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multiheadcanons · 23 days ago

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EVERYONE LOVES(?) MEDIC!

aka merc relations with medic

a note before we begin: this is an incredibly indulgent writing that has full basis on an entire thinkpiece i have about medic. like i’m making thematic assumptions based on things i made up as fact about medic. but if you’ve liked my characterization of medic so far then you’ll probably like this. either way, enjoy it! i sure as hell enjoyed writing it!

scout: scout does not like the fact that medic keeps him awake during surgeries to chat. he does not like seeing the doctor handle his organs with such fascination and care. one time medic smelled his stomach. medic assured him it’s solely scientific, but the only good scout gets out of it is that he’s able to account for every organ that doc puts in him. no he doesn’t fucking know what his organs look like. but he’s counting and there better be the same number each time. medic weirds him out. heebies his jeebies big time. medic gets in his face, and just stares at him. eyeing him up and down. scout doesn’t like how tall he is. it pisses him off and creeps him out more. and he doesn’t like that the doctor has handled his organs personally, and spoken to him while actively holding his organs, while he is cut open on the table. and when he can feel the doctor’s breath on his face as he seems to just… take him in. like he’s just meat. and medic looks starved. and it’s weird because he can’t look away from medic either. and they stand there, in silence, staring at each other. and he takes the doctors features in, and gets flustered at the fire he can feel burning behind his eyes. he knows the fucker’s plotting something, he just can’t tell what. but then medic will walk away, and leave scout with no words of explanation, and scout doesn’t know what to say after that, really. sometimes he has to verbally tell medic to shove it because he’s just staring so hard. cause medic makes him feel like prey.

soldier: soldier will always have respect for his medic! that man has regrown his limbs, he is very thankful that there is even a doctor he can go to for free. and medic always compliments his organs, he calls them strong organs. and he’s got the doctor to thank for that! he gets suspicious when medic takes them to another room, but he has literally never had an issue before, during, or after being on the operating table, so he tries not to think about it. the only time they have ever had an issue with each other is during board game night. medic caught him cheating and called him out on it; but what he didn’t know was soldier had also caught him cheating, and one of them seemed a lot more likely than the other to cheat. and he pushed medic, and pushed him and revealed the doctors cheating and in a fit of rage, medic lunged at him. that was some of the most fun he had at game night. by the time the rest of the team managed to pull them off each other they were both bloody and bruised. and in the rush of blood, and the heightened emotions, soldier removed his helmet so he could look medic in his bruised eye and tell him he looks real pretty when he gets his ass kicked. and then to watch him calm down enough to come to a democratic decision and kick demo’s ass too when the decision didn’t favor him? yeah, he might be from germany but that’s an american man right there.

pyro: pyro loves the doctor! that’s their best friend! they go burn things together, they laugh together, medic shares heavy with pyro with no issue, they play games together, medic respects their “mask on” rule during surgery; and he’s talented enough with a scalpel that he doesn’t need to look to slice pyro open! he’s only interested in what’s on the inside, and pyro really appreciates that. also, he’s really pretty, so when pyro’s haze breaks and they’re faced with the real world, staring at him is really soothing. and in the times they can convey their feelings right, medic always knows what to say to take them back to their happy place. understands in a way that medic treats them like a pet. they’re okay with that. it’s some of the best treatment they’ve ever gotten. and the affirmation that it’s not them, it’s everyone else who is weird is so comforting. pyro only wishes they shared the same love for heat. they can’t stand the clinical cold of the infirmary.

demo: oh that’s his old hen. demo doesn’t know what it is, but there was something about their first meeting and that wide smile and those bright blue eyes that hooked him in, and now they are old maids together. they’ll sneak off base to the bar to cause havoc and deny they ever went anywhere. they’re both horrible drivers, so they are normally the only ones who want to be in a car with each other. medic actually calms down with demo as a passenger, but also demo is normally asleep in the car. so they just get along famously. demo doesn’t actually get why nobody wants medic to drive. it seems to demo that they compliment each other in a lot of ways, but are similar enough to be substantial, which is good for him because he doesn’t think he can handle two of himself. recognizes they are fully friends by proximity. he would probably never give medic a second glance if they didn’t work together, but that’s the beauty of human nature. he got to know the doctor anyway. doesn’t care for being awake on the operating table. he trusts medic enough to know he’ll be okay and if he won’t… he’ll come from the respawn room soon enough and let the doctor try again.

engineer: engie doesn’t really interact with the doctor as much as he knows he should. something about how far he has to crane his neck to see the man’s face is bothersome. it’s nice enough if medic gives him a little attention with the medigun, it’s a rare occurrence when he gets to experience the warmth of the rays that everyone first spoke about. the one mind altering experience he had with medic is that engie used to use dip tobacco. only occasionally, but frankly you only need to get caught once, right? and medic caught him in his workshop spitting out the tobacco in a cup. it freaked him out when he heard the medic sigh, and he turned very quickly to the sound of his boots, adjusting his goggles. this is when he really decided he didn’t want to be around the doctor, as they stared at each other. engineer still holding the cup in hand. it felt too personal as the medic took the cup gingerly out of his hands, and leaned down and into his face, blowing hot air on his skin. he whispered he’s too handsome to have such a nasty habit. engie kicked him out of the workshop immediately, but something about that experience made him quit cold turkey. he never wanted to be put in that situation again. he doesn’t know what medic did with that cup either. he didn’t speak to medic for a week after that, medic himself had to go make amends in the mess hall.

heavy: he LOVES his doctor. and that is HIS doctor. despite their horrid first impressions of each other, once they got over their rough start; they actually got along famously well. heavy hated the idea of his doctor not being on his side, so after heavy returned from his maiden voyage to the respawn room, after the battle they sat down and had a very frank conversation; and medic was an open book; shocking to him. more than willing to discuss how he felt about it all, his methods, his mindset, what made him the way he is. and moreso he was willing to put it behind them and truly reforge their paths to account for them both, and make sure they will never lose each other in a fray again. and it did remind heavy of his second thoughts of the doctor. how he is gracious. he is kind, and he can be respectful when he wants to be. they made a blood oath, at medic’s behest, that regardless of what happens, they will not turn on each other again. they looked each other in the eyes and said it. their faces both set in a grim understanding that it was until death now. neither of them have broken that oath. it amuses him to think medic chooses to be the way he is. he doesn’t quite believe it. he likes to think the doctor is good. actually he knows it. even unethical doctors save people. it quickly became second nature to go out of their way to find each other. on and off the battlefield. it was very quickly a normal sight to never see one of them without the other close behind. it’s what makes them lethal in battle. and don’t think heavy doesn’t notice that the doctor is… very nice to him. he isn’t sure what it means, but he knows that there is a difference in medic’s treatment of him and his treatment of everyone else. truthfully? he doesn’t care! let them whine, if they could do for the doctor what he can they wouldn’t be so upset. but they can’t, so they cry, like little babies. everyone can try if they want, he knows he will always be the doctor’s top priority. he swore it on his blood.

