#LOOK AT LITTLE PUA!!

[devilsrecreation]

More TLG characters I created with piccrew (feat. @sweetheart-weeb-33 ‘s creation)

Kiburi

Neema (unnamed crocodile)

Pua

Shupavu (created by sweetheart-weeb-33)

I would do Makuu but I seriously CANNOT compete with the ones on DeviantArt

LIKE LOOK AT THESE:

Zactopus

YoungLadyArt

AND LOOK AT THIS VERSION OF KENGE

I COULD NEVER

[fallen-gravity]

silly little headcanon: Maui doesn't need to sleep all that often because he's a demigod, but because he was born human he still occasionally feels tired and sleeps anyway. Sometimes while he sleeps, he actually finds it more comforting to shapeshift into an animal and sleep that way; he's a big guy who takes up a lot of space, so sometimes it feels nice to just. turn into a little animal and curl up in a little ball to sleep.

Sometimes when Moana loses track of him on a voyage, when she isn't sure she saw him take off and leave, she ends up finding him in the cargo hold, shapeshifted into a little pig, curled up and sleeping besides Pua. She'll never tell him she found him like that, of course. She needs her blackmail and cameras haven't been invented yet, and also it's so stupid cute to see this all powerful demigod just curled up into this tiny little thing snoring away.

He even finds himself doing it on Motunui, even though he'd definitely be offered a place to stay if he wanted one. Sometimes villagers will just happen across a "weird looking lizard" just baking out in the sun, fast asleep. Sometimes they see a massive hawk nesting on the roof of Moana's fale. Maybe sometimes he even shifts in his sleep to some animal that doesn't even make sense for where he touched down to rest. Maybe one day he wakes up to a huge crowd surrounding him on the beach, Moana included, because oops, he transformed into a whale in his sleep, and a bunch of poor confused fishermen thought he was some poor old regular whale that beached itself by mistake.

Something about using his powers at rest. For comfort, rather than for power and aggresion.

[kyllium]

OP Incorrect Quotes I found funny (with reader)

Y/N: Come to dinner tonight. I can’t cook, but I’ll bring plenty of free sake.

Zoro: Marry me.

—————

Sanji : Hey, what’s up?

Zoro: The sky.

Sanji : No, I meant like, what are you doing?

Zoro: Oh, Y/N.

Y/N: *highfives Zoro* Nice!

—————

Sanji : sapnu puaS.

Y/N: What??

Zoro: What language is that.

Sanji : Turn your phone 180 degrees.

*Sanji was removed from the groupchat*

—————

Zoro: I’ve never asked someone out. How do you even do it?

Y/N: Oh, what I do is, I look them up and down and I say: “Hey… how you doin’?”

Sanji , scoffing: Oh, please.

Y/N, to Sanji : Hey, how you doin’?

Sanji :

Sanji : *giggles and blushes*

—————

Zoro: Two years ago, I married my best friend.

Zoro: Sanji is still mad about it, but me and Y/N were drunk and thought it was funny.

—————

Y/N: I like your top, Sanji!

Zoro: I have a name, you know.

Sanji : *sighs* Why. Why are you like this.

__________

Sanji : Look, I know you think my judgement's clouded because I like Y/N a little bit.

Zoro, holding Sanji 's notepad: You doodled your wedding invitation.

Sanji : No, that's our joint tombstone.

Zoro: My mistake.

[kayhi808]

First Crush - 7

It took forever to get Abby down for her nap. She was too excited about Bucky coming over today. You can't lie, you're a little excited too. It feels like an important step is being made. You've invited him into your sanctuary. You switched up the menu to a roasted chicken. He ruined the idea of spaghetti & meatballs with his guts & eyeball comment. Roast chicken was a better idea, you can just throw it in the oven & enjoy the movie with them.

Looking around the living room to see if there was something you missed. You threw Abby's toys in a basket & pushed it to the side, so at least the living room looked a little neat. You had on shorts & a peasant top. A little dressier for staying home, but you wanted to look good for Bucky.

"Mama?" You hear her footsteps running down the hall. "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Where Bucky?" She looks around frowning. "I'm all done sleeping."

Bucky texted just a little bit ago saying he was getting near. "Pretty soon. He's on his way over right now. Let's brush your hair & put on a clean tshirt. We can wait for him downstairs.

*****

You and Abby wait on the stoop, singing songs she learned at daycare. There's a rumble of a motorcycle turning the corner that catches your attention. Of course he would own a bike. Your forehead wrinkles watching him pull in between the 2 cars parked out front. He looks sexy as hell, but you should have learned your lesson with Jason. Abby is jumping up & down clapping her hands watching Bucky take off his helmet. You have a hand on her arm keeping her away.

"How's my favorite girl?" Bucky smiles up at Abby as she pulls away from you & launches herself off the stairs at him. You're terrified that the daredevil gene will end up getting Abby hurt one day.

"ABBY!" Bucky easily catches her & hugs her to him. He sees the anger on your face and sets her down. "Abigail," turning her face towards you, "Don't you ever pull away from me like that. You know you aren't supposed to jump down the stairs."

"It's ok, Mama. Bucky catch me."

"No. No, it's not ok. What if he didn't?"

"I think you scared your Mama, Abby. Maybe you should say you're sorry." You see a stubborn frown on her face before she said she's sorry & you nod & kiss her brow. You stand up to face Bucky who looks concerned & bends down to kiss your cheek and whisper, "You ok?" He gives you an identical kiss to the brow that you gave Abby.

Nodding, "Nice bike."

"It's easier to find street parking," he shrugs. That makes perfect sense, but why does it still bother you? You shake off that thought & give him a smile.

Abby slips her hand in his, "Cans I ride it with you?"

"Absolutely not."

Bucky picks Abby up, "Let's listen to Mama, huh?"

"She's going to give me a heart attack.' You lead Bucky upstairs to your apartment. Abby has already switched topics & talking a mile a minute.

Once inside, Bucky opens his backpack & brings out 2 pints of ice cream, which brings a smile to your lips. Shyly, "I didn't know what flavor to get."

"Didn't know what would go well with guts & eyeballs? I switched to roast chicken by the way." He laughs & nods. "These are perfect. Abby, look what Bucky brought for dessert."

"Strawberry is my favorite! How yous know?"

Shrugging, "Lucky guess."

"Bucky, yous want to play toys in my room?"

"Um..."

"Baby, remember we were going to watch a movie. I'm going to make popcorn right now. Maybe you and Bucky can look for a movie instead."

"Oh yea! Come, Bucky." She tugs on his hand.

"What do you want to drink? I got iced tea, water, soda, juice...."

"Iced tea?"

"Mama, cans I has juice, please?"

"Yes, ma'am. One ice tea, one juice."

You put the chicken potato veggies in the oven. Pop some popcorn. Get their beverages and bring it to the living room. You find Bucky wearing a plastic lei and holding Pua, the pig from Moana, on his lap. Your jaw drops but you quickly take out your phone and snap a picture of him glaring at you. "Abby, where are you?"

You hear her feet running down the hallway, "I'm here, Mama!" She has a lei on & hula skirt. "I had to gives Bucky your lei."

"That's fine, Baby. It looks good on him."

Nodding, "So pretty!" She runs out again.

"Abby! What are you doing? The movie is going to start." You turn to Bucky who looks a little shell shocked. You straighten his lei. "You look good."

You hear Abby running back and now she's added on a tiara, "Ok, Mama! Puts yours on." She climbs on the couch and places one on Bucky. "There."

"That's perfect, Baby. Let's take a picture." Standing on the couch next to Bucky, she wraps her arms around him squishing her cheek up against his. "Nice! Say cheese! Smile, Buck." Then you sit on his other side and get a selfie of the 3 of you.

"Lemme see, please." Abby takes your phone and squeals. "Good work, Mama! We so pretty!" She plops down next to Bucky, "Okies, I'm ready for the movie."

You play "Moana", one of Abby's favorites so she's zoned out singing every song. Doing little dances. Bucky takes the opportunity to wrap his arm around you pulling you close. Whispering, "If you send those pics to anyone on the team, I will end you."

Next Chapter

@waywardhunter95 @rebeccapineapple @ordelixx @onceithough @crazyunsexycool @thezombieprostitute @ilovetaquitosmmmm @julvrs @unaxv @s-a-v-a-n-a-34 @winterslove1917 @ozwriterchick @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @mrsnikstan @hisredheadedgoddess28 @itsteambarnes @otterlycanadian @enchantedbarnes @purplecolordeer @samsgirl93 @buckitostan @blackbirdwitch22

[giuseppe-yuki]

I’m just imagining Paul’s girlfriend getting all the bird and woodland animal shifter girlfriends such as Georges deer shifter band together and won’t leave Paul Aron alone to make it look like a Disney princess and everyone teasing him about it.

that would actually be so funny! the whole gang would be there.

picture credits from pinterest :)

“…and then, ollie turns to me and calls me a ‘disney princess!’” paul exclaims, brushing a lock of blonde hair away from his eyes. “can you believe that?”

he scoffs, and adjusts his seat at the little table you both were sitting at. it coincidentally makes a ray of sunshine light up his golden curls, which did not help his argument of not looking like a disney princess.

you act surprised at his statement, as if you weren't the person that literally hinted at the resemblance to ollie. “what? you? a disney princess? that’s a silly thing to say!”

he opens his mouth to respond, but a trickle of vip fans stroll past your little seating area in the paddock, and frantically greet him. a little wave and polite smile from him sends them in a frenzy.

