#Appeal of ....just romance like that shit is usually a subplot for a reason!!!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tundrainafrica · 3 years

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Hi, i saw some time ago you compared Royai to Levihan, would you mind elaborating more on their similarities? I ship both and looking at they compared blow my mind

YES. Beautiful ask anon! As always, sorry for only getting into this now, my inbox is still a mess I am currently trying to make sense of. But legit, I could talk about this for hours. Cause I’m that fucking simp who just randomly goes on Youtube and watches the Riza breakdown vs. Lust scene just to see some GREATTT acting and some great crumbs.

So anyway, will be moving on now to this really long and--mind you--uncurated rant.

Disclaimer though: Although I have watched all the fullmetal stuff, from the first anime, to brotherhood to the manga and have lurked in the fanfiction sites long before (like fam, this anime is literally my childhood it’s such a big part of my life that when I hear ‘mustang’ I think of roy mustang not the car), but at this point, the main story line for me is a blur and I probably just remember only the Roy scenes and the Royai scenes well.

I was not a big fan of Edwin for multiple reasons.

Warning: Spoilers abound for FMA so read at your own risk. And for people who watch FMA but not AOT, spoilers abound for AOT is well.

So there are a lot of similarities between Levihan and Royai and I think this is the reason why Levihan definitely appealed to me a lot as a couple. Royai after all was my OG ‘I think I wanna be in this type of relationship’ type of couple.

Military Setting

I’ve always found these types of relationships interesting cause I like to think, you’re in such a high stakes and very stringent atmosphere where you could die at any moment and you’re constantly doing such morally grey things. And with that, people have the tendency to either close in on themselves and just keep to themselves or just go crazy over time. Yet you have people who find the time to form CLOSE and almost ROMANTIC bonds with your fellow soldiers

And I just like the process of exploring how this happens. And you know what makes it juicier?

2. The commander to the subordinate dynamic (with a twist)

The boss to the follower dynamic because Royai and Levihan are both incredibly healthy and stable relationships but they both come from something taboo right? A commander to subordinate relationship? So we ask ourselves? How did they both make it work?

Well, what I notice is despite the implied respect Riza and Levi both hold for Roy and Hange respectively, due to their positions in the military, do you notice Hange and Roy still have respect over Levi and Riza’s opinions. I cannot remember all the scenes in both shows but remember that scene where Riza would just stop Roy half way into fighting when it’s raining because sometimes he does forget that he can’t do his fire thing when it’s raining? It shows obviously that Riza could undermine his decisions if she finds them completely idiotic or out of the blue. Or that scene where Roy was curbstomping Envy when he found out Envy killed Hughes?

So, the thing is Levi and Hange worked like this too. Even before Hange became commander, I think there was an already implied hierarchical difference between being ‘squad leader’ and being ‘team captain.’ Squad leader’s are generally in a higher position and command a much larger group and do you see how Levi approaches Hange? Like when telling her off about risking her life when trying to capture the titan?

And even when she was commander, that telepathy scene?? Can we appreciate, that when Hange became commander (compared to when Erwin was commander), Levi took the reins of a lot of the leading in the survey corps, as if he understood his job wasn’t just to follow Hange but to take care of her?

Like I’m sure Riza saw her job more as a caretaker to Roy more than his subordinate and seeing this in Levihan was just fantastic.

And another thing I love about both of them...

3. They were just the two competent level headed people

This is such a trope for me. I cannot handle couples where someone is just not competent or is so obviously underpowered compared to the other. Like I want them to be able to handle themselves without the other. And even when they’re alone they’re doing shit and you just find out later, by the way I have this bf/gf/partner who is equally competent. But when we’re together we just share one brain cell because we can practically melt when we’re safe with the other.

And the thing is since they’re in a military setting we don’t see them ‘practically melt,’ we can usually just pick out the crumbs (ehem 126), and the fact that these crumbs are such rare gems, makes it all the jucier.

And here’s the thing, in animes and in stories, this ‘competent people’ couple is usually supporting cast cause I dunno? Nobody wants to hear about the competent couple who just figured out they like each other and they just like hanging out with each other for some reason?

And most adventure stories are underdog stories where we watch people start of as dead weight and get stronger which is not boring per se but I dunno, these couples usually dont’ appeal to me fsr because I’m all for the power couple dynamic and the protagonists always have something going on making them doubt their strength so yeah. And there’s usually this token love interest who’s not as strong and tries not to be useless but is kinda dead weight.

