#there's some kind of theme here. best not to analyze that.

[outeremissary]

Comfort Character Tag Game

Tagged by @bearvanhelsing. Thanks for thinking of me!

Tristian from Pathfinder: Kingmaker. I feel like I can put that down and just call it a day on the whole list. I’m dying here. At this point the serotonin hit I get from playing Kingmaker and interacting with this guy is fucking incomparable. Help.

Henry from Fire Emblem: Awakening

Goro Akechi from Persona 5

Harrowhark Nonagesimus from The Locked Tomb. This is really the peak “never known a day of comfort in her life” character here.

Suzuya Juzo from Tokyo Ghoul

I think the list of folks I regularly interact with and see do these has been swept and I’m a little sleepy and not very courageous tonight, so I won’t be passing this one forward... Sorry about that, I swear I am working on putting more effort into trying to do the social obligation thing.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

you always knew marble hornets is good b/c fr from 2010 on the Many fans &/or the particularly Enthused &/or Dedicated &/or Lasting fans was noticeably to us all like hmm tending to be many people who are big fans of aLex Guy from the tunnel rip Brian Tim Questions Investigations Answers....i presume it still skews that way. i.e. Tastehavers i.e. Marble Hornets Is Good b/c it can resonate with queer experiences unlike horror that straight people are like "Hell Yeah truly this is good" about, which is a waste of everything

[creedslove]

BETRAYED - PART ONE

Pedro Pascal x f!reader

Summary: Pedro invites you to be his plus one for the night but his attention is caught by another woman and leaves you with a broken heart

Warnings: angst, age gap, established friendship, unrequited love/one sided feelings, Pedro being kind of a dick, drinking

1.2k words

PART TWO is here

You bit your lips when you saw your own reflection in the mirror, twirling softly as you analyzed yourself in the high couture dress the stylish team had picked exactly for you. After weeks of insistence, Pedro finally convinced you to be his plus one in an event. You'd been close for a long time and you always made sure to support him, attending events and premieres with special invitations he gave you, but never walking down the red carpet. You both knew it would just send everybody the wrong idea, and as his popularity was really high, you all agreed it wouldn't be a great idea to spark rumors and gossip, especially at how private he'd always been about his personal life.

However, after all the support you gave him, Pedro knew you deserved some of the glamour he was living and without exposing you to the media and all the lack of privacy that could lead, he picked a smaller event, a magazine cocktail ou gala, something like that, you weren't so sure. One there wouldn't be a red carpet per se, but rather a gala with a real nice dinner for the guests and a nice party to enjoy afterwards. There would be photographers, sure, but once inside, there was no way to point fingers at whoever was each other's plus ones.

The man really wanted you to have the whole experience, so he required his team of stylists to treat you like a real princess. He knew you deserved it, not only for the friendship you two had, but also as a way of trying to forget the guilt he felt every time he thought of how he probably broke your heart.

Pedro wasn't blind, ever since you became really close friends, he knew the affection, the words and the actions you had towards him meant something else, but he always chose to pretend not to notice, after all, no matter how incredible you were, he didn't feel the same. Yes, you were gorgeous, you were smart and amazing, but he just didn't feel that sparkle, and the fact you were a lot younger than he was didn't count on your relationship's favor. He was able to act as if he didn't know your feelings for him grew each passing day, until you being a lot braver than he could ever be, decided to come clean and open up about how you really felt. He hated himself for being honest and telling you in the best way he could find your feelings were one sided. It took you a couple of weeks to let it sink until you were able to act normal around him again. You loved Pedro and you would rather be around him as only friends, keeping your hopes high than being away from him. It wasn't healthy, but that was the way. Pedro also got relieved when he saw he didn't lose you, just because he didn't love you romantically, it didn't mean he didn't love you as a friend and cherished your friendship.

Once you were ready, he knocked on the door and walked in, smiling big at the sight of you in your pretty dress and took a step closer

"You're gorgeous Y/N… a real princesa"

he said in his accent which made you blush. You also took a look at him up and down and nodded, approving the look that was picked for him

"You look great as well, Pedrito" you smiled at him, though the butterflies in your stomach never stopped, no matter how hard you tried to pretend they did.

He offered you his arm and both went to the car together.

The event went smoothly, way better than you anticipated, there was no red carpet and though the photographers snapped pictures of him, no one bothered you. You didn't pay much attention to the theme of the gala and nor the speeches delivered, you paid attention to Pedro and how well he got along with people, always friendly and bringing smiles to everybody's face when he was around.

By the time the party was going on, the music was loud, people were dancing and you and Pedro were not sparing any drinks from the open bar, it was your turn to leave the dance floor and get yourselves another drink, so you interrupted your dance and smiled at him before going to the bar. You sighed at the amount of people in front of you and had no other choice but to stand in line to pick your beverages. You knew you'd take a while to return, but once you had the two glasses in hand you didn't expect to see him dance with another woman. Hell, you didn't expect to see him dance like that with another woman. Her body was glued to his and it was obvious to everyone they were just humping each other than doing dance steps. His hand was on her hips as she moved against his body, leaving no space between them. You stopped dead on tracks, watching the grotesque scene, as a hole formed in your chest. There wasn't any other word that could describe it better. At the first sight it was an intense pang, jealousy, sadness and anger heated up your body and raced your heart, but then, no matter how you didn't want to watch the scene, you also felt unable to look away, you became numb. There was just an emptiness inside of your heart and then you were able to turn your back to them and head back for the table.

It took all your willpower not to cry, but you wouldn't give him or anyone the taste of shedding tears over that, let alone in a room full of people you didn't know. You just finished the two drinks and remained in silence, wondering if you should just go home or drink more.

You were about to head for the bar another time when Pedro rushed to you, he was panting and smiled at you clueless, there was a soft flush on his cheeks and he held his suit jacket strategically on front of his lap, probably hiding the tent he got there.

"Hey, Y/N… honey, listen, I told you I'd take you home but something came up…" he scratched the back of his head "so if it's alright if you, maybe you can go home on your own? Text me when you get there so I know you arrived safely, okay? We'll talk tomorrow" he said in a rush and left a quick peck on your cheek, before turning your back to you and walking to the woman he was dancing with, taking her by the hand and quickly disappearing out of the door.

Only when your Uber arrived, you finally allowed yourself to let those tears fall, not even when he straight up told you to your face he didn't love you back, you felt as rejected and humiliated as that night. You hated that woman without even knowing her and you hated him for doing that to you.

In the early morning, Pedro left you a text asking if you'd arrived home safely, to which you didn't reply, you just silenced your phone and tried going back to sleep, so you'd forget about everything that happened.

-----

A/N: I hope you liked it!!!

[genericpuff]

Ive read a few of your LO esaays (all of which are really well written!) But I was wondering something.

Many people talk about how Rachel loves the story Lolita, and has talked about it before, but nobody has ever shown screenshots. I was wondering if you had any or knew where to find any. This is just being curious, not doubting your statements

Ah so I actually responded to a comment just like this a while back on reddit with all the receipts (it was particularly someone who was claiming it was all "made up" because like you, they couldn't seem to get any proof of it, which is totally valid) so I just had to go and dig those back up haha

DISCLAIMER: I want to make it clear that a lot of people tend to run amok with these suspicious pieces of evidence towards Rachel either "thinking Lolita was a romance" or being a pedophile. I want to make it clear that I do not think any of this is proof towards either of these claims. I do not think that she blatantly thinks Lolita is a romance, or that she was trying to perpetuate pedophilia in any sort of way, just that she may have wanted to have her cake and eat it too by acknowledging the age gap but embracing it anyways as she does throughout LO. I think, at best, she's a terrible writer who's still using the things she liked when she was a teenager / young adult as inspiration without actually going back and re-analyzing those things with an updated 38-year-old viewpoint (as she does this with a lot of things, not just Lolita). Claiming that the following receipts is 'proof' of Rachel being some kind of sex pest / pedophile is at best not constructive at all for the real discussions to be had concerning LO's subtext, and at worst, a serious claim that can ruin someone's life if thrown around without cause. Let's please be responsible and level-headed in how we approach this topic.

Old MySpace + DeviantArt bios with her interests listed:

Her old art site where she labels herself as a "lolita vamp" artist:

Her intro post from a lolita-themed forum she ran:

She does express that it's not THAT kind of lolita, which I'd like to think she never intended in the first place, but it's really telling that LO still manages to be that kind of lolita in a lot of ways, to the point that there are many scenes in LO that feel a little too similar to scenes from the 1990's Jeremy Irons adaptation, such as seen here.

(the above image are song lyrics written about the book, Lolita)

Also despite Rachel saying it wasn't "that kind" of lolita, she still made it clear back in the 2017/2018 run of the comic on Tumblr that Hades is, indeed, a "grown ass man", and that Persephone is a teenager.

And of course the proof is in the pudding, the comic itself is well aware of Persephone's age:

(either Rachel has been using Apollo as a mouthpiece for criticism for years, or she seriously thought this was supposed to make Hades look like the better partner for Persephone because "look at how mean Apollo is" when... he's deadass spitting facts LOL)

As I mentioned in my disclaimer, I don't think Rachel herself is in any way a sex pest or a pedo or whatever you might jump to assuming. Rachel has a history of being inspired by things she watched when she was a child without ever actually going back to re-analyze it or ask herself if what she read was credible or real-

(this isn't the only proof there is of her behaving this way, there's also the fact that she was clearly a huge Disney fan as a child but never asked herself why those movies worked as a piece of written media).