“paul! paul!” they shout, waving a poster. “can you please sign this?”

like the kind-hearted person he is, your boyfriend clears the table of some of his plates from lunch in order to sign the poster. however, his shy smile automatically turns into a frown when he sees the contents of the poster.

“what. is. this.” he says unamusedly, waving the sharpie above the sparkly words that announce him as ‘princess paul.’

you immediately cover your mouth, trying to stifle the giggle that threatens to come out.

the teenage girl who was carrying the sign beams at paul. “well, everyone always sees you in the paddock with a little songbird flitting above your head! ollie has stated in several interviews that it makes you look like a princess.”

“i’m going literally going to kill ollie ,” your boyfriend mutters. uncapping the marker, he hesitantly scribbles his signature on the very corner of glittery poster before sending the fans on their way.

later in the day, you decide it is the perfect time to enact your silly little plan.

it starts with george's girlfriend, who you easily convinced to prance behind paul as he walks through the paddock. your boyfriend surprisingly doesn't notice, too busy signing merch and signature books of awestruck fans. with his shy blushing cheeks, you think he is just like snow white in the forest scene with a deer by his side.

next is daniel ricciardo's girlfriend, who scrambles out of the vcarb hospitality as soon as she sees your signal. she treads carefully one step behind paul's feet, which earns a curious glance from your boyfriend. he continues to amble through the paddock, his hand in yours. although he looks nothing like pocahontas, you think he matches her personality pretty well, both being kind and headstrong.

when alex's girlfriend starts fluttering above his head, paul realizes something is going on. he glances behind him quickly, only to find the deer, raccoon, and bird following him. scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, he shoots you a glance, which you follow up by shrugging innocently. paul marks it as coincidence, and proceeds to wave to zak o'sullivan from across the paddock. alex's girlfriend purposely flies in a circle above his head, which you think makes him look like aurora with his blond curls.

zhou's girlfriend propels herself from her surprised boyfriend's arms after you beckon her forward next, waddling in place next to danny's girlfriend. by this time, paul notices the absolute swarm of animals behind him, as do the fans. the little teacup pig's presence reminds you of pua from moana, which only helped your argument of paul looking like a disney princess.

paul yanks his hand out of yours, and comes to a stop in the middle of the paddock, arms crossed and pouting. "what is going on? why the hell are they-" he gestures vaguely at the animals sitting patiently next to him, waiting for him to start walking again- "following me?"

"i don't know!" you exclaim innocently. "that is so weird!"

before paul can question you further, alex's girlfriend perches herself on paul's outstretched hand and tweets a little tune.

right on time, dino strolls by, and shoots finger guns at a distraught-looking paul. "hey hey, aron! so this is what ollie meant by you being a literal disney princess! look at that crowd of animals behind you!" he laughs at paul trying to shoo the cockatiel aside before skipping away.

covering his reddening face in embarrassment, he tries to sprint off. but, he bumps into kimi's girlfriend, who wags her long tail in amusement and flashes her glimmering fangs. paul whips around, finding you giggling in front of crowd of fans who had their phones out. there was no doubt that he was already trending on twitter under the hashtag #princesspaul. "what the hell-" he cries to you, exasperated. "is this a set-up? are you trying to make me look like jasmine with kimi's gir- i uh mean, tiger or something?"

as if the tiger wasn't enough, ollie shows up with his girlfriend in tow. he sets the bear cub at an annoyed-looking paul's feet, laughing at the sight in front of him.

"oh yeah, totally. just put her there, that's great." your boyfriend quips sarcastically. "let me guess, merida?"

paul groans as he sees yet another picture of himself surrounded by disney princess animals in the paddock on instagram. he flips his screen to you, who is laying lazily on the hotel bed beside him, combing your fingers through his curls.

"yet another one," he sighs, tapping through the chain of comments beneath the post that was just variations of 'princess paul'. he glances up at you, a pecks a kiss on your cheek. "this is why i love you way more than ollie- you'd never do this to me."

his smile falters when you respond with a guilty grin.

pushing away from you, he sits up on the bed to get a better look at your face. "wait- you'd never do that to me, right?"

a little blurb as part of my spinoff shapeshifter!reader series :)

[yeetus-feetus]

incorrect quotes (pt5)

Kon: sapnu puas. Bernard: What?? Tim: What language is that. Kon: Turn your phone 180 degrees. -Kon was removed from the groupchat-

-

Kon: Did Bernard just tell me he loves me for the first time? Tim: Yeah, he did. Kon: And did I just do finger guns back? Tim: Yeah, you did.

-

Damian: I have to say, I'm a little embarrassed for you. Jason: This is a sports-related injury. It makes me look cool! Damian: Tripping over a basketball on your way to the bathroom is not cool!

-

Damian: Wake me up- Jason: Before you go go Steph: When September ends Dick: WAKE ME UP INSIDE

-

Bernard: *is wearing silk pants* How does this look? Tim: Like it slips on and off really easily. Bernard: Tim: No, I didn't mean it like that- Kon: We know what you meant.

-

Steph: Are you laughing at that video of Tim and Jason fighting? Damian: No. Damian: I'm laughing at the comments.

[bleedingichorhearts]

𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐈

"These are a bit fun to do. I'll probably organize them in their one little files once I get to it. Anyways, more of the forgotten characters!😭" - Ichor

TW // None?

|°𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕃𝕚𝕤𝕥°| {Pt.1} - {Pt.3}

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Watcher ~⚜️♞⚜️~

You: if I fall...

Sabinus: I'll be there to catch you.

Celsus, looks at Horos: What if I fall?

Horos: Then I'll fall with you, never leaving your side.

Atlas, watching the two interactions:

Atlas, to Pythios: And if I fall?

Pythios: I'll be the one who pushed you.

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Horos: How much you wanna bet Celsus got a Lap Dance from our little one?

Sabinus: If that happened, Pythios can drink free tonight.

Pythios: As much as I love the thought of having free drinks. I don't like the idea of our little one reviving a Lap dance from someone other than me.

Horos: Hey little one, did you give Celsus a Lap dance?

You: So what if I did?

Horos, to Sabinus: I guess Pythios is drinking free tonight.

Pythios: Be right back, i'm gonna go cry-

Atlas, entering the room: By the throne???

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Horos: I put the pun in punishment.

Atlas: I put the top in unstoppable.

Celsus: I put the cute in execute.

Sabinus: I put sexy in dyslexia.

You: I put the ass in class.

Pythios: I put the D in little one.

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Kleiner Paladin ~⚜️♞⚜️~

Soren: Little paladin, I...

Soren: I love you!

You: Not my problem.

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Eminence ~⚜️♞⚜️~

Solor: Well, little maiden and I finally did it!

The Alpha Legionnaires, jealous & glaring:

Solor: Thats right... We kissed!

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Leviathan: Hey, what have you two been up to?

Ascelepius: We were helping Solor write their vows, but they kicked us out because Hydra was making inappropriate suggestions.

Hydra: How is “You, I love your sweet ass” inappropriate?

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Leviathan: Ah, yes. Here we have a beautiful couple...

Ascelepius: I really care about your feelings!

You: I really care about YOUR feelings!

Leviathan, turning their head: ...and then there's the disaster couple...

Solor: YOU NEED TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO ME INSTEAD OF BEING AT THE HOSPITAL!

Hydra: I WOULDN'T HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME AT THE HOSPITAL IF YOU STOPPED INSISTING ON FIGHTING EVERYONE WHO COMES WITHIN A FIVE FOOT RADIUS OF YOU!

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Ascelepius: So anyways have y'all seen Hydra?

You: I think they went in my bedroom 'studying'.

Leviathan: Doubt that. I heard groans there.

*Meanwhile in Marine 4's room*

Hydra & Solor, fighting:

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Hydra: sapnu puaS.

Ascelepius: What??

You: What language is that.

Hydra: Turn your phone 180 degrees.

*Hydra was removed from the groupchat.*

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Flourish Ambition ~⚜️♞⚜️~

Ambrosio, throwing their head into your lap: Tell me I'm pretty!

You, lovingly stoking his hair: You're pretty fucking annoying, that's what you are.

~⚜️♞⚜️~

You: Ugh, crushes are so dumb.

Ambrosio: I know. Whenever I’m near the person I like I just start acting stupid.

You: But you’re always acting stupid?

Ambrosio: ...

Ambrosio: Yeah, don’t think about that too hard.

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Space Shark ~⚜️♞⚜️~

Screeko: Let's watch Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

You: Okay.

Screeko: And make out during the scary parts.

You: Th-

You: The scary parts.

You: Of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Long Lost ~⚜️♞⚜️~

Ruslan: I am so cool. I am an absolute Marine. I am the epitome of faith and loyalty—

You: Hello.

Ruslan: *Melts down in a flustered heap of softness in his armor.*

~⚜️♞⚜️~

You: As top in this relationship, I think we should-

Ruslan: I can't believe you're pulling rank on me.

~⚜️♞⚜️~

You: Crushes are the worst. Whenever I’m near mine, I start acting stupid.

Ruslan: You always act stupid.

Ruslan:

Ruslan: Wait...

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Set Validity ~⚜️♞⚜️~

You: I feel like doing something stupid.

Blasius: I’m stupid, do me.

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Blasius, to You: We had a date!

Blasius: *Aggressively points to Hello Kitty Coloring Book.*

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Blasius: I truly go into housewife mode when I'm someone's soulmate- like, I'll make you pancakes and bacon every morning.

