#( META. || but at the heart; well the art is heartless. ) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tamelee · 3 months

Note

pls bottom naruto is disgusting stop drawing this ooc cringe

Eh? And it hadn't even been a full day.

Anyway, do you know what this means?:

It means… that I don’t give a damn about your whiny gibberish about this top/bottom bullshit, because it sounds incredibly silly. (And wrong because I draw both?)

It’s fine to have a preference, good for you (I have one too!), but if all you care about between a character-dynamic is the single notion which establishes a rule within a fandom that demands only this particular dick in only that particular booty and nothing else, while dividing yourselves between "us and them" while seeing the people who like the same exact characters as your "enemy" and treating them as such— well,

I have nothing to say to you, I couldn’t care less what you think about me and I don’t know you.

But for the sake of other creators who are often a target also, some which I know quit because of this… there is a little something I'd like to say about these servers:

You don’t think I (we) know what is said in there and by who? 👀 That your rules of "what is said on here stays here" with a bunch of people online that you don't know, is actually respected? Why do you think I never join any. And bet your ass that I'm not the only one. This constant fighting between NS/SN is such an embarrassment for this fandom, seriously. I hope you realize that.

Because, instead of encouraging a (new) creator to share something about the characters you claim to love (for fucking free) you go off chastise them for not “doing it right”/“your way”, pretending it's some unspoken commission no one knew of or was paid for. Instead of being happy there’s still so much creative contribution for characters from a story that ended years ago, you go complain under fanfics and dishearten writers, often grinning away with your little server-“friends” and make fun of work someone poured their heart in. Or, you huff, puff and breathe fire as you make plans to cancel them out of pure bitterness, to the point (especially new) creators are too scared and dispirited to ever share anything again. It's easy to do anonymously, aye? And if you think that doesn’t affect their lives and sends them right back into a crestfallen pit of dark hell because it prevents them to do/share the single thing in life that gave them a bit of joy, then...

Congratulations; you’re a heartless bastard.

And you, as a fan, did yourself dirty too.

Do you know how many people don’t want to share anything at all for this fandom because you people leave comments, tags, asks, tweets constantly complaining about an incorrect portrayal of the (in your opinion) only acceptable dynamic, like a bunch a brats? Do you? Because I’ve talked to quite a few of these discouraged creators, they have to hope for the best and pray they’re spared from your scrutiny. I receive it from both sides every now and then.

Again, congratulations: you’re the reason there’s less chance of you getting what you want in the first place.

Do you... really not realize?

The more you squabble with "your enemy" (lol) the more it affects the "us" you care about while the rest of us just bask in the glory that is SNS/NSN and couldn't care less about what you think/have to say. So, keep everyone else out of it and go mope elsewhere.

But, between you and me? There are better ways to share what you think is right. Make something yourself, because what's stopping you?

You’re perfectly capable, it doesn’t have to be art or a fic, maybe there’s just something in the story that you really enjoyed— write about it. Make a meta. Post the panel, show the moment that determined your undying love for this single dynamic and why— whatever. Because, wouldn't it be nice having someone encourage you to create something you like? 😬 Especially because you and your server feel so strongly about it? And then you don't have to depend on others either?

Wouldn't it be nice?

Well?

Hm!?

Try it, ffs.

#asktamelee #fandom talk

145 notes · View notes

ofgospel · 4 years

Text

( TAG DROP — pt.1 )

#( OOC. || you're the creator; YOU TRAITOR! )#( MUSINGS. || through the blood of the pen & the stacked coffins. )#( AESTHETICS. || one old song; a thousand memories. )#( IC. || writing happy melodies to hold down my career. )#( SAVE. || so won't you save a prayer for me? )#( CRACK. || this one goes into the Joey Drew callout post. )#( HC. || this one will go back to the recording booth. )#( META. || but at the heart; well the art is heartless. )#( MUSIC. || sing a happy song; whistle a merry tune. )#( PROMOS. || it's time to meet a marvel of light and sound! )#( SELF PROMO. || brought to you in Sillyvision. )#( ASK MEMES. || can I get an AMEN in here? )#( V001. || welcome to the house of unrecognized talent. )#( V002. || even in the lighter side; we sing with delight! )#( V003. || and now the chains are broken; but are you truly free? )

1 note · View note

kirishwima · 4 years

Note

Could you please write about RFA + V&Saeran reacting to MC playing otome games? I don't know if you ever wrote something like that before. Thank u ♥️

as a big fan of otome games i’m obligated to answer this OwO

Since you haven’t specified any pronouns, I’ll be using they/them for MC!

YOOSUNG:

* “MC, do you like playing games?” he asks one day whilst on a call with MC, the glee in his voice palpable.

* He’s so happy when MC replies with a shy yes! He’s about to ask them is they play LOLOL when MC cuts him off with a rush. “I-it’s probably not the kind of games you play though!”

* He’s a little baffled by that, but MC is quick to change the topic to Yoosung’s beloved LOLOL, and he’s sufficiently distracted to let the matter slide in the meantime.

* It’s only after he and MC meet at the party, only after they start dating and spending much more time together that he understands just what kind of a gamer MC really is.

* “MC! Stop paying attention to your fake boyfriend and come hug me! Me! Flesh and bone, right here!” he groans, patting at his chest and belly with a big sad pout-and really, MC you heartless fiend, how can you ignore those big puppy eyes in favor of an online hottie on your laptop?!

* He’s not nearly as upset over MC’s choice of games as one would think-so long as he receives sufficient amounts of kisses and cuddles, and reassurances that he’s their one and only true boyfriend, he’s good! He’ll even watch MC as they game on their phone whilst they rest their head on his chest.

* “Oh, MC, go with that guy! He looks um-” he blushes, wondering how to phrase his next words-how can he say that that dude with the choker full of spikes and smudged eyeliner looks hot?! “he looks...promising?”

* Oho? *MC will remember that.*

ZEN:

* He never really noticed what exactly it was MC was playing-he saw them giggling at their phone or laptop from time to time and found it cute, sometimes he’d see the background of a game but he’d pay no mind to it-if it was something MC wanted to share with him, they would after all!

* Well, one day he was sitting besides them as they played on their laptop, going over his lines when MC laughed and tugged at his shirt, nodding over to their screen.

* “Zenny, look at this-doesn’t this guy look a lot like Jumin?”

* Zen raised a brow and looked at the screen-and he was floored. The man at the screen was a well-drawn, hyper-realistic man that really did look oddly similar to that Trustfund prick-and what was that? There was a dialogue bubble at the side of him that wrote ‘For you, my love, I’d buy the moon and all the stars.”

* “MC-are you not satisfied with me...?” he trembled as he uttered the words, his eyes fixated to the man on the screen-and he suddenly had a deep desire to punch Jumin the next time he saw him (doesn’t he always feel that way tho orz)

* It took a lot of explaining from MC to show him that yes, this is just a game, and no, this isn’t real-yes they’re super happy with Zen and don’t need any compensation from a virtual boyfriend, these are just fun games to play, same as Yoosung with his LOLOL.

* Eventually Zen eases into the idea, though not entirely-and if he catches MC playing any game like that, he’ll always urge them to go for the character that most resembles himself lmao

JAEHEE:

* She really doesn’t see the appeal-and doesn’t really have much of a reaction when MC tells her of their hobby.

*She’s interested to learn of what MC enjoys in their free time, and she’s content to spend some time lounging around on the couch with them, her watching Zen’s musical whilst MC plays on their phone or laptop, and she’ll occasionally look to MC’s screen, offer commentary on the characters, but that’s pretty much it

* Until one day....MC discovers a Zen dating fan game.

* They figure Jaehee will be thrilled to see this, that she’ll want to play this right away! So they waste no time in showing it to them-the plot is fairly good and the art is great, so they know it’s a promising game...

* ...but Jaehee doesn’t seem all that interested. She shakes her head when MC offers her their phone, pushing it back to MC.

* “Thank you, but I’ve already seen this game before-playing as Zen’s lover feels weird, more so when he’s a dear friend. If you’d like to play it you’re free to do so though....” she lowered her head at that last bit, biting her lip.

