#he’s been with us from the start and is actually likeable compared to a lot of “first encounter male leads
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Hey I am hoping you can answer this (no pressure of you don't wanna answer).
What is the Swiss public's general opinion on Austria and Germany?
I am just super curious about this. Thank you!
Hiiii, thank you for your question!!
(I can really only speak for the german speaking part of Switzerland, specifically the part near the German border (Nordwestschweiz) because that’s where I live and experiences and opinions might vary)
That being said, the first thing I would like to point out, is that in most cases, I believe Swiss people don’t actually know that much about Germany and Austria (maybe in that regard Germany more so than Austria, just because it's such a big country) and most of our feelings toward these countries tend to be somewhat superficial and/or based solely on the experiences with German/Austrian people living in Switzerland.
I‘m gonna start with Austria, because i think it’s easier:
At least in my experience Austria is very positively regarded in Switzerland. Idk how to explain it but there's a sense of community, camaraderie even... It might be the Alpine (skiing) culture that connects us, or the fact that we both don’t speak the ‚correct‘ german and hence have been victims of many jokes made about us by Germans (I mean sure, we might also make a little fun of the Austrian pronunciation, but just know it comes from a place of admiration and love). In my experience a lot of Swiss people appreciate the Austrian cuisine, culture and the hospitality and generally consider Austrians to be very easy-going and friendly. I think when it comes to the general mentality of the people, Austrians are more similar to Swiss people than Germans are, which makes them more likeable to us.
So overall, I'd say Austria has a pretty good reputation in Switzerland :)
The way Germany and Germans are perceived is a little bit trickier: I mean Germany is obviously a very beautiful country and I'm fairly certain most Swiss people would agree with me on this, but unfortunately, on a very superficial level, Swiss people tend to not regard Germans that highly and I think there are a number of reasons for this:
firstly, compared to Swiss people, Germans just happen to be very direct. („Ich hätte gerne ein Brötchen, bitte“ vs. „Ich krieg ein Brötchen“, you know?) and obviously that’s just cultural differences, but to Swiss people this directness is often interpreted as rudeness or arrogance. Swiss people are extremely reserved and I could imagine that that probably looks to Germans like aversion, which makes them dislike us, which in turn makes us dislike them… so it’s a vicious cycle :/
Secondly, since the 90s, there’s been an influx of German people who come to work in Switzerland and I believe a lot of Swiss people felt (or feel) threatened by that, especially since there is no language barrier (like for example with immigrants from non-german speaking countries), which means that the Germans can get highly qualified jobs. (I might even argue that they have a slight advantage in jobs that require (public) speaking or generally a way with words, because whatever they say will sound so much more sophisticated when compared to somebody speaking standard german with a strong swiss german accent. And Germans have a lot of little phrases that make them sound real intelligent, while Swiss people tend to sound more… crude? Idk). And since there is a considerable amount of very smart Germans who work in Switzerland to get that big buck but still live in Germany where the cost of living is cheaper, there is some resentment from Swiss people who don't think this is fair.
Thirdly, I think the fact that we technically speak the same language, yet still Swiss people often have to switch to Standard German to communicate, accentuates and augments the already existing cultural differences in a rather negative way. Plus, a lot of Swiss people experience a kind of inferiority complex when speaking standard German, and that certainly doesn’t help.
Fourthly, a lot of the time it's more of a Hassliebe when it comes to Germany, because we just like to complain about stuff and hate admitting that something or someone is actually quite nice and might actually be better than us in various ways 👀
HOWEVER. We absolutely don’t hate Germany! I think most of those feelings of ‚resentment‘ are just due to a somewhat superficial understanding of German culture and a feeling of intimidation in regards to our big neighbour lmao.
There’s loads we love and appreciate about Germany! Just to list a (superficial) few:
German cars
Die Autobahn
Billig Einkaufen
Europapark
Bier
Pfandflaschenautomat
Brot/Deutsche Küche allgemein
your incredible dedication to Spargelsaison
all the niche rules you come up with and all the loop-holes you find in regards to those rules
the ability to make paperwork so complicated. it's truly fascinating
And I also think a lot of Swiss people are secretly quite envious of how direct Germans are "allowed" to be, and of how much more friendly/less reserved they are.
Sorry for the essay lmao, this got kinda out of hand but i really really really want to emphasise that we do! not! hate! Germans and Germany! I really think what tends to ‚strain‘ our mutual relationship are the cultural differences - as I said, in the eyes of the Swiss the Germans might seem rude and for the Germans the Swiss might come across as cold and unfriendly. But as soon as these differences are acknowledged, we can really get along quite well <3
In conclusion, I think most Swiss people are rather fond of Austria and Germany :) I hope this answered your question
(Swiss people if you disagree with me or have anything to add, please do!!)
#sorry this turned into a novel lmao but i just don't want people to think we actually hate germany cause we really don't#to all my german mutuals (dutuals) I LOVE YOU ALL PLEASE DONT THINK I HATE YOU OR GERMANY <3#but basically i think it's really the conflict of the german directness and the swiss reservation that might make it seem like we don't#like germans#german stuff#helvetia#ask#anon
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Liveblogging Midsommar
Summary: I didn't mind it and parts were good but it should've leaned harder into being weird, and making all the dudes unlikable was cowardly and the movie would've been far more impactful and horrifying if we'd actually liked the victims.
I can always tell when my aromanticism is making me not "get" a movie because like. I've started Midsommar and I've heard "oh her boyfriend is abusive, he deserves what he gets" but all I can see at is two people who just clearly weren't meant for each other?
The Swedish friend Pelle seems like a good guy, but I'm gonna guess in the plot of this movie he's doing that on purpose. Josh seems like an actually good guy. Mark is a dick though.
I'll say, comparing this to Wicker Man: This movie is trying too hard to be creepy and weird. They're just driving. The ominous music isn't needed. Tonally, all of the bright happiness of Wicker Man worked much better to give the movie a sense of "off-ness".
Christian really seems like he's just trying to be a good friend to Dani even though he's struggling with the relationship. Mark is definitely a jerk though. He's the kind of character you want to see die in a normal horror movie.
I do like the use of the midnight sun as an element of disconnecting the characters from reality and placing them in an unfamiliar world, that's a very good touch.
Alright cool good the movie has gotten weirder, excellent. This is what I'm here for.
Come on movie give me some silence to appreciate this gorgeous building. Constant dialogue is tiring.
Oh, so "this is my flame, no higher" was literal huh.
This is a joke, but as a grad student, stealing someone's thesis is totally justification to be killed by a cult. Being a lame duck boyfriend? Whatever. Stealing a thesis? Now you have gone too far!
That said, Christian... You are becoming more and more unlikeable. Josh is the only likeable - dangit Josh I was just saying you were likeable, and now you're sneaking around. And now you're dead, of course.
Do I get why the writers chose to make Christian more and more unlikeable as the movie goes along? Yes. They wanted the audience to be rooting for his demise.
Every death so far has been "justified" - Mark was terrible to begin with, and peeing on the tree and being killed for it is a "justified" death in the context of the movie, both from an audience perspective and the internal perspective of the cultists. I don't think the writers needed to make him a jerk, though - that just makes us root for his death in the first place, so there's very little punch when he disappears. You've been almost eagerly waiting for it to happen.
Josh on the other hand spends most of his time on screen being fairly likable, if bland and boring. He made a single mistake and was killed for it. As far as the cultists are concerned, his death is justified due to his mistake, but we as outside observers might feel it's a little unfair. I think his death could have more impact if he were more interesting as a character. But also, we already know Mark is dead too even though we haven't seen his body. Josh dying so soon as well just feels shallow.
And then there's Christian... Christian's personality has sort of shifted a lot. In the beginning of the movie and even up till the attestupa, he's still trying to be a good friend for Dani. But after that, his personality seems to shift more and more. If it's supposed to be a trauma response, it's not very clear. Overall, he just comes across as more and more of a jerk, but without any actual logic behind why he's suddenly a jerk.
I think the movie would've been stronger and more horrifying if it had not made any of them men jerks - if they had been warm, likeable people. If these cultists were just brutally murdering their guests for "little mistakes", or even perhaps for accidental infractions the characters could never have predicted, that would be terrifying.
It almost feels like making the men horrible people is being done to soften the blow for the audience, so they don't feel bad when the characters die.
That's weak writing, in my opinion. It's a horror movie, I want to feel horrified.
The flowers breathing is weird and I like it. I like what this movie is doing with lighting.
Ok, I have to admit I laughed at the old guy clapping his hands in Christian's face. Poor guy is very drugged and confused at this point. I would've liked it better if I actually felt sorry for him, but the writing is designed so you don't. I want to actually be upset that a nice guy is being torn from his girlfriend; I wish the wedge the villagers drove between them had been entirely artificial
I don't get why we saw the village prophet during the sex scene. Group screaming is very therapeutic though. The hen house scene is creepy but I'm not sure what purpose it serves. Seems like gore for the sake of gore. Ah and now she chooses. I mean, we don't see it on screen, but come on.
I'd heard the ending was "vague" but it seems pretty damn clear to me?? Very creepy, her final smile, too.
