty quick, and you wanted to try and warn Akutagawa.

“I’m clo—se..!” With this warning, Akutagawa paused the movement of his tongue, and sat there silently.

“What? Why’d you stop??” You whined, trying to grind down on Akutagawa, but he grabbed your hips and pulled you down onto his upper chest.

“Beg for it.” He said, staring straight into your eyes. You sat there silently, not really wanting to get rid of your dignity so easily.

“Come on. I know you can do it.” Akutagawa repeated his command yet again with a straight face, although it was a little difficult to take him seriously with the bottom half of his face being covered in your precum. Akutagawa noticed this, and wiped it off, closing his eyes and covering his face in the process, clearly a little embarrassed. While his mouth was covered, he coughed once or twice before asking again, now having a dry face.

“Just ask me and I promise I’ll keep going.”

Feeling your orgasm just sitting there in your stomach, not going anywhere, you grew desperate and whined quietly before giving into his requests.

“Please, let me cum. Please.” Your begging almost came out as a whisper, and Akutagawa was clearly not satisfied.

“You can do better than that.”

You looked away from him, considering just doing what he wanted. You were still stuck in place, considering how Akutagawa’s patience was running rather thin, he moved his hands up to grip on your thighs tightly, his nails digging into your skin just a little.

What finally got you to give in was when he quickly moved you back up to the top of his face and kissed your clit, your sensitivity running wild, even the slightest bit of stimulation made you jerk your hips down into him, and beg like he wanted without even realizing it.

“Please! I-I wanna cum so bad, I wanna cum all over your face! Please, please..” you begged, feeling yourself beginning to tear up from the overwhelming need to cum, barely even acknowledging how lewd your statement was.

Akutagawa noticed this, and took your begging into account, deciding that he was now satisfied. Without another word, he moved his tongue between your folds, and sucked at your clit, still holding your thighs tightly.

“God, I’m—” you couldn’t even finish your sentence before you came, expecting to be able to calm down, you were shocked when he kept going, continuing to suck on your clit with absolutely zero shame.

“Ahnn.. why’re you still g-going?” You pleaded, and Akutagawa gave a muffled moan yet again, not responding to your question. The overstimulation was pleasurable right now, but at the rate Akutagawa was going, you were sure it would start to hurt at least a little bit very soon. What changed however, was Akutagawa’s grip on your left thigh was completely removed when he brought his index and middle finger to your hole and spread your precum quickly and slid inside of you. He rested his fingers inside allowing you to get used to the feeling, contrary to his lips that kept working on your clit. Already knowing what he was waiting for, you nodded your head letting him know he was fine to move if he so pleased. When he thrusted his fingers slowly, he sped up his work with his mouth, the contrasting feeling driving you to your next orgasm.

It was far too much, and you tried to pull yourself off of Akutagawa, but he quickly grabbed your thighs, removing his left hand from your hole in the process. Muffled under you, you heard him ask, “just a little more? Can’t you last a little longer?”

“Yes, I’ll try.” You said, grinding down onto his face slightly.

“Perfect. Just tell me to stop if it gets too much.”

Without another word, Akutagawa brought his tongue up to your hole, and grabbed the innermost part of your thigh to pull you down as far as he could, and slowly thrusted his tongue inside of you. Your eyes shot open much wider than before and you grabbed the top of the couch tightly, trying to ground yourself. Encouraged by this response, Akutagawa sped up the movements of his tongue. The feeling of your walls surrounding the small amount of his tongue he could bring inside of you made him buck into the air just a little, and he brought his left hand down to his hard on, gently palming himself. He felt a little ashamed of what he was doing, but he was desperate at this point. In order to make up for his dominant hand no longer holding you down, he lifted his head up so he could thrust his tongue impossibly deeper into your hole. You simultaneously ground your hips down onto his mouth, only increasing the intensity of his actions.

You could feel the familiar feeling of release yet again, and you warned Akutagawa.

“Please.. I’m close. Make me cum, please! Don’t—don’t stop!” Akutagawa nodded as much as he could under you, and you sighed with relief. What caught you off guard, however, was Akutagawa urgently pulling you off of him and resting you on his chest. You wanted to whine because he pulled you off after he promised , but you were met with a fit of coughs from Akutagawa, and you frowned slightly.

“Ugh—I apologize. I know you were close.”

“It’s fine. You’re clearly worn out, let’s just lay down for now.”

Akutagawa shook his head, and pulled himself up so he could lean against the back of the couch, and beckoned you to sit on top of him. Hesitantly, you complied, not wanting to take too much out of him.

“I’m gonna make you cum. I won’t let you stop until you come one more time.”

“Ryuu.. you really don’t have to.”

“I will.”

You sighed, knowing this was a battle you couldn’t win. You sat atop his lap, straddling him, making sure to not put too much weight onto him. Akutagawa grabbed at the hem of your shirt, and gave you a is this okay? look. You nodded, and to emphasize it, you pulled the shirt off yourself, leaving you in your bra.

Akutagawa reached his left hand to your back and unhooked the back of your bra with his hand, and watched it fall down your shoulders. You lifted your arms, and you were now completely naked, opposite to Akutagawa, with the only thing he wasn’t wearing being shoes. But he’s still wearing socks, of course.

At least he understood this, and decided that the jacket shouldn’t just be for show. He mumbled Rashoumon , and suddenly your hands were being held up, only not getting tired because they were being held up by his jacket. You jumped, and looked at him playfully.

“You could’ve warned me first! My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.”

“I assumed you’d be used to it by now.”

You shook your head, looking into his eyes and smirking just a little.

“Well, come on, if I can’t use my hands you better put that mouth of yours to good use. Again .”

Akutagawa decided to ignore your teasing and complied, reaching his mouth towards your chest, and taking one of your nipples into his mouth, licking around the tip of it. He slowly moved his right hand to your other nipple, pulling on it gently. After a few seconds, he brought his left hand down to your crotch, and entered you yet again. This time however, he went much faster, thrusting into you quickly.

You let out a loud moan and all the stimulation and brought your head down to the side of his head, closing your eyes tightly.

“G-god, Ryuu, you feel s-so good..” in response he hummed, and the vibrations against your burning skin made you jerk your hips forward. This made Akutagawa’s fingers pull out of you to just the tip, so he quickly thrusted them back in before moving his thumb to your clit. You tried to pull your hands forward to grip onto Akutagawa, but you were unable to pull your hands out of Rashoumon’s grasp.

“P-please, Ryuu, lemme hold you!” You cried out before Akutagawa looked away from you for a split second, and released Rashoumon from you, and you instantly grabbed Akutagawa’s shoulders so tightly he was sure you would leave some bruises behind, not that he cared.

You pulled your head back, and looked at Akutagawa, only to be met by his eyes staring right into yours. It looked so intense, so intimate, that it drove you over the edge, making you cum one last time.

You shook a little as you came, and Akutagawa pulled away from your nipples and kept fingering you slowly, helping you ride out your high. Once you were calmed down, he pulled out of you, and you whimpered quietly from the friction.

You breathed heavily for roughly thirty seconds, with your eyes shut tightly. Once you had caught your breath, you opened your eyes and looked at Akutagawa and smiled.

“That was nice. You did so well.”

Akutagawa looked away, embarrassed, before coughing a few times into his sleeve.

“Glad you liked it,” you stared at him. “Just one problem though.”

Akutagawa raised an eyebrow, and questioned you.

“And what might that be?”

You leaned down, and kissed Akutagawa intensely, grabbing the back of his head gently. After a few moments, Akutagawa reached back and grabbed your hand, trying to pull it away. You moved your hand and pulled away.

“I didn’t get to help you at all.”

Akutagawa instantly understood what you meant, and looked at you blankly.

“You don’t have to help me. Seeing you like this is enough to keep me content.”

You sighed playfully, and slid down onto the ground, reaching your hand under his jacket, you gently caressed his knee over his pants. Akutagawa’s eyes widened just a little, and he shifted from the uncomfortable tightness in his slacks.

“I want to help you out. Please?” You asked while slowly trailing your hand up until it met his belt. You teasingly grabbed the buckle, beginning to undo it.

“We can take as many breaks as you need. I just want to please you.” You looked into his eyes, and Akutagawa loosely grabbed your hair and moved his hand down himself to get the belt undone faster.

“ Do as you wish . ”

Poor guy doesn’t have the stamina to go for longD: I think his foreplay makes up for it though

Wc - 2.7k

Chuuya chapter will be released today!

#bungou stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd x reader #bsd smut #ryunosuke akutagawa #akutagawa ryunosuke x reader #bsd ryunosuke

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legendofzoodles · 1 year

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How the Chain solves dungeon puzzles

Time has been doing this since before his first puberty so he’s got it down to a science. With decades of experience he’d probably rely on that heavily when approaching any dungeon puzzle, and automatically pay attention to certain things like the design, who might have created it and the items he finds there to give him a leg up when it’s time to use ye olde noggin. That being said, since he has been doing this since he was a child I feel like he’d 100% rage if things got too difficult.

What? You think he survived the Water Temple because of patience and controlling his emotions? Goddess no, he was mentally 9 when he painstakingly got through it and it broke him. He now has a deep seeded hatred for all water based puzzles.

Warriors on the other hand, has spent a lot of time managing armies and little to no time in a room devoid of sunlight- unless it was shutting himself away in his office to crunch some overdue paperwork. Don’t get me wrong he’d crush any sort of puzzle where the solution is simply beating up a room full of monsters or the dungeon boss, but traditional puzzle he might struggle with. A lot of Zelda puzzles require an ‘out of the box’ kind of thinking that probably doesn’t come naturally to the ‘by the books’ Captain.

Since back in the day Twilight had Oocca and her son to teleport him out of the temple when he got tired, low on supplies or bored so if he can help it he won’t stick around longer than he needs to. That said he’d still really enjoy his time there, silently taking in the atmosphere and ambience of the dungeon.

Also, according to the 2000s Zelda fandom TP’s dungeon puzzles were the most difficult of the series. I’d wager that Midna, rather than helping out (outside of her being a companion type character), would’ve either cryptically teased the answer if she figured it out before him to poke fun or simply not have taken an interest and just nagged at him to hurry up. Meaning he solved them mostly on his own and therefore got really good at it.

Sky definitely used to chat with Fi as he solved puzzles back in his adventure, sharing thoughts, getting hints and occasionally voicing frustration. Because of this, he would definitely collaborate with whoever’s exploring with him and if he’s on his own then he’ll just talk to himself. Helps him think.

He’s the type to overthink every problem presented to him, to the point where he’d often invent a very convoluted solution when an obvious one was staring him in the face ignored. And unless there’s someone there to point it out he’ll never notice.

Like Time, Legend’s got a lot of experience dungeon crawling, I’d argue more since judging by Time’s armour he hasn’t been travelling a whole lot recently, so he’d also be relying on that experience. When he was younger, dungeon puzzles were a blast to figure out but now they’ve all just kind of bled together. There’s nothing he hasn’t really seen before in some shape or form, no tricks for the deity’s to pull that will surprise him.

He’d just breeze through each puzzle or trap like: “Lame,” or “Seen it,” or “Hey...the spider’s new,” yawning as he went. I feel though if he were paired up with Warriors (he could act nonchalant while Warriors is jumpy at everything) who’s new to all this or Hyrule how’s only ever seen really simplistic dungeon puzzles it could spark that joy he once had.

Wild would unashamedly break the system. Either accidently while finding creative way to cheat or to intentionally carve out his own shortcut. Not so much out of frustration, he could absolutely solve it they way the designers intended if he wanted to, trouble is he rarely has any interest in doing that. He used to ruin the carefully constructed puzzles (most of) the Sheikah monks crafted specifically to test him- right in their faces!- and they rewarded him regardless of the damage he caused. He’s been spoiled. I can imagine him blasting a way out only to turn around, go back in and intentionally destroy the rest of the puzzles for the sake of completion and loot.

Members like Wind, Hyrule and Time on a bad day would 100% support this method, the others would be horrified, with Legend somewhere in the middle.

Four is a very methodical sort of problem solver, not one to let his past experience cloud his judgment and restrict him to assumptions rather than trying out something new. As a blacksmith who’s probably gotten to learn about how other cultures craft their weapons he probably has a deep appreciation for the dungeons design and would be the first to point out what certain quirks of the building mean and what tribe left their mark there. Whenever he may feel agitated for not understanding a puzzle all he needs to do is walk around and look at some historic architecture to keep Blue at bay.

For this reason he may be one of the slower ones to complete a puzzle, but at least the walls swirling patterns may give him inspiration for a cool new sword handle. Not everyone would be able to relate to his eye for detail though.

Four: The paving looks amazing with all these unique carvings, don’t you think?

Hyrule: [grazing a hand over the stone] Ah yes, the floor is made out of floor.

Similar to Warriors Hyrule hasn’t really seen any complex dungeon puzzles, but unlike him he has a more creative ‘out of the box’ way of thinking, which would give him an edge. He’d probably get easily distracted though, lured away from the puzzle by a hidden passage or another route he hadn’t checked out, yet would somehow end up discovering every nook and cranny in the entire dungeon has to offer without much trouble.