You: This is a lie.

You: I'm literally dating them. This is a lie.

You: THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO COOK A PANCAKE, WHAT IS THIS.

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Blue & Red ~⚜️♞⚜️~

Xerxes: We should be partners.

You: You mean like, partners in crime?

Xerxes: Yeah... that’s precisely what I meant.

~⚜️♞⚜️~ Dual Appeal ~⚜️♞⚜️~

You, bursting into the room: You two are having sex!

Zazir, not looking up from their book: Really? Rasul, why didn’t you tell me? I would have put my book down.

~⚜️♞⚜️~

You: Hi, sorry I’m late. I was doing a couple of things and got distracted.

Rasul: I’m “a couple of things.”

Zazir: I’m “got distracted.”

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Rasul: I’ve never asked someone out. How do you even do it?

Zazir: Oh, what I do is, I look them up and down and I say: “Hey… how you doin’?”

You, scoffing: Oh, please.

Zazir, to You: Hey, how you doin’?

You:

You: *Giggles and blushes.*

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Zazir: Due to personal reasons, I will be fucking sinking to the bottom of the ocean in a large metal box.

Rasul: Did our habibti say, "I love you" and you said "Thanks?"

Zazir: THE REASONS ARE PERSONAL–

~⚜️♞⚜️~

Zazir: You need a hobby.

Rasul: I have a hobby!

Zazir: Fawning over our habibti isn’t a hobby.

~⚜️♞⚜️~

You: ....Thou shalt not marry each me, for thy art both sinful...

Rasul & Zazir: We just wanna fucking marry you!

“@kit-williams, @egrets-not-regrets, @bispecsual, @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan, @sleepyfan-blog.”

“+@c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @marcela2000, @passionofthesith, @insanity6666.” - Tagged

[lunalit-river]

Cultural difference [or, ME puzzled again] when I think of the term "Manipulate" when I read L's personality traits on DN wiki

I think this is a continuation of my notes on cultural differences when interpreting DN

Manipulation. (had to make this bigger)

Until recently, in our society, we only just started to understand what the hell PUA and gaslighting even are. But I suppose these concepts were much more familiar in the Western world? At least, I never once considered L manipulative. In fact—what does manipulation really mean?

When it comes to manipulation in the english meaning to us, it has this scienter meaning (in simple terms: you’re doing something wrong, and you know it, but you still do it on purpose). What comes to mind is market manipulation. But when you translate into 操縱 in Mandarin Chinese, 操作（そうさ）in Japanese, it doesn't accurated describe what the westerners are referring to.

Let’s look at some dictionary definitions. In Mandarin:

操縱:

To drive, to control (a vehicle or machine)

To command or direct → e.g., 「侯能操縱有法，賦辦而民不驚，其賢三也。」 (My crappy translation: “The Marquis commands methodically, assigns duties, and the people are not alarmed—that is his third virtue.”)

It’s a neutral term. It doesn’t imply toxicity.

And it’s similar in Japanese: 操作（そうさ） means operating a machine, a vehicle, or managing data, organizations, or systems. It’s strategic, yes, but not emotional.

They both convey the same message:

It is not typically used to describe emotional manipulation (e.g. gaslighting, PUA, coercion, guilt-tripping).

It doesn’t inherently imply malice, emotional abuse, or sociopathic cunning.

You wouldn’t use it to describe someone playing with another person’s feelings or trust.

In fact, “Manipulation” (操作, Sōsa) is the sixth chapter of the Death Note manga, mostly centered around Light. In Death Note 13: How to Read, Tsugumi Ohba says the chapter name "Manipulation" refers to Light’s experiments on Death Note victims. It’s much more like puppet-play. Once the victims’ names are written down, they lose self-consciousness. They become puppets, with strings controlled by Light. So here, manipulation clearly means control.

Now—when it comes to the image of a detective, it’s totally normal for them to be cunning. (Otherwise, how would they outsmart criminals?) This ties into a broader cultural ideology of “If you’re the best, you can do anything” (as I mentioned in my previous post). And yes—because he’s a man, it’s more accepted. The smartest and most powerful male being cunning? Society often calls that ambition.

Does L control and command? Yes, he is the lead investigator. He is cunning and he lies, which is acceptable (when we think of an image of a detective) and because he's the best, he's a male (yeah this does make a difference) We even think that a male play by fair means or foul to accomplish a goal is a sign of ambition (of course in modern days it depends on what circumstance, but if it's in business or profession, still acceptable) the term manipulation in Mandarin Chinese is almost Justified.

Let’s go back to examples of L being “manipulative” (I literally asked ChatGPT for help on this because I didn’t know where to even start looking).

The Fake L Broadcast (Episode 1 / Chapter 2) He used a death row inmate to bait Light into revealing something. Was it control? Not quite—Light still had his mind. It felt more like a basic trap, a little trick.

Placing Bugs in the Yagami Household (Episodes 3–4 / Chapters 6–9) Totally normal investigator behavior. Illegal surveillance, but no emotional manipulation.

The University Entrance Exam & Tennis Match L said, “I am L,” just to observe Light’s reaction. They were mind-gaming each other, but no psychological control.

Using Misa Amane’s Confinement & Light’s Confinement Again—illegal confinement, yes. But no emotional strings being pulled.

The rest...no.

Now, what kind of behavior does fall into the modern definition of manipulation (the emotional control type)? Yes—Light's actions. (And I’m not saying this just because I’m an L fan. Or maybe I am. Never mind, I’m just rambling—don’t take me too seriously.)

Light’s manipulation is distinct:

He tricks Naomi Misora into giving up her real name.

He makes Misa do things by pretending to love her.

But does L manipulate the task force emotionally? No.

He has authority, yes—but he doesn’t force anyone to stay on the case. (Aizawa left. They tested everyone before revealing L’s identity.) He may push Matsuda to fetch coffee and run errands, but he’s never emotionally coercive. Everyone is free to leave. He even stops Aizawa from going out when Ukita dies. He feels loss. (Okay, now we’re getting back to L as a human.)

Let’s stop here and look at the bigger picture.

In modern terms like PUA and gaslighting, manipulation is about emotional control. But we’ve only recently become aware of this. Why? Because in our society, it’s normal to subtly make people do things without saying it directly.

Under our layers of politeness, we hint, we nudge, we expect others to “read the air” (空気を読む). This is true in Japanese too. We pressure others in silence. It happens in families, schools, workplaces—everywhere. It’s cultural. It’s the norm.

The West also has passive aggression and hints, of course. But they’ve talked about manipulation as a power issue much earlier. In a society where equality is a value, the power balance is watched more carefully.

Meanwhile, in many Asian countries, the hierarchy is still deeply embedded:

Parents > children

Teachers > students

Bosses > employees

Government > citizens

This imbalance is still normal. It’s expected. (And that's why our court decisions are making an effort in breaking such hierarchy)

Compare the timelines:

The U.S. Declaration of Independence, stating "All men are created equal"? 1776.

The French Revolution? 1789, with “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” already in place.

Now let’s look East:

In the 18th century, China was under the Qing Dynasty—absolute monarchy at its peak.

Japan? Still in the Edo period. Hierarchies everywhere. No equality. Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned Western preaching. Later, the Edo government banned more Western influence. So no Western ideology got in.

Japan borrowed ideology from China. And what was China exporting? Confucianism.

Confucianism is built on hierarchy and control. The emperor is elite and rules because of it. And the tool to control people isn’t law—it’s ethics.

I lost my train of thought again.

I guess my point is: I’m poisoned by East Asian Confucian ideology. And maybe that’s why I get culture shock when I see Westerners label L as “manipulative” in a negative sense. In a society that values strategy and hierarchy, L looks like a clever commander—not an emotional puppeteer. In Japanese, L is ずる賢い (cunning, smart in a sly way). But 操作 in an emotionally control meaning which is translated directly from the term "Manipulate" is not a term that would typically describe his actions.

[idontplaytrack]

All the snuggles

AJ Campos x fem! reader

Warnings: self-indulgent :p, fluff, reader is very whiny, age regression, sickfic kinda

- w.c.: 2.8k

After receiving a very concerning text from you, AJ’s been trying to reach you to no avail. “Gabi, can I have your keys?” 

“Sure.” Gabi handed it over to her sister, noticing the concern on her face, “What’s wrong?”

“y/n’s sick, I think. And she doesn’t have anyone at home to look after her.” 

“Flu?”

“Not sure, but she just threw up.” AJ sighed, “I’m gonna go over to her house.” 

“Yeah, go. Keep me updated if you can.”

AJ grabbed her backpack and left the lecture hall in a hurry, speeding to your house in Gabi’s car while being careful not to go over the limit. AJ let herself inside, promptly locating you in your room, curled up in a fetal position. 

“Hi, sweet girl.” 

You looked up, vision clouded, but you knew it was AJ because you heard her voice.

“I’m sorry you’re not feeling good, bubs.” She rubbed your back after sitting down next to you, “You threw up, huh.” 

You nodded, sniffling pitifully.

“You’re alright, hm? You were so brave.” She stroked your hair, kissing the side of your head, “Does your tummy still hurt?”

“No, my head.” You gulped, choking on a sob. 

“Do you want to go over to my house, honey? Would you like that?” She asked quietly, guessing that you were most likely having a migraine episode given how you were constantly shielding your eyes. You nodded, rolling over to snuggle against her leg. AJ couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sweetie, we gotta go in a minute.”