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been reading a lot lately as in finishing one book every two or three days (several of which i should really go back and reread to let it melt into my brain, they were good) (this is amazing considering my pace for the last few years has been 1 a year) but fucking starship troopers. its hanging me its like hitting a brick wall its meeting a book where im making excuses to not read. and ive hateread stuff (this is a bit of a hateread ig)
i think its a combination of the pacing being both slow as shit and fast as it jumps around, none of the characters being particularly likeable or memorable, and. obviously. thje fascism. its like drenched in it thats why i picked it up actually i wanted to see it for myself. that and. you know. reading the "classics" to inform my own writing and stop me from thinking im being a genius when im just reinventing the wheel (id only seen bits and pieces of the 90s movie, and in high school, glimpsed on others tvs, so when the whole idea of the cap trooper thing realized itself as what it was i was like aw fuck. well i wasnt doing anything new (the dying at the end/not being picked back up might be new but given this im sure theres some dystopias out there with that)) all this said theres something funny about having the workings of its military explained to me and going damn thats something id use for an evil empire
actually i think it might be a combo of thje lack of engaging characters and what id read directly previous. reading a series with an incredibly engaging viewpoint character + amazingly casual inclusion of race gender and lgbt topics is so refreshing so cracking open an ancient tome from a writer i already know i sort of dislike was bound to not impress
what i mean is its fun to read something set in the far future and even if its dystopic its where You are Normal and not worth additional commentary, but also capable of being any sort of important figure or minor throwaway, where nothing about ur identity actually figures into what roles you can or cant have
and then you read sthn written by a straight cis man who has never had to think about himself except egotistically (to put it like that is so cliche, but even in the series id read directly previous to That one i still noticed the like. cliche and contrivance with which he wrote the women, despite them being important and an attempt being made at rounding them out. i feel like the difference might more be along the lines of waving a flag going see? i dont care! i don't care! and actually not caring. but the real problem might be me comparing somewhat of a more amateur author just starting out with one with two series under her belt, though)
but im also only like 6 chapters in (despite trying my hardest) and idfk it could pick up somewhere. i usually only give up on a book after halfway if it isnt working with me but also i didnt even bother to look at how long this was, hoping to read it then watch the movie which i remember as being fun. that might be in like forever
#main takeaways so far are like. one the emotionally stunted way the pov character narrates is pretty interesting if you look at it like#someone so conditioned to the horror of what theyre doing it doesnt elicit comment (both in the violence and the societal aspects)#which is something i have to think about for obvious reasons. taking that#and two i think coke has captroopers#honestly reading two first person povs back to back is interesting itself. what engaged me with one whats making me hit a wall here#the only way i can think to describe it is this narrator makes events feel like they take an eternity and just a moment (bad) vs#this narrator makes events feel like they take eternity and just a moment (good)#i think that feeling coming from the interior dialogue of something that thinks at a billion times the speed of humanity is also what makes#it fun. justifies it ig. of course you can monologue that much in your head in the few moments it takes someone to reply youre a fuckijn pc
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My Rating: 2/5 ⭐
Genre(s): romance, contemporary
Published: February 23rd 2021 by Elena Armas
Content Warnings: sexism
Quick Reaction: 👀🩹🤏😮🙄
Description:
Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.
She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.
Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.
But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.
My Thoughts:
** OUTLIER ALERT! **
♡ 2 stars. Hi. It's me, I'm the problem it's me.
Let me start out with saying, I AM SO MAD AND FRUSTRATED at every booktok and just anyone who told me to read this book. Tiktok and instagram lied to me. They lied so BADLY TO ME. But I should be used to this by now when I don't tend to like a lot of the hyped up books. The Love Hypothesis being a grand exception to this rule since I ate that book up.
Moving along.
Here is what I was promised:
work place romance
enemies to lovers
tension and slow burn
banter and cuteness
book boyfriend material addition
Please, tell me where any of this was because I seem to have read a completely different book from the majority.
This was in no way enemies to lovers and I wish I knew this going in. Maybe I would have had a different reading experience but we will never know now. This is pining and oblivious at best. From page one, we are able to tell he is super into her and she just doesn't get it. Not only does she not get it but she is MEAN. Like she is rude as heck and for absolutely no reason. Okay, no, I take that back. They didn't have the best first interaction but at what point do you LET. IT. GO.
Lina is by far one of the least likeable protagonist I have read. She is rude as I said above, unprofessional, childish and whiny. Being stuck in her pov was not a fun experience and half of this book could have been trimmed down if we cut out some of her whine.
I should have dnfed this at the first chapter, which read awkward and almost uncomfortable. I didn't get any chemistry whatsoever and where was my build up. Where was the tension! There were a few cute moments I will give the book this. The soccer scene was kind of cute. I actually really enjoyed her family and would have LOVED to read the book from her sister's prospective. I found her sister more compelling and interesting. Heck, even her cousin would have made for a more entertaining book.
Let's get to this supposed book boyfriend material. Again, where is this and what am I missing. Lina thinks they are enemies and loathe each other so this man knowing everything about her is downright creepy. It reads stalkerish and it is not AWWW worthy. How she realizes wow he was just always around listening to what I had to say! Just no. Absolutely not. He touches her multiple times when she still thinks they hate each other without consent. Red flags all over the place here.
It takes nearly 50% of the book to get them to the wedding and for Lina to accept his offer. I was internally screaming the entire time. Things improved some I admit when they got to Spain and the family entered the picture. As I said, I enjoyed the family and their dynamics were saving some of the chapters for me.
The actual romance was eh at best for me. I didn't get the chemistry or the vibes I wanted. This was being compared to The Hating Game and just no. It's not in the same category at all and maybe this is what I expected too much of and why I was let down so badly.
However, I DID enjoy the epilogue and started to see a little bit of a spark FINALLY. It just came way too late and still not the best pay off for the whole length of the rest of the book.
As for the writing, I didn't mind it but being in Lina's pov was a no from me. I would have preferred it being in any other pov. It was a bit too bloated and so much of this could have been cut down and there is no way it needed to be this long.
If this had been a thriller, it might have been more interesting to me. But I guess if the stalker angle was leaned into, it would have become more like You. It would have added some spice, though.
All in all, this is one of my least favorite romances I have ever read and I am so upset by it. I read so many thrillers last month, I wanted something fun and swoon worthy to read to like cleanse myself. Instead I have knocked myself into a reading slump and it took everything I had to want to read and finish this. Don't be like me, if you're not enjoying this book just dnf it. It doesn't get better.
For those who love this book and see this differently, I am so happy for you! I am so glad you enjoyed it and I really wish I could have. But this is another in the section of hype has let me down category.
#book reviewer#booklr#amreading#book blogger#book community#readerblr#booksbooksbooks#book lover#bookworm#book aesthetic#currently reading#review#&& my bookish reviews#read in 2022#the spanish love deception#elena armas#romance books
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Congrats, Mary, on your app for Archie Andrews! Please check out this page for what to do next, and send us his blog within 48 hours.
OOC INFORMATION:
Name/Alias: Mary
Preferred pronoun: She/her/hers
Age: 39
Time zone/Country: EST/Venezuela
RP Experience: A lot
Activity Level: 7/10
IC INFORMATION:
Name: Archibald “Archie” Andrews
Designation: Dominant
Age: 21
Birthdate: June 17
Face claim: KJ Apa
Orientation: Pansexual
Kinks: Bondage, hot wax, clamps, oral sex, orgasm denial, edging, daddy kink, public sex, roleplay, group sex, breath play, non con. Open to almost everything, except anti-kinks.
Anti-Kinks: Watersports, scat, spit, armpit and foot play, pet play, child play, cages.
Key Points:
Headstrong
Likeable, honest and sweet, especially with his family, friends, and people he cares for in general.
Capable of putting himself in harm’s way to help others.
He wishes he could form a loving family one day, like his parents did, the one he grew up in.
He can sometimes have rage episodes, which he often drains with boxing training.
BIO
Older son to Fred and Mary Andrews, and brother to Noah Andrews, you could take a look at Archie’s life and say there isn’t nothing in particular that stands out in it, at least not on his younger years. With a friendly and open nature, it wasn’t unusual for Archie to always be surrounded by friends and people who he always tried to help in any way he saw fit. He played football, and also had a musical band during high school, and growing up in a small town like Lima, Ohio, he was only hoping he could graduate well, and maybe taking over his father’s business, Andrews Constructors, at least until the moment he would get his mark and was made to attend the school to work on getting to learn what to do about it.
Then his father died. It happened suddenly, and that shifted the axis of his entire family. He realized he couldn’t leave his family behind to go to the academy just yet, and for the next couple of years he focused all his attention and strengths to work in the family business, along with owning the local boxing gym, where people go to train on several impact sports, himself included.
Added to that was the fact that his brother, Noah had a very different view on the D/s rules of society and the world, and even if he loved his brother very much, that was a topic that generated friction on several occasion in the Andrews household. Then one day, just a couple of classes shy away from graduation his brother left, and even if Archie felt it was his right to go his own way in life, once he found out where did Noah actually ended, he marched over to where he was and personally took him away. He realized there and then it was time for both of them to set their steps on the path they were supposed to be on, and that part started with enrolling at the Stonewall D/s Prep School.
BIO QUESTIONS:
What are your feelings about the mark you have received?
I wasn’t surprised, honestly. I’ve always consider myself a good leader, and I feel my mark, and the responsibility that comes with it will be taken on with the same kind of drive I’ve had with everything else in my life.
How do your feelings on the system compare to your parents’ feelings on it?
My fathers and me are supporters of the system as it is. Not my brother. But I think the one thing we could agree on is that, like with everything else, there could be always be room for improvement.
Where do you see yourself after you graduate?
I wish for the chance to go to college. Business school. There’s a lot I feel I can still learn. I’m always eager about that, about learning about everything.
How do you feel about authority?
I think it’s important you offer a sense of authority, especially in you’re in a position where you need to take care of things, or when something is your responsibility. I consider myself a strong, but fair leader, which has been proven in all the moments that I had to be one.
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I may bitch at and make fun of Mammon if he does something wrong like sell other people’s stuff and gets punished for it, but know that if he ever cries in front of me or has a bad day I will immediately morph into the most protective motherfucker around and hunt down the person who made him cry
#shall we date obey me#obey me#mammon avatar of greed#I love mammon he is the first demon boy I fell for#and I may tease him but I would never make him feel like shit#he’s been with us from the start and is actually likeable compared to a lot of “first encounter male leads#I like the other demon boys (sans Lucifer) but I will suplex them if they make their older brother cry
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Hello!!
Well this came to my mind and would be interesting to put into words.
Something that her fans were right is that she hadn't to accept Rock Lee's confession and love. For them a No was No, which is hilarious becase their princess didnt do this with sasuke lol but anyway.
After Lee saves Sakura in Death Forest, she changes her attitude towards him and started to be nice , she even defends him when Naruto said something aboout bushy-eyebrows.
Even more, i dont actually remember scenes where she is rude against him after that incident in the forest. She tried to encouraged him and most of the time she was "nice" with Lee.
In the Hospital in part 1 she was going to visit Sasuke and she also thought of Lee, so she gifted him some flowers too.
-All of this I speak from the anime canon, manga i dont remember tbh. Also in movies I remember her being nice with Lee too-
So, what's my point and question?
Why is she so bitchy towards Naruto? While she is nice -or try to- with Lee (which he fucking deserves this treatment of course) , why she is still so ungraceful towards Naruto? Naruto saved her much more times than Lee, but still she can be nice with him.
I get that when you are confident with someone, you tend to "insult" more lets say. But i get that feel when naruto is around of shikamaru or the other guys. We know how he and Sasuke treat each other ♥
But still, i dont get this with Sakura.
Even more, did she ever defend Naruto? From other people I mean.
If she could change her attitude for Lee, being almost a good friend.
I always think about this @melody-of-lost-souls 🤔🤔🤔.... Why is she bitchy towards Naruto alone??
There is this hard fact that every author with just half a braincell knows, that is, 'IF YOU WANT A CHARACTER TO BE LIKEABLE, MAKE IT BEHAVE NICER TOWARDS THE MAIN CHARACTER'.