So again, I think at best she's just sort of dated herself by not going to the effort of researching the things she was into when she was a child, she tends to just throw things in that she likes haphazardly without a single thought as to why they worked in the first place or whether or not they would work in LO. Though this is a bit of a saltier opinion, I think when it comes to the Lolita thing specifically, I have a feeling she never actually read the book, just sorta did that thing where she watched the movie adaptation from the 90's and assumed that counted as reading the book and so she put it down as her favorite book / Nabokov as her favorite writer.

But none of that speculation really makes much difference because the evidence is 20+ years old. What does matter is that despite her tastes being what they were 20+ years ago, they're still present in LO and it's not even subtle, there are so many times Rachel has outright said both within the comic and outside of it that Hades is a "grown ass man" and Persephone is a literal teenager. Her fans, of course, will still go to the effort of explaining it on her behalf ("they're gods! ageing isn't a thing for them!" "how old you are doesn't matter when you can be immortal!" "well she probably doesn't mean LITERALLY 19, just like, the god version of it..."), but you can't deny what's coming from the horse's mouth - Hades and Persephone are in a relationship based on an intentionally massive age gap. Regardless of what completely speculative parallels we can draw between H x P and that of Lolita's Humbert Humbert and Dolores using 20 year old MySpace bios as evidence, Hades and Persephone having a massive and intentional age gap is undeniable fact made canon by the creator herself, no matter how you try and slice it.

[kissesforsatoru]

Hi! Can I ask for some headcanons of Mikey and Izana taking an interest in the sibling of one of their gang members? After all it's a peak sibling behaviour to be given away to their brother's crazy boss like some sacrificial lamb.

MIKEY, IZANA x READER (separate)

₊˚⌗ mikey and izana taking an interest in one of their gang member’s sibling.

⤷ cw : general yandere themes, potential kidnapping??? implied forced relationships (i kept it vague, so it’s up to personal preference, really)

notes : i said i would start getting requests and i know, i know, it’s been a few days since then, but look! i got this done for you guys :) it is definitely not my best work though, so keep that in mind

mikey : your older brother so happened to piss mikey off, you heard vaguely something about giving up critical intel to a rivaling gang without even realizing he was doing it, your idiot brother. since it wasn't intentional, mikey decided to take care of it himself by coming to your house to try and settle a deal with your brother.

you heard the commotion and listened through the door their conversation, and just when it was getting a little bit interesting, a little bit heated too, you pressed to hard against the door not knowing it wasn't closed all the way causing you to fall right into the floor in front of mikey and your brother.

"oh? who's this, huh?" mikey asks in a low tone, one bordering on amused as he looks away from you and at your brother, smirking. you only stare dumbfounded, still stiff on the floor from such an embarrassing give away to your eves dropping while your brothers eyes widen as he looks between you and mikey nervously.

"mikey, they don't have anything to do with this. they were just listening in cause they don't know how to mind their fucking business, alright? this is between you and me," your brother chokes out, sounding desperate. you scoff offendedly at the jab out you being nosey; who the hell wouldn't be nosy when their brother got his ass into some trouble with a gang leader?

your annoyance with your brother dissipates when mikey bends down in front of you, his hand coming to grab at your chin, moving your face from side to side as he looks at you.

"you're pretty, aren't you?" he whispers more to himself than anyone else in the room, but you still heard him, and you gulp in anticipation, lips parting afterwards to breath in more air because you feel suffocated under his gaze.

"you know, i can forget all about your little mess up if you let me have your sibling..." mikey suggests, an almost threatening tone laced within his words. you inhale sharply as your stomach whirls and your heartbeat races. your brother gives you a sympathetic look, and you know then that there's no way getting out of this.

izana : it was chance that he met you, the younger sibling to one of his lower ranked gang members. you weren't supposed to be at the docks, but you followed your brother one night who had foolishly led you straight into the prying, lustful eyes of other gang members of whom you had the misfortune to catch the eye of. the commotion caught izana's attention, and from that moment you'd trapped yourself in a corner to be stalked and analyzed by a predator waiting for the right moment to pounce.

you really were like a deer in headlights that night, stumbling shyly into the center of the docks for all to see. your brother stood staring wide eyed at you, hissing about why the fuck you were there and how you should be asleep at home, but izana was quick to shush him.

"why the hell are you getting mad when you were the insolent fuck who got followed, huh?" he grits, glaring at your brother, daring him to say another word. when your brother bites his tongue and looks away shamefully, izana turns to you with a softer expression on his face.

"it's dangerous for you to be around here at night, you know? do you even know what kind of place you walked yourself into?" he asks, a lilt of amusement in his voice as he watches you curl into yourself, your hands grasping at the hem of your shirt tightly.

"i just-" you start, a nervous wobble in your voice as you realize the kind of situation you've found yourself in, "my brother- i just wanted to know what my brother was up to. i didn't know it would be, uh, this..." you trail off, taking a small step back when izana starts to approach.

"yeah? well, you're awful dumb, huh? now look at you, you're practically shaking like a fucking leaf," he huffs a laugh, "don't worry, pretty angel, not a damn person here will hurt you. i'll make fucking sure of that," he whispers the last part to you as he stops right in front of you, staring at you with his wide, intense eyes.

[xlillyle]

Why in my humble opinion MHA's ending regarding Midoriya Izuku is good and fitting and completes his storyline beautifully 🧵

Or: On what it means to be a hero.

I'm having a slight déjà-vu... oh well. There are lots of opinions on MHA and its ending, now that it is here, so after seeing some I felt compelled to shove my own to the board.

While it's impossible to disregard all other aspects of the ending as MHA is a rich story with many factors and subplots additionally to the main story, I will do my best to focus on my main point, which is: Midoriya Izuku's story is a good one and has been brought to a beautiful and very fitting ending that I like a lot. Here's why:

I have three (four) main points I will go through that are related to Izuku's story that imo were ended well:

One For All & what the quirk did for Izuku & how it ended.

Izuku's on-going career, resulting in him as a teacher.

Izuku's future career with the hero suit.

2 and 3 also both pick up one of MHA's main themes: What it means to be a hero.

So, let me start with One For All (OFA).

OFA is the quirk that kicks off this series because it's the quirk given by the Symbol of Peace All Might to our protagonist Midoriya Izuku, who has been quirkless but dreamt of being a hero. There are a few important things to note about OFA:

OFA is very strong; so strong that All Might, even after agreeing to give Izuku the quirk, makes him train. A lot. And hard. Because a regular body would not be able to handle OFA due to its nature.

We learn later that not only does it cultivate the raw strength of all its previous users, but that it holds their quirks too. And that these quirks got stronger with each generation of OFA user as well.

In fact, the major reason why OFA is so insanely strong when Izuku receives it, is the fact that All Might had been quirkless himself and therefore is the longest holder of OFA as the other users could not handle having their own quirk and OFA as additional one, passing away rather early.

OFA is also the quirk of Yoichi who is All For One's (AFO) brother who, in very simplified terms, have a long history and complicated, but hostile relationship with each other. Yoichi wants to stop his brother.

And, to make a very, over 400 chapters long story short: Izuku defeats All For One and he does so after countless of training and battles where he learned to make the best use of OFA and in the end by transferring OFA to Shigaraki/AFO.

Izuku has always understood OFA as a borrowed power and ultimately as one he'd be the last user of—OFA was a power used to defeat AFO and the fact that transferring it, ultimately what AFO had always desired, is part of what destroys him is very fitting.

OFA has given Izuku the chance to enter the world of heroes—and to help change it in the long run. He was able to open the people's eyes about society, he has shown that even after he gave OFA away, he would still fight and he has animated people to be heroic even if they aren't employed as heroes. He has added more meaning to the word "hero".

Izuku as teacher, part 1 of what it means to be a hero.

Now, I have seen a lot of criticism to Izuku ending up as a teacher and I am here to tell you—it's perfect for him! Izuku is someone who loves learning, he is genuinely enthusiastic about it, and especially about quirks—he loves geeking out about them, he spends his free time analyzing them and drawing out their potential, he is an amazing supporting character for children that need assistance in finding their footing in the world of heroes. Who can you learn better from than from someone who loves learning itself? He's got a contagious kind of excitement that sparks over to you.

And, he knows better than anyone how chasing after this dream of being a hero feels like, knows better than anyone how important people supporting you on the way is—because this is what he has received, back then, when he was in high school himself. Izuku has learned and experienced himself how important support from the people around you is, so he now wants to provide exactly that to the future generation of heroes. He wants to guide them on their path.

This career path also opens a new perspective that MHA has been trying to tell us for so long now: "Hero" isn't just who goes up and picks up this nice certificate and runs around the city with the "hero badge". "Hero" is more than that. Helping people, in any little way, is being heroic and makes you a hero. Teachers are heroes too. Izuku is being a hero, even now that he doesn't do "pro hero" work, because he is helping children—a teacher doesn't only educate, a teacher provides mental support to some extent too, and that goes even moreso for UA and other hero school teachers. Teachers protect their students as well. Izuku is, by all means, still a hero, just not a "pro" hero. He is a guidance to children and is dedicating his life to extend a helping hand to them and their dreams.

And he's happy with it.

Yes, it's also said that he misses the work of a pro hero—but that doesn't mean that what he is doing now is bad or "settling". He could have done SO many other things, but he CHOSE to pursue a career as a teacher—because this, too, is something he enjoys and finds happiness in. Both statements can be true. You can miss something you used to dream of all your life—it's very natural, even, but you can still be happy about where you ended in life right now.

Moreover, even if you don't agree with my take as "teachers" being heroes too, we see just a few panels later Izuku being a hero:

Which further emphasizes the point I and MHA have been trying to make: You can be a hero even if your job title isn't "hero". That's why civilians got statues too, that's why they are considered for the heroes ranking too. You can have a diverging opinion on how effective it is, but that is the point that is being made and the characters in-universe try to bring across too.

