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salteytakesonmanga · 8 months

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I know it's rare for ANY translation to do so, especially English to/from Japanese since the languages are so dissimilar, but can you think of any time where a translation added to a scene, or made it better in your opinion?

Oh plenty of times! There’s even one in this chapter. I try to call them out when I notice them because I appreciate them myself. I don’t have a specific tag for them, though.

The thing is…

Sorry, Anon. You accidentally triggered one of my rants. If you just wanted an answer it's up there ⬆️

Good translations are not rare. Good translations aren’t even rare in manga anymore. The reason a lot of people think of all translations as bad is because people used to not take translations of manga seriously. They wouldn’t give it any care or attention, they’d just whip off whatever sounded close enough, and if they got whole-ass words wrong here or there then it didn’t really matter. Because it’s just comics, right? Who cares about that kiddie crap.

Translation - good translation - is HARD. It’s not just understanding two languages. Linguistic differences between source and translated language are not the reasons translations turn out bad. It’s cultural differences. You have to understand the literature and art and history of both languages, because that informs the environment that the author wrote in and the environment the readers are reading in. You have to make sure someone can just pick it up and read. Giving people cultural context in asides and footnotes and a glossary is great and all, but the experience of reading should be about the TEXT, not about the language. A good translator has to know about cultural and regional backgrounds and tensions in both languages.

Turning a Kansai accent into a Southern accent is a great example of what NOT to do, because the two regions have vastly different cultures that aren’t comparable. An easy illustration is that the stereotype about Southerners is they’re very polite and gracious and charming and speak slowly, while the stereotype about people from Kansai is they’re blunt and aggressive and outgoing and speak fast. But it was the industry standard for years to just slap a “funny accent” on any character speaking with a dialect.

On top of all of those concerns, comics has the additional limitation of space. The translation must meet all of the previous requirements, and also fit into a speech bubble. There is no getting around that. You have to sacrifice meaning somewhere in situations like that, and in an ongoing series with as many twists and late reveals as One Piece it can be hard to guess which word is the one that is crucial to the plot.

There are times I definitely think the translators did a great job, it's usually most noticeable with wordplay and puns, but I'm not sure "better than the original" is how I'd describe that. I think it’s very risky for a translator to try to make the work “better.” The original Swedish translation of Dracula did that back in the day and what they wound up publishing was basically fanfic. (It’s supposed to be really fucking good, though. It just has no more than a passing resemblance to Dracula.)

What does “better” look like? Is it when everything makes sense and is easy to read? But maybe the author wanted this scene to be challenging so you’d slow down and think about it. Is it when you take that random joke out of the serious scene? But maybe that joke was there to balance out the tension of the scene. Is it when the characters always act the way you expect them to? But characters, like people, have contradictions and inconsistencies, and if you take those out the character will be flat and boring.

That’s why I think a good translation is one where the translator is invisible. If they’ve done their job right, you should never think about them. But then, if they’re that good, it’s easy to forget how hard they work to get the product that good. And that’s when people start to think we don’t need translators, we have language learning models and machine translation… But that’s a different rant for another time.

Side note, Viz still pays actual human translators for their work. So do Yen Press and Seven Seas, last time I checked. I’m not about to tell you to NOT pirate shit, but if you buy one of their books you’re actually paying for a person to translate it.

Anyway, sorry/thank you for giving me an opportunity to rant about this. As you can see, it means a lot to me.

#anon ask #asked and answered #saltey takes on one piece #translation #saltey says

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meteor752 · 7 months

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Episode 8 thoughts

I’m scared

Philosophy with Edward, good start

He looks strangely cute honestly, like a very happy boy

Alright, random guy just aggressively “HMMMMMM”

You indoctrinating them into your sea cult Eddie?

Random guy being more aggressive, aight

At this point I had to leave for class, so like tbc for me

Okay I’m back!

Aww they hugging :)

Mans name is pop pop?

Okay it’s not

I adore Ed’s hair, but I think that’s a given here

Yeah okay mans is strugglin

Bye bye Eddie!

Prince boy is back…hurray

Spanish Jackie is absolutely slaying, I adore her

Aaaaaaaand, I have class again, jolly good

If I get called away again I’m gonna loose it

Oh great the stupid nose jar is back

Oh no Swede!!

Oh the bridge is back!

This is a strange friendship, but I kinda love it. The gay loser and bisexual girlboss is back

Let’s go Stede! Save your bestie!

Eddie nooooooooooooo

Eddie yessssssssssssss

Goth Ed is back, ready to avenge his bf

My god he looks fucking cool

OH THE KRAKEN

Izzy keeps on being the best character of the season

I think Prince boy has a crush on Izzy, just like the rest of the fandom

What you trynna do prince boy

“It’s about belonging to something when the world has told you you’re nothing” pirating keeps on being an allegory for the queer community, and it keeps being so sweet, especially to Izzy’s story

Wait when did Roach and Fang even get here?

THOSE LETTERS ARE NOT FOR YOU MISTER

Casually reading the letter while stabbing a guy, he just keeps on winning

The fanfics were right!!! He did find the letters!

“YOU WROTE ME A LOVELY LETTER!!” gurl saaaaaaame

THE BLACK BEACH!!

Girlboss is helping!!

STEARD!!!

Smooch!

I’m so soft…

That reunion is all I ever wanted out of this show actually

“For love!!” Stede we don’t deserve you

Don’t ya dare touch Lucius scarf!

Oh Auntie is alive!

When did Jim become the crew doctor? They are somehow worse at it than Roach I’d say

New trio to obsess over

Edward Teach canonically did a flip during a fight, my baby

They are both so supportive to their golden retriever friend/bf

Babe!!

“But you’re not a man. You’re soft” alright auntie

Trans Oluwande?

Izzy keeps saying eat the rich, and we stan him

Izzy!!!!!!! Hell yes!!!!

Oh oh my god

Please don’t tell me Swede died for that!

Oh okay no he’s like that princess bride dude, aight

Olu is a great support system

Ed is slaying in his gay ass sitting way

I DID NOT CONSENT TO HAVING A FULL BARE ARSE JUST DISPLAYED IN FRONT OF ME

Stede looks surprisingly sexy in that outfit

Alright, a little Archie Jim action, hell yeah

How come every time they kiss Izzy is just, in the background

THEY ALL LOOK SO GOOD!!

Frenchie!

Girlbosses, all of them

HOLY FUCKING SHIT JIM

Aww, Eddie cares <3

Aww, Izzy does not care <3

Frenchie helps Izzy! Fuck do I ship that now?

If Izzy dies I’m gonna throw my computer

Izzy remains the best even while on deaths door

Wait he called him Eddie?

Okay I don’t have captions, so I have no idea what Izzy is saying here

WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?!?!

Okay I heard Twat

Something about family?

Oh my god…

Okay I’m not throwing my computer because it’s technically my school’s computer but like bruv

NO!!!

IZZY!!!!!!!!

Why him??????

Zheng apart of the crew? Ayo?

Stede don’t push it

WEDDING!!!

Why is Wee John officiating?

Maybe it’s because he’s Calypso

Oh no they’re all officiating that’s sweet

Mateys!!!

Roach is a doll

Frenchie is officially the first mate? Ayo???

INNKEEPERS!!!!!!!!!

Does that mean Frenchie is the captain??

The cravat!

Hi Buttons

Frenchie!

I think this is the first interaction Wee John and Frenchie has had all season, which is sad honestly

If we get a season 3, it better switch povs between The Revenge and Stede and Ed’s adventures as innkeepers, together with their pet bird Buttons and the ghost of Izzy

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strawberry-milkbunny · 8 months

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Random Tokyo Rev thoughts featuring other shows (these r gonna be hella chaotic and I have adhd):

- HAIKYUU AND TOKYO REV R THE SAME ANIME BUT DIFF GENRES ‼️‼️‼️

- listen Baji playing volleyball/being with Karasuno…it suits him too well

- plus the Haitani brothers as the Miya twins 😳😳

- Mitsuya is literally Sugawara like come on

- idk y but I see Shion as Terushima

- Kazutora and Inui would be on Nekomata

- Senju and Takeomi r Daenerys and Viserys from Game of Thrones Oop- 🤷‍♀️

- would make it even spicier if Sanzu is Jon Snow but he’s very much Theon instead 🫣🫣

- tbh all of Brahman would suit Daenerys’ circle

- Kisaki is Littlefinger HOLY SHIT

- Shinchiro is so Robb Stark oh god

- Izana would lowkey be Margaery Tyrell

- Taiju and Hakkai r the Clegane brothers

- tbh I could also see Mikey and Senju as Jaime and Brienne like they very much have beauty and the beast vibes that if Wakui could write romance they would’ve been a good choice together (still a Sanzu and Mikey shipper LOL)

- Senju and Yuzuha as San and Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke (SOMEONE PLS DRAW THEM AS THIS 😭😭😭)

Kinda surprised there aren’t more Bnha and Tokyo Rev crossovers but here r some ideas:

- Himiko is one of my favs and she suits the TR universe wayyyy too well

- sis would totally be besties with Hanma and maybe Shion and would have a crush on Takemichy and Hina

- tbh I could see her joining Tenjiku and everyone seeing her as their little sister like imagine Mochi and Mucho doting on her

- I JUST NEED SANZU, HIMIKO AND TWICE IN THE SAME ROOM TOGETHER LIKE SJSKSK

- they would totally annoy the Haitanis, Shigaraki, Dabi and Spinner together maybe Hawks too if they’re in the right mood

- Baji and Dabi wouldn’t get along but would set cars and Endeavour toys on fire together

- None of the TR characters would ever enter UA but if they did it they (Tenjiku let’s be honest) would bully everyone ESPECIALLY ALL MIGHT

-They would totally be hero haters/menaces and everyone would be lik: “y tf r all of u here then???” and TR cast would be lik: “for future connections?? Duh”

- MITSUYA WOULD BE IN SUPPORT CLASS AND IN PAIN ROASTING EVERYONES UGLY ASS COSTUMES (✨Todoroki✨) ESPECIALLY BEST JEANIST LIK HE DEF HAS A SPECIAL HATRED FOR HIM

- Izana and Mikey in Gen Ed beating the shit out of everyone during the Sports Festival and laughing about it 😭😭

- Izana hanging out with Hawks simply bc Izana could instantly see thru his persona and Hawks genuinely being afraid of him but still wanting to hang out bc he feels like he could actually be himself for once

- Senju would be in the Hero course bc she actually wants to help, Ran would be in the Hero Course just for the fame and money. He would say it out loud too mans is shameless.

- Ironically enough: Ran would be the one to defeat Stain by throwing a BRICK at him while Rindou breaks his legs in the background LMAOOO

- Ran, Mt Lady and Midnight in the same room….that’s it.

- Rindou would be cool with Jirou, Denki and Shinso. OMG HE WOULD SO BE AN ERASERHEAD STAN TOO SJKSKSKKS

- tbh all of Bonten would totally be the MLA (or investors) and would just be staring tiredly at the League of Villains as they take over their army

- u cannot tell me Skeptic, Koko, and Re Destro wouldn’t get along (capitalists unite 😤😤)

- on the other hand I love the idea of Mikey being quirkless but still being the strongest person in the room like Mikey would totally body Re Destro and Geten for being annoying/quirkist

- Izuku would 100% be in Toman

- Draken and Mikey r Honey and Mori from Ouran High School Host Club

- Izana and Kakucho r Aki and Angel from Chainsaw Man ‼️‼️

- definition of out of touch, out of time energy (I cannot see snowball fights the same bc of these characters smhhhh)

- Bonten in a Chainsaw Man AU ✨chefs kiss✨ it’s fits the vibe and they already wear suits LOL

- OG Black Dragons would be the Cowboy Bebop crew idk everyone in that group lowkey has the same energy/nihilistic vibes as the Bebop crew (again someone pls draw this I’m not talented enough-)

- Shin is Spike, Faye is Takeomi, Benkei is Jett and Waka is Ed LOLLL

- Revy from Black Lagoon would BODY everyone in Bonten no ifs and/or buts (let’s not even start w/Roberta)

- Revy and Takeomi would have a one night stand and regret it instantly but still contact each other whenever they’re in the same area for drinks

- Balalaika would laugh at Bonten and bully Mikey (she would still lowkey respect him bc he built himself up but bully him bc he has depression and Mikey won’t do anything bc he’s lowkey afraid of her LOL 💀💀)

- Izana and Mikey r Sesshomaru and Inuyasha prove me wrong 😤😤😤

- Akatsuki would TERRORIZE Bonten simply bc their an anti-violence organization and they’re petty like that

- But Itachi and Mikey would get along purely bc Itachi looks like Shin and Mikey reminds Itachi of Sasuke (especially w/black hair). Idk I imagine Bonten!Mikey kidnapping Itachi bc he’s part of Akatsuki and looks like Shin but instead of fighting Itachi chooses to take over Bonten…..by being a good older brother to everyone. And the fic ends with Akatsuki and Bonten just fighting over Itachi LMAO

- Kakashi, Shisui and Wakasa would be friends like Wakasa would 100% be in Anbu

- Killer Bee, Benkei and South would be friends. Like Bee and South having sing offs in the middle of fights LOL

- Ino would force Draken, Mitsuya and Chifuyu to be her friends

- Sasuke would join Bonten for revenge and hate everyone except Kakucho and Mochi. This man will 100% leave once he’s reached his goal

- Someone pls write a fanfic w/Bonten entering Squid Game. Like Koko entering Bonten in Squid Game for money or Sanzu doing it for fun bc he didn’t think it was serious

- I’VE BEEN IMAGINING THE MARBLE GAME WITH RAN AND RINDOU THO AND AHHHHHHH PAIN LIK THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT

- As much as I want this crossover: Realistically everyone in Assassination Classroom would HATE EVERYONE in TR. All the TR characters would just see AC cast as privileged rich kids and AC would see them as morons.