4. Their special abilities?

Levi and Hange are a power couple the way Roy and Riza are. When these two couples were introduced into their respective stories, they were all well established as bad asses. We have humanity’s strongest, humanity’s smartest then in FMA we have the flame alchemist one of the strongest alchemists and we have Riza who’s crazy good with a gun.

5. They were never that in your face couple

As said above, I really love competent people ships but nobody really likes reading about people being competent and having their level headed shit together so these characters end up with more of supporting character energy who have their ‘big damn heroes’ moments where they swoop in and save the protagonist.

And the thing is, since they’re supporting characters, there’s so much more room to move when contemplating such couples because the crumbs are there? But at the same time they’re not there? And since I like exploring my own headcanons about those ‘boring’ yet incredibly stable and mature relationships, these tend to be my favorite characters to shoehorn into my spotify playlists.

Edwin and Eremika respectively have more ‘in your face’ crumbs and I dunno, their crumbs for me always seemed to be too obviously there where I was like ‘okay cute relationship’ but ‘I wouldn’t wanna be in a relationship like that’ kinda way.

And since main protagonist romantic subplots crumbs are already ‘in my face’ I end up thinking to myself, what’s there to headcanon?

And like they go through so much more problems romance wise since obviously they are the protagonist. But I guess for me, I never liked those couples who were so obviously together and go through problems that bystanders are aware of. Because I dunno, people might not agree with me but it doesn’t sit well with me when EVERYBODY knows about the problems between two certain people in a relationship.

I always liked those couples who just start off as two people hanging out together and then like five years you find out, they live together and have five cats and it turns out they’ve been married for two of those three years.

And power couples just make it work? Because the stories tend to focus on them being competent people more than being in love so when the coupling actually happens it’s like:

“Wow you live together and have five cats, you worked so hard for it, I’m so happy for you.”

Instead of you know, watching people go through like 3456 instances of miscommunication drama just to end up in a still seemingly doubtful relationship.

6. Iconic scenes for Levihan and Royai?

And here’s the beautiful thing about the crumbs of both of these ships, they are incredibly apparent when the stakes are high and this is *chef’s kiss.* This is literally the climax, the peak to such subtle crumbs. Like okay, fine it’s satisfying to see the main protagonist and their main love interest doing shit and loving each other when the stakes are high like in Season 2 of AOT with Mikasa thinking she’s gonna die so she confesses to Eren or maybe that Naruto and HInata scene in the Pain Arc where Hinata just pops in and saves Naruto and kinda dies in the process

But can we all agree that there is something very very very satisfying about seeing two people who are probably not or are probably dating just going crazy for each other when the stakes are high? Like yo, come on.

My favorite scenes for Royai: The Lust fight scene, the Envy fight scene and lastly, the scene where Roy opens the gates to save Riza and goes blind. Can we just appreciate the fact that Roy risked his Colonel dreams to save Riza by going blind??

And for Levihan? I’m sure Levihans are tired of hearing the chapter numbers but 115? That’s fucking iconic, Hange ltierally jumped into the river with Levi and please tell me that is not a parallel to Roy opening the gates for an already half dead Riza. Mind you, Hange did not even know if Levi would make it or not and she probably didn’t know if she would make it or not either. Any of the soldiers could have literally just shot into the river and nicked them with bullets. She just literally abandoned everything and wooshed to the river.

And I had this convo with a few other people and we were thinking about what if it was anyone else who found Levi. And we came to the conclusion that IT HAD TO BE HANGE. Because somehow, I feel like Hange would have been one of the only few, if not the only one who would have gathered up the courage to jump into the river and risk their own life to save Levi.

And for the next part... Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, please let’s not start a ship war.

Like with the war on twitter “Levihan vs. Eruri,” I started to reflect as well on whether or not Erwin would have saved Levi if he was there instead of Hange but I think it is less likely that Erwin would have saved Levi. Erwin probably wouldn’t have agreed with the rumbling definitely but I cannot help but think, Erwin approached his commander position like a chess master and with this, approached Levi as a superior while Hange approached Levi as an equal and a best friend.

So if, saving Erwin was just going to mess with plans let’s say to manipulate the Yaegerists for some greater purpose, would Erwin have just let Levi die?

