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In Bloom

Chapter One

Max wasn't like other Hogwarts students. He was having to live with the terrible things his father had done. Everybody expected him to turn out like his father, but he was the furthest thing from. He just needed two people to see that

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Okay so this follows the basic plot of the Harry potter books (from memory), with some major differences to fit our drivers. A list of which Harry potter each driver relates to can be found HERE

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Max Verstappen could still remember the dread he felt as he stepped up to the sorting hat at just eleven years old. Everybody avoided him on the train, and he'd waited at the back of the queue to be sorted.

Not Slytherin, he thought as he climbed those stairs. Anything but Slytherin.

It came as no surprise that he was sorted into Slytherin. His entire family had been, and he was no different. 'There wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin,' he'd heard somebody say before the sorting.

But even Slytherin didn't want him. He went to sit down and everybody shuffled away from him, giving him plenty of space. Even in his newfound house, even with the people that were supposed to be like his family, as professor Vettel had said, he felt alone.

Unable to look past his own dread, Max had failed to notice something. He failed to notice the boy with his hair covering his forehead and eyes, definitely impairing his vision. Even when the boys name was called, Max didn't notice.

He shouldn't have been surprised to hear the name 'Leclerc Charles' called. He was the boy that had defeated his father, after all. The whispers began as soon as his name was called. Gryffindor, his new house, cheered as he ran to join them. The same thing happened for Max just moments later, but without the cheering. They were like mythical creatures to the other students in the hall. Well, Charles was. Max was more like a circus freak.

First year for Max Verstappen was incredibly lonely. All anybody wanted to talk to him about was his father. They were all questions he couldn't answer because he didn't know his father. He had been destroyed when Max was only a year old.

Flying lessons were Max's favourite. He'd grown up watching Quidditch with his mother, even playing it sometimes. She'd played it for her entire life, up until she met Jos. It was in Max's blood. Max was determined to show Professor Button just what he could do to be put on the Slytherin team. No first year had ever made it onto the team before, he was determined to be the first.

Max tried to act shocked when Professor Button went to Professor Alonso, the head of Slytherin house, and begged him to put Max on the Qudditch team. "He's the best thing this schools ever seen!" Professor Button insisted.

Professor Alonso gave him a trial period. One match to prove he could keep up with the older kids on the team. For Max Verstappen, it was the easiest thing in the world.

This was the stuff of legend in Hogwarts. But it was overshadowed by Charles Leclerc and his idiot friends.

Max didn't know what happened to Charles, Esteban and Pierre under the school. It was all speculation and rumours. Nobody know whether they fought a dragon or found the legendary philosophers stone. Only Professor Schumacher knew that. Professor Schumacher and Charles.

Max heard all of the rumours. He ignored them as best he could. But there was one rumour that he couldn't shake. "Someone said that it was your dad Charles was fighting under the school," said Nikita, a fellow Sytherin and a massive dickhead. "Said he killed him, again."

Max couldn't stop his reaction. He leapt out of his seat in the common room and swung his fist at Nikita, hitting him square in the jaw. Nikita stumbled back, holding his jaw. Shock played on his face, but it soon turned into a smile. "You're going to regret," he started. "Didn't you know my father is close, personal friends with the minister?"

"I didn't ask, Nikita," Max spat as he walked away, leaving the common room all together.

First year wasn't all bad for Max. No, he made history on the Quidditch team and he made a few friends. Lando and Daniel, two Hufflepuffs with the widest smiles and hearts of gold.

He met Daniel first. He was maybe the first person Max had ever properly gotten along with. He found a kindred spirit in Daniel. He was maybe the funniest person Max had ever met.

Daniel had introduced Max to Lando halfway through their first year. Max had never had that connection with anybody. He finally knew what it was like to have friends, and it felt amazing. For the first time since arriving at the school, Max was himself. He was happy, funny, bubbly. Every joke Max cracked had Daniel folded at the waist, hands on his knees as he laughed.

Their friendship continued into Max and Lando's second year. Daniel was just that little bit older, going into his fourth year.

Second year was the first proper run in that Max had with Charles Leclerc. It had been a shit day for Max, Nikita was being an ass and his potions test scores were less than perfect. He was pissed at himself. His escape was the quidditch pitch. It was supposed to be empty. He could fly around, weaving in and out of the stands and goal hoops as much as he liked.

But he wasn't alone. No, somebody else was opening the box of quidditch supplies. Max hung back, watching to see what Charles did. He watched as Charles tucked the quaffle under his arm and mounted his broom.

He wasn't even on the quidditch team for his house. What was he doing there? But, the more Max watched, the more he understood. He watched as Charles flew around with skill. He did what Max was going to do, weaving around the stands and through the goal hoops, all with the quaffle tucked under his arm. It was no easy accomplishment. Max was thoroughly impressed.

He gave Charles a nod as he mounted his broom and flew around. They stayed away from each other that time, practiced without disturbing one another.

As soon as Max was done, he rushed to Professor Buttons office. He was still in his quidditch robes, his fingers a little frozen as he held his broom. "Professor," he called as he knocked on the door. "Can I talk to you?"

Max would never tell Charles Leclerc that he was the reason he was on the quidditch team. They hadn't spoken two words to each other yet, Max couldn't imagine a time where they'd be that friendly.

In his second year of Quidditch Max proved himself to be better than anyone expected. But, with the addition of Charles to the Gryffindor team, Slytherin finally had some real competition.

But the year wasn't all sparkles and rainbows. Not when the attacks started. Muggleborns being petrified, it was terrifying.

When the chamber of secrets was opened, everybody turned to Max. His father had opened it last time, hadn't he? So it only made sense that he opened it this time.

Those were the first words Charles Leclerc spoke to him. "Did you open the chamber of secrets?"

Mac couldn't hide the shock on his face. "Are you kidding me? Why would I want to attack muggleborns?" One of his best friends was muggleborn, for goodness sake.

But still, Charles wouldn't leave it alone. Things only got worse when Esteban was petrified. Charles cornered Max, demanded he fixed what he had done. All Max could do was express condolences and walk away.

But then Daniel was petrified. "Fuck," Max choked out when Lando told him. He followed him to the hospital wing and rushed straight to Daniels side. He wouldn't leave, not until his best friend was up and moving. The nurses were too afraid of him to pull him away.

Golden boy Charles saved the day. He found out who had been opening the chamber, a little first year who had no control over her actions. A cure for the petrifications was made using Mandrakes and Esteban and Daniel were on their feet just before the end of the year.

Max had been avoiding Charles. Ever seen his confronted him over Esteban, he wanted nothing to do with him. He and everyone else would always see him as the villain. It was so sad to learn that at just twelve years old.

But Charles found him. He cornered him once again, but this time, his expression was soft. "I'm sorry," he said.

Max looked at the floor, his jaw tight.

"It was wrong of me to assume that you're the one who opened the chamber. I realise that now," he continued.

Max let out something of a snort. "Just because my dad is a monster, it doesn't mean I am," was all he said. He pushed past him, trying to get away, trying to get to the end of year feast. But, before he could get too far, he stopped and turned back towards Charles. "If you want any chance of beating us in Quidditch next year, you should get a haircut, stop it from going in your eyes."

Just before the start of their third year, mass murderer Nico Rosberg escaped from Azkaban. Max remembered reading it in the paper. He read the headline out loud and his mother let the plate she was holding slip from her grasp. "Nico got out?" She asked as she rushed over.

Max nodded his head and showed her the paper. "I wanna know how he got past the dementors," he said with curiosity. He then turned to his mother. "Did you know him?"

It wasn't often she spoke about her time with Jos. From the little bits Max knew, it was awful and Max was the only good thing to come from it.

She shook her head. "He started Hogwarts just as I was finishing. I remember hearing his name a lot. He was always causing some sort of trouble with his best friend."

Max dropped the topic. The news article had said that Nico had been a supporter of his father. If he was out, maybe he was going to try and finish the job on Charles.

At the first feast of the year, a new teacher was introduced. Professor Hamilton, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year. But that wasn't all. Max watched from the Slytherin table as Lando walked into the hall, his arm around a pretty girl. He knew Lando had other friends, had seen him with this girl a few times. But he didn't know her, not at all.

It was indescribable how pretty she was. Max's eyes followed as she sat herself down between Lando and his other Hufflepuff friend, Max (Fewtrell).

Max tried really hard not to stare, but it was damn near impossible. She was his very first crush, and he didn't even know her name.

For the few classes he shared with Hufflepuff, Max tried to get Lando to tell him her name. Maybe it was because Lando wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but he just wasn't getting it. Max was being as obvious as he could be, without saying anything at all.

The day he learnt her name was the same day that he watched her run up to Chatles Leclerc and plant a kiss on his cheek. Maxs face fell. She was his first crush, and she was with somebody else. That was just his luck.

She was with Charles, that was clear. Max saw the way he placed his arm over her shoulders while they talked with Lando. So, why the hell was Lando introducing her to Max in the middle of charms?

She held her hand out to him, a lovely smile on her face. "I can't believe you two haven't met before," Lando said as he sat on the table.

Max couldn't quite believe he was shaking her hand. He had no clue what to say to her and, in a desperate bid to make a good first impression, he made a terrible one

But it didn't matter. The next time Max saw her was care of magical creatures with professor Brown. As with every lesson, Nikita made an ass of himself. Max couldn't help but shut him down, and that seemed to impress her.

But Nikita didn't know when to quit. It was his fault the beast struck him. It was his fault he'd sustained such an injury to his arm.

It was all he could talk about for the next few weeks. Max didn't know what would happen to the beast that had 'attacked' Nikita. Nikita boasted about a trial, about the beast being put to death. Of course, Max didn't believe it, not until he saw her crying about it.

She was too pretty to cry, Max thought as he watched her across the hall. She sat at the Gryffindor table, leaning against Charles as he rubbed her back. That should have been him, Max couldn't help but selfishly think.

On the day of the beasts execution, Max followed her and Charles down to Professor Brown's hut. He stayed behind them, watching as she swung her fist towards Nikita. Good, he thought. It was what that prick deserved.

She and Charles didn't notice him as they stepped into Professor Brown's hut. But Professor Brown did. "Come on in, Max," he said, stepping aside to let her and Charles see him.

Charles didn't scowl, like Max had expected. He gave him a sad smile as she stepped towards him, holding him. "It's awful, Max," she sobbed against his shirt. "They're going to kill him because Nikita is an asshole."

Max stood there, looked at Charles over the top of the head. There was a minute before he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed slightly.

"I found something of yours," said Professor Brown as he guided her away from Max. He grabbed a shoe box and opened it up, revealing her pet rat.

She didn't show up to Hogwarts with an owl, cat, rat or toad. This rat she had found at the station and, in a bid of desperation, she picked him up. He was so tame, she figured he had to be a magical rat.

Before they knew it, they were being ushered out of the hut by Professor Brown. They hid behind shrubbery as Professor Schumacher, the head master, brought Bernie Ecclestone, the minister, and the executioner, down to the hut.

As soon as the three of them had their backs to the students, Max and Charles got her back to the castle. They got halfway there before the sound of the axe hitting something stopped them.

Her gasp rang in the boys ears and she turned towards Charles, burying her face in his chest as she cried. "It's okay, chérie. I've got you."

But, suddenly, he didn't have her. Suddenly she was on the floor, screaming as a vicious, hairy beast dragged her towards the womping willow, its jaws clamped around her leg. Charles screamed her name as he ran after her, but the tree fought back.

Fuck, Max thought as he ran after Charles. The tree attacked them however it could, keeping them away from the tunnel the beast had dragged her down.

Charles dodged those he could, but one smacked him in the chest and he went flying back, the air knocked from his lungs when he landed. Max had gotten closer to the tunnel entrance. He jumped over the trees limbs when they came towards him, getting to the tunnel entrance in minutes.

But he couldn't leave Charles behind. The tree didn't fight him as he ran back towards him. "Come on," Max grunted, grabbing Charles's hand and pulling him to his feet.

The tree once again tried to stop them. Max kept a hold of Charles's hand, pulling him around the attacking limbs. They ducked and dodged and jumped. But one limb managed to knock them both over. Max immediately grabbed the limb and Charles grabbed a hold of him.

They were lifted into the air, the tree trying to throw them off. But it was doing do in a pattern, one Max easily deciphered. "Hold on!" He shouted to Charles, who just squeezed him tighter.

At the right moment Max let go of the branch, falling into the tunnel entrance. Charles was right behind him, landing on top of him. "Sorry," Charles said, taking his hand and helping him up. He pulled his wand from his back pocket and held it out in front of him. "Lumos," he whispered and the tunnel lit up.

Holding his wand out in front of them, Charles led the way through the tunnel. They followed paw prints until they weren't paw prints anymore, but feet, the soles of battered shoes against the dirt.

When they got to a set of old and unstable steps, Max and Charles looked at each other. She was up there, she had to be.

"Nox," Charles whispered. The first step creaked under his foot and he nervously looked to Max. But they climbed the stairs anyway. The closer they got to the top of the stairs, they more they could hear her pained gasps. The two of them hurried.

Charles couldn't stop himself from kicking the door open. "Charles, Max, no!" She cried, grasping her bloody leg. "It's a trap, he's an animagus!"

As the door swung shut behind them, Max and Charles turned around. There he was, his striped jumpsuit tattered and dirty. The smile he wore was grim and his blonde hair was long and disgusting.

Immediately, Max and Charles put their bodies between her and Rosberg. The escaped convict's smile only grew as he took a step forward. "Move aside." His eyes were focused on Max. "It's not you that I want."

But Max stood in front of them protectively. "If you want to get to either of them, you have to go through me."

Rosberg laughed. "Stupid boy," he said through his laugh. "I don't want either of them, I want him," he said, pointing at her.

Her body tembled as she held her mangled leg. The rat in her pocket was squeaking uncontrollably. "I-I'm a girl!" She cried.

But Rosberg let out an exasperated sigh. He lifted his wand.

"Expelliarmus!"

Professor Hamilton, that years defence against the dark arts teacher, stood in the door way. It wasn't a surprise that none of them heard him coming up the stairs, not with the way adrenaline was running through them.

Professor Hamilton looked at the kids and then at Rosberg. And then he dropped his wand and stepped forwards, pulling him into his embrace. "Good to see you, old friend," he said, clapping him on the back.

"What the fuck?" Max couldn't help himself. He held his wand out in front of him. "I trusted you, and this entire time you've been working with him? You've been on my dad's side, too?"

"Max, you don't understand," Hamilton replied, holding his hand up. "This entire time I thought that Nico did all of those terrible things. But then Charles came to me and said he saw someone on the map that I believed to be dead. Sergio Perez."

"Well, the map was wrong, then!" Charles called. He had migrated over to her, crouching by her side. She wasn't okay and there was nothing he could do.

Hamilton shook his head. "The map never lies," he said. "It could only mean one thing, Charles. That Checo was alive and he was the reason your parents are dead."

Slowly, Charles stood up. He pulled his wand from his pocket as he walked forward. "That's not true," he said. "It couldn't have been him because he died. Rosberg killed him and all they could find was-"

"A finger! Chopped it off and escaped into the sewers, he did," Rosberg finished.

Hamilton looked past them as Charles tried to process everything in his mind. "Your rat, please," said Hamilton as he looked at her.

"What? No! What do you want with him?" She cried as she pulled him from her pocket and held him close to her chest. But Professor Hamilton was still advancing, reaching for the rat.

It was Charles that stopped him. He held his hand up, asking Professor Hamilton to just give him a moment, before crouching down to her height. "Please, chérie. I need you to trust me," he said, reaching for the rat.

For just a moment, she stared at Charles. He thought he was going to have to pry the rat from her hands and lose her trust forever. But she willingly gave the rat to Charles, who handed it to Professor Hamilton.

"We do this together," said Rosberg as he grabbed his wand from the floor.

"Expelliarmus!"

Once again, Rosbergs wand went flying out of his hands. Hamilton kept ahold of the rat as they wheeled around to find the head of Slytherin house.

"I told Schumacher," Alonso began as he walked into the room. "I said from the minute you arrived that you were trouble. And here you are, helping your old friend into the castle. Well, Lewis, you can have Nico's old cell once the dementors give him that kiss. I've heard they're looking forward to it. Got a cell in the tower waiting for you."

"Oh, piss off, little Nando no mates," Nico spat, but suddenly Fernando had his wand against his neck. Instantly, Nico stilled.

Fernando turned his attention to the kids. "You three, get back to the castle."

But they weren't going anywhere. Max knew it, Charles knew it, and she couldn't move.

Fernando quickly turned his attention back to Lewis and Nico. Before he could begin talking, Charles had raised his wand. "Expelliarmus!"

It was just meant to disarm Alonso, not send him flying back into the wall, knocking him out cold. "Shit, Charles," Max said through something of a grin. "You attacked a teacher."

But Charles didn't care about that. "Show me Perez," he demanded.

Hamilton and Rosberg were only too happy to oblige. Hamilton placed the rat onto the floor. He and Rosberg pointed their wands at the rat, sending silent spells in his direction.

The rat kept going, seemingly dodging the magic. But then, he wasn’t a rat at all. It wasn't clear which one cast the incantation, but a small-ish man in tattered clothing stood in the place of the rat. The most damning piece of evidence? His missing finger.

Charles couldn't quite believe his eyes. So Rosberg hadn't been the cause of his parents death. It had been Perez all along. Rosberg was an innocent nan, wrongfully imprisoned for all of those years.

"We do this together," said Rosberg. Hamilton nodded and, together, they pointed their wands at Perez.

"No, no, no!" He cried, scurrying across the floor. He quickly moved past Charles,towards her. "Girl, sweet girl," he said as she attempted to shuffle away from him. But, with her leg, she couldn't get far enough. "You won't let them hurt me, will you?"

Max pushed Perez away from her. "Leave her alone," he said through something of a snarl.

"Don't kill him," Charles said as he looked to Hamilton and Rosberg. "Take him to the castle. The dementors can have him and you could go free," he said, eying Rosberg.

