#this handing characters whatever works out for them shit is the antithesis of one piece

[justice4sasuke]

Is it just me or is Gaara badly written? He's not the worst, but at the end of the day I can count with the fingers of one hands who are the only decently written characters in Naruto, and only one of them (Sasuke) is a main character. He's fine in the first part and in some of Shippuden, but then the Kage arc and the 4th ninja war arc act like he's a pure boy uwu that anyone would follow. Like... hello? Dude was a serial killer when he still had milk teeth. Suna has exceptional therapy then.

Anon you don't realize the gift you've given me. I've seen a lot of people running this blog that hate Gaara and I don't hate Gaara, but haven't had a reason to explain myself. I was literally just going to throw him into my final write-ups at the end just for the excuse to talk about him. But since you mentioned it...let's talk about Gaara.

I'm going to admit up-top a lot of this is more emotion based than logical. Which I think is fine. Sometimes you just have feelings about things and feelings are nice. While I'm sure as I go on I'll explain more about what I mean, for now I'll just say as the story is it doesn't logically make sense but I see the through line it would have taken if the story was better written. The issue is that we are more told things and expected to believe things rather than actually being shown them. In accepting these things without much thought I became more emotionally touched by Gaara as a character than I probably would have otherwise and I fully acknowledge that.

What's interesting to me about Gaara first of all is something I'm not sure Kishimoto realized he did (shocker), but all the people Gaara kills or tries to kill are people he perceives to have threatened him. Now go back and consider Rasa had been sending assassins to kill Gaara since he was small and yeah you can see how any slight, no matter how small or how real it might be would lead to him killing that person. Also remember this is a fictional universe where people be killing a lot. Naruto not killing anyone is an outlier. Chouji killed a guy. The morality of this universe isn't one-to-one with our own. As you can see I'm already looking more kindly on Gaara as he is at the start.

Now, as always, do I find Naruto convincing and believe whatever the fuck he does would change Gaara? Not really. But also Gaara seems like the kind of child where he just needed some validation or someone to relate to if I'm honest so whatever. I've said it before, Sasuke Retrieval Arc is Best Arc and I think the part where the Gaara and his siblings show up is very well done. I am hyped for it every time. I love Gaara being kind of awkward and making a lot of social faux paus when talking to Lee ("you were faster last time we met" YEAH GAARA AND THERE'S A REASON HE'S NOT AS FAST AS HE WAS THEN MAYBE YOU REMEMBER IT) and seeing him talk through his new understanding of relationships. Would it have been more effective if we actually SAW Gaara learning about relationships and trying to be better? Yeah. But the narrative couldn't afford that time I guess and Kishimoto wouldn't know character establishment that wasn't directly tied to the plot if it bit him on the ass. Still, I got the idea so I saw the thing, I liked the thing.

Okay, Shippuden Gaara is kazekage. Dumb and also more proof this kage thing is some nepotism shit. But once again I can appreciate the idea that Gaara has now had an epiphany that he has found what he wants to protect and be his special thing and that is his village. I like the sentiment. Funnily this whole arc hinges on Gaara and I don't feel he does much of anything so that's that on that.

Kage Summit time. I got to give it up for Gaara laying the rest of the kage's out. I love a good read and that was a Read ("ask us anything you want." "when did you all forsake yourselves?" you better work you fucking bitch) and I appreciate that Gaara is able to extend his sympathies to Sasuke. He doesn't know anything he just knows Sasuke showed up to attack one of them and now they got to fight, but he can still feel sad about it. Gaara telling Naruto he should put Sasuke down like an old dog is not cool though, even if he doesn't know what happened.

Leading the war. Would be more impactful and probably would have meant more to readers if we actually SAW Gaara, but like most characters he is sidelined for Naruto's bullshit and Sasuke. I understand why it doesn't move people, but I can picture in my head how we got here and it does move me that this scared, angry kid can now rally thousands of people and speak sincerely and emotionally.

Now where I start having problems that have nothing to do with Gaara as a character really. I hate Kishimoto's tendency to "fix" things by just giving the character what they want/need. He does this mostly with Naruto as I said (control the Fox powers, parents, teachers, validation), but for some reason he decides to do it with Gaara. Rasa comes back to life just to tell Gaara his mother and uncle always loved him and blah blah. I don't have a problem with his mom and uncle always caring about him. I think that makes sense. The problem is that Gaara (ostensibly since Kishimoto likes to tell and not show) went through all of this to get to the point where he is now, rallying an army and being emotionally vulnerable, and having it turn out he was loved all long kind of defeats the purpose. The point is that was handed a raw deal, he didn't know what love was, he didn't understand it, but he was able to learn how to love anyway. You can make love where there was none before. You can overcome your parent's shittiness and be a better person and make a better world. Gaara did not need to know that his mother and uncle loved him for that to matter. But it gets handed to him anyway, like a reward for being good enough, when I truly believe it should not matter and takes the power out of Gaara being the person he turned out to be.

Anyway, that's my Gaara screed I guess. I like him. Completely understand if others don't, but I mean give it some thought at least. Feel free to share your thoughts as long as we are all respecting each others emotional truths.

#this handing characters whatever works out for them shit is the antithesis of one piece #i once again show my hand as having more feelings for a naruto character than necessary #j4s asks

[metalheadmickey]

There are few fictional relationships that make me feel more unhinged than Mickey & Terry. And I’m sure it’s been dissected to death, but I think about their confrontation at the beginning of 10x11 a lot and it makes me feel extremely. So here I am to talk about why. CW: abuse and homophobia below the cut (I mean, it’s Terry).

I don’t think I need to give a history lesson here, but the abuse and violence Mickey endured by Terry’s hand unfortunately shaped a lot of Mickey’s life. Mickey didn’t take forever to be comfortable and open with Ian because he wanted to, he didn’t marry a woman because he wanted to, he didn’t live a lie for so long because he wanted to. This all happened because he actually, literally feared for his life. Additionally, there was the complicated fact of him starving and striving for his abuser’s approval. He wanted more than just bodily safety; he wanted to be in good standing with Terry. This is despite enduring what he described as torture. Terry “tortured [him] every day for years,” and yet he still desired a relationship with him. This happens sometimes in abusive relationships, it’s definitely not unusual that he felt that way. But it’s still hard to watch, knowing about their background and knowing that Mickey was aware of what Terry was capable of.