Wind is not really a fan of them. Unless it’s for a specific purpose like rescuing someone or to beat up a monster he’ll actively avoid them. But if he had to he’d try to get through it as quickly as possible by literally just trying whatever first pops in his head. He’d rush past and ignore any sort of hints the designers might have given him and try to brute force his way though. When it eventually works he’ll immediately forget the solution though, so don’t bother asking how he got out just be glad he did, like Grandma would.

He’s not the type to ‘stop and smell the roses’ like Four, or just enjoy the atmosphere like Twilight, but he’s too polite (thanks to Grandma) to go around destroying ancient masonry like Wild.

Who do you think would make up the best teams (2- 4 people) if the chain were split up in a dungeon?

I’m thinking Sky, Four and Hyrule because they’d go at a slow pace chatting the whole time, with Four teaching the other two about who built the dungeon and Hyrule encouraging them to explore every room. Or maybe Legend, Warriors and Wind, with the latter two trying really hard and Legend supervising and making fun of them. Leaving Time, Twilight and Wild, where Twilight would struggle to keep Wild from blowing them up and Time being seconds away from joining him.

~~~

Thanks for reading!

Masterlist

Other headcanons:

Parkour team

Honorary Gorons

How each member of the chain laughs

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imjustabeanie · 2 months

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Matchups for @averagetoyakinnie

Your Hazbin hotel match is...Lucifer!

Hi hi hi! For your rematch I bet you thought of him didn’t you? Yeah after more thinking I believe you fit more with Lucifer. You’re quite energetic and dabbles in a lot of hobbies. You need someone who can keep up with you and either hype you up or calm you down. Lucifer is a nice fit for this.

Now this may sound as the to go to scenario but you two met at the hotel. Unless you provide another scenario I don’t have another one that won’t break your character….Due to your initial shy and distant character at first, Lucifer didn’t pay much mind. But when he saw other having fun with you and praising how nice you are he got curious. Perhaps even worried because most hell sinners have hidden intentions. But with time he realized that you had good intentions and is the funny dad friend everyone needs. Even him. He felt comfortable enough with you to let his guard down little by little. It was shown in how he always showed you his new inventions or got you your favorite snacks when you had a bad mood. Heck you two even had weekly gossip sessions lol. He realized his feelings when Charlie pointed out how much time you two spent together and how close you got. He had an oups moment and confessed during a weekly meeting you two had.

Lucifer is someone who adapts to his lover and does his best to make them happy. Even if it ends relatively bad like we saw with Lilith. He’s rather clumsy while talking at the start but will feel confident rather soon. He always hypes you up in your endeavors even if it involves rules breaking. Your weekly meetings turn into daily meetings where you two ramble about your day before going to sleep. He gives you good advices as he’s rather knowledgeable in many fields. Nights where you two go into deep discussions slowly become his favorites because he discovers a new side of you. He eventually opens up about his past but it takes him many years to acknowledge with you his own mistakes.

Your independence is rather nice because he tends to isolate and needs his me time. But he wants you to talk to him about your problems. The only time he’ll get angry at you is if you somehow get yourself in danger. He’ll get angry, deal with the problem and go to cool off. He’ll apologize for his behavior later and spoils you as an apology. He’ll try to make you laugh because he loves your laugh, it always puts him in a good mood. He once got you plushies every week, but once he knew you didn’t like plushies that much (totally not because he is jealous of the kisses they get) he stopped and instead got you art material and instruments. You get monthly ducks too. He has one that looks exactly like you and probably rehearsed some conversations with it lol.

Lucifer loves how attentive and caring you are, even to strangers. He lets you do what you want and even encourages you while he stands back to make sure they don’t have negative intentions towards you. Something he likes is how you never take anything for granted. It makes him feel appreciated because his love language is mainly acts of service and gift giving. It’ll take time for him to get used to physical affection but soon you’ll notice that he always holds your hand in public and refused to let you out of his embrace when sleeping. Speaking of domestic things, you two adopted 3 pets of your choice. He had to put a stop to it because you were gonna adopt all animals in hell and he’s already jealous of your three companions. When he was having a bad day and you took care of him, he believed he felt a new kind of love. He was so grateful for it. You can notice it because he became more vulnerable around you, even letting you touch his wings and horns.

Lucifer plays many instruments and would adore to play with you! He’d teach you many tricks and shortcuts (he’d rig the game cuz he’s the ref. Sorry not sorry). He also collects things and would be happy to feed your own collections. You can also find Lucifer at all your plays if you let him. He’s just proud of you okay? In general, you two are a couple that know how to have fun.

Your JJK match is....Geto!

Now Suguru is a complex character and it’s actually the first time I write for him so forgive me if I mess up lol. Suguru is someone with a black and white ideology. He despises non sorcerers but cares deeply for sorcerers. In the end he just wants to create a perfect world for his loved ones. Thus, I believe he is a very devoted lover who’d give it all for your happiness. Truly selfless love.

You and Geto were classmates. You two got along with your similar taste of music and you introduced him to video games. You were here for him during his darkest hours this is why he fell for you. How caring, attentionate, grateful and optimistic you are truly made him see you in a positive and loving light. He asked you out after you both came back from a dangerous mission. Life is too short to be indecisive.

Geto is a boyfriend that always has your back if he believes you are right. He’s always here to keep your feet to the ground and save you from making reckless decisions. Yeah he’s also a dad friend, perhaps even more of a dad friend than you are. He shares his inner thoughts with you but it’d take him time to share his darker thoughts. He just doesn’t want to drag you into the rabbit hole he fell into. He also tends to overthink and you noticed that. That’s why you two have a mandatory funny/goofy talk each day. You two share gossips, jokes, snacks and thoughts. It really helped in getting closer. He likes these moments a lot because it makes him feel at ease, forgetting all his other troubles. Communication is key in a relationship but for someone like him it’s gonna take a lot of time. He’s a ticking bomb. Your opiniated self helps him keep his head on his shoulders.

Geto is reluctant to break some rules to have adventures but can’t resist joining you lol. He’s always up for a fun time, often taking you to explore some abandoned places together and enjoy the view. He’s also very attentive and always gets you your favorite snacks to save your days. If you’re having a bad day he’ll pick you up, head home, roll you into a burrito and cuddle with you over a movie waiting for your take out to arrive. While you’re nice and want to help out everyone you meet, he is not. He only helps specific people and often made it known that most people you help don’t deserve it. This sparked some arguments between the two of you. While he doesn’t fully agree (sometimes he is jealous of these strangers) he now keeps his mouth shut. He still has a heart and sometimes help you out. After these debates he takes you out on a date to a concert, arcade, park or even some nice restaurants if he can reserve it. Geto can also cook rather well and often prepares bentos for both of you every day.

He finds your habbit of kissing your plushies rather cute and he teases you for it. He sometimes lay on them and demands attention. Geto also likes getting you trinkets when he’s on a solo mission. Especially if it’s something you collect. His love language is acts of service and quality time. He also enjoys physical touch and likes holding your hand or hugging you at home. He’d accept to get an animal but only one because of your schedules. And no, no amount of begging or puppy eyes will melt his heart on this matter. Sometimes your cat sides with him which makes him laugh. He really enjoys your interest for arts and likes taking you on museum dates or concerts so he can see you ramble about those topics you love so much. He doesn’t play an instrument in the manga but I headcanon him playing the guitar. Your house is always filled with music which makes him happy. Sometimes he just lays down and enjoys your music. He encourages your hobbies and even gifted you an expensive camera for your birthday! He’s into sports himself and likes playing with you.

Overall this relationship is one where he learns to progress and heal while giving the best of himself to you. It does get rocky when he starts to stray but I believe he’d do his best to stay clean because he found a new reason to figth.

Your obey me match is...Solomon!

The sly and funny sorcerer. This man is charismatic and flirty, he generally gets along with everyone (and more if affinity ahem-). I choose him because he’s versatile and caring if it makes sense.

How you met: Let’s follow the plot shall we? (date. Okay sorry I’ll stop). Solomon always has a comeback when you’re being sassy with him and just seems to know what people are thinking. He’d be the one to show you around and would encourage you to break the rules if it’s not too dangerous. Seems casual right? Yeah and it would’ve stayed that way if it wasn’t for…asmodeus! Come on, in the house of lamentation both of you would easily get along. He’d be the type to drag his two favorite humans along to his shenaningans (idk how it’s pronounced). The trouble trio lol. It would prompt you and Solomon to spend more time together and get to know each other. He is into anime/manga and gaming as we saw with Levi. The fact that you’re also dad friend but also fun and entertaining would put him more at ease with you because he doesn’t have to pick up slacks or worry about you getting in serious trouble lol. I think you’d be the one to fall first. Or that asmodeus would notice the tension between both of you and will try to pair both of you together until he succeeds. Now I also thought that it could start as a FWB type of thing if you feel up to it. Because Solomon has these kind of friendships and it’s highly possible that Asmodeus would propose it

In a relationship: Something nice with you and Solomon is that you have a lot in common and he’s also a very curious individual in general so this definitely won’t be a problem as I can see you two enjoying the same hobbies and having fun. He’s a tease so when you give him words of affirmation you can expect him to act all flirty as a thank you, or very soft in rare moments lol. He’s an intellectual and can definitely keep up with all your conversations. He’s also the type who knows when in a bad mood and somehow manage to lift if up. You act feminine? So what? He’s gonna enjoy it with you he doesn’t care. I mean….he is good friend with asmodeus. He likes it. He’s also gossipy lol (you see these videos with a partner coming home and saying I got the tea? Yeah it’s the two of you). You two acted like an old married couple rather quickly lol. Solomon love language seems to be more in acts of service to be honest. But if he notices that you prefer words of affirmation he will switch to it. I can also see him bringing you a small gift each time he goes out. The biggest problems in the relationship is, as you guessed it, his immortality and ability to open up that are linked. It will always be here unfortunately unless he manages to break the curse or you somehow get cursed which he might be against because it’s not something you’d appreciate (personally I don’t mind but I can understand why some would). Also, I see him as someone who would take time to become exclusive. As we saw in obey me, most of the cast doesn’t mind the mc having multiple lovers so yeah it could be an issue.

Your JJBA match is...Ceasar!

*proceed to throw a big cross at the post. Sorry not sorry lol*

Yeah a Zepelli. Considering who the second options were, you shouldn’t be surprised that you got the casanova lol. Ceasar is a big romantic and also a loyal friend. He’s determined, brave and willing to sacrifice himself for his goals.

How you met: Okay let me cook. I see both of you being childhood friends. Perhaps you grew up and joined him in his adventure to learn Hamon or you two met again years later when he was back (I had an idea that you were a model and he saw you in a magazine and that’s how he knew where you were but don’t know if you’d accept it lol. In short he saw the magazine when he came back and looked for you again). You two had lots of adventures together and often flirted with each other. It’s not uncommon to find you both enjoying yourselves and talking loudly without a care in the world. He definitely broke more rules after you met again. He always protects you in fights and you patch him up in exchange lol. If anyone were to insult you or your style they can expect one hell of a beating. I think he’d ask you out after a dangerous mission where he saw how scared he was of losing you.

In a relationship: Not much would change, he’d just be more romantic just as you like it because his love language is words of affirmation and gift giving. It’s giving la boheme vibes. He might not be able to keep up with you if you get into deep conversations but he will validate you and ask about it. He’s curious to know how you think and eager to make you happy. You two being so sarcastic and able to finish each other insults would be soooo funny. I can see him enjoying music with you and taking you to fairs to dance together. He might not be much into mystery or board games but he is competitive enough to participate and enjoy his time with you. Ohhh imagine you both laying under the stars and he makes you a flower crown. Personal headcanon, he doesn’t handle spicy food. Now for the bad parts here…he is too goal oriented and also won’t hesitate to leave you behind if it’s to protect you or accomplish his goal. Just as we saw with joseph unfortunately….better be able to calm him down from his reckless behavior.

Your Tokyo Revengers match is...Mitsuya!

He’s more stable than Kakucho. That’s literally the only reason lol.

How you met: Since you wanted future setup we’re gonna follow that. And thankfully, mitsuya usually shares the same future. You were his model, his first official model if you know what I meant. He always called you when he had your style in mind or an outfit that could fit you. Heck I can even see both of you having photoshoots together because he works with you a lot and you get along with his little sisters (he started working young so it’s to be expected that you met them before). As much as he tried to keep it professional, it’s difficult to do so with someone you see that often so you two are bound to talk and befriend each other. He always makes sure your favorite beverages are present and when he receives invitations to events like dinner he found himself thinking about you and eventually kept inviting you. He appreciates your sarcasm and independence when working with you because he knows you mean well and you’re honest too! This basically went from work to lovers in the span of many years. After perhaps many relationships you two found comfort in each other’s and it just clicked. He was always embarrassed if you started acting flirty with him but in the end he reciprocated and you asked him out.