To be honest, I started to like Sasuke because of that very fact 'He was extremely nice towards Naruto in his own way' and later I started to adore him because of his own backstory. But the first spark was because of Episode 3, Orphan insult scene.
It seems Kishi never had that intention to make Sakura be an honest friend with Naruto even in The Last movie. So, ummm.... Yup.
Like you said, Sakura changed her attitude towards Lee and she encouraged him when he was wounded after fighting Gaara. But anyways, she again went onto being a bitch in the Kage Summit Arc, by leaving Lee on the road without any care!!! So... That's what you can expect from her🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ But that's not the point of this post. Is it??
Point to be noted : Sasuke and Naruto insulting each other shows their comfort level with each other. Sakura harassing Naruto is not the same thing. Never.
I think she spoke for Naruto before Sasuke twice. One, In the forest of the Death. Two, Under the Bridge. But it doesn't matter.
She should've defended Naruto from Sasuke's attacks in Orochimaru hideout like Sai.
She should've worried about Naruto's wounds after Naruto came back like an Egyptian Mummy from fighting in VoTE in part 1. Instead she was worried about Sasuke alone.
She should've fought Sasori for Naruto's safety sake instead of getting information about Sasuke.
She should’ve stayed with Naruto when he went with Karui to deal with Sasuke’s Akatsuki activities.
She should've stood up for Naruto in her final confession like 'Sasuke-kun, if you touch Naruto, I'll have to kill you eventhough I love you'... Yeah, she wouldn't stand a chance against Sasuke. But her character would've shined a lot.
So, Nope. She defending Naruto couple of times but letting him down countless other times doesn't matter.
WHY SAKURA TREATS NARUTO BADLY ?
After thinking about all the possibilities,
SOCIAL STATUS OF NARUTO
Sakura is the reflection of the Villagers' mindset. That is, The object of Hatred who should be treated like pest.
She definitely gave me that vibe in Episode 3. She literally treated him like a plague and I wanted to slap her so hard ever since. But even after the Pain Arc, I mean after Naruto became a Hero by making peace with Nagato, she still behaved like a Worst Bitch.
If she truly represents the social dynamics of the Villagers, she should have become a good friend like Shikamaru or Neji long back. But she didn’t.
So, we can safely eliminate this possibility.
SAKURA THINKS NARUTO IS 'THIRDWHEELING'
Well, This is from Chapter 3. So, I think whenever Sakura makes a move on Sasuke, Naruto accidentally comes in between her one-sided ‘duck dreams’ and spoil her party. It seems this has been going on for a long time. So, she just hates him for that.
I found this ‘coming between’ thing twice in part 1. The first time was when Naruto stole the ‘First Kiss’ of Sasuke.
Second time was when Naruto was about to fight Gaara.
Here, Sakura was fretting over Sasuke’s cursed Seal and when Naruto asked her a question, she responded with a ‘Devil Face’. I mean is there any need to get angry at this time? There’s a monster standing before them and all she worries about is her poor ‘Sasuke-Kun’ and not even bothered about her surroundings, because Naruto will do the dirty job. All she can do is touch and worry about Sasuke.
Well, In reality she is the one coming between them and she never realized that. What a self-absorbed Trash!!!
SAKURA IS JEALOUS
Naruto receives something from Sasuke that she never got from him, not until the very end and even today. That is, Attention.
I noticed this in the Manga. Surprisingly, I guess none of the SNS bloggers brought this very cute panel up for discussion. It’s not in the Anime though!!
This is from Chapter 3 page 6. (Geez!!!! Chapter 3 is a Gold Mine for SNS)
As you see Sakura was watching Sasuke up close like a Fruit Cake. It seems, Sasuke doesn’t give 2 fucks about her or anyone!!!
Now Let’s go back to Page 5 and see what happened earlier.
Naruto has been intensely throwing knives from his eyes. And you know what!!! Sasuke noticed it and asked him ‘What?’. To which Naruto asks, ‘What do you mean what?’. LOLLLLLL.
This is their First official conversation in the Manga.😍😍😍😍😍
Sakura looking at him with love doesn’t get any reaction and Naruto’s angry stare get his attention. Well, this is not an one time occurrence!!
In the Same chapter, it occurred again
This panel screams, ‘Why pay attention to Naruto, when he is not here?’. Kishi established this dynamics in freaking Chapter 3 and it never changed towards the end. LOLLL.
Even during Chakra Training, Sakura climbed the tree very easily in the hopes that Sasuke would appreciate her or notice her with admiration. But he was never bothered about her achievements even by a bit, but he paid attention to Naruto when he found out he was slowly catching up to him🤭🤭🤭.
I always find this scene very funny and cute because just like before, Naruto throws Daggers at him visually and Sasuke was like, ‘What did I do this time?’. 😍😍😍
And this is after getting the pass to participate in Chunin Exams
Well, I don’t have to add the scenes from Orochimaru Hideout, Bridge scene and War Arc, Do I?
And the best part is Sakura knew that Naruto gets his attention. So, her jealousy is probably the reason for her to treat him so badly. Just like how she treats Ino. Since Naruto plays dunce in front of her, she takes advantage of it and used him like a Tooth Brush.
This is also one of the reason for her to treat him badly.
Because Lee never came in between Sakura and Sasuke. It was Naruto, the whole time. And that's why she was like a bitch to Naruto.
Kishimoto in his own words,
I mean, Come On!!!, Sakura is nothing compared to Naruto's power level, strength or jutsu varieties to consider him as a rival in these departments. Still she is considering Naruto as her rival.
In what????
The only thing that connects them is their obsession towards Sasuke's Acknowledgement. And Kishi himself is hinting at a love triangle with Sasuke as the central figure.
Does it means Naruto also loves Sasuke and Sakura was jealous of it???🤔🤔🤔🤭🤭🤭🤭.
Well, that makes more sense. 😂😂😂. Because I can think of no other reason for her to be a bitch towards Naruto.
Curse You, Kishimoto!!!!!!
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i said i wasnt gonna rant about how fucking bad Eternals was but ive decided that i can bitch about this particularly bad mcu movie as a treat. this is long, but the movie is the better part of three hours so
okay so first of all, it starts off like, dumb. it starts off with a fucking opening crawl like its star wars with an explanation of how the eternals exist to fight for intelligent life blah blah blah but as someone over the age of 8 its immediately really apparent that this is gonna be bullshit and theyll have been unknowingly evil the whole time. like its set up so weakly and impotently that like at best it reads as an early draft.
in our first scene of the eternals fighting the deviants (this movie's cgi monsters, which i will say are at least more visually engaging than a lot of comparable ones. whoever animated them really wished they got to work on Annihilation and it shows in a good way) i immediately clocked that 'hey chiseled jaw white dude who can fly and shoot eye lasers looks pretty fucking sinister huh. oh god please dont' (spoilers, they very much do).
then it really starts with us seeing protag in the modern day. nothing about this section is interesting. i think we're supposed to find her and kit harrington cute as a couple, and i dont object to them, but hes never significant in this and spoilers for one of the aftercredits scenes literally only features so prominently because hes setup to be in Blade. there are much larger issues with this shitshow but thats a peak mcu problem right there
so then we get to the first fight scene in the modern day and i am immediately confused because for some completely unfathomable reason the black point is set absurdly wrong so fight scenes, at night, poorly lit, with a mostly black cgi monster, are completely illegible. this will continue to be the case throughout every scene not in daylight and it will never get better or make any more sense.
now predictably, we soon find out that oh no, the eternals have been working in service of the baddies the whole time, who want to cultivate intelligent life to hatch their kids. said bad guys, the celestials, are also like, gods effectively, in that they create and maintain the universe. we have no info on this outside of what one of them tells our protag tho so like weird dynamic. but anyways. for some reason half the eternals are like 'well yeah alright lets let it happen' and keep going back and forth on that which if this movie were written by someone who even pretended to give a shit could be an interesting concept.
moving on we continue to get the band back together and run into druig. now in a flashback we see that he led to them scattering across the planet when he went 'hey maybe we should stop genocide sometimes' and this started a big fight. so naturally, youre thinking ah yes this must be a more likeable member of the team. and thats a reasonable assumption! an understandable thing to think, really. except his powers are literally mass mind control of humans and while in earlier flashbacks he just uses these to like, stop fights and get ppl to chill out, when we see him in the modern day hes like, possessing an entire village in south america for his own little paradise? which is an absolutely deranged choice to make for a character we i think are at least not supposed to despise. like holy shit guys, you sure did that and have decided hes not the villain for it.
at some point we flash back to their original leader ajak deciding to actually stop the celestial from being born and killing earth, not because she thinks genocide in general is wrong- she is the one whose known the whole time this is what theyre doing- but because well it was earth ppl who beat thanos so i guess they should get a pass. like she is explicitly 'well these ones are good tho. no regrets on the other planets we've done this to that only i remember tho.' at this point she is killed by icarus, the chiseled jaw flying wite dude with superstrength and eye lasers. yup! its a But What If Superman Bad story now! we even have a scene where a child explicitly calls him fucking superman!!the hack writing here knows no fucking bounds.
did i mention sprite? the one who despite the fact theyre immortal (robots, we find out sometime in all this) is a 13 ish year old girl visually? when icarus decides to betray everyone and try to make sure they cant stop the celestial birth she joins him because she apperntly has always been in unrequited love with him. now this goes nowhere and serves no purpose other than to make me deeply fucking uncomfortable, but at least sprite is a user of illusion magic who literally stabs our protag in the back during the final fight. its discount loki!
oh also hephastus's whole deal is hes like, an artificer and has pushed human tech along and theres a fucking scene that blows my goddamn mind. where we see ajak comforting him as he weeps in the fresh destruction of hiroshima. where hes like 'oh god i did this humanity is awful and not worth saving blah blah blah' and its like. okay. this character, i cannot stress enough, is black. presumably, if he was instrumental in the atom bomb, was living in america. as a black guy. in the 1940s. and hes only just now starting to doubt humanity is all great and good? tell me the writers room wasnt as diverse as the cast without telling me the writers room wasnt as diverse as the cast. like in a good movie exploring these immortals who have lived alongside humanity for all of history debating whether humanity deserves to live, youd think the black one might have an interesting perspective or something to say about race. this aint that movie tho.
the climactic fight scene ends with such an impotent fart of a climax that i genuinely feel like i missed something. throughout the whole thing theres mentions of how sersi and icarus were in love for thousands of years, icarus only leaving her when he found out the truth of their mission and couldnt bear to be around her and not tell her. and in their final fight, he looks into her eyes, we see a flashback to an earlier scene of them getting married in like 200 ad or w/e, and he silently decides to fly into the sun killing himself (presumably).
this movie is 2 hours and 45 minutes.
i expect bad mcu movies. i expect dull, i expect propagandic, i expect humorless quips and half baked characters. i dont expect something so unpleasant and offensive to anyone who wants to actually think about anything happening on screen that it feels designed to be frustrating. the worst mcu movie previously in my opinion was thor 2, but its biggest sin was being painfully dull. this is worse. its painfully engrossing. i often enjoy watching movies i think are bad or whose ideas i disagree with, but this refused to even have ideas, really- it constantly threatened to but they never really showed up, at least not without being immediately contradicted. genuinely this is worse than Suicide Squad (2016). i would rather rewatch the snyder cut.
one of the worst things about it is how clearly it was calculated in some boardroom, that if we had a diverse cast we didnt need a good movie. like sure, we have plently of racial diversity, we have a mute character (genuinely unclear based on a particular scene whether shes deaf or not but she speaks via sign), we have a gay man raising a kid with his husband, etc. guess we dont need anything else. guess thats definitely the only thing that matters. and i know some incredibly stupid people will agree with that. you google it and get articles about how its doing so much good for representation and like. im reminded of when tumblr was like 'you gotta watch black lightning there are black lesbians' and nobody bothered to mention that the show fucking sucked (to be fair i think it was a cw show so thats on me for not assuming but).
anyways harry styles has a cameo in one of the post credits scenes. its charmless. 1/10 movie, both in general and for the mcu.