Mickey knowing what Terry was capable of is precisely why their interaction at the beginning of 10x11 made me go “yooooo” out loud at my TV at the end of the scene. I had to pause it, my eyes were bugging out of my head, I had to let it sink in, etc. etc. It really struck me hard. Mickey heard Terry shouting slurs at him from outside on the damn sidewalk where anyone could hear, and he put on an unamused look and stepped outside and walked right up to him. Terry pulled out a gun, and Mickey did not even flinch and instead pulled out one of his own. He listened to his father berate and then threaten him, and instead of backing down he proceeded to do the opposite of what he had done his whole life and deliberately said shit that would piss Terry off. And on top of it, he then went back into the house and started planning his big gay wedding with specific details designed to make Terry mad. He wanted to rub his happiness, his gay love, in that prick’s face. And he begins this endeavor with that line “I definitely love one.”

There’s an important detail in that exchange (“You must really love cock.” “I definitely love one.”) that is what ultimately elevates this scene from merely insanity-inducing to "Jessie will never be normal about this ever in their entire life," and that’s Mickey’s wording. It’s such a good comeback and it hits so hard, but it’s important that it also hits Terry hard. And it does, because he used language that Terry understood. I think if he had phrased it differently by saying something like “I just love Ian” or “I’m just in love” or something similar, it wouldn’t have landed the same with Terry. Terry had taken Mickey’s gayness and reduced it to something so base and vulgar because he hates gay people and doesn’t care to know shit about the gay experience. And instead of throwing his gay love in Terry’s face by using language that’s less horrendously offensive, Mickey fucking embraces it. Mickey takes Terry’s words and twists them to suit himself and throws them back at him. Mickey’s gay and he loves cock, and he definitely loves his partner’s cock. You know, his partner? Who he’s in love with? And gonna marry? Because the gay experience isn’t just about sex? Mickey’s not getting married because he wants to get fucked, he’s getting married because he’s in love. Terry doesn’t give a shit about all that and Mickey knows this, so his comeback utilizes language that Terry can wrap his head around, but he still manages to convey the fact that he’s in fucking love with one person. It’s affirmation and ownership and it is so badass. Terry was actively trying to be cruel and Mickey threw back at him in one of the most elegant comebacks I have ever seen. And yeah, we know Mickey is capable of being vulgar as hell, so it’s not like saying something like this is particularly out of character for him anyway. It just worked so damn well in accomplishing the goal of getting Terry to shut the fuck up while conveying to Terry and the audience that he’s in love and willing to engage in risky behavior to defend it.

I mean, he was doing all this with a gun in his face. Terry wanted him to feel fear, he wanted him to feel threatened because he genuinely thought that Mickey deserved to experience violence, and he wanted him to feel ashamed. But Mickey decided years ago that he was done feeling fucking ashamed, and he was so accustomed to Terry’s violent behavior. So whether he stood up to him with a gun in his face because he was desensitized to Terry’s violence or because he just decided to be brave and ignore whatever fear he may have been feeling in that moment, either reason speaks volumes. If he did it because he was desensitized to Terry’s violence then that really speaks to the tragedy of his upbringing. If he did it because he just decided to be brave in that moment then that speaks to just how much he was willing to risk for his principles. Either way, he could’ve ended up dead. We know this because Terry does end up trying to shoot him in the end. And yes, Mickey had his gun aimed at Terry, but I don’t know if I think he’d actually shoot him and I think his actions towards Terry in season 11 may speak to that. But Terry would shoot. And he does shoot later on. Again, he knew what Terry is capable of. And he stood up to him anyway and it was amazing to watch. Mickey used to be so afraid of Terry that he feared for his life while vying for approval. He used to live in a way that was the very antithesis of what he actually wanted for himself, just for his piece of shit father. And in this scene he shows us just how far removed he is from that fearful kid now, openly in love with his partner and standing up to his father in a way that will expressly make him angry about his gayness specifically, the thing that he was so tortured over in his youth. Tortured because he was hiding out of fear and the internal conflict that he experienced because of that, and then physically and emotionally tortured by his father once he’s found out. That abuse may have shaped his past, but he was ready to move the fuck on and not let it define his future. So this scene is just unreal. A neat little package of character and relationship/dynamic development in a little 70-second scene that packs an enormous punch.

#just feeling unhinged about mickey milkovich again nothing new here #alright i made the post where's howl and kee #howl this is probably a lot more rambly than you were expecting but i had to get it out there #mickey #mickey & terry #gallavich adjacent #shameless #shameless meta #gallavich

[makeste]

in which Deku is a horcrux.

okay, so! here’s another post on this, because I feel like nobody is talking about it?? and like hey, I get it, because there was A Lot!! going on in this chapter! but you guys. like yeah, Tomura’s hair is pretty; and yeah, AFO kept Nana’s severed hand around for shits and giggles maybe; and yeah, Ujiko attempted to murder and abduct the child!Aizawa and then whined to Present Mic about having to settle for Shirakumo instead (which!!!!! YEAH, THAT’S. ....); and all of that is Some Shit!!

but also, guys. can we talk about how Deku has a fucking psychic link to AFO, though.

like hey, remember this?

the timing of which coincided with this?

yeah. and now we have this!!

coinciding with this!

so yeah. let’s break this all down really quick.

okay so here’s the theory in a nutshell.