The hero suit and the conclusion on what it means to be a hero.

Truthfully, I don't know why people keep acting like MHA ended after Izuku's teacher career, because we have a conclusion that even traces back and argues back against anyone who doesn't agree with my points about him being a teacher and still a hero. And, more importantly, it brings the full manga into a perfect circle:

Because remember what the manga opened with: Can you be a quirkless hero?

And in so many ways across all these 430 chapters, but now even in the most literal sense of itself, MHA is telling you: YES. Yes you can! It shows us that you can be a hero without a quirk because anyone can lend someone freezing or wounded a t-shirt and anyone can reach out their hand to someone who is lost and anyone can sprint to catch a stumbling child.

But, also, our protagonist Midoriya Izuku, who is quirkless and had lived his dream at the age of 15-17 after borrowing a quirk, now is only starting his dream again at the age of 25: He can be a (pro) hero again and that although he doesn't have a quirk.

Yeah, it's expensive and not yet affordable for the average quirkless guy. But that's not the point of the story, because we started with asking "Is it possible at all?" and were first deluded into thinking the answer is "No.", but MHA is here to tell you: Yes, you can be a hero. There is most certainly an argument to made that now that the first one has done it, more might be able to follow in the long run.

So, what does it mean to be a hero?

I think MHA's message on that is: A hero is someone who steps up because they can, who helps people achieve a part of happiness because they have the chance to. You don't have to have a quirk or do grand gestures, you don't have to rely on the "professionals" to take care of it, at least not if you can make a difference already. There is no shame in a little heroic act because it doesn't make the act less heroic. There even is beauty in everyone being a little hero to each other every day.

Some last words about my feelings on MHA's ending.

This isn't really part of the thread anymore, but I still wanted to say this. This is purely personal, but, to me, what was really beautiful was: Midoriya Izuku didn't "peak" in high school, he had one peak in high school, but life is made of multiple "peaks".

Izuku is 25 and hasn't even seen all of the world yet and now he gets to live his dream again. Because you never know where life takes you and even if you may feel hopeless or lost and like you already experienced all the highs of lives, Horikoshi and MHA are here to tell you: There's always another peak yet to come.

MHA has this really beautiful ending that tries to reassure you that even though your teen years feel so intense and like the world is about to end and even though so many others your age may be so much "higher" on the "life achievements" scale, it doesn't mean that you are a failure or should lose hope because you can always catch up later, in your own pace, with your own wishes. Life isn't over at 17. Life isn't even over at 25. Your new dream might only just become true later than you expected.

[tri-pofdeath]

It's honestly bonkers to me how much tristamp changes Thematically about the story, like every driving factor for the characters/overall story is so completely different in a way that I'm like...unsure if I've ever seen an adaptation Do. I know ppl like to say like, oh it's actually a pretty faithful adaptation bc it references xyz little manga thing, and. Nah man. The same Things can happen and characters can have more or less the same Deal and Traits but if their motivations are different it's still going to be a completely different story.

Like, okay, take the GHGs- in trimax, they're a ragtag group working with Knives (mostly, rip midvalley lol) by choice all with their own reasons, and they're all outcasts of some kind as well. This meshes with the overall theme of this world being a harsh one that is unforgiving to outcasts, and how violence is the easiest way to take that power back (also backed up by Vash's pacifism leaving him riddled with scars). Meanwhile in tristamp the GHGs are all human experiments made by Knives and forced to go after Vash. In this story, he is someone who takes what was done to him and does it to others, and uses this to get what he wants- he does it to the humans he employs and he does it to the dependent plants at the end of the season. Meanwhile, trimax Knives makes alliances (however uneven and uneasy) with both humans (GHGs) and plants (he doesnt force the plants to fuse with him, he asks for their help) . These are!! COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS

Vash is cold as a child (and this is what keeps him from ending up like Knives) and is as powerful if not more powerful than Knives in trimax, whereas in Tristamp he's an underdog immediately who doesn't live up to the expectations of his species and is drawn to humanity through that. Livios story in the manga is about being failed so repeatedly that a Murder Cult is his best option, whereas in tristamp it's about trying to protect and preserve the family he's found for himself. Elendira goes from being a trusted and powerful ally of Knives who is again, like all of the GHGs, a notable outcast (her transness is commented on many times much to her dismay) to ....a manifestation of Knives obsession with his trauma as a recreation of Tesla. They all have the same names and same concepts going into them but are fundentally so deeply different because of what their stories are About

And I'm not trying to say "tristamp is BAD because it's DIFFERENT". I'm sure u can infer i have a Preference here but what I'm trying to say is, these are apples and oranges that are both called oranges, and if you bite into both of them expecting them both to be oranges you will be disappointed (haha orange joke, haha apple jo-) I've seen a lot of people try to read/interpet Trimax through the lens of Tristamp and come out confused or just....wrong??? About a lot of things, or decide the issues they're facing w it are because Nightow is, idk, a bad author or something (stop this please i beg). If you really want to analyze these stories you truly cannot do it from within the framework of the other

[william-o]

I participated in the Seasons of Gensokyo Zine!

I'm back once again in a collaboration Gensokyozine to share a fic I've made for their zine! Last year I wrote two short poem pieces but this year I did something I rarely do and wrote a whole short story!

You can read my piece on its own on ao3 here! But I highly recommend looking and reading all the amazing pieces this new zine has to offer!

I have quite a bit to talk about for this piece I wrote, it's been a journey! If you're interesting keep reading below!

So I knew there was going to be another event like this this year but I had no idea what the theme would be until the announcement was made. When I heard it was going to be based on seasons it was actually pretty tough figuring out a story revolving around that. I was also determined to write more than just a poem this time around so it had to be somewhat substantial.

Thankfully in the application where we had to pitch our idea there were a few topic examples provided, one of which involved using a story involving cicadas. So I started to do some research on cicadas, and what I found as a source of inspiration was a story about Cicadas by Lafcadio Hearn. Perhaps you've heard about him? Me being a *somewhat* superstitious individual saw it as a sign that this is what I was to write about for the seasons of gensokyo zine!

With further research I discover the existence of Dog Day Cicadas. They share the name of the shot type in the extra stage of Hidden Star in Four Seasons, they have folktale of how they're a sign of the end of summer and beginning of the next season, and strictly as a bonus for myself they're green and black just like me! It sounds like a story perfect to feature Yukari!

Now one of my biggest fears about writing a fanfic is completely misinterpreting a character. So I did all I could to try to get Yukari written just right. My idea was that it was most common in Gensokyo that people hated the sound cicadas make, except for Yukari. I was however advised that I needed some kind of reason that Yukari would like the sound cicadas make, or some kind of justification. Thankfully I found just what I needed in Chapter Five of Cage in Lunatic Runagate where Yukari states "The moon was unthinkably silent compared to the Gensokyo that was constantly noisy from bickering between humans and youkai. ~ Whether it was decay or pure heaven, I hated it. I needed the noise of the city." Close enough in my book to say that Yukari prefers noise over silence whether it be from people, a city, or cicadas.

Now when it comes to Son Biten, I didn't pressure myself as much to try and get her character right as I did with Yukari. She is one of the newest characters after all so there was less material to analyze her character. Although if I were to criticize myself about this fic, it would be that she's only there to be a plot point. I'll admit, I only really wanted her in here as a way to have the great sage equal to heaven and gensokyo and an actual sage interact. I will say I did a little bit of research to Son's personality, but I more or less just had her trying to do her best pretending to live up to the title she gave herself (Even though her character is more than just that).

And for good measure at the end I threw in a poem, this time in the tanka form (5-7-5-7-7). This was overall a lot of fun to write! I tried to format the story as a whole similar to a Hifuu story as well as the "A Beautiful Flower Blooming Violet Every Sixty Years" story. Speaking of Hifuu, I did throw in a little reference to Taboo Japan Disentanglement, did you happen to catch it? Well I hope you enjoyed my little story, I'm gonna go order some pizza and I'll see you again next year! (Hopefully!)

[buttercuparry]

I am mass tagging this because I think our criticism never reaches a larger part of the fandom. People can't comprehend why certain kinds of fan art styles are criticized. I acknowledge that in our enthusiasm to do so, we sometimes hurt fanartists ( in fact a few months ago a fan artist had deactivated and really that shouldn't have happened). So in this post I am trying to address the issue in the best way I know of. This post is about the way asoiaf artists tend to draw the Stark family. And because I am most interested in Arya I have talked about her in this meta. I have put the meta under cut so that if people aren't really interested in this, they can skip it.

I don't understand the genetics of a mixed race family of starks where only Jon/arya is dark skinned ( because Ned is imagined to be dark skinned) but Sansa/bran/Robb/rickon is pale or paler. Often, 80% of fanarts of every single fanartist follows this trend and when someone comments on it, and questions the fan artist on how and why this same style has become universal interpretation via implementing "death of the author" ( as one very recent defense puts it), the fan artist replies in a dismissive and defensive manner. The deflection of this very apparent problem ( and the implications of following the trend), is done by "uno reversing" the accusation of racism. This is absurd because when it is pointed out that something seems off with drawing the "plainer"Starks in a particular way, the intention isn't to single out and point fingers at one particular fan artist. One particular artist isn't doing this thing. The finger is being pointed at the trend of the style that dominates asoiaf fan art. Does this not strike anyone as odd that in 80% of these text interpreted fanart produced by most of the fan artists, the brown haired starks are darker than the red heads? The red heads who are said to be the prettier ones?

