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#that movie had so little of an impact on me it’s actually impressive
dreamingmantis · 4 months
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So here are some of my imaginings of what could have happened with human star. This isn’t a full rewrite (in case it seems choppy), just me rambling about many of the ideas I had. Though, I may write some of these. But please, ask or talk to me about it. It's so much fun to imagine. This is a long post, so I've put the rest under the cut. ✨
Some people have mentioned Star being mute. I’m not sure if they are actually referencing the star we got in the movie, so I’m just going to say that his voice is the last thing he finds in his humanoid form, and that he does in fact, mime things. If he talks, it's very little.
I want to know more about Asha’s father and her relationship with him. He seemed to be some sort of philosopher or astronomer. He drew maps, and he always recognized a certain star that only appeared at certain times of the year, right above the castle, and moved in an arc over it with the Earth's rotation. He called it the wishing star. You know, the star. He had a powerful wish too—one that he gave to King Magnifico before he tragically passed. But, he doesn't have full control over the wishes... yet. The wishes of those who have passed ascend to the stars, where they hold them safe.
Perhaps she's already known about his evil intent, even though no one else does. I'd also like to see more of Asha's flaws. If she's caring or people pleasing to a fault, I almost want to see it cause a problem. Maybe she accidentally impedes on something important and completely messes it up, possibly even the wish ceremony in an attempt to get her grandpa's wish granted (to inspire future generations). It would give more impact before she runs into the woods and sings This Wish. (just please don't say "throw caution to every warning sign" cause... what?)
Do you know the concept art of when Star first comes down to Earth? I think after Star's light envelopes the island, he would awaken in the forest, confused as to why he is so far from home. Asha finds him, and of course, is equally confused. He sees her and slowly realizes that she is the one who called him down and that he's on Earth.
I would want to see lots of shapeshifting here. There could be a song as he slowly gives his magic to the trees and the animals that explains who exactly he is, and by extension, how the galaxies, planets, and life are formed. He personally knows many of the stars we know about (you know, like Spica or Arcturus). In fact, when she tells him about her seven friends, he is reminded of seven stars he knows deeply, the Pleiades (his guiding constellation). She knows about them because her father showed her.
I think that concept would also give more depth and lore to King Magnifico’s sorcery. What he keeps in his room are akin to chemistry experiments, if you will, so it’s clear that he practices some sort of alchemy. He could have only retrieved magic like this from the cosmos, possibly the life force of the stars. She asks him if he can grant her grandfather’s wish. He shakes his head or signals. He can't. And of course, he doesn’t know or have the wish. King Magnifico is in possession of it.
Imagine they fly, like a Peter Pan-esque way (or maybe in the end, because they have to stay hidden). I want her to talk more about her father. Maybe he has an observatory. If the stars need to align a certain way for Magnifico to perform an ultimate spell, one of the keys to stopping him would be there.
He's still naive to exactly what's going on, yet he imparts wisdom, almost by accident, that make Asha realize. Since he isn't fully familiar with humans and their world, he probably messes with some items he sees and definitely knocks some things over. (I don’t know why but I imagined him hiding inside a jar.) But he's so fascinated by the smallest things in the world. Asha doesn't want him to be seen because she knows they'll be in deep trouble, but what if Star runs off out of curiosity and impresses a small crowd of people with his magic tricks. But of course, someone goes to pass along the word and soon enough, it'll reach Magnifico. I'm sure he wants to meet her friends too, but she has to try to hide him as she interacts with them and maneuvers her way up the castle.
I want the idea of humans being like stars of our own to slowly come to light over the story rather than in one song. Star can see all the wishes in people’s hearts, like the cores of stars. He can see each person for who they truly are at the core of their beings, in their purest forms. He wants to show her at some point, so, he takes her hands. And he feels a profound love for the first time. He feels the love she has in her heart for her family and her. For the first time, he can see where the wishes he hears come from, because...
After everything, Asha and Star finally reach the castle and find all the wishes. Star instantly recognizes their forms. And here, Asha finally sees the wishes of her family—her mother, her grandfather. But one is missing. Some people have died never knowing their wishes they gave to King Magnifico. Star has seen and held them before, because the wishes of those who have passed ascend to the stars, where they hold them safe. That includes Asha’s late father’s. And Star is the one holding it safe. So, he reaches deep within himself and pulls it out. She hold it in her hands, and it breaks her heart. His wish was for all people to know that in a world of matter who they are, their dreams are within reach. They shouldn't ever stop looking up because someone told them they can't. If they're going to sing At All Costs with the original words, this is when it would be. It would be so profoundly magical, like an I See The Light kind of moment. Their love for these precious wishes and for each other. Imagine, Asha’s holding her father’s dream in her arms, and very carefully, she passes it back to Star for safekeeping, yet at the same time, they’re holding each other.
Imagine, just imagine, that he was the star on her father's map.
Magnifico still ultimately wants to capture Star and keep him inside his staff forever so he can dictate the world. And Star holds some of the wishes of the passed? That’s even better for his quest for power. In fact, he aims to become so powerful that he can pull the wishes down from the heavens. He could extend his power into the cosmos. And if Asha made a mistake earlier in the film, people would be much more likely to believe him at first when declares Asha a traitor and lies that she's the one who destroyed their wishes. Also, he needs a bit more epic of a villain song.
I think they would be forced into hiding. Asha's friends are there and they still sing Knowing What I Know Now complete with some Star shapeshifting.
Her friends hadn't showed up as promised. Perhaps Magnifico had put an end to their uprising. Either way, Asha and Star confront him. Star is the last person she has by her side, and with a few words of his spell, he sucks him into his staff. He finally has the power he's craved. He can pull the wishes down from the heavens and crush them. She is alone when he commands the clouds to cover the stars and says his line of “There will be no more hope" (I don't remember the exact wording). She looks out to see the kingdom in hiding, wondering if her friends are really there like they said they would be. It's dark and storming, and she's so alone in the moment that it seems that Magnifico has already won. There are no stars in sight. Yet, she remembers how Star showed her that each person is made of everything that comes from the stars. So she begins to sing: So I look out to the stars just like me.
It turns out, her friends are there. They show up right when she needs them most and begin to sing with her, their hearts alight like the cores of stars. It's not enough. But the kingdom sees hope, and that's when they begin to come out. I mean from across the island, from their homes. He still casts a spell, and while weighed down, they still sing. That way, Magnifico's "mirror mirror" sequence could also extend across the whole island.
And Star breaks free. He ascends, high, and the wishes Magnifico attempted to pull down to Earth are let free. And when the clouds dissipate, he's sucked into his staff and defeated.
It would honest be funny if Star plummeted just to appear over the balcony and surprise her. And then... this is when they kiss.
So, she reunited with her loved ones as was in the ending, and of course, he must return to the heavens soon. (And be the guiding star). Asha loves him, but she loves her friends and family too, and her kingdom needs her. So, he bestows a new gift on her that she's worthy of. She would become the first fairy godmother and have the ability to commune with the stars. She can go between the heavens and Earth. She would have a dress transformation that would be reminiscent of the one in Cinderella. Sabino also begins to pluck his lute and play When You Wish Upon a Star in the end. When Star does return home, maybe, he leaps like a shooting star over the castle. Get it?
I appreciate that the setting alludes to the various cultures of it's inhabitants from around the Mediterranean region (I would love if even more variety was shown as a Mediterranean person myself), but I really want more of Asha's specific cultural background to be portrayed. I'm trying to think exactly what role Queen Amaya would have in the narrative. I've heard her and Magnifico were supposed to be the first villain couple which sounds so cool! I'm trying to imagine how exactly the dynamic would be there. If you have any ideas then lmk. ^^
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yeyinde · 5 months
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Haha, I also spoil myself intentionally, but for the plot of movies, tv shows, and games I’m not super invested in. If I accidentally spoil myself (especially if I learn a character dies) I’ll cope by telling myself “I don’t know how/when it happened though”
Anyways Major Character Death!!
I’m SO disappointed in them killing off Soap and especially in how they did it! No buildup or anything! To me it was disrespectful to the character and to Neil Ellice. And then the 141 don’t even say anything and it cuts to them spreading his ashes with a simple goodbye! They could have at least made them a little more upset 🥲 also I hate how abruptly the game ended. Makarov gets away, but no mention to that at the end.
I had also initially requested what would become infinity in the palm of your hand (eternity in an hour) as a way to “cope” with 2009 Soap’s death because it’s always been on the back of my mind for years (weird, I know). But now after playing the new MW3 campaign I look like boo boo the fool because of who went and got killed off 😭 now every time I go back to reread it, it will be painful knowing what’s in store for reader for their current reincarnation of Soap.
Tldr I’m kinda not okay with MW3.
From what I've seen, it feels like they pulled it out of a hat. All names went in, but his (amongst others) came out. And I guess it's safe because he died in the OG, so the backlash can easily be deflected from within their own community when other fans come to their defence over this choice. But idk.
I agree with everything you said. It doesn't make any sense. It's jarring and misplaced, and canonically pointless. I'm not against character death. Grief is a powerful thing. But I just hate when it's so contrived and needless. It was definitely done for shock value over plot/character growth and I think they were trying to re-create the massive storm that happened when OG Soap died because they know they don't have much else going for them. It just massively missed the mark because: a) Price and Gaz had no tangible in-game relationship with Soap the same way Ghost did; and b) what does his death really amount to in the end? Nothing. It feels cobbled together and poorly thought out. It's sad when Portal 2 has better writing than your whole remake combined. Honestly, it's kind of impressive how little thought they put into this. I'm getting flash backs to DGG's Halloween.
If it's any consolation, the mythology I based the reincarnation off of in infinity would essentially just be neverending. An ouroboros. The events would happen much the same way. A knock on the door. Spiral of grief. A bog. A deal. Restart. So, you'd just wake up again and live life until whatever the old you made a deal with decides it's time to collect. You're forever stuck in a loop with your soulmate until you get it right.
The rest is just how I kinda wish it went, but this was getting very long because I have more thoughts on this than I anticipated lmao 😅
Personally, I think it would have been much more interesting if they brought in a new passel of characters and slowly chipped off the main cast in a series of horrible decisions that slowly begin to feel hollow and empty. That leave you, the player, feeling emotionally gutted with each new chapter because the choices previously are absolutely impacting the way they move forward, but they're too deep into their own revenge fantasy to see it until the very end when it's too late. Give me actions have consequences and every choice you make is directly responsible for someone's death. The realities of war. And what happens when you give a group of people the power to play god in countries they know nothing about. It would have matched the gritty tone they tried to go for with the trailers and actually served as an interesting conversation about war and how we tend to deify the military when they're just men with too much power in their hands. Instead, we have a death that means nothing. That arguably happened much too early in the series so the payoff is solely meant for clicks and reaction channels. Pointless.
And Makarov. A Russian Ultra Nationalist. I feel like that title alone says everything for me, and yet. They still somehow managed to give a Russian War Criminal so many wins. I'm just so irritated by it all.
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mitsur1kanroj1 · 1 year
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Yandere! Akaza x Fem! Demon slayer! Reader (Ch 2)
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@xuans-stuff
(Since you wanted to be tagged in chapter 2! You got tagged!)
TW: Gore, yandere behavior, perverts, blood, swearing and attempt of suicided.
There are no AU's in this fanfiction, unless you want to include Akaza being a Yandere as an AU then go ahead!
In this one there will be mention of making out, but that's all! nothing more then that! Since it is- ... Well- You will figure out when you read it!
I also will not have everything the same as in the anime or manga, I have never read the manga before so don't expect much about the manga- Since I have never ever read it-
And before you know- Donut Kyojuro happens, it will be Kyojuro x Reader. But then Akaza x Reader happens- Just to make things clear on that note- It's kinda like a KNY x reader- But mainly Akaza x reader- Idk- Just like that-
!I ALSO HAVE NO CLUE WHAT RANK TANJIRO, ZENITSU, INOSUKE, KANAO AND GENYA ARE SO I'M JUST GONNA SAY THAT THEY ARE- KINOTOS-!
!AND I AM MAKING THIS ALL UP BC I'M TO LAZY TO WATCH THE WHOLE MOVIE AGAIN SO I AM MIXING UP THE FORMS- NOT ACTUALLY BUT I'M NOT USING THE ONES FROM THE MOVIE!
!AND I'M CHANGING A LOT OF THINGS IN IT SINCE I'M A VERY LAZY PERSON- ... NO JOKE- ... BUT- ... YEAH- YOU WILL FIGURE OUT WHILE READING!
