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denkineptune · 3 years

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mha boys + baking (hc)

♡ some baking headcanons i whipped up real quick, just because this idea popped into my head and i could not rest until i finished this lol

♡ fic details: 1.1k words, headcanons, not x-reader, edited (probably not very well, some small print but not anything important

characters: kaminari, kirishima, bakugou

kaminari, 1/10:

↠ cannot bake for the life of him. he’s the kind of person to swear up and down that he could go on a baking show, but in reality? has definitely committed some kind of food-related war crime

↠ he’s slightly dumb, it’s endearing but also not a good trait in the kitchen. since baking has a lot to do with fractions, he says that exact measurements are “stupid” and can be eyeballed. the worst mistake he’s made because of this was definitely when he used a tablespoon to measure out a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. he ended up putting about half a tablespoon of the stuff in the batter, and bakugou’s birthday cupcakes tasted like soap

↠ he also thinks every ingredient is interchangeable if it looks similar; he’ll replace sugar with salt if he doesn’t have enough, so maybe steer clear of his brownies, you’ll likely get sodium poisoning. he replaces vanilla with molasses, which just- no,,,

↠ denki also tends to over- or under- cook things which results in either very burnt, inedible baked goods or hot goop in your mouth. both ways, quite gross

↠ he won’t wait for the oven to preheat, he’s not patient like that. he’s definitely used his quirk to try to heat a pie tin and bake it in a split second. it doesn’t go well, obviously. it explodes in his face and makes everyone quite upset, because they’re forced to clean the ceiling. the ceiling.

↠ don’t let him around ovens, period. he’s left things in for too long multiple times. his logic is “i’ll know when it’s done, i can smell it,” so he doesn’t set a timer. then he gets distracted by his phone, and forgets to take the pan out, resulting in an oven fire. todoroki has to put it out because denki’s unable to use a fire extinguisher

↠ kaminari doesn’t even grease pans, his monstrous baked “goods” are left burnt in their pans, since nobody can manage to get it out. just throw the whole thing away, at that point

↠ “ah, fuck!” is a regular thing to hear if he’s left in the kitchen alone, so for the love of god, do not leave him unattended. he’s like a baby, you need to have someone watching him at all times or he’ll burn something or himself

↠ that being said, he’s been taught to soothe his sugar cravings by microwaving pre-made mug cakes that the others stick in the fridge. this prevents heights alliance from being destroyed every time pikachu wants dessert

kirishima, 7.5/10:

↠ he does his absolute best and he’s quite decent! i’d say he’s around the average, he’s not a pro, but he doesn’t suck

↠ his favorite things to make are definitely cupcakes, they’re easiest to distribute and share with people. they’re quite simple to mass produce, and you can personalize each depending on who they’re going to. it all really comes down to how easy they are to make and give out

↠ he uses cute-ass cupcake liners, he and mina go to daiso and get really pretty ones

↠ using borrowed icing bags (courtesy of sato, ty angel), he ices the cupcakes with different color frosting depending on the favorite color of whoever will eat it. on april fool’s day, he made a cupcake (no pranks, that’s unmanly) that was half vanilla and half red velvet with the same color scheme of icing, which he then gave to todoroki. it was very cute, and shouto liked it a lot :)

↠ eijirou can sometimes make common blunders; a bit too much flour, forgetting the salt, spilling some vanilla, things like that

↠ he does this cute thing where, if he’s baking cookies for someone else, he’ll fake spilling chocolate chips into the batter as an excuse to put more in than the recipe calls for

“oh nooooooooo the chocolate chip bag fell in, there’s too many in the batter... welp too bad, what’s next-”

↠ it’s very sweet hehe literally

↠ kiri doesn’t bake all that often, there’s a lot more immediate things that he needs to tend to (ie. homework, friends, training), but sometimes, in his spare time, he’ll get in the mood where he decides that he might as well bake

↠ he doesn’t keep his treats to himself, pretty much ever. making brownies? better share them with everyone else, they could use it after this hard week. one person can’t possibly eat this many cookies, who else is around that i can give them to? basically, if it’s able to be shared, he’ll share it

↠ HE LETS PEOPLE LICK THE BATTER SPOON !!!! usually, the person who eats it is mina, uraraka, hagakure, or kaminari, but that’s only because they’re the ones who stay around the kitchen until kiri is done with the spoon

↠ he attracts a crowd of students near the kitchen that want either the spoon or final product. overall, he’s just a ray of sunshine

bakugou, 9/10:

↠ let’s get this straight, he rarely bakes. as in, pretty much never. he can count the amount of times he’s baked on one hand, and they were all only for some kind of celebration. he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, so he feels no need to make desserts

↠ but on the off chance he does make something, it is so. fucking. good.

