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buildarocketboys · 4 months ago

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Crimson Peak notes @tumbleclub

So I took notes throughout my rewatch so under the cut is basically a live blog of my thoughts and feelings - spoilers for Crimson Peak throughout since I refer to what happens later in the movie from the start.

The main things I want to say about this movie though are 1. It's such a masterpiece of gothic horror. The aesthetic, the story, the characters, the relationships, the SYMBOLISM...all so on point that it almost feels TOO on the nose at times (except it doesn't because I love it. It's perfect, mwah). And 2. I love all the characters. They're all so compelling, they're all, in some ways, sympathetic (yes even Lucille...god forbid women do anything etc etc). I just love watching these fucked up (and less fucked up, shout-out to Alan, you the real MVP) relationships play out, it's so *chef kiss*

Anyway, here's my play by play thoughts. Warnings for incest, murder, horror and gore (although I don't actually talk about the gore much, it's a fairly gory movie when it comes to the murder/attempted murder and such though)

- 'a parasite with a title' go off Edith

- also she'd prefer to be Mary Shelley because she died a widow. She's so metal

- her relationship with her dad is so cute. Shame he dies

- Thomas coming in dressed in black from head to toe...

- also immediately clocking Edith and flirting with her...he knows what he's doing

- the red clay is fucking genius

- London... Edinburgh... Milan 👀

- her dad sees right through him from the start...we have to stan

- For being who are only trying to help Edith, they sure are scary

- LUCILLE!

- THE NOT QUITE LIP KISS

- He really is pushing all Edith's boundaries (and society's boundaries) from the very beginning huh

- "I don't want to close my eyes. I want to keep them open." is an interesting character quote for Edith

- Love Alan indulging her ghost obsession.. besties. But also him mentioning ghosts being minerals in the earth... very interesting..

- from my fiancée @judasisgayriot - "love that this is supposed to be a sunny day but the colour palette is so washed out and dull"

- Lucille ultimate goth queen. Feeding the butterfly to the ants... (Also just noticed that on the DVD cover a butterfly is sitting on Edith's hand...we love symbolism)

- "it's mine I want it back" about the ring. Because she took it from their mother when she killed her but also because SHE'S Thomas's wife

- Dad sees RIGHT through him

- "thoroughly break her heart" and then he comes for her writing. God. Yeah. Fuck him. But he clearly means it "perfection has no place in love" which makes it hurt all the more

- Love that the obvious way to kill him is to either use the razor or drown him in the sink, but no, Lucille fucking bashes his head in on the sink. Kind of badass ngl

- The thing about Edith is she really WANTS to be a protagonist in a ghost story, which is probably why she ignores alllll those red flags

- That said, I DO think she should have picked up on some of them, Jesus girl

- "you've been married a while" + one of the previous wife's dog as soon as they arrive...

- This house is a fucking wreck Thomas!! This would not pass health and safety regulations!! Girl run!

- He really has to stop himself from kissing Lucille. Then definitely smells her

- The bloody pipes... honestly you could be forgiven for thinking it's too on point. Not me though, I love it. The more obvious symbolism the better

- I love the fact that Thomas chose her BECAUSE he actually fell in love with her. Which Lucille CAN'T know (and TBF idk if Thomas even knows himself completely yet. He's playing a role but also he's not)

- GREEN GDT BATHROOM!! One of the jankiest ones, but it's still (crimson) peak!

- I love the bloody mist effect on the ghosts, like they're still bleeding but they're in gaseous form now so so is their blood

- Lucille creeping through the keyhole...

- Edith's fantasy of their childhood vs their Flowers in the Attic reality

- "I don't want her to miss a single thing we do" STAN LUCILLE

- Love her trying to get the lowdown on whether Edith and Thomas have fucked yet

- The huge moths thriving as opposed to the butterflies being eaten...

- Thomas like "You're not like other girls"

- Thomas's workshop and inventions are nice and make him more sympathetic. Definition of poor little miaow miaow. Terrible but also sad and pathetic

- Also these ghosts are fucked up, they definitely didn't just die of being poisoned or whatever.

- Surprised her father's ghost doesn't make an appearance...all the ghosts are women (except for Thomas right at the end)

- Edith: "Has anyone died in this house." Thomas: "Duh, it's a really old house. Americans 🙄"

- Oop...crimson peak mention...too late for poor Edith

- Ohhh shit she's coughing up blood (gdi Lucille giving her poisoned tea)

- I love that she tries to commune with the honestly pretty fucking scary ghosts. She's such a horror girlie

- Oh this one took a cleaver or something to the head

- I'd just stay in the post office and refuse to leave tbh. It looks cosy

- Love that Edith is a writer girlie too

- She's SOOOOOO fucking mad that she slept with him, she almost brains Edith with a fucking saucepan

- Ooooooh the bloody footprints from the clay

- Also Edith doing her little detective bit, stealing the keys

- The basement with the clay vats is so creepy. I mean so is the entire house but yeah. God. Perfect place to hide a body

- She's so mad that he wants Edith to see it

- Lucille DOES love to trauma dump on Edith lol

- Love that this is the first time Thomas explicitly acknowledged the poison tea and tells her not to drink it

- "We stay together. Never apart." "Never apart."

- "You couldn't leave me. You wouldn't." "I can't."

- ALANNN

- Also love that they're talking about the murders, sure, but also the incest. This is a conversation they've had multiple times. And in this one thing, Lucille sees it clearly. Thomas doesn't, or doesn't want to, wants to believe that he can make this work with all three of them, somehow (boy you're dreaming)

- Oop here we go with the sibling fucking!!

- Lucille is so possessive and victorious lmao

- Love that Edith immediately jumps to "you're not his sister" because incest does not compute

- Alan knows her so well so he knows what she means by her mother and crimson peak

- Yassss Thomas stab him non-fatally! King shit (lmao)

- Wow burning the book...cold

- "None of them ever fucked Thomas"

- Poor incest baby 👶

- THE HORROR WAS FOR LOVE

- This speech is everything to me.

- IT IS A MONSTROUS LOVE AND IT MAKES MONSTERS OF US

- "You should have seen him as a child. He was perfect." (Vs perfection has no place in love 👀👀)

- They're so sad honestly. I can't help but feel sorry for them. Even Lucille

- "you lied to me" "I did" "you poisoned me" "I did" "you told me you loved me" "I do" AGGHHHH SO GOOD

- The fact that he thinks they can all start a new life together. Oh honey.

- Interesting that ghost Thomas is white to match the snow instead of red or black like the other ghosts

- She literally heard you the first time Lucille! God! (Badass of her actually)

- Edith's speech with Lucille's ghost playing piano at the end...so good

#crimson peak #tumble club #guillermo del toro #can you tell i love this movie?? just so fucking good ahhhh

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inkangeliguess · 8 months ago

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Oh my god, I absolutely LOVE The Nightmare route in Slay The Princess

Spoilers plus long rant under the cut

(@the-local-eldritch-microwave please check out this game i beg of you. It's several hours long but its great)

Ever since I saw a playthrough of the demo, the Voice of The Paranoid was my favorite voice and route. I love stressed out characters in general, but I loved how unsettling it is when you uncontrollably fall asleep and then wake up only to die of fright. The second time you go in was pretty anticlimactic, as basically the same thing happens with only the Paranoid being there and the Narrator being completely confused at your sudden death AND even saying "I'm so sorry"

What makes the updated version so good is the execution. The first part is basically the same, but the second part is so much more intense. Your character just experienced dying of literal fright over someone you first assumed was normal turning out to be an eldritch horror. Story wise, the Voice of The Paranoid makes you feel this with how much of a contrast he is compared to the Narrator and the Voice of The Hero. The Hero gets nervous occasionally, but never to the degree that The Paranoid gets.

This stress only continues when you go inside the cabin. Every second round, the cabin always changes in appearance. What makes the Nightmare route's change more jarring is how mild the change is. For the Razor, the Damsel, and the Captive (the routes i've rewatched so far), the change of the cabin is too extreme, which while it does convey the mood of the route, doesn't have the same effect as the Nightmare. The room itself seems to 'perfect,' with the most obvious difference being the wider door frame and overall lack of door. The subtle change plus the Paranoid's overall mood keeps the player on edge.

Things start ramping up once you get to the stairs, which don't even try to be subtle with its attempt to hide the overall unnatural feel of the cabin. Then it hits you with the reveal that you are stuck. You can't go back. You can only go forward and confront the inhumane Princess.

You're finally in the basement, which does a fantastic job of conveying the idea that once again, you're stuck. You do not have an actual choice in the matter. No matter which way you go, you are going to be hunted down by this creature and you will most likely be killed.

The moment of truth happens and you finally confront the Princess. While she was unsettling in the first chapter, her appearances have been completely twisted. Her limbs bend irregularly, her face is cracked and shaded in a way that makes it look like it's not even her actual face, her appearance constantly flickers and looms over you, giving you the feeling that you have no power over her, weapon or no weapon.

Finally, you start talking to her. She almost kills you again, until the Paranoid suddenly, without explanation, starts mumbling "Heat. Lungs. Liver. Nerves" over and over. You don't even have time to question it, because it somehow is keeping you alive, but barely. If you choose to talk to her with all the 'Explore' dialogues, her unsettling demeanor never wavers. The conversation feels realistic, with certain actions causing the Paranoid to start panicking and chanting desperately.

The last thing i'll point out about Chapter 2 is that the Hero and the Narrator hardly talk. It's as if they themselves are frightened of the entire situation. That is until she pulls off her mask. You don't get to see what she looks like, but the Narrator's description is more than enough to give it its effect.