* With a bit of coaxing and a chin tilt so she’d look MC in the eye, Jaehee admitted her fear. “W-what if after playing this game you fall in love with Zen?! Of course I had no such fear with all the other games you play, they’re fake, but this is real and it’s Zen and-”

* MC had to kiss Jaehee to shush her, the phone all but forgotten, the game still gleaming on the screen.

* “Let’s never play that game, ok? Neither of us has any use for it. I love you, and only you” MC whispered on Jaehee’s lips-and that was all the confirmation Jaehee needed.

* Zen couldn’t stop sneezing that night, poor dude lmao

JUMIN:

* “So....MC you enjoy playing as someone else’s significant other?” “I mean...kind of but not really?” “I see.”

* The conversation was as awkward as you can imagine-MC had been giggling at something a character had said while playing on their phone, and Jumin asked what they were laughing about, so they answered honestly-and that’s how they ended up here, sitting across each other, MC’s phone in the middle of the two on the dining table, the rich-dude-character still shining on the screen, his brooding expression perfectly matching Jumin’s.

* “Is there anything you feel is lacking from our relationship, that these games provide instead?” Jumin asked, nodding down to MC’s phone.

* “No! No, not at all-Jumin, these are just games, and these are simply characters. I enjoy playing the games, and I like seeing well-written characters, but that’s as far as my exchange with them goes. You-you’re here. You’re with me, and we’re together. I love you, and no game can change this or take that away.”

* This is getting too meta for me lmao

* “I see” Jumin said at last-the words sounded cold, but his lips betrayed a small smile as he stood up, coming around to kneel in front of MC, taking their hands in his. “Thank you for being honest with me, MC.”

* And that was that. Or so MC thought.

* Barely a week after this conversation, a notification popped up on MC’s phone. ‘New Otome Game, Exclusive-Corporate Heir Professes His Love?!’

* Curious MC cilcked on the suspicious link, assuming it’d be a prank from Seven or something of the sort-but hoo boy, it sure wasn’t.

* No, instead it was a full-blown, million-dollar-budget otome game; featuring Jumin Han himself, with his own voice, and a lot of cameos by Elizabeth the 3d-even the MC was built-in the game, designed to look exactly like...well, like MC.

* Jealousy, meet Jumin Han, the man that created an entire freaking game for his fiance to play, which he updates weekly so they’ll focus on him and only him lmao

SEVEN/SAEYOUNG:

* “Dude, you’re playing The Arcana?! Do Julian’s route, he’s one kinky motherf-mmf!”

* Seven’s words were cut short as MC put a hand over his mouth, stopping him mid-sentence. “Babe!” they screamed, “spoilers! I’m still on the prologue!”

* He plays any and all games, and otome are no exceptions lol, it just has to be good enough to catch Seven’s eye.

* He’ll often recommend games to MC, or lay in bed with them and play on their phone, choosing bad dialogue options on purpose to mess with them lol

* You’d think he’d make them an otome game featuring himself since they love them so much-and he might, but he’s a little too self-conscious for that lol, so he’d end up making it more of a meme than anything. He might add in a deep profound love confession unlocked through a series of tests though, just to see if MC would go through the trouble of achieving it~

* And they would-it’d take a lot of trial and error but they’d reach a point in Seven’s game where there’d be a blank screen and his own voice, simply telling MC how much he loves them, how he’d do anything to see their smile and how their every action brightens up his day. It’s short and simple, but enough to make MC’s heart melt, and make them run to Seven’s desk to jump in his arms and kiss him.

* Also he’s a total sucker for blushy innocent characters that can’t reckon danger if it were to punch them in the face, wAnna guess whY?

* also if u havent go play the arcana its p darn good

V/JIHYUN:

* He finds MC’s obsession with otome games to be pretty darn cute?! The way they giggle at some of the dialogue or point out their favorite and explain why they like that character to V is so endearing, and he’s always eagerly listening to their explanations-he’ll even play with them from time to time.

* He won’t really play otome games on his own, but he’ll sit with MC on his lap, his head resting on their shoulder as he helps them pick dialogue options (the best, cutest option, always-this man can’t be mean even to a fictional character, never)

* His favorite seem to be the overly sarcastic, blunt characters that seem to want nothing to do with the main character-MC questioned him about it once, asking him if he’s a masochist or something, but he gave them such an innocent look they just dropped the subject without much thought.

* One night MC was too busy playing otome games as V sat on the couch besides them, gently nudging their thigh with his for even a glimpse of their attention-but MC kept mumbling ‘not now babe’, focusing on their game and the moving dialogue.

* V pouted, prodding his lip as he leaned close to MC. “Baby, do you prefer these characters over me...?”

* Listen. Listen V does NOT get into these cutesy moods often so if he does you are LEGALLY OBLIGED TO DROP EVERYHTING YOU’RE GOING AND GIVE HIM ALL YOUR ATTENTION and that’s exactly what MC did, otome games be damned.

* V=Victorious

SAERAN/RAY/UNKNOWN:

* He’s so confused???!

* “Wait so the point of the game is to...date the characters?! All of them?!”

* MC nodded, a mischievous grin on their lips. “Sound familiar?” they asked, knowing full well that was how Ray once lured them to Mint Eye-a story as old as time now, now that he’s on his path to recovery, now that the two are happy together.

* Saeran grumbled under his breath, a blush spreading on his cheek. “It’s not like I really knew what these games were at the time...I just took a look at your search history, saw a lot of that ‘otome’ or whatever and made up a rouse based off of it. I didn’t know you’re that invested in them!”

* MC laughed at his obvious confusion, how he looked to MC’s screen, a desktop folder full of otome games open on their screen and glaring back at them. He pouted, furrowing his brow.

* “Wait but-you’re not like-you like me right?”

* MC rolled their eyes. He was slowly getting over his insecurities, sure, but there was still a long way to go.

* They leaned in close and kissed him, a quick peck on the lips before they leaned back, looking to their computer screen. “I could delete all these if it’d make you feel better. I love you. Only you.” they shrugged.

* Saeran’s reddened face was adorable, the way his breath hitched in his throat, his hands trembing as he came to rest his fingers over MC’s wrist.

* “N-no it’s-it’s okay, I trust you. I um-I love you too.”

* He’s not a fan of otome games, especially not with the connnotations they have for him, but well, if his beloved likes them...he doesn’t mind building a proper game for them.

-send me a mystic messenger headcanon for character reactions-

43 notes · View notes

ihni · 5 years

Note

Is it me or did it seem like nobody was trying to save billy? It felt like they cared more about finding out if he was flayed and once they did, they didn’t fight for him, instead against him. They didn’t try hard enough like they would have for any other character.:-(

The problem is, I think, that Billy in the show is very ... what’s the word? Two-dimensional? Now, don’t @ me, I am as aware as the rest of you about every single scene that shows his humanity and complexity as a character, but it’s not spoken outright and it’s not really adressed by other characters, so in their eyes he’s not ... well, he’s not what he is to us.

See, the Billy that we know and love is not canon!Billy. The Billy that we know and love is the one we have built together, as a fandom, through fics and art, and edits and fanvids and meta and discussions and general screaming. THAT is the Billy that I love, and let’s be real - the show was never going to live up to that. They couldn’t possibly.

Yes, I am pretty damn disappointed that none of these so-called “good” characters, the “heroes” of the show, even seemed to give a thought on how to save Billy. None of them saw him as anything but a threat, or a person to be saved, and the differences between Billy this season and Will last season are painfully obvious. Everyone cared about Will, and wanted to save him. No one cared for Billy, and no one seemed to even entertain the thought that he could be saved.

But I get it. It’s a show. They needed a villain. Unfortunately, they chose to make a villain of an abused, angry, confused teenager who this fandom has taken to their hearts and latched onto. Billy as a one-dimensional villain does not work for us, because it’s been years since he was one-dimensional to us. We are way ahead of the showrunners, in this regard.

So it feels flat. It feels heartless. It feels like a disappointment.