“Don’t wanna get up.” You mumbled.

“Okay, then can I get up to pack you a bag?” She asked, still stroking your hair.

“No.” You pouted, nearly bumping your nose into her leg. You scrunched up your face. She laughed, “Come on, you’ll be able to see the whole time. I’ll be right here. You wanna pick out a bag?”

You shook your head. “That’s okay, I got it.” She assured, then started to pat your head for awhile before moving her hand to your back. It doesn’t take long for you to get sleepy and be successfully lulled to sleep whenever you were with her— especially while regressed. “No.” You muttered, but your eyelid were drooping shut then fluttering open. AJ saw this coming, this little truck of hers always worked. She kissed your eyelids gently, then your nose, then your cheeks. You giggled groggily.

Last but not least, she pressed a tender kiss to your lips. You smiled, then she saw your body relax and you’d fallen asleep. So…she got up and went ahead to pack you a bag. She had some of your stuff at her place, but it wouldn’t hurt to have more just in case. AJ was done with the task in just about five minutes and carried the backpack properly on her shoulders before she’d picked you up and carried you downstairs to her car— after she’d made sure that you were holding onto your favourite plushie. She put you in the front seat with her, buckled you in and reclined your seat somewhat. Putting your backpack in the rear seat, she started the engine and drove off from your house.

It wasn’t a long drive, but she was glad you were still asleep and resting. She carried you inside and put you on her bed, catching your favourite stuffed Pua when it fell. It didn’t hit the ground. Putting him back in your arms, you seemed calm again. And while you were still out, she got ready the needed items for when you were dealing with migraines. Medication, fully filled water bottle, snacks and candies— to bribe you into taking your pain meds.

What finally woke you up was her dog, knocking over the bottle of painkillers. It was a little odd how small noises like that had the ability to wake you from your sleep.

“Hi, sweetie.” AJ smiled, patting your side as you laid next to her. She was sitting next to you and scrolling through her phone, but set it down since you’d woken up. She loved the sleepy/slightly confused look you had on your face, but she also knew you were a bit upset about getting woken up from your nap. “Ollie woke you up, huh.” AJ chuckled, rubbing your back soothingly. At the mention of his name, AJ’s Bernese Mountain Dog climbed into the bed to join in. “You wanna say hi?” 

You now had your head in AJ’s lap and petted the dog. He was happy to see you. This made up for knocking your pill bottle off the nightstand. “Okay, let’s eat something then take your meds, hm?” AJ nudged you to sit up. Doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t be leaning against her though, because you were. “My head hurts.” You sulked. “I know, sweetie. That is why we’re gonna make sure you have some food in your tummy before you take the pill okay? It’ll help you feel better.”

“Can I have Goldfish?” You requested.

AJ nodded, “Got ‘em right here.” Reaching over to grab the bag and your bowl, she poured some onto it and handed it to you for you to munch on. Then, she gave you your water bottle too. “Drink some water too.”

“Okay.” You replied, chewing on the crackers as you spoke. She pinched your cheek, making you scrunch up your face. “Do you want me to put the pill in some yogurt or pudding?”

You shook your head, holding out your hand for her to place the pill on your palm. “Alright, here you go.”

You swallowed that with a sip of water. “Attagirl. Good job.” AJ ruffled with your hair, “The pain will go down soon, okay? Just take some deep breaths. You want snuggles?”

You grinned, nodding eagerly and immediately flopped onto her, head first on her lap. “At least you’re smiling now. I don’t think this is very comfy though.” You then crawled into her lap and she just held you like she knew you liked. 

“Are you gonna nap again?” She asked in an airy tone, tickling your tummy. Shelaughed a little and shook your head, saying, “Nooo.” Hearing the jingling of Ollie’s collar, he got himself comfy too and laid down right where you could easily pet him. And you did, you gave him those head scratches he loved for a bit and soon, he fell asleep. “Aw, you got Ollie to fall asleep.” AJ noticed. You beamed, reaching up to do the same to AJ. She squinted, “Heeey, what’re you doing, honey? I don’t need head scratchies.” 

“But you like head scratchies.” You answered softly, though you’d stopped the action, your hand was still on her head.

AJ tried to have a stern look on her face so that you would listen to her and rest. But even then, you weren’t all that interested in listening and ruffled with her hair. AJ’s serious face cracked within seconds, getting replaced by a loving smile and she said, “I do like head scratchies. Thank you, baby.” 

Your sulk disappeared, then you smiled looking at her with such a curious and soft gaze. AJ smiled harder, her heart melting at the sight You really trusted her so much, the fact that you would get sleepy around her, even though you weren’t actually feeling sleepy in the first place? AJ was so glad that she could be your safe space, your person. Lightly, she kissed your forehead while holding you closer. “I don’t wanna eeeeep.” You squirmed, she didn’t want to, but she laughed. “Baby.” She grabbed onto you tighter, “What you doin’? You literally chose to lay in my lap.” 

You stuck your tongue out at her.

“Wow.”

“Wow.” You parroted her. 

She just glared at you— as a joke. She had all the time in the world right now to entertain you. AJ didn’t mind this one bit. So you looked at her too, the eye contact doesn’t waver until one of you laughs. And that’d be you.

AJ chuckled, “I won.”

“Hmph.”

“Come on, take a nap while you can.”

“I’m not eepy.” You mumbled.

“You’re not feeling well though, just close your eyes. You don’t have to sleep, honey.” 

Despite your resistance, both of you dozed off and had a pretty decent nap. You woke up first to the sound of someone coming home. It was definitely Gabi, the two sisters lived on their own.

“Hi, y/n.” She peeked into the room. Your eyes were barely open. You just gave her a smile in response and continued being held by AJ while you had your head on her chest. “I’m sorry, did I wake you up, cariño?”

You shook your head. 

“You hungry? I bought us food.”

Again. You shook your head, not talking. The medicine was starting to wear off so you were also starting to return to how you were like earlier in the day.

“Still don’t feel good?” Gabi asked, noting the closed curtains. 

You just looked at her. She knew. “Maybe later, then. Drink some water, though.” You got off from AJ’s lap and took your water bottle from the nightstand, taking some cautious sips. She smiled when you put your bottle back down, “You bored?”

You nodded, rubbing your eyes. 

“Wanna watch TV? I can help you set it up.”

Your face lit up slightly, she held out her hand, “Yeah? Come on. Remember your Pua.” Gabi reminded, you grabbed him before you got out of bed and held onto Gabi’s hand padding into the living room. 

————

You plopped onto the couch, covering your lap with the throw blanket draped on the couch. “What do you wanna watch?”

You proudly held Pua up to give her your answer. “Alrighty, Moana it is.” She laughed, “Here we go. You wanna eat yet? No?”

“No.” You actually answered. Gabi left the conversation at that, letting you watch the movie in peace while she went back into AJ’s room to check on her. After that, Gabi went to freshen up and change into a new set of clothes before joining you on the couch. Sneaking glances at her food, you eventually got a little tempted and stole a french fry. Gabi gasped playful, “Excuse you?”

“Pleaseeee.”

She couldn’t help it but let herself chuckle once again, “I’m kidding. You can have as many as you want.” 

“Nooo.” You answered, giggling, “Is yours.”

“We can share.” She told you.

“Hey, Gabs.” AJ woke up too.

“Oh good, you’re up! I bought dinner, it’s in the kitchen. Go get yours.” Gabi said, tilting her head towards the kitchen. “She doesn’t want to eat yet.” AJ hummed in response, smacking a kiss on your cheek when she walked past you. You giggled. 

She came back to the couch and you moved a bit so she would have space to sit next to you. “Can I have candy, AJ?”

“Hm, no.”

“Whyyyy.” 

“Because, you know how you get when you have too much candy.”

“I want a little bit.” You frowned, holding your thumb and index finger slightly apart to show your point.

“No.” AJ insisted, so you just sat there while hugging your Pua and continued sulking.

“Don’ttttt give me that look.” 

“Pleaseeee.”

“No ice cream, no chocolate, no candy. Especially not if you don’t want to eat your dinner.” 

The sisters watch tears well up in your eyes, you were defeated. You tossed Pua to the side and basically sat there staring at the TV, not even processing whatever was going on in the movie. The headache was creeping up on you once again, you were frustrated and beginning to be in pain like before, you didn’t have the appetite for anything and just wanted to have a little sweet to cheer yourself up. Of course, neither of them knew that. 

You scooched away from AJ to sit at the far end of the couch, knees hugged to your chest to hide your face and cry. Because of a mixture of reasons. But the pain was the main factor. They left you alone to let you calm down, both assuming it was nothing but a tantrum that you would get over in a few minutes. You soon disappeared from the living room to grab your water bottle, and you began chugging whatever was left in there in despair, hoping it would help your hurting head. Nope, not a chance. This wasn’t due to a lack of water intake, but a full blown migraine. 

You wound up running away to throw up for the second time that day. Nothing but water and what was left of the Goldfish crackers came up, you were miserable and pissed, hating that the point could get to the point of making you so nauseous. You hated throwing up but had to go through that alone— again . Rinsing out your mouth, you sat on the floor by the bed. A shaky sigh left your lips as you sniffled, rubbing your forehead in annoyance but it didn’t help. You heard footsteps, then someone crouched down next to you. It was AJ, and you just backed away. You made her mad and you didn’t like that. 