Then there's the artstyle change. I originally thought it was just to convey you dying again, but it really changes the name of the Route. The Narrator's description and the visuals give the idea that this may not only be your nightmare. The Princess is most likely suffering as well.

Then after all of that, THE NARRATOR HIMSELF GIVES UP. You are left in a state of not being sure whether you're dead, but your mind has clearly given out.

We then move on to chapter.. uh... "The Moment of Clarity." You wake up, and for once, everything genuinely feels wrong. One could argue that in The Arms Race and Mutually Assured Destruction turned everything on the head by adding pretty much all the voices, but everything is thrown off in The Moment of Clarity. You're not even in the woods, or in the cabin for that matter, you're somewhere else. It's a place that vaguely feels like the woods, but it isn't. On top of that, the Voices can't remember what happened very well. Their memory isnt completely wiped, but the fact they have trouble remembering at all is completely new.

Not only do the voices not remember what happened, pretty much all the voices are talking now. With all their contradicting personalities, it's unclear what the truth is. The timeline is everywhere, the Narrator is no help, and there is still no feeling of safety.

"Maybe you're shattered in your own way." OH MY GOD THAT LINE ABSOLUTELY SLAYS ME (no pun intended). Even if it's swept under the rug by the other voices "not being philosophical," considering the stakes of the route, it just messes with me

My one complaint is the Voice of the Smitten. It's usually funny how down bad he is but it seriously is not fitting for the route at all.

It's interesting how they all consider the Voice of The Cold to be the voice of reason in the moment. In the Narrator's words, all the other voices have been traumatized to the point they can't be talked any sense into. Since the Cold is just so unfeeling, it's pretty much your characters only drive into move on except for maybe the Opportunist.

For once, none of the Voices question the mirror, not because they've accepted that there is no mirror, but because they've accepted that the Narrator thinks there is no mirror. It gives you how much of an idea that the Voices and in extension your character has given up. Hell, the Voice of the Stubborn even tells you to smash it at one point.

Something i havent mentioned much of is the music or sound design, but it really helps give off the atmosphere. In this 'third' chapter, the background music is a ticking clock and a breezy noise you may hear in a quiet room. Paired with the surreal landscape of the black forest and the floating cabin, it further gives off the idea of everything being a dream, or by extension a nightmare.

When you're told to pick up the blade, you're once again stuck. You aren't given any other choice except for the illusion of a choice. Some of the options are even blacked out, saying that 'you've tried everything else. Don't you remember?'

The way she climbs out of the pit. You only see her face at first, then her abnormally long and lanky arms. Then you see her legs, with her bare feet looking like hands, reminding you of a spider or a monkey, but definitely not human. She isn't interrupted once she's in full view, leaving you to stare at her and her outstretched hand and cracked mask.

Remember how I mentioned that in the demo, the Narrator is so shocked by your sudden death that he says 'I'm so sorry.' There is now a complete contrast with this new version. When you take her hand, he ends off his sentence by saying "I can't believe you just made me say that. I hate you." and with full sincerity, not even in a joking or petty manner.

"Why is it so cold?.."

#long post #slay the princess #stp voices #stp the nightmare #stp the voice of the paranoid #the voice of the paranoid

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fanfoolishness · 2 years ago

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Random spoilery thoughts for The Apostate based on my deliriously watching it way after my bedtime last night, but before rewatching it tonight with the husband:

Was very excited to see Bo-Katan’s helmet in the credits. She’s really going places this season, huh?

Loved seeing glimpses of the helmet ritual. I was worried that the kid was going to be baby Din, even though he looked absolutely nothing like him; I was relieved to see it was present day, but I still would’ve liked another flashback to kid!Din. Also, does Din just not have flashbacks anymore? I kind of miss them.

A little salty we didn’t see any Mando’a in this whole ritual. But, I loved seeing the Armorer more. She’s always an intense, mesmerizing presence and even though I now distrust her (is she Force-sensitive? the way she somehow realized that croc-monster was coming… not to mention some of her other appearances where she seems to know more than people are telling her) I always love seeing her do her thing.

I want to try and write something about Din wishing he was welcome for Grogu’s sake (so he can be around other Mandalorians besides Din and discover the community for himself) but can’t seem to figure it out.

Wish we saw some more non-human Mandalorians though :(

SPACE WHALES! Purrgil, yes? Man I still need to watch Rebels. But I obstinately want to watch all of Clone Wars first (we made it to season 5! We’re so close!)

I love that Grogu was both entranced by them but also a little scared because they were just so vast. Hence the need for a cuddle, which Din did not object to.

HIGH MAGISTRATE GREEF KARGA, please, if we have to spin off more characters from The Mandalorian to get to their own TV shows, we need to see Greef just Carl Weathersing around. Everything with him is just delightful! Let his cloak get longer every episode, please please please.

Not sure at all about this harebrained IG-11 idea, Din, but I loved that we could hear some of the music that used to play for Kuiil in the theme there, and that Din straight-up called IG his friend.

DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN WHAT WAS THAT I did not expect DROID HORROR here!!!

Love to see Nevarro all grown up! Greef may still be a little shady and obviously self-serving but I love that he wants to bring other people along with him too. The more wealth around in general the more for him too, right? So of course Nevarro needs to get respectable and dank farrik, he’s just the man to do it.

I’m glad Cara Dune didn’t die on the way back to her home planet. I’ll miss her presence as a friend and comrade to Din but I won’t miss Gina Carano’s bullshittery. Maybe we can meet a buff female Mando this season to add to the roster if we have to be adding new characters.

Big man in tiny room 😍

GROGU NO omg I love that he is just as awful as real toddlers sometimes 😂

…and yet Din thinks it’s time for him to learn about hyperspace navigation what even is this parenting technique

I still miss the Razor Crest, but I like that the Naboo thing (what is it called again?) makes Din even more menacing as a pilot

Dad Is My Seatbelt ❤️

I enjoy the mossy pirate. He is rather disgusting but I’ve never seen a design quite like that before.

Bo-Katan really has nothing better to do these days than lecture Din, does she? I love how disillusioned she’s become with the Darksaber. “Just wave that thing around and they’ll do whatever you say.” I also love that she calls out Din’s tribe for being superstitious and weird again. Like we all know Din is gonna ride a mythosaur by the end of this season or next and he’ll find the mines and they better be super cool, but I’m still feeling solidarity with Bo-Katan, resident skeptic

I just need Din to really sit down and think, “Do I regret taking my helmet off? It was always to help Grogu. To try and keep him alive, to try and find him, to say goodbye to him. Don’t I owe loyalty to him, too? Do I feel like an apostate?” Figure your shit out, sir!

But in the meantime, keep proudly telling everyone you meet your son’s horrible name. I made myself laugh for a minute straight when I realized Greef is over here thinking Din named Grogu that on purpose

Plotwise, definitely the most scattered premiere of the show, and because of it, not the most effective episode. I’d give it a B - perfectly enjoyable and some really fun, surprising moments, but it’s not asking the big questions that it keeps hinting at just yet. I hope they get there.

#the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian season 3 spoilers #the mandalorian the apostate spoilers #the apostate spoilers #the mandalorian #din djarin #grogu djarin #my mando reviews #the apostate

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sugarsnappeases · 11 months ago

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top films of the year!!!

tagged by @standardlovers <3333 who actually has like Film Opinions that don't revolve around how silly/sexy the films were but anyway here's my films...

np tags for @themuseoftheviolets @stillagoodwitch @quillkiller @fxreflyes @star4daisy <3333

i’m also gonna do some comments like teddy did bc i never know how to shut up ever so…

1. Point Break (1991), the film of all films, i think i rewatched it like three times this year, its my favourite film of all time, i never shut up about it, it literally has it all - surfing, bank robbery, skydiving, keanu reeves, patrick swayze, an excessive amount of deaths, rampant homoeroticism etc etc

2. Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), another rewatch, another banger, hugh grant is his typical bumbling englishman but this time it involved the mafia!! which i love, and manslaughter and the fbi and it’s a bit ridiculous which, of course, is a necessity

3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), i said it on my letterboxd and i’ll say it again - there is NOTHING like the love between a man and his razor blades, also helena bonham carter is SO sexy as always and there’s a lot of fun murder, my only note would be that they don’t sing the ballad of sweeney todd, which is clearly the best song from the musical, but otherwise very enjoyable

4. My Own Private Idaho (1991), what was in the water for keanu in 1991?? bc honestly this film is incredible, the campfire scene broke me into pieces, humpty dumpty style, and i’m still not back together again, also there are excellent insults in this eg. you starfish, you vile punk etc so i loved it a lot, and river phoenix is brilliant, are you kidding me??

5. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), another keanu but this one is Overtly silly rather than just being silly by association (all keanu films are silly bc he’s a lovably awful actor but this one takes the cake), literally party on dudes like be excellent to each other, what more do you want me to say??

6. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), ohhh my god guys idk how i’d never watched this before but honestly just incredible, so so so SO good, my friends told me that i give riff-raff vibes which… i’ve chosen to take as a compliment bc after all… it’s astounding… time is fleeeting (picture me bursting into a choreographed musical number)

7. Dangerous Liaisons (1988), a banger, i watched cruel intentions like years ago but this is dare i say it… better??? there’s just something about a period drama that elevates everything, keanu was very sweet, i loved when he was all covered in blood and bedraggled, and just in general i love when women are evil and malicious

8. A Knight’s Tale (2001), this film was an experience… i do think it should’ve just been about the bros going on an adventure and doing a spot of jousting instead of having that romance plot which was kinda eh, but the soundtrack fucks and there were generally excellent vibes and heath ledger was fantastic

anyway that’s that i guess!!!

honourable mention for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) bc god that film goes so hard, and also But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) bc like come on now, need i say more??

