#I could go On about how funny he is as a character. he talks about rhe matrix as one of his favorite movies for gods sake

[mariusrenathyrs-crashout]

#going back to my 'marius' vampirism is a metaphor for the lasting trauma of sexual abuse' idea#marius is my roman empire

So I did a funny joke post about Marius and this was one of the tags left on it and I'm so sorry prev but you've activated my trap card because I've thought so much about this topic, but have felt too afraid to talk about it unprompted lol. But I am going to spew my guts about how I feel about this symbolism so cw for talks about SA and victim blaming. Cause I have for sure thought about this a lot and gotten sort of heated about jokes about Marius just being a dumb horny knight when he's a whole ass victim of significant trauma.

(tag credit goes to @royhasissues, hope it's ok to post your tags)

So, I loove Marius and one of the main reasons for that is his relationship to trauma and what that both symbolizes for his character as well as how it determines his actions and emotional stability as of episode 32.

Marius Renathyr was someone who thrived off of structure, order and discipline. He was clearly a highly religious man and had followed his religious and orderly tenants to the letter for most of his life. A young Marius was focused on things like war, helping to defend his people and more specifically, protecting his king and best friend from forces that wished for their ruin. As such, I cannot imagine a young Marius really had any type of experience with relationships aside from platonic and brotherly relationships he had built with fellow knights or Victor. So already we have a young inexperienced knight going off on a quest where not only is he leaving the shelter of his kingdom for the first time, he's also on a time limit in which his success or failure could determine the future of an entire kingdom of people.

Then, vulnerable and half starved, he stumbles upon the Duchess who not only takes advantage of his physically weakened state; but also takes advantage of his emotional and mentally weakened state. Lilith as a temptress of course could tempt a young knight, and then to curse him with vampirism after tricking him into sleeping with her is back to back traumatic events - the vamprism something that could be interpreted as a punishment for failing his tenant of chastity. Something that I found interesting too is not only is his kingdom's symbol a rose, but it also is the same symbol as The Duchess - it brings to mind the idea of "deflowering" as a symbol of lost innocence.

From there, he has fought against his vampiric instincts which he viewed as a curse and a punishment for his weakness when in reality, it was not weakness at all. And the way some people react in a sort of joking or unserious way to his attitude towards sleeping with someone, his concerns of being trapped in a power scale imbalance with a strong and powerful woman also shows how his character reflects victim blaming both from others but also internalized victim blaming. It is why I think the scene of his friends trying to convince him to sleep with the Inquisitor only for Yorgrim to shut it down and back Marius up is such a powerful scene because it showed how some of his friends did not understand the level of trauma he had experienced despite how he bares literal physical reminders of the trauma he had experienced decades prior and how it still weighs so heavily on him.

Not to mention how Marius' bloodlust and how his aversion to getting too close to people - particularly Lethica who he shows clear romantic feelings for - is also symbolic of his trauma reactions. He is unable to allow himself that sort of closeness or intimacy with another person, even if there is no sexual motivation or undertones about their interactions, it's still a fear response of wishing to avoid any possibility of being harmed once again or lashing out due to that trauma.

And mind you, this is all worsening for him around the same time he comes to realize he's lost his connection to his God, his king and best friend he went on this quest for is dead, 2 of his closest friends are also dead, and many other awful horrors have befallen him and his group, it makes sense why his emotional and mental stability have started crumbling so drastically. And then, when he is at his lowest, who swoops in to whisper false promises and telling him he can be strong once more, protected once more, that this all can be worth it if he just listens to her? The one being who gave him this trauma in the first place. She swoops in and talks to him tenderly, who caresses him and tells him it'll be ok, that he can be what he was once more, that she will help him if only he listens to her and stays with her and loves her and nobody else. Nobody else. There's a lack of clarity, a lack of stability, of rational thought. Marius entrusts himself to her now because it's hard escaping from your abuser when they act like they're your protector instead.