#this isnt even comprehensive at all to the issues it had but id have to watch it again to do that and uh#no
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A meta on Mimi and her character
Today’s spotlight character is Mimi! While the Adventure characters are all written to subvert character stereotypes (no, really), I feel this is particularly enhanced for Mimi, whose surface demeanor and the first impression you get from her suggest an almost opposite character to whom she actually is.
Disclaimer before we continue: While not to the same extent as Daisuke, Mimi’s disposition and personality have some significant differences in the American English dub compared to the original Japanese. As usual, this is not meant to be any particular comment about the dub’s changes, but simply that if you’ve only seen that dub, are reading this post, and are thinking “that doesn’t seem right?” that would probably be why.
Mimi’s family background and attitude prior to Adventure
Like with any of the other Adventure characters, understanding Mimi’s personality and why she acts the way she does is most easily done by starting with her family background.
We first meet Mimi’s family in Adventure episode 35.
There is a lot to unpack with only this scene alone, so let’s get started!
Mimi’s family is quite well-to-do. They’re not filthy rich or anything, but they’re well-to-do enough for Mimi’s father to work freelancer (he works in music). This means that Mimi grew up with a fairly “comfortable” life, probably getting pretty much anything she asked for -- in other words, she’s spoiled. It also explains why she’s actually pretty impeccably polite to everyone -- she adheres very firmly to honorifics when speaking to both elders and younger people, and never, ever speaks roughly or aggressively, because her parents have basically been raising her like a “lady of the house” (ojousama) or princess. (She does use casual-form Japanese, but she never lets up on the honorifics.)
They’re very open-minded. We learn in this episode that Mimi’s bizarre food tastes in liking natto on her eggs with sugar (from Adventure episode 6) most likely come from her mother, Satoe, cooking things like kimchi fried rice with whipped cream and strawberries. In other words, the family is very into the idea of “unconventional and strange” and has no qualms about it.
While Mimi in 02 is portrayed as liking practically any kind of fashion aesthetic imaginable, both her room and the overall decor of the apartment suggest that “in-your-face cute” is the generally favored one.
Mimi’s family is also extremely affectionate. They smother each other in lovey-dovey words, her father actively likes Satoe’s weird cooking ideas, and it’s a household where everyone seems to dote on and mutually love and support each other (Mimi’s parents are almost embarrassingly lovey-dovey) without restraint.
The result is that Mimi ends up “spoiled sweet” -- she’s pampered and used to a comfortable life where everyone dotes on her, but because of the family dynamic being so built on “affection” and “open-mindedness”, she also never develops a streak towards condescension or malice.
What does that mean, you might ask?
Mimi in Adventure
A lot of people remember Mimi by the fact that she was “whining a lot” in the early stages of Adventure, and the fact that she’s a “girly-girl” with some of the associated stereotypes. As a result, one may be surprised to hear that her behavior is actually supposed to be mostly representative of an average child in her situation, and she’s often described in press materials as “someone who can befriend anyone” or “someone who can get along with anyone”. Even her official website profile talks about how pretty much everyone considers her likeable.
This may seem difficult to believe at first, but you might actually notice a pattern when it comes to her “complaining” -- it pretty much always boils down to one of the following, or something along these lines:
I’m scared
I’m tired
I don’t like this/I don’t want that
I want a bath/bed/food/(some other home comfort)
I want to go home
In other words, Mimi is basically reacting like an average child would when thrown into another world out of nowhere! All of her complaints are out of low tolerance and high sensitivity -- all of these scary and uncomfortable things around her are making her feel bad, and she’s not hesitating to make that clear with her words.
However -- and this is very important -- these are all things she’s saying specifically because she’s now in a dangerous, unfamiliar situation in another world. All of these things are things she says defensively, because she’s sensitive to being uncomfortable or hurt, but she is also never aggressive towards others. In completely normal situations -- ones where all she’s doing is socializing at school -- it’s not hard to believe that she would actually be one of the nicest and most considerate people on the planet and that she would be instantly likeable to anyone she meets. Why? Because she lacks condescension or malice. She’s a very nice person who, if not for being under heavy stress, would never step on anyone’s toes. Even during those early episodes of Adventure, whenever there’s “down time” and they’re not in an uncomfortable situation or being chased by something, she goes back to being polite and respectful of others (remember: she’s one of the most adherent to honorifics among the cast), and is perfectly kind and agreeable with them.
As much as she may sometimes get demanding during the early episodes of Adventure, she also doesn’t expect her peers to cater to her nor does she look down on them. One of the biggest examples comes from the Adventure novel:
Mi–chan was pointing at the front of the bus, where a boy wearing a long–sleeved orange shirt was about to get off. Even Mimi knew who he was. They hardly ever talked together, but he was her classmate, Koushiro Izumi. Mi–chan wanted them to look at what Koushiro was carrying on his back – a wireless laptop.
“Isn’t he so weird for bringing that all the way to camp?” Mi–chan sneered with mocking laughter, but Mimi didn’t laugh. She simply didn’t find any reason to.
In a situation where people are mocking this weirdo kid for bringing his laptop to camp, Mimi “sees no reason” to look down on him. To her, what’s the point? It’s not fun to be malicious towards others, and she sees no benefit in dunking on him. Hence, because she’s actually very polite and open-minded towards others, and doesn’t see any reason to be mean, she’s not mean, and so you can see why everyone would like her -- after all, she’s not only bright and cheerful, she’s also polite and kind! Who wouldn’t like such a nice person?
Mimi’s first “focus episode” is Adventure episode 6, and we already see a lot of these traits in action. Mimi gets to see the other kids making absolute fools of themselves under Monzaemon’s brainwashing, but the most she has to say is just observing that they seem to not be having fun, and being worried about their well-being. Once she finds out the truth behind what he did to them, she gets extremely angry on her friends’ behalf -- she actually calls them her “friends”, despite them barely knowing each other at this point!
And then when the Numemon step in to fight for her, despite her initially having been turned off by them (mainly because they make her uncomfortable, both by indulging in literal poop around her presence and by invading her personal space by flirting with her), she actually almost breaks down in tears over them!
What this all means is that Mimi’s “high sensitivity” also translates to something else: Mimi has extremely high empathy for others. In terms of being “sensitive”, she’s also sensitive to how other people feel. She worries about others’ welfare constantly, even when they’re poop-throwing slime monsters who had just flirted with her, or near-stranger classmates who just happen to have been thrown onto this adventure with her whom she barely knows. That’s why she’s so nice to other people -- she feels for them, and she constantly empathizes with others’ emotions, so that’s why she’s never rude to others nor does she step on their toes.
It’s also why, even after Koushirou rubs her the wrong way and momentarily causes her to lash out at him for being insensitive about her feelings in Adventure episode 10, she also never seems to hold a grudge against him thereafter (especially since, for as much as he was acting pretty frustrating, she understands he was doing it out of good intentions). In fact, Mimi is pretty much incapable of holding a grudge at all. (More on this later!)
Mimi’s most famous incident of “succumbing to her vices” is Adventure episode 25, when she ends up letting the Geckomon and Otamamon pamper her while stringing along and refusing to do the job they’d needed her for in the first place (singing to wake TonosamaGeckomon). Let’s go over what led to Mimi getting in this situation:
Mimi was basically at her limit. She had been in the Digital World for what had been implied to be months. Going that long without her bath or soft bed or comfort, it’s understandable that she finally let stress overcome her and succumbed to her vices in full. This is basically Mimi at one of her worst possible breaking points, not her most of the time.
Taichi, Jou, and their partners never gave her a very good reason why they should leave (Taichi never explained the problems going on in the real world, nor that he’d even taken a pit stop there) and now, for all she knows, they’re trapped in the Digital World forever, so when she sees an offer to make it all stop hurting, she naturally takes it -- especially when the people telling her to leave aren’t giving her any reason why except that she should.
Even despite all that, Mimi has a complete mental breakdown after her tantrum ends up throwing everyone in jail, dreaming about how everyone must hate her now and how even the Geckomon and Otamamon are tiring of her (the fact this pops up in her dream implies that she’d had a feeling this was coming for a while now). Sora comes to give her a little encouragement, but even she says that Mimi already really knows what she should be doing now. Mimi ends up bringing everyone out to apologize to them and fulfill her duty before the night is even over.
So let’s recap: Mimi is so empathetic and worried about other people’s feelings and what they think of her that, even in arguably one of the worst mental health crashes we’ve ever seen her have on screen, she still breaks down at the prospect of disappointing everyone and making them hate her to the point she immediately recognizes how far she’s fallen and takes it back before the night’s even over. That is how much other people, ranging from Taichi to a crowd of Digimon she’s only vaguely acquainted with, matter to her.
The full “payoff” for this episode in terms of the light of the Crest of Purity glowing and achieving Lilimon evolution does not happen until Adventure episode 35.
It is interesting for a lot of reasons, mainly because it involves all of the events happening in response to things that don’t sound very virtuous on their face (early in the episode, Mimi insensitively comments on Palmon being “bad taste”, and later in the episode she starts considering the Digimon tormenting others unforgivable).