#kara’s film opinions #tag games

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montanabohemian · 2 years ago

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i started rewatching the first season of the mandalorian and there really is such a stark contrast in quality between the first two seasons (and tbobf) and third season. like i always considered s1e4 ("sanctuary") to be the weakest episode in the entire series. but it's miles ahead of the whole third season (aside from like the finale and the first couple of episodes). which is so bonkers to me.

i really don't know how or why they fumbled this so badly but my god??????? what happened.

but also i realized that i just really REALLY miss the razor crest. why the fuck did they have to blow her to smithereens.

#i mean tbobf wasn't the greatest thing i've ever seen and i didn't really enjoy it much until din showed up hahahahaah #but it had a very clear story arc and it achieved that #(honestly the weakest part of tbobf is when it randomly veers into luke and grogu because it doesn't make sense)#(it didn't make sense *to that particular story* AND YET they made it work)#s3 of the mandalorian was just .... there was no clear objective??????#too many random characters and storylines just shoehorned into *din djarin and grogu's* story #there was just SO MUCH POTENTIAL for s3 and they fucking blew it #anyway i'm just still bitter about s3 if you couldn't tell hahahaha #the mandalorian

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captainsspnanon · 2 years ago

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C2E66 - Beneath Bazzoxan - rewatch

Well, I got about an hour into the MLP oneshot before I gave up. That’s about par for the course with me for a lot of the CR one shots. I’ve seen a handful of them in full, started a handful and watched between 1 to 2 hours before giving up, and just haven’t even started the others. It’s a whole jumble of hit or miss.

Also something I missed from last episode – Travis jokingly asking Matt if there was a vestige of divergence in the roc nest. My brain totally forgot that this was before Fjord got the star razor, so I was like ‘you want two??’ SOON. SOOOOOON.

(I don’t even know how long it’s been since I look at this episode, oops! It’s been a time, alright? But OMG ANIMATED MIGHTY NEIN COMING AAAAA)

...Document last saved, Jan 30th. It’s now Feb 20th. … LOOK IT’S BEEN...It’s BEEN, okay?! Anyhow, I finally have the energy and mental fortitude to get back into this! (so annoyed at myself for falling apart right when we get a fantastic series of episodes) (omg also I’d only jumped on to freak out about the animated mighty nein??? My last C2 reaction was posted JANUARY 8TH omg.) (I don’t know why I’m being apologetic though, this stuff is mainly for me to improve my analytical thinking, active watching, and writing abilities. I know a few of you out there like reading it, but I’m sure you’re not chomping at the bit or anything XD)

I was only just past the intro, so I decided to go and rewatch the adbit and forgot that I was in the middle of the presidential campaign for dndbeyond! (after the ogl shitstorm, anyone else notice that CR hasn’t mentioned dndbeyond by name once? I wonder if they’re going to start up again at some point since the situation is now resolved, even though there’s a lot of bad taste in a lot of the community’s mouths. Personally, I’d be fine with it, because I do feel like wotc made the right choices to fix things, even if it never should have gotten to where it was in the first place, and communication choices had been…..yeah.)

I miss them reading their bits off of sheets in front of them. I fully get the appeal of the teleprompter meaning that they can keep their eyes up and looking at camera, but there’s a charm of them giving impassioned rants but also having to keep glancing down to check what their lines are.

See? With the teleprompter, you don’t get the adorableness of Laura having a merch update but no sheet, so floundering through Sam’s papers until Matt gives her his.

Liam perched on his chair just making squawking noises!

I love how this group is so unafraid to make unoptimal choices. Jester uses Disguise Self to look like a giant leaf, but Laura knows that it only works for people so knows it’s basically just a leaf costume and Will Not Work, but still Commits To The Bit.

Oh fuck it’s been so long that I forgot we were still with Texas!Fjord! Just got smacked in the face by the accent XD (controversial comment, but I don’t like it when I see people saying that they prefer the Texan accent, then other people saying that it means that they like pre-character growth Fjord, or hiding himself Fjord, lying to himself Fjord. It’s just that the Texan accent is fun! Given a choice between the two, I would have been happy if Travis had the Texan accent be Fjord’s natural accent and do the whole campaign with it, because I enjoy hearing it – especially since C1 was pretty much all English accents. But in order for that to happen, Fjord would have been completely different, and I don’t want a completely different Fjord, I love the Fjord that we got!)

(also off topic, but I’m waiting for noon so that I can check the shop. I want the Jester and Caleb dice so bad and they still haven’t been released. T.T)

god I forgot how much these idiots flounder in this nonsense, I love it so much!!! Each campaign, they all have their own version of floundering, and the Nein’s is just SO dumb, SO wonderful. Jester forgetting she could go invisible, Beau begging Fjord to take her with him with the Misty Step and Fjord saying he’s only got room for one, Beau trying to swim through the air to the tree, and then just curling up in a ball to make herself a smaller target IT’S SO GOOD.

And Caduceus and Yasha just watching all this go down like “yup” “yup”

Nein and Polymorph – nothing more iconic.

Fjord and teleporting – nothing more iconic!!

Polymorphed enemies attacking Fjord – truly nothing more iconic

This group and communication, I love it!! Caleb slides Beau off his wing, Matt describes her falling into the nest, Liam softly says that that’s not what he meant, Matt immediately asks him for clarification and Liam immediately responds with what he meant but ‘this is funny’ so keep going with it.

This is the first? time that Matt has done a skill check and not penalized the player for a nat 1. It is a minor grumble of mine that he doesn’t count nat 20s as an autosuccess (which falls within rules) but tends to still count nat 1s as an autofailure. I feel like you’ve got to play it all one way or all the other, not the half and half – especially not more penalizing the players.

Being an active part of the fandom now, I can image people bitching about this episode so far, about Matt giving them too much leeway, not enough consequences, making it too easy, the players getting distracted from their goal, etc. etc. Makes it a lot easier for me to brush off the bullshit criticism that C3 is getting. Critters have been complaining since C1, and sometimes it’s legit, and most times it’s bull.

I have such mixed feelings with Nott and Sam in regards to the rogue stuff. Because most of the time, Nott skipping looking for traps genuinely just feels like Sam either forgetting or deliberately ignoring it because he thinks it’s funny. I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s a struggle I have with Sam’s PCs, because a bunch of stuff that Sam does is just… well, Sam being Sam. He’d make the same joke for Scanlan, or Tary, or Nott, or FCG. So I can’t relate it to the specific PC, even when it’s the PC doing the action. Either way, if this was a deliberate choice for Nott (even with Beau telling her to look for traps) or Sam just trolling, I’m glad Matt had consequences, and consequences that impacted the entire party, because everyone was hit from the fireball. It’s a bit of a nudge (even though it doesn’t work. Does Nott EVER consistently look for traps, even after she’s killed?). Just looking at transcripts (not super accurate) 28 times within the first 50 episodes, 22 from episodes 51-100, and 21 from episodes 101-141. Sadly Critrolestats isn’t helpful for this, because they track the investigation rolls, but so many investigation rolls AREN’T checking for traps.

Ah ha! This is where Jester steals Nott’s flask! Laura tried to be sneaky, but Sam heard her right away.

Mmmrph...still not a fan of the jokes about Caleb sharing his loot. He never kept it! Liam just likes to make it theatrical. To be fair, I think this started because Vax hoarded loot? Or at least Vax teased Vex a lot with loot. Honestly, most of what I remember from C1 was Vax and Vex being silly over the boots of haste, one moment with loot where Liam asked Matt to make him and Laura roll for it, and then the drama over who gets whisper, which I honestly thing was more the fanbase than the players?

I kept getting confused that they weren’t sending to Essek, so I went and checked out my last post and yep there it was. ALSO there is the exact same stuff that I said above about Sam. -_- I have no original thoughts.

Insect Plague!!! *checks transcripts* Pike cast it in E5 and the battle royale, Umbrasyl cast it in E55, Jester casts in here in E66, and then again in E113. This is one of the rarest used spells, to the point where I completely forgot about it!

Bazzoxan!

(LOL the dice got released the day after I checked! ...and I don’t like the sets. Fuuuuuck)

(It’s now march 25th and I am in the MOOD. LET’S GO!!!)

wait what the fuck did I literally stop for AGES at like, 30 seconds before the break?? That’s hysterical.

In the two/three months where I stopped watching C2, I forgot how much Caleb really did take the lead in a lot.

Wait wait wait….they’re putting the moorbounders in the stables, is this where they leave them??? Is this the last appearance of the kitties?!?! *checks the transcripts* oh no it isssss. Now I’m sad, I love the moorbounders so much. (edit to add, rechecked the transcripts using the plural – looks like they technically have them as of e69 after the dungeon crawl, but then that’s the official last. I wonder if by the time I get to that episode I will have forgotten I’d typed all this and re-express myself) They seemed to perfectly bridge the difference between cared for and oft mentioned pets (Sprinkle, Frumpkin, Trinket) and mounts (barely ever named horses, the toilet horses, more unnamed horses). I don’t even have a headcanon for what happens to them after the Nein leave. I’ve read some nice posts about people taking care of them, Verin taking ownership, the Nein getting them back, but they just….vanish. I don’t think? that they were mentioned during the wrap up. Flando’s splits don’t mention them, so I guess not. I mentioned it way back, but I personally wish we could have gotten a second C2 wrap up. With C1, we had the official wrap up, and then a second one because there were so many questions left over. I can’t image that there weren’t enough questions left for C2. Then again, pandemic times, and that also must have been right when Brian was either let go behind the scenes and just not officially announced yet, or on the cusp, considering it wasn’t a Talks format.