1. AFO steals a power-stockpiling quirk from some hapless nobody, probably around 200 years ago. he doesn’t know it’s a power-stockpiling quirk, though. he thinks it’s a strength quirk. hence why he’s surprised to discover that it doesn’t seem to be working after he takes it! since quirks are still relatively new at this time, there’s a lot that people still don’t understand about them, and so he doesn’t realize he’s actually dealing with what Monoma would call a “blank.”

so what AFO thought was a strength quirk turned out to be useless for him, because he only copied the bare-bones essence of the quirk and not the accumulated power. disappointing, but not the end of the world. except that he’s about to go and make it a whole lot worse for himself.

2. so he decides to give this “useless” quirk to his quirkless younger brother as a means of getting him to submit! except that this backfires. because of this curious fact about OFA/AFO:

  basically, the accumulated power of OFA can’t be taken by force (as Monoma discovered). but it can be transferred if the holder gives it to someone willingly. which, oh hey guess what, AFO actually did.

oop.

3. so basically, AFO had this power-stockpiling quirk sitting inside of him, stockpiling his power, until he willingly gave it up to his younger brother, and by doing so transferred a part of his own power into his brother as well. and these two powers which he transferred -- All for One, and the power-stocker -- combined to form what we think of as “One for All.” a quirk which stockpiles power and can be transferred from person to person (just as AFO can transfer quirks to other people at will).

4. and last but not least, we now know that’s not all that gets transferred from person to person.

so yeah. (: catch my meaning now?

so basically OFA is and has always been a duplicate of AFO. but unlike the quirk Tomura now bears, this version of AFO was transferred unintentionally. the results, however, are more or less the same! Deku now bears a piece of AFO’s soul inside of him much like Tomura now appears to. this is the only explanation that I can see for why he’s able to sense the awakening of Tomura 2.0 AFO’S Revenge as it’s happening, even though he’s miles away. the part of AFO that resides in him is still linked to the original quirk. just like AFO is linked to Tomura. because yeah lol I’m pretty sure he is you guys.

(: (: (:

so what are the implications of this? well for starters, it looks to me like Deku, AFO, and Tomura all have some connection to each other’s minds. the extent of this is still unknown, so like this doesn’t necessarily mean Deku is going to start making random appearances in Tomura’s mental landscape a la Kylo Ren, or vice versa. or that AFO can spy on the good guys by peering into Deku’s mind. but there is definitely some kind of psychic bond there which is going to be important, mark my words. hell, it already is becoming important; Deku being aware of Tomura’s resurgence is going to have a huge ripple effect on the events of the upcoming chapters. particularly if he, Shouto, and Katsuki end up leaving their assigned posts and running off to help Aizawa, Endeavor, and the rest. there are tons of potential plot implications for this moving forward.

then there’s also the as-yet-unknown depths of the link that’s now present between AFO and Tomura. I’m of the opinion that this is a part of AFO’s soul that’s now residing within Tomura, just as pieces of the Vestiges’ souls are currently chilling out within Deku. I don’t think AFO would have willingly given his power to Tomura unless he had some way of ensuring that he himself would live on in some way. AFO is the antithesis of everything All Might and Deku and OFA represent; if OFA symbolizes selflessness and sacrifice and many souls working together toward a common goal, then AFO represents egoism and greed and the sacrificing of many to benefit only one. OFA is give; AFO is take. AFO has no regard for others. he cares only about himself.

so for AFO to take a page from OFA’s book and decide to pass on his strength to another strikes me as a very uncharacteristic decision on his part. sure, he still gets his revenge, but what’s the point if he’s not around to see it? is he even capable of that kind of thinking? of understanding the concept of living on through someone else? and then there’s the fact that he started raising Tomura as his successor years before he suffered his injury at the hands of All Might. so was he planning this even back then? if so, one has to think there was more to it than him simply giving up his quirk in order to allow Tomura to succeed where he never could. I just don’t feel like it’s the kind of thing he would ever do unless he would somehow be able to bask in that moment himself when it finally came. he just doesn’t do things unless they benefit him directly. I don’t feel like the mere knowledge that Tomura would carry on his mission while he rots away in a jail cell would be enough. not for him; not for someone whose entire character is built around selfishness and greed and an unbridled thirst to make everything his.

but if he gets to somehow live on as part of Tomura, though. through his quirk. if it really is like a horcrux, where that piece of his soul has the capability to continue living on even if the original is destroyed. now, that. that would change everything. because that means he can still be the one in control. he can pull Tomura’s strings from within the shadows of his mind. he can see for himself the look on All Might’s face when he’s killed by the grandson of the woman he thought of as his own mother. he can continue to live on, to rule over everything, to be the lord of evil. so yeah. again, I feel like this is the only thing that would actually make sense, given the kind of person that he is.

anyways, so! lots to think about. and lots of questions remaining to be answered! is AFO aware of the connection he has with All Might’s successor as well as his own? (if so, that’s a huge and very dangerous powder keg which could potentially go off at any moment.) will Tomura, who much like Zuko in a:tla is now caught between two conflicting legacies -- that of the monstrous man who raised him, and that of his grandmother’s blood which runs through him -- prove to be less of a willing puppet than AFO anticipated? particularly if this implied new connection with Deku -- someone who is the complete opposite of AFO in many ways and whose influence would be so starkly unlike any other that Tomura has had in his life since his family died -- ends up panning out in ways AFO did not foresee? and of course, the biggest question of all, “is this theory really true to begin with, or is this all just a giant reach based on inconclusive evidence which we don’t fully understand yet?”

and maybe! lol. but like I said, whatever the actual truth ends up being, I didn’t see much discussion going on about the implications of this strange “he’s coming!” moment. and gosh darn it, I want to know more about this, and I want to know now.

#bnha 270 #bnha meta #shigaraki tomura #midoriya izuku #all for one #one for all #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #long post #bnha theory #all for one for all #horcrux!deku #ofa the first

[swans-anime-ramblings]

“Luffy had no reaction to Boa...doesn’t that mean he won’t have romance?”

I’ve been debating about posting this blog because I was hesitant about the kind of reaction it would receive. But I think this topic is worth discussing logically.

Alright, so let’s dig into this thing.