“Baby.” She stroked your head. “Come here.” 

And, you broke. You cried. She sees you cry. “Don’t feel good.” You hiccuped, “I sorry- I—” She engulfed you in a hug before you even finished your sentence. “No, no.” AJ rubbed your back, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t like throw up, AJ.” You wailed.

“I know, I know.” She soothed, still rubbing your back as she pressed a kiss to your shoulder. “You’ll be alright, baby. I promise. We just need to take the medicine again, okay? Come on.” 

You hesitantly took the painkiller again, then ate some fries from your portion that Gabi’s bought for you. Eventually, you slowly dug into the rest of your dinner, much to AJ’s relief. Only after the meds kicked in, of course. Towards the end of your meal, AJ slides a handful of Hershey’s Kisses to you silently on the coffee table. You saw them and smiled before finishing up the remainder of your chicken burger. 

You retreated to the room earlier that night, just sitting with the blanket over your legs with Ollie next to you. He licked your face, making you laugh and pet him. “Hi, Ollie.” 

He looked at you, then proceeded to lay on you as much as he could. You basically just cuddled him, leaning over him to put your head on him. He was a big dog, AJ’s had him since she was twelve. 

“Hi, sweetie.” AJ knocked on the bedroom door, “You left Pua outside.” 

“Oh.” You sat upright.

“Here.” AJ sat down next to you. “I’m sorry for getting upset over you wanting some candy.”

“Is okay.” You answered, you weren’t ever upset by her not letting you have some candy. You were only crying because of the migraine, everything else just triggered the tears easier— including AJ telling you ‘no’ to sweets. It was fair for her to say so, considering that you tended to easily get a sugar rush, especially this late in the day.

“Ollie, can I have my turn to get some cuddles with her, bud?” AJ chuckled over her words, jokingly squishing his flesh. He moved off of you and AJ pulled you onto her lap, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “I love you. I always will, even if I’m in a bad mood. I’ll just need a minute.”

“I know.” You snuggled closer to her, she grabbed Pua and waved to you with his leg. You laughed. “Sometimes…” You continued, “Sometimes I do that too, AJ. Is alwight.” 

AJ sniffled, getting teary eyed. You really held no real anger within you, it was all because you weren’t feeling well and thus feeling frustrated because you didn’t know how to make yourself feel better.

Resting her chin on your shoulder she continued, “Do you wanna finish the movie?”

You two ended the evening finishing up the movie that was playing at dinner. Then, got ready for bed together and promptly crawled under the covers all cozy. “You’re always ready for snuggles, huh.”

You nodded, grinning while you did grabby hands at her.

“One second.” She cracked a smile, hanging the face towel back on the hook by the bathroom sink. 

You whined, pouting. “Baby.” She squinted, laughing, “I’m right here. Come on, okay, okay. Snuggle timeeee.”

You squealed when she smothered you with kisses. “I think, you need some tickles.”

“Noooooo. I need snuggles.” You gave her your best ‘please eyes’, just staring at her until she melted. That always worked. “Okay, you’re right.” She smiled, a sigh leaving her lips, “You, my love, are getting all the snuggles you want.”

“Yaaay.” You muttered, “Can we go play tomorrow, AJ?”

“Sure, honey. If you’re feeling better tomorrow we can go out, okay?”

“Okay. Ni-night, AJ.” 

“Sweet dreams, honey.” AJ leaned down to press a gentle kiss to your head, “I love you. To the moon and back.”

You giggled groggily, “That’s silly.”

“Yeah?” She smiled hearing your laughter, you nodded, snuggling even closer. You love the warmth. “Okay, but I love you. Always. Never forget that, okay? Promise?”

“Promise.”

🏷️ Tag list: @arandomeee @ashecampos @auliisflower @cheesysoup-arlo @frogs00 @ludoesartandstuff @pda128

[jukari91]

Mini fanfic: Nickname

We docked on a small island, not much bigger than a sand dune,to stock up on some supplies and rest.

In the evening, a campfire was lit, around which the sailors from Motunui ate dinner together.

"Can you give me another of the fruits?" Kele asked, more to the group than to anyone in particular.

Maui grabbed a fruit and threw it to the man, "Grandpa here."Kele only just managed to catch the fruit.

"Maui, did you have to throw it? Couldn't you have given it to him?", "Oh, come on, Curly. Grandpa is fit enough, anyone who survives Nalo's storm will survive flying vitamins." You could hear Moana laughing quietly and Kele's chest was also pushed out a little.

It was a pleasant atmosphere.

Only Moni seemed to look at everyday situations a little thoughtfully.

"Sorry, lord Maui... do I have one too?" He asked shyly, pointing his finger at himself.

The rest of the crew looked at him questioningly, and Maui was also missing something in Moni's gap-filling text.

"A what?" He asked.

"A nickname." Came the obvious answer for Moni.

"Oh, I see," Loto said, now a little bored. "Huh?" Maui still couldn't understand the question.

"You have a nickname for each of us. Brainiac," Loto said. She had been busy building a new boat model the whole time and didn't look up from it.

"Curly," "Grandpa," came from the rest of the group.

"Even the chicken and the pig have them." While Loto was saying this, he pointed a stick in the direction of the animals.

Pua was busy trying to stop Heihei from running into the campfire.

"But you haven't given me one yet, you just called me a guy," Moni said sadly.

Before Maui can say anything, Kele interjects: "Why do you want that one? They're not particularly creative."

"My nicknames are great!" Came the insulted demigod.

"Oh hey, why don't we give Maui one too?" Moana was excited by her idea and beamed from ear to ear.

"A nickname for me?" Maui seemed less convinced, "What kind of nickname could you give me? Adonis? Lion's Mane?..."

"Cream puff?" Kele's emotionless suggestion stopped Maui in his narcissism.

After thinking about it for a moment, Moana suggested: "Mister Ego or Mister Coconut Oil, Matangi used that one."

"Stub."

Maui thought Kele's and Moana's suggestions were terrible, but Loto's comments really shocked him. The others also looked at her in surprise.

Somewhat confused by the others' reaction, she pointed at Maui and said: "Come on, look at his fingers or his legs! He's practically just a chest, the rest are just stumps!"

Maui didn't like these looks at all. For the first time, he didn't want his body to be examined.

"Seriously, it wouldn't surprise me at all if there was one under his leaves..."

"LOTO!!"

The horrified cry from Maui and Moana had stopped Loto in her tracks.

Kele lay on her back laughing and couldn't control herself.

A big discussion began about boundaries in conversation topics and being considerate.

Only one is still quiet...

"What about my nickname now...?" Moni asked very sadly and quietly.

End.

[devilsrecreation]

My Kiburi relationship headcanons are so important to me, man

We have this grumpy crocodile who acts like he doesn’t care about anything but put him near his loved ones and he goes soft (even though he may not act like it)

Tamka, Nduli, and Neema have stuck by him through thick and thin and he sees them as his family, especially Nduli who’s like a little brother to him. Like they are his entire world

He also becomes BFF’s with Janja and now they’re practically inseparable with their snark and confidence

I’ve mentioned he sees Kenge as part of the float and they’re super tight

Njano may be kinda annoying to him but he still has his back

He listens to and respects Pua to no end cuz Pua’s essentially his second dad

And because I’m counting oc’s:

Wakali’s his pride and joy and if anybody even looks at her the wrong way, he’ll kill them

He may bicker with Ucheshi but there is no denying he still loves and cares about his baby sister to the ends of the Earth. And it’s the same vice versa, they have that really strong and special bond that screams “If you wanna hurt my sibling, you’re gonna have to go through me first”

[silentauthor96]

Random Xiaolin Showdown Headcanons: Favorite Disney Princesses

Omi: Mulan (of course). First and foremost she is a WARRIOR. And she's known as THE hero who saved China, the SAVIOR of China. This woman is Omi's life goal. Plus they both have sassy dragon sidekicks. After the other monks show Omi this movie, he spends the next week searching the temple grounds for his own lucky cricket.

Kimiko: Tiana, partly because she and Tiana are both daddy's girls, partly because Tiana also definitely has a temper but she keeps it cool for the most part (Kimiko is working on that). Kimiko also likes Tiana's "get it done" work ethic, and that she's an entrepreneur. Also that she doesn't fall for the hotshot prince right away.

Clay: Ariel. Look, Clay loves the classics PLUS Ariel is such a little anthropologist. She wants to learn more about the world outside her home, and Clay can relate. Also the fights with her dad, he can definitely relate to that. (I was considering Jane from Tarzan as well, but she's not an official princess 🤷🏾‍♀️) (Clay also likes parts of Pocahontas, especially the music, but he just can't get behind the white-washed Disneyfication of her story.)

Dojo: Raya. I don't think this one needs explanation (also I haven't actually seen this movie so I am purely going off the title. And so is Dojo.)

Raimundo: Isabela (Encanto) doesn't count, but his first choice is definitely Isabela - she's pretty and can be very classy and refined, but she's got a wild, mischievous side to her. And she definitely has a temper. Also she knows all about that big, intergenerational family struggle. Out of official princesses though, Moana. She's another go-getter type, but when she does leave home, she's doing it to try to save her village. And he really liked the music in Moana. (Clay really liked Moana's pet pig, Pua. He was disappointed by the lack of Pua screen time in most of the movie.)