sniper: sniper doesn’t mind the doctor, but it’s funner to think about killing him. he’s a pompous smart ass with a blood fetish and an unsettling face. sniper is heavy’s friend more than he’s the doctor’s. but he knows they are a package deal. so he’s polite. he’s courteous. and sometimes he’ll overhear them talking, or peer at medic through his scope and yeah, he even gets how medic can be… funny. quick witted. creative. handsome, even. charming. he doesn’t think any of that tops the fact that the doctor is a freak. but he also knows that this mention will fall on deaf ears. and regardless of how he feels, that’s his doctor. the dude digs through his body for work, half the time he believes medic does it for fun. face visibly sours if medic approaches him, though for some reason medic will act… normal with him. not even like… standard medic but he’ll just be a normal person making normal contact, and sniper knows that him acting weird makes it weird. but it is weird. there’s a look behind his eyes everytime. he knows that quack is planning something. he’s so sure of it. he would feel like an idiot if he was wrong. but he knows he’s not wrong.

spy: spy is a baddie and medic is his baddie friend. they are fascinated with each other, how men like them can even come to exist. spy plays it nonchalant. medic is very much chalant about wanting to personally examine every single one of his organs. spy is… kinda flattered, but refuses him. they are two classy men who also happen to love to run scams. have grown an organic mutual appreciation of each other. they’re the worst. they’re vapid and vain, and so… so conceited. it makes them laugh as they catch themselves talking about how the constant treating for blood stains will ruin the fabric of their clothes, and they look at each other… and a stupid smile spreads on medic’s face and spy has to look away, fighting a snort. there was a period of time when they first started working that they ran a side business of murder-for-hire, undercutting the price at mann co. and it got the team new contracts with a very clear no compete clause. they will go read that in their contacts and laugh to each other. medic harps on his smoking. the first time, to call him on his bluff, spy placed an unlit cigarette in medic’s mouth, and pulled him in by the back of his neck to light it with his own in the middle of his monologue of tobacco usage, his fingers tangled in medic’s hair. he kept his eyes on the doctor’s, silently daring him to refuse it. in a shock (but not to spy), medic accepted it, and they smoked their cigarettes in front of the fireplace in silence. spy registered the rising heat he could feel from the doctor as his face flushed, watched his breath hitch as he did that. how the doctor’s eyes narrowed at him before he blew a cloud of smoke in spy’s face, and could tell he was fighting to keep his body in check. medic falls asleep in spy’s smoking room when he wants to disappear for a while and not be found. fights the itch to stab him in his back when he’s sitting on a chair with his elbows resting on his knees, or when he’s sleeping and turns over and his back is just… there. the white coat is a very loud target and it’s an ingrained habit. sue him. places cigarettes in his clothes. in case he ever felt the urge again. he knows where to find spy. it’s not easy for one to catch the other off guard; and they make it each other’s mission to terrorize the other when they can. flustering each other in public is their favorite pastime.

#team fortress 2 #team fortress two #tf2 demo #tf2 demoman #tf2 engineer #tf2 heavy #tf2 medic #tf2 pyro #tf2 scout #tf2 sniper #tf2 soldier #tf2 spy #tf2 #FUCK I DIDNT MEAN TO POST THIS YET I MEANT TO SCHEDULE IT #OK WELL ENJOY A BONUS POST????

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galedekarios · 2 months ago

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I’m not surprised honestly, but I don’t need an award to validate how much I love it. Veilguard is my personal goty, that being said if it can’t be that. Go Metaphor!

that is very true.

i'm just feeling some kind of ways about the positive aspects being completely dismissed in favour of endless criticisms, some deserved and some not.

the same thing happened with inquisition back when it released.

it's funny when i see large parts of the fandom - and even outside of that - now getting misty-eyed over it.

i do remember all the thinkpieces back then on how the inquisitor is actually the worst protagonist, the companions the weakest, the tone too goofy, the plot and chars too railroaded, the lore and stories retcon'd and/or ignored, and so on and so.

i talked about this before and i suppose it's the cycle of bioware games and the bioware fandom at this point. in additions to that, we sadly live in a time now where grifters picked up on it and i do genuinely think that influenced the decision process to some degree.

#also i should add to clarify: i do not mean legitimate criticism i do mean things that are criticised that are either flat-out wrong #explained or make sense given the make of the series as a whole #anyhow i remember all the endless criticisms of inquisition #and i see v much how it influenced veilguard #it's the game most ppl asked for going by the relentless criticism & dissection of da3 #and now it in turn gets criticised for the things it tried to correct #the not the chosen one protag #the sanitisation of social and religious issues of factions #of countries and kingdoms #etc etc etc #it's ironic #very fandom #this is ofc only one aspect of everything that made the game what it is for good and bad #but i do think it's one that cannot be overlooked #i suddenly feel nostalgic for bioware... have been here since bg2 & tob #i was there gandalf i was there 3000 years ago #text: personal #text: asks

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littlestarbigsky · 3 months ago

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*deep breath, steps up onto dead dad soapbox*

okay so i lost my dad unexpectedly when i was 18. i was a freshman in college and my little brother was a freshman in high school (darry/soda age gap sibs :p ) and i *literally* can not express just how different our experience was with it. soooo it’s time to project !! this turned into a whole thinkpiece i really didn’t expect to write this much lol

grieving curtis brothers in school under the cut ;)

for argument’s sake, i’m just gonna go with darry took a gap year after hs and was a freshman when his parents died. they died right around his 20th birthday, and given the timing of it he was most likely still on winter break. pony would have been a freshman and soda would have been a junior and hadn’t dropped out yet (this isn’t meant to be divisive or questioning the canon timing i’m just throwing this in to establish the timeline i’m going with here).

oh darry,, bro is not having a good time

going through a loss in college is such a lonely experience. darry was sort of established with some people at school and he definitely had friends but at the end of the day, most east side type families couldn’t afford to send their kids to college so most of his friends don’t really know his family or much about his background. the social conditioning he went through with paul and co. was enough to get him into crowds just like the kids from the west side instead of scholarship kids, but once a greaser, always a greaser.

darry went through a lot of heartache leaving school. obviously he would do it again in a heartbeat, his brothers meant more to him than anything in the world. the thing is, he didn’t fully grasp everything he was giving up when he got custody. any hope of he had of going to college on an athletic scholarship or with the safety net of his parents was gone. he was the sole provider for two teenagers. and he just had to learn to be okay with that, whether or not he regretted giving up on college or not.

he tries to go to his dad’s boss to see if he can take over his position since it was open and they were family friends, but it’s a tenure position and the best he can do is offer darry a job with the roofing division of the company.

he can hardly look soda in the eye when he asks him to come along to help him pack up his dorm room. he’d left most of his things there, thinking it would be waiting for him for another semester. he calls his building and asks to get in before everyone comes back so he doesn’t have to see anyone and tell them about what happened. he leaves a note for his roommate explaining that he dropped out for ‘personal reasons.’ soda pretends not to notice the tears falling down darry’s cheeks while they drive back home.

