#and also gain a more solid design on him lol

[mang0ming0]

sorry for reblogging hal jordan things withuot mentionign b**** w****. it will happen again

[uninformedartist]

So just finished watching the ep so review. Spoils ahead:

So the episode was ok to me, solid 6/10 one of the better episodes which since this was supposed to be an "extravagant" ep why does it got better quality than the main eps, idk Viv has her moments like this ep and other eps its a train wreck in writing ect.

Mammon worked on my nerves, from design to his movements, personality ALL of him was annoying, which props for an annoying Villian but its Villian I never want to see back again and he's hinted for some sort of return.

Side tangent: Mammon is like the how many-ith Villian to get a return ep/hint at one. It was 1st cherubs, then dorks, then stella/ice twink, striker/crimson now Mammon & according to the leaked storyboards a ghost guy that tries to talk IMP into off-ing themselves... its a flipping lot and cherubs & dorks seem to be forgotten dispite dorks knowing & having hard evidence they exist, flip Viv chill it with your Villian of the week cos its way too many now.

Anyway, Blitz didn't need to be in this ep besides the flashback. Ozzie got him to talk Fizz out of being Mammon's puppet but ultimately Ozzie spoke him out of it & gave him courage to quit/confront Mammon. Even Blitz being a bodyguard/killing people for Fizz could've been any imp. Blitz is starting to feel like Steven from SU, in every ep even tho the ep doesn't need him/ the episode surrounds topics a wee child shouldn't be in (i.e Lapis trauma dumping on Steven & he a child isn't really equipped to handle that situation).

My fave part of this ep was Ozzie and Fizz. Ya'll I legit prayed Viv wouldn't mess these two up and my prayers were answered. Absolutely a joy these two were. Fizz especially what a darling. Loved that small scenes with him and the deaf imp child, l dont know sign language but it looked genuine animated and was just sweet moments.

From their interactions, Fizz's panic attacks/self doubt felt & were genuine... I felt that as someone that has panic attacks from high stress on my studies/life. It was just handled well. Fizz feeling less than and needing to prove himself from 1. his past 2. his appearance, that accident affected his self image/worth so much (why I felt him forgiving Blitz was too hastily done but I digress) & 3. him doing this Mammon contest still to gain/earn Ozzie's love for him cos Fizz believes Ozzie only sticks around because of this fame Mammon gave Fizz. Ozzie finally saying what he loves about Fizz was lovely, wanted that in the 1st ep but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Their song was... I didn't like it BUT the message in it was beautiful. Lastly Fizz saying fuck you to Mammon from the courage/strength Ozzie gave him was a nice send off... also Ozzie saying he loves Fizz ah ngl that made me smile agh I just love them. I want to see them more than the Stolitz show but thats only a wish. Props Viv, you get 1 brownie point not messing this up.

Last findings, the ep was bloated as hell my soul Viv please stop cramming so much in an ep, this one is 30 mins long & yet still felt bloated. Pacing was a motherfuka damn it was bad & the swearing was jarring (its a Viv written ep I don't expect any less but still gonna point it out) and the comedy wasn't so prominent in this ep, Blitz/Mammon gave some comic relief but in the best and worst ways:

The way the VA delivered this line "to be fucked" made me laugh, the line is cringy but the delivery lol gold

Aand Blitz, my soul shut the fuck up & get out this ep. Last ep & this one he said something so agonizingly cringe I pulled my face

The world of HB is legit American hell or earth just painted red since Fizz named all these places in America just "hellified" where his fans come from.

And very last, congratulations Salem glad you got the cathartic send off you deserve from working under Viv, truly fuck you "Mammon" indeed :) also glad they credited you this time.

[tired-reader-writer]

Okay so, ask game incoming.

Character(s) (you can choose one, if you want): Our son Arslan, Give, Isfan or our queen Farangis! (You can also do one of your OCs, if you want ☺️)

Questions: 2, 5, 14 and finally 23 for a wonderful end!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

(I have HARD Azar/Maar/Daryun/ArSen brain rott today... ugh my brain is OVERFLOWING with ideas and scenes!)

(I'm so sorry for the many options I can't decide on characters)

What an ask! Here's the original ask game post for others who might want to participate.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Arslan

There's a lot of things I like about him, so much that I struggle to pick a favorite. I think I'll settle on the fact that he remains kind despite everything, where other stories might've made him “disillusioned” and become more ruthless in the name of character development, I am incredibly thankful that it didn't happen to Arslan. He gets to be kind. All the strengths he gains and the growth he goes through happens to support his kindness. Parts of him aren't being taken off, he's becoming stronger so that he could be allowed to continue being kind. And I find that revolutionary especially in a historical fantasy type story like this.

Gieve

The fact that deep down he does want to believe in something good, want there to be something worth believing him. He's grown cynical due to reality but the fact that he does hope even if unbeknownst to himself does something to me. Also, the fact that he's like an onion I guess. He's got them Layers™ and unraveling those layers might or might not make you cry.

Isfan

His absolute earnestness I suppose! He's so eager, he puts 100% into things he does (like, apologizing for not being able to capture that sorcerer despite having reduced that one onto one leg, despite having fought so valiantly? boy's a perfectionist and overachiever). I find it admirable even if I can't relate in matters except art, lol.

Farangis

Her refusal to entertain Gieve's bullshi— okay, that aside, her ability to step back and see the bigger picture instead of being caught up in emotions, and thereby having the ability to gently nudge other people (especially Arslan) back on track. Also her courage because damn is she daring as fuck.

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Arslan

• Kamado Tanjirou no Uta by Nakagawa Nami (more canon leaning)

• Untitled world by ReoNa (more Wolfpack AU leaning)

• Yakudou by Sakamoto Maaya (applies to both but also leans a taaad more towards AU if only because all those bells in the song)

(all three songs included in the playlist!)

(also I know this is technically three songs instead of one but have you considered he is my darling son?)

Gieve

There hasn't really been a song I hard-associate with Gieve just yet, I don't know why but nothing quite hits the sweet spot for me so far. If anyone's got recommendations I'd verily appreciate it!

Alternate joke answer is Yakety Sax.

Isfan

Wolf Blood by Adrian von Ziegler! It's an instrumental with no lyrics but I immediately think of him whenever I listen to it.

Farangis

I think I've said it before but Trøllabundin by Eivør always makes me think of Farangis! To add one more to that, Dance of the Spirit by Kokia.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Rather than assign one if the modern aesthetics bc frankly I know nothing about them, I'm just gonna take this opportunity to infodump about my character design choices. Also, my answers will be for Wolfpack AND my character design sheet stuff because why the fuck not.

Arslan

His clothes reflect the most the people around him. He's surrounded by two cultures and he combines them to express himself. In terms of silhouette I tried to make him look Solid. A solid block of friendship LOL.

Gieve

Loose, free, flowy stuff. There's always something flappy hanging from his clothes. Wind is an element I associate with him so yeah! You'll see when my design sheet of him is done.

Isfan

Clothes that fit him very well in terms of tailoring. Rather than the clothes creating a specific silhouette they adhere to the body instead if that makes sense. On the more traditional side of things. Due to geographical proximity, the regional fashion of the Gorgan region is influenced by Turanian (Mongolian) ideas.

Farangis

Flowy, but in a different way from Gieve in that it's much more well put together and tidy. I don't really know how to explain it, but I chose the clothes that I did for Farangis for a reason!

23. Favorite picture of this character?

HOO BOI HERE WE GO.

Arslan

Gieve

Isfan

Farangis

[acy-art]

(REUPLOAD) My MHA oc lol more under the cut!

Alicia (Alice) Carroll is a Mexican-British Hero-in-Training. Her parents, her, and her little brother moved to Japan from the South-Western USA after the retirement of Allmight to try and help fill in his large absence, and to aid in the rescue efforts happening on the site of the battle.

Alice transferred into UA into class 1-B through the foreign exchange student program, though with some difficulty due to the language and time-zone differences, and thankfully has made friends. Her little brother was transferred to a local elementary school and quickly gained a reputation for being a trouble-maker, due to his quirk allowing him to slip through walls, smell and hear better than his classmates, and have a powerful bite. In addition, because his big sister is making her way towards being a hero, he's already started crafting a hero persona; El Chupacabra.

Her parents are having lots of success integrating into the local hero scene, especially with rescue teams. Her mom's (hero name La Llorona) quirk activated after she disappeared in a flash flood. She is functionally a ghost, being able to walk through solid objects, move completely silently, and phase in and out of corporeality, though she has the ability to interact and touch the living. She also has a slight silver tongue, where she can influence people to stop or freeze in their place when she cries, but that may just be because she's literally a ghost and that's terrifying to encounter unexpectedly. Physical weapons don't tend to hurt her unless they are blessed. Otherwise, she can only be hurt by attacks made directly from living flesh (such as a punch or kick). Her dad's (hero name Barghest) quirk gives him a monstrous appearance, similar to that of an anthropomorphic black dog or werewolf. Along with this he has a heightened sense of smell and hearing, a powerful bite, a high stamina, and twice the strength of a normal man. He's also massive and eats enough for two people. He sometimes enjoys eating stuff from the trash because of course he does he's a gigantic dogman. Yes he does dig holes in the yard and you can get him to fetch. Also, he's related to Lewis Carroll. Just straight up actually related to him. Together, they are able to scout, track, and take down opponents. They also make an amazing rescue team, as La Llorona's non-corporeality and Barghest's senses combine to make quick work of locating and often rescuing people trapped in buildings or rubble.

Back to Alice! Alice's quirk, which she calls Cheshire Cat, allows her to make some or all parts of herself invisible. In addition, she has the ability to enthrall people when she goes only partially invisible, but this power is relatively weak, and she doesn't use it often. With training, she can become completely incorporeal. The invisibility extends to anything that contains her DNA, but the further the item is from her, the less control she has over it. Because of this, her hero costume is made out of fiber spun from her fur. Her fighting style is stealthy and cat-like, prioritizing speed and misdirection over brute force. She's trained in hand-to-hand combat by her dad and uses her invisibility to gain the upper hand in fights.

