#are so interesting in parallel to one another

[gayofthefae]

People act like they don't understand the fundamentals of TV show duos but Mike and Will are a TV show duo. Straight up. Full stop. They're a duo on the show. They are given screentime as such, they are treated by characters as such, they are marketed as such.

Dustin and Steve are another one of these duos. Dustin spends season 1 without Steve entirely. He spends a lot of season 4 with focus on Eddie. Does this mean he and Steve are less of a famous "duo"? No! And we all know that.

This is an example of when it gets to arguing these types of things, you discredit yourself. Mike is straight and loves Will but has been made more of a monster-fighting duo with Will, as he and El have not teamed up since season 1, is a thing you can argue.

But he is not a duo with El. He just isn't. They have a one on one relationship, they have one on one scenes. He is no LESS a duo either than, say, Dustin and Lucas - who spend a great deal of time together and collaborate, even having many singled out scenes together over the seasons, but have their respect default people they partner off with. We see this directly at the Creel house when they all split off. We understand what character duos are. We understand that it isn't an insult to say someone isn't. We understand these things.

Mike and Will are the duo. Mike and El fought in a group in seasons 1 and 3 but had relationship arcs. Mike and Will fought together singled out in seasons 2 and 4. They're on all the posters together. I really don't need to keep arguing this.

Now I'm gonna get counterintuitive to what I seemed to be saying because, of course, this IS Byler proof when elaborated on and I will, but really what I'm saying is that denying its existence when being a duo does not UNIVERSALLY mean romance, as with Steve and Dustin, that is an admission that it does for them.

And the argument that he is a duo with El is actually the only reason it DOES mean romance for them. If this were about the prioritizations of friendship, there would be no fight. To keep the comparison, Steve in season 4 has Nancy as a love interest but it does not make him paired with her more than Dustin in the overall show perception. She is simply seen as a love interest. It is the attempt to claim Mike and El are a duo that seals the deal for Byler.

Mike is a duo with Will. If it were platonic and they were prioritized, it would have been framed as him fighting the monsters with his friend while he is sometimes with his girlfriend in the group and sometimes she's off fighting other battles because look at my independent girlfriend go. That is absolutely fine and that casual separation of love interests when the focus is friendship happens PLENTY in shows. Take Shawn and Gus from Psych if you know them. Shawn and Juliet are not a duo and never have been. That is fine, though, they are no less of love interests and their slowburn is no less juicy for it.

But it's the mutual exclusiveness we've talked about so much. And it's the repeated fact that it is entirely possible to write what people claim is happening and that is NOT how it was executed.

Will and Mike are a best friend monster fighting time. Mike is with his sister. Together, they fight to get her back. Together, they fight to keep her safe. Together, they fight without her but are happy when she appears again. Whichever season you picture.

What DOESN'T work is the dependency of Mike's romance with El on being a duo with her. If the claim is that whoever he's a duo with is his love interest, you're claiming Byler. The claim is that he will spend season 5 with her, that they are already a team, etc. They know the couple parallels, of course, so they're claiming them.

But it's that claim that pushes Byler. Mike is repeatedly framed not as having a best friend he focuses on and a girlfriend he maintains but rather a choice to make between who is his "partner in crime". It would not be an argument if he had made that choice onscreen either. You're right, though common enough to be clear, it is not 100% consistent enough. Neither are Dustin and Steve, as mentioned, but unlike them, they are never mutually exclusive with one consistent relationship.

Time after time it is framed as EITHER Mike has a relationship with Will OR El. This is illogical. It should not be a dilemma of who he saves the world with. It should be secure enough that he is even ABLE to choose Will when he needs him with no threat to his romance in the same way that El would be able to choose Max.

Mike behaves himself by pushing himself in those ways, communicating to us that to be romantic with El, he cannot be a "duo" with Will. This is untrue, we've seen Dustin and Steve. They are always a duo and THEY know it. Steve resents it at times while he's struggling with his own jealousy of Eddie for Dustin's admiration, but he still says "we're just always partners". Tone aside, that's self-awareness of it. Mike refuses that acknowledgement. Mike refuses that Will is his person.

Dustin is the other half of Steve's duo. Steve still has a romance with Nancy. Steve is the other half of Dustin's. Dustin still has a relationship with Suzie.