Your eye shot open, looking down at the girl that was pinned down to the ground with your Nichirin blade. You knew you wouldn't have done this on purpose so you thought she was gonna attack you. Or something, then you see a little girl hitting Tanjiro on the head then sees Kyojuro choking this girl like how you had the reflexes... You walked over to Kyojuro, holding the girl by the neck, then looking at the ground to see a weapon, you walked over, lifting your blade up from holding the girl, you bent down, knowing the attack she attempted to succeed in doing which failed since you were the second highest rank in the demon slayer corps, and also trained by one of the first girl Hashiras, Mitsuri Kanroji, and didn't want to put her training to no use, bending over the girl, standing up and pinning her to the ground after avoiding her attack, smiling at her like you didn't do or almost get attacked, in that one chilling tone, you looked at her with a smile no one would have thought would scare someone so much that they would shit themselves. "My my!~ You are a tough one! I'm impressed you are working with a demon!~ Let alone you are a human! I would have never thought I would see the day! But here you are! Underneath my blade, you know? If you were a demon, I could decapitate you right. Now..." "But since you aren't and I'm not allowed to do that since you are a human and we aren't allowed to hurt humans, I shan't... But... If you tell me about the demon, I will let you walk freely, unless you want to end up like..." You move the girls head around forcefully to the girl that was currently getting strangled by Kyojuro, while moving her head you almost make it fall off. "Her..." "But... It's your choice of course!" "So, what shall it be?" You let go of her chin forcefully, not liking that she betrayed humans and is working with a demon... "I- I will tell you! J- just don't hurt me!" "Okay, I won't! But it's weird how you choose a demon over humans!-" "I'm gonna tell you now, okay!?" The girl tears up, feeling the impact of her neck being turned around so forcefully taking action. "Go on then...~ Explain!~" You look at her, not knowing about this side of you, you were thinking about what could have made her want to do this. "The demon is lower moon one! H-he can control dreams, he wants us to collect the spiritual core! He promised us a pleasant dream if we... Destroy them! J- just please don't hurt me!" The girl begs on the ground. "Hmmm... - Hah! I wasn't gonna hurt you at the start anyways! Not like someone called Kyojuro... But!- Have a nice life! Tata!" You turn around, running away, then climbing onto the roof since that would be the most understandable place for the demon to be at.
"Ah~ (Name)-chan; what a lovely surprise!-" "Shut it, I don't care about anything but the fact you bribed them to help you by giving them a 'Pleasant dream' which I would call... Black mailing...~ Huh?" You smile at lower moon one. "Wow! I shouldn't underestimate your skills at figuring out stuff, huh? (Name)-chan! Become a demon, and you will be able to be smarter, stronger-" "No thanks! I'd rather die by a demon then actually become the demon that kills and ruins joy and hope for others, it's just wrong for people to ignore others feelings! I'm sorry but I could never stop or ruin that for others like they did to me!" You look at him with more hatred then you have towards the other demons you killed. "Wow! You are a human that never wants to give up their humanity huh? Impressive! I would never have thought that of you! But... Shall we dance our way to victory?... (Name)-chan?" You get shivers down your spine after he said that, you never felt that way before... It was freaking you out that a low ranking demon made you shiver on the spot, but you quickly got into the position you would usually start a fight in. "... Gladly~" "Then let's start!" You were the first one to make a move, leaping towards him, moving your blade to the right angle, to decapitate him. "Sakura breathing: .... Fourth form: .... Sakura pit: .... (Last name)'s charm!" You moved around him quickly, but not quick enough, making slashes go forward, to his position, but he avoided them with such grace, which almost made you actually want to become a demon if he was that graceful... But you snapped out of it, with rage you almost, let out another attack until Tanjiro came out of the trains carriage. "(Name)-san! I'm so glad you are oka- !!! LOWER MOON ONE?!" Tanjiro looked at the anger- Well, the dead smile on your face, just like Shinobu's, but you smelt more angry, angrier then he ever smelt anyone before! It was impressive how you hide it that much, but there was no time for that, he had to help. "Water breathing: Fourth Form: Striking Tide!" Tanjiro performs a multitude of slashes in a flowing fashion to release multiple consecutive slashes. Unfortunately you and Tanjiro definitely underestimated him. "Tanjiro-kun, do you know if Kyojuro-kun is awake? He could be some help" You look at him, still making random slashes at the demon, not focusing on one thing, but two at the same time. "And what about the others?-" You get cut off by lower moon one, putting you to sleep, thankfully you knew how to wake up, by killing yourself, you did so, even in the bathroom you swore you'd never go in again... "Rengoku-san is still asleep-... And the others too-" Tanjiro looks into the distance, then remembering.. "What was your 'dream' ?" (Name) never replied, which made Tanjiro worry, the fact that she was never the person to ignore anyone worries him a lot, but... It wasn't his fault... It was THEIR fault.. "This really isn't the time Tanjiro-kun!" (Name) took a deep breath and lunged towards Lower Moon One in such speed, he kept trying to make her fall asleep but she kept killing herself, it was painful but she kept getting used to it. "SAKURA BREATHING: SEVENTH FORM: BROKEN PETALS!" (Name) made multi-slashes rise towards the lower moon one, at different sides, successfully cutting his head off, but...- Not like any other demon, he was still alive, not turning into ashes, but... He combined himself with the train, (Name) looked at him in utter fear, not knowing what the hell he was doing. "Ah...~ (Name)-chan~ The world isn't... heh... That easy!~ Not like... Saving and trying to see your beloved but dead family again!~" You'd look at him with so much hatred, you couldn't hide the anger you held, you let it all out, revealing it on your once unchanging face, now ager written all over it, now even an inch was shown with the love and happiness on your face, it was all the anger you could hold without, hopefully, going absolutely crazy, out of your mind actually!
"How dare you talk about my family like that! I will make sure I'm the one that will take your head, and make fun of you!" Tanjiro looked at you in shock, but he wanted to help too, so he took out his sword, dashing towards him. "Water breathing: Sixth Form: Whirlpool!" Tanjiro twists his body, using his blade to perform a fierce whirling motion which generates a whirlpool of air to shred apart anything caught within its current like a giant sharp blade. Its effect and efficiently is enhanced underwater, where Tanjiro can draw water around his weapon to create whirling currents enhance his slashes, sadly, for you, you... Well... It was pretty noticeable in your expression, you showed emotion... But oh boy... It wasn't going to be the only time you did so... "Tanjiro! He must have merged himself with the train! Everything in it including the people, is his body, his source of food is the people in it, we need to find his actual body structure!" You looked at Tanjiro showing no emotion yet again, fighting the anger on your face, keeping calm like you were always told to do by the men. "Smart girl~ About time you figured out!" Enmu looked at you, the worm like neck of his slivering around in the air, up-right. "Tanjiro! Do you think you'd be able to keep attacking the worm thing, I think it might take away some of his strength! And I'll find the actual body!" You said, getting ready to turn around and go looking for it. "Okay, I think I can do that! Please just try and wake the others up though (Name)-san!" Tanjiro looked at you, then starting to attack the worm thingy again, after you run back inside the train, to see a girl fighting the other skinned worm things, but this time, they had no heads, you suspected it was parts of his body, you quickly ran over and started slashing at them, the girl looked at you in pure shock and admiration, she never met you before, but she could just recognize your voice from the way you look, you were the girl that met her friends and Onii-chan, she wanted to help because she could see your arms getting weaker and weaker by every hit, she signaled to you to go and do what you were going to do from the start, you noticed it was the cabin Kyojuro, Inosuke and Zenitsu were supposed to be in, but they weren't, you soon figured out they have woken up too and are probably fighting different parts of the train right now, you nodded and went back to your main goal: Finding the main body. You quickly found Inosuke, but he said he was going to help Tanjiro make it weaker so it would be a little easier for you since he called you 'weak' which you weren't, but you knew that's the way he was, so you carried on your way, until you see Zenitsu, asleep, and fighting another part of Lower moon ones body that was the train, you just knew he would be quick because he was a thunder user, so you just thought he would go all around the train making sure the people didn't get eaten since that was the demons main goal. You kept on going until you bumped into Kyojuro, he was fighting another part, so since he was one of the mature ones, you started to explain, he nodded then let you continue what you were doing at the start, he wished you good luck and hoped you'd find it quickly, encouraging you like: "If you kill him, that means you will become a Hashira since you would have killed a member of the twelve kizuki!" or "It's very brave of you to fight alongside a Hashira, not many people get that chance, but if you find the main body you will become a Hashira and make that chance even stronger then before!" You felt really better by him saying all of that, so you continued on your way, until you heard thunder coming from the other carriages, you supposed it was Zenitsu going around them and helping the girl. Looking back at it now, you were glad you stopped, since you found something that looked very promising, you looked around and then you found something that might be a clue!... Or the actual thing...
"My my!~ (Name)-chan is very fast! Ahh~ What a good thing!~ She must be fast then when I'm inside her~-" "Oh!~ She is close to finding it!" Enmu smiles, while being inside of the train, he tries to capture one of the humans asleep in the train, but he gets stopped by you slicing that worm thing, then creates to much weight on one side, flipping the whole thing over so it fall off the tracks, making the demon useless and weak. You fall over, cover your mouth since it was bleeding, the impact you used and pure willpower, was far to much for you to handle, but just remembering the pain and suffering that came upon you when you lost your family, it would be like that on Mitsuri and Kyojuro... Maybe even the three and the girl... You didn't want that, you went around seeing if the people were okay, the impact made them all wake up, you sadly broke a finger, but that wasn't enough to stop you from doing your job. Once you met up with them all again, you sensed a strong presence come from the forest, you became very stiff from it, Tanjiro smelt it aswell since he was the one that could smell almost everything, then... A... Demon... Came out... You knew he was definitely stronger then the Lower moon one, that's for sure, but... He kept looking at you, like he was reading you... Like a book... You were very uncomfortable... Until, you read his eyes... Kanji written in them... "Upper moon three!..." You look at him in fear as you say what is written in his eyes. You quickly take out your Nichirin blade, holding it in the stronger position, you were taught a lot of positions to be in, like: The flexibility one, or the speedy one, the list could go on and on! "Hah! Darling!~ I don't fight women... You have taken my interest! The fact you didn't hesitate to point your sword at me like that! Very... Well... On going... I'll give you this offer! Become a demon Darling! Fight along side me, or... We shall be on opposite sides... And in the end... You will die to the hands of another demon... I'd hate for that to happen... So, what shall it be?.." You look at him in pure shock, Kyojuro doing the exact same, he wouldn't- ... He couldn't let you become a demon! You were the first one he loved... More then a friend... More then a normal family member... Tanjiro was so confused at why demons would ask a demon slayer to become a demon, but yet again, normal humans are not as strong as demon slayers, since they don't have a weapon or breathing style. Kyojuro quickly stood in front of you, the demon looked at him with anger, the way he had the audacity to block his view of his future wife like that! He could see the faint flushed look on your face, which made him even more angry, but gave him the more point to kill him... "Huh? Who may you be? And why are you blocking the view of my Darling?..." Kyojuro's aura becoming less innocent and becoming more angry, and-... Well... A menacing aura...
!SORRY IF IT WAS SHORT! !AND I HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATING LATELY- I PROMISE I WILL MAKE THE NEXT CHAPTER A LOT LONGER! !BUT TY FOR READING!
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sapphire-weapon · 2 months
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After reading your analysis on the tram scene I had to go back and watch the cutscene over again to see why I and many others didn’t understand it the way it’s intended to be, however when I did watch it again it kinda made sense.
The scene itself plays out very quickly (under darker lighting, which is a little irrelevant but it still made it harder for me to read emotions) and alot of thinking that should be done for the first few seconds within that scene is swiftly bulldozed by “woah they kissed”, and since first impressions are so so impactful, I think others would find it hard to see that scene as anything other then romantic since they already know a fat kiss scene is coming up.
So when you started dissecting little grimmaces and dissapointing looks Leon shoots to Ada, only then did I really realise that *oh he’s not a complete naïve idiot*, guess many people still follow that idea though
it's one of those things that's really hurt by people coming into the remake with prior conceptions/knowledge from OG -- because it's one of those scenes that should be obvious on subsequent rewatches.
like the bulldozing of that scene by the kiss was intentional, and the idea is that you're only supposed to actually pick up on those little details once you've already beaten the game once and seen ada's betrayal and heard leon say that he never trusted her. it's supposed to hit different on a rewatch. a lot of movies use this tactic.
but people play the remake knowing that the kiss is genuine in OG despite ada's betrayal, so they never look at the scene any differently because their perception is already colored. and new fans play the game only once, then go into the fandom and see the biased takes of old fans, and the misconception becomes the Truth.
and it's like... that really sucks for the writers and performance directors, dude. because they did this really clever thing that shipping culture basically just destroyed.