Alice is a huge horror movie buff. She especially loves slasher horror from the 80's and 90's, but is always a sucker for new stuff, especially if it's weird and a little goofy. She loves to customize her clothes and customize things for her friends too. She initially designed her hero costume with blue and white stripes, but realized it looked like the Argentine flag and switched it out for the more blatantly Disney pink and purple, which she initially didn't love, but it's been growing on her.

Back in Mexico, her Tia (hero name La Catrina) is actually super famous. She has the ability to rapidly grow and wilt plants and is basically one of the top heroes there due to her skill and professionalism. She uses her abilities in a sort of AOE swarm, ensnaring anyone who might cause trouble.

uhh thats all for now i'll add more when i think of it

[midnightpancreasburgers]

distorted yan comeback of the century ?

i think it's a possibility (but not a certainty) that one of the members of demian's ensemble is distorted yan. specifically this one

i know distorted yan from ruina does carry a completely different silhouette when you fight him. however there's a pretty good precedent of 'distorted person that was in an initially more monstrous form gains a more humanoid one'-- namely, the crying children going from little floating cherubs to, like, a whole ass guy (again)

however. the sprite we DO get of distorted yan in a more humanoid form (the one you get from his key page) doesn't really fit the silhouette of the demiansemble sprite

so is a distorted yan comeback really so out of the question? i dont think so. note the earlier image of demiansemble-- they're walking on stairs. due to their silhouetted nature, it's hard to tell which direction they're facing-- but if this IS yan, then it could just be that he's turned around 180 degrees. this would make his ponytail be on the other side, at the same exact high and side spot both his regular and distorted form have it should also be noted that the one character from this image that we do know already (other than demian) is rim, standing on the very right.

im just gonna assume this is him because he's the only one there with a perfectly spherical head. the discrepancies between these 2 appearances can be explained a couple ways: maybe the demiansemble art was before designs were finalized, so in-game sprites appear a bit differently. or, maybe he has a "different form" sort of design that includes the tubes and everything that we'll only see when we (inevitably) fight him. i cant really say for sure the reason, but i can say that while the demiansemble image is a good starting point, it's not the be-all end-all of what we're gonna see. at least not for sure as of right now as for this happening narratively. im not sure how they'd handle a second yan arc where (i assume) he will have the mark (Ok actually i don't want to get into the mark too much right now because we don't know enough about it or how it works or if it even means anything or if its just arbitrary and symbolic. We don't know. Ok) but his conflict in ruina was based on his sense of powerlessness. would having the mark (or having someone tell him he has the mark) make him more confident/willing to move forward? where would he even go (both spatially and narratively) post-ruina. obviously he probably got spat out somewhere right. would demian just kinda swoop in and find him like that. what else is yan gonna do with himself other than that i think the only other major roadblock to having a distorted yan appear would probably be communication since he distorted in a way that changed how he spoke (like no one can understand him sort of distortion. this also happened with bremen i believe). this also wouldn't be a problem if yan does appear in lcb-- in fact, i think it's the perfect opportunity, as dante CAN understand distortions incomprehensible to everyone else. we saw this rather clearly with papa bongy in 3.5. (it should also be noted that demian likely possesses this ability as well, as he can understand dante.) given all of this, i think there is solid precedent for distorted yan to appear again in lcb (or otherwise some post-ruina thing) both from the demiansemble promo image and from narrative details, but i can't say im particularly /certain/ about it happening. like, yeah, its totally possible this is some other guy entirely that they sort of gave similar design features to. that would be fine. but it would feel like a missed opportunity if they DIDN'T make their 'weird distorted(?) cast' of this game not include the one (rather popular) weird distorted guy from the previous game (that did not really get a conclusion or mention of post-game whereabouts). unless he appeared for 2 seconds and exploded in leviathan idk i havent gotten around to reading it still LOL IN CONCLUSION:

[zoomzooml]

Messy sketch made just to have more solid idea lol

I haven't thought much about Hot Rod/Rodimus in my AU yet, but I have an idea for him. Hot Rod is a young, promising Autobot soldier. Like Optimus Prime, he was sent as captain of one of the small exploration ships in search of a new home for the Autobots. He found the mission not only an interesting adventure, but also an opportunity, as he was promised a promotion to Prime if he gained any positive results (information on the location of the energon, about Decepticons, etc.)

He may not know it, but they agreed to put him in charge of the team, mainly because the Autobots have a shortage of people. Nevertheless, it seems that the senior command has seen potential in him and may begin to place a little more responsibility... Let's hope it doesn't end badly for him, haha

I only have loose ideas about his character and I don't think I'll focus on him very much. Especially at the beginning of the story. He won't even be here.

In terms of design, I borrowed and was inspired mainly by TF:A and Cyberverse. Still neds work lol

[daily-dipcifica-doodles]

What career choice do you see Pacifica taking when she's older? I could see her being a lawyer, real estate or even Mable clothing business partner with the company selling all kinds of sweaters.

oooh boy you made a mistake asking me that cause i'm gonna have so much to say JJDFJFDSKL

don't fret, this WILL include doodles, I'm a doodle sideblog it's my thing ✨

also dipper is gonna be included in little bits of this thing here and there cause dipcifica blog, par for the course 👍

sorry in advance, love!💖

ok SO

when thinking about careers for the kids, including mabel, i try to think about what their goals seem to be in canon vs their talents

for pacifica, her goal is clearing up her family name and her talents are... quite a few for her age. she's charismatic, she has an eye for fashion, she's great at golf though i severely doubt she'd be interested in that as a career, and she probably has a decent amount of knowledge on legality and things in that vein considering who her parents are and what they deal in

she could be an actress, a lawyer, a fashion designer, a model... lotta options there JFDDS

for dipper, his goal is... well he doesn't quite have one tbh. neither him nor mabel lol

we know what he likes! he really loves mysteries, he likes singing (as shy as he is about it) and has a decent voice imo, he's pretty charismatic as well when he feels comfortable and confident in himself, and he's a very analytical guy

but none of those things are a goal per say, and they could all branch off into multiple career paths: archaeologist, adventurer, scientist, novelist, detective...

different circumstances could also change his career path very easily because of his not very solid goal - provided he has enough motive, he could absolutely pull a stan and exploit the supernatural for monetary gain, if something happens to his family or pacifica that would require an easy way to make a lot of money

there's a LOT of ways to decide for dipper and they're all centered around what kind of story one would like to tell lmao

anyway, onto pacifica's options!!

careers for her would depend on how she wants to approach clearing up her family name i'd say?

if she were to decide to become a well-accomplished person so that her family name would be cleared because of how great and well-known she was, she could pursue acting tbh?

there's a lot of things she could do but idk i feel like she could be a great actress if she wanted to be

that or a politician, but i don't think she's interested in the mess that would bring lol, that's more within her father's line of interests

the nice thing about her being an actress is her bringing dipper to all the galas and premieres and stuff and him not knowing how exactly to act in that situation (of course, assuming he didn't pick a career that has him deal with large crowds of people daily - he'd already be used to it in that scenario)

hence: doodle

now, if pacifica were to decide that the best way to clear up her family name would be to take all legal matters into her own hands and go about that very literally, she'd absolutely become a lawyer or something in that vein

this could lead to a lot of sleepless nights especially while she's studying to be a lawyer, so - many fluff and flangst options there ;)

aaand that's all I have on Pacifica rn - it's 5 am so my brain's a lil mush

anyway sorry for the rambling, you activated the essayist in me 😔

i'm very talkative despite how it might seem JDFSKLSD w h o o p s

have a great day! ✨💖

[tendaysofrain]

Random Stuff #10:  Daoist Elements and More in The Untamed/MDZS Part 2 - Weapons and Magical Objects

(Part 1 Here) (Super-long post ahead!)

Talismans/Charms/符箓/符咒

The talismans in both the live-action and animated shows originate from Daoist talismans, which in turn developed from early shamanistic traditions.  Like what Lan Wangji tells Jiang Cheng in the show, real life Daoist talismans are usually made for beneficial purposes, one of which being to ward off evil spirits.  Other purposes of such talismans include everything from curing illnesses to controlling floods to communicating with the gods.  In order to call forth gods to accomplish these goals, writing/drawing on the talismans usually include “incantations” that start with “勅令”, or “command”, on the very top. The word can be traced back to 敕令, which refers to orders from an emperor, but since 敕 is traditionally reserved for the emperor, Daoists use 勅 on their talismans.  The meaning is also slightly changed, as 敕 has 攵 on the right, implying the order is written; meanwhile 勅 has 力/force on the right, implying the order is executed by “force”.  

The body of the talisman sometimes include complex combinations of Chinese characters (合体字/複文) that are more like visual symbols and do not have their own pronunciations.  On a talisman these “combination characters” are usually arranged in a specific pattern. These combination characters aren’t exclusive to Daoism, however.  Below is a well-known combination character created from the word 招財進寶 (lit:  “gaining wealth and attracting riches”), commonly seen pasted on doors and windows around Chinese New Year for luck.

Other elements of a talisman are mostly made up of symbols such as the yinyang symbol, eight trigrams, and special strokes that also hold symbolic meaning.

A fun detail from the animated show:  in the scene where Jiang Cheng shows the inverted evil-warding talisman to Lan Wangji, we can see that WWX’s addition in blood near the top turns the 人 part into 夷, as in 夷陵老祖/”Yiling Founder”, giving the viewer a solid hint as to who changed the talismans.   

Sword (Jian)/剑

Jian sword refers specifically to pointed double-edged one-handed straight swords.  The sword is important to religious Daoism, but its origin as a culturally-significant symbol lies in history.