Because to us, he is a complex character, with good and bad traits both, but above all - a character who is worth saving. He is human, to us. He is real. And as such, he deserves more than what the show can give him.

They don’t want him? Fine. We’ll take him. And we will continue to do what we’ve been doing for years; humanizing him, building on and exploring his character.

And the people who come after us for this? For loving him? They can come off their high horses. Because Billy is a living breathing person, a fucking stupid teenager - albeit kinda an asshole (which is another post) - and the others in the show gave up on him. Just like that. Heroic, huh? Yeah, they are real heroes, for sure. They didn’t try very hard to save him.

We? We’ve been saving him for years.

#stranger things spoilers #billy hargrove #i get pissed off when i think about the fact that billy had no one #no one who was willing to fight for him #the only one willing to fight for billy was billy himself #because he's been fighting for himself all his life #this time though #he could have really used the help of someone else #and that help was denied to him in the show #which is why i prefer fandom to canon #we will make it better #we will do right to these characters #we will make them care for a lonely hurting boy #and we will make them save him #Anonymous

565 notes · View notes

verobatto · 4 years

Text

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. XLVI

It was a love story, from the very beginning

The Guilt and The Demon!Dean foreshadow

(9x14/9x15 and 9x17)

Hi my dears! Another meta from season 9, this is a very interesting one, talking about a funny mirror I found with the ghostfacers and Destiel, also a new foreshadow for what will come in season 10.

We will talk about Dean's guilt and a lot a foreshadows too for Demon!Dean and his summer love with Crowley.

I want to say thank you to my friend @agusvedder, she made the gifs for this meta, thank you girl!!

Okay, let's start...

Guilt and more Guilt

Episode 9x14 is all about GUILT. We have Dean talking with Ghost!Kevin, trying to ask for forgiveness, because his death is all over Dean's shoulders... He said it while he was trying to contact him.

DEAN: Kevin? Kevin. All right, I can't do this. Coffee-buzzing, bump-in-the-night crap. I got serious things to say to you, okay? And I'm not gonna say them to this.

[DEAN gets up and turns his back on the coffeemaker]

Kevin, I'm sorry. You did not choose this life. You busted your ass, you lost everything, everyone you've loved...

[[MORE]]

This speech is yelling guilt the whole time. Is Dean trying to say every painful word that had been stabbing his heart and his mind since Kevin died. One of his huge, heavy bags on his back.

Then... We will have Castiel talking with Bartholomew, and again, this angel trying to bring the guilt on Castiel, the fault.

But before this... Bartholomew will try to recruit him... Castiel is not that kind of angel, the one who follows orders, so, Bartholomew can't barely understand what motives Castiel to keep fighting by his own...

And this is a foreshadow for that famous quote from Metatron: IT WAS ALWAYS TO SAVE ONE HUMAN. TO SABE DEAN WINCHESTER.

That's why Castiel needs to keep fighting, and that's what Castiel feels is waiting for him, for his help. Is waiting to be saved, even if he doesn't feel he deserves it.

And then, the exposition of Castiel's sins, and guilts...

But Castiel answered magnificently... And this proves he really grew up after being a human. He did what he had to to survive, because they are in war. But what he did... Doesn't define him.

The quote from Bartholomew WE FOLLOW ORDERS, is against Castiel's nature, and impress the huge difference between Heaven and Castiel.

Foreshadow of Demon!Dean/Crowley summer of love, and Castiel's finding another "new love"

Okay, we had a little scene in 9x14 between Sam and Dean...

What a funny foreshadow of what will be Dean and Crowley's summer of love, Dean giving some credit to the Demon, as if it was the beginning of a great friendship.

And we had a very interesting Destiel mirror with Ghostfacers in episode 9x15 Thin Man.

If you watch the episode, it will look like if Harry and Ed were representing the current issue between Sam and Dean. Their fight because of Gadreel possession. But if you dig deeper... They're not just mirroring the brothers there...

First of all I want you to pay attention to the clothes changes in Harry. Harry will be our shapeshifter mirror. He will be mirroring Cas and Dean, and it will be easier for you if you hear his words and see his color coded dressing.

With that on mind... Let's check this scene...

ED: What did Dana post?

HARRY [turning his phone around to show ED a picture of a girl]

No, it's just -- she changed her profile pic, and it's cropped, (...)

Okay, Dana mhm, is obviously making reference to Dean here... But Dean is with another man... Platonically?? That's a very funny word related to Destiel dynamic, but also... Dana/Dean is betraying... Harry dressed in BLUE COLOR (CASTIEL MIRROR), so, blatantly talking about what is about to come... Dean will betray Castiel with Crowley, but just platonically (🤣) so funny.

But this doesn't ends here... Because when Dean arrives... The dialogue between him and Harry (Castiel mirror) becomes very second meaning and flirty.

HARRY: Ahh, first of all, you guys don't scare us.

ED: Not at all.

HARRY [lifting his shirt to reveal a gun in his waistband] Say, "hola" to my little pistola.

DEAN: Am I supposed to be impressed with that treasure trail or the lady gun you got hiding in your, uh, pants there?

HARRY: Uh...Both?

Okay, this was for dirty minds, and we know who had a happy treasure trail, right? Hello sexy Mish.

And then we had this new reference to Dana again...

ED: Come on, man, would you please stop Facebook stalking your ex-girlfriend?

HARRY: I was right.

ED: Hmm?

HARRY: She changed her relationship status to "it's complicated." What does that even mean?

ED: Who cares? You broke up with her. Everything about that girl is complicated. Okay, I mean, she gets the cream puffs, she tells you to take out the filling. They're just puffs.

So Dean is complicated, and he will be in a complicated relationship with Crowley... Foreshadow again.

Now... Don't forget that ass slap to Harry/still Cas mirror dressed in blue, but now adding green and red to make reference to Destiel.

May I add this was too gay? And how Agus marked me... Dean is hitting his lower lip like, excuse me sir?

Finally, we arrived to the big fight between Harry (dressed in red, toxic Dean, it means he is mirroring Dean now) and Ed.

This fight brought to elements... One the brothers fight we saw at the end of Road Trip, mostly when Ed confess he did it for Harry (to lie). And two... The break up will be between Crowley and Dean at the beginning of season 10... So... Pay attention to this dialogue, thinking we have toxic/demon!Dean/Dean mirror in Harry and Crowley mirror in Ed...

Who was the woman Harry/Dean was about to marry, the woman who he had a serious and deep relationship? Dana, now... This reference is linked to Castiel. Castiel is the safe love the unconditional love, the man who will always be there for Dean. The angel showed him that in Road Trip. He's his loyal partner. The love of his life.

Now... This...

ED: Well, maybe it's not too late, you know? You could call her and see.

Okay, this just recalled me when Dean and Crowley broke up, Crowley went straight to give some stolen grace to Cas, to give Dean his ex boyfriend back.

HARRY: That's not gonna work.

ED: Well, maybe -- maybe it will.

Okay!! And let's stop here... Remember in episode 10x03 when Dean was back to normal and Castiel entered in his room? And Cas just threw I HAVE A WOMAN ON MY CAR? And Dean's face was like WHAT DID YOU JUST SAID??

Ah okay, so... Because Dean had this live summer with Crowley, with empty promises and all... Now he lost Cas, who searched for another love interest? (Hannah?) So yeah... Now Dana is Cas. And yes, Cas said this because he wanted some revenge and make Dean a little jealous.

Okay but that is for season 10 Chronicles we will have to wait...

Foreshadow of Cas and Sam healing Demon!Dean

This is just a brief comment about episode 9x17 Mother's little helper.

This scene...

Is a foreshadow of Sam facing his brother as a demon, Demon!Dean will act like a soulless evil, erratic and heartless.

This episode showed us an unrequited love and a sacrifice for that love, linked too to season 10 and how will Dean feel after becoming normal.

And because is talking about soulless people, is a foreshadow to Amara's plot too.

Sam releasing the souls is showing us he will be solving the way to bring his brother back at the beginning of season 10: again FAMILY LOVE (Sam) and ROMANTIC LOVE (Castiel) will save the day.