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tantai-jin · 4 months
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thouttes abt the boy and the heron
informal summary of some of my impressions and interpretations now that i've watched the film twice and want to put some of this into words... more like assorted notes than an essay with a refined theme or thesis. obv some spoilers ahead
p much the biggest impression i had after my first watch was that this film felt a lot sadder than many of the other studio ghibli a/o miyazaki films, and i think i pinned down some of the reasons better after a second viewing. main examples of this to me were
prominence of death in the story/worldbuilding
dreamlike elements were generally more unsettling and lonely rather than whimsical
music
protagonist's relative solemness
the finality of goodbyes and endings
want to expand on all of these a bit -- be warned that i will have some comparisons w other ghibli films, but since i have not watched all of them super recently and there are a couple i haven't watched (from up on poppy hill, porco rosso) my comparisons may not be that accurate. but i'm not writing an academic essay here, so bleh. for me, the point of comparison here is not to say which story did what better but to look at some similar elements and see how they evolved to serve this story. anyway!
prominence of death in the story/worldbuilding
i think actually the majority of ghibli protagonists have to deal with death intimately -- they may be orphans or have a parent who passed away or is on the verge of it. i think the difference in this movie is that mahito is still grieving for his mother in a more obvious (to the audience) way with his dreams, and then he enters another world through the tower that is "mostly" filled with the dead. kiriko and himi are not dead, but they seem to be more "liminal" than say natsuko or mahito -- younger versions of the people that mahito knows, around in this other world for a very long time, perhaps as long as they can remember, taking care of the warawara who will eventually become the living in the world(s) "above". it's not really clear (to me) if this is THE underworld or afterlife -- although it's filled with the dead, to me it felt like it was just a possible location, one of many possibilities. but then again it also hosts The Stone, which floats above a little island covered in blocks that are made of stones for tombs and tainted with malice. the source of power (and arguably life) rests directly above one representation/connection to death. i don't have a full thesis here but i am chewing on the thought
i thought it was really interesting that the dead did not have the power to kill in this world, and kiriko and himi seem to be the only people apart from the tower master who have powers (kiriko with that wand of fire) + the dead and warawara have to rely on kiriko for the fish catches. anyway i think death itself felt more prominent to me in this film bc mahito was always feeling the absence of his mother and then sunk into a world of death, even if death was not the only thing in that world.
dreamlike elements were generally more unsettling and lonely rather than whimsical
this movie felt a lot more liminal and generally "dreamy" to me, and while a lot of ghibli films are known for their whimsy and cute elements i felt that this one leaned a lot harder into creatures or sensations that were less pleasant. ofc i don't think it's the first one to do this -- off the top of my head, princess mononoke, spirited away, and HMC all definitely depict some "unsettling" stuff like gushing blood, goo, creatures or people melting, and so on. but in those works i feel like there are also a lot of beautiful or cute and whimsical creatures or moments to balance that out a bit, whereas in the boy and the heron it seems to happen less or it Feels less (to me) bc the unsettling parts have greater impact (to me) than the ~beauty~. the heron is beautiful and graceful at a distance, and then it follows him from window to window, interrupts his sleep, flies directly at him like an attack. you have the serene pond by mahito's house in his original world, and then there are the mobs of fish and frogs chanting at mahito and almost smothering him. you have the cutie warawara, and then some of them are eaten or go up in flames. you have the beautiful structures and gardens of himi's home and The Tower, and then you have the unsettling murderous parakeets in them. maybe the point is that they are all "tainted" or somewhat balanced like this.
also, the loneliness. again, not unique to this film, but i felt the presence of it more heavily, especially visually. in mahito's house in the countryside, most of the rooms are quite bare, save for natsuko's bedroom with its ornate wallpaper and carpet. mahito's room is quite sparse apart from the books on his desk. once we get into the sea world, it's wide and relatively empty -- an uninterrupted expanse of sea, eventually dotted with small islands, but those little islands are quite sparse too, mostly filled with trees. the lines of sailboats on the horizon, "none of which are real," as if they're all optical illusions. the rowboats powered by the dead, all of the rowers onboard appearing exactly the same with no way to differentiate one from another. inside the tower and near it, there are also these "bare" spaces -- that very illusion-like space of those arches, where you have to cross that empty and silent expanse from darkness into the blinding light that leads into the paradise-like garden. the island where The Stone is, just a hill covered in stones and grass growing over top. the delivery room, which is dark and bare apart from the mobile with the rotating paper strips. so much of it felt isolated and quiet in a lonely way to me.
music
to tie in with that last part, i think the music also felt generally more sparse and solemn than other ghibli osts, and i'm sure it was intentional. i've been listening to the ost for the past two-ish weeks and my impressions are that there's generally "less" orchestration and a lot more isolated piano sound. a lot of that piano is slow/drawn out and there's not as many chords, and the chords that Are there are simpler (maybe only two or three notes). there's a lot of intentional dissonance, both in piano parts And the parts with more instruments -- isolated piano is more obvious, but i can definitely hear it in the strings. it's hard to explain more than that without like, showing examples of specific clips or sheet music lmao but i think it definitely contributes to the overall moods of loneliness, somber tones, and unsettling vibes. like when you know you're having a really weird dream but can't wake up from it.
protagonist's relative solemness
most ghibli protags are precocious and have a greater sense of responsibility than the average child/teenager their age, but i really felt it with mahito. the sequence of him briefly in school was so interesting -- i really like how there was no dialogue in it and it was just music, bc the conversations didn't really matter when mahito was going to purposely isolate himself/make it so that he didn't have to go back and attempt to make friends there. mahito does have moments where he shows strong emotions: grief abt his mother, anger when the grey heron "disrespects" her honor with the illusion of her, more anger when he sees the warawara being burned, determination when he tries to get natsuko out of the delivery room. but in general those seemed like short bursts between longer stretches where he felt much more solemn and accepting of the current circumstances. when in the sea world, his curiosity about it felt restrained or maybe even limited -- he was there to find natsuko and nearly everything else was less of a priority. even when he decided to accept natsuko as his mother, it felt almost like he knew it was his fate and he simply had to go along with it without any other passionate conviction. he didn't seem to care about finding his own path or realizing any dreams for his future. i don't think this is a bad thing, but it was a different tone than i was used to for most ghibli films.
the finality of goodbyes and endings
again, certainly not the first time something has literally crumbled or been destroyed in a ghibli film: the forest in princess mononoke, howl's moving castle falling apart, the existing ravaged/poisoned world in nausicaa. however, i think the scale of it was much wider here: instead of an important structure or one contained place, the original stone was shattered and that whole world collapsed completely into space/time so that the pieces could not be rebuilt. the ending still has some hope - mahito chooses to return to this world so that he can be with his family and friends. but seeing how worlds could be built with two handfuls of building blocks and be knocked down just as easily, and then watching all of it shatter before his eyes? watching the (probably) only remaining version of his mother go through the door to another world separate from his own? a bigger loss to experience, imo. if the stone was destroyed and the tower collapsed, there's no other way to even try to get back to that portal space and other worlds (not that mahito would actually try to). that's the point, and despite knowing that, it still feels like a heavier blow to me that All Possibility is truly gone. unless another similar stone falls from the sky i guess lol, but the point is that it would never be the same.
as one friend put it, this felt like a goodbye from miyazaki. the possibility for a perfectly harmonious and peaceful world does not exist; those in power will seek to destroy what they cannot control and there may be no coming back from it; perhaps you must accept that you must live in a world of atrocities.
and one last thing i wanted to talk abt even tho this is so long already: symbolism regarding suffering & critique of society
not at all surprising that this film too shows some effects of war, but that was not the biggest impression of Suffering that i got from it. three main examples for me: the pelicans, the parakeets, and the building block stones.
pelicans: brought to this world by the tower master himself, unable to eat most of the fish in the sea, forced to eat the warawara to survive. doing something that others consider terrible bc they have to in order to live. no matter how they try to escape, they can only fly so high and it's not enough. birds that forget how to fly and/or are (symbolically) chained/caged to one place (there is prob more to be said abt how there are so many birds in this movie and they're all fucked up in a way but i don't have the thoughts/words to expand on it).
parakeets: normally(?) considered cute but kind of grotesque in this story, at least in the sea world. often moving in units like soldiers or as if an assembly line, mechanically and identically, having not much purpose other than guarding their territory, identifying and eating outsiders/intruders (the living??). seem to be kind of stupid -- can be tricked very easily. they unanimously celebrate their king, a parakeet that looks more like an eagle bc of his coloring.
speaking of which: the king himself, insisting on punishing transgressors even though they haven't done any tangible damage, holding rules/the current system in greater esteem than the situation in reality. claims to do everything for the good of his kingdom/people but haphazardly tries to seize control and build a new world himself when mahito won't do it. on the one hand, it makes sense that he would get mad that an outsider (mahito) has so much control over and responsibility of his people, rather than the parakeets taking care of themselves. but then he decides he'd rather destroy everything rather than rebuild? he does not wield his power responsibly here, and in the end he also has to escape. i feel like i'm barely scratching the surface of the potential commentary about this, and i definitely am not being precise enough with my wording. but it's not a very subtle allusion being made in the film haha
and then, the little stones! first, it's interesting that supposedly an entire world comes into being and continuously exists because of a couple pieces balancing on each other. perhaps more ironic that they resemble children's toys, simple shapes, but then are made out of the same material intended for tombstones. precariously stacked to make a new world, and they have to be rebalanced -- always shaped by someone's actions, not just something that stands on its own.
a whole mound/small island of them tainted with malice, and above them floats the ~divine~ stone, source of all power. mahito won't touch them, so the tower master searches through space to find pure ones. even stones untouched by malice cannot create a purely harmonious and peaceful world because the creator/master will always have some malice on their hands, some stain that makes them imperfect. he does have one piece with him when he returns to his original world -- sign of potential for building something new in the future, even if it's just in his own world? or is it just a momento of everything he experienced?
anyway. phew. how to end this. there are def some things i still don't understand fully - why natsuko was in the delivery room/why she felt like she had to have her baby in this world; what exactly made mahito decide to accept natsuko as his mother; the tomb behind the gate that said "those who seek my knowledge will die." there's probably more but i can't think of it right now. maybe an eventual rewatch in the future will unveil more for me! but i do think the mystery is part of the fun and part of the intention. it's hard to understand every facet of a dream.
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pajulammas · 7 months
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For the fic prompt meme, can you do Sonic and Tails with 10? (Of course. Platonic brotherly pairing. I probably do not need to clarify this but. The fic prompt meme seemed more angled for romantic parings so I'm making the clarification anways 👍) It makes me sososo sad that they never got to have that awesome movie night in Impactful Skip...
(YES platonic relationships are very welcome with the prompts that can work platonically as well!! I love exploring platonic relationships perhaps even more than romantic ones XD)
10. movie night
“This is so unrealistic,” Tails huffed in amusement as he shoved a fistful of popcorn into his mouth, “I mean, unlike the usual movies, they at least reload their guns… But they couldn’t really shoot that much in one go, a pistol of that size would only hold maybe 17 bullets at most!”
Sonic snickered in his beanbag chair as he turned his head towards the couch. “Sure, buddy,” he raised his brow at his little brother.
Action movies were Sonic’s favorite, as they usually held his attention better than those confusing art films Amy usually picked. So, for his movie night with his little buddy, Sonic had rented several interesting ones he hadn’t seen yet.
Tails usually enjoyed action movies as well, but he couldn’t help but point out all the inconsistencies and all the facts the movies had gotten all wrong. The little fox was so knowledgeable – perhaps Sonic should’ve been concerned about how much his 8-year-old little brother knew about weapons. But he was way too impressed to worry.
“Modern guns wouldn’t shoot when they are dropped, either,” Tails scoffed as he pointed at the screen, “They won’t shoot unless the trigger is actually pulled, you know!”
“Uh-huh,” Sonic grinned as he reached his hand towards the couch and grabbed some popcorn from Tails’ bowl.
“Seriously! I can’t take this movie seriously when they can’t even get the basic facts right!” Tails chuckled with his arms crossed.
Sonic shook his head with a smile. “Yeah. And a monster of that size couldn’t realistically tear down the sturdiest building in the city, could it?”
“Well, that’s completely different, Sonic!” Tails shouted, “That monster is from another planet and it was exposed to a lot of radiation when it arrived on Earth!”