I have Thoughts that I can’t really articulate about how frequently Caleb shows the Bright Queen medallion, and how it’s both a bit defensive and a bit arrogant. Thoughts about how it might be how Bren was trained to use the power of his station to get things he wanted. Thoughts on how it’s making sure that it’s clear that he is In Charge, or at least has some level of Authority due to the medallion, and how it influences how he interacts with authority. Thoughts on how it may be due to his old training versus the more frequent attempt currently to lower his status to try to be unseen. Thoughts about how much could be Caleb healing and regaining confidence versus just using it at a means to an end. I need someone else to get into my brain and actually write this up for me.

UGH I forgot all this cool Bazzoxan lore! I really do adore Matt’s worldbuilding, especially the level of depth that he puts into every place. He goes into it with the intention of making it feel real, and it really does.

I’ve mentioned it before and I know I’ll mention it again, but I so love how Liam handled spellcasting with his components. With him leaning in to Caleb having to ask to purchase any item he needs, rather than just a general check with Matt, but pulling it so well into the roleplay really does inspire others. Taliesin even in this scene! Tal was good with black powder and such last campaign, but I feel like Matt had to prompt him more, advising that he was running out of materials and such, whereas Liam frequently initiates the conversation.

The humor of Liam having to explain to Laura that she needs Guidance to get the plus d4 to a check. OH how times have changed. (I’m also not a huge fan of how heavily Guidance is leaned on now. When I was playing my druid, I made sure that Guidance was used sparingly, only where a magical boost seemed applicable. Personal preference though. I also wasn’t a huge fan of how for A Crown Of Candy on Dimension20 that familiars were constantly used to give advantage to rolls.)

Looking at the facial reactions when Matt says that Nott’s flask is missing, Sam and Laura obviously knew, and it looks like Taliesin overheard as well, but I think it’s a genuine surprise to everyone else.

Such a soft spot for the Wildbros. Wildbrothers? What’s the nickname for Fjord and Caduceus? I think it’s Wildbrothers, but google isn’t helping me. REGARDLESS. Fjord reaching out to Caduceus for help is such a lovely moment. Cad’s answer isn’t as straightforward as he would like, but it’s the first clear moment of Fjord changing paths to choose the Wildmother. I know that Travis had been looking for possible options, but it did end up heavily steering this way, and I’m certainly pleased with the end result. PLUS! A little bit from Caduceus as to what he is looking for! Still not a ton of detail but a place. Honestly, I didn’t realize how long it took to actually get backstory for Cad. I always consider him to be among the most open of the Nein (Jester being the most open, obviously), but I’ve seen very good meta explaining how he really isn’t that open at all. Watching with that knowledge, it’s very easy to see how much he really doesn’t say.

There’s something a bit beautiful of Caduceus trying to guide Fjord into meditation/worship the way he does (slow breathing, name each sound that comes by) transitioning into Fjord’s own (wind becoming the sound of waves). The Wildmother has always been a bit synonymous with Nature, but in my own failing, my interpretation of Nature was always plants and trees – very much the flora of the world. Fjord’s eventual worship of her being heavily based in the oceans, still very much a part of Nature, not only helped the character growth, but helped me recognize my own limitations that I was putting on her. It also helped, once again, just confirm the realness of the world. People practicing religion have so many variations to their worship and behaviors, to their interpretations of the religion. In fiction, it’s very easy to take it Planet of Hats, and every follower of God A performs exactly the same way, and every follower of God B worships following this specific structure. To have the gods in Exandria frequently worshiped differently continues to add depth to the world.

It’s very fun to see Ashley joke about Yasha doing some things which she quickly takes back, but will then fully play with as actual character traits in C3.

Oh FML. I fully get into this, and all of a sudden I have a massive headache. T.T This episode is gonna take for-fucking-ever. And it’s all good stuff!

Alright, two days later, no headache now, feeling good, got the time, lets see if I can make it through the last hour and half!

With the multiple instances of NPCs speaking Undercommon and Beau not being able to understand it, no wonder Marisha decided to take Undercommon the next opportunity she had. Checking to see when she gets it (level 10) just makes me really miss Beau. Her stats end up SO good, and she’s such an intelligent PC. The roleplay decisions Marisha makes add such a level of depth to Beau’s desire for knowledge and a lovely contrast to how Caleb is intelligent and pursues information. MY FAVS.

Once again, in my bad habit of underestimating Sam’s RP – I am really going to pay attention this time to Nott and her behavior when forced sober. There’s quite a bit of it here that is played for laughs, but that doesn’t mean that the characterization is shallow or false. Right away I noticed that Caleb immediately tries to sooth the situation by repeatedly saying that Nott has ‘misplaced’ her flask, ‘lost’ her flask. While it’s a completely understandable take, especially as Liam doesn’t know that Laura had Jester take the flask, it’s a very obvious difference from Nott always believing Caleb, to Caleb disbelieving Nott. He’s not cruel or harsh about it, and he doesn’t diminish her feelings at the lack of alcohol, but he does not accept Nott’s viewpoint that someone took the flask.

To be fair, a bit of that is metagaming. Sam heard Laura ask Matt to take the flask, so he knows that it was taken from Nott. I wonder how these scenes may have gone differently had he not overheard and thought that it was something Matt did in game, like how the Schuster kids stole their coin purses. (also yes I did go to the wiki to confirm the spelling of the name, and yes I did get it wrong at first)

I love when the cast gets Sam to completely break. Travis saying that Nott’s arms looked whiter than ever (Sam switched his shirt to a sleeveless shirt), and Sam just open mouthed WHEEZING for almost a solid 10 seconds. Absolutely glorious. And it’s Sam specifically because he’s the hardest to break. Taliesin in pretty hard too, BUT if Taliesin gets hit then he’s just OUT. Liam is by far the easiest to break and it’s delightful every time!

Downside of my massive delay in rewatching – they’re all discussing how Nott was doing really well without drinking and then started slipping up again when she picked it back up, and I can’t remember when this happened! When did she stop drinking and pick it up again??? I have no recollection, and I feel really bad ‘cause that’s a pretty important thing! Going back and finding my last post, I said that it might have been that she started getting drunk again to confront Yeza, but then I don’t recall why she would have been sober before that? This is the big downside of not binging.

Oh wait, maybe the table does know? Fjord suggests Jester scry on it, which SEEMS like Travis poking at Laura? But I’m not sure! Could be a coincidence!

Dungeon crawl! Dungeon crawl! I am hype for dungeon crawl! CR doesn’t do many of them, and I definitely was bored by Kraghammer, but I think all the crawls aside from that very first one have been a blast.

I feel like this conversation of them trying to help Jester craft a message to Obann is the perfect summation of the Mighty Nein. The absolute overlapping fuckery combined with SOME intelligence and a lot of goofing, but they get the job done. Eventually. Kind of. With sex jokes thrown in.

Aww, this is the doo doo doo doo moment, and Caleb legitimately laughing. Iconic. No donuts or pooping, but still good.

Talk about Beau/Marisha calling things! “what if in your past life, before you lost your memories, you WERE an Iron Angel?” well yes, yes she was.

Fjord preventing Nott from getting alcohol, then buying a bottle and essentially taunting her with it – it don’t feel good IC, but it always reads to me 100% of Travis teasing Sam. It’s one of those moments where it DID happen in game, but it doesn’t tie into how I view the PCs interacting, because even though it happened it was more ‘above table’ then in game, if that makes any sense? Like, Fjord and Nott have a very complex relationship, but Fjord buying alcohol when Nott is clearly going through withdrawal and then not letting her have it? It’s hard for me to view that in their relationship, it just doesn’t feel right. Like I said, too mean.

LOL when Sam sets down his flask and accidentally hits Matt’s camera. Because it jostles Matt’s screen, I keep expecting him to jump or flinch like he’s being shaken, but of course it’s just the image so he doesn’t react.

After talking way too much about EVERYTHING, I actually don’t have much to say about the dungeon crawl. It’s fucking awesome, Matt’s descriptions of celestial statues with bleeding eyes is amazing, everyone’s reactions are super fun to watch! I suppose it’s harder for me to discuss because as much as I love the imagery, I kind of never really got the whole lore tie in. The whole Angel of Irons plot, to be fair, is a bit fuzzy to me. I kind of wish it had gotten explored a bit more, because the main takeaways that I have from it are that Obann thinks he’s serving the Angel of Irons (whoever he thinks that’s supposed to be), and gets undying champions – Yasha, The Laughing Hand, the Caedogheist or whatever her name is – and then….does something? And it’s got to do with a cult? That is releasing Abyssal anchors that just kinda open tears. Like, I get from the wiki that he’s doing all these things and it’s supposed to release the Chained Oblivion from the Abyss (which oh, I didn’t realize he was there? Because isn’t he behind the Divine Gate?), but it just never quite solidified for me.

ANYHOW. FINALLY COMPLETE. Let’s hope it doesn’t take as long to continue with the rewatch!

#cr c2 rewatch #mighty nein #critical role #took about three months to get this done #oof

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lolotheparagon · 7 months ago

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Mine is Shenhe from Genshin Impact. Despite my problems with the game, I’ve never had a character quest just hit me in the gut so hard as with Shenhe’s. A woman of legend who was believed to have willingly sacrificed herself to save her hometown to a demon who was terrorising the town to begin with, fought said demon in combat and freed the town from the demons wrath. Thus she became a powerful figure of legend and everyone who meets her believes her to be some kind of demigod. But she’s really not. She’s actually the daughter of an exorcist, and was born with a spirit instead her, causing her to have uncontrollable bursts of power that caused her mother to die, then her father decides to give young Shenhe’s up as a sacrifice to the demon in order to revive his wife. So Shenhe ends up being raised by a nature spirit bird and is trained to be a powerful warrior but is encouraged to go to Ponyville and make some friends. And she does and she fucking destroyed a sea monster that was about to wipe out the city cos her new friend was about to be killed.