In a relationship: He tries to keep it private so the paparazzi would leave you alone. He’s more open with you and often surprised you with dates at homes as well as flowers every week. If you get along with kids and like them (contrary to me), it won’t be unusual to find you playing with his sisters some board games and he’d join you. I think he low key sucks in video games. He will try for you but still…You two would definitely bond over art. You’re like his muse after all. He’d encourage you to draw and do music and in the future I can definitely see him dedicating a room for your hobbies. He’s more of an introvert so when you’re overactive he sometimes struggle to keep up, thankfully you’re willing to help him out lol. You’d definitely be the reason why he goes out more. Both of you being the therapist friends would make for a healthy relationship because you both have no issues sharing your problems. Be prepared to be surprised if you didn’t know he was in a gang. His friends will definitely be very curious about it. I can’t see much issues because he is such a green flag….

Your helluva boss match is....Stolas!

You two met at a party where he was bored out of his mind. He engaged in little talks and when he saw you two got along and you weren’t double faced he invited you to meet up for other little talks. He finds you to be easy to talk to and get along with. He is a young soul at heart and would gladly rebel with you lol. Stolas loves that you’re very independent because he is often busy with his princely duties. He is someone who would enjoy debating with you and just sharing his deepest thoughts. He is nice (when he wants) and also protective of you, if he felt like anyone was trying to take advantage of you they’re gonna pay dearly. He is also overactive! INVITE HIM TO ESCAPE GAMES OR ANY MYSTERY GAMES! He would love it! Stolas is a sweet lover who has a lot of flaws but would give it all up for happiness. His only problems in the relationship is his wife and trust issues lol. I can see both of you either getting in trouble together or him getting in trouble and you taking care of this drama queen. His love language is definitely gifts, affection and words.

Your genshin match is...Ayato!

You were a friend of Thoma that he got to know and enjoyed. You two went to many festivals together and he became interested in you. Your relationship is quite secret because he wants to avoid drama on both sides and make you comfortable (but everyone can see that he is softer with you). Ayato is mischievous and would sometimes engage in breaking rules with you (to the disbelief of both thoma and ayaka. What did you do lol). At least Thoma knows you have ayato best interest in mind and would never let him get hurt. Ayato is very busy, so he treasures every moment spent with you and plan as many dates as he can into his schedule. He often sends you gifts to apologize if he is too busy. You two are the biggest boba tea lovers, if you’re into that I can imagine both of you trying to make boba tea. He loves that you’re independent, confident and straightforward. He also engages in all your talks with his own teasing remarks or, if it’s a deep conversation, his inner thoughts. While you are openly sarcastic, he makes backhanded comments, what a dangerous duo. He doesn’t care that you act feminine at all. And if he can, he would love to match outfits with you or even lets you dress him up. He will always defend dogs unfortunately…He loves playing chess with you and I believe he has a personal art collection that you can observe (he’d even gift you some pieces later on). Overall, ayato is a nice and calm lover. His busy schedule and teasing remarks can be too much for some people (try to flirt with him and you’ll end up as red as a tomato) but he tries his best to make up for it

Your HSR match is...Ruan Mei!

Now I know you weren’t expecting her but I think both of you would fit well together. She is reserved, smart and spends a lot of time in her lab. Please teach her how to socialize lol (it’s what happened at first. It started like the MC but she liked you more and spent more time with you). She is an emotionally aloof and distant girlfriend because I think she doesn’t know how to act in those situations. Ruan Mei would happily ramble about her ideas and experiments to you while sharing her troubles and guilt over what she is doing. She loves that you’re interested in music and the arts! She finds them to be relaxing to look at so she often invites you to come with her and discuss them. She sometimes isolate when she is working and hope you don’t mind that. Lmao the duo of the scientist at work and her lover barging in all angry because she is not taking care of herself. You’re a rule breaker? Good. Cuz she is messing with life here. Your flirty nature surprises her and makes her all shy lol. She loves spending time with you watching movies and anime (im sure she loves all mystery related things). I think she is very good at board games even though she doesn’t plan them often….If one of her creations looked like you, she would keep it lol. In general Ruan Mei would learn how to be in a relationship with you, she can be distant and aloof without meaning it so just go and bring her back down to earth with us.

Your black butler match is....William!

Poor forgotten William…how dare you do him wrong like that sniff sniff. I admit that the most difficult part of William…Is just befriending this man. Cuz once he befriends you, it’s easier for him to fall in love and ask you out. He is a very traditional boyfriend who would prepare a whole dinner date (perhaps he cooked) and invite you before asking you out at the end of it. In a relationship, there is a mandatory tea break with you that he would never miss. He has to bitch about his work to someone and if you have any issues he would be glad to take care of it. He may enjoy a calm environment but he will do his best to keep up with all your energy (give this old man a break). But he’d ask you on his worst days if he can just…lay down in your arms and enjoy your presence (aaawwwww). You being the dad friend is good for him. He is also the dad friend so having someone like that near him who will also take care of him would help him out greatly. With you around, he would start enjoying life more and would become less of a workaholic. He loves going to museums and concerts/opera with you. He tries to get tickets at least twice a week for these kind of events. His love language is mostly spending time together and helping you out. He may be rather brutally honest but he is softer with you. If you pester him enough, you can get a cat. Board games that rely on intelligence would be something he enjoys doing. You’re definitely the only one who can make him blush, he fails often lol. He always makes it a point to have your favorite beverage nearby. Beware of Grelle, she might try to murder you in the start. He is not feminine but would respect your style.

Your twst match is...Trey!

He’s the therapist’s therapist, the dad of the dad. And yet he finds it in himself to be mischievous. Trey would ask you out on valentine day or with a special cake just for you. I believe you two were classmates and he asked you out at the end of the third or second year. Trey likes that you’re responsible, independent but still a rule breaker lol. At least you know how to have fun. Both of you would definitely cook together, he would even show you some family secret! Trey is understanding and can handle all your moods (he handled riddle after all) and he always seems to know how to make you feel better. I headcanon that he knows a lot of tea due to Cater and Rook…these two are very gossipy. He is not very good at games but would try. If you think he is not competitive….think again because he knows how to have fun and enjoys friendly debates. He likes it when you introduce him to new musics and forms of art (he would try to plan these dates when you two can). In general, Trey is a loving and calm boyfriend that can still keep you on your toes. He knows how to have fun while keeping the both of you safe. And he is curious, just like you which keeps the relationship lively.

#matchups #match ups #hazbin hotel #genshin impact #twisted wonderland #jujutsu kaisen #honkai star rail #jjba #obey me #tokyo revengers #helluva boss #kuroshitsuji #black butler

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soursvgar · 1 year

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ZODIAC SERIES ━ ♍︎ Mammon

A/N; moving forward with our om zodiac analysis, we have mammon sama the virgo we all love and adore. he's another character i was unsure about their zodiac pick at first, thinking an aries would've been a better fit, but after learning more about him he might just be one of the virgoest virgos.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

ෆ━ personality

Yet another mutable sign, this time in the element of earth. The combination of earth, a grounding force with the flexibility of a mutable sign creates a double edged sword; the burden of being a virgo comes from this exact duality, the practical and pragmatic nature of earth contradicts the fluidity of being a mutable sign. Regardless, from this difficult mixture stem a group of both dreamers and doers in one entity.

Mammon is almost a perfect example of virgo- on the one hand being deemed untrustworthy for his schemes and tricks, on the other hand, having actual good concrete ideas to make money and following them through. Fittingly, Mammon is carefully calculated and retains a collected nature when push comes to shove, only using the actual extent of his power when its really, really needed. (Protecting MC, for example.) His brothers may attest him to be an incompetent fool, but Mammon's "incompetence" is all but unintentional. Mammon is capable of, and will find and follow the shortcuts towards success, and patiently, with his earthly persistence, he will keep trying and failing until he succeeds.

Virgos are usually a "more than meets the eye" kind of people, and Mammon is no exception. He tends to exhibit himself as an extreme version of a classic indulgent earth sign, treating himself to expensive clothes and other material possessions. He displays countless defense mechanisms in the forms of arrogancy and troublemaking, assumptively, to strain out those who are unfit to have him at his best. However, once you get past his act, you'll win a kind hearted demon that will do absolutely anything for you.

ෆ━ dating headcanons

Virgos are compatible with many yet are hard to impress, they are very choosy and search for a partner that aligns with their morals and intellect.

Devotion - Virgos are very busy people, but as long as you're appreciative of it, the entirety of his free time is now yours for as long and as often as you need it. He will clear his schedule to address any concerns you might have, will stay up late with you to spend more time together even if he has to wake up early for an important meeting or an exam, and generally cherish any second he spends in your company.

Communication - Just like gemini, virgo is also governed by mercury, which grants them with outstanding abilities to understand other people. Virgos aren't fond of confrontation so arguments are barely existent, but if they already happen, Mammon will encourage you to stay and talk it out until the two of you can reach a common ground. Virgos absorb blows like a sponge, their level of patience is unmatched and as long as they keep seeing potential in their partner, they can handle almost anything thrown at them. (Sounds familiar? Think of Mammon constantly dismissing insults from his brothers despite him being more powerful and able to beat them up for it.) So if you're looking for someone who is strong willed, Mammon is your guy. But don't abuse his endurance, because the moment a virgo had lost sight of a shared future, there's no going back from there.

Service - Virgos also represent the 6th house which is the house of service and health. People with dominant placements in virgo love to help others and feel satisfied when successfully solving other people's problems. Mammon will be your go to person when you need anything because he makes it so comfortable for you to open up and share your troubles with, he listens to you intently and offers helpful advice. Mammon will give you his real commentary━ at times unsolicited━ without sugar coating things, and sometimes you might feel offended by his brutal honesty, only to later realize it was exactly what you needed to hear. He's your biggest supporter and the first person who wants to see you fulfil your potential, your well being is always in his interest.

ෆ━ nsfw headcanons

Virgos are sensible and thoughtful lovers, they're often bottoms or switches, give importance to balance and to bonding with their partners, and are less inclined to flings or one night stands.

Input - Being very receptive and analytical, the more time you spend intimate together the better it's going to become. Mammon will take mental notes of what turns you on, your likes and dislikes, and eventually build an internal portfolio with ways to pleasure you without you paying any attention. He'll leave you wondering how he improved so much within a short time, but he just knows you so well.

Submission - Mammon have been said to be a masochist, and while it's probably not in that literal sense, it is believable that as a virgo he will be into at least some aspects of it. Mammon will love it if you can boss him around and tell him what to do, so long as you'll do it gently and acknowledge his efforts. But also, don't fear to be demanding, the thought of attending to your needs alone will most likely make him weak in his knees.

Praise - Virgos often beat themselves up too much, they can be uncertain and doubtful that their actions are up to par. Recognition and reassurance are extremely advised, and specifically in Mammon's case. He's going to act all high and mighty, but inside will be insecure and wonder if he's enough for you, so hearing you praise him will not only put him at ease, but also be his driving force to try even harder. Overall, it's a win win situation.

#i promise next one will be shorter hehe #obey me #obey me mammon #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #obey me mc #obey me zodiac series

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dangerously-human · 2 years

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I just want you to know that I don’t know what farscape is about and at this point I’m too afraid to ask

Farscape is, aside from the current love of my life in every way, a practically indescribable Australian-American sci-fi show from the turn of the millennium that ran for four seasons and a miniseries of "am I on LSD or did that actually just happen" delight, interspersed with some of the best character (and relationship) development ever to grace television.

It starts with an American astronaut, John Crichton, getting yeeted across the universe in a scientific experiment gone wrong, and landing on a ship full of escaped prisoners, some of whom are Muppets. It is at this point that the thus-far-uncommitted viewer starts to ask themselves if this is really what they planned to get themselves into. It was not: it is so much better. It also gets much, much more bizarre from there, in the best way. John imprints on all of his new alien allies pretty quickly, especially Aeryn, who was up until John's arrival part of this end of the universe's version of a rent-a-cop/mercenary army. Somewhere in the midst of dodging the law, exploring strange new worlds, accidentally starting some major conflicts and averting others, and generally seeding and feeding chaos wherever he goes (mostly inadvertently), John becomes besties with his new alien pals and falls in love with Aeryn - but none of the relationships in this show are simplistic, and they all have a LOT to figure out together along the way.

A mere handful of the themes Farscape does an outstanding job tackling: home, identity, navigating cultural differences (especially linguistics stuff), revenge vs. justice, mental illness and trauma, family (of all kinds - I'm particularly fascinated by the way a few characters and plotlines relate to parenthood), breaking generational cycles, the price of peace, how far is too far to go in pursuit of a goal... I could write whole essays of meta, and might eventually; I've already hollered about a few so much that I'm halfway there, honestly.

Oh, and it's freaking hilarious as well as emotionally devastating in turns, and all fully earned - no shortcuts here. The acting is phenomenal, and the love for the story being told is so clear from everyone involved. It's definitely a niche sort of show - you have to like truly weird sci-fi, for starters - but I cannot sing its praises highly enough.

#personal #farscape

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ghostjelliess · 3 months

