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oddygaul · 3 months ago

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the REDLINE manifesto

In honor of my second DIY screening of Redline, here is, at long last, a prettied-up version of my most popular reddit post, an unabashed love letter to my favorite movie. Most of this is probably less groundbreaking than it was when I first posted it a decade(!) ago, but whatever, the internet needs more Redline content anyway.

REDLINE Trivia

–JP stands for Joshua Punkhead, and in the very first draft he had 26 children and raced to pay off his child support. Also, the catchy moniker ‘Sweet JP’? English-only… the original Japanese gets the mouthful ‘very sweet weaponless prince’.

–You'd be hard-pressed to tell without looking into the lore a bit, but Miki & Todoroki are damn near the only actual humans in the movie; everyone else is some species of alien. Some are obvious, like Shinkai (Oceanic/Chikulun hybrid) and Trava (Anista tribe), but even the most human-like characters are some other race. Sonoshee, for example, is listed as being half human, half Oceanic tribe (海洋族).

The most curious case, though, is JP. While it'd be easy to assume he's human, there's a lot of details that don't add up: his unique elf ears, his super-lanky-even-for-a-Koike-character-design physique, the fact that his race is conspicuously redacted on his bail sheet… and his seeming immunity to death. Seriously, bro crashes every single thing he drives in the whole movie, then emerges unscathed with just a fiery flash of the eyes – that ain’t normal. If I had to wildly speculate, and I do, I’d put money that he’s somehow linked to Mikuru and the Giant species, as seen in Trava: Fist Planet. The physique matches, the Giants have displayed some preternatural healing abilities, and Trava lays the groundwork for a few other threads in Redline (namely, the existence of bioweapons and Shinkai & Trava’s past military experience), so there’s precedence. Maybe one day we’ll find out for sure…

–We all know and love Funky Boy thanks to the Roboworld president’s endless tirades. But the giant data-motivated crocodile monster Volton fuses with to engage Funky Boy in thrilling combat? She is a lady, and her name is Wire Girl.

–All of Redline’s vehicle and mechanical designs are nuts – they’re insanely complicated and filled with organic curves and details. Despite the immense difficulty of keeping such complex designs consistent, every mechanical shot is hand-drawn, without the aid of any CG. To help the animators stay on-target while drawing, the team made some sweet-ass production models for them to reference. What I wouldn’t give to own one of these…

–Before deciding on Redline being a film, writer Katsuhito Ishii and director Takeshi Koike considered making a TV series. Initial writers’ meetings saw the team fleshing out a comprehensive story bible about the setting: it included not only a wide-scope view of the universe and its history, but also detailed backstories for each racer. Even after deciding to make a feature film, Redline’s initial script gave each racer as much time and focus as the final cut gives to JP & Sonoshee; all of this was, unfortunately, cut for time. According to Ishii, though, much of this ancillary information made it into the novelization…

one day my Japanese will be good enough to read you ;_;

–Confused about why the movie ends with that sparkly, PowerPoint-ass ~LOVE~? Well, you shouldn’t be – Redline is ‘unabashedly dumb’, after all, per Ishii – but there is a little context. Over the course of the movie’s 7-year production, Koike and Yukiko (a producer on the film) fell in love, tying the knot in Switzerland just before Redline’s world premiere. If that doesn’t justify the ending for you, I don’t know what could.

–This isn't trivia but idk where else to put this stupid-ass Lynchman meme I made

Subtext you may have missed on first watch

–Machine Head is Sonoshee's estranged father?!

Crazy, I know, but hear me out.

First of all, Redline unambiguously shows the viewer that Sonoshee and Machine Head have some sort of pre-existing relationship, the nature of which isn’t explicitly clarified.

At the Oasis restaurant, Sonoshee tells JP she's waiting for someone; it may sound like she's simply brushing him off, but the moment Machine Head enters the scene, Sonoshee perks up and waves to him. When the Crab Sonoshee is flipped by missile fire during the Redline race, we get exactly two (2) Dramatic Anime Freezeframes: JP and Machine Head, implying those two, out of everyone, care the most about Sonoshee. During the final stretch of the race, as Machine Head prepares to pop his steamlight, he is not only aware that Sonoshee also has one, he taunts her about it:

“I see you still have your steamlight – got the guts to use it this time?”

JP even draws attention to the fact that Sonoshee’s looks identical to Tetsujin’s. Finally, though this is certainly ancillary, it is interesting to note that the exact moment Godwing loses its structural stability is right after JP declares he’s going to win because he, not Machine Head, has Sonoshee at his side.

So let’s line this up with what backstory we definitively know. As stated above, Sonoshee is a human / Oceanic hybrid; Machine Head, though his body has been modified beyond recognition, is referred to the same way. While talking to JP about the steamlight, Sonoshee says her father is the one that gave it to her, then describes him as a skilled racer who ran a junk joint. In that same conversation, when JP suggests she’s too focused on racing at the expense of personal relationships, she bristles and tries to end the conversation. During the flashback of young Sonoshee racing, her reaction to crashing is intense: she’s clearly holding herself to a higher standard, and is already dead set on racing in the Redline someday.

Now, there’s other plausible explanations for all this; maybe there’s just a romantic entanglement between Sonoshee and Machine Head, with JP barging in as the third vertex of a love triangle. But is that the most likely scenario for two people constantly characterized as putting racing before any personal matters?

No, I think Machine Head is Sonoshee’s father.

Picture it: Machine Head raised Sonoshee at his junk joint, so she grew up around racing and car modification. After seeing success on the circuits, Machine Head stopped being content with mere victory, and started spending all his time and energy modifying his body, pushing himself farther and farther. Sonoshee, feeling neglected and cast aside, turned to racing, seeing it as the only way to get her father’s attention. This lead to her perfectionism complex; if she’s not the very best, why would the King of Kings ever look her way?

Anyway, while it’s not confirmed in the text, I think there’s so many hints it might as well be. It makes JP and Sonoshee’s romance a lot more interesting, too. Their arc isn’t just two people falling in love, it’s about Sonoshee moving past the trauma of her father’s emotional abandonment and opening up to someone new. After JP explains his match fixing history in the climax, Sonoshee isn’t placated because he told the truth, she’s fired up seeing the strength of JP and Frisbee’s friendship: she sees the folly of chasing approval from her absent father, and that she could instead be forming bonds with friends who support her unconditionally. She can race for herself.

Koike and Ishii said Redline is about adult friendships, after all!

pictured: the most romantic kiss in cinema history

–The Redline race is, in fact, underhanded political maneuvering

Now, this one is sorta just The Plot Of The Movie, but I feel like there’s so much going on in Redline people often don’t connect these dots.

We all laugh at the Roboworld president’s hammy word salad:

“I wonder if this might be some kind of ploy by our enemies to infiltrate our borders. If that’s true, do you realize Roboworld’s military secrets could be at risk here? We’d be exposed!!”

…but he’s… kinda right, though?

At the time of the movie, the M3 Nebula has just emerged from two devastating interplanetary wars. The galaxy’s superpowers are under a tenuous peace agreement – one of the most important stipulations of which is a ban on the use and development of “bioweapons”, which in the Redline universe are less ‘weaponized bacterial strains’ and more ‘gargantuan synthetic monsters that can be deployed to wreak unthinkable destruction’. Despite this ban, the government of Roboworld has been continuing with bioweapon development unabated… and not only does Planet Supergrass seem to be aware of these violations, it really seems like they’re leveraging all their soft power to expose them.

Now, we know Supergrass is generally involved with the Redline final. As a member of the Redline Committee, they have a reason to be involved; they’re helping out with nuts & bolts logistical stuff, like transporting the racers to the course and prepping the finish line. But when you consider the significant, tangible political blows dealt to Roboworld by the race – Funky Boy and Wire Girl’s presumed destruction, Roboworld’s violation of the bioweapon treaty being broadly exposed to the public, the decimation of Roboworld’s military – the long string of coincidences that got us to that point start to seem a little suspicious.

Who pushed for the Redline final to be held on such a hostile planet? Who knew about Roboworld’s experimental orbital laser cannon – a project so tightly under wraps even their president only learns about it during the race – and hired contractors to sabotage it? Who organized a group of malcontents to attack both Roboworld’s power relay station and Funky Boy’s containment creche, right when such disruptions would be the most impactful? And who decided the race’s crucial middle stretch should go right over the restricted military zone housing said creche?

