#the analysis and attention to both games was amazing

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

The Copollogism Essays - Part 1: The Tent Scene

SO. Here we are. I have absolutely ascended to insane over two fictional characters' relationship by this point, and this will merely cement that into place.

I do not know how often I will update this, but rest assured I have it all figured out! I'll update with links below for easy access to the other posts as I analyze our favorite dumpsterfire ship >:3

Believe me when I say I have Thoughts™️

These essays will detail the scenes Apollo & Commodus have shared, as well as a look into how it affected them and we'll also take a look into where it stands in the toxic relationship territory (The answer may surprise you. Or not. I am not quite sure myself at this point in time LMAO).

Additionally, I will be giving my own thoughts on a few things I've noticed within the series. I will refrain from talking about my own personal headcanons and focus on what we're given in the books, as well as any and all historical facts from Commodus's life that relate to their lives/relationship.

From The Book: Part 1 (The Tent) ~ Part 2 (The Assassination) ~ Part 3 (Lester's Reaction) ~ Part 4 (Leo's Questions/Seeing Commodus Again) ~ Part 5 (The Arena) ~ Part 6 (The Waystation) ~ Part 7 (The Yacht) ~ Part 8 (The Final Moment)

Analysis: Part 1 (Apollo and Commodus as Individuals) ~ Part 2 (Toxic Relationship?) ~ Part 3 (Codependent - Or Is It?) ~ Part 4 (Other Thoughts)

Let us kick off with the infamous: Tent Scene.

The Tent Scene

All quotations from The Dark Prophecy

Let's break it down.

I could certainly sympathize with his feelings. Marcus Aurelius was the sternest, most powerful father in the world aside from my own father, Zeus. Both loved to lecture. Both loved to remind their offspring how lucky they were, how privileged, how far short they fell of their fathers’ expectations. And of course, both had gorgeous, talented, tragically underappreciated sons.

How their fathers treat them is certainly a focal point of their relationship, with Apollo knowing enough about Commodus's feelings on Marcus Aurelius to be willing to compare it to his own relationship with Zeus (which is...honestly worse than Commodus & Marcus's).

“My father made me his junior co-emperor when I was fifteen, Apollo. It’s stifling. All duty, all the time. Then he married me off to that horrid girl Bruttia Crispina. Who names their child Bruttia?”

We're told that Commodus has been co-emperor since he was 15 - certainly a young age by modern standards, but rather par for the course in Roman times. However, that does not mean the pressure of being co-emperor wouldn't be a lot on 15-18 year old Commodus.

He is a teenager, after all. And he is a teenager that is rather abhorred to responsibility.

I didn’t mean to laugh at the expense of his distant wife…but part of me was pleased when he talked badly about her. I wanted all his attention for myself.

Oh, Apollo sweetie...you have issues too XD

Wanting to keep your lover's attention to yourself? Yeah, sorry Apollo, but that's not a good sign. This just goes to show that they are both toxic influences, and they brought out the worst in each other.

“I’ll make peace with the barbarians,” he said immediately. “Then we’ll go home and celebrate with games. The best games, all the time. I’ll gather the most exotic animals in the world. I’ll fight them personally in the Colosseum—tigers, elephants, ostriches.” I laughed at that. “Ostriches? Have you ever even seen an ostrich?” “Oh, yes.” He got a wistful look in his eyes. “Amazing creatures. If you trained them to fight, perhaps designed some sort of armor for them, they would be incredible.” “You’re a handsome idiot.” I threw another grape, which bounced off his forehead. A brief flash of anger washed over his face.

Leaving this here for future reference but we WILL be coming back to it!!!! In a future post!!!!

I knew my sweet Commodus could have an ugly temper. He was a little too fond of slaughter. But what did I care? I was a god. I could speak to him in ways no one else dared.

Apollo is the ONE PERSON who is able to challenge Commodus. And from the previous passage, we can infer Commodus is not used to it, even though he is well aware Apollo is the one with all the power in this relationship - although, he sure does like forgetting about that detail a lot lmao

Commodus looked at me, panic in his eyes. “Go,” I said, as calmly as I could, forcing down my misgivings. “You will always have my blessings. You will do fine.”

A sweet thing I find in this section is; 1) Commodus looks to Apollo for comfort, for some sort of it will be fine; and 2) that Apollo is encouraging despite his misgivings. Apollo is aware what kind of leader Commodus could be. He knows there is a high chance of his lover becoming a worse version of himself.

In fact, he even admits it;

But I already suspected what would happen: the young man I knew and loved was about to be consumed by the emperor he would become.

But he tries to go the you have my support, you have my love route. Romantic, but ultimately, it's not enough to keep Commodus from the path he goes down.

into the mouth of the wolf, Apollo says. Because this is the last time he truly sees the man he loved.

The next time they meet? It will be a crazed, paranoid tyrant he has to end - and in doing so, breaks the promise he once made.

He rose and kissed me one last time. His breath smelled of grapes. Then he left the tent—walking, as the Romans would say, into the mouth of the wolf.

This whole, entire scene? It's drenched in a tragic aura. It starts out light and teasing, but it ends with this.

This is their final kiss. This is the final time they get to see each other without the barrier of betrayal between them.

And that, is truly heartbreaking.

[chowmoon2]

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is a pretty interesting game especially for a mainline title

It contains some cool characters that originate from that game such as Big Waddle Dee,Moley,Dark Meta Knight and Capcom’s Nightmare -

What the fuck are you Dark Mind? I’m sick of it

There is two things that really intrigues me with this series,thing number one:

Fuck you Dark Mind!

(A small essay/analysis/theory(?) about a very mysterious villian in the Kirby series,under the cut!)

Okay,I think Dark Mind is the most Nothing Burger mainline Kirby villian ever,if not in the entire series

Almost nothing is known about him ingame besides “He is evil and wants to take over the Mirror World”

And yeah,he is referenced by Void Termina in one of their attacks which might mean something but like,almost every boss is so he is not special

I will argue that Nightmare and Dark Nebula (two similar final bosses with little to no info on them) are more talked about,the former because of the anime (without it,he won’t really be that popular me thinks) and the latter because ‘Lord of the Underworld’ title (despite being a localization thing) and his possible connection to the Sparkling Star among other reasons

Not saying nobody cares for him at all,he just have less attention then all of the other mainline villians because the lack of depth and info he has compare to the others

Now,a theory that I have seen thrown around is that Dark Mind is the Mirror World counterpart of either Nightmare or Zero.or even a combination of both counterparts,and yeah,I can see it especially since he have aspects of both of them

However

As shown in this official tweet by the Kirby Twitter account,it heavily implies that Magolor doesn’t have a mirror counterpart because nothing is shown while looking at the dimensional mirror

This tells me that not everyone has a Mirror World self and if Magolor doesn’t have one,I seriously doubt both Nightmare and Zero would have one as well

I still do think that Dark Mind is atleast somewhat connected to Dark Matter,even if it’s just the substance and not the actual species (if that makes sense)

His name brings the phrase “Mind over Matter” to mind (heh,mind) which means this:

So my epic game theory is that maybe he is like,a advanced version of Dark Matter that gained perception or something???? I think that would be cool

Or maybe he is just his own thing exclusive to the Mirror World,since some Mirror Worlders (like Dark Meta Knight) reflects the darkness their Popstar counterpart,maybe Dark Mind was formed by the leftover darkness from the hearts of many? That may be true but it is still very vague compare to other bosses lore

There is the possibility that he corrupted Queen Sectonia because of the whole mirror thing,it’s way more likely then DMK doing it,that’s for sure

Oh,let’s now talk about something that is also l related to Dark Mind,sorta!

This is King D-Mind from the Team Kirby Clash Deluxe,a king of darkness who is summoned through the Black Mirror by Dark Taranza but he proceeded to shatter the dumb spider

After clashing with Team Kirby,they managed to trap him back the mirror and shatter it,saving the Dream Kingdom

He also had a role in Super Kirby Clash but idgaf

In a interview about Kirby Clash,which can be found here:

I found some interesting stuff like with Taranza using the Black Mirror so much that the balance of worlds breaks and lots of Parallel versions are born alongside Taranza’s dark counterpart

And King D-Mind being born from Dark Taranza’s evil mind who he considers to be the most strongest and savage warrior

Let’s take a look at the Black Mirror itself actually,it bears a striking resemblance to Dark Mind himself,perhaps it was created with him in mind or his origin place because remember,even before Dark Taranza summoned him,King D-Mind was manipulating regular Taranza through this mirror to summon rampaging monsters

Of course,the Kirby Clash games take place in a alternate universe but I always saw the Mirror World as can be visited/connected to all these universes as long if they have a variant of the Dimensional Mirror

Oh,and also it’s probably not important but his internal file name is “MaskedBlackDedede” Black Dedede being Shadow Dedede name In Japanese,but there is not enough evidence (if at all) to suggest Shadoe Dedede and D-Mind are the same

In fact,this might not even BE the same Dark Mind from the Amazing Mirror

So like,can multiple D-Minds exist as long as if people has evil minds? What’s up with the skull mask and flaming eyeballs? Did Dark Taranza considered both Shadow Dedede and Dark Mind as extremely savage it created King D-Mind?

