#like theyre all characters who are devoted to the respective roles they think they have

[vriskan8or]

let her go

[carpetbug]

what are ur fave songs for each character and WHY. ANALYSIS

omg thank u we’re in love now 😽

I have not updated these playlists in a while so a lot of them are songs i listened to in like 2020 lmao, heres a few from each :)

Marinette

Into the unknown (frozen 2) - original and cristina vees cover make me think so hard about marinette its crazy. her initially refusing to be ladybug, insistent that she couldnt do it but always coming back because she desperately wants to test those waters, see what shes meant to do and how it could change her.

Ladybug

Ribs (lorde) - how easily overwhelmed marinette gets and how her anxiety and stress almost force her to overthink every aspect of her life. I can see her getting this extreme tunnel vision where she cant see all the progress shes made, all the victories shes already had, and instead can only focus on how shes not doing enough, and its not fast enough, and its not good enough. it just really reminds me of how badly she wants to prove herself to be this strong and trustworthy hero, but she feels like shes losing herself as she grows and isolates herself more and more in the role of guardian and ladybug.

Adrien

Mamas boy (dominic fike) - he literally IS the mamas boy. what more can i say. also alludes to him being a sentimonster with the lines "when i was born, you were produced", "i wish i was a toy", "youre made from plastic im just blood".

Chat Noir

First love/late spring (mitski) - ok hear me out. how chat compensates for his family life with devoting himself to ladybug. "one word from you and i would jump off of this ledge im on" is exactly how he operates with her, being ready to throw himself in front of her, literally die for her if she ever said so. and she never does! she gets upset with him for doing it over and over! i just think this song depicts really well how chat noirs goal was always "do whatever I can to help ladybug, no matter what i may lose" while she had to watch him leave his life in her hands like it was nothing.

also including ships because obviously i have playlists for all lovesquare sides + other ships i’m silly about

Ladynoir

Show Yourself (frozen 2) - both the original and cristina vees cover (WHICH IS SO GOOD GO LISTEN TO IT RN) remind me so hardcore of ladynoir. the whole idea of ladybug finally coming to terms with showing chat who she truly is and being ready for the same from him, idk i can imagine an entire movie in my head of ladynoir reveal to this song. [fav lyrics: "I can sense you there, like a friend ive always known", "I have always been a fortress cold secrets deep inside. you have secrets too, but you dont have to hide", "you are the answer ive waited for all of my life"]

Blame (air traffic controller) - this is probably one of my all time favorite songs like fucking ever and tbh i can see it with all lovesquare sides but i feel like ladynoir is the best fit! Chat picking ladybug up when she falls down and constantly being there to remind her she was to get up and fight, theres no time to sit and pity and blame herself, and he wont let her. him being her voice of reason as she copes with losing almost everything to monarch, him grounding her and being one of her biggest motivations to go on! with how severely marinette overthinks and doubts herself, he just becomes a mantra of 'dont blame yourself' which she desperately needs [fav lyrics: "Dont blame yourself cause you tried as hard as hell with the hand that you were dealt", "get on your feet, enough 'poor me', if you got time to bitch and whine then theres still time to try again", "And the vultures they are circling overhead, theyre reminding me of choices from my past"]

Peach Scone (hobo johnson) - makes me think of early seasons ladynoir ;-; chat just being head over heels for ladybug, struggling with keeping his love platonic when he wants to be with her and know her. Also getting to kinda hear his side of ladybug saying shes already in love with someone, how he respects that but still is a bit of a flirt, and hides how much it hurts him. also i love hobo johnson. [fav lyrics: "She kinda loves him back, but not really, theyre just really good friends and thats fine, he understands, its rational", "Oh, you got a man? are you in love? so, what type?", "So i fall to the ground, collect myself and get ready to take over your heart or atleast your spare time"]

Talk to me (cavetown) - i am such a sucker for ladynoir comfort. the idea of them being there for each other at their lowest points, holding each other together. This whole song just makes me think so strongly of chat comforting ladybug when shes breaking down and needs someone. [fav lyric: "ill be here until youre okay, lets your words release your pain, you and i will share the weight"]

Could have been me (The struts) - GOD. THIS SONG. ITS SO LADYNOIR CODED TO ME. them hyping each other up!! keeping each other going!! being each others motivation to keep getting back up and fight!! i just love the idea of them constantly being there to pick each other up and remind them of what theyre fighting for. i could listen to this song forever i love it. I can also really hear "I cant hear you, I wont fear you" being a supportive call and response thing with them <3[fav lyrics: "I wanna taste love and pain, wanna feel pride and shame", "Don't wanna live as an unsung melody, i'd rather listen to the silence telling me i can't hear you, i won't fear you"]

Understood (leith ross) - i am a huuuuuge fan of leith ross so obv i love this song for ml. it just makes me think so much of a worn down, tired, sad chat just gushing and crying to ladybug about how he doesnt understand love, how his family dynamic impacts him, and just letting himself fall apart in her arms. and her relating! her feeling that same tiredness and guilt and ache about love and family and friends, how much invisible pressure is hanging over both their heads and only they understand it. [fav lyrics: "ill visit my family in living rooms that dont get cold cause blankets and body heat cant be compared when it only took you a week to grow old", "Im sick of attachments I recently learned I cant relax and im scared of myself, scared for my health, tell me youll take me back home", "im sick of the feeling that nothing will ever stand still"]

Struck by lightning (sara kays, cavetown) - this song just really makes me think about ladybugs devotion to chat. i just imagine chat being out in the middle of a storm at night and marinette seeing him from her window and joining him as lb to comfort him. her knowing hes not going to go inside, so she just sits and stays with him, insisting if hes going to get soaked and cold and possibly hit by lightning, shes going to do it with him. [fav lyrics: "If you don't respond, I'll put my shoes on and lay down on the pavement next to you if we get struck at least we'll make the news", "What a way to go out something this town will forever talk about the two kids who were laying down and struck by lightning in front of your house"]

She wants me (to be loved) (The happy fits) - literally early seasons ladynoir. she wants me! (to be loved). i think it just perfectly fits how in love with lb chat is and how its clear she cant give that to him. [fav lyrics: "so, you say you love me, but not the way I need, things are so close to what i want to be", "I cant stop feelin, i want her love but all my dreaming is not enough. so in the morning the sun will rise and ill wake up and she wont be mine", "why cant you love me here tonight?"]

Adrinette

I do adore (mindy gledhill) - marinette being head over heels for adrien and being her normal clumsy self. Falling over, rambling, making a huge fool of herself while adrien watches, completely oblivious to her crush. this song just really reminds me of how much marinette struggles with keeping herself calm around adrien, how shes always messing up words and doing the wrong thing, but he never freaks out at her and he never shames her for it. [fav lyrics: "when youre near i hide my blushing face and trip on my shoelaces", "Ive noticed youre remarkably relaxed and im overly uptight, we balance out each other nicely" "Tongue-tied, twisted, foot in mouth, i start to stutter ha-ha-heaven help me"]

Just a friend to you (meghan trainor) - early seasons adrinette <3 adrien being so painfully oblivious while marinette is struggling with balancing being his friend and her overwhelming feelings for him. [fav lyric: "so it breaks my heart when you say im just a friend to you cause friends dont do the things we do"]

Silly girl (chloe moriondo) - listen to this song rn! its so perfectly adrinette! its crazy! how marinette romanticizes adrien and kind of puts him on a pedestal at the beginning which leads to her ignoring how he doesnt fit into that idea shes molded of him. Her having to deal with the pain of being in silent love with him while he seems so far away, and turning that back around to use against herself. i just think it explain really well how marinette saw him in this perfect, unattainable bubble before they got closer and she realized he was nothing like his public image of perfection [fav lyrics: "im just a silly girl in a stupid dumb old world and he is perfect cause hes supposed to be", "he is perfect, unlike me, and how could i ever think that it was meant to be? and how could i ever think that anything was made for me?", "I made him perfect, cause i wanted him to be"]

Small (chloe moriondo) - this was originally intended to relate more towards marinette, but listening to it now with season 5 in my head it just screams adrien! how suddenly he falls for her and he cant get her out of his head! how in just a blink of an eye he is getting flushed when talking to her, hes wanting to be near her and talk to her, he wants to be with her! but shes pulling back from him and hes sort of unable to balance these new feelings AND respecting her boundaries because shes just the only thing he thinks about. i love simp boyfriend adrien. she fell first but he fell harder and no one can convince me otherwise [fav lyrics: "but im not used to dealing with feeling like im waisting your time", "ive never cared so much about avoiding overstepping, and when i think about you i forget about my hands" "endlessly try to make you smile cause whenever i see it my knees always get so weak"]