The sword was an actual weapon used on the battlefield before Han dynasty (before 202 BC), and it was that time, long long ago, that the sword was associated with certain human qualities, such as an unyielding sense of justice.  From there, the jian sword eventually became an ornamental item symbolizing high social status.  Evidences of this can be found in the Book of Rites (《禮記》), a book detailing etiquettes and rituals for nobles of Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BC).  For example, a chapter mentioned “when looking upon a gentleman’s attire, sword, and carriage horse, do not gossip about their value” (“觀君子之衣服，服劍，乘馬，弗賈”).  One such decorative jian sword artifact even survived to this day:

Sword of Goujian, King of Yue (越王勾践剑), part of the collection of Hubei Provincial Museum.  Note:  the engraved “bird-worm seal script” (鳥蟲篆; basically a highly decorative font) text says “Goujian, King of Yue, made this sword for his personal use” (戉王鸠浅，自乍用鐱).

By the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD), Daoism had established itself as a folk religion.  Many of the customs and etiquettes passed down from pre-Qin dynasty times were mystified and given religious importance in the then newly-established Daoist belief system, including the aforementioned etiquettes involving the jian sword.  People came to believe the jian sword as holding magical properties, a weapon gifted by heaven itself, allowing its wielder (usually a Daoist priest) to fight and triumph over demonic spirits.  As the jian sword became more and more of a Daoist ceremonial item than an actual weapon, it also slowly changed to this familiar form today:

(Modern ceremonial Daoist jian swords.  Fun fact:  it is widely believed that jian swords made entirely of peach wood have better demon-banishing abilities than regular swords, since peach trees were said to have demon-warding effects.) 

So, a sword that was worn to show respect, used to showcase social status AND have demon-warding powers?  Does that sound familiar?

It was no accident that the day WWX refused to take his sword with him (since he gave his core to Jiang Cheng so Jiang Cheng could continue to use swords) was also the day the other sects/clans started to alienate him.  The sword symbolized status, and WWX was only the son of a servant, a “lone genius” (一枝独秀/”a lone blooming branch”, in the words of Jiang Cheng) among all the young nobles, so it was fitting that WWX abandoned the “righteous” sword path to walk a new and unique path in order to reach his full potential.

“Fly whisk”/“duster”/fu chen/拂尘

Remember the funny-looking duster-like objects that Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen held in the live action series?  Those are called fu chen, or “拂尘” in Chinese, and hold symbolic meaning in Daoism.  To explore that meaning, let’s first explain the name “fu chen”.  Fu chen literally means “brush dust”, so the Chinese meaning is really more like “duster” than the common English translation of “fly whisk”.  But then what sort of “dust” is it really “brushing”?

The concept of “dust” (尘) in both Daoism and Chinese Buddhism refers to the normal secular human society, with all of its material objects and worldly wants and worries.  Thus, the symbolic meaning of fu chen/“duster” is to clear these worries and wants--in other words, worldly attachments--from one’s mind, allowing one to exit the secular world.  For this reason, in China, the process of abandoning one’s normal life in society for the life of a Daoist priest or Buddhist monk is called “出家” (lit. “exiting home”) or “出世” (lit. “exiting world”; world here meaning society).

Since both Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen are Daoist priests (they were both referred to as “道长”), and both wandered through the world banishing evil rather than settling down somewhere and integrating into society, it was a nice choice to have them each hold a fu chen.  

"Stygian Tiger Seal" or “Yin Tiger Seal”/阴虎符

This one is a non-Daoist reference, but it’s still rooted in Chinese history, so here we go.

The fact that the Stygian Tiger seal is called a “tiger seal”/虎符 and has two halves that unleash powerful resentment energy when fitted together (this mechanism is present in both book and live-action but is absent in the animated show, where the two halves appear to be conjoined), points to the inspiration being the tiger amulet.  In imperial China, tiger amulets/虎符 are metal tiger figurines that split into halves lengthwise, and serve the important purpose of approving military deployment.  The imperial court would hold the right half, while the left half would be issued to military officials.  

When army deployment is needed, the official would bring the left half of the figurine to the imperial court, and if it combines with the right half into a whole figurine, then the military deployment would be officially approved.  Historically, tiger amulets are a security measure designed to give the imperial court control over the military.

Finally, some joke talismans I found on the web:

Translation:  “No need to work overtime”; “hold the talisman and chant ‘PIKA PIKA’”, “will confuse your boss so you can get off work early”.

Translation:  “passes exam without studying”, “bullshitting it”, “no need to study”.  (I think I’ll need one of these lol................................)

[cocogum]

Hai :) I was wondering, what do you think the HxH cast major would be if they were in college? Leorio is definitely in med school. I could see Kurapika in politics or something similiar, Gon probably be in something related to nature. Can't think of anything for Killua though, I'm guessing electrical engineering based solely on his nen? LOL

I’ve been thinking a lot about this question and I believe I can finally answer it!

At first, I didn’t think I was able to even get an idea of how it would feel like if these four had to choose one.

But I still attempted to try and see if this was going to go anywhere.

And it did!

It took me a while to think about it but I finally managed to make up some headcanons on the topic.

Now some of my answers may not be very satisfactory since they’re not exactly programs you’d find just anywhere but to me, these felt like they could be something that the boys would pick for their future.

So here we go.

This time, I decided to start from the oldest to the youngest.

Leorio

It is no surprise that Leorio would take part in the medical field. After all, his dream is to become a doctor so my guess on what he would pick was pretty easy.

Kurapika

For Kurapika, however, I believe he would take something related to what type of hunter he is: a Bounty Hunter.

So because of this detail, I would say that he would be brought to a Bounty Hunter Educational Training (believe it or not, yes that’s a real thing and yes it’s still a thing to this day).

Gon

At first, Gon would take the athletic program due to the fact that he’s a very agile and energetic person.

Later on in life, however, he’ll come to realize that being attributed to only sports for the rest of his life doesn’t seem like something that he wants to do.

I don’t see him as the type of person that will go to college (or even to an actual school) for many reasons:

1. He’s a solid blockhead. Everything will enter his right ear and exit the other end.

2. Taking classes and sitting all day isn’t his best thing to be doing daily. He prefers to move around more.

3. He would rather risk his life and make risky choices in getting what he wants.

This is why I believe he would choose a different career path after trying the athletic program: he would become an explorer.

He’ll be out there wandering the world and discovering new parts and locations around many countries.

He’ll be winning his life by finding new lands and secrets. A bit like his dad if you will.

He’ll also be in teams of more than two to gain something they need for their research so he’ll also be able to extend his connections.

Killua

As for Killua, it was a bit hard to think where he would properly fit.

Electrical engineering sounded good at first but it still didn’t feel right.

So I thought about his case for a longer time and I can confidently say that when it comes to what major he’d pick, Killua would take any of them. Killua reminds me of those college students who don’t specifically know what they want to do in life but are trying to choose different programs to see which clicks.

Instead of simply taking one program, he’ll take different ones for every session.

He doesn’t especially know what he wants to do but he knows what he DOESN’T wish to do.

And that is being an assassin.

He’d do part-time jobs on the side to gain some money but he’d mostly try to find which program suits him best.

In one of the departments he tried at, he took a small liking to the fashion department but quickly bailed after learning that the people who had to wear the designs had to smile to show off the fabric on a constant basis.

I don’t see him tagging along with Gon because even if he doesn’t mind doing everything with him, Killua still has a future he needs to think about. Growing up isn’t the easiest thing in life because you sometimes have to plan ahead. Being with Gon is fine for now but he’d also like to do things on his own to see how far he can go alone.

So here you go! I hope my answers were easy enough to understand. I never thought much about what major they would all go in before so it was nice to have this kind of question asked to me! Thanks!

[mikamink]

What are your pokemon headcanons for some of the characters teams lol

I've figured out some fitting pokemon for most characters but I like to try to find a neat theme and setup to go with the choices. I don't have all of them set in stone but I'll share the choices I'm the happy with atm.

Some of the descriptions will be a bit long. Characters included are Rasiel, Fran, Belphegor, Chrome, Ryohei, and Bianchi. (With very slight mention of Haru and Kyoko)

Rasiel- I’ll just get him out of the way first. Due to his status and traumatic childhood Rasiel’s preference in pokemon revolves around high class ghost types. Vain status symbols and testaments to his ability to overcome death. His team is comprised of pokemon like Cofagrigus, Chandelure, and (Authentic)Polteageist. His most notable pokemon is Cofagrigus.

Not long after the “incident” that left him terribly injured and ill, employees around the castle noticed the presence of a distressed yamask pacing the outskirts of the castle grounds. Some noted the unsettling resemblance between the young prince and the mask the pokemon carried. At some point during his recovery, the Yamask found it’s way into the castle and rushed straight to Siel. It’s presence didn’t scare the prince, it was oddly comforting and the stray pokemon offered him some small bit of company while he remained isolated.

The consensus between his caretakers was that the Yamask had mistakenly taken the likeness of the prince during the moments he was buried after his brush with death. Rasiel miraculously surviving and Yamask retaining his likeness made the pokemon confused and curiously drawn to him. And it wasn’t just Yamask. Rasiel’s near death experience and the recent flood of negative energy throughout the castle grounds turned it into a beacon for ghost type pokemon. Overtime Rasiel developed a fascination with death and the afterlife and became as drawn to ghost types as they were to him. Not once did he have to go out of his way to catch his own pokemon, all of his partners eagerly sought out their new prince of their own accord.

Rasiel’s main partner Cofagrigus is a very unsettling and dangerous pokemon and most are surprised by how docile it is in his presence. Not only is his connection to Cofagrigus deeply personal, his family is wealthy enough to satiate it’s appetite for gold and his status as future king makes him a perfect match for that particular pokemon based on it’s history. -“There are many depictions of Cofagrigus decorating ancient tombs. They're symbols of the wealth that kings of bygone eras had.”

Fran- Fran has a very notable lack of motivation when it comes to most things, being a trainer included. He doesn’t really have a preference and his team is made up of pokemon he obtained through odd circumstances. Notable pokemon in Frans possession are Espurr, Zorua, Mimikyu, Appletun, and Hatterene.