7. The magic is no one fits Roy or Riza perfectly.

I had these same thoughts with Shikatema vs. Levihan and now Royai vs. Levihan. So comparing their dynamics, I just have to say, that none of them fit each other perfectly. Hange has Riza and Roy crumbs and Levi has Riza and Roy crumbs too.

Like Roy is some ridiculously strong (Levi) superior (Commander Hange) with a seemingly goofy personality (Hange). Riza is the subordinate (Levi) who’s equally reliable but not as overpowered (Hange) with a very strict but very obviously emotionally constipated personality (Levi)

Like if you put Levihan in some of the token Royai moments. Like the Lust fight? I think Levi would have done something similar to Riza. Okay, he wouldn’t have broken down right then but he would have done something similar to what Roy did when he found out Envy killed Hughes.

I’m convinced Hange would have had a breakdown which is more of an in between between what Roy (Envy fight) and Riza (Lust fight) had in their respective fights. I mean 115 is proof enough that Hange ain’t playing when her bebeluvs is in danger.

8. And towards the end of the series?

Okay this is where the comparisons just kinda diverge because this part makes me sad. In the end game, Royai worked together. Riza became the eyes of Roy when he was making shit explode in the final battle coz he was blind.

And Hange and Levi were completing each other towards the of the AOT end right? Not just with the jian bird references with having parallel injuries. In the final battle though when Levi was out of commission due to the explosion, Hange was the one fighting with the crew until 132. And the moment she died, Levi stepped up and fought right?

Like they had something similar going on, where these two were covering for each other and taking care of the kids. It’s just that compared to Royai who were explicitly working together, we have Hange covering for Levi right after he got injured and Levi stepping up to cover for Hange after she died.

AND I can’t help but think, literally post time skip just could not handle Levihan working together huh? Is that how competent Levi and Hange are as soldiers that Yams couldn’t let them work together just one last time? Like he knew it would mess with the story if he lets Levi and Hange lead at full power?

Which brings me to last point, and the point that makes me saddest.

9. About them being endgame?

Okay, so it wasn’t confirmed that Roy and Riza ended up together because Roy still had his fuhrer goals but AT LEAST THEY HAD A CHANCE? Like their last scene in the show was still them together? And Riza still at least got to follow him?

Levihan… They just… shit just happened and we all know what happened and now I’m reading fanfiction and crying over fcitoonal characters to pass the quarantine.

Anyway, if you reached this point, thank you for reading. And thank you for the question anon!

#levihan #meta #royai

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nyxcharliechaos · 3 years

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ok so a recent ask gave me a fun idea so here’s my top 5 favourite webcomics, little explanation for them, why I like them, and links so you can read them as well (most are on tapas some can be found on tumblr too) Heartstopper: wow a comic in the romance genre, I will say now this isn’t in a particular order. generally I don’t care too much for the romance genre, I love it when there’s a romantic subplot but not so much when it’s the main focus however, this comic just makes it fun and LGBTQ+ stuff is usually very welcomed especially when treating the situations realistically like this, and the art style is just appealing. so plot synopsis for those who don’t know Nick and Charlie become friends after meeting up in a class, Charlie was outed as gay the year prior which leads to some people being jerk, after a bit they end up with crushes on each other and end up together, it’s a story set in reality with fun interesting character (especially their friends), I will give a quick warning though as this comic does cover the topic of eating disorders in case you’re uncomfortable with that Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Heartstopper/info Long Exposure: ahh I can’t believe this is almost over, I adore this comic the art is amazing, the characters for the most part are likeable ( fuck Dean Wagner though) the comedy is great, the story is interesting, I love the aesthetic towns near the ocean on the northern west coast area so they get pine trees is my shit so now that I’ve been gushing for long enough what’s it about. Mitch Muller a school bully that had left a year prior after apparently stabbing someone returns unfortunately in the mind of most especially Jonas Wagner someone Mitch bullied a lot in particular, after being forced to be science partners the two accidentally fall into water containing radioactive shit and end up with weird abilities and are now being cased by the government all while realizing how gay they are for each other (well mitch already knew but Jonas is a useless bi so) Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Long-Exposure/info The Blue Witch: pretty different energy from some of the others this is a fantasy comic and I love fantasy so, the story is about Ari who moves to a new town and soon after befriends Liron a blue wizard, and Karin who speaks another language, also everyone keeps thinking Ari is a dragon which due to her eyes but she’s not Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/The-Blue-Witch/info