The one that got away (acoustic version - katy perry) - I am a mess over this song. i always imagine it as a post-reveal scenario in which something happened and ladybug lost chat in the fight against hawkmoth and found out he was adrien right as he died saving her. how badly she misses him and cant stop thinking about how he was the love of her life! having to go on living the rest of her life without him! shes unable to move past it and just spends her time thinking of all the things shed do if she still had him. in another life, they could still be happy together [fav lyrics: "we'd keep all our promises, be us against the world", "talk about our future like we had a clue, never planned that one day id be losing you"]

"Do you wanna be friends?" (leanna firestone) - Marinette breaking her own heart by having such a close friendship with adrien while being in love with him and knowing she cant do anything about it. Her desperately trying to convince herself she can be okay with a life with him as a friend and nothing more when obv she cant bc ouchie! her heart! [fav lyrics: "Do you wanna be friends? i mean, i wanna be more, but if friends is how i get to have you then sure", "The world wont end if you dont love me even if it feels that way"]

Marichat

If i could tell her (dear evan hansen) - i feel like this is a classic marichat song. like its been a marichat song for a hot minute but its still so them. chat comforting marinette about feeling like adrien doesnt notice her! and listing off things adrien 'told him about' and slowly realizing he does actually pay attention to all those small intimate things marinette does! he feels such a strong need to make sure marinette understands how important she is to adrien, and realizing how deep the disconnect between them two is [fav lyrics: "If i could tell her how shes everything to me but we're a million worlds apart and i dont know how i would even start", "And what do you do when the distance is too wide?"]

Drive (halsey) - i love this song for the idea of marinette and chat suppressing their feeling for each other because theyre 'supposed' to be in love with adrien and lb. for me it kind of paints a mental image of hangouts and games and memories between mari and chat that slowly become these intense, almost upsetting silences and tension. Just them desperately ignoring how deep their feelings for each other truly go and insisting everything remain surface level [ fav lyrics: "All we do is think about the feelings that we hide, all we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign", "Your laugh echoes down the hallway, carves into my empty chest, spreads over the emptiness. its bliss", "Overanalyze again, would it really kill you if we kissed?",]

Comfort crowd (conan gray) - this song just really makes me think of chat being at a really low point and trying to hide it from marinette so he doesnt burden her with his emotions and baggage, and her just seeing right through it. Like hes smiling and trying to wave it off and she just knows hes not okay, and he just breaks. Ultimately it makes me think of chat turning to marinette for such deep and intimate comfort that purely comes from him being with her. just knowing hes safe to hold onto her and cry and shell be that company for him. [fav lyrics: "this hurt that im holding's getting heavy, but imma keep a smile on my shoulders til im sweaty", "my breaths getting short and im unsteady, welling up in tears as i lay upon your belly", "Telling you im fine I dont really need nobody, but you say through a sigh that i said that lie already", "and even if i cry all over your body, you dont really mind say you like your shirt soggy"]

Lost in you (khai dreams) - i love the mental image of just such relaxed, fluffy, soft, marichat dynamic in this! chat slowly realizing hes in love with marinette and getting lost in every aspect of her. maybe not being able to entirely admit its love, but still being able to admit he has such a deep and sincere admiration for marinette that he feels is returned in a way he doesnt feel from ladybug [fav lyrics: "Im just looking for some mutual love but all i get is unrequited", "Cause i dont even know I dont know why, all your love im trynna find im so lost in you, in all that you do"]

Something there (beauty and the beast) - i enjoy a good disney song every now and then! its just so marinette and chat slowly falling for each other and being like "nuh uh... wait.. wait a minute.." and then falling headfirst in love with each other, and unable to communicate it. But both of them feeling this sudden new and strange spark between them, things slowly changing, becoming more and more personal and slowly beginning to accept that things have changed [fav lyrics: "And now hes dear, and so unsure, I wonder why I didnt see it there before", "and when we touched she didnt studder at my paw, no it cant be, ill just ignore, but then shes never looked at me that way before", "True that hes no prince charming but theres something in him that i simply didnt see"]

I'd have to think about it (leith ross) - another leith song bc THEYRE SO GOOD GO LISTEN TO ALL THEIR MUSIC RN anyways some angst a lil :) a future where marinette/lb and adrien/chat somehow got torn apart after the reveal and lost contact for. a hot minute. and when they've found each other again its chat finally finding marinette, in a new home, with a new family, and a new life. but they both know who each other are and marinette having to cope with knowing she would drop everything to be with him again. anyways. brain food. [fav lyrics: "but if you come to me, in my home with my three kids, if you asked me to leave, to be with you and split, well id atleast have to think about it", "and if you come to me when ive promised to commit, if you told me that you loved me and asked me for a kiss, well id atleast have to think about it", "you are my achilles heel, the weakness only I can feel"]

Come around (peter mcpoland) - THIS SONG MAKES ME SO GIDDY FOR SOME REASON!! makes me think of like chat picking marinette up from her balcony and taking her on rides, showing her (what he thinks shes never seen) a brand new side of paris and getting to bask in the warmth and light she radiates with him. 'shes looking at the pretty lights, i cant stop looking at her eyes' type shit. just him being so so down bad for her. [fav lyrics: "Ive noticed you pull the blinds back when you hear that im driving round", "i dont mean to cause any trouble, well maybe a little if thats allowed"]

Animal (neon trees) - this song also makes me so !! the vibes are so playful and fun and flirty while the lyrics are more intense. just really reminds me of how surface level marinette and chat keep things, flirting and teasing and just enjoying each other, and then as soon as things get more serious it comes down to a life/death type feeling. but still longing for each other! they know it just hurts and they cant but they want to! they both love and hate the way their relationship feels suspended in the air, in that it gives it a rush of uncertainty and playfulness but it also brings serious fears and pain. i love this song a lot for them [fav lyrics: "I do it everytime, your killing me now and i wont be denied by you, the animal inside of you", "hush hush the world is quiet, hush hush we both cant fight it, its us that made this mess, why cant you understand?"

Ladrien

Dixie boy (april smith and the great picture show) - i have to admit i dont think a whole lot about ladrien but! i am a sucker for jealous/posessive ladybug like claiming adrien for herself and adrien jsut being like. yep. okay. i agree. cause her ass is petty enough to like makeout with him in front of chloe just to really rub it in and adrien is like yippe!! my super hero bug gf loves me! while ladybug is so >:) do not ever touch my man [fav lyrics: "Cause like a soldier defends his land well i stand up, i get up, i defend my man", "Well i know the way that you girls operate so keep your hands to yourself and your eyes on your own plate. Its not nice to stare, dont make me come over there", "Im a lover, not a fighter, and i dont want to have to get rough. just warning you ahead of time I can be a bitch when it comes to my stuff"]

Bad ideas (tessa violet) - both adrien and ladybug just being such lovesick nerds for each other <3 ladybug trying to fight the urge to kiss him when theyre together, and adrien doing anything he can to keep her near him. they both know its a bad idea, to just stop trying to keep it all contained, but its so tempting to just say fuck it and indulge the bad ideas. atleast for a little [fav lyrics: "But i just wanna see the grooves between your hands, your teeth, oh, tell me do you think about me?", "So why'd i wanna kiss you even though i miss you, guess i just wanted to know what it would feel like"]

Her (eery) - how much adrien thinks about ladybug. just all the different ways he dissects her personality, their memories, every little bit of information he knows about her. i just feel like this song, while simple, just really encapsulates how constantly ladybug is on his mind. i miss that dynamic damn

YOUTH (troye sivan) - ladybug and adrien running away together. fuck it. literally think about it. them just being in love and together and adrien finally getting out of that HOUSE and getting to be with his LADY and be happy. How deeply devoted to each other they would be, and although naive, they would be so sincere and literally ride or die for each other.

