#if there are other animes like this where he does a song and a character lmk i love Shunichi Toki

[killjoy-prince]

If i had a nickel every time i watched an anime where Shun'ichi Toki voiced a character and sung either the opening or ending song for it, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but interesting that it happened twice

[lactoseintolerentswag]

Rise Characterizations

Last month I did an in-depth re-watch of rottmnt s1 to take some notes on writing the characters of rise from their perspective and such. Figured I'd share what I found, but I'm also posting this bc my docs have a nasty habit of blipping out of existence.

We'll start with Raph bc he's the oldest of course, but I'll post the others sep. bc this is gonna get long!!

Raph Character Notes

Language Habits:

Catchphrases: "like a boss", "smash"

Verbalizes his attacks such as "smash", "knuckle sandwich", "power smash jitsu", "tonfa power jitsu", "mystic punch jitsu"

Uses older song titles for surprised exclamations or in place of cursing, most notably "jumping jack flash!"

Uses aave/bae, For example: 'em instead of them, 'ey instead of they, 'cause instead of because, forgoes the g in ing words (going becomes goin')

Uses less and less grammar the more he's stressed, and his voice will come to a higher pitch

Will speak in a softer tone to his little brothers if he's concerned about hurting their feelings. Aka babying them

Mixes up both metaphors and idioms. Would be one to say how the turn tables unironically

Does say "hero" a lot, lost count, especially in phrases like "hero town"

Refers to his brothers as "boys" or "fellas"

Refers to Splinter as "pop(s)" most often

Refers to strangers he's directly talking to as "bubs" or "hoss"

Personality:

Protective of his family

Plays up the hero act/has a strong sense of duty and justice

Impatient, rushes in without a plan (pre-movie), doesn't finish books until the end, falls asleep during "boring movies"

Oblivious, doesn't read into things beyond surface level. Struggles with empathy when something is beyond his understanding, but is still very emotional

Center of responsibility for his brothers, but also has a reckless sense of fun. As long as it's him doing the stupid unsafe thing it's fine

Carries the weight, in a literal sense he piggy backs his brothers, but will also use his body as a shield from danger. Unfortunately this also means he takes his brothers a little less seriously (Mikey the most common victim), and will try and either protect them from everything or as an oldest sibling everything has go "his way"

Doesn't do well in solitude. Needs to be looking after people to feel functional, and needs to be around people to feel safe

Clumsy, "takes horrible pictures", isn't very good at hiding, he's a big guy so it probably took a lot of time to find balance

A sweet guy who still won't shy from making fun of his family. Leo tends to be the brunt of his teasing since he is the most annoying, but he will also poke Donnie on his dramatics

Likes cute things!!! Has a teddy bear collection and loves animals. It's so cool how this isn't played off as a joke and he's still just as masculine for liking pink and cutesy stuff

Likes fighting!!! Gets a lot of energy out defeating bad guys (where he directs his anger towards), the one who is shown to train the most, and also weight lifts in his spare time

Doesn't do well under pressure, here the anger comes out the most. He gets stressed when it's all on him, especially since he tends to mess up the most in these moments

Miscellaneous:

Second to unlock mystic powers

Nicknames/codenames: "raph-a-doodle" by leo, "red rover" by april, "red king" by donnie

Teddy bear names: Doctor Huggenstein, Captain Snuggles, Cheech

Stinks: fear stink, amazement stink, sneaking up on people stink, victory stink

Seems to be less afraid of rabbits and more afraid of puppets

Went on his first solo mission at 13

Cannot lift a bus, at age 15

Thought about discussing fighting style, but I'm not as familiar with that concept and I've seen a couple posts dissecting such topic. So we'll end here for now. Hope this was helpful!!! I'll post the rest of the boys later and link here

Leo is up!!

Donnie is up!!

Mikey is up!!

Splinter is up!!

April is up!!

Cassandra is up!!

Baron Draxum is up!!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

j word appreciation post

I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN TALKING WAY TOO MUCH ABOUT... A CERTAIN OTHER CHARACTER WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED.... AND I NEED TO TIP THE SCALES BACK TO WHERE THEY SHOULD BE plus I just rolled his SR Nightmare Suit card so--

askjlbfbuoasofbua fqreryoqiw Okay but seriously, I feel like Jade really gets to shine in this event (which is really ironic given that I feel his appearance was lackluster in the very first Halloween event, when he was actually a SSR). Like, he doesn't do or say anything world-changing. However, he does get many opportunities to just be a menace to his classmates and you can tell he's really living it up for the Halloween season 😭

In his Nightmare Suit summon animation, he sounds so happy shouting "This is Halloween!!" You seriously have to go and listen to it for yourself to understand how excited he is. Aaaaah, it fills my heart with so much joy seeing him all hyped for the holiday… And he's got voice lines where he's so gleeful about the thought of scaring others... Customers at the Mostro Lounge, Malleus, etc. He even praises Jack for his delightful (but quickly changes it to "evil/wicked") frights.

Some other standout moments that made me laugh:

His voice line where he asks you to please not poke him in the forehead even though the slicked back hairstyle basically invites us to OTL J WORD IS SELF AWARE

BENDING DOWN TO EPEL'S HEIGHT SO EPEL CAN PRACTICE "ESCORTING" HIM... J WORD STOP IT YOU'RE KILLING THIS GUY, YOU'RE RUBBING IT IN HIS FACE

Fucking with Epel by lying to him about which plants are common and then actually telling the truth later (when Epel insists he won't fall for it again), WHICH MAKES EPEL LOOK STUPID IN FRONT OF THEIR UPPERCLASSMEN

Being the one to open the Halloween Town door... Absolutely no fucks given, just lets his curiosity lead the way

HIM AND AZUL LOWKEY TAG-TEAM INSULTING LEONA AND SAYING HE'S PROBABLY TONE DEAF... You two better stfu 😭 HE'S GONNA PROVE YOU WRONG WHEN THE HALLOWEEN EVENT MANDATED SONG DROPS… and then J word sings??? GOD I WISH 5HIS EVENT WSS VOIcED

Cbsbsjwnwn HIMWNqtING TO HELP DALLY fIND LOVE BY DOINH DmTH UNSPEAKABLE

Backing off SO fast when Leona demands they play Magift with him in exchange for singing at the lounge

Joining in with everyone making fun of Leona being shockingly princely and picking on Grim's handwriting...

Makes fun of Jamil for thinking a rustling wound was made by a bug (it was actually a rat)

DHLBOSVASVFAS GETTING COMPETITIVE WHEN LOCK CALLS HIM BORING... and then taking a present which is so clearly booby trapped just so Jade can prove he can have an entertaining surprised reaction...

J WoRD iS LITERALLY OU t hERE thRIVING 🥺 I love that for him………………… ………… …………… ……. …… ………….. ….. …. … …….. …. … . .:: .. ….. … . … . : .. . . . .. .

[no-psi-nan]

Does Saiki talk to his friends?

Short answer: Basically no.

Long answer:

According to author commentary, Saiki wasn't initially intended on being a silent protagonist, he was supposed to speak up occasionally. But as the series went on, Asou never really found a good opportunity for Saiki to say anything and so he just ended up making him essentially silent.

As a result, Saiki generally only "speaks" to the audience and a small subset of characters using his telepathy.

Here is a pretty complete list of characters Saiki actually "talks" to:

His immediate family

His grandparents after the power reveal

The Psychickers (Toritsuka, Aiura, Akechi)

Neighborhood kids (Yuuta, the little girl with the dog)

Various animals

You, the audience (he's narrating)

With everyone else, Saiki exclusively communicates using only body language, pointing, and facial expressions. We can see how dedicated he is to his silence when he's trying to convince his friends to not go on a deadly volcano vacation but only throws brochures at them and crosses his arms in an X shape instead of actually saying a word or two to them.

Interestingly enough though, we can tell by Toritsuka's performance that Saiki's friends are used to him saying "yare yare" / "good grief" all the time. Saiki is actually shocked that his friends genuinely think this is normal behavior for him. How does that happen?

Well, it's quite likely that Saiki unintentionally says "yare yare" / "good grief" "out loud" with his telepathy even when he's not "talking" to anyone.

We have two precedents for Saiki's telepathy not being 100% watertight: the manga-exclusive suicidal musician chapter where a song getting stuck in Saiki's head makes it play in everyone else's, and the second light novel where the evil Saiki comments that our Saiki's thoughts leak out everywhere.

This would explain why Saiki's friends are so shocked by him speaking directly them, even if they're sure they've "heard" him speak before – because he exclusively "says" "yare yare" / "good grief" all the time but never joins conversations or talks to them directly.