You CAN be a platonic duo and still have romantic relationships, even with a fellow main character. In seasons 1 and 2, Joyce's focus is much more on Will than Hopper, but they still have their moments. In season 3, Max is focused on El, but she and Lucas remain together (they actually do throughout the season, they don't break up when El dumps Mike and all their referenced breakups are offscreen and she is referred by Mike as his "girlfriend" still in 3x06 - common mistake). Very very easy and very very common to have some sort of focus on a platonic pair that may even seem exclusive to the love interest at times but not cut them off in any damaging way, just in screen time.

It is very possible, easy, and common in both TV and life to equally maintain a romantic and platonic relationship while giving more focus to the platonic.

"I was focusing too much on El" is a statement you can make to a friend about a romantic relationship in that context. Completely normal and valid. Is not a claim that he should stop being with her in any regard. He could have continued to focus on Will in compensation for that behavior and focus on El offscreen as Dustin does with Suzie.

That is not what Mike and Will do. That is not what Mike does. He attempts to switch, force, and lie about who he is a duo with despite that being defined by quantity of one on one screentime, not character claims. Because he himself sees romance as something he has to treat as exclusive in that way. In the way that he treats Will. HE denies that Will is his partner because of how HE is defining it again.

It's happening again. Yet another example of how all of Mike's words and behaviors WOULD have been normal...had they not been delivered in the manner and context they were. Will said Mike hadn't called. Will compared it to someone he HAD kept in touch with. Normal. MIKE defined that as deeper than it was. He always does. And he reacted accordingly.

It is 100% possible to have a focus on a duo even when the members of said duo have love interests and have the duo itself be platonic and not with those love interests but keeping them as endgame relationships. It is 100% plausible to argue that that is what Mike and Will are relative to El. It is not plausible to argue that Mike and El are a romantic duo. It's just untrue. They are a romance. That part is fair game.

BUT Mike is the one who doesn't think that. I've said before and I'll say again, when Mike is with Will while in a relationship with El and becomes defensive, he behaved as though he thinks he's cheating on El. Even though everything he's doing is above board.

Mike and Will can be just friends and focus primarily on each other. In concept. Except for the fact that...Mike doesn't think they can. Mike doesn't think they are. And he behaved as such. So he signals the audience as such.

And THAT is why people argue that Mike and El are a duo when they aren't. Not because a platonic duo with a separate love interest can't exist. But because it has been clearly communicated to them that Mike views whoever his partner in crime is as his love interest. That was established after it was made clear that he viewed Will as his partner in crime. But they don't like those two facts to coexist.

If somehow they weren't romantic, they'd still be a duo. We know that even from leaks.[spoiler warning] They're spending the season together, much one on one, and without El. [Leak references over]. That would be completely in character of a concept...had Mike not established how he views his attentions and partnerships.

Honestly? This came to me because I realized: if Milkvan were somehow endgame. Everyone would be way more relaxed about admitting they were a duo all along. A

team

And the revelation of how much they would admit if Byler weren't endgame just shows what they think of as PROOF.

Everything they deny is something they think of as Byler proof. It's shocking how small and how canon some of those things can go.

[lu-is-not-ok]

hi there! i’ve been motivated by previous asks, so i would really like to hear your thoughts on hong lu’s relationship with yi sang, as it is currently and how it may progress with the story… they have very interesting parallels to me and i wish i could see their relationship explored somewhere other than my own head lol

also, (if you would allow me two questions) do you have any particular thoughts about hong lu’s particulars (bachelor and sheltered)? i find the sinners’ particulars to be really interesting too but i never see them discussed anymore. thanks for your time & have a good day <3

When it comes to Hong Lu and Yi Sang, their relationship is much more straightforward but also much more genuinely positive.

The two don't really interact with each other in any notable manner until Canto 4, which is also where their dynamic Truly gets established. Canto 4's Dungeon is where they both end up connecting, as Yi Sang recognises Hong Lu as someone who heavily resembles Young Ji from the League of Nine, while Hong Lu himself appears to relate to and understand some of Yi Sang's struggles.

This all comes to a head when Hong Lu is the one to recognise the emotional core of what was happening and gives Dante the advice they need to actually reach out to Yi Sang at his lowest.

From this Canto onward, Hong Lu appears to consistently check up on Yi Sang during moments that remind the latter of his past with the League. Hong Lu shows that he not only holds concern for Yi Sang's emotional well-being, but also wants to make sure he doesn't bottle up his thoughts the way he learned he did in his past.

Likewise in Canto 7 Yi Sang is shown to be returning the favor to Hong Lu so to speak, though he's shown to struggle a bit more with processing how Hong Lu responds in comparison.