Roman holiday (halsey) - i love the idea of ladrien having those small, important firsts together. putting aside not being able to be completely honest with each other, adriens entire family dynamic, everything, and just saying screw it and dating and doing couple things! theyre both too scared of what might happen if they slow down and face reality, so they ignore everything outside of themselves. they both have that ache of knowing its not real, its not how they can actually live, but for now they get to be happy. and in love. and with each other. and theyll deal with all the heartbreak later [fav lyrics: "didnt know where we were running to but dont look back", "and we know that were headstrong, and our hearts gone, and the timings never right"]

and my other playlists

Chat Blanc

ANTI-HERO (SEKAI NO OWARI) - i will do my best to put my emotions towards chat blanc into comprehensible words but i make no promises. i love him so much. anti-hero gives like him turning his back on being a hero just for marinette, being okay with being viewed as evil hated because hes doing it for her! his distaste for the rest of the world in comparison to mari/lb ! how he lost his moral compass and doesnt understand the ways hes hurting her and himself by turning his back on being chat noir! god its so good [fav lyrics: "im gonna be the anti-hero, feared and hated by everybody, im gonna be the anti-hero so i can save you when the time comes", "cause there are people that ive got to protect and if you get in my way youre dead"]

I am damaged (heathers) - you caught me im a theater nerd but literally this song is so good for chat blanc! him coming to the realization the only way to save mari/lb is to destroy himself. him saying goodbye and making sure she understand that she was his everything! and he trusts her to fix the mistakes he made because shes his lady! and her not being able to talk him out of it and just having to say goodbye [fav lyric: "wish youd kiss me then youd know i worship you, ill trade my life for yours and once i disappear clean up the mess down here"]

Blah blah blah (the oozes) - reminds me of the trauma marinette gets from chat blanc, how she suffers nightmares and just cant stop being reminded of the horrible fate her partner suffered through. how marinette just cant go back to 'normal' after fighting him but also cant confide in anyone about it [fav lyrics: "you couldn't care less for the people youre hurting, there no excuse", "youve ruined the color blue for me, im surrounded by a deep dark sea"]

Anytime you smile (JT music, Andrea storm kaden) - kind of how i imagine chat blanc kept himself going while being isolated for all those months. coping by pretending ladybug was still with him and nothing was wrong, but slowly feeling uneasy and letting reality creep in. it shows how desperately he fights against his loneliness and pain with day dreaming, but still loses his mind. [fav lyrics: "anytime you smile baby you know you drive me wild, crazy! thats why you got me screamin, i think i might be dreamin", "believe me if im sleeping, i wanna keep on dreaming", "Someday soon this honey moon might be gone though, i hate goodbyes. I might not love you still, youll find no tougher pill to swallow (open your eyes)", "I stepped into a nightmare when i woke up from utopia starting to remember my depression and my phobias, why is everybody looking at me like i lost it?", "How can i be happy here? guess ill just pretend to be!" "no more sadness in this beautiful world, in love with happiness shes a beautiful girl!")

Mr bright side (the killers) - IM SORRY?? "it started out with a kiss how it did end up like this?" AND YOU DIDNT THINK THIS WOULD BE ON MY CHAT BLANC PLAYLIST?? thats really it for some reason this song is just so chat blanc to me. i love it.

Bad bad things (ajj) - im also a big fan of just bonkers insane scary chat blanc, him losing his humanity and only being able to see it reflected in mari/lb and not being able to stand it. him not being able to control his more violent ideas and losing himself in hurting others [fav lyrics: "So i looked into your eyes and i saw the reflection of a coward that you and i both hate very much", "If i dont go to hell when I die i might go to heaven but probably not"]

Akumanette

Dumb dumb (mazie) - i love the idea of an akumanette that just LOSES it on her friends after lila does some real stupid shit. none of her friends standing with her or supporting her and marinette getting so so upset and frustrated that they would be dumb enough to fall for it! which, being akumatized, of course wont come out the wrong way and is warped into this monstrous idea that marinette sees them as these morons who have disappointed her time and time again [fav lyric: "disappointment takes us by surprise even though by now i think we should have realized everyone is dumb"]

Class fight (melanie martinez) - god I LOVE AKUMANETTES THAT LOSE THEIR SHIT. lila putting distance and uncomfort between her and adrien (pre relationship) before marinette catches them kissing and get akumatized, and then marinette wrecks her shit :) her inner voice of reason feeling so horrified with the brutality and trying to get herself to realize but being able to deny monarchs voice encouraging her to act on her worst instincts [fav lyrics: "she had a boy wrapped around her finger tight, i fell in love with him but he wasnt in my life", "Her face was fucked up and my hands were bloody, we were in the playground things were getting muddy", "my one true love called me a monster"]

Bust your kneecaps - johnny dont leave me (pomplamoose) - i think this one really works well with an akumatized ladybug! her being so soft and scary to chat, chat blanc style, while promising to do horrible things to him. akumabug trying to convince him to 'just stop fighting' and 'hand over his miraculous' and then 'everything will be just the way it should be' and finally giving up and working instead to defeat chat rather than convince him

Therefore i am (billie eilish) - cold, angry akumanette FOR THE WIN OGH her just being such a silent but deadly akuma, her voice devoid of all the love and kindness it used to have when she was with adrien/chat, and him having to fight her while she shows no mercy. I just love the idea of chat doing anything he can, crying and begging marinette to fight it and come back to him and she has no pity for him [fav lyrics: "Get my pretty name out of your mouth, we are not the same with or without", "Did you have fun? i really couldnt care less and you can give them my best but just know im not your friend"]

Pretty privilege (blegh) - marinette being shown time and time again that the worst people will get away with horrible things, while she has to suffer beneath them and getting fed up. her letting all her feelings rise to the surface about how ugly she thinks people can truly be [fav lyrics: "Its crawling from underneath the surface nobodys first choice kind of ugly", "just because somethings pretty the laws dont apply to them have you noticed this shit its so ugly"]

Other friends (cristina vee cover) - i live for crazy akumanette losing her mind on everyone! what can i say! i love the idea of her confronting her friends and lilas lies in such a angry but playful way before losing her shit! and the added bonus of it being MARINETTES voice?? im screaming [fav lyrics: "What did she say about me, what did she say?", "Im the loser of the game you didnt know you were playing", "life on the line, winner takes all, ready or not lets begin!"]

Marigami/Kagaminette

She (dodie) - kagami fighting against her feelings for marinette because of their friendship, because of adrien, because of her mother, and because shes scared to admit she loves marinette far beyond how friends should. I love her just gently pushing that line, asking herself that question of "what is so wrong about it?" and working to accept that the pain and heartache are real because her feelings are [fav lyrics: "Could it be wrong when shes just so nice to look at ?", "id never tell, no id never say a word and oh it aches, but it feels ugly good to hurt"]

Sophie (black polish) - marinettes feelings for kagami! wanting to freeze her time with her, relive every moment they've been through and just experience the world by kagamis side. just how desperately they both need each others time and space, how comforting it is to just be with her. [fav lyrics: "youre impossible to read and thats fine, i dont even understand my own mind", "I just wanna escape the world sophie with you, with you, with you, with you"]

and an added bonus: i LOVE the song Bruno is Orange for kagami. reminds me of her so much.

[suffarustuffaru]

Im the rem x otto anon, so just to be clear bc i dont think i was in that ask

Rem is an amazing character and has a key role in the story, her character arc in arc 1 and 2 was amazing. BUT after she falls in love with Subaru, i feel that everything we saw of her gets sorta of erased? Its not the same Rem, and even though she did go through a major cathartic event, i think her character could have taken another direction than of being resumed as Subaru's love interest (when she is not fighting)

I feel tappei wasted some potential, bc i wanted to see her being confident about herself without the Subaru obsession (and we got this on arc 7 and 8 and i loved it)

oh yo hello again!! :o and oohh ok i think i kinda see what you mean? bc i do agree. (also my bad im gonna ramble again aljdflsj but i thought this topic is pretty interesting :o)

ok so. while i know the whole point of rems development in arc 3 is that while she means well, shes ultimately developed an unhealthy devotion to subaru, i still feel like arc 3 rem kind of. narratively speaking, i feel like her arc 2 traits and all her traits pre-subaru get kind of flattened. or ignored?? im not quite sure how to explain this but ill try my best aljdflsd. like ok this is complicated to talk about bc yeah rems arc as it is does serve a purpose, and arc 2 rem was different bc she was operating off of what she knew at the time and she only knew subaru as a stranger and/or enemy at first. her arc 2 to arc 3 development was rem trying to move on from her fixation on ram, but in the process ends up moving that fixation to subaru. but i do wish that tappei emphasized her personhood outside of subaru more EVEN WHILE she was placing her whole life around him. bc thats exactly what tappei does when hes writing otto.