So after using up a month's allotment of quotation marks, my best answer to this question is really....

Medium answer: Saiki only uses his telepathy to talk to people who know about his powers, neighborhood children who wouldn't be believed, and various animals. Aside from that, Saiki only uses facial expressions, pointing, and body language to communicate with others, though it seems he unintentionally says "yare yare" / "good grief" quite often in a way other people can hear. His "troublesome" line near the end of the series is the only time he's ever spoken directly to his non-Psychicker friends.

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

ZZZ Headcanons

Help this game has taken over my free time I love these characters sm <3 Billy Soukaku and Ellen my beloved

Nicole: has a not so secret hobby of bedazzling anything and everything. It’s a real problem in the Cunning Hares apartment, nothing is safe from pink rhinestones and stickers

Anby: cracked at rhythm games to an alarming degree. Can do a 2 person extremely hard DDR song all by herself

Billy: I don’t know how they did it but they programmed an android with autism. Has his own version of a skincare routine which is basically just maintenance on all of his tiny mechanical parts. Can also gain power multiple ways, including solar power. The apartment complex where the Cunning Hares live had a blackout once and everyone used Billy as a personal charging port. Nicole promised to pay him in Starlight Knight merch.

Nekomata: cuts her own hair and offers to do it for other people. DO NOT trust her when she says she’s good at it

Grace: did gymnastics as a kid which is why she’s able to pull off a ton of backflips and flexible maneuvers in battle

Anton: uses actual cement to keep his hair spikes in shape. Koleda caught him in the act once and instead of chewing him out, she decided to apply some to her own hair and now they’re cement combover gang

Ben: is completely vegan and loves chilling at hot springs a lot. Still sleeps with stuffed animals btw

Koleda: I’m making it canon right now Koleda is trans and you can’t do shit about it. Also has welding as a hobby and made most of her accessories from scratch

Corin: when not in Victoria Housekeeping Co uniform, is a Jfashion junkie. I’m talking super dedicated Lolita fits, menhera inspired clothing, the whole shebang. She ofc designs a lot of her own stuff like her bear backpack and is also responsible for a lot of the accessories Victoria Housekeeping Co wears (Rina’s bows, Ellen’s shark jaw head and neckpieces, Lycaon’s eyepatch and tail straps). She also has a massive crush on Ellen and is too scared to admit it

Rina: has a fur allergy and can’t keep animals around. Which also means she’s allergic to Lycaon. She has to take so much Zyrtec before clocking in but has such a good poker face that Lycaon has no idea. Ellen knows tho

Lycaon: specifically wears the heeled boots and has his odd posture because he’s self conscious about his digitigrade legs, he thinks they’re unsightly for a butler of his standing to have. He also tries to encourage Ellen to wear a long maid dress like Rina does to hide her tail.

Ellen: coincidentally falls into a lot of shark stereotypes. She loves seafood, has to constantly be fidgeting or she feels like she’ll go mad, and the kicker, she gets frenzied around blood, or if the thing she’s fighting puts up a struggle. Corin accidentally cut her hand while repairing her saw blade once and both Lycaon and Rina could barely hold Ellen back once Corin began bleeding. Ellen feels awful for scaring the already timid girl. Corin secretly thought it was hot and would die on the spot if anyone knew that

Soukaku: despite being a huge foodie this girl cannot cook for shit. Is also physically cold to the touch and during the summer her coworkers will ask her to hold their drinks because they’ll stay cold. Soukaku always secretly sneaks sips every time they do this to her.

Miyabi: has the worst sleep schedule known to man. Sometimes you’ll find her awake at 3AM and conked out by 4PM, other times she goes to bed at 8PM and wakes up at 4AM. It’s inconsistent and irregular and a gamble trying to contact her outside of work because she might not even be awake

Harumasa: GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY. Also pretty cracked at chess and other strategy games. Is also a major old fashioned guy and doesn’t own a lot of modern technology. He’s not into retro or old stuff, he just doesn’t like new stuff

Yanagi: her glasses are fake. When she was younger she needed them, but her vision had naturally gotten better over the years, so she now wears contacts, but for some reason still insists on wearing her glasses. Loses them constantly during battle.

Lucy: even though she was forced to play piano as a kid, she really wanted to be a sporty girl and play stuff like soccer and baseball. Now she has the freedom to take part in the sports she likes and watch them surrounded by the people she likes

Piper: insanely picky eater to the point it drives Lucy up a wall. Is also picky about a lot of other things, like how different fabrics feel, different comfort levels of chairs and beds, girl is a complainer and will always find something to complain about

Lighter: has a side gig as a tattoo artist, has really stable hands too

Soldier 11: has 5 younger brothers, a younger sister, and 2 older siblings who she doesn’t see super often. Has divorced parents who also liked to adopt, which is why she has such a huge family. Her younger brothers love it when she comes home and plays secret agent military with them

Seth: can’t drive. That’s it send tweet.

Qingyi: is outwardly dismissive of meditation tricks and hacks and tips but utilizes that shit in private ALL the time.

Zhu Yuan: shares the vegetables she grows in her garden with all her neighbors. Is also a REALLY good cook to the point people have encouraged her to potentially consider a different career path

Jane Doe: the rat girl has pet rats go figure. But in all seriousness she’d die for her little guys. She has a white one named Cocaine and a brown one named Tobacco and a gray one named Crystal Meth. She thinks the names are hilarious and every time she introduces the rats to other people their facial expressions are priceless

[calitears]

sessions

3. turn it up!

story masterlist

tw/notes: cussing, drinking, slightly offensive jokes, small tiny manga spoilers (?) (it just mentions two characters who haven’t appeared in the anime yet doesn’t spoil the plot or anything)

as far as you knew, toge, panda, and yuji had stayed downstairs playing rounds of beer pong while you happily went with nobara upstairs. however it seemed god was on your side today as megumi tagged along behind you two, for whatever reason. you heard him mumbling under his breath something about not liking the taste of beer or even the actual game, but the reason seemed unimportant now as he sat next to you, alone, after nobara ran off saying she was going to go get another friend of theirs or something like that.

usually you’d be able to strike up a conversation, however you felt rather awkward as megumi seemed distracted on his phone, furrowing his brow slightly, typing away against the screen.

what could you ask him? his hobbies? what his favorite movie was? wait, didn’t yuta say something about them being in the same class? finally after another minute, he put his phone away and sighed, looking up ahead of him.

oh what the hell was there to lose, if you failed miserably you’d probably never have to directly meet him again anyway.

as you spoke up, you smiled slightly at the way his attention almost immediately turned to you.

“so… what do you do?” well you had a good chance, maybe, but what the hell type of question was that to start off with?

“what do i… do? like… job wise?” he questioned, a slight pout on his lip, but maybe they were just naturally like that.

“yeah.”

he shrugged slightly, before leaning back further into the couch, “i make music, go to college, have a job on the side too…”

“oh, cool- wait you made that song with yuji right?”

he internally cringed “no. don’t bring that up.”

you almost laughed at the way his expression soured almost immediately just by mentioning it.

“it wasn’t that bad…”

“you don’t have to spare me. don’t lie to my face, i know it was horrendous.”

“well… i haven’t heard any of your other stuff, but i’m sure you were just being nice to yuji to let him… y’know… on one of your instrumentals.”

“well i need to redeem myself then, i can’t have that as your only impression of my music.”

“y’know… we should trade…”

“trade?”

“i listen to yours, and you listen to mine…”

he seemed to think about something for a moment, before letting out a small huff.

“…and if i already listened to yours?”

now that caught you off guard.

“you have?”

he shifted slightly in his seat, and you could’ve sworn he leaned in closer, even by just an inch.

“yeah… actually got curious from yuji’s post with you. it’s pretty good just… it’s not usually the type i’d listen to, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

smiling at him, you moved closer, yet he didn’t seem to move back at all, mostly just seeming amused. “oh, so you’re not into ‘pink princess pilates’ music?”

he scoffed, a small smirk forming on his face, “what type of ai generated spotify wrapped thing is that?”

“that’s exactly where i got it from actually, was one of my genres…”

“well… at least it sounds cute, i think it’s ‘fitting’, i got grouped into something called ‘abstract indie sleaze soundtrack moment’.”

“the hell does that even mean? sounds like a red flag honestly, maybe i should stop talking to you hear…”

“not gonna give me a chance then? thought yuji said you were into me?”

