#i hope they have a rival sort of dynamic it would be funny

[wallflowrence]

ohnmy god they were roommates !!! no way

i like both of their designs will definitely roll for kaveh when he releases. he's dendro i think? and a greatsword user. fond of both the element and weapon type

was not expecting his (kaveh's) voice to be like that but it suits him . people on twitter were comparing him to howl and I can sort of see it (hair and eyes are similar, both are wearing a white shirt and have a few embellishments/jewelry) so in my head his voice was!! howl's. interested to see more of him

their bickering reminds me of the squabbles my great aunt and uncle get into ..... it's giving old married couple. err though not really. they don't seem too fond of each other. but then again if you think about it there's no reason they Have to be living together (that we currently know of at least & aren't they like. of high ranks in the akedemiya?? im very sure one of them could really move out if they really wanted to + be able to sustain themself on their own) so maybe they don't despise each other as much as it appears. if they genuinely couldn't stand each other i don't think they'd be sticking around. they don't seem like the kind of people

maybe they're such awful housemates in general that no else would want to live with either of them/be able to tolerate them besides each other ...... Either way the shippers and fanfiction writers r going to have a field day with the pair. I say this while reading a kavetham fic on ao3 (I was Curious to see what people have been writing it's very interesting)

it's incredibly amusing to me how there's barely any content with them interacting in-game and they already have more works than the venlumi tag (which i think was around ~596 ... I'm actually surprised there's only that many. in general you would expect that ship to be more popular than it is but it isnt)

god he's such an ass . you love to see it

[acey-wacey]

Hello! I hope you are having a great day, evening or night! Could you do a love triangle? Where 2 twst boys are crushing on Yuu and literally fighting over them while Yuu is oblivious to the whole thing. Maybe with these characters; Riddle, Jamil, Leona, Malleus and whoever else you choose???? If not then I completely understand!! So sorry to bother!!!

This is kinda fun and silly. I love oblivious Y/N bc that's just me :))). I also added Azul and Ace because I think the dynamic of them fighting over someone would be really funny.

...

🌹 Riddle Rosehearts 🌹

Vs

🐍 Jamil Viper 🐍

Neither of them see each other as competition tbh.

Riddle thinks Jamil is too scheming for you to like him and Jamil thinks Riddle is too stuck-up for your taste.

They both do little things to get your attention, neither being particularly fond of bold declarations.

Riddle always let you have the first slice of tart at unbirthday parties, which is actually a huge deal in the Kingdom of Roses but no one is allowed to say anything to you.

You're the only person Jamil can tolerate being in the kitchen with him while he's cooking.

He'll even let you put on your own music because he thinks it's cute watching you sing along.

They only notice their rival on Valentine's Day when you make chocolates for all of your friends.

In your alchemy class, Jamil was watching closely as you handed Riddle a box of chocolates to see the boy turn as red as his hair.

Riddle had never really noticed Jamil even though they were in the same class, but he did notice how the Scarabia dormleader smiled when you gave him his chocolates.

Riddle had never seen Jamil smile that genuinely and after asking Kalim, it wasn't a usual occurrence except for things that were really special.

After that, the boys didn't go out of their way to make a rivalry. They didn't want to spark any inter-dorm conflict.

But secretly, their hearts ache whenever they see you talking to the other.

They have to up their game on trying to subtly woo you.

It's quite a field day for you since you're receiving twice the homework help as usual, as well as many sweets left on your desk.

Grim is very pleased about this development because you always come back to the dorm with a bag full of Trey's baked goods and what is apparently some leftovers from dinner that Jamil made last night and definitely not something he made specifically for you.

Neither even consider conceding defeat since they're both so stubborn with things they want.

All the while, you are completely and blissfully ignorant of the glares they send each other across the classroom when you aren't looking.

...

🦁 Leona Kingscholar 🦁

Vs

🐉 Malleus Draconia 🐉

They already hated each other, what's one more reason?

They both immediately noticed that they were rivals in love.

You were the only person who wasn't afraid of Malleus and he milked your attention, not afraid to show small shows of affections towards you which you interpreted as platonic intimacy even though it clearly wasn't.

And it wasn't very hard to tell that Leona acted differently around you.

He made an effort to actually stay awake when you were talking and, on occasion, even came to class when you asked him too.

It didn't take long for both Leona and Malleus to put together the feelings their rival harbored for their crush.

Mostly Leona saw Malleus as an active threat to his territory while Malleus just didn't like that you were spending time with the lion instead of him.

If you know anything about dragons, they get very possessive with their hoard which was, in this case, his very special human.

You would think that you would notice how you were being tugged on by two angry monsters, but you just assumed that was how they showed affection.

Whenever you were with Leona, he would put an arm around you or pull you into his lap.

Every night, when you went on your walks with Malleus, he would present you with some shiny knick-knack of some sort, which was practically a confession in the Faelands, though he knew you wouldn't understand.

To anyone else, their disdain for each other, as well as their affection for you, was entirely obvious but you just went along as if nothing was wrong.

You knew they had a Magishift rivalry and you assumed that was the only reason they butted heads so often.

Eventually, neither of them was getting anywhere with you and you seemed to favor then both equally, so they made a bet.

"Listen, you horned b*stard. I know you have a thing for Y/N and I know you know that so do I."

"Get to the point, Kingscholar."

"The winter ball is coming up. We both ask them to go and whoever they turn down has to back off for good."

"That's a bold move. Sure you're ready to give up Y/N forever?"

"I don't intend to lose."

It was kind of odd for you with the Winter Ball being the only thing people talked about.

Every time you approached a group, they flicked away from you like you were on the wrong end of a magnet.

You thought it was because no one wanted to go with you but it was really because they knew if they got within 10 feet of you, they would be viciously attacked by your love interests.

No one was allowed to ask you before Leona or Malleus, even if you rejected them.

They both fought to be the first person to ask you, resulting in neither of them actually asking you until a week before the ball.

They weren't worried about you already having a date though since they'd scared off all your potential dates.

Both were running out of time so they decided to ask you at the same time.

When you chuckled nervously in response to their question, they knew something was wrong.

They though they had scared away all potential suitors but they forgot about the one person they never considered a rival.

"I'm really sorry, you guys, but I already promised Grim I would go with him. He has this dapper little bowtie, it's so cute! I'll save you both a dance though!"

The two of them stood there stunned in silence as you skipped away.

Grim scampered up to them and put his hands on his hips, grinning smugly.

"Hehe, neither of you will ever date my henchman if I have anything to say about it!"

Leona just had to growl at him for him to run back to you with his tail between his legs.

...

🐙 Azul Ashengrotto 🐙

Vs

❤️ Ace Trappola ❤️

You wouldn't normally think of them having a rivalry.

But Ace had always liked you and Azul just realized his feelings after his overblot.

You comforted him and accepted him which meant more than you knew.

So imagine his surprise when he discovered that the idiot who got himself indentured to the Mostro Lounge was also vying for your attention and succeeding.

Azul had never been so envious of a first year.

He considered ignoring you until his crush went away but he saw Ace as competition now and he was far too stubborn to give up.

Meanwhile, Ace had absolutely no idea of Azul's feelings for you.

You had 3 classes with Ace and the two of you spent a lot of time together, with the other first years and just with each other.

Ace knew it was strictly platonic but he just loves your attention in any form, even if it was scolding him for something stupid.

One day, his and Grim's antics got far more out of hand than was intended and he found himself in need again.

It was quite a coincidence that Azul was right there willing to clean up his mess for just a small price (?)

It was ever so satisfying to watch his rival slaving away at the Mostro Lounge, but Azul had calculated the outcome of this encounter.

All according to Azul's plan, you came to the Mostro Lounge to scold Ace and Grim and try to bail them out again.

Don't get me wrong, you were seething at how irresponsible they was, being indentured for the second time, but Grim was your responsibility and if Crowley knew the only other member of your dorm had gotten in hot water again, he would use it as another excuse to cut your allowance.

Both you and Ace were very suspicious of how amiable Azul was when you asked what you'd have to do to get the first years out of their payment.

Azul offered to let the entire ordeal go if you would agree to go on a date with him.

You thought he was joking because what self-respecting businessman would stake a money-making endeavor on a personal matter?

You didn't think it would be that easy to get Azul to let Ace and Grim off the hook but at that point, you would do anything to get Grim to stop whining your ear off about "being a slave to the takoyaki".

You took the opportunity and signed on the dotted line: you would go on a date with Azul and he would let your friends go free.

Ace, though he now was freed from servitude, was not happy at all about this development.

Why did that shady b*stard even want to go out with you anyway? He doesn't deserve that!

You are a little wary of Azul, seeing as how he actively tricked you into going out with him but he grew on you.

You started hanging out at the Mostro Lounge, making Ace even more jealous.

Azul was the picture of perfection around you though that didn't stop Jade from bringing up how Azul turned into a blushing, feet-kicking mess as soon as you left.

Grim was very conflicted when he discovered that your options were either the boy who attempted to enslave him at any opportunity and the boy whose mistakes get him enslaved.

"What do you need a boyfriend for, henchman? You've got me!"

[lymooniee]

I've come to another realization--

This scene in particular is so important ahem let me do some sort of analysis:

Firstly, Shadow's desperation to stop Sonic right away by exclaiming they're not real. This right here shows us that he empathizes with Sonic by trying to protect him from getting hurt. He understands these are the closest projections to his reality, so he does what he can to keep Sonic at a calm level instead of letting him spiral. We see this too by the way he guides his hand out to Sonic, but pulls back because Shadow has a difficult time expressing his emotions. I've stated before that I see Shadow as autistic. This, to me, kind of adds to that hc of mine. There's actually a lot of scenes in this episode I could pull to make my point ngl. Anyways, that's off topic a bit, but yeah he has a hard time with placing his empathy into comfort. Yet he still knows the right things to say, I believe this is because he's able to place himself in Sonic's view in some sense.

Shadow gets annoyed by Sonic for being stubborn and once again reiterates how Sonic has much more important things to live for. Like his "real" friends, I think Shadow saying this is so significant because it reminds me of his own backstory. He knows how hard it was to promise to save Maria and end up losing her, so he knows how Sonic would feel if he were to die and not be able to keep his promises or vice versa, where he couldn't save anyone else because of his impulsive decisions. The way Shadow becomes so adamant that Sonic needs to focus on those who are real and truly need saving makes me happy because it once again shows his empathetic side. He may not come out and say "I want to save everyone" but the way he expresses his desire to save those around him and to encourage Sonic in doing so as well, is brilliant. It's why he has in the past saved Rouge and other characters of course too. It's why he does sacrifice himself at the end of Sonic Adventure 2. He isn't heartless, he cares deeply and a character doesn't need to say they're a hero to do hero things either. Shadow can be a hero in his own way, but because of his past and because of him teaming up with EGGMAN. He came to be known on the dark team. You know the funny thing though, is that the dark team weren't even bad, they helped those around them, helped Sonic in many ways, I just believe they have different ambitions hence why they are on a separate team. I've always loved that they never considered them as evil. It makes Shadow such a realistic character in a lot of ways, he wants to save those around him, but he doesn't want to gain praise from it.

The fact that Sonic at first pushes Shadow away, but then pauses in realization. It's so good, the dynamic between them is why I'd love to have a game where they just have to work together and you play as both. It'd be interesting to see them write them as something other than rivals, because tbh, they weren't ever the typical rivals to begin with which I love. I think too it'd be such a refresher from all the poorly written Shadow characterization, it'd do justice for him and Sonic in a lot of ways. I also do hope one day that Sega allows us to play as all the characters again but i digress as I ramble on and on.

To go back on topic, they both wish for the same things but have such different mindsets. Sonic needed Shadow in this, because without Shadow, Sonic would be struggling to keep his head straight.

[f1crecs]

Fic Rec List - Christian/Toto

if your fic is on this list and you don’t want it to be, please let us know and we will remove it immediately, no questions asked. we have contacted most of the authors on this list, but sometimes people fall through the gaps - just pop us a message🤍

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Thank you for your ask! This pairing has my favourite name ever - HornyWolff. We hope some of these satisfy your hornywolff itch 💝

nsfw: Regulatory Compliance by sherlaufeyson | E | 3k

Toto is exasperated with what he sees as Christian lawyering him to death, and makes a comment about him needing to be disciplined. Christian is unexpecedly amenable to the suggestion. This was undoubtedly hot and the dynamic between them is absolutely sparking, but what I really liked is the overall gentleness of it and the focus on ongoing consent and good kink negotiation and the comfort of both partners. Just had a really nice fuzzy vibe overall. This is a locked fic with explicit content.

Toto took a deep breath and placed a firm hand on the centre of Christian's back.He could feel the heat radiating through Christian's polo shirt. As Toto ran his hand slowly down to Christian's backside, he felt a full-body shiver wrack Christian's smaller frame. "Christian." Toto heard a satisfied hum in response. "If you want me to stop, at any time, tell me." "Oh, I will." Christian's tone was much calmer than Toto had expected. It was almost like he was finding it easier to speak when he wasn't making direct eye contact.

an exchange for flight by @antimonyandthyme | M | 4.5k

Toto sprouts wings. It's an agonising, messy process. Christian is there, and perhaps knows more about it than Toto expected. This fic has a lovely balance of combativeness and caring between the both of them, and the sort of wonderfully evocative language that best suits the premise of wingfic. There is a darker theme of sacrifice, and what it can take to succeed in the world they both move in.

Toto uses the freed space to get the knife around his back. It’s going to be agony. He squeezes his eyes shut. Fuck it. The whole night’s already been agony. Let it never be said that he doesn’t have the resolve. He brings the knife down.“Fuck!” Toto’s eyes fly open. There wasn’t any pain. That doesn’t seem right. He doesn’t want to believe what he’s seeing. Christian’s forearm is sliced open, where it’s braced against Toto’s wing, protecting it. “Christian,” Toto says. He’s gone all brittle, he’ll shatter any moment. “Your arm.” The knife clatters from his hand. “You’re bleeding.”*

nsfw: Failure by @honeybadgercomeback | E | 4.7k

A/B/O. Christian is a closeted omega in an industry where people of his designation still face major discrimination. He has been on suppressants ever since he presented and has never experienced a heat. One day, they fail. Susie Wolff finds him in distress and brings him home. I’m a real sucker for characters who think they are struggling alone finding out that they have people who care about them and who don’t judge. The pack and family dynamics of a/b/o in general are the main reason I love it, and this fic delivers.

'It was the unfairness of it all that killed him. Toto could just get away with “yes my sworn work enemy was having a heat crisis so my wife got me to knot him”, but Christian would forever be branded as the one who needed it to happen. The gossips would have a field day talking about it. It would be hell, and he’d watch it all from home because he was about to be unemployed. It was fine, really.'

straight nitro by @undignifiedpopemobile | T | 9k

Coffee shop AU. Christian owns a successful coffee shop. One day, a rival cafe opens opposite. This fic is just really funny, and has that lovely breezy tone that coffee shop fic suits so well. Christian’s point of view is hilarious, his obsession with Toto obvious to everyone but himself. The supporting cast of drivers provide the perfect Greek chorus to his antics and his woes.