↠ he’s already MasterChef Junior while cooking, and though baking isn’t that similar, he knows how to maneuver around the kitchen, and isn’t an idiot

↠ katsuki is familiar with the ingredients he’s using, therefore he knows what pairs well. he’s smart, so he figures out, logically, how to put everything together. he’s also not, as he so eloquently puts it, “a fucking moron”, and he follows the recipe to a t (unless he thinks something is stupid, at which point he’ll yell at the cookbook and come up with a substitute for said dumb thing)

↠ everything is done just right, and by the end, everyone is practically in heaven when eating the food

↠ he doesn’t share. ever.

↠ you would have to steal to get any food, and you would have to do it well. if he catches you stealing, he’ll have your head. he also doesn’t let people lick the spoon, as it is “gross and unsanitary”, but he secretly does it. c’mon, he’s the baker.

↠ as i said before, he only bakes for special occasions, like his dad’s birthday. his dad is very soft and peaceful, unlike his son. he loves handmade gifts because they’re thoughtful, and mitsuki suggests that katsuki bake for him. he protests, but ultimately can’t refuse his mom

↠ bakugou does something i like to call “angry baking”, where he does everything very aggressively

↠ the stirring is done very violently and batter splashes everywhere; when he grates lemons and limes for a key lime pie, he looks like a murderer. his eyes are g l o w i n g. but it’s good he doesn’t have a knife, like when he’s cooking. that would make it all the more intimidating.

↠ at least the food is good, even if the process is slightly... alarming....

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓅𝓉𝓊𝓃𝑒☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

#mha x reader #bnha x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #bakugo x reader #kirishima eijirou x reader #kirishima eijiro x reader #kirishima x reader #kaminari denki x reader #denki kaminari x reader #mha headcanons #bnha headcanons #denkineptune fic #eijiro kirishima x reader #eijirou kirishima x reader

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redskull-fanatic · 5 years

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Reasons to Love the Red Skull

Now, I know what you're thinking. I know all of it. All the reasons you hate him, all the justifications, all the go to sayings that make you say "Fuck the Red Skull." However, I'm here to celebrate this character.

I am a woman who loves villains. Villains are my passion and pride, and honestly Red Skull is just the best villain I've ever had the pleasure to stumble across. Many call him a Nazi, an asshole, and such. I, however, am here to put a different prospective on the character. Why those who love the Red Skull do, and why in such a horrible, nasty man, we find joy in him.

Feel free to disagree, to scream and call me names. I honestly don't mind. I'm just trying to tell others why I adore the Red Skull, and why he's my favorite marvel character in history. Bring him in a light that many won't consider.

Btw, I also love Steve Rogers so that should give me some credit, right?

Appearance. Now, I don't remember how exactly I saw The Red Skull, but when I did, I fell in love with his appearance. I really like skulls and skeletons, so his face was already beautiful to me. His whole dictator look is also very nice, and skeletons mixed in with the army is my favorite aesthetic. Red and dark greys also look nice together(I'm an artist so I love color schemes), and I love how he and the captain reflect history! I'm a big history nerd and World War Two is fascinating to learn about. Skull just makes it a lot more fun, just to see him with something from the 40s. Plus, he does bring awareness to the holocaust. Keeps it fresh in people's minds so we don't forget.

Obsession with Power. Skull is basically the definition of "Dictator." He strikes fear into his Hydra army, has a fucking cool symbol for his empire(don't know why it's a fucking octopus if its for an empire called Hydra, but okay Skull), got a salute and everything. However, a big trait about this character is power hungry. We all know he joins the Nazi army, but why? Well, I'm new to Marvel and going off a fandom wiki so cut me slack He met Hitler and talked about his theories of myths being science. Adolf was intrigued, wanted to learn more, and Heinrich Himmler recruited him into the SS. He had his fun there, until eventually.. His views started to change. He believed he was rightfully the superior race, he used any means necessary to obtain a central position in the army. That was, until the serum in his veins made him believe he was greater than Hitler and started to plan to overthrow him. Schmidt doesn't believe Germans are the master race, but rather the superior man has yet to be made. He never personally cared to follow the slaughter of Jews, he was too busy hell bent on overthrowing the entire Nazi party and reforming them into hydra. He used the Nazis from the very beginning, he used them for their resources and getting his name out there. That sir, is top tier villainy.