I am an Arya fan so i am going to talk about Arya here. Throughout the fandom at large whenever Arya Stark is talked of, it isn't done to analyze her motifs or themes or political importance. No speculation is made of a future that may position her in an office of considerable political power. No, fandom at large talks of Arya as if she were a brute, who kills people needlessly ( see raceforironthrone's meta on how the harrenhal guard didn't need to be killed), and is in need for constant supervision because she is volatile and therefore politically incompetent. There is also this running criticism of Arya Stans using too pretty face casts for her or yassifying her in fanarts, because to the larger fandom Arya is the ugly one. Now here's the thing, the slogan of let little girls be ugly isn't preached for Lyanna Stark. No one is saying let this dead teen be ugly even when Grrm in explicit terms has said Arya looks like Lyanna. No for some reason even when numerous characters talk of Arya looking like and behaving like Lyanna, the fandom at large only acknowledges that she has a spirit and sense of justice similar to Lyanna's. But they would bend over backwards to negate anything that says Arya looks like Lyanna. Why is that?

Then anything relating to Arya being married or having an heterosexual relationship and children born out of the relationship is mocked. I remember a poll where someone very cheekily gave an option specifying that Arya having non bastard kids with Gendry. I don't know if I had read it wrong but the way it was worded- using the term non bastard children...to me it personally seemed like a jab at what arya Stans speculate about Arya possibly marrying and having a family of her own.

I don't think there is anything woke or anything traditionally disruptive in trying to dismiss any and all possibilities of a GNC woman marrying a man and having kids. Sure on the surface, lumping on Arya various sexual identities other than heterosexuality and theorizing that she wouldn't want to have the whole husband/kids routine is very diversifying but if one is to go beyond the surface, then what is to be said about the hesitance of even considering that a GNC woman might enter a heterosexual relationship? What aesthetics prevent people from considering a GNC woman having a regular shmegular life? A GNC woman's sexuality perhaps isn't affecting her gender noncorfomity. ( this isn't to say that a fan can't see or project onto arya their own reality/identities that make them resonate with her, I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the fandom blatantly ignoring Arya checking Gendry out and how much throughout the text family plays a significant role in her storyline. Her one "no that's sansa" cannot dismiss the possibility of her wanting to have a family in her twenties, especially as someone in whose story family plays a core theme.) ( there is also another sensuous scene in the bathhouse with jaqen but uhh...yeah I am not really sure how to talk about it).

So all in all a girl considered ugly by the fandom is often treated as being sexless,and is considered a volatile hotheaded brute and this girl when drawn with her sister is drawn considerably darker. Does this not strike anyone as alarming? Also where there is a discourse on if Arya is ugly or pretty, there is no doubt that Sansa is the prettiest of all the Starks, even Catelyn. Why is it that in the interpretation or via death of the author', Sansa is never drawn darker than Arya? In a mixed family why is Sansa never shown with a darker skin than the rest of brown haired/ red haired starks, not once? Individual interpretation and yet it seems like these individual interpretations have been same all through these years. Now yeah, Lyanna is drawn with darker skin sure but then again her looking like Arya is dismissed and it seems like there is a tendency to connect her with Sansa. Any criticism in this exercise is once again mocked or dismissed.

[snickerzanddoodlez]

U got headcanons?

For Wordgirl? Yes, lots of headcanons!

-Wordgirl and Tobey are both autistic! A fairly common one, but I really like it. (An argument could be made for literally every Wordgirl character, but these are my big ones!)

Wordgirl is shown to have a lot of trouble with being too blunt, being unsure what to do in

For Wordgirl? Well, we see that she’s extremely fixated on both words themselves and Pretty Princess and Magic Pony Power Hour. 

She excels in language (which is due to her being Lexiconian, I’ll admit, but regardless) to the point where she isn’t allowed to compete in certain things anymore, while struggling severely in art related things. She also gets needlessly bothered by words being used incorrectly (any Learnerer episode is a good example of this), which is something I see exhibited by my sister a lot!

She *loves* collecting things for Pretty Princess, and in El Queso Mysterioso we see that she KNOWS IT WELL- even being able to identify the actor for “non-speaking toadstool 51” (or whatever it was) which is also very similar to my sister- she knows voice actors, episode numbers, etc like the back of her hand, it’s almost uncanny (and I mean that in the best way possible)

She’s also shown to have a “different” sense of humor in a way, often being the only one to laugh at her own jokes- and as well as this, she seems to have a hard time “people-ing” sometimes (especially in ways that other characters don’t). She seems to have a hard time holding back her reactions / being “tactful” at times, shown especially in the episode “Judging Butcher”- in my opinion, anyways.

I think the social things specifically could in some situations be defended by “well, Lexiconian culture is different!” but she barely grew up on Lexicon so I don’t think it works.

As far as Tobey, well, I over-analyze every scene he’s in- speaking or not- just because I love him that much, so uh…some of this is more background-y stuff!

In Tobey’s Playground Calamity, he’s shown to cover his ears when the rest of his class claps- “sensory overloads” are common in those on the spectrum and as someone who suffers from those, I absolutely relate 😭 

As well as this, in “Mobot Knows Best” he’s shown to be overwhelmed when Becky and Violet invade his personal space, which is normal, but he seems somewhat distressed / nervous as well as confused, which makes it seem a little different.

He’s also….extremely fixated on robots, which are certainly his special interest (“Special interests are frequently developed by individuals with autism spectrum disorder, expressed as an intense focus on specific topics.”). His room is shown to be entirely robot themed, and he’s always thinking about them, seemingly-

He, as well, seems to have issues socializing. In a scene from “Trustworthy Tobey”, when he’s shown borrowing a book from Tobey, he seems a bit…”tactless”, for lack of a better word(girl), and his bluntness doesn’t seem to be out of carelessness as much as ignorance.

He’s shown to be very blunt and kind of (heavy quotes here) “different”, so….them’s my two cents!

Kid Math is also autistic but I don’t feel the need to defend that one

-Beau canonically loves birdwatching, so I like to imagine he used to have a pet bird named “Chica”! (This is specifically because I once doodled the following stupid interaction:

Beau, holding up a bird: “And this is my pet bird Chica!”

Tommy: “Like from FNAF?”

Beau: “get out of my house”

-Tommy is Seymour Smooth’s son and has been sent onto May I Have a Word as a spy. Belle Stunning is his mother because the layers of drama that adds makes me laugh.

-Scoops’ favorite musical is Newsies.

-Tobey tried to force himself to just latch onto Victoria instead of Becky, which is part of why we see him hanging out with her so much in “Kid Math 1&2”, but he quickly realized that she didn’t like him and he didn’t even like her.

-Kid Math has a crush on Violet. Just look at their little interaction and the foot-kick he does in the Kid Math episodes after talking to her!

-Dr. Two-Brains loves the movie Ratatouille and cries every time he watches it. His Henchmen like the Barbie movies, and Dr. Two-Brains berates them for watching them (but secretly likes a few of them).

[somethingpersonarelated]

Another No More What Ifs Analysis

Okay, so... between wanting to analyze this and Our Light, and the kpop posts that I'll be doing that overlap with this. This blog will turn into Persona Music Analysis hour. Long post. Heavy spoilers for P5R, Proof of Justice, and Mementos Mission. BEGIN!

Let's begin with some context for the song. I think this is crucial to understanding why it is associated with Akechi's character. If you're familiar with this, you can skip to the lyrical analysis! The best analogy is that Beneath the Mask is to Akira as NMWI is to Akechi, in my opinion. Proof of Justice was an OVA released with the P5 anime (in May 2019) a couple months before the release of Persona 5 Royal in Japan (October of the same year). This OVA is centered around the relationship between Akira and Akechi. Specifically, Akira's grieving process as he goes through the places where they used to meet to find clues about the phrase "Proof of Justice" which was written in the Leblanc crossword. The Jazz Jin, as noted by Muhen here, is a place where Akechi would typically go alone. He also notes in confidant rank 4 that it wasn't necessarily a place that he was keeping secret, but that he never brought people around there since it was his personal space to reflect. As we'll examine, the content of the lyrics is too specific to not be related to the story, and there aren't any other characters or themes I could think are as associated with the song as Goro Akechi. Just wanted to clear this up first, as for some it's not entirely clear why the song is specifically Akechi's (since it's not explicitly stated, and the lyrics are hard to catch while you're playing through normally).

Lyrical Analysis

people come and they go some people may stay with you though I am all alone tonight and I kept on asking myself questions

The very first line is one of the easiest to dissect. Goro, since the death of his mother, has had few stable figures in his life, whether it is his parents, family, or friends. This also extends to his line of work as a celebrity detective, as he is kept so busy that there are very few people he sees on a regular basis, at all. He notes in the second confidant rank (if you choose to ask if he has no friends) that he doesn't have people that he chooses to spend time with. [I chose this option on my last play through and remember it but I can't find the dialogue anywhere].

The doubt that grows in this verse comes from the second line. He is taken by surprise that there is someone he is giving thought to for more than a couple seconds at time. Someone he is... to some degree choosing to spend time with even though he is doing it for the mission. At first, to investigate the Phantom Thieves identity to prevent them from interfering in his revenge plot, and then to lure Akira into a death trap. Tying it back to the first line analysis with the third and fourth line, this dissonance has put the first example of his doubt in this song.

Conceited I was at time I never really doubted myself But tonight got me thinking about it all if I am the fool or what not

There is a self-awareness that Goro always has about his personas (in the metaphorical sense). Goro kind of knows that he's arrogant and it was not ever something that bothered him. Even his character flaws will not get in the way of his plan, even if those flaws are just his humanity peeking through. There's a longing in Lyn's delivery of the last two lines here. He's stumped as to why he feels this way and the inner conflict makes him pause more than he is comfortable with.