'When the café opens— and, fuck off, just because they’ve got a menu with sandwiches on it doesn’t make it a café, it’s a coffee shop— Christian goes over to investigate, leaving Seb to manage the shop and leaving Adrian to manage Seb. The Silver Arrow Café is a neat little bistro owned by the same company that runs the extremely successful restaurant chain Mercedes, and is, according to rumors, the pet project of plurality shareholder and CEO Toto Wolff. That dick. Well, Christian is fairly confident it will crash and burn within a month, as he really can’t imagine any financier who walked into a ready-made profitable franchise is going to be willing to put in the actual work it requires to build a business from the ground up. Hopefully he cries. Hopefully he cries in public, where Christian can watch and laugh and maybe film it for posterity.'

nsfw: all the blood runs cold before it’s hot @verycoolwearsleather | E | 9.6k

Christian finds himself craving to submit to Toto. Toto notices and gives him what he wants. This fic is hot as hell but not always nice - mind and power games are the basis of this somewhat toxic relationship. If you like your vibes rancid, this one is for you. I really liked the way Christian’s mind is completely twisted around Toto here and the fact that he is at least somewhat aware of it. The mind games and the power play are very in character for this pairing and this fic doesn’t lean into the temptation to make things fluffy at all.

'He has turned this thought over in his head, approaching it cautiously, from multiple angles. It makes something flare in his chest, a white-hot anger that feels disproportionate to the situation. Sometimes he imagines marching up to Toto, yelling at him, jabbing a finger into his chest. Even in his mind, Toto never quite takes him seriously. Sometimes he grabs Christian’s hand before it can make contact with his torso, holding him at arm’s distance in a grip so tight Christian starts to fear for his fingers. Sometimes he laughs.'

nsfw: Seven Years Next May by @mediumtires | E | 172k

Toto and Christian are married, a secret known only to a few close and trusted people. One day, a moment of carelessness in the paddock results in them being outed. This is only the beginning though, as they’re about to enter the 2021 season, and all the professional and personal difficulties this will put them through puts an incredible strain on their relationship. This fic feels so authentic and so lived in. This author has a real grasp of what a long term relationship can look like from the inside, and how love alone is not enough. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes there are good moments and good days among the most awful hauls of bad times. Sometimes it takes an almost impossible amount of labour to fix things, but there is never any doubt that it is worth the effort. You get a real sense of the despair they both feel at the possibility that their marriage might end over this.

'Christian sighed, already pushing the door open further, despite his best knowledge. Toto would be sore as hell tomorrow if he slept like this. Christian probably shouldn’t do it, shouldn’t even care about Toto waking up all achy and in pain, but he did, unfortunately. He just prayed Toto wouldn’t wake up when he freed him of his glasses and of the pillow in his neck, when he pulled off his ridiculous slippers, draped the covers over him, and turned off the light.'

Thank you to @lydia-petze for compiling this list ❤️

[seancamerons]

So yeah if you had to choose between Hunter or Marcus from Ginny & Georgia, who would you choose? Who do you think is best for Ginny? There are no right or wrong answers.

Why not both? (I'm just kidding!)

For real, though, I do strongly believe both guys have great qualities. While I prefer Marcus and Ginny and Marcus to Hunter, it doesn't mean I dislike Hunter.

Some examples as to why I say what I say, Marcus and Ginny's romantic and overall dynamic chemistry, run pretty deep, like electric, and genuine. If Ginny and Marcus are sitting silently, the silence isn't necessarily awkward or strange but rather comfortable silence, and they're able to read and convey a lot oftentimes in just a glance or a look we have seen that before. It's there to see. Everyone can see it. No words. Brilliant, sometimes things get overlooked or underlooked too and that's where we are now with them.

As a solo character, Marcus brings a lot to the table, both negative and positive. I wouldn't say the dynamic with Ginny is toxic or that he is toxic but rather he's spontaneous, and still romantic though he likes his privacy and to hide his true feelings and typically avoids situations where he has to be vulnerable, as a much better description than simply the vague umbrella term of toxic. He's pretty complex. He is multifaceted and hugely relatable for guys and girls at different times of their lives. He is pretty deep and mature beyond his years and is very empathetic. Overall much better written and a tad more interesting than perhaps his romantic rival.

In contrast, Hunter is a true romantic. He's quick to show it. He wears his emotions outwardly, but it comes off like he tries way too hard, and his openness can make him fall prey to manipulation or even heartbreak. While Hunter has so many great qualities as he's a patient respectful guy, he is also driven, musically inclined, goal-oriented, and highly intelligent he has some flaws. Nobody guy or girl is a perfect 10-full stop.

The general consensus is that mommies would love it if their daughter brought home a Hunter, but not so much a Marcus. Even Georgia wasn't so keen on Marcus or very much on board with the idea of her daughter with him.

Another thing to note is that we got an obvious espy of a Beverly Hills 90210 variety. We got a troubled brooder type ala Dylan McKay in Marcus and a Brandon Walsh boy scout, academic type in Hunter. It's funny that Marcus and Max Baker are the twins, but Hunter is much more Brandon-coded in comparison. Also, not friends.

Another sort of comparison would be how Ryan and Seth are. Except let's face it, Seth's much more humourous than Hunter, and Marcus is a strictly suburban rebel, he likely wouldn't last a day in Chino and it's doubtful he's been to jail/juvie unless it's marijuana-related. Also, I doubt Hunter or Marcus would be friends, they're not enemies, just not friends. They're pretty much civil, I suppose from what I can see.

In short, both have strengths and weaknesses. I ultimately think I'm team Marcus. I too can relate to depression and how to navigate life with it. Mental health no matter what poses a challenge in relationships across the board, be it platonic, family, romantic nature, personal, or otherwise. I think and predict that I highly doubt Marcus and Ginny will be apart much longer as they still have a lot of love for each other, despite whatever is going on at this time, there is still hope for a possible reunion. If anything if any relationship is worth a second glance, it's them.

[mashed4077]

🌃 intro post! 🌃

(bit late but i didn’t want a cluttered bio anymore so here’s this)

hiii im shay! i fixated on mash back in november and i officially finished it on march 22nd 2023!! im gonna rewatch soon tho

about this blog

this is a side-blog!

tags: i tag pretty extensively for the sake of categorization; here’s hoping my character tags prove fun to scroll through!

queue: as of the day i’m writing this, i have a very full queue, because i have a habit of liking literally every post i see related to a fixation, and then spam-queuing it later to clean my likes out. so i hope you enjoy all the content! lots of funny scenes and textposts, well-made gifsets, wonderful fanart, and insightful meta, if i do say so myself. mashblr is a talented bunch!

original posts/content: i don’t contribute much on my own, but i love to ramble and i hope some of my lengthy tags prove an interesting or at least entertaining read :) i do dabble in fanfic writing and i’ve got a few mash works in my drafts, but i’m not sure if they’ll ever see the light of day. i’m also fond of meta and character analysis, so if i ever work up the courage maybe ill put out some moderately thought-provoking posts in that realm.

some of my opinions relating to mash characters & ships can be found under the read more!

these are all subjective and i completely respect anyone who disagrees :) we’re all here to have fun!

summarized thoughts on the characters (kinda sorted by fav to least fav)

mulcahy has been driving me bonkers for months (and my jewish ass has been putting far too much thought into catholicism lately bc of him😒)

frank,,,, listen. i’m sorry. but listen, as baffled and/or disgusted as you are, i’m the mf stuck being the only one in this entire fandom who flails over frank burns. so how do you think i feel. ik he’s absolutely awful, but he’s just so damn pathetic, i can’t help but like him and find him fascinating

radar is a bubby to me, i dont rlly have complex thoughts on him hes kinda just a comfort character to me n ilhsm

charles... he snuck up on me. i didnt expect to like him, much less relate to him (-_-) i just exposed myself as a charles winchester kinnie how will my reputation recover

i love hawkeye a lot, as we all do <3

i love trapper john mcintyre!!!!!!!!!!

i love margaret!!! i love klinger!!! i love henry!!! 

im pretty neutral on potter and bj

in short: i love them all a lot but mulcahy and frank have each driven me particularly mad in different ways and radar with his animals has made me cry and charles would probably drive me nuts if i let him but i am keeping him at arm’s length.

summarized thoughts on ships (again, strongest first)

(yes i have frank ships. no i am not proud of it)

my mash otp is hawkahy. it’s been slowly draining the remainder of my sanity. i havent slept in months. send help

i am a sucker for enemies/rivals to lovers and hawnk kinda makes me a little nuts.

i know he’s not good for her but i think margaret x frank have a rlly interesting relationship and they can be cute sometimes, and i think about them more than i’d like to admit. i am not immune to het ships consisting of badass women with control issues and their toxic pathetic purse-dog boyfriends.

henry x klinger is literally canon idc

pierceintyre... ;-; hh

i love semi-niche trapper ships. trapcahy is a little bit 👀 and i really like trapper x margaret

hawkeye x henry... shh...

bonus trios i think about sometimes😳: hawkeye x margaret x frank, margaret x frank x flagg (SHH), hawkeye x trapper x mulcahy. do u see my evil vision

aaand some platonic dynamics i particularly enjoy

mulcahy & klinger are besties :)

mulcahy & margaret have a sibling dynamic that i absolutely adore, esp in the potter seasons, particularly the later ones.

charles & margaret are a fun duo. the ship tease they did a little was... idk how to feel about it, but i like them as buddies.

margaret & klinger... the girlies

hawkeye & klinger!!! the el jibbities are flocking together..

hawkeye & margaret :)

i do very much enjoy hawkeye & bj’s friendship

not friendship but charles & mulcahy’s animosity is sooo funny i will never tire of it

notps: klinger x charles, and hunnihawk. do not doxx me.

i think thats all for now. enjoy my nonsense!

.mobile header credit.

.desktop theme sidebar credit.

[lostinwoods]

A different take on SessKag relationship or why it would be more realistic than InuKag.

Let me begin with

Sesshomaru's and Kagome's past and how they are similar.

Sesshomaru had always been a very sentimental and emotionally receptive being. He had loved and cherished his dad the most. Loving and competing with him, wanting to surpass him, desiring recognition and acceptance so much so that his entire world revolved around his father. He did not want the swords because they were powerful or the bs about supreme conquest. What is that shit? Sesshomaru never needed that. The swords, especially Tessaiga was the most important acceptance to Sess. I will get back to this later.

Now Kagome. This kid was born and then we never saw her dad even when she was a kid. Another classic case of growing without a dad? Perhaps. But I feel her grandpa filled her missing dad's place. That is why the kid grew up in a lovely household, filled with love and peace and made Kagome what she was later on, a selfless girl who wants to love and protect her friends. Because that is what she learnt. Her grandpa, mom, everyone and her own family dynamics taught her how important it was to cherish the ones she loved.

What they initially thought of Inuyasha in their life

Now back to Sess. When his dad died, he dies saving Izayoi. What is the thing he feels at the time I wondered. Surely devastated? Yes, but even worse. His most important person, his goal, the thing his life revolved around was gone. And for what? To protect a weak, useless bitch like Izayoi? Here is a thing, he never knew Izayoi but knew the hut had collapsed on his dad when Izayoi had escaped. What can a teen feel when they hear such a thing? 'That useless bitch, ran away when my dad was in danger and cost him his life. Fuck that bitch and that kid they made. Useless, all humans are useless and weak.' This was really where his hatred came from. Probably.

Kagome on the other hand from the beginning was shown as a selfless kid, who loved both humans and demons alike. Reason? She had never lived in the feudal era. She was a kid grown in a society where everyone is placed on a equal pedestal. How would she, a modern kid understand the bad blood between demons and humans? If she were ever born in Feudal Japan, would things have changed? Maybe. Then she falls into a world where nothing was similar to where she was from. She was frightened, unsure and confused. And then Inuyasha came into her life. Honestly their first meeting was not romantic and pretty terrific in a sense. That was a weird day for Kagome. She fell into an alien world only heard in fairy tales, got involved in a weird prophecy, learnt she was a mythical sort of being herself and then got attacked by a guy who had saved her only seconds before, all ready to rip her heart out. In such a case, the 'osuwari' was probably a safe word for her. Why she uses it later in the series? Probably because she never trusted Inuyasha and felt more comfortable using a word which gave her power over him. Honestly, what would you expect? Kisses and love showers?

Analysis: Kagome was still scared of Inuyasha for a long time and did not trust him completely.

Before Inu no Taisho's tomb battle

Kagome before this went home and then cane back because she felt that fixing the Shikon was her duty. More honestly, she just returned coz Yura attacked and she wanted her family to be safe. Here I want to take some time to gush over how cool Kagome is. Intelligent, smart and extremely powerful. How she understood that Yura's skull was her weakness and breaks the god forsaken thing with just an arrow. That is some level of OPness. Who says Kags is useless?

Anyways, after that when Inuyasha called her 'Kagome', a lot of the viewers thought that Kagome was ecstatic because it was romantic and she was in love. But that is bs. It is not possible to love someone a week later they tried to gut your heart out. It is masochistic and unreal. Kagome over here felt a sense of acceptance from a guy who she felt previously hated her enough to kill her. And that to Kagome was a sign of friendship and more like, 'don't worry, I am not at least gonna attempt to kill you anymore.'

Kagome, inheritently a person who gives a hand when given a finger. She accepts Inu as her friend and they were far from being lovers.

It is exactly this time that Sess attacks them. And quite cruely might I say. Bringing Inu's dead mom like that was not funny and Sess was an outright jerk for doing that no matter how much he hated Inu and Izayoi. He is all weird and sarcatic at high levels. And Kags hated him. She hated how he was attacking this one friend she had made in the era. She hated how cruel this bastard was and how much pain her friend was going through. And her own lovely bond with her brother did not help her to look into their complex brotherly bond which seemed to her more like some battle royale. She probaably hated the bitch for showing up and hurting her friend like that even when he, being the older brother should have loved his younger brother and nurtured him like she would do for Souta.

For Sess, it was really weird and shitty all over. A basic human bitch, standing behind Inu like she was weak fawn. Reminded him so much of Izayoi. Someone who never even tried saving his dad. That was why his sarcastic words were like, "Inuyasha, it suits you so much to have a human behind you". Ya and he was irritated by looking at how helpless af the bitch was. He was narcisstic, filipant of Kags presence and all around indifferent to a 'weak human filthy woman', who he felt was just like the one for whom his dad died.

Surprise is how he did not outright murder her. Perhaps he felt like they were worthless and beneath his boots.

Lol, these two are the best.

Inside Inu No Taisho's tomb

Kags was really angry with this bitch who just chained her up, clawed a pearl out of her friend's eye and then jumped into a black hole. That is why she followed with, "This sort of a person, with no blood or humanity in his veins, I cannot forgive him" and then she chased. Even Inu was like, WTF bro. It was fun. Then she spouted lines like, " Take the sword Inuyasha, it will be like a hit to his pride, what a shame!"