I think Shenhe is such a wonderful character, I’m a sucker for characters who have a lot of shit happen in their life but they don’t let it get to them. She sacrifices so much without even realising it cos she’s so used to being hard on herself and pushing herself to make others happy. I also love how fucking weird she is. She eats blades of grass and flowers and yet hates fine cuisine cos it never satisfies her. She struggles with basic communication and thinks carrying a 10 story tall boulder on her back is no big deal and is baffled when someone asks about her safety. People would come to her and praise her like she’s some demigod when using her powers and she’s like im just standing here bro. But despite her initial hesitation to get out there, once she actually has friends and a support system, she just flourishes. Like, girl just lost her family and her home, and as soon as she integrates back into society as an adult, she finds out not only does she have a step sister, but also a nephew she never knew existed. Also she’s practically a walking legend in the eyes of Liyue and all she wants is to just fit in and have friends. Just… awww!!

She’s definitely not perfect. The fact that Genshin pushes everyone in the cast to be unwaveringly attached to the Traveller and this combined with Shenhe’s devotion to the Traveller does come across as weird and creepy. But this has changed recently as she’s got her own life now outside of the Traveller by living with her step sister Ganyu in Liyue and has a job as a waitress. So this has gotten better over time. I think Shenhe serves her role as side character really well, and I like her intergenerational friendships with not only the Traveller, but Ganyu and Yun Jin as well (since they are core parts of Shenhe’s story). Just as long Hoyoverse doesn’t make it weird. Which they probably will. Ya know what weebs are like. I know I’ll probably never get much screentime with her since Genshin is all about meeting new characters and just dumping them on the wayside until Hoyoverse decides to make an event around them a year later.

But yeah. Shenhe is far too good to be in a game like this. She didn’t need a whole of development to be interesting but by god, the writers went emotional as fuck for her story like holy shit. Again I haven’t played the game for a while so let me know if anything’s changed. Even now, I still can’t help but think about Shenhe and her quest because it was that emotional. In an ocean of so many characters that are just anime archetypes and cliches, Shenhe is truly unique in that she’s allowed to be fucking weird. I even rewatch all the cutscenes from that quest on YouTube. She wasn’t the ONLY character I liked from that game, shout outs to Yun Jin, Thoma, Ayaka, Collei, Beidou, Rosaria, Jean, Razor, Klee and Xinyan

Still, I love my crazy lovable crane lady and she deserves her own game without weebs writing her. Even her weird ass outfit doesn’t bother me that much.

Let’s get a topic going: have you ever had a character from a bad show/video game/movie/book etc. that was SO GOOD it did not deserve to be there and you wish you could put them in a much better story?

Share some of your faves

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emumuuu · 3 years ago

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somebody: oh wow, that person looks like they’re in deep thought. must be something philosophical

me, staring at the ground: bennetts windblume poem. bennetts. windblume. poem. bennett and razor. good. very like. bennetts windblume poem.

#this is a sum up of most of my thoughts today #just #god i love them #razornett is honestly god tier and i am a fool for not liking it before #i was rewatching some clips from the windblume event #ya know #since i didnt start playing till it was over 😐#genshin impact #genshin bennett #genshin razor #razornett

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corvidcas · 3 years ago

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this show used to be so gory it’s literally hard to watch

#i just had to watch a guy choke up razor blades like ahhhh oh my god??? ew?????#maybe i’m just high #is this like normal levels of ew like idk. we had inside the mouth shots of him pulling a razor blade out of the top of this mouth.#and then he started coughing them up. omg.#body horror tw #gore tw #text only #my posts #4.07 #cas rewatch #e.txt

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whatsnevershown · 4 years ago

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Vulnerable (The Witcher Fic / Geralt x Reader

I rewatched The Witcher the other day !! I was really sad to see we probably get another season in 2021, so if you need something to keep you going.. This !!

“What, would you rather y/n do it?” Jaskier asked, scrubbing Geralt vigorously.

“Perhaps she’d have a softer touch,” Geralt growled in return.

Y/n, who was sleeping—or attempting to—on the wooden bench a couple of metres from the tub, opened one eye at the statement, “If you think I’m getting anywhere near you and the disgusting stench you brought in with you, you have another thing coming,”

“You act as if you were the epitome of cleanliness when I first met you,” he replied coldly.

“I was without access to such luxuries,” she gestured at the bath, “you simply neglect them,”

Geralt grunted in response.

“Now let me sleep,” she groaned.

“Oh no you don’t,” said Jaskier, “I’m not entirely convinced you aren’t on the verge of dying,”

Y/n had had a rough day. When Geralt had found her, she was rain soaked and shaking, unconscious. She still shook now, as much as the other two noticed she was trying to hide it, and the wooden bench wasn’t entirely the pinnacle of comfort. Of course, Jaskier had offered she share his bed, but she had declined, very aware of his tendencies with women in his bed. Geralt had felt no need to make such an offer.

“I am not on the verge of dying,” she said, opening her eyes, “I’m just a little cold. And oh so very tired, so if you’d leave me be, perhaps I could remedy at least one of those things,”

Without warning, Geralt stood up out of the tub.

Y/n gave a small outcry of surprise, “My virgin eyes,” she groaned.

“No one’s forcing you to look,” said Geralt, but the laugh in his voice indicated he knew exactly what he was doing.

“You take up half the bloody room, witcher,” she said, eyes now closed, “it’s not as if I was staring.

He gave a low laugh, a truly bone chilling thing.

“Fine, sleep,” he said, pulling a long shirt over his head, and moving towards the bed across from her bench.

Jaskier opened his mouth to remake his earlier offer, but Geralt caught him, “She said no, Bard,”

Jaskier merely shrugged, and got into his own bed.

In no time, the two of them were sleeping, soft snoring coming from both beds. Of course that bastard snored, y/n thought.

But she couldn’t sleep herself. She had been downplaying her ailments to the men all night. She was freezing, and her lungs felt like they were full of razor blades, cutting her every time she dared breath in. Geralt knew that a man had attacked her and that she had fought him off, but he didn’t know of the beating she had received in the process, the bruises on her ribs.Or how long she had lay there, passed out in the snow, slowly numbing. Gods know what could have happened to her if she hadn’t had her dagger. She shuddered even more violently at the thought.

Suddenly, a set of snoring halted. The Witcher was awake, and she didn’t even have to look to feel his analyzing eyes on her, boring into her. She wrapped her arms around herself to cover up her shaking, but she knew he saw it. She tried not to give him the eye contact he clearly craved, but he was not giving up, staring as her until she turned to him and said;

“What?”

“You’re shaking,” he said simply.

“And?”

“And the sound of your teeth chattering woke me up,”

He lifted the covers, a subtle move, but one with a lot of subliminal weight, an invite, for her to join him.

Y/n scoffed, but she was truly freezing, still unable to feel the tips of her fingers.

He didn’t speak, just held the covers open, raising a brow.

She was strong willed and stubborn, but he out-waited her, as the cold ate her up, she moved quietly into his bed.

As soon as she felt warmth, she became addicted to it, curling up against his stone torso, that burned like a furnace against her chest. She shamelessly pushed herself against him.

He didn’t even say anything, just moved to wrap his arm around her body, a movement absent of ulterior motive, simply a kindness.

Y/n hissed in pain as he touched her ribs, and he froze.

“What was that?” he said, his voice low.

“Nothing,” she replied, closing her eyes, but he didn’t let her.

“Y/n, show me your ribs,” he growled

“Take me to dinner first,” she mumbled, trying to sleep.

But he was fixing her with that look. That damned look. Geralt spoke with his eyes, she’d noted that a lot in her week with him. And the way he’d stare at her, that patient way, as if he had all the time in the world for her to obey him. The same looked that had gotten her into his bed in the first place.

She sighed and lifted her shirt, revealing her bruised ribs, that looked particularly nasty in the candlelight, all purple and yellow.

His face grew worried, and he looked at it thoroughly before looking her in the eye.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, as softly as she’d ever heard him speak.

“It was none of your business,” she replied.

He put his arm around her, softly and carefully, “You can trust me, Y/n. I thought you knew that. I’ve seen you vulnerable enough times not to judge you,”

She laughed humorlessly.

“Trust? That isn’t what trust is, Geralt. If only you took your own advice. Then perhaps I’d have seen you vulnerable. But I haven’t, because you’re so damned proud, and you never let yourself be vulnerable. You’re just a man who knows all of my weaknesses, and I know none of yours. That doesn’t make you trustworthy, that makes you a threat,”

He took in what she said for a momend see him do it, mulling over all her words.

“You’re right,” was all he said.

Then, he pulled the covers off his torso, revealing his scarred chest.

He pointed to one of the scars, “Vampire. Caught me off guard. Disguised herself as a brothel girl,”

Then, to another one, “Bloodwolf. I don’t guard my left side as much when I attack. Got me right on the shoulder,”

Then to another, “Strignat—”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Because these are my weaknesses. The things that have gotten past my guard enough to make a mark. These are constant reminders of my vulnerability,”

She did’t answer, so he continued pointing out his scars, describing the stories behind them, stories about monsters and witches that she delighted in.

At some point, she fell asleep, and he was left there, holding her until morning. He did not sleep. He could not sleep, the sound of his pounding heart—the heartbeat that was to be slowest heartbeat among men—kept him awake until dawn.

And like, a bonus scene. If you want it.

“Really, Geralt,” Jaskier was standing over them. Y/n was still asleep in his arms.

“Did you really have to, do you understand how awkward that’s going to make things in the future?”