he doesn’t really have anyone but the gang. his friends from high school are out of the picture, and his friends from college wouldn’t understand, at least not enough to really be of any help. he doesn’t really get to lean on his brothers because he’s too busy trying to keep them together. he just… really doesn’t get the support that he needs.

as for the little bros..

pony and soda are both out of school for a week after the accident, a few times one of them said they wanted to go to school to get out of the house but tbh darry wouldn’t let them out of his sight or get in a vehicle if it wasn’t with him. but when they finally do get back, their teachers don’t really give them much of a break aside from giving their condolences. i like to think some of their teachers let soda visit pony in some of his classes or turned a blind eye when one of them would fall asleep in class, but beyond that, they don’t get much leeway workload-wise.

the social transition is also pretty intense. i think this was much more of a ponyboy problem bc soda keeps his circle pretty tight, but it’s so easy to lose friends when something like that happens because people don’t know what to say to you and eventually just stop reaching out. all of a sudden, his only identification in school is his dead parents, and shockingly, he doesn’t want to talk about that. he wants to just carry on with his life bc he’s still a person despite what happened to them. quite honestly the only people who don’t treat pony and soda differently after the accident are the gang (and sandy prob but idk when they got together).

pony doesn’t have too hard of a time getting back into the swing of school and getting himself caught up, but he’s like a child genius anyways soo he’s fine. soda though, god bless this poor boy, the week that he missed is probably the reason he ended up dropping out :( he already had a hard enough time missing one day let alone a whole week, and he was so far behind in some of his classes that it felt like they were speaking a different language. the worst part is he tries SO hard, too. he asks his teachers for help but they don’t know how to get through to him, cut to darry trying so hard not to lose his damn mind at the kitchen table trying to get soda to understand his english homework.

#darry curtis #ponyboy curtis #sodapop curtis #star is talkin

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nickssidewitch · 3 months ago

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We obviously know nick supports kamala and i’m wondering if someone’s holding him back from publicly endorsing kamala? is it something or someone? is it himself? it just doesn’t make sense to me that he wouldn’t take this opportunity to publicly shame trump like he’s done before. Maybe i’m thinking too hard but it’s suspicious to me

I can feel that the triplets have made their own decision to not mix politics with their content and position in the entertainment business. It’s a business decision they made so that people can judge them solely on their content rather than their political views, as they feel it can turn them and their content into political thinkpieces. They also think that they’re too uninformed to even give their own political opinions, which makes them less confident in their stances.

I personally hate the idea of separating politics from work because at the end of the day, your job is dictated by politics. Your whole livelihood as well as those around you are dictated by the state of the political world. You can’t run away from it.

Also as people in the public eye, it’s also (imo) worse to be silent about your political views, as people can interpret your silence as something that you may not even support. Silence can mean complicity.

All in all, the boys just don’t wanna get themselves into something they feel could either hurt their careers, make them thinkpieces for political reasons, or make themselves look stupid.

#nickssidewitch #nickssidewitch asks #nickssidewitch tarot #sturniolo triplets #matt sturniolo #chris sturniolo #nick sturniolo

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11x13kyle · 1 year ago

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stan and kyle are both into nerd shit for the rest of their lives but when they’re not into the same nerd shit they look at the other and go “god that’s lame. why does he even like that stuff? i’m glad he’s happy though…….” and get back to their own personal nerd shit. kyle sees stan hunched over the coffee table absorbed in warhammer eyes bloodshot not registering any outside stimuli and shakes his head before turning his focus back to the thinkpiece he’s writing on why steven moffat’s writing choices fall flat despite it being years since he’s written anything culturally relevant so kyle is really just doing this for himself

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angstics · 2 months ago

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i’ve been mulling over this since the reveal because i’m sooo entranced by it: gerard's new haircut. like we hadn’t seen him have it so short in like a decade? and even tho i don’t quite understand all that’s going on there cut-wise 😭, i feel there’s something kinda gnc abt it… but then again maybe it’s just cause it’s gerard lol but since we know he gives a lot of emphasis to presentation as a performer, i’d just love to know what the thought process was and seeing as we can’t go right to the source i figured the next best option was you 🙏 basically what i’m asking is: what do u make of it? i’d love to see some thinkpieces on it bc i really do think it’s not just a random thing. sorry for the long ass ask <3

that gifset i just reblogged reminded me i never replied to this. iiiiiii think it's just a personal choice. even back in mcr 1.0 days, i think the band (the concepts and stories) was just an excuse to do what they really wanted to do (play around, dye their hair, cut it weird). i assumed the thought process was, "i have a show, lets cut the hair, lets cut it fun."

i also think it could be practical. during swarm tour, his hair visibly got in the way when it got wet and slapped him in the face (he'd push it or gel it back, wear it in a ponytail in one instance if im remembering right, hold his hair w a towel, wore that scarf the whole night at riotfest). gerard cut his hair a few times during the tour, most visibly b4 the la shows and b4 the 2023 shows (which was a couple inches off how short it was during wwwy!)

could be a character thing, it obviously has been related to that in the past lol. if it is, could be something about military short cuts, or even callback to the same significant cut in 06. could be to be more somber, to be a shock. and it was, the same way it was a shock in 06! but many times it also was not about the story ie the whole 02-05 period, the 10 thousand haircuts he had 07-09.

also could be she wanted to go butch after her femme era #butch

#ask

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kaylor · 1 year ago

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sometimes I think about how the folkmore eras on their own were fun and different and brought good music and I’m truly grateful for them but in a very weird way those experiences and eras are also crucial factors into birthing things Taylor does now that I just truly don’t enjoy and I side-eye so so much. Like the way she navigates her space within the industry was altered by the folklore win which although deserved in my eyes personally still sometimes makes me go like what alternative reality have I entered. It’s weird cuz obviously I truly don’t want Taylor to go back to feeling scared about her fans moving on and leaving her in the dust or that her time is running out in the pop scene but it’s so weird that that’s also what kind of kept her feet alittle on the ground. I feel so guilty even saying this cuz it’s kind of along the same lines of that yeah big machine sucked and Scott can absolutely get fucked but clearly atleast somebody was pushing back against her opinions and sometimes it feels like bts nobody is pushing against her opinions atleast not artistically and at this moment in time I think not in any capacity. By the way I also find it fascinating how this time around I think she truly believes she can like out PR the overexposure somehow and I have to laugh cuz the amount of thinkpieces I had to read over the years about how actually Taylor always wanted to be private and the 1989 era was horrible for her emotionally always from start to end when in reality my girl loves the attention and honestly at this point I think it’s safe to say that she even loves the overexposure

yeah man, completely agree on all points. and it doesn't seem like she wants to relinquish this ubiquitousness at all. it's honestly a little concerning because if anyone on her team has a finger on the pulse of public opinion they would know people have been getting tired. we were all saying how it would be such a good move to complete the recordings this year, complete the tour, and give the public some space to breathe. but no, ts11 in april. brilliant. if it's a good album i'll eat (some of) my words but if 2024 gives us 3 new taylor swift albums if it means closing the door on the rerecordings then we're not getting off this ride any time soon.