If we’re going to understand Luffy and his actions (or not actions) towards Boa, then we have to first understand him as being a character that fits the Battle Shonen archetype. The genre, despite people’s complaints about it, is the most popular type of manga/anime genre there is. And One Piece, for all its glorious writing, world building and character development, is perfectly happy to sit in its genre, with Luffy fitting right into the hero archetype.

Where did this archetype even come from? It may surprise you to learn that Dragon Ball is in fact the grandfather of modern Shonen. You know what kind of stories were running in WSJ as DB’s contemporaries? Big burley manly men who never changed or progressed like Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star.

 And the antithesis of this is Goku, little innocent Goku who takes this character type and flip it on its head.  (Kid Goku is so cute guys! *cries*)

Toriyama’s writing absolutely can’t be understated here. Nobody had ever seen anything like Dragon Ball. It became a cultural phenomenon. It became a blueprint for success. 

The classic Shonen Hero archetype has evolved into the following:

innocent

clueless when it comes to love

loves to fight/ get stronger

has a catch phrase

wants to protect their “Nakama”

thinks before they act

often stupid or a simpleton

gains power ups through training and other means

cute

Within the archetype you’ve got big hitters such as:

Goku— the OG who was so clueless, he couldn’t tell someone’s gender without slapping them in the crotch. Also obsessed with getting stronger to the detriment of, well, everything

Luffy— the uber innocent muffin who will do anything for his crew, and will go out of his way for people if it concerns their dreams. Aware of his weaknesses more than the others, Also really dumb at first

Naruto--- the misfit who starts out peeping at girls but then ends up taking on the burden of the entire world, because he’s THAT concerned about everyone and everything. Definitely the most selfless, has dumb moments, but smarter than the others

Ichigo--- the lovable grump who literally doesn’t give a shit. Coolest one of the bunch

Natsu--- loves his friends so much he gains power ups in the middle of the battle to win through the power of friendship. Probably the funniest one, takes life one job request at a time

Asta— the new kid on the block. Constantly yells to the point of irritation, believes working hard will solve all problems, doesn’t understand how relationships work and that nuns don’t get married

Deku— I know people will ask. Yes, he is a Shonen Hero, But doesn’t fit into the archetype so be will be left out of the discussion (the kid actually suffers from overthinking...complete opposite than these lovable idiots)

So, for fun, let’s throw all these Shonen Heroes into the same situation Luffy found himself in

All of these heroes fall through the ceiling and into Boa Hancock’s bath where they come face to face with the most beautiful woman on the planet who is naked.

Goku: completely unphased by Boa’s beauty. Asks who Boa is, and when she gets pissed, stands there with a “huh?” Look on his face when she shoots the love beam at him. After it has no effect, Goku puts his hand up with a smile and then says, “see ya!” Before flying off. Probably more concerned with where Vegeta went and if he managed to find a new level of Super Saiyan

Naruto: definitely phased by Boa. Would probably turn to stone ahahahaha

Ichigo: after being annoyed because he fell through the roof, would take one look at Boa, and get flustered out of embarrassment. By the time Boa tries to question him, he’s already left and found the exit.

Natsu: upon falling into the bath, he’d also be completely unphased by Boa. Would most likely take note of her earrings and ask about them. He’d probably also end up saying something Boa would find unbelievably rude, but something I would laugh hysterically at. “Woah?! Is that your guild mark?! Cool!!!” 

Asta: I imagine Asta would most likely cover his eyes out of courtesy, and ask for the way out. When Boa gets mad and asks why he’s not head over heals for her, nor why he’s looking at her body, he’d say something like, “sister Lilly is waiting for me” and then leave. *sigh*

So here’s my point. Three of our boys would have the same exact reaction as Luffy. When it comes to the archetype, lusting after girls simply isn’t in their nature. Natsu’s reaction to a naked Lucy was to cover her boobs with his hands “fine I’ll cover them” he sighs in the dub. No lustful reaction whatsoever. I’m pretty sure any normal guy would, um, not react that way. He looks so bored.

Asta refused to peep at a girls bath (way to shut that down buddy), and Goku’s seen plenty of naked people and he doesn’t care. He even has the same reaction in Dragon Ball Super, after he’s married, when he accidentally sees another woman naked (who is very beautiful).

(Harsh reaction there Goku, lmao)

Luffy’s reaction to Boa is completely in line with the archetype. The innocent nature of the main character is extremely important. Oda even says in the SBS that it would just be plain weird for Luffy to get a nose bleed. I agree.

So, do our boys reactions to Boa mean romance isn’t possible for them? Of course not. Goku got married and had 2 kids. Naruto, who is the most interested in women, got married. Ichigo ended up with someone and had a kid. Natsu’s relationship with Lucy isn’t “canon” yet, buuuttt with this sequel coming and all the art Mashima’s been posting, I think we can all just call it and it’ll be happening. As for Asta, the manga is still young so it’s hard to say, but judging how Tabata is treating romance in his manga, I’d say It’s a distinct possibility. Asta does have a low-key herem going on 🤷‍♀️

When Goku was a kid, he came across a foe who could turn evil (ie bad thoughts) into a weapon and kill you. Goku was the only person to ever survive because he has no impure thoughts. It basically works the same way as Boa’s love-love beam.

This innocence is why Goku can ride his magical flying cloud the Kinto-Un, aka the Flying Nimbus. That innocence in Goku stays with him forever, too. Goku can ride the cloud after he’s gotten married and created spawns. The idea is, sex isn’t dirty. It’s just how you treat it may or may not make it dirty (ie unwarranted advances). Master Roshi, Goku’s perverted teacher, can’t ride the Kinto-Un. Using Goku as an example, our innocent muffins can still have romance/make babies. Their highly innocent nature doesn’t stop them, but normally with these types, they will only have romance/make babies if it’s with one very special person.

This is important to remember; for this genre, romance is a part of maturing and growing up. Most of these shonen heroes end up with someone once they’ve passed a certain point. 