Supergrass has the motive and the means – plus, the race is already illegal, so what can Roboworld do, sue them about it? No sir, that Princess is on some subterfuge shit, and Secretary Titan, that shady fuck, is her inside man. And you can take that to the bank.

Craving more REDLINE?

Unfortunately, due to the movie’s commercial failure, there’s not much else in the franchise. The Redline production pilot is fucking sick, though, and there’s Trava: Fist Planet, an OVA by Koike & Ishii that predates Redline and focuses on Trava and Shinkai’s misadventures. While Trava never got the continuation it deserved, they did make a trailer for season 2... ahh, what could have been.

youtube

If you’re just after more of Takeshi Koike’s mind-blowing animation, there’s only a scant few projects in his trademark black-filled style. His most well-known work is probably the Samurai Champloo OP, or maybe World Record from The Animatrix (can’t find a link for that one, but y’know, do your thing). Koike also contributed animation to two other Ishii films: an extended intro for Party 7, and this aggressively horny dance sequence for Funky Forest. Back at Madhouse, it seems the studio liked to use Koike as a bait-and-switch, letting him direct lavish production pilots to secure adaptation rights then switching the staff up for the full production. Feels kind of scummy, but we got the immense Afro Samurai Pilot and Iron Man Pilot out of it. Finally, he made the series of Love shorts for SMAPxSMAP, the SMAP variety show, which are as dope as they are low-res.

dailymotion

I really wanna know if Koike was the one ballin out to CYNE and Gang Starr for this

—

And finally, as I threatened in my last post about Redline: let’s talk thematic depth.

~Thematic Depth~

In conversations online, Redline is often given this caveat of just being ‘eye candy’, or hit with the classic ‘style over substance’ cliche. Now, the phrase ‘style over substance’ has always bothered me, generally – it feels like it comes from folks who have never tried to make art before, who make light of the painstaking work and dedication that goes into creating anything – but it particularly frustrates me in animation. The process of animation is such an absurd, masochistic timesink that it’s a wonder anything ever gets finished at all; something this ambitious being finished, with this level of consistency and polish, is nothing short of a miracle, and to simply call that ‘style’ massively undervalues the whole endeavor.

Because, make no mistake, Redline is ambitious as hell from a visual standpoint. The consistent focus on kinetic motion and speed, buoyed by Koike’s masterful use of exaggerated perspective, spatial distortion, and dynamic camera work; lots of moving, hand-drawn backgrounds instead of matte pans; lively crowd animation in most scenes; remarkably expressive, constant character animation that imbues personality to every character and never settles for industry standard lip flap dialogue… and all of this using incredibly complex character & mechanical designs, many of which feature distinct alien physiology, and a rendering style with bold, detailed shadows that would be more at home in illustration than animation. It is truly a singular work.

And the thing is, that wild ambition and unfailing dedication to the craft is the message.

The very first moments of Redline, before we see a single car or alien, are a brief series of title cards. I think most first-time viewers, and even many repeat viewers, immediately forget these words seconds after reading them due to the famously high-octane opening act. They read:

“In the far distant future, when cars are giving up their wheels in the changeover to air-cars, there still exist stubborn fools who carry on a vanishing spirit of racing…”

It’s easy to pass over this narration because, well, Redline simply isn’t about this conflict. We don’t see a single air-car racer, and there is no on-screen depiction of this purported old-school / new-school racing divide. So why is it here?

Because it’s the thesis of the whole damn project. Redline is about a group of old-school animation industry vets coming to terms with a changed industry that doesn’t support the type of art they want to create anymore, and their determination to pour their hearts into one last, stupid, beautiful swan song.

Madhouse was founded in 1972 by a group of ex-Mushi Pro staff, including Masao Maruyama and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. A response to Mushi Pro’s shoestring budgets and spartan timelines, the goal of studio Madhouse was to create production schedules where animators could flourish, rather than choosing the cheaper route; as Maruyama puts it, their mission statement was to ‘create animation other people aren’t interested in creating’. And, well, for decades, that’s what they did – Madhouse consistently gave a platform to idiosyncratic creators and produced incredible results. Their film canon includes pivotal productions like Kawajiri’s Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, Rintaro’s Metropolis, every single Satoshi Kon production from Perfect Blue to Paprika, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, the film that launched Mamoru Hosoda into stardom. While their TV output might be seen as more workmanlike, they were still dedicated to creating original stories. For example, despite his proven track record, Masaaki Yuasa was unable to secure funding and creative freedom anywhere else but Madhouse, with whom he produced Kemonozume, Kaiba, and The Tatami Galaxy prior to the establishment of Science Saru.

Takeshi Koike’s formative years as an animator were during this golden era of Madhouse. Poached directly out of high school by Yoshiaki Kawajiri himself, Koike was taken under his wing – his first job as a professional animator was inbetweening for Wicked City, and he’d moved up to key animation roles just one year later. I think Kawajiri’s intent was for Koike to be his protege; in this boom era of animation, with high-budget feature films and OVAs as the de facto standard, creative vision and a unique style is what you’d look for in an up-and-coming director, and Koike had both of these in spades. For a time, this pathway seemed almost assured; Koike’s big-league directing debut on The Animatrix produced one of its most well-received shorts, even amidst an anthology stacked with superstar creative talent.

Kawajiri & Koike's (adorable) shared office circa 2002

Unfortunately, the turn of the millennium brought a lot of change for Madhouse and the industry at large. Budgets shrank, and production schedules started trending towards today’s unsustainable nightmare grind. CGI became ubiquitous not for the unique shots and compositions it allows for, but as a corner-cutting method for complicated actors like vehicles or mechas. A certain homogeneity and tendency toward ‘safe’, appealing designs and premises took hold; what good is your off-the-wall, creative worldbuilding idea when the anime industry revolves around merch sales, and generic moe waifus are outselling your original IP ten-to-one? All these industry vets could see the writing on the wall: animation would survive, but things were changing, and the ideals they’d founded their studio around were becoming untenable.

So I genuinely believe Redline is a parting shot from the old guard, a celebration of the era of the industry they cut their teeth on, one last lush, extravagant farewell before they passed the torch to the next generation. Maybe not from the start, sure, but after years of troubled development, progressing slowly due to the team’s meticulous vision, I think they rallied around the cause, dead set on making a masterwork, no matter what. Just look at the talent they attracted, the staff list reads like a best-of: Shinya Ohira, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Sushio, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Sayo Yamamoto, Katsuya Yamada, Takafumi Hori.

And that’s where we come back to that opening message, about those stubborn fools. Suddenly, that movie chock-full of characters putting everything on the line for their passions feels a lot more personal. Koike is JP, the traditional [animation / racing ] purist who’s become an anachronism and just wants to be able to do things his way; Kawajiri as the God of Racing, who JP’s looked up to since he was younger, giving him one last thumbs as he achieves his goals; and Maruyama as Frisbee, putting his livelihood in danger to buy his team the time and money they need for one last gig, who wants to see his friend finish the damn thing on his own terms, just this once.

In a way, it makes it heartbreaking that Redline performed financially as poorly as it did; Japan’s frosty reception to the movie is at such odds with the fervor of its creators. But you know what? Redline exists, and it exists without compromises. They did what they set out to do. They made it across that finish line.

—

#will's media thoughts / virtual brain repository #redline #redline anime #takeshi koike #madhouse #long post #anime #redline 2009 #movies

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creatingblackcharacters · 11 days ago

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hi!! I'm writing a story in which the main character, who is Black (coded? it's a furry/anthro story so idk the right term lol), waking from a month long coma post brain surgery. I read a post forever ago about a doctor who braided(/cornrowed?) his Black patient's hair so they didn't have to shave half her head for surgery, and I guess I'm wondering if that would be a cool detail to add to my character! and would it make sense for them to keep the braids/cornrows afterwards, try to maintain them as a happy memory in all the chaos since (since the story is apocalyptic). how long would they be able to keep the hairstyle as well, and when would they have to redo the style?

I remember this one!