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keen-eye · 4 months ago

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sam as a character + a long personal anecdote

dear diary, idk what happened…

after 10 years i randomly thought of supernatural which made me want to rewatch the pilot just for nostalgia’s sake

i ended up rewatching seasons 1-5 which is about as far as i got the first time, not that i remembered literally anything. i had a vague idea of destiel being a big deal? only from what i gathered from people irl, i wasn’t part of any fandom community back then. and i’ve only had tumblr for less than a year now

and then as i’m watching i’m actually digesting the plot, i guess i wasn’t Dialed In like i am currently. and i’m connecting to sam and just really invested in his part of the story. and feeling defensive of him in seasons 4 & 5 as well as disliking dean’s behavior towards him. so i go on tumblr bc i’m curious about others thoughts about the show and his character

and then i get whiplash once i find out that there’s so much drama about the show that’s seemingly been going on since 2005. and part of that drama is about sam and fans/creatives on the show having opinions of him ranging from disinterest to pure hatred. calling him selfish and whiny. as well as extending it to the actor who plays him? and i’m shocked bc to me he’s so fascinating and complex and deserving of empathy

and then i become obsessed with everything going on about That and dive head first into the abyss. it must be a combination of (1) very much recognizing him as a kindred spirit (& queer-coded/harmed by misogyny) and (2) unfortunately finding myself personally offended by the treatment of his character by the show and the opinions on him, by apparently a large portion of the fans. this is genuinely heartbreaking to me lol. also i can’t think of another fictional character that has suffered as much as him which is something.

in conclusion, this whole mess has consumed my brain going on weeks now. never have i ever become this obsessive about any character ever. at first it felt like it would be just another addition to the adhd fixation train where i would immediately move on once i became consumed by something else. the show isn’t even that good.

but this feels different. (hyperbole ahead) i’m afraid i’ve been sucked inside the black hole of spn forever, doomed to seek out validation from the same thinkpieces and debates repeated over and over for all eternity. only time will tell…

#Sam Winchester #sam winchester meta #supernatural #spn #also that it’s embarrassing to like the show lmao

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lsleofthelost · 9 months ago

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desperately going to need you to elaborate on chad's dream being a racecar driver actually hdjkfdsfklsdfds

that’s actually from my mutual’s @thebluestbluewords tags!! also i think there was some tie in media where he said it?

but as someone who’s into formula 1 i will take this opportunity to talk about it.

it’s no secret that racing is a very expensive sport to get into. so like 99% of all the drivers come from wealthy backgrounds. and as fans, we all accept that as a reality of the sport. but like i said, what i’m picturing for Chad is something of a Lance Stroll situation.

if u don’t know who that is, Lance Stroll is a driver competing for Aston Martin at the moment. and well, he’s not a bad driver by any stretch of imagination (or he wouldn’t have made it all the way to formula 1), he even was the second youngest person to get a podium iirc. BUT he is the son of multi billionaire Lawrence Stroll who is a part owner of Aston Martin. so yeah i think his family would invest in a team to secure a spot for him lol

so like. there are a couple of ways we can go here.

one would be, if he is the oldest son, he probably wouldn’t be allowed to pursue something like f1, since it’s so time consuming. so, let’s say, he gets into karting, gets into an academy, and he could probably get to f3 or even f2 before getting pulled out for his duties. but he loves the sport, the feeling of adrenaline, the speed. he’d probably be able to go karting recreationally but it’s not the same. he probably goes to as many grand prix as he can, keeps in contact with the drivers from his grid, hangs out with them during the off season, and talks wistfully about it in his interviews. i think people make sad edits of him about it

the other way, if he’s not the heir apparent, he would move up to formula 1. i think he’d start with a middling team. as a rookie, his first race would be a bit of a disaster, maybe even dnf, which causes ALL the gossip sites to rag on him but eventually he does get himself together and even has a podium finish in that season. he spends a couple of seasons there while his parents prepare the team for him and goes there. first season there is a dip in his previous ratings as the team is still getting used to it all but after that i think he’d have a solid career and is generally well liked by the public because he proves himself as a driver. he’s also really funny.

ALSO important to me. i think he definitely has a bit of a one sided rivalry going on with another driver on the grid, dating back to their karting days.

also also. maybe down the line he even has a hamilton-rosberg-brocedes thing with a teammate (if u don’t know it don’t look it up the lore will consume u)

people definitely make thirst edits of him taking off the helmet/stretching in the suit/spraying celebratory champagne. there are constantly articles and thinkpieces on whether he deserves his place in the grid. there are videos on youtube titled “(actual prince) chad charming being dumb for 10 minutes” and “charming team radio but it gets more chaotic”

#EDIT: just rbd the tie in where he mentions his dream of being a race car driver #i COULD say logan sargeant but i like to think he’d genuinely be a good driver #sorry this is a bit chaotic lol i tried to keep it organised but idrk how much info a non fan has on formula1 lol #asks #chad charming #laila.txt

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beautifulpersonpeach · 2 years ago

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For the Anon who sent a follow up ask on Jimin’s vocals and how people talk about HYBE groups in general.

You linked to a malicious gallery I’d rather not share here. I’ve talked about this over and over so I only care to give an abridged reply.

When I say I personally don’t take k-pop stans seriously, I’m not saying that because I don’t care about the hate thrown at BTS and Jimin.

Here’s three key things I believe about k-pop stans in general after being in this space for a good decade and some change:

1. For most of them, what they don’t understand, they hate. It’s really that simple. And because k-pop has been dominated and shaped by the customs, music, and stylistic choices of the Big3 for decades, before BTS upended everything, a typical k-pop stan has been literally raised, (for lack of a better word), to consume certain types of music and in particular ways.

Even the culture of streaming and chart watching, believe it or not, didn’t start with ARMYs. ARMYs aren’t even the worst expression I’ve seen of it. It started with fans of Big3 groups. SM stans were notorious chart watchers and still are. They moved massive numbers in sales (mass bought) for that singular purpose as far back as 2009. YG stans perfected streaming on YouTube before BTS had their first win, and would lord those titles over any other group. And none of those behaviours have disappeared, they just stopped being loud about it after BTS had taken any record *they* considered important. It’s why so many of them are salivating at the thought of Fifty Fifty getting a Grammy nomination and win, regardless of the fact BTS is the reason k-pop is being considered for that calibre of American awards to begin with. It’s why I laugh when I see k-pop fans say ARMYs are obsessed with charts and that streaming is unpaid fan labour etc, because that’s clearly more indicative of the stan experience of those k-pop fans than anything ARMYs are doing given the absolute numbers in the fandom. ARMY as a fandom has more in common with Swifties than they do with Exols, Blinks or Carats for example, and would be pulling Taylor Swift numbers if the fandom weren’t penalized for doing the same things Swifties do. And better too.