In One Piece Specifically 

When it comes to Oda’s writing specifically, romance between characters doesn’t really play a huge role in One Piece like the way it does in Naruto and Fairy Tail. Everyone who reads OP should recognize this. Whatever ends up happening at the end of One Piece, there aren’t going to be a zillion pairings and those pairings staring off into the sunset. 

There’s that famous line from Oda where he answered a question in the SBS (from chapter 317)

D: Doesn't anyone on Luffy's crew fall in love? Will there never be a tale of on-board romance? (Sanji is an exception in this case) I'm just wondering.

O: OF COURSE THEY'RE IN LOVE... WITH ADVENTURE! (← good one)

The SBS is a place where Oda jokes around with his readers. I think his answer is a good answer because it’s true, and when it comes down to it, a deflective answer.  And whatever else Oda has said or hasn’t said in magazines or interviews, Oda can change his mind about what he wants to include or not include in his manga.

The reason I think this is worth bringing up is because I can see a storytelling shift which has changed in his manga. Romance in any capacity used to play almost no role in the early story. Just think about the type of characters he was creating. You’ve got Nolan’s descendant who hangs out with guys that look like monkeys. You’ve got the giants of Elbaf, you’ve got the Galley-Law company guys. There’s hardly any blood families in the first half either. Vivi and her Dad are a notable example, but they are the minority, not the majority. The first half of the story was mostly focused on people who were not blood related and were making their own families, like the Franky family. Like the Strawhats. 

Post time-skip and New World, we’ve got a very different story being told. With Kyros and his wife Scarlet, Oda actually gave us the backstory to their romance! Dressrosa was set up a bit for that type of story, but I still find it notable. It wasn’t necessary for character motivations for Kyros. It felt like Oda wrote it because he wanted to.

You’ve got romance playing a big role in Whole Cake Island, even with Chiffon and Bege. This is a married couple with a young son, and not the type of characters we’d see in the early story. Sanji and Pudding were more of a serious type of relationship, even with Sanji “choosing to feel love” for Pudding. Guys, that’s...mature. We’ve seen a lot more blood ties in the New World, even to the point of the Big Mom pirates, dysfunctional as they are. 

In the end, you write what you know. When One Piece started, Oda was a single guy, now he’s in his early 40′s with a daughter. The types of stories he’s telling now are based on more mature aspects of his own life. 

Does this mean Luffy will most definitely end up with someone? Of course not. There’s a distinct possibility OP will end with Luffy as he is and there be no pairings of any sort.

But to dismiss the possibility of parings based on Luffy’s reaction to women or something Oda said back in some interview, is also too dismissive of a stance to take. Like his Shonen counterparts, romance for Luffy is a possibility. Remember what I said about the genre; romance is sign of growing up and maturing. Luffy is still growing and maturing, so it isn’t out of the cards.

In the end, Only Oda knows. Until One Piece has concluded, we’ll have to wait and see. 

#luffy #lunami #luna #luffyxnami #luffy ship

[terresdebrumestories]

For a Napollya prompt could I maybe request an AU where Illya works as a CIA/FBI agent working to capture the very annoying and slippery art thief who constantly flirts with him while on the job? (You can choose whichever time period this takes place in, could be modern day, 20s, 60s or whatever)

Settlement

Fandom: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Movie)Series: -Rating: General audiencesWordcount: 1 450 wordsPairing(s): NapollyaCharacter(s): Napoleon Solo, Illya Kuryakin.Genre: Hidden declarations of commitment.Trigger warning(s): None that I’m aware of.Summary: It isn’t the first time this happened and, honestly, it’s not the most frustrating either. The Youtube fake fire is a bit much, though.Note(s): Thanks for this prompt, I liked it very much! (As evidenced by how it’s like. Triple the size of my usual FFN stories.) It could probably use a bit of polishing to be a better story, but my unofficial rule for these things is ‘write, spell check, post’ unless the first version is truly horrendous (if I start treating my Flash Fic prompts like my longer stories, I won’t be able to call them flash fics at all tbh) so…have this. Thanks again, Nonners! TMFU is my current obsession and I could use more training for writing our favorite spie :3

“Ihope you like carbonara,” Solo’s voice announces from thekitchen, “I couldn’t find the ingredients for anything fancier.”

Illya,still halfway into the hallway with his hand on his gun, takes asecond to sigh and press at the headache budding between his eyesbefore he holsters his weapon. Solo must have ascribed some sort ofmeaning to the silence, though, because he steps out of the kitchenwith a shit eating grin and the most garish apron Illya has ever seenin his life. And that includes the cowboys and cacti model the manwore when he first did this, back in Berlin.

“Youreally need to take better care of your kitchen, you know.”

Illyagives him the kind of flat stare that makes his colleagues pause andthe new recruits reconsider talking to him altogether. It would bemore efficient if Solo hadn’t been immune to it from the beginning,but just because the stupid American doesn’t have any sense ofshame or decency doesn’t mean Illya needs to indulge him. He doesholster his gun, though. He can’t shoot an unarmed suspect,especially one without a violent history, and Solo missed far toomany opportunities to hurt him to play that card now.

“You’reand international thief,” Illya tells the man as he closes the doorbehind him, “I don’t take suggestions from you.”

“Internationalart thief,” Solo corrects, walking back to the stove, “andyou did ditch the bow tie.”

Illyarefuses to raise to the bait but, Solo is just conceited enough totake any kind of answer as a confirmation of guilt. It wouldn’trankle so much if he were wrong but, well. Illya did have doubtsabout the bow tie before Rome, and Solo may be many things, but he’sdefinitely not tasteless. Nothing in the world could make himoutright admit that, though.

Hesighs.

“Why?”

“Youforgot?” Solo tosses over his shoulder with mock hurt. “Tovarishch,I’m offended.”

Illyarolls his eyes and, because he knows he won’t have peace until heagrees to the stupid masquerade, goes to fetch cutlery in the drawersand set up a table for two.

“Oh,dining room, please,” Solo says when he realizes Illya is going forthe kitchen table. “I’m not having an anniversary dinner on aFormica table.”