"If I am the fool or what not." This line, is literally perfect, the double meaning is just ugh! We'll see this idea again near the end of the song, but I want to take an opportunity to talk about it now. For two years, Goro was the only Persona-user he knew, so he had no reason to believe anyone would ever stand a chance against him. Not only is he angered at himself for allowing Akira to get close to him and cause these doubts but he's also questioning what his role was.

I do not regret with my choices I'm rather proud ooh I know I won't change anything because I can only be me so

I had already written parts of this analysis like two months ago but I saw a post written by @vashtijoy here on how Mementos mission has a sneaky reference to this song. So check that out! It's something I never noticed.

Before Shido's palace, there's an acceptance of the circumstances in this line, that he has to do it regardless of what he may think because he has a goal. Throughout the third semester, we see an Akechi that is alive and tried to deal with the consequences of his actions before Maruki took that opportunity away from him. But he does not show remorse for what he did, that it was the only path he could have chosen with the information he knew.

How can I be so sure? at a crossroads I'm afraid too But I can't let fear get the best of me Someone once said burn my dread babe

This verse... this verse makes me wanna cry. I cannot even lie to you. The direct statement that there is fear behind the fact that he doesn't want to kill Akira and the acknowledgement in the last two lines that one of them has to end up dead. That he is also acknowledging that Akira must also be fearful, by playing with fire through continuing to lead the Phantom Thieves. The doubt is consuming him in this verse. The crossroad offers two choices, one where he sacrifices himself for Akira and one where Akira no longer is with him. The reference to Persona 3 really carries the weight here with this theory. I would explain more but I only spoiler tagged for P5R so we move.

Who knows what tomorrow holds? just wanna live my life the way I want what fills up my soul is passionate music that makes me want to sing

The first line, to me, reads that he's given up on allowing himself to think if there's another way to resolve his doubts. That there's another path where neither of them die and that it can't exist. He wants to live freely, which is what he thinks is assured once his revenge plan is complete. In another world, maybe it was one where both of them could be together without this chasing them. The last two lines I don't have a particular opinion about, but I think they add to the fact that Goro has given up entertaining other possibilities.

my story will be starring me just like yours ooh ooh who knows when will it end what matters most is how you bring joy to life so

I think about confidant rank 8. It feels written all over this line, and we come back to an idea that was present with "If I am the fool or what not." I think there's a bit of that 'hatred' that he talks about, that he's resentful that Akira story will end differently than his own. He's waiting for the day to come and resolves by centering himself, that once his goal is achieved, that he will achieve joy for the first time in his life. Refusing to acknowledge that Akira was showing him companionship that brought him happiness for one last time.

The Theme of Doubt

One of the things I have had trouble defining is what the doubt Goro is referring to is, or why the doubt is there. It's one of the things that is left in the air. Speculating here a little more than I usually will try to: the doubt stems from the fact that Goro is enjoying his time with the protagonist and is unsure what that means. In terms of what he is doubting, I'm not sure, I don't think he is referring to his plan, but rather the fact that Akira is caught up in it at all. His resolve to complete his plan never changes, but he wishes he could choose to leave him out of this. This tracks with a line stated by the SIU director which implies that some of the cruel actions carried out by the conspiracy/antisocial force by Akechi are not entirely his idea. He still carries them out without hesitation, but he never thinks of them himself. One of the reasons I wrote out this analysis was to see if there were any opinions on what this part of the song meant since I have trouble wrapping my head around it myself.

Goro, in base game and third semester, never shows any form of doubt or regret to the protagonist directly, only brief flickers and implications from dialogue. But this song is layered with it and bashes you in by telling you that it is what he is struggling with most when it comes to executing his plan. It's what nags at me even though I've tried to analyze this song a couple of times on my own.

IN CONCLUSION: I obviously hate goro akechi. (lying is fun)

[sneezypeasy]

Watsonian vs Doylist Analyses - A Couple Points of Clarification

I just want to clear up a couple of misunderstandings I may have unintentionally contributed to in my previous references on the subject:

1. There can be multiple explanations (multiple Watsonian explanations, multiple Doylist explanations, multiple of each etc) of a given scene or character portrayal or plot point, and people can accept more than one explanation at the same time. It's just uncommon for people to accept or present multiple explanations at once because that's kind of how people people.

2. Doylist takes aren't inherently "better" than Watsonian takes, and vice versa. People use both to engage with the text in different ways and for different purposes. Watsonian logic is fun for roleplay or immersing yourself into the story, and I imagine a lot of fanfic writers often start from a prompt like "I wonder what would happen next if I took x character and then put them in y scenario". Doylist logic is fun if you like examining the text from a more "meta" standpoint, trying to see what purpose various narrative choices serve (or undermine). Neither angle is intrinsically a more valid way to engage with fiction, and you might enjoy doing one thing one day and another thing the next - with different texts or even with the same text.

In litcrit, because I like to pick my brain on the subject of "what would have made for the best story here", I tend to be more interested in analyzing theme, character arcs, setup and payoff etc, which are Doylist interpretations. Some people focus a lot on authorial intent, which is also a Doylist perspective (just a different one). Some people like to try to get into the heads of the characters they're analyzing and discuss ideas like "what choice would make the most sense for x character given who they are as a person". That's a Watsonian take. There are contextual and individual reasons why some explanations may resonate with you more than others some of the time or even most of the time, but they're really apples and oranges. Which one you prefer will likely vary depending on the type of question being posed and what scope seems to be the most appropriate for it - and people are always going to have different opinions about that too... because that's how people people.

Of course, the opinions I personally care enough about to splash all over the internet are going to be opinions I hold with very strong convictions, which is why I can come off quite aggressive about them, but they're still just opinions and there's no such thing as "one true explanation", whether that's Watsonian or Doylist. If I make a Doylist argument and I dismiss someone else's rebuttal on the basis of it being Watsonian, that's not because Watsonian takes are intrinsically weaker, it's just because you generally can't use a Watsonian take to rebut a Doylist one or vice versa. You need to engage with someone's point in order to counter it, and you can't generally do that when you completely change the scope of the question, which is what tends to happen when a Watsonian perspective and a Doylist perspective comes into conflict.

(Of course, you can argue that a Doylist scope is situationally stronger than a Watsonian one or vice versa, but that's a different argument and usually context-dependent lol - point is just because a Doylist answer might fit one particular prompt much better this time, doesn't mean all Doylist answers will always trump all Watsonian answers in every single context all of the time, and that's not even accounting for the fact that you're never going to reach unanimous agreement about these sorts of things anyway.)

I hope that clears things up 😊

[ewingstan]

uhh. whoever your favorite character is for worm bingo. also victoria

Oh shoot, who actually is my favorite worm character? Shit, let me check my best-worm-character shelf:

Hmmmmmmmmmmnyeah I think Rachel can graduate to my best-character-in-general shelf

God so close to a bingo. Can't call a young teenage girl a milf though.

Christ, what can I say about her that I haven't said already? Rachel is the reason Taylor's story works. Worm as a story would not work without her. Everything excellent in the story is encapsulated simply and brutally in her. She's what's being talked about free of any sci-fi framing, a straightforward example of how a normative society grinds up those who cant fit cleanly within it and then hunts and beats them for the audacity of living in the margins they've been pushed to. No need to dress it up in metaphor, shes not one for costumes.

(The "inconceivable" here mostly means "trying to wrap my head around why her costume worked so well for me ended up helping me analyze a lot of what worm was doing with costumes and genre expectations," as I talked about here. Maybe the opposite of what inconceivable means, but it felt appropriate.)

Heyyyyy we gotta bingo! Kind of stretched some of them, but wildbow certainly didn't think we knew enough about her or else he wouldn't have gone on to write Ward. Inconceivable in her case is me still not getting how her metal hood doesn't fall. The "ideas conveyed in arc are underrated" is in regards to two things: first, I feel like the theme of bodily autonomy, medical conceptualizations of what the body is supposed to be like, and idealized family bonds all congeal together really amazingly in the guts and glory arc in ways I haven't seen talked about enough. Secondly, while a lot of Ward's themes regarding justice, redemption, and mental wellbeing have left me cold so far, its handling of "the strict structure and expectations of the family are incredibly harmful and beyond salvaging" as a theme has been spectacular. Its been well developed across several characters' stories: Tristan and Byron being stuck in each other's context, Rain being unable to cleanly detach from the Fallen, fucking everything going on with Kenzie, etc. And Victoria's horrible no-good very bad family life sets up that theme to situate the other character's stories, her own relationship with breakthrough, and her inability to find a new way forwards in life.

[snakeeyesdraws]

Overly Analyzing Fortune Street character dialogue (Mario and Luigi)

So I've spent a lot of time browsing Mario wiki pages (organized easy to read information about a current hyperfixation makes for great destressing material) and one of the pages I've been really into is the quotes from Fortune Street (2011)! I've been thinking about talking about and discussing some of the character dialogue from it, since some of them actually have some fun character tidbits, and after seeing this post from pianokantzart (please go check out their stuff!) I decided to go ahead and do so!

Today we'll be focusing on Mario and Luigi's dialogue, and dialogue that involves them! If you would like to view these quotes for yourself, you can do so here and on the character's quote pages. I'll mainly just be highlighting some of the fun ones under the cut!

Mario

"Brr! This ship gives me the creeps! Best to win fast so I don't have to hang out here too long!" (The Ghost Ship)

This is an area-specific dialogue line for the Ghost Ship, and I find the implication that Mario is a bit creeped out by ghosts/haunted places, seeing as Boos/ghosts are an enemy that have notably defeated him numerous times via the Luigi's Mansion series.