Geralt growled, “I didn’t bed her, Jaskier,”

“Right,” said Jaskier with exasperation, “And that’s why you’re half naked. In bed with her with your big meaty claws around her,”

“My big— My what?”

“Good gods,” the other man continued, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you are around the size of Roach. Are you sure she’s still breathing in that chokehold?”

“Jaskier,” he groaned, “I didn’t—nevermind,”

#the witcher #geralt x you #geralt imagine #geralt x reader #the witcher series #the witcher fic #the witcher imagine #geralt of rivia #geralt x regis #geralt #geralt of rivera #the witcher fanfiction #the witcher fluff #jaskier #the witcher x reader #the witcher fanfic #the witcher fandom #the witcher headcanons

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themauvesoul · 2 years ago

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Like you all had to be there in the spop trenches to truly understand. We were coming into that show off the back of vld. We (me and my gf) had been through the deepest circles of hell: Shiro’s last minute mystery husband. shiro’s last minute mystery dead BOYFRIEND. Inexplicable sheith bait in s6. Canon lance/allura, which maybe 5 people total wanted?? It was a Mess. And then we go watch spop and the first season is like. Well. You simply have to go watch it for yourself. The homoeroticism is almost comical. They defeat the s1 villain with a giant rainbow.

And like. At first we are all like ok boys strap in we got another baiter on our hands! But THEN. NATE FUCKING STEVENSON. OPENS HIS BEAUTIFUL MOUTH. and he says yeah the homoeroticism was intentional. We are laying groundwork here. And we are all like yeah yeah whatever. We’ve done this song and dance before, because show runners love lying even more than they love running shows. But we (me and my gf) keep watching the show and we’re gradually realizing that this might not be another baiter. Maybe Nate is gonna actually go for it. But you never really let yourself hope because like. Come on dude. The ONLY time they let people be explicitly, undeniably gay in a cartoon was like. Steven universe. And they canceled Steven universe BECAUSE of the gay people.

And spop had the same problem before the gay people were even textually gay, because this show was happening in the Netflix era where they kept cutting seasons in half for no particular reason. Spop basically rode the razor’s edge of cancellation from start to finish. There was a brief period of time where I was genuinely worried the show would not make it to the end.

And then. Pov you are me and my gf watching s5 via discount zoom, because the last season of spop came out in the middle of lockdown. And this is like. Fan fiction levels of homoeroticism. I feel like I’m hallucinating or some shit. And we’re scarfing handfuls of popcorn and we’re like no. No fucking way. And then the catgirl kisses the magical tall lady and I will be honest. I cried like a baby. I wept real fucking tears because. Mind you. I was watching the show up to this point like haha wouldn’t it be neat if they did it. I was CONVINCED there was no way this catgirl was gonna kiss the tall magical lady, because I know how showrunners love to lie and, more importantly, I know how execs love to censor shit. But they did it, because Nate Stevenson and everybody that worked on spop are more brave and true than any cw employee. And like. The feeling is indescribable. I could’ve deadlifted a semi truck. You all think nov 5 emotions are powerful? I could’ve done anything that night. I was like a fucking god. I wasn’t just right. I was right AND gay people kissed right on my laptop screen. And like. Multiple multiple people have said that getting that catgirl/tallgirl kiss in the show was a battle and a half. Everybody working on that show fought uphill both ways and in the snow for a three second shot of two girlies kissing, because Netflix execs are evil bastards. But. Crucially. Everybody at spop is my beloved comrade and they all had my back. That kiss is In the episode. I just rewatched it at work and had to hold back tears.

Now contrast this with spn. Where misters kripke carver and dabb (and gamble) happily dangled destiel in front of our noses for a decade. With eye-peelingly obvious shit. Like some fruity lil carrot on a stick. And then in the final hour they fumbled the ball so badly that we are still on tumblr posting about it. They literally had the gay angel say I love you and then sent him directly to hell for saying it. Like watching the spop finale soothed some hurt little thing I didn’t even know I had inside me. Witnessing destiel go canon was so baffling and absurd and rage inducing that it Immediately undid all of that. And now. Unfortunately. That hurt little thing inside me is out for fucking blood.

Spop is like reverse destiel. To me.

#and I am taking it out on the fake supernatural guys. fucking eat each other!! tear each other apart!!!!

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telehxhtrash · 4 years ago

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A masterpost on Togashi’s gay subtext and why it’s intentional.

Hi ! After seeing so many posts about Togashi dropping subtext about Killua's possible romantic feelings for Gon, I thought it'd be a good idea to make a sort of "masterpost" with all the subtext that Togashi has included into his work.

I usually see a lot of people trying to say that HxH isn't about romance and that Togashi isn't interested in writing romance into the manga, but when you analyze all the subtext that's been going on the further Gon and Killua's relationship progresses, I think it's incorrect to say that Togashi has never hinted at the possibility of romance in HxH.

This is going to be a long post, enjoy your read!

Also, please note that I will only base this analysis on the manga, so there can be no mistake that "maybe this is just something the anime made gayer" : i want to prove that the subtext is 100% intentional on Togashi's part.

I'd also like to mention, although I will analyze it further after listing the subtext, that Togashi is a VERY smart man. There are always little details in the story and/or foreshadowing that are easily missed at first but when you notice them, it truly makes you understand how much attention and care Togashi puts into his work. There are countless details and symbolism that are analyzed daily through wonderful meta posts, from the main 4′s birthdays and their link to their character or the religious symbolism in Kurapika’s story arc.... Togashi loves to foreshadow and plant little details into his work, so when Togashi plants subtext, I'm sure he 100% knows that he's writing it, and it can't be seen as unintentional.

I'll also link all my references for this post at the end of it, so feel free to read all the additional textposts and content if you want to know more.

Well, let's get into it!

EDIT : i can’t believe this post is still being used as a reference it makes me so happy... thank you so much !!! i edited this to tweak it a bit because i wrote this a while ago and the phrasing seemed off to me, so if you’re reading or re-reading this post, hi, welcome to masterpost on gay subtext 2.0 !

GREED ISLAND ARC

Greed Island is to me the arc that lays down the nature of Killua and Gon's relationship. It's during this arc that we get to see a bit more of what Killua thinks, how he's lucky to have met Gon and that he feels really grateful. Gon’s behavior in this arc is also very affectionate, with him always reassuring Killua about his place next to him. While the scene where Killua thinks "You've got it backwards, Gon, I'm the one that's glad I met you." can't be considered as subtext, I think it's something that lets the reader know a bit more about how Killua feels towards Gon.

But other than this scene, which can clearly be dismissed as platonic, there are 2 more moments in the Greed Island arc that are layered in subtext.

• The Rainbow Diamond (chapter 151)

During their time in Dorias, Killua uses Risky Dice to gain cards from the slot machines. The first card that Killua gains is called "Rainbow Diamond", the description of the card being "A diamond that shines in a rainbow of colors. Propose with this diamond and she is guaranteed to say "yes"".

There are 3 different things we can take from this panel. First, the card is a marriage proposal card, so it's obviously romantic in nature. Second, the object is a RAINBOW diamond. And third, Killua, wanting to keep the card safe, gifts it to Gon.

In short, Togashi sat down at his desk, decided to draw Killua winning a MARRIAGE PROPOSAL CARD (it could've been any card, but Togashi CHOSE to make Killua win a marriage proposal card) that has a RAINBOW diamond on it and made Killua gift it to Gon.

While I personally don't think that subtext can be used to 100% ascert that Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, I think it's a funny little touch from Togashi, and I'm even gonna say a sort of hint towards how Killua's feelings for Gon are going to evolve in this arc and the next.

• “It has to be Killua” (chapter 166)

Now this is a scene that I've never seen anyone talk about, at least on Tumblr, but when I read a bit of analysis on it I was 100% convinced this was intentional subtext. I'm basically quoting here what this article explains, so if you want more detail, I recommend reading it.

As you probably recall, during their deadly dodgeball game against Razor, Killua decides to sacrifice his hands to ensure that Gon could use all his strength. When confronted about it, Killua insists that it's nothing, and Gon shocks him by saying that he knew all along that he was hurting himself for his sake.

Gon then says that it can only be Killua holding the ball, and that it has to be Killua, resulting in Killua being absolutely awestruck and embarassed. I'm also going to talk about the anime adaptation for this one, because it's perfectly executed and translates extremely well the nuance that the second sentence bears. If you want to rewatch it, this scene happens in episode 70. It's worth noting that in the anime, we see Killua not reacting to Gon's first sentence, but losing his composure entirely when Gon says the second sentence. But why ?

The reason was lost in translation. His exact words are "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to. Killua ja nakya dame nan da.". Both sentences basically say the same thing : It has to be Killua holding the ball. That second sentence can be translated literally as "If it's not Killua, that won't do." However, the second sentence, in a different context, can also be used to say a totally different thing.

While it's certain that Gon used this sentence in the context of the dodgeball match, the sentence "~ja nakya dame nan da" also serves as a confession of one's feelings in japanese. It's basically the equivalent to "you're the one for me". When you google the sentence, it turns up romantic songs, forum posts asking what it would translate to in English and posts on how to confess to someone.

The sentence basically drowns in romantic subtext. As mentioned before, Killua has no reaction to the first sentence "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to.", but loses his composure at the second one, and I think that was a very deliberate thing Togashi wanted to convey : this sentence has an additional layer, and clearly Killua is taking it to heart.

I will come back to this specific subtext in a bit, because we can parallel it with another subtext-y situation, so please keep it in mind for now.

CHIMERA ANT ARC

Now onto the sad gay arc! This arc is so RIDDLED in subtext and parallels that it's making me lose my mind.