Like, I might as well be saying water is wet when I say *nobody* is more chart conscious than a k-pop stan. But these stans cannot understand why BTS exists, why BTS is at the top of a hierarchy *they* designed… why Jimin’s vocals which sounds nothing like their famed “SM vocals” is a key defining reason for the biggest k-pop group in the world being so. Till today, after all the studies, essays, thinkpieces, k-pop stans cannot understand why BTS is so successful they’ve single-handedly built the largest k-pop conglomerate in history to the point the capitalizations of the Big3 *combined* is only a fraction of HYBE. They can’t understand it, so they hate it.

Anything deviates from the norm is met with ridicule and hate. It’s like an immuno-response to anything they feel threatens their idea of k-pop as they’ve previously understood it. And like I keep saying, that very behavior is structurally supported by the companies.

2. Like many people on the internet, most k-pop stans have no idea what they’re talking about. As a general rule, by the time you’ve read something about BTS on Reddit, it’s been regurgitated previously by k-pop stans on Naver, Quora and Twitter. And before you’ve seen something on Tumblr, people have been overdoing it on Reddit. Nearly all the narratives about all the companies and most groups in this space, I’ve seen at least 20 times each. Each new wave of k-pop stans absorb these narratives perhaps without realizing it, and even the few who attempt to critically dissect them in *discourse*, rely very heavily on other narratives that do the same.

It’s how not too long ago I saw a blogger I later learned was known for her critical discourse, drawing connections between Jimin, Bang PD, and Scooter Braun for their poor treatment of women, without realizing the quotes she was attributing to Jimin, actually came from Taemin on a Korean radio show, and there was more substantial proof demonstrating Lee Sooman’s misogyny and religious ties, than anything a corporate relationship between Hybe, Jimin, and Scooter showed. But what she was saying, whether she realized it or not, came from a naver blog taken down in 2020 that made that initial mistranslation (or false attribution). Like, she just heard that shit somewhere and was doing discourse on it here like it was fact. But people already inclined to think HYBE = bad, BTS + women = weird, or Jimin = ????, will be inclined to believe that, *whether it makes sense or not*. For example, on another occasion where I saw two bloggers make a similar theory re: BTS must view women poorly because HYBE bought Scooter Braun’s company, to which I pointed out how ridiculous guilt by association was. To drive home that point, it was only after I asked how ridiculous that logic would be if they applied it to Taemin (who they biased and who has actually made worrying comments on women in interviews, though I don’t believe he holds those views now) and his relationship with Lee Sooman which has strengthened over the years by all appearances, it’s only then they saw a problem with guilt by association, though, even at the most basic level that argument never had any logical basis.

So like, most of the people in k-pop spaces frankly shitpost 24/7/365/6. Most of what counts for *Discourse* is essentially recycled theories indulged in by people frustrated with something/one else, presented in neutral academic language, proper punctuation or narrated in a monotone voice (in podcasts or video essays).

I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve seen a truly original idea in k-pop circles. And at the same time, this means I’ve seen what counts for hate too many times for it to have any bite.

3. BTS can take care of themselves. Let them receive the criticism. Let them be ridiculed. This might be harsh to hear, but I think it’s not our place to stop it, unless it’s abuse that makes *our own fan experience less pleasant*. Clean up your spaces for yourself first, not because you’re trying to save Yoongi, Jungkook, or Jimin from qrts on a tweet. Unless it’s abuse, then report and block the abuser on principle. BTS were hated from the jump, but were still celebrated by most k-pop stans until they became too big for the rules of this space to hurt them. I’m not being dramatic when I say the existence of BTS alone upsets the whole ordained balance in k-pop.

BTS have explicitly detailed their experience. And have said they’ve intentionally chosen to play the game their way. Listen to them.

Get used to the idea of what it means to be a fan of BTS. Make sure you understand it. The boys are talented, driven, virtuosic artists, and complicated people too with very human vices. The music they make is just plain good and deserves to be celebrated anywhere anytime. They’re also a group that’s unlikely to ever be fully accepted anywhere, if their track record so far is any indication and because they choose to go about things in ways a lot of people will never get.

Such as the manti who just walked into my inbox asking me why *HYBE doesn’t give RM and Jimin more than two MVs when NewJeans gets six. Aside from the fact that HYBE has nothing to do with how BigHit manages their artist, same with Ador, please remember who you claim to support.

The boys will be back in 2026, and they’ll be ready to shake things up even more than they’ve done in the last 10 years. I have no idea what that will look like, I don’t even know if I’ll like the changes/direction. What I will be doing though, is ready to have the time of my life with the music and performances they create for the people who value them.

#I know I said I’d write the abridged version but I hope this is exhaustive enough so I never have to go over this again #jimin #park jimin #BTS #Bangtan #kpop #kpop music #fandom behaviour #fandom discourse #bts army #BTS fandom #kpop stans

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mcytblr-archive · 8 months ago

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Early MCYTblr Interviews: leftistgnf

today's interviewee (after far too long letting this sit in my drafts) is leftistgnf/marg, also known for running the gnflegalteam blog! they were kind enough to answer my laundry list of questions, and i'm excited to finally share them with you all!

Q: What do you remember about the mcytblr awards?

A: omg i hope this isn’t a disappointing way to start but i actually remember very little about these. were these the ones angie markets did? i just remember attempts to make mcytblr-wide events like this usually got complained about because the fandom was too big lol.

Q: What was the gnflegalteam blog?

A: probably the most poorly-aging part of my digital footprint 😭sometime in late 2021 i started doing a bit on my blog where i’d roleplay as a lawyer defending george from the gay allegations. on april fools day 2022 i made a sideblog with this fake press release about how we lost our case and needed help with the appeal and people started sending asks and it became a whole little side project. it was honestly pretty fun! people who already didn’t really fuck with me called it parasocial, but so was everything we were all doing all the time. unfortunately it is gone forever now…. after the story about george sexually assaulting caiti became public i made a final post telling him to kill himself and someone reported it and tumblr deleted the sideblog LMAO. it was a pretty fitting way for it to go out.

Q: What was the "drama stream" that you and Hari streamed?

A: HAHAHA okay this was like, summer 2022 i think? i had made this channel with the gnflegalteam username just to talk in sol’s twitch chat, with no intention of ever streaming, but hari and i began kicking around the idea of doing a “””drama stream””” where we’d mostly talk about cc drama. i’m not sure how to best describe this but: we, and our friends, tended to disagree with the dtblr majority on a lot of controversies. and dtblr could be really vicious when you had differing opinions! even on inconsequential stuff like lore takes! so people already saw me and hari as being toxic and controversial, just because we held those differing opinions, and i guess i felt like i didn’t have anything to lose by talking about it all at once.

admittedly we clickbaited it a lot and probably flew too close to the sun and hari made a very uhhh.. inflammatory advertisement for it. but looking back i don’t think we actually talked about anything THAT crazy. like i said, most of the “drama” was related to creators or the dsmp and not other tumblr users. there was a group of blogs who specifically planned a stream at the same time as ours and made posts about choosing positivity or something, which blew what we were doing way out of proportion and created its own unnecessary drama. but the stream itself, after all the angry anons we got leading up to it, was a lot of fun. it attracted a lot more attention than i ever expected. i infamously got connoreatspants to react to a raid from a channel called “gnflegalteam,” which was probably one of my favorite moments of my whole mcytblr experience.