“oh my god did he seriously say that- can’t he keep a secret?”

he was about to respond, his expression still slightly playful until suddenly a voice cut in, and you saw a girl jump into the empty space next to him, sitting down. “fushiguro! it’s been too long!” she exclaimed. megumi seemed startled at first, but relaxed after another moment. “oh… hey hana.”

“i missed you- where have you been recently?” she continued, seemingly wanting to reach out and touch him, but hesitant to.

“just busy… work… college and stuff.” he replied, about to turn back to you to introduce you to what you hoped was just his friend, that is until yuji and nobara seemed to have finally caught up with you guys again. before you even got the chance to say goodbye to him, yuji was pulling you off the couch and dragging you away from the group.

“y/n real quick- sorry- but pleaseeee you need to dj for us or something- just for like half an hour at least!! you need to show off against this asshole!”

no context whatsoever to what was happening, you couldn’t even reject yuji’s offer as he basically dragged you towards the music booth.

outside the studio…

sigh… guys i don’t hate hana i actually think she’s a cutie and love her but i had to bring someone into that role… 😥😓😪

yuji such a feminist wanted to prove some guy who was drunkly babbling on about #womeninmusic wrong accidentally crashed the moment

y/n texted maki a sc of megumi’s instagram and she put two and two together immediately

megumi was actually just writing down a reminder to get in contact with y/n but nobara wanted to push him

idk why the gif drops qualities every time i use one hope it doesn’t bother anyone 💔💔💔

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[artist-issues]

The reason I think the song bodes so well for Mufasa is that they got Scar and Mufasa right. I was talking with @doverstar about this and so some of these thoughts are her thoughts

Mufasa, as a character, is the kind of guy who turns everything into a lesson when we meet him as Simba’s father. Even though Simba is apparently his only son. That means he’s got a reflective, old soul when he’s still a just a relatively young King—to be ready to give great fatherly lessons. And obviously we know he got that from his own father.

So in the song, to have him be the kind of guy who goes “You see that tree? Those birds are watching the world unfold!” is perfect. He points out the tree and the birds and their place in the world, their unique perspective, like it’s an exciting thing, the kind of thing any little boy should be excited about—he points it out and starts to wax philosophical the same way other ten year-old boys would point out a superhero or cool animal to their friends.

An old soul, already gleaning lessons out of the world he’s growing up in, and likes talking about them. Like he’s a young dreamer with his head in the clouds. But when Taka sings “No one looks down on me,” Mufasa responds in this patient tone, “They look down on us, brother. Some things you chase but cannot hold.”

He’s not going to let Taka change his mind, even if (from my understanding) he’s relying on Taka as his only friend right now. He’s not insecure. That sounds like the kind of strong-willed kid who could grow up to be as powerful a character as Mufasa.

And then there’s Taka.

In The Lion King, we know Scar wants everything his own way. (That’s what makes him a great foil to Simba, “we’ll-do-it-all-my-way”)

And that’s in the song. “When I am King they will do as they’re told / Those are the laws for my brother cuz I say so /“ He’s entitled, he thinks life should be ordered according to what he says.

But I think the way more interesting part of his characterization in the song is when he sings, “No one looks down on me,” and he sings that right after Mufasa says, “where they (the birds) go can’t be controlled.” Controlled. A no-brainer response, for a songwriter, would be to have the future-villainous-usurper get his feathers ruffled. The low-hanging fruit would be to have Scar respond with something about how he can control the birds because he’s going to be King, the boss, the authority.

But Lin-Manuel Miranda did not go for the low-hanging fruit. He had Scar respond, instead, with something that almost feels off-topic: “No one looks down on me!”

But it’s NOT off-topic if you know who the character, Scar, really is. Scar is all about how he’s perceived by others.

He is insecure. His life is lived hoping that others will give him everything. The throne, the food, the power, yes—but more importantly, he wants them to give him respect, idolization, adoration, and admiration. He does not want to be looked down on. That’s what’s most important to him.

He’s the total opposite of Mufasa in that way, because Mufasa gives his life for others, while Scar hopes others will give him everything.

He doesn’t lash out at Sarabi until she mentions Mufasa—specifically, until she unfavorably compares him to Mufasa. It’s all about not wanting to be looked at as less-than. Instead, the very essence of Scar is selfish narcissism. He wants everyone to treat him like he’s the best there is, like he’s worth giving up everything for.

That’s why at the beginning of the song, he says “When I am king…my brother, you’ll always take my side.” Because he believes that he should be seen as the always-right wonder child. That’s what he wants. Even when he sounds protective of Mufasa, it’s protective by association with himself. It’s sweet, but if you listen, Taka is saying Mufasa’s whole status as his “brother” is dependent on Taka’s decree that that is what he is. So if someone denies that Mufasa is his brother, they’re defying Taka’s little princely will!

Meanwhile Mufasa is all about being a vessel of lesson-sharing and selflessness. So they really got the characters right, at least in that one song. I hope the whole rest of the movie will be like that too.

[coddda]

Hiiiiiii. Episode 25/26 lawlight analysis rant thingy here. I don't know how to write an intro for this so let's just get to it LOL

I think one of the reasons that the rain/foot scenes stick out so much (the. Sheer insanity of a Foot Massage Scene in an anime revolving around two guys trying to kill each other aside 💀) is the fact that the anime specifically suffers a bit in terms of adapting a few of the "emotional" moments in death note.

And I don't mean "emotionally impactful" exactly. For example I think the adaptations of scenes like Raye and Naomi's deaths were very impactful and the atmospheres of their final scenes were great, but I mean more from a characterization standpoint (if that makes sense). Being more focused on mind and logic games, Death Note as a whole isn't as invested in individual characters' deeper feelings as it is in its action (which isn't necessarily a criticism per say, it's simply part of the nature of a mystery thriller series). But just because they're fewer and farther between doesn't mean there are none at all. In the manga we do get to see, for example, how much Light actually cared for his family and especially Sayu, and how he actually felt more conflicted and suffered lack of sleep/appetite when he first used the Death Note.

The anime specifically as an adaptation is pretty good at adapting the main mind fuckery and action of Death Note, but its lacking in properly adapting scenes like the ones I mentioned above is a criticism I see somewhat often, and it's pretty fair imo. Compared to all the other adaptations, it certainly seems to fall short on an emotional level: the musical has entire songs going in depth about the characters feelings and relationships, the 2015 jdrama is. Insane and has its emotional moments in spades (because it's a TV drama, which are more focused on portraying emotional conflict and the like), even the 2006 movies has its emotional beats and L Change the WorLd is. Well. Oh Man.

Anime Light to a lot of people is like. Light but he's "already evil" (which I have my own thoughts on but I digress). Light but after using the Death Note for like 2 minutes he's already like "fuck yeah time to kill criminals". Basically the anime doesn't take as much time to delve into his less cynical sides or really delve into his already vague and harder to decipher feelings in general, he is noticeably colder from the get-go here, etc.

But that's part of why I think episode 25 manages to stand out so much tonally (apart from it being, y'know, the episode L literally Dies). I love the episode so much and could probably rant for hours about how much I love the artistic choices made in it but what I'm trying to get at here is that it's one of the very few moments where the show tries to go deeper into specific character's emotions, and one of the very few moments where the show Attempts (emphasis on "attempts" because, well, you'll see in a bit) to get more in-depth into Light's feelings apart from his cynicism/apathy/justice. ness.

L in these two scenes in episode 25 is, well, pretty damn open about how he feels. It's usually interpreted as him knowing that he's going to die, and you can see it. He visibly looks/sounds lost, somber, etc. He never really had much to hide around Light to begin with (since he doesn't really care about hiding himself the same way Light does) but especially not now and it Shows, and I personally thought it was pretty cool to delve into his thoughts/show how he feels this way. The somberness can be felt throughout the entire scene, even people who don't already know the plot of Death Note from the manga could probably tell that he's about to die.

In the manga, once L starts suspecting Misa again and Rem realizes what Light is trying to do, it goes straight to Watari and L's deaths, but the anime instead gives a distinct and unexpected pause in the middle of this where L contemplates his own death. It's fucking great, and the shift from straight action to slower emotional weight makes these scenes stand out a lot, since, like I said, the show usually focuses more on the former. But it's kind of ironic, too.

Not only does the anime open up L's feelings more in these scenes, but it also tries to dig deeper into Light's feelings as well through L. And it's really funny honestly because while, yes, these are the more "emotionally open" scenes of the anime Light still manages to be Incredibly avoidant and contribute almost nothing to the entire ordeal.