- Like Toman would DESPISE Karma Akabane (he’s my fav). I can’t even see any of the other gangs liking any of the AC cast past trying to recruit them

- MAYBE Kakucho, Rindou and Mitsuya would suit Class 3E but other than that….yeah no. I could see them getting along w/ Chiba, Kanzaki and Isogai tho simply bc they’re chill and play video games

- Koko would have an INTENSE crush on Yumeko Jabami from Kakeguri

#tokyo revengers #tenjiku #black dragons #mikey tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers izana #haitani brothers #brahman #bnha #bonten #senju kawaragi #tokyo revengers mitsuya #haikyuu #chainsaw man #naruto

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secretly-an-automaton · 1 year

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WELCOME TO…

random shit that most of this fandom collectively deluded into being canon, regardless of if it a) wasn’t explicitly stated in the show, b) contradicts actual lore, or c) was just straight up made up with no real basis! Also half of the bullet points end in rants; there are no words to describe this phenomenon but I’m a fanfic writer so that sure as hell didn’t stop me from trying

Ghost cores—not only the different types but also just their existence in general apparently—was pretty much entirely invented by the fandom. Like bro that’s the entire basis of ghost biology, how tf were we supposed to believe it worked in the show??

To expand on that, ghost biology.

Someone just decided Danny has freckles and that they glow in ghost form and we were all like. yeah.

Wesley Weston’s entire character. Nuff said.

Jack and/or Maddie always seemed to have grown up on a farm? Although I suppose with Maddie’s sister that could maybe be considered an educated guess

All the townsfolk refer to Danny’s ghost form as just ‘Phantom’ - oh wait, no they don’t.

Valerie’s alter ego is called the ‘Red Huntress’ - oh wait, no it’s not.

That one’s especially funny cause originally this list just included “Phantom calls Valerie ‘Red’” but then I learned the whole title was fanon and now I question everything I’ve ever thought beknownst to me.

Amity Park is a small town (not according to the background shots in the actual show).

I don’t remember how much of ghostly obsessions/Danny’s specifically was pulled out of the fandom’s ass but I imagine a fair amount of it considering the show wasn’t big on world building.

Phantom’s voice is echoey and/or staticky.

Danny smells like ozone and possibly citrus?

This one might just have to do with number psychology, but everyone seems to agree Phantom is a “level 7” on all of the arbitrary ghost rating systems invented by the Fentons?? Which were also made up tbf cause the Fentons never even invented that.

Danny bleeds both blood and ectoplasm, usually dependent on form, has a low heart rate and body temperature in human form, and possibly fangs. Aside from the latter these are mostly just logical inferences but it felt like they belonged here anyway.

Blob ghosts maybe?? I only think they might’ve been made up because I couldn’t find a proper photo reference of them one time and like I said, I question everything now. Maybe Jazz was never even real and the fandom just made her up so Danny could have one tiny thread of stability to support the massive load of trauma that we also dumped on him. Who the hell knows anymore, this fandom was the original Goncharov.

Accident with a capital A.

As far as I can tell, ectoblasts aren’t actually referred to as such. Admittedly I didn’t rewatch the whole show just to confirm, but according to the wiki, they’re actually called ghost rays.

Danny’s signature nervous tick is rubbing the back of his neck. I honest to god accidentally picked this habit up from reading fanfic and it is marginally embarrassing.

Danny blushes green in ghost form (admittedly this is a relatively obvious leap from “bleeds ectoplasm”.)

Ghost speak.

Danny’s middle name is James and Lancer’s first name is William (or maybe Edward.)

In all the AU’s I’ve read that involve Danny moving to Amity from somewhere else, it’s always Chicago. Admittedly I’ve only read two, but to paraphrase Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, it’s still weird that it happened twice.

Ghost ice doesn’t melt? Was that a thing? I don’t think so(?) This fandom is so bad at distinguishing canon from fanon and that does not exclude me, I haven’t seen the show in three years.

What else do y’all got? I’m sure there’s plenty more to go around

#dp #danny phantom #phandom #auto speaks

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becauseimanicequeen · 1 month

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RANDOM THOUGHTS: Manner of Death ep. 1 (rewatch)

Since my rewatches may contain spoilers, I’m putting my random thoughts after the “Read More” link.

Manner of Death is the QL I’ve seen most times (after Not Me), mainly because it’s Max and Tul and because it’s a mystery (I love mysteries). Is it perfect? No. But it’s a perfect fit for me whenever I need something entertaining and visually pleasing with some fiery chemistry.

I haven’t seen it in a while (my last rewatch was in October last year, so it’s been some time), so I’m excited to dive in. Let’s go!

I’m going into this first episode expecting magic, because that’s what I know I’ll be getting. Especially in terms of chemistry.

Tul is such a beautiful human being!

This might sound morbid, however, that blood dripping down and staining those white sneakers is very visually pleasing. There’s something about the combination of red and white that always catches my eye.

Those bite marks are made by a special kind of predator: a power-hungry, middle-aged man with a dick the size of a toothpick. Wait, was it too generous to liken it to a toothpick?

Mr. Inspector M, sir. Why are you so fine?

Every time I watch this series, I always wonder what’s up with those green, giant ass bears in the background behind Bun as he’s eating with Jane.

And here is the gorgeous human being that is Max!

It only takes one second of eye contact between Max and Tul for them to ooze fiery chemistry, no matter which series they’re in. Acting as Tan and Bun is no different.

Look at Bun and Inspector M being all friendly and shit only to butt heads for most of the remainder of the series.

Inspector M is such an enigma. Look at him being nice and smiley only to have the toughest stoneface for the rest of the series (granted, it’s while working). The way he gave me whiplash the first time I saw this series… My neck is still sore.

I’m only 18 minutes into the episode and Tan and Bun are kissing. (It’s slower than Together With Me, but that one was iconic in terms of how it started.)

Shirtless Bun!

The fact that the first thing Oat thought of when he went to pick up a drunk Bun was to film said drunk. Considering Bun is Oat’s mentor/supervisor… I approve.

Shirtless Bun!

That kid being used by her grown-up sister to get Bun’s number… That’s child labor!

For someone who can’t read Thai, I’ve always wondered what it says on Bun’s shirt since he was so eager to buy and change into a new one.

And now Bun got the opportunity to collect some compromising evidence on Oat as well. Sweet revenge.

The way Bun gets shy when he meets Tan’s gaze… Tan, though, he’s like: ”Let’s get married and raise a cactus together.” (Not necessarily in that order. Sometimes cactuses come before marriage.)

Poor Oat. But I must say that he’s adorable in that pink dress.

The way Tan is asking Bun about drinking and memory loss to figure out if Bun remembers that night at the club…

The way Tan is staring at Bun’s lips…

Bun is already whipped considering he’s lying in bed thinking about the kiss. And who can blame him?

If statistics say that 80% of murders are committed by people who are close to the victim and that it’s especially lovers, what about family members?

The way Bun abandoned Oat not just once but twice makes me laugh every time.

This was a great first episode with fiery chemistry between Tan and Bun (which I love), introducing the characters, and setting up the plot. Watching this again, I realized how much I’ve missed watching Max and Tul and this story. I’m glad I decided to rewatch it again.

#manner of death #thai ql #thai bl #thai series #my shit #iq random thoughts

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shoheiakagi · 7 months

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ooooo I'll jump on the nana crossover idea! What are your thoughts about it?

Okay first, taste!!!!

And to be honest, I find Nana soooooooooo much better written than a lot of the popular animangas like naruto. I love how the female characters are fleshed out and have actual flaws, the relationship dynamics, the reality of how toxic some relationships can be, and the dialogue?? *chef’s kiss* Like seriously, the plot may not be adventurous or mysterious, but the characters are so interesting? And don’t get me started on the heartbreak!! Nana x Hachi is my overall favorite ship, but I do like Nana x Ren and I’m still not digesting that Nobu x Hachi breakup 😭😭😭😭

And again, I really love how flawed the female characters are! My problem with female characters in most animes, including the new anime out rn, is that a lot of female characters are very one dimensional. Like before it used to be the damsel in distress/love interest trope, and now its characters whose only trait is being a ‘badass’ yet they’re still getting their asses kicked in major fights and get saved by the male hero. So an anime like Nana, where the female characters are filled with depth AND are the main characters, is so refreshing, especially for someone who doesn’t really read shoujo that much either.

Like for example, a character like Nana is pretty popular in other medias cause theyre usually that tough, cold female character, with a secret heart of gold. The mysterious types who always have their guards up until the end and their character flaw tends to be “traumatized or grew up in a terrible environment so now she’s all introverted and snarky to most people” (like raven from teen titans and artemis from young justice. love them, but kinda tired of how most ppl think all well written female characters must be written like them). But what makes Nana unique for me is that she’s selfish, insecure, and controlling.

Same with hachi. Another character trope popular in manga. The sweet, naive girly girl who tends to be the one dimensional primary love interest/damsel in distress for the main hero (orihime from bleach and hinata from naruto). While Hachi is very naive and is prone to falling in love very quick (more like the idea of falling in love), I love how she isn’t written to be 100% all sweet and sugar and nice girl who’s saving herself for marriage with her one true love (that one guy she likes in high school). She’s shallow, self-centered, and emotionally dependent on her love interests, junko, and nana.

Bonus points to womanhood being a main theme here, especially with two female characters who are the opposites of each other in their personality, fashion, background, etc.

I love to think about one of the homra guys, maybe someone like chitose, gets everyone hooked on nana lol. Like he probably overheard a lot of his f*ck buddies and random girls on the streets keep talking about some nana show, so he looks it up and at first loses interest when he realizes its shoujo, but then gets a little curious and wants to know what the hype is (and he lowkey finds the girls hot). So he brings it up to the other guys when they’re all chilling in the bar one day and obviously a lot of them are like, “fuck no, we’re not watching that girly shit” but then totsuka gets interested and he manages to get everyone to sit around the tv and watch the show lol (except for anna since totsuka did some research and found out that there are implied sexual scenes and mature topics). At first, the guys are annoyed at being forced to watch the show (a good chunk of them glaring at Chitose for bringing the topic up), but then suddenly they’re all incredibly invested by like ep 3. A lot of the boys probably talk about which Nana is better or more of their type at first, but then they all probably start shipping the two Nanas and god damn just f*cking kiss her already!!! Not gonna lie tho, I do think some of them are gonna hate on Hachi for leaving Nobu :/ They’re definitely going to sympathize with Nobu, but I just know some of them (Chitose) are probably gonna be like ‘thats what happens when you’re a simp’ 🙄 Overall, I do think most of them will be extremely sad/depressed once they reach the end of the show, not realizing how much this show and its characters impacted them lol

#ask #raventhekittycat #i found my nana kin #this came out veryyyy long lol so sorry for any typos

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hessolivagant · 1 year

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Random thoughts that prove mike wheeler is probably gay and that el doesn’t need him + love triangle imagery

I’m gonna admit it, i am very much a mike wheeler defender but i will slander him this once, he’s being shitty like any teenager would that would be going through trauma. But the thing about mike is that he’s a character and when characters hit low points usually they have internal conflict which leads to further character development.

Mikes internal conflict is his internalized homophobia, that’s what changed his character in s3. He realized something in s2 and in s3 he used el to seem like he’s not gay. He pushed everyone away stated by will in the rain fight. He was so focused on being something he was not because he internally feared his feelings for will. We see him realize these feelings at the end of s3 and to why he was so conflicted during the kiss scene. This relationship between el and mike is called a “beard” a beard is when a queer person uses someone of the opposite sex to appeal straight. That is EXACTLY what m*leven is. El loves mike(probably) but mike does not love eleven. We see this with nancy in s1-2, she can’t say i love you to steve because she simply doesn’t love him. It’s as simple as that. Stancy and milkvan are paralleled to eachother, and many platonic relationships or failed relationships are paralleled with m*lkvan.

I don’t like mileven as i think it’s unhealthy, it makes me sad to see them like that. And seeing how much better they do without each other is better. Milkvan being endgame would make mike the shittiest character written(sorry not sorry) and elevens whole thing with max, and learning about herself and to be independent was a useless arc. And I don’t like the whole idealization mike has for el, el seems to dislike it when she’s compared to a superhero. I don’t know how mike, gaslighting, shifting blame onto el while she’s sobbing is healthy. Even mike said “it’s a fight that you can’t come back from”

In the pizza place, I’m sure mike and el were going to have a mutual breakup before getting interrupted by argyle. After that during the scene where mike is trying to save el, he feels pressured to say i love you to el. I don’t know why someone would struggle to say that especially when they’re in a life or death situation, clearly el doesn’t believe his bs, the vines got tighter around her neck showing weakness, there’s also lighting in the background. It’s when she looks at max, that’s when she gets the power to fight. Not mikes cringe ass speech.