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Let me tell you something, let me tell you something! (I hope you heard it in his voice)

Miscommunication as a trope only works when the CAUSE of the misunderstanding is resolved through character development by the larger plot. It's not a happy ending if they didn't solve the root cause, cus I don't trust them to get through more, they're going to have this exact fight again.

If character A is insecure and interprets B's actions one way, and B can't communicate their intentions because they are angry, then until A rebuilds their confidence (or at least confidence in B) and B works on patience and empathy in expression, they aren't "good now cus they kissed" or whatever. You leave the audience hanging. It's the finesse of show don't tell. Tell why A is insecure (or show), show A building trust in themselves, show B practicing and failing to express their frustrations in a kind way. Now have them talk, now the reader has trust that they can solve a fight, now it's a happy ending.

I get it's a trope. I also get that it is the bane of nearly every human error. Miscommunication is the cause of every plot at some point, but the trope part, the reunite with a forgiving kiss without the fight, that's what's driving me nuts. It doesn't have to be a long fight, I've seen it done in a single scene that was so powerful that when all hell rained down on our MCs, I was genuinely invested and empathetically excited to watch them solve it. I was allowed to be vulnerable in their pain because I could trust them as a team. That's, I think, what everyone is calling "chemistry" sometimes. Let your readers build trust.

Then, if you want, rip it away when A gets scared and their fragile new confidence is questioned, let them topple and let B feel the pain of that loss, let the audience cheer for them and understand them both. The kiss of understanding is way more powerful than the makeup. A character being seen and heard by their love interest is way more powerful than a kiss. That's the romance, that's the falling in love, that's the building your own world together out of shared experiences and trust that has faltered and stood back up.

Anyway... I'm very passionate about this. It seems part of every trope, enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine, all of it, cus it's not a trope, it's a shortcut and I don't buy it. Maybe I'm broken but "they hurt me so much and I'm scared and vulnerable" to "but they're so purdy and they kissed me so I forgive them" only works in a few cases for me and a lot of people keep using it, and I feel a little arrogant and stupid cus maybe it really does do it enough for everyone else, but I'm just left looking at our MC like "wow, really...? That was it?" Now they're just a dramatic mfer. My respect is minimal and I don't feel fulfilled by the happy ending cus it's just gonna happen again. They didn't actually solve the problem. What was the point of the miscommunication?

Maybe that's all it is: miscommunication is a character device, not a plot arc. It can act as a plot in the form of character growth, but when used as a primary plot point between two characters, miscommunication can only create tension and resentment until characters are solved to understand each other and the miscommunication is resolved at the root. I'm not out here to snip buds my guy. I'm here to listen to the wind and watch the grass sway, to observe wildflowers and mushrooms climbing out of bones, and listen to the trees knock against each other, so if you're telling me to look over here in a story, then rip out the roots or make the bush blossom. That's it. That's all I'm asking.

Okay. I feel better. End rant.

#trope rants #miscommunication #enemies to lovers #kiss and makeup #show dont tell #creative writing #writing #trope talk #character arc #mini rant

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lurkingshan · 1 year

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The End of the World With You

I’ll include my watch notes under a cut since I binged it and it’s long af, but the TL;DR: I really loved the first half of this but it kind of fell apart in the second half for me. On the one hand, I found the initial conflict very compelling, thought the actors had good chemistry, the show was beautiful to look at, and as @bengiyo has highlighted, it was really nice to see a show featuring an explicit queer sexual relationship leave the characters on a happy, hopeful note, if not a straightforward HEA. Ultimately though I came down agreeing with @waitmyturtles that the emotional arc just didn’t ring true. In particular, it felt like Ritsu became a totally different character in the last few episodes and it didn’t work for me despite my appreciation for some of those scenes.

I also just could not get into the whole side story about Madoka, which might be my own discomfort with stan culture and parasocial relationships getting in the way. But it took up a lot of story time and we ended up with some shortcuts in the main narrative as a result. I think a version of this show that focused more narrowly on Ritsu and Masumi repairing their relationship and finding peace with each other in their final days might have worked better.

All that aside, I am very curious what people are making of that weird ending and Yuma’s magic powers. Do we think he stopped the meteor?

Episode 1

* I like how they set this slightly in the future to give us a sense that this could be happening to us any day now, very strong doom vibes.

* Trying to imagine what I would do if I found out the world was about to end. Masumi wastes the day away playing on his phone and then heads to the library to spend his final days in quiet solitude. I think I’d probably gather up my friends and buy a ton of food and drinks and just hunker down to ride it out together.

* I love that the moment of recognition between Masumi and Ritsu was not when they first looked at each other, but when their hands touched. That’s when they both froze, like a sense memory took them over.

* Ritsu is gorgeous and he has read and enjoyed Masumi’s writing. How could anyone resist?

* This may just be me benefiting from hindsight since I already know some stuff about how the show progresses, but Ritsu does seem to sincerely connect with Masumi. He will turn out to be a horrible boyfriend but it’s not because he doesn’t like him.

Episode 2

* I remember reading some commentary toward the end of the show airing about how intensely Ritsu is focused on Masumi during sex, and it’s here too in their earlier scenes. He’s watching him closely and seems to enjoy making him feel good. Whether that’s because of any feelings he has for Masumi or his own ego remains to be seen.

* “I feel like you’re special” and “I really love you” and kissing him publicly at school and when Masumi catches him with a girl Ritsu just says “sorry that was rude”?? Jail for this man.

* Poor Masumi. Trying to get a fuckboy to love you never works (barring an apocalyptic event, apparently). But I get it, it was the first time he felt comfortable with his sexuality and it’s hard to let go of someone you’re that compatible with.

* Masumi is being pathetic but Ritsu threatening to out him is truly so vile. Back to jail!

* Ritsu trying to act like they’re old friends after things ending like that… I want to reach through the screen and slap him.

* I like this song playing at the end of the episodes, it’s pretty. (ETA: I found it - Futatabi by HIROBA feat Ai Otsuka)

* Help him with a what now??

Episode 3

* Okay I had memory-holed the corpse thing, yikes.

* Now why exactly is Ritsu running around with euthanasia drugs?

* If I was Masumi I would simply not follow my cheating ex boyfriend when he says he is going to take me to a corpse.

* The corpse is alive!! And says Ritsu told him they would die together? He truly is a POS, phew.

* This kid wanted to die because his favorite idol died by suicide? That is too unfortunately believable.

* Masumi convincing the kid to go on living only to be immediately reminded that the world is ending is so darkly funny.

* Yuma! He has a name.

* Is Ritsu really trying to get it in in this situation?? The AUDACITY of this man.

* Masumi yelling at Ritsu about how traumatic their relationship was for him is great and also unflinchingly honest. I think most people in that situation would try to keep a little pride and pretend to be unaffected.

* Damn big of you to promise a whole week of fidelity, Ritsu.

* Masumi immediately getting horny when surrounded by Ritsu’s scent. 💀

Episode 4

* Ya know I suppose if we were all about to die and I had convenient access to the best sex of my life I might just go for it, pride be damned.

* Masumi grew up abused and neglected with a hateful mother. Yep, that tracks.

* “My personal philosophy is for people to prioritize themselves.” Yeah we know, Ritsu.

* I like the energy Yuma is bringing to the story. Masumi and Ritsu are so gloomy.

* Oh fuck this. What we’re not going to do at the end of the world is waste time tending to our abusive parents.

* I don’t believe Masumi’s mother regrets what she’s done to him. She only regrets that she’s dying alone. Hoo boy, feeling a bit trigged tbh!

* Masumi, IMO this is a great time to adopt Ritsu’s personal philosophy.

* Ritsu is an asshole but he saved Masumi from himself in this moment.

Episode 5

* Why are we still paying for hotels during the apocalypse?

* Does Yuma know this girl? Looks like yes! And she knows Ritsu? Who is Rikkun?? What is happening!

* The creepy music and weird lighting - what is is trying to tell me about Meguru? Is it just that she’s trans? That doesn’t seem worth the mystery doom treatment.

* So Ritsu actually was suicidal for some reason he is not yet disclosing.

* Kido! Here to play another POS, no doubt. That escalated quickly, what a creep.

* I, too, thought Yuma might be controlling the weather.

Episode 6

* I’m sure all of this talk about the idol sister is supposed to be touching but I’m too distracted by the implausibility of this group of people with all these convenient connections to each other’s traumas just happening to meet up while running around in an apocalypse.

* This whole emotional thread hinging on Yuma’s parasocial fixation on an idol he’s never met… mmm, I don’t know, fam.

* I don’t know that I am buying Ritsu’s tears over Masumi getting hurt and his sudden epiphany that he’s a POS. Seems kind of abrupt? And Masumi immediately responding with a kiss and forgiveness? I think the characters could be convincingly taken to this place with more time and development but this feels unearned.

* The Madoka stuff really isn’t working for me. In a show with such a short run time I’d rather they kept a tighter focus on the main pair’s relationship rather than diverting to this side story. And I really don’t buy Ritsu feeling guilty about not saving her. It just doesn’t track with anything else we know about him.

* Sidebar: Baka here is translated as “you ass” but I know this word from We Best Love when Shu Yi keeps calling Shi De an idiot (affectionate).

* This might be the episode where the show lost me. I think they skipped important beats in the emotional arcs and took some narrative shortcuts that didn’t really work (maybe due to the short run time) so I’m not going to fully buy anything that happens from here.

Episode 7

* Ritsu is a romantic now! Okay.

* Surprised to learn Ritsu was with Masumi for six months. How did they make it that long before Masumi realized he was fucking everything that moved?

* Ritsu’s reaction when Madoka called him an asshole for cheating on Masumi felt more genuine. That kind of rye amusement - yep I’m the worst - felt more like him than the guilty crying and suicidal ideation.

* This scene at the waterfall is really beautiful. I like it despite not fully buying some of the underlying emotions.

* Yuma just now realizing they’re “like that” is sending me. His sexual tension detector is clearly faulty.

* Meguru really didn’t think it through when she decided to appear in front of her parents suddenly looking like her dead sister.

Episode 8

* I really wish Yuma and Meguru’s connection was NOT based around Madoka. I think I’d be more into it if they’d scrapped the idol thing and just had them be two kids who met by chance.

* Okay but for real what is with Yuma’s magic powers? It feels so random.

* So after all that Yuma just leaves?

* The fogged up car windows were a nice touch. Kept waiting for Masumi to slap his hand against the glass like Rose.

* Wait Ritsu’s reason for wanting to die was his business was in debt? That’s it??

* I would have liked some flashbacks to Ritsu’s perspective in college. I think it would have made this “I loved you all along and always wanted you back” thing more believable.

* I like that Masumi wants to live on but I also don’t actually believe Ritsu would be faithful if the world wasn’t ending. 😶

* Was that a bare hip bone I spied in this final sex scene? Goodness.

* Dude what the hell. Is Yuma the meteor? Did Yuma magically stop the meteor? What am I supposed to do with this!

#the end of the world with you #bokura no micro na shuumatsu #japanese bl #jdrama #shan shouts into the void

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sunlitanon · 2 years

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Finnicky

This is sort of more of a character study than anything else. By the events of Pillbug, Fearne has a pretty solid idea of where Orym's boundaries are and a 100% certainty that if you overstep them, you'll know. I just think he's sort of like a finnicky housecat that only lets you pet them every third Sunday, you know? Also I haven't watched Exu yet, so I hope I didn't mischaracterise their time with the Crownkeepers too terribly!

The first time Fearne tries to tickle Orym, he just sort of goes boneless.

It had been a long day of travel by the time they piled into the inn, exhausted but unharmed aside from a couple scrapes on Orym, who’d been swiped at by a bear of all things. When Dorian, Dariax and Opal had gone downstairs looking to get drunk, there had been a few transient moments where Fearne and Orym were alone in the room, and she had looked across at the dark circles under his eyes and really wanted to make him smile.

Fearne goes down to join the others, later, leaving Orym tucked in bed to sleep off the day. She takes with her the newly discovered knowledge that Orym can giggle. __

Another day, they’re walking through the forest. Orym’s got his face buried in a map that he can’t open all the way out even with his full armspan and Fearne sidles up next to him. There’s a little crease between his eyebrows; she can see the shadow of it over his whole face, like he’s suddenly an old man.

She sneaks one free hand down to pinch at his side and then he is just. Gone, in what seems like the space between one breath and another.

He’s just darted over to the front of the group, Fearne finds after a single, stunned second, but so fast and so smoothly that the others don’t even seem to have noticed anything happened. He shoots a quick, evaluating look back at her before turning back to the map, and then in a moment he clears his throat and starts talking about shortcuts.

One night by the campfire, while Opal is play-wrestling with Orym, tickling a little to distract him and because Opal thinks it’s terribly funny to make him squirm, she calls for backup “to hold him down so I can really get him.” Orym disengages in a second, putting a few feet between them, and actually draws a weapon from his belt.

It’s a little theatrical, Fearne thinks, but after that none of them ever tries to hold him down in a way he can’t slip out of.

After another quiet moment where Orym flops over like a fish the second Fearne gets her hands on him, and another where he pulls his disappearing act, and actually softens at Fearne’s pout and says “Not today, okay Fearnie?”, she’s starting to put together a theory.

“’…already thirty, Dorian,” Orym is saying as Fearne walks into the inn room, a day or two out of Zephrah.

Dorian catches her in the corner of his eye and grins. “I’m just saying, look at Fearne,” he says, in the kind of persuasive voice he can only use when there are no stakes, “Fearne’s 180. And no wrinkles! Do you know why?”

“Because she’s fey, Dorian.” If she didn’t know her boys so well, she mightn’t have been able to hear the edge of laughter creeping up below Orym’s patient, flat tone.

“It’s because she doesn’t crease her face by frowning all the time!” Dorian says, and then he giggles, which sort of undermines whatever he’s doing here. “Fearne agrees with me, don’t you Fearne?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Fearne says, not entirely sure what she’s agreeing to, except that they’re ganging up on Orym and it’ll make him look at her like—oh yes, just like that. Perfect.