A lot of doctors don't know how to even correctly treat the pain of Black patients properly, let alone consider their emotional needs. Imagine waking up and having to cut all your hair off when you woke up from brain trauma because the nonblack caretakers didn't bother to at least detangle it and let it mat up as you lay there. So now you've been traumatized AND you gotta deal with that (oh God, what if they pull your hair on your sensitive, pained scalp trying to dress the wound, I'd piss myself). Black doctors matter! So yeah, personally I think it'd be more heartwarming if the doctor or nurse was ALSO Black-coded.

I've known people who went from braids into locs or freeformed with it; if it meant that much to keep them, they could do that? The ends would just be braids and the roots and growth henceforth would be locked. The braided ends might unravel some after a bit but... Memories?

But the roots are certainly gonna start showing after at least a month, maybe less if their hair grows fast. Plus with wanting to wash it bc day to day life... Longest I'd go before undoing braids would be a month and a half, and that's pushing it. I don't think the ones he gave this patient were super long, crafted braids meant to last, just good and functional enough to keep her hair out of the way during care.

(how do we have the means for good healthcare AND haircare in the apocalypse? That's another thing I'd ask.)

#creatingblackcharacters #thatsjusttips #black doctors #black characters

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doodlebeeberry · 8 months ago

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It's OSC gift exchange number 4, baby!!

Thats right folks!!! once again so so excited to host the gift exchange, hopefully itll be yet another fun one! :D

doing things slightly differently this year: if you wanna join you can just fill out this google form! You can also still join by replying/reblogging/dming me with what you'd like if you prefer to do it that way though.

Rules, dates, and details are all under the cut (and also in the form), please read them through fully before joining!!!

Entries close November 28th at midnight (est)!

For those not in the know, the gift exchange is just what is sounds like! Upon joining, you tell me what you like to see in you gift. After, you'll be randomly assigned a giftee, and will make a gift for them based on what they've requested. When the day comes, you'll post your gift and @ the person it's for!

The timeline this year looks like this:

Nov. 7-Nov. 28: Join the gift exchange by filling out this form, dm-ing me, replying, or tagging this post with what you'd like to receive. You can ask for anything--shows, ships, ocs, whatever! Additionally, if there's anything you dont want to see or can't make (ie, ships that make you uncomfortable), you can make a note of that as well

Dec. 1: I'll let you know who you've been assigned and what they'd like! This'll most likely be done through tumblr dms, so if that's an issue do let me know!

Dec. 1-30: You make your gift! This can be anything, from art to writing to music and more! so long as you follow your giftee's request, the possibilities are endless!

Dec. 31: Post your gift, being sure to @ the person its from! Please do not post your gift before this date!!!

Some other things to note:

You can request anything--shows, characters, ships, etc--just please make sure they are osc related! it is an osc gift exchange after all

Asking for OCs is very much allowed, just be sure to provide me with a reference when you join

in regards to things you can't do, please do note that "i haven't seen x show so i wont do it" or "i'll only do requests for x show" are not being treated as valid requests in this context, so i won't guarantee them. also please remember that giftees are assigned randomly.

If your giftee requests more than one thing, you aren't obligated to fulfill all of their requests if you don't want to. Just be sure to do one of them and you're good!

If you need to drop out for any reason, that is completely ok, it happens! just please be sure to let me know ahead of time so I can re-assign your giftee!

On that note, if you have reason to believe you will be unavailable or otherwise unable to post your gift on the 31st, please be sure to tell me so we can work something out! Additionally, if you can't reach out on tumblr (say, your blog gets deleted) you can also poke me on bluesky (@ bumblebeeberry) or discord (thatonegaycat) about it

You can not join anonymously! I just don't think it'd fair to your giftee

While I highly doubt I will need to, I can bar you from participating if I deem it necessary. Again, unlikely, but in the off-chance it does happen I will message you to let you know, pretty please do not yell at me if I do

Not a requirement but when I send you your giftee if you could just let me know you saw the message i would greatly appreciate it!

As per usual I'll be tagging everything with #osc gift exchange, feel free to use it on your gift as well!

That's it! if you have any questions, comments, notes, what have you, please don't hesitate to dm me! :]

#yippie!!! opening it early this year cause i wanna #went with both joining options also cause i wanna. also cause i want folks to have as many options as possible yk #apologies for the tag spam here #osc #object show community #osc gift exchange #object oc #bfdi #bfb #tpot #ii #inanimate insanity #hfjone #itft #bfdia #what other show tags do people use these days #animatic battle #tdos #burner osc

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gachagon · 5 months ago

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The recent chapter of Blue Lock with Ness really reminds me of when Bachira first came to the realization that he was being left behind by Isagi, and that if he didn't find a new way to become useful soon than their whole rivalry would just come to an end because there'd be no point in "competing" with someone who's so clearly better than you.

Back then, Isagi had left Bachira for Rin, and now we see the dynamic from an entirely new relationship. Kaiser has "left" Ness behind for Isagi.

Though I think we will see things play out very differently than before. Instead of Ness evolving on his own, I feel like he will just be left behind here instead of proving himself to be useful. Or he will make a mistake and cost everyone the game somehow.

In my honest opinion, I think Ness' issue isn't that he lacks an ego but rather that he lacks motivation outside of Kaiser. He doesn't actually know what he would do if he didn't have Kaiser with him, he can't really picture himself making plays if Kaiser's not there. In a way, I think Ness only feels his own ego when he is with Kaiser.

Kaiser is his drive and motivation and in a way, Kaiser is Ness' "ego". He's the reason Ness feels confident in his ability to play, he has no real reason to play soccer if he can't play soccer with Kaiser.

We've all wondered who was going to initiate this break up first, I just didn't think it'd be Kaiser who would cut these strings off T_T It stands to reason then that the thing that Ness would need to grow isn't to be so unhealthily attached to someone else.

I've long since theorized that Ness' character arc is tied to the whole "scientific method" and science motif of his backstory, I've always thought it'd be cool if he adopted the abusive, clinical science nature of his household in his own way of playing soccer. And I think it'd be good for him because the person he admires the most did the same thing in a way.

Kaiser turned the blue rose from a constant reminder of his terrible childhood into a sign that he could make the impossible, possible. And in this very same match, we can see that the rose has been replaced with the actual crown on his hand instead, it's still an egotistical symbol but it's still a reference to his own past in a way.

During the scientific method, you have to "fail" first before you can succeed. And it's normal to have many wrong theories before you come to the right conclusion. So, I think Ness has to "fail" a lot before he succeeds here.

I also just think it'd be more interesting that way because if we get the cookie cutter "I'm going to suddenly find my own ego here and now!" thing that we've gotten for every other side character, I think it'd cheapen Ness' potential. The match has dragged on really long too so I think next chapter, we will either get Ness "failing" again and coming to the realization that he can't be so dependent on others anymore, or Ness will suddenly "gain an ego!" and it'll just be a repeat of past arcs (which I'm hoping isn't the case T_T)

#bllk #blue lock spoiler #blue lock manga spoilers #bllk manga spoilers #ness alexis #isagi yoichi #micheal kaiser #kainess #kaisagi #its been a while since I've made a bllk meta #bllk meta

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on-a-lucky-tide · 3 months ago

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I ken she isn't a character you typically focus on, but my curiosity is biting ma baws so I may as well ask just in case.

What do you think of the dynamic between Kate and John? And possibly the dynamic between her and Nikolai. Apologies, I ken there's about a bawhair of dialogue to work with on Kate and Nik but you're smart and I'd trust that if you do have an answer, then it'd intrigue me.

If you don't, fair enough, I completely get why. I'm just, to my core, a nosey bugger. And I fear an obvious one because Christ, the way I type isn't subtle and it really fucks the anonymity bit of this, I just cannae be fucked asking on my main blog.

I think their dynamic is pretty great but obviously complicated by the fact they're working for, and loyal to, different nations. Until very recently, UK and US geopolitics has been pretty aligned. I think John and Kate, if they existed today, would be struggling like fuck with how the rest of the world is turning its back on the US. All of Kate's avenues of information are being cut, MI5 and MI6 view the US as a liability, etc.

But, anyways, in fiction! First meeting and I think Kate probably thought "aw an upstart baby", because Baby Price with his shaven chin and serious eyes probably looked comical to someone who had a twelve year headstart on him. And then he proved himself to be a truly formidable operator, she realised she needed to build a strong link; he was clearly brilliantly intelligent and also gay as fuck ("aw repressed gay murder kitten").