Who knows?

So in conclusion,idk,maybe Dark Mind isn’t meant to be that deep,he was just a villian that needed to be overcomed and that’s it

Either way,I enjoyed rambling about him,let me know if yo I want to see more of these kinds of post from me and let me know what are your interpretations of Dark Mind!

[lilacthebooklover]

An Analysis of the Choreography and Physical Acting in the "Nerdy Prudes Must Die" Song

the choreography in this song is exquisite (lauren lopez, you never cease to amaze), and the use of physical skills in jon and will's acting is absolutely phenomenal. here, i'm going to explain why.

first of all, the facial expressions. will pulls off max's rage and loathing flawlessly, down to way his face scrunches up and his lip curls at the start of the song as he walks through the audience. the movements are jerky, his head tilts and the broad gestures of his hands showing both how confident and furious he is. richie seems terrified, the way he crosses his arms over his chest and backs away at the start of the song showing just how scared he is- the actions look almost involuntary. he's shaking, and looks like he's on the verge of tears.

max is confident as ever, believing himself to be invincible. he bares his teeth like a predator on the hunt, and richie runs like his prey. this is a game to max, that much is obvious. he has full control here- richie tries to run behind him, but max holds out a hand to his chest and turns his head, and richie cannot move. his chest heaves and he hunches in on himself, petrified, after max moves away again. even the little things, like max shaking his hand as though disgusted after touching richie as he walks away, have such a cool effect on the performance.

as max talks about the smoke club, he adds their special hand gesture- he knows who they are, and could quite possibly have been a part of them at some point. then, he forcefully throws his arms to the side, glaring out at richie.

after that is one of my favourite bits of choreography in the scene: the levitation segment.

max steps forward and lifts his arm as though holding something up, and richie rises too, head tilted away, back arched away, neck exposed. then, max throws his arm down, therefore throwing richie down, and jon pulls off the fall perfectly. the syncronisation is on point, and that tumble looks painful.

the power max holds over richhie is clear even from afar. this works not only in conveying his control and the fruitlessness of richie's attempted escape in this scene, but also works as a metaphor for the control he's had over the cast throughout their school years. pete's afraid to talk to steph because max forbids it, richie's afraid to make friends because max has branded him as a loser. there are so many layers to the effect his bullying's had on pete, richie and ruth, and him quite literally controlling richie without even touching him works excellently to demonstrate this.

richie runs off, scrambling to his feet and towards the audience, where max came from. max doesn't pay attention to him, caught up in imagining the aftermath of the victory he knows is coming. he looks out to the audience at "the jock you demonised", then turns to richie, addressing him again. richie looks over and sees that max is watching him, freezing for a moment before running again, quicker than before. but max just raises his arms, and richie startles at the exit to the theatre; it seems like max has been able to lock them in using his lovely new ghost powers.

at "buried and left me", max moves closer to the floor, almost reenacting what happened. with each new accusation, he moves closer to richie, then points at "you pushed me off the edge": he's blaming richie for what's happening.

max's tongue sticks out in apparent disgust at the next segment, even the flouncy hand movements he uses mocking how "well-behaved" the world is. the next gesture he does is condescending too, like he's explaining to richie that he's "too weak to be enslaved".

most of the next chorus just seems like dancing, but that in itself holds a message. max is having fun with this. again, it's all a game; he's toying with richie, with everyone, high on power. he speaks to someone who isn't there, vividly envisioning his dreams.

at "expose the bloody lines", his hands move out slowly, being exposed to the audience. then, max looks at them, literally saying that the blood will be on his hands. he plans to kill every "nerd" at hatchetfield high, imagining doing so with vigour.

i believe that the line "watch me spawn/ and prey upon/ you anti-socialites" could have a dual meaning. the first being that he is, again, a predator, and the nerds are his prey. the second, however, could be "pray upon", tying into his god complex- he's still addressing the nerds, telling them to watch & pray upon him. here, he does a classic, monster-style pose; the very opposite of a god, but an excellent callback to 'literal monster' earlier on.

he doesn't even look at richie as he runs past, max just raising his arm and easily throwing richie to the floor. the use of levels here is phenomenal; it's a perfect way of showing that max is the one with all the power here, richie completely at his mercy, and max has none.

as max walks away, richie can be seen trying to crawl away in the background, only to freeze when max turns around again and focuses on him, knowing there's no way of escaping. he's curled in on himself and trembling, but he stays where he is, still looking like he's about to start sobbing.

max's face softens, looking almost sympathetic at the line "who will pray for me". it's a sharp contrast to the order from seconds before, and richie hastens to follow it, slightly delayed as he sits up and discreetly tries to continue crawling back. max's face hardens again at "when i'm gone", and while richie continues moving back, he's focused now, arm shaking as much as his voice.

at "or until another richie comes along", max leans over him, back to being as intimidating as possible. richie sits up further in alarm, looking like he's about to run for it and stretching a hand out as he asks max to repeat himself.

where richie is weak, barely able to move, max is still full of energy, his movements much more fluid now that he's used to this form. up until them, they've been jerky and sharp- a nice nod to the dismemberment of his limbs in the waylon house- but now, they're even stronger than before. he's putting his all into this, because if he's going out, he's going out with a bang.

he's not talking to richie anymore when the chorus repeats. "is this the eternal dark without a dawn?" shows that clearly enough. he's wondering who will pray for him when he's gone, and the answer is no-one. he's seen how things have changed, and in the grand scheme of things, it's clear max meant nothing, not even to the place he had such an influence on. and that affects him more than anything- he sees himself as a god, and does not appreciate people preferring richie lipschitz of all people to him.

he turns back to richie, pointing at him again as the chorus repeats, his movements once again giving the impression that he's envisioning what's about to happen. the other cast members march in like soldiers, oblivious to what's happening to richie as they focus on their own lives and social statuses, characters like grace and pete obvious amongst them- neither of whom had too large of a reaction to richie's death, too busy running from max and the police. meanwhile, richie himself is forcing himself to do what max says, face scrunched up like he's bracing for an attack.

at "i'm not a loser", he leans forward, eyes tightly shut as he tries to hold onto the reality he's formed for himself since max's death. he's losing everything fast, but by defying max's order of repeating after him, he holds onto a shred of that newfound confidence and social standing.

at the same time, max's stance is broad, his fists coming down as he blames richie for both of their deaths, trying to make richie believe that too. it takes him a moment to realise richie isn't copying him anymore, but when he does, he turns to him furiously with a yell, glaring spitefully. the lighting change here is also very effective (creating a more solemn atmosphere and plunging the stage into much colder, foreboding colours than the anger and tension of what had come just before), but i won't go too deeply into that since this is an analysis of movement.

as richie begs for max to not kill him, he shakes his head quickly, panting as he stays below him, unable to defend himself. at his second "i'm not a loser", his mouth twitches into something akin to a smile, because richie isn't a loser, not anymore. he's found his place, he's well-liked, he's worthy of being friends with, and he won't let max convince him otherwise anymore. so instead, he tries to convince max that he's right. and max does not appreciate it in the slightest.

he shifts back into his jock persona, straightening up and using the same condescending voice and jerks of his chin as he did before his death. he wants to intimidate richie, and by using that familiar attitude and approaching him slowly, max wipes the half-smile off of richie's face. richie jerks, falling a little as he tries to get to his feet. it's an excellent echo to the earlier hallway scene between him and max; he's reverting back to that state of powerlessness and terror again, but now, it's further exemplified by the threat on his life.

max comes to a stop in front of richie, placing the audience's focus on himself as richie looks up at him desperately. he's in power, he's above richie, and he demands attention as he looks down on him.

pete, steph, ruth and grace stand behind him in the shadows, steadfast and stoic as they look straight ahead, not at richie or max. they don't seem to care about his death, and have hidden max's, and they're not there to help him get away, no matter how much he wishes they could.

max makes himself seem larger, looking at his hands and holding them out like claws, seeming like the true image of a monster. he stands directly over richie as the lights dim, richie pleading and curling in on himself more with every second that passes. just before the blackout, max dives down and grabs richie by the throat, a sweeping motion that seems almost inhuman.

to conclude, this song is a masterpiece, and lauren lopez is a genius at choreography. i might edit this later, it's around 1am and i am very tired, but i'd love to hear your thoughts in the replies/reblogs! i'll probably also do an analysis on this song based more on the vocal acting and lyrics themselves because i've been listening to it non-stop this past week- maybe i'll add some elements of lighting in too; it's very effective in this scene, especially at the "who will pray for me" part. thanks for reading!