Rosberg couldn't quite believe it. He cast a spell that bound Perez and lifted Alonso into the air.

"Oh, chérie," Charles whispered. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead before lifting her into his arms. She let out a small cry as Charles adjusted her, her injured leg brushing against his arm. But she locked her arms around his neck.

Max led the way. His wand was out, light coming from it as tye group of seven made their way back through the tunnel towards the school. Periodically Max turned around, looking at Charles as he carried her. That should have been him, he thought again.

Max climbed out of the tunnel first. He turned taking her body from Charles. One by one they climbed out of the tunnel. She stood on her uninjured leg as Alonso's still unconscious body was placed on the ground. Rosberg and Hamilton wandered a little way away from the group,the two of them looking up at the castle.

"How're you feeling, chérie?" Charles asked. He hardly called her by any other name. She gave a weak, pained smile. That was all Charles needed before he was pulling her body into his own, letting her rest against him.

Suddenly, Hamilton made a noise. A low, guttural noise, something inhuman. He looked away from the castle, his jaw slack and his eyes distant as he stared at the moon. The full moon.

"Shit," Rosberg hissed. Max stood to attention, placing himself between the changing werewolf and his friends. "Lewis, not now!" Nico cried wrapping his arms around him, as if trying to hold him together. "Any time but now!"

But Hamilton was still changing. His limbs were elongating, a thin layer of hair covering his skin. His clothes were shredded from his skin as his snout formed and hid ears sharpened.

Realising that he could do nothing, Nico let go out Lewis. He transformed into his animagus form, putting himself between the werewolf and the students.

At first, Hamilton barely moved. His breathing was heavy as he took just a moment to recover from the transformation.

As best as she could, she hopped forwards. "Chérie," Charles hissed in warning, trying to keep a hold of her.

She couldn't push him away, couldn't stand on her own as she looked at the werewolf. "Professor?" She called. "Professor Hamilton?"

The beast raised its head. The howl it let out echoed around the castle grounds. It was enough to rouse Professor Alonso from his temporary time out. "You!" He cried, pointing an accusing finger at Charles. Charles, who didn't much care, Charles, who was more concerned with getting her as close to him as possible.

When Alonso turned and around saw the beast, he threw his arms protectively around the three of them, keeping them behind him. There wasn't much else he could do but watch, his body shielding them, as Nico jumped at the beast.

The werewolf immediately threw him off, but Nico came back, this time doing damage. But again, the werewolf tossed him to one side. This time, Nico didn't get back up.

With his threat neutralised, the werewolf turned his attention back to the four of them. He got down onto all fours and slowly stalked forward. His slow pace only seemed to indicate that he was toying with them, that, no matter what they did, they were his prey.

Suddenly, from way in the distance, there was a howl. Hamilton turned towards it. He howled once more himself before he took off, running in the direction the howl had come from and completely ignoring his once prey.

As soon as Hamilton was gone, Charles passed her to Max. "Get her to the hospital wing!" He shouted as he took off running.

"Leclerc!" Alonso bellowed, but he made no move to go after him. "Get back here!"

But Charles was gone, disappearing off to wherever Nico was.

Her arms locked around Max's neck as he picked her up. Suddenly he was thinking quidditch for the useful muscles it had given him. "I'm sorry to put you through all of this," she whispered as her head fell against his shoulder.

He shook his head. "You didn't put me through anything," he replied. He so desperately wanted to kiss her head like he had seen Charles do. "Besides, if I wasn't here Professor Alonso would be carrying you. Do you really want that?" He asked and she let out a little giggle.

A small amount of pride blossomed in his chest.

At the hospital wing Max was asked to leave. But he refused. There was no way in hell he was just going to leave her. It was the only time he threw his name around to get his way.

At some point in the night Charles was brought into the hospital wing. He looked awful, like he had tried to drive a race car after suffering from appendicitis. But the nurse had confirmed that he was alive.

Max didn't sleep much that night. He stayed up, watching over his friends, recounting the events. It wasn't Nico Rosberg who had killed all of those people in the name of his father. It was Sergio Perez. Perez had gotten away in the commotion of their teacher being a fucking werewolf. It was crazy, but Max didn't know how he hadn't spotted it soon. Lupin took a few days a month off, Max just didn't notice that they were around the time of a full moon.

But Perez had gotten away, his father's loyal dog had gotten away, and Max would never forgive himsed.

He didn't know when he had fallen asleep. But, when he woke up, Pierre and Esteban sat around Charles. "I can't believe you went with him instead of us," Pierre muttered as he gestured to Max. Max simply sat up straighter, scowling in return.

"He saved her," was all Charles said as he nodded towards the girl sleeping beside Max.

The three of them continued to talk, and Max tried his best not to listen in. But it was harder than it looked when he constantly heard his name being dropped. They could fucking talk about him, he didn't care. By this point, he just didn't care.

When the doors flew open and Professor Schumacher strode in, Esteban and Pierre stood up. "Esteban, Pierre," the professor said. They said goodbye to Charles and walked past their head teacher. But, before they could get too far, Professor Schumacher grabbed a hold of Pierre. What he said to Pierre was too hushed for anybody else to hear, but it had him pulling something from beneath his shirt and striding towards the boys.

"Max, Charles," he said and Max left his chair, coming to stand beside Charles. Wordlessly, Professor Schumacher placed something over their heads.

Max picked up the necklace. "A time turner?"

"What's a time turner?" Asked Charles.

But Professor Schumacher didn't answer his question. "Two turns should do it," he said. "And you should be able to set everything right. Remember, don't let anybody see you," he said and strode out of the hospital wing.

Max turned the time turner. "How on earth did Pierre get one of these?" He asked as he spun it twice, and the room around them moved backwards. Professor Alonso carried Charles out of the hospital wing and Max took her back outside. Other students came and left, time still turning around them.

When it, at last, stilled, Max pulled the time turner from around their necks and placed it in his pocket. "Come on," he said as he grabbed Charles's hand.

As he pulled him out of the hospital wing, Max checked the time on his watch. "It's 5PM, where were we at five?"

Charles took a moment to think. "Ugh, I know I was taking her down to see Zac," he answered. "She punched Nikita."

Knowing exactly where to go, Max pulled Charles along. He pulled him through the halls, towards where they already were. But, suddenly, Max stopped. "Wha-" Charles began, but Max put his hand over his mouth, silencing him as he pulled him into an alcove.

The Max from before, the one that had been following Charles and her, turned for just a second. But, when she swung at Nikita, it distracted him long enough for the Max from the future to pull Charles outside.

"Max, what the hell?" Charles hissed as they watched Nikita and his friends run away. Charles from the past had his hand on the small of her back as he moved her along, heading to Zacs, Professor Brown's, hut. Max from the past followed. "That's us!"

"You're incredibly observant," Max quipped as he grabbed his hand once more. "I suppose you can see now you've cut your hair."

Charles let out a scoff, but Max was pulling him along once again, into the woods just opposite Zac's hut.

Nobody saw them, nobody but Rocky, the hippogriff. He raised his head and snorted, but quickly went back to sleep. "We can save him, too," Charles realised. "Him and Nico."

He strode forward and sent to grab the chain that kept Rocky tethered to the garden, but Max stopped him. "Professor Schumacher and the minister need to see him first, or you'll get Fred arrested," he whispered. Charles clenched his fists at his sides, but he nodded.

They watched as Fred pulled the rat from the box and handed it to her. There he was, Sergio Perez. Max and Charles looked at each other, their thoughts much the same. But they held back, and not just because the headmaster and the minister were coming.

They watched as the three of them left the hut. As the minister and Schumacher conversed with Fred, Charles and Max ran into the vegetable garden and grabbed a hold of Rocky's chain. "Come on, Rocky," Charles hissed, but the creature insisted on sleeping. It was only when Max bribed him with food that he followed them into the woods.

A sliver of satisfaction ran through them when the execution brought his axe down onto a bit of wood in anger. Rocky was safe, and all they had to do was wait.

It was surreal, watching everything that had happened. They watched as Nico, the dog, grabbed her leg and dragged her beneath the tree. They watched as they struggled to follow her.

"Can I ask you something?" Max enquired as he sat on the ground beside him. Rocky was behind them, playing in the trees. When Charles nodded his head, he continued. "Last year, you asked me if I opened the chamber. Do you really think I'm that much of a monster? Do you really think I'm that much like my dad?"

Charles let out an audible sigh. "I feel awful for that," he said as he lent back against the tree behind him. "All I know about your dad is that he's the reason my parents are dead. I'd met him in first year and, well, I still have nightmares about it. Of I had known you last year like I do now, I wouldn't have dreamed of blaming you."

They talked, actually talked, until Professor Hamilton came to the tree. "Did you have any idea he was a werewolf?" Max asked and Charles shook his head.

He pulled the time turner from his pocket. "Do you know why Pierre would have that?" Charles asked as he reached out to touch it.

Max shrugged his shoulders. "It makes sense, though. Pierre has been in so many classes this year, more than he should have had time for. This must be how he's being going to them all."

Next, Professor Alonso came by, and then, minutes later, they were all making their way out of the tree. "Thanks for looking after her," said Charles as he watched himself hand her to Max.

Max waved him off.

But it wasn't long before Professor Hamilton started his transformation. "Fuck," Max whispered as he watched Nico try and fail to protect them. What happened when they were up there? Something had howled, but no howl was coming. "Shit, get ready to run," he said to Charles before cupping his hands around his mouth and letting out a mighty howl.

The werewolf looked, but he didn't immediately begin running towards them. So, Max did it again.

The beast howled back and suddenly it was running towards them. "We're going to die out here," said Charles.

"Yep," Max agreed and the two boys took off running. But they didn't get very far, not before the werewolf caught up to them.

Their hearts were beating, blood so loud in their ears that they were sure the werewolf could hear them. Max squeezed his eyes shut, unable to keep them opened. He was incredibly grateful when Charles pulled him further around the tree they were hiding behind.

All they could hear was their werewolf Professor sniffing around behind them. It was the only indication that they were somewhat safe. But then, the sniffing stopped and the growls began. The two turned, almost paralysed with fear as the werewolf stood to its full height. "Professor," Charles began, but he was no longer human.

He moved towards them and they tried to back up. He raised a large, clawed hand, but he didn't get a chance to bring it down, to strike them. Not before Rocky jumped in front of them, using his large talons to fend off the beast.

Whimpering, the werewolf ran off. "Go Rocky!" Charles called as the hippogriff pranced in front of him.

Max checked the time on his watch. "Come on," he said, once again reaching for Charles's hand. Over the course of the evening he'd noticed just how much he'd enjoyed that, enjoyed holding Charles's hand. "We've got to get back to the castle."

But Charles ripped his hand away from Max. "We need to go and save Nico!" He called before he took off running. "Someone was there, Max! Someone cast a patronus and fended off the dementors! I need to know who it is!"

But, when they got to the lake, nobody was there. Just Charles from the past cradling Nico's body as dementors fed off of them. "Charles!" Max called.

"They're coming to help! I know they are!"

But Charles from the past and Nico looked terrible, close to the end. "Charles, you're dying. And nobody's coming," he said softly.

Charles bit his lip as he looked at Max. He sucked in one steady breath and ran over to the edge of the lake. He raised his wand, drew in a deep breath and bellowed, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

It was an incredible sight. Max knew Charles was capable of some serious magic, he just didn't realise it was this serious. All of the dementors left the scene just in time for Professor Alonso to lift the unconscious Charles and Nico away from the scene.

Nico, they could still save Nico. "Come on!" Charles shouted as he climbed onto Rocky's back. Taking Max's hand, he pulled him onto Rocky's back and he secured his arms around him.

Rocky flew them out of the woods. "Where would Alonso put Nico?" Max shouted over the sounds of the wind.

"When we were in the shack, he said something about the tower," Charles called back.

That was exactly where Rocky took them. As he landed them outside of the cell, Max slipped from Rocky's back and cast a spell to open the door.

Immediately, Nico ran out to them. "Thank you," he said to them. "Both of you. If it wasn't for your bravery, I would have lost my life."

"Quick, take Rocky and go, before the dementors come," Charles said. He helped Nico onto the Hippogriff's back. Immediately they took off, and Charles and Max began running, heading back to the hospital wing.

When they got there, Professor Schumacher was pulling the doors shut behind him. "We did it," said Charles, his hands on his knees. "We saved both of them."

Professor Schumacher looked at the both of them. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said and took his leave, leaving the boys standing there.

Charles released a breath. "I can't believe we actually did it," he said, grinning at Max. "Should we go and tell her all about it?"

Max nodded his head and Charles pushed his way into the hospital wing. He watched, frozen in place as he strode across the room, over to her. Suddenly, Max didn't feel so jealous as he watched Charles run his fingers through her hair.

That was when he realised, he liked boys, too.

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brucebocchi · 24 days

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Winter 2024 anime, Pt. 2: Mixed reactions, the bench, and the gems

hey y'all, this is also up on my ko-fi! it's free to read both here and there, but i'm struggling financially rn so i could appreciate if you'd throw a few bucks my way if you liked it! part 1 can be found here.

And we're back for part 2! Here's all the new stuff I finished this season, and one more I'll get back to later. As with before, these are sorted alphabetically within each category and are not ranked as of yet.

Also as before, the OP for each series is linked in the title. Check them all out if the header images aren't giving you the right feel for each show, but also check them out because most of them were actually pretty damn good this season.

[Solo Leveling OP voice] LET'S GET IT!

Mixed Bags:

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!

Your standard, quasi-harem “easily flustered Regular Guy wins over hot girls just by being really nice” shonen romcom. I really don’t have much to say about this one other than if you’ve seen My Dress-Up Darling, you’ve basically seen this already. The only thing that really sets it apart is the setting.

Tsubasa (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki, in a FAR cry from his turn as Mahito in Jujutsu Kaisen) is a straight-laced Tokyoite whose family situation lands him in a small city in the frozen boonies of Hokkaido. While looking for the bus to his new house, he runs into a gyaru in the snowy wild, the underdressed, hilariously-proportioned Minami, and they hit it off. It turns out they go to the same school, there are other cute girls there who take a shine to him as well, it’s nothing new.

I ultimately don’t have much to say about Hokkaido Gals, but I do have a soft spot for series like this, and after reading ahead in the manga I felt obligated to see it through. This is all junk food, but it’s all stuff you’ve seen done better in other series. I also have a soft spot for gyaru in anime and manga, and while I do like Minami just fine, she isn’t Marin Kitagawa or Rumiko Manbagi. I don’t really have it in me to recommend this show to many, though, at least not until another season rolls around, if that ever happens. The manga genuinely does get a lot better as it goes on, but the really worthwhile stuff may not happen until a third season, and I just don’t see that happening.

The manga has issues that the anime isn’t willing or able to solve, chief of which being the visuals. The art style of the manga is wildly inconsistent, and getting a mediocre animation team on this didn’t help matters at all. While the colors often pop nicely against the pretty, snowy backdrops, nobody looks all that great overall. The characters are recognizable, but they just plain don’t look great a lot of the time, nor do they look consistent from one cut to the next; I said that Minami’s proportions are hilarious, but just as hilarious is how wildly they vacillate from one scene to the next for the sake of trying to titillate the viewer.

My biggest takeaway from both the manga and anime was everything I learned about Hokkaido in the process, and if the series is taking subsidies from the island’s tourism bureau, then it’s a job well done. I want some goddamn jingisukan now. The OP is a great time, though. I’m shocked it took over a decade for us to get a proper “Uptown Funk” knockoff in an anime.

Metallic Rouge

I’ll be upfront in saying that this was my biggest disappointment of the season by far. This show had so much going for it, and what we got was… ugh.

There was an unbelievable amount of promise from the outset: This was Studio Bones’ commemorative 25th anniversary production, and coming from the studio that gave us all-timer adaptations like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Mob Psycho 100, not to mention later works from Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichiro Watanabe (including the Cowboy Bebop movie), you can’t fault anyone for having high expectations. It looked to be a fitting production as well: Watanabe’s influence shines through immediately in the gorgeous, lived-in cyberpunk off-world locales and racially diverse cast. Action takes the form of dope robo-tokusatsu transformation fisticuffs, and it’s entirely in 2D animation to boot. The first couple of episodes were killer, too; everything looked and sounded amazing, and there were just enough plot threads teased out that I just had to see how they’d unravel.

It brings me no joy, then, to say that Metallic Rouge collapses into a jumbled mess. I don’t even want to bother talking about what happens in the show because I don’t fucking care anymore. There are few media experiences more sobering than to have it dawn on you over a span of several weeks that “oh… this isn’t actually all that good, is it?” Episode after episode piles on with sloppy lore, weak worldbuilding, warring factions whose names you immediately forget, pointless double-crosses, and the most predictable twist you’ve ever seen. For a while I was willing to accept the fact that I didn’t know what was going on half the time and expected things to become clearer, but now I’m not entirely sure the writers knew either. The stakes apparently kept rising and everything just kept getting more claustrophobic. I’m glad it’s over, if only because if I had to hear “Clair de Lune” one more fucking time, I was going to go ballistic.

There are several attempts at emotional beats, as the story is rife with tragedy and sacrifice, and every single one lands with a wet thud. Nobody gets enough time, motivation, or characterization for any of these things to feel like they actually matter, and that’s especially a shame because the finale might have been able to stick the landing if the previous episodes were less dense and better paced. Emphasis on “almost,” though, because just before the season ends, we get the absolute most pointless fakeout I’ve seen since The Rise of Skywalker, which is the lowest point of comparison you can make for any work of sci-fi.

This is especially frustrating because on paper, there is so much to like here. Rouge and Naomi are likable-enough deuteragonists with a fun dynamic, and they’d make easy yuri bait in a better show. The characters are all pretty and uniquely designed across the board, and the overall aesthetic, almost a pastiche of late-90’s anime futurism, is undeniable. The toku suit designs are neat and several of the action scenes are gorgeous. The score and soundtrack are outstanding (except for the aforementioned Debussy indulgence). I have few complaints about how the show looks and sounds; the style is great! All of my issues lie with the substance.