otto as a character is a whole fleshed out person, and if you cut away all the parts that have to do with subaru, otto the character still stands on his own. with rem, the moment you hit arc 3, everything pre-arc 3 kind of. fades away, almost? of course its not that rem cant stand on her own as a character. the rem and ram prequel novel for example takes place from rems pov and shes absolutely fascinating throughout the entire story. but when you look at arc 3 rem and compare her to pre-arc 3 rem, i feel like tappei forgets to still show her outside of subaru. i feel like the narrative needs to call out rem a bit more for her unhealthy behavior bc tappei doesnt hold back when it comes to someone like otto. so where is the equal treatment for rem....??

i do feel like theres smth to be said about the writing being a little more neutral when rems doing smth Unhealthy bc of her subaru obsession. its fascinating. we have to read into it. but also then tappei turns around and takes the time to shit on otto for doing subaru obsession things and also tappei shits on subaru for being obsessive too and its like. tappei ............ what about rem........

roswaal too is another character whos big motivation is devotion for a love interest (yeah ok i know i too am metaphorically crying and vomiting at the idea of calling echidna a love interest for roswaal but that IS how he sees her) but he also stands on his own as a character even if you ignore everything connecting him to echidna. with roswaal and otto you get a good balance of them being Heavily connected to the people theyre respectively devoted to while also being able to stand on their own Narratively. bc i know the whole point of roswaal, otto, rem, etc is that theyre Dependent and Obsessed, but writing wise, they should still be able to take the spotlight when the spotlight is on them even when the person theyre devoted to has nothing to do with it.

and when you have multiple characters whos motivation is being Dependent and Obsessed, the differences are gonna be a bit stark. its a very fine line to walk with characters like this bc you cant have Everything about them revolve around another character. but also thats the point at the same time. its a very Very thin line to walk. subaru himself is also/was a Dependent and Obsessed character and like. well we all know how nuanced subaru is as a character. you could write essays and essays on him alone.

rem though, i feel, gets a little too flattened into the role of subarus love interest, but at the same time i can sort of forgive it for arc 3 bc of the plot beats being one after the other and her general Purpose in the story. but at the same time i really do wish tappei still emphasized WHO SHE IS outside of subaru. bc even while someone like otto is thinking about subaru A Lot (see: the ottos diary shorts, aka the episodes where ALMOST EVERY DAMN SHORT is about subaru), you still get a sense of ottos personality. hes analytical but easily flustered. he does get a little jealous. hes anxious and a bit of a coward. but also hes so brave when it really counts. hes in denial about how much he cares about people sometimes, even when its abundantly clear. hes practical but kind of emotional at the same time?? hes very perceptive. but also he can be a little dumb with perceiving himself and his own feelings bc of the aforementioned Denial and also theres the fact that he doesnt know Why he gets jealous of emilia talking about subaru. but also hes pretty smart with reading other people and their emotions. but at the same time hes a little egocentric at times and overly focuses on himself and forgets things like how other people actually perceive him. but at the same time hes focused on how people see him bc hes a merchant. thats the basis of his job. and also he has anxiety so he does care about that. etc etc.

rem in arc 3 though is like. shes soft sweet protective caring loyal....................... which is nice and all but its definitely a big difference from arc 2 rem and pre-arc 3 rem in general where we see a whole RANGE of different traits, emotions, etc. like even in her relationship with ram theres complexities - theres the envy, theres the kind of "debt" that she owes ram for saving her life, the kind of brief sick burst of joy that ram lost her horn and is now "equal" to rem in status, the guilt from feeling that way, but also is her life even worth Anything if shes not making herself useful, etc etc. and also - yes the softness the loyalty etc etc is part of rem. a crucial part of rem that she shows to her loved ones (ram and subaru) the most. but yeah as you said anon - arc 7 and 8 was really fascinating bc we finally get to see her outside of her fixation on subaru. i mean one example is that we see her act Cold in some parts of arc 2 and the coldness does carry over a bit in some parts of arc 7 (see: rem being mean about natsumi, rem defending herself against subaru bc being an amnesiac she used to just see subaru as Some Guy who was acting a little too chummy with her, etc etc).

but also in general. its nice to see her stand more on her own now. i do wish though that tappei emphasized her more even while she was deep in the subaru obsession, bc tappei has made MULTIPLE characters with similar plot beats to her and they were still very nuanced and complex :o !! not that rem isnt that bc she HAS all this depth and i adore her for that!! but shes definitely a little lacking in a few areas of her writing, imo. i am however interested to see where she goes in arc 8 for sure!!

[meili-sheep]

Barbara and Diluc are my two favorite characters in the whole game that arent the otherworldly siblings. Definitely not because of the projection and too deep understanding--

But like fr tho-- Barbara and Jean's relationship is like a worse genderswapped version of Diluc and Kaeya’s. Like that one anon said, Jean barely even acknowledges her as her sister and to me it just feels like the "Bad Ending" for what couldve happened to K and D. Even after The Incident, they still managed to scrape together some kind of friendly amicable relationship but Jean and Barbara have none of that.

Jean and Barbara's relationship to me barely even seem strained because theyve grown so distant to the point that theyre basically strangers to each other. Or at least its only strained at Barbara's end, as she still wants to be loved or at least acknowledged by Jean. Jean who at this point, cares for little else but Mondstat and making sure it stays safe. Heck-- even her death quote in game is "Mondstat...". Barbara's death quote is Jean's name. And we all know that cliche of "the last thing you say is the thing you love most" thing.

Jean, despite being the (temporary) overseer of the City of Freedom is shackled to her work station and duty. Barbara meanwhile, despite being incredibly devoted to her god, manages to set some sort of a balance between her work life and personal/private life. Sure, the balance might be incredibly uneven but its leagues better than what Jean has-- devotion to the point of using everything she can to ensure and pursue her desire. Yes, the desire is noble but it shouldn't be all consuming, it shouldn't be your whole ass life.

Okay mightve strayed a little from my point there oops-- what im trying to say with the above essay is that Diluc and Kaeya could've ended up like that, Diluc not acknowledging Kaeya as family and both of them losing themselves in their work or beliefs.

Im not one to compare characters to each other-- i believe that each character can and and should stand on their own and should be acknowledged, treated and respected as such. I dont like just using a character to raise another character up and only doing that, it seems like a disservice to me. But I understand that characters can be used as foils and you cant deny the few parallels these siblings have.

Diluc and Barbara to me are such wonderful and interesting characters because of their dynamics with the people closest to them and are still wonderful characters standing alone. They are both incredibly flawed and imperfect people but they're still doing whatever they can to be the best version of themselves they can be. I had a point somewhere in here but I think this just devolved into "i think barbara is a great character, heres my tedtalk on it" and im not even mad. I'd elaborate on my things more and a little more coherently but it is currently 1 am as of writing this and dear lordy id probably have to send you a multiple page essay or something AHAHA

TLDR-- i love Barbara and Diluc, theyre great characters i can relate to on a personal level and also because their own personal story is wonderful

Here is what I find relatable about Diluc and Barbara.

They are trying to be better people.

Diluc is trying to come to terms with his experience. And trying to learn to trust people again.

Barbara is trying to find the balance of being a positive role model and support while still trying to take care of herself.

Both are aware of their flaws and are trying their best to improve themselves.

And that's where Kaeya and Jean falter for me. They don't seem to have that same drive to try and improve. They are both much more comfortable keeping things as they are. And aren't really looking within themselves.

[dead-ghouls]

Theres no way that i could ask for a break down of what you see in his ftes in ask format is is there?? I already love korekiyo, but I'm really curious about what you have to say.

I can do that! The only thing is that most of what he says I’ll be quoting from memory, but direct quotes can be found in his FTEs and in-game dialogue on wiki. I’ll do my best to provide as many screenshots as I can, but I doubt I will be able to find all, it’s a very long process and I dont have the whole day.V3 spoilers below, ofc. Also TW various types of abuse, you know the drill if you played the game. Long post!Let’s start from what we know about Korekiyo. What makes him Korekiyo, what makes him stand out, what’s special about him. 

- Unique outfit- Long hair- His deep knowledge of anthropology- His interest in occult/speaking to the dead- His deep relationship with death, grief and how he looks at it- His love for ropes- Being a serial killer

Now let’s break down every trait he has and where it comes from.

Unique outfit

FTE 3, he tells us his sister made it for him to suit her tastes, claiming his school uniform doesnt suit him.

Long hairI don’t remember if it was mentioned in-game, but it was mentioned in V3 manga anthology, that his long hair is a memento to his sister, since she had long hair, so he refuses to cut it. It is stated that events of manga obviously not canon, but I dont think this claim was outside of his canon characterisation. 