It started off as a relationship of necessity. Then they shared a whiskey and a smoke after a particularly grizzly op, and it snowballed into actual friendship. John did wacky shit like use a gorilla costume as a decoy, and wasn't afraid to bend, and sometimes completely break, the rules. She liked that. He's smart, witty, funny, and so is she. If he was a woman, he'd be her wife. Luckily, she found someone just as good, but without John's temper and fixation on duty (read: someone healthier), so he gets "best friend" instead.

It's still characterised by their roles though. Sometimes Kate has to keep things from John and she hates it. But it's just the way it is. She hates it when their mission objectives don't align, she hates it when she can't provide him all the intel because she just doesn't know, and the fact that he'll go in anyway... Sometimes she wants to choke him with her bare hands. She'll take his growls and his snarls when he's frustrated because she knows it's coming from a place of deeply seated duty, an honour code that pushes him constantly forwards.

John is loyal to Laswell as much as you can be to a foreign agent; again, there are just some things he needs to keep to himself. He'll go in and risk his neck to save her arse. He respects her highly, would follow her into the maw of hell if needed. Over the years, he's started to see her and her wife as part of his extended family. I think he's probably slept on their couch while injured a few times. I wrote "Kicked Into Touch" initially because I wanted to write that domestic time between them. John values Laswell's opinion of him and he enjoys sharing hobbies/time with her outside of work. He's been to BBQs, the occasional family function; she'll likely officiate his wedding to Nikolai.

Speaking of Nik, I think Laswell adores him and him her, even though he finds her exasperating. "Why do you want to go there you crazy woman, what is--fine." He doesn't understand the American mind, probably finds it more than occasionally frustrating, but he knows Laswell is good and just, working within a straight jacket as best she can. She's not your standard, cookie cutter capitalist. She finds him eccentric but brilliant. She knows she can count on him to achieve the impossible in most situations; acquiring specific weapons, flying into hostile territory, accessing the inaccessible meetings and gangs. Nik is one of her greatest assets.

It was Laswell that gave MI6 the idea to use John to get Nik to turn. She had known Nik for a while by that point as a potential informant but her guys had failed to entice him over. Their offers just weren't hitting the mark; he didn't trust them. She had enough intel to know he was gay, and in an exceptionally vulnerable situation, so she had to play it carefully. Honeypotting him outright was cruel and it would only damage the working relationship later on. She needed someone that sat in the niche of hot and interesting, but not a blatant appeal to his prick.

She told MI6 to put Baby Blue himself right in Nik's path; intense, honest, brave and handsome in a unique, roguish kind of way. Laswell knew the way John spoke, the way he carried himself, his expressive face, would hook their Russian in. So when Price turned to Nik in the bar and said, "Come work with me, Nikolai. We'll change the world", Nik damn well believed him.

#asks #captain john price #kate laswell #cod nikolai #sorry this got rambly mate

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huskyscc · 3 months ago

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Jenna x female reader

Jenna has had a bad day on set and all she wants to do is see reader. When she gets home reader comforts her and tries to cheer her up. Jenna does get in a better mood after reader comforts her while she vents about her day. Then they go to bed and cuddles on their bed while watching movies!

Just want some Jenna fluff because I’m not seeing much recently.

I hope you have a good day bye!

a/n: yesyesyes of course omg i love fluff!! hope you also have a good day sweetheart 🫶! and please forgive me for how long this took to get out I've had quite a week so far and i'm trying to get another req done by at least Sunday!!

puppy love

pairings - jenna ortega x fem!reader

wc - 2200+ (not proofread)

warnings - none !!

summary - after a dreadful, prolonged day on set, all Jenna wants is to be with you.

masterlist

It was tiring, being on set for more than half the day and putting herself out there; but it was worse because she was separated from you for so long and barely got time with you.

Jenna was having an off day on set. she kept messing up her lines or stumbling over her own words, or forgetting what to do at a certain point of time.

"And I wouldn't- wait, I would..?" Jenna muttered, her voice weak as she messed up her line. "Cut!" Tim said, frustrated. This was the 8th take of the same scene.

"I'm gone a day, the room gets trashed and Thing is nearly murdered-" Emma spoke in character, only to cut herself off, confusion shadowing her gaze as she looked at a zoned out Jenna. "Uhh... Jenna?" she muttered.

Fuck.

Jenna cursed herself beneath her breath, forgetting to do as she needed to because she zoned out. how stupid of her.

currently, Jenna was sitting at a table with the rest of the Wednesday cast, her mind wandering as she paid no mind to the presentation in front of her.

her leg bounced subconsciously whilst she pondered, humming quietly to herself. she missed you. it had been a long and stressful day already.

she missed your soft voice and how she could play with your hair, and how you'd smile when-

"Jenna!" a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. she glanced up, frowning in regret as she winced back slightly from Tim's voice.

he gave a small shake of his head before resuming his speech with the rest of the cast, his eyes roaming around.

Jenna gave a soft sigh, her shoulders drooping. She was tired, exhausted, even. her eyes were practically closed, her eyelids hooded as she gave a small huff.

Emma looked to her, giving a small, puzzled frown. "you okay?" she whispered, her eyes gleaming with genuine concern at Jenna's figure and her weary appearance.

Jenna looked at her with a slow shake of her head. "I wanna be home with y/n. i'm exhausted and it's already 8-" she started in a compacted whisper, looking at Tim hesitantly as to not be caught.

she felt like a kid in school trying not to get caught cheating.

Emma's face now plastered with remorse, took her phone out and checked the time. "we should be leaving soon.." she murmured back to Jenna with a hint of hope in her gaze, hoping it'd lift her spirits.

Jenna's eyes sparkled momentarily, but just as fast as it had come, it had gone. "hopefully." she muttered as Tim wrapped up his conversation.

"that's a wrap for the day. i'll see you guys tomorrow," Tim said as he turned to the projector, disconnecting his computer. Jenna all but leaped out of her chair, rushing to the door to leave.

Emma called out a bye to her, barely audible upon Jenna's ears as she turned and gave a quick wave before hurrying to her car. she fumbled with her keys for a moment before getting them to finally unlock her car, rushing into the driver's seat as she got her phone out.

"I missed you alllll day. I'm on my way home"

Jenna sent the quick, heartfelt message before setting her phone aside, buckling herself in as she drove back home after her draining day.

you hearted Jenna's message, but you didn't respond. you knew she was driving, so why answer and put your beautiful girlfriend at risk? you finished putting up the last of the dishes before folding a blanket nearby.

you settled into the couch, eagerly checking Jenna's location every other minute as you waited for her to be home at last. you turned to the TV with a small hum, your eyes fixated on the bright screen.

it took you a moment to register the click of the door, blinking as you processed it. you heard familiar keys on the other side and turned with a grin, hopping off the couch as you balled your hands into a fist just above your chest.

as the door opened, you saw your girlfriend for the first time that whole day. she had left super early in the morning before you woke up, claiming she 'didn't want to disturb your beauty sleep.'

you threw yourself onto her, hugging her tightly as you released all your pent up emotions into the hug. it took you a moment to realize that Jenna wasn't reciprocating as usual, and you took a step back.

you give her a weak, feeble smile before you take her bags from her hands, setting them on the carpet in the living room before turning back around to see her slumping into the couch. you crawled into the couch right beside her, leaving some respectable room between the two of you.

you took in her hooded eyes and her quiet demeanor, unlike her usual contrasted self. you felt a small squeeze in your chest of confusion, but only scooted closer to her with a curious gaze. "baby?" you murmured.

Jenna gave a long exhale, as if trying to recollect herself before she turned to you with an attempt of a smile. "hi, sweet girl." she whispered back softly, her eyes softened compared to the weary expression just moments ago.

you crawl up beside her, glancing up at her with a curious gaze as you took in her expression. you could read Jenna like a book, and you knew she wasn't upset with you. well, at least you hoped. she seemed upset as soon as she walked through the door, and you knew it was probably from work.