"Wow! What a fancy palace! But I still think Peach's Castle is the best…" (Castle Trodain) "Ha ha! I'm gonna do well here. Peach's Castle is like a second home to me!" (Peach's Castle)

Simple but cute!! He thinks of Peach's Castle as a second home and feels safe there!! This is extremely important to me

"Dooo-doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo! Hey, I love this tune!" (Super Mario Bros.) "Doooo--doo-doo doo-doo-doo! That sure is a catchy tune I've got stuck in my head! Oh, sorry, is it my turn already?"

He also really loves the Super Mario Bros. theme! The theme that is associated most with him and Luigi ;w; I like to imagine he hums its to himself whenever he's working

To Yoshi: "I'll help you find your cookies, Yoshi - just give me a second to brush these cookie crumbs out of my mustache!" Yoshi to player: "Yoshi! Yoshi! (Nice job on that promotion, (player's name)! Here, have some cookies to celebrate!)" Mario's response: "Why no cookies for Mario? Can't I have just one?"

There's also a running theme of him wanting Yoshi's cookies which I think is so funny. The Legendary Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom cannot turn up a tasty snack. Some people seem to push back against the idea that Mario enjoys eating?? But I think it's such a cute characteristic of his (and the fact that he basically admits to Yoshi's face that he swiped his cookies jsadjkkdlsa)

"Not to look a gift Yoshi in the mouth, but I was hoping for more coins..."

Mostly highlighting this one for the substation of "horse" with "Yoshi" in this quote. Fun little world building tidbit of Yoshi's being the Mushroom Kingdom's horses.

After player warps: "Ever get a stomachache when you warp, (player's name)? That happens to me sometimes!"

Even though he presumably uses the warp pipes all the time? Interesting... (side note but because I'm movie brain pilled, you could potentially read into it more here for that verse 👀)

After landing on a Take-a-break square: "Heroes never take the day off! What am I supposed to do with myself - go to the beach?"

Bro that is not a good mindset let yourself take vacations!

"Thank you for your patronage! You're very generous, (player's name)... Just like me!"

There's a lot of playful lines like this from Mario, I like when we get to see his competitive side and how he has a teeny bit of an ego (he's still overall humble and kind, but he knows he's the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom)

After player buying his circus tent: "I can't believe you took over my circus, (player's name)! Didn't you like my fireball show?"

FIREBALL SHOW???? HE PUTS ON A FIREBALL SHOW????? I am desperate for any crumbs of reference to Firebrand (even though he likely used a Fire Flower for this but still)

To Luigi: "Hey Luigi! Stick with me, Bro, and we'll win this one together!" Luigi's response: "You got it, Mario! We'll show (player's name) some real Mario Bros. teamwork!"

To player: "Nice work, (player's name)! But Luigi and I aren't going to give up quite yet!" Luigi's response: "Right you are! The Mario Bros. are just getting warmed up!"

THEM........ 🥺💖 WE LOVE TO SEE THEM WORKING TOGETHER

To player: "Psst! Hey, (player's name)! Princess Peach is watching, so I'm afraid I just can't lose to you today!" Peach's response: "Mario, I heard that! But don't you worry - I'm the one who's going to win!"

Dude is SMITTEN for Peach and it shows. He wants to impress her! I do like that we get to see that Peach is also competitive and playfully rolls with it

To player: "Keep going, (player's name)! It's way too early to give up!" Peach's response: "Hey, Mario-what gives? You seem like you're more concerned about (player's name) than you are about me!"

That said, Peach clearly likes having his attention on her LMAO it reminds me of the scene in Paper Jam where M&L Peach visibly got a bit jealous of Mario getting blushy and flustered over Paper Peach

Bowser to player: "You're in luck! If you beat me, you automatically get to become one of my minions! That's the law around here!" Mario's response: "Don't listen to him, (player's name)! I've beaten him a million times, and I'm no minion!"

Almost all of Bowser's quotes that invoke a response from Mario play out like this; Bowser provokes or taunts the player and Mario immediately snaps back or defends the player. It's fun to see a version of their rivalry here, albeit one in a much more relaxed and lower stakes setting. They will get extremely competitive even when it's just a game for fun

Bowser Jr. to player: "You're just being a big show-off, (player's name)! I'm NOT impressed!" Mario's response: "Don't be jealous, Bowser Jr.! Sure, (player's name) is doing great - but you're not doing bad yourself! Try to stay focused!"

While Mario will do the same if Junior taunts the player, here we can see him being encouraging towards him. It's a cute little moment! I feel like Bowser's Fury enjoyers will like this quote lol

Peach to Mario: "Hmph! Why does (player's name) have all the luck? Mario! I order you to go out and gather me some gold coins!" Mario's response: "Sure thing, Princess Peach! But, umm..how?"

I mean it when I say dude is smitten. One order from the princess and he's ready to drop his competitive streak to go fetch some coins for her LMAO

Toad to player: "I'm impressed with your business acumen, (player's name)! I wish I was more like you… Mario's response: "You can be, Toad! Just keep up the hard work!"

Friendship between Mario and Toad can be so personal, actually... and more encouraging and sweet Mario! Never forget that this man is kind and caring before anything else

To Birdo: "Ouch! Birdo, you're charging me an arm and a mustache! That's precious gold I'm never going to see again!"

AN ARM AND A MUSTACHE HE SAYS............ this man is a DORK

To Bowser Jr.: "I'm surprised you're charging folks so much to shop here, Bowser Jr. ! Just like your daddy, you are!" To Bowser Jr.: "Bowser Jr.! You're just like your daddy. Always getting in my way!"

He'll be encouraging and overall gentler with Junior, but it doesn't change that fact that Junior still gets in his way a lot JADSKK

To Donkey Kong: "Hey, Donkey Kong! Would you mind if I paid you in bananas? Ha ha ha! Oh, I bet you get that joke all the time!" To Donkey Kong: "You sure know how to roll that die, Donkey Kong! Almost as well as you roll a barrel!"

oh my god he's so obnoxious sometimes you KNOW this man is telling dad jokes even if he's not a father. And it's a small hint towards the DK and Mario rivalry that started in the old games!

To Luigi: "Oh, Luigi! Can't you give me a special discount or something? I thought we were the bestest of buddies!"

the bestest of buddies I could cry.... it's a very sweet sentiment, even though clearly it's said in a bit of teasing tone here. I now HC that Mario calls Luigi his bestest buddy whenever he wants something from him

To Peach: "Looks like I need to start picking some flowers for your victory bouquet, Princess Peach!"

THIS. MAN. IS. SMITTEN.

To Waluigi: "I hate to fraternize with my brother's nemesis, but it looks like we're going to have to work together! Let's swap shops, Waluigi!" To Waluigi: "What!? Waluigi's about to win!? I don't think Luigi is going to be too happy about that…"

Interestingly, we get to see the Waluigi / Luigi rivalry acknowledged by someone outside of them. I do like the implication that out of principal, Mario avoids anyone who has beef with Luigi.

Luigi

”Eek! No one told me there would be gh-gh-ghosts here! I wish I'd brought my Poltergust 3000 with me.” (The Ghost Ship)

LUIGI'S MANSION REFERENCE!! An obvious one, but it makes me happy whenever it's referenced regardless

"Leaping lasagna! This place is even bigger than Peach's Castle!" (Castle Trodain) "This place is wackadoodle! It's turning my brain into spaghetti!" (Good Egg Galaxy)

HE DID IT HE SAID THE FOOD JOKE THINGS!!!!

"Looks like my bro really cleaned this place up! I hope they gave him the key to the city!" (Delfino Plaza)

this one is just, so pure and cute???? supportive Luigi confirmed??

To player: "Hey, (player's name)! I'm Luigi! Oh, you've heard of me? I'm so flattered I think I'm blushing!"

This is also so cute and a bit sad - he thinks it's amazing that someone has heard of him enough to know his name outside of just "Mario's little brother"

"This game has got my mustache all mussed up! Where's my little comb?"

Implying he carries a comb with him specifically for brushing and cleaning up his mustache! Which makes total sense, considering these other lines of dialogue from him;

"I take a quick time-out to trim my mustache, and someone buys up almost all the shops! What gives?" "Ack! One shop left? All I did was take a minute to trim my sideburns… I need to stop doing that!" "Who bought up all the shops? Guess I was too busy grooming the 'stache to pay attention to the game…"

A lot of people interpret Luigi as very neat and tidy and almost obsessively keeps himself cleaned, and this dialogue most certainly solidifies that! People pointed out in the recent film that Luigi's hair is also a lot neater than Mario's, which lends to this idea. Apparently more than once he's been so focused on grooming his mustache and hair that he's missed something important lol

"It's not so bad being in second place. As a matter of fact, it feels just right! I wonder why that is…"

Ohhhh buddy,,,,,, the eternal player 2 mood LOL

"One day I'm gonna dominate this district. Then everyone will see who's the real brains behind The Mario Bros.!"

JDSJKASDLDASKLA this is such a sibling quote. Though it is interesting considering many people consider Luigi the more strategic of the two

After player lands on a Take-a-break square: "You've been working so hard lately, (player's name). Promise me you'll take it easy on your day off!"

A lot of characters will gleefully remark that they can advance while you're on a day off when you land on a Take-a-break square, but Luigi seems to genuinely want you to take it easy and I think that's neat

To player: "Did Mario teach you to play this game, (player's name)? 'Cause you've definitely got some sweet moves, just like him!"

CUUUUUUUUUUTE Luigi thinks the world of his brother, so of course if you impress him, he will compare you to him!