L is visibly upset -> "Yeah Ryuzaki, you're not making any sense at all" (Not addressing the obvious conflict from L)

"Tell me, Light. From the moment you were born, has there ever been a point where you've actually told the truth?" -> "[The most stale, over-explained, avoidant answer to a "yes/no" question that you could ever hear + blatant attempts to reframe the question]"

(L's half-smile here kills me) "I had a feeling you'd say something like that" -> [Nothing]

"I'm sorry" -> [Nothing]

"It'll be lonely won't it? You and I will be parting ways soon" -> [Nothing]

^ From this point Light continues to say literally Nothing for the rest of the scene. I'm not even joking, from then on the rest of Light's voicelines are reduced to nothing but vague noises of confusion.

Everytime L calls Light out as a person ("Has there ever been a point where you've actually told the truth?" / "I had a feeling you'd say something like that." / "Won't it be lonely?") he doesn't actually acknowledge anything. Out of those three lines, he only answers verbally to if he's ever told the truth, and even then it's the most blatantly people-pleasing answer ever, as it usually is with Light. And I don't think it's because Light just. Doesn't care about any of what L's saying at all, or that he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about (questioning Light's authenticity as a person, saying it would be lonely when they part), instead he's choosing not to acknowledge any of what this means about himself or him and L at all. He's like a fucking wall.

And like, for the truth question in particular, the show makes sure that you know it's not something that Light just. Doesn't care enough about to answer. The hard cuts to silence are a very rare but extremely effective way that the show conveys an extremely important moment (see: Light regaining his memories, Matsuda noticing Light opening the warehouse door before he escapes (not as much of a "direct" cut to silence but still)), and cuts to multiple angles/framings/zooms of the exact same shot are also used for the same purpose (see: Light hugging Misa when she was crying, Matsuda aiming his gun to shoot Light, Light regaining his memories Again). Just like the scene where Light gets his memories back, the moment L's question finishes the show utilizes both. That question cut Deep. There's is a solid Almost 5 seconds of silence before the sound of the rain gradually starts fading back in, and honestly that should be telling enough as is (but of course Light doesn't actually admit that. Or anything at all really, so). Oh also another fun detail! We do not see Light's face At All (except for the shot where you can see his mouth moving but not his eyes), for the Entire time that he's going on his spiel to L. We Will Be Revisiting This Later, by the way. This is not, in fact, the first time you're going to see this detail from Light.

The only sort of reciprocation that we see from Light during Any of these two scenes is when Light dries L's hair while L dries his feet. Biblical meanings/references aside it's interesting because it's the only time he directly does anything "for" L in these scenes, but even then he doesn't try to pass it off as anything meaningful really the same way L does ("You're still soaked", a purely neutral and factual statement. It doesn't Add Anything compared to L's. Sin atonement loneliness grieving stuff. While Light is showing his own reciprocation to this more personal moment he also tries to keep it impersonal enough that it doesn't actually have to mean anything deep). And when L says "I'm sorry" after he once again gets no response from Light. It's also after this that L gets that pained look on his face, like he knows that at this point he's not actually going to get anything meaningful from Light (again, very significant and rare from L in the show. We've seen him in distress (see: when Ukita died, hell, when Watari dies), but even then he mostly manages to keep his usually neutral expression), we never see him "look sad" like he does here):

I just think it's interesting that this is one of the few scenes in this particular adaptation of Death Note where they try to open up the character's thoughts/feeling (especially considering the fact that they. lowkey blunder in adaptations of original scenes from the manga), and L himself is being rather open (not that he ever really tries to hide what he thinks nearly as much as Light), and yet all Light contributes to it in return is like. Actually nothing. Bro fumbled it. There is no resolution to any of this, to any of what L asks at all, to any of the many opportunities for a meaningful conversation, and the only thing even relatively close to an answer that you can get from Light is what you can infer from how he acts in the episode after L dies, where he's just going through the motions, but hardly acting as if he's actually living at all.

(Honestly I think the transition from this scene with the taskforce to the subsequent scene with Misa says enough on its own. Light's expressions and tone says everything:)

(Oh sidenote but. This shit again:

"Light, this is our first date in forever. can't you enjoy yourself a little more?" ('Why don't you seem happy? We can finally be together since L is dead') -> No response, Light instead changing the topic to him wanting to move in with Misa without changing his mannerisms at all

Also there's that one detail again. You pretty much don't see Light's expression when he speaks here at all, except for one shot of his eyes, which is quite literally the exact same shot they used when he "saw" L, just altered for the new setting. You have No idea what he looks like when he's responding to Misa, although it's probably fair to assume that it's the same empty stare he has for the whole Two Shots where you can clearly see his whole expression in the entire scene.

Something something Light Yagami bad at feelings I think you get the point though)

I guess Light's Kind of showing what he's feeling now? He'll admit to himself that it's boring without L, but no more than that. Light never actually admits to anything "significant", and L's dead already anyway, so what would that even do?

And then we get, uh. Basically nothing from Light. For the next 5 Years. Except that he joined the NPA, so, uh, yay? Good job, Light you totally nailed it! Thank you for allowing us as an audience to delve deeper into your inner thoughts and feelings as a character so we can find out more about you as a person! Very helpful! Thank you for not sabotaging one of your few dedicated opportunities to look into yourself as a person and reflect on your relationships with others and being 100% honest with yourself! We stay winning guys.

Anyway, this got way too long for a scene that's over a decade old, and I've probably just said everything that everyone else has already said in this fandom before. But unfortunately this has been living in my head for way too long and I must scream. I just think this episode's neat is all :)

tl;dr Part of the reason why the rain/foot scene (tbh episode 25 in General) stands out so much is because the Death Note anime specifically was a bit robbed in terms of its more emotional character moments compared to the other medias, which makes more somber/introspective scenes like the ones in episode 25 stand out a Lot in comparison. But it's also incredibly ironic because it's one of the few moments where the show (or specifically L) tries to look deeper into Light's character, but because he is so avoidant for the entire duration of these two scenes he adds basically nothing at all. It's almost funny. Mostly sad. It's also very gay. Aand post

Okay actually nevermind one more thing I talked about how the jdrama is supposed to be more emotionally in-depth because it is a TV Drama and just for the record, same thing happens there! I could probably do an entire analysis of the Blue Scene in this context like I did with episode 25 but I'd literally be here forever, so uh, just take this iconic line as my main example:

Same Thing. L's statement "I wish we could have met some other way" is personal. It's his own wish, his own regret that he is expressing to Light. While Light's reply obviously has that same regret implied it's also phrased in a specifically impersonal way. It's closed off. "This is the only way we could have met" it closes off the topic and simply renders L's wish as ultimately futile. Light does not say that he Also wishes he could have met L a different way even if it was likely impossible, instead it's a cold statement of cynical fact.

Idk just. Something something L being able and Willing to be more openly sentimental/emotionally open towards Light/about Light vs. Light's inability to be honest with anyone including himself and his own nature preventing any form of meaningful reciprocation. Something something self-sabotage, y'know the drill. God don't even get me Started on how sincere L's tone is when he says "It'll be lonely won't it?"(at least in the eng dub) in the anime I could talk about his tone in that scene for ages. Also yes all of this relates to L Change the WorLd too by the way. Don't ask how it just does okay.

I do think that scenes like these (rain/foot scene, The Blue Scene. Uh. L Change the WorLd The Novel Adaptation) show, at least in those adaptations, that L does genuinely care for Light, and show that he values him as a friend not just in the mindgame-equal sense but also just like, a more sincere sense you know. Idk if that made any sense and that's a whole other topic for another day but you guys just have to believe me on this one alright please please believe me buries head in hands. Okay post over finally thanks for coming to my tedtalk hope you enjoyed my very-unnecessarily long analysis of the week

[beanthebugboi]

Just when I thought "I'M THE CHUPRACADUPRA" was peak animation..

We got "here's an idea- you could shut the fuck up"

Jokes aside tho, this episode had. SO much. Ramble under the cut in case anyone wants to avoid spoilers but hasn't blocked the tag for it :)

soooo You'll Be Ok was definitely foreshadowing, I'm so glad the "this song means that Stolas is going to die at the end of the season" theory was wrong but STILL. VIA'S REPRISE BROKE ME. The angry heartbroken "when you're gone I'll be okay" AJFKHSJHDJAKHAJSH

Stolas beating the shit out of Andrealphus MADE MY DAY that was fucking hilarious and 100% deserved (speaking of Andrealphus, istg the animation for him keeps getting better.. like, bouncier? More cartoonish than the other characters?)