Ghost Eyes: this one is gonna have a lot of tw if you decide to read it as it covers, parental abuse, suicidal thoughts, death, murder, and there’s a good amount of blood among things I’m probably forgetting, despite how dark it is this comic tells an engaging horror story in an oddly adorable style, also it’s pretty gay, so Tobias is the first of his siblings to ever attend school he grew up in a hyper religious church in the woods and can’t human to save his life, all of this made worse by the demon eater in his head that sometimes takes control, so he befriends Rudolf a very feminine lad that’s extremely suicidal and meets Carmelo a very gay but closeted bully and Emilio who takes immediate interest, all while his uncle is being the worst best character and one of his brothers is trying to help Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Ghost-Eyes/info

Humor Me: the story sucked me in, Charlie just wants to finish school and take care of her weird 4 year old brother (and make sure social services don’t come) and well after a no big deal situation James an older student becomes super suspicious and won’t leave he alone thinking she’s a stalker (hey buddy looked in a mirror lately) and everyone at school thinks she’s a boy Tapas link:https://tapas.io/series/Humor-me/info

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

ZooPhobia: I do love this comic and I am excited for when the reboot finally happens and that might get it on the list but as it stands I just think the others are better Silent Screams: I think the story is very interesting but i never quite get they hype the others give me Magical Boy: I LOVE this comic and if the list was top 6 it would be on there Finger Game: created by the same person that made ghost eyes but I think that on is better Rock and Riot: the only reason this isn’t on the list is that it’s ended I most of you have prolly already read it Love Spells: the characters obliviousness makes me want to scream but I still love them Jacksons Diary: this hasn’t updated in awhile and it’s actually a webtoon exclusive but it’s still really good Unfamiliar: idk it’s just fun I like witches And a final mention to all the comics based on people real life that I like but didn’t put on the list because I wanted to stick to fiction

there is a 100% chance I missed something

#heartstopper #long exposure #the blue witch #ghost eyes #humor me #zoophobia #silent screams #magical boy #rock and riot #love spells #jacksons diary #unfamiliar #web comics #tapas #reccomendations

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koreandragon · 5 years

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Honestly can you just answer all of them?

Favourite Couple

i’ll just say my top three ok cause...impossible question:

Go Dong Man and Choi Ae Ra from Fight For My Way because the friends to lovers trope is strong with this one and it’s done so well

Eun Dan Oh and Haru in Extraordinary You because they’re the cutest?? have you seen them together?? also the possibility of them being a couple in another manhwa in the past is just *chef’s kiss*

Lee Jung In and Yoo Ji Ho from One Spring Night because they absolutely destroyed me every week. the pining, the angst, the sweetness

Favourite Actor

*looks at the thousands of gifsets and pictures of Ji Chang Wook* idk man there are just too many

Favourite Actress

Park Bo Young is definitely one of them but I love Jun Ji-Hyun very much

Favourite Drama

holy shit, um...While You Were Sleeping, Strangers from Hell, Extraordinary You, Life on Mars, Black, Designated Survivor: 60 Days, Fight for My Way, One Spring Night

Favourite Trope

when for some reason they get stuck in tight spaces or accidental too close physical encounters. those drive me wild

Least Favourite Trope

is wrist grabbing a trope? no but i’m kinda sick of the “we actually met when we were like five and you did something that changed my life” trope

Favourite Genre

Crime and Romance and when these combine i go nuts

Least Favourite Genre

political (although designated survivor was the fucking best)

Favourite Idol Actor

ugh, Cha Eunwoo, Park Jinyoung, Lee Junho, Bae Suzy, Henry

Favourite Web Drama

i don’t think Wednesday 3:30pm is one but that was a short drama? i haven’t actually seen any web dramas.(is i picked up a star on the road a webdrama? it was shit but i watched it) i have started the universe’s star tho

Worst Ending

not particularly worst but w two worlds got so messy by the end, it was really hard to watch. also Black had a pretty weird ending, the kind that kept me up at night but i loved it

Messiest Plot

w two worlds BY FAR. i know people say this about melting me softly but it will never compare to w two worlds, jesus CHRIST

Favourite Villain

Choi Yoo Jin from The K2, period

Character You’re Supposed To Hate But Don’t

Choi Yoo Jin from The K2 lmao. i actually shipped her with Jae Ha.