[fallen-gravity]

some thoughts on the moana 2 novelization, as threatened promised <3 under a readmore for spoilers and also because I don't trust myself to keep it short

(friendly reminder that I do not ship Maui and Moana! you can rb, but don't be weird about it)

Genuinely right off the bat I can't get over how loving Moana is described to be? She just loves others so much. She always describes Pua and HeiHei as her friends rather than her pets because of how much she cares about them!! it's so stupid cute that not only does she refer to Pua as her "loyal, adorable friend", but it's also implied that she handmade the little satchel he likes to ride in just for him. It eats me up inside!! She cares so much!!

The center island she's looking for is spelled as Motufetū!! I always love getting confirmation for these things, it makes things so much easier as a fic writer.

One of the souveniers she takes back with her alongside the broken pottery is a "massive clam". hello???? foreshadowing??? did everyone know about the giant clam guardian??

"For a man who had once forbidden her from going beyond the reef, he now spent quite a lot of time beyond it himself." AUUWHAAHHH THAT LINE KILLED ME WE LOVE TO SEE GROWTH FROM TRAUMA

"He loved her enthusiasm, but she seemed overexcited, and she was still his daughter, and he wanted to take care of her" MOANA!!! IS!!! SO LOVED!!!!

Loto's tool is called an adze! also she's apparently only 17?? two years younger than Moana?? not at all what I would've pegged her as, honestly

The storytelling tapestries are called siapos!!! more terminology!!!

"Her eyes darted to the image of Maui carved into the wall. She hadn't seen him since her return to Motunui, and she missed him. Not that she would admit it out loud" STRANGLING YOU STRANGLING YOU STRANGLING YOU

"Humans, were in fact, why he was here now, in this unknown realm of the gods looking at the pinkish white ball in front of him. At least, he thought that might be why he's here. These missions to benefit humans didn't always come with clear instructions" immediately followed by thinking about the trip to Te Fiti with Moana. What a dumbass <3 "I'm doing it for them and I don't know why? totally unrelated note haha that trip to Te Fiti with Moana was fun :)"

Never saw any of that journey coming, never could brute force his way through it, worth every second. Only considers getting the hook back as an afterthougt, ougghhhhhhh

Homeboy sucks at pretending that he doesn't care about Moana. He's talking to Matangi for all of two seconds and he's all "I'm a changed person! For um. no particular reason! It was definitely because of the thousand year isolation and nothing else whatsoever!"

There's no finite explanation for why Maui's there, but he credits Moana for making him a better person for being the reason. Something about breaking the curse? It's never made clear, even in the book.

Mini Maui selling him out for bullshitting about hating Moana is even funnier in the book, like Maui goes "yeah lol that girl was just a tool I uused to get my hook back" and Mini Maui starts pounding on him. Homeboy Moana can't even hear you and you're still mad at Maui for bullshitting, it kills me. Maui tries shooting him down. "Mini Maui wasn't convinced" has me in stitches

Maui's internal dialogue shifting to "oh wait, yeah, I wanted to surprise her with a visit. Oops." while he's tied up also has me in stitches. ffs, maui, get your priorities straight

"He refused to let Moana be hurt or threatened" I am on the floor

Every time Tui calls Moana "my dear" it adds ten years to my lifespan

The siapo of Maui in the storytelling fale is so lifelike that "it's as if he were about to jump off the fabric at any moment and start teasing her." that's so stupid cute!!!! also so stupid sad that she probably talks to it a lot hoping that it'll work someday. ough.

"Maui was having a bad day. Actually, he was having a lot of bad days"." feels like it was pulled right from a fic I would've written in 2018, I'm screaming

"I don't need her to save me...again" swallowing the earth as we speak

Curly still being the default nickname is also taking me out I need to be given financial compensation asap

There's a parallel that got lost in translation from page to movie, there's the bit where Moana's like "I'm sure Maui's off doing important demigod stuff, wherever he is", but there's also a bit of internal monologue where Maui's like "I hope Moana's faring better than I am, wherever she is" I'm gonna conk their heads together y'all need to communicate

The book directly mentions Moana and her crew passing Te Fiti. Did I miss that from the movie? Did they show Te Fiti, or is this a book-exclusive detail?

Their little Kakamora buddy has a name!! Kotu we don't deserve you. Also he's the Chief Kakamora's son! I just thought he was second in command. That's a whole baby

Maui knows who Pua is, somehow! He sees Pua waddling around and his first thought is "okay, this is weird, why do these people have Moana's pig with them?". Doesn't even remotely click that she could be with them. He's actually about to leave until HeiHei shows face and boy is he absolutely mortified. It eats me up inside. Instant shift of "goodbyeeeeee random humans I don't liiiike!!!" to oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, where is she????

Incredibly suspicious that Moana is the human that has all the gods talking. Something too about Maui having to force himself not to care about her. Did someone do a little too much bragging about his favorite human?

"I thought you'd be...more." okay a) I def think Maui's been overhyping her and b) haha More callback we love to see it

Also, Matangi's just a demigoddess! Not a goddess at all. interesting, interesting, interesting

Moana also sucks at priorities, one single mention of Maui and she instantly shifts to oh, oh my god, is he here? is he nearby? where is he?

Moana recognizes the Portal of the Gods as similar to the entrance to Lalotai...does that mean Lalotai is connected to the Realm of the Gods, in some way? are they the same place under a different name? also all :') that the dance she does to open the portal is specifically meant to be a copy of the haka that Maui did in the first movie.

You know, I think you need her just as much as she needs you. WHAT DOES IT MEAAAN? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WHAT DOES IT MEAN??? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM???? YOU NEED EACH OTHER??? WHY DO THE GODS KNOW?? WHY DO THE GODS KNOW????

The first thing Moana does when she's back on her canoe is look for Maui because she thinks he's gone 🥹 wants to go back and look for him until she realizes he's the reason she's dangling in the air. Did he stop her from falling off the canoe? ough, I'm deceased

I can't get over Moana assuming he just wants to catch up, they are both such chronic babblers.

"His expression was both happy and annoyed." I'm losing my shit.

"But yeah, it is good to see you again" 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹.

"The fire in the sky lead us to you" can we stop with the written in the stars stuff. can we stop. my poor heart can't take it. platonic soulmates fr. "maybe we're supposed to do this together." THE GODS KNOW!!!! THEY KNOW!!!

"Maui bit back a smile." kill me. kill me. i'm dead on the spot. kill me.

Ohhhhh, I always love seeing what they do in place of the songs and the replacement for "Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?" kills me most of all, I think. Maui still goes to sit with her, but when Moana starts talking about all the people she's gonna let down, he comes to a screeching halt when she mentions Simea.

"If anyone should be upset, it should be me. Since when do you have a sister?"

"You would've met her, if you ever came to visit me." OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!!! She's trying to tease him but there's a tinge of hurt in her voice, like she feels like he doesn't care enough about her to take the time for her!! You need her as much as she needs you!!!!!

"Three years is a blip to me, princess," says the liar who thought about her on a near-daily basis!!!!

"Empathy wasn't Maui's strong suit. But he seemed to be trying- for her. and that dulled the pain a little" i am in my grave. i am in my grave.

"Why are you even here?" -> "Because...because I've been low before, and I couldn't see my path. And someone came along who I underestimated and she lifted me up. Someone I don't want to underestimate herself right now." THROWING UP!!!!!

"Wow, you're the worst at this." -> "Maui pretended to look offended" conking their heads together as we speak they are so SWEET!!!!!

Maui giving her all the credit for being the one to defeat Nalo!!! not himself!!!! her!!!!!!!

"Maui said he was better for knowing her. That had to count for something" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

It still destroys me that Maui's entire priority is keeping Moana safe!!! He's not just diving in to fight, he keeps going back to make sure they're all safe!!! that's all that matters to him!!!

God their little exchanges are so stupid they're killing me. "Nalo doesn't care about you!" "Yes he does! I'm Maui!!" "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!!" dumbasses <3

oooh he really doesn't want to separate, his eyes keep going back and forth between Moana and the monster storm :')

Okay. okay. okay. listen. there's a lot more to Maui's goodbye in the book than in the movie. In the book it's an apology. It's a rushed explanation on why he hadn't gone back to visit her prior. He lied about not having the time for her. All his time has been about and for her.

The reason I didn't visit...was 'cause you made me want to be better. You deserve the whole ocean...I wanted you to have it. Watch yourself out there. I could pull up millions of islands, but if you're not there to land on them, what's the point?

FOR!!!! HER!!!!! EVERYTHING!!!! IS!!!!! FOR!!!!! HER!!!!!

He hated leaving Moana and her crew behind,

He trusted her.

God, coud you imagine? First movie Maui, getting his hook destroyed? Those three words hold more power than anything. He trusted her. If anyone can do this it's her. He trusts her. He trusts her.

His thoughts kept drifting back to Moana. Nothing else matters!!! He could be all full of himself and think about how heroic he's being for The Humans (other) and all he's thinking about is his Favorite Human.

The thought of failing her pushed on him as the weight of the water grew heavy.

WHO WROTE THIS!!!! WHO READ OUR FANFICS!!!!! WHO KNEW!!!!!

His tattoos glowing with the power of the gods the first time he tries lifting Motufetū.....were there other gods that were helping him? are there gods who know?? Te Fiti if you're out there,,,,,,,,,

Moana rushing to protect Maui when lightning barely misses him the first time is.........destroying me?? taking me out??? imagine being protective over a demigod literally pulling an island out of the sea. imagine trying to take many hits for him. using her conch shell to call out to the storm to hit her instead? Maui yelling at her to Not do that? probably because it's breaking his own heart to watch?? ough.