A tiny apple-less applin became infatuated with Fran’s hat and was determined to make it it’s new home. Though Fran tried many times to shoo the pokemon away or lock it out of his house, it always found its way to him again. Eventually he grew tired of constantly dealing with it and just let it take up residence in his hat. It’s delighted little eyes always poking out of the top. Fran eventually evolved it not long after he acquired a new hat.

Though I don’t have an idea for how he acquired Mimikyu and I do have the hc that Fran is for some unknown reason is the only known person capable of looking under Mimikyu’s disguise without it having any negative affect on him. Not even Belphegor or Mukuro are willing to personally test their luck in that regard.

Hatterene are scary and near impossible for the average person to approach without provoking. However Fran’s monotonous disposition and overall lack of outward emotion made him unintentionally cross paths with one. Though he had no desire to catch or battle it he noticed it had intently started following him. It had never encountered a human that didn’t instantly agitate it and that made it curious.(She also just liked his big silly hat) He didn’t particularly like the idea of having such an aggressive and volatile pokemon in his possession but he also didn’t want it following him through places filled with people that could potentially provoke it, not that he was concerned it might attack other people, he just didn't want it to attack him. So he made a compromise to take it with him while in the safety of a ball, and it surprisingly obliged.

There is ONE perk though. Hatterene HATES Belphegor. He’s loud and hostile and his vibes are terrible. He is everything Hatterenes hate in a human. If Fran tries to use Hatterene in battle while Bel is nearby it will turn it’s focus straight to him. Sometimes Fran does it on purpose because honestly Bel deserves it majority of the time. Her Fairy typing also directly counters Bel’s favored dark type.

Belphegor- Gonna be honest, I’ve tried to put a lot of thought into Bel for this AU but he is incredibly difficult to work with. It’s hard for me to assign him pokemon because I just can’t seem to find any that are good enough to fit his vibes. Or in his case bad enough. The main thing I decided for him was that he would have a focus on dark types and two of his pokemon would be a shiny Absol and the exception to his preference, Gengar. Alolan Persian, Deino, Weavile, and Skuntank are pretty solid contenders but i’m not 100% on all of them yet. Tho I do like the idea of both of the twins having meowth, Bel ending up with alolan persian and Rasiel ending up with Kantonian Persian.

Absol’s are considered bad omens, bringers of disaster and death, and that is exactly what comes to those whose paths are crossed by this crimson visage. It’s presence is a warning that it’s master is near. Bel has had this fearsome partner since he was a child, it’s first appearance before him marking the “death” of his brother. Since then Bel has been a beacon for disaster, anywhere he goes he happily brings death with him, and that is why Absol is never far from his side. Always there to be a warning, or a threat, to those who venture too close or are unfortunate enough to have Bel’s sights set on them.

The exception to his preference in dark types is Gengar. He liked it’s vibe and got it as a direct response to Fran’s Hatterene being a constant pain. Though head-to-head it does come down more to skill than typing since both have disadvantage and weakness against the other. Generally they tend to be pretty even in power.(when you don’t consider the fact that Fran doesn’t really put much effort into battles.)

Chrome- Chrome isn’t one for battle when it comes to pokemon and doesn’t really have a preference. For Chrome her pokemon are therapeutic and a source of comfort in her day to day. Her pokemon are Musharna, Sylveon, Togetic, Shiny Audino, Kirlia, and Gothorita. Pokemon that specialize in soothing the fears and anxiety of their trainers, and bringing them happiness. Her very first partner was a Munna.

It isn’t uncommon for doctors to use pokemon as assistants for a variety of medical treatments. Though they were not exclusive to that ward, munna were often found in the pediatric ward at night. They provided assurance and comfort to recovering children, soothing their dreams and eating away the nightmares. Though there was little hope she would survive, Chrome had one assigned to her bedside. A small comfort during what would likely be her last few nights. Her moments of consciousness were short and scarce, so her dreams were all she had left.

Up until Mukuro’s odd intervention, Munna remained snug by her side. It would sometimes visit her in her dreams, providing some company within her peaceful, yet lonely world. After all what company could she dream of if everyone had abandoned her? When she awakened and had miraculously stabilized due to Mukuro’s aid she just so happened to take the Munna with her on her way out of the hospital.

Ryohei- While not one I tend to think too much on and I dont have a full party thought out for him, I recently decided I like the idea of him having Mega-Lopunny. I know that seems like an odd choice, because it is, everyone thinks it's an odd pokemon for him to have, including himself, but under no circumstances would he ever consider removing it from his team because it was a gift.

When his little sister Kyoko became a trainer the first thing she did was try to find a pokemon she could give to her big brother as a gift, as a way of showing him she was capable of catching pokemon on her own and to thank him for helping her get to that point. At the time Buneary felt like a good fit in her eyes because it was cute and its ears seemed to pack the kinda punch Ryohei liked his pokemon to have.

Ryohei was overjoyed by the gift and didnt question in the slightest why she would give him a normal type when he specialized in fighting types, he was just proud of his sister. His synergy with Lopunny is surprisingly solid as it makes for a good pseudo fighting type, and in it's mega form it not only becomes a proper fighting type it also gains the ability to PUNCH GHOSTS which is cool as hell!

Once Kyoko is a little older she feels kind of embarrassed about her choice given Ryoheis type preference but he insists Lopunny is amazing and gladly shows off it's power to anyone when given the chance, making sure everyone knows it's because of his little sister he has such a powerful partner. This does not help ease her embarrassment. Ryohei eventually returned the favor by gifting her a stufful. Something that suited her that was cute and strong, and also because Haru had one and he knew how much Kyoko loved it.

Bianchi- Instead of going full poison types like I originally planned to, I started liking the idea of her having food themed pokemon that are just kinda wrong. She's the only char I have considered taking some liberties with the canon designs and typing of her pokemon. At the moment I hc her having Alcremie, Vanilluxe, and Tsareena. All "shiny" though people are sure Bianchi's pokemon were not always those sickly off-colors. Their designs would be more warped/melted with tsareena being an exception as she seemed to have a better response to it's trainer-inflicted poison typing. (A G-maxed Alcremie in her possession would be a horrific sight)

Bianchi herself isn't doing this intentionally to her pokemon and also doesn't seem to notice their differences. Her love for her pokemon and the care she provides for them are genuine, they just somehow always end up “wrong”. Their sickly appearances haven't hindered their ability to function in battle and they actually seem to be unusually stronger than their average counterparts.

[milkbreadtoast]

Hey so! I’ve been wanting to share one of my Kurama(yu yu hakusho) headcanons for a while, but have been too lazy(and scared) to put it into words and share it w/ my followers ahah. But i’m finally gonna share it..! This is one of my headcanons that’s most crucial to how I interpret his character... and I want to preface this with saying that everyone has a different interpretation of a character, and that’s ok; u don’t have to agree. Interpretations can feel very personal sometimes...this one means a lot to me personally haha. Anyway, here goes: (BIG SPOILER WARNING!!!)

Basically... I think the current Kurama, “Shuichi” Kurama with the red hair, is LITERALLY a different person than he was in the past, due to the unique way he escaped death by merging with the unborn child of a human woman, and that his current personality makes a lot of sense if you think of him... as a fusion, in a sense... kinda like a Steven Universe fusion(not exactly, but hear me out)...

The present day Kurama is shown to be a really different person than the legendary thief Yoko Kurama. This difference becomes starkly apparent when the Yoko Kurama of the past makes his appearances in the dark tournament, and he’s very sadistic, cruel... very different from the Kurama shown until then. 

Although the current Kurama has the same memories and consciousness, intelligence, etc. and is still fully “Kurama”, and a 1000+ year old demon, he also seems to act...like a normal teenage boy. He giggles, jokes around, cares a lot about his friends, and of course, loves his human mother... 

Hiei describes Kurama in an internal monologue in ep 47, and it’s very interesting...

Kurama also describes himself in this way, in the same ep:

Although not in the manga, Kurama also says this in ep 108:

When Kurama talks about how he’s changed since being reborn, and how he’s become a different person...  I think... it's more than just a change of heart. He's literally a different person, because his soul merged with that of the boy who would have been born as Minamino Shuichi.

And moreover, Kurama himself seems to be aware of this? in the way he describes himself...the whole “we’re merged,” “while I am Kurama, I am also Minamino Shuichi,” “no longer the same Kurama that I used to be”... And perhaps most convincingly, in this line he delivers in “Two Shots”: 

Specifically describing himself as having a “human side”, despite also explaining to Yusuke in his introduction that he is fully a demon, despite his human appearance. 

Given his wisdom and intelligence, retained from his past as Yoko Kurama, this--his self-identity--is surely something he’s thought hard about over the years, and this is the conclusion he’s come to... Even though he is classified as a demon, this is the way he describes himself... as a fusion of sorts, as being part “human”... (and Hiei’s description is mostly likely influenced from what Kurama has told him, along with his own understanding of Kurama). 

The current Kurama shows a profound duality, and it makes him such a fascinating character... in certain moments, he shows a coldness, a brutality, a willingness to take lives, and wisdom and intelligence that certainly goes far beyond his human years. Yet... stuff like how he giggles and jokes, and how he outsmarted Kaito by making a funny face... to me, this is something new... something unique to his current self...something the old Yoko Kurama wouldn’t do. 

The way Kurama acts in the present day...  the way he's 100% a demon, yet distinctly...human... makes so much sense if you think of him as being like a fusion?? When “he merged with the body of the human who would have been born as Minamino Shuichi”, I think their souls also merged. (edit: This also makes sense if you consider that in his severely wounded state, Yoko Kurama was essentially reduced to a bare soul, disembodied and dying--If this fusion between his dying spirit and this fresh, living human soul did not take place, he would not have survived. The unborn baby is not yet conscious, so Kurama’s concsiousness took over completely, but the fusion still occurred...)