Orym scoffs, turning away from them so they can’t see him twist his mouth against a proper smile, or so he thinks.

“You’re so grumpy, Orym,” Fearne says, and drops herself onto the bed next to him. “I think I know how to put some smile lines onto that face, though.” And with that she tries to wrestle him onto her lap, and Orym—who could out-wrestle her any day—just lets her with only token resistance, wriggling a little in her arms.

“Don’t suppose I have a say in the matter?” he asks, and Fearne can’t see his face from this angle—that’s a problem, she’ll have to move him—but he already sounds like he’s about to laugh, and she hasn’t done anything yet.

In one quick movement she shoves him back off her lap, flat against the mattress with her palms flat and firm against his shoulders and blinking a little in surprise.

“You always have a say, Orym,” she says, and this way is much better. From this vantage point she can see the wheels turning in his head, the way his eyes sweep across the room and weigh up her simmering excitement, Dorian’s fond amusement even as he puts his hands up, refusing to intervene in one way or another.

After a moment’s wry, thoughtful silence, he says, “Don’t say I never do anything for you,” and Fearne goes straight for his ribs.

#critickle role #my fic #now the thing is if i even think of doing the lee!character thing i will die of embarrassment #but also if i find my fic in the main character tags i will also die of embarrassment #but i need to label the things on my blog by character for the sake of finding it later?#what's a bitch to do

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essayofthoughts · 1 year

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So I know you study the PCs of C1 with great intent and care - but how do you handle the NPCs, which get far less screentime and are all filtered through Matt? With, say, Cass there are easy shortcuts - looking at Percy and finding what they might share - but less to use with Syldor, for instance (who the twins likely tried hard not to emulate).

I mean, even with Syldor I feel like it's kind of possible to reverse engineer him in how the twins behave? Like they refuse to act like him, but his shittery still impacted them and their behaviour. Vax's defensive attitude and protectiveness of Vex, how he hurls himself into harm's way. Vex's quiet observance, the way that she can fold into herself when made to feel uncomfortable, ashamed or guilty.

It suggests Syldor used shame to police them and that's why Vax refuses to feel ashamed at all - he knows Syldor's full of shit and aggressively refuses yo abide - but it worked on Vex and that's why she reacts so badly to that and why Vax can get so overtly protective and defensive then. It also seems very likely that Syldor tried to play them against each other to some degree - Vex's desire to fit in versus Vax's indifference - and while that might have caused some disputes I think ultimatelynit only pulled them closer together.

But. Well. Syldor alone isn't what you're asking about.

For minor characters - ones which appear only the once or only fleetingly - I don't worry too much. I go off general vibe and make use of what is seen in canon. For more significant characters like Gilmore, Allura, Kima, even Clarota or Victor who are there several times but aren't so significant I think about what we do see of them and what facts we know!

Clarota was exiled by his people - so he's lonely - but he's also a mindflayer and so believes in his own superiority. Even in his weakened position we see him take an aggressive stance at a few points and he very kuch isn't there to make friends. Why would he be? Some companionship is better than none but it isn't at all like the elder brain or his own people and again - they are beneath him.

Allura was once an adventurer. For all her status she's much more understanding of and patient with VM than they necessarily deserve - because she's been there too.

Gilmore is a theatre kid. I'm pretty sure Matt has mentioned that Gilmore is based a little on someone he knew - queer and in theatre iirc - and so I use that same vibe of like... gregarious charm and utter self-assurance.

As I've said already you can also do a lot with dialogue to figure things out. There's a great Star Wars post circulating that has a wonderful point of like... don't ask what kind of person willingly dates trashfire murderer Anakin Skywalker. Just acknowledge that Padme is that kind of person and go from there. See her characterisation and find a way to slot that in. She has blindspots or perhaps isn't so perfect in her beliefs or perhaps she's makinf excuses or has a case of the I Can Fix Hims. Regardless - if the character does the thing, use that to inform the characterisation.

So... yeah. I use what we see and use that to capture the... idk, general shape and idea of the character, and then I try to replicate enough of the quirks or accents Matt gives them to keep them recogniseable.

After all, how many fics feature Victor and, one way or another, keep him recogniseable just by maintaining his abrupt, bonkersness?

Ask me about my fic ideas!

#critical role #vox machina #writing things #ask #blorbologist

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duhragonball · 1 year

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Dragon Ball Super 010

Okay, let’s see if I can knock out the entire God Goku vs. Beerus fight tonight.

Before I get too deep in the weeds, I’d like to take a moment to point out some particularly ugly examples of the character models in this series.

Ugh...

This show always goes for far-away shots of large groups of characters, and they always look revolting.

And sometimes even the close-ups look wretched.

Really, I can’t even explain why these are so unpleasant to look at. It just feels like a really half-assed effort was put forth. Like, I’m not much of an artist, but looking at this stuff reminds me of my own work, where I sort of just go for it and accept that the end result might not look quite right, but I’m still pleased with it just for getting it done. Which is fine for unskilled amateurs like me, but it really feels like early Dragon Ball Super was animated by an entire team of people with that same mindset.

Fans have always given Yukio “Triangle Guy” Ebisawa a lot of crap over the decades, what with his ridiculously off-model and often-ugly style. But I like his stuff way better than the lukewarm crude we see in early-Super and about half of GT. I’m not saying you have to love Ebisawa’s style, but at least when he breaks the rules you can tell he’s going for something. He’s trying to make the characters look intense and dynamic. He’s turning them all into triangles for a reason. There’s a purpose to it, even if we might find it garish or laughable.

Compare this with a typical shot from GT, and you can see what I mean. That’s Mr. Satan punching Uub out of the ring to win the tournament, but it looks more like Uub is standing on a box while Satan rubs his knuckles gently against his abs. That shot of Vegeta above looks way, way more impactful, and he’s not even fighting.

Generally speaking, Super does a better job making action sequences look intense, although that’s not saying much. Like GT, there’s a lot of shortcuts taken where characters just stare each other down, rush together, and launch big energy blasts instead of doing any kind of complex combat sequences

But then the show constantly switches back to the bystanders to get their reaction, and they always look like crap. Vegeta’s face is basically frozen that way for the next three episodes. Bulma’s supposed to be flipping out and Krillin’s supposed to be astonished, but it’s all half-measures. Whoever drew this was just putting forth the minimum effort. The characters look like they’re supposed to look, but there’s no oomph there.

Compare to this shot of Dende, Mr. Satan, and Bee hiding in the bushes. It’s a lot more expressive, interesting composition. Mr. Satan’s head is exaggerated, but it helps get across his emotions.

Anyway, this is just something I wanted to bring up Super always invites comparisons to Z and GT. And as bad as Super can be, it usually trumps GT simply by having characters look and act like they did in Z, but they often look dull or unimpressive, which makes the show look like a pale imitation of Z.

But I’ve gotten waayyy off-track. Let’s talk about the fight.

Actually, there isn’t a whole lot to say here. In the Battle of Gods movie, they started with Beerus kind of going easy on Goku, giving him a chance to get acquainted with the Super Saiyan God form. Here, DBS #10 just turns that into a whole episode. Gradually, Beerus ramps up the offense, and Goku gets more confident with his power, until he finally reverses a punch from Beerus into a grapple.

Then he flicks Beerus’s forehead with his finger...

... and gives him a chop to the shoulder, just as Beerus did to SSJ3 Goku on King Kai’s planet.

Beerus finds this unseemly, but he can respect Goku wanting revenge for how Beerus humiliated him in their last encounter. Personally, I don’t think this suits Goku as a character. Also, Beerus isn’t anywhere close to using his full strength, so if he didn’t want Goku to manhandle him this way, he would just break loose, so this all seems kind of pointless to me.

Anyway, now that Goku seems to have a handle on his new form, they agree to fight more seriously, while Bulma and a lot of her guests try to follow the action in some sort of aircraft she keeps aboard her ship. And the Pilaf Gang are taking a nap.

Yeah, now I remember. So they saw the Dragon Balls being used earlier, so they returned to the ship to find them, only to discover most of the partygoers were gone, and then Whis shared a “dinner encore” with them, and now they’re sleeping it off.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #goku #beerus #emperor pilaf #mai #shu #vegeta #bulma #krillin #piccolo #android 18 #kibitoshin #elder supreme kai

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ridley-was-a-cat · 7 months

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What I Watched This Week – 10/8- 10/14

BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – I generally avoid girl idol shows, but I kept seeing a ton of praise for this installment in the series, and the curiosity got to me. Although this is part of a larger franchise of loosely related series, I haven’t seen any of the other entries in the BanG Dream series, and this stood just fine. The story is about five first year high school girls who come together to form a band, and it follows the drama that grows out of their clashing personalities and baggage left over from a previous band’s collapse. With the exception of Saki, the girl who broke up the previous band, all of the girls are written well with a good mix of positive and negative traits that makes watching them flail around an engaging watch. I just found the way they wrote Saki to act like an unreadable bitchy enigma to be more about prolonging the dramatic conflict and setting up a sequel than about writing a relatable character that fit the rest of the story. People will likely be turned off by the 3D animation, but it’s not done as a shortcut, and is about as good as CG animation with 2D anime character aesthetics can look, with some excellent cinematography and character acting. 7/10

Wicked City – This is directed by the same director as Ninja Scroll and adapts a novel by the same author as Vampire Hunter D, so I should have known I was getting into something other than a simple horror movie when I put this on the other night. It is roughly 1/3 sex scene, 1/3 rape scene, and 1/3 that hardboiled bit from Gintama but played totally straight. Considering this is the movie that spider vagina gif is from, the less said about this one, the better. 5/10

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Ep. 26-49 – This was my first foray into the wider world of Gundam series outside the original timeline, and it was enjoyable, but with a fairly different vibe. It had roughly the same number of episodes as Zeta Gundam, but it felt longer or more frantic somehow. Like, the first three UC Gundam series felt like they had maybe three or four arcs dividing up the story, but here it felt like the winds changed every three to five episodes. I haven’t looked up how the fan wiki or whatever divides it up, but that’s how it felt while watching it, like anyone and everyone could switch factions or objectives at any time. The characters were written well enough that it all kind of works out okay. The philosophical monologuing about the nature of war and the feasibility of pacifism was kind of hit or miss, but most of the time the characters felt like actual people navigating a ridiculous situation while trying to stick to their principles. 7/10

#anime #backlist anime #bang dream #wicked city #mobile suit gundam wing

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makeste · 3 years

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some meta about Izuku, Katsuki, and trust

and choosing to trust is the real bridge that goes to accepting that person as a part of your live again and what the offender has to earn. I think the interesting aspect of Deku and Bakugou's relationship is that Deku has always trusted Bakugou, and I would say more than he had forgiven him at the start of the story (where he does show more frustration and resentment towards Bakugou's behaviour and see him as a jerk) but despite that he can always trust Bakugou to him himself, attested to

the fact that Deku feels very confident about how Bakugou will act or what Bakugou's true motives are and probably the reason why he always sees Bakugou as a hero despite his hurtful behaviour is because Deku 100% trusts Bakugou even if he's doing something disagreeable or that will hurt him. Knowing someone and trusting is not exactly the same and I see it as trust because of Deku willingness to be co-operative. On Bakugou's side he is mistrustful of Deku and thats where the communication

breaks down and there has been plenty of meta exploring why Bakugou has deep rooted problems around Deku and his journey is him taking accountability of that and changing to be a better person. While understanding and miscommunication get their fair due I think trust and mistrust are the true bedrocks of the bkdk river bed because that allows for how they can still be so connected despite the miscommunication (with Bakugou mistrust is mixed with some trust) because of knowing.

anon I really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing your thoughts! I concur with just about all of this, and this ask got me thinking a lot about the nature of trust, and how it applies to Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship.

I think a lot of people’s reactions to reading the sentence “Bakugou and Deku have always trusted each other” would pretty much be, “???” and “lol what.” like, yeah, sure. they trusted each other so much that Bakugou decided that throwing a tantrum for ten years would be an appropriate reaction to Deku trying to hold his hand. classic Trust, right there!!

lol but I honestly think this is true, though. it’s just that there are different... levels?? types?? of trust. let’s go with types. there are different types of trust, and what makes Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship so interesting to me is that it’s kind of the opposite of what these fictional rival-type relationships usually are. it’s basically the difference between knowing, and understanding.

okay so first of all let’s back up here to make sure we’re all on the same page. we’re defining trust as “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone”, which is the Oxford Language definition and which works pretty well for me. you’ll note, btw, that the current relationship between Katsuki and Izuku more or less meets all four of these criteria.

reliability - both boys regard each other as dependable and are willing to rely on each other in a pinch (although Izuku is currently having some difficulty with that, but that’s another topic for another day).

truth - both are honest with each other, though not completely honest (this is the aspect that Katsuki still needs to work on, as he’s currently hiding his desire to atone).