How tf did she know about how much his pride hurt him. Lol felt like Kags knew Sess more than Inu ever would and they only met. That was some soulmate level shit right there. Lol!

Then there was Sess who was outright dismissing Kags and she was not even a spec of dust in his eyes. Then she went and pulled that sword out. Remember the scene where he was so surprised that he stopped the battle with Inu and turned around and LOOKED. Like really LOOKED. It was such a heart stopping moment and for good measures as well. He saw a girl, a woman standing there, holding an inheritance which was supposed to be his and she did something he could not. Did Tessaiga accept her then, did his father accept her more than him? He was baffled, confused and low-key awed. That was why he said, "What are you?" And legit measured her top to bottom. That was some turning point for Sess. Something that proved to him that all humans cannot be dismissed. But he was in rage. How can a mere human be worthy of Tessaiga and melted her along with that sword. I wonder if it was his second test to see whether Tessaiga would protect her or not. And then it did!

Sess went ape-shit crazy after that. A sword he desired for so long (The sword used to protect Izayoi was a thorn in his heart. Made him feel like his father had chosen a human over him. But if the sword had accepted him, it would have proved that his dad had still loved him, thought of him). That was the significance of Tessaiga to him. Power sure, but more of an acceptance. His dad's acceptance. And then what happened? The sword preferred a human who then gave it to his damned hated brother.

Aftermath of tomb battle

Kagome never really liked Sess's guts and probably had no form of sympathy towards someone like him. On the other hand things picked up with her and Inu's relation. She came to know some facts about Kik. And her inferiority complex began with her incarnate. But having a part of Kik's soul in her, began her obsession with Inu. She strived to understand him, make a better person of himself. But their relation was still not there to lovers.

Then Sess came across Naraku. He probably just wanted to dick around more with Inu and accepted the human hand.

2nd battle for Tessaiga

Sess's desire to possess the Tessaiga had increased at this point. His rage of having his arm cut off by that sword felt like the worst rejection from his dad. He was going insane and might have wanted to kill Inu for real in this fight. He was in no mood for theatrics in this one, unlike the tomb where he actually watched some InuKag drama and even applauded (lol). He was absolute business this time. He snached the sword and showed Inu exactly why he should not get that sword, 'You cannot even make the wind rift, why should you be more worthy?'

He meant to kill Inu and then Kags arrow sailed in, charging with enough power to even cancel the demonic energy filled into the sword by Sess himself.

His thoughts were for the same reason, " She canceled Tessaiga's transformation? Who is this girl?"

His respect scale jumped for her here. He truly had never met anyone who could rival his power to such extent. He had never met a girl who stood so powerfully in face of danger to protect this some half-breed scum. She was like the embodiment of everything he had hoped Izayoi to be to his dad. A strong woman who would wager her life to save the one she holds dear. Sess had learnt this fact from his dad's death. To sacrifice in name of love and then in this fight he understood how much that meant both for Inuyasha and Kagome. He probably somewhat understood what this feeling was after seeing these two.

Sess had an idea of love and protection and Kags became its centre. She was this vague expectation Sess had of human love and an absolute loyalty towards whom you love most. He felt complicated towards her. He respected her.

3rd Tessaiga battle

Sess's most sceptical battle yet. Why break the tessaiga? 'I will break it if I can't have it!' Desperate much?. Then the wind drift appears and for the first time Sess acknowledges Inu. For maybe being a somewhat worthy of having Taisho's blood, only if a little bit. He is saved by Tenseiga. Oh, how he hated this worthless sword more. This sword could not cut throught things and saves his life. What a worthless shit.

Kagome's narrative here was important. "How can he weild the Tenseiga? He needs a compassionate heart for that." Always wondered why Kags was the one to say this. But realised the reason later on.

Rin

Obviously the most controversial topic of Inuverse. What Sess felt for Rin, why was she there.

Rin has often been compared to be the Kagome version of Sess. And that is the only truth. She came in like a ray of sunshine when he was in most need. He was in self doubt, hate towards Inu and complex emotions towards Kags. And then Rin was there with the exact same face and the same warm feeling like Kags. Even he knew what InuKag were to each other then and no matter how much he respected Kags, he was not really interested in a further relation with Kags. But his deeply unsated desire to understand his dad's mentality and reason behind saving a human was what made him think of Rin. As she was his chance to understand that. His chance to understand why his dad could do that, why Inu could do that and why humans like Kags and Rin could save and love demons. It was not romantic in any sense. He had a confusion and Rin was his way towards a solution. Though it was a different fact that he loved her later on and cherished and protected her. Enough to feel that there was no meaning to his anything if she was not there.

So yes in a way, she is Kags embodiment in Sess's life, a picture of Kags selfless love. His desire to truly understand such beings called selfless humans and the result of his single minded belief of human women being trash and unable to love shattering.

And for fun just to contradict Kags speculations, for first time ever, Sess uses the sword and we viewers realise how wrong Kags was. Sess had every bit of compassion in his heart.

Later events

The events went on with Kags finally understanding her position in Inu's life and her single-minded chase to be accepted by Inu as just Kagome and not Kikyo's reflection. I do not even know if this could be called love or just a misinterpreted need of attention from someone you hold dear. But whatever, we realise Kags is in love with Inu now and still cannot stop from feeling compassion towards Kikyo. Honestly she and Sess are truly two opposite sides of a spectrum.

Sess on the other hand gets Tokijin and attacks Inuyasha. This time around, I highly doubt he was still chasing Tessaiga. It had more evolved into his need to show he is more powerful than Inu. 'What you do best, I can do better.'

Stopping Inu from transforming

In this the most debatable question was whether he was there to stop Inu or not.

Sess had wanted to see and experiment the limits of Inu's blood beast.

After some fighting, Kags jumped in. Sess stared at her, like forever. That staring tho. Even when she was like, "Stay away, you idiot." Sess stared. For Sess, that was what he admired the most in Kags. Her selfless devotion. He was staring at that fearless figure who once again surprised him by being a sacrifice to save her loved ones. She was to Sess what he had always thought of 'love' to be. She was the embodiment of the term 'love' to Sess. For a guy who knew nothing of how to define emotions, it was Kags who showed him what love was. And thus he jumped over and over again in front of Rin to protect her. She taught him how to cherish even the even the most weak individual in a group, and thus he protected Jaken.

Rin was there to show him the same thing everyday. But no matter how much Rin showed him her own loyality, love and warmth, Kags always remained that shining beam to him. I will say later on how I understood this.

Kag's love was the validity of his dad's sacrifice. A way for him to make sense of his dad's mindless death over protecting some weak human.

And in this scene for the first time ever, Kags saw Sess as more than an insufferable pest to her friends. She saw his noble ideals and realised why he was there and thus she thought, "Was he here to save Inuyasha?"

It is very curious as to why Kags was again given these lines. It was probably because her opinion mattered, to Sess it did. And we will see more why in the future.

Random encounters

There was one time when Kags saw Rin while Jaken was trying to steal Tessaiga and she had asked herself, "Why is a little human girl traveling with Sess?' It was again a small thing which she did not need to feel but was very imp. for her development towards Sess. How she started to understand him more.

Kohaku incident

Here we saw how was the first time Sess listened to Kags.

Kags opinion mattered. Inu's mattered and when he realised that Kohaku was being used he let him go. There was one reason that he did not want to be used, the next I am sure was for Kags and Inu. He knew then that Kohaku was imp. to them and he stopped. Big character jump for him.

Then the most curious fact was how Kags knew what the girl meant to him, "Please let him go Sesshomaru, the girl is fine."

Kagome: Thanks Sesshomaru!

Sesshomaru: I just never wanted to be used by Naraku and fall into his trap.

Lol...

Then after Rin left, Kags thoughts about how she had left with Sess and was awed . An important point for her change in feelings towards Sess. She understood the guy was changing and Rin was changing him.

The fun fact was how she was instantly in love with this little girl and that would become important later on.

More random events..

After that it was shown that many times Kags was the only one who could stop a fight bet. the brothers. Example that time when he fought with Inu to get some direction for Naraku. And then Kags came and told him to go north or something and he was like, "That is all I wanted to know." And left.

What is to be seen in these parts is how RT made only him and her interact like this. He listening to her like they have been friends forever.

The saving of Kanta's father was also an example of how much she affected him.

Her plea to save Kanta's dad even when no one believed and no one bothered to ask him. Tensaiga moved because he felt deeply moved by her plea. He might have never wanted to voice it but since Tensaiga only worked when the weilder felt compassion and a need to save someone. Sess must have felt it subconsciously and Tensaiga had stired. Or it had stired because it is a SessKag shipper as well. Lol!

Mukotsu

I wonder how Sess knew Kags was in trouble. Another fun fact like how he appears at times when Inu is not there to save Kags. Sess is there. Probably he knew her scent too well and hence could even distinguish between that and the poison. After that was the gruesome death of Mukotsu. The thing to notice over her was how large Sess looked in that hut doorway, it was a symbolism to how big and huge his protective self looks when he is protecting Kagome. A very romantic thing indeed. The first time he protects someone who is not under his protection. A complete selfless act if considered from his pov. Sess being a very private person and while saving Kagome showed her place in his heart. Yeah and that was very visible from how he killed Mukotsu.

The takeaway from this episode is not this though. It was the fact that Kags defended Sess. For the first time ever, all the good deeds she had seen him doing had outplayed her hatred for him. She accepeted him as a friend with these words, "No Inuyasha, he was here to protect us, he saved us." It was a completely unnecessary detail in the whole scheme of this episode but very important for Sess. Her acceptance matters, her opinion matters and Sess is a Tsundere.

Sesshomaru: I did not save YOU, I just killed him coz he did not answer me properly.

This proved how much she affects him, rattles him and how much her life means to him. And an unspoken promise to himself to protect her when Inu was not around.

Fight with Shishinki

No one ever mentions this fight. But there is a very important SK interaction in here. Something which was important for Sess. Kagome's understanding.

When Sess was lost in the same darkness of never being accepted by his dad, Shishinki made things worse by saying Tenseiga was a cast out of Tessaiga and it was given as a leftover to Taisho's least fav. son. Sesshomaru was hurt, lost, and his daddy issues, his biggest weakness was sharply opened by a knife, cruely and Kagome's words saved him.

Kagome: But there might have been a reason their dad had done this.

Kags belief that Taisho had infact not rejected Sess was like a balm to his soul, the only thing he had needed to hear throughout his life. The thing which made him accept in the end that Tensaiga was there to protect Inuyasha, the thing that was needed to sort of activate Tessaiga and then he finally formed his biggest and truest meido. It was romantic, touching and outright heavenly. Then it was made cute with Inu's awkward concern. It was the best ep. as of yet.

Kagome's deep concern and her understanding of Sess's pain was brilliant and alien level insane. She should not have, but she did and that's why they felt more like soulmates.

Battle with Magatsuhi

Sess had gone batshit crazy when Magatsuhi had hurt Kagome and that had only been worsened by him questioning Sess's honor and pride. Sess had turned full on doggy mode and lost control in that way for the first time since the tomb. And the strike at Magatsuhi's eyes was another symbolism of his revenge for doing shit to Kags eyes and mindfucking her.

RT has always thrown these small hints in between IK drama. Which are brilliant and lovely. Even that one scene where he stands protectively inbetween Kags prostrate body on Kilala and Magatsuhi. Beautiful symbolism, really.

It was also fun to see how Kags half power was sealed by Magatsuhi and Sess's half power was returned via Bakusaiga. I felt that Sess's true acceptance of his protection to Kagome and his detachment from Tessaiga was what made him the true daiyokai and surpass his father. Since somehow Tessaiga has always been linked to protecting Kagome and somehow protecting her might have also been the thing to finding Bakusaiga. The desire to protect her perhaps.

Soul mate mind link theatrics

This is something only some people realise. Sesshomaru and Kagome have been shown not once, but twice to be doing this. Once while fighting for Kohaku's life and the last shard and the other in Naraku's body. Kagome and Sesshomaru had been shown to think in absolute synchronisation. He thinks half the sentence, she completes the rest. Absolute soul mate shit.

SessKag power combo

Shown a lot of time in Inuverse. Sess attacks and Kags completes. A small thing but their timing is insane. And is defintely the best power combo, far better than an InuKag combo.

Fight in Naraku's body

This was the time when Sess finally shows what Kagome means to him. Where she stands and how much he cares for her. She is his FIRST priority. Proof? When Rin and she are in simultaneous danger, he stands there infront of Kags for God knows how long, removing those snake things like he had all the time in the world and once she is awake he is concerned about her well being.

Sess: Those wounds, are those Inuyasha's doing?

And his disappointment in Inuyasha not being able to protect Kags.

Sess: As expected of a half-demon. He lost himself in the bloodlust.

Kags obviously considered Sess to be a friend at this point. A very close friend at that. Family perhaps? Their familiarity here was not missed by anyone. Her defending Inu and then still prioritising Rin over Inu were only somethings we realised this chapter.

The most important was her belief in him.

Manga exclusive,

Kags: I believe that you would be able to do it. Do not fall into Naraku's trap and play his cards that is what he wants. Only you can do this, I know.

Wow, Kags wow...just wow... It is the best actually. She does not believe Inu in this situation but she does Sess. She believes in his protection and she knows her influence on him. This speaks volumes. This shows her unreal connection to him and how they match each other instinctively.

Sess knows her influence. This is his weakness.

The mokomoko scene was truly Sesshomaru's best confession. For him who cannot say much in words, allowed her to fly on mokomoko. Something which everyone of us know has a heavy weightage for Sesshomaru. It is his weapon, his forever companion and his support when he is injured and tired. Offering such a thing to her for whatever reason was truly his way of showing what he exactly feels for her. He cherishes her the most and I could say even more than Rin. Trusts her the most and would jump in front of danger to protect her.

Which is only seen more when he asks her to stay away from the fight because she would be a 'hinderance'. Which means he could not fight if she is in the middle. He would be vulnerable and weak. Intersting, very interesting. Another time where he stood between her and a dangerous blood beast that Inu had become.

The best part was truly him getting concerned when she fell down from the top while removing Tessaiga and then when Magatsuhi tried to possess her.

His anger was so vibrant. "Get away from her!"

What a brilliant thing to say. The possessiveness. The will to protect her. The absolute anger. Brilliant. So much was spoken in those lines.

The best ending though was the SessKag power combo of Bakusaiga and holy arrow. Best ending. Inu was not even much involved in ending Naraku. It was weird how the titular character failed in finishing the main villain with his meido. Shows a lot what SessKag meant to RT.

Big brother

Yes, the iconic scene where fans of all ships shout out that SK is not a romantic ship.

Well over here I want to say that Kagome truly saw Sess as a big brother figure at this point. Part of it was because she still felt that she was in love with Inu and part because she was not receptive to her reactions to Sess and what he truly meant to her at this point. She feels an intimate connection to him but cannot justify the weirdness because she still feels a closeness to Inu so she thinks of him as big brother. Which was a very intimate thing for Kagome to say. She loves him like family and clearly places him higher than the rest of her friends only second to Inu. That was more of a declaring her closeness to Sess rather than a confirmation of her and Inu's relationship. Kags is not a vain character who does things coz they are convinient. She would not call a friend if they are not a friend. And certainly not a big brother if she does not feel so.