Sonic snorted loudly. It was good to know his brother had his priorities straight.
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bluemoose86 · 1 year
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Thoughts on The Woman King
Spolier-free:
First of all, I loved this movie! And so did the other two people I went with; the three of us literally talked about how we all wanted to see it again after it was over
Great fight choreography, loved getting to see a bunch of women go absolutely feral in battle without them being sexualized or still having to “look pretty.” There’s a lot of close-ups during fights of the Agojie killing people and it’s not pretty, it’s brutal and it’s fucking awesome (the movie is PG-13 though so it’s not overtly gory, which I personally appreciated)
THE ACTING???? On point the ENTIRE movie. Give Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, and Lashana Lynch ALL the awards RIGHT NOW. Viola Davis embodied Nanisca perfectly and was equally impressive in the epic battle scenes and in the emotionally vulnerable scenes. I’ve seen several articles talk about how this was a career performance from her, and she herself called the film her magnum opus. Lashana Lynch stole every single scene she was in. Izogie my beloved. I also enjoyed John Boyega’s portrayal of King Ghezo and Sheila Atim as Amenza
Also I literally had to do a triple take when I found out Thuso Mbedu, who plays 19 year old Nawi, is THIRTY ONE?????? SHE’S ONLY THREE YEARS YOUNGER THAN LASHANA LYNCH???? SHE’S THE SAME AGE AS SHEILA ATIM???? In other pictures she looks older but I am actually 19 and I stg when I found that out, I felt old
And still speaking of the actors, really cool how the majority of, if not all the Black actors in this movie were dark skinned, particularly the women. I read that when the movie was first being pitched, some studios wanted to cast light-skinned and well-known actresses, but the producers refused
The beginning felt a little rough to me in terms of pacing, but the movie hits its stride around the mid-point or so. And trust me, when it starts working, it works.
The script was also a bit weak sometimes, but I thought the performances made up for it
I’ve seen some people online saying the movie glorifies the slave trade or glorifies Dahomey while brushing the kingdom’s involvement in the slave trade to the side, which really confuses me because...it doesn’t? The movie opens with a text-scrolling intro à la Star Wars that literally mentions the slave trade, and several characters in the movie talk about it as well. Nanisca and King Ghezo have a conversation about how Dahomey profits from the slave trade, and how Ghezo’s brother sold their people—including his and Ghezo’s own mother—as slaves for profit. And then it gets more overt when some Portuguese men land at the port city, one of them specifically to buy slaves, and when we go into the city and LITERALLY SEE slaves being chained up, kept in cages, and brought onto the block to be sold. The movie both shows and tells you how awful the slave trade is, and how the people in the movie are impacted by it. At one point, some of the women are captured and prepped to be judged and sold and the entire process is presented as brutal and degrading. I’m seriously convinced that the people who say the movie is “glorifying slavery” have never seen it
Wanted to end this section on a good note lol so I’ll once again say IZOGIE MY BELOVED!!!!! Favorite character without a doubt, also gave off fruity vibes but y’all let me know if you picked up on that too lol
Overall, I definitely recommend this movie and I will 100% rewatch it in the future. Also this movie BETTER win some fucking Oscars or else 😤😤
Spoiler thoughts below!!
Izogie’s death scene was very well done. I kind of guessed they would end up killing her off since they really built her up as a character, but that didn’t lessen its impact at all. Lashana Lynch and Thuso Mbedu acted their asses off (as they did the whole movie, but particularly here). The actual set-up was good too: having Nawi convince her to stay alive so they could all escape together, setting her broken arm and then having to pretend like it was never broken, having her be the only one who actually escaped but deciding that Nawi was right that the Agojie should help each other and trying to go back for her, only to get killed while Nawi is begging her to keep running. Heartbreaking, but that’s what made it so good
By contrast, Nawi’s friend’s death (the Mahi prisoner, I forgot her name I’m so sorry) was not really impactful at all, beyond her dying right after being accepted by the other Agojie who had a problem with her before. I wish they had spent a little more time on both Nawi’s friends as individual characters and their relationship with each other. We barely saw Nawi interact with either of them before they became best friends, and after the Mahi girl died, neither Nawi or her other friend mourned her on screen (I know Nawi had been kidnapped at this point, but the other girl survived and wasn’t kidnapped)
I loved how Nanisca and the other Agojie went to the city intending to just rescue their own but she found out that the slave traders killed Izogie and Nawi was missing and she said “burn it to the fucking ground.” Iconic as HELL and I wish more stories would let their MC react like that
Also loved that the prisoners that Malik freed drowned the slave trader he came with. Fuck you dude
A woman literally getting to kill her abuser? We love to see it
I wish they’d brought up Nawi being an orphan a bit earlier in the movie, since it seemed like it was introduced rather suddenly after she became an Agojie. They could have pretty easily tossed in a line from her parents admonishing her for acting so terribly after they “rescued” her from the orphanage. 
I also really enjoyed Nanisca and Amenza’s relationship! I got kind of gay vibes but the only thing that was explicitly confirmed was how close they are and how much they mean to each other, which I was also happy with. I’m so glad Amenza survived the movie lol
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Text
when stunts go wrong ~ johnny knoxville
word count: 2238
request?: yes!
“ahh your requests are open, love your writing and literally just want johnny knoxville getting together fluff. you work with jackass and him nervous around you and yeah, that’s all. thank you so much!”
description: in which you join the jackass crew for their newest movie and try to impress johnny with a stunt, only for it to go incredibly wrong
pairing: johnny knoxville x female!reader
warnings: swearing, mentions of series injuries
masterlist (one, two)
*i changed the request a little just because i actually already had this one in my backlog*
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Being a part of the newest Jackass movie meant getting hurt. You knew that. You had grown up with the show and all three movies, you were well aware of the shenanigans that the original Jackass crew got up to. But you were far from prepared for the aftermath of your biggest stunt in the movie.
You were one of two women who were cast for the new movie, which also meant you were one of the first ever women to be on the main cast. The guys tried to go easy on you and Rachel, but you made it clear from the beginning that you wanted to be a part of the stunts just as much as the guys were. This was your childhood dream, you wanted to be a part of it.
Not to mention you were trying to impress the fearless leader of the gang, Johnny Knoxville.
Yeah, Johnny was quite a number of years older than you, and yeah, maybe that should've deterred you from having feelings for him, but you couldn’t help it. You had always had a crush on Johnny even before being cast in Jackass Forever, but meeting him on set and getting to know him just made that crush grow stronger.
So, those two facts combined was how you came to find yourself looking down a water slide on a steep hill that ended on a hard, sandy land.
The stunt seemed simple enough when it was pitched to you: the guys were gonna build a make shift waterslide and have someone go down on a pool floaty onto the sandy. The pressure of the water would start slow, so that the impact would’ve be as bad, and eventually it would get higher and higher until whoever got on at the end would be shot down the hill at full speed onto the sand.
Jasper had gone first to “test it out”, then went the next two times as the water pressure was increased. Zach went down once in a floaty and then once with Wee Man on his back. Dave and Ehren raced down together at the second to highest speed, with both of them eventually colliding before even reaching the bottom.
When Johnny went to crank it up to the highest speed, you decided to volunteer to go down.
“Are you sure?” Zach asked. “It’s not a soft landing.”
“What did I tell you guys about treating me like I’m soft?” you asked. “I wanna do it. I’m sure it’s not as bad as some of the stunts I’ve done so far.”
“Oh, it definitely is,” Ehren said, an ice pack against his throbbing head.
“You collided with Dave, that’s different,” you teased. “Grab me a floaty, I’m going down.”
One of the guys passed you a floaty and you went over towards the slide. The water was rushing as such a quick speed that even stepping onto it caused you to lose your balance. Someone reached out to help steady you and when you looked up you saw it was Johnny. You felt butterflies in your stomach as you smiled up at him and he smiled back.
Steve-O came over to hold your floaty while you positioned yourself to sit down on it.
“You’re one bad ass motherfucker, (Y/N),” he said once you were ready to go.
“Thanks, man,” you said. “I’m good whenever you wanna let me go.”
Although you felt far from ready to go. Feeling how quickly the water was moving and now looking down the slide while being on it was starting to make you second guess your choice. But it was too late; you were already on the floaty and Johnny was watching. There was no turning back now.
“Okay, I’m gonna count to three and let you go,” Steve-O said. “One...two...” He hesitated, so you looked up and gave him a nod, confirming that you were ready. “Three.”
When he let you go, you shot down the slide like a rocket. You were moving so fast you were sure the wind was going to knock you off the floaty. The way down was actually kind of fun. You exclaimed in excitement as you hurtled towards the bottom of the slide, which was tilted upwards like a ramp for maximum launch.
Even being shot in the air felt like fun. You felt like you were flying. You were anticipating the painful landing, but you were sure once you got that first impact over with - as long as you didn’t land and break anything - you’d get the pain done and over with just as quickly.
But then you found yourself flipping as you made your downward decent. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion, but also like it was going too fast for you to try and fix yourself. Before you knew it, you were hitting the ground head first, and everything went black.
~~~~~~
When you came to you were sure you had died. All you could see when you opened your eyes was a bright white light. It took a few moments for your eyes to adjust to it and to realize it was just overhead lighting in a hospital room.
You were hooked up to wires that lead to a beeping machine. Your neck felt stiff and you realized it was because there was a brace around it. Actually, your entire body felt stiff. You wondered how long you had been out.
As if on cue, the door to your room opened and a doctor peaked in.
“Well hello there. Look who is awake,” he said. “Miss. (Y/L/N), do you remember how you got here?”
You went to shake your head, but groaned in pain as you did so.
“Yeah, I would advice against doing that as much as you can,” the doctor said. “You were brought in because you filmed a dangerous stunt that went wrong. You landed on your head very hard. You have a concussion and a neck injury. You’ll have to keep the brace on for a few weeks at least, and probably have to take it easy moving forward.”
You cringed to yourself. That didn’t sound great, especially in terms of your career. It wasn’t too far into the filming of Jackass Forever, and if you couldn’t finish the movie, what would that mean for you in the franchise moving forward?
“You’ll definitely have to sit out of the rest of filming that movie,” the doctor continued as if reading your mind. “No offense, but that stunt was incredibly stupid. Any one of you could’ve ended up much more seriously injured, or killed.”
All the stunts are like that, doc. Never stopped anyone before, you thought to yourself, but you wouldn’t dare say it out loud. The last thing you wanted was a lecture from a doctor you didn’t even know.
“You had someone come in with you,” he said. “We have him in the waiting room, but now that you’re awake we can send him in if you feel up for it.”
You went to nod, but remembered your neck injury and instead tried to speak for the first time.
“Yes.” It came out hoarse and squeaky, but at least you knew you could talk.
The doctor nodded and walked out of the room. You wondered who it was that came in with you. You figured it had to be one of the guys. They were probably all worried sick. You hoped they weren’t too stressed out over your injuries or anything.
You looked up at the door and felt your heart flutter when you saw Johnny standing there. He was looking at you with relief as he raced over to your bed, arms out like he was about to hug you. He stopped short before he reached you.
“Wait,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
You chuckled. “A little too late for that.”
He was cautious as he slipped his arms under your body and pulled you to him. You winced a little as a pain shot through your neck, but you tried not to let him know. When he laid you back down, the pain subsided.
“Do you remember what happened?” he asked.
“I remember the slide,” you responded. “I remember going down on it, being in the air. After that, it’s all blank.”
“Probably for the best. It wasn’t...pretty.”
“The doctor said I landed on my head.”
Johnny ran a hand through his silver hair. “Yeah...yeah you did. Really hard. We...we all thought...”
He trailed off, but you knew what he was going to say. They all thought you had died. It must’ve been a pretty bad for them to think that.
“Did you get it on film?” you asked.
“Yeah, but we’ve already decided we’re not putting it in the movie.” You opened your mouth to protest, but Johnny cut you off, “You could’ve died, (Y/N). We’re not putting that in the movie.”
“But you have had injuries just as bad or worse before, and you put that in the movie. Why is it any different if I do it? Because I’m a woman?”
“No, because I don’t wanna have to sit in the theatre and watch you get hurt again and have to relieve that fear I had when we realized you weren’t moving.”
The outburst took you back. You could understand that it was agreed to cut the scene out of respect for you, but the fact that Johnny felt so passionately about you being hurt kind of surprised you. You knew it shouldn’t, he cared for everyone in the Jackass crew, both the originals and the newbies, but there was something in his tone that made it seem different this time.
You reached out to take his hand in yours. When he looked up at you, you could still see the worry all over his face, like he was still waiting to know that you were okay.