Metallic Rouge may have had all the ingredients, but it just needed more time to cook; whether that would have been by doubling the episode count or by more carefully planning the pacing and trimming some of the fat from the lore, I’m still not sure. Probably both. It probably needed better writers, too. Maybe it just isn’t as smart as it acts and there was no way to satisfyingly resolve the clumsy civil rights allegories that bring it uncomfortably close to the likes of Detroit: Become Human. So all of the above, I guess. I tend to adore stories that involve artificially-intelligent beings developing their own wills and emotions and learning to cut their own strings (the likes of Blade Runner, Nier Automata, even a couple of character arcs in the Persona series), but this ain’t it. I’m not even mad anymore. I’m just disappointed.

If there are two positives that will stick with me, though, they would be the absolute banger of an OP and, of course, Naomi Orthmann herself (pictured above, left). Outstanding character design. I’m mildly obsessed. She deserved a better show.

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer

This one isn’t even worth talking about, so here’s a brief synopsis, then I’ll add some commentary, and then we’ll all move on with our lives.

Rentt, a beloved but mediocre adventurer in a fantasy town, gets lost in the mysterious labyrinth that all adventurers explore for personal gain, gets waxed by a dragon, and awakens as a shitty-looking CGI skeleton. He notices, though, that he’s able to level up better as a skeleton than he did as a human, and with the more monsters he defeats, the more he evolves into something closer to human. The rest isn’t really worth discussing.

If I’m being honest, I should’ve dropped this show much sooner. It looks kinda lousy most of the time, the plot (inasmuch as there even is one) is boring, character designs are forgettable (except for Rentt’s closest ally, Lorraine, holy hell) and it seems wholly uninterested in actually building its own setting. If it returns for a second season, I won’t be there, nor will I feel like I’m missing anything. Each episode felt like a chore to watch. I probably only saw it through because 1) I liked looking at Lorraine, I know what I’m about, and 2) I didn’t want to lump it in with the shows I did drop. The Unwanted Undead Adventurer isn’t as patently upsetting or frustrating as those three, but it just plain isn’t a very good show.

The Witch and the Beast

This show could have been so much more. I was drawn in by the gorgeous character designs and intriguing blend of Victorian gothic aesthetics and architecture with modern infrastructure, and very quickly disappointed by just about everything else. The first episode is an exceptional proof of concept, and almost everything that follows is an upsetting showcase of what could have been.

The story centers around Ashaf, a languid, chain-smoking agent of the governing church with a big-ass coffin strapped to his back, and his partner Guideau, a snarling hyena in a young woman’s body, as they investigate abuses of magic across the continent in search of nefarious witches. Guideau in particular has a bone to pick with witches, as the body they presently inhabit is the result of a witch’s curse, and they remain in furious pursuit of the one who cursed them. The curse can be temporarily undone by a kiss with a witch, allowing Guideau’s true body, a hulking brute confined to the coffin, to escape and wreak havoc. Meaning that on a few occasions we get a girl-on-girl kiss followed by a big dude wrecking shit. There’s also other investigations of serial killings, necromancy, and a cursed sword, and here’s hoping you like those, because the coffin breaks are few and far between.

This wasn’t great! By the third episode I had the sneaking suspicion that the animation talent on hand just wasn’t enough to support the aesthetic. While the character designs are exceptional, almost everyone looks awful in any shot that isn’t completely focused on them. This is especially true of Guideau, who looks so inconsistently off-model from one shot to the next that I’m still not entirely sure what they’re supposed to look like, and that’s kind of unforgivable when we’re talking about a main character. Everything looks too dim and too shiny at the same time, and action scenes look like shit more often than they look interesting. I can see so many flickers of something excellent (or at least really good-looking) in Witch and the Beast, and everything else that keeps those flickers from actually igniting makes it so much more frustrating to watch. Maybe just read the manga instead; the panels I've seen from it were uniformly gorgeous.

Actually, yeah, you should probably just read the manga, because for a season of anime, the pacing is atrocious too. It’s clearly trying to angle for a monster-of-the-week format, but each of these mini-arcs is a little too dense for a single episode, so multiple episodes are dedicated to these one-off curiosities, most of which do nothing to advance the plot or show off what the show does best. And if one of them isn’t particularly interesting, you’re saddled with it for the next two weeks like you've been stuck munching on a mealy apple. And I know you can only adapt so much in a 12-episode season, but the decision to end the season on a flashback arc and a lore dump was baffling. That’s not world-building, that’s lazy, and it made the show’s existing pacing issues feel that much more inane.

I feel like I was sold a false bill of goods. I can only imagine how the mangaka feels about this. Dull and uninspiring all around. What a waste.

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Isekai, unassuming high school boy gains a unique power, impending war with the Demon Lord, yadda yadda yadda. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic isn’t anything new or special by any means, nor is it particularly well-animated or -paced, but at its best it’s silly and charming enough that it made a nice, brainless palate cleanser on Fridays.

Usato, your standard quiet high schooler, ends up walking home on a rainy evening with the popular, attractive student council president and VP, when an isekai portal happens. It turns out that it was just the seito-kai that was invited along for the ride (and President Suzune, as it turns out, is fucking psyched to get to be in an isekai), and Usato got caught along with them. When tested for magical aptitude, Suzune and VP Kazuki hit the jackpot with electric and light affinities, respectively, but things go awry when Usato’s reading turns up with healing magic. Terror strikes the palace as the intimidating dommy-mommy Captain Rose barges in to spirit Usato away from his new friends and into her squadron of goons to train him as a combat medic.

As character comedy goes, this one is actually pretty solid at times. Shogo Sakata is plenty of fun as the put-upon, lippy Usato (a much louder role than Chainsaw Man’s Aki Hayakawa), and Atsuko Tanaka (Major Kusanagi herself!) is a blast as the uncompromising Rose, a terrifying slave driver of a drill sergeant with a secret soft side. The dynamic between them is great, too; Usato is over Rose’s shit from the beginning and isn’t afraid to talk back to her, but before you know it, this transforms into friendly banter as Rose clearly takes a shine to Usato and knows he can handle any punishment she doles out. Suzune’s also a bunch of fun now that she’s broken away from having to be the competent, popular girl at school and gets to fully lean into being a complete dork.

Wrong Way also works decently as an isekai, because it makes an effort to stay rooted in high fantasy rather than fall back on JRPG mechanics, meaning there are no stat screens! It also avoids the trappings of wish-fulfillment isekai series by having Usato start out as a regular-ass guy; he’s not a Kirito type, just someone Rose sees as a rough gem in need of cutting. There are no cheat skills or OP weapons or anything, just a kid training every day to get stronger so he can protect the people close to him, and that’s the kind of anime protagonist you should want to be.

For better and for worse, I get serious mid-00s vibes from this one; watch the OP if you don’t believe me. Some of the colors pop uncannily in that early-digipaint-era way, and the animation is pretty middling; the most fluid animation we see is whenever Suzune is acting like a creep. Much like those mid-00s anime, though, Wrong Way may have benefited from being weekly (or twice as long) rather than seasonal. There’s a ton of planting with very little payoff, and it doesn’t feel like the actual scope of the story has even been addressed yet. We don’t even learn why the series has the name it does until someone literally says it aloud in the 11th episode. I may have to reevaluate this season after a possible second, if we ever get one, because this doesn’t stand too well on its own.

Of the anime in this “mixed bags” segment, I’d say I enjoyed Wrong Way the most, but it still had enough problems for me to keep it here. It’s not a particularly bad anime, but it’s not especially good either. I guess we can slot it into what Hazel refers to as “good mid.”

On Hold:

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (three episodes watched)

Man, what a title. That was the main draw for this BL series, which on paper is basically a gay version of the Mel Gibson vehicle What Women Want.

Adachi (a surname that will always make me laugh thanks to Persona 4), a gloomy salaryman, has hit the big 3-0 without getting any, and now he can somehow read anyone’s thoughts just by making physical contact with them. Just as he laments that this is his life now, he accidentally bumps into his handsome, popular coworker, Kurosawa, whom he learns has been harboring a massive crush on Adachi this whole time. Well dang, what now? Kurosawa’s a really nice, thoughtful dude, but Adachi’s never even thought about being with a man before! And isn’t there something wrong with already knowing this secret? How can he even go into the office and look Kurosawa in those big, handsome eyes… every single day…

What I’ve seen so far has been pretty solid, if not particularly well animated. The visuals are really my only gripe here; I just put it off for way too long and didn’t have it in me to finish it on time to actually get this thing written and published. Yaoi isn’t my forte, which feels like a shortcoming on my end as a fledgling bisexual, and I’ve already remarked on the solid LGBT representation this past season, so I do plan on hopping back on this one.

I gotta say, the co-leading voice actors put in serious work this season. Adachi is voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi, who continued his role as Stark in Frieren, returned to Mashle as Mash Burnedead, and contributed to Metallic Rouge’s cluttered cast as Noid. Kurosawa’s seiyuu, Ryota Suzuki (of whom I’ll always be a fan for his masterful turn as Yu Ishigami in Kaguya-sama), also held down leading roles in Bang Brave Bang Bravern and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer. They’ve been great in the few episodes of Cherry Magic! that I’ve seen so far, and they’ll be a huge part of what brings me back.

The Gems:

Bang Brave Bang Bravern

I feel like the mark of a perfectly audacious piece of media is in the moments where I find myself incredulously shouting “WHAT THE FUCK AM I WATCHING” at the screen, and Bravern made me do that at least once per episode. I have so many things to say about what makes this show great but all of it can be summed up as “it fucks so goddamn hard.”

A joint military exercise in Hawaii between Japanese and American mech pilots goes south as a sudden invasion by metalloid aliens portends certain doom for humanity. Just in the nick of time, though, a bombastic, autonomous mech named Bravern arrives from space and insists that ace pilot Isami Ao take his reins. Isami reluctantly agrees, and to his consternation, Bravern goes full tokusatsu on everyone’s asses, complete with fully-diegetic theme music, and keeps the threat at bay. With Bravern continuing to pester him to act as a pilot, Isami is forced to take up the mantle of a reluctant hero as everyone rallies around Bravern to save Earth. Tagging along is blond-haired, blue-eyed American pilot Lewis Smith, who gets to live out all of his Top Gun fantasies, right down to the latent homosexuality.

That last point isn’t a projection or anything: This show is legitimately gay as hell, and it rules. Bravern’s feelings towards Isami feel far more romantic than what you’d expect from a literal robot, and his description of how it felt to have Isami pilot him for the first time, as relayed to a grim-faced military council, is riddled with hilarious innuendo. Isami struggles not only with shouldering the burden of needing to be a hero to all of humanity, but also being beset on both sides by a loud, insistent mecha and a dewy-eyed gaijin, both of whom very well seem to want to get in his pants. Intricate rituals punctuate Isami and Lewis’ angsty relationship as these broad-shouldered, muscular men grow ever closer. It’s also worth reiterating that Isami is voiced by Ryota Suzuki, who also voiced Kurosawa in Cherry Magic!, and that may not have even been his gayest role this season. I’m not super well-versed in mecha as a genre, but I do know that there’s a lot of Warrior’s Bond-type stuff in these series, and Bravern lays it on thick. And hard.

This show looks killer, by the way. CGI implementation in 2D anime is still a touchy subject, but Bravern features some of the best I’ve ever seen. Simple cel-shading goes a long way to the point where, outside of some uncanny motion, Bravern himself feels perfectly blended into the hand-drawn animation. Mecha designs range from realistic military-style tech to otherworldly sentient robots, and battle sequences run the same gamut as the stakes rise. As goofy as all of the above may sound, it’s committed to being a grandiose, big-time mecha showcase.

This is as good as camp gets in anime; Bravern does for the mecha genre what Akiba Maid War did for yakuza film pastiche (I have also heard positive comparisons to Samurai Flamenco, which I’ll have to get on ASAP). It’s an excellent mecha show in its own right, and wildly hilarious to boot. Bravern himself is very genre-savvy and seemingly a bit of an otaku himself; he loves acting like a mecha hero, to everyone else’s chagrin. Several of the villains (also mechanical beings, voiced by an all-star seiyuu roster that includes Kenjiro Tsuda, the aforementioned Atsuko Tanaka, and Rie Kugimiya) are total dorks themselves. A CIA interrogator tries to waterboard a mecha at one point. Bravern is a deeply silly show, but the heart is as firmly on the sleeve as the tongue is in the cheek: For as wacky as it can get, the story still unfolds with a straight face and excellent emotional beats.

This show also has the most unskippable ED of any anime since Chainsaw Man dropped a new one every week. I will not say what happens. You cannot predict what it is. Just watch it. One of the top YouTube comments on that video says “When I saw this ending after episode 2, I thought I was going crazy.” That’s a ringing endorsement.

Chained Soldier

On the heels of 100 Girlfriends completely rewiring my brain, I was raring for some more good old-fashioned anime trash. I was told that there would be plenty this season, but you can consult the “dropped” section to see how well that worked out for me. Chained Soldier came with some significant hype, and soon enough into the first episode I realized that I’d actually skimmed through this manga before (don’t ask why), so I was on board immediately. Now here’s some nice trashy fun.

The world is in peril thanks to creatures called Shuuki that can advance on our world via portals from another dimension. Women primarily lead the charge against these monsters, as this dimension produces a special fruit that can lend them (and not men) otherworldly powers to help them in the fight. Yuuki, a perfectly normal young man, ends up in grave danger as he stumbles into a portal, where he is saved by the beautiful Kyouka, a commander who is able to subjugate Shuuki at will and use them to fight others. In a bind, she asks Yuuki if she can subjugate him, which he agrees to by licking her finger and transforming into a monster himself, at her beck and call. Because of his utility in battle, Yuuki is enlisted into her squad of baddies (and also an 11-year-old), living in their home as a caretaker and answering directly to Kyouka as her “slave.”

I know, I know, but let's settle down for a second. I put “slave” in scare quotes because Chained Soldier fortunately isn’t going full Shield Hero on us; this arrangement has a give-and-take baked in. See, every time Yuuki completes his service, Kyouka (or whomever else takes advantage of this anomaly) is compelled to carry out whatever suitable “reward�� springs from his unconscious, and this is where the ecchi kicks in. Sometimes it’s a kiss, and sometimes it’s something a little more; the reward corresponds to the length and intensity of Yuuki’s contributions to battle, so the heat can turn up in the form of, say, clothed face-sitting, a good scrubbing in the bath, or some nice, casual CBT. All of this is to say that “slave” is a bit of a buzzword here: It’s more of a dom/sub situationship with a lot of extra steps.

Yes, just about everything that isn’t an action setup is full-on harem trash, and Chained Soldier lays it on thick, right down to full-on nudity. Nothing about this show resembles high art, but I can’t help but admire such a high level of commitment to its aesthetic, including the sleaze. It fully commits to the bit and doesn’t even bother lampshading its own trashiness. Chained Soldier knows what it’s about, and I respect that. It also has the good sense not to sexualize the youngest girl, which is a point in its favor that I can’t award a couple other shows previously discussed.

And while this show is plenty fun, the action sequences often excellent, and the character designs usually delightful, there’s not actually a whole lot going on here. As I said with Mashle, I know that battle manga like this can take a minute to really get cooking, and as I said with Witch and the Beast, 12 episodes may not always be a sufficient runtime to adapt enough to break ground, but the debut season feels more like a proof of concept than anything else. That being said, Chained Soldier’s manga has a very effusive audience, and its praises don’t seem to entirely be about the boobs and butts, so I’ll wait patiently for the second season. I think it’s earned that much.

Delicious in Dungeon

This is the one I’m having the hardest time writing about because it so confidently and so completely speaks for itself that anything I could add would feel like scattering sawdust at the beach. Dungeon Meshi (I refuse to call it by its official English name) is a widely beloved manga among those who’ve read it, and for Studio Trigger to do an honest-to-goodness manga adaptation for the first time might as well be front page news among anime fans.

The story follows Laios, the deeply weird human hero, as he delves back into a bizarre and mysterious dungeon to rescue his sister Falin from the belly of a dragon, along with his misfit party: the neurotic half-elven mage Marcille, the temperamental halfling rogue Chilchuck, and the dwarven warrior-slash-chef Senshi. The party is frequently low on supplies, so to survive the trip they’ll need to subsist on the most abundant resource in the dungeon: Monsters. Senshi’s aptitude in the kitchen helps ensure that everything is edible and sufficiently tasty, regardless of how nasty the monster it came from may have been. With monster obstructions out of the way and their bellies filled, our party delves deeper into the dungeon as the mysteries deepen in kind.

I love the character dynamics in this so goddamn much. Marcille and Chilchuck are frequently put off by the food presented to them, but their consternation is worsened by the fact that Laios’ fascination with monsters annoys the shit out of them. I referred to him as “deeply weird,” but that doesn’t begin to describe his absolute galaxy brain, and I mean it as a term of endearment. Laios is deeply knowledgeable and curious about the fauna in the dungeon, and not just how they taste: He is vocally curious about how certain monster attacks may feel, sings along with siren songs, and even keeps a hardcover bestiary inside his breastplate. He’s one of those people you turn to if you have a question on a hyperspecific subject, but you have to be careful how you ask it or else you’re trapped for the next two hours. And I love him for it.

Even putting the comedy aside, there is a fascinating human element at play in Dungeon Meshi, and I can tell that that surface has barely even been scratched yet. Marcille is just as dogged in her pursuit of saving Falin as Laios is, maybe even moreso (remember what I keep saying about LGBT representation this season?). Chilchuck continues to convince himself that he’s only in the job for his own personal gain, but you can see that mask slipping. And I still wanna know what Senshi’s deal is. Even with the five major players I listed, there’s an increasingly deep roster surrounding them—showcasing a broad spectrum of races and ethnicities, both real and fantastical—each with their own histories and motivations, and I cannot wait to see how they play out and interact with one another. There seem to be much deeper themes at play here as well as we learn more about perceptions and grudges between differing races, oppositional magics, clashing ideologies, and the monetary incentives that drive both the dungeon’s exploration and its very existence. I’m here for it.