Sess actually was relieved, ecsatatic and happy when Jaken informed hin of Kags arrival as was seen in his expression. Very funny actually. Because next second he was called big brother and he was hilariously ticked off. He could not believe what he was being called. Lol that interaction though. It showed how close they ended up being. Even more close than he was to his own brother.

But he accepted the title even if with much pain in his neck and then was really offended when Jaken badmouthed Kagome.

Conclusion: No one badmouths Kagome.

Haaha....end of this long analysis. I tried to analyse it from the character's pov and found some interesting small tidbits and detail that RT had hidden in this story.

Thus I felt that SK would be a more natural ship maybe not outright. Since Sess loves her truly but does not understand the nature of the relation and Kags is still too much blinded by Inu filter a.t.m. Maybe given years when Kags will realise exactly what sort of love she feels for Inu. Which will happen because such a toxic relation like IK should not exist and then she will probably see Sess's love for her.

My Conclusion: SK is a defintive. It will happen with some time and care. When both would mature. But it will happen for sure. All the ingredients are there, the stage has been set just the players have to realise what they feel for each other.

[cassielovesanime]

Since one of my friends asked for anime suggestions, I figured I would make a small list for them here as a post.

1. Welcome to demon school Iruma Kun

Type: comedy and school life

My personal summary: a hilarious anime about a boy who gets adopted by the king of demons. The protag is very likable in my opinion as he is a good guy but also a doormat so it’s fun to see him grow with his friends. Just genuinely very fun, but also follows somewhat of a story line and can have its touching moments. Just 10/10 if you want a good light hearted laugh I would say. Highly suggest for those who want to watch a casual anime that will make them laugh.

2. Toilet Bound Hanako Kun

Type: fantasy and school life (also bit romance)

My personal summary: girl meets spirit boy with a dark side and now is his assistant because she effed up because she is a little boy crazy for handsome guys. But it’s okay cause now she goes on whacky adventures with spirits and is trying to get to know the spirit boy who kinda saved her and continues to save her. This one is both funny and sweet, but also can be dark at times. The characters all have very interesting personalities and dynamics, and the cast is actually pretty small so you get to see a lot more of the main characters develop. Very good story wise and character wise. Highly suggest to lovers of fantasy but are also not too into anime.

3. Assassination classroom

Type: Comedy, coming of age, and School life

My personal summary: Teenagers are earths last hope to be saved from destruction as they are tasked to kill their teacher who looks like a man and an octopus had a baby that has super strength and speed. This is my all time favorite anime, and it is a very, very, VERY touching underdog story. It has so much humor but also so much darkness but so many of the characters feel real and it still to this day has arguably the saddest yet most satisfying endings in anime that I have seen, and I watched it back in 2017ish. It just has a bit of everything and the storyline is amazing, the characters are so well written, and the concept is very interesting as well. I just would not recommend this to those who aren’t comfortable with fan service, as it does appear a bit often in this one. Highly suggest to anyone who wants to watch a found family or underdog story. Also, amazing English dub, one of the few animes I suggest the English dub over the English sub (English sub is good too, but I love the dub so much).

4. Bloom into you

Type: romance, coming of age, school

My personal summary: very gay, and very well written. It’s a story that follows Yuu Koito who is a late bloomer who doesn’t get love, which she has constantly read in the media and had this big expectation for. She then meets her schools class president who takes a liking to her knowing Yuu doesn’t think she can fall in love with someone. This is very good I think for lgbtq+ rep as it takes the topics very seriously and handles them respectfully. It handles questioning sexuality and finding yourself, as well as taking pride in it. It expresses both being a lesbian and asexual, as well as late bloomers and domestic lesbians. It also handles topics of mourning and bad ways of coping and expectations from what I remember. I am more of a manga reader but I have heard splendid reviews about the anime, the only thing is that this series is a lot more serious and the anime isn’t finished (the manga is though, so I suggest this path more if you can afford it.) highly suggest for anyone wanting lgbtq+ rep.

5. Rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai

Type: sci-fi, romance (this one doesn’teel like school at all but they are high schoolers)

My personal summary: a sci-fi take on high schoolers teenage years and problems, following Sakura as he tries to help and solve the cases of people with “adolescence syndrome”, which is surrounded by their problems and insecurities in life that causes abnormal and supernatural things to happen. Very compelling story and again is more serious, but it also knows how to hit you in the feels. The main characters are lovable and have one of the best romances I have seen in anime, and all the other characters are really likable too. I highly suggest to anyone interested in a good story because this one just takes the cake.

6. New game!(!)

Type: slice of life

My personal summary: mc is a girl who gets a game designing job right out of high school and now must work on a team with her idol. Very light hearted, and also quite gay in my opinion. I personally like slice of life yuri genres and etc., but this one is my favorite. The cast is lovable again (always important), and it has this theme of working hard and going after your dreams. It is one with a bit of fan service (far less than others, but still a warning for my younger friends following), but it makes up for those moments with very heart felt moments between characters. I genuinely adore the second season as for a slice of life genre, it follows a bit more of a story and it gets a lot gayer. However, being a slice of life it isn’t really explicitly lgbtq+ rep, but there is one couple that has major subtexts and moments and a really cute scene at the ending. I do suggest this to those who like the slice of life genre and perhaps want a bit of lgbtq+ rep, but not to anyone who doesn’t like slower paced stories. Oh, and also the art style is adorable.

7. Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace

Type: mystery, bit of a thriller

My personal summary: just a really good detective series. I haven’t watched this one in two years, but whenever I think about a dark mystery series, this is one of the top 3 to come to my mind, and is the most underrated one. It’s just very dark but also very compelling, so I suggest this to anyone who likes those sort of things. It also has an amazing English dub.

8. Little witch academia

Type: coming of age, fantasy, school life

My personal summary: another underdog story about a girl who dreams of becoming a witch like her idol and going to witch school… must I say more? It’s the gay witchcraft vibe that we all adore, a funny and lovable story that follows a girl chasing her dreams to become a witch. Again, likable characters, and an interesting story. It also has a unique art style that is adorable, and is very accessible seeing as its on Netflix. I highly suggest for younger viewers as this one is very kid friendly from what I know, but is also an amazing story with a nice fantasy aspect. Also, there is a bit of gay subtext and a hell of a lot of diakko shippers for wlw content if you like that (with a rival to lovers dynamic). MC can be paired with a guy or girl depending on how you wish to interpret it, and that screams bi rights to me :)))

[zhansww]

Hey, I'm new to this side of the fandom. I was a MDZS fan but I fell in love with CQL and Xiao Zhan. I try to avoid rl cp's because of experiences with fandom. However, it's impossible to ignore WY's crush on XZ. I thought of the relationship as brotherly rivals/one-sided crush from yibo. Until I saw them on stage at the tencent awards, and with the release of all these bts vids it doesn't seem like a crush it seems very much mutual and acted on. SO here I am on tumblr checking things out

In the last 48 hours I have been all over yizhan tumblr and I really love your blog because you have a very rational pov. If you don't mind me asking how did you get into this cp? what makes you think they are still together after the ao3 incident? Do you have a preference for XZ or WY and does that make it hard being a CP fan? Is there a master list you can send me to? Sorry for asking so many questions, if any of them offend please don't anwer. Thank you in advanced.

Hello there and welcome to this side of the fandom~ 😄

Thank you so much for liking my blog. It’s always really humbling for me to read such praise //// About me, trying to think rationally when it comes to YiZhan; that is something that is very important imo. These are real people that I am making such a bold statement of, after all. It would be a disservice to them and to myself if I didn’t at least try to judge what they have in an unbiased, reasonable way. On that note, I know that a lot of cp fans fell in love with YiZhan so they just believed in them first and looked for evidence second. For me, it was quite different. I became their fan in late summer 2019. It didn’t take me long to come across cp fans who actually believed that XZ and WYB are a couple irl but I just rolled my eyes at that and dismissed most of their so-called evidence. Me, I wasn’t even sure if they were genuine friends at that point. The first thing I found out about that gave me a clue was the theory that XZ gave Yibo the ox-head necklace he was wearing back then (from June 2019 until August 2020). The lip reading is what made me believe it and I thought “oh so they are friends in real life, too. how cute”. But this was around the same time that Yibo started hiding the necklace which is something that gave me pause but that I explained with “he must be annoyed with cp fans, assuming it’s a romantic gift”. It basically kept going like this for months. I found excuses for anything that confused me at first, I really didn’t want to budge from my belief that ggdd are good friends. The more I found out about them individually and about certain theories that actually made sense, the more that belief crumbled. Until weibo night 2020 which was when I had to concede that assuming YiZhan are friends just doesn’t make sense. I still remember how oddly defeated I felt. I think it’s such a bittersweet thing. They found love but they are unable to share it, to love freely. I feel for them. And I am rooting for them so badly. That was when I started to believe. I wasn’t certain until May 2020. On the 20th, a flight to Shanghai showed on gg’s schedule and dd was set to fly there on that day, too. Other than dd’s arrival at the airport that morning, no one saw either of them that day at any of the places where fans waited, hoping to see them. There were photos of them on the 21st in Shanghai but not the 20th. And then of course, there was dd’s own confirmation that he spent that day with XZ in his weibo story. To be clear, I don’t think that any one thing about YiZhan is or should be enough to make one certain they’re a couple. For me, that particular incident was the final straw, so to say. It’s what made me completely sure about their relationship. I haven’t had any doubt since. I guess this also kinda answers your second question about what makes me think they’re still together after what happened last February. There are other hints that they (and mainly Yibo) dropped last year that let us know they are still very much in love. I elaborated a bit on that here, you can also check the posts I have in this tag for actual examples.

I don’t have a preference. It’s still so funny to me when bxg say they have a bias between XZ and WYB. I genuinely can’t relate. Ehm, I could imagine XZ-biased cp fans to have it harder, though, cuz bj/yx fans are sort of representing this cp’s fandom as a whole and generally speaking, the bj/yx fandom doesn’t seem to be able to separate wang/xian from bj/yx which leads to them, willfully misinterpreting gg’s character and ggdd’s dynamic just to fit their misguided idea of what a queer relationship between two men should look like irl. You may not know what exactly I’m referring to cuz you’re new but I don’t doubt that you’ll see soon enough :/ Personally, I prefer zsww and lsfy fans. With bj/yx fans, I barely ever know what I’m getting beforehand.

I assume you’re referring to a master list of all of XZ and WYB’s content over the last years or so? I think this site might be good but it’s all in Chinese so I don’t know for sure. Hmmm.... this thread might be a start. Also, these yt accounts: BXCnSub, Prime110W and wenwen1111. I'd recommend viki and Youtube for watching their shows. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I remember coming across an actual master list a few months ago but I didn’t save it. If I should find it again, I’ll link it. Sorry. >.<

[veilder]

When you think back, do you remember what made you ship Convin in the first place? And can you tell me a bit more about the relationship you headcanon for them? (@connor-sent-by-cyberlife)

Gosh, okay, this is such a loaded question for me, lol! Because I love them so much. It’s gonna be hard to try and distill that into one post. But I’ll try my best! XD

So, right off the bat, there are the canon characters. And, while I find canon!Gavin pretty awful and think a relationship between him and canon!Connor would be a bad idea, there’s still a very real tension between them. It’s not rooted in anything positive, for sure, but there is a lot of passion behind it. They both fill the classic enemies/rivals roles for each other and, well... I’m a really big fan of the enemies (to friends) to lovers trope. So right off the bat, they’ve already kinda sparked my interest, yeah? There’s something there, something not fully formed, but dang, it has a lot of potential! Which is where fanon comes in. I think it’ll come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I absolutely adore a fanon Gavin Reed. A more nuanced take on him where he’s not just a racist caricature and is instead a real, human person with thoughts and feelings and motivations. And, while I don’t really remember my actual introduction to fanon!Gavin, one of the earliest things I read that I remember really sticking with me was the amazing fic, Mind-Blowing, by  Redd000. That fic had such a wonderful iteration of a Gavin who not only had a very complicated backstory and a lot of interesting interpersonal relationships, but also a dynamic character arc that brought him from the canon douchebag we all know and hate to a more empathetic character who could learn and grow and admit that maybe he was wrong. Another very early fic I read that made me really fall in love with fanon!Gavin was A Scratched CD by consecrated. It was one of the first Convin fics I ever remember reading and just... really falling in love with. And it really went a long way toward making me just adore the potential relationship between the two of them.  Now, this was still back in the early days when I was still giving other ships a try and seeing what I liked and didn’t, but between already having a sort of bias for the enemies to lovers dynamic and now seeing the absolute goldmine of potential that a relationship between them could deliver on, I was kinda sold. And I think maybe the final nail in that coffin was the esteemed Traces by berryblonde. It was... such a memorable fic for me. The twists and turns of it were amazing. The backstory the author built up. The slow paradigm shifts happening throughout. The case and the way all the players fit together. It was just... It was and is still one of my favorite fics on the Archive. Highly recommend to anyone looking for not just a good Convin fic, but a great casefic/mystery/drama in general.  But the thing all of these had in common was just such a wonderfully built Gavin Reed. Seriously, I was quickly at the point where I couldn’t even read him as a villain anymore, it just seemed so strange to me. Because all of these fics painted such a nuanced, complicated man. One capable admitting he was wrong and doing his best to right his wrongs. Whether platonic or romantic, it was his interactions with Connor that always drove him forward towards becoming a better man. And, as a flawed human being myself, there is something so appealing about that. Of seeing a redemption arc play out like this again and again, of seeing that second chances can be had, that even the worst people can turn themselves around and get back on the right path. It was so... affirming. And it all just kinda tied things together in my mind, too. That Connor was this catalyst, this reagent that burst into Gavin’s cozy worldview and shook him up enough to have to reevaluate himself in the upheaval.  But what’s more than that, I also think Gavin is a great catalyst for Connor’s character growth, too. Because, much like Hank, Gavin is someone who’s character growth and dynamic shift would be such a positive influence on someone like Connor. Connor, who spent so much of his short time alive being the villain. Doing bad things for bad people. Doing his best to shut down a movement that ultimately granted him and all his people freedom. I feel like Connor wouldn’t be a stranger to regret, to that urgent desire to change, and to the fallout left in the wake of that. I think, ultimately, Connor and Gavin’s arcs would almost mirror each other. That there’s a lot both of them could take away from the other in regards to forgiveness and maturing as people and second chances to do what’s right. I think Connor needs to let go of his hatred of his machine self just as much as Gavin does. And there’s something in that symmetry that just... It speaks to such a deep understanding between them. A shared experience between a human and a machine. Something they can both empathize with in each other. And that, more than anything, is the basis of a good, healthy, long-lasting relationship in my opinion. I think they would be very good for each other once they both move past their hangups. Two people who can grow both together and as individuals. I just think it’s a beautiful dynamic and such a strong foundation to base a relationship on. It makes me believe that they would be a couple who lasts.  And then there’s the fact that they both are very competent people, too! (In fanon at least, lol! XD) I absolutely love that sort of buddy cop vibe these two would have (sometimes literally) where one of them is super analytical and the other is reckless and spontaneous? While being total badasses, too! But both working together would balance each other out perfectly. I feel like Connor would help make up for Gavin’s tactlessness while Gavin helps Connor feel more human. They’d both shake each other up, help each other out of their comfort zones and into a fuller experience of life. They’re such great foils for each other and I think it makes them so balanced in terms of a relationship, too. And that goes for the banter as well. They can both be sarcastic little shitheads and omg, it’s so funny the way some authors write that! Top tier banter is a sign of a great Convin fic imo, lol! They’re just the perfect characters for that sort of humor! XD But I really believe having a sense of humor you can share with a partner would be such a boon to a romantic relationship, too. And, y’know... seeing them laugh at and with each other just makes me smile. I love knowing they enjoy each other’s company so much and that they’re so happy together. Gah, it makes me absolutely melt. Ultimately, this is how I love to both read and write them. As two flawed individuals trying to move past their past transgressions. Growing. Changing. Learning that they’re not so dissimilar. Understanding each other more fully than they’d ever expect. Bonds deepening, affection growing, a language of their own developing between them. And then, the pin dropping. The realization. And a love that can and will last. All the while being quippy little badasses, lol! (And if you want a great example of all of this, I’d be remiss not to recommend perhaps my favorite Convin fic of all, Mission: Unexpected, by J11nxed. It’s so good. It’s the fic I always go back to when I need cheering up. And it’s absolutely the dynamic I try for when I write Convin myself. It’s a long fic but it’s so worth reading!)  So yeah... That is... the most basic answer I could give to this, lol. I just... really love this ship a whole lot and I’m actually so glad you asked about it because I love sharing my thoughts on it with others. And, y’know, hoping that maybe my words would get them to give it a chance if they haven’t before. Hopefully, there aren’t too many typos, lol! There’s no way I’m going back through this freakin essay, omg. XD But yeah, hope this answered your question sufficiently, friend! :D