Kurama is still Kurama-- but there’s something added, something more.  I think the human who would have been born as Shuichi would have been a very gentle person... so some of that got absorbed into Kurama's soul when they merged... and so his current, softer personality is not JUST a cruel demon who got touched by human kindness and had a change of heart... but a fusion of the original yoko’s personality, and the personality of the human boy he merged with. He did have a change of heart, but this was facilitated by him gaining... a new capacity for feelings? in a sense? due to this fusion. 

This interpretation I have of him... it makes me feel so much for him...b/c even tho he's...not the same person anymore, he still has the same memories and consciousness; he both is, and isn't, the same person.  I think it probably contributes to the guilt and self hatred he feels on some level, which is evident in what he tells Yusuke in the beginning...

It’s true that he said he tried many times to leave throughout his life, to return to his previous life in the demon realm, but it’s also true that he was never able to. His mother’s smile, her sacrifice for him, her genuine warmth and love for him... it moved him, and he decided to stay, and to protect her and the things precious to him now. And I argue that the “human” side of him, the result of a fusion of souls, enhanced his capacity to be moved, weakened his resolve to return to his past life...

When other yokai accuse him of "going soft"... that's not quite what happened...it is, in some ways, but not the full story. Although he is still the ancient, 1000+ year old demon Kurama, and retains all his memories and sense of self... there is still a part of him, a new part, that really IS as young as he looks... one that is gentle, empathetic, kind, and constantly haunted by his past.

In some ways, this added layer of softness can be seen as a fallibility, an exploitable weakness... how convenient, for the cruel and merciless, cold and calculating thief to become “soft”... a soft point, a weak point, where there was only hardness before. But,

Kurama himself believes it is a strength. Although I do think he harbors some level of hidden self hatred, he doesn’t hate this side of himself. In fact, he embraces it, is proud of it, and will fight to protect what he has now with his life on the line. He has found people and things he wants to protect... he’s come to see the beauty of the human world around him, even the mundane... he’s come to see the beauty and power in something as simple and fragile as a rose. 

And the important people in Kurama’s life(e.g. Hiei), unlike the yokai who jeer and mock him, also see this part of him as a strength and not a weakness, and accept him as who he is today. 

Kurama has a war in his heart... and this inner conflict and duality makes so much sense with the fusion interpretation. Itsuki makes this observation:

“affection” and “carnage”... two sides of himself, at war... consistent with his past life of violence and cruelty, and the gentle human soul he merged with that literally made him a different person...  But again he’s still “Kurama”; he’s 100% yokai, not a human, and he remembers everything.

This headcanon of mine is why it doesn’t really feel right to me when I see people joke that Kurama’s just an old guy hanging out with a bunch of kids (like that steve buscemi meme lol). Again, in my interpretation... in some ways he IS just a teenage boy... even though he’s 1000+... which is why it makes sense that he genuinely enjoys having friends his “own age”... it’s more than just a facade of pretending to be a kid, I think. 

And I mean...just look at him. HE...... IS BABIE 🥺🥺🥺

TL;DR I see the current Kurama as literally being a fusion of souls, literally “not the same Kurama” as before, and this colors the way I interpret him haha,,,

.............................

OK THIS POST IS ALREADY LONG AS ASS, WHY NOT MAKE IT EVEN LONGER BC THERE’S SMTH ELSE i WANTED TO POINT OUT

This might be unique to the anime, but it fits in nicely with my headcanon... In the original Japanese cast, Kurama(as Shuichi) is voiced by Megumi Ogata, and the Yoko Kurama of the past is voiced by Shigeru Nakahara (i.e., when he appears in the dark tournament, and in subsequent flashbacks to Kurama’s past). However, when Kurama transforms into his yoko form on his own in the Chapter Black arc, not by the influence of the potion that literally turns back time...he keeps his Megumi Ogata voice even in that form... whereas in flashbacks he's consistently voiced by Shigeru Nakahara.  ITS A REALLY NICE TOUCH....and it confirms what he says when he's like i haven't actually reverted back, my body just transformed due to my heightened yoki.

And not only his voice, he even looks different... his yoko form is given a slightly different design in Chapter Black arc. In the dark tournament, his outfit is sleeveless, he has frayed eyebrows, and his ears are smooth. 

In black chapters... for some reason they started giving him sleeves

and more solid eyebrows...

and raggety ears? vs smooth

(SO CUTE I LOVE THEM...) 

These differences are shown in this production note from the anime, indicating that this was a conscious design choice in the anime: 

(I can’t read the text, but I see that episode #90 is specified in the right pic, which is the ep Kurama transforms into his yoko form in Black Chapters)

Anyway, these are very subtle details, but to me they’re another indicator that even in his yoko form he's not the same Kurama as he was before...!

OK THAT WAS LONG AF BUT I’M DONE NOW I THINK......... enjoy these kuramas before u go ^_^

[semi-imaginary-place]

rewatching decadence

ep1: so... indoctrinating kids that they life their life in service to an upper class. also like, the way deca dence takes care of giant gadoll is to punch it like no giant sword or laser canon or anything just the power of a giant mountain sized fist. this show actually has some good foreshadowing from seeing Natsume from the perspective of Kaburagi’s hud, to Natsume’s dad (Muno) finding the Solid Quake logo at the beginning of the episode and the logo again being shown in the last shot at the announcement signs off with have a profitable day which is a weird public safety announcement but makes sense as a company slogan. I’m still not sure what the “TIME 1:00  POINT SE,07,G” means. I didn’t write it down last time because I was unsure of myself, but my first thought when the cyborgs showed up was VR chatroom for the upper class.

ep2: yeahs that’s totally an advertisement that plays right after natsume realizes the human costs of war as the tankers pay respects to the fallen. I realized what it was with the cartoony designs, the bright colors and patterns, the funky shapes of all the structures aboard the space ship, it looks like a tv show for toddlers. inoffensive and deliberately cheerful to distract from the horrors of a corporation owning your person. the eng subtitles are confusing here it should be “real death(simulation) awaits” in that the company is advertising being able to experience death but not have any of its permanent consequences as a feature of the game. The cyborgs are corporate wage slaves being compensated for their labor in company credits and the only other things we seen them do outside of work is play the company’s mmo, or recreational drugs. “I should be proud of my function and to be scrapped” as property of the company. aaaa that’s terrible. aaa. what are cyborg cores??? and why are they valuable. Solid Quake has no control over the core, only the cyborg’s housing. Is it that they cannot produce more? Considering the others on the team got executed for sentenced to an eternal forced labor camp with appalling conditions, Minato really did pull some strings for Kaburagi. ooh so “time until scrapping” and “operational limit near are two different warnings. the first is a general reminder of lifespan and the second is because oxyone levels are low. now its “TIME 20:00  POINT SE,05,I”. all those new gadoll events probably wreck havoc on the tanker economy. its 400c now and i think it was 500 for 2 earlier. First time through I wasn’t paying attention and totally thought kaburagi was an assassin, but no he’s just clean up crew. ahh yes, come spend you wages at the company run stores. micro transactions... wait so where were people getting the number 13 from?

ep3: ah yes Solid Quake charges to use the media center, truly a micro transaction hell. Natsume’s character arc is about whether to push herself or not. Here Fei acts as part of a continuing dialectic saying that Tankers have no place outside of Deca-Dence, that sooner of later Natsume will die from it, and once again highlighting Natsume’s right arm. In the other level of this though, tankers shouldn’t go outside because that’s not their role in the solid quake mmo, and those who would disrupt the mmo are killed. I like how you can see Kaburagi switch from videogame logic (oh she’s low level so let’s just stick her in the tutorial zone) to real life (what skills and experiences would help in fighting). So several corporations took advantage of desperate people to sell them a service that would augment them with mechanical parts. I get that pipe in a little outfit is funny, but does no one really realize its a gadoll, i meant natsume recognizes it instantly. like the scene where Natsume talks about her right arm, the anime does a good job of showing how her feeling about it are complicated. She’s lived with that arm for years, but it also hinders her sometimes, and people will comment about it. there’s this specific type of humor that pops up in this show and given how its the same joke, my guess is that its the same person behind it. The “joke” being that Natsume is put in a position that references sexual assault. The first is with fennel where she makes up an excuse of having to go see kaburagi to get away from him. And then there’s this episode. There’s also a few stray lines here and there that alarm me in that they imply Natsume has dealt with the threat of assault before. Since they didn’t do anything meaningful with this, I’d rather it just not be there. Minato is in on the secret of Pipe’s existence and by the way the two talk, they’ve called each other before in the last 7 years. Its good to know that Kaburagi wasn’t JUST brooding for 7 years and that the two of them stayed in contact.