[anulithots]

Hello, can I ask from this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/threecheersforinking/677824836625694720/anime-ask-game?source=share

For these series : JJK, TMNT, and Link Click ?

Thanks 🌻

(my post got wiped and I cry)

Thank you for the ask! I'll answer in order... although note that I have suuuchhh a hard time picking favorites for things/shows I like, but I shall try my best!

Jujutsu Kaisen

Favorite Character: Itadori yuji. One of the best written protagonists of all time. I love how he takes the 'wants to save everyone' trope and gives it the underlying reasoning of the avoidance of regret and grief, and the desire to not die alone because so far he has been alone (for whatever reason, I see it as because he was 'too nice' and would beat up the 'popular bullies'. Hence why he called himself a loner and hence why he became so attached to Nobara and Fushiguro despite the little time he's known them.) Also how this underlying narrative is tested and builds more nuance and flaws as the series goes on... overall Yuji's arc up until the Shibuya incident is very well done. (I have... mixed feelings post Shibuya and honestly would need to reread that whole arc)

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: Honestly.... the cursed womb arc. I know, I know, there's the hidden inventory and the shibuya incident and Maki's massacre of her family and the Gojo vs Sukuna fight... but hear me out. My favorite parts of storytelling are theme exploration, and I think this arc does it for Yuji's underlying motivations to save everyone. This arc builds nuance to this part of Yuji's character, contrasting his ideals with Fushiguro's logic: 'what if someone you save hurts other people in the future'. How Yuji then takes this upon himself, how the narrative says that perhaps the better option would've been to kill Yuji in the first chapter, how Fushiguro denies this and it gives Yuji hope for himself, has always given him hope, and always will. (So he has to save Megumi. I'm willing it into existence. Gege make it happen.)

Character I Think is Underrated: Yuji. Yuta. Maki. Mai. Mechamaru. Miwa. Shoko. Nobara. Fushiguro. ... most JJK characters honestly. There are a few characters that get the most attention from the fandom (they know who), and while they are AMAZING characters who DESERVE the attention they get... so does everyone else. Yuji is one of the most amazinggg protagonists I've ever seeeen and yet he gets little to no analysis and I got burnt out just before I could make a full analysis about him so yea I'm a hypocrite when I say this. But still. More attention to the rest of the cast please. Thank you <3

Character I Think is Overrated: I KNOW HE"S WELL WRITTEN AND A REALLY NUANCED AND INTERESTING CHARACTER WHO EMBODIES THE THEMES BUT.... Gojo Satoru, the fandom treats you as the best character in the animanga despite you're very character being about the desire to be treated as an individual like everyone else. And to be clear, I'm not saying that we should love Gojo less, far from it, I'm saying we should love the other characters more.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: (Note that I prefer dynamics to shipping although I do like shipping. I also tend to love shipping queer platonically and rave about dynamics and interactions) A tie between Satosugu and Itafushi (they parallel each other so how could I not love both of their dynamics?).. although I'm quite fond of Itadori x Junpei. They could've been the 'movie nerd duo' and they would've had the best moral parallels, especially when you consider Mahito and how they were treated (one was bullied and the other tries to fight against bullies) and how they see grief and kaljfalksdfklasdjf it would've been wonderous. I also think Yuta and Yuji are an underutilized dynamic (not shipping them). I would've loved to see more interactions and comparisons between them. IT WOULD"VE BEEN SOOO COOL I WOULD"VE BEEN OBSESSSED.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: Each character has such nuance and embodies a section of the themes about Jujutsu society and how that effects the morals of an individual, and each character is nuanced and honestly the recent arcs do not fall short because of the characters, but because of the underutilization and pacing more so. Quite sad but when Jujutsu Kaisen shines it SHINES.

... I feel like these were supposed to be one sentence answers but it's fine... ONE DOWN TWO TO GO!

Tmnt (I've only seen Rottmnt so we're doing that one)

Favorite Character: DONATELLO (with a book in hand, saves the day and proves to everyone that he's the ma-). Okay but seriously he's portrayed as a character that cares in his own way in a POSITIVE LIGHT. Soooo many other shows would've taken his basic character and showcased it as selfish but Donnie is far from that. He likes his alone time and has a creative and analytical mind and interprets the world through his creations and interests and that is A GOOD THING THAT HE DOES NOT HAVE TO CHANGE. As a fellow creative an analytical mind that interprets the world through my interests and has been told I'm selfish and self-obsessed, Donnie means so much to me. (Yes, he's my #1 kin)

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: kjalfkljasdkfj OKAY OKAY.... I forget the name of it but the episode where Splinter takes Donnie's turtle tank to the demolition derby. I know I had another favorite episode(s) when I was in full hyperfixation, but to be honest it's been a while. My favorite episodes are the Donnie-centric ones (obviously), especially when he's with Mikey because that duo is ✨peak✨. But for the demolition derby episode, I think it provides a great view into Splinter's psyche as chasing the high of his prime, along with Donnie's desire for his dad to be proud of him. (I kin, I kin, I kin so much.) Also Mikey being the level-headed one in this situation. Absolute peak.

Character I Think is Underrated: Raph for sure. He's the sweetest older brother ever with just as much character nuance as the other three, and yet he gets the least amount of attention from the fandom as far as I've seen. (Again I'm a hypocrite for saying this but I do think Raph deserves more love.) Also April.. Casey... GAhhhhh I wish Rise got a season threeeee it would've been wonderous.

Character I Think is Overrated: I don't think any of the characters are necessarily overrated. I don't understand why everyone loves the disaster twins so much. (I feel like you could make them more 'disaster' if you have them bicker and cause issues rather than all of the 'they are each other's favorite person' that the fandom does. HOWEVER, I love the fandom interpretations of them, and overall, I love the rottmnt fandom a LOT, best fanfics and fanart and fancomics everrr)

Favorite Ship/Pairing: (not shipping/no tcest) Donnie and Mikey for sureee. It's the perfect combination of overdramatic mad scientist /aff with silly crazy-powerful artist /aff. What's not to love? Also the way that they contrast with each other, opposites yet similar, it's wonderous.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: It's what got me into loving slice-of-life/episodic narratives, and what got me to release my 'every story needs to have only important scenes with conflict' mindset when it comes to storytelling. Rottmnt is mainly the brothers hanging out with each other and going on the odd adventure and it's wonderous. It's amazing storytelling because it differs from the predecessor's saving the world. It's silly and jovial and feels like siblings having fun with each other. AND YES I have three other siblings and we've been socially isolated for the longest time because of multiple mowings (pre-covid) and covid (made it no better) and our family in general being undiagnosed neurodivergent introverts and rottmnt means a loooot to me for what it is and what it offered to me. I was in one of the longest spirals of my life at the time and rottmnt brought back color to my monochromatic life and IT SHOULD GET A SEASON THREE BRING BACK RISE KAJFLSKDJFKLd

ANd yet again.. Noorie has rambled. Noorie will ramble again, here we go:

Link Click

(I started scrolling on the link click gifs and the musical is sooo cuttee i love all their interactions akfaskldfj)

Also note this is my most recent hyperfixation and it usually takes me about a month or two to have the most fleshed out thoughts but I shall try!

Favorite Character: You. can't. do. this. to. me. /pos KLJDKLFJSDKLJFKLDJF HOWWW DO I DECIDEEEEE NOO. KAS FAHHSHF. Okie okie er... Cheng Xiaoshi. I still have to dissect and analyze him but he's just SUCH a good character. The way his backstory is revealed bit by bit until the end of season one where we get his full flashback scene is sooo interestingg and effectiveee AAA- Plus the way he's overwhelmed with emotions easily, how easily he trusts others, even more than he trusts himself, how he seems to be 'just a little silly', and he is silly, but when given time to process his thoughts and emotions, he is quite strategic and effective at adapting his plans to the situation. (Which is especially interesting in how that contrasts Lu Guang's need to have control over everything, the general inflexibility of his plans). Also how Cheng Xiaoshi teases Lu Guang and how much he loves and clings to those he loves. How much he wishes for his parents to return and how much hope he has that he can save everyone/bring everyone together and keep them from leaving him again. THERE'S SO MANY LAYYERRRS I NEED TO DECIPHER THEM ALLL

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: howwww dooo I deciddeee it's alll dooonee sooo weelll. Nott a singgllllee baddd orrr borrinngg eppiisoddeee I sobbbbb I can't pick a favoritteeee. ... OKay this might be because I just finished watching episode five, but that whole arc (episodes 3-5) is done so well and starts off with a silly basketball game that gives more information on Lu Guang and CHeng Xiaoshi's relationship and slowly builds to the earthquake and the most devastating backstory to present day scenes I've ever seen for a character. From a storytelling perspective Link Click is just so well done all around and this arc exemplifies that. I also loveee any moments of Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao LIng being siblings. Also, QIao Ling slapping Qian Jin and just season twooo is crazzzyyyyy. I can't pick on whether I love season two or season one more despite them having two different narrative structures... I just remember season one more because it's episodic and I have it downloaded on my computer. (It was on internet archive... and it would be NICE if season two was on there toooo)

Character I Think is Underrated: Honestly, all characters are given lots of love and attention for the amount of screentime they get. Qiao Ling could always use more love though. Qiao Ling supremacy.