Overall the scene was just sad, I didn’t see anything romantic in that scene, I honestly saw more Byler potential within a “m*leven” scene. It was just sad. Also when mike said i love you, will was in the back. This may mean something. Maybe that will was in the back of his head when he said that. A lot of his speech had will in the back, usually in heart to hearts or confessions, it’s only the two, only their faces. Focused on them and only them. Which this could be love triangle imagery, which is seen a lot in s4 with will, el and mike. Like when el and mike reunited, will is in the middle of them. Also both will snd mike and the same body language with el, which shows that mike and el are platonic:)

Rahh I’m done ranting, bye <3

#byler #byler analysis #byler brainrot #mike wheeler is queer #mike wheeler #mike wheeler is gay #byler tumblr #milkvan slander #milkvan analysis #byler endgame #mike wheeler analysis

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heloflor · 2 years

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A few random thoughts/comments after finally reading the Sam and Max comics (Surfin’ the Highway + “The Big Sleep”) :

- I absolutely love how, whenever they’re in town or in an open place, there’s stuff happening in the background. Random details like that don’t really have any purpose in the story but they make the world feel so much more alive !

- I’m really fond of the way Purcell draws Sam for some reason. Idk, his face is just pleasant to look at.

- Max is getting the Pikachu treatment, looking chubby/chonky in the first interpretation of the character only to look thinner later on.

- It’s very interesting to see how the first “official” Sam and Max comic, “Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple”, introduces so many moments that became recurring things (“Sam, I mean Max”, Max being the one who needs saving, Max not being into girls, “you crack me up little buddy”, the fight for the phone, Sam’s long-ass “holy-“ lines, Sam being overprotective, Sam finding Max cute etc)

- It’s also interesting to see “Bad Day on the Moon” in comic form and the few differences with the cartoon version.

- I love how everytime they walk to their office door, they check on Flint Paper. Also Max mentioning how Flint probably wasn’t hugged enough 🥺

- I need an entire series of Sam and Max going on a road trip ! Not only can we have small adventures with new environments and characters, there’s also their cute interactions in the car !

- It’s funny to see places and characters you know are going to come back later on in the franchise, like the carnival from “Hit the Road”.

- I kinda like the random intermission in the long comics, though it feels like a random commercial that’s somehow relevant to the comic. Also that page about the board game to play in a car trip with the advice of “if you don’t have dice, just look at the last number of the plaque from the next car that’s coming” is absolutely genius.

- There’s SO MUCH TOUCHING between the two, especially on Sam’s end ! Like, dude can’t keep his hands away from his bunny ! Ok I may be exaggerating here but still ! So much touching ! And between that and other small moments, it makes me low-key question if they were already boyfriends back then 🤔

(I swear “Purcell wanted to create goofy stories with a fun duo but ended up accidentally creating an amazing and healthy gay relationships with pretty good rep overall and ultimately decided to just accept it and roll with it” is my second favorite thing about this franchise)

- Speaking of which, there’s that one moment in the second road-trip comic in which Sam uses Max as a weapon and then immediately asks Max if what he did was alright or if it bothered Max. And I absolutely adore that.

I think it’s due to the fact that, usually, Sam and Max are on the same wavelength and know each other’s boundaries and likes/dislikes. So it’s interesting to “come back to a time” where they still had to understand those boundaries. I also love how asking this is literally the first thing Sam does, showing that there’s really good communication between the two, which could also explain why in later entries they understand each other so well.

(and sure, I know moments like this one happened in other entries of the franchise, like for example Sam in 301 telling Max he's uncomfortable at the idea of Max teleporting alone, but for some reason this panel really stuck with me)

- The office each time having different framed pictures of the duo like in the cartoon 💖

- As someone who loves when anthropomorphic characters behave more like animals, I am so happy that the comics mention Sam smelling stuff a lot and especially Max having good hearing at least once ! Because this is something I really liked to think about, so it’s nice actually getting to see it being mentioned in canon !

Also there’s that one page (I think in “Bad Day on the Moon” ?) where Sam straight-up bites someone and then gets weirded out by his own action. That was fucking amazing.

- Apparently one of Sam’s favorite things during missions is cornering the villain and telling them to freeze with his gun pointed at them. For some reason I really like that fact.

- The comic about the cereal aisle monster has some pretty good action and a cool monster design. Also apparently Max already had weird powers back then with him being able to communicate with the dead.

Also also Max at the end helping a kid while casually talking to Sam was really cute. Fun fact : Max having baby fever and loving kids is my favorite thing about him, especially due to how much it clashes with his usual “wilder” personality (And for those wondering, my favorite thing about Sam is him being protective and going apeshit when Max is in danger).

Also also also it’s pretty funny to see Sam disliking physical contact from the shopkeeper given how touchy he is with Max in those comics.

- There’s a one-page comic about a lady talking about aliens with Sam not buying any of it, and one of the panels is Sam with a glass of water in hand saying “Lady, I’m this close to pouring my drink on you” while looking completely done with this shit. Hands down my favorite comic panel of all the Sam and Max comics.

(Btw, my second-favorite panel is from the first comic, after Max was kidnapped, when Sam is spitting on a portrait of the villain while pointing out how he’s going to destroy him if he took a single hair off of his precious bunny)

- It’s pretty funny how the comics suddenly start having colors at some point out of the blue, like someone randomly gifted Purcell a box of colored pencils. Though, I don’t know what I like most between the black-and-white or the colored comics. On one hand, the colors add to the background. On the other hand, the black-and-white gave a style that’s pretty fitting with the titular characters being detectives/police.

Ultimately, I think I like the black-and-white more, not just because of the style but also because like half of the stories in color are AU stuff (“The Adventurer” comics) while the black-and-white ones are more “grounded” stories.

Yeah, most of the time, I’m not the biggest fan of AUs. I know, pretty surprising for someone whose first fandom was Unde//rtale of all things.

And yes I learned later on that the first comics actually came out in a colored version. That being said I do like the black-and-white version more since, again, it gives them a “detectives” vibe.

- Sam really has a thing for twin popsicles, doesn’t he ?

- Some comics, especially the ones in color, have a few small “mean-spirited” moments between the duo, especially on Sam’s end, and it feels weird to see them like that. Like when one says “shut up” to the other, when Max does something cruel and Sam points it out by actually calling him cruel instead of cute, or when Sam jokingly threatening to hurt Max for being annoying, including the “killing Max and being sent to heaven” comic.

Now I know those jokes also exist in the rest of the franchise, like for example the “I wanna write a reminder to smother you with a pillow in your sleep” from the first Telltale game or the “shut up it’s starting !” from the cartoon, or even some moments in “Hit The Road” like when you rescue Max at the golf game. But for some reason, the ones in the comic stand out more to me.

I think it might be due to the duo dynamic they have and how much more openly affectionate they are in the games and cartoon, making those “I’m going to hurt you” jokes feel insignificant. 🤔

- There’s a comic about Atlantis that opens up with Sam mentioning how he “never dated within my gender” and I don’t know what surprises me the most between Sam unironically saying this, as if open to the idea, or the fact that they used the word “gender” in a comic form the 90s. In any cases, I like it.

(Also I guess this means Sam and Max weren’t together back then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Unless you picture the comics as taking place out of order, which I might do considering that one Christmas comic with the duo living in a house and having a family dinner. Plus this could explain the “mean-spirited” stuff only being in some comics. Also the cereal aisle comic has a guy from the cartoon + Max having powers, so I could see it taking place around the time of the cartoon, after the Telltale games)

- Sam with abs from that one biker comic is cursed. Chubby Sam with “uncool 40 years-old dad” energy is best Sam.

- And from that same comic, Max gets a tattoo on his right arm. Headcanon that he still has it but it’s hidden under his fur, hence why it’s never visible.

- I love how “The Adventurer Comics”, “The Big Sleep” and the first page of the unfinished comic are just casually available to read on the official Sam and Max website.

- “The Big Sleep” was apparently written around the time of “Save The World”, and I feel like you can kinda see it from the way Max looks in this comic. They removed the chonk in favor of a rounder stomach that resembles his 3D model.

Also I really like how this comic has Sam in danger and Max trying to save him, with Max’s last line of the comic showing some protectiveness. Given how rare it can be at times, I like when they switch around which one needs saving.

Also also this comic has Max calling some guy gay and later on almost saying “piece of shit”. I love it.

Also also also, there’s a cameo of granny Ruth as part of Sam’s memories !!! (along with a picture of Max because of course 💖)

Last thing, since earlier I mentioned the “mean-spirited” moments : this one shows my point by having Sam mentioning bashing Max in the head to help him calm down, with Max reacting by saying “aww, you spoil me !” This is the kind of instance where a joke is actually not mean-spirited because there’s something immediately afterwards showing that Max is enjoying the thought, while in the older comics, it’s just Sam mentioning hurting Max without Max commenting on it, which gives off this “mean-spirited” side.

- There are at least two comics that I’m missing, or at least two that I’m assuming are official. Given how the franchise started with Purcell drawing after his brother’s stories, I’m pretty sure there’s a lot out there that was never published (for those asking, yes I stumbled across some of the earliest versions of those characters from back when Purcell was messing with his brother’s work).

But yeah, from what I know, one of the missing two has a page with Sam and Max pushing n*zis off a cliff, and the second one has a joke about Sam asking Max to remove what he’s wearing and Max refusing, with I think some kind of stereotypical tribe behind them ?

- Thinking about it, I’ve seen people talk about how trigger-happy Sam and Max are in the comics compared to the rest of the franchise, with them being toned down due to age rating. But tbh, I didn’t find them that trigger-happy in the comics, at least not more than the games. They felt pretty on-par with how they act in “Hit The Road” specifically. Might be just me tho 🤔

- Overall, I’d say my favorite comic is “The Big Sleep” due to the whole “Max saving Sam” situation. But more than that, I especially adore how evident it is that Max absolutely loves Sam without outright saying it. It’s shown very well with how worried Max gets, the fact that he greatly compliments the doctor at some point or even the way he decides by himself to investigate the phone because he feels uneasy about the bug and wants to find out what happened to Sam.

This comic aside, the road trip trilogy is a close second and I especially enjoy the moments with the duo in the car, like Sam telling Max a creepy story or them sleeping while still having the car on, etc. I’d probably put the very first official comic as third, mostly for how many recurring things this comic sets up + the usual “Sam saving Max” being nice to see. And the unfinished “Max getting shot” comic would be fourth, because angst is my jam.

#Sam and Max #SamandMax #Freelance husbands #sorta #Flor talks #long post #for some reason I kept hesitating to post my Sam and Max stuff #I think it's because the fandom is decades old and had a resurgence last year #so it feels weird to jump in and start analysing stuff that was likely already talked about #idk I just feel awkward #but at the same time I like rambling about stuff so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯#(no but seriously it's been so long since I first wrote this #that I'm starting to wonder if the two comics I'm missing are actually from Sam and Max #or if it's from another franchise and I'm picturing it as Sam and Max for some reason)

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zukuist · 3 years

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𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞

200 followers special

includes: multiple characters (would add more tags but.. i reached 30 ;;)

your name is shortened to y/n, they/them pronouns

notes: thank you for 200 followers! this isn’t really going to be that long, but im just doing the characters i really like so ;; ALSO I MIGHT’VE GOTTEN KIRI’S ENTRY A LITTLE WRONG so ugh sorry ;;

—

shouto todoroki

— THE OBSERVANT SIMP

from the start, he’s quite oblivious to certain things, (social ques, signs of romantic interest, etc.)

but when he’s observant with someone, then that totally means you’re special to him. does he realize how much he pays attention to you? hmm.. maybe?

he’s going to be the first one that notices you’re hungry, even if you don’t realize it yourself. he’s quick to grab a snack and break it open to you

same thing with being thirsty— if he notices that your water bottle is empty, he’ll quickly find the nearest vending machine and buy a bottle.

temperature is also no problem. he can immediately tell whenever someone’s cold; but he usually helps you first

too hot? he’s slowly putting down the room’s temperature

too cold? his left palm starts emitting some sort of heat in your direction, hoping it creates some sort of aid

if your shoelaces are undone, and/or he notices that there’s a button undone on your shirt— he’ll fix it for you

will ask to take your pictures on dates, and he’ll also help you pick out the best photo (not that any photo of you is short of any beauty)

in short— people will notice that he’s actually a big simp for you; because of how observant he is with you specifically.

katsuki bakugou

— THE TSUNDERE SIMP

just because he’s simping for you doesn’t mean he’ll treat you any differently. bakugou will be bakugou, and you eventually learn how to adapt to that.

but even so, his simp habits slip out sometimes.