Attitude. His attitude is the best, to be completely honest. He's determined to get what he wants, he's resourceful, and doesn't take no for an answer. This man takes risks, when he first got the tesseract, he ignored safety, shoved Zola out of the way, and went straight for the controls. And the transfer succeeded. He easily kills off his enemies and adapts quickly to situations. As soon as the Americans out matched Hydra's forces, he simply blew up the fucking place without a care in the world. How much he doesn't care is hilarious. He always looks disappointed and unamused, so whenever he smiles it's the best thing ever. Skull speaks super matter-of-factly, and has the best lines: "I am surrounded by incompetents!" "I would curb that sharp tongue of yours, Taskmaster. Lest it cuts your throat." "And here I wanted to watch Captain America's will bend like a weed beneath my boot... No matter." "You are failing! We are close to an offensive network that will shake the planet. And yet, we are continually delayed, because you cannot outwit a simpleton with a shield!" I mean, these lines are hilarious and great, don't lie. Also, the scene where Zola and him talk about the finding out of Erskine's whereabouts is hilariously awkward. "Shall I give the order?" "... It has been given." "... Good-" I mean, that scene cracks me up. Mix that with the fact Skull was standing there for a portrait and was blasting Opera just makes it more hilariously amusing.

Obsessive in Nature. This guy.. is obsessive. Very obsessive. In my most favorite Marvel movie of all time, he's borderline obsessed with Captain America. He has a need to control him, make him Captain Hydra and be his second in command. I love obsessive villains, and Schmidt honestly fits the criteria. He's been obsessed with the tesseract for awhile, is currently crazy over taking over the world, what's not to say he gets obsessed with the captain? The two are similar enough(one parent dies when they're at a young age, both being an in orphanage, both getting bullied, beat up, and yelled at, both becoming super soldiers, and both becoming icons and symbols in the eyes of the public) so what's not to say Skull gets a little possessive over his enemy? Researches in such depth to learn how to control him, own him, kill him, which ever you prefer. All I know is, Skull is one big control freak, and I love him. He has such a need to be in control that he goes to extreme lengths to make sure all the power belongs to him. What a determined little man.

His Name. Johann Schmidt legit translates to John Smith. That is hilarious to me. It's so generic, like Steve Rogers.

Intelligence. This man is fucking smart, and I love it. He has plan after plan after plan. He has such detailed plans that it's ridiculous. Whenever he is about to act on the plan, he has the pause and explain the whole damn thing. He's so proud of him accomplishments, he has to fucking rant about them to further show off his superior intelligence. He goes to such lengths to accomplish his goals, that I'm surprised he doesn't get a headache with all that over planning. He even has to plan on unpredictable actions to surprise Steve. This man is plan crazy. He's so smart that he sets everyone up as pawns, and lets people do the mundane stuff so he has more time to plan. Anyway, this man.. He's so smart. He immediately knew the tesseract decoy was fake, he's able to see beyond appearances and managed to see the truth behind myths. He created a fucking ray that disintegrated people. He easily cut ties with the Nazi army, and always managed to stay a few steps ahead of the Americans. This man is a genius, you can't deny it.

Subtle Weaknesses. His main two weaknesses are: his temper and his slight insecurity of his face. He gets livid if you use "Red Skull" as an insult, and point out the deformity of his face. Expressing dislike over it is simply a death wish, and honestly I find it endearing he's insecure about it. Another thing is, his temper. He gets so mad, so mad over nothing. The slightest thing can make him go from his usual, calm and unimpressed nature to a fucking angry monster who smashes the window in. It's hilarious how mad he can get, and watching him try to control his anger is the cutest thing to me. He's trying so hard! ;w;

View on Magic. His belief magic is a science is super interesting to me! He even makes his belief a reality, and that's so satisfying!! He even researches mythology, and I love mythology! He proves people idiotic by showing them how real his theory is, and it's perfect. Johann blasting those fuckers calling him mad was one of the most satisfying scenes in the Captain America: The First Avenger.

His Personal Tastes. He likes the finer things in life. He listens to Opera, has a sweet fucking car, did you see how nice the Valkyrie was? Plus, he was getting a portrait done! Pretty sure he was drinking some sort of wine in the movie too. This man has wonderful tastes, and honestly makes his character even better to me.

Subtle Actions. He has some subtle acts of kindness, to me at least. In Captain America: The First Avenger, he was very calm with Zola and didn't really raise his voice with him. Schmidt is honestly very polite at times!! He even tried to be friendly with his first meetings with Captain America, expressing a liking towards his films and trying to understand what "made the captain special." Sounded like he just wanted a genuine conversation, or something of that nature.