To Conclude:

Episode 14 talked about guilt as a central topic this season, but it began to show clues about Dean/Crowley dynamic in season 10, we had even Dean saying to Del (the demon) "Well, me and Crowley, we're -- we're tight now. Thick as thieves. Saw him just last month. We, uh, had a grand ol' time."

Episode 15 did the same with Ed and Harry as mirror shifters for Cas/Dean and Dean/Crowley. Talking us about a love triangle between CAS/DEAN/CROWLEY and DEAN/CAS/HANNAH.

Finally we had another foreshadow of how they will heal Dean at the beginning of season 10 in episode 9x17, when Sam released those souls.

I hope you liked this meta, see you in the next one!

Tagging @metafest @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weirddorkylittlediana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @foxyroxe-art @authorsararayne @anonymoustitans @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @wildligia @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-is--endgame @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @tenshilover20 @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @isthisdestiel @dizzypinwheel @jawnlockwinchester @horsez2 @qanelyytha

@imjustkipping

If you want to be tagged or removed from this list, just let me know.

If you want to check the previous season 9 Chronicles, here are the links...

Vol. XL, XVLI, XLII, XLIII, XLIV and XLV

Buenos Aires 15th January 2020 5:32 PM

#destiel #destiel chronicles #destiel meta #supernatural meta #season 9 meta #vol. XLVI

54 notes · View notes

naysaltysalmon · 4 years

Text

Shoutout to @tiburme for tagging me~!

Rules: Name 10 favorite characters from 10 different things and then tag 10 people.

Oh, massive spoilers below btw.

1. Gon Freecss from Hunter x Hunter: My favorite shounen protagonist by far. At first you think he’s your typical happy-go-lucky bouncy boye :D who definitely doesn’t have abandonment issues or self-destructive tendencies that literally actually almost kill him later on, and then, uwu... The amount of complexity that Gon has as a protagonist who hardly ever has stand-alone development is nothing short of astounding. How during the Chimera Ant Art his characterization totally dips off to the side to become an unknowable entity even to the audience, while still retaining amazing character development regardless -- not to mention how brilliantly daring his decision to threaten Komugi is that nearly every other author with such a happy-go-lucky protagonist would shy away from in cowardice -- is absolutely surreal to me. The more I think and write about Gon, the more I fall in love with him. If I ever meet his father, and by that I mean his real father, the creator, Togashi, I have nothing else to say but,,, well done, sir.

2. Tanjirou Kamado from Demon Slayer: I’m really hoping the Demon Slayer movie comes out soon because I absolutely love this boy and how charming he is. Unlike most protagonists, not just of shounen anime but of seemingly macho story lines that involve power-ups and training in general, Tanjirou never lets go of his kind heart. (Welp, except maybe in some cases when he’s facing the Upper Moons later on -- I haven’t caught up yet -- but WE’RE GONNA IGNORE THAT for now.) From the beginning, Tanjirou’s kindness isn’t an obstacle holding back his power, though other characters pose it that way, but rather he cultivates his empathy to grant peace to the demons he faces. He smiles in the face of anyone who treats him poorly because of his cluelessness, and that’s just so heartwarming to see, and dare I say subversive to the hardened, calculating, and cocky male protagonists we so often get. Good job, Gotouge.

3. Joseph Joestar from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Giorno Giovanna was a close second, but I gotta go with Joseph. He’s the one who made me fall in love with the series, and with the later parts too. Unlike Jonathan Joestar, who was chivalrous and manly, Joseph was a riot: colorful, arrogant, funny, but also extremely clever. I absolutely loved his, “Next you’ll say...!” because at first I expected it to just be him being an overconfident asshole and eventually he’d be proven wrong at the ~Dai Pinchi Moment~ (please excuse my weeb speech, I legit didn’t know what else to call it), but then he hit the mark every time and eventually I was just waiting for when he’d pull that out and it was so hype. Also I surely can’t forget his transformation as an old dude in Part 3 -- him screaming “OOHHHH MY GAAAWDDDA!” and “HOLY SHIIIT!” murdered me every time. And of course, last but not least, the raw fucking emotion when Caeser died -- the dude actually gave a shit and wasn’t made entirely of wit and absurdity, but heart too. Joseph set the tone for what JJBA was as a whole for me (fuck off with that “but Part 3/Part 4 is the best Part” bullshit, Part 2 will always be top tier for me because of Joseph Joestar’s brilliant, bright, and beautiful absurdity -- but Part 5 was really good too). Araki really is a genius.

4. Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: My love for this series is a bit older than the series I’ve already mentioned, and TLoZ: TP was actually probably the first time I got seriously obsessed with a fandom. I love all the Links in their own ways, but Twilight Princess really drove home the “lone wolf chosen by the gods, fighting against the world” narrative for me. It made me feel important and strong at a time when no one cared about me. Seeing Link struggle silently through his quest with villagers who meant well but did nothing for him, and Midna who started out as a reluctant acquaintance and eventually became so much more, meant so much to me at the time I played the game. I will always love Twilight Princess the most because of what it did for me at one of the darkest times in my life, and because I felt completely and utterly immersed in every part of the story and gameplay through Link’s character, who was, and in many ways, still is, so relatable to me: Silent courage really is what I use to get through every day.

5. Greedling from Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood): For once I’m not naming the protagonist of a series! Lissen, I still smile whenever I see the slightest reference to Edward Elric, but now he’s more of my childhood love. He’s just a part of my personality already? LOL. Anyway, FMA(B) has so many good characters that choosing just one doesn’t feel right (I mean, same with HxH tho). I say Greedling because that encompasses both Ling and Greed though, two of my favorite characters from the series! Ling’s apparent childishness in constantly running away from fights, making other people pay for his food, and failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation (until Lan Fan’s arm gets cut off lol oops) is so adorable and entertaining. He’s the best kind of idiot asshole, and I especially love how he teases Ed. After him and Greed fuse, Ling’s stout heart becomes even more apparent, as he constantly eggs Greed on to remember his past life, his friends, and become someone outside of Father/the Dwarf in the Flask. Conversely, Greed’s nonchalance and (of course) avarice are nothing short of entertaining and heartbreaking. Greed’s realization at the end, when he finally admitted to himself that what he wanted all along were “friends like these,” completely crushed me the first few times I watched FMAB. And when he’s screaming in the tunnels under Central after having killed Bido, remembering his friends, and he doesn’t understand why, and later attacks Wrath/King Bradley... that shit was so entertaining and cathartic to watch. None of his development feels like forced redemption, nor like it was too little development, since it mostly happens in the background and away from the “validating eyes” of the protagonists other than Ling. And at the end, when Ling and Greed work together to take down Bradley and all the soldiers invading Central HQ... it’s so beautiful. Many have said this before but I’ll say it again: Hiromu Arakawa wrote the perfect series.

6. Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler: Another protagonist! And another older obsession of mine. Ciel remains in my mind to this day mainly for his heartlessness in relation to his age, and the fluidity with which Toboso tells his story. Normally when authors write younger characters into their serious stories, they make “child adults” of sorts, but Ciel feels totally realistic to the extent that he is both childish and adult to me. Obviously, Ciel is responsible and (normally) level-headed due to being the head of the Phantomhive household, but also from trauma. Yet, his cruelty at times is what sticks in my mind the most: You really feel that he’s someone who feels he’s been abandoned by the entire world, given his experiences, and that makes him disregard or use others sometimes in order to reach his own ends. Normally, authors would be too cowardly to let their protagonists, let alone child protagonists, go to such lengths to avenge their family, or carry out their duty as the dog of the military (looking at you, Arakawa -- she’s still a goddess tho). But Ciel is unforgiving. He lies to Snake and tells him his troupe is still alive. He murders the entire troupe because he’s triggered -- a childish decision, but driven with adult-like power due to trauma. It’s devastatingly riveting, and I cannot forget his unrelenting, contained rage to this day.

7. Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars: This one may come as a shock to most of you, because I hardly ever post Star Wars let alone Ahsoka content on here -- but it’s true. Other than the blatant, half-assedly inserted heteroromantic partner they gave Ahsoka in, like, idk season 3??, Ahsoka is a fucking goddess. From her origin as a wee baby in the earlier seasons who didn’t really know what she was doing and was a bit of a cocky brat, to how she matures and becomes wise, resourceful, and fierce in the later seasons, I just love Ahsoka’s design and character to this day. The episodes that stick in my mind aside from the obvious are when she’s possessed by the Dark Side of the Force on that Force balance planet and her arrogance becomes so exaggerated that she threatens and attacks Anakin, her teacher. It was so fucking cathartic. Normally female characters, let alone young protagonist female characters, are never allowed to show the ugly sides of themselves in fiction, since women are always portrayed as perfect beautiful majestic angels or some bullshit like that. (Or they’re cocky/sexy/slutty villain women. ‘Kay then.) Seeing Ahsoka devolve into her basal desires and come out of it like hardly anything happened and she’s still a perfectly valid character was so amazing to see on a meta level; it wasn’t about her learning a lesson or anything, it was a thing that happened like any other character and then they moved the fuck on. I also distinctly remember the episode where she was trapped on that island/planet and she had to take out the aliens that were after her all by herself. That was so fucking empowering to watch and god fucking dammit I need to rewatch this series now. And of course, let us not forget the fact that the entire time, we were all expecting Ahsoka to just be another domino in Anakin’s downfall -- and she was, but not through the refrigerator -- but through walking away from it all. That was so powerful and moving -- and heartbreaking. By the end of TCW, her character carried weight and agency in the narrative, and god, I only wish whoever wrote her could write more female characters in the future.

8. Tigress from Kung Fu Panda: Maybe another surprise, but I think she deserves this spot. Tigress is a female character who starts out as kind of an antagonist, given how she outright tells Po to leave the kung fu temple within the first day of him arriving. She’s even jealous of the fact that he’s chosen as the Dragon Warrior rather than her -- but that’s due to the backwash of years of trying to live up to the memory of Tai Lung in order to please Shifu (which means “master” in Chinese but ok I’ll shut up now), her master and mentor over the years. She never says this out loud in the movie, which is what makes her character more believable. Others even joke about how stoic she is (and not in bad taste). Her character development is definitely present for those who are looking -- but I put her on this list because I’m so happy the movie doesn’t make it some huge dramatic emotional thing, because so often in media women are depicted as being overly-emotional and here Tigress is just a hurt child trying to make her mentor happy. But, she gets over it, her and Po become allies, even friends to each other -- she and Po talk like equals in the second and third movies, and she even tells him to back out of the fight with Lord Shen and he listens (I mean he doesn’t stay put but he doesn’t undermine her opinion either lol, like most jokesy protagonists of Western media would -- looking at you, Marvel). I like Tigress because she’s an antagonist without being a bitch, she’s powerful without being overpowered, and she’s not sexualized despite being a well-trained, at times jealous, and even emotionally awkward kung fu master. And I almost forgot to mention the best part: There is never an indication of romance between her and Po, or any other character, for that matter. She’s perfectly capable, complex, and lovely on her own terms. And that’s that on THAT.

9. Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit: I wanted to include at least one character protagonist from a live-action movie/book, lol. I feel like Bilbo’s pretty self-explanatory. He doesn’t wanna go on an adventure because he likes his doilies and warm sheets, but then Gandalf seduces him with the call to the outside world and possible death (LOL), and he fucking goes for it, grumbling the entire time. Isn’t that what any of us would do if given such a proposition? I like to think so. Bilbo obviously has his own gradual, evil transformation with the One Ring, becomes murderous and uses it to disappear, and grows a strong bromance with the King Under the Mountain (which happens in both the movie and the book), but I think what I like about him is that he really feels... down-to-earth? Like even though the adventure changes him, it never feels like he’s been stretched in a way that makes his core character traits of grumbling and bluntness disappear. He gets better at the whole adventuring thing, for sure, but he remains Bilbo, at least, to me, throughout the journey. It was heartwrenching watching him try to save Thorin in The Battle of Five Armies, honestly, but Bilbo’s the kind of character that I feel like has his own story and mythology aside from The Hobbit, and maybe that’s just the result of J.R.R. Tolkien writing the lore for every aspect of his universe, but My Point Still Stands. He feels like his own man apart from the series he’s in, yet he’s still so much fun in his series.

10. Barley Lightfoot from Onward: And last, this one is because I saw Onward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the characterization in it -- and anyone who thinks differently can kiss my *ss. :) I was not expecting the movie to take the twist of fleshing out the “annoying” (more like adorable) overconfident nerdy big brother. Normally those characters are swiped to the side because God Forbid The Comic Relief Have Any Sadness In Them. I was expecting the movie to focus on Ian’s journey to meet his fatha and that the movie would pull something stupid at the end like “oh actually there’s another phoenix gem underneath the school” or “actually since only his legs appeared then you still have 24 hours with him” or some shit like that, but I guess this isn’t an anime so those absurdist explanations wouldn’t hold water anyway. But still, for a kid’s movie, I was NOT expecting this movie to go so hard with the characterization. For once, the main character doesn’t get what he wants at the end, and instead realizes it’s his big brother, Barley, who’s been looking out for him his entire life. Meeting his dad would betray that reality. What happens instead is that the lovable big brother never actually said goodbye to their dad before he died, because when their dad got sick, said brother ran away from the hospital room in fear of all the life-sustaining equipment. (Is this some meta thing about Chris Pratt and Guardians of the Galaxy? Off topic and call me stupid, but I didn’t realize Chris Pratt plays him until I saw everyone freaking out about it afterward on Tumblr laksjdflak.) So instead, the lovable big brother talks to the dad at the end, and unconfident younger brother grows confidence and thanks big bro for being with him his entire life. It was so touching, dude. I cry. But the moment that sticks in my mind the most was when Ian was crossing the invisible bridge... Ian needed to have confidence in himself to be able to cross over a chasm in their path, and Barley knew that if Ian didn’t believe in himself, he would fall and die. They tie a rope around Ian for good measure, and Barley encourages him the entire way, but halfway over, the rope comes loose and slips off. Barley sees this and starts panicking, but of course continues to encourage Ian so that Ian will get to the other side. What got to me wasn’t the fact that he faked it for Ian, but that there are actual tears running down his face as he’s encouraging Ian to get to the other side, because he knows otherwise Ian wouldn’t have the confidence and would fall to his death. Like dude, that raw, complex emotion in a kid’s movie?! DUDE?! I was fucking surprised. The clear anxiety and grief in Barley’s face as Ian’s totally clueless and even dancing around in the air was just too much, omfg. Of course, then it’s played off for laughs, but... I guess that makes sense for the annoying overconfident nerdy big bro character. :’)

Okay these are way longer than I anticipated and I’m sorry, but also I’m really not. Hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on my favs!

Seems I don’t talk to that many people on here anymore: @stupidbluejay @mirycactusito @chronicstarlight

#Nay talks #a lot #i'm sorry but not sorry #TL;DR: Deku isn't on here because Tanjirou is a better boy sorry #Fullmetal Alchemist #Hunter x Hunter #The Legend of Zelda #The Hobbit #Onward #Kung Fu Panda #Star Wars: The Clone Wars #Black Butler #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Demon Slayer

17 notes · View notes

passionate-reply · 4 years

Video

youtube

JOHN FOXX - “FUSION / FISSION”

Recently, I learned a bit of trivia that really reshaped my outlook on an album that’s pretty much been the soundtrack of my life for the past ten years: John Foxx’s Metamatic. The album’s title was inspired by the art of Jean Tinguely, who created machines that would go on to do other things. One of them destroyed itself spectacularly upon activation, for instance. Perhaps most provocatively, a famous suite of “metamatic” machines could be used to produce artworks of their own. “Meta” indeed; eat your heart out, Prof. Turing. For those who know their stuff, the allusion is rather fitting for Foxx’s arguable magnum opus--a cold, impenetrable wall of stark synths, deadpan vocals, and desolate, morose lyrics inspired heavily by the work of J. G. Ballard. It does seem like the kind of thing a heartless machine would put together...one recalls Foxx’s alienated and vulnerable cry of “I Want to Be a Machine,” in his days as the frontman of Ultravox(!).