After player builds a tax office: "Built yourself a tax office, (player's name)? That was a calculated move! Ha ha ha ha!"

"You got any hobbies, (player's name)? I'm into lots of things: golf, tennis, basketball, beating you at this game…"

DORK I am going to lovingly push him into a locker. This was the blueprint for "You just got a-Luigi'd!"

After building an estate agency: "I bet Princess Daisy'd be really impressed if I owned a few more shops! Help me out, estate agency!"

One of the most favourite moments for Luigi/Daisy enjoyers. Because it really is cute! He just wants to impress her!

Going bankrupt: "Bankrupt!? I'm gonna get laughed right out of the Mushroom Kingdom!"

highlighting this one just because every time I read it all I can think of is "they're beating my ass in the QRTs"

Daisy to player: "If you win, (player's name), maybe I'll invite you on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Sarasaland!" Luigi's response: "Wow, what a prize, (player's name)! I wish I was in your shoes!" Daisy to player: "Yay! You got your salary, (player's name)! I guess that means you'll drop by my shop soon, right?" Luigi's response: "Wow, Princess Daisy! You're good…"

THIS. MAN. IS. ALSO. SMITTEN. I find it so funny that both Mario and Luigi are so head over heels for their respective princess GFs.

Waluigi to player: "Hope you're comfortable in last place, (player's name), 'cause that's where you belong!" Luigi's response: "Knock it off, Waluigi! I'm pretty sure you're the one who belongs in last place!" Waluigi: "Luigi, (player's name)… Is there anyone they DON'T let into this thing?" Luigi's response: "Ha ha! You're one to talk, Waluigi! How did YOU get on the guest list?"

LUIGI, KILL!!!!

More of the Waluigi / Luigi rivalry, and it's interesting to see someone who is usually more timid and soft spoken like Luigi be so confrontational and angry addressing someone who is clearly getting on his nerves. Waluigi seems to be one of the few people who can really push his buttons like that.

Mario to player: "Nice job, (player's name)! You're a real hero - just like Mario!" Luigi's response: "I wish Mario would call me a hero sometime…"

The post I linked before delves a bit more into this, but Luigi has a couple of dialogue lines about wishing Mario would think more highly of him. It doesn't come across as out of spite or disdain; it just reads as a younger sibling wishing he could impress his big brother who he looks up to. But as we all know, Mario clearly thinks the world of Luigi and he even shows it in this game;

Mario to Luigi: "Great job, Bro! Ha ha! You're my hero!"

They care about each other and I will hear NO arguments.

[lowkeychenle]

Enchanted [NJM] (1)

Description: As the crown princess, you shouldn't be entertaining any matches that couldn't benefit your kingdom. Love is not an option, not a choice, and unfortunately for you, your betrothed's royal guard seems to be catching your attention more than he ever could.

Genre: Eventual smut/fluff/angst (this is more of an introductory chapter y'all)

(this is also unedited so do with that what you will)

Word Count: 2,666

Warnings: Mature themes, mentions of death

Pairing: Na Jaemin x Reader x Mark Lee (Lee Minhyung) (mentions of Jisung, Haechan, and Chenle)

Enchanted Mini-Masterlist | Requests

“Your Highness.” Minhyung bows before you, eyes closed as his onyx-colored hair falls in front of his forehead. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

You sit in your throne, posture impossibly straight, staring down at the man before you. He’s everything they told you he’d be. Handsome, kind, and gentlemanly. You should be thrilled he was advertised correctly, but your face stays blank.

“Your Majesty.” You nod in response.

While you’re the Crown Princess of your kingdom, Minhyung is King. You stand, heels gently clicking against the marble flooring as you approach him. His eyes flick upward, his face beautifully chiseled as he holds an arm out to you.

“Allow me to guide you.”

Guide me, you think, inwardly scoffing. As if I’d ever need anyone to guide me along my own kingdom.

The throne room is shrouded with gold, the otherwise white interior shining brightly through drawn curtains. Even though you hesitate, you take his arm and allow him to lead you away from the comfort of your superiority. In this room, you are more. Out there, you are nothing.

Three guards stand by the door, standing pin straight. The tallest of them is only that by a smidge, his face blank and staring forward. He catches your attention first. Not in the way guards usually do, as you analyze all of them to make sure you are never led astray by an impersonator. Something about him makes you pause. He feels familiar. At the sight of him, your heart stops. The armor covers most of him, but you don’t pretend not to notice his deep cedar gaze averting away from you every time you look up.

“Don’t let them worry you,” Minhyung mutters, the closeness of his proximity causing you to jump.

“Worried? Me?” You scoff, brushing your hair over your shoulder. “You have a lot to learn about me if you think this is worried.”

He smiles. “I do intend to learn, Your Grace.”

“You have three guards here,” you point out. “I wasn’t aware you’d need three in rotation for you.”

“You’re correct. I only need two. I brought along a third for your rotations. Not that I don’t trust your men, but I guarantee they are not like mine.” Minhyung gestures to the three of them. He starts with the one you already noticed. “Jaemin will be yours. As for Chenle and Haechan, they are with me.”

“I assure you, I do not need your protection.” Or Jaemin’s.

“I’m afraid I must insist,” Minhyung continues. “With our wedding mere weeks away, this is for the best.”

A small fire lights in the pit of your belly, your eyebrows furrowing as you nearly roll your eyes at his assumption. “King Minhyung,” you said. “Are you insinuating something?”

“I would never.” He gives a firm shake of his head. “Believe me when I say that. It would be wrong for me to come into your home and perpetuate lies. Jaemin will take good care of you, that I promise.”

The other two guards—Haechan and Chenle—share a quick glance. You pretend not to notice them, only to hone your attention on Jaemin. His hair is the color of coal, hanging like a curtain over his forehead. He wears no emotion, not even a single hint of being alive underneath the hard exterior. It makes you curious, no matter how much you know you shouldn’t think that way.

“Very well.” You give in begrudgingly, hoping this Jaemin will at least be good company.

“I’m glad we can agree.” Minhyung flashes a brilliant smile, hands clasped behind his back. “I have some business to attend to while I’m here, so I must be off. If I don’t see you again before the day’s end, it was a pleasure to meet you, Princess.”

“Enchanting,” you reply. “Truly.”

Despite the lack of feeling in your tone, the King before you flushes a slight pink. An odd thing for a king to do, in your opinion, but you’d let it slide. He’s going to be your husband. In a few short weeks, you’d be Queen of his kingdom and he’d be in line to be King of yours.

Minhyung leaves, Chenle and Haechan trailing after him. Jaemin stays put, rigid as a board, awaiting instruction. Whether from you or Minhyung, you couldn’t be sure.

“You may be at ease when it’s only me,” you say.

In the newfound emptiness in the room, your voice echoes along the brilliant dome encompassing you. Jaemin doesn’t move. You frown, taking a few slow steps toward him.

“It’s rude to ignore your Princess,” you mention.

His jaw tightens, but he continues to stare straight past you.

“Oh, so now you don’t want to look at me?” You let out a small hum of thought, a short laugh following. “Must you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He bows his head in respect.

“We’ll have to change that.” You brush off the skirt of your dress. “You know, you have to follow me everywhere.”

“I am aware.” Jaemin pauses, stealing a brief moment of eye contact.

“Has he instructed you to follow me into my bedroom?” You feign surprise, knowing Minhyung would never. “That’s a bit scandalous, isn’t it?”

“I’m to be stationed outside of your bedroom, Princess.”

“A shame, really.” You sigh.

His eyebrows furrow deeper, but that’s the only sign he heard what you said. Men are usually easier to crack than this, but Jaemin’s resolve is unwavering. As Princess, remaining pure is important. Purity, in your mind, is relative. How can someone be pure when they have awful thoughts?

Whether physical or mental, purity is a concept. Something created to bring you down while uplifting your male counterpart.

“I shouldn’t be speaking to you,” he mutters, averting his gaze once more. “Apologies, Princess.”

“You report to me, yes?”

No response.

“Ah, so you can only speak to Minhyung…” you trail off. “Hm.”

The longer you talk to Jaemin, the quicker you start to believe this is less of a marriage and more of a hostile takeover. How can Minhyung assign someone to watch you, but not allow them to speak to you?

Surely, you and Jaemin could be friends, right?

“As lovely as I’m sure you are,” Jaemin begins. “I’d prefer to keep my head attached to my shoulders.”

You almost audibly laugh. Minhyung seems harmless. When it comes to his guards, you’re sure the only thing they’d get is a slap on the wrist and a verbal reprimand. There are plenty of eligible women for Minhyung to marry, yet somehow, he ended up requesting your hand.

“If it makes you feel better, he’d at least need a few swings. He doesn’t seem all that strong.” You wait for the smile to form on his face, but it doesn’t.

“His strength is not relevant. You act as if he would be the one to behead me in the first place.”

“Well, if it’s Haechan or Chenle, they’ll need more strikes than Minhyung would.” You look down at your manicured nails, picking at the ends of them.

“He is your King.” Jaemin frowns.

Regardless of your conversation, he’s as still as a stone. He hasn’t moved a muscle since you began speaking to him.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Jaemin, was it?” You close the distance between you two, forcing him to look in your eyes as you finish your thought. “I don’t have a King. Nor do I need one, so you’d do well to remember he’s here because he needs me. Not the other way around.”

The angle of his jawline sharpens, and you know you’ve hit a nerve. These guards seem quite close to Minhyung. It makes you wonder if they’ve befriended their king, or if it’s just blind devotion.