Outside of these moments, Hong Lu and Yi Sang are shown to generally have a cordial and amicable rapport, both showing curiosity towards each other when they share their respective knowledge and likewise jumping off of each other's observations to add their own. While Hong Lu does tease Yi Sang once or twice, it doesn't read nearly as mean-spirited as some of the shit he pulled with people like Heathcliff and Rodya.

Their relationship is perhaps one of the few on the bus that I can genuinely say is an entirely positive one for both of them. They both clearly care for each other and enjoy speaking with one another, even if they might struggle to understand one another at points. No ifs or buts, they're just straight up honestly decent friends.

It really makes me wonder how Yi Sang is going to take it once Hong Lu's lies are revealed... Compared to a lot of the relationships Hong Lu has with the other Sinners, his bond with Yi Sang seems the most genuine. Will Yi Sang be able to recognise that and will he decide to still stand by Hong Lu side?

Now. As for your second question.

I don't have much to say on Hong Lu's particulars beyond mentioning that their translation is. Interesting to say the least.

According to someone who speaks Korean, the term that got translated to "Bachelor" would more accurately be translated to "Young Master", aka it doesn't really have anything to do with marital status in its original language.

Similarly, the original wording for the "Sheltered" particular is more so an allusion to Hong Lu having a different sense of reality to what is considered normal. It's an interesting specificity that the English translation added that from my understanding wasn't there in the original text.

I don't have much else to add beyond the fact that people are too quick to trust the Manager Instructions as being the ultimate truth on what the Sinners are like. Their description of Ishmael as someone whose "patience runs deep" is proven incorrect in the fucking Prologue where her impatience is directly called out. This shit isn't a trustworthy source of info.

[nikosasaki]

⸻ MARATINES 2025

HELLO! here we are again, another year another valentines oc challenge from me, mara, made specifically for me, mara. as always i want to encourage you all to play along with me, even if it’s just for one of the days, and don’t forget to tag me if you do! you can find all of the prompts under the readmore below.

okay love you, bye!

♥ DAY 1 ⸻ ship parallels

( FEBRUARY 8 ) we’re not so different, you and I; which other iconic pairing(s) do they resemble?

♥ DAY 2 ⸻ love songs

( FEBRUARY 9 ) soundtracks, wedding songs, promposal performances; music and love go hand in hand. which song(s) describe them best?

♥ DAY 3 ⸻ dating history

( FEBRUARY 10 ) not every relationship is going to be The One. what does their dating history look like?

♥ DAY 4 ⸻ across the universe

( FEBRUARY 11 ) let’s put those guys in situations. how would their love story play out in a sci-fi setting, a gothic vampire tale, or just a good old college au?

♥ DAY 5 ⸻ love interest swap

( FEBRUARY 12 ) nobody ever said it’s a bad thing to keep your options open. which other character(s) would they date?

♥ DAY 6 ⸻ web weaving

( FEBRUARY 13 ) which quotes, lyrics, and images make you go ‘oh. that is so them’?

♥ DAY 7 ⸻ one true pairing

( FEBRUARY 14 ) there is no other way to say it; this pairing is simply meant to be.

taglist: @kendelias @eddiemunscns @chlobenet @purpleyearning @bravelittleflower @nolanhollogay @raith-way @lovehermioneforever @hiddenqveendom @dragonsbone @kiara-carrera @witchofinterest @heavenlysurf @luucypevensie @ginevrastilinski @partiallypearl @waterloou @stanshollaand @ginger-grimm @endless-oc-creations @rose-of-oz

[0aurelion-sol0]

My Arcane Season 2 criticisms:

Things I actually disliked:

How the Hextech plot turned out, I though it was very badly executed especially in terms of Viktor's evolution through the whole show. Lack of proper explanation about what was actually happening, unnecessary and horribly executed twist at the end, clumsy established rules and dissapointing payoff for anyone involved in this plotline. Final battle was cool and I like the Commune's designs but dear god, was this storyline confusing...

Ekko's community plus the tree's state at the end of the show. You really couldn't put a 15 seconds shot of the community being well and tree being ok ?! Seriously I know you had to make choices given it's animation but come on now... It was like one of the main driving points to stop Hextech for him & one of the safe haven of Zaun & Piltover and it's completely shoved to the side but no, we have to see minutes of Loris, Steb and Sky being there just being a representation of our characters' inner conflicts as if them doing it and/or saying it out loud wasn't enough...