[sleepyjuniper]

Okay another thing I really like about Psychonauts is the nature of its dialogue options. I collected some screenshots from a video of Pn2 dialogue options to demonstrate this, but it's present in Pn1 as well. And if I had gifs of these exact scenes I'd use them, but alas.

Basically, the dialogue options you're given are literally Raz's thoughts. The paths his brain is branching out towards. These are multiple different things he's thinking about in the moment, and you are just picking the one he decides to verbalize. Which means, a fully conceptualized thought in his head sometimes comes out differently when put into words, because he's literally changing how he wants to word it in real time. Changing his mind about what he actually wants to say.

So, here's my favorite example. (Sidenote: In the first playthrough I watched of this, you could actually see the player debate whether or not to choose this option and it was really funny. They ultimately chose to see what would happen.)

So, you can see that this is a subject he wants to address, and in his head, he knows how he would word it. However, once you choose that option...

He loses his confidence and chickens out. This is an unusual structure for video game dialogue. Your protagonist is not usually unpredictable; what you select is simply what they'll say. In this way, the game keeps you guessing on what to expect. It feels less rigid and scripted. I mean, Raz is literally going off script.

Here's another example because this happens the most when he's talking to Lili and I find it really adorable

You can really see into Raz's inner workings with these dialogue options. It's a deeper look into his thoughts, his character. You can tell he thinks alot about the moment he and Lili had back at the summer camp, but isn't as confident when it comes to actually voicing those thoughts. It makes him feel more human and relatable in a way I can't perfectly describe.

I also just really like how the dynamics shifted and evolved between Pn1 and Pn2. The way Raz matures and his demeanor changes reflects the real life experiences that the Double Fine team collected over the 10+ years between development cycles, and even during development.

The way Raz and Lili's relationship is portrayed is more in line with modern expectations, and I don't think that's a bad thing. Tim Schafer has always strived for portraying his characters and story respectfully, and he only improved with the extra time between projects.

Anyway, bonus dialogue:

Absolute goober

[relaxxattack]

your thoughts on transmasc Dave? How that relates to his character & the source material?

i've always liked it, being a trans person myself

i think it's an interesting lens to view his character through- his arc is about learning to let go of toxic masculinity, and there are unfortunately plenty of trans men who cling onto that as an affirmation, who relate to the idea of constantly chasing a completely unattainable ideal of manhood. i think his desperate grasp on being "cool" is also something a lot of transmascs find relateable, though there are aspects of that* we also need to learn to work on.

i understand that most of this reasoning is also applicable to transfems, and why it's highly unlikely that someone like dave, raised in the circumstances he was, could be transmasc. but i also actually happen to know someone who still ended up transmasc in those exact circumstances; so i have living proof that people like that exist-- people who i care about dearly, and don't mind associating with dave.

for that reason transmasc dave is still near and dear to me despite the statistics.

but my personal preference however is for nonbinary dave, just because that's how i read him in homestuck itself; i've talked about this before but i believe he'd benefit from a more relaxed position on labels and gender. and i think he'd enjoy trying out things that he previously considered too feminine to be "allowed" (i should make a post on what and why i think his actual presentation preferences would be like sometime..). when it comes to nonbinary dave i don't really care how he was cagab.

incidentally, the person i know who was in those circumstances also ended up nonbinary in the end. funny how that works

[kaivenom]

Hii, can you do op dilfs with a blind reader if ur not busy? Feel free to reject

OP Dilfs with a blind!reader

Characters: Doflamingo, Mihawk, Crocodile, Smoker, Shanks

Warnings: one mention to Doflamingo's pennies.

A/N: i believe that a blind reader that gets to meet these men, would surely have some type of haki like Fujitora.

Masterlist

Dracule Mihawk

He says he doesn't care about you being blind.

But you hear how he closes gabinets with his legs before you even get there. You plan on closing it, but he goes faster.

Sometimes you feel a little like a baby that has everything done but he always denies it.