ep4: Natsume after having gained confidence in herself takes down several gadoll and earns her place in The Power. Its a fulfilling payoff after seeing her train for several episodes. Natsume is where she always wanted to be, fighting gadoll in the Power. gahh It really is a patch release trailer. Ohh so I assumed that the other structures on the cartoon earth were other corporations, but in this episode we see one of them (the white and red striped cone thing opposite the deca-dence dome) and the cyborgs there are talking about the game (MMO LARPing lol), so either Solid Quake owns multiple of those structures, or these cyborgs are customers not owned by Solid Quake and playing of their own volition. that would makes the cone cyborgs where solid quake is deriving its profit from since its not like it pays its workers. reading comments online, a lot of people missed that because a ranker was found to be cheating (mikey), the rankings were abolished. In the present time, gears/players are not ranked. Ah so Kaburagi was transferred to the maintenance department from the warrior department. Wow reassignment is so much better than the poop jail. I remember it being said, armor repair, doctor, and weapon shop could be employee(cyborg) run so I wonder if the medics and that one armor shop guy are tankers or not. So this anime already snuck in a sex joke with the when the poop gang swapped kaburagi’s avatar with a sex toy, so i wonder if the safetyprivatemode was made so that the mods wouldn’t have to listen to robot sex. I really wish this show could have had 24 episodes. The trend for the past 20 years has been shorter and shorter shows so I know it would have been likely impossible to get the clearance and funding for 24 eps but oooh in som alternate universe maybe... i brought up fleshing out minor characters and character relationships before but there also stuff like Natsume’s right hand almost clamping on ... Mindy? Which usually would be a narrative flag but is completely dropped because of the episode limit. And the confidence Natsume gained last episode come to work against Kaburagi trying to keep her from the suicide mission. Its only from this point on that Kaburagi starts to really change, as of this point he is still a loyal cog to a machine that does not care about him. Kaburagi and Natsume in the 2nd half of the episode continue the same dialectic that runs through the whole of the show, about giving up and learning to try again, about pushing your limit, about why someone bothers trying. On the collectivist versus individualist spectrum, Deca-Dence is on the individualist side with assertions of the importance for deciding for yourself what you will do with your life. Its an interesting counterpoint to The Twilight Mirage (Friends at the Table) which I am currently listening to in that The Twilight Mirage is a western production and strongly collectivist with one of the antagonist being sort of kind of an embodiment of independence/individualism while japanese works as a whole tend to be more about the whole over the individual than western ones. Kurenai talking about why she fights is very good and very important for 2 reasons, first it help flesh out not only her but offer a very needed other opinion on what its like to live as a Tanker, second it segues nicely into Natsume’s memories of her dad telling her about the outside world and him being the only one to believe she can do it (fight in The Power) as contrasted with flashbacks of all the other characters telling her she can’t. This culminates in Natsume gathering her resolve to fight not because of something grand like changing the world or the fate of humanity, but something very personal scale: changing herself and proving to herself that she can do it. The is also the climax of her character arc, the point of no return.

ep5: If last episode was natsume’s point of no return, then either this episode or episode 7 is Kaburagi’s. Rationally speaking, the optimal scenario would have been for Kaburagi to stall long enough for the Tankers to escape before pulling back himself, but emotionally and narratively, there’s no way he couldn’t. After all the build up of deciding for yourself how to live and pushing your limits. Its appropriate that here in defense of the girl that inspired him to live and choose for himself rather than just continue existing in the default of what Solid Quake demands of him, that Kaburagi chooses to release his operational limiter (literally pushing him limit) and derail the company’s plans. How did no one realize purple dude was breaking imprisonment to play on a hacked avatar. Like he’s still as purple and bloodthirsty as ever. He acts and speaks the same. Someone would have totally seen him and gone “eyyyyy [i forgot this guy’s name] is back” and talked to people about it and someone should have heard. So I remember reading comments from various idiots who were mad because they mistakenly thought the anime took place in a virtual space and that Natsume was made of lines of code. And first off even if that was true there’s a difference between objective reality and the lived experiences of a person and what’s to say her experiences and emotions would be any less real than yours. And second, did everyone forget The Hunger Games? Like its just another game that plays with real lives and doesn’t care who gets killed. Solid Quake is just using humans as a stage prop. Man this episode is jam packed. Its like getting punched in the face 4 times. The pacing of the last 4 minutes was really good. The quiet scene as dawn breaks acts in direct contrast to the high energy of the Stargate takedown that preceded it. After time and against not listening to him, Minato still calls Kabu to check in with him. There’s also his certainly that it was Kaburagi that saved the Deca-Dence mech (i need to be clearer when I’m talking about the physical fortress city mech, the mmorpg game, or the deca-dence system itself). And then when the world state gets reset is just so good because it make it clear that the gadoll were never the true enemy. The tankers could kill as many gadoll as they want and nothing would change. Kaburagi’s at an interesting point here, in that he’s no longer in a state of having given up like he was in episode 1 just waiting to die and following along with Solid Quake’s orders, as of this episode he has deliberately gone against the company’s rules, and yet he’s still believes that nothing will actually change. He’s broken a rule and resigned himself to punishment instead of say for example getting rid of the punishment all together. He’s still a good little employee that hasn’t rebelled against the system. And then the “Take care of Pipe” and Natsume turns around and he’s already gone, is sooo good. The final shot too of his avatar face down in the snow! The “This world needs bugs” is in direct contrast to Hugin/Fugin(?) repeating that this world must be rid of bugs, and the same phrase Kaburagi repeated 7 years ago when he was transferred to the Maintenance Department instead of being killed. I wonder how much the cyborgs feel in their original bodies  vs. how much they feel in their Gear avatars. Kaburagi doesn’t seem to care about food and no food stalls were shown in the Gear area so maybe they doesn’t have much sense of taste? The avatars also have a lessened sense of pain. And then the limit release sequence shows connections increasing between the two bodies so does it make the cyborgs more attuned with the avatar’s senses?

ep6: eh so this is another example of what I mean when I say some of the humor in this show is in bad taste. They probably put the oxyone port where the ass would be just to make this joke. But this is better then doing to it Natsume. The animators even had a gleam censor for the over where the capsule was inserted as if it wasn’t obvious enough what it was suppose to look like. Spurned on by the the promise that one day if they work hard and behave (”rehabilitated”), the cyborgs will get let out when in actuality its a forced labor camp so that Solid Quake can squeeze just a little more labor our of the cyborgs for even less compensation. The cartoony style here helps offset just how horrific there working conditions are. And Kaburagi still the good little employee (iiko) tries his hardest to play by the rules and win. Except in this game, there is no “win’ written into the rules. So finally he is forced to move outside of the system Solid Quake has made. I still can’t believe they let Donatello keep the gun... Maybe cyborg cores are brains. In 5.5 Kaburagi’s core is in the top half of his metal case, and Donatello’s is also in his head. I’m still not sure what that sequence where Kaburagi takes the head fin and an image of a cyborg core is overlayed, means.

[ohfugecannada]

Level 1: Likeing Over the Hedge (2006) as a kid for the lol funny animals and fast squirrel hijinks.

Level 2: Hating Over the Hedge (2006) as a teenager/adult, considering it the weakest Dreamworks film for its uncanny valley, cartoony yet uncomfortably rendered chracter designs, jelousy rival side plot that rips off Toy Story and cliche liar revealed plot that’s in literally every one of these Dreamworks movies, or simply dismissing it as the lol funny animal kid distracter with the annoying squirrel.

Level 3: Actually sitting down as an adult and A) realising that while Over the Hedge (2006) looks weird, literally every other cg kids movie from the early/mid 2000s looks like that, even the good ones. B) Acknowledging that the jelousy side plot between Vern and RJ is similar to Woody and Buzz’s in Toy Story, it’s only surface as Buzz and RJ are vastly different chracters. While Buzz earnestly believes his own lie of being a space ranger, RJ is fully aware of his lie of wanting to help the other animals stick up for winter and uses that for his own personal gain. Which settls thier dynamics with the main chracter apart considerably. C) recognising that, yes, the lair revealed plot is there. But it’s not as badly handled or as predictable in this movie as people give it credit for. In fact, it’s a bit more nuanced in some areas. Like when after Vern loses the food you think that it’s gonna be the usual situation where the liar (I.e. RJ) comes clean about the lie, the other chracters get angry and feel betrayed and then everybody goes of to feel sad etc etc, but then Vern actually snaps and accidentally calls everybody idiots, causing them to lose faith in him. Which not only makes Vern feel guilty for mistrusting RJ, but RJ to feel guilty for the damage his lie is causing for the first time. It’s a pretty unique spin on this kind of scenario, all things considered. (Grated, they do still have the reveal of RJ’s deceptiveness near the end, but they don’t really dwell on it to long since not only did they already have thier real sad boy hours scene as previously mentioned, but also so as not to sacrifice momentum of the film, which is definitely worth it for the climatic action scene alone). And overall, realising that, while Over the Hedge isn’t quite Shrek or Megamind S+ teir, it’s still a solid lower/mid A teir Dreamworks comedy with simple yet memorable and likeable characters, some surprisingly solid heart and drama, hysterical satirisation of consumerism and upper/middle class suburban lifestyle, and fun slapstick/action sequences. Thereby coming full circle and un-ironically liking it again.

[shinovii]

Ahhh love is in the air today! Even moreso when you get new episodes coming in rather close to Valentines Day! So with that being said, READY THE TITLE CARDS KOOPA KID!!!

Break out the chocolates and hearts, we got a Valentines Day Clyde episode!!! A newfound crush has sent Clyde head over heels, but will he finally gain the courage to ask her to the dance? Time to see him get the spotlight of romance in today's episode: "Brave the Last Dance"!

Once again...Clyde can really carry an episode! I'm really glad they're doing a lot more with him seeing as he's got so much potential for more character growth. He's shown once again to be a very helpful and skilled kid (seriously, can we give this guy a bakery job in his late teen years? Lol), as well as an incredibly reliable guy to those around him (the faculty can actually trust this kid, make of that if ya will). I enjoyed the gang's efforts in helping Clyde out with asking Emma out as each of their advice is just the kind of stuff you see in episodes with this kind of plot. Speaking of Emma, she's not that bad a character tbh. She has a rather nice design but I feel she won't be seen as much after this episode. As for the closing moments...oh yeah, talk about a swerve in another direction. If they do more with this, we may have a sweet new ship to enjoy!

Also, Clutch Master Stella...that is all!

Ohhh Lynn, two is amazing, three is a crowd, and anymore....well you'd find an OT4 lol. Our sporty and floofy girl finds herself with a love of her own, but will she dunk her way into someone's heart? The final score on the loveboard is next in the episode: "Singled Out"!

You give Lynn an episode and I will always look forward to how they'll add to her character. This one gave me something I was wondering about the little athlete for quite a while: how does she handle romance? The answer: not well it seems. I'm cool with seeing them explore this for her as we haven't really seen anything with Lynn involving romance since "L is for Love", and even that wasn't expanded upon afterwards. Even seeing her deal with her teammates having dates (and being way, way, WAY too adorable and mushy), you can tell she's feeling stuck in last place. As for the ending moments, yeah it's a solid way to go about it. I'll say this, Lynn needs more growth and I'm sure there's still plenty to explore for her. An okay episode that does just fine where it counts.