"you seem tired," you commentated quietly as you tilt your head a bit to get a better glance at her face. she turned to you with a tiny chuckle, her dimples evident. "is it that obvious?" she says as she moves her fingers to rub her eyes.

you nodded with a wince, humming thoughtfully as you wondered for a moment. "what's wrong?" you asked as you take the folded blanket from earlier and drape it over the two of you.

she gives a small huff of annoyance, and you give a frown of apology for asking. she notices, shaking her head at your attempted apology. "nono, i'm not... frustrated with you. I just had an exhausting day on set." she started with a small pinch at the bridge of her nose.

you move her hand away, intertwining it with yours as you kept your gaze steady on her to show her that you were listening to her. Jenna gave a toothy smile of gratitude before moving her gaze down to her shoes, no words leaving her lips.

you squeeze her hand in a way of acknowledgment and knowing, trying to tell her that you were there to comfort her and listen to whatever was bothering her. "what was so bad about it?" you inquired, hoping to get an answer from her and get some tension released from her shoulders.

"I just kept stumbling over my own words and I kept forgetting to focus when cameras were rolling. it's like I couldn't focus, today! I don't even know why." she frowned, her body heavily strained. you give her a small hum of concentration to her words, encouraging her to go on.

"and it just felt like it wasn't... me. i don't usually mess up, I recover. but it's like I couldn't today. like, I was missing something." she sighed. "or... someone." she said with a suggestive glare to you before moving her glare up to the plain ceiling. you nod in understanding. "you missed me?" you asked.

"of course I did, I barely got to see you today. or any day, I don't get to spend much time with you anymore because of work and I know that it's frustrating but it's especially unfair to you and I don't want you to think I love you any less because-"

you listened to her ramble of every little thing that stormed her thoughts, letting her get her words out. when you noticed how her breathing seemed to become more staggered and her jaw tensed, you leaned in and captured her lips in a quick yet affectionate kiss.

Jenna looked at you with a puzzled gaze, her eyes full of confusion as she glanced at you. "you were rambling and getting overstimulated, by the looks of it." you told her with a small smile before kissing her hand once.

she gave you a grateful look, her eyes softening. she knew that you could read her like an open page, words written out for you to read and everything. she'd never purposely try to conceal her feelings from you, she never had to. you just... knew. better than she did, sometimes, which was impressive - to admit.

"I just missed you. all day. and it was a bad day on set and I just... wanted to be home with you." she said in one final breath, her gaze soft as she seemed to sink into the couch cushion.

you crawl closer to her, your knee stirring against hers momentarily. "well, you're home now, baby." you breathe out softly as you take in her appearance. you rub some smeared mascara from beneath her eyelid, kissing her cheek once.

"and I missed you, too. I was waiting for you to come home!" you say, trying to match emotion-wise. she gave a grin at your words, chuckling softly at you before opening her arms. you buried yourself into her with a hum.

"you should shower and then come lay down." you say, commentating on the faint smell of sweat lingering on her body that you over exaggerated with a scrunch of your nose and a dramatic cough. "no offense," you say.

Jenna laughed. "none taken. I do kinda smell." she says before shifting to sit up, giving you one more kiss before getting up and offering her hand to help you. you smiled before taking it, now standing beside her.

"shower, then we can cuddle." you say in a soft tone, your eyes slightly narrowing in admiration. you adored Jenna, after all. the hard work she put in consistently had to be draining, and you knew that she loved you. she just had a lot on her plate and you respected that.Jenna nodded, turning to the bathroom to take a shower.

with the bedroom empty, you took the opportunity to scroll onto Netflix and look at some movies, browsing your options. of course, you wouldn't choose one until Jenna returned, but it was nice to see what options they had.

you flipped onto your tummy, grabbing the neatly folded heavy blanket at the edge of the bed before you stand, dressing the bed with the familiar cover before you get up and walk to the kitchen.

you figured Jenna didn't have a big dinner, she never really did when she was stressed. you cut up some kiwis and strawberries, slipping some popcorn on the side. yeah, it wasn't the healthiest, but Jenna enjoyed it and you knew that.

you went back into the room, placing the bowl of food on the nearby night shelf before you scramble beneath the blanket to find a comfortable spot. you shuffled around for a moment longer before you hear the shower turn off, the water coming to a stop.

you lift your head, waiting quietly in the familiar dim light of the shared bedroom as you say against the headrest. Jenna came out with a towel wrapped around her. you toss her a sweatshirt of yours before turning, giving her privacy to change.

Jenna gave herself a small smile once changed, humming to let you know that she was done before she crawled beside you into the shared bed. "do I smell better?" she joked with a light poke at your side, evoking a giggle from you.

you turned, grabbing the remote as you pointed to the TV. "I figured we could wind down and watch a movie...? I cut you up some kiwis and got you some popcorn, too." you offer as you grabbed the bowl of arranged goods, handing it to her.

her eyes softened with admiration as she realized how hungry she was. "it's like you know me better than myself." she said as her stomach growled in agreement before she shifted to sit against the bedrest and glanced at the TV.

"anything specific?" you asked, to which she hummed. "no, you can choose." she said in a soft breath as she turned to nuzzle into the side of your neck. you clicked on a random Marvel movie, the intro playing in the room.

you bask in the moment you had in hand. Jenna curled up beside you, cleaner and a lot better smelling than previously, and a movie playing. you took in a soft breath, breathing in contentment before you lower yourself a bit.

whilst the movie played, you thought Jenna had fallen asleep. she almost did, but she had one more thing to say before doing so. you heard the faint yet familiar mumble of her words that you loved oh so much.

"I love you."

it was a faint mumble against your neck, her breath tickling your skin before you turn to glance at her sleepy expression. you place a kiss on her head as you spoke back to her in a soft voice.

"I love you." you reciprocated.

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lilhwahwa · 1 year ago

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ATEEZ Reaction: You can't fall asleep (Yungi. ver)

★|•°∵ Scenario: Your boyfriend reacts to you not being able to fall asleep.

★|•°∵ Idolbf!yungi x nonidol!reader

{PICS NOT MINE / FROM PINTEREST}

MASTERLIST

Yunho

Yunho made sure to spend well deserved time together this holiday season by inviting you over to the dorms. Most members had gone home to visit their families and he had the big apartment to himself. He prepared a cozy atmosphere by cleaning, preparing food and activities (you both just ended up eating junk food on the couch and watching a movie). After Yunho noticed you getting sleepy, he suggested going to bed and you agreed. Although you wished to stay up just a little later your body was drained from working and his bed was inviting you in with its fluffy blanket. Yunho asked if it would be okay for him to join Yeosang for a game and since you thought you'd fall asleep anyway, you agreed. Besides, watching him play was always entertaining.

After the initial twenty minutes you expected it would take you to fall asleep, you open your eyes with a sigh and began scanning small details on the ceiling of Yunho's room. The keyboard buttons moved quickly as Yunho's long fingers skilfully worked his character around. You sigh again and twist onto your side in frustration, hoping to find the exhaustion you felt just a while ago. Your mind couldn't formulate thoughts and begged you for sleep but your body just didn't comply.

Yunho had headphones on so you assumed he wouldn't hear you huffing and turning. You hug the blanket closer to your body and try to focus on a scenario playing in your head only to not get anywhere. Once a scenario made it to your head, it was replaced by the fact that you can't sleep and it'd go in loops, sabotaging itself.

You gasp from surprise when you feel a hand slide over your side and wrap around your torso. You look up to see Yunho hovering above you.

"Baby, am I being too loud?" He asked with a small pout, looking for an answer as he scans the frustation in your tired eyes. His fingers draw small circles on your tummy and you suddenly feel relaxed. Is his touch all it takes?

"No, I just thought I could sleep but I- it's just not coming to me" you sigh just as a yawn leaves you.

"Then..." he thinks before swiftly leaving your side without another word. You plop yourself up on your elbows to watch as he shuts his computer off and you immediately want to protest. You didn't want him to interrupt his gaming session.

"I know what you will say, I want to sleep now" Yunho cuts you thoughts short before you can protest. He slides into bed behind you and immediately stretches his long arms out to pull you closer into his body. You turn to face him and bury your nose in his shirt.

"You could've kept playing" you grumbled

"But I'd rather lay with you" he chuckled, leaning down to press a kiss to your temple. "Especially since you can't even seem to sleep without me" he adds teasingly knowing you'd roll your eyes if they were open. He finds your noises of protest adorable and shifts deeper into his pillow to get comfortable.

"Good night baby"

Mingi

You got it, really. It wasn't your first rodeo.