Q: What was it like to be in 404blr?

A: 404blr, especially in the earlier days, was nice because there were so few of us who actually considered themselves “”george mains.”” george never streamed and was barely even active on social media so a lot of the community bonding happened over content droughts. i remember a lot of thinkpieces on the trajectory of his career and these floods of desperate “i miss george” posts. also, i know you didn’t ask about 404cord but i want to mention it briefly because basically everyone on 404blr ended up joining in the first couple of days. before all the drama it was really just 404blr people, plus a couple dream stans who also really liked george. it used to be very fun and normal!

imo most of the conflict surrounding 404blr happened when we fought with other subblrs. there was definitely a clash between dream/dnf mains and george mains, because they would really mischaracterize and over-sexualize george in ways that felt weird to us. in the context of shipping, george was always portrayed as this blushing virginal twinkish nymphomaniac. in general a lot of self-proclaimed dnf/dream team mains were really just dream mains who liked george as the other half of a ship and didn’t really care about him as a person. honestly, we were always just on a soapbox trying to convince people that george was a fun interesting good streamer.

it’s complicated to look back on because obviously i think george is really fucking gross now, which colors all my memories of being a fan of his. i don’t know that i still agree with my past self about him being particularly good at streaming either. but i met a lot of friends through 404blr and generally think about that specific community fondly

Q: Why was Hari in people's blocklists?

A: hmm i won’t say too much about this just because it’s not my exposé to give. but like early 2021, when i had just joined mcytblr, there was this discord server that hari was in, and they had a conflict that escalated to the point of some members putting her and “her supporters” in their dnis. it was really bizarre because they talked about her like she was a problematic content creator and not a friend they fought with. i was mutuals with a couple of the people who were mad at her and they were vagueposting like she killed their entire family. iirc everyone involved was very young at the time, which i think explains a lot of how that went down.

Q: Do you think there was an overlap between inniters and 404blr?

A: yes thanks to me! JUST KIDDING. i personally was a big clingy duo fan so i followed a lot of inniters and ended up being friends with a lot of inniters, but most of them didn’t really gaf about george. a lot of inniters (sbi fandom in general) didn’t like dream and really didn’t like rpf so we were a little star-crossed… i can’t speak for innitblr as a whole but there were definitely jokes among my mutuals about a couple of us being token george mains or token dnfers. because george (at the time) was kind of controversy-free and also interacted a lot with the uk dsmp creators, i think it was easier for them to let 404blr into their hearts than like, dreamblr or dtblr.

on the other side, a lot of dtblr people hated inniters because they were critical of dream, or because they had such different opinions on lore. i was constantly getting anons asking me why i was friends with certain blogs who had made fun of dream before. so i guess idk if crossover is the right word because it was more like, three or four dnfers who really liked tommy and shamefully showed up at the doorstep of innitblr asking not to be softblocked. thank you spider enclosure for extending that grace to me.

Q: What was it like on the inniter side of Tumblr?

A: my personal experience with innitblr was great! obviously a lot of them felt apathetic or negative towards george or the dream team but that was never really an issue for me i guess -- all my mutuals’ criticisms were pretty fair, even back when i disagreed with them. i remember the community itself being really funny and a lot less volatile than dtblr or even 404blr. they were also way more invested in lore, which was another draw for me because i was always a huge lorehead. tbh i probably posted as much about clingy duo as i did about the dream team so i was basically a part time inniter anyways. that being said, innitblr skewed a little younger than dtblr so i was never as involved in the community. but i always loved interacting with them and i’m still friends with a lot of my (ex-)innitblr mutuals. most of spider enclosure (for example) are still on tumblr and just post about like doctor who and shit.

Q: What were some positive things you remember from that time?

A: like i’ve mentioned: i made a lot of really really great friends who i still talk to often, even a year and a half out from leaving the fandom, which is easily the most positive outcome for me. i could write a million words on how grateful i am for those relationships. it’s kind of sweet to think about how these random blogs i befriended during a crazy minecrafter hyfx are now people i’ve hung out with in real life, or who send me instagram reels, or who i watch timothee chalamet movies with. mcytblr also had some of the most talented artists and writers i’ve ever met! i also think the culture of liveblogging was a LOT of fun, especially during like big lore streams or mcc. an all time favorite memory was liveblogging tommy’s love or host because i saw tommy fans, george fans, and variety fans on my dash all begging for it to end lmao.

Q: Conversely, what are some negative ones?

A: a lot of people were like… really really not nice. and i’ll be honest, most of the not nice people were on dtblr. it’s kind of insane thinking back on the stuff that was said to and about me and my mutuals. this is another thing i don’t want to get too into because a lot of the stories aren’t mine to share but in addition to run-of-the-mill suicide baiting i got a lot of lesbophobia in my ask box, and my friends got anti-semitic and islamophobic and racist and transphobic hate anons. i’ve been on tumblr for like 10 years and it was my first fandom experience that was that vitriolic. it was also really easy to get swept up in that kind of toxic culture -- i’m certain i said some things i wouldn’t be proud of now, especially in defense of dream or whatever.

after october 2022 when dtblr self-rebranded as “dtblr 2.0,” there was a lot of gossip and hate posted about those of us who had left. i don’t like admitting this but it really fucked me up for a while! and ruined a lot of my ability to look back on the fandom fondly! it sucks knowing that people who have never once spoken to you have decided to hate you.

anyways, i’ve done a lot of self-reflection on my own relationship with fandoms and online discourse and public figures and i think i’m better for it, so i guess i hope the people who harrassed us have done that too.

Q: Were there any major fandom/creator events that you remember?

A: broadly speaking, mcc will always have a special place in my heart because it was such a community-wide event. like yes it was about the creators but there was so much activity in the fandom surrounding it (posts, art, analysis, etc etc) that it felt really major for us too.

i don’t remember details about this but i know there were mcytblr elections at some point in like 2021 maybe? i just remember i endorsed the 404blr ticket. maybe you’ve already archived posts about this. i don’t think it really went anywhere, but the campaigns were fun! and it was the first “community” event in the mcytblr fandom that i remember being around for.

ALSO i’m a little nervous to talk about this one in case it’s still controversial on dtblr. but ages ago i had a friend who put a bunch of mutuals in one of those silly hunger games simulators and it became this whole thing where people accused them of only including the “dtblr 1%”. which was like, categorically untrue, but it spawned such inane discourse that it’s ingrained in my mind forever.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share or have archived?