An Actor/Actress You’d Watch In Any Role

Ji Chang Wook *looks at melting me softly* and Park Bo Young

Favourite Sageuk

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung, Tale of Nokdu, Love in the Moonlight

Hated Character You Loved

Nam Eun Ki from Her Private Life...although i didn’t finish the show, i never hated him like lots of people did.

i saw some people didn’t like Yeo Jin Woo in Memories of the Alhambra because he was a bit arrogant but i loved him so much

Loved Character You Hated

Luca from When the Devil Calls Your name annoyed THE SHIT out of me. i do not care how cute he is, he was the most annoying person i have ever seen.

i didn’t hate Ku Chan Sung in hotel del luna but he wasn’t someone i liked either. i actually don’t like yeo jin goo at all so maybe that’s why

Anna in The K2 because her character was really bland and just idk?? she was so uninteresting to me

Ji Sung Joon in She Was Pretty was not a good character, he didn’t desrve to end up with the FL and as much as i LOVE Park Seo Joon, that role didn’t do it for me

Couple That Should Have Stayed Platonic

Jae Ha and Anna in The K2. ji chang wook usually has chemistry with everyone he plays with but yoona and him just really didn’t have it. also her character was so plain, i just wished they stopped the unnecessary romantic subplot with them

i might get shit for this but Kim Shin and Ji Eun Tak in Goblin, i have expressed many times how uncomfortable the age difference was. also they worked so well as friends?? they always bickered and joked, it was so funny? they got so cheesy when they started dating it just wasn’t doing it for me

Most Annoying Family/Parents

Lee Jung In’s dad in one spring night. yall know why

ma dong chan’s family and go mi ran’s mom in melting me softly

Favourite Sidekick

Gong Soo Chang in Two Cops

Secretary Cha in designated survivor 60 days

Min Ja in Healer

Kang Dong Cheol in Life on Mars

Ji Eun Hyuk in Suspicious Partner

Ra Do Woo in Terius Behind Me

Kim Ji Woong in Oh My Venus

Favourite Group Of Friends

the losers in Fight for My Way

Worst Kiss

oh man there are just really too many of those

Touch Your Heart was really cute but the kissing scenes were tragic and what was even more tragic, was that they did THAT to lee dong wook and yoo in na out of all people

Favourite Kiss

Suspicious Partner, hands down. that shit SLAYED my ass

A Scene You’ve Rewatched A Million Times

the umbrella scene in The K2. “lift your head. straighten your back. your enemies are watching” god tier level of tension and acting on both sides

A Drama You Enjoyed, But Will Never Rewatch

almost all of them that i enjoyed. there are very few exceptions.(currently rewatching fight for my way) they’re too long and i have many more to watch

A Drama That Had A Strong Premier But Fell Apart

W Two Worlds again. it started off great but it fell apart like a jenga tower

Automatic Mood Lift OST

as i got to this question my spotify playlist decided to play Say to Myself from when the devil calls your name, so that is one

while you were sleeping

angel’s last mission: love

strangers from hell (The Rose - Strangers, specifically)

A Lead You’d Marry

the character or the actor? i’m gonna assume character. Jung Joon-Hyungfrom weightlifting fairy kim bok joo

Haru from extraordinary you

Ji Ho from one spring night

A Well Loved Actor/Actress Who Just Doesn’t Appeal To You

I mentioned Yeo Jin Goo before, idk why so don’t ask

An Unexpected Ship

Choi Yoo Jin and Jae Ha in The K2 (ofc it didn’t happen but i didn’t expect to ship them)

but i also didn’t expect Ji Eun-Hyuk and Cha Yoo-Jung from suspicious partner to rekindle their relationship after what happened

Song Hae-Rin and Ji Seo-Joon in romance is a bonus book

Favourite Crackship

Grim Reaper and Kim Shin

Actors You Wish Would Work Together

it’s really hard to find korean actors who haven’t worked together. i mentioned park bo young and lee jong suk before but apparently they already made a movie together, so i’ll say ji chang wook and park seo joon (tell me if they have, i don’t fucking know at this point)

First Drama

Strictly speaking, it was Secret Forest aka Stranger

Oldest OST You Still Listen To Regularly

i don’t watch old dramas because they make me cringe

#this took me an hour at least #ask #kdramas #ask meme #Anonymous

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