Also, insert Destructive Finish here!

Well now, it may not have aired "ON" Valentines Day but it definitely still counts as a lovely gift either way! I'm quite content with this batch of episodes, and I'm always on the lookout for more new ones! Until next time, enjoy yourselves!

[masterbeta29]

My review of Pokemon SwSh!!!! (or just Shield, cuz it was the version I play, LOL)

Finally, after finishing the game (including the Post game) and fully exploring the region, I think it’s time for me to say what I think of this 8 gen…

I know it’s obvious, but I mention it just in case: This is MY OPINION!!!, if someone disagrees with me its totally valid, I just ask for respect.

ALSO, English is not my first language so I might have certain lack/erros of spelling out there, or I repeat many words, hehe.

It is important to clarify that this review is based on SwSh base, everything that refers to DLC will NOT be included here, my opinion of the game is already done, the rest is extra content.

I wanted to give this review a more ‘’silly’’ tone, since giving negative opinions on the internet can be quite delicate and I wanted to relax the mood. Do not take this seriously, I still have my CONS with the game, but it is still genuinely enjoyable, which for me is the most important thing in a game.  I will talk about everything in general, so I will try to summarize certain points.

LET’S GO!!!

NEW FEATURES

Poke Camp, Curry Dex, Boxes and more

It’s like a dream come true for me, visiting other camps, seeing my whole party next to each other in the screen playing, discussing, running, is something really magical helps, me connect with them and know their personalities better, although I admit that I miss petting them lol and the minigames like in Gen 6. I also really liked the concept of curry as an alternative way to cure your Pokémon maybe I just wish there was a simpler way to know how to create new recipes (ALSO TMs).

Access to boxes anywhere is wonderful especially when you are breeding, just like, changing the name of trade Pokémon and the move reminder.

Rotomphone

It is not used as much as a phone, more than in the post Game (I can be wrong tho) but it serves as Dex and that’s what’s important really, the new feature is that now it includes the bicycle, that can ride both on land and water and in my opinion it is a degradation of what the concept of  “Poke Ride” was, but as I said before, it fulfill the function it should.

Trainer Cards

The concept of being able to share and customize them with other players is super entertaining, although it is a bit annoying that you always have to make a new code for each small modification. As for the cards of the main characters of the game, I will talk with a little more detail later. 

Dynamax

At the beginning it was fun and exciting, but in the end it just became a gimmick that sometimes I had to use by obligation in raids. It is not as epic as the Megas and does not have the weight of the lore and cultural/regional connection like the Z-moves.

The Giga forms, although some are great, and I am happy that they gave Pokémon like Garbodor love, I also think that there were many missed opportunities, starting with the starters of the region or in giving forms to Pokémon that in previous generations already had like Gengar and Charizard.

Raids

They are incredibly fun, it is an activity that you can spend hours and hours enjoying, especially with friends but if we talk about NPCs… OOF, I understand that the purpose of Pokemon is that we all make friends and work as a team, but DAMN, if it is stressful when you lose a raid with 3 friends and an NPC, because the Pokémon only killed the NPC, it is almost impossible to defeat a 5 star raid with only NPCs, and as I said before I understand why they do them weaker, but there are some that are completely useless, I see you Martin Solrock lol.

Poke Jobs and Rotom Rally

I  will be honest, I have not used these features enough to have a solid judgment on these lol.

CHARACTERS

Magnolia

OK, I need to get this off my chest: I am incredibly disappointed and sad with this character, especially since she is/was our first old female professor, to be simply pulled into forgettable land.

It started pretty well, but then it just disappeared until almost the end of the game to give the role of professor to Sonia … REALLY ?! I hate to say this, but she felt more like a device to give character development to Sonia, when she could have been used in scenes with Rose or repeatedly going into further detail about Dynamax for the MC (you know because she’s an expert about that topic…), before give the paper to Sonia. At least I am grateful that I had a little more screen time in the post game, although not even as a professor.

Sonia

Thank you Sonia, for allowing us to discover and know the story with you, honestly she was the one who saved mostly my interest in the story. 

But speaking of the character, I like her, I like her dedication to get out of the shadow of Leon’s achievement and to show her grandmother that she is capable, which she finally manages to fulfill, she still has certain insecurities, but that makes her more human, she’s the real professor (I’m still salty for Magnolia tho)

Leon

Everyone knows from the posts on my PT on Twitter that I constantly bullying the character, but I really like him a lot, he is an excellent guide/brother through the game, charismatic, EXTRA, but very involved in his role as champion, in the sense that he is always aware of what is going on and helping in the process, in addition to being strong (one of the most difficult battles in the game). Definitely among my fav champions with Cynthia, Steven and Kukui (I count him as champion, SU!)

Gym Leaders

I love them, their designs, personalities, the animations, they are all incredibly memorable, my favorites are Opal, Kabu and Piers. 

But even so, I wish I had more to go on besides the lore on the back of their cards and their battle animations, I would have liked to see them more integrated in the story, and I feel that it lack a little more interaction with some of them, especially Allister and Melony in my case, but at least the trainer cards were a good addition to know them a little more, outside of being a Gym Leader.

RIVALS

OK, I’m prepared for everyone to hate me, *sigh*:

I… I DONT LIKE BEDE AND MARNIE THAT MUCH?… I mean, I don’t hate them, and they are both far from being the worst rivals, but I did expect a little more from both…

Bede

I am one of the few of the fandom that does not like rivals flat jerks, because for me, that is not a character but rather  a trait.

But I wanted to give it a try, and when I was just beginning to gain interest in him, they force his backstory in my face… And as I said, I like trainer cards…but more in characters, like G.leaders because these are characters that we don’t see much around the trip, but in the case of rivals, that appear several times and develop in the story, I personally like to get to know them little by little, discover their story and understand them in the course, here I felt it more as an excuse for me, to feel bad for him, especially at the moment he gives you his card.

His relationship with Rose is not explored enough imo. 

And a complete turn-around that happens offscreen, like no joke, the MC literally didn’t see any of it, he just disappears after the Opal scene (but to give him credit, that scene is one of my favorites in the game).

But you know, I understood that he was just a lost boy, and I’m happy that he found a better place, and I admire his effort to want to change, so in the end I ended up liking him a little more.

Marnie

Marnie is interesting, because although I agree with many people that she would have benefited from having more screen time, I consider that a good character does not need all the screen time in the world, is about what but what they do with it, and the problem I have with her is that her time was not well spent.

I like her dream and I really like her relationship with her brother, however there was no moment when I really connected with her. I feel partly, that I don’t know her character, like her various personality facets. 

Untapped opportunities: fight with her more times or with her…would have helped the character a lot imo.

Hop

Hop is the best rival of the three hands down, his trainer card contains the right and necessary information to make us have an interest in the character, but also the story lets us know him more: a competitive boy, but who has insecurities, fears of failure, that is reflected not only by the dialogue but also in his Pokemon team (no really, it broke my heart when I realized that he didn’t have his Wooloo in his team), that he is frustrated and suffers, but he gets up, discovers other tastes and with these finds a new path, ugh perfect, I adore him.

Forcing the player to defeat him is torture, it is like defeating Hau in USUM and Wally in ORAS breaks my heart.

Rose

In short: ok character, decent /meh antagonist, and a horrible villain. 

Like the climax of the story, Rose is forced in the end to be the villain, when he worked best as an antagonist, his plan makes no sense, his battle is disappointing, although his battle theme is awesome, but it just does not fit the character, the plan, nor the situation at all.

But the character has a certain charisma, especially in his ‘’suit especially in his incognito suit.”

Oleana

Interesting character, with a potential backstory, with motives and characterization, who is underused in the story * sigh *… I LIKE HER THO

Overall, I would have liked to see much more of the relationship between Rose, Oleana and Bede, I think it would have benefited the 3 characters…

Team Yell

They are … ok, it is cool to have a team that is not villain, that bother the player from time to time even for good reasons, I admire his dedication and loyalty.

THE REGION

The region is aesthetically beautiful, the details, the structure, the contrast for example between Hammerlocke and Ballonlea, and despite not living in the UK or having had the opportunity to travel to the destination, according to my friends the region in which the games are based is very well related, which I think is excellent. However, despite the visual beauty, when it comes to routes and exploration it feels a bit limited, there are really some towns, where the most interesting thing to do is complete the Gym, there are almost no reasons to return to the previous town after having passed them…

But, what I missed the most was the lack of exploration, discovery, the charm of the NPCs…

Many have told me: what about the Wild Area? Because of the ability to explore in an open area, it is probably the best in the franchise! and yes, the Wild Area is a very attractive part of these games (I will talk a little bit about this, later), but as I said, everything that is considered part of the capacity of the new console, I will not take it into account, it is unfair, because a portable console can NOT stand a concept such as the Wild Area although the developers had the idea before, not at least at SwSh scale.

And as I said before and again, the T.Cards are an incredible idea, but for me NOTHING compares to getting to know the characters through the world, dialogue, interaction… I’m going to use pokemon Moon as an example to make me understand better: (because it was the last main pokemon game I played before SwSh and that’s why I have it more fresh lol) Where you can enter Olivia’s shop, buy jewelry and visit her room and discover that she is a desperate single woman, or enter Gladion’s room and talk to the receptionist and that she tells you part of his story, that kind of things…

Let’s see for example Melony, we know she has more children besides Gordie, but only for concept art, and yes, probably do unique models would take a while, but I honestly wouldn’t have be bothered  if they use generic NPCS, they did it with Lana’s sisters, then the anime can dedicated to giving them unique designs.

Speaking of NPCs (mainly of those inside the houses), many lost the charm and authenticity they had… I mean, where is the lady who told us the story of her husband’s accident or the men of the coffee shop, who every time he prepares us a drink told us the story of where such a drink came from, ect… the NPCS on that side are boring…

EXCEPT BALL GUY, he / she is awesome!