when he’s cooking, he’ll accidentally make too much to eat, and he’ll coincidentally put the extras in another box and hand it to you

he’s a good student, even with studies. but would he say he’s a good teacher? hm. probably not

but if he notices you need help, he’ll sigh, feining annoyance as he decides to tutor y’all, because those ‘idiots’ are hopeless

rolls his eyes when he sees food on your cheek, but he’ll grab a tissue and wipe it off for you— claiming how you’re so messy.

he’ll act like he hates hearing your ‘annoying ass singing’ but he’ll lean against the doorway and listen to you rock out to whatever song you’re singing to.

denki will call him a simp for looking after you, and bakugou will just yell at him to “SHUT UP” >:T

he secretly likes taking care of you. his words aren’t the softest thing in the world, but his actions make up to it.

izuku midoriya

— THE DETAILED SIMP

as katsuki bakugou would call him; he is a nerd

he definitely meant that as an insult, but his input on detail makes it very useful in things like relationships

he remembers every detail of your quirk, your limits, potential secret moves.

it would’ve been stalker-ish, if it weren’t for the fact that deku does this out of admiration for his s/o

so if you so happen to collapse due to overusing your quirk— deku has a detailed plan on what to do. it’s almost scary.

he puts detail in a lot of things, anniversary gifts, birthday gifts, and so on.

deku’s also the type to plan things weeks before it actually happens. like.. planning out the perfect birthday gift

and with this, his memory is really good. so it’s very unlikely that he’ll just suddenly forget anniversaries and birthdays.

i hc deku as a bad cook, so he eats takeout food more than his homemade food

but he’s takes note of your allergies, your dislikes with food— and he finds himself mumbling small details to recall what you like

when you walk out in pretty/good outfits for dates

his face will break out into shades of red— suddenly rambling all the good details of your outfit, complimenting you while he’s at it

“y/n’s looks fantastic as always. i might die from their beauty”

if anyone calls him a simp, he’ll be really embarrassed about it. “me? a s-simp? is that a bad thing?”

just tell him it’s fine.

denki kaminari

— THE HYPEMAN SIMP

a big simp

like.. really big

he worships the ground you step on, and hypes up everything you do

y’all know when irene from red velvet literally breathed in north korea, and the crowd just

*claps*

yeah, that’s denki to you

it’s so blantly obvious that he’s simping over someone, and everyone’s just kinda used to it at this point

he’s just a big fanboy sometimes

whenever you’re sparring with someone, he’s always in the background like

“go s/o!!” 🤩

and he has tendencies to go a little easy on you like.. what’s he gonna do when you get electricuted??

but that doesn’t mean he’s never serious— nah.

there are times where he’s just a little bashful just being in your presence

sneaking glances your way, as he silently fanboys about you in general.

“s/o looks really good today. they always look good but !!”

when y’all weren’t together, the bakusquad was just tired of the constant romantic pining

it was really obvious that he was simping back then, and they’re not so sure as to how you didn’t say anything about it

mina always called him a simp

so yeah!! it was a big relief when you got together with him. he never makes you feel terrible, because he’s always your #1 hypeman.

eijirou kirishima

— THE HELPING SIMP (rip idk what to call this)

i didn’t really know what kinda name i went for this one but let me carry on

kiri upfront is very confident, and friendly. he never shows a mean side to anyone,

and there are rare cases of him being bashful

he’s kinda almost like a golden retriever? since he’s always nice and friendly to everyone

but then when you enter the room; he suddenly goes quiet, and he’s left alone with his rather loud thoughts about you

he didn’t really know how to properly approach you at first

but him being kiri, he’s still rather friendly to you (for now)

when he’s messing around, practically sharing one braincell with kami and sero

and then you suddenly walk in— he snaps out of his foolishness, and greet you with his very warm smile

“hey y/n!” he waves at you, and he hopes you don’t mention the teasing look on both kami and sero’s face

sometimes when he’s doing his close combat training, and he notices that he’s getting too close to you

he’ll be like “woah man, maybe we should move locations.” bc he doesn’t wanna hit you by accident ;;

kirishima prefers to not stand near you when his hair is all spiky. like he’s never conscious about it, until he’s around you

man poked sero with his hair before, and he doesn’t want to do that to you

kiri always looks at your hand, just to see if it’s occupied with something. his thoughts linger to what your hand might feel like

“their hand looks really.. soft. argh! i shouldn’t be thinking about these kind of things in public! im sorry y/n”

bakugou really only notices kirishima’s simping ways

bakugou always mentions the fact that kirishima goes really silent whenever you’re around—

and he’s secretly contemplating on having you around more so he can just shut up 。・°°・(＞_＜)・°°・。

moving aside all of that, kiri always carries your things.

you’ll beg him to give you at least one thing, and he’ll say no because it’s “not manly to let someone carry all of this.”

if you’re sad, he’s the first one to cheer you up— reassuring you that everything will be okay.

kiri’s just wants to be at your service at all times! it’s manly to help people, right?

hitoshi shinsou

— THE DISCREET SIMP

no one would be able to tell that he’s simping for someone

because unlike kaminari; he’s not like IM HITOSHI SHINSO AND IM ACTUALLY A SIMP

he’s a lot more discreet, and no one has really caught on, besides you and kaminari of course

he’s a lot less sarcastic with you, asking you about anything that’s happened instead of just being there

he prefers it to hear you talk. the way each word and syllable rolls off your tongue smoothly, and the way you use your hands to emphasize things

he’s amused.

oh and the way he looks at you? almost any normal person can sense the simp in him pop out (he’s so contained though)

he’s definitely the person that’ll get rid of any bug that’s terrifying you— even though he’d normally just leave it to them

he’ll do it, regardless if it’s the biggest fucking spider he’s ever seen, or the smallest spider

he’ll do it to make you feel safe.

he has these random spurs of compliments during the day

the source mainly comes from his staring habit

and they’re just so unexpected and out of the blue. hitoshi’s amused whenever he sees your reaction to his compliments

like.. you could be really frustrated about something, and he’ll just go “your eyes are pretty.” that’s his discreet method tO MAKE YOU TEMPORARILY DISTRACTED FROM THE ISSUE—

call him a simp, whatever. it’s true anyway so he doesn’t why should he be ashamed of it?

he’s discreet about it, since it’s your business and his business. but you can definitely feel his feelings loud and clear

neito monoma

— THE 180 SIMP

“i’m not a simp!”

[you enter the room]

*nervous laughter*

he had his last laugh, and he never thought he’d be this soft around someone.

especially if you’re from class 1-A like.. i became the thing i hated, ugh.

relentless teasing is amped but this is his way of making sure you remember him loud and clear

but he’ll never tease you in a condescending way— like how he torments the rest of class 1-A

that’s reserved for them 💅

always compliments you, that’s the first thing he does when he sees you—

and they’re never generic compliments either

“it’s nice to see you here, y/n! you make the world better day by day!”

“i’m still wondering what you’re doing in class 1-A, you’re much better than them!”

everyone secretly wonders how you got monoma to like you

monoma canonically likes pastels. spread the word

so sometimes, you’ll walk over to your desk— and you’ll just see this random pastel ornament sitting on your desk

you know who it’s from

whenever monoma starts becoming annoying, kendo will definitely use you as a weapon to make him shut up

he’ll be laughing at the expression on his face, thinking he’s absolutely winning at this

but the smile is wiped off his face when he hears “ok go on, i’ll tell y/n about your antics.”

“no, no! i’ll behave now, please don’t tell y/n.”

class 1-b literally use you as blackmail whenever monoma acts up, and it’s because of how different he is around you

like.. his personality takes a 180, (besides the obvious teasing) it’s alarming

—

©️zukuist 2021, bnha|mha belongs to horikoshi kohei. do not repost my work❕

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borkthemork · 3 years

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The Wu Whereabouts Theory

Now that people are getting hyped for the month countdown toward Amphibia Season Three’s release, I am going to be talking about a theory my friend and I talked about over the past few months, and it’s time to buckle up because we’re going to be tackling this theory from a production, character design, and semantics perspective.

And why these specific factors? Because the theory revolves around these three characters.

And why I believe all of them are related in some way.

Now, you might ask yourself: Bork, how in the hell are these characters related? The old woman character doesn’t seem to have any semblance of features relating to Marcy. What about the dad, are you going to explain the dad? Are you pulling my leg?

And to that, we’re going to have to start small. I’ll first explain why the character on the right seems to be an important character to the story, how all these characters can be connected through deliberate design/semblance, and then I am going to hit it out of the park with the probability from a logical perspective with what the intro and past Marcy interactions seem to give us on why everyone is where they’re currently at.

Especially where Marcy’s father is currently located.

This theory is very, and I mean, very long, so hang on to your seats as we dive into my thoughts about where Season Three might lead us.

And credit goes to @CynDavilaChase on Twitter because she made me realize the probability of this theory in the first place.

And with that, let us begin!

Section One - Who’s This Woman?

With animated introductions, I think one of the big things I noticed with Amphibia Season Three’s intro is that it’s heavily serialized. Compared to Amphibia’s introduction with Seasons One and Two, there are a lot of animated scenes found in the sequence where the story is already being told in a narrative.

You get shots of Anne being introduced to her house, you get new important characters introduced in a lot, there appears to be insight into future events such as Anne getting a moped while being chased by government agents or the massive monkey robot chasing her through the alleyways.

A lot of the intro is prioritized over its serialized format, and that means the characters seen and animated in the foreground have to be important characters or else the studio is basically wasting time focusing on a background character that will never be seen again.

Of course, you get some sliding shots like with the construction workers or the beach scene with the beach-goers but that’s only for a second and they’re not truly the forefront.

But during the shots between 0:29 and 0:49, the sequences we see include a lot of what appears to be important scenes with important characters that will play some role in the story itself.

There are no parts in the sequence where background characters are put in the foreground. Each bit of the animation needs to count, it needs to tell a story of what’s to come and what the audience can anticipate to see.

Now that begs the question:

Why is a supposed random background character in the foreground?

We got some reason as to why the engineer lady looks important since she was in a shot full of important or supporting characters, but why her??

Sure, one could argue this shot could just be indicative of Andrias’s invasion, but there are numerous other ways to show that there’s an invasion without putting too much animation effort on one background character, especially from a composition perspective.

Pardon the messiness, I had to do this quick, but look at how all three ladies are lined up.

The far left grandma, when following from her head to the the front lady’s creates a line that not only creates a sense of direction for our eyes to follow but follows the more significant and foreground character of all three. Look at how the dragonflies occupy most of the top of the frame while the two older women stay in the marketplace’s form, and how this leaves the younger woman to be abruptly placed in the open — creating a visual that this character in particular is more important than the rest in the shot.

Check the way the characters move their eyes when the scene happens too: the background characters quickly look to the right, then the woman out in the open then directs her eyesight to the skyline, where all the dragonflies are flitting by.

Now, I’m not a storyboard artist or composer, I could be wrong on how the crew created this scene all together, but regardless it is still so odd to put emphasis on a background character in the front and then just leave it at that.

She has to be important in some way, and this is where I want to talk about character design.

Section Two - All Related or Am I Just Racist?

When it comes to character design we need to talk about how the character designers make sure to give Anne some form of semblance to her parents, and in this case, she looks a lot like her mother.

They got the bushy hair, the same skin tone, eyebrows, etc. And with her dad you could even see that Anne got her fluffy bangs from him specifically. Only one shared genetic trait, however.

This is deliberate, we know that for sure, and that is why I need to make this very clear as we transition to the similarities found in Marcy and the theorized characters, and why I believe they’re related in design. Mainly because the concept of race and appearance could be quite a debacle and I wanted to make sure that all of you know I am not assuming things out of naivety, and if I am, feel free to get my ass.

Other than that, let’s look at them again.

And here I shall compile the appearance stuff that each character seems to have.

With these three characters they seem to connect to one another with one genetic trait, but if one looks closely, there comes the question of the older lady (who I will just call Marcy’s mom at this point) and why she’s vastly different to Marcy when it comes to skin tone, hair color, and hell — if we look between Marcy and the engineer — why these two characters have vastly different hairstyles compared to the woman.

Even though I could give speculation and some doubt to the engineer and Marcy’s mom being related, and on first glance I couldn’t do the same with Marcy and her mom either, but then I did some digging and realized something. I can connect Marcy and her potential mom in one way — hair design.

Marcy and her mom both share the same poofy hair, it’s just that one is more short and the other is allowed to grow out in a nice little nest.

Don’t believe me?

They got the same floofy bangs with that specific hair line.

And when Marcy was little, Marcy appeared to need a hair tie because her hair was growing out, and it looked like this.

If we consider that what Marcy’s hair tie is holding up might be her bangs — bangs that might cover her eyesight from how floofy it is — then if you removed the hair tie then she and the woman would have a very similar looking design hair-wise.

Even with these hair similarities, however, there is still inquiry as to why Marcy is vastly different compared to her mother when it comes to skin and hair color, and here is where I go into some speculation to piece all of it together:

Marcy actually carries the appearance of her dad more than her mom.

Her dad has olive skin and black, straight hair, while her mother harbors tan skin and floofy, brown hair.

It’s this one piece of speculation that basically slides everything into place, but regardless it’s still speculation and one that I cannot confirm or even argue much about due to the nature of genetics and the limited info we have. But with this piece set in place, we could start to create the argument that maybe, just maybe, these characters are related.