Character I Think is Overrated: None really. The fandom is really nice and really good at art and writing and the ANALYSIS HOLY HERBS *sparkle eyes*. It's all wonderous and I love Link Click soooo muuuuchhhh

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang are literally queer platonic partners in cannon. /half joking but for real the act like queer platonic partners. With all the making noodles and dumplings for each other and the constant reassurances and canonical cuddling (they held hands in season two aklfjasdklf) plus how much they canonically care for each other. I rambled about that on another ask but they have constant shows of affection and how much they tease each other and they are probably my favorite pairing everrr. ALSO Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling as siblings (not shipped) are peak fiction. They have the most bickering yet reassuring dynamic ever. Part of the reason why I like that season two has less dives is that it gives QIao Ling more screen time and really makes her part of the trio. The backstory with them both means everything to me. It's so sweet and saddd I sobbb.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: Literally what's not to love? APPARENTLY THERE'S A GAZILLION AND ONE MEDIUMS, NOT JUST THE SHOW and they're all amazing??? I want the adaptation of the donghua into the manhua sooo baddd. The pacing is done to perfection, never once was I bored. The 20-minute episodes felt like five minutes while still covering so much ground and giving each character the time they deserve to develop them (although Lu Guang... where's the backstory..../pos /j). It perfectly balances humor and silly interactions between the characters with ripping your heart out and making you ugly cry. THe cliffhangers are never annoying and the SOUNDTRACK. THE FRICKING SOUNDTRACK IS WONDEROUS I SANG VORTEX ON REPEAT TO CALM MYSELF FROM PANICING AT MY STATS AP EXAM. The animation is sooo cozy and well done and I want to live in their shop and use my non-existent money to buy as much Link Click things as possible.

Annnddd THat's it! Thank you for the ask! If you've read all the way up to here... I commend you. That's a feat in and of itself.

[wouldntyou-liketoknow]

Comparing Killers

I sent an ask to my buddy @insane4fandoms a few days ago, and in their reply, they mentioned potentially doing a character analysis for both MadPat and my very own fanmade cannibal EgoPat Caliban in the future.

(This stemmed from one of their latest drawings. Again, thanks so much for remembering my scrunglies, friendo ❤️)

SO, being the way I am, I took some random inspiration and now I'm going through with that exact analysis myself! Just following my instincts as a writer and all that stuff.

___

MadPat:

Now, just to get this out of the way because I have a sneaking suspicion that someone’s gonna read this and automatically assume I’m being stuck-up: I really like Mad as a character. Matt has done an amazing job portraying him. . .though, Matt just has a knack for unhinged characters in general, lol.

And thanks to Matt's acting skills, Mad is an enjoyable villain. He’s cluster of chaotic problems shaped like a man in his thirties, and we all love him for it. (Honestly, I kinda see Mad’s behavior as similar to that of The Actor from all of Mark’s projects. Comedically evil with a tendency to throw tantrums when things don’t go his way.)

The FNAF Musicals have made many slight tweaks to the lore of the games to not completely plagiarize the story. So, of course, Mad is a slightly-tweaked version of William Afton: it’s made very clear that his crimes include murdering kids. On top of that, he has no problem playing long-cons with pizzeria employees before eventually killing them, too.

We’ve seen plenty of times that Mad is pretty much never afraid to get violent. Oh sure, he tries to put a mask on when he needs to, but it’s easy to see all his urges beneath that mask. (And again, much like Actor!Mark, Mad ain’t too shy about being callous and hostile to almost everyone around him.) He’s very quick to anger. To make things worse, he’s also quick to desperation.

While Mad is too smart for everyone else’s good, he’s still pretty damn impulsive/irresponsible. His crimes were all concentrated on the pizzeria; it didn’t take very long at all for the disappearances to pile up and gain unwanted attention. Now, a bunch of missing-person-cases are one thing, but leaving evidence is quite another.

Hell, in the beginning scene of Web of Lies, the wacko-in-a-bearsuit himself literally said, “Every INCH of this place is INCRIMINATING! Ten minutes of poking around this place and they’ll discover what I did. . !”

If Mad were to hear of Caliban's work, he'd probably be impressed at first and automatically assume that Caliban is just like him, just with more people-eating. However, if Mad were to actually meet Caliban and get a better read on his personality, Mad would likely end up insulting him one way or another. He'd see Caliban's professionalism as tedious.

___

Caliban Crawford:

Though I've made it pretty obvious that he's my special boi, Caliban is an objectively bad person. He may be insane, but he’s not delusional enough to deny that. Whenever his and/or Murdock's targets happen to be alive when they’re dragged to his den, he can be very, VERY sadistic throughout the butchering process. (Especially if the target has done something to personally affect him, Azalea, or any of his other peers.)

Sure, he doesn’t complain about working with dead bodies, but having a live meal is quite a special occasion. In such cases, he enjoys watching the unfortunate soul in question squirm and listening to them scream/beg. Taunting, dragging things out, making morbid puns all over the place, the works.

Despite all this, I’ve specifically crafted Caliban to be an extremely morally-gray character. (To be honest, the only fanmade ego of mine who’s full-on evil is LeviathanPat.) He’s still able to be logical/rational when he needs to. He takes pride in his self-control; yes, he has cravings for human flesh, but he knows he can’t afford to just attack any person he sees whenever he gets hungry. He knows he has to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL in order to keep his business away from the authorities. So, he only eats those he and his peers (Murdock, Azalea, etc.) are hired/paid to bump off.

On top of that, Caliban still has some humanity left. While he’s obviously nowhere close to a perfect angel, he’s still able to form genuine relationships and treat those in his circle with kindness/respect. Get on his good side, and you'll have quite a strong ally.

Though his morals are limited, one of the biggest differences between him and Mad is the fact that Caliban would never, NEVER stoop so low as to harm a child. In fact, he tends to avoid children altogether due to his own childhood trauma. (Totally not me projecting because I grew up in a dysfunctional family with verbal/emotional/psychological abuse.)

Getting back to the juicy stuff: Caliban is smart and efficient with his work. He prides himself on not leaving any evidence behind. (Yes, he still makes occasional mistakes, but even then, the aforementioned evidence still comes in very tiny amounts.) That's why he and Murdock became friends and started working together in the first place: since Caliban divides up which parts can be cooked/eaten and which parts can be sold on the Black Market, it really is easy for targets to just seemingly vanish into thin air.

Though my stories involving Caliban probably show him acting calm (despite his pun-addiction, lol), please, PLEASE don't be fooled. He's got just as much unhinged energy as Mad. He just happens to hide it a bit more often. But he definitely has his chaotic moments; half of the time it's out of unhinged joy, and the other half of the time it's because an enemy pissed him off enough to get their skin privileges revoked. (Basically, it's not that much of a stretch to see Caliban as a combination of The Hermit and Mack.)

Now, if you've seen @insane4fandoms artwork of him, then it's pretty clear that some inspiration was taken from Hannibal Lecter. And while I definitely appreciate references like that. . .well, that inspiration is mainly just for Caliban's appearance. I've said before that Caliban is nowhere near as arrogant as Hannibal. Even so, if Caliban were to see/hear about all of Mad's shenanigans, he'd write Mad off as being sloppy and unimpressive. If he were to actually meet Mad, his opinion would just get worse; he'd see Mad as a fair bit annoying and bratty.

___

@sammys-magical-au @b-is-in-the-closet @im-a-weird0 @themarpsimp @lexusinsannus @crazy-obsessed-enby @rozeliyawashereyall @gaymingintrovert @lampsforsocks @forestcouncil @x-hotrose-x @v1rus-seal

[soleminisanction]

I’d pay real money to see your analysis on steph and cass’s relationship 😭 you’re the only mfker on this site doing Stephanie’s character any justice w your amazing character analysis despite being the resident Stephanie Hater TM I owe you my life

Ha, thank you. It is very confusing that my feelings about Steph so often seem to boil down to, "I hate you because you deserve to be written better, goddammit!"

That said, I'm not totally sure I'm qualified to talk about Steph and Cass's relationship in its full extent because I haven't read their "foundational text" -- which is to say, Cass's Batgirl run. I've read pieces of it, but never the storylines where they hang out, and I can't deny that the knowledge of Steph's presence is a big part of what's made me avoid what I know, objectively, to be a fantastic series.

From what I have seen of their relationship, in family crossovers and Steph's Batgirl and their modern appearances (everything Cass has been in except for Batgirls, and about half of that series, but not a consecutive run of issues) plus general fandom osmosis... my personal feeling is that I'm not a fan.