STOLITZ KISS STOLITZ KISS STOLITZ KISS YIPPEEEEE this is what I've been praying for since all the way back in Full Moon. And the dance at the end? Absolutely adorable, I love Blitz standing on the railing to reach Stolas lmao (reminds me of an animatic I saw a while back, where he was standing on tables)

Millie is pregnant?? Are we gonna get an m&m baby??? (has anyone designed a fanchild yet bc I wanna see what y'all think they'll look like)

HELLHOUNDS HAVE FULL DEMON FORMS APPARENTLY? I thought it was only sinners (or maybe just overlords) and above? Does this mean that other lower-ranking hellborn (imps, succubi, etc) have full forms too?

I love the whole concept of Sinsmas- m&m (lovingly) fighting like heavily weaponized cats was adorable, and Loona's snack stash was 10/10. Although now I wanna know if/how the Sins themselves celebrate? I was hoping we'd see more of them in this episode, maybe even a Lucifer cameo.. but in retrospect that would have been too much, given everything else that happened in the episode.

Anyway, Stolas crying over Via felt like getting stabbed in the heart but other than that I absolutely LOVED the episode, what a way to end the season.. anyone know when season 3 starts?

[princesssarisa]

I think in Wicked (the musical at least – not sure about the novel), there's a bit of an uneasiness between the theme of "everyone is morally gray, no one is all bad or all good" and the fact that Elphaba is a freedom fighter against a fascist government that commits atrocities against a minority group.

Yes, the Wizard has some sympathetic qualities, Elphaba has some flaws and briefly turns to villainy toward the end, and Glinda is a mass of moral grayness under her perky pink facade. But for the most part it's clear who the villains are (the Wizard and Madame Morrible), Elphaba's stance against them is clearly heroic, and Glinda's choice to work for them is clearly a moral sell-out, with which she struggles and from which she eventually redeems herself. When the Animals' treatment parallels the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany, you can't take a "both sides" view of the situation. But every now and then, the show seems to do just that – whether in the song "Wonderful" with the Wizard's talk of "moral ambiguities" (though of course in that song, he's trying to justify his actions and manipulate Elphaba into joining him), or Elphaba and Glinda's reconciliation in "For Good," where they paint themselves as having been equally at fault. And again, and again, I've heard people say "There are no real villains in Wicked: the whole point is that there are two sides to every story and neither side is all good or all bad." But if that's the intended message, does it honestly fit with a plot that involves fascism and racial persecution?

Another work of fiction that I think has some uneasiness between its themes is Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Namely between "the Beast as a suffering, misunderstood outcast" and "the Beast as a powerful bully who needs to be humbled and change." I think a lot of the controversy about that movie stems from the uneasiness between those two themes.

On the one hand, the Beast is a spoiled, selfish prince, who was cursed as punishment for shutting out a poor beggar woman, who has a terrifying temper, and who orders others around and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his own way. His beastly appearance and mannerisms can be seen as outward symbols of his bad behavior, which is based in toxic class privilege and masculinity. From this perspective, Gaston is his kindred spirit, which is emphasized by visual cues: e.g. their similar striking blue eyes, or Gaston's pelt-covered, horned chair in the tavern that looks like the Beast's silhouette. The difference between them is that the Beast finally realizes he was wrong and changes his ways, while Gaston only becomes more beastly. But on the other hand, the Beast is also an "other", who hides from the world, who struggles with basic social skills, who is full of insecurity and self-loathing, whom Belle bonds with because they're both misfits, whose bestial mannerisms and overpowering rages are at least partly because the spell is warping his mind (in other words, a magical mental illness), and whom a mob tries to murder just because he looks scary. Analogies have rightly been drawn between the Beast and victims of racism, homophobia, or other prejudice. From this viewpoint, Gaston is his opposite: the type of privileged boor who receives undeserved hero-worship just because he's handsome and charismatic, and who persecutes "others" like the Beast.

When people view it chiefly as a story about the taming of a powerful bully, you hear accusations of "Stockholm Syndrome" and of the dangerous fantasies of changing an abuser. Viewing the Beast as a misunderstood outcast, who finds acceptance in a fellow outcast and who overcomes his mental health struggles and bad coping mechanisms as a result, reduces those accusations. But if you view the Beast chiefly as a misunderstood outcast, then his character arc can feel disempowering: so much of it consists of learning to be more people-pleasing and self-effacing, not to mention re-learning "normal" human manners and behavior (as an autistic person, I know I've sometimes felt "He needs to mask to be loved"), and he becomes fully "normal" by becoming human again in the end.

Maybe there is no uneasiness between these different themes: maybe it's just complexity. Maybe my feelings on the subject shows that I'm autistic and struggle with things that aren't black-and-white. But in both of these works of fiction, I do sometimes feel as if the writers were trying to tell two different stories at once, which sometimes fit together, sometimes not.

Does anyone else feel that way about other works of fiction? Can you name any other stories with multiple themes that seem slightly opposed and uneasy together?

[byte-your-tongue]

Showing The Obey Me! Brothers My Little Pony

(Romantic, GN Reader)

AN: this is also an older post i touched up and decided to throw on here cuz i like this one a lot :3

Lucifer:

Refuses to watch it at first and is the last one of the brothers to see it

He thinks it's just some dumb kids show and he does not have enough time to be watching that with his busy schedule

Won't insult/question you for watching it as long as you are happy and getting all your tasks done, but still finds it a bit childish.

He likes seeing you happy so he’ll listen when you talk about it even if he doesn't have a single idea what you're talking about it.

As all the other brothers start watching it he does feel out of the loop.

He also finds himself humming songs from it because you, Asmo, and Mammon will often break out into songs from the show

Eventually the curiosity gets to him and he wants to see it. He wants to see it for…. research. I mean even Diavolo is watching it now! It's his duty to understand these sorts of things. That's all it is. It's not like he WANTS to watch it

.His pride won’t let him seem too interested in it so he instead hints to you that y'all should watch it together in the most roundabout way ever. Because you know, it wouldn’t be terrible if you forced him… Please drag this man to watch it he won’t watch it on his own but he wants to

Because of Luci’s busy schedule the two of you set up a plan to watch an episode or two whenever he’s free

After about a season of the show Lucifer is absolutely hooked and finds himself watching the show on his own

Is embarrassed to have gotten so engrossed in the show that he watched ahead so he instead just watches from where him and you were when the two get together

But after a while he grows impatient of having to rewatch episodes he’d already seen when he could be watching from where he actually is. After all, he just NEEDS to know what happens to the mane six next. Will they defeat Chrysalis??

Eventually you catch on that he has more info then he should and tease him for having watched ahead. He denies it adamantly but the next time they go to watch he mysteriously puts on an episode about 10 ahead of where they were last time. Don’t mention it to him or you’re never allowed back in his room again. >:(

He doesn’t have a favorite character in particular, but may end up liking whichever one reminds him most of you. He also respects Celestia for how she handles the stress of her position without ever growing angry and feels close to her because he also had to make a hard choice with a younger sibling in the past. Don’t show him Lullaby for a Princess, he WILL cry

Mammon:

Is the second one to start watching

Originally he may tease you for liking a kids show but if it makes you upset he will immediately backpedal and sputter about how he was just joking and please don't get mad at him-

After he sees you and Levi talking about it he wants to be in on the convo. After all, Levi can’t be getting all that time alone with HIS human just because Levi knows more about some stupid colorful horses!

So Mammon goes and binges the whole show. It takes a couple weeks of all nighters and his grades may be doing worse than usual but now he’ll be able to talk about the show with you >:)

Mammon definitely becomes totally invested in the show

He is sobbing over the emotional parts and laughing at the funny ones

When Beel first hears the sobbing from Mammons room one night while he’s getting snacks he’s immediately concerned. Beel barges into the room to check on his older brother but when it turns out Mammon is just watching some show he relaxes. After all, Beel is more than used to hearing Levi up late at night watching anime.

The next time he sees you and Levi talking about the show he casually jumps in the convo with a bunch of info. Levi is angry because rude, Mammon can’t just interrupt him hypothesizing the economical value of a bit with you! But, you are absolutely delighted to hear Mammon actually watched the show!!!! :D

The praise and attention from you was absolutely what Mammon was looking for, and even though he may try and play it off it’s obvious that he’s melting from your beaming smile

Meanwhile Satan and Asmo are off to the side, pouting because they too want attention from you too!

Mammon, Levi, and you can often be heard loudly singing songs from the show and talking about who the best character is

Mammon of course adores Rainbow Dash, she’s clearly the coolest!