[ticklikeabomb]

The Medusas - Part 1

Pairing : Mayans MC x Plus Size Reader ; Ezekiel ‘EZ’ Reyes x Plus Size Reader (platonic)

Warnings : Language, Slight Mention of child traffic -> ( If it’s any kind of  Triggering for you, PLEASE don’t continue on this post)

Word Count : 1.4k

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor the universe where they were created and interact in. This series/fiction is only for entertainment purposes.

A/N : Buckle up, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride ;)

Year 1999

It was another morning that awaited the Mayans MC and its members. The sun shone from the early hours only to get warmer by time. Marcus Alvarez’s routine was simple: wake up, have a cold shower and a coffee right before pulling his kutte over his shoulders and make his way to his Harley. While leaving his home, he felt the pressure under his boot switch and looked on the floor. There was an envelope, the only information on it being his name. Picking it up, he opened it and came across pictures along a message. His neutral features contorted to anger, jaw tightened and heavy sighing. He put the intel back inside the envelope and made his way to the club’s quarters.

Once he arrived at the clubhouse, he convoked everyone for an emergency meeting. “Javier is missing”, commented one of the members. “Good”, replied firmly Alvarez. They took place at their respective seats, the silence and cigarette smoke feeling the air. Alvarez took the envelope out and splattered the pictures all over the table. Bishop reached to the one closest to him and frowned. Letting the members acknowledge what was in front of them, Alvarez spoke at last. “I received these this morning. No name, no address, anonymous. Javier has been double crossing the club, filling his own pockets with the enemies.”

Some members shook their heads not believing their Vice-Presidente would do that. “You said it yourself, it’s anonymous. What if it’s trafficked?”, asked their Secretario. “We’ll have to sort it out. If it comes out it is indeed true, measures must be taken”, replied Alvarez to which everyone agreed. He quickly collected the intel and advised that the matter would not be further discussed until some investigation. “We’ll decide once we’ll have more information.” “Bishop talk to his lady. Try to find out if financially there has been an improvement. In the meantime, just act like nothing happened” The hammer smashed on the table, indication that the meeting was over.

Two weeks passed and the club discovered that Javier, their VP, was indeed mixed with the enemies. The vote was unanimous. The day came were they planned to bust him. After one of the club’s parties, Javier told the club he was needed at home earlier. The club used the opportunity to follow him to an abandoned barn, isolated in the desert. Kneeled on the ground, Alvarez and Bishop saw Javier greeting the club’s enemies. There was no more proof needed. The Mayans covered the entry and exit before striking and shooting. They put down the rivals and shot Javier in the leg before disarming him. Alvarez brought Javier by his shirt and punched him, “Traidor”.

“Marcus”, exclaimed Bishop and nodded at him to look around. What the club came across grossed them beyond words. Cages were splattered all around the barn, crying children occupying them. “Get this piece of shit out of my face”, spat Alvarez before turning to Bishop and helping him in opening the cages. The President gave the order to call the Prospect back with a van. Bishop was opening the last cage and slowly approached the child. The girl lifted her face at him, traces of dried tears on her face.  “Are you taking us to heaven?”, she asked with a small voice. Bishop’s breath got stuck on his throat before shaking his head. “No but I will take you somewhere safe”, he said calmly while showing her his hand. Hesitant at first, the girl looked at him, a sparkle of hope crossing her eyes before accepting his hand. “I’m Bishop and you what’s your name?”, he asked. “Y/N”. He nodded and forced a smile on his face.

You were the last to leave the barn before you stopped on your tracks. You let go of his hand and fumbled on your pockets. You reached out for the stolen lighter and turned around, walking to the entry. It took you a few tries before actioning the lighter and threw it inside. You saw the barn slowly burn, the flames intensifying. You walked back to Bishop and took his hand. Looking up, you locked your gaze with his and a small smile formed on your lips. Even after everything you must have endured inside that place, Bishop was in awe when he saw your smile crossing your features. At that moment, Bishop knew how special you were and decided to legally adopt you as soon as he found out you didn’t have any known relatives.

You grew up among the club and its rules. A few days after he saved you, he became the Mayans’ new Vice-President. You couldn’t dream of a better father. Bishop was understanding, caring, making sure you had everything you wanted and investing in your education. You became the club’s sweetheart, a smile always gracing your face and your compassionate persona enlightening every room you entered. When your father had to make runs, he would leave you in the care of Marisol Reyes, which is how you became best friends with Ezekiel. EZ was by far the smartest person you came across with and it only intensified with the years. From this small bean, birthed a young man full of potential promised with great achievements.

Year 2007

Your platonic feelings towards EZ quickly evolved into more but you never acted upon them, not wanting to risk the dynamic in place. You kept both growing each at your own pace and each with their predefined plans. Considering that EZ was a year older and almost finishing high school, you asked for his help on one of your classes you had trouble understanding. Truth to be told, it was more a ruse to spend more time with him. You knew exactly how to succeed the class but you loved hearing his voice.

A few days later, you received your test and seeing the A+ written on it, you smiled, excited to share the news with EZ. Walking out of the classroom and into the parking lot, you saw and called him before engulfing him into a bone crushing hug. “Woah, hey there Y/N”, he mumbled. Feeling his muscles tense, you disengaged from the hug without noticing a pair of eyes analyzing the interaction. “Look I got an A+ thanks to you”. A smile graced his face before congratulating you. He turned to his left before stating happily, “Y/N, I would like to introduce to you Emily, my girlfriend”. You felt your heart squeeze inside your chest at the last word and turned your gaze to where he was looking. You met with the sight of his girlfriend, your mood switching from joy to sadness and back to smiley in a matter of seconds. It was a few seconds that told Emily everything she needed to know. “Hello, nice to meet you”, you said and reached out your hand. She grabbed it and faked a smile only you could identify. “Y/N, hi. EZ has told me so much about you.”

“Good things I hope”, you chuckled slightly giving him a look. “Of course, the best. He told me how close you both are”, she mentioned to which your jaw tightened just the slightest. “This guy I have to bear with? Nah”, you joked in order to break the tension. “Oh you’re like that hein?”, EZ turned to you, fake hurt plastered on his face. “Either way, we got to go babe”, Emily’s voice cut through the moment. “Yeah right. Do you wanna join us Y/N?” Before you could answer, Emily did it for you, “I’m sure Y/N must be busy and we already planned to go check that dinner, remember.”

Either way, you were about to refuse his invitation, not in the mood of being the third wheel on the date, watching the guy you were in love with being all lovey-dovey with someone else. “Thank you for the invite but Emily’s right. I have some things to do.” He nodded, understanding and joined hands with her. “See you around then. Tomorrow, usual place?”, he asked you to which you only nod. You saw them distancing themselves from you and made your way to the club, unaware of their conversation. “She’s totally into you”, commented Emily. EZ looked at her funny before laughing. “YN? No, we’re just best friends. What are you talking about?” She shook her head and told him he was too smart to not have noticed your feelings towards him earlier. “Trust me, she likes you.” He kept shaking his head even if doubt was making his way to his mind.

*gifs, credit to the owners*

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[twocubes]

One type of person looks at the present and sees horror in the death of their twee wall decoration emporium or convenient office açai bowl location. Another type of person sees horror in the mass death and trauma and willing sacrifice of the poor and marginal.

FOOLS BOTH!

(I am being facetious here. obviously there is true horror in death to be had, but i am playing an overconfident idiot who thinks they are the only one who see the truth. it is a form of humor, i am hoping)

The true horror has not come to pass yet! If you think the true horror of things will be seen during the crisis, you do not grasp the most fundamental technique of the martial art of Royalty! You do not understand the CONTINUOUS CUTTING MOTION!

Here is how to wield it: You simply stand still, and wait. If you are stronger, they will die first.

Now, a person like you may ask: "What? Just stand still and wait for them to die? How's that supposed to be anything?"

DOUBLE FOOL, YOU!

(I am still facetious here, obviously. i am playing an idiot who does not explain things well to their audience and blames them for it. the hope is that it is also humor.)

You do not grasp the mechanism of the Continuous Cutting Motion! The killing edge of the cutting motion is not a mere blade that needs to be wielded by hand. It is the cancer that hunts you for fun for a little while. It is the economic downturn that removes the need for convenient açai bowls. It is the hurricane that is threatening your home. It is the pandemic that kills one of your friends' friends, but you are not sure which one.

It is all the forms of precarity in the universe that buffet you.

The fool among you still asks: "This is still stupid. How is this stuff something that kills your opponent before you? This isn't a martial arts technique or whatever the fuck kind of metaphor you're using, this is just, like, the wind, I guess?"

TRIPLE FOOL! YOU RIDICULOUS OAF!

(I am obviously still facetious, but I am suspecting that the humor of these parentheticals is itself wearing thin, so I will stop, maybe noting that even the names of these things are taken from elsewhere and that these insights are not original.)

True, if nothing is done for you the wind will surely cut you down, but that phrase contains the hypothetical that turns the wind into the Continuous Cutting Motion: If Nothing Is Done For You!

What makes the wind into the Continuous Cutting Motion is the denial of shelter. It is the rise of deductibles that makes your health insurance useless and makes the fear of cancer one that kills your entire family's dreams, the bailouts that mostly seem to help the already rich, the neglect of the voice that says the levies need to be reinforced except inasmuch as there is a reduction of prices in low-lying areas, the prioritization of research into lucrative speculative pockets akin to 'personalized medicine' at the expense of basic mass-health things like 'vaccines' and 'antibiotics'.

All of these things! All of these things that by nature are built to shield the wind off of Royalty but do nothing for those lower! All of these things make the wind into the Continuous Cutting Motion. They make the very act of Standing while Royal into an act of martial art.

The Continuous Cutting Motion is an act of Reaping! It is an act of cutting down wheat, of wheat being put onto the market, upon which who will have money to buy it? Did you fall victim to the Continuous Cutting Motion? Then certainly not you! All you have done has been cut down, and lies on the ground to be bought. But by nature, if you wield Royalty, if you are of the ones that the Continuous Cutting Motion is done for, then certainly you will be there to reap. That is the basic act whereby Royalty feeds and becomes stronger.

When I describe the Continuous Cutting Motion as an act of the martial art of Royalty, do not be deceived! It is not a technique that takes effort or will or even thought to wield. It does not matter that you are dumb enough to give money to a cult leader who says he will build co-working spaces on Mars, it does not matter if you cannot say more than three words in sequence for yourself. Even if every action you take of your own volition is an act of idiocy that loses you money, when the Continuous Cutting Motion comes around, it will cut all of your opponents down before it cuts you, and all you will have to do is bend down and pick up what they have lost to find yourself ruling a larger chunk of the world.

When I describe the Continuous Cutting Motion as an act of the martial art of Royalty, do not be deceived! This is not a careful act of fighting, this is a desperate act of battle. This is not a careful technique that holds your opponent's lapel and protects their neck as you throw them to the ground. This is a desperate act of a craven person, the panicked grasping at an improvised knife, the improvised flailing that puts a finger in your opponent's mouth, the breaking of a bottle that does not go as planned. For those pretending to Royalty realize just as well as you, now: The Continuous Cutting Motion is a wind, and you can never completely rely on the wind. For those pretending to Royalty realize just as well as you, now: There is a much harsher Continuous Cutting Motion coming, and they do not know which side of it they will be on. For those pretending to Royalty realize just as well as you, now: We are coming upon an age of Demiurges.

We are coming upon an age of Royalty. And the only way to know yourself to survive is to be among Royalty. So you must cut. You must cut everything that does not cut yourself. Because if you do not, someone else will, and they will reap what you could have and you may lose your chance to Royalty.

Perhaps, hearing all of this, your thought is that this is madness. That they must factor in at some point that some things should not be cut, under threat to their own future. Surely, they would not cut something that makes it harder to sow the next harvest?

But they do not think of themselves like that. They do not care about the expectation of income in their next harvest except inasmuch as it compares to the expectation of income of their rivals at the same time. Having one less zero in their net worth does not affect their material well-being. The only thing it affects is the level of danger they are in from their rivals. Thus an act that makes everyone poorer is worth it if it makes them poorer slower than their opponents.

Thus do we live in the age of the Continuous Cutting Motion. There were once some things built to protect everyone from the wind. This was a thing that people did once. It was done racistly and otherwise unequally, but they were still shelters against the Continuous Cutting Motion. But once a choice was made to cut, then that necessitated for others to cut, and then cut again as the logic of the cut looped back upon itself and forced more and more actors to cut.

But it is true that there is a limit to this process. Not universal death, of course, because things are never so simple. No.

You see, the Continuous Cutting Motion cuts down the population of Royalty. The set of people who benefit from the Continuous Cutting Motion gets smaller and smaller. And a funny thing happens about these sorts of game dynamics when fewer and fewer people play: more and more people play with each other again and again, and more and more it becomes strategically optimal to cooperate, to be patient, to share, rather than to betray, to be impatient, to cut.