For one, I can never see their modern cutesiness as anything less than full-on queerbaiting. Steph reads as fully straight to me, and when I say that, I don't mean, "hrr drr she's never shown romantic interest in girls before" because that's bullshit. What I mean is that, of all the femme-aligned Bat-people in the franchise, Steph is both by far the most gender conforming and the most male-oriented (of the modern age; obviously Betty and Kathy Kane are a different story). When they shave her head for Future State or the Earth-3 Mary Sue Batwoman, it doesn't look like her, it looks like she's trying to be Cassie Sandsmark. And her motivations are very often tied up in men, whether that man is her father, her boyfriend, or Batman. Since she came back from the dead and they threw out all the complicated character nuance that led to War Games, they really haven't given her much more than that to work with, and it's not like those motivations were ever fully separate from men either.

So to me, the more their modern comic appearances try to push this idea that Stephanie is the most importantest person in Cass's life, the more it feels like they're writing poor Cass to be in love with her straight friend, who in turn is either (generous interpretation) clueless to her affections or (ungenerous interpretation) stringing her along because the attention feeds Steph's ego.

And that perception isn't helped by the fact that I feel like their relationship, as it's written in canon, is extremely one-sided. Like, Steph dies, and Cass spirals, mourning her and hallucinating her presence. Cass gets written into books like Spirit World all by herself and Steph still gets mentions and shout-outs as an important person in her life. People draw art with Cass owning Steph's merch, and she spent so much time in Batgirls talking about how strong and special and important Stephanie is.

Meanwhile, Stephanie spent her time in Batgirls talking about how being a Batgirl made her feel special and awesome. Cass gives her the Batgirl costume at the start of her run of the same name and then disappears and is never seen or mentioned again. She doesn't show up nearly as much on her own, but the last time she did (in Robins) I'm pretty sure Cass wasn't mentioned once, not even as like a flash-in-the-pan cameo during her "Spoiler, leader of the Teen Titans" fantasy sequence.

Pair all that up with the fact that Steph really doesn't get stories of her own and instead turns up in other people's adventures at random, often with Cass at her side as a glorified cameo and... yeah, it all just feels very one-sided to me, like the relationship exists for the same reason the writers forced Tim and Steph back together in 2016. They don't know what to do with Steph if she's not somebody's Designated Love Interest, and since she can't be that to Tim anymore they've shifted to baiting a relationship they'll never actually pull the trigger on with Cass.

It just kinda sucks. Steph should get her own stories. And Cass shouldn't be reduced to her fucking Kato.

[scramble-crossing]

2 3 10 12 13 for the ask game!

2. A headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like! Ok this is hard to answer because I forget what's canon and what's intricately-woven-into-my-brain headcanon but I'll say the "Kariya was an Angel" theory! I never disliked it, but I never liked it more than the simpler explanation of "Oh he's just been around the block a couple of times, that's why he knows more than the average Reaper but still couldn't pick out Joshua as the Composer-that stuff's above his paygrade." Even now it's not "canon to me" level of headcanon, but I can see the appeal and really I appreciate anything that inspires people to look a littler closer at characters like Kariya or Uzuki. Also it's really good when played for comedy. His ass is showing up at the Angel convention, stealing as many appetizers as he can, and bouncing before anyone can point out that he got fired 30 years ago for skipping meetings to go play Tin Pin with random Wall Reapers.

3. A character that fandom has helped you appreciate It's too easy to say Coco so Beat! It's embarrassing to admit but I kinda had a bone to pick with him when I was first getting into the series for sorta "replacing Sho" in neo. I didn't think he was as interesting (and to be fair he really isn't in neo until you take his relation to Rindo's arc into consideration; he works wonderfully as a back for Rindo to hide behind even if his own story was very much concluded by the end of the first game. Then there's also his dynamic with Neku, which is very very good, but he didn't need to be a player character for that. Anyways). Beat analysis posting made me actually pay attention to him while replaying the games and realize how much I'd missed skimming over him in W2 (the poor guy's really gotta try to compete with fan darling Joshua and Sho, aka the loudest fucking man alive, for screen time). His stint as a Reaper is incredibly fascinating. I forget who, but I always distinctly remember someone talking about Beat getting prepped to try and deaden his heart and become as brutal and merciless as a Reaper is supposed to be before ultimately choosing kindness in both his siding with Neku and sparing Kariya and Uzuki in W3 and man.....yeah. He's just such a good guy. He's easily in the top 10 favs now, if not the top 5

10. A blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter Well....yknow....

There are a LOT of others and I'm too shy to tag but goldensunset (incredible analysis) playtwewy (fav fics ever) sho-minamimoto (awesome art + sho headcanons) dj-of-the-coven (made me love beat) purplelea (also incredible analysis) bitternami (very kind and wow I read a fic of yours once and it blew me away...I will remember to find it and leave a comment soon) leonvilasi (always leaves fun and interesting comments in my notes) off the top of my head and a whole bunch of people who aren't as active in the twewy fandom anymore or whose art I love and the people I always see leaving funny tags in my notes you're all awesome <3

12. Compliment someone else in your fandom AUGH HELL ON EARTH!!! dandelion2302 I absolutely adore the way you draw Sho your art is amazing.................

13. Your favorite type of fandom event (gift exchange, ship week, secret santa, prompt meme, etc) Yknow I've never actually done any fandom events before twewy! I had a blast during the twewybang and while I probably won't participate again for a while (I'd rather finish the fic I wrote for the 23 one first) it was a wonderful first experience with this sort of thing :]

[beezonia]

MORE CLAIRE ANALYSIS!!

No’1

This is at the end of curious village right, that’s Claire’s outfit in lost future. What was that doing there?

Was it trying to foreshadow something to do with the next game or was it something deeper idk I just wanted to bring it to your attention!

No’2

Look at her, her joyful/proud “you did it” she’s so proud and in awe of what hershel does.

Claire as Celeste gets to support her boyfriend once more, gets to praise him and tell him how amazed she is with what he does.

Same goes for hersh when he says something like “you clearly know more about machines then I do” I’m a really amazed tone.

She’s so soft for her boyfriend and seeing him again it allows her to show her love for him one last time.

No’3/4

This whole conversation she has with Clive show’s her compassion and her regret, even after everything Clive has done Claire still shows him kindness and goes after him.

We can see it’s partially because of her guilt, I’ve said this before in my previous analysis that she knows what she did was wrong and this second chance is her doing everything she can to atone for it.

Second reason is my personal opinion/head-cannon of Claire being that sort of mother figure to some, she’s both extremely strong and caring and this is where it shines.

A innocent child hurt and probably still grieving needs a shoulder to lean on and what does Claire do she goes back for him, she doesn’t want anymore lives to be negatively effected by this tragedy she doesn’t want anymore deaths because of the project she was part off.

She puts the blame on herself, it’s like she’s punishing herself (far reach idk about this yet) for something that she didn’t stop and couldn’t control.

So Claire does what she does and chooses to yet again sacrifice her life and save Clive instead of doing the safe thing and leaving with the rest.

It’s her guilt again I think specifically with the second picture where she’s talking about how this was all because of scientists.

No’5/6

This is yet again Claire showing her love for Hershel.

She’s searching, wondering if he would actually come back, which may look like she doesn’t believe it.

But we hear he gasp of relief when she spots him and her eyebrows crease in a sort of sad happiness, Claire gets to see him again.

She gets to spend that scarce amount of time she has left watching him thrive in his element. Somethings she hasn’t seen in a long long time.

———

God I love Claire Foley so much, bring her back lvl five pls. I hope you enjoyed this rushed analysis.

But at least I’m writing a fic where she’s one of two main characters so that’s a bonus.

After all if lvl 5 won’t do it that fandom surely will.

[penultimate-step]

Denji is a character written to be a disruptor, someone who will break through established social norms. When he speaks, this is reflected in his blunt willingness to say whatever he feels should be said, having no care for niceties and not paying attention to the conversational flow. Of course, to skillfully show off such a character trait, that means the author, in contrast, must be very concerned about the flow, to best write the moments to have Denji insert himself.

This isn't an analysis, just talking about a few examples from the series that stood out to me. Examples include spoilers throughout part 1 and well into part 2 under the cut:

Just look at chapter 127 for the most clear cut example.

The whole gag is that there's a serious emotional struggle going on, in the middle of a serious action sequence, and Denji is talking about how much he loves sex. It's like the manga equivalent of a whoopee cushion in a handshake gag: the joke is in the interruption from the established atmosphere and expectations.

If we look at part 1, we can find a few similar times where the same trick was attempted. I'll use chapters 47, since it's the first one that comes to mind for me:

Notice the difference? In part 1, where denji has a much greater focus and the side characters have less emphasis, it means much less when Aki and Reze are playing off of him. Yes, it's still denji having a moment where he breaks the emotional tension with a desire for women, but without Asa's grounding counter presence as co-protagonist he's left to essentially play straight man to himself.