"I heard you, i even felt your knee."

"It was the wind."

Once he saw you in battle or a dangerous situation, he starts trying to be less overprotective.

He still does some things for you, but he warns you or at least admites doing them and kisses you after.

That is the sweetest thing someone has ever done to you, and that's one of the things why you love Mihawk.

Donquixote Doflamingo

He takes it as the best joke ever.

He can do things on you pressence and you don't see it? the best for him.

Trying to kill someone one, making you go thru bloody halls or slipery corridors.

But you let it be cause you can take care of yourself.

And still, there are situations and situations, some more surreal than others, like making you touch weird things and a particular one:

"Put your d*ck back on your jeans."

"How...

"I heard the zipper, idiot."

Dating him is like the biggest sensory experiment/stimulation ever.

Sr. Crocodile

Wants to know everything about the subject.

Once he decides that wants to be with you for a long time, he also got the goal of knowing everything he could to make your life easier or better.

Asking you what type of blindness, notifying you about the newest treatments (even though you don't want them), instaling sound systems or ordering especial braille labels so you can tags things.

He is somehow the most supportive men you could have ever dreamed about in this subject, in his own dramatic way.

"Why did you buy this tags for the cereals?"

"Cause that way you could differentiate them."

"I do that by the shape of the package, how do you think i buy them from the store." he coughs in surprise, he didn't thought about that.

"I don't know, i just wanted to make it easier... "

You laugh and hug him, sometimes he buys useless things, you don't need everything that comes out for blind people but he tries every time.

Smoker

He is surprised about your skills.

Until now, the only blind person he knows is Fujitora and he is really powerfull.

So, seeing that you are as amazing and noble as Fujitora made him take an interest on you.

The real funny thing about dating him is that you always predict him on battle and anticipate his orders... and he has a heart attack, every single time.

He tends to overprotect you some times but then you kick him on the knee with you cane and he has to shut his mouth about

"You don't know how to protect yourself"

At the end, is really funny to date him while being blind.

Akagami Shanks

He didn't notice it at first.

Sounds impossible but is Shanks who we are talking about.

The first times you both met, you seem so agile and prepare that he didn't thought about it.

He discovered it when he asked you out to take dinner, when you asked him to read you the menu.

"But you have one too."

"But i can't read it, i am fucking blind."

He even has the nerve to pretend hitting you just to see if you flinch, which you didn't, obviously.

He felt really bad about not noticing it first and tried to be more attentive.

In fact, the best thing about dating Shanks is the attention he gives you, everytime.

[asherspeaksword]

Give me as moots you appreciate up until now! No matter how many times you guys have interacted! :D

Oh man- I have so many !! I'll go with the ones I've met first and talk to the most still!

@nixienewt - Man, SHE'S BEEN HERE FROM THE START! Her art is FANTASTIC! I love the way she shades and sketches em all, she lets me yap her ears off about whatever, NESIAS, AUs, or even just in general, she's been here for,, so many years probably! One of my closest friends, she's great !! MY BIGGEST HYPE MAN!

@riptide-pools - ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE I'VE MET IN THE LMK COMMUNITY, dude her aus are amazing! her art is AMAZING! I miss our little yap sessions, SHE'S ALSO ONE OF THE FIRST OC X OC I'VE MADE ! Def up there by a LONG SHOT she's awesome man.

@lmklongnu25 - I met Longnu in the same server as Rip, she's so sweet and all! I was able to watch her art and oc's grow!! she's like a lil sib to me, I always love our conversations and the way we bounce ideas off of one another!!