Dialogue. Did I forget to mention how great is dialogue is? His taunts with Captain America are so funny and cute at times, like legit they go back and forth: "Don't be a fool, Skull. You can't control that thing! It'll bring the whole mountain down!" "Yes... On you." "You just don't give up, do you?" "Nope!" "It's time to stop playing army, Skull." "You have yet to see my army! Or should I say.. Our army." Like, these two dorks. Their taunts are the best.

He's an asshole. I know he's a dick, but it's funny as hell. He's like an ex, arrogant and bitter. Such a show off too. He's a wonderful villain.

His past doesn't affect him. So far, his past never seems to pull any strings at his heart. That's interesting. He went through such a traumatic series of events(his mom died during birth, his dad tried to kill him, his dad abusing him, trying to kill him again, then eventually committing suicide. Schmidt then was sent off to an orphanage where he was abused and beaten, he ran away at the age of 7, resorted to stealing, was taken in by the same doctor who delivered him, and ended up killing a woman.) He seems to have moved on from his past, or at least bottles it up. It's interesting..

He was inspired by a cherry. I'm not making this up, Joe Simon saw a cherry on his sundae and was like: "... That looks like a skull-" and the rest is history.

Vormir sort of mellows him out. He's very calm, distant, and legit doesn't give a shit on Vormir. I hope his old spirit comes back, but this stone keeper Skull is pretty funny and sort of tragic. I like him lots. ♡

He was created alongside Captain America. These two have been together for years. Fighting each other time and time again, and I only wish to see it continue. Sure, I prefer the more goofy side of heroes and villains. The two having stupid taunts, yet entertaining adventures.

Now, I doubt that is all the reasons I love Johann Schmidt. However, I only summarized all I can think of. I hope my fellow Red Skull fans would come out of hiding and express their love for this character. He's one of the best villains I've ever seen. I can go on and on about how much I adore this character, but I'll stop here. If anyone wants to see my favorite adaptation of Schmidt, and my favorite Marvel movie, feel free to check out Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United. Its on Netflix. All you Red Skull × Captain America fans will get a big kick out of it, and it's a universe I like. It's more goofy, it's animated in a beautiful style, and so much love was put into it. Came out in 2014!!

Anyway, hope I opened your eyes to a few reasons why this character is great. He's determined, hard working, intelligent, spiteful, and overall so much fun to watch on the big screen! His lines are funny, his personality is interestingly layered, and he's such a great character! A part of me wants to see him succeed, since he's done so much! I'm a loyal villain fan, I'm sorry xD

In villains, we get guilty pleasures from them. I love how powerful Skull is, and his determination is admirable. He's doing a bad thing, but he's doing to super well! If you love villains, I hope you get my point! I also like the subtle things in Skull that make him human, his love for Opera, his fascination with Mythology, his politeness, it's all so charming for a villain fan!!

I don't see many Red Skull fans speak out, so I'm glad to do it! Just a friendly Red Skull fan who wants to appreciate my boy. I'm acting like a proud mom, but I do hope he gets further attention, it's been far too long.

Thanks for reading, Hail the Red Skull. ♡

#red skull #marvel #captain america #marvel comics #johann schmidt #hydra #hail hydra #the red skull #just a red skull fan wanting her voice heard #hail the red skull #rambles #rants #reasons to love the red skull

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ganymedesclock · 6 years

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ALL RIGHTY, onto them TFA people. since these take a lot more out of me than I was expecting, I’m gonna close this particular meme for now and not take any more asks.

Bear in mind these reads are only as far as SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy and I would really prefer to avoid any spoilers! I’ve already seen some and it’s not fun. And yes, I do read the tags/replies on this post so watch y’alls spoilery mouths, people.

@numinousbones said:prowl and shiro for the ask meme!

Shiro was last masterpost, so, Prowl!

Prowl is my absolute favorite out of the main crew so far and that’s pretty darn hot competition since most of the TFA main cast won me over fast and hard. I mostly love how deeply expressive he is with his noticeably flat affect and how this isn’t met with a “ha ha but what is Prowl feeling or thinking??? he’s such an impossibly unreadable enigma.” Prowl does have his enigmatic qualities but they are not tied to his autistic traits.

Also when he grinned really big in Megatron Rising Part 2 that absolutely melted my heart. Prowl, you are like almost definitely a child soldier career assassin with deep personal issues where do you get off being that cute.

Evaluating the attractiveness of robots is. weird. I like Prowl’s color scheme and also him being a delicate-built lanky motorcycle man.

