#shut up theres a lot of characters

[deathandthemaiden23]

An incomplete list of things I appreciate about Shrek 2, written as I was watching it after having consumed an inordinate amount of the devil's lettuce:

The "Sargeant Pompous and Fancy Pants Club Band" scene with the fanfare that turns into Hawaii Five-O I can't properly illustrate to you how much this scene tickles me its perfect the regal buildup with the fanfare the perfectly spirited rendition of the Hawaii Five-O theme by Reggie and then Sargeant Pompous cutting him off with a head smack just ugh amazing peak cinema

The whole movie in summary is just "rip Shrek" because I stg within the first 15 minutes ALONE he gets cockblocked by Donkey, loses the fight to go see his in-laws, gets the piss annoyed out of him by Donkey once again the entire ride over, and THEN he accidentally hits on the queen 10 seconds into their first conversation when he says "its easy to see where Fiona gets her good looks from" like just pour one out for this guy he's dead he's ceased to be bereft of life he rests in peace

Fairy Godmother's first song where she's singing to Fiona about getting the "prince with the sexy tush" just tickles me because she's singing about HER SON she's like dishing with Fiona about boys but the boy is THAT fuckin weiner I just omg

Harold at one point says he's just taken his pills and that they make him drowsy which is funny to me because the SCU (shrek cinematic universe) takes place in a largely medieval setting and yet somehow there's still modern pills widely accessible and they probably didn't call them pills back then anyway I just idk its shit like this that makes me love Shrek

When Harold is talking with Fairy Godmother in the coach and she says "YOU FORCE ME TO DO SOMETHING I REALLY DONT WANT TO DO" in front of the window to Friar's Fat Boy Prince Charming has like... the funniest fucking smug look on his face as he looks at his mom and then back at Harold like I never noticed his face in that shot before and its SO funny I recommend laser focusing on it the next time you watch it lmfao

The fact that there was a point in time where Puss just fuckin hung out at the Poison Apple being a brooding mercenary-for-hire in the backroom of the bar like that's how he was introduced into this series his first interaction with Shrek was trying to kill his ass and I just think that's amazing when juxtaposed with his current personality like does he just take on a new identity with each new life I bet Death was having a good time watching this jackass risk his life trying to kill other people only to come back and hang out in a dark ass room by himself in a seedy bar lmfao

THE FUCKING "SIR JUSTIN" POSTER IN FIONA'S ROOM WHICH I NEVER UNDERSTOOD AS A CHILD BECAUSE I WAS TOO YOUNG TO KNOW OF JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SO I JUST DIDNT UNDERSTAND IT AT THE TIME AND NOW ITS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST THROWAWAY JOKES I'VE *EVER* SEEN IN A MOVIE HANDS DOWN

I think it's interesting that Shrek kinda just reads Fiona's childhood diary, something that would be considered big enough to warrant an Act 2 betrayal arc but... Nothing really comes of this, if anything at all and I just think that's... huh. Guess they had too much fucking meat on the sandwich that was Shrek 2 to work in that pickle of a situation like yeah Fiona knows that Shrek read her diary but she doesn't seem to hold it against him and I think that's an interesting take on that type of plot thread it just goes to show just how much they seem to trust and love each other

I love the fact that Fairy Godmother apparently regularly indulged in posh frippery like having coffee and monte cristos and things that are "deep-fried and smothered in chocolate" because that inherently implies that there is a kitchen somewhere in the factory and she has people in her employ specifically to bring her shit like that around the clock she has a gourmet kitchen somewhere in that fucking factory also are we to assume that she might be eating like this more frequently lately as a result of Harold ruining her diet I just idk where I'm going with this point is there's so many things like this in this movie that make me want to ask a thousand more questions

Knowing that Fairy Godmother was apparently making the love potion that comes into play later when Shrek walks in on her in the factory is so funny because goddamn she really is trying to pimp her son out lmfao