“But I made it,” you reasoned. “You know that. You’re looking at me with your own eyes. If I’m sitting next to you in that theatre when the scene is shown, shouldn’t that count for something?”
Johnny wouldn’t meet your eye. He looked down at your connected hands, giving yours a slight squeeze before bringing it to his lips. He brushed a gentle kiss over your knuckles, both surprising you and making you dizzy with excitement.
“I feel things for you that I know are wrong,” he said. “Because in a way you’re my employee, and you’re so much younger than me. But I can’t help but feel this way. When I saw you get hurt and the medics told us you weren’t moving or waking up, I was terrified. It felt like my whole world was crashing down. I thought...I wasn’t going to be able to continue with the movie if we lost you.” He chuckled, humorlessly. “All that and we’re not even together or anything. I feel crazy.”
“You’re not crazy,” you assured him. “Honestly, not to make it sound like I’m blaming you, but I probably wouldn’t have done that stunt if it wasn’t for the fact that I feel the same way about you.”
He finally looked up at your face again, his eyes wide with shock now. “What?”
You could feel yourself heating up with embarrassment, but you kept talking anyways. “I keep participating in these big stunts because I also have feelings for you that I know I shouldn’t. I’ve been trying to impress you since day one. I had this idiotic thought in my mind that if I volunteered to do the more dangerous stunts that not even any of the guys wanted to do, that you’d be impressed and...and maybe you’d even like me back. How’s that for crazy?”
He smiled. A real smile, now. “That’s far beyond crazy. That’s utterly insane, actually.”
“Yeah, well, I think that’s par for the course when you’re part of Jackass.”
You both chuckled and soon silence filled the room. You weren’t sure where to go from here, and it didn’t seem like Johnny knew either.
Not that there was really any possibility of you going anywhere right now, considering the neck injury and the concussion. If he did happen to ask you out on a date or anything, there was no way you would be going out in public with the giant brace around your neck.
“Listen, I know you’re gonna be out of commission for a while,” Johnny said at last. “Trust me, I’ve been here more times than I can count. So, maybe with my experience in this area, I could help you get better.”
You giggled a little. “Are you gonna be my personal nurse?”
He did a mock salute and responded, “Nurse Knoxville, at your service. Anything you want or need, you just need to ask.”
You raised a suggestive eyebrow at him. “Anything?”
His face turned a light shade of pink as he awkwardly laughed. “Well, in your condition not anything, but we could work our way there eventually. If that’s what you want, I mean.”
You squeezed his hand again, almost forgetting you were still holding it. “I’d like that a lot, Johnny. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, get some rest. I’ll ask the doctor when we can have you out of here and back home.”
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tinyfantasminha · 7 months
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Glorious Masquerade has got to be my favorite TWST event!!!! Love to see people hype it up!!! It just felt so extravagant and huge… literally EVERY character was serving. Idia in particular 👀 also I think part of why it was so good had to do with the timing, the fact it came right before chapter 7 and the contests of the event were actually REALLY pertinent in the main story…
I kinda doubt this year’s halloween event will be AS impressive but I hope it comes close to it. It has the potential!! But GM is so iconic. I’m really looking forward to the Pinocchio theme. Just think of Grim’s new little outfit 🥺
No cause I'm sure they timed the first release of book 7 right after masquerade so the event could foreshadow the main story, like how Rollo says Malleus is a villain that will bring calamity (I don't remember the exact words but it was something like that lol)
THIS EVENT WAS MOSTLY TAILORED TO MALLEUS AND IDIA AND IT SHOWS, I remember that before Rollo's motive was revealed, I was theorizing if Rollo was also inspired on musical-Frollo and not just the dsny Frollo, where he has a deceased younger brother. And I was like ''if that's the case, it makes even more sense why Idia would be the SSR; he's the only one who can trully relate and understand Rollo's pain'' AND I WAS RIGHT 👏👏👏 LET ME COOK
For that reason is why I think GloMas wouldn't work if it had a sequel like the first halloween event of it were a if/remix version like fairy gala but with the other rest of the cast; Malleus is simply too crucial for this event, Rollo's motive wouldn't make sense without him. I admit I'm a bit sad that we won't see the other boys in the masquerade outfits and them interacting with Rollo (I wanted to see Ace clown on Rollo </3) but honestly this is for the best... They're getting an entire new event with new characters just for themselves!! I'd say this is a better outcome than just repeating GloMas all over again with the other half of the cast, it just wouldn't be impactful.
I'm not emotionally attached to Pinnocchio as I am with THoND but I'm excited because this movie is DARK AS HELL, and it's PERFECT for a halloween event. Also I've been waiting years for new beastmen characters and we are getting a fOX BOY RIGHT OFF THE BAT....GRRRRRrrRR *foams at the mouth*
I can't wait for the trailer of the new event, if they really are wearing carnival inspired outfits I'm gonna be BALLISTIC!!! And let's hope every new halloween event from now on will be based in a dsny movie with new guest characters every time 😳 I'm hoping for a Peter Pan event next cause WE GOTTA SEE TWST CAPTAIN HOOK?!?!?
And yes, Grimmy's little outfit 🙏maybe his outfit will be similar to pinocchio's in those little italian clothes ORRR maybe jiminy cricket's black tailcoat 🥺🥺
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iohourtime · 7 months
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Bad Lands
Ando Sakura x Yamada Ryosuke
Nihon Eiga 107
Hashioka Neri, aka Neri (橋岡煉梨, ネリ) - Ando Sakura
Yashiro Jo, aka Joe (矢代穣, ジョー) - Yamada Ryosuke
A brief summary of the plot is that Neri and Joe lived in the lowest rung of society. They worked for Takajo* in a phone fraud ring. Takajo was the keeper of the potential marks and Neri was the leader of the ukeko (receivers) - the people who collect money from the victims but did not do the actual scamming. Joe just got out of prison and was introduced to work for Takajo by Neri. They came across a large sum of money and somehow got embroiled in an underworld war.
*I can’t find the pronunciation guide, so I think that’s how you say his name.]
(I don't have the actual magazine so I'm using movie stills they've released so far. Please let me know if you notice any errors.)
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Sakura Ando, who played Neri in "Bad Lands", said, "I want Neri to be a main character who doesn’t leave much of an impression." It is rare for a heroine to have such an image in Japanese movies; giving off a dry coolness, Neri is at the center of the story where she is surrounded by those who want to trap her and those who will do anything to protect her, and these extreme feelings intermingle in a truly thrilling way. All of the characters with their own strong personalities left an impression on me, and the ensemble of the characters as a whole is wonderful because it is centered around a heroine who is a realist that is not a larger-than-life character that is usually found in [fiction].. With the help of the atmospheric setting of Osaka, the world of "lawless land" emerges, as the title "Bad Lands" suggests.
Speaking of "Bad Lands", the American film "Badlands" (1973) directed by Terrence Malick, which depicts a man and a woman's escape must have been on the director’s mind as well. Kansai's strong noir feel goes beyond typical Japanese cinema and reminds us of the emotionally restrained, adult oriented Western films. How did this worldview come about? We spoke with Sakura Ando and Ryosuke Yamada, who played siblings [in the movie].
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-- First of all, I thought Neri's casual demeanor was great. Such heroines are rare in Japanese movies.
Ando: When I first read the script, I didn’t have an image of Neri as a strong protagonist, but someone who wasn’t memorable yet still left a whiff of her existence behind. Because she appeared among many impactful characters, it would be nice if I could play an unremarkable main character. When I first talked to the director, I told him my thoughts and he accepted it. After that, when I read the script, I really wanted to cherish the nuances of Neri’s words and her kindness that can be felt in little things.
-- Yamada-san re-teamed with Harada-san after “Moeyo Ken” (Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai). Joe seems like a grown-up version of Okita Souji in “Moeyo Ken”.
Yamada: I read how Director Harada [described the character] in an article after the film was finished [and thought], so that’s what it was (laughs). I decided before that if Harada-san called, I would be there. I think his set is something that can't be experienced these days. Although gradually, I’ve stopped being scolded, when I saw the director snappily say things that needed to be said to various people, leading to an intense set, I also felt tense.
*Apparently Director Harada has a reputation of being very stern and scary, but it sounds like it is not irrational yelling and more like someone who runs a tight ship?
Ando: It was my first time being part of the Harada team, and I heard that it was really scary, but when shooting started, I was shocked by how fun the Harada team was. It was very cheerful and light. It was flexible. When I read the script, I thought I had a script that was carefully crafted by the director.
Yamada: I think the reason the set was so cheerful this time was because of Ando-san. I think the trust the director had in Ando-san was amazing. I had never seen Director Harada directing with such a big smile (laughs).
Ando: When I said, "I'm scared to drive this Benz," he said, "Well, then Joe will drive." He would say on the spot things like, "Well, let's repeat this line" or "What you just did was interesting, let’s go with that".
Yamada: That's right. I think he's a director who really values the rawness of what happens on set. Harada-san himself is also enjoying what is born out of the set..
Ando: That's why when I was first approached by various departments, saying, "There are action scenes, this kind of scene, that kind of scene, and it is this kind of movie, what do you think?" But I told them, wait a minute, if you solidify all the details from the start like that, it could only become a movie you've seen before, and I also want to play Neri’s rawness more dynamically.. . For example, I felt that it was wrong for Neri to have sharp moves that are common in action movies. So when I got to the set, the director said, "It's okay, Neri doesn't need to do that kind of thing" (laughs).
Yamada: (laughs).
Ando: "Don't fight skillfully, just stay scared" (laughs). That's how he drew out the charm of the character that was born at that time. So it was a lot of fun. I felt the joy of acting with my whole body..
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-- So you made use of rawness that was born on set. That's how the worldview of the movie was created.
Ando: That’s right. Another thing I remember well is that it snowed a lot during filming.
Yamada: It was during our shoot in Hikone in Shiga Prefecture. It was really amazing. When the director, Ando-san, and I left the hotel, I said "Wow!" without thinking. It was the heaviest snowfall in Hikone's history [since they started collecting the data]..
Ando: It was a heavy snowstorm with around 10 centimeters of accumulation, so it would be a shame not to make use of it in the movie. I said it would be nice to have a scene of Neri in the snow and the director said, "That's a good idea. Let's shoot!" This is it. (Showing a photo of the snow).
Yamada: Oh~.
Ando: Yama-chan, you couldn't go to the set, right?
Yamada: Yes. Our car couldn’t get there because of the heavy snow. I thought, “They are probably going to shoot in this snow! Wow!”
Ando: That's right, there was a cut with Neri in the snow.
Yamada: If it wasn't for Ando-san's words, the scene wouldn't have happened.
Ando: After we finished filming what was planned for that day, he said, "Okay, let's shoot this." The director and editor (Harada) Eugene-san assembled the scenes that were born out of this on the spot. Since my family also makes movies this way, I felt a sense of security. That’s how the Harada family feels like, and that’s how they do things. I think it's precisely because we have such a relationship of trust that he can say, "Let's go shoot this!" It was a good scene and I think that’s why this set is uniquely attractive.
Yamada: I think the fact that the director can say that right away is a testament to his trust in Ando-san. Also, as you mentioned earlier, the worldview that was born in the movie looked very natural, it was probably the worldview that the director was trying to create, for example, we were asked to overlap our lines.
Ando: Oh~ yes, we were going pon pon pon with the lines. It was that type of rhythm [we were going for] after all.
Yamada: I remember being told to go faster (when I said the lines) really well. People from Kansai speak at a fast pace and they tend to overlap, right? To be honest, I don't know what everyone was saying in the casino scene because they were all talking over each other (laughs).
Ando: (laughs).
Yamada: But I thought it felt real. I mean I don't bother to speak with pauses normally. Looking back now, I realize that the director was really looking for that sense of realism. That's why I think the reality of Kansai felt very alive and it formed the worldview [of the movie].
Ando: Yeah, yeah. When I first read the script, I thought there seemed to be many scenes commonly found in movies, but when we actually started shooting, each person worked hard to bring their characters to life in their scenes. The movie is set in the Nishinari area of Osaka and there are locals appearing in it as well.
Yamada: That's right.
Ando: I think that kind of thing was thorough. Also, there are a lot of charismatic veterans in this film.
Yamada: That's true.
Ando: It was a lot of fun working with those senpais and building up Neri from there. There's a scene where Mandala (Uzaki Ryudo) and I “go to battle” and I wanted to walk in a cool way, but Uzaki-san’s coolness was part of his essence.
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-- It's the rock'n'roll aura, isn't it? Originally, he was part of the Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band.