The “Crest of Purity” (sometimes “Innocence”) is something that’s often been difficult to translate, mainly because the easiest words that come to mind often have other unwanted implications, but the real point of it is that, again, Mimi is lacking in malice. The way she talks to Palmon at the beginning of the episode indicates she really didn’t think Palmon would take it seriously (she even urges her to “not think too much into it”), only to find out at the end of the episode that she sort of kind of did. (Trust me, she’s very sorry about it.) The other thing is that, when she starts protesting at the Digimon at the end of the episode, she’s doing this specifically because she’s weeping on behalf of all of the tormented civilians (including her family) that are being caught in the crossfire. She’s so constantly empathetic towards other people that seeing other people hurt, regardless of how well she knows them, just eats her inside. So for her, those who cause that kind of suffering are unforgivable, because they’re inflicting that pain on others.
This is also what leads to her breakdown near the three-quarters mark of the series. Like with how she eventually came to empathize with the Numemon who fought on her behalf, Mimi holds no grudge against Scumon and Chuumon despite them having flirted with her earlier, and Chuumon taking a hit for her hurts her the deepest among all of the other kids. Because Mimi is so empathetic towards others, every death starts tearing away further until she finally can’t take it anymore.
Mimi is fundamentally the kind of person who hates fighting, and even from day one she’d never liked it -- her way of “encouraging” fighting was more like hoping that Palmon (or her evolved forms) could survive. If she wanted to win, it was in the sense of wanting everyone to Not Die; she was never belligerent. But now that the actual body count of people she considers friends is rising, she associates fighting so deeply with that body count that the pain gets to her, and the last straw breaks in Adventure episode 45 in the form of two people she considers friends, Taichi and Yamato, getting in a fight. Everyone around her is hurt. Everyone around her is pain. The naturally empathetic Mimi feels all of this, and she thus decides to pull back from the fighting.
Mimi being such a firm pacifist does have its benefits -- not only does it mean that she holds no grudge against Ogremon in Adventure episode 46 and bid for treating his wounds even though Jou (understandably!) is initially more skeptical because of how he’d initially tried to kill them, she also creates a major dent in Ogremon’s “fated rival” philosophy towards Leomon by forcing him to question: so what if you do defeat your rival? Then what? What’s the point of fighting? Does it actually make you feel better to try and prove your strength this way? (Even Leomon, for all he’s portrayed as noble, is still shown to have a petty investment in his conflict with Ogremon in the following episode.) Ogremon tries not to think too hard about it, but Mimi questioning “what he would do if Leomon were gone” becomes a question he really does have to confront when Leomon dies in the next episode...
...which is also an important learning lesson for Mimi herself as well: fighting may cause collateral damage, but not fighting doesn’t help things either, because when less-than-virtuous forces are at work, casualties will happen either way. In fact, it’s even worse to be a sitting duck, because now you’re just doing nothing when people die right in front of you. Which is a lesson that Jou had wanted to tell her earlier, but didn’t know how to describe to her in words because of his own complicated feelings:
What he wanted to tell her was this: that he didn’t see any likelihood of co-existing with the Dark Masters, and that they had no other choice but to fight them.
Even a neutral country like Switzerland had a military. They would be invaded by enemy countries without one. It would be nice and ideal if they used the nonviolent resistance approach as Ghandi did. But that didn’t mean it was okay to just be killed without lifting a finger…
But not even he could find a good answer.
However, Mimi is still a pacifist. Even if she finally understands that fighting is necessary, that should not mean that she should now force herself to become someone gung-ho and enthusiastic about it. This is why, in Adventure episode 50, Jou contemplates different ways they can productively contribute to the fight -- because Mimi should not be obligated to personally fight herself when it’s not in her fundamental nature, and Jou personally does not feel that he’s very good at it. But Jou, having put some thought into “one’s own path”, realizes that literal physical violence fighting isn’t the only way to be “part of the fight” -- and so while Jou starts to realize that his unique role is becoming someone who can be a capable healer and doctor for those who are wounded, Mimi has her own talents that she can use to bring Digimon and other allies together. Because Mimi is a kind and charismatic person whom everyone finds likeable and would be willing to come along with, and since she holds no grudges against anyone, nobody would hold any grudges against her, so she’s perfect for the role of “bringing people together for the sake of what they want to protect”.
And she does. Adventure being a series that respects the contributions of those who don’t necessarily participate by direct fighting, Mimi’s rallying together of the Digimon becomes key to saving everyone in Adventure episode 52, and the fact that everyone’s together in the end makes for a great group photo.
Speaking of the final episode, in case the point hadn’t been driven home enough that Mimi’s the most empathetic and emotionally sensitive of the entire cast, the series famously ends on her very emotionally compromised farewell with Palmon. Of course, Palmon’s the one who kind of initiated it (she’s the one who initially refuses to see Mimi because she’s too emotionally compromised), but, after all, the series ends on Mimi being so frazzled about it that she loses her hat.
Mimi in 02 and beyond
As with the other Adventure kids, Mimi’s character arc continues in 02, and we learn a lot about her before she even makes her first personal appearance!
Firstly, we learn that Mimi’s moved to America. The in-universe reason is that it’s for her father’s work...or, at least, ostensibly so, because 02 episode 40 implies that the actual reason was that her parents wanted them to be away from Digimon incidents. (Which, of course, didn’t last very long.) The meta reason for Mimi moving, however, very likely has to do with the fact that 02 involves a subplot of Chosen Children appearing all over the world, and Mimi’s character involves an innate talent for bringing people together.
We learn in Two-and-a-Half Year Break that Mimi moved in 2001, only one year before 02′s events, and eventually got caught in the 9/11 incident -- where she met a number of other American Chosen Children in New York and, now much stronger of heart since the events of Adventure, was able to help them in the recovery efforts, despite there being a language barrier. With this, and the fact she’s shown at a huge party in 02 episode 14: they’re not kidding when they say Mimi can become friends with pretty much anyone. Even going to an entirely different country and dealing with a language and cultural barrier, Mimi is such a naturally kind and compassionate person that she immediately doesn’t have any problem fitting in. (Because, really, someone that level of kind and friendly is hard to dislike.) And in a world where international solidarity between Chosen Children is getting more and more important, that is a very valuable role to have.
The other thing we find out early about Mimi in 02 episode 2 is that Sora catches on that Miyako is a lot like Mimi, based on the fact that Miyako also is empathetic and has an aversion to fighting. And Sora’s completely right, because when Mimi does come into the picture, the similarities -- and differences -- between her and Miyako say a lot about both characters.
When Mimi arrives in Japan in 02 episode 6 (for her cousin’s wedding), she and Miyako immediately get along with each other, and Miyako instantly role-models her, to the point of claiming her as an honorary older sister (despite already having older sisters herself!). It’s not surprising; Mimi and Miyako are both very bright and cheerful people, and Miyako even shares the background of being slightly pampered by her family (although presumably more due to her being the youngest of several siblings). Mimi, for her part, continues her trend of being likeable and fond of pretty much everything (including even her beloved tuna-mayo onigiri that she hadn’t had for so long), and is perfectly happy to be tight with Miyako.
The Digitamamon incident in 02 episode 14, however, adds an extra layer into why Miyako idolizes Mimi so much besides Mimi just being cool in general: Mimi is kind, forgiving, mature, and incapable of holding a grudge -- to the point her pacifistic tendencies kick in even when Digitamamon gets hit by a Evil Spiral and she refuses to fight him, despite him literally starting to beat her up. Again, Mimi came to understand the inevitability of having to fight back in Adventure, but Digitamamon is, to her, a friend who was trying his hardest to turn over a new leaf -- so, naturally, she tries to see if she can appeal to his heart instead. Miyako, on the other hand, is on the opposite extreme -- she’s so judgmental about her poor first impression with Digitamamon that, despite fully knowing well that Evil Spirals cause their victims to lose their ability to have reason, keeps trying to use it as evidence that Digitamamon was a traitor from the get-go.
Considering that the “secondary Digimentals” arc is largely about Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori coming to terms with their deficiencies in their respective traits and aspiring to do better, Miyako unfavorably compares herself to Mimi because Mimi is everything she wants to be and currently isn’t. Unlike Mimi, Miyako is aggressive, in-your-face, occasionally judgmental, belligerent, sometimes insensitive (not by choice), and often shallow, which she fully admits to in this episode. Of course, the reason Miyako gets the Digimental of Purity (Mimi’s trait) is because she hates this about herself -- even in 02 episode 31, she gives herself no shortage of grief for her foot-in-mouth syndrome and the fact she’s not as “kind” of a person she wants to be, and she herself is also fundamentally devoid of malice, just quick to jump to conclusions and a bit sidetracked by first impressions. (After all, Mimi was guilty of being accidentally insensitive when she called Palmon lacking in taste back in Adventure; the point is that when both of them do it, they really don’t mean badly, and end up sorry for it later.)
But that’s a story for another post about Miyako; more importantly, the reason Miyako is harsh on herself about this in this episode is that, in many ways, she’s everything Mimi is not, because Mimi is empathetic and mature and polite and never steps on anyone’s toes.
02 episode 25 gives us more to work with; first of all, she’s depicted in yet another completely different hair and fashion style (which she brings up another of during the winter season), and her drastic shifts in style indicate more of her “open-mindedness”; she’s open to trying out tons of new things and is willing to like just about anything. More importantly, however, she turns out to be completely open-minded about recruiting Ken to help out, even though she’s well aware of what he’d done as the Kaiser (and, again, Miyako sees her ability to be forgiving as something to look up to). Because, again, Mimi doesn’t hold a grudge; she doesn’t send anything accusatory or forceful to Ken, but simply believes that he should be given the chance to know what’s going on and help out if he so chooses, which becomes key to Miyako herself also choosing to accept Ken at the end of the episode.
Given that Mimi is portrayed as so open-minded towards trying all sorts of things, it’s probably no surprise that her “career” in Kizuna is so different from what we eventually know she’ll be doing in the epilogue -- instead of her cooking show, we see her running an online shopping business. After all, with her being so open-minded about wanting to do potentially anything, it’s very like her to "dabble” in a few different experimental things before (or perhaps “without”!) settling for something. What we know about this business is also quite on brand for her; her business specializes in “cute” (her preferred aesthetic, which she also shamelessly dresses in), and she’s established as setting up business all over the world to the point she has to constantly travel. Presumably, her natural charisma made it easy for her to set up connections.
Interestingly, her website profile also omits any discussion of any kind of university or other post-secondary education, implying that, unlike the others, she chose to dive directly into her career after high school. Again, it’s quite like her to find something she wanted to do and pursue it the moment it was in front of her -- no matter what it is, as long as it’s interesting.