The chase scene through the factory gives me goosebumps every time I watch it like make fun of the Shrek soundtracks' tendencies to use eclectic modern music all you want but said music is actually reasonably applicable to the plot and fits the movie well and like the cover of Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" in this scene literally fits the plot so well when taking into account the difficulties Shrek and Fiona are having in their marriage and Shrek is literally taking action to save said marriage because like the narrator in the song he doesn't want to lose the other person despite all the difficulties they're having I just ach man these movies just get me every time I watch them

I LOVE how Fiona has her own agency as a female character? She's capable of kicking ass all on her own and taking charge when she needs to; in the third act of this movie she doesn't just wait around for Shrek to come back she actively makes a plan to go out and look for him and then go back home to the swamp so they can both be happy its just so apparent to me that the people that write these movies really care about fleshing her out because she IS the secondary protagonist after Shrek and before you say what about Donkey he's an important character but the story revolves around Shrek and Fiona's relationship more or less and centers on them going through all the stages of love and marriage together and I just really appreciate that Fiona is given time as a character to do things on her own independent from Shrek she's just a kickass female lead okay tons of good female characters in Shrek but she's one of the best

Since I mentioned Donkey I feel it would be remiss not to mention his bond with Shrek? Its developed a lot during the first Shrek but like with Shrek and Fiona's relationship his friendship with Donkey just becomes a lot more natural in 2, like Shrek genuinely likes having Donkey around. He puts up with him annoying the piss out of him during the ride to Far Far Away and lets him come along to begin with instead of leaving him at home, he jokes around with him and teases him a fair amount, and he like even apologizes if he snaps at him I just appreciate Shrek actually working to be there and be good to the people he cares about since he's spent so much time alone and only looking out for himself Dreamworks' ability to make their relationships seem real and developed and organic regardless of the limited runtime is so amazing to me like they did such a good job with Shrek and Fiona obviously but Shrek and Donkey are friends before anything else happens and in a way Shrek's friendship with Donkey is what opens him up enough to see a future with Fiona in the first place

I CANT BELIEVE I NEVER NOTICED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLIMAX WHEN FAIRY GODMOTHER LEAVES HER COACH TO "WALK" DOWN THE RED CARPET KYLE IS WEARING A SHIRT THAT SAYS "KYLE" IN RHINESTONES I AM PISSING MYSELF LAUGHING

The fact that modern tech like TVs somehow exists in this universe never fails to tickle me lmfao like it somehow makes Shrek so much more entertaining to me personally knowing something called "Wheel of Torture" canonically exists and is being broadcast to anyone with a TV apparently which begs the question if this tech is easily accessible or not to everyone in the SCU because they don't exact zero in on stuff like this

Given the fact that Gingy wants to watch stuff like Wheel of Torture over the Far Far Away Royal Ball it makes total sense that he'd see the medieval equivalent of Cops and be like "now THIS is good TV" Gingy is a bootlicker confirmed

The fucking OJ Simpson reference is another one of those things that flew right over my head as a kid and now that I'm an adult I know they most likely threw that shit in to amuse parents but still oh my god the audacity of the Shrek crew to even do this bit at all is unparallelled

MODERN GRAFFITI EXISTS IN SHREK APPARENTLY? I HAVE NO THOUGHTFUL COMMENTARY ON THAT I JUST NOTICED IT DURING THE KNIGHTS SCENE AND LOST MY SHIT

ALSO THE SCENE WHERE THEY GRIND PEPPER IN SHREK'S EYES INSTEAD OF MACING HIM I JUST... AGH THE JOKES MAN THEY ALMOST ALWAYS HIT

Oh god man the climax just... The climax. You get chills when Holding Out For a Hero starts and Fairy Godmother's dress turns red and sparkly?? When Fiona keeps dodging Prince Charming's advances during the instrumental break??? PUSS DUKING IT OUT WITH THE KNIGHTS IN THE CASTLE WHILE TELLING SHREK AND DONKEY TO KEEP GOING WITHOUT HIM???? SHREK BEING LIKE HEY YOU FUCK BACK AWAY FROM MY WIFE WHEN HE FINALLY GETS TO THE COURTYARD????? FUCK MAN JUST FUCK

Fucking LOVE freeze-frame credits and Shrek 2 is the best damn example of it imo it just gives you goosebumps when the names pop up during key scenes with the characters AND DONKEY AND PUSS ARE SINGING LIVIN LA VIDA LOCA THE WHOLE TIME????