But Metamatic almost wasn’t Metamatic. Foxx had written this song, “Fusion / Fission,” at around the same time, and was planning to make it the title track on his solo debut. What a world that would have been. Anchoring the themes of the album with the language of nuclear physics would have made it much more obviously a rumination on a specifically Cold War-inspired wasteland--taking place not necessarily in a dystopia of technological malaise so much as a post-apocalyptic setting, its icy synth the stabbing winds of nuclear winter. Foxx had certainly hinted at atomic anxieties in that aforementioned work with Ultravox, particularly on their sophomore Ha! Ha! Ha!, so it wouldn’t have come from nowhere. Seen as an album specifically about the threat of nuclear war, Metamatic truly gains a whole new level of power as a work of art.

But, that aside, “Fusion / Fission,” eventually released a year later on Foxx’s The Garden, holds up as a wonderful track, even if it clearly isn’t the best stylistic fit for what became Metamatic. Soaring vocals and guitar give it a more rockish edge that’s built up and then cut down by the gonglike drops of classic “vox humana” synth--it fits in well with the rest of The Garden, which trades moreso in emotive proto-cottagecore as opposed to its predecessor’s hyper-minimalist and purely electro sound. Really, though, one can’t go wrong with either of them.

#john foxx #ultravox #synthpop #music #new wave

10 notes · View notes

applegelstore · 5 years

Text

My sis and I are through with the actual main plot of KH3, so I can officially go back to scheduled ToZ fangirling now. …Well, I promised Cray a bit of fix-it-fanart, so after that, I guess.

Hit the cut for a resume. It got super long and has endgame story spoilers, so you might not want to stumble upon it by accident.

Another extra big shoutout (again!) to @crazayrock for bearing my liveblogging on Discord, screaming without context and occasional spoilers. And linking me fluffy Soriku doujinshi. Here, have my favourite, spoiler-heavy excerpt of our conversation:

Okay anyway, let’s get started: GAMEPLAY

Kingdom Hearts 3 is BEAUTIFUL. The gameplay is so smooth and intuitive that you can immediately get to playing like you’d never done anything else; in fact so smooth that I doubt I will ever be able to pick up the first game ever again. It’s always been fun, but the looooooong years’ gap actually did wonders to the gameplay.

The keyblade form changes are fun and keep things fresh, you can do flashy triangle button shit every other minute, and shotlock is still insanely useful without being a game-breaker.

It seems easier than the first two main games, though?

The gummi ship is still a pain in the ass to steer, but I do enjoy the open world-like travel options (even if there’s not… much to discover except heartless lasering the shit out of you). I’m also eternally grateful that they kept the gummi ship thing from KH2 where you can just use a new gummi ship once you got the blueprint and don’t buy actual fucking legos as in the first game.

Thank you, Square. Not thanking you for the dumb cherry flan game, though.

The Caribbean being basically an open world stage was delightful! Apparently what our resident island kid needs is a big ship and tropical islands to plunder.

VISUALS AND STUFF

PRETTY LIGHTS EVERYWHERE

The long gap between the games also did wonders to the visuals.

There’s finally, FINALLY a few towns with actual NPCs you can talk to. Why it took the team so many years and the Gods know how many games is beyond me. The magic effects are beautiful, the animations smooth (honestly you can hardly tell apart cutscenes and fully rendered CGI scenes in this day and age of the PS4. I’m probably the only person still amazed by this because the only games I played on PS4 before were a few hours of Child of Light and of course Tales of Zestiria and Berseria. No, I still haven’t played FFXV but that’s a topic for another day). How far videogames have come.Even space finally looks like space, lol. Not really high-end what the PS4 can do I assume but god, it’s such an amazing and much needed upgrade from the terrible textureless colourful tubes you flew through before.

No excuse for the terrible battleship thingy before the Keyblade Graveyard, though. I got lost and beaten up so many times and crashed against more walls than I can count.

Nothing beats the World that Never Was, but the Keyblade Graveyard also has creepy cool potential, as does the beautiful but ghosted City in the Sky.

Still not getting what’s with JRPGs and very Definitely Final Dungeons (TM) that are basically space. …………or heaven. Or nothing. I’m getting the bad kind of original NGE TV series ending vibes. But. Okay.

The soundtrack is splendid

.……I miss Traverse Town and Radiant Garden, however.

Which brings us to:

THE WORLDS

I guess I can live with no more Final Fantasy characters being there (although I always loved that), and the meta jokes in Toy Story world really got me. Seeing Disney characters calling the KH villains call out on their shit was delightful. …the KH characters lampshading their own games’ sloppy dialogue writing was delightful.Still, those Disney worlds are always so much more in my head than what I actually get to play. This has been bugging me ever since the first game and it still does. I do not expect or want to replay the entire movies, but would it hurt to give the cutscenes some goddamn background music? Whenever there’s cutscenes, either the world’s usual BGM keeps playing or the music stops altogether. Together with the shortened dialogues and generally drastically shortened plots with odd cuts, that leads to scenes that are awkward at best. They never even remotely have the impact the movies had. You just sit there and think “oh wow that is so silly and awkward”.

Dancing scene in Corona? My favorite scene in Tangled. Zero impact on me without the lovely BGM (at least they made it a minigame so the moment isn’t over after 3 secs). Just for example. You can ask me like, world by world, but I can think of only exception off the top of my head and it’s not helping:

Let it Go of course. Listen guys, I actually love the song. But it’s so overused (and Frozen is an overrated movie at best that doesn’t deserve its hype in the slightest) that I can’t even really enjoy it being there. Like.

 IF THAT’S OKAY WITH YOU,WHY DIDN’T YOU INCLUDE LITERALLY ANY OTHER ORIGINAL SONG FROM THE ORIGINAL MOVIES. Instead of BGM just not being there entirely, or in odd, cringey re-renderings that nobody wants to listen to (*cough* Atlantica *cough*).

Why torture me and not give me the one good scene from At World’s End (the up is down scene) when you had the chance?Kingdom Hearts is also prone to super lazy level design and wasting chances at wonderful scenery for no apparent reason other than I suppose empty cliffsides are quick to render. All games before did that, and KH3 is, sadly, no exception. We get to see a bit of Corona and Athens and they finally have NPCs, too, but you cannot even get near Arendelle. You cannot enter Elsa’s palace. You spend the entire time there climbing around in the snowy mountains of Norway, and unfortunately it looks less interesting than one would expect from the lovely concept art that the film unfortunately never used.You cannot enter Rapunzel’s tower although Sora can apparently parkour his way up even without her help.

………In short, the places you can go are, again, very limited, and a lot of interesting places and scenes you never get to see.

And to follow the plot you still only need the stuff that does NOT happen in those Disney worlds because they’re all beach filler episodes. It’s always been like that, but I keep wondering whether I’m the only one bothered by that. I’m also still salty they didn’t introduce a single new world from a 2D animated movie.

Also, as I said, I miss Traverse Town, it felt so warm and welcoming and beautiful.

And I get behind The World that Never Was missing although I loved it there, but why not give us back Radiant Garden? Destiny Islands since they’ve been restored? Disney Castle?

As much as I love the series, it never fucking lives up to its own potential. Idk whether it’s made more difficult by copyright issues or whatever, I just know that it bugs me.The first two games also had like twice as many worlds.

PLOT

I mean it’s never been deep; however, it’s complicated. No analysis or whatever from me because plot analysis and meta writing bore me like seven hells, just my emotional reaction: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  Okay, bad news. I got into it expecting nothing, and still got disappointed. I don’t actually enjoy the prospect of writing essays about it, but here’s my tea with it; in not particular order:

1) the pacing is terrible. Nothing happens for like 30 hours and then suddenly like 20 characters’ arcs are (naturally poorly) resolved within the last few hours of cutscenes. Build up anyone? At least they actually did pick up Maleficent and the box thing again. …In the epilogue.