Ekko convincing Jinx to not kill herself by telling her what he experienced, Jinx rallying the undercity to protect Piltover & Zaun from Noxus & Viktor and a proper conclusion to Sevika's story regarding all of this. WHAT THE HELL ?! We needed to see this, this is so important & it's completely ignored. IN WHAT world, did anyone think cutting this was a good idea ?! We needed to get a proper closure & development about Ekko & Jinx's relationship which was already thin to begin with. We needed to see Sevika affirm what she truly thought about Jinx and a moment about Isha regarding the two of them even if Sevika wasn't super close to the kid, we needed to see Sevika get to see the Undercity finally rallied together after spending the ENTIRETY of the show trying to do that and see how that whole thing came about for them to fight with Piltover. It is ridiculous to that me that this was cut... It was so important!

Things I didn't necessarily dislike but I have mixed feelings about:

Jayce not getting a single scene with his mom. I know she was there at the end, in the crowd, mourning him but come on, not even one scene with her before the end where she could allow him a form of reflection and comfort before putting his life in danger or after, I don't know... DISSAPEARING FOR WEEKS IF NOT MONTHS! I know you could interpret it as Jayce being so lost on his mission that he forgets about her and her importance but she was one of the reasons they ended up in Piltover in the first place. It's of course not as vital to the story but it could have provided some breathing in this fast-paced season.

Vi's character arc this season. While there are some part that I like, I feel like it wasn't explored as deeply & as fully as it could have been. The foundations are there but aspects like her relationship with Vander, violence and Zaun could have been pushed far more than they were in this season.

Caitlyn's arc and how the most important bit happened off-screen, again, just like with Vi, the parts it would have been better to see or being more developped weren't as much as they could've been. I am not of the conclusion she didn't face any consequences or was let go by the narrative of the things she did. But her coming to terms with her actions happened mostly off-screen and that is a shame because it was one of the more interesting parts of Season 2.

Singed's characterization. Now I understand why he was developed the way he is, in terms of what he represents for Caitlyn and for the show, but I don't think it was as compelling to me to have him be yet another parallel for the themes of the show or being a reminder of them was completely necessary for me. We got it the other times, I understand why, it had it's purpose; I just prefer how evil Singed was in the original lore & the story he had back then. I understand humanizing antagonists & reinforcing the theme of your story but sometimes it's nice having an element that's a bit of an outlier and explore other themes to give some variety to the story.

[angeldeviloshi]

Ok gonna link this here first to get things out of the way.

So adding on to the above analysis, during 191, I posted on bsky regarding Yoru's revelation of herself to Denji by introducing herself as Asa's "other personality" rather than a devil borrowing her body.

And the way she makes it clear that she's reliant on Asa and subject to the limitations of her mind and body even as she claims that the others are her puppets.

Yoru has fully taken in Asa as a facet of her identity claiming her role as love interest as her means of control and ownership over Denji, this convergence occurring alongside Denji's identity as Chainsaw Man, inseparable.

This chapter is an interesting parallel to the aquarium date in its presentation as a couple's getaway complete with a meal lit by flame. And these pages...

The Chinese restaurant is giving me callbacks to the ramen place Aki and Himeno dined at, the place where she tried to get him to quit with her, the memory that becomes his regret as she becomes another one of his ghosts. His grief.

The grief Denji inherits, that leads to Denji's coldness from memory of the snow, the ice cream, his hands when Power is killed.

That Yoru decides to prepare the frozen potstickers from the freezer here for Denji. Her taking up this domestic role as love interest for Denji, herself being a mother. Cold, ready-to-eat food (like the sushi, Nayuta's death) warmed up and fed.

Her shooting the manager so that she is the cook, her embodying of Aki's duality here while echoing the crapburger exchange Denji had with Asa in Aging's world.

That exchange echoing the Falling Devil arc, connection in grief and loneliness, as starvation, presented as a dish by Falling.

Starvation shared by Asa and Denji in the aquarium date as they eat the starfish. Starvation enacted by Kiga.

Denji and Yoru sharing this warmed meal overlooking the flames. The fire of war and the fire that feeds the Church's followers, destroyed Denji's home and family as Denji reminisces Blood and Control.

The fire that cooks as they indulge in hunger, hunger in loneliness, hunger as instinct that Yoru entices with the kiss and the invitation of flesh.

[nightskywonderer]

Superman and Wonder Woman explained: Why their dynamic/relationship matters:

1. The (child) Refugee - Kal-El/Clark Kent born on Krypton, raised in Smallville. Grew up conditioned to hide his identity out of fear/ protection.