@littlethingsrae - AMAZING ART, AMAZING OCS, AMAZING LORE, She's one of the friends I see as simply 'Ma', I call her that a lot! We talked a whole lot, yapped a whole lot, she's a WONDERFUL PERSON!! They're awesome, I miss our yaps, I grieve timezones man </3

@camhues - CAMMMM CAMMM ITS AUNTIE CAMMM ITS MA CAMMM, She is like my mother frfr /gen, She's so sweet its literally like jgjdfgjfg, she's TALENTED TO, I love seeing her ocs as well, she's always the one for advice sometimes, esp when i need it the most

@chuitu - They're talented! I'm always intrigued in their stories and what they have to offer, I love learning their lore, seeing how much their ocs has changed over the years, and learning about the world they're in! Always fun to read and yap.

@tamaruaart - DUDEEEE THEIR ART IS LEGENDARY!! I did an art trade with em once and OH MY GOODY GOODNESS, captured in so many ways, She's so sweet as well, I wish we could talk more often !! I enjoy it a lot!!

@doppel-doodles - The Doppel of the hour /pos, They've always got somethin' going on, anyways, I LOVE HER ART, LOVE HIS STYLE, I love our yaps as well, there's always something interesting about em! if I had the memory capacity, I'd remember all they've said about their characters

@aoifeoffical - I DONT TALK TO YOU OFTEN MANNNNNN, They're great, it's great, I love their art by a ton!! The ideas and the expressions themselves are ALWAYS nice to see!

@berrybaps - THEY'RE SO COOL, I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH! Art is awesome, they're sweet, I love yip yapping with em, I miss yip yapping with em- WE DONT YAP ENOUGH I DISLIKES TIMEZONES

@keykittygirl - KEKEYYYY UGHH KEKEYYY, Their art is awesome PLEASE CHECK HER OUT, We dont talk much HOWEVER SHE'S LITERALLYLLLLYL one of the bestest out there guys look out

@itsalice3940 - The Lore Keeper, she's so sweet tho actually, I love talking to em and having fun at them picking at the pieces of lore, its always nice to see em around

@justaliltoasty - SO MUCH TO SAY, I love their ocs, love her art, and LOVE HIS STYLE, its always such a treat to see once in a blue moon art of Kumi's, its just like i've been starved then Kumi comes in and saves the day

@1shcakes - ISHCAKESSS ISHCAKESS!! Man his style is HJSDKGHSFDGFD, I love their art, its seriously awesome to see, their au? ALSO AWESOME! He is possibly one of the MOST interacted people here! The shipping, the OTHER AUS???? Their ocs are also alsooo just so nicely put together,,, he's great guys check him out yall

@deadzonedenizen - One of my biggest opps /j , I love his artwork and all! the amount of times I've lore dumped onto them is one too many times lately, they've gotten to hear all about AW and London from what I remember

@forge-the-idiot - JUST RECENTLY STARTED YIP YAPPING TO EM! Forge is REALLY funny imo, I love their lineless style, art work is ALWAYS SO NICE TO SEE !! so much to say and im blanking on it </3

@azora-ink - ALSO JUST RECENTLY STARTED YIP YAPPING WITH EM, Azora is VERY VERY TALENTED. I love her art style and MORE ! Animations, plently, its awesome sauce frfr, got to hear me complain about animating myself-

@hahawasabi - WHY WAS I NOT FOLLOWING YOU BEFORE. Anyways, Lee is always such a joy to see his art lowkey, I LOVE HIS LEGO WORK, HIS TRANFORMERS WORK AND MORE! I love seeing his art its always so nice to see

-

To all those I haven't mentioned that I'm moots with, I WANNA YIP YAP WITH YALL MORE !! Ya'll are so nice and all! I love being in the lmk community and meeting you guys!! ya'll are so sweet and all!

man this is so long i apologizeeeeeee

[b4mpyre-k1zz3s]

oh bestie i cannot even begin to describe how badly i need johnny x popstar!yn 🫣 that’s that me espresso….

Johnny X Popstar!Y/N

Johnny Knoxville X Fem!Reader

Warnings: None!

An: Thank you for the request! Most of this is about the two getting to know eachother and their first date, so if you’d like to see how their relationship develops, feel free to drop a request! I actually got a few requests regarding popstar!Y/N, so expect a fic or two out soon! ;) anyways, thank you for sending in, and please keep them coming!