2) Speaking of build ups, Sora’s breakdown could have been developed nicely and steadily over the game to feel natural, and instead it’s hinted at in the beginning by everyone picking on him, but then it’s never further developed and comes out of fucking nowhere. Like. For real? It felt terribly OOC.

3) Why on earth have they shown 90% of the plot in the trailers already, and why are those scenes so massively disappointing in context

4) Kairi. Oh god, Kairi. What are we gonna do with you. I want to love her, I really do, but she’s a prime example of shittily written female leads. Mostly because she’s not leading. It’s not her fault. She’s just a fictional character. But honest to God, Nomura, why. Her screen time is almost nonexistent, and she’s entirely use- and helpless whenever she’s on screen (which isn’t often). Her ONLY point in the plot is being rescued because she is fucking useless. Why. Just why. Why waste her character like that. All we know is that she’s shoehorned into being the token love interest, but she has zero plot relevance and there is even less build up of her relationship with Sora. It’s all tell and NEVER show; and not even much telling, either. She has literally zero direct interaction with in the entire game before they share their paopu. The question remains: why are straights like this

5) On a related note: look, I don’t even ask for (or expect, or even hope) my ship to be canon. Squeenix doesn’t exactly have a rich history in queer representation. I’m totally fine with Sora and Riku being best friends. BUT. Building up Sora as the most important person in Riku’s life (and arguably, vice versa) over the course of several games, just to then hardly have them interact in the finale and then SUDDENLY bring back Kairi into the equation, who hasn’t interacted with him since the ending of KH2 (except for one unsent(?) letter) is just piss poor writing, period.I actually love Cray’s suggestion she gave me over Discord: let Sora, Kairi and Riku all share a paopu together (and let them group hug, too, you cowards). It would have been the perfect message to send (Sora as truly all-loving hero, and loving all your friends equally; romantic love isn’t more important than platonic love and doesn’t need to be singled out). Really sad that this isn’t what happens. Apparently that wouldn’t have been no homo enough.

LET THE DESTINY TRIO GROUP HUG YOU COWARDS 

Do Riku and Kairi even interact once in the whole game?

 HOW IS THIS A TRIO, IT’S JUST A SHITTILY WRITTEN LOVE TRIANGLE

6) Time travelling is a bitch, Christ. It doesn’t solve plotholes or can be played for drama, it just adds MORE plotholes. It just got WORSE. The cloning blues and people not aging doesn’t help, either.

7) Just so you know, I care absolutely zero for wild fan theories. You’re not Nomura. I want a statement from the man who wrote this shit himself why on bloody earth Sora dies when he apparently successfully found and brought back Kairi (and since nobody aged a day, apparently it didn’t even take that long lol). DUDES, THIS IS KINDA PART OF THE PLOT, AND YOU DON’T BOTHER TO EXPLAIN IT INGAME???? And how was Ienzo/Zexion able to revive Naminé while Kairi was still missing/dead/whatever…?

Okay so in short the writing is worse than ever and that’s saying something.

However, let’s try to find something good in this trainwreck; it wasn’t all bad. There’s some really nice scenes which sadly are better enjoyed without any context at all.

So, guess my favourite scenes.You had time enough, here’s the solution:

1) Purifying uhm er rescuing Aqua. Poor girl. She deserves the rest. Poor, poor Aqua. The only properly wirrten female in the whole damn franchise. Also the only person other than Riku who fucking gets shit done.

2) The Gayblade (TM)

3) Happy Axel in the reunion with his kids. Oh god, the poor chap deserves it so much. Thank you, Nomura. I don’t care that it makes pretty much no sense. Make him happy. Give him his friends back. Just give Axel all his friends and let him happily set things on fire. Hi I love Axel

4) The party at the beach cutscene before the credits roll. Axel and Xion get clothes. Half the organization is on our side now. I almost teared up at the Wayfinder trio saying goodbye to Eraqus’ forceghost. Hey come on he’s the voice of Luke Skywalker

5) Sully yeeting Vanitas

6) Woody calling out Xehanort that nobody loves him

7) Jack Sparrow bad breathing Luxord

I wish we had gotten:

1) justice for Kairi

2) a happy Zexion, the poor emo kid. Well maybe now he will be, with all the orga members who changed sides now, lol.

3) I will never trust mobile games ever again so I don’t want to play KHUX but I would have loved to learn about the Keyblade Wars :;)))) 

WHAT WAS THE KEYBLADE WAR ABOUT CAN WE SPEND MORE TIME IN THAT COOL CITY IN THE SKY WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH MIKLEO I MEAN THAT EPHEMER KIDDO

 WHAT’S WITH THE MASKED DUDES AND DUDETTES FROM THE MOVIE 

WTF WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM AFTER THE MOVIE???? WHERE THOSE KEYBLADE USER NAMES ACTUAL MOBILE GAME PLAYER NAMES??? Next game? PLEASE?

I really, REALLY hope the epilogue means we will get Xiggy/Luxu as our new big bad and we learn more about the five dudes and dudettes from the movie. Please. PLEASE. I’m so up for it. Them finally pickung up the bit with Maleficent and the mysterious box again? Hell yeah.

The secret movie was really unexciting in comparison, although I laughed very hard at the “Verum Rex” scene in Toy Story world. Maybe that’s why it was much cheaper to unlock than in KH1 and KH2.

4) give Ven a drink

DLC ideas I would actually pay for because I’m a sad human being: 1) more Disney worlds 2) Japanese audio 3) at least one of the following as permanently playable characters: Riku, Kairi, Axel, Ven, Aqua. At least as a guest member as in KH2. THIS SUCH A BIG STEP BACKWARDS I’M FUMING

FINAL THOUGHTS

Kingdom Hearts 3 is a hella lot of fun, beautiful, and also moving when it sets its mind to it. Unfortunately it doesn’t always do so. I don’t feel like it wasn’t worth the wait; it was. However, I’m very salty how rotten the writing is. I do not mind logical fallacies, I do not mind the cheesiness and cringeyness; however, I do mind how so many interesting characters do not get the screentime they deserve, and Kairi is a very bad joke.

I’ll probably find more to nitpick about (Gods. Just. Don’t come up with dub excuses why Sora is lv 1 in each game. JUST LEAVE IT BE. You don’t explain why Donald and Goofy are lv 1 again, either. JUST. LEAVE. IT. BE. The sacrifice was dumb and not even moving, I’m just still furious that Kairi’s ONLY point in the plot is being so useless that it’s literally getting herself KILLED and she needs constant rescuing to the point that Sora has to sacrifice himself for her, effectively. Kairi deserves better, Sora deserves better, I deserve better than to think about this absurdity.…I’m just… gonna cherry-pick the good bits from the lore and try to pretend the finale didn’t exist, I guess. GODS.

#long post #random rambling tag

15 notes · View notes

cautelous · 3 years

Text

Julian has issues. That’s the post.

Just kidding. This post is about exactly why Julian - C - is so absolutely obsessed with Caitlyn, because it’s a foundational part of his character that I haven’t written a full meta on before. It also serves as an overview of his history, which is why it’s very long. The last few paragraphs cut to the meat of the issue, if you’d prefer to skip the backstory recap.

The start of all of this is relatively simple: Julian’s always been starved for affection and attention. During his time in the Marchand household (a time he’d like to wipe from his memory) he received little to no positive attention from any of his family. Quite the opposite. His skills and interests were generally belittled, and it was clear to him from a young age that no one in his family really wanted him to be around. But it’s not as if a rich and public family can just disappear a kid, so Julian ended up playing the role of a happy and quiet son in order to not make his situation even worse. Better to be left alone than hated further.

Then he ran away at 14 and spent the next few years living as a runaway, which meant that any acquaintances he had were at arms-length at best. (While he may have occasionally introduced himself as Julian during those years, a lot of it was spent relatively nameless or under various pseudonyms.) Of course, he eventually got more established as a criminal person with a set of in-demand skills (pickpocketing, gaining the trust/friendship/confidence of strangers, etc.) and had a stable place to live and more contacts... but with that came its own issues, because now he was doing a lot more than just stealing for his daily survival and/or a few niceties. As a con man in a corrupt Piltover, Julian found himself in a life that rewarded the exact sort of behavior that his former family displayed: being manipulative, callous, and, in the case of his brother Sebastian, a gambler and drinker.