But if they are, why do we only see Marcy’s mom and her supposed sister and not her dad?

Why do we get no indication of Marcy having a sister until Season Three?

How do we put all of this together?

Section Three - Distance and Finance

I rewatched True Colors numerous times when it came to understanding and interpreting what I could with the limited Marcy-centric flashback we had. I even went through episodes such as Maddie and Marcy, New Wartwood, and a lot of other episodes just to fit everything into place. And I think I have a good indication as to why this family is the way that it is.

First off, we’re going to be talking about Marcy’s dad and his new job out of state.

California is a very expensive state. And as someone who lives in California, the housing crisis and the ability to even stay in a house/dorm without sweating over the idea of being bankrupt is a very real thing.

So it is a curious thing that one of the reasons that the Wus had to leave came out to moving out-of-state due to a new job offer, one that infers a lot more money and probably a more stable living environment.

You could even hear the dad saying “Marcy, you have to understand!” when Marcy runs out, meaning that there’s probably a good reason as to why the parents believe that the move is essential, and I am banking on the idea of money for a number of reasons.

One, living in Los Angeles is expensive as hell.

Two, the coping mechanisms Marcy has makes sense if finance is the main comeuppance.

Three, the background art.

And four, why this girl has straight A’s and a PSAT book.

We already covered number one, but let’s take a look at what I mean about coping mechanisms.

Marcy Wu’s many flaws come from what looks to be the fear of being alone, and the fear of being seen as unvaluable and worthless; that if Marcy doesn’t prove herself lovable and essential to the people around her then she gets anxious and will do anything in her powers to make the people around her like her or stay with her.

She will omit information, move along objectives through passive and indirect persuasion, allow people to assert their will over her because they said so and, most importantly, does all of this because she fears the consequences when she gets outed or rocks the boat. Because rocking the boat means people will get mad at her, and she appears to try to avoid that situation of vulnerability like the plague until it all culminated into True Colors.

She is terrified of getting hurt. She is terrified, specifically, of consequences — punishment through stress, frustration, the people she loves looking at her differently because of the mistakes she’s made, etc.

Why do I say this? It’s because if we look into Marcy Wu with her pre-Amphibia self, a lot of these fears could be placed into that middle school scenario very well. Marcy Wu plays videogames and loves fiction because it is a form of escapism or happiness away from stress; she has this intense curiosity to basically anything of interest and uses that to thrive with getting straight A’s and an overall very solid record, but there’s still a probability that high expectations or making the people around her love her comes through said status of being the smart one (after all, she prides on her intellect, and sees it as essential to basically surviving the day to day).

Look at Marcy’s flashback in True Colors. She’s a middle schooler but is studying for the PSAT, which is mainly held in High School, and I’m no expert but I don’t think you read that stuff for fun or at least study it that early.

And I find it interesting that that’s the first shot we get of Marcy before we dive into her parents’ argument — education, studying, the expectation of high scores.

And then when you remember that Marcy is the least athletic of the girls, the thrift shop’s street she retreats to away from her parents is not that faraway from her neighborhood.

And this street, is messy as all hell. And with the revised background art for this area, nothing about the place changes but instead gets emphasized through more shots of how rundown it all looks!

The fact there’s a bail bonds building behind Mar-mar also doesn’t reassure me in the slightest.

So here’s where we are: Studying, getting good grades, a serious financial situation, lives near a rundown section of the city, high expectations, and the evaluation of one’s worth through intellect and academia.

What we are witnessing is a nuanced family situation. If we go by the assumption that the three girls’ lives are not only vastly different in personality but upbringing, then on an income scale, Anne would be middle income, Sasha would be high income, and Marcy is low income.

Her family’s struggling to be stable in a city that they can’t afford to live in, there’s a very high emphasis on good grades and education in the household, and the situation is so bad that her dad would take the proposal of a higher-paying job out of state than finding a similar job out in the city.

However, in this household’s struggle to have a better life, the parents had to focus on their children getting better living than them, and this means Marcy had to live in an environment where the biggest source of reward and praise is through intellect, academics, the approval of the parents.

And I could probably assume that this focus on finance also lead to very rough patches where Marcy was unable to be encouraged over stuff she loves like C&C or videogames, since the level of attention is low compared to the amount of happiness and pride her parents get when she gets an A+.

Especially when we consider that in the dialogue we hear from Mr. and Mrs. Wu, her dad is more assertive while her mom appears to care but doesn’t seem to go against her husband’s tone, so a lot of the probable issues might’ve come from Marcy wanting her dad’s approval and her mother never standing up for her when he became frustrated.

That would make a lot of context with Andrias even worse in retrospect, because that means the moment a male adult figure decided to care about her and give attention to what she loved, then Marcy fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

And could you blame her?

Now, let’s finally get a glimpse on one other character I’ve been neglecting in this essay.

This gal! Because if Marcy and her are somehow related, then we need to question why she was never mentioned or why she wasn’t involved in the conversation between Marcy and her parents.

I’ve done a massive theory post about this already, but the biggest probability comes in the design itself, since if Marcy’s sister went through trade school to be a mechanic/engineer then there’s a high probability she’s in her mid-Twenties. And if we consider that Marcy is 13, then Marcy would’ve been born when her sister was 12 or 13, and ultimately leave the household when she turned 18.

This means Marcy would’ve gone on with less contact from her sister for 6 years, and that’s a lot for a developing child.

It’s not improbable for Marcy to have lost contact with her big sister, or at least had lesser time to meet up with her due to work, college, or her own adult life now that she’s out of the house.

After all, in Maddie and Marcy, I find it very interesting that out of the advice Marcy could’ve given to Maddie about siblings, Marcy tells her that even though Maddie is the older sibling and is allowed to have her own life she suggests that maybe she should make some time for her sisters occasionally. Almost as if this was a ditto moment for her, that she understands but also had a good example of a sister who made time whenever she had the chance.

On more speculation terms, it would be cute to think that the reason Marcy has so much fire and spirit toward her fiction and love for games is because of her sister. After all, Marcy harbors the same interest toward engineering and robotics, it wouldn’t be a stretch in the imagination that perhaps her sister encouraged her to keep on going with what she felt passionate for regardless of their parents’ lack of response, to basically be unapologetic of what she loves, and this mantra kept her going for a lot of her life even when her sis went for trade school.

But let’s go on a side note here. I find it quite interesting that the character design of Marcy’s sis is also very telling, because not only does it tell a supposed story about who she was in the aftermath of graduation, but we could find a way to also put the theme of income and finance into her story as well.

Let’s be real these two are partners in all the way — from mechanics to engineers to straight up girlfriends, these two basically have their own business going on and I find it interesting that none of them just go with robotics or mechanics as a full-time thing, it’s mainly two jobs rolled up into one.

Why is that? There is some speculation that maybe they’re specialists and work in a very science-related area, but it seems highly likely that their main jobs are being car mechanics by day and robotic expert nerds by night. After all, the city can be hecked with money so I wouldn’t be surprised if they did two jobs at once to keep the lights on. I could also see them doing freelancing to repair or experiment with engineering projects since they take more money than actually makes in most cases.

Overall, money plays a big part with the family, and culminates to what I like to call a Massive Shitfest TM when they get alerted over the girls’ disappearances.

Section Four - Massive Shitfest Boogaloo and Where They Are Now~

In the aftermath of their teleport to Amphibia, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wus had a big argument over Marcy and what should be done in the aftermath. Really, the family still needs to take that job because of finance, people are blaming each other over who pushed her to the brink, and then you have Marcy’s sister — who was probably out of the loop but probably knows how it was in the household — getting added into the mess of what just happened and adding her grief into the mix.

It is a blunder, terrifying and could break apart a family if I’m being honest. but what comes through is this:

People have now become stubborn in the Wu household, and no one is going to back down.

And what I mean is that Mrs. Wu, devastated by what happened ever since the argument in True Colors, will stay in Los Angeles out of grief and a supposed hope that Marcy would return. While Mr. Wu, determined to keep the finance going and keeping everyone stable and safe, abides by Mrs. Wu and decides to go out of state regardless, bringing back a flow of money to keep the Wu household stable through the aftermath.

It would make sense as to why Marcy’s mom is present in the intro but not any suspecting candidates for the dad.

Or how we see that there’s two older ladies with her in the intro. They might actually be close relatives who moved into the household out of the obligation to comfort Mrs. Wu but to also keep her company throughout this dark time in her life.

After all, when one loses a child, a lot of prior relations start to unravel as the status quo changes, and we are definitely going to see Anne confront the Wus and Waybrights when it comes to upbringing and home life.

But really, it is all up in the air. With Season Three around the corner, I am excited to see what the story has in store for us when it comes to the deep-diving into Marcy’s home life. She might’ve had a nuanced family life. She might’ve had abusive parents, perhaps no sister at all but a lot of relatives who grieved for her.

But with this theory out to the public, thank you all for reading along with this massive beast of a post, and I hope we get to see Marcy out of the aloe vera sauce very soon!

#amphibia #marcy wu #amphibia analysis #amphibia season three #amphibia theory #bork speaks #THIS IS SO FUCKING LONG

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asteroshearts · 3 years

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[Actor!AU] Relationship HCs

[Levi + Eren]

Levi Ackerman:

Even though he still has his RBF off-screen he’s a hell of a lot nicer than people think he is.

Probably asked Eren if he was okay several times before and after the trial scene.

They used one of your tweets that read, “I want Levi to break my back like a glowstick” during those “____ reads thirst tweets” videos and his face immediately became full-on red when he saw your @.

I mean, he was blushing before, but when he saw that it was you he jokingly says, “I had no idea they posted this... Why are you like this. If you wanted me to break your back you could’ve just asked me to my face.”

Great with puppies, kittens, children, and other infantile creatures. If he’s carrying a bouquet during an event or something and a kid comes up to him, he’ll give them a flower.

“Levi Plays With Puppies While Answering Fan Questions” probably got over a million views in less than half an hour.

NO ONE DOES BUSINESS CASUAL BETTER THAN HE DOES!!

People probably take more pictures of you two at the front row seats of fashion shows more than the models themselves.

Probably has the Rihanna Effect™ where he’ll wear something that looks bad on the OG model on the runway, but once he wears it, it’s suddenly fashionable.

Speaking of Rihanna he’s probably in a random music video of hers like Mads Mikkelsen in “Bitch Better Have My Money.”

HE’S STILL AN ACTS OF SERVICE MAN THROUGH AND THROUGH.

On one hand he does expected “gentleman” things like opening doors for you, closing your car door after you, holding your bags, etc.

On the other hand he goes to the extreme.

If he’s not filming something or busy, he’s by your side doing all of the jobs your assistant is supposed to do.

The directors and cameramen are looking around being like, “Where’s our Important Character Levi” when they need to shoot scenes, but if they find you they’ll just see him following you around, holding an umbrella over your head in one hand and holding your coffee in the other.

When they first saw it everyone was like...couldn’t you find someone else...that’s not an extremely important cast member to do that... but it’s just Levi, he insists on doing it himself. Your assistant has the easiest job in the world because he elevates all of their jobs for them.

CAREFULLY HOLDS THE TRAIN OF YOUR DRESS ON RED CARPETS

When your hair gets tousled or locks fall over your face during filming or photoshoots, the cameramen will point it out, but before any of the hair or makeup people manage to get to you, Levi will just ;; walk over and fix it himself. The two of you probably have the softest smiles at that moment when he’s carefully brushing your hair out of your face.

Isn’t in a lot of roles. He definitely gets offered a whole bunch of roles!! but especially when you two started dating, he told himself that he didn’t want you guys to crash and burn like many other celebrity couples since they normally spend a lot of time apart and are usually thousands of miles away from each other. When he’s not filming AOT, he tends to take a break from acting and go with you to your jobs.

However, if he does find himself in a role that he wants to do, he’ll definitely appreciate it if you reciprocate, but doesn’t expect nor force you to.

Instead he’ll leave your assistant with a long-ass list of how you like your coffee, what you like to eat after a long day of filming, how to approach you when you’re stressed, etc because this man has been doing your assistant’s job the entire time asdfghj

The only time he’s gently smiling in paparazzi photos is when he’s with you, other than that he looks angry or bored. Like he’ll be at a beautiful beach party with Erwin and Hange but he’s just sitting in the shade with a drink in one hand looking inconvenienced.

Eren Jaeger:

OKAY

There’s this one video of Dylan Sprouse putting his hand on his heart like it’s the national anthem or something when Barbra Palvin walks by on the runway AND THAT’S EXACTLY EREN

When he sees you walk by either on a modeling gig or on the red carpet this man just stops ,,, and immediately stares and puts his hand on his heart like he’s seen Jesus.

ALSO does anyone know that one video of the dude tripping over his words when he tries to talk to Jhene Aiko during an interview.

When you and Eren first met he had to bring Armin as a translator because he was never able to get a straight sentence out in your presence.

He was legitimately stunned stupid when he saw all of your red carpet looks or interview looks when you two were still new friends during S1 or something.

follows Ere[Name] ship accounts on twitter and your stan accounts.