I’ve been holding off on reading the manga until the season is up in June (though I could crack any day), but I know a loving adaptation when I see one. Not that Trigger ever slacks off in the animation department, but they absolutely brought their A-game here. As with Frieren, the action sequences aren’t frequent, nor are they entirely what the show is about, but they look incredible every single time. Everyone looks bouncy and cartoony in the way only Trigger can pull off while still looking as close as possible to Ryoko Kui’s source material (as far as I can tell). And the food, of course, looks incredible, no matter how weird. This is practically a cooking anime and a fantasy dungeon anime at the same time, and both aspects are visually on point at all times.

I’m obviously speaking from my own bubble as one of the six people who still uses Tumblr in 2024, but I rarely see new anime make a splash like this on social media every single week, and the ones that I do are usually the monster shonen hits like Chainsaw Man or Jujutsu Kaisen. Dungeon Meshi deserves the exposure and success it’s attained, and I’m excited to see it continue. I’d easily slot this right up there with Bravern as one of the best new anime of the season.

A Sign of Affection

I’ve seen a hell of a lot of shonen slice-of-life romances in the past year and change, so a nice fluffy shoujo like this was an excellent palate cleanser. There were a hell of a lot of Big Action Setpieces and panicky teens and grim dungeon crawlers this season, and at the end of the week I wanted to unwind with a bunch of pretty twenty-somethings falling in love with each other.

The show centers on Yuki, a college student living with congenital hearing loss, making do at a public college after growing up at a school for the deaf. Though she’s able to get by with LINE messages and lip reading, she’s unprepared when a foreigner asks for help, but she’s saved by a handsome and mysterious young man named Itsuomi. He’s able to help out, and takes an interest in her when he realizes his fellow undergrad is deaf, and Yuki takes an interest in kind because he’s really goddamn hot. It turns out that he’s a polyglot and an avid world-traveler, but sign language is not in his purview. This mutual interest sparks the concern of her childhood friend, Oushi, one of the few people in her life who already use sign language, who wants to be sure that nothing untoward is happening. And it isn’t, because this is just a really lovely, low-stakes romance story.

This is pure, unfiltered shoujo at its best. Yuki’s internal monologue is peppered with flowery prose, and everything and everyone looks soft and beautiful. Fashionable, doe-eyed women and pillowy-lipped ikemen abound (seriously, holy shit, the lips on these boys) as the scope widens and the main love interests’ friends explore their own possible love stories. Itsuomi is very much of the “mysterious boy” archetype you’ll find in romance stories in this demographic, but he’s not hiding any sort of dark past like you’d typically expect; he’s just an interesting guy who keeps his personal life close to the vest. He’s a self-appointed world citizen who loves learning about how people of all cultures live their lives, and in Yuki he sees someone within his home turf who happens to live in her own world entirely. And it’s easy to see his forward behavior with Yuki as infantilizing at first (Oushi sure does, and I’ll get back to him in a second), but as they grow closer he quickly becomes much more considerate of her boundaries and learns to accommodate her as he studies sign language and gestures that help ensure her comfort. This is a story about Yuki’s horizons broadening just as much as it is about Itsuomi wanting to be let into Yuki’s narrow world, and that sort of synergy makes for some exceptional romance.

A Sign of Affection deserves some credit for refusing to shy away from Yuki’s disability and making a point of depicting her world as one that does little to accommodate her. Very few people in her daily life ever bothered to learn sign language, she relies on a friend to take notes during lectures, and work is hard to come by. It’s an honest depiction that makes an effort not to be exploitative, which is a breath of fresh air. Not only that, but there’s some interesting meta-commentary in there: The only major conflict in the story stems from Oushi’s jealousy, and his reservations about Itsuomi possibly “taking advantage of” Yuki almost feel like he believes that he’s the only one who knows what’s best for her just because he’s done the bare minimum to accommodate her. He thinks he’s coming from a good place, but he winds up accidentally infantilizing her in exactly the way he thinks Itsuomi might. That’s a particularly interesting bit of irony!

I’ve seen enough shonen-oriented romcoms where an unassuming Regular Guy gets flustered as a way-too-casual girl pushes his boundaries (hell, I’ve already reviewed two of those this season), so it’s nice to see the formula flipped for a shoujo as Yuki and her best friend Rin blush and squee over Itsuomi and his coworker Kyouya, respectively. A Sign of Affection isn’t afraid to get a little silly with it, either; plenty of these moments are punctuated by characters’ faces going low-detail or full chibi, and they are cute as shit every single time.

This one was just cozy as hell. If you’re into this sort of thing, swaddle yourself in it and bask.

Solo Leveling

I let this one collect dust after the third episode and didn’t pick it back up until the season was almost up, and honestly, I was kinda dreading it: The trailers didn’t look too promising, the show was slow to start, and it looked like yet another derivative JRPG-style dungeon crawler that managed to get popular. Turns out, nah, this show actually kinda fucks and the web novel series and webtoon it’s based on are popular for a reason. The story is nothing special, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a perfectly serviceable turn-your-brain-off action spectacle with a bit more lying beneath the surface.

In a modern-day South Korea where portals to mysterious dungeons open up and threaten the populace, those who can brave the dungeons, known as hunters, are an invaluable human resource. Once someone is assigned a grade as a hunter, they have that grade for life, barring some rare occurrences. Sung Jinwoo is at the lowest rung on that ladder as an E-rank, incapable of improvement, assigned the epithet “the weakest hunter of all mankind.” He mostly shows up to portal raids as a warm body to fill a quota, and one such job goes haywire as a secondary dungeon within a portal brutally slaughters most of the raid party, Jinwoo included. He somehow wakes up in a hospital, unharmed, and able to access a digital menu before his eyes that exhorts him to do the One Punch Man workout every day, lest he incur punishment. He gets hilariously chadly in the span of a few days in the hospital, including an inexplicable haircut, and finds access to dungeons only he can enter and levels up within this new system.

This one gets off to a slow start and may have benefited from a longer premiere like Oshi no Ko or Frieren, but once the table is fully set, Solo Leveling really starts to cook. Jinwoo’s titular leveling process is a blast from one fight to the next, and as he moves to work in the dungeons that other hunters can access, it turns out he’s been training with the weights on. He’s suddenly fighting way above his pay grade, and after staving off attacks from hunters taking advantage of portals for nefarious ends, he is recruited by an ambitious corporate scion to make some real coin and establish an independent association of hunters.

While it can feel like there’s a whole bunch of table-setting between portal sequences, it’s some smart worldbuilding on Solo Leveling’s end to establish how portal hunting became a central pillar of this society, and doubly so how political and capitalist interests can leave a wide berth for corruption and bad actors. If there’s money to be made in hunting, of course people will find ways to make even more at the expense of others, both at the corporate and personal levels. There’s a lot of talk in there about “survival of the fittest” and “natural selection” and that… makes me nervous.

Those are terms that can be used to justify immoral actions in the name of money, sure, but Jinwoo also uses them to justify his own actions. To what end is he constantly improving himself? Sure, he's doing what he can to provide for his younger sister and their ailing mother, but I see less and less humanity in him as this goes on. There are constant hints at something far more sinister at play than just a dude getting stronger for himself, not the least of which being “the system,” the UI that implores him to keep taking on these “quests.” Someone, or something, seems to be guiding him. Whenever another hunter turns on Jinwoo, of course his self-defense instincts kick in, but system pop-ups instruct him to defeat X number of hostiles like it’s a normal video game scenario. There’s something eerily depersonalized about these encounters, despite them being full-on mortal combat, that gives me serious Ender’s Game vibes. Consider me intrigued.

I’d heard that the Solo Leveling manhwa’s main draw was its visuals, and though I had my doubts early on, I'm sold now. This is a pretty solid presentation! Hiroyuki Sawano turned in yet another banger soundtrack to punctuate all the action setpieces, helping to stitch together a fairly complete package. Said setpieces are exhilarating and almost impressively bloody, and while the animation is nothing impressive in the day-to-day, it goes absolutely batshit when the gloves come off. Movement is inhumanly fluid and the visuals can go into the same psychedelic territories we’ve seen in the likes of Mob Psycho and Jujutsu Kaisen. If this is the new meta for shonen action, I’m not complaining.

By all rights, this is a pretty decent show, but if I’m being honest, this one just hasn’t stuck with me much. And that’s fine! Sometimes I just wanna see some nutty action stuff and move on with my day. Solo Leveling hits that spot perfectly, and I'll be right back there when it returns for its next season.

‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess

I was surprised to learn that the gag manga this is based on, with such a seemingly simple premise, has been running for well over 200 chapters and counting. As the anime progressed, I was far more pleasantly surprised to learn that it actually works.

In a standard anime fantasy world where the forces of good are fighting the demonic Hellhorde, an unnamed warrior princess and her talking enchanted sword are taken prisoner and subjected to torture as they’re squeezed for intel. Said “torture,” as the title’s scare quotes would suggest, is mildly unconventional, as the demon baddie inquisitor, aptly named Torture Tortura, attempts to ply the princess by presenting her with tantalizingly delicious-looking food that she can only partake in if she coughs up some info. Naturally, the princess caves every single time, but her intel is often inane and useless, so the “torture” continues. It’s not all food, though: The princess is soon held out of arm’s reach of adorable baby animals by a gyaru beastgirl, pampered into submission by a spa-loving giantess, and is faced with a tsundere vampire faildaughter, who… tries.

And you’d think that would be it; the joke wears thin and you move onto something else. Before you realize it, though, something’s changed: The princess and her captors are quickly becoming friends. The premise almost feels perfunctory: These inquisitors are actual people just doing their jobs, and whatever happens after the princess’ myriad confessions is fair game. There’s no malice or animosity, even during the “torture” sessions themselves: Everyone will have a blast and grow closer as friends, and then the princess will voluntarily go back to her bedless cell. It’s like Sam and Ralph after they clock out, except they’re almost always off the clock. Everyone is genuinely looking out for each other in all directions, and the only thing that keeps the torture going is the need for a status quo to return to, even as it grows more elastic. If anything, Time for "Torture" is a good example of committing to the bit without having to necessarily rely on it.

The real irony in all of this is that it becomes increasingly apparent that the princess is having her needs met in captivity far better than she ever did back home. In her proud proclamations about how she’ll never cave to the temptations before her (shortly before she does just that), the princess often talks about her upbringing and her time as the head of an imperial legion, but these stories often betray her lack of friendship or any of the little things that make life worth living. Her life as royalty was one of isolation and deprivation, to the point where she finds more freedom and fulfillment as a prisoner. She truly lives in a society.

Hellholm, on the other hand, has a surprisingly healthy approach to things like work-life balance, food, and leisure, and its most valuable prisoner is no exception. The Hell-Lord himself is a surprising exemplar of this; for as much as he looks and talks like your standard terrifying JRPG demon king, he’s a surprisingly good dude! He looks after his family, employees, and even the captive princess as if they are all one and the same; he exhibits strong principles and an aversion to conflict, sees to his employees' needs and wants alike, and is a supportive, loving father to his unbelievably precious little daughter (who also serves as a “torturer,” to the princess’ delight). He’s also a big time anime dork, and even bonds with a knight attempting to rescue the princess over their shared otakudom before sending him off peacefully. As “villains” go, he’s top tier.

Time for "Torture" is nothing groundbreaking by any stretch, but it’s a cute, silly time and it plays with anime fantasy tropes in the same way a six-month-old German shepherd “plays” with a cheap stuffed toy. How long the premise holds up is entirely up to you, but I had a lot of fun with it. I have no idea how this ended up being one of the better shows this season, but I guess it just scratched the right itch for me.

#anime reviews

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maochira · 7 months

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Heya! I was just wondering if I can request young teen reader (about 13-15) with the father figure coaches (mostly requesting for Snuffy and Noa) meeting their team? It can be headcannons or scenarios I don't mind^^ Take ur time as always, ty in advance!!

This request took me so long to actually start I'm sorry😭😭 (I received the request over a month ago shndns) Also I think you mean their Blue Lock teams? So I'm doing that! (in the series, reader went along to Blue Lock anyways)

Tags: gn!reader, shy!reader in Lavinho's part, just for context: reader is in a team of the same club as well (but one for younger players)

Noel Noa + Bastard München

-you already met most of the German Bastard München players before you went to Blue Lock with them, but never had a proper conversation with any of them

-you travelled to Japan with them but you didn't sit next to any of them in the plane, so you didn't talk to them there either

-Gesner has tried to talk to you on multiple occasions but was held back by his teammates

-the first time you get to meet the entire team, including the Blue Lock players, is on the second day of the Neo Egoist League

-at first, everyone was kind of confused why you're there and what your position is, so they were unsure if they should talk to you

-Kaiser says something mean about you, then Isagi starts defending you (despite not knowing you at all) and basically everyone else defends you as well

-and that concludes your first meeting with the entire team. It was just everyone yelling at Kaiser

Chris Prince + Manshine City

-you already met the English players tons of times and have talked to them every now and then, so the flight to Japan was mainly you and them getting to know each other properly

-the first Blue Lock player you met was Nagi, and he wasn't really interested in actually talking to you. You picked that up as him disliking you so you avoided him and the other Blue Lock players for a week

-but at some point, Reo gets curious about you so he approaches you. You have a short conversation with him and he also clears up your misunderstanding from Nagi

-it doesn't take much longer until you start talking to Chigiri as well and after a bit, you're pretty much besties with the entire team

-even Nagi says talking to you isn't a bother and he feels a little bad for giving you a wrong impression at first

Lavinho + FC Barcha

-because you're so shy, Lavinho already knew it would take a while until you get used to having so many new people around you

-before going to Blue Lock, he introduced the Spanish players to you, and then in Blue Lock he introduced the Japanese players to you

-to his surprise, as soon as you meet Bachira, you lose a part of your shyness and warm up to him pretty quickly. A lot quicker than you did to anyone else

-Bachira becomes your big brother figure in the span of two hours

-in general, FC Barcha is just a big chaotic family and being there is fun every day

Marc Snuffy + Ubers

-this team screams "found family" in every way possible

-you were already very close with the Italian players before coming to Blue Lock, so only the Japanese players are new to you

-Barou shows zero interest in talking to you at first, but you quickly become friends with Niko (mainly due to being very close in age) and then Aryu, Oliver and Sendou

-all of them try to get Barou to give you a chance as well, but he's stubborn. Then the Italian players start bothering as well so he finally gives in

-Barou really wants to deny it, but you remind him of his younger sisters (regardless of your gender) so he kind of treats you that way as well. He will deny it every time someone asks him about it, though

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kirbybecomesastarwarrior · 4 months

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Curious, in this au what is Marx’s role in this story. Is he changed at all or different

I try to incorporate and mix anime & game lore in order (to try) achieve a good mix of both... (but everyone is 10 x emotional & sympathetic...)

So Marx was the last creation of N.M.E and was to be the "pièce de ré·sis·tance," a monster in the guise of a friend. Not just that, but the "perfect friend for Kirby." (Planning to take advantage of Kirby's soft heart and friendly nature.)

Similar to how they used the following monsters (Chill, Galbo, Kirby's Robot-dog, etc.), but he was never finished... the Nightmare's base was destroyed when Kirby & the townsfolk blew up the base.

Marx was just left there all alone... the only thing that survived. But he didn't know what was his purpose. And the minute he's born, all he can see are these soldiers (Star Warriors) hunting him down.

Thankfully, our friendly N.M.E Salesman saves him and tells him all about it, basically his last act of revenge against King Dedede & Kirby. And he honestly feels fulfilling his purpose is what's going to make him feel whole.

He even tells him that it was Kirby and the gang's fault he's left all along up here with no one. His beef wasn't just with Kirby but with everyone in Dreamland (but the anger is mostly towards cappies... they blew up his home).

Marx is pretty central to Kirby's stories and is one of the core reasons why he wants to become a star warrior. He does serve as one of Kirby's most loyal allies and one of Kirby's closest friends.

HEAVY SPOILER WARNING FOR (KNIGHTMARE'S END & KING DEDEDE REMPTION ARC)... Keep reading if you'd like... I'm going to water down everything and skim over some details in this explanation. And there's some art content as well)

(After the events of The Knightmare's End)

After remembering his past with Meta Knight... Kirby wanted more than anything to rekindle his relationship with his long-lost guardian. With Kirby regaining his memories it was easy for him to slip and reestablish the closeness he had with Meta Knight back when he was an infant. (He missed him so much...)

Meta Knight (on his part) was determined to make up for all the lost time, teach him everything he knew, and eager to reconnect with his boy after all those wretched years alone. He was ready to give him the world... (Basically, he spoiled him rotten for a while! XD)

Being under Meta Knight's tutelage, Kirby began to mature properly, even learning how to talk... but he taught him in a way that made him excited to learn. With each lesson, he'd weave tales from his past... which allowed Kirby to learn more about Team Halberd (their family). He'd even invite Knuckle Joe & Sircia for lessons & sparring so they could learn about their parents.

For Meta Knight, spending time with Kirby managed to heal the wounds around his heart. As for Kirby, he felt like this was what he had been missing all this life (a parental figure), someone who could always be there for him & love him no matter what. The bond they shared made each other feel less lonely, and it was one in which they helped each other grow.

But unknowingly this had consequences...

With Meta Knight reclaiming as Kirby's guardian leaves Fumu in this status of limbo. Fumu basically got everything she wanted... being free of the burden she was as the keeper of the warpstar. But she didn't know how drastically his relationship with Kirby would change.

Fumu still doesn't know Kirby overheard what she said... he just doesn't want to trouble her anymore (like she wanted). The events of the whole anime series took a toll on Kirby. (Namely, with the cappies wanting to kick him out.) He found himself staying away from town.

While everyone in Cappy town tried to make it up to Kirby... and forgave them. He never really trusted them or allowed them to get close to him like they used to. Fumu sees this and tries to remedy the situation, which backfires terribly. (Is the same thing similar to the "Kirby Takes the Cake,"- episode where he runs away.)