His deep knowledge of anthropology

In the same FTE he mentions that Sister was the one who “pushed him to research as much as he could”

His interest in occult/speaking to the dead + his relationship with death and griefI dont think i gotta find proof for that, he mentioned travelling looking to speak to the dead, the whole ch 3 with Caged Child + he mentioned having near-death experience after a seanse (see next bullet point), and that’s how his Sister came to him.He speaks about human mortality and coming to terms with it, but he himself cant do that. 

He doesnt fear death, maybe he even seeks it - to reunite with his Sister [cut to him enduring his execution and seeing his spirit happy and free, ready to meet her] but no way he could properly cope with human mortality and his own grief. That’s where all the occult stuff comes in - him telling how he tried so many things and how nothing worked (?). He says it during ch3 investigation, if you wanna look for a direct quote. Him being into occult, speaking with the dead, being possessed by his Sister - all of it is just his ways of coping with loss. He was very dependant on her (I’ll talk about it more below) and couldnt stand being alone.

His love for ropesOf course it can be a kinky thing but also look closely at this exchange:

This incident with ropes is what actually ended up “reuniting” him with his Sister. Of course he’d hold a special interest to this kind of activity after. 

Being a serial killerWell this one is obvious. Who did he kill? Girls. Why did he do it? To bring friends to his Sister. Simple as that.

Now look back at every bullet point and tell me: do you see a pattern? Yep, every aspect of his life, likes, personality, experiences, even his looks - it all traces back to his Sister. Controlling what he wears, what he does, what he likes; even after her death he is deeply affected and is devoted to doing everything in her name. Now try to recall one single thing about Korekiyo that wasn’t his Sister influence. Something he likes maybe? Something he enjoys on his own free time? Even his official dislike is a reference to a gift you might give in-game, an air refreshener that exorcises ghosts [He believes that he is possesed]. All I can think of is him telling he prefers green tea over black in one of FTEs. Korekiyo that we see and interact with in game isn’t his own person, just a reflection of grief, his Sister wants and needs. His whole existence is just a devotion to his late Sister, and it was the same way when she was alive.

Sister’s personality

From what I mentioned you should already hear the faint bells ringing in your head. “Pushed me to study” “Told me my uniform doesnt suit me” “I will kill people because her spirit told me to”He respected her, depended on her a lot. No shit, Sherlock - he was his Older Sibling. A side note, he never mentioned anyone else from his family, only said that they “had to hide their relationship from others” once. Sadly, I cant remember where it was said. No matter if he had any family present or not (having no family would worsen the case, but with family present its still fucked up) he still depended on her a lot, maybe considered her a parental figure, or at the very least - a role model. Korekiyo’s analysis on youtube brings up a very valid point - anthropology couldve been her passion as well, she just couldnt actually fullfill it because of the sickness. Explains her “pushing” him to research it.Basically we have an older sibling holding power over a younger sibling, presumably, from a younger age. More of her personality and influence can be seen in his trial. “You mustnt lose composure, you mustnt become flustered, you mustnt waver”Im linking this bit, but I strongly recommend rewatching the full version where his Sister appears. She appears to be his guardian, keeping him in check, making him act right. Telling him what to do and how to act. She appears in moments of distress when he needs comfort. He depends on her, he listens, he does everything she tells him to. Im not gonna get into the whole tulpa thing, so if youre not on board with it, I recommend reading into it more, even wiki has a brief explanation. Basically this possession is just his mind, but it does hold her true personality. So Sister is: assertive, calm, plays a role of guardian, has power over Korekiyo due her age, his respect and dependance on her, probably her being his parental figure. 

Now tell me, how this power dynamic could be healthy, consensual and (a very popular opinion in the fandom) this relationship was started from Korekiyo’s advances? How a younger sibling, that was so dependant and devoted could be in a consensual relationship with his older sibling that always tells him what to do?Korekiyo was groomed, he’s a victim. Most people in fandom hate him for being creepy and a sister-banging freak, because he doesn’t fit your cookie-cutter perseption of abuse victims. Everyone thinks that abuse victims only come in “i hate my abuser, i am currently away from them and i am healing” package. Korekiyo was never given a chance to realize it was wrong, he never got a chance to heal. He was groomed, abused, used and forced into relationship. Told that it was secret and sacred, that theyre breaking the boundaries, that’s why he mustnt tell anyone about it. Of course he believed her - its his Sister. She convinced him that his love and dependance on her was romantic/sexual love.

The same analysis brings up a good point of his Sister guilt tripping him because of her illness. Never getting a chance for romantic love, never getting a chance to make friends.

What breaks my heart is that after all of this, after devoting his life to his Sister, studying what she wanted, wearing what she wanted, killing for her sake and even being executed because of her - he says that he wasn’t enough.

TLDR - Their power dynamic is very obvious from his FTEs and the trial, he was clearly groomed and abused, never got to recover from her manipulations. And fandom either fetishisizes their relationship, excusing their nasty kinks by saying it was consensual, or hates him because they never took the time to analyze the content. He was abused, he was manipulated, god knows what else was done to him when she was alive, and he died driven to insanity, full of grief devoted to his Sister and blaming himself for not being enough. As a side-note: it is completely okay being uncomfortable with his character/everything that happened in ch3. You dont owe anyone interacting with the piece of media depicting such topics. Your comfort and safety comes first. Kodaka is a shitty fucking writer. What is not okay is hating a character for being a victim. 

I probably missed a lot, my brain is very disorganized, so feel free to ask more questions/add your own opinion. 

[dragon-age-companions-speak]

Heyo! Found this delightful little page surfing for more DA content (again; thanks trailer) and thought I'd try an ask! Could I request reactions of all the DA:I companions to an Inquisitor that has been nothing but focused and serious about the whole thing just suddenly finding the cutest random object (like an abandoned music box) and going completely fan girl/boy over it for a few moments before remembering they're not alone? Thank you much and looking forward to your work!

Sent in by @bottastic0201 !!

((Oof, I deviated a bit from the ask, hope you don't mind! Also didn't include Blackwall cause I don't know his character to well yet as I never really had him as part of my party. Not to fear, he will be added later on!))

Cassandra: After the demon fight at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, Cassandra always had a certain respect for the Inquisitor, despite their poor first impressions. They took the Inquisition's cause very seriously, and were focused on closing the Breach perhaps even more so than she was. Of course, that didn’t stop the Seeker from at least chuckling at the sight of the Inquisitor fawning over a fancy little elven music box they found when exploring Skyhold, tucked away in some corner long covered in dust. They were exploring the lover levels of the grand fortress together, though Cassandra guessed they forgot she was even there whenever they spotted the little thing. It was made out of a black, sleek wood, and covered in carvings of wolves and halla with golden accents for the wolves’ eyes and the halla’s horns. Cassandra cleared her throat, arms crossed over her chest and a light smile playing at her lips. “Found something you like, Inquisitor?” The blush that crept onto their face was worth the little tease, and she had to promise them not to tell any of the others. If this little scene did manage to make it into one of Varric’s new books, she certainly wasn’t the one who told him.

Varric: Varric had to say that, in his time of both writing and following heroes, the Inquisitor was probably the most… Efficient one the dwarf had encountered. Sure, being driven to save the world from becoming ass deep in demons and corrupted with red lyrium was certainly commendable, though he did find himself missing Hawke’s snarky comebacks and sassy remarks. The Inquisitor was a serious leader, and didn’t usually humor his, well, humor. However, whenever the two stumbled across a little gold and white painted music box in a random part of the ass end of nowhere and the Inquisitor let out a little squeal at the sight, the dwarf couldn’t help but laugh. “Really, Stiffy? That’s what cracks you? A music box?” His gruff voice reminded the Inquisitor of his presence, and the blush of embarrassment that followed just made the dwarf grin. When they asked him to keep this little scene out of his book, all they got in return was a wider grin and a wink.

Solas: Before this little incident, Solas had a pretty neutral opinion of the Inquisitor. They were focused and did their assigned role well, and he couldn’t complain much about their serious demeanor. To be the Inquisitor was a hard task, and he understood what they had to carry on their shoulders and the face they had to put on for nobles and pretty courts. After all, he had the same weight on his shoulders, as well as a face of his own. Unlike a few of the more boisterous companions the Inquisitor has taken under their metaphorical wing, Solas doesn't interrupt them whenever they spot a charming little Dalish themed music box while combing through the Exalted Plains. He watches them fawn over the little wooden thing, running their fingers over the raven and bear carvings all over its surface. They pouted slightly once they realized the small box no longer played music, the handle broken and the gears inside probably long since rusted, and placed the pretty thing into their bag. “Shall we move on then, Inquisitor?”If this is after his personal quest ‘All New, Faded for Her’, and they tried to help his corrupted friend, the Inquisitor will find a new music box on the desk in their quarters. It is covered with delicate little designs of wolves and elves, obviously drawn by Solas’ hand, and when it’s golden handle is turned it plays a lovely tune that the Inquisitor is humming for days afterwards.