Mammon buys a little figure of her to put on his nightstand and talks to her when he’s scheming

Will sometimes take her with him to the casino for luck :)

Levi:

He’s the first one to watch the show with you

At first he doesn’t want to because ew normie show

But you can easily get him to watch it by either just hugging him or pointing out how y'all are always watching things Levi picks

Is one of the only brothers to not try and hide his first impressions of the show and is hooked pretty early on

He’s an expert on binging shows with you so you both manage to get through the whole thing pretty fast

He adores Fluttershy to bits and will take any opportunity to rave about her. Of course she isn’t as great as Ruri-chan, but who is in Levi’s eyes?

He thinks Fluttershy is very impressive with how she is so shy and anxious, but still stands up for what she believes in and even learns to stand up for herself as well!

He is absolutely cheering her on every step of her journey to be less anxious and really admires how hard she seems to work on it

Levi sees how her friends want her to improve but also don’t try to force her too far out of her comfort zone and is reminded of how you treat a yucky otaku such as himself. He is suddenly even more grateful to you and may give you more presents out of nowhere with no explanation

He starts to use Flutters as a way to motivate himself when he is apprehensive about something, he is constantly thinking to himself “Fluttershy would try her best in this situation and I should too!”

You better believe this man has every piece of merch with Fluttershy on it. He actually keeps his favorite figure of her next to his favorite figure of Ruri-chan and he looks over at them about 10 million times a day

He’d also get you anything from the show they wanted. You mentioned there was a limited edition toy you couldn’t find/afford as a kid? You better bet Levi is hunting it down and spending any amount of money to get it for you <3

Satan:

Satan may appear highly sophisticated and whatnot with his charming words and seemingly limitless pool of knowledge, but he actually enjoys many things that others may consider childish

He’s never been one for judging other too severely thanks to how many lifestyles he’s grown accustomed to by reading, and he’s learned to be even more open minded since you came along

So while he may understand the social repercussions for doing childish things and therefore avoid them while in more close minded company, he has no problem with goofing around in private or with you

So when Satan hears that some of his other brothers were so invested in a show from the Human Realm, he can’t help but ask you about it

Once he hears more about it from you he is more than willing to watch the show

He watches some of it with you and some on his own, really it’s just something he has on a lot of the time and you join in watching whenever they are hanging out

Satan of course takes a liking to Twilight and he seriously laments the destruction of The Golden Oak Library

He's the type of person to think up complex theories. You would probably be pretty amused hearing him somehow come up with the exact same theories you remember from fans during the shows run.

He would try his best to figure out how magic in the show works and gets very invested in his theories. He might try to recreate spells from the show in real life.

Probably likes Twilight the most out of the characters.

Asmo:

Asmo is at first a little reluctant to watch the show, but who is he to say no to MC?

He also sees Mammon being praised for watching it and is instantly jealous

They put the show on in the background while he does MCs nails and he isn’t really paying attention until a certain purple maned fashionista is introduced

Falls in love with Rarity at first sight. Now THAT is one fabulous mare!

Absolutely adores all episodes focusing on Rarity, especially the ones focused on her boutique

Asmo is quite good at understanding others and their motivations so he ends up breaking own each character and analyzing them unintentionally and even makes some points that not even Satan or Levi would have been able to notice

He also uses his designing skills to make some of the outfits that Rarity makes in the show, just modified to fit a humanoid form of course

Out of all the ones he makes he ends up liking the Grand Galloping Gala dresses the most. He wears all of them and posts plenty of pictures to Devilgram. Even if most of his followers have no idea what the dresses are from they still support Asmo in everything he does

Asmo also ends up asking Solomon to grab him some Rarity related merch next time he’s in the human realm

Beel:

When Beel comes home from the gym one day to see you and Belphie cuddling in the twin’s room and watching the show Beel doesn’t question it

He just plops down on the other side of you and joins in

Beel often ends up watching the episodes infrequently and out of order, but he still enjoys what he does see

Might watch the show while at lunch at RAD

Now THAT makes for an interesting sight, the avatar of gluttony surrounded by a mountain of food with his usually RBF and just watching some brightly colored kids show with his headphones on

Beel never once judges you for it being a “kid’s show”, in fact the thought never even crosses Beel’s mind. To him it’s a good show and that’s all you need

Beel actually ends up liking it a lot and you show him some more cartoons from your childhood for him to watch

He of course loves Pinkie Pie and The Cakes for their sweet creations

But his actual favorite character is Applejack

He loves her hardworking nature and honesty

He really just adores the whole Apple Family, they all seem to love each other so much

His favorite episode is probably the one where Pinkie goes on a roadtrip with them to see if she’s really an Apple or not

[aiscapades]

thinking out loud abt recent discussions in the touchstarved/obscura fandoms :) literally just my own personal opinion !!!!!

i can't stop thinking abt cirrus bc he's honestly what i want so badly for the touchstarved LIs. it's what i wanted for count lucio.

i was reading y'all's opinions abt the touchstarved marketing and your concerns abt how the game is gonna turn out, and while i was understanding, i also was so confused abt .. where this sudden concern was coming from. and then i played obscura and i was like oh! i didn't know a game could be like this! i didn't know a demo could be like this! i had entirely different reactions to the obscura demo than i did the touchstarved demo

—and yeah that's comparing two totally different games, different studios, different projects. the touchstarved demo served to introduce the characters and the world and it did that wonderfully. it's satisfactory. it's not that they did anything wrong?? but i cannot deny they gave me two insanely different reactions. i was YELLING when cirrus was doing his shit. it was like what i imagine watching trashy reality tv is like. or like watching one of those poorly-made TV movies and just enjoying the ride. i was hollering and jumping out of my chair and GAWKING at the screen. like cirrus was real and he was really saying this insane shit and i was SO ON BOARD and selecting every insane option the game gave me. it was just so wild. and it was so, so fun.

so i thought abt it more and i was like yeah. i actually see where this concern is coming from. rss keeps their stuff so close to their chest that it's hard to tell what routes they're taking, how they're dealing with certain issues, how deep the character arcs go, etc. i have no idea how fucked up their version of monstrosity gets, and for a game that is ENTIRELY about monsters and monstrosity, that definitely gives me pause. we don't know anything. they drop hints and we guess and theorize, but we don't know anything. we know leander is fucked up. we know they're all fucked up. in what way? who knows. does mhin murder people as a giant crow beast every night? we don't definitively know. we kinda assume that based on lore drops, but we don't know. but then other studios are doing semi-regular q&as and dropping information into the laps of their fans on a daily basis (lost in limbo??? hello? every day i get a notif that they've told us something new, either abt ALL the characters or about the world). idk how early obscura devs have been answering questions but they're also doing something similar. but for rss you can send in questions and you're probably never gonna hear back. you can't just ask them what song the m5 LIs would sing on karaoke night and get a response 🧍🏼 they don't do that. which isn't to say it's WRONG of them—i'm not saying they're being bad game devs by any means—but it's definitely a different way to handle game development compared to these other studios we follow.

that lack of fan involvement and information sharing is where the concern comes from, i think. at least on my part!

i mentioned count lucio earlier and i want to elaborate why. firstly, he's my favorite character of all time. i've been writing a fanfic for him for 2 years, and it's nearly 200k words (i'm taking a break from it rn). like i love lucio as a character so, so deeply. is it because of the arcana game? no, actually. it's because of the POTENTIAL his character has. it's because of what the FANS have pulled from him and shaped him into.

the arcana was on the app store. it had such strict rules about what it could and couldn't be. and yeah i can rant about how dumb nix hydra is for taking the mico-transaction phone app route, but my point in all of it is that the devs failed lucio. i think they fumbled a lot, with the other characters as well, but lucio was their watch mojo top 10 biggest anime fails of all time #1 spot.

his bad ending shows him as the new DEVIL and dictator of the world??? and we got to see none of that. his whole route woobified him to pieces. he's just a lil meow meow. he's Baby. he didn't know better. he just made some Oopsies 👉🏻👈🏻 uh oh!!

like he was the main VILLAIN of the story and they turned him into a manchild. the wasted potential of this guy is insane. and i guess i saw that and thought "i can make this motherfucker so much worse" and i did that and will continue to do that. so have his other fans. people have rewritten his route altogether because it was so unsatisfactory.

there's overlap from the arcana in the rss dev team. do i think touchstarved will be the new arcana? nope!!!! but am i also worried they'll play it safe because they think the fanbase wants conventionally loveable love interests? yeah. i absolutely see the concern. it's very real and very there. does red spring studio KNOW we want truly monstrous characters? do they? we're just hoping they do.