At that moment, you decide you’re going to do your best to make his life hell incarnate. If he wants to take Minhyung’s side when he’s meant to be your guard, you wouldn’t make it easy for him. A game of cat and mouse, perhaps. Maybe you’ll make him chase you to the ends of the Earth, and you’ll be the most dangerous mouse in existence.

You reach up and trace a finger across his cheekbone. “You’re on my territory. Don’t think I won’t step on any snakes in my way.”

“Is that a threat?” he asks, wetting his lips with a quick brush of his tongue.

“Nothing of the sort.” You wave him off. “A lady doesn’t make threats. She makes promises.”

“And that’s what you consider yourself?” he quips. “A lady?”

You’re pleasantly surprised by his boldness. Not every man—especially not a guard, at that—would be able to go toe-to-toe with you and live to tell the tale.

“I do, in fact.”

“Does a lady attempt to seduce her betrothed’s guards?”

This has your head thrown back in laughter, hand clutching the necklace clasped around your throat. Seduction wasn’t exactly at the forefront of your mind, but if that’s what he wants, you’d certainly give it to him. The double standard of purity for women and straight up promiscuity for men would come to an end in your kingdom. You wouldn’t allow it.

“What’s your surname?” you ask, tilting your head after you calm down from your humor fit.

“Why?”

“Tell me your full name,” you command, ice shooting through your tone.

“Na Jaemin.”

“You’ll only hear me say this once, Na Jaemin, so listen closely.” You lean closer to him, watching him squirm beneath your weighted gaze. “Attempts are feeble. I attempt nothing. I succeed. Never underestimate me, for if I wanted you in bed, I’d have you there.”

Before he has the chance to respond, you whirl around and head toward the door. He lets out a deep exhale you’re sure he didn’t want you to notice, and he follows you as you make your way down the equally stunning hallways.

As night falls, Jaemin is still trudging behind you. It’s almost humorous, the way he follows you around like a lost puppy. Sure, it’s his job, his life’s duty, but it didn’t make it any less entertaining for you.

You had the freedom to choose certain aspects of your own life. Jaemin would never have that luxury. And if you continue to take him down the path you want, you’ll put him in more danger than you could possibly fathom.

If he were to ever lay a hand on you, even if he glanced in your direction for too long, he would die for your carelessness.

But chance is always a game you’re willing to play, especially when you’re not the one at stake.

You open your bedroom door, looking around the hallway to ensure no one else is around. He’s done fairly well at ignoring you thus far, but you weren’t done with him. Not yet.

“Goodnight,” he says, turning to face the opposite wall without another acknowledgement in your direction.

You smirk, walking into your grandiose room without closing the door behind you. The marble flooring is the same throughout the castle—white engrained with beautiful wisps of gold—but the walls in here were different. A faded pink, the same color it had been when you were a young girl. Without a nudge, there’s no way Jaemin would even sneak a peek at the interior. A king-sized bed took up the middle of the room, a canopy hanging off the edges of it.

You trace your fingers along the solid gold vanity, sighing rather loudly. “Jaemin.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“I require assistance.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I’m under strict orders not to enter your bedchamber.”

Strict orders. You’ve never wanted to roll your eyes harder.

“I will find a female to assist—”

“No.” It’s your turn to be firm. “You.”

“Then I guess whatever you need assistance with isn’t that important.” He clasps his hands together.

Truly, what you need isn’t dire. In fact, you don’t even need Jaemin at all. The game you want to play requires his attention, and you’ll do it in any way you possibly can.

“Do I need to disturb King Minhyung right now?” You test him, not waiting for a response before you continue. “It’d be a shame to interrupt whatever…important business he’s working on to tell him his guard is less than adequate.”

Before you know it, he’s standing in front of you, his dark eyes seeming to burn into your soul. He looks at you with an intensity you’ve had yet to experience. Something coils and turns in that deep gaze of his, but you can’t quite place it.

“How can I help, Princess?”

You turn around, dropping your hands to your sides. “Untie me.”

A small sound of shock escapes his lips. “I’m sorry?”

“Help me out of my dress.”

“This is hardly appropriate.”

“Well, I can’t do it myself, and there’s no one else around. I don’t want to wait. This thing is suffocating.” You stand impatiently, waiting for his will to crumble to dust.

“I really shouldn’t,” he mutters, more to himself than to you. “This isn’t—”

“Jaemin.”

“Right. Your…your hair is in the way.” He clears his throat.

“Surely, you’ve done this before,” you ridicule him. “You’re meant to move it.”

Something crackles in the air, and you can’t tell if it’s tangible or a figment of your imagination. You both know he’s closer than he should be, but neither of you say a word about it. Not again. The door is still ajar. Anyone could walk by and see—they could make assumptions about what’s going on in here, especially as his fingers reach up to brush your hair over your shoulder.

His fingertips skim across the back of your neck, and it feels like a jolt of electricity. Goosebumps fly across your skin, the tiniest tremor weaving through your spine.

“What would you do if I wasn’t here?” he whispers, the delicate, deep tone of his voice making the effects of his touch worse.

“Wouldn’t you love to know.” You chuckle, refusing to give in and admit you didn’t really need help in the first place.

“Do you make it a habit to have men undo your corsets?” He tugs the first tie, loosening it while you hold onto the front of your dress.

“No.”

“Don’t tell me I’m special.” He lets out something resembling a laugh.

“You’re simply the only one available to help.”

The looser your dress gets, the more you wish to just let it go. His movements are quick, and he does his best not to touch you any more than he already has. You weren’t usually like this. For some reason, you want to give chase. You want to do something risky, regardless of who’s affected by it.

“That was the last one, Princess.” He takes a step away from you, the cold replacing his warmth.

“I—”

“I think that’s quite enough,” Jaemin says. “Whatever else you need, I can no longer assist you. I’m here to protect you, not to be your servant.”

“You say that now, Na Jaemin.” You turn to face him, closing your distance and poking a finger straight into the middle of his chest. “But before you know it, you’ll be begging to serve me.”

He gulps, Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he struggles to keep eye contact.

“Serving and protecting me is a privilege,” you say. “You should act like you need to earn it.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t serve you. I serve my King, and I doubt he’d like to find me in here with his future wife’s corset one swift move from being on the floor.” Jaemin crosses his arms over his chest and clenches his fist. “I hope you have a good night, Princess. I’ll be outside.”

Against your better judgment, you don’t correct him for his callus words. You allow him to walk away from you. As he makes it to the door, he glances once more over his shoulder before it shuts softly behind him.

[tyrantisterror]

Twitter (or “X”, I guess) is currently losing its mind over a media analysis video that implies King Kong might have some racially charged (or even racist) themes. Thoughts?

I actually talked about this recently here: https://tyrantisterror.tumblr.com/post/730214779314176000/kaiju-twitter-is-currently-in-a-tizzy-because

But I also think King Kong (1933) has a somewhat undeserved sterling reputation in general. Even critics who have otherwise been quick to be hypercritical and dismissive of monster movies talk about King Kong as if it's a "perfect" movie, because historically King Kong has always been considered a classic. And, like, historically speaking, yes, King Kong will always be an important and groundbreaking film. It's a landmark moment in special effects.

But if you take the special effects out of it... you're not really left with much to rave about. The acting in King Kong ranges from passable to outright bad (and racist when you consider the islanders and Charlie the inexplicable Chinese Stereotype cook who exists for... comic relief? I guess?), the characters themselves are thin, the dialogue can be very good but also outright atrocious, and the camerawork (again, outside of special effects) is nothing to rave about. King Kong has a reputation for perfection that's solely hinged on cool special effects and a shitload of nostalgia. It does not have the depth to its storytelling of, say, Godzilla (1954), which had to claw and fight over decades to be reappraised by critics for its many virtues. All King Kong has is groundbreaking special effects.

And those special effects are really good, don't get me wrong. You feel for that monkey before the movie ends, and the wonder and terror of Skull Island's ecosystem of monsters is rightfully iconic. But if you dig past that - and you have to if you want to analyze the movie, because most of it is surface level stuff - you're not left with much to analyze, and what there is to analyze are a bunch of racist tropes that were old and timeworn by the time King Kong was made, and much more so now. Evil black savages who want to sacrifice a white woman because of her enchanting Aryan beauty, a giant ape who's horny for said white woman because of said enchanting Aryan beauty, heroic white men risking everything as they plunder an evil, backwards island of degenerate relics from the past that were best left forgotten, Charlie the Chinese Cook who is exactly as grating a racial stereotype of Chinese people as you'd expect from the 1930's - yeah, all of these tropes have racist roots, and whether or not the racism was intended by the creators doesn't really matter, because they certainly did nothing to try and mitigate it or divorce the tropes from those racist roots. It's a racist movie, an undeniably racist movie, which isn't something that should surprise people because it's from the 19fucking30's.

And that doesn't mean we have to condemn King Kong, and that watching it makes you a problematic Nazi MAGA chud, or that we're not allowed to praise what's good about it (i.e. the special effects). It just means that, maybe, after 90 years of completely untempered praise from all corners of the film world, maybe it's time to admit that King Kong, while still a classic, is not a perfect movie. That it has some flaws. And maybe we can start by admitting the really obvious flaw of it being a movie from the 1930's that reflects the 1930's attitudes about race which were, you know, not great, and then from there we could maybe talk about how it reflects 1930's attitudes about gender (also not great), and then to how the acting in it is mostly bad, and then to how the scriptwriting is... let's say uneven, and then maybe admit that really we just like the monster bits and the rest is kind of forgettable at best, and that Godzilla is a far superior movie in all respects.

But I think what's likely to happen is people will viciously defend the movie without thinking about it critically for a moment, because nuance and honest self reflection is for chumps.