Ando: Yes. It was amazing, I wondered how I could exceed such coolness, but I was like “ah~” at my lack of coolness (laughs).
Yamada: Not at all.
Ando: No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it.
-- Uzaki-san and Ando-san have a similar rock’n’roll vibe.
Ando: Oh, I'm happy to hear that.
Yamada: Yes, they’re really cool.
Ando: Namase (Katsuhisa)-san has an interesting way of adding nuances to the Kansai dialect.
Yamada: Ah~.
Ando: Namase-san said "Getsuyoubi no miko-san" as "Geccho hi no miko-san". I tried to imitate what he said. I think it's kind of nice that Takajo and Neri are naturally speaking in the same way. That's how I absorbed various things from the senpais and used them in my acting. Speaking of which, Yama-chan. Yama-chan was really amazing.
Yamada: Not really.
Ando: You know, it's different. It's really amazing for us to be able to work together. After I finished watching the movie, I said to the director, "Isn’t Yama-chan dangerously good?"
Yamada: No, I was not that good (laughs).
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-- There is a scene where the two of you and Mandala did something violent to someone. It seemed that something surprising happened during the actual filming.
Yamada: That's right. It's the scene where the three of us are together.
Ando: In [the rehearsal] for the scene where we did something very violent, I had to make this person drink an alcohol called Spirytus*, but when I said, "Wow, I can’t do it," Yamada-kun said, "Well then, I'll do it."
*Per google, this Polish spirit is 76% alcohol. That will burn like crazy!
Yamada: That's right (laughs).
Ando: But when it came to the actual take, I gradually got on board and said “Yes, I'll do it” (laughs).
Yamada: In the end, Ando-san made him drink it (laughs). I was surprised when she suddenly did that during the actual take. I thought, “You’re really into it.”
Ando: (laughs).
Yamada: Because she will do something like that for the first time on set, the filming was really fun.
Ando: Another thing that was amazing was the scene with the hardcore dude.
Yamada: Haha. Hardcore.
Ando: We were taking down the hardcore dude. I talked about it a little bit earlier, but the fight choreography team came up with these cool actions. But taking into account Neri and Joe’s character, I wondered if “this cool action works”.
Yamada: Because it was the type of moves you see often in an action movie.
Ando: I thought the film suddenly became an action film, with cool action and all, but when I finally did it, it turned out to be pathetic action that looked like it was fluke.
Yamada: Have you seen such pathetic action scenes?
Ando: What pathetic moves are those? (laughs).
Yamada: Mandala and I were shouting threats and dragging a pipe chair, and I threw the bag that fell off it towards the enemy, but it hit Neri-nee (laughs).
Ando: Yes, yes (laughs).
Yamada: Isn't that kind of realistic? It’s like “Uh~, that happened”.
Ando: For that scene, the script had a note saying there was “bang bang” from the gunshots, but there was a problem with the prop gun we were using. So in the end, Uzaki-san, who played Mandala, just made the sound effect himself..
Yamada: He went "Bang bang" (laughs).
Ando: It was really cute. I think Mandala, Joe and Neri made the best trio.
Yamada: It was lame-cool, wasn't it?
-- It’s a set you want to keep working on, right?
Yamada: Really.
Ando: Yes. It really was.
Yamada: Yeah, it was fun.
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-- Looking back on the shoot, please tell us what you’re thinking now.
Ando: When I was young, although it was rare, I had met characters who made me feel like they were showing rawness every second. It can’t help being fun to find things while filming. It’s like I was Mario going pepepepe~.
Yamada: You're invincible (laughs).
Ando: I don't know if I'm invincible (laughs). Mario had amazing jumping power in those times, but when I played Neri, I could jump twice as much as usual, and my body moved so much, it was super fun. I was really glad to be able to meet such a role on set in these days and ages. I felt joy!
Yamada: Of course, it was great playing Joe, but moreover, I was able to appear in Harada-san's and work with Ando-san playing the person closest to her, and that to me was the real treasure in my acting career. But above all, I was able to see Ando-san up close and personal, so I was the happiest ever.
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-- I think that was reflected in the relationship between Neri and Joe. What can you say about this pair of siblings?
Ando & Yamada (looked at each other): Eh (laughs)?
Ando: I thought they were the strongest partners (laughs). Even though they were useless, they balanced each other out very well.
Yamada: That's right, In Joe’s mind, Neri was his favorite sister. He called himself a psychopath but he was able to love properly. He showed his feelings quite a bit, and when you read the movie’s pamphlet, you might think he was a cool guy, but...
Ando: He was not cool at all (laughs).
Yamada: He was a cheerful little brother (laughs). But if it was for his sister’s sake, he wouldn’t care about himself and he would get his hands dirty no matter how dangerous the situation was. In those scenes, the screws came off and well, he was crazy.
Ando: But on the other hand, a psychopath… I think Neri would think “that’s so not true”.
Yamada: That's right (laughs).
Ando: She thought he was just an idiot (laughs).
Yamada: True! People who think they are psychopaths are probably not psychopaths (laughs).
Ando: (Imitating Joe) Yes .
Yamada: Haahaha. Joe was just an idiot. A lovable guy.
Ando: That's why I was surprised by the cool Joe later in the movie; I was fascinated. That was really amazing.
Yamada: No, he was just an idiot (laughs).
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lmelodie · 4 months
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TSCS Season 2 Episode 5
This episode...threw A LOT at me hard and fast, and me specifically. If you are also a fellow Council stan, you probably won't like this episode.
First, not too impressed that Cal is taking after his father and needlessly lying to Sandra to go fight Mad Santa. I love Cal, he brain really is empty, but come on dude. At least try rubbing your two braincells together.
I also keep forgetting that the way the lore is set up, Scott is the first and only human Santa. So, when it's said that Magus was Santa for centuries, I had to do a double take lol. Keeps throwing me for a loop!
Can't believe they got rid of Bernard YET AGAIN. IN A FUCKING FLASHBACK. It's almost funny how they've just given up on giving good excuses as to why Bernard can't be there. They just give him a mention and be like, "Yeah he's not here right now/anymore, ANYWAY."
And I wanna know why Bernard is at the very top of the maim list? What did he do that's worse than leading an actual coop? Good for him though, slay.
SO UGH!! My main beef with this episode is the fucking council! Because its utter BULLSHIT and completely out of character that they wouldn't help! I'm actually with Scott on this one surprisingly, you're telling me they can send Cupid to spy on him in his own home but not help the elves to rebel against a very clearly evil Santa???
They don't even give a good reason for it either! It's just a non-answer of "Legends can't interfere" which they most DEFINITLY CAN! Its bullshit! And I refuse to believe that the council would do this.
Like, you're telling me that this is the same council that seemed so sincerely supportive of Scott and his issues for the last two movies? The same council that came down to the pole to personally help pick up the slack in the third movie??? No, simply put I refuse to acknowledge that bullshit their trying to feed us, the council is nice and cares about the other members okay!
Also, I don't know how to feel about Befana being an ex-council member. I kinda liked her better as a cool forest dwelling Christmas witch that does her own thing and doesn't listen to a higher authority.
And maybe this could've worked better if there were any hints AT ALL to this being a thing, but it was never once implied up until this point that there has been any other council member's period. But of course, there wasn't! So, this development falls a little flat for me, not very impactful and a little jarring if anything.
He's a lemon...they turned him into a lemon. I can feel the years being taken off my lifespan...
And stealing the legendries powerful artifacts? NOT NECCESARY IN THE SLIGHTEST. Especially stealing cupid's arrows when normal arrows would've worked just fine! Are these arrows benign?? Are these gnomes gonna start falling in love when they wake up? Does the council currently know about all the stolen shit and have forgiven the elves and Befana? Do they STILL not know that this happened??
Also, really didn't need to use the arrows and sleep dust if you had Mother Nature's WIND AND LIGHTNING. LIGHTNING!! You couldn't win a battle with the actual (ill gotten) forces of nature???
This might be what I need to start drafting that hate fic. The spite fueled one shot. Because god damn there is so much petty CRIME happening here committed BY THE GOOD GUYS.
I don't even know how they're gonna possibly wrap all of this up, I am so tired.
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jellie-the-aqua-puma · 3 months
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Hi...if you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....
Hi! Thanks for your ask! This is a good question, and this is my first ask so don’t apologize! Currently my mains are
Dazai/Chuuya aka Soukoku from BSD, I really like their dynamic, just the familiarity they had when they came on screen for the first time together. I think Bungou is really well execute though, so S2 showing that they still can come together and pretty much treat each other the same way / exasperation with no heat? And then the light novels are soo helpful too! I really think they’re sweet for each other, and I just think that’s neat! Plus there’s so much to unpack with their relationship! Yeah Chuuya wasn’t happy when Dazai left, but did he really resent him for it? Did he take it personally? What are they going to do now? All they do whenever they’re together is their best to protect each other.
Gojo Satoru / Geto Suguru from Jujutsu Kaisen, the tragedy! Oh man! It took me a bit to get on board with this, but I’m in for life now. It was the “My six eyes tell me your Geto but my soul knows otherwise.” I haven’t looked back. Gojo so shamelessly admitted that and Geto fighting back? They actually remind me a lot of Soukoku, with the obvious being Gojo = Dazai and Geto = Chuuya, but also Gojo was the one who got left just like Chuuya. So much went wrong for these two when it didn’t have to! If Geto had just took the time to explain, if he didn’t stubbornly try to rationalize his mistake, if Gojo had not taken Geto’s words at face value, if he’d’ve pushed a little more. I really love the impact they had in each other. Geto is the reason Gojo pushes for a better future for young sorcerers (does not seem like it’s going that well) and Gojo was the reason Geto wanted to make the world a better place for sorcerers.
Sun Jing / Qiu Tong from Tamen De Gushi (Their Story), a Chinese manhua. The story is just so cute, innocent, and straight forward. No screwing around, misunderstandings, annoying drama, etc.
Galo / Lio from Promare - this movie was so good! These two are really cute! I’m gonna say they’re semi-canon …
Hua Cheng / Xie Lian Heaven Official’s Blessing. Tragic characters when separated but together work towards their best future! Love it.
Cheng Xiaoshi / Lu Guan from Link Click I watched this on a whim and was so impressed by the characters and story! Im super interested to see where their relationship will take them, especially after what’s been revealed in S2, which I’m still reeling from! I am eagerly waiting for season 3!
I’m curious about yours now! What would you say yours are?
Honorable Mentions in no particular order below the cut
Yeong-sin and Seo-bi from Kingdom (kdrama) even though they don’t interact much, them being the only two survivors of the zombie epidemic in Jiyulheon is really what sets them a part for me although anytime they’re around others they act like they don’t know each oher.
TodoDeku was super cute in a very innocent kind of way. I liked that Todoroki was the first person who wasn’t Izuku’s friend who to saw his potential and see him as competition. I haven’t followed My Hero since S4 tho.
Yoruichi / Soi Fon Bleach; I felt Soi Fon’s devastation, to be joined at the hip and devoted and then abandoned and left behind. Yoruichi is merciless, she didn’t gaf lol.
Speed / Trixie sealed in by the 2008 Speed Racer live actions. They were crazy in the anime.
Astrid / Hiccup from the HTTYD film franchise, what a power couple.
Nancy / Edward from Enchanted, they are wasted by Disney but they’re oh so cute!
Aurora / Phillip from Sleeping Beauty, they are also wasted by Disney.
Goku/Chichi Dragon Ball, Chichi is wasted by Akira.
Steve / Bucky too, from Captain America, the way Steve was constantly ready to raise hell for Bucky got me. I pretend anything Phase 3 and after didn’t happen.
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They Weren't Ridin' When We Both Fell
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Summary: On a first date, Spencer and Reader find themselves falling faster than time itself.
CW: More 'spicy' than smut, heavy makeout, sexual talk, implied sexual relationship, Spencer x Fem Reader
Note: This is for @foxy-eva ! You are such an incredible writer and a wonderful and kind person! I decided to use the smut prompts, as this isn’t necessarily fluff and nor is it smut, but I just want to play it safe!
Word Count: 3200
Prompt: “If you keep making those sounds, I’m not going to be able to stop myself”
They Weren't Riding When We Both Fell
The dilapidated shack is perched on the muddy hill surrounded by plush green grass. It seems almost too picturesque with the people in their vintage cars rolling up to the ticket booth, with the laughing children playing tag on the muddy hill, with the couples holding hands ready to share cherry-ice stained kisses as the sunset behind them. 