Julian was not a good person during his years as a con man. (Part of this is probably because he was very much a young adult at the time, albeit one who had to grow up pretty fast due to being a runaway. He was passing himself off as several years older than he actually was, as well.) He had no compunction about conning people out of large sums of money, or about generally being a bit self-absorbed and rude. Bleeding hearts don’t make it in that sort of career, so he shoved away a lot of his natural empathy in favor of looking out for himself and himself alone. Not to say that he was heartless, but... again, he wasn’t a good person.

In summary, he became the exact sort of person that his 14-year-old self had ran away from. He would have continued on this path, living a life of fraud and vice, if not for Caitlyn.

Caitlyn and her one-woman quest to clean up Piltover and right the wrongs of the city. No one really believed she could do it at first - what, it’s not as if she was the first young officer with dreams of cleaning up corruption - but then she started making actual change. Most people still wrote her off, but Julian had enough foresight to see that what she was doing was working. Add that to the fact that he didn’t particularly like the people he worked under (it’s not as if he could have worked solo, after all) and a gut feeling that something was wrong with what he was doing... and you end up with a man trying to go on the straight and narrow.

It worked, for a bit. He left the grift, watched as a good deal of his old associates ended up caught (thanks in part to him - he wouldn’t want to be recognized in his new life, after all), and tried his hand at a university education. Art was still his passion, even if it had been forced to take a backseat to con artistry, and now he had the chance to pursue it. But he didn’t make much in the way of anything beyond surface-level acquaintances, because they might start asking questions that he can’t answer. He certainly didn’t seriously date - he had enough morals to know that an honest person doesn’t deserve a dishonest partner, and it’s not as if he could tell anyone about his past. So he tried to live a normal, upstanding life. He really did.

The issue was that a normal, upstanding life is painfully boring one to someone like Julian. He’d been stealing for years, in one way or another, and stopping - even for the sake of self-preservation - started to eat at him. And then there was Caitlyn, the woman who’d given him some of his conscience back. She’d been promoted to Sheriff and whipped Piltover into a state that seemed impossible just a few years before, and whenever her photograph showed up in the morning paper...

Well, he saw the same sort of look in her eyes that he saw in the mirror. The look of someone who needed more to do. (Maybe it was really there. Maybe it was projection. He doesn’t know.) And that couldn’t be - she’d changed the city, she’d changed him, so she didn’t deserve to sit there just as listless as he was. Maybe there was some self-centeredness in his next decision, too, but it was for her as well.

Enter C and his cards. The “C” has always stood for Caitlyn, although at first maybe it also stood for “challenge” or something similar. Something for the both of them. Something for Julian to do to keep himself sane and appease the part of him that couldn’t let go of the thrill of stealing. Something for her to make sure that she didn’t stagnate. That’s why there’s never been a C heist in Piltover - not only would it be a crime against the city that they both hail from, it wouldn’t be a challenge or an escape.

Julian was so pleased when she put the pieces together and headed to Demacia. He wasn’t going to be boorish enough to directly invite her to chase him, to try to stop him, to play this game. But if she’d kept ignoring the cards, he might have had to. (He didn’t want to give away that this was for their city and for her, after all. The more mystery the better.)

Then she nearly caught him. That was probably the final nail in his coffin. The last push he needed to end up... like he is. Because that meant that they were equally matched, that all the effort he put in was finally worth it, that she was paying attention to him, that she was just as ready to chase as he was to run. That he was something that she wanted, even if that want was to catch a criminal and nothing more.

And at home in Piltover, as Julian rather than C, he found himself changing too. He listened to the now-Sheriff’s ideas - her ideas about how everyone had a place in the world, her ideas about redemption, her ideas about how Piltover should be. He started to hang on to her words, to believe in them for himself. He couldn’t stop being a thief, because he’d tried that (and because Caitlyn now needed someone to chase), but he could be one with good intentions. He could be a person with good intentions. The art tutoring job that he’d been using mostly as a cover was now something that he poured his heart into, because he could make a difference with it. And he could make a difference as C, too - after all, a Piltover without Caitlyn at its helm would (in his opinion) quickly collapse back into what it had once been. (Later, he transitioned into being an art teacher for the same reason - the belief that he could do more good if he had more students.)

So, adding all of this together ends up with Julian hopelessly head-over-heels in love with Caitlyn. She represents something pretty close to pure goodness to him, due to the fact that she’s dedicated her life to improving Piltover and the lives of others. Add to that the fact that Julian’s convinced that he would have ended up dead or morally bankrupt if he’d stayed as a con man (so if she hadn’t, in his mind, intervened and changed his course - albeit without her knowing that she’d done that) and you end up with a man convinced that One Woman is not only the reason that he’s alive, but that he’s a good person. (Or at least trying to be one.) How could he not fall a bit in love with someone like that?

Add to that the fact that she pays attention to him - enough attention to chase him across the world for years - and you end up with a man taking any attention as something positive. It doesn’t really matter that her goal is to catch him. Julian never entered this game with the intention of “winning” it. His idea of a win is a draw, a never-ending chase that neither of them would ever tire from. Because he’s not supposed to win... after all, that would mean that Caitlyn would lose, and he and Piltover can’t have that. The fact that she also sees him as a worthy adversary (again, chasing him across the world) is something important to him, too. He feels truly valued, even if it’s as a foe rather than a friend, and that is something that he craves.

Add to that the fact that she is the one honest person who knew him as a criminal first. To her, C and his thievery isn’t the secret - his life as Julian is. She knows his character (part of it, at least) without knowing him. She’s the one person that he could theoretically be completely honest to, if he were caught. (Of course, being caught would mean an end to their chase. He doesn’t know if it would be a triumph or a tragedy.)

His love for Caitlyn - if one can call it that - is built mostly off of who he assumes her to be. Because it’s not as if he’d pry into her life, no, no, no - that wouldn’t be right, it would be an invasion of her privacy and she’s had enough of that from the press - in order to find out that she’s... well, that she’s a person with flaws. It’s an idealized sort of obsession. (Finding out that she has flaws wouldn’t stop him, though. He can wave away her nearly shooting him down in Demacia, after all.) It’s based off of putting her up on a pedestal and putting himself far, far below her.

Julian also is well-aware of the fact that she doesn’t love him back, but that doesn’t matter to him. It’s alright if he’s a challenge rather than a person, because chasing him keeps her busy and - he hopes - happy. The fact that she’s doing well is what matters to him. (Which is why he gets so reactive if he believes that something he did harmed her. Even if it’s unintentional or out of his control, he can’t stand the thought of hurting her in some way. Shame that he knows so little about her as a person, then...)

It’s very bad and sad is what I’m saying here. Julian’s devoted so much of himself to someone because she indirectly showed him kindness. Because she indirectly inspired him to do better. (He has a hard time crediting himself with his own moral development.) He’s devoted his life to someone that he’s convinced that he can never get close to, because if he did then he wouldn’t be a mystery anymore. He wouldn’t be someone to chase after anymore. His “purpose”, as he sees it, would be no more.

He’s been convinced by his past that he is fundamentally unlovable - if not for his general nature, thanks to the Marchand family, then for the fact that he has to keep so much of his history a secret. (A fact made only worse by him becoming C. That, in his mind, boxes him into Caitlyn being the only possibility - which, again, he’s convinced would never happen.) So... he’s stuck. Pining after someone he can’t have. Devoting most of his life to that person because he considers it repayment for what she’s done for the city and indirectly done for him.

Julian would do almost anything for Caitlyn. She doesn’t even know his name.

#Headcanons ∵ ( the art of knowledge. )#babe it's the afternoon time for your 2k word meta from hex #warnings for marchand family being awful and julian's massive complex about being unworthy and unlovable #and general brainworms about obsession and what he defines as love (it is not a good sort of love)#i'm not super happy with this because i think it is a bit bloated in length. but there's a lot of ground to cover.

1 note · View note