Mimi’s largest amount of focus in regards to the movie is in To Sora, where she’s seen checking in on Sora after noticing she hasn’t been in the group chat in a while -- again, as someone constantly empathetic to how her friends are doing, it’s natural that she’s the one who catches on and decides she needs to check in. As someone who loves uplifting and supporting her friends first and foremost, she happens to be fully aware of what everyone’s currently up to (compare how Taichi had to be actively updated on Sora and Takeru’s status from Yamato in the movie proper), and also provides nothing but positive supportiveness to Sora’s troubles during their conversation -- as usual, always respectful and polite, and never condescending.
And, of course, she naturally empathizes with Sora having hesitation about fighting -- both because she’s been busy herself, but also because she, of course, understands exactly how it feels for fighting to be emotionally taxing -- and declares that she’ll support Sora with whatever she does, just like how she found her own path back in Adventure by choosing to contribute by bringing people together instead of fighting. She makes do on this promise as well, considering that she keeps up with supporting Sora during her exhibition.
By the time of the 02 epilogue, Mimi has decided to change tracks entirely and go for cooking, which, while being very different, is also very on-brand. This time, the part about “cooking” is something that comes from her family, since, after all, experimental cooking (...of some kind) was something Satoe got the whole family to embrace. The exact nature of her job is literally “culinary researcher”, which is a Japanese catch-all to refer to the sort of “food critic” who experiments with food and writes extensively (or, in this case, runs a TV show) about different ways you can enjoy and put together food, which also goes in mind with her streak of “open-mindedness”. The common point is, really, that everything Mimi does comes out of positivity, supportiveness, and love.
#digimon#digimon adventure#digimon adventure 02#digimon adventure last evolution kizuna#tachikawa mimi#mimi tachikawa#kizuna spoilers#shihameta
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Ive seen people hate Gabi solely for killing Sasha..which i dont think is fair giving what happened before that..while i hate that sasha dies and did get aggravated at Gabi i understand.
That being said..
I actually hated Gabi from the first meeting.. All the other kids were likeable but she...just wasnt.
I cant stand her inability to realize.. maybe just maybe she was lied to her whole life..even Falco, Reiner, Annie and Bertholt were more open to it and started to realize maybe they were wrong..hell they even cared about some of the scouts.. Gabi was just a Marleyan wannabe that just wouldn't face facts even when she spent time with the kindest eldian people.
I know the other " warriors" had the same brainwashing and they did awful things, worse than Gabi, but its her mindset for me.. Thats what makes it worse she had the same brainwashing as the others but she was the most resistant to the truth.. So people saying its not her fault she was brainwahed..it not her fault initially but if she presented with the truth and still denies denies.. Then shes just reveling in her ignorance...
The other warriors, while yes doing awful things and following through with their plans, they still ended up sympathizing with the eldians and being like hey maybe they arent evil devils.. Hell you can see the inner turmoil it caused Reiner.
Plus the fact that Gabi seems to act above it all..like she isnt and eldian as well..like girl sit tf down and shut up🙄 if they are devils then you are too.. Nothing will change that..nothing will change the fact that with a bit of titan spinal fluid you change into one😒 like sis come on.
I also think i sympathize with paridis more is because for about 100 or so years they thought titans were some creatures coming out of nowhere to annihilate humanity🤷 they didn't know... But Gabi and the others did know..they knew eldians turned into titans and it was the marleyans that changed them, yet they still blame the innocent eldians for the sins of their ancestors. Even though Gabi is of the same race..its infuriating.. She's like the Uncle Rukus of AOT😂
( uncle rukus is a cartoon character on the show Boondocks, who thinks he's white with " re vitiligo" but is really black and he hates all black people, in case u didn't know lol )
I'm indifferent to Gabi, but I can't really say that I agree with this.
I cant stand her inability to realize.. maybe just maybe she was lied to her whole life..even Falco, Reiner, Annie and Bertholt were more open to it and started to realize maybe they were wrong..hell they even cared about some of the scouts
You're saying that Falco, Reiner, Annie and Bertholt were more open minded and started to realize maybe they were wrong, but Gabi did the exact same thing. In fact, it took less time for Gabi to come to this realisation than it did for Reiner, Bertholt and Annie, because they were only shown starting to question what they knew about the Eldians on Paradis after having lived with them for a few years. It obviously took Gabi significantly less time to reach the conclusion that the Paradis Eldians actually weren't so bad. She was also starting to form a genuine friendship with Kaya before the truth was revealed in the restaurant. So again, you're saying how the older warriors eventually came to care for the scouts, but the same can be said for Gabi as well. The older warriors came to care for their scout comrades after a few years, whereas Gabi was beginning to form a friendship with Kaya after a few weeks, if not days.
Gabi was just a Marleyan wannabe that just wouldn't face facts even when she spent time with the kindest eldian people.
Gabi did eventually face the facts though, and relatively speaking, when considering the level of her brainwashing, it didn't take her very long to do so.
People always tend to say things like "well Falco is her age and underwent the same brainwashing, so why can't she be more like him?", but that's like asking a struggling student who still tries their best, why they can't match the genius in their class who gets straight A's. Sometimes it's just something you're born with. Gabi is just innately more driven towards a singular purpose, much like Eren. However, people tend to forget that people like Falco who have that depth of understanding, are most definitely not the norm in that universe. Falco is the exception, not the rule. People can't just ask why Gabi can't be more like Falco, when the vast majority of perspectives in the series, are more aligned with Gabi.
Not only that, but Falco and Colt's own uncle, Grice, was part of the Restorationist movement with Grisha and Dina, so Falco had already been exposed to these opposing viewpoints long before we even first met him, and so was more susceptible to changing his views. And as if that wasn't enough, Falco was also present for Eren and Reiner's conversation where these topics were discussed, so he had a first hand perspective of the truth, Gabi didn't have that. If she had also been present for their conversation, it obviously wouldn't have been so easy for her to brush off the attack on Paradis with an "I didn't see it so it didn't happen" attitude. These things all contributed towards making it a lot easier for Falco to accept the differing perspectives.
Thats what makes it worse she had the same brainwashing as the others but she was the most resistant to the truth.. So people saying its not her fault she was brainwashed..it not her fault initially but if she presented with the truth and still denies denies.. Then shes just reveling in her ignorance...
But again, that's not actually the case. Gabi wasn't the most resistant to the truth, the only person who came to that realisation quicker than she did, was Falco. She was far more resistant to the truth than he was (partly due to the reasons I explained above), but that is not the case for the older warriors. Gabi denied it initially, but ultimately relented pretty soon afterwards. Compare that with Reiner, who responded to Annie describing the scouts as his friends, by saying how they were devils, not his friends. This was after having spent several years with them. He was confronted with the truth for several years at that point, and yet he still thought of them as devils. Therefore, among the Marleyan warriors, Reiner is actually the most stubborn one, not Gabi.
The other warriors, while yes doing awful things and following through with their plans, they still ended up sympathizing with the eldians and being like hey maybe they arent evil devils.. Hell you can see the inner turmoil it caused Reiner.
And Gabi did exactly the same thing... A lot sooner. Furthermore, Reiner only began having the split personality problem after having killed Marco. Prior to that, he had spent years with them, and yet was still very much gung ho about their mission and about the Eldians on Paradis being a filthy race.
Plus the fact that Gabi seems to act above it all..like she isnt and eldian as well..like girl sit tf down and shut up🙄 if they are devils then you are too.. Nothing will change that..nothing will change the fact that with a bit of titan spinal fluid you change into one😒 like sis come on.
I agree, but that is applicable to the vast majority of the warriors, excluding probably Falco and Tom Ksaver. Every Marleyan warrior or warrior candidate who aspired to be an Honourary Marleyan for whatever reason, knew that they'd be tasked with getting rid of the titan threat posed by the Paradis Eldians, and they were fine with it because they had been raised under the notion that they were separate from the Eldians on Paradis.
They were all taught from the moment they could think for themselves, that the Paradis Eldians were bad people, and that those on Marley were still tainted, but had a chance for redemption. It's easy for us as the readers and viewers to tell them to sit down and shut up, when we haven't experienced being brainwashed ourselves.
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Weasley Family relationships: George and Perce
GEORGE
George Weasley doesn't understand his twin's adoration with Perfect Percy.
He doesn't like Percy. Percy is boring.
Fred tells him that Percy was funny and read them books but George doesn't remember anything.
He thinks Fred made it up to put Percy in a better light.
George does remember Percy calling Fred Freddie. So George calls him Freddie too.
George just doesn't have a good relationship with Percy. He just doesn't.
Percy tries though. He tries with sweets and toys and books and a lot of things. But if you bribe someone to like you with food and things is the relationship even real?
George observes. He observes Percy because Percy is interesting. He knows all of Percy's moods at this point.
He observes Percy because Percy is unexpected. Percy can change moods in minutes.
It's easier to go unnoticed when you're the quieter twin.
People forget that besides pranks George can have other interests.
He was painting Mum when Percy entered his room. The whole family had gone out and Percy and him were home alone.
"That's beautiful George. How long have you painting it?"
"About an hour."
"She really looks like Mum."
And he knows that Percy is genuine when he says that because he knows that Percy actually examines work before complimenting it.
That was the first time George accepted that Percy is his brother.
"You should sell your work."
"What?"
George is shocked. He just didn't realise that he could get money for his work.
"Yes. You can sell your work to people in the village and they can pay Muggle money which we can convert into galleons!"
Percy even started writing in his book about the plan and doing calculations.
George didn't even know what to say. If it were Bill or Charlie they would have said 'great job' and asked him to make portraits of them but Percy just went to business.
George wishes that Percy had been in Slytherin so he could have the courage to do so too.
And he does make money. Percy is a good salesmen. They manage to sell 18 of his paintings and make money.
George wants Percy to keep half but Percy refuses.
"They're your paintings. You put in the time and effort. You keep the money and keep it for yourself."
When Percy tells him to keep it for yourself he knows what Percy implies. Be selfish. Don't let the family take it.
That's the problem with the Weasley family isn't it? We give too much and receive nothing in return. Not freedom, not hope just love which gets us nowhere.
George can't forget Percy's words. He can't stop thinking about them. He's torn up about giving Mum the money or keeping it for himself.
He decides the latter option. He feels guilty but he knows it's the right option.
He doesn't even tell Fred.
Noone knows about the paintings besides Percy and he knows Percy is discrete.
George doesn't talk to Percy much after that but he does think that the pranks they play on Percy is too much sometimes.
(But Fred's the leader and George follows even though Fred is confused half the time.)
When Percy leaves, George isn't shocked. He saw it coming a mile away.
The way they treat him and the accusation that he's a spy, it seems to pile up on a person until they can't take ot anymore and leave.