Of course, denji's bluntness is deeper than just playing the fool. One of my favorite moments in the manga is a result of this, from chapter 36:

A more socially conscious character might have offered condolences or said they had regrets, when standing in front of someone whose family is dead. It's pretty common politeness! But denji doesn't care about social graces - the man mistreated him, turned into a zombie, and died, no need to overthink it. So he tells his surviving family to his face that he feels nothing. Amazing. This is a moment where rather than Denji disrupting serious emotional moments to release tension, his honesty instead ramps up the emotional stakes of the scene, getting more personal than things would be otherwise.

Denji's glib brush-off shows his dissonance with the social fabric around him, sure, but also demonstrates his lack of care for the bonds between people - a callback to a few chapters earlier, in chapter 29, where Denji himself has similar worries, and setting the stage for this character thread's resolution in 38. It's a great moment.

Anyway, just one more example before I stop. A bit from part 2, another moment where Denji does something perceived as vulgar, which, through the reactions of those around him, emphasizes his character.

Yoshida sets the stage - he's in control. He is trying to follow in Makima's footsteps in holding Denji's leash. Simple carrot and stick. But he's not her, doesn't have her skills in manipulation, and Denji has changed a lot from the desperate boy he was in chapter 2. So he cuts through - so what if usually cake is eaten with silverware? Denji effortlessly throws Yoshida off his game. See his shocked and disgusted face? It's an early indication that the manipulations that characterized part 1 won't be going as smoothly this time.

In short, look, I know that "character A does something offbeat, character B reacts with shock" is far, far from an original concept, its one of the most classic types of humor. but, nonetheless, I appreciate csm's execution of it. having these defined and emphasized characters react and be off balance by Denji's actions works well as a characterization tool for both Denji and his conversation partner, and can let the author adjust scene tone on the fly.

[oohbuggypie]

it's both my God given right and duty to never shut up so i am going 2 not be quiet about BullDon 🫡 putting all text ("analysis", fanfic reccs, general rambling) under a read more so those who don't gaf can scroll easy 🩷 HERE WE GO !!

(all fanfics and their respective author are linked within their titles 🩷)

-------------------------------------------------------

K WHERE DO I START . their dynamic, past the obvious matador and bull trope, is so interesting to me. i think that their backgrounds have so many similarities; Don is a matador and is shown to have hundreds of people gathered in a stadium to watch his match, and Bull is watched relentlessly by the paparazzi. but they both have very different reactions to the fame and attention they receive. Don soaks it up and Bull can't stand it, and i think it contributes to their odd, almost mirror dynamic a lot

past that is their personalities and ethics,, both of them are SO full of themselves i actually almost forget, with Bull only being slightly more humble (cuz he can't exactly brag about his looks 😭) . Don is more prideful than he is cocky imo; but he's VERY expressive of his anger and distaste for losing, which makes him kind of paralell to my idea of Bull. though this follows more of a headcanon of mine and not whats in the game, i think Bull is really calm outside his persona in the ring (i.e his intermissions,,, he's being friendly if anything with Doc and he speaks so calm and low in Title Defense). unlike Don, he's shown actually building endurance and managing his emotions compared to his Contender cutscnene, essentially the OPPOSITE of Don, who only gets more sour and negative after he loses. i think in that aspect they're complete opposites but that switch makes their dynamic and relationship so much more complex to me

in the ring i think they share the factor of channeling their anger to help them succeed; Don is stronger when he's pissed at his missing toupee and Bull is .. Bull ? the Bull charge and his gut punch in Title Defense are very telling if his entire character isn't about how genuinely angered that man can be and i think that gives them a more complex element to how they'd work together; they're both sour and ugly about being perceived/looked at (more literally) in a way they don't want to, so that's just another thing that i find so interesting .. they have a BUNCH in common yet they're drastically different when you look at their characters generally

K NOW FANFIC RAMBLE TIME 🩷

Suficiente:

if anybody knows the author DetectiveCapan from AO3 personally im so dead srs when i say u should message them and praise them. i could not stfu about their BullDon writing and im not going to in a paragraph or two here but OH MY GODD. i have always avoided both actual books and fics alike that are written choppy and simplistic, and especially ones that lack atmosphere simply cuz they're just unappealing and hard to make me feel what's actually going on. but their BullDon trilogy ?? somehow their style of writing, which doesn't use complex words or long sentences packed with detail, is genuinely some of my favorite that i have EVERR read . they make the emotions the characters are feeling SO easy to understand and feel even without exaggerated expressions and dramatic descriptions it's actually kind of incredible ? and the bit of humor isn't overbearing, it's just silly and it sets up the atmosphere, which never ends up terribly serious. they write relationships with a familiarity in the atmosphere and actions that have been unachievable in any other piece of fiction ive read and the gestures omg .. IM GONNA BE SPECIFIC IN MY RECCS SO YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT IT BUT OMGG. DETECTIVECAPAN IF U SEE THIS BLESS UR HEART SERIOUSLY UR AN AMAZING AUTHOR 🩷🩷 PLEASE KEEP DOING WHAT U DO UR WONDERFUL AND I'D LOVE 2 SEE MORE OF UR WORK ABT BULLDON / PUNCH OUT!! WII IN GENERAL 🥹 now the recc list!!

possibly my favorite out of all three and it's literally the first one 😭 ough i could gush about this one FOR SO LOOONG ,,, i love how they immediately establish Don's mindset and attitude with how he both admires and pities the World Circuit for what they get and what they go through. when Don's out of the shower and he sees Bull half dressed there's no implication of sexual tension despite them being mostly undressed in front of each other and thats actually SO special to me because i had a morethanfriendship just like this and they captured the reality of it in a perfect way, like feeling for feeling . same in the way that Bull watches Don get dressed; they mention he stares but he doesn't have a corny, shocked "omg i hope he didn't notice me" reaction to catching himself. instead they mutually understand that they're admiring each other and they just smile about it . LIKE UGH THATS SO SPECIAL TO ME OMGG. and also Don putting on his - what'd id assume - rosary and then dabbing cologne behind his ears .. literally clutched my own cross necklace like omg that detail makes me crazyy i love the religion mention sm 😭

also UGH Bull's mannerisms .. a little annoyed at Don but there's such an endearing thing about it; he's annoyed at his demands but he complies anyway cuz even though he knows Don is purposely trying to make him a little pissed, he likes him enough to and he knows it'll make him happy .. THERE'S A DEEPER SENSE TO IT AND I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS BUT IT'S HARD TO WORDD 😭 also Bull being quick tempered about small things like the radio playing static and the music not being his taste .. and just the mutual like attachment they have with each other.. Bull never says anything about taking Don "home" (his hotel room) but Don knows exactly to get in his car and go with him anyway ,, and i cannot stress hard enough that it's just the little things seriously. i will never ever be regular about Bull liking to tie Don's boot laces, or promising to get his favorite beer when he offers it, or purposely (and patiently) waiting for him to get out of the shower so they can talk 🥹 like all those little gestures of love that show that he really does care . also possibly my favorite thing about this whole trilogy is that they have a very unestablished relationship ! it's never explicitly stated that they're dating or in love or anything even romantic but there areee quick mentions that imply (if im reading them correctly) that they're def a bit more than friends i.e Don mentioning how he thought his skin would burn from being in Bull's shower water temps ,, but the fact that it's not an established relationship and they don't outright express romantic interest in one another makes it SO much more special. it sets a completely different tone that creates warmth, familiarity, and comfort between them 😭

that's about that for Suficiente .. I LOVE IT SO MUCHH 😭 PLS READ IT, LEAVE KUDOS, AND IF U CAN COMMENT UR PRAISES !! 🩷 it is so well deserved genuinely. now on2 the next:

La Cosa Sobre El Pelo:

ugh i love this one equally as much. im gonna be repeating a lot of the same praises and ideas from "Suficiente" bcuz the whole trilogy creates the same kind of atmosphere but i still wanna gush about and explain it 🥹 omgg the paragraph about Don having a bald ass head and it scaring away the ladies made me giggle SO BAD . also UGH okay .. the sentiment of Don being vulnerable enough to confess his biggest insecurity to Bull, and for Bull to actually reflect and think about it so long after he's been told and reciprocate the vulnerability by showing Don a photograph of him before he lost his hair .. OUFFFGGHH actually the cutest and sweetest thing ever . also i am a nitpicker and a sucker for small details and i just absolutely LOVE how naturalistic the author makes the characters move. like Don doesn't get up and stand to grab the photo off the nightstand, he leans over and props himself up with his elbow and continues sipping on his beer when he's observing it like any other person would .. ugh i LOVE that detail , i get a little bothered when people write characters to be unnaturally animated in a setting where it doesn't exactly make sense to be, so that's another aspect of their writing that i appreciate soo much 😭 also it's the gestures omg .. when Bull grabs Don's thigh and shakes it and Don doesn't jerk away or question the closeness , he just leans back onto the bed and continues/ends their conversation about how he'll look bad with no hair and Bull looks good without it ,, I LOVE THAT SO BAADDD again it's the familiarity the meaning of Bull's gestures ,, the care that they quietly express instead of directly saying it .. GAWDD that's like my fav thing 😭 there's something so special about the silent concern and care that Bull has for Don in their writing; the small actions and the thought behind them do so much more than what words could say and i think it's super in character for him as well .. literally stellar i think i need to reread and add onto this one once i look at it again but I LOVE THIS ONE SO SO MUCHH 🩷