Why do you even have a publicist. He’s your personal hypeman. Sometimes people get confused when they go to his official instagram bc it’s just pictures of you, him promoting your stuff, or really grainy, desaturated pictures of you two doing dumb things together like doing the JOJO Torture Dance together on an empty street at 3AM. These are interspersed with pictures of him when he has to promote something that’s like in his contract.

When he posts pictures or stories that doesn’t have you in it, the comments are all, “Where’s [Name].”

When little kids come up to him during panels or out on the street he’ll get jokingly concerned that they’re watching AOT. Like, “Y-You watch the series?? Do your parents know? Is it too scary for you?”

Tries to make you laugh by pulling funny faces where the camera can’t see him.

If you mess up on your line, he’ll immediately build on that and goof off with you, resulting in the two of you getting yelled at.

Quality time is one of his love languages, so like Levi, your managers will work together to make sure your schedules work with each other.

Sometimes when you have other roles outside of AOT, you might catch him as some regular extra in the background.

It can’t be helped if sessions go on for too long sometimes, but if it becomes a reoccurring thing due to unorganized sets, he’ll fight with the director and crew to get a break since it’s important for everyone to get some rest.

If your character is shipped with some character That’s Not Him, the directors know not to show his face during kiss scenes or romantic scenes because he’ll legitimately break character and pout or become so stone faced that he can’t emote at all.

This Academy Award winning actor will just go 🧍 on the sidelines while you’re trying to kiss Jean for a scene but his stare is burning on the side of your head.

Eren to Jimmy Fallon or something, “I guess Jean and [Name] are cute but it would be better if it was Ere[Name]. No, no I’m not complaining or anything...”

GAVE HIS EVERYTHING TO ATTACK ON TITAN JUNIOR HIGH.

Begged the writers to have more Ere[Name] content in Junior High.

If they let him direct an episode of AOT he will film it like Parks and Rec or The Office.

[Eren: commits war crimes

Camera: swerves and zooms in on your face grimacing and Levi’s dead expression while he stares right at the camera.]

People probably know that they can’t interview him/force him to do lives after shooting because his voice is gone after all that shouting as Eren Jaeger.

Has a Dan-Emma-Rupert relationship with Mikasa and Armin. He legitimately sees them as siblings even off-set.

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afrival · 3 years

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AOT Characters When Drinking HCs

My friend and I were talking the other day and made some HCs about the AOT characters when they’re drunk— I shall share a them here 😎🤙

cw// alcohol, vomit

modern au shit so this like doesn’t apply season 4 characterization

The 104th Gang

Eren:

- Angry drunk

- To quote my friend, you would say something around him and he's just "ohmmy GODDD shutttt the fuck UP”

- It literally doesn’t matter what you say he will tell you to shut up

- Picks fights for no fucking reason, especially with Jean

- If they’re out to drink he would start a fight with a stranger

- Mikasa literally has to drag him away from fights

- Probably drinks too much and vomits for HOURS and then brags about how high his alcohol tolerance is

- Claims he doesn’t get hangovers but everybody knows he’s lying because he will absolutely just zone out of every conversation the next day

- Always looks like he is on the verge of vomiting again

Mikasa:

- Does not drink because she has to babysit Eren

- However when she does she does not drink a lot

- Probably gets like really flustered and embarrassed, maybe a little touchy b/c her head hurts or something

- Like she’ll lay her head on Sasha’s shoulder meanwhile Eren and Jean are yelling at each other in the background

- Does get a hangover but usually it’s just a headache and she’ll be EXHAUSTED

Armin:

- COMPLETE fucking lightweight oh my god

- Do not give this man alcohol he will absolutely get wrecked

- One glass of wine is probably enough to get him tipsy

- I can’t decide if he would be the kind of person that gets really emotional and cries about everything or if he would go on long drunken rants about the most random shit

- Probably both

- Like he would be crying about the fact that he learned about otters having a favorite rock or this REALLY round corgi he saw last weak and it was just too cute

- Mikasa has to babysit both Eren and Armin whenever he drinks because Eren will absolutely try and drag Armin into his fights

- And with the drunken courage he has Armin would absolutely join in by yelling or hyping Eren up

- He becomes such an enabler

- Would have a hangover if he didn’t pass the fuck out and sleep the entire next day

Connie and Sasha:

- Two for one deal, they are always hanging out whenever they drink

- They’re the most CHAOTIC fucking duo ever, like they would somehow get their hands on a bunch of firecrackers and let loose

- Sasha would probably try and talk to any animals near by

- Connie would be laughing and saying shit like “SASHA the dog can’t fuckin’ talk back 🙄”

- They spend their hangovers bitching and whining about how much it hurts

- Probably would wrap themselves up in blankets in a dark room and snacks and spend the whole day just waiting it out

Jean:

- Same thing as Eren

- Except he also gets more flirty, but it’s not good and usually he ends up embarrassing himself and scaring away the girl he was talk to

- Finds Connie and Sasha and joins them on their shenanigans if he ain’t arguing with Eren

- Probably claims he has really good ideas and then next thing you know all three of them are in a police station and it’s definitely his fault

- “What the fuck made you think taking that woman’s dog was okay”

- “It looked SAD, Connie! And Sasha helped me!”

- “NO—“

- Spends his hangover day with Sasha and Connie

Historia:

- The most giggly fucking drunk you will ever meet

- Laughs at EVERYTHING and asks really dumb questions because suddenly she just has one brain cell

- Also a lightweight just not as bad as Armin

- Ymir has to babysit her and then when Ymir is drunk is the other way around

- They take good care of each other

- Ymir thinks she’s the most adorable thing ever and probably gives into every dumbass request Historia makes

- “Ymir! Let’s go out to eat!”

- “Hist, it’s 2am.”

- “So? There’s someplace open somewhere!”

- “...Fine.”

- Also sleeps her hangover off but Ymir has some water and pain meds ready for whenever she wakes up

Ymir:

- Oh dear lord she becomes very cocky and flirty

- Hangs off Historia’s shoulders the whole time and absolutely starts a fight with whoever looks at her gf

- Eren tried to fight her once and he got his shit beat

- The next day she would be so dramatic about how much pain she’s in just to get Historia to pay attention to her

- And ofc Historia always does < 3

The Warriors:

Reiner:

- Mans becomes such a an emotional bro

- Like he will throw an arm around literally anyone and go off about how much he just thinks they’re the darndest thing

- “Bert have I ever told you how great you are?”

- “All the time. Like a lot. You’ve said it 12 times in the last 10 minutes. Are you okay?”

- Completely denies it happened the next day and pretend he doesn’t feel like shit

- Bertholdt would find him dead to the world on the couch in some weird ass position and then force him to get up and go to bed

- “Dude you smell like ass.”

- “Shut up and just get me some water please.”

Bertholdt:

- Does not drink a lot at all especially around the 104th

- He has to make sure nobody fucking dies, especially Reiner and Annie

- He would have a beer or five with Reiner every so often and then he’s like really clingy and cuddly

- He’s embarrassed about it the next day and also pretends he never got hammered

- Sometimes one of the 104th will walk into their house and Bertholdt would be squished betweeen the fridge and the counter

- He has somehow made his way into the kitchen and will just fall asleep it the weirdest fucking places

- Reiner leaves him there because he feels to bad to move him when he looks strangely comfortable all twisted

- Whenever he and Reiner drink together they will send drunk snaps to their friends

- “Bertholdt just messaged me???”

- “Is he with Reiner?”

- “Yeah I think s— oh no.”

Annie:

- Doesn’t drink a lot either but when she does she also tries to start fights with people

- It never works out and she ends up having really deep and heartfelt conversations with them

- Like I imagine her trying to fight Armin and he’s just shaking I’m his boots and then she just stops and says

- “Ya know, sometimes I get really sad...”

- And so begins the start of their friendship

- For all the AruAni shippers I feel like she would be really protective of Armin and make sure nobody starts anything with him

- Or if they’re with Eren and the gang she will throw hands with Eren if he tries to drag Armin into his disputes

- She also probably hangs around Mikasa to make sure she’s okay and to pretend to hate it whenever Mikasa lays on her shoulder or thigh because she feels sick

- Banysits Reiner and Bertholdt whenever they’re drinking together, and then bullies the fuck out of them the next day

- “You guys are dumbasses.”

- “It was REINER’S idea!”

The Veterans-

Levi:

- DOES NOT DRINK even though he absolutely would

- He like becomes such a fucking mom lowkey especially whenever the kids are getting out of hand

- He’s dealing with a bunch of toddlers plus Hange and Erwin come on

- “Don’t touch that.”

- “Put that down.”

- “Quit yelling.”

- He never offer to clean them up or get them anything because that’s disgusting, however he does make sure everybody is at okay before leaving

- Like that they’re all breathing or nobody is missing

- After that he’s out and then the next day he just stares at them like the most disappointed parent ever

- He tolerates Hange and Erwin a little more, like they both get clingy and he actually lets them just hang off of him or something even tho he hates it

- Would probably hold Hange’s hair back if she throws up, or at least make sure it’s tied up. He has to resist the urge to vomit himself because he just cannot handle it at all

- But then he would just leave her on the bathroom floor asleep

Erwin:

- Oh boy he probably gets so emotional

- The complete opposite of his usual personality it’s so fucking funny

- Will cry about anything and once again like Reiner and Hange will talk about how great you are

- Doesn’t remember SHIT the next day and literally has no clue he acts like this and refuses to believe it whenever somebody tells him

- Hange recorded it once and he just “😐 Delete that, please.”

- Hangs around Levi and is very grateful that he lets Erwin be an annoyance

Hange:

- Tells the kids to be careful with alcohol and then immediately is found face down in a bush

- She becomes like 10 times more bubbly and absolutely batshit

- Laughs really loudly at everything

- She and Armin would get into excited like half conversations about fun science facts or whatever

- Like they absolutely geek the fuck out

- She also probably goes off about how much she loves everyone

- “LEVIIIIII!!! You’re so WOMDERFUL!”

- “Thanks. Now get off of me, bitch.”

- Levi has to babysit her and Erwin LMAO he’s the designated driver every single time

- Always knows the perfect cure for a hangover so she doesn’t usually have a really bad one

This turned out A LOT longer than I thought it would be, oops! Anyway I love doing these so I’m gonna start making more. I will probably do a lot for AOT and Hetalia so 😗✌️ prepare for cringe

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gremlinguy145 · 2 years

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Some more transmasc librarian headcannons for thought

Johanna calls Merlin her Little Raven. He calls her his Sunshine. Merlin is, surprisingly, an absolute sucker for terms of endearment. I’m talking my love, darling, dear ect. He prefers more old fashioned terms of endearment whereas Johanna is more likely to just use honey or sweetheart or just utterly silly baby talk.

Merlin consistently calls Johanna ‘Mon Petite Navet’ which literally just means ‘my small turnip’ because Merlin absolutely knows several languages, mosltly dead ones like Ancient Greek or Latin and Biblical Hebrew, that sort of thing, but he definitely knows a little french. Johanna swoons every time she hears it. Merlin thinks it’s hilarious. Frida, who knows French, just shakes her head and tries not to laugh every time. Johanna never finds out what it actually means.

Merlin took Hilda get her ears pierced, I’m talking like spiked cartilage piercings and double lobes.

He once asked Hilda what her preferred pronouns and gender were. She replied that she was, and I quote “a goddamn force of fucking nature who cannot be contained!” Before Johanna scolded her for her language. Hilda later explained that she doesn’t really care, but is fine with she/they interchangeably.

Merlin and Johanna dress up as Howl and Sophie for halloween one time

You absolutely cannot convince me Merlin didn’t go through a King Jarred from labyrinth phase. He just starts singing it, completely in character, to David one day, who has absolutely no fucking clue what’s going on, while Frida is in the background despising the fact that Merlin is like this and Hilda appearing from nowhere space with a full on synth board to give Merlin back up. Johanna finds it adorable.

Merlin hides little poems around Johanna’s apartment for Johanna to find when she’s cleaning. They’re always either incredibly sappy or a romantic masterpiece.

Picnics. Lots of picnics, especially with raspberry pie.

Johanna loves baking and always makes a point to make sure Merlin actually eats instead of just forgetting.

Merlin snacks a lot. Johanna just gets into the habit of sneaking snacks into his cloak when he isn’t looking. Merlin has no idea where all these snacks keep coming from but he’ll be damned if he isn’t going to enjoy them.

Whenever he stays over, Johanna makes him a fully packed lunchbox, fashioned with love hearts and a little note for when he leaves for work every morning.

Johanna started to notice just how skinny this random librarian was whenever she picked up Hilda from the library. She saw this tiny scrawny lil librarian who was surprisingly shy and always hiding in their cloak and was just like “I THINK THE FUCK NOT” and just started leaving whole ass food baskets on his door.

This happened for at least two months before they even actually met, Merlin just leaving the empty basket on his doorstep for his mysterious food angel to come take it and getting more food in return. He’s half convinced it’s some angel or an especially nice fae-folk who’s in a good mood or seems to like him.