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

This was a tough one. I almost went with Ravenclaw or Slytherin, and excluded the former because while Prowl is smart and observant, he doesn’t particularly value knowledge for its own sake- his curiosity and fascination is saved for specific things that capture his interest.

And Slytherin is right out- Prowl might be ambitious, but the other side of Slytherin is interpersonal loyalty, maintenance of a trusted circle, and while Prowl heavily benefits from that, he relies on others to build it for him, and often doesn’t really think to reach out to it.

Thus, Gryffindor remains- because if there’s one thing to be said about Prowl, he’s very headstrong- about what he believes in, about what he thinks needs to be done. He pushes tenacity further and further to the point that in Fistful of Energon in particular, “whatever it takes” is practically his mantra.

best quality:

His empathetic side is pretty prominent, especially when that’s the thing that reigns him in during Fistful of Energon. Where his mind can justify almost anything with the urgent, hand-to-mouth way he seems used to operating, he sets his compass to his heart to figure out if he’s going too far. Also, he loves cats, and that’s adorable.

worst quality:

Prowl. Prowl for the love of fuck I don’t know what your backstory is yet but these implications are incredibly viciously unhappy please just. pursue journaling. Get a cat. Talking to your teammates might be too uncomfortable and you’re afraid of the only friends you’ve had in a while judging you and that’s understandable but please talk to someone, and, of course, you won’t, not until this becomes an informative but upsetting episode plot. :/

ship them with:

I have no Prowl ships at present. Mostly I’m trying to figure out what exactly his approximate age ‘in human years’ is.

brotp them with:

Honestly Ratchet loaning him the EMP generator in Fistful of Energon was a pretty deep statement of trust, which makes me really want to see the two of them interacting more in positive situations. As far as relationships we’ve actually seen, I really like his interactions with Bulkhead and Optimus.

needs to stay away from:

I Still Don’t Know Prowl’s Backstory disclaimer but nobody gets like that without someone else setting things up and I have three guesses who and all of them start with “fucking” and end with “Megatron.”

misc. thoughts:

I have a Prowl backstory theory and it’s one part the entire way he relates to Grimlock and one part “so anybody, at any point, gonna call Prowl on his ability to fly and noticeably dark, murky color scheme compared to literally every other autobot we have clapped eyeballs on”

@theicombaticon said: Hi! Since you're doing the character asks and I haven't seen you say as much about her.....what are your thoughts on Sari?

So Sari is one of the few details I knew about Transformers Animated before watching it (specifically her having some sort of relationship with Cybertron/ not being all human) but I didn’t have that many assumptions about her character, but whoa nelly does she deliver.

I would seriously point to Sari as a case study in how to attach a Kid Sidekick to any kind of long-running franchise. Because she’s narratively, perfect- has a well-defined niche, conflicts and problems, unique and reasonable relationships with multiple characters, she’s cute, endearing, has character flaws and conflicts, has nicely diversified interests and is proactive in a way that’s both realistic and effective.

She Is An Eight Year Old.

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

In like... the third damn episode Sari basically told the gods to fuck off and brought Optimus back from the dead because what’s the point of gaming the system if you can’t punch the world hard enough to make it cough your friend back up and that is like the most Slytherin possible exercise in heroism I have ever seen, ever.

best quality:

Honestly I love this scheming eight-year-old. I love her heroics and equally obvious inclination to break the rules because. what are you gonna do??? stop her?

worst quality:

I mean she has character flaws but a lot of them are related to her debilitating loneliness and the growing horrified realization that a lot of her life was living in a kind of narrow protected bubble that her father made for her because the possibility for magic destiny aside, the Allspark itself pretty clearly implied that her story isn’t one that she particularly is gonna enjoy hearing.

And that just feels... mean to criticize. She’s eight. She’s doing the best she can. That’s only so much.

ship them with:

This Is An Entire Child.

brotp them with:

Her sibling relationship with Bee and Bulkhead is adorable, and I would LOVE to see more out of her interactions with Ratchet but this is because I want to see Ratchet interact more with everyone because I love Ambulance Dad from the bottom of my heart.

But y’know what I really, really want? I honestly want Arachnia and Sari to take their grudging mutual same-hat to the next level. I want Arachnia to become Sari’s terrible decisions big sister. By their powers combined they would be literally unstoppable. Optimus gets to find out second hand what sort of shit his sorta surrogate niece and his Significant It’s Complicated have been up to when Arachnia rolls up an hour past midnight like “guess who’s officially a wanted criminal in Botswana?”