ability - neither of them have any difficulty with this. Izuku admires Katsuki’s ability so much that he’s made it his own gold standard since childhood, and Katsuki respects Izuku’s ability enough that he made him his main rival, and never doubted that Izuku was qualified to receive OFA and become All Might’s heir.

strength - as with ability, this is another aspect of trust that neither of them has ever struggled with. in fact, a lot of their relationship struggles happened specifically because Katsuki never doubted Izuku’s strength, but feared it because he didn’t understand it.

so yeah. there’s a lot more trust between them than most people realize, I think. but the thing is that the type of trust they have is based more on knowing than understanding, and that’s where so much of their conflict stems from.

when I say knowing, I’m talking about the kind of awareness that comes from familiarity and experience. this is the type of trust that’s difficult to take shortcuts with, because it mostly just has to be accumulated over time. this is all about learning what someone is like through observing them and being around them. and it’s just as much about being known as well, because at the same time that you’re learning who the other person is, they’re learning about who you are. and that’s where trust starts to work its way in. it’s the slow unveiling of who you are, and laying it on the table piece by piece over time. and every time another little piece of you is revealed and accepted, and every time you accept one more piece of who the other person is in turn, that trust increases a little bit more. this type of trust takes a long, long time to build up, but in exchange the foundation it creates is pretty much rock-solid and nigh-indestructible.

understanding, on the other hand, to me is more instinctual. it’s about empathy and insight. and the interesting thing is that it’s possible to know someone for years upon years, and yet never truly understand them. and on the flip side, it’s also possible to understand someone within minutes of meeting them, even if you know almost nothing about them. if “knowing” is about learning who someone is, I would say that “understanding” is about learning why they are who they are. this type of trust isn’t necessarily always mutual, but it does necessitate forming a connection with someone. because empathy is such a critical component of it, it’s basically impossible to understand someone and not form an emotional connection to them in some way. this type of trust can be far more powerful and intense than the “knowing” type of trust, but the flip side is that it can sometimes be less stable and easier to break.

I think that the majority of fictional relationships, especially the ones that become really popular ships, are based more around the latter type of trust because of its intensity and unpredictability and potential for story development. the thing is, both of these types of trust are necessary for a good ship (and when I say “ship”, I’m talking about both romantic and platonic relationships just fyi). if neither type of trust is present on at least some level, then there’s really no foundation to start building up the relationship. so most of the time a ship will start out with one or the other, and then over the course of the story they'll work on building up whichever one was lacking.

and because of how stories work, the majority of the time we’re going to be dealing with characters who at first don’t know each other all that well. and so the relationships we get are ones where the characters first form some kind of emotional connection that builds understanding, and then over time they start to learn more about each other and build up that kind of trust as well. I feel like 90% of ships have this kind of dynamic. it’s the basis for things like enemies-to-lovers, fake dating AUs, and basically any kind of trope in which the characters get stuck somewhere and are forced to spend a lot of time together. it’s good, and it works.

but the fascinating thing about the relationship between Izuku and Katsuki, though, is that it’s actually the exact opposite of this. the premise of Izuku and Katsuki's story is that these are two people who’ve known each other their entire lives, but have almost no understanding of each other whatsoever. they know almost every little detail about each other, so much that they hardly even think about it. but all of their conflict is based on the fact that understanding between them is basically nonexistent.

and to me this is such an intriguing dynamic. the two of them know each other like the back of their hand. they’re familiar with the smallest habits. they can predict each other’s actions. they know how the other person thinks. and they have the kind of trust that comes with having seen the other at both their best and their worst. Katsuki is capable of letting his guard down around Izuku in a way he doesn’t do around anyone else. he cries in front of him on multiple occasions. he lets Izuku call him “Kacchan” long after their other childhood friends have stopped doing so. and even though he fears and resents Izuku’s strength early on, he also subconsciously acknowledges it in ways that even he doesn’t realize (e.g. “don’t you dare get into U.A.,” rather than “you can’t get in” or “you won’t get in”). he knows Izuku.

but he doesn’t understand Izuku. he knows who he is, but he doesn’t understand why. he knows that Izuku is strong, but he can't wrap his head around the nature of that strength. and because he lacks that understanding, this vital aspect of the trust between them is lacking, and is all too easily broken when Katsuki falls into the creek and Izuku tries to offer his help. Katsuki knows that Izuku is a good person, but he doesn’t understand that goodness, that selflessness, and so he’s mistrustful of it.

on the flip side of the coin, however, Izuku has the utmost faith in Katsuki. to him, Katsuki is the strongest, smartest, most capable and most amazing person in the world (aside from All Might). and Izuku, unlike Katsuki, actually does understand his childhood friend at least a little bit. he understands Katsuki’s reasons for wanting to be a hero. he understands that Katsuki is not just mindlessly pursuing strength. he understands that Katsuki’s motivation is about overcoming obstacles and beating challenges. and most importantly, he understands that Katsuki, in spite of everything he’s said and done to Izuku over the years, is fundamentally a good person.

and this is crucial. because, along with the bond of familiarity they’ve built up together over the years, it’s this other, one-sided bond of understanding that is responsible for their relationship enduring for as long as it did despite everything. as you put it, anon, Izuku’s trust is ultimately what becomes the bridge between them. on some level, he trusts in Katsuki’s innate goodness. he believes in it in spite of all of Katsuki’s attempts to persuade him otherwise. e.g. when Katsuki suggests that he go jump off the roof, Izuku is hurt by the words, but he never once takes them to heart, because he knows on some instinctive level that Katsuki doesn’t mean them. and so he grumbles to himself about Katsuki needing to think before he speaks, but aside from that he never gives the words another thought.

Katsuki would no doubt consider this yet another example of Izuku not caring enough about himself or taking himself into account. but it really is more than that. the reason the words don’t cut deep in spite of them being vicious and well-targeted is simply because Izuku knows that Katsuki isn't truly that cruel. and he knows that on a level so deep that Katsuki is never able to break it despite his best efforts. he can’t break it, because there’s nothing to break, because it’s true. the reason the relationship endures in spite of everything is because deep down Katsuki is fundamentally a good person, and so Izuku’s trust, in the end, is based on truth. and so it never fully breaks, and eventually, it becomes reciprocated.

and that’s what their story is all about. it’s two people that have known each other their entire lives, but have to work in order to build their understanding of each other. unlike many ships, they start off already having that foundation of knowing and being known, and so their story instead is about forging that connection of empathy and insight. and it doesn’t come easily to them at all. but they keep at it.

anyway, so thank you again for sharing your thoughts on this, anon. I didn’t even get into the topic of forgiveness, but I agree with you about it being a process of letting go of negative feelings and resentment. I also agree that forgiveness is a separate thing from trust, but I do think trust plays a big part in one’s decision to forgive or not forgive. it's a lot easier to forgive if you have an understanding of the other person’s actions. and it’s also far, far easier to forgive if the offender’s actions are long in the past. and because the latter is now true in Katsuki’s case, that shows a pattern of him learning from his mistakes and not repeating them. which further builds trust, especially in the “reliability” department. and so even though forgiveness and trust are two separate things, they’re still connected. and in many ways, by working to rebuild the understanding between him and Izuku, Katsuki is also working towards earning Izuku’s forgiveness, even though that’s ultimately something that can never truly be earned, but can only be granted.

I’m not sure if I’m really making my point very clear here lol, but basically what I’m trying to say is that while the relationship may have once been one-sided in this aspect, it’s not anymore. it’s mutual, and they’re both putting the work in. and Katsuki is also doing his part without any guarantee or expectation of forgiveness on Izuku’s end. it’s unconditional. he’s doing it because he wants to atone. and he’ll continue to do it whether he’s forgiven or not. and that’s important. it’s important because it shows that the relationship has value to both of them. and it’s important because neither of them wants to lose it. they want to fix it; they want to make it stronger.

and ultimately what that means is that the relationship will continue to endure, despite their ups and downs. because even though it may have started out as something incidental -- two boys who just happened to become friends because they spent a lot of time together as children -- it’s not, anymore. it’s no longer just something that happened, something that just accidentally came together. it’s something that they’re both working to build. they want to trust each other. they want to understand one another. their relationship is no longer something that simply withstood and persisted -- it’s something that is now being nurtured. and you love to see it.

so let's see, how do I even begin to tl;dr this post lol. something something blah blah blah trust, understanding, childhood friends, knowing someone, having faith in someone, being the recipient of that faith, and working to become worthy of it. they're very confused, but they care about each other a lot, and they are good boys.

#midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #bakudeku #bnha meta #bakugou meta #deku meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks

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popatochisssp · 3 years

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Hello Poppy! I hope you slept well! Here is the reminder you requested to create a mob au hc post like the cowboy post. Have a wonderful day!

Thank you, it’s finally time! I’m gonna put it under a cut immediately because having twenty skeletons makes every post with all of them automatically a long one!

Full disclaimer-- none of the boys are bosses, that falls on the monarch(s) of their universes... but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own roles to play~

(Warnings: mentions of crime, drugs, violence, sex, brief sexism [probably not the way you’d think] and ableism, plus all the usual mob-tropes I may have forgotten to mention)

Sans (Undertale): He’s a...humble purveyor of items, quality goods produced economically in order to pass those savings on to the crafty consumer who might not want to pay full, exorbitant price for ‘name-brand’ luxuries... Yeah, he’s the ‘you wanna buy a watch?’ guy and he spends most of his days (strategically) wandering around the city looking for customers to hock knockoff, lookalike watches, wallets and bags to. The fuzz know him by name but can never seem to find anything to hold him on, so he’s mostly just a harmless nuisance to be shooed along elsewhere if there’s been any complaints. (He’s real good at making friendly conversation with the law enforcement and keeping all eyes on him, and frankly, if there were any real shady business going on somewhere nearby... well, the cops certainly wouldn’t know about it, too busy hustling him along down the street, now would they?)

Papyrus (Undertale): An upstanding citizen, unlike his brother who’s always in some little trouble with the law or other. He is gainfully employed at a fitness center, and he commutes there by car, because paid for his license to operate one and practiced his driving skills and saved up until he could afford a very beautiful, shiny car of his own! It’s a very nice vehicle...so nice, even, that he doesn’t like to drive it for...recreational outings with friends, in case the paint might get scuffed. That’s why his friends let him borrow their cars when they go out, and let him drive very fast (but safely!) all over the city, even at strange hours or by ‘suspicious’ locations. He’s certainly never seen anything suspicious going on, he just waits outside, and if he happens to keep a First Aid kit in his glove-box, that’s just taking precautions, isn’t it? Accidents happen, you know! (He’s the best getaway driver in town and he knows it, but plausible deniability--the less he ‘knows,’ the better.)

Sky (Underswap Sans): Just your average, ordinary businessman, running a nice little bar for average, ordinary folks of all kinds. Well... he co-owns the place with a buddy of his, Grillby, but Grillbz is a free spirit and a real man about town, so really most of the ‘running’ is down to him. And he loves it! So many people (monsters and humans) to meet and chat with and serve... human food and alcohol, of course. Monster food and alcohol isn’t legalized yet to serve to humans, and a black mark like that against his little establishment would be just awful. He adheres fully to the rules and regulations set forth by human governmental agencies, no magic in anything he passes across the counter, skeleton’s honor! ...Total bullshit, obviously-- he’s running a speakeasy for humans who want to partake in a little monster food or booze, because it’s not harmful to humans and that makes it an even stupider regulation than prohibition was. Grillby taught him most of the menu and cooks on the rare occasions he’s in, while Sky handles the liquid menu and keeps an eye-socket out for snitches and inspectors trying to catch him in the act. He’s never missed a rat yet.

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): He works at his brother’s place. In the back. Only part-time, though, Sky’s got it mostly buttoned up there, so Paps has a lot of leisure time to wander around the city, hit up his favorite joints, chat with friends--and strangers that can become friends, he’s a friendly sorta guy. And if he’s ever seen sharing a cigarette or two with one of those friends, of course it’ll be a totally normal tobacco cigarette, and no exchange of money or anything else incriminating about the interaction. ...Doggo is the one that does the deals, he’s got the Dog Treat supply and a client base that’s steadily starting to include humans--but since Dog Treats are classed as Monster Consumables and illegal to distribute to humans, in spite of being non-addictive, only mildly affective, and non-irritant to lungs, things get a little more convoluted. Paps hits up Doggo at Muffet’s (a wholly monster establishment) for the Dog Treats and a client list, ‘refurbishes’ the Treats to resemble cigarettes, and then meets up with anybody who prepaid for their order real casual-like to fence ‘em. He gets a little cut of the profits, and a discount when he’s picking up for pleasure instead of business--like a (slightly) more illegal girl scout cookie racket.