[kalcifers-blog]

Some Schneeplebro headcanons because they're on the brain lately (yes the only thing I think about is old gay men)

They met in university and decided to live together with a few other roommates during their time at uni (Chase was a Film student while Henrik was doing his doctorate)

They had both moved to the UK around the time they started University? Henrik had already decided he was going to move away specifically to go to Uni while Chase went back to Uni after doing work for a few years after moving. (Henrik being from Germany and Chase being from Ireland ofc)

They both definitely liked each other during this time but neither of them really recognised it as romantic attraction at the time, Henrik being Demi-Romantic and had never felt romantic attraction before, and Chase did not know he was even interested in men at this point

In my mind they both got super drunk one night and ended up kissing while they were alone together. Neither of them ever acknowledged it while sober but they both thought about it CONSTANTLY.

They eventually both move away and are busy being adults for years, keeping contact but not actually seeing each other the same

Chase eventually realises he's bi and a year or so later him and Henrik meet up again finally and start to actually acknowledge what it was between them (considering now they both have had time to actually consider it as a possibility and Chase is now comfortable enough in his sexuality to actually be with a man)

Now the background stuff is done, now for some fun headcanons!!!

Henrik does not know that Chase can understand German. Chase can't speak a word of it properly but he can listen, read, write and understand it extremely well. Chase does not have the heart to let Henrik know this because he keeps saying things (in the /pos way) about him when he thinks he can't understand him.

They both ended up growing their hair out when meeting up together after being separated- they were both the equivalent to the heart eyes, blushing emoji the entire interaction.

Chase is surprisingly a really good cook. Henrik has not improved on his cooking skills since university (he's not... terrible at it? He's just not amazing at it.)

Chase in my mind is actually a lot smarter than a lot of people take him for granted- (examples being that he immediately catches on when things go wrong and people trying to manipulate him, as well as him immediately asking questions in AF) Henrik, while being extremely book smart, can be extremely misunderstanding in a lot of situations (in my mind he's very tunnel vision when it comes to things- he goes for what's directly ahead of him without stopping to consider the things around him- Chase usually being the person to stop him to have him consider other options first)

Both of them have parental trauma regarding neglect but in vastly different ways (Henriks parents pushing him to pursue a career in medicine and never considering what he wanted to do with his life, while Chase's parents were just unbothered to his existence and never cared to check in on him to see what he was up too) both of them are no contact with their respective families.

Chase is super into media analysis- the man goes crazy for themes in film and games and he will spend hours just listening to YouTube videos explaining the depths of a single movie, especially if the movie is something he didn't actually like at first because he likes to hear the different perspectives people have on it.

Henrik is really interested in dark history, specifically of things that don't get as much attention. And mostly of things that solely happen because of people and their negligence, but also how society has improved in safety and understanding in a response to said terrible situations.

They have both movie nights and nights dedicated to analysis/dark history. They both love it.

Chase's love language is words of affirmation and Henriks is physical affection

Henrik is taller than Chase but Chase is stronger. Every time either of them tries to carry the other it always leads to chaos

They're more of a moon and stars ship imo, Henrik being the Stars and Chase being the Moon.

They both really like the idea of traveling and their first place to go to is Rome (They both secretly have plans to propose to each other there and it would 100% be those double proposal moments)

LET ME KNOW IF YOU GUYS WANT MORE OF THIS!!! I LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH IF YOU COULDN'T TELL ALREADY. Just send me an ask if there's anything specific you want me to cover!!

[doctorqueue]

Splinter Parenting Character Analysis/Thoughts

@somerandomdudelmao 's newest update caption got my brain revving so I wrote this hsgzjt.

[All my own thoughts ofc; All /nm /gen]

When it comes to splinter, especially with emotional attentiveness and negligence; I try to remember one key thing.

H e ' s l i k e D o n n i e.

He's as oblivious to emotional cues as our local mad scientist, and is like Mikey and a lot of the boys when it comes to things like time blindness, connecting the dots, memory and generally being observant or processing things fully.

None of this EXCUSES parts of his behaviour [or lacktherof]; but it's a very important distinction; Especially because we've seen time and again how much he CARES.

When someone snaps or spells something out to him he switches SO quick. Like in 'Turtle-dega Nights' [Demolition Derby ep].

The Biggest difference with him and the boys is they're much better and experienced with COMPENSATING for these inherent difficulties. Something that Splinter has to and has gotten better at working on;

He clearly wasn't the best at it as a young adult; And Obviously the stress and depression of suddenly being turned into a tiny rat dude with 4 babies he has to raise and care for, with no money, while avoiding both humans AND Yokai, wouldn't provide much self reflection.

I feel like a lot of the 'he's a perceptive amazing dad' and 'he's a negligent bad dad' takes kinda miss the mark y'know.. Bro is not bright and has def not always done enough, but he clearly puts the work in when sees it's needed; and the times the reminder gets through his thick skull that he's gotta up his emotional support game.

He loves them and is very open with how he KNOWS he needs to improve; which I don't see come up with most Splinters. That 'I'm in the wrong but I love you and want to keep trying to get better'.

Kinda Extra: May be more of a personal interpretation, I feel he would be much more on top of the boys when tots. Even in that short, in HIS mind he knew were they were; Clearly a there's a whole bunch of reasons why leaving 4 mischievous tots with ninja weapons wouldn't be a good idea [as I said connecting the dots and processing things aren't his fortay [or mine ;ᴗ;]]. Only kindof gettin too used to Raph taking care of things when they were becoming teens.

So like,,, in conclusion; He loves his fam and wants to do better but he's still p oblivious and needs to work on strategising around that HgsJtz.

[riacte]

Blue30 semi-serious analysis post (or something) yay~

I know what everyone’s thinking: “Omg the fusion of Blue9 and Aqua29”. Yeah, it does vibe like that. This team is undoubtedly strong, but the teams for MCC30 as a whole are ridiculously strong, so like MCC29, it’s difficult to predict and depends on game order + morale / performances of players on that day.

As we learned from Aqua29, overall team synergy/ performance can be more important than individual performances. That’s how Aqua29 pushed themselves up to 2nd despite no one in top 10.

MCC30 Blue Bats actually has pretty damn good chemistry?? I think everyone knows each other. And we’ve got three MCC winning duos: False + Fruit (9), Dave + False (29), Fruit + Shubble (26), so if they win again, their win count will be lowkey ridiculous lol. Dave and False can possibly get a DOUBLE back-to-back, which is amazing.

One major reason for my confidence in Aqua29 was the presence of HBomb. The H factor worked for both Blue9 and Aqua29, but in this case, Shelby is fantastic at team games. She’s a great communicator and boosts morale, plus she’s teamed with Fruit and Dave before. The only person she hasn’t teamed with is False, but they’ve got Empires so they’re friends. Once I saw Shubble in this team, I was like “ohhhhh Scott made an excellent choice here” :))) Shelby can definitely make up for the weaknesses of the two PvPers.

The question of leadership pops up again, and personally I’m leaning towards Dave, although I think the four of them can vibe and communicate at the same time (seeing as they know each other more than Aqua29/Blue9 knew each other at the time). One thing I’m excited to see is Dave-False again so soon, because False made amazing call-outs last time (I don’t think she’s ever spoken that much in a MCC). I think Dave misheard False’s comms in BB and apologised, so he might pay more attention to her comms this time lol. Also wdym Fruit and False’s last MCC was ALL STARS??? Anyways False also girlbossed her way through All Stars’ Grid Runners while the men were being himbos, so maybe they’ll listen to her this time fhejfjjdcjjd.

And because I’m biased, here’s a whole paragraph dedicated to False. Blue30 is False’s FIRST team without a hermit (!!! She’s graduated!!), but she’s with an Empires buddy and she knows everyone on the team (much like Ren’s first non-hermit team Yellow21, which also had Fruit plus Joel and Fwhip from Empires). I said pre and post 29 that False can be a good leader if she feels comfortable in a team, and she definitely felt comfortable with Aqua29 (possibly because it’s 3/4 of Yellow28, another MCC she spoke quite a lot in). Now, Blue30 can absolutely be such a team, especially after her recent win in 29 which can boost confidence. I don’t know much about False-Shubble being competitive together, but I watched the Minecraft Legends stream yesterday and everyone was vibing and communicating well (although everyone in that stream was from Traffichermitempires). Basically I think this could be another team in which False speaks up and offers valuable input (because sometimes people just forgor the border in SkB and take a lot of damage 💀)

I compared Aqua29 to a better Yellow20. I can see Blue30 following a Yellow21ish trajectory unfortunately because Yellow21 got third and I’m still sad. Blue30 will likely be good at SG (like Yellow21) and PvP in general. Hopefully they won’t do what Yellow21 did at BB lmao <3

This team is strong, well rounded, and has good chemistry. It’s just that other teams are also strong 💀 but if Aqua29 can get a legendary win, why not continue that legacy? ;)

[hizerain]

video essay recs?