leander doesn't have to be just like cirrus. none of them have to be anything. but i do want them to be monstrous. i want to FEEL something the same way i feel something when cirrus orders me onto my knees. like not even in a kinky sexual way. i want to be shocked. i want to hesitate and think "what is this character doing right now? what will i do right now?" i want to be confused and shocked and pleasantly surprised and also horrified. i want the adrenaline high i got while playing cirrus's first chapter. it was like my cptsd was triggered in the best possible way (lmao).

and it's not even about that.

lost in limbo is more fantasy romance than it is horror (save for the goddamn voidbound holy fuck!) but i know that i'll enjoy the game anyhow because i love all the characters. why do i love all the characters? because the devs tell us about them. they don't even have to spoil the game. i know amon smells like chocolate and has a fake southern accent (HELLO?) and that ara can't sing. lost in limbo could be the corniest fucking game and i would still love it because i'm already so attached to the characters.

the reason i turned to lost in limbo and obscura is because my excitement for touchstarved waned. because there's just a once in a blue moon post and it's likely it'll just be a "backers have new updates!" post. which isn't said to shame rss or backers !!!! that's normal and fine and valid!!!! do that!!!! i just mean rss is BARELY giving us what we want. we're stranded in the desert dying and rss is trickling water droplets one by one to each of us. lost in limbo devs are pissing fresh spring water into our mouths at firehose speed. is rss bad for this? no. they're not doing anything wrong. but a natural consequence of their marketing strategy is that fans will move on. i still love touchstarved. i'm going to play it. i'm reblogging fanart and fanfics. i'm posing the mormon leander theory. like i'm still here and still very much active but touchstarved isn't on my mind the way lost in limbo & obscura are.

ravenstar games tells me gael would fail the trial in the tale of orpheus and eurydice and i'm like holy fuck??? holy fuck!!!!!!

would ais? would mhin? i don't fucking know.

and what about elyon and sen? i know they're DLC bonus LIs and they don't need to be fleshed-out as soon as the main LIs. they can be on the back burner until touchstarved comes out. this is fair. but what about them? we know nothing other than 1. elyon is rich because of brothel money and 2. sen is an undead warden? (like a prison guard? like the ppl who watch over vere? i don't even know that for sure) (we also know their flowers but that's barely anything). meanwhile lost in limbo is sharing info about cécile and lázaro as often as their main love interests. they're not forgotten about. i can't even make a mc for sen's route because i know nothing about her!!!!!! which hurts my heart because i love sen. i love the idea of sen. it's the first time a female love interest in one of these games is 1. my type but also 2. not exactly like me (ara i love you but we are twins).

they're impersonal. they are 2D concepts we try to fill out.

maybe rss will tell us the LIs go-to karaoke song after the game releases. or maybe they won't. but there are just so many benefits to sharing that kinda thing and bonding with your fans in that way. that's my whole point. it's not "i need a steady stream of touchstarved content pumped directly into my veins 24/7 or i lose all interest" it's not that!!!!! obviously not because rss doesn't do that and i'm still here. this is my most active blog! i'm having a blast here because the fandom is sick as hell. we're vibing, doing our own thing, and it's great. but rss feels very distant. they are the senobium and we are residents of lowtown wondering when or if things will ever be different. if we're going to have a good day (lore drop or new art) or if things will just continue on as expected.

to reiterate: this post isn't about how rss is doing something wrong or bad or that ravenstar games/rotten raccoons are sososososo much better than rss. rss doesn't have to do everything other studios are doing. that's not what i'm saying. this is just the reality of what rss is doing vs other devs and how i PERSONALLY feel about it. i love them i would literally strap a bomb to my chest and demand my loved ones' credit card info to disarm it for any of these studios/games. i am a fan and i'm hopeful and i want to trust in rss so so so so badly. i want the very best for them. i want them to create a great game and be successful. i want them to be creatively fulfilled and proud of their game. on their own time, their own way. really and truly!

[gold-rhine]

like its literally insane how beat for beat this lantern rite goes into the same notes as natlan final act, but just does it well. the contrast is crazy-making. SPOILERS 2025 LANTERN RITE i guess

like. oh its a story about pyro girlie who had to lose her family very early and tragically, and then she came under huge amount of dire responsibility, but she didn't let it break her and she stayed positive and bright. she is now confronted with a critical situation where she has to do hard decision and be ready to die to save her country. she says goodbyes to her friends, trying to not let them know she's going to sacrifice herself, but they realise it and do everything to save her. in the end, she realizes her life isn't over, its too early for her to go, has heartfelt reunion with ghosts of her family and is saved by unified efforts of her friends, showing how much she's loved and wanted in the world of the living. (im joking, last part didnt happen to mavuika lol, i'll get to it)

but like you can actually see how liyue kids are ACTUALLY friends and how they like each other, they have palpable chemistry that is shown, instead of just like. flatly declared in natlan. hu tao pestering embarrassed yun jin into performing her silly cringe hilichurl song in operatic style has more character than mavuika had in all acts of natlan and her story quest COMBINED. and hu tao visiting friends to give them goodbye gifts under the guise of holiday tradition with half-jokey heartfelt well wishings is what i think natlan tried to do with ancient name thing, where characters like say why they like traveler. except in lantern rite it works because its personal and meaningful, and in natlan its just flashy anime poses and random cliches. "i love being traveler's friend!", "surely she comes from a good home!" like??? its fucking nothings that coworkers awkwardly say at the birthday party because they don't know you.

and suddenly in liyue they know that characters can have differences and STILL be respectful and well-intended, with hu tao and baizhu exchanging jabs about being archenemies, instead of entire cast being blandly okay yay all the time in natlan. hu tao's conversation with zhongli exploring her mental state before going into danger, bittersweet, but finally honest, just straight up doesnt have a parallel in natlan because they never give mavuika any fucking way to express herself. not to mention that hu tao has more conflict and complicated feelings about her lost family and grief than mavuika ever has with her sister where they talk about fucking nothing and just like politely nod at each other.

and the theme of unity actually works in liyue because it does have all other characters uniting to share hu tao's burden and save her, instead of capitano ex machina just showing up and solo taking her place bc he's here to hijack the narrative and make it about khaenriah instead of natlan. so natlan's theme about unity just never goes anywhere except of characters standing in the circle and yelling "for natlan!!", there is no tangible effort for this unity, nothing they have to overcome together. they just wait for everyone to awaken their ancient names, stand in a circle to power up mavuika, and then she solo finishes everything with carpet bombing. and then she solo beats up abyss boss. and then capitano makes it all about himself. like. much unity.

and even traveler being a descender isn't really used in natlan despite making a big deal out of it, her ability to challenge fate or whatever literally never actually comes up. meanwhile in liyue it is used within established lore reasons - not being connected to irminsul, BUT, very importantly, just being special descender would not be enough to save hu tao, its the fact that they are friends, they share a bond and care about each other, i.e. only by using the plum's branch traveler is able to connect and find hu tao.

[sugar-crash]

🍬King Candy (Wreck-It Ralph) x (gn) Reader👑

(Beginning Relationship Pt. I Edition!)

(I thought this song would be fitting considering King Candy’s voice is based on the vocal performance Ed Wynn did for the Mad Hatter… That and its… Nostalgic🔑 [I saw the animation meme culture rise and fall.] lol)

- So, as we all know, the more unpleasant parts of his personality (which could tie him to Turbo) are suppressed, and hidden, though they can still peak out when he’s feeling particularly malicious.

- He’s a slime, a real manipulative rat who’s so sure he can keep everyone in the dark, who takes it slow with you at first to try to maintain his hard work.

- There’s a clear wall between what he displays in front of others and how he is, just the way he likes it, but honestly— If you mean so much to him, you get a weird mix of the two (well, more than usual), a kind of sweet goofiness that’s followed up with a snide remark about being the most skilled in some specific topic.

- Again he’s not the best lover, though from his previous indiscretions he has learned to be more open to others feelings— But only for your sake, mostly cause he can’t stand anyone else besides you…. And Sour Bill sometimes, but he’s mostly the personification of a minimum wage worker.

- Spending time together after hours is a must, though he’s more understanding now than he was before, not demanding every moment of your time but relishing whenever you do.

- I think all that time alone before Sugar Rush got plugged in made him lonely, and less stubborn to admit that he wants that comfort from someone else.

- I don’t think it’s much of a far reach when I say maintaining the King Candy persona is something he is very fluid in, but it’s exhausting at times.

- When he gets that seldom time alone without any of his kingly duties he finds himself yearning for your comforting touch, that stubbornness making way as he makes Sour Bill retrieve you.

- I can see moments between the two of you to be on the tamer side, not as many arguments like Pre-RoadBlasters, little to none really, but there are these tense moments where you ask him something a little too close to home and he becomes stiff in your arms if only for a brief moment.