There is at least one (1) heist in which Arachnia gets Sari to climb in the vents to infiltrate a place, which she complains about the entire time but is mollified when someone corners her and tauntingly asks what a Little Girl can possibly threaten him with and then Sari’s just like “oh, y’know” and a giant spider crashes through the wall.

needs to stay away from:

Fuck you, Powell.

misc. thoughts:

Literally my only qualm with Sari is why the hell doesn’t she take her pigtails and hairclips off to sleep. What’s up with that Sari. I know you’re some manner of bizarre cyborg child but what.

Anonymous said: TFA Optimus Prime

So I’ve been very aware of Transformers for a long time because it’s pretty impossible not to be, but I’ve also been obstinately indifferent to it for a long time. Watched the first episode of Prime ages ago, really didn’t get into it, haven’t really felt compelled to look further until friends of mine whose cartoon tastes I trust talked me into TFA.

Optimus... won me over a lot. It’s really nice to see energy and color breathed into a character who’s such an archetypal cornerstone hero- he feels fleshed out and this allows me to actually connect with him as a character.

I know all the autobots have pretty baby blues but like... Optimus in particular. They are nice. I also like the curvature of his mouth because especially in his more snide expressions (e.g. The Headmaster Returns) it means that Optimus Prime, Headliner Hero of the Transformers Franchise, goes >:3 sometimes. Also when he’s sorta miffed about something, it makes him look like he’s pouting.

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

See the interesting thing here is Optimus is exactly the kind of person who’d get incredibly snippy at the Hufflepuff House reputation, but, what mostly sticks with me is that fitting with his fireman’s motif, Optimus’s primary weapon in this setting is a fire axe- which is not a weapon meant for fighting. It’s a tool- meant for clearing obstructions in the way of rescuing people.

This is both a rather powerful statement of confidence- it implies that the enemies he faces down are obstacles, rather than rivals, reflecting both his formidable skill as a combatant and the certain degree of unforgiving pressure he brings to bear on people he sees as obstructing what needs to be done- and it heavily suggests that to Optimus, combat is a labor of necessity, not something particularly glorious or to be reveled in.

Optimus is a hard worker. His morals are stated repeatedly in someone willing to put his nose to the grind and who would rather be doing meaningful work with people he finds honorable than reveling in glory. In a meta sense in Garbage In, Garbage Out, an episode partially about being a hero and what that makes, the first thing we see Optimus doing is personally hauling waste because it’s a job that needs to be done- and it’s Prowl that comments on the indignity of it all, not Optimus who was actively covered in other people’s trash.

best quality:

Optimus has an impressive tenacity of personal character. He’s, I think, one of the big archetypal Lawful Good characters out there, and his willingness to do things like take Sentinel out in Mission Accomplished is contrasted by his willingness to calmly walk right up to Ultra Magnus and state that he accomplished his objective- if Optimus appears to rebel from the system, it’s because, in his eyes, he’s not the one turning away from the ideal of what should be- it’s Sentinel, it’s Magnus, it’s Cybertron that turns away and leaves him to chase what he’s sure is the right course of action, and, as a Lawful Good, he is also willing to quietly turn himself in and face the consequences of his actions as long as he feels his point has been made.

worst quality:

He feels pretty overly responsible for other people. This can lead him to sink deep into personal grief (see Along Came A Spider and the way he parsed Elita’s fate before reuniting with Arachnia), it can make him a little pushy and intrusive (see the way he needles Ratchet about opening up to him about his history in Transform And Roll Out part 1 and again in Thrill Of The Hunt, the latter only acknowledging there’s a reason Ratchet might not want to discuss it after something similar happened to him) and, at his absolute worst, it can make him incredibly snappy and controlling when he feels like every minor thing counts (several occasions, but Megatron Rising part 1 is the cleanest example)

ship them with:

Arachnia. It’s pretty clear they both miss each other terribly, though, they’ve still got a lot of work to do.

brotp them with:

BRIDGE CREW! BRIDGE CREW! I particularly like his interactions with Ratchet (surprise there, huh) and Prowl.

I’d like to invite Sentinel to this party but Sentinel has a lot of emotional shit he needs to sort out first, because, while Sentinel is clearly at least awkwardly trying to patch their friendship, he’s still not... listening to Optimus about what’s important to him.

needs to stay away from:

Nobody in particular that’s not a general hazard to all autobots.

misc. thoughts:

For the longest time I thought Optimus was the equivalent of a twentysomething but now I am genuinely wondering if he’s actually like. basically eighteen. The bridge crew is just Ratchet shepherding a bunch of teenagers around.

@sepublic asked: General opinion on Lugnut?