George does miss Percy even if they weren't the best of brothers.
And with the war, Percy in the Ministry, Percy's at more risk than all of them. George understands this but he's not Percy's parents and Percy's old enough to comprehend right from wrong.
(George doesn't realise that even his older brother needs guidance at time)
George thinks that Mum is the worst at times always wailing about Percy but it's Fred whose the worst at hiding his emotions.
George can't tell whether Fred misses or hates Percy. His mood keeps changing rapidly but George was suprised when Fred threw food at Percy.
He didn't want to follow but they are 'twins' so he did it and to his horror so did Ginny which made it a 100 times worse.
George wouldn't blame Percy if he never came back.
But
He did.
He came back to fight and Fred was the first one to hug hin back.
He left Fred in Percy's capable hands and followed Charlie.
Percy would keep Fred safe. He always has.
Well turns out George is wrong.
OF COURSE HE IS.
It's Percy. Percy can never do anything right in his stupid pathetic life.
He punches Percy in the face. Percy deserves it.
He killed Fred.
And his family members can try to reassure him and convince him all he want but he and Percy both know that Percy did indeed kill Fred.
He doesn't like that Percy's staying with them. But Mum lost one son she can't lose another so George keeps his mouth shut.
He doesn't eat for the first few days. He can't.
His twin is dead.
For the firs time in his life, Geirge wants the word twin back.
It's difficult for everyone. He knows that but they don't get it.
Fred was always there. Like always and without him George feels like a shadow.
They all try to get him to eat. They make his favorite dishes.
(Sadly, they're all Fred's favourite dishes and George has to choke back a sob everytime)
He doesn't talk to Percy much. He expected Percy to come and get him to eat but Percy doesn't.
Instead he slids paint supplies under the door.
It's so random and spontaneous George wants to laugh.
Percy wants him to paint?
George does paint. He paints Fred because he has to. He paints Fred to keep his memory alive.
He paints Fred because he has to remind himself he is not Fred.
He looks like Fred but he isn't. He isn't. He isn't.
(George doesn't understand why it's so difficult to accept that.)
It's a long time before George realises It's because his whole life he has always been second.
It's always "FredandGeorge" or the twins. It's never been only George.
He doesn't know who he is.
Percy does. Percy knows he's not Fred.
So when it's Percy's turn to get him food. He lets him in.
"You let me in?!"
"Ya, Perce"
After that Percy's quiet. When George turns around he sees Percy staring at Fred's portrait.
"It's marvelous. Really great portrait of him!"
"Really? How do you know its Fred and not me?"
"Well if you see Fre..Fred has more freckles on the right side of his face as compared to yours and your eyebrows are a bit thicker and ....."
Percy gets everything right. George has never felt closer to his brother than right now.
He talks to Percy everyday a bit more. It helps. It helps George to figure out who he is.
Percy even arranges Fred's funeral.
A week before the funeral a question occurs in his head.
"Is he still a twin if his twin is dead?"
He asks his family. They say yes without thinking. They say yes to make him feel better. Ginny and Mum just give him a hug instead of answering.
He doesn't want their comfort. He just wants an explanation why yes.
So he asks Percy the one person who actually would answer him the why.
"Percy am I still a twin if my twin is dead?"
Percy thinks. He doesn't say yes immediately.
George knows it's a stupid question but he asks it anyway because he needs it to be answered.
"Yes you are because being a twin doesn't end when your twin is dead. You were born on the same day. That's what makes you twins. Not death. You were born together. You are both identical. Your twin's death doesn't change your status."
George needed to hear it.
Percy was the only one who understood how George is George. So he asks Percy to give the eulogy and Percy accepts.
When it's time, Percy delivers the best speech and George hangs on every last word and when Percy does the memories in the sky thing,
George forgives Percy.
That's when, after hearing the regret and sorrow in Percy's voice does George forgive him because Percy didn't kill Fred. The war did.
After the funeral he makes more of an effort and so does Percy.
Percy helps him reopen Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The grand reopening is a success and attracts a lot of customers.
George talks to Percy everyday. It feels good to catch up with his older brother and renew their relationship.
Percy asks him to teach him to paint and that's how Percy becomes amazing at painting landscapes while George paints portraits.
That's also how they start painting classes on weekends and teach children their art.
Percy reconciles him with Angie. Everytime he has a fight with Angie, he comes to Percy who makes him straight and he apologises to Angie immediately.
(Of course sometimes it's the other way round and Angie has to apologise, that's when he spends the night with Percy.)
He asks Percy to be his best man. He was going to ask Lee but he wants his favourite brother there besides him.
Percy gives a great speech. Someone should give him a goddamn award.
When George meets Audrey, he knows Percy loves her because he never brings girls home unless he's sure and Audrey's likeable.
He's Percy's best man at his wedding and wasn't that a night to remember!
When the second of May comes around, he and Percy sit besides Fred's gravestone early in the morning before their family come around.
For a while George can feel Fred's presence and Percy makes a joke on Middle Kids club which makes George laugh cause it's true.
When he meets Molly the second and Lil Lucy Goosy, he just stares at them.
They're twins.
THEY'RE TWINS.
George doesn't know whether to laigh or cry because they're twins and they're alive, both of them together and it pains George so much..
But Percy looks so anxious at his response and nervous and scared of being a father that George just laughs because they're alive together and that's what matters.
"They're wonderful Percy. They're just so beautiful."
"Congratulations you are officialy their godfather."
"WHAT?!"
George and Percy love each other very much and would give their life for one another.
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Hello, Charity! I was wondering if you would be willing to help me find my type? I’ve narrowed it down to the ISJ types, but from there I’m having a hard time determining if I use Te/Fi or Fe/Ti. I haven’t even started looking into enneagram yet, since I want to make sure I understand one system before moving on to another...
This is tricky, because I see a lot of faux-emotions happening -- but I think you might be an ISTJ 9w1, and that could account for the 'fake' Fe. You seem less comfortable with feelings, but the mirroring might just be 9 related, along with the calmness, people finding you quite pleasant and non-intimidating, going along with things you don't want to do, ignoring people being impolite or late, etc. You said seeing your feelings in writing makes you realize how immature they are -- that is very much a Fi thing. Fi's can't always talk about how they feel, but they can WRITE about it, and seeing it written down gives them the ability to judge it by Te standards (and they will sometimes, yes, in a higher Te user, go "wow... lame").
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The metanarrative’s grand narrative: Osomatsu-san’s characterization throughout the franchise
The growing cynicism throughout the entire Osomatsu-san franchise shows itself in season 3 with more prominence than anything prior. I think that’s pretty common amongst any “long-running” gag comedy - replacing a plot with spiteful commentary that’s admittedly pretty hit or miss at times. However, it invariably creates a negative but pretty funny character growth, and I love the way the show (I’m including the movie too as “canon” material considering season 3 has referenced it way too many times for me to disregard) has set up this metanarrative across seasons. Long post ahead.
Obviously, Osomatsu-san is self-aware and has a casual relationship with itself. No linear plot (though S3 seems to be trying it out and I’ve enjoyed it - I love that they’re willing to experiment), rather a collection of unrelated skits; and so it points out its own metanarrative because of this “lack of consequences.” With comedy comes impermancy and Ososan AND -kun will always bounce back from that week’s insanity. From the Oxford Dictionary, a metanarrative is “a narrative account that experiments with or explores the idea of storytelling, often by drawing attention to its own artificiality.” Basically: a story about stories.
On top of this, is what I’m calling the “grand narrative,” which is often used interchangeably with metanarrative, but here I’m making a distinction to make it less confusing. Of course, Ososan is a story about stories, but with that comes a story it’s not directly telling, which is where most of the (little) character development is taking place. This is what I’m going to call the grand narrative of a show whose premise is being a meta-aware comedy. I’ll admit I’m by no means an expert on these subjects, but storytelling methods are something I enjoy trying to analyze. As a media format, Ososan really utilizes the fact that it’s a tv show.
Right off the bat S1E1 makes it clear what to expect: Nothing. Not a damn thing. But, the show had already been cleared for this first season, so it has to be produced. This same episode’s preview is done by Osomatsu, which I’m just gonna quote instead screenshot because there’s too many.
“...we plan on properly starting the anime the next episode.”
“...you ended up with an extra minute, so you need me to do something to fill it?! Actually, is this anime going to be okay with episode one being like this? I’m getting worried about how the rest of this is going to be...”
“There, I used up a minute! [EPISODE ENDS]”
Episode one is not only batshit referential, but downright mocking the state of anime in 2015. Which, truthfully, I don’t have much to comment on in that regard, as I’m not an avid anime fan. However, it does this under the premise of being indecisive about what kind of anime they wanted the Osokun reboot to be.
They’ll do just about anything to stay popular and relevant considering that is, quite literally, all they have going for them as characters in the series and just being characters in general. They may be pieces of shit, but they’re likeable pieces of shit. The dynamics they’ve built upon to be entertaining is encouraged, and they’re basically just roleplaying different skits and fucking around.
All the AUs! All the skits! They’re just playing! They’re just fuckin’ around!! They couldn’t come up with any interesting plot nor could they “graduate” from being anime protagonists and join the real world, so they just fuck around and make a gag anime!
Even if we follow both as the audience, the show makes a difference between the what’s them in their “normal life” (crazy begets crazy, no?) and what’s their “show.” But, really, that’s just one way to look at it, as they don’t really follow any rules as a show. I could say the Joshimatsus are separate characters from the sextuplets, and it’d be a “correct” interpretation. It doesn’t really matter - I’m choosing to examine it all as being the six of them just running around and playing, because being entertaining and having fun is all they know as characters. Besides, having it blended together beyond recognition reinforces how it prioritizes entertaining us, the audience, above logic. Storytelling doesn’t need to make absolute spatial-temporal sense for it to be enjoyable to fans.
In any case, that mentality really seems to be what pushes their character development negative, as they look to reinforce habits and rituals despite them being really detrimental for them in the long run. They know they’re popular characters as is, and with really everyone from staff to fans encouraging this behavior further, so they see no point in fixing what isn’t really broken.
I found this 4 year old article from Manga.Tokyo discussing the Ososan phenomenon in Japan because while the craze died off pretty quickly in American anime circles (which deserves a whole other post), Japanese fans went fuckin’ nuts.
This portion caught my attention, as it makes sense that entitled and enabled asshole children would grow up to be entitled and enabled asshole adults. The article also goes on to compare them to idols (even beyond the F6 spoof) and that they are rooted in being comfort characters above all else.
It’s worth a read, especially because Japanese fan response is what drives majority of the content post-S1, and, inevitably, ties into their character development.