A: i think you got an anon asking for 404blr perspectives in the wake of caiti’s statements, which is like… what do i even say except that george is a sexual predator lmfao. because he is! obviously i left the fandom when a lot of people did, after dream’s grooming allegations, because i think he’s also acted inappropriately with underage fans (to put it mildly). the sheer number of survivors publicizing their experiences with abuse and assault in the mcyt space proves how prevalent an issue it is, and how harmful it was to have george and dream (and wilbur, and punz, and so on) in such positions of power there. it’s nauseating to think how much they, and men like them, were able to get away with. i regret how many red flags i overlooked, even back then before the worst of it was known.

i’d like it archived that spider enclosure was technically in the washington post. they ran an article about r/place back in april 2022 and the screenshot they chose for the header included the spot where we wrote “spien” even though it’s so horribly pixelated that it’s illegible.

uhh i think that’s it. sorry if this was more focused on dtblr than 404blr, they were pretty inextricable by 2022. but i hope those people who wanted to hear from 404ers got the insight they were looking for? my parting words… subscribe to tubbo.

#Early MCYTblr Interviews #Volume 20 #leftistgnf #gnflegalteam

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inkblackorchid · 2 years ago

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Characters and cards

Having scripted duels that feature Aki, Yusei, and most recently, Crow in them now, I've got some thoughts about their decks that I've been meaning to get out. This is gonna be a long post. And bear in mind that this is written from the perspective of someone who is not a habitual yugioh player, but has simply had a fair amount of exposure to these characters' cards due to writing about them. I guess it's something of a thinkpiece about characters and their cards. Or advice for people hoping to script 5Ds-era duels with these characters, I guess.

So, first of all, I think we all agree that duel monsters cards in the show, aside from obvious marketing for irl yugioh cards, are also a storytelling device and a tool for characterisation. As in, duels are never just duels, they're also something else. The story is woven into the card plays, and the cards that are being played say something about the person using them. Yeah? Yeah.

With that in mind, the decks of the main cast in 5Ds become very interesting. I'll start with Aki here, since most of the duels I've scripted have included her. (And I'm only talking about cards the characters canonically own, not whatever cards were added to their favourite archetypes after the show or something. For actual TCG players, please keep one more thing in mind: Several of these characters' cards were either never printed irl or had different effects in the anime, which may be reflected in how I talk about them.)

So. Aki. Character-wise, she's got an intriguing deck, actually. Obviously, as the Black Rose Witch she's introduced to us to, her deck primarily features two things: A plant focus (primarily on roses because of course) and shrewd, witch-like tactics that would be considered dishonorable by some other characters in the show. (Think card combinations like Mark of the Rose, which lets her take control of an opponent's monster during her turns, and Vengeful Servant, which lets this constant back-and-forth between who controls the monster result in damage to her opponent. It reads much like a witch magically bringing someone in her thrall.) What's interesting is that the deck also has a fire focus to some degree, though. Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis (which burns itself to deal damage to the opponent), Rose Flame (a trap that burns the opponent every time a plant is summoned to their field) and even Black Rose Dragon (who is a fire attribute, despite her main association being plants). This fire theme doesn't consistently run through the entire deck, but it pops up often enough to suggest it was intentional—this, in turn, says some interesting things about Aki as a character. She plays a plant deck and is primarily represented by roses, yet plays cards associated with fire, which, in a real-world context, could very easily eradicate those plants. Combine that with Black Rose Dragon and her infamous board-wiping effect (which notably also destroys BRD herself) and you realise that at the start, Aki doesn't just represent the forest, she's also the fire consuming it. She tends a beautiful, if very dark garden, but she's also the one burning it to the ground, reflecting how she's tearing herself apart from the inside trying to stick to her Black Rose Witch persona even though it's actually hurting her. It's a shame they didn't let her duel much in the second half of the series, meaning that they got barely any chance to represent her character growth through her deck, either. There's more, though. Because the character decks are also interesting from a tactical standpoint to a degree. Now, Aki flip-flops around a fair bit in terms of tactics—she never really establishes herself to have a particular gimmick she sticks to in her duels, aside from maybe summoning Black Rose Dragon to wipe the field. But this is more about general stuff I noticed while working with the characters' cards, anyway. Aki has several monsters with unique effects and plenty to ways to deal effect damage (Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, Blossom Bombardment, Rose Flame and Evil Thorn to name a few). She has a few means of adding cards to her hand if she needs them (Magic Planter, Ground Capture, Offensive Guard and the speed spell Angel Baton), but her deck isn't exactly geared towards hand card advantage (especially in comparison to some other characters), which is something I often need to work around, especially when she’s duelling someone who can easily draw more cards. Of course, she also collects several ways to bring Black Rose Dragon back over the course of the series, both to use her first effect and because she's her ace monster (Wicked Rebirth, Blue Rose Dragon, Shining Rebirth and the combo between Synchro Back and Dimension Reversion), and while she's definitely not the most focussed on synchro summoning, she does have some interesting ways to interact with synchro monsters or get them on the field quickly (Urgent Tuning, Synchro Stream, Star Siphon, and Synchro Spirits). She also has some interesting traps to either outmanoeuvre her opponent, get back at them for attacking her, or protect herself from battle damage (Rose Curse, Nature's Reflection, Doppelganger, Rose Blizzard, Ground Capture, and Offensive Guard). And I really want to draw attention to the traps here, because in scripting duels, I've found that they act as extenders, especially those that end the battle phase or negate damage somehow. Inserting traps like that can be a breather to allow for some character interaction, and more often than not, that's reflected in the show, as well. Defensive traps come into play when the duel needs to be more drawn-out than it might be under real-life circumstances. (Considering the average yugioh game, from what I've heard, barely lasts more than three turns these days.) This goes double for turbo duels, by the way. Adding the character aspect and the tactical details of the deck together, it makes Aki out to be a capable duellist who doesn't tie herself down to one type of play. She's got a myriad of ways of dealing damage, she's got spells and continuous traps to make the field harder to navigate for her opponent (she's also one of the few non-dark signer characters who has a field spell of her own; Black Garden), but she also knows how to defend herself, her deck isn’t all-out aggression. Between the varying tactics and the plant theme, the deck gives the impression of being something like a living thing. It's a wild garden, at the end of the day, and accordingly, it's varied and plentiful.