You know that clip of him with Beyoncé? Yeah. He is starstruck.

Of course, you met on the red carpet at some MTV award show. After watching you from afar, Johnny finally mustered up the guts to speak to you,

“Y’know where a guy can get a drink arround here?”

Looking down at the way he was already half stumbling, you smiled, “I think you had enough…”

Not wanting to make his nerves obvious, he played it all cool, “Trust me, doll; I know my limits-“ Raising a finger to conspiratorialy tap the side of his nose, Knoxville softly jabbed himself in the eye.

In a funny way, it was flattering; that you could reduce this cool, confident man to a fumbling teenage boy with a smile- maybe a little flirting.

After a silence, you tilted you head to one side discerningly, “So…Y’wanna autograph?” “Oh, uh- sure!” Johnny replied, taking any opportunity to prolong the time he could talk to you.

He wasn’t expecting you to actually grab his hand and write down your name.

And your number.

That wink you flashed him before you slipped off was the final blow. Arrow, meet heart.

For a week, Knoxville planned out the date he was gonna take you on- he even asked the guys for help since they had experience dating in Hollywood!

But they had nothing to contribute, seeing as they just partied with chicks and woke up in their beds, too whacked out of their gourds to remember half the shit…

This level of infatuation was entirely out of character for of him. But no matter how hard he tried, Johnny couldn���t talk any sense into himself

He settled on the farmer’s market- maybe getting out of the nestle and bustle might be a nice change of scenery!

Shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked around for you, Knoxville nearly dropped dead on his feet when he saw you waiting for him around the flower stand, your sundress flowing in the wind…

“Johnny!” Your face lit up when you caught his eye, scampering to his side and taking his arm, “Cmon, I hear they got some great strawberries down that way!”

For the next hour he trailed behind, looking so out of place next to you as he asked the odd question about some fruit you were looking at. Yeah, real slick there…

Leaning over your shoulder as you studied some heads of lettuce, Knoxville asked, “So, uh…you’re leavin’ on that tour pretty soon?” “Yeah!” You turned around, meeting his gaze, “How’d you know?”

Smiling sheepishly, he admitted, “Well, I saw a poster ‘round the corner there…”

Settling down in a nearby park for a picnic with your new produce, Johnny regaled you with all these wild partying stories, getting more into his element,

“So, we were at the Burgandy Room down on Cahuenga,” He regaled you, plucking a grape from the vine, “and Steve-O gets the bright idea’t start tossing empty bottles at the ceiling fan! And they are just-“

He catches something out of the corner of his eye: cellphone cameras. A few, actually: paparazzi. Great…

Muttering to himself, Knoxville pulled a strong, shielding arm around you all gentlemanly before leaning in, conspiratorially, “Hey. Y’wanna get going?”

Initially assuming he was tryn’a get fresh with you, it took him nodding over in the general direction of the crowd for you to put two and two together. “Oh! Yeah- that sounds like a good idea…”

So, hand in hand, you snuck away with all manner of hiding behind bushes and ducking down alleys! The childish, giddy giggling subsided when you caught a cab, finally shaking them off your trail.

“Oh my god! That was-“ It was everything you could’ve expected from a date with Johnny. Leaning back against the seat, you sighed, “I bet every magaizne’s gonna be talkin’ about this by tomorrow…”

Emboldened by your hi-jinx, he replied, “Well, let em’! In fact…” He leaned with a conspiring glint in his eye,

“What d’you think they’d say if they caught me backstage at one’a your shows?”

Your public images couldn’t be any more different- a wild, loose cannon stuntman dating a PG, pretty girl pop star? Your manager would rip your head off if they caught word of you two together.