Mingi was a hard worker, perfectionist in anything he did and being in a group only seemed to push that side of him out more. He wanted to make sure everything was prepared on time and to high standard, which was one of the things you admired about him.

You also admired it when all of his attention was on you. How he'd look at you with shining eyes as if you carried the universe on your shoulders. How his plump lips would shyly but surely pepper kisses over you face. Or how his voice would soothe you as he praised you every other sentence. Which unfortunately, was not on your agenda today.

It was kind of inevitable and you truly understand that he was tired. Him agreeing to watch a movie together even efter finishing tour rehearsals was a generous gesture. Even though exhausted, he invited you to the dorms (after convincing the other grumpy and tired members) to spend at least some time together. You were grateful for the initiative, but couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when not even twenty minutes into the movie, snores escaped his slightly parted, plump lips. His arms that had been holding onto you, were now limp over your body.

Although the warmth of his body behind you on the living room couch was comforting, it was not enough to save the fact that the couch was hard and small. You weren't completely covered with a blanket and the weather had not shown mercy lately. Mingi's limp body also didn't allow you to turn at all so now you were stuck against him, back to chest as he snores. You shiver at the cool air in the room and try to focus on the movie still playing. Maybe the boring contents would make you fall asleep quicker.

You knew that him dozing off so easily like this truly meant he was exhausted and waking him up felt almost blasphemous. You felt shame in bothering a person so tired and so willing to still be with you.

"Can't sleep`?" you snap away from your thoughts as you barely catch the raspy voice mumbling in your ear. "You keep moving" Mingi yawns and lifts his limbs off you to allow your body to finally turn to face him. With an apologetic look on your face you turn, barely able to keep in a sound of endearment as you watch your sleepy boyfriend fighting to open his eyes to check on you.

"Sorry, baby" you whisper and reach out to stroke his flushed cheek, hoping he'd just go back to sleep because you'd feel horrible if he didn't. Mingi reached behind him to the back of the couch where a blanket had been folded over it and lazily unwraps the material to throw it over your bodies.

"Com'ere" he sighs and adjusts for you to lay your head on his chest, holding you safely and securely on the small space of the couch. "Need to make sure you get your beauty sleep" he mumbles and squeezes your body one last time before seemingly slipping off to sleep again, unable to fight it back this time. You smile to yourself and nuzzle closer to him, more comfortable and warm. His breathing calms you as you finally drift off.

#ateez reactions #ateez reaction #ateez scenario #ateez scenarios #ateez fluff #ateez imagines #ateez imagine #mingi #yungo #kpop reaction #mingi fluff #yunho fluff #mingi x reader #yunho x reader

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gouraminnow · 6 months ago

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Shanks anon here and it’s so okay I always love reading your analysis/ the reasoning behind shanks’ character in your yandere fics! It makes your fics feel so real like the characters feel so.. in character when they typically feel ooc in yandere fics.

your response made me wonder- what would shanks or benn (or both ;)- okay I need to stop) be like with an emperor darling? Or an admiral darling since admirals are placed on the same power scale as emperors? I feel like this would require them to actually really have to strategize to get their darling since it’s not as easy as just flexing their position as an emperors crew and just snatching their darling up.

Thank you!! Honestly being OOC is something I worry about. I know it's not the biggest deal ever, it's fanfic and we're already warping things, but I very much obsess over whether or not things feel "right" enough to me, haha. Like yeah yandere versions of characters differ but there are still core aspects of a character that make them who they are.

Rambling under the cut, much lighter on Benn tbh... hint of suggestiveness at the absolute very end like literally the last sentence

Anyway if Mc is another Emperor, then Shanks is gonna try and pester them into an alliance, first of all. He's friendly and laying on the charm, but also a bit more serious than he would be with a civillian or less powerful/experienced pirate. You're someone who could actually potentially cause problems for him if he pushes too hard. A lot more passive, but pays special attention to your movements. If he runs into any of your subordinate crews or other members, he's friendly with them too- willing to assist them in battle if they bite off more than they can chew. Sends them back to you with gifts- both for them, and something meant to be delivered directly to you.

And he "runs into" you too, of course! Very frequently, actually. Throws a party, does his best to draw you and your crew in. All the better to give gifts directly, isn't it? Some quality alcohol is his go-to, but he likes you. Does his best to dig for any interests you may have, learn/estimate your clothing sizes... whether or not Benn is into you as well, Shanks tries to get him to dig a little as well. He'll grunt, maybe even roll his eyes, but approaches you all the same. Probably has more luck anyway, since according to that SBS he scores more ladies than Shanks lmao.

If it's Benn who's interested and not Shanks, then... I think it'd be funny if things don't change all that much, actually. Teases Benn for aiming high, but ultimately decides to try and be a good wingman for his first mate. It's the least he can do, after all! And if he does succeed in getting with you, the resulting alliance will be good for everyone, he reasons. Benn has a headache.

Benn would also send gifts, I think, but they're smaller. More personal and often functional. A small bottle of your favorite spirits, a leather-bound journal, a small piece of subtle but pretty jewelry. A replacement for a scabbard strap that snapped during a skirmish, an extra button when one popped off of your coat... was he even there for that? How did he notice..?

And Benn is no stranger to drinking and partying, of course, but he makes more relaxing company than Shanks. Won't pester you or drag you into things the same way Shanks will, happy to find somewhere a little quieter and just enjoy a shared drink and a moment of quiet.

All in all, kidnapping is far less likely to be on the table. You're on equal footing, and neither man wants the massive clash between Yonkos or the deaths that would result from it that could come from this. They both ultimately want you to like them, after all, and captivity wouldn't break the Will of someone like you even if they did manage it.

An Admiral Mc, on the other hand... oof.

This has a bigger chance of blowing up but Shanks is high-maintenance and loves to court danger. Takes care of troublemakers for you, which pisses you off because you do not need him for that, goddamnit. He likes to antagonize you, knowing you can't just start something without the input of the other Admirals. You're on par with him, but ultimately still a tool for the WG... if you fail, they're more likely to write you off as a failure than a loyal crew would. Would try to get you to defect. Aokiji did it after all, so it's not impossible. But if you're determined to remain a Marine, well... if he can beat you, kidnapping IS on the table here as an alliance is impossible. Uses the danger your subordinates are in against you. The gap between you and them is just too big, are you really willing to risk all of them..? It's worse for an Admiral, tbh. If they can't get you to leave the Marines and join them, and they succeed in taking you for themselves, they're more willing to break you than a fellow Yonko. Can see it becoming something akin to a brat-taming scenario, tbh.

#one piece x reader #asks #yandere one piece #shanks #benn beckman #red hair shanks #reader insert #but yeah Yonko reader thinks Shanks is weird and clingy but chances are good they never find out he's yandere #an admiral on the other hand...

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verittean · 5 months ago

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oK SO i ... forgot how i was gonna word this but i was thinking thoughts about wreck-it ralph and i made a realisation or two ... one i think is already pretty noticeable n i'm sure someone's pointed it out already and the other i think i could absolutely be imagining it but i have been thinking about this for days and my mind will not leave me alone about it so i have to share it anyway regardless of if i'm right or not or i think i will actually go crazy

(taffyta , swizzle malarkey and candlehead were kept for comparison but i cut the others bc i felt it was a little too much but they all have about the same cadence anyway)

so first thing ... i noticed how more enthusiastically vanellope's name is called out compared to the other racers when her name is put up on the board ... kinda like how one would announce a big event or someone of importance , almost as if it were announcing 'and now please give a royal welcome to our princess , vanellopppeee von schweetz !'

i think that part is pretty easy to notice , but now the part where i think i might actually just be hearing things and staring too hard at the colour blue that i swear i'm seeing red but i swear i swear there's something different about the way king candy's name is said ... like not just the bubbliness of the way 'kInG cAnDy !' is said which i already think is slightly odd , because everyone else is announced pretty normally , even vanellope aside from the previously mentioned extra enthusiasm , but i also swear ... the voice it just sounds ... different ? almost like it were someone else ... ? it couuuld just be the way the announcer is pronouncing it that makes it sound off but to me it almost sounds like another voice doing a really good impersonation almost ... ? regardless i have to question that if king candy wasn't supposed to be in sugar rush originally , how come he has a voice line saying his name ... ? sooooo , if the voice really is someone else's ... could turbo have done an impression ? i don't think it's tooo far off to assume bc also where tf did the kc portrait come from did he draw it himself too ? ofc you couuuld say maybe kc was a scrapped character who still had enough coding left over for the voice and portrait as well as the model but i don't think that's quite as fun

again i think i'm prooobably just hearing things and it's probably nothing , but i really can't help but feel there's something off about that voice line and it just will not leave me alone ... and i thought it'd be fun to point out anyway even if i'm wrong after all wEeEeEeE

#wreck it ralph #wir #turbo #king candy #vanellope von schweetz #somehow spent 2 hours writing this wondering whether or not i'm going crazy #i'm also still writing this bc i'm procrastinating writing my silly toxic yaoi fics #which i should really just start working on instead of trying to think of other things to put here to keep putting it off #ok well like one of them is actually toxic yaoi the other two are mostly platonic ig #but ig it doesn't matter if i never frickin write them bc i keep procrastinating #which i will keep doing anyway lol #yeah ig that's it sorry about the slightly off topic rambling #turbotastic #that word is becoming ingrained into my vocab help me

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melina-mellow · 5 months ago

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There's one thing to say you do not see Jinx in a romantic relationship because you hc her being aromantic or aroace. Those I can get behind. That's harmless fun.