With each other, of course. Not with us. Thus there comes a point where cooperation is better, where what remains of Royalty suddenly comes to recognize each other and achieves Concordance, and thus do Royalty become Demiurges, and thus does history revert to a previous age.

And this is the horror yet to come. The horror you do not see yet.

Reach heaven through violence.

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite? - Part 15: DR. EGGMAN

There are some villains I like. And there are some villains I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a mini-series of mine, in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the villains in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves in the game(s) they featured in. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, it’s finally time for him. The bad doctor himself. Gather round ladies and gentleman, for the spotlight is on the arch-villain that shines above them all... Dr. Eggman.

The Gist: It's the dawn of the 90's. A little company called SEGA had an ephiphany. They wanted to make a video game juggernaut that could rival the quality and iconic appeal of the then-unmatched Super Mario Bros, and their current star, Alex Kidd, just wasn't doing it in the way that they hoped. They promptly set about starting anew, as a worldwide phenomenon wasn't going to make itself.

So a gentleman named Naoto Ohshima created a selection of design concepts for this brand new mascot. One of these concepts was President Roosevelt in his pajamas.

Seen here with his catgirl body pillow.

The response to this character was “This is good, but we think kids would prefer kicking the shit out of him”, and so he was given an antagonistic role instead. In the meantime, after juggling the rest of their ideas, they eventually settled on a rabbit hedgehog named Sonic for their main protagonist, knowing his Mickey Mouse-like aesthetic would help endear him to the audience, and the franchise as a whole would have an easier time gaining a DeviantART fanbase later on down the line.

Initially, the character of today's review was but a mere lackey among many, seemingly little more than one of numerous minions working for Sonic's originally intended main villain, the Nonspecific Goblin. He was also dressed as a bee for some reason.

Which is the least weirdest thing in this image.

At some point however, they all got together and decided that actually, the guy with the moustache was the only one worth shit, and so he was upgraded to the role of main villain himself. With a spiffy new attire of red and black, he was given the bold title of Dr. Eggman, because with a shape like that, what else are you gonna call him?

“Funny you should say that”, laughed SEGA of America, as they rebelled like an angsty teen and named him Dr. Ivo Robotnik instead. While this name does make equal sense for the character, as he is indeed a hard worker who also happens to like robots, the reason for this name's existence seems to have been mainly because they thought Eggman was too out there of a name for an egg-like man. Whatever the case, this would confuse a lot of fans for years, and remains a point of divisiveness to this day... Unless you're like me and your first game in the series was Advance 2, in which the manual clears it up right away, and you accept the idea of a character having two names and immediately carry on with your life.

He would have aimed it perfectly if it weren't for the Sonic Heroes Parrot distracting him.

And that was that, really. It didn't take long for them to come up with his characterization, which was that of a cackling fiend with an ego to end all egos. This guy was the Narcissist Alpha, more king than actual kings, no strings attached. Other villains would build statues of themselves, but only Robotnik would deface Ancient Egyptian monuments to improve them with his face. Other villains would think “Nah, refacing all four in Rushmore would look silly”, but only the Eggman, the Eggmyth, the Egglegend, would go “Well fuck you, I'm doing it anyway.” Then he'd do it anyway, and proceed to address to the entire world that he did in fact do it anyway.

It also didn't take long for them to develop his primary schtick. With the dynamic of Sonic VS Eggman, you had a classic rivalry between nature and technology. Interestingly enough however, this turned out to be executed more tactfully than your typical Amish-abiding examples in similar media. Never was technology itself regarded as a corruptive influence that you should never utilise no matter what. Rather, it was only as good or as evil as the person using it, with it just so happening that the villain loved machinery only slightly less than he loved himself, and it was countered by Sonic’s best friend being a techno wiz in his own right anyway. Anyhow, with his machinery, the doctor would make a name for himself among video game baddies by confronting his enemy as the boss of nearly every zone in each game, rather than hide away until the endgame.

And all without a driver's licence.

In his soon-to-be-30 years of activity, he has largely remained the same since his inception. Other characters have been introduced, other villains have came and went, but Eggman has remained THE villain of the franchise, and he's remained a vital part of the Sonic the Hedgehog universe... with a slight redesign along the way.

The only ad I don't want to skip.

The Design: Eggman's design may be more simplistic than the likes of Bowser and Ganondorf, and he may not look as openly threatening at first glance, but it's still a very iconic look no matter what look it is. His original appearance was devised so that kids could have an easy time drawing him, which only makes me feel worse about not being able to do it as a grown adult without it looking like a Sexy Legs Kirby.

Still, it's a classic for a reason. With his to-the-point colour scheme, contrasting heavily with Sonic's blue, and his capelet collar resembling walrus tusks, it was an instant winner and made everyone goo goo for g'joob.

The Emeralds he’s juggling are a metaphor for the divided fan community.

And when it was time to give the cast an update for Sonic's first real 3D adventure (or at least the first one that didn't get axed for being a magic eye seizure), Eggman got a respectable change of his own. He was taller, his getup was militaristic, and his body was more legitimately egg-shaped rather than basketball-shaped. He also gained a pair of goggles that he never uses, except in scenes where he puts them on and then never uses them.

“How do my chicken legs not collapse under the might of my gluttonous mass? Find out in an unrelated tie-in novel that you have to pay additional money for.”

There was also that one redesign from 2006, but...

Be it Classic or Modern, I've always loved his design. Before he even says a word or does anything, you know from his appearance that he's a bit of a clownish sort. But he also has a subtle creepy vibe going on, with the way his glasses often obscure his eyes, and how this only makes the pearly-white, unnecessarily wide grin on his face that much more empty and unsettling. This little bit of eeriness hiding among his cartoonish physique reflects the full extent of his character pretty accurately, as we’ll delve into soon enough.

If nothing else, it's more effective than him having no eyes at all.

GRRRRRRRR FUCK YOU BUNNIES THAT I CAN'T SEE

The Personality: If you've seen my villain reviews, then you'll have gathered that Sonic's rogues aren't known for having much in the way of personality. There are exceptions, but they are indeed the exceptions. More often than not though, whether it's an alien conquerer, an ancient monster, or Dan Green the Recolour, they can be summed up thusly: They're evil, they want to destroy the world, and the heroes stop them because they're evil and want to destroy the world. If they're feeling particularly daring, they might go for a second colour.

Luckily, as if to counter all these cardboard drawings, the central adversary of the franchise makes up for these voids of personality by actually having one. And what a personality it is.

The writers of SatAM looked at this and thought “No, this won't do, there's no character to work with here.”

He really is brimming with comedic charm. Every moment that he's present...

Every moment that he shows off...

Every moment that he basks in his own glory...

Every moment that he unveils a new wicked scheme...

Every moment that he puts his enemies to the test...

Every moment that he challenges the world...

Every moment that he laughs at the world...

Every moment that he lives, nay, every moment that he breathes...

Yes, the man has plenty of humor, and it's part of what makes him so enjoyable and memorable. However, if you think being a clown is all there is to him, then prepare to have your expectations subverted initial assumptions taken in a unexpected direction, because although he puts the goof in goofy, he ALSO puts the “oh...?” in “oh shit”.

For you see, Eggman is by all means the epitome of Laughably Evil, but do not, under any circumstance, take him at face value and write him off as a joke. He is anything but.

For starters, he can swing a planet.

There is a rule of thumb that I personally go by with Eggman’s characterization, one that I believe is an immediate make or break factor in regards to whether or not you understand what makes this villain work. Eggman - when you put all his secondary traits aside - is made up of two prominent halves. There’s the egocentric meme machine that bounces up and down like a kid with his N64 and laughs like Santa... and there’s the monster buried within that remains completely and utterly unrepentant for everything he’s responsible for. This is very important. Despite the character’s simplicity at his core, many writers have failed to grasp this, official writers included, and I for the life of me cannot understand why this is such a recurring problem. Eggman is funny, AND Eggman is evil. Both are equal. When you take away one or the other, you may have a funny character, or you may have an evil character, but you don’t have Eggman. Simple as.

Armchair intellectuals may argue that Eggman’s deeds aren’t that evil, since he tends to be merely callous rather than actively trying to hurt or kill people. Those people are probably the types on TV Tropes who weigh a villain’s evilness and effectiveness purely through the surface-level scale of their goals rather than what they actually do to achieve them. While it is true that Eggman tends to be more apathetic about the aftermath of his actions, that doesn’t - and shouldn’t - negate how dangerous he is. It shouldn’t negate what he’s capable of. It shouldn’t negate how far he’s willing to go. And it shouldn’t negate the consequences and casualties that can and do result from his many schemes.

Seriously, think about this for a second. If you confronted Eggman about his current plan to... I dunno, make a water park in Africa or some shit, and you informed him that there has been unexpected mass suffering as a result of this, how do you think he would truly feel about that? What do you think he would actually say to that?

Spoiler: No fucks.

If anything, that he “merely” doesn’t care either way as long as he gets what he wants is more uniquely horrific and deplorable than if he were a generic baddie who committed his evulz specifically for evulz’s own sake and nothing more. At least you’re inadvertently acknowledging that other people’s lives have value when you act one-dimensionally gleeful over ending them, but when your immediate response to the side-effect of a million potential deaths and environmental disasters is “Oh well, fuck ‘em, Eggmanland time baybeeee”, that’s a new level of cruelty.

Besides, even in the Genesis era, he was carpet bombing Angel Island...

“Good thing I have this shield. Sucks to be this forest!”

And he’s only gotten worse since then, indulging in such acts as going full suicide bomber with a missile, after his initial plot to destroy and rebuild Station Square through the means of Chaos and the Egg Carrier didn’t work out...

But don’t worry, he kept it lighthearted by making it look like a penis.

Making one of Sonic’s friends go insane with power against their will, forcing the Blue Blur to put them down personally...

It’s ironic, cause he’s metal. Or do I have to awkwardly explain the joke two more times before I’m a proper YouTuber?

Capturing thousands of innocent aliens, and forcefully converting them into mindless beasts...

I’m pretty sure I saw Alfred Molina conduct this experiment one time.

He even removed the heroes’ collective IQs so that he could shoehorn a cliffhanger on an already terrible game.

Thanks, cunt.

And honestly? When it comes to Sonic and chums at least, Eggman does let out a more openly sadistic side now and then. Need I mention that time when the doctor forced Sonic and two random buddies to make their way through a trap-infested island of his own creation? Not for the sake of nabbing Chaos Emeralds or anything of the sort mind you, he just wanted the blue motor mouth to suffer.

Images you can hear.

To make matters even worse, as befitting of his manchild tendencies, he’s ridiculously petty. How petty? Petty enough to abduct a little girl’s mother for no other reason than because Cheese completely trivialized his forces the girl was friends with Sonic and helped participate in the latest kicking of his own ass.

He only picked Vanilla because there was no Strawberry.

But at least his captives can admire the sheer variety that their captor has to offer. One of the greatest things about the doctor's style is that anything goes. With all due respect to Bowser, he tends to stick with his fiery castles (although he has been branching out recently), and plenty of other villains in gaming tend to be similarly stuck in their ways when it comes to tastes. Eggman, on the other hand, will create all sorts of fortresses and reside anywhere on the planet and beyond. It can be in the sky, in space, somewhere hot, somewhere cold, under the sea, in a circus... and every now and then, he might combine some of them together and thensome. So long as it's even vaguely mechanical in some way, his ground rules have already been ticked off.

Hang on a minute...

You know what else Eggman is? Relentless.

Persistence is a quality that most villains by their very nature share, lest they cease to be an effective antagonist. But once again, Rrrrrrrobotnik maxes out more than any other, and will often go to insane lengths to keep the current plan going, or if not that, then to spite Sonic.

Exhibit A: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, in which the grand finale consists of the madman throwing a gravity-shifting contraption your way, busting out a Kaiju-sized robo, escaping with the Master Emerald after his defeat, continuing to escape even after the Death Egg has been thoroughly destroyed, getting chased through the asteroid fields in space by Super Sonic, and only finally going down when the escape craft and the piloted mech controlling the escape craft are down. And all of this came after a grand adventure where, among other things, he destroyed an entire level just to kill you.

There are immortal omnipotents that put up less of a challenge.

“Looks like it’s time for Plan... *checks paper*... F.”

His relentlessness also reveals another side of the doctor that is simultaneously admirable and terrifying: He bows to no one. No one. Doesn’t matter who it is. Doesn’t matter how powerful they are. Doesn’t matter how much the odds are stacked against him. If another villain were to demand that he cower before them, the scientist would laugh and show through physical demonstration that this is not the way the egg rolls. Unless he’s absolutely unable to do so, he will give it his all every time, and even if he can’t, he’ll use his crafty mind to find some other way to get around the issue. You can beat him in battle, you can foil his plans, but you absolutely cannot break his resolve.

“Dad said it’s my turn to play with the Ruby. I know this, because I’m your dad.”

What about his relationship with those who actually serve him? Specifically, his own robots? Well for the most part, he treats them like absolute crap, what with verbally abusing them at every corner and being all too willing to go full Vader on them the moment they mess up. He IS capable of expressing fondness and giving praise to his more successful creations, like with Metal Sonic and Gamma, but even then, it’s a roundabout way of praising himself, since he’s the one who made them what they are. So basically, you’re only valuable to him if you make him look good.

Gaming in the Clinton Years in a nutshell.

And as for Sonic? Yeah, like with any legendary and long-lasting hero/villain dynamic, it’s obvious that Eggman has some degree of begrudging respect for his opponent. But if you think this respect would dissuade him from actually going through with his ambitions of rulership...

As the hedgehog’s apparent demise in Sonic Adventure 2 proves, as well as his defeat at the hands of Infinite and the subsequent six months of brutal conquest in Sonic Forces, Eggman is dead serious about his goals. If you think he’d get bored after conquering the world, he would simply expand his resources and have a crack at conquering the rest of the universe. When he says he hates that hedgehog, I’m inclined to believe that he means it, and although he may enjoy his “games” with Sonic to an extent, I also can’t see him wanting to remain stuck on square one forever.

If this were Sonic X, he’d just grieve.

By the way, the scene above? Undeniable proof that for all the doctor’s boasting, he’s not actually lying or exaggerating when he prides himself on his brilliance. Because when you get past his goofy exterior, when you look beyond the occasional, relatively minor mistake (*glares at IDW*), you’ll see that... yes. He IS brilliant. And not just in the science department either, although his countless robots and strongholds over the years are no doubt a testament to his credentials there. While he may prefer to go in big and bold, he can also be shrewd with his strategies when he wants to be.

Sonic’s aforementioned near-death experience, for example, was the result of Eggman turning the heroes’ own cunning plan on its head by being one step ahead of them. And in Sonic Unleashed, he lured his enemy into a trap, culminating with him cancelling out Super Sonic.

“...and pay the price for your Werehog gameplay...”

And after all those years of struggling, he finally got a giant monster under his complete control. “But he had help!”, you say? Yeah, from himself.