I know this look like extra or unimportant things, but these little details really give life to the region, personality to characters that are secondary, it makes everything feel more united and also makes the main characters feel more inside the world, and honestly that is why on this hand, some cities felt empty for me…

But the other hand, I really liked what they did with the NPCs fans, see how the number increasing every time the MC wins a gym battle, makes the trip to become a champion feel more rewarding, It really helps you feel like a true champion when you got it. 

Other examples like the girl NPC who is going to support  you in the Gyms while their pokemon is evolving, or how the NPCS react and change their dialogue corresponding to what is happening… beautiful, for this part the worldbulding is 10/10.

The wild Area

Probably the closest we have for now of an open space area in a Pokemon game, I have to admit that I get lost at least 1 half an hour trying to find the next destination (I understand you Leon), it was hilarious lol, at the beginning of the game it turns out to be a fairly limited area, and you really can enjoy it in its entirety when you finish the main story, but I don’t see so much trouble with that, since it’s partly the point, for balance. In general, it is a fantastic idea although I feel that it is necessary to polish it in certain parts, and NO, I don’t mean THE TREE, but I don’t want to be so hard on GF at this moment, because is the first time they experiment with such concept…

Pokemon and Music

I put these two together because they both share a very curious characteristic: EXPERIMENTAL. 

The pokedex is super solid, I love how these last generations, GF is doing its homework and is striving to make the pokemon belong to the region, as for animals, myths, culture…muah I LOVE IT, BRAVO.

For me a good OST movie or video game not only has to be for the piece n yes, but how it is composed to accompany the events that occur on the screen, how it adapts and fits a certain scene of the story or character, and although I admit that in general it is not my favorite compared to other gens, there are tracks that have become part of my favorites:

The crowd, the screams, the build up as you gradually approach the last pokemon, ugh. Dynamax is cool and everything, but THIS is the basis for me, of why these battles feel so energetic and exciting.

That mystical atmosphere that catches you, is beautiful but at the same time mysterious, and perhaps many disagree with me, but the addition of the howls of the legendaries… I love it.

STORY

I think the game started extremely well, the introduction to the characters, the exploration, the introduction to the starters, the mystery of the legendary, everything is on track to me to enjoy this adventure to the fullest, but later I felt like it began to fall.

I understand that this is Pokémon and sometimes Pokémon does not need a complex story to make it enjoyable, as long as it makes sense and is entertaining, the problem I have mainly with the story is how they constantly get you out of it. I understand the concept they wanted to do: to take a more realistic point of view, in which adults take responsibility or in this case the champion and that later when you become champion you now can do what the champion did, and I like this concept, but the phrase of “you focus on the gym, we take care of the problems ” they say and they repeat it several times in the game like, I understood the first time!!! 

Indirectly I felt like they were trying to took me out, and in consequence I lost interest in the story of the game, if it hadn’t been because Sonia bothered to explain to me the lore and a little of what was happening. 

It’s more like “tell us” and not “show us”

and that’s the risk of this concept: you play as a main character, because you want to be a main character or share the role.

The climax feels incredibly forced and confusing, I felt that there was no build out, almost no foreshadowing for what was happening at the moment, everything comes out of nowhere, and thats why, I started making Okami jokes with Eternatus, because I don’t felt that emotion of the ‘’Climax’’.

Definitely in the part where the game shine was in the gym Challenge, as I said before, the gyms, the leaders, the atmosphere within them, the scale, the music that changing every time, until reaching the final pokémon, the challenges that we have to do before, the fans, becoming the champion, all this really is the identity of the game. 

Pokémon returned to its roots, where this story is the story of us again, and becoming the champion here is everything, it is one of the most exciting and most satisfying Gym challenge in all generations with gyms.

ADDITIONAL

Here I want to give opinions according to the experiences I had with certain things within the game, which I think are quite PERSONAL, because each person plays different Pokémon, by the team of Pokémon, because he decided to level up more or stay at a lower level or how you decided to follow the story of the game.

Difficulty

Decent, by the standards of Pokemon of course, I try not to leveling to much, and if I do, there are maximum 3 levels and only one pokemon… So, gyms were easy in general, perhaps a pair that were difficult (Allister and Melony), but I never did black screen as in other games, but definitely the most difficult battle in the game is Leon, which I think is appropriate.

Online

Its horrible lol, There were not only once but several times in which I lasted like 1 hour trying to connect with a person, it is ridiculous.The signal falling every so often. But in general the biggest problem I have is connecting with very specific people, not even with the infamous Festival Plaza had so many problems.

Gameplay / Pacing

It is normal the same as always which is fine, some drop of frames out there in certain scenes but nothing serious, some cuts and lack of scenarios / designs that if you should in when they took me a little at the time, but absolutely nothing compared as the haters make it look, the game is still incredibly enjoyable, and it can be played perfectly.

The pacing started pretty well/decently, but from the fourth gym onwards, everything became very very fast, and not to mention the climax and the Pokemon League, honestly all this last arc felt super stuck….

So my opinion in general is: I enjoy the game like any other Pokémon game, it has its entity, it has new and interesting things that I would like it to expand more in future generations and it has personality. Is it my favorite game or my favorite generation? No, I definitely enjoyed other generations more, there were many missed opportunities that they could take more advantage, and I feel bad for GF for making them release this game for this year and these dates, because unfortunately some cuts are very noticeable. But the generation just starting ,so we will have to wait and see what we have for the future. For now, Thanks Pokémon SwSh, for another adventure…

[buttered-ghost-toast]

Hi! =D If you're still doing these...🌼? I'd also like to hear about your OC in Obey Me, if you're up for it. Have a lovely night!

HI! yes, I will still do those lol. I think I answered the favorite flower already, but i’ll do it again just for you ;*. 

🌼 Favorite Flower– Stargazer Lily and Blue Hydrangea. 

As for the second part of the question, i’m going to put these together and answer them under a cut since it’s quite a bit of info!!

—So I’m working on a background sheet for Niri as well as designing 4 other OC’s that are part of her life in the human world, so that and her relationships with other OC’s like Sorrel ( @cloviaglade) and Azul ( @azulistrash) as well as the other story characters will come later if anyone is interested. For now, this is a little look at who she is and how she gets along with the demon brothers. —

Niri’s a real sweetheart and has a lot of love to give. She had a bit of a difficult upbringing which (as it goes usually) caused her to rebel and set off on a search for her own path. Lucky for her, it worked out…for the most part. She’s got a little bit of a chip on her shoulder because people tend to really only want to be her friends because they believe they can get something from her, so she has a hard time trusting others and opening up due to this. At least she moved on from her collecting and using people phase. That was an ugly time that brought A LOT of heart beak and pain. She’s always happy to help and give more of herself than she should for others, but she doesn’t let them get close enough to give back.

The first creature in the devildom to realize this is Beelzebub. The fact he is much more emotionally  attuned than his brothers makes it easy for him to realize that Niri is hiding something under that big smile and how she goes out of her way for everyone, so he does his best to never go a day without asking if she needs something or if there’s anything he can do for her sometimes even just whisking her away despite halfhearted protests that she’s fine or busy because he knows better (Okay, maybe in part he feels extra guilty since he scared the crap out of her on one of their first solo encounters, pinning her against the fridge by her throat as he growled that she should NEVER mention their 7th brother. Maybe he showed a little too much fang, but he could feel her shaking under his grip…) The two grow pretty close fairly quickly because they seem to be exactly what the other needs—Stability, care, unconditional trust, and forgiveness.

Mammon. Oh, Mammon. He’s a bit annoying but she finds it endearing, and she loves that he feels he can be more his true self around her because she doesn’t tease (much) and truly cares for his well being. He is probably the only other brother that can claim he’s seen the rawest of Niri’s emotions and knows the most about her life.The two are thick as…well, thieves. Something Niri loves to do is to leave Grimm lying in places she knows Mammon will go so he can feel lucky on random days. Her heart melts at the big smile when he comes to tell her “LOOK WHAT I FOUND! Can you believe some idiot dropped this in the classroom? I’m on FIRE this week!”

Leviathan is a little bit of a tough nut to crack, but he and Niri really do become great friends in a much more subdued way. He’s a little more reserved and tends to pull away quite a bit, so Niri feels a little like she’s trying to gain the trust of a frightened animal sometimes. “here little guy, I won’t hurt you. Come get this game I got you. It’s ok!” They have weekly hangout nights where they binge anime or talk TSL or play games! Niri is one of very few others Levi has allowed to sit in the tub.Asmodeus is one of her favorite demons, but she’ll never openly admit it since he’d never let her go! Whether on purpose or by accident, he often helps her forget her troubles with a fun little flirty quip or a night out on the town or a surprise make-over! They talk about everything and nothing all at once and lose hours on hours going shopping and watching romcoms (which Niri hates, but she puts up with because Asmo’s commentary is GOLD.) 

Satan and Niri are a little too similar to really get too too close, and it doesn’t take much for them to go from good to defensive. It’s never more than just a quick wall being put up and it does come down in time, but the two prefer to just have a third party to their outings to avoid feeling bristly. They’re very snarky with one another, and Satan really gets a kick out of Niri’s dry, dark humor. They talk trash to each other in different languages as practice. It’s a good time.

Lucifer is…hm. All trust was broken at one point, but once she learns that he’s willing to do anything for his family (and has), she develops a pretty big soft spot for Luci and their entire dynamic changes. Their relationship is pretty solid, and she would trust him with her life. 

Belphegor is a tough one. Niri of course had a hard time trusting him again, but because of his bond with Beel, Belphie managed to change her mind. She is sometimes still kind of on edge when she thinks back on past events, but the way Belphie has tried so hard to show he is sorry makes it easier to come back to the present every time. It’s a work in progress. So far so good. Besides, he’s the only other one that understands the importance of a really good NAP!

Thank you so much for asking about her!