Jasper (Underfell Sans): Him? He’s just an average joe in all respects. He’s got a little auto shop, spends his days tuning up cars and bikes and such as the like, and most evenings out having fun with anybody else who’s out looking to have a good time--food and drink and maybe a little gambling, but small games, low stakes, for charity, yanno? Nothing illegal, he’d freely assure anyone concerned about the law. Yep, he’s a perfectly normal, law-abiding citizen...as far as anyone can tell. If he does a little work on the side, when specifically requested to, by perhaps one of his monarchs or one of the parties they’d approved to ask for his...services... Well, he’s certainly too quick and clean about it to leave any hard evidence behind, and he’s always far away from...whatever may have happened...with too many witnesses all in agreement that he was there and couldn’t have been anywhere else, unless he could somehow make it across town in the blink of an eye. (His side-gig is as a hitman. He keeps his shortcut ability very tightly under wraps to make for perfect alibis, and takes his targets out with magic bullets which he can disappear afterwards. If he’s ever somehow implicated in anything, he’s happy to point out to the nice officers that he doesn’t even own a weapon. They’re free to look, but all they’ll find is a set of knuckledusters he keeps on his person, purely for protection--and look how shiny the brass is, never even been used, officers! Guess they’ve got nothing on him, after all...)

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): A law-abiding citizen. He must be--surely one can’t get more law-abiding than a lawyer...right? He actually does keep his (lack of) nose clean, but studying the convoluted mess that is human law doesn’t leave time for much else--even when your studies are funded by royalty and you’re given everything you need to open up your own practice as soon as you’ve passed the bar. Still, his skill and knowledge in arguing the law is very valuable and his services are in high demand, so he’s well-compensated for his chosen career and lives his life outside of it both comfortably and legally. His clients...are innocent until proven guilty and it would be an extreme failing of his duty to give any of them anything less than his best in the courtroom, regardless of their character, their associations, and what they happen to have been accused of. (Yeah, he’s a mob lawyer, used almost exclusively by Asgore and Toriel to protect them and anyone they send to him and all of their collective...interests. He respects the law, but values justice above it, so in spite of having a lot of clients who are definitely criminals in one way or another, he has no trouble sleeping at night.)

Mal (Swapfell Sans): He’s an accountant, nothing more, nothing less. ...For Toriel, of course, so he’s paid well for his services. And he has quite a head for numbers and figures, so he plays the stock market and does quite well there, too, smart investments and reading the writing on the wall, and all that. It’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for his very healthy finances and his lavish lifestyle--fur coats, fine suits, fancy cars, shiny gold pocket-watches-- it’s all expensive and almost over the top, but hey, he is the money-man and all the numbers check out. It seems that he’s just very good at handling and investing his capital, it’s no wonder the monster-queen herself hired him on... (He is, of course, running several money laundering schemes at any given time, taking all the less-than-legally-obtained money earned by constituents of the [former] Empire and layering it through official channels to make it look legal in such a convoluted, complex web that it doesn’t raise any significant red flags. He’s got his claws in a lot of pies, and he takes what he needs off the top to live a little luxuriously, with Toriel’s knowledge and permission-- a perk for the necessary service he provides.) Whatever else may be true, it’s a simple fact that he’s very, very good at his job.

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): With the lucrative career his brother has, the lucky SOB doesn’t have to work a day in his life if he doesn’t want to, but he’s using the safety net to pursue his passion in art. Subjective as it is, it’s hard to say if he’s really any good, but people seem to like what he produces well-enough--not a household name, but people passionate about the subject might recognize his work and his pieces sell with at least moderate success. For all that it’s probably not going to make him famous or rich(er than his brother), he’s dedicated to his craft and regularly makes bulk purchases of his supplies, canvas and reams of paper and paint and ink and the like, to keep up his steady work and art sales. He seems like an altogether normal and down-to-earth sort of guy, nothing suspicious about him at all. (He’s a counterfeiter and works in tandem with his brother--they even hit a Bureau together to lift a set of plates for the one and only active crime he was involved in--and his art is just a really good cover for why he needs so much ink and paper and other supplies on a regular basis. He does love and care about his art career, that part’s not fake, but he’s also got a good eye-socket for detail and steady hands to replicate it, and if fake human money that looks really real can help monsters, he doesn’t really see why he shouldn’t.)

Slate (Horrortale Sans): He’s...been through a lot. All monsters have, really, but he was hit kind of especially hard and... Whatever Gerson, or Undyne, or whoever’s running things now up on the Surface are getting involved in...he doesn’t really want any part of it. He gets regular stipends for some unspecified ‘service’ he performed for the Queen, Underground, and while no human (alive) knows what that was, it’s apparently enough to live off of relatively comfortably without being employed himself. He has a nice little place with his brother on the outskirts of the city and he lives there quietly, peacefully. He rarely goes into town, just the occasional walkabout, stopping at restaurants or scoping out the architecture. (Part of his one concession to being left out of whatever illegal, mob-type business may or may not be going on: he needs a good mental map of the city and at least a few landmarks that he’ll definitely remember, because he’s the emergency evac should...anything...go especially south. The house phone doesn’t ring too often in the middle of the night, but when it does, he needs to know where he needs to be, and quick.)

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): He’s, ah... not involved in any ‘business’ either, but he does spend a little more time out of the house, at the local hospital. He was allowed to make a study of human medicine and become a nurse by Very Special Exception--mostly due to some friends (or at least one) in high places, and some very backwards human attitudes about parts that constitute a ‘man’ and how a skeleton without any parts could perhaps be allowed into nursing--and he’s proven himself a valuable member of staff and even made friends with all of his coworkers. He’s happy at his job, and with his life, and returns home to his quiet, peaceful house every night with a smile. (He has a go-bag ready by the phone for those late night calls, though, full of healing items and medical equipment he may have subtly nicked from the hospital, just so he has everything he needs to treat a monster or a friendly human that may have gotten hurt...somehow...and for reasons they have no need to specify, can’t risk going to a doctor.)

Ash (Undergloom Sans): Just a poor street musician...or at least, that’s what most people figure, ‘cause he doesn’t dress too well and the trombone he plays while sitting out on the sidewalk looks like it’s probably the nicest thing he owns. He gets a couple bucks from time to time, but rarely any second glances, and that... That works in his favor. You’d be surprised how much people talk about when they think nobody’s listening (or at least...nobody important) and he can pick up a lot of interesting information of what’s going on in the city just by setting up in the right spot and waiting for folks to talk business. He’s pretty quiet when he’s not tooting the ol’ horn and great at blending into the background, and that’s made him the guy to go to when you want to know something--like how much somebody else knows, or if there are any plans in place for say, a raid or a sting or some kind. (Law enforcement is the worst about keeping proprietary information ‘proprietary’ when they think their only audience is some nobody monster bum sleeping on a bench...) He’s also got something of a whole information network going on with the actual homeless people in the city, since he gives great tips about places who are hiring or somewhere to get a meal or a bed for the night and he always gives his earnings from busking to those who need it more than him. He’s paid for the service he provides and he’s got a home to go back to, it just seems right that the music-money goes to help somebody else.

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): He works as a nanny for the Queen! Not too long ago, she might’ve opted to just stay home and look after her newly adopted child herself, while Asgore handled business with the humans, but... They’re freshly split now, and Toriel wants to be just as involved in things as Asgore as much as she wants to s l o w l y ease into being a full-time mother again. Yrus is the solution, already fond of little Frisk and a very warm and trustworthy soul who stayed bright even in the gloom of the Underground. He happily takes the job when asked and splits his time between supervising and caring for Frisk, and tutoring them in all the important subjects (math, history, magic, et cetera). He finds he has a passion for teaching and thinks he might go into that someday, when Frisk is older and Toriel has a little more time and confidence to no longer need him as a buffer. (Whatever it is, specifically, that takes up so much of Toriel’s time and keeps her out so late that he sometimes has to wait around well past Frisk’s bedtime for her to come back and ask after them... Yrus couldn’t fathom a guess and isn’t going to ask any questions. That would definitely be out of his scope as a simple child-minder and even if he knew anything, it would be an extreme violation of the family’s privacy for him to tell tales, which he’s happy to point out to anyone with a lot of questions for somebody so close to two of the Dreemurrs.)

Brick (Horrorfell Sans): He’s on his brother’s payroll. It seemed like the best way to kill two birds with one stone: he’s a big, scary-looking wall of bone who isn’t well suited to a regular-joe sorta job, and his bro’s a very high-profile guy who needs somebody big and scary-looking to stand next to him and be a deterrent. Nepotism, maybe, but they’ve been looking after each other their whole lives already and it’s something Brick knows he can do--he’d do it for free, but if King thinks it’s better (and safer) to have it as his job description, he’s probably right, so Brick’ll take the paycheck for it. King’s also very likely the only one who could stop him if he...lost control...somewhere out and about, so sticking close to him makes Brick feel better and hey, maybe they’re actually killing three birds with this stone of an arrangement. Still, he mostly just goes about town with King, standing around and watching his back and staring people down when he needs to while his brother carries on with his conversations and business. He hardly ever has to do anymore than that...almost never. (One of his favorite places to go is a little hole-in-the-wall craft shop, where King always pretends to take longer than he needs so Brick can peruse the yarn and try to pick up a little sign language from the nice old deaf lady who owns the place.)

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): Yes, yes, he’s very high profile--he did lead monsterkind for a time, getting everyone up to the Surface and settled there--but he’s since stepped down. He’s retired, and anything his successor may be involved in... surely, he couldn’t say. He and Toriel are barely in contact and the money he receives from her on the regular is a gift of goodwill, mostly for medical expenses (his leg, and his brother’s...well). All he does these days is collect for a charity, a pet project of his, Monster Reparations. Lots of people give such generous donations when he goes around to ask for them, maybe impressed a little by his fame, but he can’t feel too terribly about using it for such a worthy cause... (It’s a thinly veiled protection racket and the people and businesses who buy into it tend not to fall victim to ‘mysterious’ criminal activity. Toriel may be officially calling the shots now, but King, as the monster who put her back there, is in a very unique position of power in having her ear, an unofficial underboss totally off the books. Some ‘donate’ more than necessary when he comes collecting, hoping to earn preferential treatment, and sometimes they get it and sometimes they don’t--it’s entirely down to King’s opinion of them personally. ...The old woman who runs the craft store pays about half the going rate, and the immigrant who imports the miniature trees he likes gets a heavy discount, too. The deli-owner he overheard hurling discriminatory epithets at a customer, however, pays triple. You get the idea.)

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): He’s a researcher. Highly confidential, he’s sworn to secrecy and even mentioning that he’s being funded by Elder King Shroomba is pushing the boundaries of what he’s allowed to talk about. Still, he has his own facility, and several assistants, monster volunteers and sometimes human ones--but they have to sign papers swearing not to talk about what goes on in the lab, too. From what they are allowed to say, the gist is just that it didn’t seem like anything sinister was going on; not even a blood-draw... Merc seems pretty happy to leave at the end of every day, though, and whenever it comes up, he talks very fondly about being able to finish the project. (He’s researching DT, specifically how it can be used to enhance monster physiology and make them more resistant to damage from intent. Merc’s misadventure with DT destabilized him, but from 1HP he’s now more durable than ever, and his second attempt with his brother had less dramatic but still noticeable and successful results. The king wants that safety net for more monsters, especially ones who are on the front lines of...potentially less than legal dealings...who could really be at risk. Merc is reluctant, but with the stipulation of informed, willing volunteers for DT extraction and infusion, he can’t bring himself to turn down the resources and funding to research his own condition and bring the possibility of being normal again ever closer. He still has a hard time with the idea of ‘enhancing’ monsters, but the fact that it’s at least being done safely, willingly, and with a whole team behind it this time helps a lot.)

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): He’s in a wheelchair but not letting it keep him down, and he’s running a modest little newspaper stand on the corner--papers and magazines and cheap books--nothing all that special but boy, what an inspiration, good for him that he’s got a job and can run the place by himself! All kinds come and go from his stand, and sometimes he closes it up for a little bit in the middle of the day to take a...er...roll, with some people who must be friends of his, but he’s never gone too long, so nobody says anything to the poor guy about the inconvenience. He’s a dedicated businessman, or trying to be; won’t even let people help him with those heavy-looking boxes of deliveries he gets, and for a fella with no legs, he seems to be doing his best! (...The whole thing is a low-key smuggling operation and he is making bank off it. There’s a system of code-words in place related to the publications he sells for a ‘customer’ to indicate whether they’re buying or selling, and what--magic consumables, stolen/hot items, imported goods, the works--and where and when they want things to go down. There’s even hidden compartments in his custom-built wheelchair for some of the riskier stuff, because he knows no cop in their right mind would force a guy with no legs out of his chair just to search it with witnesses around. And that’s presuming any law enforcement were to even catch wise to his set-up, which he kind of doubts: he’s sly and subtle and even if he weren’t, he knows people see the chair before they see him. Why not take advantage of that?)