Lugnut’s honestly got me really intrigued. From his appearance to the sheer raw firepower he’s capable of to the way he is absolutely, to the bottom of his soul terrified of Megatron and at the same time snarls at the idea of anyone so much as suggesting Megatron is less than a grand and benevolent god resplendent on the planet raises some deeply upsetting questions. There’s clearly something to him we haven’t heard, yet.

Not necessarily in the conventional sense but he’s got a really appealing monsterish design that makes him stand out a lot visually.

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

Fervent, unyielding loyalty, personal ferocity in the face of battle. Lugnut never abdicates unless it’s in the face of Megatron- if anything, we’ve never seen him afraid of anything except his beloved lord.

best quality:

Loyalty and tenacity, definitely.

worst quality:

Like Sari, it feels a little mean to criticize Lugnut because I think it’s pretty obvious a lot of his flaws aren’t really of his own crafting outside of stubbornness. He’s pretty obviously profoundly indoctrinated, and the purr to Megatron’s voice in Lost And Found when he calls Lugnut “truly loyal” is deeply disquieting when we know thanks to Soundwave and Grimlock both that Megatron is quite fond of child soldiers... and Lugnut looks almost nothing like a conventional cybertronian.

ship them with:

I’m not convinced he’s not a child given cybertronians basically pupate directly to their adult size and then stay there so I consider him off the shipping table.’

brotp them with:

None of his current canon connections seem super appealing to me. I mean, in an AUish sense I really like the idea of after Megatron’s defeated or driven off Earth, Isaac Sumdac taking in Lugnut and helping rehabilitate him. The guy just... really deserves better than to fling himself reverently at the feet of an abusive person who actively finds his worship either obligatory or annoying.

needs to stay away from:

Megatron, child protection services has a sniper on the roof.

misc. thoughts:

Lugnut’s really not a guy I expected to care about this much, which is kinda the story of TFA. If I didn’t go in expecting to love the character, I was proven wrong.

#send me a character #readmore

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ninetyfivepercentdantomasik · 7 years

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Great Characters: Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Sakyo, Juri, and Koto (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Already did a long one with Toguro, and it really felt like I was saying a lot.... but not enough.... and also too much. Going to try keeping these a lot shorter and hit the highlights.

Sorry to keep harping on this series, but it’s really one worth checking out. It’s a great beginner anime for people new to the medium, working from simple ideas for the most part, but the quality of direction, characters, and voice acting (Japanese and English Dub) puts it in the top echelon of anime. Few manga series have benefitted so well from an anime adaptation. Singling out a few characters of note, we have our main cast; street brawler Kuwabara, demons Kurama and Hiei, as well as supporting villain Sakyo, and referees Juri and Koto.

Kazuma Kuwabara, the great doofus. A great take on perhaps the most common anime character type of all; the rival. By most accounts, Kuwabara shouldn’t have reappeared after the pilot of Yu Yu Hakusho. No matter how you look at him, he has the design of a bit-part character; hair a 4-year-old could draw, basic eyes without color or detail, generic school uniform, with no other distinguishing traits besides a hilariously raspy voice in the English dub and a tendency for fighting people over anything. Look in any anime and you’ll find characters who have a lot more put into them and play a much smaller part in the active story. Which is what makes his mainstay so interesting. For such a flat character to stay relevant so long is a testament to Kuwabara’s entertainment value. In terms of power and skill, the closest Kuwabara ever came to Yusuke’s level was in the first chapter when Yusuke beat up him and his crew for stress relief. In terms of intelligence and moral complexity, he is brainless nit who hits things. How does he survive to the final round of the Dark Tournament and even steal a win from the Elder Toguro? Through tenacity, determination, blind luck, and a terrible ability to get up when he should stay down. His greatest moments come not from a special skill or plot twist, but from his own stubborn, often clueless, personality. Nothing says that better than his victory over Risho. Barely conscious after the mauling he took in the previous round, Kuwabara represents his team to prevent a forfeit. He has no chance and takes a pounding, only to interrupt his opponent’s final move when he sees a girl he’s crushing on. So stupid is his hopeless infatuation, he immediately knocks Risho clear out of the arena and proceeds to flex for her. The contrast between his achievements and his capabilities provides endless enjoyment. The guy is winning a game he doesn’t know how to play.