He doesn’t even realise it was Johanna until like, 6 months into their relationship where they’re just both sitting and cuddling with a movie and he’s like- “You know, I used to get food baskets placed on my doorstep every other day for a few months. It was really good too. Wonder what happened since they stopped appearing after a while.” Johanna just stares at him for a moment before bursting out laughing. Merlin is mortified about it once he finds out and Johanna never lets him live it down.

Merlin is iron deficient, so he’s often very tired and gets a lot of headaches and dizziness. The first time he nearly fainted from getting up too fast in front of Hilda scared the dear life out of her, thought he was dying or something. Johanna makes sure to make him eat a lot of iron rich foods to make sure it doesn’t happen again and makes him go see a doctor for supplements. He despises taking them but he’d rather take them than have Johanna constantly worry for him.

Merlin makes Frida his apprentice and librarians assistant when she’s older, in her mid-late teens. He even gets Frida her very own cloak as an initiation gift, though hers is cyan instead of black. He never explains why. (He just thought it’d be cute for it to match Hilda’s hair)

Merlin is definitely some sort of father figure or cool uncle figure to Frida.

Merlin is one of Hilda’s many parental figures. Hilda has so many that he jokes that she just adopts parents instead of the other way around.

Later in their relationship, when Hilda and the kids are mid-late teens, Merlin proposed to Johanna, or at least tried to. He takes her on this extravagant moonlit walk and picnic under a tree with fairy lights and flowers, trips and falls on his face at least two times, drops the ring box three times, and breaks one of the heels off of his boot when kneeling down. Johanna was patient with him, especially when he suffered through his speech about how much he loved her, but after he dropped it again half-way through she just took it from him and proposed instead, so that’s the story of how Johanna technically proposed to herself and Merlin ended up wearing the engagement ring he bought instead of her.

They have a small wedding in the forest, at nighttime so Trylla and Baba can be there along with Hilda’s other troll friends.

Merlin has one of those white shirts with the ruffled collar necktie thing and a fancy black jacket with silver patterns over it. Johanna went full flower forest lady with her dress, flowers all over it and in her hair.

Tildy walks Merlin down the isle instead of Johanna being walked down. He almost tripped twice.

Hilda wore a suit with a coat that sort of billowed out like a flower skirt and her hair in a ponytail. She was the flower girl.

Twig was the ring bearer, even had a little bow tie.

They both cried reading their vows. Hilda refuses to acknowledge it but she absolutely sobbed through the entire thing.

The woodsman (with Alfur’s guidance of course) officiated them.

Somehow the committee of three end up there. No one invited them, no one told them where the wedding was, but they just went with it in the end.

The Bellkeeper was Merlin’s best man along with Alfur and David. He couldn’t choose so he picked both.

Trylla was Johanna’s best maid.

Frida was the wedding planner and had to stop Hilda from spiking the punch bowl with alcohol she definitely shouldn’t have at least four times.

The Great Raven flew them all home as a wedding present.

The Bellkeeper, yet another one of Hilda’s dad figures, is also trans. He and Merlin share tips on passing and sometimes have ‘trans dad meet-ups’ at night sometimes to complain about whatever ridiculously dangerous thing Hilda has gotten herself into again and gossip like old grandma’s about the latest drama in town.

Johanna has a mild crush on Gerda. Though he’s super protective and a tiny bit jealous at most times, Merlin finds it fucking hilarious because of every time Hilda gets escorted home by Gerda after having done something dumb or having got arrested Johanna turns into a huge gay mess talking to her.

Just- Merlin and Gerda watching Johanna scold Hilda for the thirteenth time this month. Merlin, sipping on his tea like nothing’s happening: “my wife has a crush on you”

Gerda is halfway between flattered and utterly confused. Johanna is just a bi mess.

Hilda’s not a criminal at all, just more of a chaotic public menace. At this point Gerda’s just tired of it and never gets phased whenever she finds Hilda spray painting giant rainbow flags onto buildings or stealing a whole ass living chicken from somewhere?

Eventually though, they all talk and agree that’s it’s okay for Johanna and Gerda to date, with boundaries and consent from all of course because we stan healthy relationships and communication.

Hilda brags about having so many parents but is also absolutely stunned to oblivion when she finds out about Gerda and Johanna, not only cause her mum is dating another person but also “god fucking damnit of course my Mum is dating the police officer who arrests me weekly-“

Merlin and Gerda aren’t exactly dating per say, they more so fit into the queer-platonic box, but they also don’t really bother defining it or putting a label on it. They more so only go for hugs, light/mild flirting and cheek kisses at most, though in the future it’s possible they could be more.

Their dates are absolute chaos with the three of them.

The Bellkeeper is dubbed introverted bing bong dad by Hilda.

Merlin is tired witch dad.

Alfur is smol elf dad.

Gerda is buff police mum.

Along with Johanna as mum #1 and Trylla as troll mom, they are unstoppable.

The woodsman is the weird uncle.

Hilda and the others used to get made fun of a lot by kids from school until Merlin found out and protective dad instincts kicked in. No one knows what he did, but suddenly no one bothered them anymore.

Gerda absolutely used to be a body builder or was super into working out. Merlin occasionally joins her in attempt to look more ‘manly’ but she sweeps him under the rug every time. So does Johanna.

He once tried one of Gerda’s protein shakes out of curiosity. Never again.

Merlin is smaller than both of them.

Hilda is taller than both Johanna and Merlin. Everyone always thought Frida would be the tall one but it turned out to be Hilda.

Whenever anyone is feeling down or sad, Gerda gives them big ole bear hugs.

Gerda can carry both Merlin and Johanna over her shoulders like a sack of flour without even so much as a flinch or stumble.

Merlin, when his sleep schedule is normal, will read them to sleep. Gerda occasionally sings a lullaby.

They alternate between Johanna and Merlin being in the middle for cuddles when it’s all three of them.

Friida is canon when they’re in their late teens. Would have been sooner but they’re both oblivious gays.

Johanna loves to gush about how her baby is all grown up while Merlin just teases her about it. Gerda gives her a big clap on the back and leaves it at that.

David has gained a sixth sense for Frilda mischief and just calls Merlin instantly to do damage control.

Gerda: Which way did Johanna go?  Merlin: Well, based on the direction of the wind, the broken sticks in the corner, and the slight disturbance in the dirt, I'd guess they went left.  Gerda: You could really figure it out from that?  Merlin: No, you idiot, Johanna sent me a text. See?

Merlin: Is letting someone win at chess sapiosexual bottoming?  Gerda: Can everyone in this godforsaken group please learn the skill called "Think Before You Speak"?  Johanna: Ya know... it might be.

Gerda: So, did everyone learn their lesson?  David: No.  Merlin: I did not.  Frida: I may have actually forgotten one.  Hilda: Also no.  Gerda: Oh good, neither did I.  Johanna: *Exhausted sigh*

Hilda: *dies*  Merlin: Timer starts now! When are they coming back? I say two months!  Gerda: Bullshit. One month.  David: Nah, half a month.  Frida, sobbing: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HILDA JUST DIED!  Johanna, scratching chin in thought: One week.

Merlin: I need you to come meet me, and I need you to come alone.  Bellkeeper: And I need you to be less vague and weird.

Bellkeeper: I have a problem.  Merlin: Kill it.  Bellkeeper: Can you chill for like, two seconds?

Merlin: You are the love of my life and I would do anything within reason to make you happy.  Johanna: I would be happy if you ate, stayed hydrated and got a reasonable amount of sleep.  Merlin: I said within reason, Johanna. How about I murder that guy?  Johanna: So murder is in reason but proper self care isn't?  Merlin: Well, duh. What kind of question is that?

Merlin: This is a very powerful artifact. You’d be messing with some forces we don’t fully understand.  Hilda: That sounds like a dare to me.  Merlin: Oh my god.

There are many more I can think of but this is getting long so I’ll leave it at this. As for Gerdanna or the Merlin x Gerda stuff, if that’s not your vibe it can just all be taken as a platonic thing and Hilda just adopted yet another parental figure. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for this au I’d be totally down to hear or talk about them. There’s probably a bunch of spelling errors in this but I’m like half asleep rn so I’ll probably fix it later.

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xseaxwitchxkpop · 3 years

Text

NSFW Alphabet: Sub!Seonghwa Edition

A/N: idk anyone in Ateez who pushes the catboy agenda more than hwa and this precious soul just makes me have cute aggression. Lemme just remind everyone that stage presence ≠ bedroom preference, so he might be a demon on stage but I personally think he's very far from dominant in the bedroom. Also this is framed for a femme!presenting reader.

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A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

A very clingy baby! Even though he's the sub, he would want to hold you instead of the other way around; when you're cleaning up, give him a plushie to snuggle because he just feels very happy holding something. He would also have the most sparkly eyes ever, looking at you with pure love and adoration. He'll also be very hungry, so always have some food on hand and be prepared to be fed by him because "you need it, too, I don't care if you're my domme, lemme feed you and show you my love!"

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He's fave part on himself is probably his eyes because he knows how expressive they are for him and how transparent they are -- his eyes always betray his true emotions and considering he's a more private person, he likes this. His fave part on you would be your breasts, but not in a sexual way; whether you're part of the itty bitty titty committee or big titty gang, he likes them as a comfort thing, groping them or sucking on your nipples, it's very calming and relaxing for him!

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

He loves his face to be covered in either pussy juices/"cum" (since, ya know, pussies don't ejaculate lmao anyway) or use fake cum (or real cum if you have an actual dick) to cover his face and/or inner thighs, it'll get him going like nothing else. He also loves seeing his midsection painted with his own cum and also eating his own cum.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Every once in a while, he likes to fuck his plushies. No one would suspect this because he takes much care in cleaning them immediately afterward, so they keep their softness and hugability. He's recorded himself doing it a few times but always either deletes the videos or keeps them in a separate, unsuspecting folder in his phone; he's thought about sending them to you but never could bring himself to do so.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He's had a few hook ups but most of them have been pretty vanilla as many hook ups tend to be, he knows what he's doing especially with that tongue of his.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Probably missionary, with you on your back and him fucking you. He can easily kiss you, suck on your neck or nipples, and you can easily grab his hair roughly, pull him in closer, scratch his back with your nails, and you two can make intense eye contact. Yeah, that's his favorite position.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

He's more passionate about it than anything. He likes it rough but not necessarily fast, and he likes it soft but not necessarily gentle. It's a very delicate balance that he prefers most of the time and can be difficult to pin down when the mood has to be forced from either of you -- when that happens, he rather not have sex at all.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Trimmed, doesn't bother to shave and he doesn't care what you do; bush, no bush, trimmed, shaved, waxed, whatever. However, he likes it when you shave for him down there as a sweet bonding experience, nothing kinky or sexual.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

He's very sincere and very intense during sex, especially with someone he's romantically involved with because he's not the most open person and, like Yeosang, takes some prying open emotionally so when he shares that emotional part of himself and trusts that other person, that translates directly to the bedroom. He can be a little goofy if he's particularly happy that day, like giggly kisses n' shit, but otherwise very sincere, very intense.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

If he jacks off, you know about it because he sends you audios of himself getting himself off, complete with moans, whimpers, groans, muffling himself, and him cumming in the end of it. He never sends videos, though, because his ass has a voice kink. He masturbates semi regularly just because he has a high sex drive and you're not always available so he temporarily satisfies himself.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

So, this man, has some kinks that get me thinking. He has an oral fixation for sure, so anything involving his tongue; he definitely has a breeding kink like hard-core "let me breed you, mommy/daddy, I wanna give you babies" breeding kink, more so than San; temperature play; pegging/anal play; cock rings; nail scratching; biting/marking; kitten play; shibari; restraints; voice kink; ASMR kink.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

Hmmmm, maybe the bedroom? He doesn't really have a favorite place to do anything because each place brings a different kind of thrill for him, so anywhere he can look at and easily imagine you commanding him to take you or you taking him is his favorite place. His least favorite place is the shower because the water washes away the lube and is just generally an annoying interruption.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Doing a sexy, feminine dance for you. Sexy girl group concepts? He learns the choreo and dances it just for you; turns him on because he enjoys you intently watching him while being just out of reach. Rubbing your hand up and down his thigh, no matter how innocent, will also turn him on greatly. Also if you cook for him -- it can be as simple as ramen but as soon as he sees that you cooked for him, he's ready to pounce you and be at your every command.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

I don't think he would be into piss play or scat play (absolutely no hate to people who are into this lol) but I think he wouldn't like them just because he's a bit of a clean freak and all he would see is a mess to clean up and that would definitely ruin the mood for him. Another definite turn off of his is extreme pain; he likes a little bit here and there, like slapping his ass and thighs, nail scratches wherever you scratch him, but flogging and riding crops are a no go for him.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

He LIVES for giving oral and that's directly from his oral fixation. It keeps his mouth busy plus he gets to please his partner. Again, he also loves his face covered in cum and/or pussy juices, so oral is definitely such fun for him!