Fumu: Kirby this is your home, everyone lo-

Kirby: Then why doesn't it feel like home-

Fumu: Kirby but why-

Kirby: Poyo... going to Meta Knight's...

This was the moment when she realized just out of touch she was with Kirby. Bun could only watch this trainwreck... and couldn't help but be upset with Kirby turning down all his sister's party. Causing a rift between the friends. (They still didn't get it Fumu & Bun.)

This divide is made even further with the (redemption arc) of King Dedede. (Events involving Dark Matter)

Kirby forgives Dedede and now considers him a friend!? This leaves Fumu & Bun desperate to convenience him otherwise... believing him to be too trusting & too naive... But who should come to back Kirby on his decision is none other than Meta Knight!

Kirby: But he means you don't see what I-

Fumu: He's tricking you, Kirby! Like he always does...

Bun: Yeah, how many times has he pulled this "turned over a new leaf junk" on everyone!

KD: It's fine kiddo... I won't stay where I'm not wanted I'll-

Kirby: Poyo, (sees KD visually uncomfortable) but Dedede...

Fumu: Meta Knight, aren't you going to do something, stop-

Meta Knight: I stand by my pupil's decision... This is Kirby's choice... I trust him... do not overstep your boundaries, both of you!

Resulting in Kirby spending more time with Dedede & MK than with them (helping the king to better himself). The siblings want nothing to do with Dedede's betterment. Bun & Fumu... they can't help but resent Dedede but this also minimizes the time their time with Kirby.

It bothers them how increasingly chummy he's they've been getting with King Dedede. (There's also a little incident that Kirby & Meta Knight swore to keep secret for KD's sake that they two don't know about... which would have probably made them more sympathetic to King Deded, it just wasn't their (Kirby & MK) story to tell...)

In truth, Marx didn't have to do that much... he just had to expose Fumu & Bun's deepest insecurities about their friendships. With Bun being the main chess piece in it all.

(Marx's arc takes place after "Kirby and the Crystal Shards" )This is Kirby's first major adventure... without them.

Fumu bottles up her feelings... but Bun is furious and extremely jealous of King Dedede: it almost feels like they've both been replaced with the guy who tried to get rid of him before.

Causing tension from the once-knit, tight group of friends (Fumu & Bun). And the dynamic of the trio has been altered... causing the cracks in their relationship undeniable... And who should take advantage of these cracks... Marx.

Marx's major role in this arc serves to expose the cracks in the friendships he has with Fumu & Bun. And show how a pile of little problems can destroy a once-strong friend.

So, without going into detail...: Marx manages to manipulate the heck out of Bun & the other kids (the group he hangs out with in the anime) to bully Kirby, leading to the kids pranking and almost killing King Dedede.

Bun receives the brunt of the punishment and reveals his jealousy and anger at Kirby, leaving him and Fumu behind (especially after the Ripple Star saga).

This leads to Kirby calling Bun a horrible friend, resulting in "Empathic touch" being accidentally used. Bun & the kid gang are forced to see and feel what they've been doing to Kirby... even before the incident. All the times they made him feel small, left out, stupid, and different...

It's finally to revealed Fumu that Kirby heard her rant about "How she never wanted to look after Kirby..."

Everything all clicks to her now and she starts to apologize profusely. But it's far too late for that... because to Kirby... Fumu's actions lately (Marx also manipulated her into ignoring Kirby) prove it otherwise.

And they (Bun & the kid gang) feel awful (AS THEY RIGHTFULLY SHOULD!) And META KNIGHT IS ABSOLUTELY LIVID, no longer trusts Bun, and says, "I'm utterly disappointed in you..." And doesn't want him and those "gutter children" (Meta Knight) near Kirby... again...

But he (MK) apologizes to Fumu... "I'm sorry Fumu... I should have never got you involved... I will try better not to..."

Fumu: Not that's not what I wanted, Kirby- *reaches out to him*

Kirby pulled away from her, disheartened... Meta Knight trying his best to comfort Kirby... with Dedede carrying him in his arms... they both bring the poor baby home.

Marx relishes this! During this incident managed to paint himself as an absolute saint... (being the one who told MK of the bullying, warning Kirby about the car, etc.) while Bun was the evil mastermind (when in reality it was Marx).

While Marx may have been the main puppeteer, these were issues that were already beneath the surface... Marx just dug them up. (This is why this friend problem is carried into the next 2 arcs... okay back to Marx...)

Taking full advantage of Kirby's low state and doing his job as the perfect friend. And he actually manages to cheer him up! He plays with Kirby and listens to his problems (slowly accidentally gets attached and realizes how alike they are and... NONONO! Marx you've got a job to do!) But the more he spent time with Kirby the more his inner guilt grew...

A few weeks later, the game plot begins with a bit of a change.

Meta Knight is still suspicious of Marx... so rather than letting Kirby go alone to collect the stars, he goes with him (plus he's too young to travel alone.) Basically, Meta Knightmare Ultra & Kirby Milky Way Wishes combined. In short, the trip ends up being a fun father-son trip... just with them having to stop the Sun and the Moon from fighting at the end.

Meta Knight takes this as an opportunity to have him unpack the situation with Fumu & Bun. However, he doesn't give him the false hope that everything will be patched up instantly... it's going to take time and effort. And friends just sometimes (unintentionally) drift apart... especially when you're growing up... they change.

Meta Knight then reveals that he had a friend like that too and they ended up drifting apart as well... but it ended terribly (Galacta Knight). They collect all the stars (yada, yada, yada) same plot line happened, "Marx Villain reveal" but with a little twist.

When it comes time to make the wish... Nova attempts to grant the wish, but they cannot grant the wish. They tried multiple times as a result of this happened:

Nova: Are you sure this is what you want?!

Marx: OF COURSE THIS IS MY PURPOSE! MY DESTINY GRANT MY DANG WISH ALREADY YOU DAM-

Nova: That's not what you want... You don't really want this...

Marx: What are you...

Meta Knight takes this as the opportunity to fly into Nova... Basically, it was Meta Knight the one to destroy the Nova Clockwork, instead of Kirby on the Starship.

While Kirby takes on Marx... he tries to talk to Marx, but he's not having it... This is where Marx's Soul kicks in as he rages on all the while tears, are leaking from his eyes. Blaming Kirby for his failures, claiming he must have done something.

Marx constantly angrily asks, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!," "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME! YOU AND YOU'RE STUPID CAPPIES ARE THE REASON I'M ALONE IN THIS WORLD! YOU DESTROYED MY HOME AND RUINED MY LIFE I HAVE NO ONE! I HAD A DESTINY! I HAD A PURPOSE, AND YOU! I WAS CREATED TO WRECK HAVC! ... so ...WHY... Why... *begins to cry* I'm supposed to hate- You and your stupid friendship... why do I feel-*

Then Kirby hits him with an "empathic touch," which shows pretty much a montage of Marx and Kirby's moments together. He pretty much shows that "he was enjoying his time with Kirby...", and "he does care for Kirby..." (Oh no did he actually want to be friends with Kirby- This wasn't so supposed to happen!?)

Kirby understands it all: feeling lost, trying hard to fit in, finding your place in the world. What happened to him after the destruction of Nightmare's base. (how he was abused by a certain someone) Kirby just felt so sorry for Marx and was oozing with empathy for him.

Kirby: It's okay Marx I forgive y-

Marx: DON'T... Don't I... I don't deserve- AAARGH!

Due to Kirby's "empathic touch," he was able to also feel how much the friendship meant to Kirby. Marx can't help but he failed on both ends... he couldn't do what he was made for and he may have just lost his first and only friend...

And just before Kirby has a chance to forgive Marx: he flees anger at himself for everything he's done. He doesn't want Kirby's forgiveness (he doesn't deserve it...), leaving behind his balancing-ball.

Marx does make a wish, however... but it's not what you think...

Once destroying the Nova Clockwork Meta Knight, rushes to console his Kirby.

Meta Knight: Kirby, are you alright-

Kirby: If had just one person in his life... maybe he wouldn't have... he could've been my friend- poyo~*starts crying* I can't hate him, I just can't... ARE ALL MY FRIENDSHIPS GOING TO AMOUNT TO THIS IN THE END... LIKE THIS!?

Meta Knight: Oh my poor boy you've been through so much-

Kirby: Am I dumb, hoping he'll come back as my friend... IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!?

Meta Knight: It doesn't have to... *hugs him* this friendship meant a lot to you... it helped you through a tough time * Think back on his friendship with Galacta, although it hurt him in the end, he was grateful for the good it did* it made you less lonely I think that part's worth cherishing... and I don't think you're dumb...

Kirby: Huh?

Meta Knight: After the war, I kept seeing the worst in everything... expecting the worst... to stop me from-... but it blinded me from the good as well (he's referring to Kirby) and... I fell into despair. *pats his head* I'm sorry to say this probably won't be the last something like this will happen, but...

*wipes tears with his cape*

Meta Knight says something that resonates with Kirby... and it's something he carries even to this day.

Meta Knight: So keep your eyes open and beware of the bad in the world... but also *takes Marx's ball and gives it to Kirby* hold on... hold on to the good as well... you don't have to look, just know that it's there... it'll keep you from falling...

For a while, Marx wonders galaxy... I'm not gonna reveal what he does just yet, but... the path he takes leads him back to Kirby.

One thing leads to another, and Kirby gets saved... BY MARX?! Marx tries to flee after saying Kirby, but he gets gravely injured... which forces him to have to stay put. Well, he tries to escape and is literally a feral cat the whole time. He just feels too darn guilty still about everything about Nova's Wish... and doesn't believe Kirby actually forgives him.

So, as a compromise, they let him recover in Halcandra. They cash in a favor from Magolor. Marx gets to know Magolor and basically talks about his story with Kirby. (Literally, Mags just redeemed himself recently...) This interaction makes him feel a little better... but he's still a little anxious that is until Kirby shows him his ball...

I really love Marx's story arc... I hope I didn't spoil too much there are a few secrets still hidden, but like I said this is a very watered-down version of everything hope you stick around for the full story!

Look forward to it!

#kirby #kbasw #kirby marx #meta knight #metadad #king dedede #galacta knight #krbay #kirby right back at ya #hoshi no kaabii #kirby anime #fumu kirby #kirby bun #kirby tiff #kirby fanfic #kirby tuff #magolor

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weirdmageddon · 8 months

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Would you recommend I play explorers of sky, any tips on how best to enjoy it?

i recommend everyone plays it lol

gameplay tips, some known and some more obscure

avoid spoilers lol

store any extra reviver seeds and petrify orbs you find. you will probably need it

if you find yourself in a bind, USE ITEMS. even a sleep seed can go a long way when you toss it at an enemy

the move dig is insane against the main campaign boss

stack missions if you can! if you have more than one mission from the bulletin that takes place in the same dungeon you should do all of them at once

base stats in pokemon mainline series means nothing here. you can have a butterfree with max stats in everything (255). you can boost pokemon stats permanently with medicinal items (protein, iron, etc) and drinks from spinda’s cafe. this lack of base stat disparity is why people can clear zero isle with smoochum. also there is no base speed stat unique to each pokemon, because it’s a dungeon crawler all pokemon have equal speed unless it’s modified with movement boosting. some pokemon may have a +1 boosted movement speed by default, such as deoxys-s, shaymin-s, and dialga with time tripper IQ skill unlocked. and kecleon when you steal from a shop for some ungodly reason. some abilities may increase movement speed in different conditions like chlorophyll in sunny weather

odd floors will generate male pokemon and even floors will generate female pokemon. this might not seem significant but it can be helpful for some gender-based evolutions like getting a female snorunt or male kirlia. at 0 stage stat changes, male and genderless pokemon have a 1.5x bonus applied to a move’s base critical hit rate while at the same time decreasing their evasion rate from foe hits by about 1.03 (268/256). female pokemon have higher move accuracy by about 1.03 (268/256) and neutral evasion (256/256), but this evasion is better in comparison to male or genderless pokemon. i believe genderless pokemon can appear on either floor dont quote me on that but it will follow the male bonus regardless of it was found on an odd or even floor

turns are everything in this game. smokescreen isn’t really a good move in mainline games but it’s fuckin nuts here because it basically renders opponents unable to hit you for a few turns

i really need to link moves more but thats why theyre awesome. there are so many big brained combinations. usually a status move and then an attack but it only takes up one turn

if you eat gummis normally you get an IQ increase and Maybe stat increase, but you will always get stat increases when you make gummis into drinks at spindas cafe so you get more out of them. you can save scum at the save well for “good feeling drink” bonuses if you want. like maybe every 3rd gummi if you dont get a feel good bonus you reset, and every time you do get one you save

gummi effectiveness chart

why eat gummis? IQ skills are important and helpful in different ways. my favorites are map surveyor, stair sensor, acute sniffer, all-terrain hiker, natural gifter, deep breather, and multitalent

different pokemon families fall into different IQ groups (A-J). a group is essentially a different “kit” of IQ skills. IQ groups basically tell what kind of role they have on your team

heres the list of IQ skills in EoS. off to the side under the “group” column you can click on each IQ group for their kit and the pokemon in that group. list of pokemon in each IQ group (ctrl + F searchable)

x-ray specs are broken when you combine them with map surveyor and stair sensor IQ skills. you can also tell how many items on the floor are hidden with acute sniffer by subtracting the number visible on the map with x-ray specs from the number given by acute sniffer. they need to be worn by the team leader though.

you can collect items in walls with a one-room orb, mobile scarf (watch out for belly drain), palkia’s absolute mover, or being ghost type

speaking of the team leader there are many things that are only effective when done by the team leader, such as recruitment, so watch out for that. also you need to be on an adjacent tile to a pokemon to recruit it. if you defeat them ranged it wont work

natural gifter is busted with natural items like seeds and berries (especially with items like golden seed or sitrus berry) because the team leader also gets the boost. but if you want to spread the effect of artificial items like vitamins and gummis to your whole team, you want a team leader with the IQ skill pierce hurler equipped with lockon specs. pierce hurler is essentially a built-in pierce band which allows thrown items to penetrate through whatever is in tile line of sight before going out of bounds. lockon specs boosts the accuracy of the item coming into contact with the pokemon, so it’s better than just the pierce band because you can ensure that none of the beneficial items “miss” your teammates. go into a dungeon hallway with your team in a single file line, make sure the IQ skill pierce hurler is turned on, have your lockon specs equipped to the leader, face your team and throw vitamins or gummis. this is excellent for vitamins but i prefer doing spinda’s cafe for gummis in the long run one at a time since you get a guaranteed increase in at least one stat every time and sometimes rich bonuses like HP increase as well if youre lucky

monster houses are fuckin scary at first but easier as time goes on. when you first start seeing them you should use petrify orbs. eventually you will start seeing some room clearing moves such as blizzard, discharge, earth power. if you can get that on your side you’ll have an advantage. you should also account for movement speed. you’ll be able to attack multiple times in a row if your movement speed is boosted, whether its from a quick seed or agility. probably the best room clearing move is silver wind because it hits multiple enemies and each hit has a chance of boosting all your stats including speed. it has a low hit-rate though to balance it, but unless youre extremely unlucky youre probably going to get multiple hits across the monster house

USE TEAM TACTICS. it gives you a bit of control over how your partner pokemon move. a cleared monster house is a great example because they are usually filled with traps. maybe your team leader has trap seer IQ skill (Able to step on traps without setting off) but not your teammates. change the team’s tactics to “wait there” in the hallway outside of the monster house, go in and collect the loot, go back to the hallway and turn it back to “let’s go together”. no harm done to teammates or even yourself if youre careful. (or your items: there are sticky traps which make your items unuseable, explosion traps which damage you, your teammates, and destroy all floor items and walls around, pokemon traps which turn floor items into pokemon, sludge traps which turn edible inventory items into grimy food. so it’s always good to avoid these scenarios when you can.) another example is if your teammate gets tile warped to a different part of the floor. dont let them move unless you know they can handle themself. change their tactic to “wait there” and go find them while making sure they dont die with oran berries.

you can also control your teammate’s moves by switching them off in the menu. this comes in handy when they start using status moves for no reason. the check mark next to the name of the move means it’s switched on and the teammate will pull from whatever moves you have checked. it doesnt mean anything on the leader pokemon though

i find it more convenient to use less strong moves such as confusion instead of psychic because they tend to have higher hit rates and more PP. the reason why is that the item ginseng can permanently boost their power, but ginseng is hard to come across so i just generate wonder mail s codes for them like a chump (shoutout to the og apointlessplace.net…i remember thinking “well its not very pointless is it” and that same thought still echoes in my head). but this is optional you dont have to cheat.

i go with celebi as my leader most of the time, with ginseng’d weaker moves. i originally shaped celebi in an attempt to recruit kecleon (which i still havent had success with) since you need the fast friend IQ skill in addition to the golden mask and be at lv 100 to even get kecleon’s chances ABOVE 0% recruitment. but even without all the kecleon recruitment stuff having deep breather IQ skill + chrono veil item in bag i virtually never have to use max elixrs for myself. by making celebi prepared for kecleon i incidentally made celebi prepared for anything lol

uhh thats all i can think of also gamefaqs has great in-depth guides

#pmd #pmd2 #pmd explorers of sky

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sophsicle · 7 months

Note

So, I saw this ask about Thrown off the Ice, get curious, found it, reed it, cried on it and went here to ask you if you have other rec either of FanFic or books about hockey guys in love. I already have read Sweater Weather series.