The (young adult) Immigrant: Diana of Themyscira born and raised on her island was taught to openly be free to celebrate her identity

2. They are NOT Gods, but they are NOT mortal. They are NOT their powers. They are, however, the in between of the unique worlds bridging said worlds together. That is what makes the complexity of their representations as an immigrant and refugee more compelling and fantastical.

3. With the complexed layers peeled back, at their core, they are simply a farm boy and an island girl with hearts of pure gold. Two of the most powerful otherworldly beings are also the most humbled, kindest, gentlest, self sacrificing souls realize the burden of being put on a pedestal as inspirational forces of world change and betterment.

4. What this relationship explores is how the two function as individuals, learning from and teaching each other their POV from their paralleled outsider experience and their inner loneliness weaving it all together, finding solace and having a very layered understanding.

5. A power couple by definition is a couple in a healthy relationship who support each other, encourage goodness, and make the world a better place.

It’s is not about physical power. It is a testament of equal standing of influence and respect, trust and understanding.

It is showing the understanding of acknowledging their vulnerabilities so openly is a powerful statement to their humanity and morality.

6. It explores the judgements of the world equating to viewing them as celebrities and as two powerful foreign beings pissing off the government and even the League to put the PEOPLE first as the Champion of the Oppressed and Warrior of Peace.

7. In addition to blending the scientific with the mythical, there is also untapped potential of bridging their civilian occupations as a Reporter and an Ambassador. Clark’s influential words within the news media and Diana’s voice to speak for the people.

8. It is the acceptances that while they have their differences, they have similarities to balance the scale of their would be natural conflicts giving a unique complexed well rounded perspective.

9. It is the acceptance of being completely honest and true with each other and within themselves. Not to conform to what’s accepted as “normal” for society’s comfort, but what makes society unique and diverse. Blending in, while maintaining to stand out.

10. Their humanity is not defined by nor motivated by one love interest. They are motivated by love of all life as one that lost their home world yet adopting another and as one who was created from the soil of this world ingrained within its nature.

11. They are never above and never want to be. However they are free spirits with a unique outlook on life and the world such as every other individual does, though on a grander scale.

12. They have a beautiful friendship the evolves over the decades and whether it evolves into a romance, like it or not, there is merit. Best friends falling in love, is not unheard of, if anything it is quite common. It’s all about the right execution.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Hi🥰. I have this tpn theory for months now, so I would like to know what you think about it 🥰.

Could be 'Him' (Demon God) be a member of the Evil blood clan?

I was flicking through the pages of the Artbook because of the BTAD Zine and found these two pages next to each other.

This could be just a lucky placing of course, but I began to think. Mujika's and the One's design looks similar (or maybe I just overthink it lol)

But what if the royal demons made up the tradition of Tifari to get themselves more food?

They do look pretty similar with their horn placements! Though the demon god's always remain larger in proportion to his mask whereas hers are more dainty.

(Chapter 181 | 158 | 49 | 176 | 140)

They also have similar body shapes when he's in his preferred smaller child form.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 5)

And while not directly related as parent and child, there's the aesthetics of having a singular god (even dubbed "The One" when they had to decide on a name when adapting the anime) and Mujika acting as a fairly solid parallel to Jesus. (Kei Toda gets into this more in her book, Reading The Promised Neverland with a British/American Literature Scholar, which can be found here.)

Shirai doesn't have any interest in divulging the demon god's origins prior to the original promise, so all we have to go on is this:

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 6 Q&A)

With another parallel of both being shunned due to being considered a threat to the greater social order of the demon world.

I'm of a similar mind to Shirai in that I don't think it's necessary to have a concrete origin for the demon god beyond his role as a profoundly powerful entity in the narrative that the demon aristocracy use as a means to justify their rule over the general populace. This extends to the arbitrary creation of Tifari, though why it falls on/around November 10th of the Gregorian calendar (introduced in 1582, roughly 500 years after the original promise) could have been due to other demon world customs or historical events besides it being the time of year the original promise was made. But if you wanted to expand upon these origins in a fanfic, all the more power to you.

But what if the royal demons made up the tradition of Tifari to get themselves more food?

They sort of did, depending on what you mean by get more.

(Chapter 142)

Again, Tifari is arbitrary in that the demon god doesn't actually need the highest grade meat for sustenance. He's evolved beyond that centuries before the demon nobility find out about the evil blood. He just wants it because he knows it's what the demon king and later Legravalima covet the most, and under the monarchy they've established they'd normally be the ones receiving the best meat (by their metrics).