LOVE the other version of Holding Out For a Hero featured during the first credits, genuinely spine-tingling

I really appreciate how like... People generally tend to like Shrek when they get to know him better? Donkey, Fiona obviously, Puss starts off trying to kill him and then becomes like best friends with him, her parents warm up to him and even the whole of Far Far Away applauds when Shrek kisses Fiona at the end I just awh its so nice this whole series is like a gentle yet hilarious reminder that even outcasts are worthy of love maybe that's why I vibe so hard with Shrek its core message hits very close to home for me and even with Last Wish the whole philosophical discussion of life and treasuring what you have is such a good, good message that ALSO hits home super hard I've gone on long enough Shrek 2 is a masterpiece, easily tied with Last Wish as my favorite of the series

[corviiids]

THANKS @kimdokjafan you are so kind and generous. ok im cashing in the first of three blank checks to talk about faith trust and pixie dust (most recent chatfic) because the last two directors commentaries were too serious so let's do a silly one.

some p5r spoilers, and this is mostly about sumire, and it's long again. do i need to keep disclaiming that these are long? you should know me by now.

i had this written for a while before i started formatting it because i wasn't really sure if i should post it? i feel like silly chatfic is something people go to for predominantly lighthearted nonsense so i was like, maybe there's too much plot and dramatic misunderstanding and i should just keep this one for myself. but then i was like well nothing matters and maybe someone will have fun with it. it's kind of terrible how much fully or mostly completed fic there is my docs that just doesn't see the light of day lol. write for yourself etc but i like sharing! too bad it comes with the mortifying ordeal etc. anyway that was a tangent

potato counter is a neopets game. there's no deep lore i just like neopets. i guess in this universe ryuji doesn't play neopets? or maybe he's just never played potato counter specifically. i also have a different fic where ryuji DOES play neopets. it's about neopets and ryuji and goro talking on neopets.

i think this might literally be the first time ive written sumi in a fic because i haven't actually written that much fic for royal, like, now that im looking, literally almost none? and none that had a group dynamic. so it was kind of fun to find her voice for the first time in a silly groupchat like this. i was worried people would find her exclamation marks annoying but i personally thought it was endearing so i added it in there.

every time i do a gag where a character corrects their own typo i have to code more stupid little bubbles to make it happen but i think it's worth it. all the effort that goes into making tgis look as much like a real chat as possible

this obviously doesnt take place in the canon p5/r universe, but im imagining sort of a postcanon sumi personality where she's more comfortable being herself and isn't borrowing kasumi's brand of confidence, but she's visibly a really anxious person without that kasumi veneer. i also think in this universe sumire is a fairly recent addition to the friend group, and while everyone likes her a lot and she really likes them, i kind of wanted to emphasise that feeling of being in a friend group where everyone's established and you're sort of a plus-one? you don't really fit yet. part of that is her being new, part of it is her anxiety, part of it is just the kind of person sumi is where she's so polite and self-conscious she ends up taking herself out of things with her own good intentions. stuff like her interrupting the flow of an existing conversation by greeting everyone instead of jumping straight in because she doesn't feel comfortable inserting herself, which means everyone else stops to greet her even though that doesn't normally happen in a friend group, or making a point of thanking everyone for being invited to events while the others take it as a given.