Also, this is so fun to me because I don’t even watch hockey, don’t even know the rules, but the stories involving this sport or similar (like All for the Game) are amazing, and I know about them only thank to you so THANK U 💕

I don't have any fanfics (other than Sweater Weather so y'all should go read that if you haven't, it's by the lovely lumosinlove)

I do have books though! SO Three is the Luckiest Number and Love and Other Inconveniences by Catherine Cloud, not *technically* a series but they take place in the same universe and there are characters and events that overlap in both, the second one does deal with a lot of family trauma stuff and the first one deals a bit more with death and grief. they are both very lovely and well written, and happy endings! Coming in First Place and And Then by Taylor Fitzpatrick this is a series, following the story of David and Jake, but David is the main character and I would argue this is a lot more a character study than anything else, like it's all about his growth and like him becoming someone who can be with Jake, he is also definitely written as being not neurotypical imo, there is a third and final book in this series coming out some time this year, ALSO speaking of things taking place in the same universe, this series takes place in the same universe as Thrown Off the Ice and young Mike makes an appearance in book two SO that's fun :) Hockey Bois: A Beer League Romance by A.L. Heard, this is the only one not about professional hockey players but i kinda really like that about it? it follows nick who gets into hockey as an adult and decides to join a team and ends up having a crush on his hot grumpy teammate who takes beer league hockey way too seriously

Winging It by Ashlyn Kan and Morgan James, two teammates fall in love and try to navigate that and it's mostly a very silly goofy time but it is definitely does have a few heart wrenching moments, lots of pirates of the Caribbean and ice cream, also a bit spicier than the other books

Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid, technically part of a bigger series but imo these are the only two worth reading, this is the MOST smutty, like basically smut with plot, but like, im obsessed with the enemies to lovers, built up rivals since we were teenagers, goody-goody canandian and bad boy russian, like it checks all my hockey trope boxes, :) :)

#soph rambles

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perpetuelledaydreaming · 2 years

Text

Are we still friends? | Chapter one

summary: honestly mav's getting on your nerves and Rooster always finds away to cheer you up.

warnings: wholesome chapter.

listen to: friendship? jordy searcy (playlist here)

word count: 1.5k

series masterlist + read the next chapter early on mi ko-fi!!!

“His exploits are legendary,” Warlock stated as he continued to introduce Maverick in front of the class, as he walked in the middle of the desk that had been lined up in the hangar. Pete managed to gaze at you and nodded at you with his head, you were sitting down at one of the last seats not wanting to get any attention but you still nodded at him while he walked to the front row. “His call sign, Maverick,”

Rooster had decided to seat next to you, now being the first time that you were together in something related to work and you were thankful that he did, you were nervous hoping that no one would realize that Mav and you seemed related. You saw how Hangman and Coyote seemed to tense up as they saw your dad take the podium but you didn’t pay much attention as your dad began his speech.

It could’ve been nice, working in the family, at least that’s what people outside the Navy thought when you told them that your father was a pilot too.

It wasn’t.

First of all, both Maverick and you were all about hard work and earning every little thing with your blood, sweat, and tears. There were no shortcuts for you, it didn’t matter who he was. Second of all, nepotism didn’t sit well with a lot of other lieutenants and if someone found out who your father was, it didn’t let a lot of room to have a great relationship.

And you knew that you needed to have a great relationship with the pilots if this mission was ever going to work out.

So, as your father talked you immediately felt the crushing weight of responsibility you had there. Now, you didn’t only have to keep your secret but also earn the trust and respect of every pilot there before they caught that the last name and Maverick’s last name were the same. Suddenly though, your thoughts disappear as Rooster placed his hand over your leg and you turned your head towards him, Rooster gave you a small smile before he looked to the front again but his calloused hand remained there, squeezing your tight softly and then letting it go. You were sure that your cheeks were turning a bit pink as your eyes examined the room to see if someone had noticed but thankfully no one had.

You knew it was his way of saying that it was going to be okay. Had you been taping your foot on the floor, where you breathing harder than usual, had he realized that your body had tensed up? Maybe. Rooster was always good with those things anyway, he always knew how you were feeling, he could read you as a book which was something you loved and hated at the same time.

You hoped that your feelings for him weren’t so obvious but your mind snapped once they asked you to stand up, the warmth of Rooster’s hand leaving your skin felt as if someone had prickled your skin with a needle but you decided to focus on the mission, on the task.

Dog fight.

“Good morning, aviators,” Maverick said as he flew on his F-18 jet while Hangman and Phoenix, along with Bob were in the air began the round of exercises. “This is your Captain speaking. Welcome to basic fighter maneuvers, as briefed today’s exercise is dog fighting. Guns only, no missiles. We do not go below the deck of 5000 ft. Working as a team you need to shoot me down or else…”

“Or else what, sir?”

“Or else I’ll shoot you,”

The training became a lot harder than what you’d expected and the mission was much harder than what your father had initially explained to you. The air drills were chewing you up, everyone honestly. As Maverick had always been, he seemed to be harder with you and Rooster, especially when you couldn’t shake him off not even with Rooster helping you. It took Maverick about one more minute than with the rest to shoot you down, but soon you were on your hands and knees, sweat dripping from your face onto the tarmac while you did the push-ups under the sun of San Diego.

The beeping of Maverick’s radar as he secured the shot each and every time began to ricochet through your mind in an annoying way and then his voice did it for you too.

“There you go,” “That’s a kill,” “Lights out, Cayote,” “I got you,” “That’s a kill, brat,”

You ended the day exhausted and frustrated with yourself. If you hadn't been so goddamn impatient maybe you could’ve completed the exercise, maybe you could’ve earned the respect of your colleagues but at the end of the day, you hadn’t managed to do either.

And to top it all off, you’d promised your father to have dinner with him.

“But you did okay,” Rooster said as he drove you back into the place on his bronco.

You’d been quiet most of the ride and you were almost home.

“I did as good as anyone else today,” you answered coldly while looking out at the window, recalling your youth in the sea.

“That’s not true,” he breathed. “You were great,”

“We both did great, and so did Hangman and Phoenix,” you stated truthfully as you gazed back at Rooster. There were few times that you’d managed to see him in full uniform but now that you were spending so much time together, you actually realized that it truly suited him. “You know it’s not enough when they find out,” you stated while looking away, fearing that he might see the look on your eyes.

“Who cares about what they think?”

“I do!” you replied, a little louder than what you’d intended to, and as soon as you realized you let out an exasperated sigh. It wasn’t fair to Rooster but you’d always been used to venting with him but now it seemed different because he was going through it with you. “I’m sorry,”

Rooster nodded as he pulled up to the small cottage and sighed once he turned off the bronco. He didn’t say anything and you were afraid that you might’ve done something to upset him again, which you didn’t want to, if there was one thing you hated was seeing Rooster upset with you or in general. The way your chest ached when it happened was something that you couldn’t brush off, not even after years of trying.

“Rooster?” you asked him.

Rooster didn’t answer. Instead, he swung his door open and crossed in front of the car to open the door for you, before you knew it, Rooster took a hold of your body and without much effort, he threw you over his shoulder. You squealed at the movement and you began to giggle when he held your legs and started to walk you to the front door.

“Rooster, let me go!” you said between laughs.

“No, not until you tell me whose the best pilot the Navy has seen since I graduated,” He stated, you could hear the smile in his voice as you continued to laugh while trying to hold onto him. He gave you a twirl, which only made you laugh louder than before.

“Hangman,” you teased between giggles and Rooster scoffed between a chuckle before he gave another hard spin that had you shrieking.

“Come on, Brat,”

“It’s me, it’s me,” you said, and in a second you were down at your feet again, you were feeling a bit dizzy but his hands landed on your hips, holding you softly in place with a smile that made you want to kiss him right there and there.

“You are,” He said, gazing at you before he brushed your hair off your face. “Stop doubting it, Mitchell,” the sweetness in his voice was something that you’d always come to love about him.

You smiled, almost to the point that your cheeks hurt as you met Rooster’s gaze, his honey-burnt eyes watched you calmly with a sweet smile. You steadily held his gaze and your eyes flickered for a second to his lips and then back to his eyes and your stomach dropped because it seemed like he had caught you.

He indeed had and the atmosphere felt so heavy that you felt like you couldn’t take deep breaths, not with him touching you like this, not with him watching you like this, not with you holding his broad shoulders just like that.

Maybe you were a bit delusional or a little messed up, but there was nothing more than you wanted than raise to your tiptoes and kiss him senseless.

But god, how could you ruin a lifetime friendship with just one kiss?

You couldn’t.

You didn’t.

And so, you took a step back and looked away from Rooster, the tension dissolving in the air as you laid on the couch for a second and cleared your throat, hoping that Rooster could let it slide, so you talked.

“Ready for a dinner party?”

***

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @thehouseofevangelista @sergantbarnesbitch ***

authors note: thank you thank you so much for the kind comments everyone has been leaving on the prologue, I hope that you really like it!! I'm truly in love with rooster so would love to hear your thoughts!!! thank you so much for taking the time to read it. AND SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT TO TJE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED ME ON KO-FI!!!! You are the best

***

feedback is always welcomed!!!

donate: help me pls with a glass of wine?

***

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rawliverandgoronspice · 10 months

Note

I can kind of see why Hyrule reads as imperialistic to you in totk, but why do they read white? Sonia is brown and rauru is a black goat. What makes the difference between them and Ganondorf so bad?

Hey, thanks for the ask!

So... I have an answer, and it's kind of in layers. So I hope it's fine if I kind of go on Journey TM where I figure out my own feelings on the topic alongside you, the person reading! It's long! Kind of meandery! Sorry!!

Also, I had written a great version of this reply to this ask that Tumblr fucking ate and I'm furious about it, so this version is slightly more annoyed as a baseline because of Tumblr and not the ask itself. But I got stubborn and decided I would rewrite the whole thing tonight. So.

Here we go.

Layer One: My Basic and Unfiltered Gut Reaction

My first, potentially unwarranted gut-level reaction would be: I kind of think it's a stretch to consider them POC-coded. Sonia gives me more tanned Ariana Grande vibes than anything else, but that's... I mean, I'm aware that there are brown people with lushious blonde hair and blue eyes out there, that race as USA-infused Internet understands it is Complicated (I'm half-brazilian, and even though I'm very very white and don't consider myself biracial but bicultural, I had people discussing my ethnicity to my face a non-zero amounts of time, including quite recently, including in my own family! so I super get that it's more complicated than what I make it out to be here). But given vibes don't count as an argument, I completely get + accept if that reading on her ethicity is therefore dismissed. She could very well be brown. Fine by me.

(so, I feel like I have to add this borderline-conspiratory reason why I'm suspicious of her skin color being considered a factor here, which can 100% be dismissed but I still want to bring it to the table: I've been to several meetings and heard about many instances where "diverse traits" are being handed over to characters with the explicit purpose of using that diversity as shields against deeper criticisms of core aspects of the storytelling instead of fixing the storytelling itself, and honestly it could very well be the case here. I really hope it's just the team thinking Sonia would be prettier with a darker skin tone, because her design is genuinely lovely and I really like it, wish she didn't die like immediately and had a character arc of her own, but. Imagine the kneeling scene with two very white ladies and everything else, etc. It might be overly paranoid of me, but I can't help but squint a little bit in this specific instance, especially since the biracial trait here is so toned-down that it's barely there and barely committed to anything. Which would also make a good argument against this suspicion too tbh! Anyway. Just wanted to bring that up so you get the whole picture of where my brain is at.)

Rauru... Okay. Here's the thing: I can't unsee The Rauru. The original one I mean (and his Skyward Sword Gaebora counterpart), aka: the White Patriarch of all times.

(this has nothing to do with anything but Link's little recoil animation here is so funny to me, like he looks so shocked and his nose is so pointy)

I do think that removing the origins of this character from his DNA for TotK is kind of overly convenient when discussing this iteration, especially when his role in this game is basically a mixture of OoT Rauru and the Unnamed King of Hyrule (and every king of Hyrule that came after). I mean, okay sure maybe the Unnamed, Unseen King of Hyrule wasn't white but... it's obviously not true, right? And while I understand this is a different iteration of that character, many characters in the series maintain their base ethnicity across different reimaginings (even Blue Pig Ganon remains a gerudo at heart post OoT, at least in the way we keep on understanding him). And beyond this, given the fact that Rauru retains this energy of a Founding Father (in the largest possible sense), I feel that, at the very least, that patriarchal energy is extremely important to his character to a core degree.

But even so, yes. Rauru is now indeed a Goat Man. Not only is he a Goat Man, but he dresses in ways that are very inspired by mesoamerican cultures; undeniably so. So that would make him at least mesoamerican-coded, right?

I mean... I guess? I guess. Sure. But. I have now to introduce the Layer 2 of my argumentation, which is that...

Layer Two: Zonai Culture is Hylian Coded

So. Pretty bold claim I know. Let me explain.

Now I certainly do not want to say that mesoamerican civilizations are not *everywhere* in the aesthetic inspiration for the zonai culture in Tears of the Kingdom; I'm sure these real life references are overflooding the moodboards, from the color palet to the symbols to the artstyle, the costumes and the buildings. It's the main way the game communicates zonai-ness to us the player. And it's great! I wish they had went even harder in that direction (I think there's even pretty dramatic differences between the zonai ruins on the surface, much more interesting imo, than what was done with the actual zonai architecture at its peak).

But now, I will ask a question that I asked myself often while playing. What is zonai culture, beyond the feathers and the indented patterns and the swirls and the dangly bits? What characterizes it? I would say that zonai civilization is primarily interested in automation, technology, mining to develop said technology, and things that float in the sky. Beyond this, and from the limited perspective the game gives us through Rauru and Mineru, we see a society ruled by a patriarch (neutral term, it is just patriarchal in nature), married to a woman who is a priestess and doesn't seem to hold an equal amount of power (she doesn't speak as much, seems content to handle the religious side of things), who values collaboration and engineering prowesses, has an army, servants, robot servants, administrates other races through, to be docile and go the game's way, collaborativeness... It's Hyrule. It's just Hyrule, except older and with a different paintjob; but at heart, the style of society upheld by Rauru is very (eerily?) similar to what we get to know in the TotK/BotW era. Actually, this version of Hyrule seems extraordinarily similar to the Hyrule we get to see in BotW pre-Calamity: replace the zonai technology with the sheikah's, and what's the difference --except that this later version of Hyrule isn't trying to pass itself off as perfect? Zelda doesn't experience any kind of culture shock. Even the language seems to be basically the same. It is Hyrule, because it is. It's the origins of the kingdom. This is the whole point of the zonais: being that familiar thing that we know and love, except more pristine and more glorious and more mysterious so we can be sad when it gets destroyed.

So is it aesthetically inspired by mesoamerican cultures? Yes. Does it evoke specific details about said culture? The way politics and religion interconnect perhaps (unless we consider Rauru coming from the gods as such, but it's nooot super specific and not really elaborated upon)? What that culture valued, or what we assume it once valued? Cultural shortcuts we tend to make with these cultures, for better or for worse? I may be extremely uncultured here, and if that's the case I apologize, but I never really saw any of the aspects highlighted as the core pillars of the zonais commonly associated with either mesoamerican ancient civilizations, or current living native decendants of these civilizations. The biggest connexion or shortcut I see is the "mysterious ancient advanced civilization", which is pretty vague and was honestly more convincing in BotW.

Then of course, it doesn't invalidate that connection. But now, as a point of comparaison, to see what happens when Zelda takes active steps in coding one of their fantasy races... Let's take a look at the gerudos, shall we?

(Urbosa appreciation break. She's just so freakin cool look at her goooo!!! okay now we can keep going.)

I have said my whole spiel about the gerudos about a bajillion times now so I will try to make it quick. My tl;dr is: gerudos were always meant to be culturally disruptive. It's their whole point in the Zelda series. I won't rehash the whole thing about the crescent moon, the orientalism etc, but I think it's important to remember that they are meant to be considered foreign in a way no other Zelda race ever is. What I mean by this is, if we return to OoT: they are the only race hostile to Hyrule enough to not only consider and carry out an invasion, but to forbid entrance to their territory if you are not one of them. They have a different (apparenly evil-looking) god and their ears are rounded when everyone else is some sort of elf, their script is different, their cultural values are different, it's a weird semi-matriarchy where the man-king's occasional patriarchy has a very different social role than the king of Hyrule even if we don't get to see all the details... Won't return on the thievery and the 90s islamophobic kick of that time period, but the gerudos were very obviously crafted to be culturally deviant to the Hylian norm; their difference so great that getting accepted by them is an actual fighting and infiltration challenge. And even though they are much friendlier in TotK/BotW, they are still, by far the most innaccessible and different race out of all the rooster of, and it's worth mentioning, fish-people, bird-people and rock-people. They are the only one with their own language, their own strict rules that oppose your freedom as a player, a series of side-quests that directly address the subject of culture clash and differences; and, even then, they still parallel the real life western fantasy about the Orient TM (even more-so in TotK I would say, which I didn't love): the locked-in harem foreign men are forbidden to enter. This core idea is so entrenched that it becomes gameplay.

When it comes to Ganondorf, the parallel remains, more present than ever: in that game he gets to embody the foreign, cruel, brutal, cunning, manipulative, uncomfortably feminine at times, envious, physically intimidating, oppressive Man of the Desert in a long tradition of Men from the Desert and the rich legacy of literature and movies that portray them. It's not new to TotK, to be very clear: but TotK did double-down on the trope at the cost of Ganondorf's specificity as a character instead of questioning the trope that birthed him the way the series had tried to do in the past (even TP wasn't that bad, doing away with a lot of the baggage altogether --for better and for worse).

So to me... saying that zonais are mesoamerican-coded, in a world where we simply do not actively interact with these cultures all that much anymore (not at all to minimize the very real oppression of their descendants and the extreme and sickening violence their ancestors were met with to be extremely clear --I'm just saying that the violence wouldn't have worldwide cultural resonance in the same way and I don't think would have much reality in Japan unless, again, I'm saying dumb things and in that case please do correct me), or the extremely mild and non-invested way Zelda handled these cultures (to me it's much more costume than coding), positively too (good!), and comparing them to the active coding of the gerudos (and especially Ganondorf) as a means to equalize them as "basically the same thing" feels... a little off to me.

But! Now we're getting to the last layer!!

(you have no idea how long I searched for this gif, I typed "Ganondorf kneeling" in the gif search, like a fool, and parsed through much, much horniness to finally find my little dude anyway layer 3!!!)