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Moderate. He likes it a little faster than slower, but not exactly fast, if you get what I'm saying. He likes to feel you and you to feel him, so he wants it on the slower side of things but a slightly fast pace will be suitable for the most part. Only every once in a blue moon would he want you to fuck his brains out or to fuck yours out.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Quickies involving penetration? Nah, not a fan. Quickies involving oral? Sign him the fuck up. He wants to see how fast he can get you to orgasm with just his tongue and since you derive such pleasure from it as well, you let him take on this challenge.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

As long as extreme pain is not involved, he's game for a lot of things. He's always wanted to try semi public sex, voyeurism, and submissive cuckolding, but he would only try this with one of his members since he trusts them quite a lot.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

I think he could probably go two, three rounds, maybe four if he has a crapton of energy for God only knows what reason. He has experience, jacks off sort of regularly, so he can last a good while in bed while being pounded into or pounding into you.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He's got dildos of varying sizes because he, like San, is also a size queen. He has a couple of buttons plugs and some vibrators, along with handcuffs and bondage rope. He has a couple pairs of kitten ears and a matching choker and butt plug.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He likes to tease, but not in a bratty way. It's a very sweet way, like poking your cheek and rubbing it like a cat as he strokes your inner thigh and ghosts your genitals, teases you with food like "hey if I make this dish, maybe you can fuck my ass tonight" and he'd act all cutesy about it, he'll make suggestive comments while making direct eye contact, and wiggle his butt sometimes.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He's a happy medium between San and Yeosang. Hwa makes noise - groans, whimpers, moans, mewling - but he isn't loud with them per say, they're very throaty noises and he uses his chest to make them so they're low in volume but frequent.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

He quite prefers the natural noises of sex between you two rather than having a playlist or any other background noise going. He's sensitive to noise in the first place and the background noise could overwhelm him in a bad way.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

He's average. Nothing too long, nothing too girthy, but boy does he know how to use his average dick regardless.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

He has a bit of a high sex drive. Think like smack in the middle of average horny and extremely horny and that's Hwa. He can go like three days without sex with no complaints but coming up on a fourth day may be a little bit hard for him.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He becomes quite sleepy afterward, wanting to snuggle you to fall asleep while you rub his back up and down and he holds you and squeezes you like his personal plushie. It takes a while for him to actually fall asleep, but that's because it takes him a while to calm down enough to lull into a peaceful state of rest before succumbing to sleep.

#sub!ateez alphabet #sub!ateez #sub!seonghwa #sub!idol #ateez headcannons #my works #ateez #ateez imagine #seonghwa #dom!reader #fem!reader #lemon hours

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jayoctodot · 3 years

Text

The Silent Patient vs The Maidens

I will start by saying that I understand the appeal of these novels as page-turners. They are easy to read and if you want a twisty reveal at the end, you will probably be entertained and satisfied. That being said, I am SO CONFUSED by the near-universal adoration of The Silent Patient and the reasonably positive reception of The Maidens. The weaknesses of the two are strikingly similar, as well, which doesn’t give me much hope of seeing improvement from this guy, though I am intrigued to see whether he keeps repeating the same (apparently successful!!) patterns. These books were at least super fun to hate.

(For context, I read The Maidens for a bookclub I'm in, because several of the members had read and loved The Silent Patient, and one of them gave me a copy of the latter to read on my own time. I loathed The Maidens and then read The SP for comparative purposes. And because I'm a masochist, apparently.)

SPOILER WARNING! Do not read on unless you've finished both books (or unless you care not for spoilers). Sorry if it gets a bit shouty.

Here are the similar weaknesses I noticed in both:

PSEUDO-PSYCHOLOGY

-> Weirdly similar “group therapy” scenes early on where a cartoonishly unstable patient arrives late, disrupts the meeting by throwing something into the middle of the circle, and is asked to join the group after the therapist(s) speechify on the importance of boundaries (HA! None of these therapists would know an appropriate boundary if it kicked them in the ass) and debate whether to “allow” the patient to join. Both scenes are so transparent in their design to establish the credibility/legitimacy of the narrators as therapists, but instead both Theo and Mariana come off as super patronizing. The protagonists are less and less believable as therapists at the stories progress (though at least Theo’s incompetence is explained away by the “twist” at the end; Mariana, on the other hand, is confronted in the opening pages of the novel by a patient who has self-harmed PRETTY extensively, and rather than ensure he get proper medical attention, she essentially throws him a first aid kit and tosses him out the door so she can pour herself a glass of wine and call her niece... and it devolves from there).

-> Ongoing insistence throughout the narrative that one’s childhood trauma entirely explains the warped/dysfunctional way a character behaves or views the world, which is why the books go out of their way to give EVERY potentially violent character a traumatic childhood; when Theo insists that no one ever became an abuser who hadn’t been abused themselves, I wanted to throw the book across the room. (That is a MYTH, SIR. GET OUT OF HERE WITH YOUR ARMCHAIR PSYCHOLOGY.)

-> Female murderers whose pathology boils down to “history of depression” and “traumatized by a male loved one/family member.” Because, as we all know, depression + abuse = murderer!

-> The “therapy” depicted in both books is laughable and so so unrealistic, mostly because neither narrators function as therapists so much as incompetent detectives, obsessively pursuing a case they have no place pursuing (or skill to pursue - both just happen across every clue mostly by way of clunky conversation with all the people who can provide precisely the snippet of info to send them along to the next person, and the next… until all is revealed in a tired, cliched “twist”). Their constant Psych 101 asides were so tiresome and weirdly dated (also, the constant harping on countertransference got so ridiculous that at one point during "therapy" Theo literally attributes his headache and a particular emotion he feels to Alicia, as though the contents of her head are being broadcast directly into his mind... and I'm PRETTY SURE that's not how it works???)

CHARACTERS

-> Psychotherapist narrators with abusive fathers and pretensions of being Sherlock Holmes, which results in both characters crossing ALL KINDS of ethical lines as they invade the personal lives of everyone even tangentially connected to their cases (and, in Theo's case, violate all kinds of patient confidentiality. Yeah, yeah, by the end, that's the least of his offenses, but before you get there, it's baffling that NO ONE is calling him out on this).

-> All female characters are either elderly with hilariously bad advice, monstrous hulking brutes, or beautiful bitches (except for ~MARIANA~, who is Bella Swan-esque in her unawareness of her own attractiveness, despite multiple men trying to get with her almost immediately after meeting her. I'm so tired of beautiful female characters being oblivious to their own hotness. Are we meant to believe all mirrors and male attention have escaped their notice? If it’s to make them “relatable,” this tactic really fails with me).

-> All characters of color are shallow, cartoonish side characters, and most of them are depicted as unsympathetic minor antagonists (the Sikh Chief Inspector in The Maidens continuously drinks tea from an ever-present thermos, and his only other notable characteristic is his instant dislike of Mariana, whom he VERY RIGHTLY warns to stay out of the investigation that she is VERY MUCH compromising… the Caribbean manager of the Grove is universally disliked by her staff for enforcing stricter safety regulations at the bafflingly poorly run mental institution, because HOW DARE SHE. There's a very clear vibe that we're supposed to dislike these characters and share the protagonists' indignation, but honestly Sangha/Stephanie were completely in the right for trying to shut down their wildly inappropriate investigations).

-> "Working class" characters (or basically anyone excluded from the comfortably upper-crust, educated main cadre of characters) are few and far between in both stories, but when they show up, he depicts them as such caricatures. We got Elsie the pathologically lying housekeeper in the Maidens, who is enticed to share her bullshit with cake, and then a TOOTHLESS LEPRECHAUN DEALING DRUGS UNDER A BRIDGE in the SP. I kid you not, a man described as having the body of a child, the face of Father Time, and no front teeth, emerges from beneath a bridge and offers to sell Theo some "grass." I was dyinggg.

-> There are no characters to root for. Anywhere. Partly because they’re all so thinly drawn — and because we’re clearly supposed to view almost ALL of them as potential suspects, so they’re ALL weird, creepy, or incompetent in some way.

-> The flimsiest of flimsy motives, both for the narrators and the murderers. Theo fully would have gotten away with his involvement in the murder if he hadn't gone out of his way to work at the Grove and "treat" Alicia and his justification for doing so is pretty weak; his rapid descent into stalking and murder fantasy and his random ass decision to "expose" Alicia's husband as a cheater with a spur-of-the-moment home invasion and staged attempted homicide is ONLY justified if the reader hand waves it away as WELP, HE'S CRAZY, I GUESS (after all, he DID have an abusive father and a history of mental illness, and in Michaelides novels, that's ALL YOU NEED to become a violent psycho). I guess we're lucky Mariana didn't also start dropping bodies (because the logic of his fictional universe says she should definitely be a murderer by now... maybe that'll be his Maidens sequel?). But she especially had NO reason to randomly turn detective - and she kept trying to justify it by saying she needed to re-enter the world or that Sebastian would want her to (??), even though she had no background in criminal psychology... or even a particular fondness for mysteries (really, I would've accepted ANYTHING to explain her dogged obsession with the case. WHY were Sebastian and Zoe so certain she would insert herself into the investigation just because one of Zoe's friends was the first victim? WHY?). As for Zoe and Alicia, their motives are mere suggestions: they were both abused and manipulated, and voila! Slippery slope to murder.

WRITING STYLE

-> Incessant allusions to Greek tragedy and myth, apparently to provide a sophisticated gloss over the bare-bones writing style, which opts more for telling than showing and frequently indulges in hilariously bizarre analogies. Credit where credit is due — the references to Greek myth are less clunky in the SP, and I liked learning about the Alcestis play/myth, which I hadn’t heard of before - but OMG the entire characterization of Fosca, who we are meant to believe is a professor of Greek tragedy at one of the most respected universities on the planet, is just absurd. His "lecture" on the liminal in Greek tragedy is essentially the Wikipedia page on the Eleusinian Mysteries capped off with some Hallmark-card carpe diem crap. The lecture hall responds with raucous applause, clearly never having heard such vague genius bullshit before.

-> Super clunky and amateurish narrative device of interludes written by another character; Sebastian’s letter reads like a mashup of Dexter monologues and Clarice’s memory of the screaming sheep, but by FAR the worse offender is Alicia’s diary, where we’re supposed to believe she painstakingly recorded ENTIRE CONVERSATIONS, BEAT-BY-BEAT DIALOGUE, even when she’s just been DRUGGED TO THE GILLS with morphine and has mere moments of consciousness left… and even before that, she literally takes the time to write “He's trying the windows and doors! ...Someone’s inside! Someone’s inside the house! ETC ETC” when she thinks her stalker has broken in downstairs. WHO DOES THAT?)

-> Speaking of dialogue, the dialogue is so bad. Based on his bio, Michaelides got a degree in screenwriting, which makes his terrible dialogue even more baffling.

-> HILARIOUSLY rendered voyeur scenes where the narrators spy on couples having sex. Such unintentionally awkward descriptions. First we had Kathy’s climax sounds through the trees and then the bowler hat carefully placed on a tombstone before the gatekeeper plows a student. Again, I died.

PLOT/"TWIST"

-> The CONSTANT red herrings make for such an exhausting read. Michaelides drops anvils with almost every character that are so obviously meant to designate them as suspects in our minds. There is absolutely no subtlety in his misdirections.

-> The “crossover” scene between the SP and The Maidens makes no sense - when in the timeline does Mariana’s story overlap with Theo’s? They confer just before Theo starts working at the Grove, obviously (though Mariana appears to be the one who alerts Theo to the job opening there? Whereas in the SP, Theo has been obsessively tracking Alicia since the murder and had already planned to apply to work there?), but then are we supposed to believe that while Theo has been psychotically pursuing his warped quest to “help” Alicia, he’s also been diligently treating Zoe, so invested in her case that he repeatedly reaches out to Mariana to get her to visit Zoe and even writes Mariana a lengthy letter to convince her to do so??? And then a couple days after The Maidens ends, Theo is arrested???

-> But the thing I really did hate the most is how Michaelides treats his female murderers (who are both also victims themselves) as mere means to deploy a “twist”; there’s no moment spared to encourage our sympathy for Zoe, who was groomed and manipulated by the only trusted father figure in her life, and even after spending a decent amount of time getting to know Alicia via her ridiculous diary, where it’s so apparent that she’s been demeaned, objectified, manipulated, gaslit, and/or used by EVERY man in her life, she’s sent packing to spend the rest of her days in a coma… HOW much more satisfying would it have been for her to succeed in exposing Theo and reclaiming her voice? But no, she basically rolls over when he comes to finish her off (SPEAKING OF — ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THERE ARE NO SECURITY CAMERAS IN THIS INSTITUTE FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE????), writes one last diary entry, and drifts off forever. And then a couple pages of nothing later, the story is over. GOODNIGHT, ALICIA!

Both books kept me rolling throughout (by which I mean eye-rolling but also rotfl). Maybe I will check out his next effort — I’m morbidly curious what he’ll turn out. It does leave me wondering whether I should give up on thriller novels entirely, though. Are many of the weaknesses of these novels just characteristic of the genre? Maybe I'm just holding these books to unfair standards? I'm mostly only familiar with thriller films — many of which I think are amazing — but maybe you can get away with more in a film than you can in a novel.

...I really only intended to write a handful of bullet points, but more and more kept coming to mind as I wrote, to the point where subheadings became necessary. Whoopsie.

#the maidens #the silent patient #book review #alex michaelides #thrillers #books

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