Sera: First impressions of the Inquisitor? A stuck up nob with too many sticks up their back-end mouth. They’re not fun to joke with, absolutely no help in pranking, and don’t appreciate a good bee nest inside of a training dummy. Sure, being serious was good and all, and being focused on what you want to do is fine, though Sera finds herself a little aggravated with them after a short time. Unlike most of the others, she was not exploring with the Inquisitor when she spotted them gushing over some slightly beat up doll in the middle of Redcliffe, though she was planning on pranking them with a good pie. However, whenever she spotted them holding the doll with the cheesiest smile on their face, cradling the small thing against their chest, Sera almost couldn’t handle it. She almost fell off of the roof she was spying on them from because of laughing so hard, which, or course, startled the Inquisitor to no end, and instead of being embarrassed they were almost terrified at the quirky elf’s barking laughter. “A doll?! You’re just putting me on, right? It’s a doll and you’re smiling at it like it’s just watered your damn crops!” Sera spoke in between laughing, and in the end, her pie ended up ruined all over the roof as she jumped down to the Inquisitor’s level. It becomes a constant thing she teases the Inquisitor about, and it’s not long before the rest of the Inner Circle knows.

Dorian: Dorian is not an unreasonable man. All he wants is a nice glass of wine in the morning, some decent fucking literature, and an Inquisitor who at least humors his jester personality just a tad more than the current one does. They dismiss any of his playful flirting and sarcastic comments, and suddenly that one glass of wine turns into two. It’s not that he minds them being extremely driven- Far from it, actually, though he wished that their devotion also came with a little sense of humor. So one can imagine how unimaginably pleased the ‘Vint was whenever they came across a pretty little mabari figurine at the Winter Palace. They were supposed to be looking for some halla statues or something to open a door in their way, and instead, found a golden painted dog in one of the guest rooms. While Dorian thought it would be more fitting to find in Ferelden, the Inquisitor was overly pleased to have found it at all. The dog had a golden chain attached to it, and it wasn’t long before it was around the Inquisitor’s neck and they were standing in front of the best mirror they could find to see how it looked. “I personally think drakestone would suit you better. Really brings out your eyes.”Dorian spoke casually as he stepped behind the Inquisitor, looking at their reflection in the mirror as they nearly screamed at his. The flushed look on their face and wide eyes were more than enough of a reward for his teasing, and he spent a lot of their time left at the Palace making similar comments.

Vivienne: Similar to Solas, Vivienne’s initial reaction to the Inquisitor was pretty neutral. They were serious in the work that they did and driven to rid the world of this nightmare, so she had a certain respect for them for taking the role as leader of the Inquisition in stride. She didn’t have a problem with their serious demeanor, and it made speaking to them much more tolerable than speaking to someone like Cole or Sera, who were either too cryptic or too aggravating to understand. Whenever they did find a little pretty trinket and the Inquisitor all but gushed over it, she found it almost charming. A powerful, grand person of power absolutely fawning over a wooden doll was almost unbelievable, yet here they were. They were shopping in Val Royeaux when the Inquisitor spotted the doll, and Vivienne felt a little pity for them. After all, the Inquisition’s money was always tight, and a doll was seemingly worthless in the grand scheme of their cause. With a gentle sigh, Vivienne stepped forwards and bought the wooden thing with her own money, which rewarded her with another smile from the Inquisitor. “No need to thank me, my dear. Do keep that out of Sera’s reach, though. I fear she may end up breaking it.”While it was nice to have a devoted leader, they still needed their reasons to smile. Vivienne was many things, and cruel wasn’t one of them. Bluntly honest? Maybe. But never cruel.

Iron Bull: Having a serious leader such as the Inquisitor was somewhat of a change for The Iron Bull. Having been with his boys for so long took away a lot of the seriousness from his own personality, so it was a bit of a difficult transition. They didn’t seem to care for his beautifully crafted puns and endearing nicknames, and was nothing but straight to the point when invited to drink with him and his boys. Bull understood that certain jobs needed to be taken with a certain amount of committedness, though it was a bit of a damper whenever they didn’t respond to a joke or laugh at his foolish nicknames. So, whenever his favorite ‘Vint and lieutenant Krem made a stuffed nug for the Inquisitor to hopefully lighten their mood, Bull was the one to volunteer to give it to them. He brought it to them right after him and the Inquisitor slayed their first dragon together as a ‘congratulations’ for the kill. They eyed the nug carefully before taking it away from Bull, giving him a curt ‘Thank you’ before closing the door to their quarters. He was a little disappointed with their reaction, as he knew Krem would be, though before he left he heard the most suspicious of noises from inside of the Inquisitor’s room. He grinned as he realized the Inquisitor was squealing over their gift, and he swore he could hear them speaking to the stuffed nug as well. “I’ll tell Krem you liked his gift!”Bull called through the door, and the sudden silence was enough to make him laugh. He brought the good news to his boys (And Varric), and they drank over a good kill and finally being able to know what makes the Inquisitor tick.

Cole: Cole didn’t know what to think of the Inquisitor at first. They were bright- Even without the mark they were bright and blinding and good. He didn’t really understand why Sera and some of the others got aggravated at them whenever they were so devoted to sealing the Breach and helping people. He knew they didn’t laugh as much as the others did, but it was only because they didn’t know when to laugh.She grins, a joke meant to be laughed at and shared, but they don’t. An odd look, then embarrassed, but it’s too late to do what they were meant to do, and the joke is ruined.It brings him joy when they find the music box Solas left for them because it makes them happy. It sings a song belonging to skulls and paints a story they don’t know, but they still love it.Winding, winding until it’s wound and sings. It’s so like him, so strange yet so harmonious, like a wolf howling to the sun. How long did it take him? Days, weeks? So pretty yet so tedious- Have to thank him later. Cole doesn’t interrupt them, and instead, watches passively as they hold the box in their lap and hum along to it, the stress of their day melting as the music plays.

[flowisk]

top ten ships ever in forever

gosh this is a super hard question thanks... i got a bit rambley. TOP TEN. of forever. here we go.1. charisksriel / charasriel / friskriel (flowisk) - for charasriel, codependency issues. but with great room for characters to develop. it comes in all sorts of different brands - bad times, good times, and both of those brands of the ship are easily forseeable based off their (super bad) history and the ways their futures could take. honestly unlimited explorations and possibilities when it comes to two bad kids learning to cope or messing up horribly under pressures beyond them. for friskriel, dealing with coping with being a bad relationship before... no one ever writes about this, but flowey and frisk also share the knowledge of loops and time twisting back and how this might effect them in regards to trauma. i really like chariskriel, but im not so big on variants that don’t include asriel or minimize his role lol.2. claptrap/lb/gortys - true. there’s no content. absolutely true. but at least i get to think about it. i get to warm my hearts to its coals in the dead of night and i wrote a really long post about why i think its good so....3. oswald/gwendolyn - uhh, two absolutely abused codependent people who are denied independence by the people they care about/are extremely devoted and who then turn that devotion towards people who are good and kind to them in a healthier more constructive way? sign me up4. abemiha - we get to see these kids at their roughest, figuring shit out and coping poorly, and we get to see them make mistakes, and we get to see them realize... they don’t know anything, theyre struggling to socially adjust themselves to have healthy relationships and succeed. yes this show is about baseball. and trust.5. komahina - these two actually work as incredible foils to each other... and both of them make each other struggle with who they are, not always in a bad way... there’s hurt and growth in their relationship and forgiveness.6. utena/anthy - who is more classic... honestly. ‘selfishness’ to ‘understanding’. wanting to be a hero, to coming to understand them as a person and not an object, or a moral backing you want to perceive them as. classic.7. amedot - make or break was Too Far for a lot of people, and it sold me on their relationship. their statuses as being complete opposites in what validates them. theyre both... Bad in some respects, and encourage some bad habits in each other, but i’d love to see them grow. and they’re the kind of characters who... i feel peridot is really valuable in amethyst could prob be open about things she thinks and peridot wouldnt judge her. i believe in their ability to grow maturely w each other though tbqh. theyre just a bit younger than everyone else.8. lapidot - became a pretty supportive and warm relationship for them both. it’s good to see lapis have someone she can feel a bit more comfortable with, and for peridot to have someone she can share interests of hers with and joke with. they both kind of have an alienness to how they approach the earth bc theyre not as familiar with the others, so they can relate over that too.9. daverezi - classic. i cannot forget my origins. very few m/f relationships had the interaction these two had? i just really enjoyed how sharp and acerbic and... at times, the relationship was not good for them but, the idea of these two taking a sunny roadtrip together and closing up all contact with the outside world is forever emblazoned in my mind. which is. Bad for them but helps them work stuff out. dealing with depression, neglect and mental shit together. ideal. (i think other relationships are good too but... i still like this)10. johnkat - theyre soft movie bros. this was my big ship way back when so i cant forget... idk... there was something about how karkat and john really ended up talking backwards in time and struggling to get from where they started to where they ended up relationship wise. the confusing timeline of conversation they were operating on really endeared me to their interactions. weird time shit. when homestuck was good it was good (and then it wasnt)