Then there's Yusei. I could probably make a whole, exhaustingly long post of its own just about Yusei's cards, mostly because he gets so many during the series. The number of cards Yusei uses over the course of the show is enough to make up several other characters' entire decks. But this is about characters, themes and little strategic tidbits, so I'll try to rein myself in. Yusei's deck couldn't be a more accurate representation of his character if it tried. At the start of the show, it's all scraps and recycled things, encapsulating both Satellite, where he came from, his personal ethic that nothing's worthless, and his occupation; a mechanic, someone who fixes things. Many of his monsters, especially the synchro monsters, have a heroic aura to them, reflecting his courage and how he (mostly) stays cool under pressure (Junk Warrior, Shield Warrior, Stardust Dragon, Road Warrior). At the same time, he plays plenty of cutesy, low-level, critter-like monsters that go a long way towards showing he's still soft at heart (Sonic Chick, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Tuningware, Junk Synchron). Yusei's the guy who sticks up for others, he's the guy who will throw himself in harm's way to make sure nobody else has to. (This is also reflected in his cards; Stardust's self-sacrificing effect is well-known, of course, but it also shows in the many defensive traps he owns.) In comparison to some other characters, I would argue his deck at least outwardly appears less coherent, though; he doesn't stick to one archetype (though he has a lot of junk archetype monsters and a lot of warrior type monsters), some of his monsters don't share any design similarities at all and his spell- and trap arsenal is an interesting mixture between cards that are old and were well-established before 5Ds already and newer ones made up for the show. Plus, he always shows he's not afraid to use cards that seem like they "wouldn't fit him" (think Effect Veiler, Level Eater, Sonic Chick)—I take this to be intentional, too. After all, his deck is essentially a lovingly collected and tended box of scraps, something built under the motto "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". Tactics-wise, Yusei's character is again reflected mostly in two things: 1. His inventiveness is reflected in how all the cards in his deck often quickly slot together into a larger whole and how he plays extensive combinations of cards to reach a greater strategic goal. 2. His natural tendency to defend others and face up to threats for their sake is reflected in his wide arsenal of defensive cards. (He has the largest array of defensive traps in the show by far, and given his character, I doubt that's just because he's the protagonist. Think Defense Draw, Card Defense, Ghost Gardna, Damage Eater, Zero Gardna, and, of course, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.) He's quick on his feet with synchro summoning (and has by far the largest number of synchro monsters of all the characters), he's got a tuner for every synchro combo (Nitro Synchron, Junk Synchron, Turbo Synchron, Road Synchron, Quickdraw Synchron, you name it) and he's got several means to stock back up on hand cards when he needs it (Defense Draw and Spirit Force among them) and even more means to get an extra monster on the field when required (Junk Synchron, One for One, Debris Dragon, Give and Take, to name a few). And, of course, he's got many ways to get a monster back from the graveyard (Junk Synchron again, Graceful Revival, Limiter Break and Revival Ticket smong others). There's no play Yusei doesn't have a clever answer to and no corner he can't manoeuvre himself out of. At the end of the day, his deck reads like a toolbox, and that's what it is! Many parts, not all of which look like they belong to the same set, which he can slot together into the wildest of combinations because that's who Yusei is. He's someone who collects things others believe to be worthless, who uses any means available to him and considers aesthetics secondary, he's a guy who's inventive, who fixes things and who, though he plays defensively, never does so because he's on the back foot. If anything, you should be watching your back when Yusei's on the defence, because he's doubtlessly going to turn that into an advantage and pull off a combo you weren't expecting.

Finally, we get to Crow, whose deck was actually the inspiration for this post, because, to my slight surprise, I have found that Crow plays an absolute balls-to-the-wall deck. I will get back to what I mean by that further down, but first, character details. Crow is the only character we know of who essentially plays a deck he inherited from someone else; namely, Pearson. Though it was hinted in the show that he already liked Blackwings before ever knowing Pearson (seeing as he can be seen learning to read with a Blackwing card, I believe), I think we can agree that the reason Crow plays such an archetype-focussed deck, especially for someone born in Satellite, where this would have naturally been even more difficult, is that he dutifully hung onto the deck Pearson left him. And of course he did! Crow is a family-oriented character and Pearson was his family. Of course he'd treat that Blackwing deck (as well as the Blackbird) like his greatest treasures. (Also, crows and ravens irl are known to be fairly communal birds. Ravens are often even cited as being some of the most doting parents in the avian world, so that checks out, too.) Now, where the Blackwing monsters themselves are concerned, they also do a pretty good job of communicating who Crow is; they're full of tricks and slippery, they have lots of effects that help him outmanoeuvre and puzzle his opponent (Sirocco the Dawn, who can massively boost his fellow Blackwings' attack points, or Blackwing Armor Master, who can reduce the attack and defence points of any monster to zero for a turn, can't be destroyed by battle and from whose battles Crow takes no battle damage, or Aurora the Northern Lights, who can act like a synchro monster despite not being one). With Crow being a character who is first introduced to us while giving sector security the slip, it's no surprise whatsoever that his deck is the embodiment of corvid shrewdness. Where this gets doubly interesting is in the tactical bits. Crow notoriously has a whole armada of Blackwing effect monsters, all of which can already pose a not insignificant headache on their own (between Gale the Whirlwind halving a monster's attack and defence points, Fane the Steel Chain being able to attack directly and switch the battle position of your monster when he does, Bora the Spear being able to deal piercing damage over defence mode monsters... you catch my drift). And that's without going into his synchro monsters, of which he, interestingly enough, has the second-most among the main cast! (And which he can summon blindingly fast, considering his Blackwing monsters like to swarm the field and that he has no shortage of tuners.) What was interesting for me while rooting around in his canon cards, though, is that Crow has several cards boasting "revenge effects" (for lack of a better term; among them: Black Thunder, Blackwing - Boobytrap, Blackwing - Backlash, Black Wing Revenge and Guard Mines) and—and this is where we get back to my balls-to-the-wall point—little to no defensive traps. Crow is good at disrupting his opponents' plays (with cards like Chaos Life, Gravity Collapse, Urgent Tuning and Trap Stun, among others) and he's good at making them regret attacking him or destroying his monsters (see the "revenge" cards above), but as far as his defenses are concerned, the only "classical" defensive trap Crow plays in his entire deck is Mirror Force, and the only other card he uses to defend himself is Mistral the Silver Shield, who can nullify battle damage. Now, fair enough, this could have just been the way the character's deck developed in the show, but allow me to take this as an intentional choice for a moment. In which case, I have to say, his nickname "the bullet" suddenly makes a whole lot of sense! Crow plays a deck that likes to win fast. It affords him little to no defensive options (no cover) and also fairly little options to draw more cards (no ammo), meaning he either wins fast, or risks the chance of not winning at all. Combine this with what we know about his past and his character, and it makes perfect sense. He's a trickster, he’s cheeky, he's reckless and not one to be afraid; not with what the world has already thrown at him. (And don't even get me started on Black-Winged Dragon, who absorbs effect damage, but returns that damage along with an attack point loss of an opponent's monster, reflecting how Crow's used to occasionally taking the beating, both from Satellite gangs and sector security, but always gives back as good as he receives.) So he duels all-out, hard and fast, because he's got (almost) nothing to loose and everything to gain.

I might add onto this post if I ever find an opportunity to script duels for Jack, Rua, and Ruka, but for now, this is all I've got. Just some thoughts.

#yugioh 5ds #yusei fudo #aki izayoi #akiza izinski #crow hogan #ygo 5ds #5ds #headcanons #character deck meta #I guess??#this post is a bit of an experiment tbh #listen cards can be a very effective storytelling medium okay #and I just had a lot of Thoughts about this #orchid rambles

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