It's a completely different thing to say that, you can't see Jinx in romantic relationships — or any loving relationship, even platonic ones— because of her mental illness. That she's not capable of loving anyone because she's "crazy" (And yes, I've seen people boil her down to just... "Crazy"... which is problematic and I don't think I need to explain why)

(Also the whole not thinking Jinx can't love people cause of TB is another can of worms that involves a lot of not so thinly veiled racism cause Ekko is a black character, but that's a tangent for another day.)

Mind you Jinx as a character is defined by love. Love for her sister, her best friend turned enemy, both her fathers... and lest we forget that she literally took in an orphan and provided her all the love she didn't always get herself.

Arcane is a show about love. The things that we do for love, both the good and the bad. The people we become because of love. And Jinx is not any different.

The love for her family with Vi and Vander. The co-dependent and toxic paternal love with Silco. The tragic, missed out love for Ekko that we literally see how things could have been for them, if their circumstances were different.

It's all a part of Jinx.

Jinx's tragedy is that she loves so much, and so deeply and by the end of the series she doesn't believe that people can love her back/shouldn't love her back, that her love for them is what hurts them.

And if she really is dead, then she died believing that she is unlovable, that Vi and Ekko should not love her, because loving her gets them hurt. That they'd be better off— happier— without her.

Which isn't true. We see the aftermath of her leaving them. We see Ekko alone at the end, mourning her. We see Vi lose a part of herself the moment she let's go.

Jinx loves so much. So forgive me if I get a little pissed off when her so called "fans" love to mischaracterize her as this unfeeling "manic pixie dream girl" Who sees Vi as her "possession" and who hates Ekko.

The Ekko part I specifically blame on the showrunners and writers.

God bless the animators did the best to convey their feelings with what little scraps the writers left behind.

The fact that you need to buy different versions of an art book to find out, that yes, Jinx does in fact have romantic feelings for Ekko, just as he does for her, that it wasn't just an AU Powder thing. Both versions of her love him.

It is just beyond baffling to me, cause the writers decided to cut them reconciling cause "it'd be a rehash" and then telling people to "use their imagination" It just pisses me off to no extent.

Tldr: Jinx is a character defined by love. People who say Jinx can't feel romantic or platonic love because of mental illness need to stfu. And the writers are shit for making Jinx die believing she was unlovable and that she's an obstacle to them being happy.

#arcane critical #arcane #jinx arcane #jinx league of legends #jinx #arcane season 2 #vi arcane #silco arcane #vander arcane #ekko arcane

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meistwentyinchheels · 9 months ago

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having many thoughts about percy (he drives me insane) idk what the kf devs put into this man, but i swear i'm addicted. like the more i learn about him the more obsessed i become,,,i think i'm mentally ill

anyways since i think a lot about him (and my kf mc, may. might actually drop a lore post on her at some point) i will now be sharing some of those thoughts. also have a strong feeling this post is gonna end up pretty long just as a heads up lmfao

also a lot of this is just speculation on my part and me trying my best to analyze the little amount of information we have as of the moment. just as a disclaimer, anyways!

out of the three love interests i genuinely think percy might be the angstiest route for the following reasons (under the cut):

like first off, the devs have mentioned in the past that one of the routes will have a forced breakup to serve the greater narrative (this was mentioned a really long time ago tho so it might've been subject to change, but since we have nothing that proves otherwise i am running with it.) and i do not believe in any way that it could be elio,,,unless the devs decide to throw us a curveball lmao jamie is still an option and he was my first thought when i found out about the breakup route, butttt i doubt it'd be him. so from process of elimination that only leaves percy. he's also the only one out of the lis that has been in relationships before and judging from past asks i'm assumingggg that those past experiences most likely still affect him.

second, every single mention of his family has been vague at best and there's been ZERO mention of his mother. in the asks only his dad has ever been mentioned and also in the studying event if u go off with percy and elio, go to check out the polo club and choose to stay back with percy he'll mention that he moved to the states with his dad. normally people would mention both parents, but percy didn't so it's likely his parents divorced at some point? also i had a whole ass supposedly sound argument here, but it got disproven bc apparently his step-dad also came with them to the states??? like yes it does still prove that his parents r divorced, but it can also imply he has 2 dads. that's so funny i love it. okay moving onto my actual point!!! since percy is a child of divorce it's likely also affected his view of love and romantic relationships. possibly in a skewed way, but who knows so that does add to the angst factor QUITE a bit

finally, percy's avoidant and deferring nature. during the festival event if you split up and then go to check out the festival games you end up running into percy, which is when the game tells you that he tends to defer to what others want and seems to be perkier exploring the games by himself. there's also a few occasions in-game where if the mc tries to ask percy about himself he tends to either A. brush the topic off or B. push the attention onto someone else (usually elio?). so i'd assume that he dislikes talking about himself? which would mean it would take him a good while to open up. which isn't inherently a bad thing, but it can also cause communication issues so. sigh.

is this flimsy evidence? yes! but do i care? no! also i would do a deeper dive into this if i was actually good at analyzing character behaviors,,,and if not for the fact that at the time i'm writing this it's 1am on a school night. there's also so many other things i could have talked about!!! like his name!!! maybe some other day. so like. do with all this information what you will. bc i certainly will!!! i have so many ideas!! many angsty notes!!! be prepared.

#keyframes vn #perseus tozaki #percy tozaki #author ely's shenanigans #if i'm wrong on any of this then PLEASE tell me #also ty to the discord server for correcting me bc i would have 100 percent embarrassed myself on here if they hadn't lmao #anyways!#i think a lot about percy #need to gently hold him in my hands #then squish him

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meanbossart · 1 year ago

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Ask compilation: I'm Starting To Think That This Drow Guy Is Kind Of An Asshole Edition.

Probably a Ranger in the hunter subclass. I actually intended to multi-class him as fighter/ranger at some point and make that his official class, but I haven't had time/quite figured out the best build that would still suit him - Ranger makes a LOT of sense with his backstory, arguably more than fighter, but he's still supposed to be a magic-less brick-house with 19 strength who hasn't handled a bow and arrow in 10 years, so I'm not sure where that leaves us LOL

A lot of people have suggested that Berserk Barbarian would fit him well, but I think that implies a lot of other characteristics that do NOT suit him at all so 🤷

HE DIDN'T EVEN GO TO THE CRECHE, and honestly it made the game feel much more immersive to pick one path and stick to it like Halsin suggested, even if I did have to endure the shadow cursed lands without the shiny mace 😂

Probably for the best, it'd be a real shame if the story ended there just because he didn't like Vlaakith's attitude.

But yeah Lae'zel (who, for the record, I adore) never stood a chance in his playthrough. Sorry baby girl.

I'm either uninformed or we have different definitions of what constitutes a crush, but sure I'll play in this space LOL

He's both jealous but also kind of aloof when it comes to things like that. It's yet another symptom of his arrogance, where it seems unfathomable that anyone who has him would be genuinely tempted by someone else. He doesn't mind a normal amount of glance-stealing and flattery, even playful flirting to a degree, but if there's persistence or if his partner seems to seek another person out for things he thinks he should be providing, he feels threatened.