Layer Three: It Isn't What Actually Matters Now Is It (at least according to me, the person writing this post)

Honestly, I don't really care whether Rauru and Sonia are white-coded or not. They could be, they could not be, cool by me either way. I don't really care if the zonai culture is meant to stand-in for mesoamerican cultures for Real for Sure or not, and heavily doubt it was done to increase diversity (otherwise Rauru wouldn't be, like, a Goat-Man but just a brown man). I do appreciate the visual diversity of the cast of NPCs, that hylians can look like a whole number of people and it's really cool Hyrule is moving into that direction instead of being very typecast into a sort of Japanese-ish representation of western middle ages/fantasy/fairy tale thing.

But at heart, what bothers me between this whole dynamic has less to do with whom is coded as whom than the fact that this game twisted itself into knots to tell a very suspiciously clean story about its complicated world and complicated history, and I feel like it's completely fine to ask for more than the bare minimum of visual representation and question the way these characters get to interact with each other and how their real life struggles are meaningfully talked about in the worlds Nintendo spend millions crafting? Sometimes, what they do is already great! Sometimes it's half-great! Most of the time, it could be so much better --especially when some of these subjects have been talked about to death for over 25 years (sorry to beat that dead horse one more time btw)

At the end of the day, the story itself is strange for many reasons. The power dynamic between the characters is attempting to be several things at once; maybe it's not on purpose, but either way, the world TotK paints is a strange one that only holds itself together if we accept to take it at face value. Which we don't have to.

And to me, TotK felt particularly shallow in that specific department of representation due to the whole... Imperialist Vibes thing (the other ask about this is queue'd, it's coming!), which nullified a lot of these efforts for me. It's not only about who's represented, but how they are represented as well, and, very importantly, why.

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averygayplant · 1 year

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You ever think about how, like,

themes of abandonment and found family and breaking cycles and loss and grief and realizing that having emotions is okay and that bettering yourself as a person upon realizing than you're more than your generational trauma and just overall that learning and growing from past mistakes is normal just...

Run rampant, in Ninjago?

Cuz like,

I sure fucking do-

Like-

Lloyd is the obvious example, right? He tried to continue Garmadon's legacy as an evil and deeply feared dark prince of pure evil and it just didn't work out. Instead, he broke that cycle. He created a place for himself in a dysfunctional family of other runaways and orphans and ambitious children who set out to be more than they were told they could be, found a strange team of people who all cared in their own unique ways, and ended up being exactly the opposite of everything he thought he was destined to be

Which comes with it's own problems. Cut to later, closer to the end of the series, and by then you've gotten to a point where most, if not all of Lloyd's traumas are from misdirected anger and violence, actions based in blind rage and seeking vengeance as closure. Lloyd's worst fear is being just like his dad, but... that's not quite it, is it? He's afraid of anger and how it consumes people, afraid of how easily it blinds others. He's afraid of allowing himself to feel anger because he doesn't want to be like everyone he's ever been forced to deal with on that level, and it ties into how seasons 9 and 16 both resolved.

But that.

That's just Lloyd briefly summarized.

It continues.

Zane is another good example. He had no idea who he was for a good long time, and yet he too found a new home for himself among others who seemed just as aimless, had Wu not come along and offered them his training. Even when he did find out, the others just suddenly had a lot of context to the weird things he would do and moved the fuck on, like, that fast. So fucking fast. It wasn't an issue.

But let me stop you right there.

It was usually used in gags, but it's emphasis repeatedly that Zane's primary objective is and always has been to protect others.

Translation: He was built and programmed to have a savoir complex UNRIVALED, and that makes itself PRETTY DAMN APPARENT, PRETTY DAMN FAST. Like, do I even need to give you examples? Zane actively puts himself in harms way SO OFTEN that he literally, no shit, HAS A REOCCURRING THEME THAT SIGNALS GREAT HARM HAS BEFALLEN HIM.

It's never said directly, but Zane puts himself into a lot of dangerous situations under the logic that it's better him than anyone else, his skin is made of metal and thus he's harmed the least. Which is. So bad. Like, I really hope I don't have to explain how bad that is, because wow.

This never really goes away, but he does get a lot better at thinking about the risk certain actions pose to himself. Just based on his actions during early crystallized, he now prioritizes the well being of his family above all else- even with his emotions turned so low that he's effectively only capable of taking the most logical of approaches. Breaking into the high security cell to release one of the highest priority villains of the city? That has no rhyme or reason, nor does it ensure the safety of the city- it actively endangers it.

And yet.

He does it anyway. Because of Nya.

Zane is fucking built different bro. Literally.

Oh, I'm sorry, did you think I was done?

Idiot.

...I mean, I am done, I'm tired and it's late and I have shit to do in the morning, but I could go on. I could. Cole and Harumi and Kai and pretty much everyone are sweating in their fucking boots right now.

I probably will.

...Later, when I have more time.

TL;DR:

Basically, Ninjago is a fucking masterpiece and should really sacrifice their PG rating to explore some of these topics a touch better because DAMN THERE'S POTENTIAL HERE

#that moment when you word vomit a character essay accidentally #two of them technically #ninjago #ninjago analysis #lloyd garmadon #zane julien #lloyd ninjago #zane ninjago #character essay #we love when shows have a lot of interconnecting themes that correlate to their severely traumatized main characters #lance rambles

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canonmisogynyvictimstournament · 8 months

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PROPAGANDA

KATARA (AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER)

1.) Katara was always shoved aside by both the narrative and the protagonist of AtLA. Despite her powerful arc, the creators always treated her as just the girl who the guy gets as a prize for saving the world. Her friends always relied on her for everything, from emotional support (that she felt she had to give) to menial tasks like cooking and cleaning and sewing (that no-one helped her out with). Her canonical boyfriend forced a kiss on her TWICE, and this was never really brought up or discussed (when she tried to discuss the first one, he forced the second one on her). She never got apologised to, and was constantly undervalued, treated badly, and her emotions were sidelined (she basically got told she was overreacting for wanting to pursue justice for her mother's murder). So yes, I do in fact think that Katara was a victim of misogyny. Also she wasn't allowed to learn to fight because she was a girl, even though she NEEDED to, and this only changed when the teacher found out that she was his old girlfriend's granddaughter.

None of this even touches on the sh*t that she was forced through in the sequel series. Good grief, I'm not even going to get started on that.

2.) Despite being the younger of two siblings, after her mom died she was forced to assume the role of caretaker in her family despite being a whole LITERAL CHILD to the point that her older brother IN CANON can only picture her face when he thinks of their MOTHER. She was always seen doing chores in the background that no other character ever helped her with because of her place as the "team mom" despite being LITERALLY fourteen. Not to mention how the sequel series ripped all of her personality and accomplishments from her to have her stay home w the children and let her husband neglect them in ways she NEVER would have actually stood for in the og series. Where all the other characters have statues and cities and laws and bending skills named after them they make her sit and twiddle her thumbs so that she can be the avatar's perfect uncomplaining wife and silently fade into the background

3.) so some things I wanna say here might actually be controversial, because I feel like the fans actually bought into/accepted the stuff I'm talking about uncritically. or maybe it's not that deep. but anyway

katara initially can be pretty sensible - her and sokka both. they're the kids of the chief, and neither of their parents are around, so it's obvious they both feel a lot of responsibility.

but still, early on, she's rebellious, she seeks fun and adventure, she cracks jokes. she goes penguin sledding with aang, who reminds her that she is in fact a kid. she steals from pirates then jokes about it when sokka scolds her.

as the show goes on, she gets more stern, straightlaced, "motherly", and has less of a sense of humour. she's still a badass but there are jokes about how she isn't fun or funny, or how she's a stick in the mud, to the point where I feel like the audience seems to have actually bought into it too. then the ember island players episode makes out like she's super preachy and cries a lot - yes obviously I know that this is a joke episode, but the show clearly is trying to parody itself with a basis on characters actual qualities, otherwise why would they bother? and the other characters act like they secretly think it's accurate too. since WHEN?

then sokka who starts out taking charge and resisting kataras schemes, becomes the light-hearted, fun, funny one. like yes he was always sarcastic and wisecracking, but at some point it feels like the show decided that they needed to have a sokka funny, katara unfunny dichotomy. even tho sokka isn't fuckin funny, everyone groans at his jokes.

if katara doesnt make jokes like the show seems to imply, then that means what she does when she's sarcastic or whatever isn't a joke, it's something else. like idk, bitchiness, I guess.

EVE (PARADISE LOST)

1.) I recognise how insane this submission is because this was written in 1667 and so attitudes towards women were obviously very different. But misogyny has always existed, no matter the time period, and so I think it's fair to pick up on it. Although Milton somewhat avoids painting Eve as the wicked seductress, she is nevertheless presented as inherently inferior to Adam - her 'virtue' and 'passion' are supposed to be an equal counterpart to Adam's intellect but Milton's clear resentment of Eve shines through. She is vain from the beginning - enamoured with her own reflection until she meets Adam. She is Adam's subordinate and readily accepts her place in the hierarchy below him, until she meets Satan. Women seeking power and knowledge is therefore inextricably tied to the fall of mankind. Her attempt for some kind of independence away from Adam (going to tend the garden away from him) is also presented as the primary reason she succumbed to Satan because Adam is needed to protect her. Eve (the mother of all women) therefore creates the assumption that women are weak and easily misled away from men. The description of her eating the apple is very sexual - perhaps reflecting the anxieties of men at the time of being cuckolded and therefore dishonoured by their wives. She is the ultimate disobedient, dangerous wife. Her reason for sharing the forbidden knowledge with Adam, rather than keeping it for herself, is because she is worried she will face the wrath of God and be replaced with another Eve. So it is her jealousy that brings them both down. (It is all a lot more complicated than this so Eng lit people don't kill me) but yeah poor Eve.

#polls #round 1 #week 2 #new

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laverrepalette · 3 months

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welcome to patchworld!!

basically a nintendo/smash bros au, in a kind of pokemon mystery dungeon or rwby based world, with a big academy forming guilds of students! the main group, team spectrum, has ten members with one major character each from some of the biggest nintendo series! they all live in a dorm in the academy together and become a found family while also going on lots of missions and quests together- fighting primids or running for their lives from an emperor bulblax or just helping out different parts of this combined universe!

they all also have a purple cloth (or bow) on them, which is a symbol of their team! and they all get along relatively quickly! first they trained before being selected as a team, which led to things like link and samus dueling. but later on theyre all good buddies and hang out, like dawn and olimar having their grass pokemon and pikmin be friends or marth and mario helping isabelle garden while talking about ways they can help on missions or pyra and kirby trying to realize their full potential in battle by having duels with each other that accidentally destroy the entire arena. theyre all friends!!

theres also some other teams here and there (such as one with luigi, robin from fire emblem, cheryl from pokemon, and susie haltmann). there is also a slowly reforming subspace army led by bowser, ganondorf, and a slowly growing group of other nintendo villains!

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protagonistpolling · 11 months

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i think someone is going to get killed

mod note : idk enough about saichi and sigma to give them a good team name. they both sound like weird fucking dudes who'd go drinking together though.

Why should you vote for these characters?

With how his other polls have gone, Miles Morales needs no introduction. You know him.

Why should you vote for Denji? (2)

"hes been through so much. he is so stupid. but he has a big heart. :)"

#I adore Denji because he’s had the shittiest life and has the most basic wants and is just so endearing

mod note: added that tag because i like it and it's true.

Why should you vote for Saichi Sugimoto? (1)

"Bloodthirsty killer? Check. Protective older brother figure in a found family? Check. Off the walls unhinged? Fights for the preservation of indigenous cultures and people? A sweetheart who loves animals? A sappy romantic? Stupid as shit? A certified silly boy? Canon pretty? Cares deeply for the environment? Broke? Impossible to kill? Check check and CHECK he’s so shaped I love him"

Why should you vote for Sigma Klim? (1)

"goofiest fucking dude ever. literally biologically engineered to make cat puns every time he sees cats mentioned anywhere (i mean it, he actually cant help it). canonically caused political uproar by fucking a random politician’s wife. his name is sigma. in the third game in the series, when presented with a button that says ‘do not press’, he presses the button and blows up the building he’s in, killing him and nine others. and this is all not going into spoiler territory which somehow gets goofier"

mod note: apparently he is not biologically engineered to make cat puns, he is just cursed. also he has a big dick if that matters to you.

#poll2023 #tournament poll #miles morales #spiderverse #chainsaw man #denji #saichi sugimoto #golden kamuy #sigma klim #zero escape #THIS IS SIGMAS REVENGEEE #ignore my pfp. gk + ze fans i have faith in yall. you guys were SO passionate. you can defeat the titans. i believe in you.

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musing-and-music · 11 months

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Royai week 2023 fic recs

In honor of Royai week in the Fruits & Roots server, I chose to highlight some of my favorite Royai fics I gathered these past years (not many years, since I've been on AO3 for 2 years and a half only). Each day, I'll recommend a few fics in a particular setting

Day 3: Heredity - Post-Canon fics

There's so many good post-canon fics that I had to make a choice among all the ones I have! Post-canon is so vast, it can go from right after Promised Day to Roy and Riza's old days after they've done everything they had to do. This will be one of the longest rec lists I'll do this week!

Heartbeat (series) by nightofnyx8 / @nightofnyx8

There is only one room in the Mustang household that has never been used. The walls are white, painted with butterflies, and the cradle sits just below the window. A small white dresser stands in the corner, with silver fastenings on each drawer. It holds not patterned clothes or socks lined with lace, just two white boxes that sit right atop. Mother's Day piece for the one and only Riza Hawkeye.

Roy Mustang has a basic understanding of what a father shouldn’t do: don’t run off and abandon your family, don’t transmute your child into a doomed chimera, don’t tattoo your alchemic research onto your daughter’s back— But as to what a father should do…well, that was a different matter entirely. Father's Day Piece for Roy Mustang

You'll end up believing I only rec fics that make me cry, but I swear, if I cry while reading something, that means the author has found the right words to move me, and that's (for me) the best indicator (with laughing) of a writer's quality. And that author is amongst my favorites!

Roy and Riza Observation Journal by hanamuri / @hanamuri

Rumor has it, Roy and Riza are having an illicit affair. No, Riza’s just one name in his list of exes, sprung another one. Actually, nothing is going on between them, buzzed hearsay. The debate remained endless on the unspoken question everyone has on this impeccable duo: what’s up with these two?

A must read (must re-read for me)! Affectionately shortened to RROJ, this fic brings light on Royai through the eyes of the people who know them

on the brink of discovery by vadeofspades / @mayfieldarc

In which Roy and Riza are trying (and failing) to keep their relationship a secret from Team Mustang on their first day back to Central.

You want to smile? Read this one!

The Amestrian Waltz by raisingmybanner

A story about noticing the things that have been under your nose the whole time, and a story about deciding when to finally let them free. An orange sweater, a shape in the clouds, a protector of the stars. "Who are you?" a little boy asks. "I was your lieutenant," replies a woman with a cracked heart, unsure what else to say.

A tag to give this one? #oh my heart

Partiality by Dailenna / @dairogo

Roy is given the chance to take care of Black Hayate while Riza is in hospital after the Promised Day, and it provokes a lot of thought about changes that could occur.

I'm partial about this one, since it's my gift for last year's Secret Santa, but I loved it, and the hope in it is strong!

Your Warmth Against My Scars by lassus / @lassusog

“How have you been?” his doctor asks him after a moment. “Fine,” Roy responds, calmy. He is, really. Mostly he feels numb. And tired. And his scars hurt, sure. On the whole, nothing out of the ordinary. “Have you been experiencing any pain in the areas with scar tissue?” Every waking moment. But it’s fine. Really. “Not much.” Harris frowns. “I want to help you, you know,” he tells him. “I know,” he brings himself to say. His doctor sighs heavily. “How are things at work?” Harris asks, after a minute. Roy has to look away, suddenly. It doesn’t take long for the numbness to wash over him again though, thankfully. “Fine too.” (Or, Roy's still healing wounds, excessive work and an argument with his Lieutenant slowly take their toll on him.)

Such a great exploration of Roy's character and his stubbornness!

and when you can't rise (i'll crawl with you on hands and knees) by starsinherblood / @jedidragonwarriorqueen

Attacked on their way home from a diplomatic trip to Drachma, General Mustang and Captain Hawkeye find themselves contending with a group of insurgents, but the odds are stacked against them.

I'm feral about this one, about the tension and the angst in it!! It's only 4 chapters long, and I can tell you there's no way to get bored while reading!

For better or worse by zipadeea / @zipadeea

Roy and Riza always thought all they needed to be happy in life was each other. Then, they meet two Ishvalan orphans who teach them just how wrong they are. (Or: Mustang and Hawkeye fall in love and start a family. The process is just as conventional as you'd expect; which is to say, not at all.)

I devoured this fic in one night, and I loved every part of it. It's moving and serious but filled with so much love!

Riza Shaves the Day by sootyfeathers / @sootyfeathers

Soaking wet and out of breath, the pouring rain hadn’t stop Roy from sprinting the entire way to Riza’s apartment in the dead of night. He’s convinced her life is in danger, but it’s really him that needs to be saved. And shaved.

From angst to fluff

[podfic] Never knew I could feel like this by klainelynch / @klainelynch (once again)

After their first kiss, Roy reflects on the depth of his affection for Riza.

Short and sweet, a soft moment for Royai

New Beginning by VillainousMiss / @villainousmiss

A small blurb of Roy and Riza's reactions to a particular order Fuhrer Grumman put into place.

So much hope in this short one-shot!!!