I have never been to a drive-in movie. Usually I’m under the impression that movies are awful date ideas, especially when you’re trying to get to know the other person. But Spencer insisted that this kind of movie was different. And, looking out at the scene before me, I’m tempted to change my opinion about movie dates entirely. 
“Have you seen it?” Spencer asks as he puts his car into park, “The movie I mean. I’ve been reading about it. I haven’t seen it though,” 
“I’m actually surprised you haven’t seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. It seems like the pinnacle Spencer Reid kind of movie,” I tease with a smile. Spencer looks over at me smiling as I reach over the center console to hold his hand. 
“I read the book,” Spencer croaks out, looking suspiciously at our linked hands, “I mean, Arthur C. Clarke is a genius of science fiction. I mean his work is legendary in the field of speculative fiction. Well of course it’s not as good as Octavia Butler, but I mean good as a metric for value is quite subjective. I mean Star Trek is good as is Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment…Ahh,” Spencer faltered, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, “Sorry, I can get a little carried away when it comes to things I find interesting,” Spencer apologizes with a sheepish look on his face. 
“No, that’s silly, Spencer. You’re probably the smartest person I’ve met. I love hearing your perspective and what you think. I mean, we’re on a date. The whole point is to get to know each other, is it not?” 
Spencer blushes as he nods. That sheepish smile that I’ve come to find endearing in the last three weeks turns his lips upward in a grin. I squeeze Spencer’s hand in a comforting gesture. He starts to explain himself again, but is troubled by his nervous stammering. 
“I guess so,” Spencer says. He smiles again, this time weakly, “Let me buy you some Italian Ice from the shack. And I’ll tell you more facts about Clarke’s book and his impact on the science fiction genre as a whole,” 
The air feels like summer. It’s the kind of warm that’s almost cool. I feel the warm breeze against my bare legs and smell the honeysuckles in the distance. I’m reminded of childhood summers spent hunting for lightning bugs. Days spent with chlorine soaked hair and sun drenched skin. I long with that carefree girl that’s lost with time and wear. But maybe, with the sweet boy who rattles off facts about a 35-year old movie he’s never even seen, I’ll watch it begin again. 
“Let’s check it out,” Spencer says, “I want to get something sweet for dessert,” 
My mouth drops at the insinuation of Spencer’s comment. It quickly turns into a coy smile once Spencer realizes what he said. His cheeks blush an adorable pink that leads up to his ears.
“Well, I didn’t know that the genius Doctor Reid had that kind of mind,” I tease. Spencer’s smile falters as he studies my face. I can almost sense the nerves floating off his body. He’s too cute for his own good. 
“I didn’t mean! I’m sorry, Y/N. Damn it, I’m really messing this up aren’t I?” 
“Nope,” I tell him, leaning close and watching him stammer, “Not in the slightest. Actually, I’m quite interested in what desserts you have offer, Spencer,” 
“I-I,” Spencer mutters, he fidgets with his hands as he stammers, “I, um, I think I want to try the cherry-mango ice. I hear it’s good with the vanilla custard,” 
“Hmm,” I hum. Spencer’s eyes refuse to meet mine in an embarrassed sort of way that’s also really cute. I remind myself that this is technically the first date. And a blind one at that. 
Spencer, still smiling goofily, unlocks the car and rushes around to open the door for me. Clumsily, he extends one hand for him to grab as I exit his car. Spencer’s car is perfect for a drive-in-movie. It’s a light, powder blue with tan leather seats. I can tell that he takes good care of his car. There’s a fine line between a car guy and a guy that has a clean car. Luckily, Spencer falls in the company of the latter rather than the former. 
“Penelope said you’re her neighbor,” Spencer says, making conversation as we head to the top of the hill. I nod, letting him continue with his Penelope story. Penelope stories, in my experience, are usually the best kind of stories, “She was pretty much my only friend when I started at the BAU around a year ago. Everyone else was older and tougher looking. I mean, Penelope is older than me, but I guess I just found some sort of comfort in her Dr. Who figures when the rest of the agency isn’t really into office decor,” 
I laugh, taking the opportunity to reach for Spencer’s hand as we begin to walk up the path to the snack shack, “That’s Penelope. She’s always trying to get me to watch movies or shows with her. But she just stays up too late for me. I like being in bed by ten the latest,” 
“I’m pretty much a night owl by default,” Spencer says, “With the academic programs I was in and all. But now with the odd hours at the BAU, an early night seems like a dream,” 
“Good to know,” I say, nudging Spencer as we reach the long line, “So do you have any pets? Dogs? Cats?” 
“I have a fish that I’m pretty fond of,” Spencer says smiling, “I got him when I moved to the East Coast. I’m from Vegas originally. Herman is pretty good company, even if I can’t pet him or cuddle him,” 
“Aww, well you’re going to have to meet Doris and Bartholomew! I just know that they’ll love you. Especially if you want someone to cuddle you,” 
“Is that? Are those? Are those your grandparents?” Spencer asks, his head is turned to me, a pale look of confusion on his face. 
“No, Spencer,” I chuckle lightheartedly. I cover my hand with his as I explain, “Doris and Bart are my cats. Doris is a Calico and Bart is an Orange Tabby. And they are both the love of my life,” 
“Oh, well, that makes more sense,” Spencer jokes. He intertwines my fingers with his fingers and squeezes. It’s the sort of gesture that makes my heart skip a beat. It hasn’t done that in a long while. And I know I’ll be chasing the feeling every night till I see Spencer again. 
Before we know it, we’re next in line. The young girl in the shack happily takes our order. Spencer thanks her profusely for the cherry-mango ice he ordered. He tries to pay for my vanilla sundae with hot chocolate and caramel sauce and after I attempt to refuse, he wins. It was proving hard to resist the charms of Spencer Reid. And I wasn’t going to be the first to try. 
“Thanks for that,” I tell him, gesturing to the sundae I carry back to his car. He offers me a straight lipped smile. He brushes off my thanks with a mouthful of frozen ice and it’s completely adorable. Smiling, I reach my hand towards his. Our fingers brush, sticky from the dessert and curious with the promise of what could be. 
His already perfectly pink lips are tinged a beautiful red. He licks his lips eager to taste the sweet, fruity syrup of his dessert. As we walk back to his car, I look out towards the setting sun. It’s a heavenly mixture of hazy reds and full oranges that mix together into a painter’s palette. I’m left wondering, as I stare at the sky and then Spencer’s eyes, what I could create if I were to drip a brush into colors like these? 
“So if you didn’t even see this movie, then how did you know all those facts?” I ask, changing the subject in my mind. Otherwise, I’ll get carried away by the look in Spencer’s eyes and the colors I could make with him by my side. 
Blushing, Spencer shrugs his shoulders. I never would have considered it to be something attractive, but I’m quickly learning that most things Spencer does are attractive. His blush creeps from the tops of his ears and dances down his cheeks. It dusts his skin with a youth, innocent warmth that draws me in. I’m one to be swept off my feet this fast, but I can confidently say he isn’t like anyone I’ve met. 
“I looked up some facts to help stimulate conversation. I’m not the best when it comes to dating. My reputation has lots of no shows to date where I go to the bathroom and suddenly they're gone. And I’m alone. Again,” 
“I’m sorry about that,” 
“You don’t have to be,” Spencer says, “Anyway, Penny promised me that you’re not like that. But I wanted to be prepared with a boatload of facts about a movie I never even watched. I wanted to make a good impression. And maybe see where this leads. If it leads anywhere that is. Not that it has to of course! I’m not implying that–” 
Spencer’s words, for probably the first time in his life, fail him. They get caught in his throat, just centimeters above the spot on his cheek where I plant a chaste kiss. I can feel the heat in his cheeks on my lips. 
“I would also love to see where this leads,” I whisper, placing another kiss on Spencer’s cheek, “You’re too cute for your own good, Spencer. I don’t usually kiss this fast on the first date,” 
Blushing even harder, Spencer’s eyes dart along my face. It’s as if he’s trying to read my expression. If he can, I hope he knows it’s filled with nothing but excitement and adulation for him. 
“Ah,” Spencer says, those tricky little words getting caught in his throat again, “That’s good. We’re on the same page,” 
“Looks like it,” 
We walk in peace, back to his car. The silence is filled with curious comments about the movie and remarks about how good the dessert is. Spencer has abandoned his spoon, so he can hold my hand and still enjoy his mango-cherry ice. His tongue darts around the cup, scooping up the sweet treat. I try not to stare, but there’s something about his intensity that enraptures me. 
I fail. Badly. 
“You’re staring,” Spencer says flatley, “Do I say something on my face? My teeth?” Spencer asks. 
“No, you’re just really cute is all,” I admit, a sheepish smile of my own creeping up on me. Spencer gives me an unreadable look. It’s half confused, half unsure perhaps. Maybe he’s not used to compliments being tossed around so lackidazily. 
“Oh, I’m not sure about that. You know cute isn’t something I’m normally called,” he stammers with embarrassment, “But it’s nice. To be cute to someone,” 
“Good,” I say, winking as I open the passenger door to his car. 
“Y/N!” Spencer shouts, definitely more aggressively than he intended by the look of shock on his face, “Sorry, I just meant to say that’s my job. To open the door for you,” he explains, rushing to the passenger side of the door. I laugh at his eagerness, shaking my head in part disbelief and part adoration. It’s been so long since I’ve had a crush on someone and by the looks of it, Spencer Reid will turn me into a simpering teenage girl before the sun sets. 
“You don’t have to do that, you know,” I tell him as I slip into his car. Spencer shuts the car door, shrugging his shoulders as he walks around to the other side. 
“I just wanted to do something nice, that’s all,” he explains. He turn his car on, asking me if I wanted any more air or the windows rolled down. Spencer turns the radio on to the station, and we wait for the movie to begin. The silence is filled with stories about Penelope, my cats, Spencer’s fish and all the books we’ve ever read and loved. 
“If I'm being honest,” I say, leaning in closer so my arm is pressed up against Spencer’s on the center console, “I’m a little disappointed that we’ll have to pay attention to a movie. I’d much rather listen to you talk,” 
“Well, that could be arranged,” Spencer says with a smile, “On date two,” 
“And three,” I reply, nudging him with my shoulder, “But we’ll get to that–” 
“When we get to that,” Spencer interjects, somehow already finishing my sentences. 
Silence falls between us as the movie begins to play. We don’t have prime seats, but have a nice view of the stars above us. The radio lags to play the words as the picture moves. Between the dilapidated shack, the overly sweet dessert, and the disappointing seats, one could say this had the recipe for a lackluster date. But in reality, it’s been anything but that. 
“I’m sorry we can’t hear anything,” Spencer says, “I mean I could probably try to fix the radio, it’s just old is all,” 
“Spencer, it’s fine,” I say. I look around at our surroundings. We’re in the last row and the closet car is about 50 feet to our right. All the way back here there’s hardly anyone to see what could possibly be happening in the confines of a car. 
“I just wanted this to be perfect,” he groans, turning to me with a disappointed look on his face. 
“Well, who’s to say that we even have to watch the movie?” 
“Huh, I mean I think I brought the book version. I’m sure it’s in my satchel bag by your feet,” Spencer says, ready to reach for the book. 
“As much as I’d love for you to read to me, Spencer. That’s not what I was thinking,” I say, leaning in close so my words linger in whispers against his jawline. 
“Oh,” Spencer says, his shaky voice breathy against my neck, “That sounds. That sounds much better than trying to pay attention to this movie when all I’ve wanted to do tonight is kiss you,” 
“Oh,” I say, winking as I shed off my cardigan. The summer air is halfway in between warm and cool, but I want a little fabric barrier between Spencer’s hands and my skin when he finally touches me. 
I climb into the backseat, sitting with my legs criss-cross on the leather seats. Spencer follows, trying his best to gracefully make his way to me in the back. He smiles, the excitement of it all making shake with anticipation. 
Spencer’s mouth nervously approaches my lips. He drags his lips from the center of my jawbone along the skin of my neck. Heat drips between us as the movie plays behind us, long neglected and forgotten. My teeth skate across Spencer’s bottom lip and smile into Spencer’s hum of pleasure. His tongue tastes like cherry-mango ice, sweet yet tart. Spencer’s hands play with the fabric of my dress. I can feel his warm palm through the thin material. He deepens the kiss and I can taste the fruity, sweetness all over again. He tastes better than any dessert there ever is. Spencer’s whimper hits me like a sword to the gut. My heart is heavy with trepidation as Spencer’s shaky hands hover over my back. I grid into Spencer’s hips, reveling in the way he groans against my teeth. His hands palm over my back, unable to touch enough of me. 