idk i love that she feels a bit out of place with the phantom thieves in p5r. and part of that is a natural consequence of being a new addition in royal who can't be naturally integrated with an existing dynamic but i honestly feel like the writing team realised that and acknowledged it, and really leaned into it, and that made it work incredibly well for me. like, it's part of her character that she's sort of an outsider. it's not like p4g's incredibly clumsy integration of marie and subsequent attempt to shove her down everyone's throat as the canon love interest in p4ga (knife). sumi has that outsider vibe on purpose and it makes me really like her dynamic with the thieves as an individual

goro also feels slightly out of place in these chats, but his conversational style blends more naturally with the other thieves at this point and he even uses their codenames sometimes. i keep saying my chatfic series isn't a real Series because the lore keeps changing, but if we accept that they're all kind of following a General Continuity, assume this takes place some time after the last fic in which ren added goro to the groupchat and they made an effort to integrate him into their friend group. he's kind of there now and has settled into being the weird boyfriend. that's his role.

every time goro says something like "ren and i" assume it's the text equivalent of him talking to the group with his arm around ren's waist.

ok i got really fond of this silly running joke where sumi brings up the weather when she's feeling uncomfortable. she's so polite. i like this thread because setting it up meant i got to tie it off like this:

this just made me happy lol i liked writing this. i tried to use it to demonstrate that despite goro's abrasiveness he obviously knows sumire pretty well, he's attuned to her quirks and knows how to tell when she's having a bad time with her anxiety, so he uses her little weather habit to ground her.

i honestly dont think goro and sumire could be considered close in p5r and as much as i like the "royal trio" in canon they're not really... like... friends? with each other? they're both attached to ren, so it' more a V shape than anything else. but that said, i really LIKE goro and sumi's canon dynamic. he takes a really grouchy but politely attentive supervisory role to her during their few forays into the palace as a trio where he doesn't really know her well but clearly identifies her as a harmless little tryhard who needs some guidance and steps into that role grudgingly, and she immediately looks up to him despite being very wrong footed by his ruthlessness, which i find incredibly charming. i think given time they could be good friends, they just didn't get much chance to know each other very well in canon. so i tried to kinda do that here.

once goro stops being evil and joins the group they all kind of tiredly accept that his role is to occasionally push a cup off a bench while smirking and refuse to clean it up. emotionally, i mean.

wait i need to backtrack chronologically to talk about akeshu.

in this scene they're in the same room lol talking and snickering while typing. im trying to get at that vibe of the annoying couple who is flirting with each other, via you. you know? like ostensibly they're talking to you (sumire) but everything they say to you is part of their stupid game. sumi is incidental to goro and ren teasing each other about flirting with someone else, goro is reporting everything ren says because his boyfriend is so eye-rollingly foolish in a cute way. they're very tickled by how amusing and charming they are. gross. disgusting. sumire im so sorry for putting you through this

anyway here are too many of my favourite jokes from the fic

[nightfal1n]

Good thing about onsen collab is Mina got assigned black color while Kafka is red because by sentai genre code black is mean to be the last to join but make the most impact while also have a strong bond with red asfasfg

[waywardsalt]

with my phantom hourglass replay, there are two things i noticed;

a possible theme you could glean from the game is action vs inaction, and i think it's especially prevalent before you even leave mercay the first time, with oshus frequently urging link to not go after the ghost ship, then to just wait until the broken bridge is fixed, and seems reluctant at every turn while link and ciela are more than eager to go and do something about this problem, and the people of mercay in general talking about things and their problems but never seeming to act on their fears or desires, as well as the mention that due to the ghost ship, very very few people are still sailing around, while linebeck is one of the only people we see in the game actively going after the ghost ship and still sailing around. i might make a longer post just talking more about the action vs inaction in phantom hourglass but i just noticed it a bit and thought it was a bit of an interesting sort of theme you could find in the game.

linebeck moves so fucking much. i think he moves more than any npc in the rest of the game. not just in his intro cutscene where he is very animated, just in how much he moves when just standing in his little idle post, it's damn near distracting when the camera is focused on him, he moves a lot. i don't think i've really acknowledged how much he moves, and it really gives the impression that he's antsy or eager to get going, both of which fit him pretty well with how he acts.