So, in the privacy of that taxi, you concocted a plan together…

[orangeleftyotherblog]

yippee yippee i got tagged!!! X3

okay so this is funny because my current obsession since a week ago now is ace attorney! :D

(I’m also gonna yap abt Cuphead later STAY TUNED FOR THAT ITS SUPER IMPORTANT)

basically it all started about a year ago from now, maybe last april or may, i dont remember, that my dad was telling me “oh i found this game on xbox gamepass, its where you play as a lawyer” something like that. Now, I had actually heard of Ace Attorney, so when he said this I thought I knew what he was talking about but let him finish. He said “It’s called Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” then I say “OHH!!! I’ve heard of that game!”

So my dad, my younger brother and I started playing it together, and I had just SO MUCH FUN with it! Getting to voice act such interesting characters, the gameplay and cases, and getting to play with my dad and brother. Though we only made it through the first two cases/episodes, it was still quite fun.

However, my real obsession with Ace Attorney didn’t start until last sunday when I told my mom “I feel really tired” and she said “well you’ve been working hard at school, how about you go do something relaxing?” (I had also been helping her with some household chores)

This gave me an idea. I went to the couch with my sketchbook and pencils and started drawing Mia Fey, one of my favorite characters at the time. After that, I sorta just developed an obsession with Ace Attorney and started playing it again!

Side tangent but my most favorite Ace Attorney characters rn are Franziska Von Karma and Detective Gumshoe!! >:3

I like Franziska because she reminds me of Baroness Von Bon Bon (both such girlbosses) and I used to be SO obsessed with BVBB (kinda like how my two moots previously explained their obsession with miss miseryguts lol)

Also funny story I used to hate Gumshoe and Edgeworth cuz I thought they were annoying but now I like both of them, also Gumshoe is so silly and sweet EDGEWORTH STOP CUTTING HIS PAY HE CANT AFFORD ANYTHING!!! >:P

I’d also like to yap about Cuphead because that’s always gonna be my main obsession.

It’s what started it all. It’s the whole reason I ever got into any of my fandoms now. If I had never found Cuphead, then ultimately, my tumblr blogs (@orangeleftyart and this one) would never exist. Cuphead got me obsessed with Undertale and Deltarune (which became a huge obsessions too) and other indie games, because of the FNF Indie Cross Mod that Cuphead was in, and later, made my friendship with my irl bestie stronger (as we could yap abt our interests and she got me into Ghost and Pals and Vocaloid). It also, essentially, started my interest in truly improving my art and made me draw SO MUCH MORE than I would have previously.

I’ve drawn practically every character at least a few times, ESPECIALLY Baroness Von Bon Bon. She’s my favorite boss for reasons I’m not quite sure on, but I do know that I saw her as an easily angered and aggressive, but gentle and loving person willing to do whatever it takes to protect her kingdom and subjects. That’s still my interpretation of her (at least, in game) and she resonated with me so much. I also liked her in the show. FUN FACT okay fun fact I was SO obsessed with BVBB that when Cuphead Show Season 2 came out I WOKE UP AT 2 AM. 2 AM IN THE DAMN MORNING just to watch HER EPISODE SPECIFICALLY before going back to bed. I was screaming at it so much and exploding with joy that I woke up and summoned my dad, though thankfully I didn’t get in trouble somehow, he probably thought I was crazy though HAHAHAH.

Anyway, last thing about Cuphead is that I made a poster once for my room (as I usually do when I get another obsession) but after I made the poster, I said a prayer that night, asking God that no matter what happened to me, no matter what new obsessions I developed or the person I’d become, that I would always turn back to Cuphead as a comfort, that it would always hold a special place in my heart, that I’d never abandon it like my previous obsessions. Now, I know plenty of you probably aren’t religious, but personally I will always see Cuphead as “a gift from God” (not literally ofc, its not pure perfection) because I’d say that my prayer was answered: no matter what, after being a Cuphead fan for over 3 years now I believe, I always look back on it as my favorite video game ever and I could never hate anything about it and I’m basically still obsessed with it!