- As much as he wants to be, not only for himself but maybe even you— He isn’t perfect, he isn’t the person he tries so hard to be, that gleeful and peppy voice going flat the second he isn’t feeling it anymore.

- It becomes apparent the more you know him he’s far more serious than he lets on, puffing his chest up slightly when things don’t go his way and he has to play dirty, which he’s certainly no stranger to...

- In comparison to himself when the arcade first ever opened, he’s certainly grown from that childish hatred, for better and for worse.

- He’s more affectionate for one, providing you with comfort fitting to how you are feeling at that moment, little compliments, and gestures of affection to quell your anger and anxiety in a matter of seconds.

- Quick to learn every little thing about you to make sure he’s able to relate to you, though his intentions with this information go back and forth.

- He wants everything on a silver platter, not only for himself but also for you, making the other subjects of Sugar Rush bend over backward for you, even when you object to all the attention.

- I think one of the ways he dotes on you in a way is date planning, various areas in Sugar Rush vary which can be very nice date spots… He seems like the picnic blanket and tea liker as King Candy, as stereotypical as that is lol.

- Though if that isn’t your style, he can always do dates at the castle, like baking— chatting the night away, it’s the simple things in life <3

- Even with his character growth he is far from a good person, which we all know and love for the most part. He’s fully aware that the things he does to bar you, Venallope, the Sugar Rush inhabitants, and even the arcade entirely is cruel, spiteful even. But what could he have done? Let himself fade into obscurity and be characterized after one of his biggest mistakes?

- No, no, not when he still has so much to provide— He’s a person, just like everyone else, better yet he was programmed to be better. Why should he stand aside and let the world spin without him? Why should he look at you from afar when he has every right to want you?

- That’s part of the reason why he’s so adamant about keeping his spot as the monarch of Sugar Rush, he’s the rightful ruler after all.

(Cr cqh’r lncp, hjw cq cr?)

[cosmicwavelengths]

here's why i liked lis: double exposure

[DE SPOILERS BELOW] this is unpopular, but double exposure is overhated. even with the absence of pricefield and the incredibly weak ending (which is a huge sticking point to many people in this community), there's a lot of good things about DE that got overshadowed with hate. so here 's what i liked about it!

Hannah Telle, her voice acting was great as per usual and her nomination at the game awards was definitely deserved (even if she didn't win)

At the beginning of the game, if you right click to rewind, Max will say something like “old habits die hard” and that was a nice call back

Aged up Max, it was great playing as her again and I think the art team nailed her character design compared to how she looked in LIS1

Safi, Vinh, Amanda, Loretta, Moses, & Gwen were great characters

Someone Was Listening by dodie SLAPS, and the use of the song when Max shifts into the Living World for the first time was amazing

The VFX for Max’s timeline shift ability was sick, and the timeline shifting was fun to play with

Realistic animations and a great snowy environment- huge props to the art teams, I just wish we got to see more of it

Safi’s voice acting and motion capture overall, her actress did a great job

The one conversation at the start of Chapter 4 between Safi/Max talking about their powers

Detective Alderman showing what happens if you interact with the split timeline

The twist with Max holding the gun, that was chilling

The concert scene with Amanda was fun, and I liked going on the date with Vinh

The scene where Safi, Max, and Vinh expose Lucas (so deserved)

I loved the friendship between Safi and Max, I wish we got to see more of that before she died. Safi on her own is an interesting character and I’m interested to see what D9 does with her after this

The sequence where Max chases Max (Safi), it was such a rush it was exciting

Safi’s power in Chapter 5 freaking out and causing her to shapeshift into different people

The darkroom nightmare scene in Chapter 5, I was actually flipping out bc I was worried Jefferson was gonna jumpscare us

Moses and the gingerbread house scene was so emotional. It really showed how close he was to Safi.

Moses’ reaction to Max picking the ‘nerdy and dirty’ mug lmao

As with all the games, I liked reading the texts and Crosstalk messages. The journal was cool to read to see what happened after the events of LIS 1, but I wish it was as comprehensive as it was previously. But I chalk that up to Max being too busy to keep a proper journal

Also, it’s so nice to see Max as a professional, established photographer! I was worried she’d be doing other stuff and stepping away from photography, but it’s so cool to see her transform from a meek art student to an award winning photographer. Character progression wins!!!

[kookies2000]

TADC Actor AU

An AU where the characters are actors, Roger Rabbit style. We had fun in the Bunny Doll Burrow.

Characters list

Pomni 📖

A quiet girl who writes books in her free time. She started her career on TV in Japan, where she was born. She was under contract to do commercials and modeling until she moved to the USA to study accounting. She meets Caine when he opens an account with her. Thanks to him, she gets into show business again in a much healthier manner. Helping in commercials again and smaller roles in films. After she and Caine get married, he helps her get her first major role as the Jester in The Amazing Digital Circus series.

Caine ⭐️

Was born into show business. Literally, his mom went into labor in the middle of a circus act, and she had to birth him inside the pool behind the circus tent. His family owns a circus in Vegas and is known as the most glamorous family in Nevada. Because of this, he started as a child star and learned how to maintain a healthy work environment for performers thanks to his family. His family hired Bubble to be his agent when Caine turned 18. Because of his impressive record in show business, bright and happy personality, he is a well-known A tier actor. He agreed to play the ringmaster in TADC as long as his wife, Pomni, can have an audition.

Ragatha 🎀

Super kind and sweet. Started show business in college with her best friend Kaufmo. The two were close and did auditions together. She is mostly known for smaller films that are very artsy. Those 3 hour long films that have a hidden meaning? Yeah, she likes doing those kinds of films. Art runs in her vains, and she doesn't care much about how much money she gains. As long as she has enough to get by in life and does what she enjoys, she is happy. She does modeling thanks to Kaufmo, acting like a part-time agent for her. One day, Kaufmo calls her up about a role he's auditioning for in TADC and convinces her to audition. At the auditions, she meets a bunny who is also auditioning for the role Kaufmo is auditioning for. She gets the role, and so does Kaufmo. Until one rainy day, they get into a car crash, causing Kaufmos death.

Jax 🐰

A ball of fluff with an ego. He is well loved by many actors and others in the show business. He helps out mostly backstage as an understudy on Broadway, stunt double, and a vocal and actor coach. He helped and taught famous actors like Angel Dust from Hazbin Hotel, Rocky from Lackadaisy, and N from Murder Drones. His students describe him as a fun, whacky, and kind guy. He does impressions, too. He substituted for Angel Dust's voice in the song Addiction when he was sick. And he substituted other lines for other stars when they couldn't. Like when Rocky was recovering from vocal surgery, Jax took over and did the monologue Rocky does while he throws dynamite. Jax auditioned to be the bully in TADC and met a kind doll. But he didn't get the part that day. Until a month later, he gets a call that they are recasting, and he got the part. Tadc will be his first major role in his career, and he's beyond excited to be a part of it.

Gangel 🎭

A steamer and a theater kid since middle school. She streams video games, reactions, and acting/singing tips. Her goal is to get to 1 million followers on her platforms and have fun. She was bullied as a kid and just wants to make others happy. She gets help from her fiancé Zooble in her streams. She loves posting everything she does and gets over excited by everything. Her favorite things to react to are anime shows, and she loves video games. One day, she hears about the auditions for TADC and rushes Zooble to audition with her. Zoobel refuses to audition and just takes Gangel. Gangel gets a part, and she streams it right away. She has trouble keeping secrets, by the way. She'll most likely post about anything by accident.

Zooble 🔺️

Tattoo artist and owns her own shop. She was never interested in acting or singing. They were always bullied for looking different than most toons. Very quiet, camera shy, and keeps to themselves. Until someone makes fun of Gangel. They are super supportive of their fiancé and help Gangel whenever they can. They aren't afraid to go internet warrior mode if they see someone picking on Gangel. One day, Gangel begs them to take her to the auditions for TADC. At the studio, the ones in charge automatically take a liking to Zoobles unique look. Mentioning how it matches the circus theme. They wanted to create a role just for them, but Zooble tried to reject the offer. Until Gangel convinces them.

Kinger ♟️

Both a director and actor with his wife Queenie. He is a family man and makes some of the best movies. He loves musicals and helps with soundtracks. He started doing show business in his mid twenties when he found a talent in storytelling and started making scripts. Step by step, he became a director and actor. He didn't really audition for TADC. They called him up if he could help write the show, and he just somehow ended up in the show when they couldn't find a good fit for the role of Loony Man.

Bubbel 🫧

Part time agent, part time fashion designer and full time drag queen. Enough said.