[tumblunni]

Rune Factory Headcanons: Dolce And Pico

I’m gonna start rambling ideas and stuff because I LOVE THIS GAME! They’ll probably all be super long posts but its slightly less long if I split them up by character, at least. So.. woooo, lets go!!

* I’ve only played through the female protagonist route so far so I dont know everything about Dolce yet, apologies if I get anything wrong. * Does anyone else find it odd that she’s the only one who doesn’t really have any monster traits, out of the guardians? I mean, her monster form was humanoid but it still was a monster. I would have assumed she’d at least keep the blue skintone or something. So my headcanon is that she does still have some monster powers like everyone else, even if her design doesnt show it as much. I think maybe it’d be cool if she was still kinda marionettelike? Like her skin is abnormally cold and she doesnt have a heartbeat. Maybe she keeps her fangs? Gets mad when people mistake her for a vampire! And I dunno, maybe she can still levitate a little. Her and Pico have even more in common now! * or I dunno, maybe she wasn’t an elf before she became a guardian, and her long ears are meant to be her monster trait? * A thought: since its said that Pico ‘scans’ outfits she sees and can wear them even though she’s a ghost, maybe her current outfit is her cosplaying Marionetta? or maybe when Dolce became Marionetta she became a monster form similar to Pico because they’re BFFs? * I know the game doesn’t really focus on it, but I think it must have been especially sad for Pico to remain awake for the entire time Dolce was sleeping as Marionetta, waiting to find an Earthmate who could free her friend. Pico’s such a goofball that she probably wouldnt admit it, but I feel like she’s so over-the-top with her love for Dolce nowadays because she missed her so much. And it could have been an interesting Town Event to deal with, actually! Like, Dolce noticing Pico is acting weird because from her perspective she was just asleep for a moment but for Pico its been so long that its like she cant even remember how she used to act around her best friend. Maybe having to rebuild their relationship a little before Pico starts being her goofy prankster self again, instead of just starting off that way? * Also I like to headcanon that Marionetta’s marionette strings (called Handetta in the monster book) are actually a separate creature. I like the idea I came up with of that being Pico using her ghost powers to try and restrain her monsterified friend, but being dragged around cos she’s not strong enough. * A possible other idea for ‘what if pico got a bigger role and her own series of Town Events’, maybe Pico feeling guilty that some part of her is secretly happy that Dolce is a monster too now, and they’ve been able to stay together for centuries longer than she expected. No matter how much tragedy happened, its still good that she hasnt had to watch her friend die yet, and that she gets to see dolce find a new family. But still someday she WILL die, and maybe Pico is now worried she might make the same mistakes Dolce did when Ventuswill was dying. I think thats the only reason Pico could have possibly had for not being angry at Dolce for running off and becoming a guardian without her, she knows she would have become a guardian to save Dolce if it was her in danger. Well, that and its hard to be angry when you’re seeing someone for the first time after hundreds of years! * Possibly there could have been an event of Pico getting jealous of you getting romantically involved with Dolce? I mean, i know the game likes to be a buttface and have everyone acting incredibly gay yet nobody is allowed to be canonically gay, but am I allowed to just headcanon that Pico is? Well, mostly cos her being all pervy jokes to Dolce would be creepy pseudo-incest if theyre supposed to be ‘like sisters’. I totally headcanon that its a situation where like... childhood friend love, but unrequited. Alas Dolce doesnt feel the same way, and Pico respects that and tries to joke around to make things less awkward. So she’s totally a supportive shipper of you X Dolce after the lil jealousy plotline is resolved, she just wants Dolce to be happy. * This is why I really wish Pico was a marriage option!! Well, that and she’s a ‘really older than she looks’ character that doesnt actually ACT like a child. I always felt uncomfortable on amber and kiel’s romance routes cos they both look and act like theyre too young to date you. if the game had to have a weirdly youthful looking character of ambiguous age, it coulda at least been the funny ghost who acts like a pervy teen! Also i just feel bad that the player steals Dolce from her, even if she doesnt have a crush on Dolce its still stealing Dolce from her since Pico is haunting her and Dolce is the only person who can touch her. They’d be spending a lot less time together if you get married, Pico would have to be floating off in another room reading a book all the time while you’re on dates or doing the do. She doesnt even have the courtesy of being able to go particularly far away and find something else to distract her :P * Alternative solution that would have also been good: if you could have a romance bar for Pico and then be able to have a polyamorous marriage with both her and Dolce! * Alternative alternative solution: if you could choose to romance just Pico instead, and maybe she’s able to transfer over to haunting you instead once you fall in love, which also makes you able to kiss and stuff. ^_^ * Though it would probably be very sad for Dolce cos if she’s been living together with Pico since they were both children it would take a long time to get used to being alone. * Also! Some headcanons potentially for Pico’s aliveness and how they met and stuff! We only hear ingame that Pico was haunting the house Dolce’s family moved into, and they were together ‘since we were babies’. I dunno, I think I’m gonna try and pretend that’s a translation mistake because personally I’d feel it would be hard to imagine they WEREN’T raised as sisters if Pico was haunting the house since that early on. it would be rather more uncomfortable that Pico makes pervy jokes about dating someone who was literally raised as her sister. * Anyway, bunni’s undeveloped possible headcanon for alive-Pico! I was thinking possibly if she’s a ghost and she died at such a young age, she must have come back because she died super tragically, right?? Maybe her family was wiped out by the Sechs empire like Doug’s tribe was? Or maybe she somehow died in some way that gave her reason to hate Dolce’s family, which is why she started haunting their young daughter in particular. Like, her father’s dying breath was cursing this family’s unborn child, and his daughter’s ghost tried to follow that wish. So she started off pulling pranks on Dolce out of actual malice, but ended up becoming her closest childhood friend instead and growing to abandon that grudge. I’m thinking since Dolce (at least probably) is an elf and we cant see pico’s ears to tell what she was in life, maybe she was a human or a dwarf or some other race that had a conflict with elves at the time? or maybe just her family lived in the same town as dolce’s family and they were romeo and juliet style rival clans who would wish revenge upon each other’s descendants like that. Anyway I need to develop the idea but I like this as a fanfic plot, that maybe there’s some reason they werent friends at first and there’s a plotline of how Pico became so devoted to her that she’d wait centuries guarding Marionetta. (Seriously I am so emotional over that) * Also its never really expanded upon but its implied maybe Dolce became Pico’s haunting target because she had some latent spiritual power or something...? When they briefly describe how they were friends since Dolce was a kid, it says about how Dolce could see her and touch her even before anyone else could. Which is curious cos it implies some stuff about how the possession works! So Pico wasn’t always ‘attatched’ to Dolce like this? She wasn’t always able to be seen by other people? Maybe she started off ‘attatched’ to the mansion itself and like... ghosts work in a way that they have to possess a human because they have no power otherwise? Or maybe the only other way of gaining power is to go mad, and become one of the undead-category monsters that dont seem able to speak or take humanoid forms like pico. Its a bit confusing cos some of them are called ghosts and some are called spirits instead, and some are called both depending on which menu description you read... * I’m just very upset that they introduced ghosts as a race in the rune factory series and they never explained anything about them or gave the one ghost character a romance route :P Maybe thats why I’m weirdly more interested in Pico’s backstory than Dolce’s?