“It’sa practical material,” he says.

Illyahasn’t learned enough French to catch the exact meaning of Solo’sreply, but the disdainful tone is easy to catch. He ignores it,leaving two plates with Solo and going to set the rest of the tableinstead. He can’t quite restrain a scandalizes noise when herealizes Solo pulled up a ten-hours loop of burning log on the TV.

“Itis an anniversary, Tovarishch. Did you expect me to put soccer on?”

“Ihear Marseilles is playing Paris,” Illya replies while he tries toremember on which side of the plate the fork goes in Italianetiquette. “The whole office talked about that today.”

“Andnot me?”

Solohas appeared in the living room with two plates in hand, apron tossedoff to reveal the pin-stripped three piece suit underneath: asingle-breasted navy thing that cost as much as Illya’s currentcouch. It’s still an Anderson & Sheppard, though, and Illyasuspects half the reason is because the shop is discreet enough notto let Solo’s appointment hours slip out to Interpol until it’stoo late or entirely unavoidable.

“Clearly,”Solo concludes as he sets the plates side by side on the coffeetable, “I need to put in some effort. I was thinking about aModigliani, next time.”

Solohates Modigliani, and even if he didn’t Illya knows better than toexpect a straight admission of intent from him. He makes a note tomention it to the team just in case, though, see if there’sanything more behind the reference than mere fancy. It isn’t as ifthey’ve had much to work with these past few months, anyway. Illyahasn’t heard anything new on Solo in weeks before tonight.

“Goingsoft, Solo?” He asks, frowning at the shiver of dislike thatcourses through his chest at the thought.

“Thinkingof retiring, actually.”

Illyaknows he shouldn’t have turned so fast. At the very least, heshould have avoided knocking his empty wine glass to the ground. Hehas been chasing Solo for thepast five years or so now, though. Hearing the whole thing might bein vain is bound to be a shock. A rather nasty one, too, if therhythm of his heart is to be believed.

“I’mforty-one—”

“Thirty-nine,”Illya corrects, just to remind the man he knows him better than that.

“I’mat a turning point of life is what I’m saying, Tovarishch,” Solocontinues as if he hadn’t noticed the interruption. “Believe mewhen I say this comes as a complete surprise, but these days I’vefound myself longing for some form of…long-term presence, shall wesay. Much as I love my job—”

“It’snot a real job.”

Illyadoesn’t realize he’s been expecting Solo to respond by defendinghis thieving until what comes out of the man’s mouth instead is:

“Yes,well, it still keeps me too busy for an actual social life.”

Illyastares at Solo, the shock of revelation pulling sarcasm out of hisreach.

“You’reserious,” he says.

Solosmiles, shrugs, and digs into his spaghetti like he didn’t justdrop the mother of all bombshells in Illya’s lap. The radius isextremely relative, Illya knows, but still! Five years of mostlysingle-minded pursuit took over hislife as well. He can’t even comprehend the thought of a lifewithout it, yet. It’s too vast, too abrupt, too…damn.

“Ihave what it takes to vanish,” Solo continues after a fewmouthfuls. “I could be gone tomorrow.”

Well,that bit, at least,was expected. It doesn’t make it any easier to swallow, though, andIllya reaches for the wine bottle Solo must have brought from theoutside, fills his over sized glass to the brim, and drains it in onego. His fingers shiver when he’s done, and he doesn’t feel anymore settled, but at least it catches Solo’s attention.

“Sothis is goodbye, then?” Illya manages through gritted teeth.

Theway Solo sets his fork and knife down on the table should probablynot be that satisfying, but then Illya gave up on ‘probably shouldnot’s somewhere between the third time Solo sneaked in his hotelroom for dinner and the first time he got Illya a Christmas gift. (Itwas a pair of silver cuff-links with a hammer and sickle on them. Thebox included a receipt with the words ‘the things I do for you’in Solo’s neat cursive at the bottom.)

Hehasn’t relented in his efforts to catch the man, far from it! He’sgot a couple of broken ribs and a messy cut on his hand to attest forSolo’s messier escape. It’s just that somewhere in the past fiveyears, his disdain for Solo shifted to grudging respect, toappreciation, to the sort of admiration that comes with worthycompetition. He still wants to catch him, he’s just much lesslikely to gloat about it when he does.

“Itcan be,” Solo says after a long time. “If you want.”

Hestill looks infuriatingly put together. Meanwhile, Illya’s handsache with how hard he clutches his fork, and he’s fairly sure he’sabout to break his teeth or something. It’s still a wildlyinappropriate reaction, but at least a minute ago it didn’t hurt.

“I…Iwould miss you, though,” Solo says at last.

Thistime, when Illya turns around, he finds the man looking down at hisplate, carefully chewing around a mouthful of pasta. Illya stompsdown on the ludicrous bubble of golden hope in his chest and asks:

“Areyou saying this because you’re hoping to get out of prison.”

“Please,”Solo protests, the veneer of self-assured sarcasm sliding back intoplace, “I’m not naive enough to think that’s possible. And likeI said, I don’t need your help to get out of a sentence.”

Hepauses, settling his cutlery down on the side of his plate and givinghis fingernails a careful look before he looks Illya in the eyes andcontinues:

“If,however, you aren’t too tired of my presence, I wouldbe…amenable. To negotiation.”

KissingSolo right then and there is just about the antithesis ofprofessional behavior, and once he writes it down in his report he’llhear about it until the end of his days. He’ll be damned if Solodoesn’t make it worth his while, though.

#TMFU #Napollya #Illya Kuryakin #Napoleon Solo #TMFU Fic #The Man From U.N.C.L.E. #Fanfiction #Flash Fic Night #Nonner #Assbox Adventures #My Posts #15n #20n

[mrfippstuff]

I’m going to talk about RWBY V4

Because why not?

A bit late to the party I suppose, but everyone is doing it and I do have some thoughts on Volume 4 of RWBY, so I thought I might as well get some things off my chest. I’ll be starting from what I disliked the most and work my way up from there.