"It went against every instinct, but Moana knew she had to listen to him." THAT'S ALSO GROWTH!!! KEEPING THEM BOTH SAFE BY NOT PUSHING HERSELF FROWARD!!!! GROWTH!!!!!

Maui getting hit by three strikes of lightning, and he uses what he thinks are his last dying moments to say goodbye to Moana. He locks eyes with her, gives her a sad smile, and yells Find your way, kid. Just to her. Just loud enough that she's the only one who can hear. and oh boy is this book brutal about that fourth and "fatal" lightning strike. It's strong enough to fry him. It launches him up so high in the air that Moana can't even see him

So, uh...fun fact! The reason Moana doesn't instantly dive in the water to go after him is because she thinks she's too late and that he's dead on impact. She doesn't even see him hit the water.

"Moana gasped as she felt her necklace pop open and her shell- Simea's shell- toppled out. Frantically,she reached for it, ignoring the danger around her. She couldn't lose that shell. She had already lost so much."

She thinks of everyone she loves when she's about to dive into the water and reach for Motufetū herself and Maui's among them right alongside her family. God. If there were ever a more indirect found family confirmation............

Lightning flashed, illuminating the sky and filtering through the water. Moana hoped that her crew was okay. That Maui had somehow survived. RIGHT!!! FROM!!!! THE FICS!!!! I SWEAR THIS IS PULLED RIGHT FROM THE OLD FICS!!!

His hook was missing, but he didn't care. He dove in after Moana. Hi, yes, 2018-era me is screaming out from inside me. She's clawing her way out of my chest. This is everything she's ever needed.

Fun fact part two! I don't remember how it was in the movie, but Maui watches Moana die too!! I think in the movie he just sees her still body on the surface of Motufetū, but in the book he dives under the water just a moment sooner and helplessly watches the lightning strike through her body. He watches her go still and sink towards the ocean floor :) Now they both have the trauma of watching each other die! :) :)

He tries desperately to catch her before she hits the floor but there are multiple instances of him being knocked back by a shockwave :') The gods sure have found his weakness!!!

He pushed through it. Nothing was stopping him from reaching Moana.

The grieving!!! The grieving is so fierce!!

Isn't it fun?? He practically has a burial ceremony for her! He catches her before her body hits the floor, and he places her gently on the surface of the island so she can fulfill her story! God! I'm unwell! He places Simea's little shell next to her body so Moana can be close to her sister one final time!

Then, kneeling next to her, he put his hand to his heart. It rested on the tattoo of Moana that had appeared after their last adventure. It had been his constant reminder in the three years since how strong a human could be. 🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭😭😭😭🥹😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

It's just...he doesn't even realize the ocean is creating a dome around them! He's that grief-striken!!

The ocean knows them. It knows what they need. He calls it Moana's. Moana's ocean. aUGGHHHHHH.

Hey so all of that talk about Maui not allowing himself to let the gods know that Moana's his friend and then he's begging them. He's begging the gods and her (her? his? huamnity in general?) ancestors to save her because she deserves more than this. she deserves better. If any of the gods knew nothing of the two of them they sure as hell did now, ohhhhhh boy is that gonna screw him over later :')

So the book never explicitly states she's a demigoddess either! It very ominously states that She'll never be the same.

Moana gets to see her ancestors this time! I can't remember if she woke up before they disappeared in the movie, but when she wakes up her thought process goes wait, where am I? to oh, shit, MAUI?!?!? to TAUTAI VASA? TALA?? HELLO??? someone please invent therapy already she's gonna need it pretty desperately

god imagine if she thought maui was also dead?? she doesn't but ohhhh. ohhhhhh the angst potential of her thinking they're all there to see her off. god.

Shock and awe. That's all Moana can get out of Maui's expression when she catches him staring.

Mini Maui, the more accurate voice, is bawling his little eyes out when he sees that Moana's okay

Moana understands the implications instantly. and she knows that she's only alive now because Maui prayed for her

"Arching an eyebrow, she nodded over her shoulder. It was time they raised an island- togehter". SICK!!! TO!!! MY!!! STOMACH!!!

"She saw Maui, a familiar comfort in this uncharted territory" [AGGRESIVE TABLE SLAMMING] THAT'S FOUND FAMILY BAYBEEEEE

:') there's a big group hug with Moana's crew and Maui tries to wiggle his way to the center. That's almost shot for shot a scene from one of the first Moana fics I ever wrote back in December of 2017 :') turning into a little lizard and skittering into the center of the hug where Moana is because he wants a proper hug too :')

Okay so I definitely know for sure that when it says the villagers of Motunui are shocked Maui's there because they've heard so many stories about him that it's just the regular old legacy stories. but listen. let me be deluisional. it's because Moana always tells stories and Moana's like. known around the island as his best friend. so it's like!!! oh!!! there he is!!! Tautai Moana's best friend!!!! :')

He calls Simea Mini Moana!!!! weeping and sobbing

Simea's big brown eyes familiar. He Also calls Simea tugging on his ear Very Familiar. That's so stupid cute. I wonder if he ever visited when Moana was out voyaging and he ran into Simea if he'd be able to tell that she was her little sister? :') also hilarious because I'm sure it implies Moana told him Simea wanted to yell at him and he went "yeah okay that's fair"

(still lowkey sad Maui never gets included in the family hugs. Ohhhh if they ever found out what he did to save her they'd pull him straight in for sure)

MAUI STAYS!!! CONFIRMATION THAT HE STAYS!!!!

He stays long enough for things to calm down. He and Moana head out by themselves to help their little Kakamora buddy reunite with his family (cough cough)

Moana goes from "that kid" to his "dear friend." cherished. beloved. it's not even relelvant to the plot. He just smiles at her and goes "where to now?" and it's just. that's his dear friend!!! god!!!! so beloved!!! that feels like it holds even more weight than best friend!!!

god. god. I really gotta write a fic where they talk about watching each other die

good shit!!! gooood shit!!! I'm gonna be screaming about this forever. god.

[sporco-filth]

The Tourist and the Truckdriver - part 2

Leo, a thin, neat, polite tourist, is being driven into town by a truck driver after his car broke down. The truck driver is a gross slob, but perhaps there's something Leo can learn from him...

This is the end of the story by the way.

(as I said prior, this was based on a suggestion by @mblr126. To @mblr126, I'd like to apologise for not fitting everything you suggested into the story (the 'touching himself wherever he is' just didn't fit or make a lot of sense given he's driving, but rest assured Bazza does do 'it' quite freely), but I got most of it in so I'm happy.)

The drive continued on in silence for a bit, and Leo was about to ask the driver a few more questions about his lifestyle when he heard a strange, brassy sound over the roar of the engine. Suddenly, he was struck by a wave of foul-smelling gas. "Pua!" he gagged, scrambing to open the window. Bazza smirked. "Sorry, kinda forgot I wasn't alone in here." Leo breathed deeply the fresh mountain air. "That's OK," he said, having recovered. "I suppose in this life of yours you don't have to worry too much about what other people think of you?" He closed the window again. The smell still hungaround a bit, but the cabin had stunk of farts from the start, so by now he'd gotten used to the lingering odour. "Yeah, that's right," Bazza said, turning a corner. "It's the best." "Back home, in Italy," said Leo, looking at Bazza with something approaching admiration. "We have this saying: 'fare la bella figura'. It means a bit like what in English you say 'a good impression', but the idea is more than just that. Italians are always afraid of looking bad in public, so they keep up this… come si dice 'facciata'? front? They pretend to be perfect all the time." Bazza snorted. "That sounds like hell!" "It is," Leo nodded enthusiastically. "So why do you put up with that shit?" Leo shrugged. "I don't know… it's just how life is?" Bazza picked his nose, pulling out a massive piece of snot which he flicked away. "Not for me it ain't." Leo nodded. Perhaps there was something he could learn from this sciattone after all. For his whole life, Leo had done everything he could to make himself look good in the eyes of others: he'd be polite and vigilant of his every move and word, he'd feign interest even when dealing with the most boring people he'd ever meet, he'd keep himself looking thin and beautiful and elegant at all times. His life was dictated by his need to make sure everyone around him thought the best of him. Yes, it had it's benefits, but why should he care so much if a stranger thought he was a lazy glutton because he had a bit of fat around his belly, or a rude pig because he burped in public? Surely he could live a little freer, care a little less, and his life would be so much less exhausting? "If yer thirsty," Bazza growled, interrupting Leo's thoughts. "There's a can of Coke in the drink holder you can have." "Are you sure?" Bazza barked out a laugh. "I might be a rude arsehole but I know how to treat a guest right. Go on, take it." Leo took the can, cracked it open and took a drink, enjoying the fizzy rush of bubbles and sugar on his tongue. "I think we'll arrive at town soon," Bazza said, staring out into the gloom. "Where are you staying?" "At the pub, in one of the upstairs rooms." Leo took another sip. "Ahh…" "All right. I'll drop you off out the front." Leo nodded and downed the rest of the drink. He felt the gas build up in his stomach and, instead of swallowing it back like he usually did, opened his mouth wide. "BA-urrrp!" Bazza chuckled. "That was piss weak, mate. But practice makes perfect, eh? We've all got to start somewhere." Leo smiled, embarrassed, not so much for his grossness but for his poor performance. He rolled down the window and, deciding to follow Bazza's example, tossed the empyy can out the window. It felt incredibly ill-mannered to go to another country and treat it like a trash can, but Leo let himself do it just this once. It was actually kind of fun to do whatever he wanted without caring about what other people thought of him. If only I could live like this all the time, he mused.