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The Dark, Twisted Fairy Tales ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Is Based On

A wealthy merchant falls into penury after his ships founder at sea. He moves his family to the countryside to live a more frugal lifestyle. His six daughters and six sons resent the loss of their comfortable life, their social engagements, and their many admirers. His youngest daughter, Beauty, is the only one to make the best of the circumstances, throwing herself into the daily upkeep of the home in order to keep the family clean and fed. Her older sisters, who are less beautiful and less dutiful, resent her, and they mock her for contenting herself with menial work.

Have you read this story before? Not sure? Heres just a bit more:

Then, the merchant receives a welcome surprise: One of his ships, thought to be lost at sea, has come safely to harbor with its full cargo. His children think their fortune will surely be restored. When he sets out for the city to deal with his freight, he takes with him requests from his sons and daughters for expensive clothes and other gifts. Only Beauty is hesitant to ask for a gift, and finally asks that he bring her a single red rose.

Now is the story starting to sound familiar? One more hint: A live-action film based on the fairy tale is hitting theaters this week.

Like so many fairy tales, Beauty and the Beast has evolved considerably during its journey from oral tradition to the page to the screen. Moreover, there is not only one literary version but dozens. Today, Disney-fied fairy tales are most familiar to the masses in their animated forms; the originals, when revisited, can seem comparatively brutal and dark.

Unlike Disneys Cinderella and Snow White, however, Beauty and the Beast hardly sugarcoats the violence of the original. Its literally a romance between a captive woman and the monster she at first believes might physically attack her.

Still, the original fairy tale might not sound terribly familiar to readers.

The definitive, most well-circulated version, La Belle et le Bte, was composed byJeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and published in 1756. Her story, a short and sweet tale with a small cast of archetypal characters the ingnue, the loving yet hapless father, the protective brothers and jealous sisters, and the hideous but noble-hearted hero.

Thats right: Though Disneys Belle is an only child, in the classic tale she has siblings. Unsurprisingly, her sisters serve the role of foils for Beauty. Shes gorgeous, theyre merely average-looking; shes generous, theyre selfish and envious; shes hardworking, theyre lazy; shes well-read, theyre frivolous:

The youngest, as she was handsomer, was also better than her sisters. The two eldest had a great deal of pride, because they were rich. They gave themselves ridiculous airs, and would not visit other merchants daughters, nor keep company with any but persons of quality. They went out every day to parties of pleasure, balls, plays, concerts, and so forth, and they laughed at their youngest sister, because she spent the greatest part of her time in reading good books.

In Beaumonts story, Beautys father, a ruined merchant, stumbles upon the Beasts castle when returning from a futile trip to recover profits from a trading ship that unexpectedly returned to harbor. Caught in a storm, he takes refuge in a mysterious castle where he meets no one, but finds food, a fire, and a bed prepared for him. When he leaves, he takes a single rose from the garden to bring Beauty which brings the Beasts wrath down upon him. In exchange for his life being spared, he agrees to return with one of his daughters. Beauty agrees to go, though shes fearful that the monster will eat her.

Instead, shes given a lavish chamber and plied with good food and constant entertainments. She never sees anyone except in the evening, when the Beast joins her for dinner. She enjoys his sensible conversation, but every night he asks her to marry him, and she refuses. Finally, after several months, she admits that while shes quite attached to him, she misses her family. The Beast allows her to return home for a visit, but warns that if she delays her return, he will die of grief.

This is where the sisters get extra vicious! Jealous of the finery Beauty wears upon her return, they overwhelm her with affection so that she will miss her deadline, assuming that the Beast will kill her and eat her in his anger. Instead, Beauty returns late and finds the Beast dying of sadness. Seeing him on his deathbed, she realizes that she loves him and begs him to live and marry her. Immediately, he is restored to his handsome, princely self and Beauty is rewarded for choosing a virtuous husband over a handsome or witty one. Her sisters are condemned to be living statues outside the castle, forever viewing their sisters better fortune.

OK, sure, this isnttoo different from Disneys take. But this is only the beginning. It turns out that Beaumonts fairy tale was an abridged adaptation of a 1740 story written byGabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve very abridged.

Villeneuves La Belle et le Bte features monkeys that speak via parrot interpreters (they serve Beauty and keep her company in the palace), five jealous sisters and six brothers, and an exhaustingly elaborate backstory revealed at the conclusion of the tale involving ugly evil fairies attempting to force handsome princes into marriage, baby princesses being snatched from the cradle, and both fairy and human political struggles for power.

The didactic message of the story is also more heavy-handed, and more retrograde: Beauty has an imaginary lover, a handsome prince who speaks to her in her dreams; in the same dreams, shes visited by a lovely woman who urges her to look past superficial qualities. Beauty has fallen in love with her dream prince, but the longer she stays with the Beast, as he has demanded, the more sympathetic she feels toward him. Though the Beast in Villeneuves version is not only hideous but has been cursed to stupidity, and can barely carry on a conversation, she feels more and more guilty that she doesnt marry the Beast out of gratitude for the opulent life hes provided for her and the love he feels for her. Finding him dying of grief:

She regretted her conversations with the Beast, unentertaining as they had been to her, and what appeared to her extraordinary, even to discover she had so much feeling for him. She blamed herself for not having married him, and considering she had been the cause of his death … heaped upon herself the keenest and most bitter reproaches.

Its worth noting that the Beast himself spurned the love of an ugly fairy who fell in love with him. She curses him in retaliation, imprisoning him in a beasts body but while this makes her the villain of the story, Beasts imprisonment of the woman he hopes to marry is painted as kind and generous. Belle isnt granted the luxury, like the Beast, of rejecting an unattractive suitor; shes expected to learn to accept his love. Ultimately, she decides to marry him because she owes him and is fond of him, proving her virtue by denying her own desires and choosing instead a man whos earned her through his love and gifts.

In short, the Beast may have been the original Nice Guy!

Those two stories dont cover the full breadth of Beauty and the Beast tales. Some believe the roots go back thousands of years, and many cultures have some variety of the story.

In the Italian rendition, The Pig King, written in the mid-16th century by Giovanni Francesco Straparola, a queen is cursed to have a son who appears as a pig until hes been married three times.When hes grown, his mother convinces the first daughter of a poor family to marry him, but the girl is horrified at the match and tries to kill him on the wedding night. He tramples her with his hooves, killing her instead. The same happens to her younger sister. Then he marries the virtuous youngest sister, who is kind and accepting of her new husband. At night he reveals himself as a handsome young man to her, and the couple eventually rules the kingdom together. Yes, despite the fact that he literally stabbed her two sisters to death with his hooves, the girl falls in love with him.

A truly bonkers Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, stars a white bear who convinces a peasant to give him his youngest,prettiest daughter. At night, he comes and sleeps with her as a man, though she cant see him. One night, she lights a candle to see his face, but drips hot tallow on him and wakens him. As a consequence, he has to marry his evil stepmothers choice for him: a troll princess. But his young lover refuses to give up, following him to the troll kingdom and winning his hand through trickery at which point the troll princessexplodes in rage. (Literally, she explodes.)

In many of these older versions, Beauty is distinguished most by her docility and selflessness. Even her bookishness, so heavily played up by Disney, is merely one aspect of her dutiful feminine lifestyle she plays a variety of instruments, enjoys art and the theater, and amuses herself in the country by dress[ing] her hair with flowers when shes not cheerfully caring for the home. Other female characters who privilege their own desires are portrayed as spoiled and even cruel, and aside from elevating Beauty as the one deserving woman, they often serve the function of disposable vessels for male needs (see: those two poor women who are trampled to death by a pig).

The Beast might prove his worth through devoted love, but Beauty proves hers through submerging her own passions and awarding herself to the most worthy suitor. The message is clear: Women should love the ones theyre with, no matter how seemingly repulsive its all part of the life of extreme self-sacrifice that makes them worthy of happiness and respect.

Disneys Beauty and the Beast tweaked this story, making Belle an unconventional bookworm with an independent streak rather than a pretty, submissive maiden. It relegated the unsympathetic, frivolous female role to a chorus of silly village girls who swoon over Gaston, rather than making a cruel sister central to the story. Emma Watson, who portrayed Belle in Disneys live-action remake, has openly hinted that the new, updated heroine will be still more brilliant and self-reliant.

Certain aspects of the story, though, will remain and some of the most shocking and controversial aspects of the story are the very plot points that make it Beauty and the Beast.When it comes right down to it, every version is essentially the same story: A beautiful woman redeems her hideous captor with her love parrot/monkey servants optional.

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from The Dark, Twisted Fairy Tales ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Is Based On