Anyway that’s all. Thanks for letting me yap about stuff that keeps me sane but also drove me insane eheheh. Now to link a post with a ton of my BVBB fanart so you can all see just how OBSESSED with her I was (and still lowkey am ehehheh) and look at #baroness von bon bon on my blog that’s probably a good number of my posts lol

TAGS: @spielort @ace-was-already-taken @sillyguyz4ever @sillynoi @transclownhehe @fr3akshowdusty @mxacefoolish-writer @ch1k3ns0up + open tags IM SO SORRY ITS SUCH A LONG POST GUYS FORGIVE MEEEE-

tag game!! ^q^

how it works: get tagged. yap about current obsessions.

i'll go first!! >_<

okay so uhhh.. yi xi!!! i love her voice, her fan designs.. aghhh i love her

i also really like the train bitch (choo choo) and project on her sm... ( 〃▽〃) she is on SO MUCH MATH WORK ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY

last off... teeptum (tptm)!!! it's weird, i'm uncomfortable with myself recovering, but seeing these girls — whether i relate to them or not — overcome their struggles (^-^; maybe it's just nice to have hope... OH ALSO DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW WELL WRITTEN EACH GIRL IS!!! ITS GENUINELY SO GOOD. I UNDERSTAND WHY SO MANY PEOPLE RELATE TO AT LEAST ONE GIRL. (personally i relate to tahira (splitter) and nora (caliber) but also some elements of freyja (faneint)

TAGS!! @charawara (go ahead. yap about the blue mouthed freak) @lordofthealfies (go ahead. yap about lotf) @fishtheflowerchomper @luckyloser6 @wkfn14kt829j2nq @toothandfeather @fearofajmetalalbum @madilynlovesbsdfr

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Ok, I think I have a pretty good idea of why a lot of Akechi's dialogue is... like that.

So, even before his confidant truly started, I noticed that he has a real knack for directing the flow of a conversation. This is very fitting for someone who is both a detective and skilled at interviews - when there is a topic and a goal, Akechi is in his element.

All this to say, he's actually kind of controlling when it comes to conversational flow. He probes for information, or turns the conversation around to a particular topic, usually the Phantom Thieves. He manages to take a few of Joker's dialogue options and spin them so they sound mildly incriminating in the context he's placed them in - the only way to truly get around this is to pick answers that feign indifference, and even then, that's more than a bit telling. He's clearly very good at this kind of thing.

But then, we get conversations where either Joker does something he didn't expect, or else he doesn't have a particular goal in mind - and the conversation stutters. In the first instance, Joker does something (a particularly egregious example is putting his glasses on him and fluffing his hair in rank 3) which both leaves him wrong-footed and no longer in perfect control of the situation. He just kind of... freezes, for awhile. It's hilarious. He has no idea how to respond.

He picks up control again in the phone call afterwards, having chosen to play into it, turning this "fooling the crowds" into a kind of game or secret between them. Nice save.

But in instances where there isn't an obvious topic and the goal is somewhat nebulous, for instance, that one Leblanc scene, it becomes pretty apparent that Akechi doesn't have the right "script" to go off of. Again, it's particularly notable in that scene, because I'm fairly sure he didn't have any specific reason to be at Leblanc, other than him looking for a quiet spot now that public opinion has turned on him. And because there isn't anything specific he's digging for, he kind of just ends up throwing things at the wall to see what will stick. Probing for any kind of recognizable reaction that he can jump on and work with, and that just doesn't really happen in this scene.

He references Sae, a woman in a respectable position, to Sojiro, but instead of that netting a welcome, it earns his ire, given Sae's recent actions against him. He then tries to greet Joker, his... rival? friend? enemy? person who at least seems to somewhat enjoy spending time with him? But Joker's responses are somewhat short, and Akechi practically wilts. He tries to commiserate by oversharing. He tries to involve Futaba and reaches out for the only topic of interest he can think of around "young people". He compliments the coffee. He compliments Joker. He tries to invoke that connection between them. None of it is really sticking, nor does it serve as a jumping off point for him to steer the conversation, or even really start one.