Did Flynn sleep through all this...?

Much like his inner nature as an evil bastard, Eggman's effectiveness is likewise commonly underestimated by writers. Yes, he occasionally makes mistakes. Yes, he occasionally overlooks details. Yes, he occasionally lacks foresight. But he is NOT stupid. A hero is only as good as their villain after all, and if Eggman is portrayed as a bumbling fool, then how can Sonic be a truly great hero? Eggman is humorous, sinister, and when the chips are down, competent.

...Did I mention that he's also a master Olympian?

The Execution: There's no surprises here. You knew from the moment you saw this review that my stance wasn't going to be anything less than 100% fanboy adoration. In that respect, this section almost feels redundant, because there's only so many ways I can say “Dr. Eggman is the fucking shit and I'm eternally grateful to Mr. Ohshima for bringing this absolute masterpiece into our world” without it getting repetitive. So to cap this review off, I'm going to very briefly compare his portrayals in other media, and explain why they tend to not be as good as the original SEGA Eggman.

“Cause they’re not balanced, right?” you ask. “Cause they veer too far in a particular direction? You're so predictable,” you add. To that I say:

1. Yeah, basically.

2. ...S-Shut up...

3. While the conclusion may be obvious, it's nonetheless important because as I mentioned previously, despite how straightforward this villain is, writers seem absolutely intent on not getting the point. There are loads of villains out there who share Eggman's talent of mixing hilarity and evil together with a bow of competence on top. Two of those villains are among the most famous supervillains of all time, in fact. You might have heard of them.

Joker can do it just fine. Green Goblin can do it just fine. And plenty of others can do it just fine. So why is it such an issue with Eggman? What is it about a round body and a long moustache that gets people to think “No, this guy is absolutely incapable of being comedic and threatening at the same time, no question, end of.” Is it because he’s a more cartoony franchise? Well, that can't be the case, because even Mario has a couple of beloved examples. Fawful, anyone? How about Dimentio? Cackletta? King Boo? K. Rool? Hell, you could even count Bowser himself depending on the portrayal.

Anyway, the point is, writers tend to miss the mark for one reason or another. With Sonic X for example, he wasn't too bad in the beginning, but as the show went on, he became exactly the toothless non-villain that many people misjudge him as. We all know that scene where he berates Black Narcissus for harming their captives (not for pragmatic reasons mind you, he genuinely took issue with the act on moral grounds, even though his own hands weren’t exactly clean either), but even before that point, he was doing such things as healing an injured Sonic without an ulterior motive, not taking any opportunity whatsoever to start conquering Sonic's world because he was pining for Sonic's attention, and being the Jiminy Cricket to Chris Thorndyke's Pinocchio. Why they thought the goddamn villain should be the moral conscience of this show remains an unanswered question, but at least it no longer influences how he's portrayed in the games.

Then you have the IDW comic, which is a similar tale of starting off decent and then careening wildly into the abyss, but for different reasons. Initially, he was built up to be in-line with his competent, foresight-packed self from Forces, with his inevitable return being met with dread, and a delightfully devilish scheme to match when he finally did so. But somewhere along the way, Ian Flynn thought that Eggman coming back from his amnesiac period and returning stronger than ever with a new minion and a deadly virus wasn't enough to up the stakes... so they decided to “up the stakes” by turning both the doctor and his new minion into massive imbeciles so as to justify their plot getting hijacked by the Deadly Six, a move so predictable yet infuriating that it got even me to turn against the Six. And the reason the Six got invited in-universe is because Starline decided he didn’t like being unique and devolved into Snively 2.0 behind Eggman’s back. All this from the alleged “best writer” for the series...

Yeah, same.

And then you have the Boom version, which shares basically the same issues as Sonic X but in a more mundane fashion. It's easier to dismiss because it's a comedy-centric show and his redesign makes it easier to separate him from mainline Eggman, and I'll gladly admit that he does have a lot of genuinely funny lines that redeem him a little bit. But yeah, too much of not being a true villain for my tastes.

Now this isn't to say that there haven't been portrayals in other media that are up there with the original. The versions that I consider better off than the ones above include...

- The OVA Eggman is pretty faithful all things considered, aside from his romantic feelings for Sara, which feels slightly off since the idea of Eggman loving anyone other than himself is incredibly unrealistic at best. But it doesn't actually soften or undermine his deviousness, so I'm willing to let it slide for an alternate take. Especially since he gave us the best Metal Sonic out there.

- AoStH is far from a perfect show, but there's a reason why even its detractors tend to treat its version of Robotnik like a national treasure. Admittedly most of that is because of the legendary Long John Baldry and the endless memes associated with this incarnation, but despite hailing from a comedy-focused show like Boom Eggman, this Robotnik still had a lot of legitimately dangerous moments, more than you'd think.

- And of course, Jim Carrey's Robotnik in the Sonic movie is just... *chef's kiss*

So obvious aesop though it may be, but you see what the more effective portrayals have in common, I assume?

Granted, this also isn't to say that SEGA Eggman himself has had a perfect track record. The decade's worth of upstagings and backstabbings by other villains should be enough of a counterpoint to that claim, and I've also made it clear now and then that I take issue with certain games regarding what they do with the doc, no matter how revered they may be by other fans. Sonic Adventure 2, for instance. I praised the fake emerald scene, and I do sincerely believe that he has a number of other badass moments in that game, but because Shadow was playing him like a fool the whole time, I can't help but have a bitter taste in my mouth when I look at the bigger picture.

So close to greatness, yet so far...

So in that case, which game do I think has Eggman's best showing overall? That's not in any way an easy question, but lack of dialogue aside, I'm gonna go with Sonic 3 & Knuckles again, as the classic journey through the sights of Angel Island plays out in a way that highlights just how determined, ruthless, and underhanded he is with carrying out his mission to revive the Death Egg by any means necessary. Other games do win out in other areas - SA1 for how bastardly he is, Forces for how cunning he is, Colours for his hilarious announcements, CD for using the scenery to show the effects of his actions, Mania for not letting the other villain walk all over him - but for the purest essence of the doctor at his cartoony yet competent best, I'd say S3&K is a reasonable bet.

And when it comes to all his many traits, which one do I find the most special one of all? Well again, far from easy to answer, but I think the coolest aspect about him is also one of the most overlooked. Robotnik, despite whatever superhuman qualities he may occasionally unveil, is for all intents and purposes a regular guy with a big brain. This might make him appear unimpressive when compared to your average Final Fantasy villain and the like, but if anything, it paints him in a more flattering light than expected, because he doesn't even need to be on their level to still be on the radar. It's easy to be a big bad threat when you're an ancient demon or an almighty god-like being, and you only have to wave a hand to cause armageddon. But when you're just Some Guy™ going up against superpowered opponents, meaning you have to earn your threat level the hard way, and you prove to be a challenge every step of the way regardless, because you're just THAT much of a genius... that's fucking awesome, no other way to put it.

And you know what else is awesome? You may not like Eggman, and you don’t have to like him, but like it or not, he is directly and indirectly responsible for a vast majority of the coolest and most loved moments and aspects of this franchise.

The opening to Unleashed? Eggman set up the scene.

Shadow running around and continuing to be part of the franchise? Eggman released him.

Blaze getting involved with Sonic’s world and continuing to be part of the franchise? Eggman’s half-responsible for that.

Metal Sonic? Eggman made him.

Egg Dragoon? Eggman.

Big Arm? Eggman.

Monkey Dude? Eggman.

That text is missing a blue checkmark.

This review is probably longer than the echidna family tree in Archie at this point, so I better finish it off. If it wasn't obvious from all the paragraphs I've belted out in this post, I'm very passionate about Eggman and the way he’s portrayed. Ever since I got into the Sonic franchise in 2003, I immediately took a liking to the doctor, and to this day, he remains not only my favourite Sonic villain, my favourite Sonic character, but also my favourite character period. Some may find it a weird or lame choice compared to other, “better” characters, but that's the way it is, and I ain't about to change it. I am very unlikely to ever stop enjoying the hell out of this villain, and even if he got irreversibly ruined in some way, I'd still continue to love what he was before that point.

Because yeah, he's not the deepest character ever, but... who cares? Is it not enough that we find something that appeals to us? When I got into Sonic, I was introduced to fantastic games, a likable cast, high quality soundtracks, beautiful worlds, numerous friends on this very site, and of course, the lovely treasure that is my partner. I may not have been with this franchise during the 90's, but it's given me just as much fun, nostalgia, and happiness as those who were. Despite the flawed titles, despite the fandom conundrums, I still love this series.

And I still love this absolute prick.

Crusher Gives Dr. Eggman a: TWO Thumbs Up!

[morgana-ren]

Who would win in a fight over you - Dabi or Tomura? And who would be better in bed?

Ooh! Ooh this is an interesting one!

Alright, so if Shigaraki and Dabi both catch feelings for you, you might as well put the High Noon soundtrack on repeat around the hideout because things are about to get a lot more hostile ‘round these parts. Much to everyone’s ire, they’re not exactly shy about this either. Those two don’t get along well on the best of days, so when they’re competing for something they both crave, things are going to get messy. 

But let’s start off slow, shall we?

Dabi is going to try and woo you in his strange, uniquely Dabi way. He’ll slather on the charm, turning it up to 11 and even past that. Overtly flirtatious jokes, sexual innuendos, doing his absolute best to make you blush. If you’re both walking along, his hand is going to find its way to your lower back by the time you get where you’re going. He likes touching you, likes heating his fingertips on your skin. You know the seductive look he does? The look? The deep one where he tilts his head forward and looks deep into your eyes with his turquoise ones in a way that just screams ‘I’m already half hard under my pants?’

Yeah, that one. Oh, he’s going to be doing that a lot. He won’t make any definitive moves until he feels like you’ll reciprocate it, but he’s going to make you flustered like it’s a fuckin’ Olympic sport. 

The more you nervous and shifty you get, the dirtier his jokes are going to be and the more physical he’s going to act. You’re cute when you’re all worked up, after all. Needless to say, he’s going to do everything but physically pounce on you. He won’t do that until you’re begging. Everything else though? That’s free game. He likes touching you, so he’s going to.

Getting late and you’re off to bed? He’s going to pick you up, chuck you over his shoulder, and literally carry you to your room. He’s not leaving your doorway until he’s absolutely certain he’s exhausted every last resource to get you to invite him in, even playfully. He stares a lot too. If you’re just hanging around the bar having a drink, his eyes are usually lingering on your face, waiting for you to notice and initiate conversation. It’s not that he’s shy, because he’s definitely not, but he likes the look on your face when you catch him shamelessly looking. He also enjoys offering to let you see his ��other piercings” and chuckles when you realize what he means and your face blossoms bright red.

Tomura on the other hand? Tomura doesn’t play that shit. He’s not as experienced in flirting as Dabi. He just does what feels natural, and that just happens to be whatever the fuck he wants.

Dabi is a lot more laid back than Tomura, and arguably more open to the word ‘no.’ If Tomura catches feelings, it’s happening. You’re his, and he’s not asking. He doesn’t like anyone, and he likes you, so he’s sticking to you like glue. Come to peace with it. He’s getting better with cooperation and trust, thanks to the League, but being told that you’re the future King and you can have whatever you want for your entire life leaves you with a sense of entitlement that doesn’t exactly go away overnight. Granted, to his credit, he’s going to try to ease you into his presence at first.

At first.

Look at this regal looking psychopath. Does he look like he gives a fuck? No. The answer is no he doesn’t. Get ready for a whole lot of this man, because once his sights are set on you, they’re locked and he’s not going anywhere. You should be honored, you know. The future King sees you as a prospective future Queen. 

He’s going to be around a lot rather suddenly. You might not notice for a moment, but he’s always right fucking there. Hanging out in the bar? There. Napping in the living room? You wake up and he’s right there. The only place he’s not is in your room, and that’s like the only barrier he has. Even then, he has zero problem just barging in without knocking. Better hope you sleep with something on at least, because when he can’t fall sleep, he’s going to stare at the wall in YOUR room, not his. It nearly gives you a heart attack the first dozen times to wake up and find him sitting on your bedside watching TV, but eventually his presence becomes a calm constant. It means he trusts you, and that’s good, right? You take it as his extreme social awkwardness, and you’d be half right. The other half just wants to be near you, so he does.

Happen to be getting dressed when he walks in? Naturally you’re going to start freaking out, but he remains oddly calm. He just rolls his eyes, comes in, closes the door and stares at the ceiling and kills time until you’re done scrambling to get your clothes over your naked skin. No matter how many times you try to tell him he can’t just do that, he keeps doing it. You swear he’s doing it on purpose, but he gives you no real evidence of that. It’s like he has a fucking radar for the second your pants hit the floor, but you can’t prove it. With how much time he spends on the computer, you’d rather not know anyway. At least he has the decency to look away?

In public, he is constantly sitting next to you. Even odder, he’s almost always touching you. Nothing incredibly invasive, but you can tell it’s probably super intimate to him because he’s so hesitant. His shoulders are always touching yours when you’re seated together, bits of his long hair occasionally brushing your arm and making you shiver. Sometimes he just reaches over and starts rubbing your hair between his fingers or cupping your face gingerly. Its often at awkward times and completely floors everyone else, but eventually you get so accustomed to the feel of him that it’s almost weird when he’s not prodding you somehow. You don’t even flinch anymore when you feel his cold fingers stroke your jaw. You know he won’t hurt you. He’s too careful for that.

What does surprise you, however, is when he starts dragging you on all his little errands, even ones where there’s literally no reason for you to be there. Meeting with a rival leader? You’re there. Scoping somewhere? You’re there. You think he’s grooming you for some sort of position of power at first, at least until he starts dragging you on personal errands too. Small walks to clear his head? Yup. Trips to the game store? Hey, which game looks like more fun? TRICK question, it’s this one and you’ll be playing it with him all night until he says you can sleep. He even starts talking to you. Not ordering you around. Not insulting, or at least not seriously. Just talking to you about random shit. 

Where things start getting really fun is when Tomura and Dabi start realizing each other’s behavior. Tomura doesn’t like how Dabi is talking to you, and Dabi realizes he hasn’t seen you without Tomura 3 inches to your left in several weeks.

Queue the music.

It’s going to hit both of them like a kick in the nuts, and soon it’s bared teeth and thinly veiled insults, both in private and public. The truce they made when they decided to work together is rocky as is, but now that they have their eyes on the same prize? Good luck.

“Hey creep, do you think you’ll ever manage to fuck a woman without ending up having to stick your dick in a pile of ashes?”

“I don’t know, Ashtray. Say, do the women that will touch you have to help you staple half your ‘skin’ back on after sex? Or do you double up and try to play it off as foreplay?”

Things get very hostile very fast, and while they know better than to compromise League business with their feud, the second it’s over, it’s back to ripping each other to shreds. Funny enough, neither one of them looks where the opinion really matters, which is you. Instead, they just both berate you for allowing the other to act the way they do. 

Dabi gets a bit more hurtful, teasing you with a bit too much bite to truly be playful.