Before long, the truck rolled into town and Bazza parked in front of the pub. "Well, here we are," he said, pulling up the handbrake. "I hope you enjoyed the ride." "I did," Leo said, smiling genuinely. "Thanks Bazza." "No worries, enjoy the rest of your trip!" Leo hopped out of the truck and went to the door of the pub. He turned around to wave as Bazza drove off. As he stood there, Leo thought about hid life. Here, on the other side of the world, he had no one who knew him, no one who would judge him or spread gossip about his perceived faults. Perhaps, he thought. I could start a new life here… He watched the truck disappear down the road. I wonder how difficult it is to drive a truck…

[ntls-24722]

He didn't just get pampered, he just straight up got adopted.

When I had made the initial comic I kind of had in mind that the zebraman was in exile and that was why he was all alone in the middle of the night, shirtless and willing to go up to the 10-ton tree stone-crushing giant that has been known to kill and eat zebramen on sight. Not sure what crime he committed, but as a very human-like organism, he's useless without anyone else and he's forced to go to someone for help. Thankfully 2 of the Debu found him cute (mostly because he was alone) and have just continuously fed him since he just kept following them around (to the 3rd's dismay).

They even made a little vest with a rope at the back so they could scoop him up.

Though, I think eventually they'd figure out that he's as smart as them, even with the language barrier (debu cannot physically speak most zebrapeople languages, and vice versa). Especially when he learned a lot of basic survival from them, and is replicating it...

Small detail, but Zebraman expressions! Zebramen actually have 2 toned gums instead of lips for expression purposes - When you're always smiling, you can flash your bottom and top gum to actually add nuance to your expressions (But WHY are they always smiling?.... i need to figure that out). The top gum is lighter because it makes a bigger contrast with the strip between their nose and lip, they kind of have a cow thing going on there.

What's funny though, is that a Zebraperson smile is a Debu's look of disgust. The raised top lip is to show the lighter gum in zebrapeople, but the raised top lip in Debu is to make the appearance that they're trying to cover their nose with their lip.

Also, Zebraelves.

Octapodal walking is less fast as hexapodal walking, but it's more stable, and while usually utilized for tree-climbing, you will sometimes see sick zebraelves walk like this on the ground to help with any dizziness.

Mailmen zebraelves! I think I'm finally gonna give them the names Mauli(left) and Pua(right, with mohawk)

I was going to focus on them today, but I... didn't, obviously. Lol

Mauli is outwardly a goody-six-shoes, and that repuation has allowed her to get away with stuff when she actually did do something bad. Pua is very outwardly rebellious and her boss doesn't like her all that much, but Pua is just if Mauli wasn't seen as completely harmless. Their boss(Regse) sees through Mauli and indescriminately chews them both out, though

Regse doesn't hate either of them though. She has a weird motherly, older sister vibe for the two of them

Bonus comet

[imagitory]

Do you think Wish would have been better if they kept the concept of romance between Asha and the star boy, and the kind and queen being a villainous couple?

TL;DR...maybe.

I admit, I do really like human!Star and Magnifico/Amaya being a villainous couple as concepts -- but I don't think adding those ideas alone would've fixed Wish's shortcomings. Because I strongly believe the main reason so much of the Wish fandom has latched onto the idea of a romance for Asha in particular comes down to people feeling more for their mental AU concepts of Asha and Star than for Asha and the rest of her canon cast in the real finished product. There are no relationships in Wish -- ones featuring Asha or otherwise -- that I feel really prompt much investment or emotion in the audience.

Asha's mom and grandpa really don't have much time devoted to them, especially early on when we could establish some real history and pathos in their relationships with Asha. (Positive examples of this would be Ember and her dad in Elemental, Tiana and James and Eudora in The Princess and the Frog, or Mama Coco and Miguel in Coco.) We never even learn Asha's mom's dream even though it's picked up multiple times and the narrative makes such a big deal about Magnifico crushing it. The few lines discussing Asha's deceased father could've been cut from the story altogether and we would've lost nothing. Asha's friend group gets so little focus as individuals that it's hard to even remember most of their names. They were clearly envisioned as just "the Seven Dwarves but as teens," and honestly, them being vaguely like the Dwarfs is the only real impact they leave on a lot of people by the end. Or did a bunch of kids that went to go see the movie beg their parents for dolls of Simon and Bazeema after the movie was over? Asha and Star's dynamic can't be that interesting because Star doesn't spark any real character growth or change in Asha, nor does Asha really bond emotionally with Star. Star honestly just floats around looking cute for most of the movie, rather than doing that much of consequence. Valentino doesn't provide any significant emotional support for Asha, the way that even other cute Disney "pets" like Pascal or Pua do for isolated characters like Rapunzel and Moana. He also doesn't advance her journey in any meaningful way like Sebastian or Jacques and Gus do for Ariel and Cinderella, respectively. Asha and Magnifico's hero-villain relationship has no teeth because they have no real history prior to the events of the story (unlike Ursula using Ariel as a way to get back at her father Triton or Mother Gothel raising Rapunzel in isolation in an attempt to use her hair's magic to keep her young) and they don't serve as any kind of narrative foil to each other (unlike Jafar, who like Aladdin also uses magic and deception to try to advance his own goals, or Scar, who like Simba at the beginning of the movie "just can't wait to be king" and is focused way more on the perks of kingship rather than the responsibilities). Even Amaya and Asha can't have much of a relationship because there's no time set aside for it, and even if Amaya put in a good word for Asha with Magnifico, she didn't speak out on Asha's behalf after Magnifico vindictively cast her aside and really only decided to fight alongside Asha after Magnifico "went too far" by threatening Amaya herself (as opposed to, say, anyone else).

When my mum and I went to go see Wish, we came out of the theater feeling oddly blase about the whole story. My mum even -- upon me asking her about her thoughts on this topic before I sat down to write this -- admitted that although she "wanted to see evil defeated," and all that, she honestly just hadn't cared about any of the characters that much. She wanted Magnifico to lose because it was justice for Magnifico to lose -- not because she was actively rooting for Asha, her friends, or Rosas overall. She wanted good to triumph and evil to fail, but none of the characters and their relationships had made her that invested in seeing how that came about. And considering that every single character in every story ever written is largely shaped by the relationships they have with other characters, that means that Wish's primary failing is not a lack of romance, either for its main lead or its villains --

It's a lack of love.

Any kind of sincere, selfless, development-inducing, chemistry-fueled love. Not necessarily romantic love -- Disney's Revival work has actually shown just how diverse love can be through films like Zootopia, Encanto, and Frozen -- but real love between the characters, built on the back of history and camaraderie and meaningful screen time. Love that adds layers to their personality, fuels their choices and actions, and ultimately helps them bloom into better, more complete people. Instead I would argue that the only "love" in Wish is with ideas from past Disney projects -- that's why there are more Easter eggs and overt meta references to other projects in this movie than there are scenes that actively stir your emotions. You know -- the way Mulan does when she decides to steal her father's armor, or Marlin does when he gingerly picks up Nemo's cracked egg in his flippers and cradles it, or Cinderella's stepsisters do when they rip apart the dress the mice made for Cinderella, or Pinocchio does when he watches in horror as Lampwick turns into a donkey, or Tarzan does when he comforts Kala after he comes out dressed in his biological father's old clothes and she starts to cry.

The reason a lot of fans love these two ideas -- villain!Magnifico/Amaya and human!Star/Asha -- so much is because these two relationships, even just in concept art, prompted more emotion out of them than any relationship in the entire finished film.

Perhaps if that same level of emotion was brought out in these relationships in a real movie, that would've helped, but only if the rest of the film had also been trimmed down and edited so as to help tell a story with those two elements. Slim down the overstuffed cast. Have Asha's family actually have a point, or cut them. Give Asha and Magnifico some sort of real history and/or compare-contrast dynamic. Develop Star as a character. Give both Star and Asha character arcs. Make the music more essential to telling the story.

Without a lot of additional changes on top of those two concepts being used, I think the ideas of a hero and villain couple would've only just made the list of ideas that were only half-baked in the final product longer. After all, if Star was Asha's love interest, you'd still really have to have good writing and a lot of chemistry between the two characters in order to sell your audience on a love story between them. Not saying it can't be done -- Tangled and Elemental both did it quite well -- but just throwing the two characters together as is (namely, rather underdeveloped) and making them romantic partners by itself isn't enough. Honestly, I think a platonic or even familial-esque relationship between Star and Asha could've been just as powerful, if that love between them really came through. Just look at the bonds between characters like Judy and Nick from Zootopia or Miguel and Hector in Coco. Even keeping Star as less explicitly human could've been fine, if the relationship between them and Asha was strong enough. Stitch and Lilo's relationship is rock-solid in Lilo and Stitch, and Stitch isn't even remotely human. Even Soul did something kind of interesting with Joe Gardner and his relationship with 22 by giving them something of a mentor-student bond. Maybe a quasi-"young parent/child" relationship between Asha and Star could've even been interesting, if it was written well!

I do think both ideas had great potential in giving Wish more of an identity that could help set it apart from its predecessors -- I mean, we've never had a human character have a romance with a supernatural being or a villainous couple in a Disney animated film before -- but including them wouldn't have fixed Wish by itself.