Kurama and Hiei are possibly two of the most imitated character types in anime or manga; the handsome tactician and the brooding rogue. They are not the first of either type, but they are two of the most memorable and most replicated. Appearing out of nowhere, spying from high perches, dressed in simple but striking outfits of color, always keeping their own agenda close to the chest; they give us two unique versions of a favorite type; the outsider. With Kurama we have a warm and wise personality well beyond his years, contrasted by a seemingly endless supply of deadly techniques utilizing the simplest of objects. In his case, flowers and plants, which can allow for even the tiniest of moves to carry lethal force. Hiei fills the stoic antihero type, sharing a lot in common with Dragonball Z’s Vegeta in terms of character and design, if not temperament. Hiei is almost always around, although he rarely makes his presence known until a battle. Hiei is focused solely on himself, preferring to keep to himself instead of getting friendly with others. Selfish, yes, but also dependable. With two characters so cool on a team primarily made up of knuckleheads, creative measures are taken to keep battles interesting. In his fights, Kurama always remains the calm one, the thoughtful one, but also the vulnerable one. The mercy that separates him from other demons almost always plays against him, forcing him to endure attacks that should otherwise be of no threat to him and winning by the skin of his teeth. Hiei, on the other hand, is a firm believer in violence and bloodshed, with a taste for overkill. His weakness is his refusal to back down when he is outmatched, causing him to draw on more power than he can properly control and suffer the often debilitating side effects. It’s a remarkable display of management that allows two such engaging characters to appear so much without ever taking the spotlight away from the main story.

Switching to the other side, Sakyo is a fresh and alarming take on a villain of ultimate evil. Despite his calm and casual demeanor, complete with the mildly amused expression he always wears, the only words that can properly do him justice are “batsh*t insane”. Sakyo’s mind is a boundless hellscape of chaos and carnage that defies comprehension. From an early age he was attracted to blood and guts, carving his way through animals before moving up to humans, until he found even that couldn’t sate his appetite. His sole passion in life became gambling, which he developed an extraordinary skill for. When pushed to the limit, he staked his life; and only the similarly depraved minds of the Black Book Club would call him on it. Yet even amongst this group of the most powerful and ambitious men in the world, none of them can hold a candle to Sakyo. What it really comes down to is scale; Sakyo cares little for money or power, seeing both as only a means to an end. What Sakyo desires is chaos. What we have here is a villain who never makes a small move. He doesn’t taunt, he doesn’t torment, he doesn’t mock, he doesn’t threaten, he doesn’t laugh maniacally, he doesn’t play dirty, he doesn’t lie, and he doesn’t cheat. He wants to use the $45,000,000,000,000,000 ($45 quadrillion) earned as the owner of Team Toguro to manufacture “a great big hole” between the Human and Demon Planes. One large enough to allow A-Class demons that can outclass Toguro to enter our world, and S-Class demons that can outclass those demons as well. Such a portal would upset all of existence, and that is what makes it interesting for Sakyo. The calm on his face when directing obliteration is unbelievably unnerving; even the bloodthirsty demon audience of the Dark Tournament think he’s crazy. Yet for the sheer unbridled lunacy inside Sakyo’s head, there is also a code of honor and most surprising of all, even hints of humanity. Created solely for the anime, his relationship with Kuwabara’s equally reserved sister Shizuru keeps us asking questions. He saves her, personally looks out for the loved ones of Team Urameshi, kills the scheming backers of the tournament, pushes for fair play in every matchup, skips the VIP box for audience level seats, and displays a lot of very confusing behavior for one so rotten. Then in the final round he stakes his life on Toguro’s win, rigs the stadium with a 200ft perimeter that prevents escape, and calmly sets the whole arena to explode when Toguro is defeated. Somehow all of these conflicting elements still feel true to the character, creating a fascinating enigma of a man.

Last but not least, these two characters may be the secret weapon that made Yu Yu Hakusho’s Dark Tournament arc one of the best in anime. Our lovely referees, Yuri and Koto! Yes, I’m serious. By utilizing likable characters as enforcers for the rules of the matches, we, the fans and readers, are much more likely to go along with necessary plot devices. Partly because these characters have their own hilariously entertaining personalities, combining cheerleader-like pep with ravenous demon bloodlust.

“Gimme an I!”

“I!”

“No, gimme an EYE! Because it looks like that last attack blew a hole in our fighter’s head!”

These vixens display as much enthusiasm for fair play as they do for slaughter, which, when it comes down to it, is exactly what we want from the fights, too. Official rulings that say “yes, this can go on”, and that permit fights to reach crazy levels of intensity without anyone butting in on them. Out-of-bounds announcements that force the combatants back into position for constant head-to-head fighting. And of course, nothing sells “ultimate attack” like seeing one of the refs duck & cover. It seems like such a little thing, but it truly makes a big difference.

#great characters #yu yu hakusho #kuwabara #sakyo #hiei #kurama #yuri #koto

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