“I never pegged you for a suckup, dollface. Playing Leader’s pet. I thought you were better than trying to sleep your way to the top.”

Tomura, once again, doesn’t fuck around. He doesn’t play or even try to disguise his irritation. Just makes demands.

“Stop letting him stand so close to you. I don’t like it.” 

The dynamic you’ve created between the two of them is unsustainable, so eventually, you’re going to have to choose and make it clear which one you want. Preferably sooner rather than later.

Now, if it comes down to it, they will fight. Not really the way you’d expect though. They won’t charge at each other aiming for death. I mean, they might, but not until it’s a total last resort. They’ve got their reasons for working together, you know. However, they’re both petty little bitches and are going to go about it in their own way. Dabi is going to get way more invasive when it comes to your space, constantly making remarks about how gross or creepy Tomura is while keeping his hands on you just a little too much to be friendly. He’s going to try to put Tomura down in your mind, and he’s going to do it right in front of him. He’s really going to drive the point home that he can touch you with all five fingers and Tomura can’t and will never, ever be able to. Dabi plays really mean and holds no hostages.

Shiggy on the other hand won’t show that he’s affected by that, but he sure as fuck is going to abuse his position as leader. He’ll keep you and Dabi apart as much as possible, sending you on separate missions, keeping your attention away from him in an official capacity. Middle of the night and everyone is hanging around the bar? Not Dabi! He’s got a vital mission to go on. Immediately. Right now. Yeah, it’s imperative. Better hurry up now. He’s going to make Dabi so exhausted that he’s not only cranky, but he won’t even have time for you when he’s not off running around. Tomura is going to play Dabi like the pawn he is and remind him that no matter how he fights it, he’s nothing but a chess piece for him to use as he sees fit, and you deserve better than a pawn.

Those nights when Tomura is hanging out in your room? He’s going to leave riiiiiight as Dabi is walking by to finally go to bed. He’ll even wait for as long as he needs to for Dabi to come back. Even though absolutely nothing happened and you were asleep the whole time, Shig is going to make a show of it. You know, because he can. 

Arguably, Tomura is the pettier of the two, since when you pick him like he knows you will, he’s going to rub it all in Dabi’s face where as Dabi would likely accept victory and move on. We’ve all seen how much of a petty little shit this guy is. Just picture it. Yeah, now times it by two.

So as for who wins? That’s up to you. There will be repercussions no matter who you pick, so it has to be a choice of the heart. It’s an unfair position they’ve put you in, and no one but a certified dumbass (me) would enjoy it, but life really do be like that sometimes. Think long and hard about who you want. Only one route is unlockable.

Now, as for who is better in bed. 

Dabi is by far the more experienced of the two. He’s charming, powerful, and he’s got the bad boy allure down to a tee, so you bet your ass he’s either had a slut phase or is currently in it. He knows what feels good, and has built up a technique that guarantees customer satisfaction. He’s a good lay, there’s no two ways about it. Even better is he knows it too, and he’s open to suggestion. He’s not exactly a shy boy, so if you got something you’re into and you want him to comply, the absolute worst reply you’re ever going to get is “Really? You’re a strange chick, but if that’s what you want, babe, I’m game.” 

Sex is usually on the forefront of his mind somewhere, so he’s going to want this pretty quickly. It’s not that deep to him, just a physical sensation, so this is definitely not the key to his heart. Obviously he likes you for other reasons too, though, so it’s nothing to worry about. Still, as much as he denies it, Dabi can be a big softy, and he can and will cuddle you, even if it means he pretends it’s not his idea as he calls you needy and falls asleep immediately afterward. He’s just putting on a show, because truth be told, he likes feeling wanted even after it’s all over.

That being said, Tomura is the more passionate and easily the more devoted of the two. He’s not experienced in the slightest unless you take countless hours on hentai and porn sites, and he spent a good chunk of his life secluded, so if he’s doing this with you, he fuckin’ means it. This means something to him, and Goddamn if he doesn’t pour his heart and soul into everything he does. He can put on a bold facade but the truth is all of this makes him very nervous. He’s putting himself out there for someone else which is not something he thought he’d ever do.

He’s extremely intelligent and a very quick learner though, and all that pent up emotion makes for a massive libido and an even bigger ego. He wants you to want this as badly as he does, so he’s going to do everything in his power to make sure you do. After you two take this step, he’s going to be noticeably softer. He will deny it until his dying breath (or until you’re literally queen and he has nothing to lose), but a part of his soul became yours when he gives himself over to you. He never struck you as the sentimental type, but you might as well have bonded yourself to him once the deed is done. Either way, while he has his own sexual quirks and desires, his number one goal is to satisfy you.

Now tell me anon, which one holds your heart?

[iftadwascool]

Hey, I wrote a review of show I watched.

Off the bat I want to say I really don't watch anime all that much. I watch a show here and there, from time to time. Anime really isn't a big thing for me. I had a weeb phase like 17 years ago back when I was a teenager, but it's part of being a weirdo in high school. 

I wanted to put that out there first because I don't want to come off like an elitist or something. 

So I watched Maid Sama over a few days last week, and it wasn’t good. It's not awful per say, it's just… boring. Especially after you finish it. It's a very basic shoujo anime. It has the troupes. 

Tsundere of sorts

Clumsy protagonist 

Protagonist can't say their feeling

The fucking wall slams, so many fucking wall slams

And the most important part of all, NO PAY OFF

Okay, about that last one. There's a pay off, but it's… god it's boring. And that's what really been bugging me. 

Like I said, I watched this show over a few days last week and something about it rubbed me the wrong way. Like gnawing at the back of my head. I couldn’t pinpoint it till recently. The whole show was a set up for a second season that never happened. You get a glimpse of what they wanted to tell with the outtros oddly enough. Also I want to talk about those outtros songs, because FUCK THOSE SONGS DO NOT FIT THE SHOW!!

In the outtros you see a glimpse of the love interests, Takumi Usui, life before the show. At first I thought it was just a generic “we’ll show things unrelated to the show” kind of thing. Like Outlaw Star, one of my favorite animes, or like other animes from the 90’s I grew up watching on Toonami. So it really didn't bother me. 

It wasn't till the eleventh episode you see Usui life outside of school away from Misaki Ayuzawa, the main character. Misaki gets dragged by her two friends to go stalk him. For funsies, you know, how high school girls do. One of the friends made a joke about how he's secretly rich and does all these fancy things when no one knows about. So over the course of the day he does all these things and the girls get more and more freaked out until they give up. When the two friends leave because they’ve had enough, Misaki stays back to see what he’ll do next. Usui confronts Misaki suggesting he overheard and set the whole thing up and offers to show her where he lives. All while helping a stray cat, you know because he's a good guy. Misaki declines, they have a “will they, won't they” moment, and she leaves. After she goes home we cut back to Usui and we find out he lives in a towering apartment building alone. 

Well not alone now, he has the stray cat with him. You know because he's a good guy.

So this episode establishes that he's rich. Which tracks with the outtros because they’re just stills of him alone, or walking along a private road in what looks like an English Manor. It's like something straight out of Downton Abbey. 

I should probably describe the character dynamics to help illustrate why this show bugged me so much. 

Misaki is the protagonist. She's a hard ass with tsundere characteristics. I wouldn't call her a full blown Tsundere because she’s not really one. She's an asshole because of circumstances. The school she goes to was an all boys school that recently changed to mixed genders, I guess that's a thing in Japan, but the boys hate that girls are there. She got elected Student President and has to fight back against all the misogyny the boys have. It's completely understandable. Oh and also she has a secret that if it gets out she’ll lose all credibility. She works in a Maid Cafe. Honestly you’ll need to google that because I get it but at the same time I don't. It's just a weird Japanese thing that I just don't understand. It's like Hooters but somehow feels worse to me. Anyways, if the school learned she thinks she’d be ruined. So she tries very hard to keep those two parts of her life separate. Only a select few people know. One of them is Usui.

Usui is the love interest. He’s basically the cool guy at school. All the girls love him and all the guys want to be him. Except he doesn't care. He turns down girls and usually ignores all the guys asking him for help. He's honestly a real paper thin character. There's not much to him. He's in love with Misaki but he's an asshole. Like, to me, he comes off real unlikeable. He has moments but they're just that. Moments. 

So why does this show bother me so much? It's fine. It's the perfect show to watch while you eat. There's not really much depth, you don't have to pay attention or analyze much. Everything on screen is what there is. Until you get to those damn outtros.

The outtros were there to give you depth that wasn't in the show itself. Usui is a paper thin character throughout the whole show till the last five episodes. It's when I realized why this show bothered me so much. It was banking on a second season. 

It needed a second season to flesh out the Misaki and Usui relationship. The last five minutes of the show them getting together. They finally tell each other how they feel and kiss under fireworks. Because before that it wasnt so much “will they, won't they.” From the start you knew Misaki and Usui would get together. But the issue is not that, it's that there is no lead up to it. 

From episode one to twenty it's just “will they, won't they” and wacky adventures. Episode twenty-one the “Rival” appears. I put quotations around the rival because Hinata really isn't one. Hinata is a childhood friend who has unrequited love for Misaki. It annoys her but makes Usui jealous. Which is good for the plot but bad for the viewer. We know the show ends in episode twenty-six and he shows up five episodes before. There is no real tension because she very obviously doesn't love him back. His arrival so late into the show feels like it would have been set up for season two, if there was one. Which leads me back to this show banking on a season two. 

I’m not even touching half of what the show sets up. Aoi realizing he likes Misaki too and whatever the fuck is going on with the Miyabigaoka school student council people.

In the end Maid Sama needed more plot and build up which is why I keep thinking they were saving the meat of the story for season two. Sadly we didn't get it because I like the characters, oddly enough. They just don't have anything to work with. The show feels like it was made to cash in Ouran Highschool Host Club and it shows. Ouran has character development with funny, inventive writing. Maid has a run of the mill Shoujo plot. Ouran has individual characters, yes even the twins, while Maid had three blond characters I kept getting confused with.

I hope one day there's a Maid Sama resurgence because I would like to watch it. Until then I'm going to read the manga.

[majestical]

can you go into any detail about why never have i ever isn't good? i really wanted to watch it, but if it's trash i don't wanna bother. thank you!!

alright I sat on this for a few hours so I could finish the rest of the show and write this in the morning and now it is morning. also there are going to be quite a few spoilers in here so just...do what you will with that knowledge i guess. also, if you still want to watch the show, I’m not gonna stop you. I binged the entire season yesterday and I have final exams next week. warning: this is super long.

ngl I was planning on just deleting the post you’re referring to, because at that point I had only watched half the season but I already saw a lot of things I didn't like: an Indian character who seemed a little ashamed of her heritage, too many pr*yanka ch*pra references, some strange and unnecessary ableism (i mean, all ableism is unnecessary but this particularly so), bad stereotypical Indian accents, the main character thirsting over white/white passing boys (this is Mindy's show, can you expect anything different?), and a disgusting amount of fatphobia (there is one fat character who is Devi’s age and his only personality traits are eating and making a fool of himself). 

the show also conflates indian and hindu a few too many times, even though there is a self-aware quip about it. and there’s a joke thrown in about m*di that *i guess* is supposed to show that this family at the least knows who the prime minister of india is? but with india’s current political situation and the knowledge of the atrocities committed by m*di I really did not like that a reference to him was thrown in there. I suppose it is an example of how the desi diaspora (particularly upper-caste, upper middle class Indians) are quite disconnected from the homeland, but like...does Mindy not watch the news? m*di literally committed genocide.

there’s also a lot of antisemitism. Devi’s academic rival, Ben, is introduced like a walking Jewish stereotype: just check out this post because op says it better than I could. there’s also a joke where Devi says out loud that she wishes Ben was killed by N*zis. I honestly don’t even know how that made it into the show and none of the context surrounding the joke is funny.

okay on to my personal qualms with the show. I wasn’t a fan of either of the love interests. neither of them really respected Devi as much as I would have liked, and personally, I found it tiring to see women/girls of color chase after men/boys who can’t reciprocate in the same way. I didn’t love how paxton (the cool jock love interest) kept leading Devi on and would then act aloof and I honestly would have preferred if Devi and ben hadn’t kissed, because I just prefer their frenemy dynamic over some potential romantic one. i also just could not relate to Devi at all...I was just too repressed in high school to relate to anything Devi does. she’s also just super unlikeable in the first eight episodes, but she kind of grew on me in the last two. I saw a comparison made between Devi coping with her grief with hypersexuality and the coping mechanisms used by the main character on Fleabag, which kind of made sense to me, even though they are pretty different shows otherwise. and she does get some comeuppance for her actions towards the end. even then, devi never really confronts her trauma directly, especially her paralysis, and her actions are excused too many times for comfort.

a lot of the storyline depended on teen romcom cliches, and were sort of excused because the main characters are poc. i wish this trend didn’t happen so often, especially when it comes to mainstream stories of young women and girls of color. i was also surprised that this show doesn’t really give much screentime to other indian kids that Devi might interact with. that would have been a much more three-dimensional approach to a show like this, but i also think this had to be sacrificed to keep up with the teen romcom aspect of the show. i was also not a fan of the will-schuester-wannabe history teacher. 

BUT (if you have been reading this much I sincerely applaud you) there were a few things I did like about the show. I loved Devi’s friends and honestly if I had her friends in tenth grade I would never ditch them for some boy. when I was a high school sophomore, I was closeted, had a musical theatre obsession, and ate dosas for dinner so I felt like a mix of all three of the girls. in fact, I found eleanor’s and fabiola’s storyline to be a lot more compelling that Devi’s at times. i even really enjoyed ben’s arc (and loved the andy samberg narration in his episode, especially because he pronounced Devi’s name with the soft “dh” sound...absolutely wonderful!). i thought fabiola’s coming-out scene was sweet (even though it was very textbook) and i thought eleanor being dramatic was very funny. 

in my opinion, the last two episodes were the best. we really got to dig deeper into Devi’s relationship with her mother and it was eerily reminiscent of my own. she gets told that she has to move to india because family is there, so she naturally fights with her mom and storms off. that literally happened to me (minus the running away part...I actually did end up moving to India in the middle of high school), and other moments like those just hit close to home and made me want to finish the show. i personally didn’t relate to the whole “am I indian or not Indian enough” struggle until I started living in india, but my indian friends who did go to high school in america were all too sympathetic to this struggle. 

so overall, there are some bad things and some good things about this show. if you relate to the premise of the show at all, you may like it more than I did, but if you were raised in india (which is the demographic that most of the criticism is coming from) or generally enjoy good writing, you probably won’t like this as much. i do hope that this show helps pave the way for some representation that brings more nuance to indian-american identity, and different types of indian-american identities (working-class, immigrants who aren’t upper-caste, people who have been living in the states for several generations, LGBT people, indian muslims/christians/sikhs/etc) without unnecessarily bringing down other minorities. and once again, i am really happy that a girl named maitreyi ramakrishnan is getting famous and NOT anglicizing her name. 

i hope this response was good and if you do decide to watch, let me know how you like it!