Also, he has a difficult time discerning that "deep emotional connection" does not equal "romantic interest". So, at least immediately after the events of the game, he's more likely to be made insecure by his partners forming deep bonds with others than any throwaway expression of physical desire or fleeting infatuation.

[MORE UNDER THE CUT]

Let me preface this with the (hopefully unnecessary) disclaimer that this murderous dark-elf's opinions are not my own, and that I very much purposefully made a bit of an asshole character because I find that entertaining.

And now that you're hopefully primed for what's coming - DU drow is pretty damn judgemental of people's looks save for the rare times when they give him a good impression right off the bat. He notes people's appearances and makes preemptive assumptions about them without even realizing it. He definitely does not equal beauty to value or prowess (in fact he will very much still mock of you if you seem too concerned with your appearance) but he does prescribe things based on looks.

I don't think he'd take issue with what you're describing, It sounds like a pretty average body, but he would assume that person is weaker and less fit to "keep up with him", basically. Which kind of diminishes interest.

As far as to what he finds immediately attractive, he definitely prefers people who seem physically fit (not more than himself though - gods forbid). But, the caveat to this whole tangent is that once you get past initial impressions, he could definitely come to be sexually attracted to pretty much any type of body attached to the person he's in love with.

Thank you! There was no main event, just the building up of resentment over time and the opportunity she saw opening up when the Chosen's plan came into motion. She definitely didn't always hate him though, they had a fairly close relationship until his obsessive behavior and arrogance became an issue.

Thank you!!!

They call him the/that drow, dark elf, or "big drow" if there's more than one present. In private they might facetiously call him Bhaalspawn if they get tired of referring to him by race.

I'll be honest, I forgot whether or not I found it in his playthrough LOL but if he did stumble across that would be VERY funny. He'd be like "look at these idiots and their fake murder god. What kind of dimwit would worship carnage as a religion. Hey Shadowheart get a load of this-"

HAPPY YOU ENJOY HIM! I think his unique situation overall with having been such a overwhelmingly horrid person and forgetting all about it is my favorite bit. That's kind of vague, I know, but I often think of dreams I've had where I committed a crime or did something horrible, and that immediate feeling of relief and disconnect that follows immediately after waking up. That's kind of what I imagine it's like for him - he knows of the things he did, but he doesn't really. In theory it's all true but that's a truth far too fantastical for anyone to conceptualize even if it's put right in front of your face.

That, tackling the guilt (or lack thereof) of something you genuinely don't feel like you've done and the intricacies of it, that's a fascinating state of mind to explore. I love how many directions you can take that.

For me, having a character who is not good, but is not necessarily pure unadulterated evil, makes for a lot of complex thought experiments and contradictory values. DU drow has a lot of those - things he believes and abides by absolutely except for this specific instance, being contradictory is a pillar of his character and it can be a little challenging to keep up with it - but I'd be lying if I said I don't deeply enjoy that aspect as well all the same.

THANK YOUUUU It took me so long to figure out how to draw Astarion in a way I liked, I'm so relieved that others enjoy it too 😂

Shockingly he did succeed it and was immediately put-off by it, lmao. They wouldn't really develop much of a relationship for a while after that, so at that point DU drow just figured he was trying to get something from him and wrote him off, much as he did with everyone else with the exception of Shadowheart.

He didn't meet her at the Tiefling grove! I didn't even know you could meet her before-hand for the longest time. But he did super, duper kill her at camp of course.

He managed to hide the body and everyone else was none the wiser, huge blood bhaal-sigil on the ground aside lmao. He was a little shocked but didn't feel all that bad about it, kind of resigning to that primal feeling of satisfaction at a job-well-done that overwhelmed him instead. He decided she was too weak to survive out there and he had just spared her the trouble.

#ask compilation #du drow lore

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skiddlecat · 10 months ago

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you know what? fuck it. the dynamic between taco and microphone is really interesting and dumbing it down to "evil terrible abuser and poor innocent victim" flattens both of their characters simultaneously.

they both hurt Each Other in ways that can't be undone!!! mic did her fair share of Fucking It Up Big Time as well and i think the way their fallout went down is the best example of times mic could have been better. and before anyone says it NO i'm NOT saying she didn't have a right to back out when she did but what i AM saying is that i think the way she handled cutting taco off showcases one of her biggest character flaws EXCELLENTLY:

when she's hurt by someone, she will hurt them back twice as hard. cheesy makes an insensitive joke? she calls him a monster. taco relapses in her bad habits? she weaponizes her past friendship with pickle. i'm pretty confident in saying both of these responses are Pretty Damn Disproportionate. and i think that's really interesting!!! we should talk more about this!!!!!!!!!

taco did a lot of bad things in their friendship and should absolutely be held accountable for it, but i also think simply calling her a heartless abuser is horribly undermining her character. like, imagine with me, if you will:

(post-writing note. HOLY SHIT this was way longer than i thought it'd be. putting the rest of this post under the cut because the previous paragraphs are pretty much all my thoughts but i kind of go into a full taco character analysis below. if you want to see that then keep reading i suppose LMAOOO)

you once accidentally formed a friendship with someone based off of a lie. you exposed the lie, sabotaged that relationship, and cut him off. that was the last conversation you had. a good while later you realize that, oh no, you actually DID care about this person, and you miss him! but he's GONE and it's YOUR FAULT!!! so you write. you write, you write, you write, hoping to get a response, but you never do.

and then. and then you find someone else. someone who's loud, chaotic, cast out. she reminds you a little too much of the lie you built for yourself. and so, you help her. for your own selfish reasons, sure, but you attempt to reign her in. she doesn't trust you at first, you don't trust her either, and you are... less than kind to her. it's not pretty, but at this point it doesn't really matter to you, because right now she's just a means to an end. she doesn't mean anything to you.

but slowly, over time, things start changing. she starts seeing past the brick walls you built around yourself. starts trying to break them down, little by little. you avoid, you resist, you do everything you can to prevent her from getting through, because vulnerability is frankly disgusting, and you don't want to talk about your problems anyway! but, this doesn't last. you actually apologize to her, for being so closed off, because you should be doing better, and she seems to appreciate it.

someone brings up that old friend to her. you get MAD. it's like rubbing salt in the wound, reminding you of every reason you're not happy, every reason you've been scared of getting too close. he suggests that you will leave her the same way you left him.

and. surprisingly. your ally does not side with him. she tells him you're changing. you're changing. she looks at you and all of your disgusting flaws, and she sees someone not beyond redemption. and you think that maybe. maybe you can trust her. maybe you CAN let your walls down. maybe you won't screw it up this time. and, and...

one mistake.

a pretty big one, granted, but a mistake nonetheless. you relapse into some bad habits, because the situation you entered was not the one you planned for. and she's mad. so mad, in fact, that she takes your old friendship, something she knows is a touchy subject, that hurts every time it's brought up, and she weaponizes it. she looks at you as if you mean nothing to her, and then she leaves. she leaves before you even have a chance to respond.

one. mistake.

one mistake is all it took for her to grow sick of you, for her to agree with all of the terrible things people say about you. and what hurts the most is that you TRUSTED her. you thought you could be open with her, you thought she was DIFFERENT. but no, she's not different. she's just like everyone else. and maybe, if the one person who believed you could be better gives up on you... maybe they're all right about you.

the walls are back up. they're thicker, stronger, and as far as you're concerned... it will take FAR more convincing to let anyone get through ever again.

...and then mepad comes along and says he doesn't even believe you're a bad person in the FIRST place, which is. astounding and very hard to believe but he's seeing you at your absolute worst being needlessly cruel to everyone and is STILL saying this with complete confidence so, fuck, kind of hard to keep THAT up for very long. then ii16 happens and you know the drill SHE'S DOING BAD.

hoo boy this went on for a lot longer than it was supposed to. anyway all this to say i think we should talk more about how they both hurt each other rather than push the narrative that one of them was "the abuser" and the other was "the victim" because frankly that's not even how it works in real life. thank you for coming to my ted talk i've been sitting on this for weeks afraid that i'd be told to kill myself over anons 👍

#inanimate insanity #ii taco #ii microphone #should i tag this as tacomic. it's not really meant to be romantic #i won't. people are in that tag for toxic yuri not toxic up for interpretation relationships

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