• Gon, you are light. (chapter 199)

This scene is just... So romantic in nature. I’m not too objective on this, but I really do believe that this moment is the exact moment Killua fell in love with Gon and started to realize he felt a bit more than friendship towards him. It’s Killua respecting Gon for who he is, realizing that he’s light and he’s always been, he’s the one who saved him and who’s always been so bright and optimistic and always makes the best out of any situation. In this scene, Killua lets himself drown in Gon’s light, allows himself to feel this “wow” moment of pure admiration and love, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

It's extremely important to take the context of this scene into account. What happened is that Killua, who has been struggling mentally for the entire series with the fact that he's always running away, ran away once more, leaving Kite to die with Pitou. This ENTIRE chapter is literally adults absolutely DESTROYING Killua, first Kite's troupe bashing him for leaving Kite behind, and then Netero, Morel and Knov coming in like icing on the cake telling Killua that "After all, he's just a kid", and that he should hurry up to his mommy.

Killua is beating himself up for running away again, got destroyed by Kite's team and 3 extremely strong pro hunters. His morale is down in the drains right now. He expects Gon to be mad at him for betraying Kite, for running away once again, for leaving Kite to die alone and ripping Gon away from Kite : he expects that he'll lose Gon for his cowardice.

HOWEVER, the first thing that Gon says to Killua after having been passed out for god knows how many hours is "Thank you".

Gon woke up and instantly eased up all of Killua's fears : he wasn't a loser for running away, and Gon was actually thankful for him. Gon, at this moment, was the only one that showed kindness, understanding and gratefulness towards Killua. Gon even goes so far as saying that he knows that Kite isn't dead, and that they have to help him. At this instant, Gon is truly Killua's saving grace. He's the one that trusts him with his entire heart, and believes in his choices when even he can't believe in himself. Gon is truly Killua's light at this precise moment, because he was the only one who supported him, trusted him and reassured him in this awful situation.

How can someone shine so bright in such a terrible situation ? How can someone be so positive that nothing bad will happen ?

Gon asserting all of this makes Killua respect him a lot. Keep this word in mind, because it’s going to be important in the next piece of subtext I’m analyzing, because those two scenes canonically follow each other and are basically Togashi highlighting that something special happened when Killua called Gon his light, and that his feelings deepened.

• Introduction to Palm's character (chapter 200)

This piece of subtext is very very easy to miss but it's one of the most important subtext-y scene, because coupled with the “Gon, you are light” scene, it’s very clear that this dialogue is deliberately highlighting Killua’s feelings.

This chapter introduces Palm's character (which, imo, is a character introduced for the sole intent of being a catalyst to Killua's feelings towards Gon, but I'll talk about it in my post talking about the CAA parallels) - edit: i talked about this briefly here.

So, Killua having looked into Gon's eyes for like 10min straight and concluded that Gon was the light of his life a chapter ago, is now chilling with Gon as they meet Palm.

Palm takes them to a café and STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT harasses them about how much she's in love with Knov. Like when I say harassing, it's literally a whole page of her explaining her feelings towards Knov.

There are two interesting things that can be drawn from this interaction.

First, it's extremely easy to draw parallels between Palm's situation towards Knov and Killua's situation towards Gon. Palm starts by saying how amazing her master is, that she probably has special feelings for him but the most important thing is to respect the other person. Remember how I talked about how this last scene was Killua having a surge of deep, deep respect for Gon ? Palm makes sure to highlight that special word, that it’s important to respect someone when it comes to love.

She then goes on to say that she hasn't said anything to Knov, and never will. All of this adds nothing to the story, it's empty dialogue, Togashi could've introduced Palm in virtually any other way possible, but he chose to drag her and the gay duo to a café and make her have a monologue about love RIGHT after the extremely emotional panel of Killua declaring that Gon is his light just a chapter ago.

But there's more. Not only does Palm monologue for a while about love, but after finishing her monologue, this happens :

This panel features ONLY Palm and Killua, her looking at him like the psycho she is, and straight up telling him that "love can suddenly spark out of nowhere, don't you think so?".

What's so interesting about this is the fact that Togashi made the deliberate choice to have Palm say this to Killua and Killua ONLY, which after the gay existential crisis he had last chapter, can very much be applied to his situation. Love DID spark out of nowhere, and Togashi wants you to notice. Togashi could've made Palm say this to herself, with no distinct listener like the last panel, but he made the conscious choice to draw this panel with Palm adressing herself to Killua SPECIFICALLY.

Those two pieces of subtext, that fit perfectly together, make me believe 100% that Togashi knows what he's doing and he's not unintentionally planting gay subtext in his work. The fact that Togashi sat at his desk, drew Killua calling Gon his light, and then followed this scene with the introduction to a character who picks Killua apart to tell him that "love is something that just happens, don't you think?" is 100% proof that Togashi knows what he's doing.

• Date with Palm (chapters 217 and 218)

I think this situation has many layers, but many people still dismiss it as bro behavior so I'm gonna try my best to counter argue. First of all, and although that's not proof of anything, Killua looks EXTREMELY distressed by the prospect of Gon going on a date with Palm, but that can be counter-argued by saying that Killua is just worried because Palm is completely crazy.

What I want to talk about is the scene that happens right after, when Gon and Killua go to the gym (because theyre DUDES YEAH WE WORK OUT NO HOMO), and the conversation casually drifts to Killua asking Gon if he's ever been on a date before, valid question considering what just happened previously. There are multiple things here :

1) Killua seems distressed that Gon has been on dates before. While it can be argued that it's a normal reaction because Gon has and he hasn't, I believe that Killua - who is in no way a normal person who would get flustered about "not having been on dates before a certain age" - would not feel uncomfortable that his friend is more experienced than him - especially when literal seconds later, he monologues about how he doesn’t care about dates and just wants to stick with Gon.

2) Gon then proceeds to ask Killua if he's ever been on a date, to which Killua responds :

What I want to highlight is the panel where Killua says "And the truth is, I want to stay by your side... Always...". Basically, what Killua is saying, is that he doesn't care about dates, all he wants to do is be with Gon.

I don't think this can be counter-argued as bro behavior, but with all the subtext I've explained before, this right here is pretty gay. Togashi put this panel deliberately to show that Killua doesn't give a crap about dates when he can stay with Gon, and with the "gon you are light" scene and everything in mind, this is another intentional subtext.

There's also the fact that Killua stalks the date like a jealous girlfriend - but I'm not gonna count that as subtext because it can be argued that he's just worried about Gon because Palm is insane.

• Gon is my best friend ! (chapter 219)

Remember how I told you to keep the "It has to be Killua" subtext in mind because I was gonna come back to it later ? Well.

During Palm's date with Gon, Killua runs into Rammot, who would definitely have ran into Palm and nenless Gon. Killua is forced to confront his worst fear : this is the moment where he knows that if he runs away again, Gon WILL die. Killua is literally overcoming his "programming", the physical representation of years of abuse out of love and care for Gon. He's ripping out the needle from his forehead out of pure, genuine care for Gon, because if he doesn't, then he'll lose him forever.

Now, what I actually wanna talk about is this panel :

What we see is Killua thinking happy thoughts about all his adventures with Gon because he can't - won't - doesn't want to run away anymore, and all this for his sake. But what I wanna draw attention to is the dodgeball panel that's bigger than all the others, and the only one where you can actually clearly make out what's written : "Killua ja nakya dame nan da".

Now, isn't that interesting that the panel that takes a bigger place in the whole panel is the one with this particular sentence? Remember what I talked about a bit earlier, about how "~ ja nakya dame nan da" is a sentence with a lot of romantic connotations (would pretty much equal to "you're the one for me" in English). Clearly this particular sentence stuck with Killua.

I'm not completely objective on this matter since I firmly believe that at this point, Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, but I interpret this as another deliberate thing Togashi did : putting the panel bigger so we can see that it has a particularly significant importance to Killua, and Killua's state of mind right now (not wanting to lose Gon).

In my opinion, two things happened here: One, Killua remembers this specific interaction because he knows how much Gon trusts him and he doesn't want to betray his trust. But I also firmly believe that Killua remembered this specific interaction because of the romantic connotation the sentence "Killua ja nakya dame nan da" has. Those words clearly shocked him, and I think he remembers them in this life-threatening situation, after the "gon you are light" scene, Palm talking about "love just happens", the "i want to stay with you, always" because he realizes that he wishes Gon would say that sentence in a romantic context, and not in the context of the dodgeball match, thus leading him to surpass himself to prove his love and perhaps live to see the day where Gon could say those words in that romantic context.

Now, of course, all of this is my interpretation, so it's really up to debate, but I really wanna highlight the fact that Togashi deliberately CHOSE to highlight this particular interaction between Gon and Killua, this sentence with romantic subtext, to lead Killua to finally break his chains and be able to be protect Gon fully. It’s also interesting to note that the 2011 anime adaptation also makes it a point to emphasize how deep these words stuck to Killua by making it the last flashback that makes Killua effectively rip out the needle out of his head.

Also let's quickly mention the irony in the situation here : while Gon is on a romantic date, Killua fights to protect him, overcoming his weakness to prove his love. It’s not Palm who deserves that date, it’s Killua.

• A lovers’ suicide (chapter 286)

Now, onto the most important piece of subtext, that can not be counterargued as platonic in any way, shape or form. During the palace invasion, Killua leaves Gon's side, proceeds to go kick Youpi's butt only to have to fall back because he used up all his electricity nen. When Killua is charging up, he meets with Meleoron, and tells him that once he's done charging, he'll go back to Gon's side.

They briefly exchange information about the battle, and then Meleoron proceeds to ask Killua what's the plan for him and Gon. That's when Killua explains that "Once Gon is like this, he won't budge an inch. Worst case scenario, it'll be a double suicide.". At worst they both die, cool. They “go down in flames together”. It’s actually much, much more meaningful than that.