[ursaspecter]

Sometimes a scar is just a scar until someone points out it looks like they took a smashed bottle to the face. And then you realize the character with that scar had an alcoholic dad he doesn't like to talk about.

[vypridae]

wait guys am i stupid what ruin ending is the true one like whats the actual ending that happens help

[sharpsuite]

honestly Ann and Chishiya could not be more different in romance or anything nice like that. First kisses with Ann are generally sweet and soft. she's the kind who would ask if it's okay before she did it if she initiated it. I feel like if anyone kissed Chishiya it'd be to make him shut the fuck up 😂

[passumstars]

I will likely never get to do anything with her

[thetangibleghost]

I've always wanted to wake up from a dream laughing and I just did but I realized after I woke up that I have missed a million social cues :((((((((((((((((( it wasn't even funny idk why I couldn't stop giggling. I dont even giggle irl.

[sieglinde-freud]

i really do think keaton is one of the funniest fire emblem characters to ever exist. giving the dog man the tsundere personality trait is quite possibly one of the funniest ideas anyones ever had. BONE HOLE???? oh and he eats people. by the way. yeah i know hes wagging his tail like a puppy just from looking at a broken plate but hes definitely eaten a man. both ways. but call him a good boy and he’ll melt in your hands. joins your party cuz he didnt know he could ask for a map, not that he could read one. smells like shit. his most popular pairing is with the murder princess of the country. did i mention he is a dog

[mbat]

i fr need some sort of (probably queer) friend into world of warcraft so that the person i directly talk to about it isnt my brother. cause on my life his opinions suck and his gameplay kills me a little inside

[cambrianera]

yknow you people talk an awful lot about this being the autism website while being literally incapable of NOT infantilizing every autistic character (let alone person) you come across

is he actually a “vanilla innocent baby” who “doesnt know what sex” is or is he a 29 year old autistic man

[secretsofthewilde]

Me: I know I started watching Deadloch because Pamela Rabe was in it (and heard there was a queer lead character) but I'm actually really loving the show in general and I'm probably gonna forget she's in it bc I'm so invested in Dulcie's story

Also me, whenever Margaret is on screen: oh my god it's Pamela Rabe (!!!)

[volivolition]

I say this in the most loving way possible, how the fuck can you write the most expressive and magical tags ever?? How do you have the mental energy to form words? 50% I can only say "nice post op". You inspire me to spread positivity to everyone but I literally can't be this positive and kind all the time. Just want to send you love and know that I appreciate you <3

HKJGH AW RED!! :'] <3 it does take a lot of energy, i understand :'0 i keep a lot of cool art in my tumblr drafts. the art stays in there until i have energy to type all my thoughts out. a lot of things stay stuck in there… i try to make sure art from my friends get out soon though :0 don't feel bad if you can't type a lot!! anything you can manage is okay! no one can be positive and kind all the time, and that's normal! just do what you can. i promise it's enough. (<- these are things i need to remind myself too <3)

a lot of it is literally just me needing to scream hkjfh, i have a lot of thoughts and i love sharing them always. i love rambling, can you tell? (<- joke) also i have a lot of love to give and i love artists and their creations. like WOW someone made a thing!! and they wanted to share it with the world!! AND I GET TO SEE IT!!! i GOTTA tell them i enjoy it!!!!!

it's also my empathy acting up because im also an artist!! and he's like "hey!! you love people writing nice tags on *your* art!! imagine if you were this artist, wouldn't you be happy to see someone tagging it with nice things? :)!" and im like yeah!! if this makes me happy, i should make other people happy too :3

ANYWAY I APPRECIATE YOU TOO RED YOU'RE DEAR TO ME!! SENDING LOVE BACK!!!! <33

[aro-aizawa]

yeah the sonic the headhog movies wholeheartedly and unironically slap so hard i love them

[ardentpoop]

finally a description of kripke i can respect