Blake’s Story

To be perfectly honest I found Blake’s share of the volume to be somewhat unbearable, it doesn’t really offer anything new for her, it’s just a retread of what she went through the in the first three volumes: she runs away from something that troubles her and a friend has to pull her back and tells her she is wrong. She runs away from Beacon and her friends in a bid to protect them from the White Fang, but she heads straight to her parents? We learned a lot about Blake’s pre-Beacon life and the more I learned about it the less I like it, her and everything about the Faunus storyline. While I can’t say it exactly contradicts anything we knew about her, the reveal that she was the daughter of the then-leader of the White Fang and now-leader of Menagerie does not gel with what most people were thinking about her life. Most people thought she had to struggle and endure a lot for the fight for equality, but she grew up in a tropical paradise, in a giant mansion, on an island where the populations seems to entirely Faunus? The biggest problem with this storyline is that we never see any sort of racism against Faunus, Weiss, Roman and Cardin were the only people who showed negative thoughts against them, and even then it doesn’t feel like I think it’s supposed to. Cardin seemed like an asshole to everyone, Torchwick was too enjoyable of a character, and Weiss’ views seemed like they were retconned back in V2. She came to Beacon thinking that all Faunus were murderers and thieves and given the proper chance would join the White Fang without hesitation, then she later says she came to Beacon to make things right by the SDC Faunus workers? Even Menagerie, which we were told was overcrowded and kind of shitty actually looks great, easily one of the better looking and more scenic places in the show with tons of space to in the jungles to expand. Overall this makes the White Fang seem like nothing more than cartoon villain henchman who are villains just because the heroes need someone to beat up. There was a moment, however, where we were introduced to the idea that Adam was leading a splinter group of the White Fang, but that idea was killed not even a minute it was introduced.

Another issues is that Blake is the daughter someone who led the White Fang and is now the leader of the Faunus capital. The name “Belladonna” should be a much more known name, Weiss of all people should have called Blake out on that, but no one ever says anything about it, not even when her name was on screen of the Vytal Tournament for the world to see.

Blake and Sun also suffered as characters. Blake was just unpleasant in most of her scenes, being snappy and dismissive towards anyone who tried to talk sense into her, and while I would have understood this sort of attitude given the situation, the fact that they’re repeating the same arc for her won’t let me. Sun somehow got it worst because outside his last scene with Blake everything that come out of his mouth is terrible, it’s like the writers simply can’t write him as anything as being a shitty comic relief. I’ve mentioned it before, but the things I hated most about the SSSN vs NDGO fight was that it was nothing but bad jokes for the sake of them, and none of them hitting, and that seems to apply to Sun on his own. It’s like they made no effort to write him in any serious manner.

0/10 honestly.

Yang’s Story

At the end of V3, out of all the characters Yang had been unloaded with the most baggage. She lost her arm and she was left behind by most of the people she cared about, put that on top of previously established abandonment issues, she had the most work to do when it came to her own personal demons. Out of everyone, she should have been a gold mine of things to work with, but we got nothing from her. While the first scene with her was good at establishing where she was in life, all the issues she had were introduced, glanced over, and were seemingly resolved in no time. She more or less was given fifteen minute, and the only thing that really happened was that she was given a robot arm at the end of her first episode, and had it on by her second. That’s the exact thing I didn’t want to happen, and it really makes me think that the fact that she had lost her arm will never be brought up in any meaningful light ever again.

3/10 here.

Weiss’ Story

While Blake’s story was terrible, and Yang’s was disappointing, Weiss’ was boring and predictable. It went like I thought it was going to go, hit all the story beats I knew it was, and there was nothing I didn’t expect. Like Blake’s, it’s just redoing her previous story and adds nothing really new aside from Whitley, who seems like the most last-minute addition of a character I ever saw. The moment I saw him I more or less guessed what his role was going to be, just to be an obstacle in Weiss way who just happens to be a Jacques 2.0, and it just seems redundant, and I don’t expect anything much more than that from him. I actually even lowered my opinion of Weiss because of the time skip, since V4 was about 6-8 months after Beacon, but she spent all that time moping and staring out her window? She really did nothing during that time to further her own goals? She wants to run the SDC, but all she did during that time was be sad? It really makes me wonder if she actually has a plan for the SDC since she didn’t seem like she really worked for it, that she was just expecting it to fall into her lap.

Then there’s the summoned knight. On one hand, as a Jojo fan I appreciate her knight since it would make Weiss a Stand User (it’s just a great sword variant of Silver Chariot), but from a narrative perspective I hate it. Things like Dust, Aura and Semblances have always been vaguely defined, and the way Weiss’ powers work makes it look like it’s just magic and that she can do whatever the writers want. With what she had to start with, Weiss already had a very variable moveset, so there didn’t seem like there needed to be a power up like that, which seems like a separate power rather than a branching ability of what she already knew. Then there is tying it to her character development, but that’s something that should have been from the start instead of 1/3 through V3. They should not have introduced something like this so later into her character development if it was going to matter this much.

So 5/10 for her.

Honestly the WBY stories fell like filler for the most par with the obvious end goal of each one to get them to Haven and have them meet up with Ruby. Splitting up the team seems more like a novelty than anything else, like they did it because they could but never put thought into what to do with that. It’s just the tournament all over again. It presents interesting ideas, but the way it follows them up is a massive let down.

Ruby/RNJR/Oscar/Villains AKA Main Plot

While I disliked WBY’s part of the volume,I have to say I much more favorable view the actual plot part.