Crammed in the back of Spencer’s car, I can feel all of him all over me. It’s deliciously addictive. Spencer’s hot mouth dipped below to my collarbone. I can feel the curve of his mouth smile against my sweaty skin. It’s so warm in Spencer’s car, with his hips pressed up in mine and his mouth venturing uncharted territories.  He’s kissing me and I’m kissing him. It’s like the world melts away behind us. Spencer’s hands cling to my back, desperate to touch as much of me as he can. 
“If you keep making those sounds, I’m not going to be able to stop myself,” I promise him, nipping his ear as I kiss the backside of his jaw. 
His whines, the sweetness of it only rivaled by the sweetness of the ice he ate at dessert. I know one thing to be true, I’ll crave him and his taste long after this night ends. I cradle his face in my palm as I back away for a moment. I kiss those lips again. Desperate to see what they’ll look like when they’re bitten and swollen. 
“God, you’re so beautiful,” Spencer whimpers, kissing the center of my palm in a gesture that’s far too intimate for a makeout session in a car. 
“So are you,” I say breathlessly, kissing Spencer’s nose with a smile. The kisses turn into something sweeter. Before it was hungry clashes of skin and bone, but now it’s something that you can do all day. It’s lazy and soft with the promise of something more sensual to come. 
I lean back, resting my palms on Spencer’s shoulders, “We’ve got to stop,” I say, brushing back Spencer’s mussed up hair. His eyes flash with concern, so I lean back and kiss his forehead to wash away any doubt in his mind. 
“It’s not that,” I assure, smiling as Spencer nods, “It’s just I’m not going to fuck you in your car in the middle of a field for the first time,” 
“You got it,” Spencer says, nodding enthusiastically. He gives me a thumbs up, but quickly grows embarrassed at the awkward gesture. But lucky for him, I’m already head over heels for him and find it completely endearing. 
“You’re adorable,” I muse, kissing his cheek and resting next to him, “So the movie was a bust,”
Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly and sitting up next to me, “You know, we could just head back to my place. And maybe read the book, watch the movie,” 
“Amongst other things I hope,” I wink, plopping my head on his shoulder. 
“Well, if drive in movie theater fields and cars with terrible radios are your parameters, I’ll be happy to inform you that my apartment has none of those,” Spencer says cheekily, scrambling to find his keys in the dark as I giggle at his eagerness. 
It’s strange to think that out of all these cars in this field, none are driving with us as we both fell. And as Spencer speeds away, I'm tempted to think we're driving somewhere we never expected with someone we never saw coming.
* TAGLIST *
@reidsbookclub @reidslibrarybook @reidsacademia @sleepyspencer @pastelbabygirl19 @fandomfriend33 @folkreid @muffin-cup @jswessie187 @doctorspenceryeet @alexrosex99 @reidslovely @shemarmooresfedora @reidsmilf @strawberryspence @drayshadow @nomajdetective @mimischaos @xoxospencerreid @gspenc @kitkatkaitin @greengarsstuff @fightingdragonswithreid @pygmygoat-bicyclehelmet @reidselle @luredwithpretzels @xoxo-jnh-xoxo @mente-sindescanso
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deadendtracks · 8 months
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okay oppenheimer first impression
the best thing about the film is the structure: i think that is brilliantly done. and it doesn't feel 3 hours long at all unlike the dark knight, which i remember questioning how long it was going to be lol.
weirdly i think it could have been longer and that might have served the film better but my guess is no studio is going to let anyone release a 4 hour movie period.
my big critique of the film as far as filmmaking goes is that the pace is unrelenting from start to finish: it could have used some moments that broke that up a bit. I get why the pace is like that for most of the film and it thematically makes sense, but at the same time, what i really needed from it was a bit more breathing room in a few places.
the performances are uniformly great. i had my doubts about matt damon but i'm pretty sure the trailers used takes of scenes that they didn't use in the movie, and he worked a lot better than i expected in the takes that actually were in the film.
rdj was OUTSTANDING give that man an oscar. i hope he keeps taking roles like this.
i absolutely don't think the film is in any way interested in making a hero or a martyr out of Oppenheimer; it's actually quite critical of him, so that was also a relief.
having read the book the film is based on there's a few little things I wondered about the film leaving out or changing, but i also don't think it was in the service of making Oppenheimer out to be a better person than he was, so it bothers me less than it would otherwise.
As per usual with Nolan the (few) female characters aren't all that well served, especially Jean Tatlock, but Kitty has some good scenes. I think the film could have given better context to them and to her relationship with Oppenheimer, though.
as for Cillian's performance and Oppenheimer as a character (in the film, rather than a real person in history) i need to see it again to really articulate anything useful, but i think there just needed to be a bit more breathing room in the pacing/editing to do his performance justice, if that makes sense. it's so frenetic and there's constantly so much information coming at you it's hard to really absorb what he's doing, because his performance is very internal.
i think criticisms about not showing what happened to Japanese civilians might have some points but also not showing it may have been the right choice, i'm not sure. I need to think about it and read a bunch of reviews.
it was sort of an entire movie about exposition, lol. which isn't necessarily a criticism, it's a very dense story. I definitely didn't catch everything because it moves so fast.
I think this actually would have made a better limited series than it did a movie, but that might have undercut the structure and impact? idk. there's just *so much* to fit in. It would have been interesting to see someone take Nolan's structure and see what they might have done with it, idk.
None of this is to say it's a bad film, it's definitely an interesting film. I think there's a lot to criticize in it but the structure and the cast were really top notch.
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sirfrogsworth · 4 months
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The Creator is very pretty.
I was going to write about The Creator and then I forgot that I watched it, which I guess kinda explains how I felt about the movie.
The visuals were extremely impressive. And the goal to make a blockbuster style movie for 80 million was achieved. It gives me hope that mid-budget movies may make a comeback at some point.
But I don't think the ambition of the story matched the ambition of the visuals. I think maybe they focused on making it look good and forgot the story is much more important.
The movie never stayed in one place long enough to catch your breath and absorb what was happening. They do all of this beautiful world building and don't give you any time to enjoy it. It's just, "okay, off to the next beautiful location."
Spoilers ahead...
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One of the things that bugged me was that they would go from place to place and meet new and interesting characters... and then those characters die. This movie should be called, "Let's get everyone we meet killed."
When *everyone* dies, the deaths start to have less of an impact. Not only that, you don't have a second to acknowledge and feel the deaths. It's like, "Oh no I am sad, but oh no a car chase!"
Also, I am not a big plot hole person. I don't hyperanalyze every bit of logic and assess if it makes sense or not. I like to just absorb the movie for what it is and whatever I end up feeling from the experience is what I try to hold onto. But when the plot holes start piling up and you can't just ignore them, it can distract from the experience.
This movie tried to move on from thing to thing so fast, so many things were just not explained. And it's possible that is because no explanation was thought of. But, boy, some of this needed a little exposition. Why did the androids need to be unconscious while charging? Why do they eat? Where does the food go? Do they poop? Why do people donate their likeness when we already have technology that can generate a completely new face that does not look like anyone else? I have about a thousand of these questions. A few can be hand waved or ignored. But that is just too many to flush from your brain.
And then, one of the biggest mysteries of the movie, the catalyst of the entire conflict, was revealed in an almost throw away line. And the revelation didn't really make sense. It would be like if instead of Franz Ferdinand being murdered by Black Hand assassins, he slipped in the shower and that started a global conflict. Like, if they are going to make such an inconsequential thing responsible, that could actually be interesting. But I think it deserves a little more attention than an offhand remark. And, like, if the androids had evidence of this inconsequential thing, why in the world aren't they screaming it from the rooftops?
Yeah, too many plot holes to ignore.
I am very glad a movie like this was attempted. A new story, a reasonable budget, a lot of ambitious goals. It just didn't work out. Movies are really hard to make. And good movies are nearly impossible to make. So I hope this isn't seen as a failure. This movie succeeds on many levels. I think movies like this are needed and studios should keep trying to make them work. I like sequels. I like remakes and reboots. I honestly don't mind seeing different interpretations of the same thing. As long as there are also new stories along side all of that.
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seventeenlovesthree · 8 months
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Digi Dynamic Shipping Game
Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:
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Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji
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Whether canon provides input on them or not:
It’s been a while since I’ve written a whole relationship analysis, so before getting completely out of shape, I thought about digging up my old poll again to focus a little bit on Daisuke’s and Miyako’s relationship.
Even though my memories on 02 overall are very rusty, I do remember very vividly that these two share a very physical - if not one of THE most physical - relationship with each other from the very beginning. Which may actually be best described as: “Bickering siblings”.
As far as their “origins” go, they’re not as clearly stated as it is with Iori and Miyako being neighbors and Daisuke being classmates with Hikari, having known her through Taichi before the series; there's no indication that Daisuke and Miyako have even met face to face beforehand, let alone interacted properly, but they DO seem very comfortable talking to each other from the first moment on, mainly indicated by the fact that neither of them uses honorifics for each other. Along the lines of the series, it is strongly implied that their older siblings (Jun and Momoe) are actually good friends. And this may or may not have had an impact on whether they’ve actually met/spent time with each other before - and whether or not the impression they got about each other through their siblings’ (supposed) descriptions was a positive one. 
Either way, in the way they do not idealize their own siblings and instead have to fight for their privileges and for getting respected, they already have a lot in common with each other - and can be seen as a mirror towards Takeru and Hikari, who clearly idealize their older siblings. And it makes sense to think that their upbringing is mirrored in their behaviour towards each other - they’re constantly teasing and taking jabs at each other, there are several occasions where they describe each other’s behaviour as “weird”, comparing them to others, basically putting each other down/disagreeing with each other. As if to prove their own superiority. They’re loud, they’re opinionated - and also ridden by underlying insecurities about it.
Speaking of which; another thing they have in common is how easily they are infatuated by others: Daisuke’s crush on Hikari and Miyako’s crush on Ken (at the beginning of the series) respectively are somewhat based on them putting them on a pedestal. (In Daisuke’s case, aside from Hikari being one of his earlier friends, I do believe that he's also idealizing her because she's Taichi's sister, whom he greatly looks up to after all.) And it basically takes until - ironically enough - Ken (for Daisuke) and Hikari (for Miyako) become active parts in their respective developments that they’re both starting to become “less shallow” and, more importantly, less aggressive and territorial about their “fights”. 
Unfortunately, that also means that there is less of a (visible) development between them, aside from a few comic relief moments and so, a lot of this analysis is based on interpretation of subtext after all... However, despite the bickering - which continues to be a thing between them until Kizuna and even the few bits we saw about the 02 movie -, they’re also seen fighting for and being protective of each other when it matters, being happy when the other is safe. So if we get back to the insecurity part - since they clearly do have a lot of things in common, it should not be a surprise that they’d still be there for each other. And even if screentime may not prove it directly - they probably understand each other better than one might assume (even if it’s questionable whether or not they’re aware of it themselves). And to put it like Taichi and Yamato - sometimes, a good fight may be the best sign of a “good relationship”. (Sometimes, it may also take a slap...)
Whether I think why and how they’d work:
Since I’ve put so much emphasis on the “sibling angle”, I think there have to be very specific circumstances to happen for these two to see each other in a romantic light. It’s absolutely not impossible, but first of all - one would have to make sure that neither Ken nor Hikari are available for EITHER of them. Ken is not only the person Miyako canonically ends up marrying, but also basically Daisuke’s soulmate, whereas Hikari is basically Miyako’s and also Daisuke’s previous love interest... Thus, one scenario could involve Daisuke and Miyako consoling each other over not “getting the one” they initially desired. Because they’re actually familiar and close enough that it would actually work in my opinion.
This may sound sad and tragic at first glance, but the way I see it, them not focusing on Hikari and Ken is the only way for them to notice each other in a different light; actually looking at the things they share and have in common, realizing how much they may have idealized other people in their lives, how great they actually are - basically allowing themselves to be vulnerable around each other instead of getting defensive. Their walls have been built way too high and while Hikari and Ken were able to tear them down and they tore down theirs (with a slap respectively)... I do believe they could actually tear each other’s walls too IF they took the time to look at each other. They need to acknowledge that the other has soft and caring sides, but once they do, it may become a very (mutually) supportive and more open-minded bond than ever before. They’re both fun-loving, they’re competitive, so they could be challenging each other in more casual, more loving ways too!
Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship:
I know people who are very fond of this ship in a romantic sense. And, as lined up above, there is a lot of unexplored potential in their relationship, based on their character dynamics and patterns alone - so I understand where y’all come from! On the other hand, it is also hard for me personally to not see them with the sibling angle, so for now, I’ll just enjoy them as such!
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