PatricianTV: Skyrim Analysis | A quick retrospective part 1, part 2

So, this is a small 20 hours, I like my videos long. I enjoy how comprehensive this essay is, but above all I enjoy the conclusion as they articulate the exact feeling I have had about skyrim since I first bought it but was never able to explain to myself or others.

hbomberguy: Pathologic is genius, and here's why

Pathologic is an unknown but interesting pain simulator, I wouldn't have known about it without this video. I have absolutely no intention of ever playing it or its sequel, don't like playing these games as much, but the idea of perspective is very important to the game and its experience and it regularly makes me reevaluate my own perspective.

ContraPoints: Cringe

In terms of aesthetics and story, I prefer opulence but I feel as though cringe has a more generally relevant story to tell, especially the concept of ingroup cringe. With the internet cringe and irony are concepts constantly at the front of our attention, it's worth the time to dissect it and try to understand it in a general way, but also in a way specific to the internet age

Folding Ideas: Line goes up - the problem with NFTs

Perfect engaging explanation of both the housing crisis of 2008, the hype about crypto, the dangers of NFT and the fact that NFTs started to nosedive after this video is bloody amazing.

Joseph Anderson: Fallout 4 - One year later

Dissection of Fallout 4 specifically, but more generally the shift Bethesda has made in the way they produce their RPGs and what the widening audience has done for the core gameplay loop and the effects it has on the game.

Leadhead: The beauty of dishonored, the forgotten chapter of dishonored, the darkest corner of dishonored

Dishonored is arguably one of my favourite game franchises, currently 100% DH2 and DOTO, and whilst I enjoy the second game more mechanically, the original has some of the most engaging world building and beautiful textures I have ever seen in gaming. The story might not make you change your life, but the immersive sim nature and subtle worldbuilding is something I remain amazed by.

Lindsay Ellis: Tracing the roots of pop culture transphobia

Interesting history that I was completely unaware of. With an increase in transphobia I feel as though it's increasingly important to understand it. There are undoubtedly those who cannot be changed, intrinsically transphobic you might say, but I think a lot of people have been influenced by this history and can be made to consider a different perspective if you can gently expose the truth to them.

Philosophy Tube: Queer

I think this may be the one video that actually propelled me into my acceptance of being queer. It is not necessarily something I ever actively denied, but it also felt like something that wasn't mine and could never be. Every once in a while I still return to this, to think about the different perspectives and the way I view both myself and my life.

Lots of games, I apologize if that isn't exactly your thing.

[fruitbasketball]

record isn’t the only thing that matter with npoy, obviously, otherwise an sc player would’ve won it this year. but there was just a MASSIVE gulf between uconn and iowa their freshman year. uconn is the most dominant school in wcbb, they’re always going to get media attention, whereas iowa wasn’t even projected to make the tournament before the year started. so obviously voters are going to be paying more attention and be more impressed by a really good player on an always dominant team vs a really good player on a team nobody really cares about. that doesn’t mean if you isolate their skill sets that paige was better, she was just playing in a better system

that’s why I say caitlin finally got to be a part of the convo when ppl started paying attention to iowa.

that’s why I think it’s tough to compare their freshman seasons, even when they met in the sweet 16 they both didn’t have great games. cc had more points, paige more assists, but honestly they both underperformed (probably bc they were feeling the pressure of espn constantly being like CAITLIN VS PAIGE CAITLIN VS PAIGE.) obviously uconn won, but it wasn’t only bc of paige, aaliyah and christyn were the dominant ones that game. and even though paige was ranked higher out of high school, that doesn’t always mean a lot after awhile. aliyah boston was ranked behind haley jones and jordan horston and look at her now

all this to say, I feel like if anyone really wants to compare them, it’ll have to happen this year. and I am SO EXCITED. in the end, caitlin is my current fave player but uconn will always be my fave team so it’s a real win/win for me personally, haha

SORRY FOR THE ESSAYS YALL LMK IF YOU HATE THEM BUT I LOVE READING EVERYONES THOUGHTS

you ate with this fr and that’s kinda what i was saying; i think there was more room in the spotlight for iowa because paige’s injury/uconn “falling off” a little. that sweet sixteen was off a little for paige numbers wise, but i think her confidence and the kind of intangible effect she has on her team is what makes her so endearing as a player. caitlin is the same way tho, and this really is the only year we’re gonna be able to really compare their games, bc covid was a fuckshit time and paige’s injuries obviously hindered analysis these past couple of years. the only reason i bring up high school rankings is because paige was just so far ahead of her class. she was playing leagues ahead of everyone in high school and leagues ahead of everyone in college as a freshman. there was no debate like there was this past recruitment season between juju and mikaylah. paige is just that good, and i feel like a lot of people have forgotten that. either way, this season is going to be one to watch like if people haven’t been paying attention yet, now is the time to start.

(and i feel you like i’m a uconn girlie at heart but caitlin makes it so damn hard not to root for her she’s gonna be amazing this year)

(also i miss watching christyn williams play holy shit)

[paimonial-rage]

i think the establishment of a relationship is super important! it basically defines the way the couple acts in a relationship, so i understand the want to establish the pre-relationship before talking about the relationship. that's one reason why i like plot and longfics as there is space for such growth. i face a similar situation where i find it hard to categorize my fics as fluff or angst, so i've just adopted this belief that if it ends well it's fluff. if it ends badly, it's angst. whatever happens along the way will all lead to the ending so it doesn't matter fluff/angst whatever. i hope in 2023 you will find peace in your writing! may there be progress in the romance and fluff department if that is your goal :)

i'm glad that my encouragement helps, but really, your existence helps me because it's good to know i'm not alone in the x reader community XD (i have so much to say about Writings and how x readers can be more than wish-fulfillment but anyways--another day.)

!!! I WOULD love to read said isekai. i will be patient though because i'm also drafting a rather large project and it has been Months but I have gotten 0 words out. good luck to both of us :) may they be the wips we complete in 2023 HAHA.

lastly, about harem isekai, i 100% agree with your sentiment about it. i personally only read harem isekai after knowing who the main love interest is (novel updates is my go-to for spoilers, fr) and there is an overarching plot that supersedes the romance, so the harem isn't actually the main driver of the plot but just a fun, whimsical arc where the love interests all fight for the protag's attention while everyone is trying to solve the main Plot. (i can't rec anything rn. it has been ages since i last touched isekai, but the genre is dear to my heart </3) -- @milkstore

Okay so first off, thank you for the wonderful anon analysis request thing you sent in. I already decided who to pair with you. LOL I'm almost done!

But yeah you totally get me when it comes to fics. At one point, when I read fanfiction, I preferred more oneshots. But the older I get, the more I prefer longfics. But that's the thing like??? With typical fanfiction, it's okay to do oneshots because the relationship between two characters is already established. When you're writing original fiction or character x reader stuff, nothing is established! That's why I really envy those that can write amazing character x reader fics in a limited amount of words!

The fluff vs angst thing made me laugh. I'm p much the same way. The ending dictates the genre of the story! And yes, I will do my best with honing the skill of romance and fluff. I dislike labels, but if I had to categorize myself, I'd fall more close to being aromantic. I love reading romance, but I don't understand romance and the desire for it on a base level. I understand devotion, loyalty, and a desire for exclusivity, but romance is???? In my mind, relationships go from acquaintance --> friendship --> deep friendship --> deep exclusive bond reminiscent of a couple 5-10 years to their relationship. My brain skips the romance phase. LOL Honestly I just need to do more research.

I'll try to get started on that isekai soon though! It's going to be one of those ones where each character gets a paragraph. Each will get a completely unique isekai plot (they won't be interconnected). But unforitmately…. Like you, I haven't even gotten started yet HAHA. And that's on top of so many other WIPS I have, some technically done. May 2023 give us the strength to complete things :')

As for harem isekai, honestly I'm just laughing at what you wrote bc like?? Only choosing to read a story when you know the end game pair? Spoiling everything with Novel Updates????? THAT'S ME LOOOOL I love things with an overarching story, but seeing everyone fall for the main character always gets me so mad. The other characters just look SO PATHETIC. LIKE THEY'RE USUALLY COOL CHARACTERS TOO. THEY DESERVE MORE. But then again, I'm a loser that hates bad endings. I just want everyone to be happy, so everyone gets a love or nobody does. LOL