At first I was rather skeptical of Hazel, Watts and Tyrian,Tyrian in particular, but after his encounter in RNJR and Qrow, Tyrian is on a fast track to becoming a favorite villain of mine. He was an enjoyable character to watch and his interactions with the heroes were great, and the reveal that he has this fanatical worship of Salem to the point where her being disappointed in him is enough to drive him to tear-ridden lunacy was just fantastic, and it gives me high hopes for Hazel and Watts. This volume also did a lot in turning my opinion on Cinder around. I disliked her very much because she was always over confident and smug without me feeling that she really earned it, skulking in the shadows being vague and mysterious for the sake of it with master plans, even though most of her victories were more of a result of her opposition’s failures than her successes. They tried to play her as this all seeing chess master, but the writers but they had to stick her into the spotlight, but she was terribly boring and all the other villains around her were so much better than her. Then V4 comes around and she is the broken and mute cripple who struggles to even stand up, she is the bottom tier of Salem’s followers and is openly mocked by her superiors, and the Maiden powers she tore Beacon down for seemingly came with a devastating weakness she didn’t even know about. Back in V3 she said she wanted to be powerful and feared, but she is now the antithesis of that, even though Beacon was technical success for her, she ended up being the opposite of what she wanted, and I want to see where this goes for her.

Oscar was also something I want to see where it goes. This random nobody farmhand who seems to now share head space with one of the more mysterious characters in the show now being shoved into the plot could lead to some interesting things, and I like their interactions enough to see how this goes for them, and what happens with them and what this means for the both of them.

We also had a surprise moment with Raven and Qrow, and everything about that scene was gold. All I wanted from Raven was for her to be a piece of shit who ran out on her family because she simply didn’t want to there, and I was afraid that they were going to pull some “greater good” angle with her, but not did they do what I wanted them to do, but they also made her the leader of a tribe of bandits that go around and pillaging and burning down villages. Her entire conversation with Qrow makes me want to see her again and more of her view on the world and her relationship with the people in her past.

The remaining members of Team JNPR also each had great moments this volume. We saw Jaune’s own way of grieving regarding Pyrrha, and as a Souls fan I appreciate that his weapon is now just Ludwig’s Holy Blade, and while I would have liked to see how Ren and Nora were dealing with this loss as well, we were given a gold mine on their backstories and history together, and everything about this was fantastic in itself. Then through those flashbacks and the fights in the ruined Kuroyuri the show was able to take huge leaps to redeeming the Grimm as actual threats. The Nuckelavee is the kind of monster I wanted, this unsettling and powerful creature that is more than just a fodder mook, if they’re able to keep their monster designs on par with this, then I’d be fine with the heroes tearing through Beowolves by the dozens if we get more monsters like this.

There were a few problems, of course. I liked the globetrotting aspect of their journey, but seeing as how Weiss, Blake, Yang and Oscar all took much quicker ways to Have it loses its appeal real quick. The Relics is also a problem because it seems to instantly outshine the Maidens since they seem to be the exact same thing from a narrative view, and there didn’t seem like there need to be both at the same time.The Haven airships coming to find RNJR was also a bit of a cop out.

Then there is Ruby Rose.

I’ve already talked about this but I’m going to better explain my views. After V4 ended someone tallied up the total lines between each character, and they found out that had it not been for her closing narration, Ruby’s line count would have gone from most number of lines, to third, just below Blake and Jaune, which has led to some people complaining about Ruby’s role in the story and that Jaune was stealing the spotlight from her. Personally I don’t see it as this way, at least not entirely, since I don’t view the number of a character’s lines as a very important part of how much impact or meaningful they are in the narrative. For example, even though Sun comes in fifth almost every line he has is garbage and not worth the time watching him, and even though he is not in the top ten, I much more enjoyed Oscar’s side of the story than Blake’s, who came in second in line count.

I’m been rewatching Samurai Jack recently to get caught up with the new season coming up, and it makes me appreciate how much a character’s presence can speak for them without them ever saying anything at all, there is a lot of silence in those episodes, and more often than not Jack will have less lines than anyone else around him. “The Princess and the Bounty Hunters” is a good example of this, since Jack only show up in the last two minutes, he says nothing and you don’t even get a clear look at his face, but that one scene ends up being the heaviest and most tense moment in the episode because of how much weight he carries into the narrative.

Ruby’s problem isn’t that people are stealing screentime from her, it’s that she has little to none narrative presences by default, and this isn’t even a new problem. All the way back in V1 when she had her argument with Weiss, that seemed to put more focus on Weiss than her, and it wasn’t until the last few episodes of V3 did she actually start taking the initiative in the plot and had all those hero moments. For the most part she didn’t matter in V2 to the point where anything she did could have been done by anyone else and there would be no changes. The only time where Ruby’s actual character mattered was when she shared scenes with Penny, and those aren’t going to happen anymore, and while she did have those hero moments in V3, they feel more like she had them because she was the Default Hero instead of them being important to her, that she was given them because of course she’s doing all the cool stuff, she’s the hero so she gets them by default. I don’t even really like how they’re trying to set up this Ruby vs Cinder fight since that seems so default, when I’d rather JNR fight her instead.

Ruby Rose’s writing is less about other taking from her, and more about her just not being given much to begin with. You could remove Jaune, Nora and Ren from the show, but then Ruby would just be overshadowed by Weiss, Blake and Yang and their stories, and outside removing every other character in the show, that won’t make the writing for her better. She needs more narrative presence, she needs to actually be important and carry weight for the story, and until they stop writing her as the Default Hero and figure out what they want to do with her, any other changes they make won’t matter.

So main plot stuff gets a 8/10.

V1: 6/10

V2: 2/10

V3: 7/10

V4: Averages out to 4/10

Also a shout out the World of Remnant pieces this volume, since they were actually good. Back when WoR was introduced, I thought they were a good idea, RWBY had precious little screen time as is, so I this seemed like a good way to get around explaining things that the average person in-universe should know, but the ones were got in V2 and 3 were hit and miss, mostly miss. They either repeated information to the point of being moot or revealed plot important details that should have been in the show proper. The ones we got this volume were well informed, they told us details of everyday facets of this world, giving us what we needed so the show could dedicate itself to explaining on a more detailed level. I think we now know what the average informed citizen of Remnant should know, and I feel that’s what World of Remnant should try to accomplish.

#rwby #volume 4 #rwby4 #rwde #maybe