#royai #royai week #royai week f&r #fma #fanfic recs

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twistedtummies2 · 6 months

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Top 15 Skeleton Characters

Happy Dia de los Muertos, everybody! Anybody who knows about the Day of the Dead knows it is really a celebration of life…and they also know that a major part of this holiday’s iconography is the imagery of skeletons and skulls. The human skeleton, in fact, is quite the ubiquitous visual: skeletons unsettle many people, on a fundamental level. Everybody has one, but if you’re actually SEEING one, that’s not a good sign: bones are the last vestiges of something long dead, and so there is always this automatic gut reaction of perturbation that comes with them. Of course, there’s also a recognition that life was present, which can, in its own odd way, be heartwarming. Skeleton characters - or even characters who are simply skulls or have skull faces - are thus a major part of many fictional worlds. They can be used to mock death, or celebrate life, or they can be used to represent fear and destruction. Regardless, they are always interesting to see, as commonplace as some may claim them to be. So, I decided, if today is a day about celebrating life through the imagery of death, it was only fitting to do something to celebrate the many characters who, effectively, do the same thing, one way or another. Now, I’m only going to be counting ACTUAL skeletal characters here, so to speak; characters like the Phantom of the Opera, Red Skull from Marvel, or Skull Face from “Metal Gear Solid V,” will not count. They evoke the imagery of a skull, but they’re really just deformed human beings, not actual collections of living bones. Also, I won’t be counting gatherings of skeletons (with one exception), such as the various skeleton-themed enemies you’ll find in video games, or the famous Harryhausen skeletons from “Jason and the Argonauts.” They aren’t really “characters” so much as “creatures,” so I don’t think they fit the bill. With that said, let’s waste no more time! Here are my Top 15 Skeleton Characters!

15. Skelly, from I Spy: Spooky Mansion.

Here’s a more obscure option to start things off. How many of you had I Spy books or played the I Spy PC games when you were younger? I know I did. This picture-puzzle series could be surprisingly challenging, and I was always fascinated by the way they organized the photos in the books, not to mention the animation in the PC titles. “Spooky Mansion” was always my favorite game and book, mostly because…well…I like Spooky Mansions! (Even did a list about them, go and take a look at that, tis the season.) Skelly was essentially our Tour Guide for the game: a mischievous but not malicious skeleton who loved to play games with people and spook them silly. She traps us inside her haunted house and challenges us to find various pieces of a puzzle in order to escape; none of this is done with evil intent, she simply wants to play! I always found Skelly a wonderful mix of creepy and sweet, almost like an Addams Family character; that’s always a great blend.

14. Skeleton King, from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force GO!

Imagine Skeletor on a REALLY bad day. That would basically be this monstrosity in a nutshell. The main antagonist of this (incredibly weirdly named) superhero series, the Skeleton King was once a good-hearted scientist, who wished to help the world; it was he who created the titular Monkey Team. However, things changed when the man began to study the dark forces of the Netherworld; assured in his safety from them, he later paid the price of his hubris, as the dark spirits were released, and ending up possessing and corrupting the scientist, body and soul. He thus became the Skeleton King: a cyborganic ghoul who plots to destroy the entire universe. The King was a deliciously creepy villain, and much of his menace can be owed to his voice actor: none other than the Joker himself, Mark Hamill. Honestly, if that name alone doesn’t interest you in this character right away from the start, there’s not much more I can say that will convince you to give him a look.

13. Sir Daniel Fortesque, from MediEvil.

Sir Daniel is a tragically comic case: for ages after his death, this knight was hailed as a hero, believed to have been a mythical and powerful figure who died nobly for a righteous cause. In truth, he was a bungling coward who was killed in the very first seconds of battle, and never really did anything grand at all; somewhere along the line, the facts of his life got all twisted up. When the evil he once fought (or, at least, wanted to fight) rears its ugly head again many years later, Sir Daniel Fortesque is brought back from the grave to do battle once more...but, of course, not being a hero at all, he now has to prove himself. “MediEvil” becomes a typical quest of an unlikely hero; someone trying to live up to the reputation he garnered over time, trying to earn respect from those who know the truth. It’s a classic kind of setup, only enhanced by the unique, Tim-Burton-esque visual styling of the game…not to mention Sir Daniel’s absolutely hilarious running cycle. I guess he went to the Ministry of Silly Walks before his demise.

12. Bob, from The Dresden Files.

So far, I’ve only finished the first six books of “The Dresden Files,” but it’s already a favorite series of mine. (Also, if you’re only familiar with the TV series…that doesn’t count here, since their version of Bob is rather different.) The series details the many adventures of “consulting wizard,” Harry Dresden, and blends elements of noir-style detective mystery storytelling with doses of dark fantasy and Gothic horror. One of my favorite characters is undeniably Bob: an eccentric ghost who inhabits a skull in Harry’s home. Bob is intended to be a sort of living encyclopedia for Harry to consult when on a case; he has been around for centuries, and helped many wizards in his time, making him an extremely valuable source of information. However, Bob is also…well…freaking hilarious. He’s always got his mind in the gutter, and he’s always filled with snark and a ready-to-whip-out insult or quip, leading to some pretty funny dialogue any time he’s featured. Generally, whenever Harry consults Bob, that’s when things are about to get truly serious…but it’s hard to remember that past all the pure, glorious silliness he provides. The only reason Bob doesn’t rank higher is that he is literally JUST a skull, and on top of that, the skull probably isn’t even his own: it’s just his way of communicating with Dresden in the world of the living, sort of like a crystal ball or other conduit of knowledge. Still, I feel he counts enough.

11. Captain Bones, from Crashbox.

Made for HBO, this series was one of my favorite shows EVER when I was a kid. “Crashbox” was a show that really went outside the box with how an educational program could also be entertaining! It used various styles of animation in numerous scenarios and skits to showcase all kinds of different skills. Basic stuff like math, history, sciences, social studies, and so on were featured, but you’d also have things that challenged your critical thinking or problem solving skills, with puzzles and riddles that weren’t necessarily things you’d be taught at school, but were still important things to learn. It was all done with this irreverent tone; the series was utterly bonkers, so it was always a joy to watch even as it taught you all the skills it tried to push. Captain Bones was one of the most frequent skits in the series, and also one of my favorites. “The Incredibly Dead Captain Bones” was a skeletal ghost pirate cursed to Sail the Seven Seas for an eternity. “And I’ll tell ya,” the Captain would sigh, “I’m a Bored Stiff.” (Har Har.) To keep himself from dying of boredom (…presumably a second time…), the old pirate would use his own bones to create math and picture puzzles, which the viewer would be challenged to try and figure out before he showed them the answer. What made Captain Bones hilarious…were his insults. This guy was the KING of Insult Comedy, able to come up with all kinds of incredible, colorful phrases without ever getting dirty or lewd, given the fact this WAS made for kids. If you don’t agree…“THEN YER NOT FIT TO WALK THE DECK OF ME GHOST SHIP, ye crustacean-sucking, knock-kneed, squid-faced, plank-walking sack of soiled, sea-salted, unwashed fish buckets of barnacles for brains!”

10. Lord Ainz, from Overlord.

I haven’t seen a whole lot of “Overlord” yet, which is the primary reason Ainz only BARELY crosses the threshold into the Top 10. Trust me, if I’d seen more, he’d probably be WAY higher. “Overlord” is a classic Isekai anime series: the plot focus on a young man who ends up zapped into a video game world, which he had once been a player of. He finds that he has been transformed into the character he created: a hyper-powerful dark skeleton warlord, known as Ainz Ooal Gown (or “Lord Ainz” for short). The interesting thing about this isekai is the way Ainz is played, and how he evolves over the course of the series; as time goes on, he loses more and more of his humanity, as his personality, morality, and ethical viewpoints start to merge and become less like his own back on Earth, and more like those of the character he created. This leads to a lot of gray area in the morality of Ainz, as he seeks to conquer the world - the typical goal of many a great dark lord - but has surprisingly understandable motivations for doing so. From what I’ve seen so far, the series is quite interesting, and Ainz is an equally interesting character…but I’ve only scratched the surface of this show, so I don’t think it’s fair to give him TOO high a rank JUST yet. But still, Top 10 ain't bad, right?

9. Bonejangles, from Corpse Bride.

There’s really not a whole lot to say about this guy, I just really love him. Though a fairly small part on the whole, Bonejangles is arguably one of the most recognizable characters in the Tim Burton animated picture “Corpse Bride.” A hollow skeleton with a single eyeball, which he rolls back and forth between his sockets, this limber, jazzy fellow appears to be pretty close to the titular character, Emily - the ghost of a bride-to-be who died mysteriously. It is he who tells the story of the Corpse Bride to our protagonist, Victor Van Dort, via the song “Remains of the Day,” easily the best song in the film’s soundtrack. While his time onscreen is small, he makes an immediate impression, and Danny Elfman’s gravelly, raspy vocals only add to the clattering, rambunctious skeleton’s fun personality. In short, Bonejangles is proof that big characters can come in small packages.

8. The Horned King, from The Black Cauldron.

This movie was HATED when it came out - notoriously, “The Black Cauldron” lost to the CARE BEARS when it premiered. (I wish I was joking about that.) However, over time, the movie has garnered something of a cult following, mostly for its dark and often rather brutal atmosphere (which is still rather pale compared to the Lloyd Alexander novels the film is loosely based upon). One thing almost everybody loves about the film is the villain: the lich-like Horned King, voiced impeccably by John Hurt. A cross between the character of the same name from the first book, “The Book of Three,” and the evil Lord Arawn, the main antagonist of the series, Disney’s incarnation of the character is easily one of the most mysterious and frightening of their animated baddies. Essentially a living corpse (who has horns growing out of his head, for some reason), the Horned King is a powerful sorcerer who wishes to destroy all of mankind. (Why? Probably because he’s tired of everyone around him having noses.) To this end, he and his goblin-like assistant, Creeper, seek out Hen-Wen, a pig who somehow has gained oracular abilities, allowing her to find the hiding place of the titular Black Cauldron. The Cauldron is an ancient piece of crockery possessed by the spirit of a long-dead king, which can create an army of living dead brutes, “The Cauldron Born.” In the end, the King is thwarted by Taran, a young farm boy who has been thrust into a quest to stop him, and is sucked into the Cauldron itself. In arguably the goriest death scene in a Disney movie, the King is stripped of his soul, and his FLESH (what little he has), as his life force is sucked into the Cauldron’s hellish depths, before EXPLODING in a flash of light and dust. A fittingly gruesome end for this bony fiend.

7. Arc, from Skeleton Knight in Another World.

Much like Overlord, this is another fantasy isekai anime series, in which the main character is transformed into a character they played in a video game. And, just like then, said main character is an extremely powerful skelly-dude. HOWEVER, that’s about where the similarities between this show and “Overlord” stop. In “Skeleton Knight in Another World,” Arc is not a villain who plays the hero of his own story…but instead just a hero, period. In fact, a big part of the series is that he worries about people seeing his true bone face, as he knows the sight of a giant living skeleton will probably be seen as a bad sign by many. Arc is a wonderfully fun protagonist: like many characters in this sort of scenario, he is equal parts bold and admirably strong…and sort of a total dork. The human life he left behind clashes constantly with the uber-heroic facade he tries to put on (complete with a bold and daring laugh, which is absolutely glorious), leading to a great deal of humor. While Ainz is probably the more popular character between these two, I’ve actually finished all of “Skeleton Knight” (at least with what’s available thus far), and I generally prefer Arc a little bit more, based on what I’ve seen. Therefore, he gets higher marks on the list. Also, on a side note…the theme song to this show is absolutely freaking GLORIOUS, seriously, go take a listen to it.

6. Basically the Entire Cast of “Coco.”

This is the exception to the "no groups of characters" rule I made. I know it’s cheating to include a whole bunch of skeletons, instead of just one, but I felt that, in this case, it was warranted. It’s fitting I’m posting this on the Day of the Dead, because that’s what this film is actually inspired by and based around. This Pixar movie tells the story of a young boy named Miguel, who loves music. However, due to personal tragedy, his family has banned any member from being a musician. Believing his great-grandfather to be a legendary musician, Miguel goes on a quest to rekindle the love of music in his family…and, in the process, ends up in the Land of the Dead, which is populated by a whole world of Dia de los Muertos-inspired skeletons. Ranging from friendly sorts, like the eccentric Hector, and multiple late members of Miguel’s family, to the more villainous Ernesto de la Cruz, choosing just one character to represent an entire film of colorful, whimsical bunches of bones seemed next to impossible. So, yeah, I’m just counting the entire movie here. My list, my choice. So sue me. :P

5. Ghost Rider, from Marvel.

A prominent anti-hero of the Marvel universe, the Ghost Rider has gone through many incarnations. One early interpretation, later re-named the Phantom Rider (big difference, I know), isn’t a skeleton at all, nor a supernatural entity of any kind. Instead, the first Ghost Rider was a Wild Western hero and horseman, who used his ghostly costume and magic tricks to frighten his enemies - think of a cross between the Lone Ranger and Batman. Later interpretations, however, took a different path. The most famous Ghost Rider is Johnny Blaze: a stunt daredevil who was tutored largely by his adoptive father, Crash Simpson. (Good lord, these names sound like video game characters from Nintendo…) When Crash developed an inoperable cancer, a grief-stricken Johnny made a deal with the Devil himself to try and save him. Needless to say, it didn’t go so well. Now, Blaze - and others who would share his curse - must roam the land hunting down evildoers, fighting both mortal and supernatural villainy in an endless quest to avenge the innocent. The Ghost Riders all share common visual elements: fiery skeletal bodies, leather clothes, chain-based weapons, and of course, AWESOME motorcycles to ride upon. Their power over the fires of Hell itself are their primary weapons, however, with a variety of different attacks and powers available to Blaze and his later compatriots in the war to seek out the evil and punish them for their sins...hopefully while avoiding ending up in terrible Nicolas Cage outings. No promises on that one.

4. Sans & Papyrus, from Undertale.

Oh, God, I LOVE Undertale. And more than that, perhaps, I LOOOOVE Sans and Papyrus! The Skeleton Brothers are easily my favorite characters in the game, and the most identifiable for me, in many ways. Sans is, in some ways, Undertale’s equivalent to the Doctor from “Doctor Who”: he is a comedic, laid-back, somewhat eccentric character who uses his unassuming appearance and “dopey” personality as a facade. As many a player quickly learns, Sans is far more powerful, far more DANGEROUS than he looks or seems, able to go from cracking a terrible pun to threatening you with painful death in a split second. If you get on his bad side, “you’re gonna have a bad time.” His brother, Papyrus, on the other hand, is sort of the reverse: at first glance, Papyrus seems like your typical “over-the-top villain.” His signature laugh, twisted design, and sense of self-importance all make him about as fiendish as can be...all he’s missing is a top hat or a moustache to twirl! But it quickly becomes clear that Papyrus is neither as evil, nor as clever, as he likes to seem: in reality, he’s really a rather harmless sort of bony fellow, and would much rather befriend you than murder you with his incredibly elaborate, Wile-E.-Coyote-esque death traps. (Much like with Wile E., the traps never work the way they should.) Dealing with these brothers is a BIG part of figuring out the events of Undertale, and the path your adventure will take in the game. Whether you love them as much as I do or not, I advise you to decide wisely.

3. Skeletor, from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

There have been several different takes on Eternia’s greatest villain over the years (my favorite will always be the original, but I do like many, if not all, of the other interpretations out there). No matter which one you look at, Skeletor is a very fun villain, and is easily one of the most iconic skull-faced scoundrels out there. A dark wizard who longs to take over Castle Grayskull, and learn all its secrets for his own evil ends, Skeletor’s evil ranges from cartoonish to truly cruel, depending on which version you look at, but there’s always a wonderful blend of both creepiness and genuine menace that accompanies him. It’s hard to not make references to this guy when looking at other bony characters, and he’s given rise to more memes than you can shake a sorcerer’s scepter at. Really, what more can I say? It’s Skeletor: by virtue of his recognition alone, he’s more than earned a spot in the Top Three.

2. The Grim Reaper.

Arguably the single most iconic skeletal figure in history, the Grim Reaper - the embodiment of death itself - could really take up an entire list of his own. (And he probably will, one day.) There are so many versions of the Reaper out there, it’s kind of amazing: when people imagine what death’s avatar looks like, it’s likely that the typical imagery of a skeletal figure, garbed in a dark cloak and carrying a scythe, is the first thing they will imagine. Sometimes the Reaper is depicted as a humorous and comical figure, such as the version found in “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.” On many occasions he is depicted as an evil monster, such as the version of Death found in the “Castlevania” franchise. Other times, he is something of a neutral force, as death is neither truly good nor evil when you think about it; probably my favorite example of this is the one found in Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” universe. Bottom line, I think the fact that skeletons so often represent death, to the point where the very embodiment of the Angel of Death is depicted AS a skeleton, speaks for itself as to why this ranks so highly. Honestly, I was tempted to make this choice number one, but I decided against it for several reasons. Still, iconic as the concept of the Grim Reaper is, the character - in pretty much all his forms - has more than earned high praise here.

1. Jack Skellington, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

“Nightmare” is one of my favorite films of all time, if not my absolute favorite. It’s not a complex movie, really, but its simplicity is part of what makes it so wonderful! Jack is, by extension, one of my favorite characters of all time: hailed as “The Pumpkin King With the Skeleton Grin,” this dapper, noble, gentlemanly bonehead is the ruler of Halloween Town, a world of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls (oh, my!) whose only job is to make Halloween as frightening as possible. But, despite his undead state, and wicked sense of humor, there is no malice in Jack’s mischief; he just sees it as a job. A job he’s apparently very, VERY good at, from the few examples the film and other spin-offs give us. Jack’s really a very good sort; charming and debonair, but also rather naive. A cockeyed optimist in his own way, and a bit of a prima donna, Jack’s over-the-top antics and spirit of adventure are what often get him into trouble; he has a problem with thinking things through. However, when things go wrong, Jack is ready for action, and quick to take responsibility, take charge, and take chances. His heart is in the right place at all times, even if his brain doesn’t always get there right away. Mixing intelligence and charisma with a childlike simplicty - much like the movie he hails from, in fact - Jack Skellington is an endearing and interesting character who deserves every bit of love he gets from myself and the world over. He’s just as iconic as the Grim Reaper, Skeletor, and others on this list, if not more so! And for all these reasons and more, I happily (albeit pointlessly) name Jack Skellington my Favorite Skeletal Character!

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Captain Barbossa, from Pirates of the Caribbean. (He really only counts for the first film, which is why I didn’t include him on the main list.)

The Speaking Skull, from The Last Unicorn.

Manolo Sanchez, from The Book of Life.

Spinal, from Killer Instinct.

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