It's possible more offerings than what we see at the 2047 Tifari were demanded in the past, and that surplus was siphoned off by the upper echelons.

(Chapter 146)

But for simplicity's sake, it's probably been the three highest grade since the beginning for how it mirrors the significance paid to the full score trio being the first time in Grace Field's recorded history there's ever been three children of that caliber at a house at the same time.

(Chapter 1 | 76 | 80 | 152 | 156 | 159)

There's also the three marks on the demon god's mask to keep the trinity/trio visuals going.

(Chapter 142)

So it didn't get them more food in the sense of increasing the amount of meat they hoarded for themselves. Like we see 700 years prior when the demon world was experiencing a famine, they would have finagled some reasoning for why they should have more to maintain their level of comfort and security.

(Chapter 147)

It did, however, continue to justify why they received the larger share of high quality meat. By ensconcing Tifari as a tradition and holding festivities for it every year to ostensibly appease The One that all the citizenry participates in, it legitimatizes their claim to rule and the system by which they maintain their authority, so it did get them more food in the sense of maintaining uncontested access as opposed to the citizens staging a mass uprising across the kingdom.

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Oh my goodness? This is so good! You've done a great job translating Ralsei's characteristics into the Pokemon character design format, well done!

I do really like your ideas for his pokemon team as well! I always did wonder if the similarities in colour scheme between him and the Ralts line was intentional or not... I do think Gardevoir with its singleminded devotion to its trainer does serve as a good mirror to Ralsei's own devotion to Kris/the lightners. Of course, such blind devotion isn't always a good thing...

Another interesting idea I've seen for a pokemon Ralsei would have is Mimikyu - there's definitely parallels you can draw between them both assuming the guise of a beloved fan-favourite character, and them both just wanting friends... makes you wonder whether Ralsei might have a "true" form that we still haven't seen yet...

Finally, though this might come out of left field a bit, I could see Ralsei with a Banette. Both were once-beloved children's toys that have been cast away for one reason or another, but whilst Banette has become filled with hatred and resentment, Ralsei seems more accepting of his situation (emphasis on "seems" there). I think it'd be an interesting contrast to have him try to teach Banette to give the world a second chance, to try and "redeem" it through love and care, as one broken toy to another. I dunno, I just think that'd be neat :)

Again, fantastic work here! And thank you to @theowlthatwrites for bringing this to my attention :D

Another adorable abomination: Here is my idea of what a Pokémon trainer Ralsei would look like:

I based Ralsei on the "Friendly Rival" Type. My main inspiration for his design here was Wally (and Ralts).

While friendly Rivals also can have a full Team. Here I took more inspiration from the XY friendgroup, and only gave Ralsei 4-5 Pokémon.

Since Ralsei is a friendly Rival, he gets the weaker starter Pokémon. Kris already got Dewott, so Ralsei gets Servine. The Snivy Line has a royalty theme, plus with Servine being a grass type, you also have sort of a connection to Flowers. Furthermore, since Ralsei also has "Devine" attacks, it rather fits name wise, and choosing the middle stage is representative of the gang being in their teens. I had a special thought for Ralsei having a starter though. The starter your rival picks is dependant on your choice, so initially Ralsei just picked Snivy because the protagonist chose Tepic. Ralsei did this to please the programm so to say (something he tends to do), while Kris might've had no choice, but at least they now have the upper hand over them.

Next is the goat Skiddo. The reason for Skiddo is relatively simple and obvious, but Skiddos are also the first pokémon that lived together with humans, which would fit the darkner theme. They can sense it's trainer's emotions (in the anime at least) and are also seemingly willing to help out others if we extrapolate a bit. Also the pokémon that represents Ralsei in a more literal sense being a pokémon whose main use was being a vehicle is pretty fitting for Ralsei's "I have to be useful and serve others" complex

A pokémon I really want Ralsei to have is Eevee, because of it's evolution potential. Not only are Eevees fluffy boys 87,5% of the time, but Ralsei himself currently has to figure out who he is and who he wants to be, which is a great parallel to Eevee. I imagine his Eevee would be shiny, because of Ralsei being a darkner and having white fur.

Another pokémon I think Ralsei would have with a simple reason is Milcery, which famously evolves into a cake that changes it's design and flavour depending on how you decorate and turn your Milcary, which agin symbolizes Ralsei's journey of self discovery, and his love for cake.

Lastly, though Ralts was a very tempting option, I think Ralsei would have a Hattena or Hattrem (not completely sure).