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): He makes his living as a boxer, and a subsequent minor celebrity. Pretty much any match he’s in is an exhibition match--not just a monster, not just a little guy (...relatively), but a short skeleton monster who’s blind, wow! You don’t see that every day, that’s a spectacle! Plenty of ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s in the packed stands every night the sightless skeleton scrapper is in the ring and nobody can figure out how he bobs and weaves so well that he hardly ever gets hit. He loses some matches, that’s to be expected, even for a ‘normal’ fighter, but hey, people love an underdog story, so when he wins, it’s an uproar every time. (For his part, Pitch hates most of his ‘fans’ who think of him the same way they probably think of a silly little dog who learned a funny trick, but the fame in general, and the thrill of the fight... Those are enough to keep him in the ring. Just... maybe not quite enough to keep him fighting clean. He’s as dirty as sportsmen come and he and a few other monsters regularly play his own odds with the bookies: he’ll subtly use magic to cheat and stay in longer, or go down when he could easily keep fighting, whatever’s more profitable with the over/under from match to match. If he’s going to be a circus act doing what he loves, he may as well get hazard pay for his dignity... and y’know, a couple of idiots who think being able to fight is a ‘trick’ because you’re blind aren’t nearly so annoying when you’re being driven away from them in a luxury car, to your expensive house in the hills decked out with all the amenities.)

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): He’s got a place he looks after, keeps things running. Just a small joint, nothing fancy, a little cabaret variety show type place--singing, dancing, drinks on tap, that kinda thing. After dark, some of the...performances... might get a little more risqué, stuff that titillates like burlesque and striptease, but rest assured, his permits are all in order and everything’s on the up and up. Nothing illegal whatsoever going on here, just a bit of singing and dancing and everybody having a good time. (Most of the performers are sex workers--monsters, but some humans too--and patrons can negotiate private shows or off-the-clock ‘meetings’ at their discretion. Nemo opts to not know too much of the details of what his dancers do when he’s not looking, for legal reasons, but he makes sure they have a safe place to do it, are paid for their services, and don’t have repeat problem-patrons if any slip through. Being one of the gentlemen running such an establishment in the city that doesn’t happen to touch or steal from or mistreat the performers, his place is the place to get hired if that’s your line of work. He’s mostly just happy to be able to provide the job security and the job safety for a group that really seems to catch a lot of hell up here on the Surface just for how they make their money.)

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): He’s a busy guy, bouncing around from place to place, job to job... Being so scattered, you might think he’d be having money troubles by now, but while he may not be the type to stick with one thing and stay there for a good few years, nobody who knows him would say he’s unreliable--he’s the type of guy that you can give him a call anytime and if you need help, he’ll be right over, and he’ll get the job done well, too! Of course he lives with his fancypants brother, and the King and Queen probably spot him a loan or two now and then, since they’re friendly, so all in all, no one really wonders how he makes enough money to live so comfortably. The answer’s right there in their face...isn’t it? (Yes and no. He is the kind of guy you can call anytime to get a job done, and he will do it well, but the money he gets from Asgore and Toriel is less of a ‘loan’ and more of a ‘payment for services rendered.’ He’s a cleaner, the guy you call to make things go away, things that aren’t supposed to be there: stains, papers, weapons, evidence... He’ll get rid of it for you, and if you need a convincing coverup or an alibi for...whatever it is that you weren’t there doing, he’ll take care of that, too. If somebody’s calling him up for his special brand of help, they probably just want to put it all behind them and forget all about that nasty business. He’s happy to facilitate--after all, what are friends for?)

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): Like his brother, he gets on well with the King and Queen. (They both feel like they’ve known the monarchs much longer than they actually have...somehow...) But in any case, unlike his brother, Aster is very well-organized and thoughtful, so he’s a natural choice as an...advisor, of sorts, when monsters surfaced and it was...decided that perhaps there would be some...activities and...ways of doing things that...should remain unknown to the humans. Not unknown to Aster: he keeps track of everything, reminding the monarchs of little details they may have forgotten, pointing out things they may not have noticed, making educated suggestions for courses of action with likely positive outcomes based on past experiences... He’s the linchpin between Asgore and Toriel that makes them terrifyingly more efficient than they would be without him, a consigliere-equivalent who certainly isn’t a boss himself, but he has the bosses’ trust and their ears and that makes him a person of great interest. But...no one can get anything useful out of him: he’s loyal, above all, and much as he values truth, he also realizes that perhaps not everyone deserves to know the full truth of everything, especially not those who might use that truth to bring some sort of harm or misfortune to his friends...or to monsterkind at large. ...And trying to directly seize his extensive notes on the private and personal business-doings of the Dreemurrs is an even more doomed endeavor--he writes them all in a strange jumble of symbols that no one’s ever seen, and the code-breakers never have it long enough to decipher anything useful before its back in his hands, reclaimed quite speedily after unlawful seizure of private property containing confidential information. Lots of well-meaning law enforcement have their sights set on him as some sort of criminal white whale, but the simile is all too accurate-- they’ll never catch him, and even if they do, there’ll be nothing to hold him on. He simply has too many friends (and family members) in very high, very useful places.

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monkey-network · 3 years

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Why Klaus IS Christmas Kino

Klaus isn’t flawless, let’s get this out the way. My love for this film won’t deny that it bears a couple nits that can distract the experience. Jesper and Alva’s relationship felt like an eye-rolling inevitability, notable cliches here & there, a notable song felt both fitting and out of place, and while enjoyable, I’m not as big a fan of the climax as I thought. But in spite of it all, I love this film and it is one of the best modern animated Christmas films, period? Follow me here. I could go on about its wonderful animation cuz yeah, it’s unlike any other film. But a philosophy of mine is that the best animation enhances the writing and I can say Klaus is that surprisingly well written and has become an all time Christmas fave

*deep breath in* So let’s do this...

I mention that Klaus has its cliches, but you gotta know that it’s smarter than expected. Believe me when I say if the writers didn’t care, this could’ve actually been so much worse. Jesper could’ve been more manipulative towards everyone for his goals, Klaus would’ve given up entirely after knowing the truth about Jesper, we could’ve had an argument between Jesper and his dad about upholding business, the townsfolk could’ve reverted back to their old ways, plenty writing moments where this could’ve been Emoji Movie levels of insulting to your intellect. BUT, they don’t. The film never really turns back on itself, it keeps moving where, as the notable quote goes, an act of good will sparks another as it starts with Jesper’s father.

Even if nepotism was responsible for Jesper getting the job in the first place, he clearly sees his son be more spoiled than he’s worth so is like, “Ma boi, I will send you to the ends of the earth or leave you to the streets if you don’t do something with yourself.” He never cared about his son representing the postal company, or ruining his top class image, he was only tired of Jesper taking advantage of his fortune while not having any ambition of his own. Can’t help but say Jesper’s dad is a very respectable character because the sole reason the whole plot happened in the first place was because he just wanted his son to do better. It’s that act of genuine consideration that pushes Jesper to his wake up call as he reaches Smeerensburg.

People have compared this movie to Emperor’s New Groove through Jesper’s character and I say yes, but this film takes that next step and put Jesper in the pit of pits way early. Reminds me more of Ratatouille’s beginning where Remy’s lowest point is around the same time as Jesper’s. The harsh atmosphere of the island is treated very blunt in how this is our mailman’s nightmare come true. With his situation, our guy is truly at his lowest. Gives up now, he’ll be cut off his inheritance and probably will have worse. Everyone hates him and each other, his post office itself is in shambles, symbolic of how communication is practically thin outside conflict, and the teacher turned fish seller Alva is that path Jesper could notably be if he didn’t try. Everything is literally grey for this guy, but like Ratatouille, when you’re at your lowest there’s no where else to go but up. That’s where Klaus comes in...

This is genuinely the most clever interpretation of Santa I know, hands down. A well established woodsman, a crafter both of living, for him and the birds that reside in his woods, and recreation with the toys he made himself not just for kids, but specifically the kids he and his wife wanted but couldn’t have. Klaus feels like a real person, not just another take on the mythical man. You’re with him and Jesper as he, after familiar winds provide him a letter, a small spark to do something good, soon opens up and gets reminded of what’s kept him going all these years. It is no wonder he sees his wife in Jesper, it’s thanks to him that he could refurbish his dashed dream into a new one. He didn’t just want to do it for the children of the island, but for himself. That is another thing about this film: communication. I mention before how it’s practically thin at first due to a long going feud that isn’t even aware of why it’s still going. The joy in hate is only for hatred’s sake, and they make it very clear how miserable it all feels. That is where Jesper comes in. They don’t take shortcuts with how he gets the ball rolling, both accidentally and purposefully, he boots up to get things done, pushes himself to go to Klaus to make things happen. This is all in part by the youth, what really ties the plot together...

As I mentioned before (again), life in Smeerensburg is noticeably miserable but thanks to Klaus, by extension Jesper, the kids are enticed to do what it takes to get some genuine joy in their lives through the toys they’re able to get. They’ll make them letters, and if they can’t write, they’ll go to Alva for teachings, and if they act naughty, they’ll try to do good which in turn pushes the adults to do good for the sake of their kids. It really would’ve been one thing to sure enough make the kids spoiled because of the toy giving, focusing more on the extrinsic value of Klaus’s kindness but no. The children are very grateful for these gifts enough to feel compelled to do good, and it makes them feel good as much as it soon makes the adults more convinced to stop fighting. It helps that this all takes place in older times cuz I believe this would’ve been far different, possibly worse, if this took place in modern times. That or just kinda rip off Arthur Christmas, it’s my guess. As such, it gradually becomes an amazing Christmas film because it isn’t just the presents, the Santa Claus myth, the festive style of it all that makes this holiday special to me. It’s the warmth... of togetherness.

My favorite detail about Klaus is how it transitions from cold to warm with its atmosphere. We start out with the emptiest, harshest environment, enough fog to choke your eyes, and then we get to this moment with a brighter, clearer sight of the more united town as the Christmas spirit builds in the film, even when it isn’t even that day yet in-universe, so too does the warmhearted feeling that can come from celebrating it appear more and more. This film fleshes out more of what the Grinch taught me, what A Charlie Brown Christmas taught me, what I’ve come to appreciate about Christmas as I grew up in this materialistic world. I can say everyday can have the Holiday spirit, but Christmas is the time where I feel compelled to be grateful of what I’ve made and got and give back when honestly, I don’t care about getting the most expensive stuff anymore like I used to when I was way younger. This film is so sincere in what it wants to say, and you know this is indeed the same guy that made Minions. Yeah, not kidding and I’ll let you sit with that if you’re reading this as I continue because we have to talk about that moment...

Yeah, I don’t like being the Nostalgia Critic, but I too don’t take kindly to the ‘liar reveal’ trope myself and this could’ve been a point where the film lost me a little. Though you know what? It still works. See, with that trope, what sucks is that it can tend to unravel the plot to where you know as soon as they break apart, they’ll get back together regardless of the deed done. This is why I don’t like A Bug’s Life, don’t @ me. But I’m not saying it can’t done right, like in Over the Hedge. The breakup between Jesper and the others is painful, but it is necessary to give us a couple great character moments. One is with Jesper and his dad, who came back personally to see that Jesper has indeed built something for himself. We get no dialogue between them but it’s clear that even when Jesper’s unintentionally successful thanks to Yzma and Bubba, he can tell his son wasn’t happy leaving everything behind, so he lets him stay since that was what he truly wanted this whole time. Again, give that man some credit for amazing dad. Another moment comes before the big reveal where not only do we see Jesper come to understand his own guilt surrounding his original intentions, but in the end they never hated him for coming back, especially due to him inadvertently stopping the enemy feud all together. Lastly, without that moment, we probably wouldn’t have got this smile. When Margu, purest character ever that I could make a whole segment about but I don’t wanna keep you too long, started to tear up after calling for Jesper thinking he left for good but she then sees our guy never really left and we get this teary smile:

I felt that. Almost more than anything else in this film.

Cliched as it can appear, the execution excels in those more memorable emotions for this film. It’s been a year since I watched this again and I remember so much about these characters. And my god, I haven’t even gotten to the animation which... my god.

Klaus is indeed the most beautiful upon beautiful films I’ve seen, and what makes it better is that it all enhances the story. I mention before of its transitional visual from cold to warm sights, but goddamn, the character designs, the environments, the expressiveness, the textures all amount to style perfect for this alone. I think it would’ve as well received if it had a more flat look, but they seriously went higher for a traditional appealing story that compliments the unique children’s storybook look of it all. This honestly is better than most of modern Disney films that I’ve seen, ironic since it feels like if you took Tangled the Series and made it 3D with more fluid character animation. And if I’m comparing something to the continuous mindblower that’s Tangled the Series, you’ve most certainly got on my best side.

Sergio Pablos and his team really pulled no punches in making this a great movie. A great Christmas movie, one worth seeing if not at least once but every Holiday season for tradition’s sake. Klaus gave me a good time, made me cry, and above all showed me to never stop having a good heart because doing good can indeed go far, thankless as it can be. Heck, my heart felt more rejuvenated than before in making this critique, that’s a testament to how much good this film means to me personally. What else is there to say?

It's The Best

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