The specific word that Killua uses for double suicide is "心中" (shinjuu), which is a heavily romantically connotated word in japanese. Shinjuu, also translated as "lovers’ suicide", is when two people die out of love, by the same method, because there's a belief that this'll allow those two people to spend eternity together. Shinjuu is a major theme of Japanese literature, and it is always used romantically. It's a very uncommon word to use to refer to two people dying together, because of its heavy romantic connotation, and because it always refers to double suicide committed by people bound by love. In literature, it always refers to two lovers, in love. If you want to read more on shinjuu, i suggest this and this, those articles explain its historic roots and the definition, also emphasizing the feeling of "oneness" that characterizes shinjuu. If you’re interested, I also suggest reading the japanese article that defines shinjuu, and hitting the google translate button, it has some pretty interesting sentences like “Shinjuu is traditionally committed by men and women out of mutual love, in the hope that they will be connected in the afterlife because they can't be together in this world.”

So basically, what Killua is saying is that he wants to go back to Gon's side to die with him, committing a "lovers’ suicide" because he doesn't want to leave Gon to die alone, and wants to die with him.

I also want to emphasize how special this word is to Killua, and that he and everyone around him know the special meaning of this word - In chapter 300, Ikalgo literally says "We were... No, KILLUA was ready to commit shinjuu with Gon". Ikalgo is really highlighting the fact that this word holds special meaning, especially to Killua, and that it was HIM who was willing to commit shinjuu by staying with Gon. Ikalgo and company dying with Gon wouldn't be shinjuu, but Killua dying with Gon would be, and Togashi emphasizes this through Ikalgo's thoughts.

This is pretty much the gist of it, but I suggest reading the wonderful post I linked in the references below if you want to know more about this specific subtext.

(edit : i actually wrote a post going a bit more into detail on Killua’s shinjuu wish if you want to read it here ! :3)

• “The one that Gon needs the most is you” (chapter 294)

I will go into this subtext more in details when I write the post about parallels in CAA, but I still want to talk about it briefly here.

Like I said before, to me, Palm was introduced as a catalyst for Killua's feelings towards Gon. Togashi purposefully wrote Palm as having romantic feelings for Gon to foil Killua's feelings for Gon and make him show jealousy towards Palm.

To Killua, Palm is someone who stole Gon from him, he sees her as a threat because maybe she'll make Gon happier than he does ? (ofc we all know thats not true but Killua is baby) - Basically, Killua thinks Palm might be more important to Gon than Killua is, because he believes they are romantically involved. That's why when he sees her again later on, after Gon rejected his help, leaving Killua helpess as to how to save his dear friend, Killua sees Palm as a saving grace.

He knows that if Gon sees Palm as a chimera ant, he will spiral down even more, so he tries to reason with her to get her to be gentle to Gon, because if not her, then who could? Palm would clearly be able to comfort Gon, with whom Killua believes is romantically involved with, better than him, right ? If Gon rejected Killua, then clearly Palm could help, since she seems closer to Gon (BECAUSE HE BELIEVES THEYRE DATING), right?

This confrontation between Palm and Killua closely ressembles a situation like an ex confronting a new girlfriend - and I think this is exactly why Togashi wrote Palm this way. He wanted Killua to confront who he thought was a threat to their relationship, making him believe that this person who's """"dating"""” Gon is more important to him than himself, only to have her openly admit that she means nothing to Gon. The only one Gon needs is Killua.

And that, my friends, coming from someone you believe is romantically involved with your best friend (who you probably have a crush on), someone you're jealous of, the one you thought was the person most important to him, that's a pretty meaningful statement.

Basically, what's happening, is that Palm reaffirms that Gon holds Killua closer than a potential romantic partner. And that's why Killua is so, so happy to hear that. He was questioning his entire relationship, questioning if Gon even cared about him, because he rejected him a few minutes before, but then his "rival" comes in and reaffirms that even she knows that no one comes close to Killua to Gon.

I also want to mention that this act of pure love (Killua only thinking of saving Gon when in a life threatening situation) is what made Palm come back to her human senses. d'awwwwww

• Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel on lovers who die of Alluka’s requests. (chapter 323)

Now onto the final significant subtext - while I don't particularly think of it as subtext-y, I know a lot of people have so I still want to include it here.

When Illumi explains Alluka's powers to Hisoka, he explains that there are two different types of linked deaths when a request is failed : 1) the person who failed + the person they love the most 2) the person who failed + the people they spent most of their time with.

When applied to Killua, Hisoka naturally comes to the conclusion that no matter the outcome, Gon would always be the one dying with Killua, because he's spent so much time with him, and because he's the one that Killua loves the most. In the panel where Illumi explains this, we see a romantic, heterosexual couple demonstrating the effects of not completing one of Alluka's requests, and thus the "most important person dying".

While not making any true parallels, the fact that Hisoka, and the readers, are drawn to compare a heterosexual, romantic pairing to Killua dying with Gon because he's his "most important person" is an interesting piece of subtext.

_______

I want to finish by talking about Killua's birthday and how significant it is in my opinion. All the main 4 characters have birthdays that fall on specific dates, related to Japanese tradition, and often with events that can be associated to their character. Gon's is 5/5, which is Children's Day. Kurapika's is 4/4, the number 4 being considered an unlucky number, and this being an unlucky day to have a child. Leorio's is 3/3, Hinamatsuri (not really any main parallels here but still). But Killua's birthday is 7/7, and is the Japanese day to celebrate Tanabata.

If you are not familiar with Tanabata, the story is as follows : Orihime is a princess who works for her father, working hard and well, but she laments the fact that because of her hard work she can't meet someone and fall in love. Her father arranges for her to meet Hikoboshi, allowing Orihime to leave because he expects her to come back to work for him, but the two immediately fall in love and get married, and she never returns. I won't get into the rest of the story as it's this part that interests me the most, but if you want to read more about Killua and Tanabata I suggest reading the post I referenced below.

Does the story of Orihime remind you of anyone ? Killua also works for his father, but laments the fact that he can't go outside and meet someone. His father then lets him go, saying, and i quote: "he will come back, because he's my son". Doesn't this remind you of the tale of Tanabata ? Killua's story references the tale of Orihime perfectly, and I believe this is intentional : Killua's birthday isn't of any importance to the plot, so why make it Tanabata, a day that celebrates a love story that closely ressembles Killua's story ? The answer is simple : subtext.

With all this in mind, I think it's pretty clear that Togashi is writing intentional subtext to hint at Killua's feelings being romantic in nature. Togashi is a master writer, he has years of experience, and I strongly believe he knows what he's doing and not planting unintentional subtext. He's a very smart man, and knows how all of this can be interpreted.

I will finish by saying that Togashi is NOT an author that would deliberately queerbait his readers. So many people dismiss the possibility of having gay subtext leading onto an actual canon gay relationship because "it's not like the author would ever have gay main characters". While this holds true for a lot of manga authors, especially shonen manga authors, it does NOT apply to Togashi.

Togashi has always displayed interest in queer subjects and queer representation, putting trans characters in all of his major works (Miyuki in YYH, Mikihisa in Level E and Alluka in HxH). There were also canonically gay characters in his previous works : Itsuki in YYH, and a character named Kuramoto in Level E.

Togashi also always had interest in mangas having BL elements, citing Maya Mineo's "Patalliro!" as a manga he was attracted to during High School. If you're unfamiliar with Patalliro, the story focuses on the main character's love life as a gay man. He also admitted to basing Hiei's (YYH) design off a character from that manga.

Last but not least, Togashi mentioned in a note included in volume 1 of YYH that he wanted to write a sports manga, called The Trouble Quartet, where basically all the characters are gay. Togashi said he based it off his own interests as a writer, and that while it was refused by Shonen Jump, he got deeply attached to the project and that he would love to explore this project in a different shape once he made a name for himself. I suggest reading this post because the parallels between The Trouble Quartet and HxH are HILARIOUSLY accurate.

In short, Togashi has always had interest in queer matters, and was always interested in putting queer representation in his work. After YYH, which was a terrible experience for Togashi as a writer, he managed to snatch a contract that basically allows him to do whatever he wants with HxH. Having always held dear BL matters but never being able to explore it to his full intent, I believe Togashi is exploring queer identity further with HxH, because Shonen Jump basically lets him do anything.

To conclude, with Togashi's past experience and skill, his interest in queer representation, and the amount of subtext surrounding Killua, I honestly believe that Togashi is trying to explore further queer representation, and I wouldn't be surprised if HxH ends with Gon and Killua becoming a canon pairing, whether it be delivered in an ambiguous manner or not.

Edit : I actually wrote a post on why I believe it won’t be ambiguous, and that it’s truly never been ambiguous, just developing : here.

I hope you enjoyed the read, thank you for reading all of this, and feel free to show this to anyone who denies subtext in HxH !

REFERENCES

- "It has to be Killua" - Medium article, "Impossibilities in Translating Queerness : The Dodgeball Dilemma"

- Palm's Date Scene - Reddit post, "Togashi's love of Ambiguity: Chapters 217 and 218"

-A thematic analysis of Palm’s character : ”The Issue With Palm”

- Shinjuu - Tumblr post by hunterxhell, "A lovers' suicide, I guess." : + the post that mentions Ikalgo talking about shinjuu

- An analysis on different subtext-y situations

- Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel : here and here

- Killua’s birthday : "Killua, July 7th, and the significance of his birthdate”

- Togashi's interview mentioning Mineo's Patalliro

#hxh #hxh meta #hunter x hunter #killugon #meta #my posts #my meta

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