Both Ralts and Hattena have the ability to sense emotions, the key difference though is that Hattena has a little pointy witch hat.

...

I jest but this is part of the reason I picked Hattena in the end.

No, the key difference is that while Ralts gets less shy when confronted with positive emotions, Hattena and Hattrem can't stand strong emotions, and preferr their surroundings to be calm. While Ralsei isn't allergic to other's emotions, he has trouble actually handleing them, as shown in the post Spamton Neo fight, or in how he handled the roaring. He doesn't know what to do about them, and his main strategy seems to be: "positivity=good, negativity=bad, so better stay positive and don't pay attention to the bad stuff", which isn't really helpful, and you could even argue that for a Kris that needs a different kind of comfort right now instead of just getting a "how about you just think about something else" is a pretty bad Hattrem-style slap in the face. (btw, I love Ralsei and I think his flaws make him a super interesting character, this isn't a front against him)

Other than that, I imagine Ralsei would want to have a Blissey someday, but I feel like he wouldn't have one yet, and I sadly couldn't really think of the right fire type for him, but maybe next gen, we'll finally get the fire fairy goat I always wanted.

[aroaceleovaldez]

i was thinking a lot the other day about the parallels between Nico and Iapetus/Bob. Both had their memories wiped in the River Lethe and immediately were told lies about their lives - Nico and Bianca were told by Alecto that they were orphans and both their parents had died in an accident, among other lies we don't know the details of that Nico eventually learned to be false as he regained his memories. And obviously Iapetus was given an entire false identity by Percy. Percy has a tendency to use both of them - keeping them at a wary arm's distance but repeatedly insisting that they're allies and that they should be loyal to him. And both of them know fully well how far Percy's actual loyalty to them extends and are willing to sacrifice themselves for his sake anyways. Percy leaves Nico in the Underworld in TLO, with Nico making an explicit note that he knows Percy doesn't trust him anymore. Percy has just choked him. And he still rallies the forces of the Underworld to come to his aid. Bob begins to remember his true self while in Tartarus and Percy warily reinforces that they're allies and Percy leaves him in Tartarus while Bob sacrifices himself to allow Percy to escape.

Plus, Nico was the only one to keep in touch with Bob and reinforce that Percy is their ally. It reminds me a lot of Nico's conversation with Hazel in Son of Neptune about Percy -

Nico talks about Percy with personal experience of what it's like for Percy to briefly consider him an enemy. It really makes you wonder what his conversations with Bob were like after Sword of Hades.

[captain-astors]

The Crown Prince

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: death mention / strangulation mention / stabbing mention / blood mention / self-sacrifice / codependency mention in tags / ]

I think a lot about how common it is for Raph to be the one to have direct focus put on him when Leo gets into all his near death experiences.

Like, when Leo is thrown off a building, it’s Raph who’s right there jumping after him, not even thinking about the consequences to himself when he does. When Leo almost gets skewered by the Krang, Raph’s right there to take the blow and send Leo to safety without a second thought. When Leo’s being strangled to near death, it’s a Krangified Raph doing the job, doing exactly what Raph would never, ever want to do. When Leo is telling Casey Jr to close the portal, it’s Raph who tries desperately to convince Leo otherwise.

Likewise, Leo is consistently very single minded when Raph gets forcibly separated from them. Both when in the sewers and by the Krang, Leo is dead set on finding Raph first and foremost.

I also think it’s interesting that during each of Leo’s near death experiences, the lightheartedness of his words during them goes directly hand in hand with both how close Raph is to him physically and how much danger Raph is also in in that moment. From a literal “I told you so” as Leo’s falling away from Raph to a soft joke about how “hero moves” are Raph’s style - both of these are on the more morbidly carefree side and both of these notably take Leo farther away from Raph and, in turn, have Raph not in immediate danger.

On the other side of things is the apology from Leo, heedless of the danger he himself is in as he seriously and genuinely speaks to a Krangified Raph face to face. Then there’s Leo’s freezing and desperation as Raph takes a hit meant for him and sends just Leo to safety, leaving Raph himself behind. Both of these involve much closer proximity and Raph being directly harmed - these together make Leo much more vulnerable in his words and actions, something not even the threat of death can make him.

These two care about each other so much, and they’re way too much alike for their own good.

[babybells123]

(ASOS, Sansa II)

(ASOS, Jon XII)

[bridge-arsonist]

Contrarian-Cold Parallels

Something I think is super underrated is the parallels between the Cold and the Contrarian. Because, though they present themselves very differently, at heart, they're much more similar than you'd initially believe.