So, he basically just ends up having a one-sided chat with himself and then leaves. Hilarious. Also a little sad, if I'm being honest. It's really giving "guy with no friends who only knows how to speak to adults" energy. If there's no specific purpose to the exchange, or he is not in control of its direction, he seems to be kind of out of his depth. He succeeds only in being a little awkward and confusing, more than anything.

[luck-of-the-drawings]

OOH YEAH BABY ITS THE SURGERY EPISODE BABY!!! ME AND THE HOMIES NEED SOME NEW FACES FOR OUR NEW PLAN, AND WHO BETTER TO GET THE JOB DONE THAN THE TWO MOST EVIL PEOPLE WE'VE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF HAVING OUR LIVES VIOLATED BY? I MEAN IT WOULD BE FUNNY. IT WOULD BE FUNNY.

[meowsticmarvels]

one of the most insane things about carlos is like. based on how you are introduced to him in ztd you think he's gonna be the most normal character in the game especially when teamed with AKANE and JUNPEI of all people. and he is the hero type main character archetype guy. but then you play suspicion where he literally kills himself with an axe because he's worried about being dangerous to others (? Is he okay actually. What the fuck). and then there's also get back/apocalypse where he waits 10 fucking months for akane and junpei to save them instead of stopping zero at all. What is wrong with him

[sieglinde-freud]

one time eva told me that inigo was basically just a total drama character and i cant like that kinda hit me like a slap in the face but like in a good way because like. she was right. and that was several months ago but the concept was so good i sometimes just come back to it and now i have a question for the class

no i dont think inigo (or anyone else i excluded) would win but if you have a case for him im open

[sysig]

Go play pretend on your own (Patreon)

[universalthaumaturge]

so. chapter 5 huh.

[amelikos]

The Horizons stage show in AnimeJapan 2024 (last year) was interesting and the bits with Friede and Amethio's VAs are still on my mind. They got to talk about their battles and their characters in general. (The event took place one day after the initial broadcast of HZ044 and before chapter 2 ended and thus reflects the events of the anime at the time.)

Either way, Horie Shun (Amethio's VA) talked about how Amethio changed through his battles with Friede. How Amethio battled out of a sense of duty at first, but gradually, feelings of frustration and his personal desire of wanting to win began to develop inside of him.

And Yashiro Taku (Friede's VA) talked about how through his encounters with Amethio, Friede grew to respect/acknowledge his will/conviction even though they had different objectives at the time.

Very interesting insights from their VAs, hopefully the same this year too.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

One of the biggest problems of writing that Frasier post is that the logic of 90s comedies is not real life logic. It's not just that you can just pick which exaggerated thing to believe more (and sometimes you need to outright pick between two mutually excluding canon facts), but also the degree to which you believe anything. Which is fun for theorizing but also terrible for theorizing because to argue one way or another you need to create the fiction that the coherent narrative you are pointing out has value of truth in a universe where the value of truth is the rule of funny.

[shikai-the-storyteller]

There are SO many cool interactions and lore things we can look forward to now that Rubius says he'll come back to QSMP (not only as an angel / demon, but potentially as a human too!), but that little detail reminded me of something:

Even though q!Vegetta and q!Rubius were mutually interested in each other wayyyy back in the beginning of the series, as an Angel / Demon, Rubius said he can't have relationships with humans because it's against the rules.

But a bit ago on stream, Rubius said that he's thinking about having a "human" side so he can build and do more things on the server as a regular player. I'm excited because this means he can have more casual interactions with people and we can see him interacting with his friends more (and he can experience The Horrors), but also...

I think we're in for some very interesting drama in the next few weeks.*

* ( Assuming Rubius doesn't get harassed off the server by toxic shippers and weird fans of the Eggs again. Please be nice to Rubius and welcome him back kindly, he's a very cool guy and his character is SO interesting )