The Contrarian is someone who strives to piss off the Narrator. Whatever he does, he just wants to ruin the Narrator's day. Have some fun, and mess with Narrator; those are his two main goals. He doesn't actually have bad intentions, though. He never wanted to create a fusion of multiple princesses like in the Stranger, in fact, he seems incredibly remorseful. He never realized the weight of his actions, that's all. The Contrarian is much more caring than he seems at first glance, trying to get the player to help turn the princess back at the end of the stranger route, and softening up considerably at the Shifting Mound's heart.

The Cold is actually pretty similar to this, though he has his differences. He, at heart, strives to ruin the Narrator's day and have fun/stay interested in things. Though he's considerably less remorseful for the fate of the princess than the Contrarian, he definitely is more caring than he appears at first glance. He tries to help the Slayer in his own way in Moment of Clarity (I believe it's even implied Cold's powers were what the Slayer used to help stay sane), and he tries to help the other voices bear through terrible pain using his advice of staying numb.

So, they both:

Want things to be interesting

Want to ruin the Narrator's day as much as possible

Don't really seem care about much else other than the two aforementioned goals

Can be surprisingly feeling despite their initial, uncaring presentation

Both seriously underestimate the consequences of their actions—With Contrarian underestimating the harm you can do to the princess, and Cold underestimating the harm she can do to you (sure she's just a ghost, bud, suuuure.)

Funnily enough, though, they spawn from opposing courses of action. Disobeying the Narrator from the start until you accidentally unravel everything (including yourself), and obeying the Narrator until he unravels everything, and then having no other choice but to purposefully end yourself to escape the eternal void he's trapped you in.

And so their presentations seem opposite: The lackadaisical, mischievous, prankster type; and the stoic, serious, calm type. But they both have a major, dare I say character-defining trait in common:

A seeming apathy towards everything except pissing off the Narrator.

In Cold's main route, and most of his others, you literally stab yourself because, well, fuck the Narrator and this torturous eternal void. And Contrarian's routes are... Pretty self-explanatory. You walk away with no discernable goal but the lulz and pissing off the Narrator.

Despite seemingly being completely opposite courses of action, these paths begin to converge into endings much more similar than they seem. You did everything so differently, but in the end, you're still here. With an unknown princess, and a voice who seems to care for naught but entertainment and that pesky raven in your head.

So different on the outside, yet so similar at the heart of it all; that's something I love about these two.

[gayvecchio]

due South - 1.20 Victoria's Secret pt. 1 || 4.12 Call of the Wild pt. 1

[badninken]

I would like to know which One Piece manga translation is considered the most faithful to the original and where to find it. Analysing scenes is kinda hard when there are several versions with very different tone and sometimes completely different meanings. Not even bothering to cross-reference anime subtitles, I have very little faith in those to begin with.

[daylighteclipsed]

ive been replaying kh1 (going thru the whole series on steam since i never got the chance to play all the games) and i was struck by something a bit odd. i have been dyinggg to talk about it

it's about kairi and her past.

i don't think she's a replica or construct necessarily

but in kh2 there's a parallel drawn between her and sally in halloween town; and the same i think could be true in kh1.

sally is a Frankenstein monster/doll made by the doctor. the entire plot of Halloween town centers around the need for the dr to make a "heart" which requires memories from Sally (the scene of her picking the forget me nots looks a lot like kairi holding a flower for aqua too)

sora takes interest in the project to restore a heart to the heartless too because of his desire to restore Kairi's heart.

i havent really come up with a coherent thought about what this means.

but given that we know kairi was experimented on in a way that involved her heart, it just seems suspicious that this parallel was made twice to her and a doll that was stitched together and animated by a mad scientist.

shes also compared to chirithy in kh3, which from my understanding were created by MoM for keyblade weilders; and to Pooh, who is a toy/story book character that came to life

given too that Kairi already has a weird thing going on with her heart, it just seems possible that theres something..more to it that i have yet to piece together. and its driving me crazy

NO, WAIT… ANON YOU’RE COOKING. Idk what it all means either, but those parallels are so good and so true. Cause there definitely is something artificial about Kairi’s heart, even if just partially. It was experimented on, like you said, and it looks completely different than the organic hearts we see, and I suspect that’s why we’ve never seen Kairi’s heart station. Because it’s (at least partially) artificial. It would look totally different than all the other heart stations and would probably give away what’s going on.