They know that they’re Characters, particularly Protagonists. You know what happens to protagonists? Everything works out. Just about every single story created has stuff working out for protagonists. In fact, we have a whole genre made that separates stories with bad tragic endings from our Normal Stories. Ososan is a comedy, not a tragedy, so surely there’s gonna be some payoff somewhere along the road, especially as the seasons and other content are still being pumped out. To a self-aware, entitled, enabled protagonist, assuming everything is just gonna work out for you isn’t that far off from your narrative truth.
However, Ososan is a gag anime, and a lot of gag content (like 4koma mangas) is dropped for other projects before any emotional cathartic ending is provided for characters and fans alike. So, three seasons and a movie later, nothing has happened. It’s a great idol cash cow with a Family Guy filter, and the characters (and writers) don’t even bother to hide it anymore. And I know I’m being hypocritical concerning my definition of “canon material” but I think this portion from one of the drama cds “Choroplex” basically summarizes my point:
CHOROMATSU: Wait, don’t make this into a gag! You don’t even care about becoming employed, right?
KARAMATSU: There’s no way that could happen...
CHOROMATSU: What kind of future are you imagining? Is it nothing but this?
[HUGE PAUSE BEFORE THEY MOVE ONTO SOMETHING ELSE]
They’re parodies of themselves and are running out of ideas. Stagnation and decay is normal, if not unavoidable, at this point in time for them. They’re just 20 somethings who’ve hit a wall but they’re too scared and insecure to bring about permanent positive change. It’s easier for them to fall back into normal patterns and joke off the rest.
They have an antagonistic relationship with expectations. They can’t handle a single iota of expectations, or responsibilities. They’ve never needed to worry before, so why bother now? Once the biggest hits on the block, now they’re just guppies in the ocean, and there’s nothing they believe themselves to be able to accomplish to keep up with this big brave new world. This is epitomized in S3E15, where old man Osomatsu tells a bastardized version of the Tortoise and the Hare, blatantly projecting his feelings onto it. Again, too many screenshots so let me pull more quotes (bolding for my own reference):
“The place that the tortoise thought was the goal was not actually the goal. His journey down the road of life still continued on. The tortoise was quite tired, but he continued running anyway.”
“No one actually knew who was in front anymore. There are too many people above you.”
“After the tortoise found out how society worked, he thought, ‘So this is the difference in talent? No amount of hard work is going to fix this. All right. I’m done competing with others.’”
S3 has left more questionable endings than its counterparts. The last 2 skits I referenced don’t even a gag to them, and the marriage skit doesn’t play music for the entire second half of S3E5. There’s more involved too. I haven’t even brought up the rice ball twins becoming actual entertainers in their universe, or how they introduced this whole AI subplot only to reject it because All Six Of Them aren’t interested in expanding their little corner of the world. Here’s a transcript of the ending preview from S3E1:
“Hey, hey, Osomatsu here. I thought we were saved from being replaced, but I guess we get new characters next week. Man, we’re busy. New encounters, changing surroundings... We’re NEETs to begin with because all that is a pain. I guess a lot can happen after three seasons. [EPISODE ENDS]”
The sextuplets’ mindsets are extremely self-centered, which is also an environmental thing (the parents don’t even really care that they’re NEETs, for one) and an understanding of what they ought to be (epic successful protagonists). They also have a very black and white mentality, all or nothing. They’re extremely sheltered, and once they realized where they stood in society at large, they just gave up. To them the world is divided between winners and losers, and somehow, “inexplicably,” they found themselves to have fallen from grace. But they’re protagonists, that has to count for something! Everything’s gonna end up okay, right? Well... what this show has told them: No, not at all. They are consistently compared and warned of Iyami, and are perfectly aware of this fact, and have come to internalize it as a truth rather than a reversible self-fulfilling prophecy.
Too many screencaps, taken from the S3S5 marriage discussion:
JYUSHIMATSU: I wonder if we’re gonna get married someday, too.
CHOROMATSU: Well, I mean... probably? I’m not exactly sure, but...
TODOMATSU: What? You’re gonna get married, Choromatsu-niisan?
CHOROMATSU: Huh? Well, yeah... someday.
Surprise! They have commitment issues! The same group that couldn’t commit to a fucking plot! Though their personality issues have several factors involved, I can’t overlook the theater motifs abound. Life’s a stage, and they’re performing entirely unscripted and it shows.
Do I think all of this is 100% intentional on the writers’ part? No, probably not. There’s also an extra layer here regarding contemporary Japanese commentary that I’m not familiar with, so I just ended up focusing on the characters. I can’t be in the writers’ heads, but whatever decisions are being made by executives regarding censorship and “compliance” are reflected in these character changes that result in being significantly more bitter and defeatist.
In the all or nothing, winner-take-all mentality, the only way to save face at this point, in their minds, is to own up to it - act like it’s what they wanted all along. And, hey, it’s funny to watch, right?
“Why is Osomatsu all my examples”, you might be asking. Well, he’s the damn blueprint for it all. The leader of the bunch, the first personality to grab your attention, has had all his issues projected and ricocheted in their echo chamber.
Ultimately, my point here is that you could think their “canon characterizations” (though canon means nothing in a show like this) as being intertwined with the nature of their self-aware existence. They’ve shown you all their tricks, the smoke and mirrors are getting boring, and they’re stalling long enough the story seems to be moving on without them - in spite of them. And when something genuinely threatens their way of life, they don’t know how to respond.
You can play it all straight, of course. Remove the meta jokes and all the same plot points can be hit, but, as a slapstick comedy, it’s able to easily add this additional layer in that I appreciate. I’ve said it in my last post and I’ll probably say it in more, but with comedy comes sincerity - the caveat of all the cartoon violence is that, on some level somewhere, this is how they really feel.
#osomatsu san#osomatsu#karamatsu#choromatsu#ichimatsu#jyushimatsu#todomatsu#osomatsu matsuno#karamatsu matsuno#choromatsu matsuno#ichimatsu matsuno#jyushimatsu matsuno#todomatsu matsuno#analysis#confession this was sparked by a convo i had w friends about s3e18#this is a bit truncated but i couldnt bring myself to make this longer#maybe ill make a pt2 or whatever idk
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Aro Head Canons for ASAW
Since I haven't had the time/energy to do something big for Aro-Spec Awareness Week like I would like to, I thought I'd at least do a little something and talk about some Aro-Spec Head Canons that I enjoy. So let's get started!
Lt. Commander Data and Geordi La Forge (Star Trek: The Next Generation) - Data and Geordi have always been two of my favorite characters from TNG. They both have such likeable personalities and a lot of great moments/episodes. Data also is as close to a canonically aromantic character as you could get from the 80s/90s I feel like? He and Geordi are, prominently, best friends. Data states that the desire for companionship is not one of the Human Things he finds confusing. But the only time Data attempts romance it's obvious he doesn't get it, far more than he doesn't get other Typical Human Things, and the end conclusion is him deciding to just Not Do romance because there is no 'real him' he can give to a romantic relationship specifically. And that never changes! Not even when he gets a Human Emotion Chip! So even he's not quite canonically aro, I feel like he also slightly is. xD He's also just a major fave, so I enjoy him being aro-coded A Lot.
As for Geordi, there's not really any canon 'evidence' as such other than 'I like him a lot and his main relationships with the crew are all platonic'. He has a few one-shot romances, but they're all so intensely awkward. In part because one-shot romances tend to be awkward and I think the writers sometimes didn't know what to do with Geordi in episodes centered on him. But I enjoy thinking it's partly because he just doesn't realize he's alloaro. xD Maybe gray-aro, I'm not sure. But aro-spec in some kind of way.
Aziraphale and Crowley (Good Omens) - These two notoriously aren't canonically anything. And it's probably best it stay that way. xD But the first time I watched the show (knowing very little about the book other than the fact it existed, and knowing a similar amount about the fandom), I was pleasantly surprised by how much these two resonated with me, both individually and as a pair.
Nothing they do is inherently romantic, and aside from the whole 'our superiors would kill us if they find out about us being friends' bit, a lot of what they do together seems like the kind of thing I really enjoy in close relationships. They go out to eat, they spend long hours discussing the arts and various other things, they go on walks/feed ducks, and they're always excited to see each other (sans the whole 'this could get us killed' anxiety stuff again lol). And that's it! Their happy ending as far as we see is them just being able to do those things freely and without guilt or fear anymore, it's not really implied anywhere they want 'more' from the relationship, just to be able to experience more of it, and safely/without having to come up with excuses to meet.
And then just individually, neither of them really show interest in specifically romance either. And also I like them both and just enjoy the thought of them both being aroace, it's nice to be able to connect with characters you like a lot. X)
Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin (The Lord of the Rings) - Look, The Lord of the Rings, in particular the book, just has aro vibes. xD None of these characters have a love interest other than Sam having a very minor one (I call grey-aro) that isn't emphasized anywhere near the way he friendship with Frodo is. It's a friendship-heavy book in general, and only one of the end couples actually got screentime or development (Eowyn and Faramir were also written in a way that they're one of a small group of romantic pairings I actually quite like?) compared to all the Fellowship friendships getting heavily centered.
I don't even know where on the aro spectrum to put all of these fellas, but I feel like they have a lot of potential to cover a number of bases? (Gandalf didn't have a romance either actually, I'm claiming him too. Why not. xD) Merry randomly strikes me as aroflux for no particular reason. Pippin I could see as frayromantic? I'd have to think more on the specifics for the others, but case in point: LotR is a great book/film series and most of the characters can be read as arospec in some kind of way so I'm just gonna go ahead and do that. xD
(Gimli is especially a childhood favorite though, so. Him and Legolas get top tier from me lol)
Sherlock Holmes (Various iterations? But especially ACD and Granada?) - Holmes just is a big mood in general, but also an aro mood. xD And while being aro on its own isn't about being reclusive or anti-social or constantly raising your brow at how others do relationships, these are things I associate with my own experience of aromanticism for just me, and I relate to some of that in Holmes as well, which makes the headcanon extra appealing. He is also an eccentric and I enjoy that a lot because he just so much isn't trying to be 'normal', he just does his detective thing and I love it.
Also, while I'm not as dead set on it. I do like Watson as aro-spec too! He did seem to genuinely find Mary attractive, but marriage clearly didn't suit him (and I wonder if he didn't do it in part because he did try to seem 'normal' even though he's also frankly weird), since he ultimately returned to just living with Holmes and was happy with it.
James (Team Rocket/Pokemon) - This is a head canon that both stems from 'James is a long time favorite of mine so I want him to be aro Just Because' and 'he actually has very strong romance-repulsed vibes in canon'. His backstory involves him running away from home to escape an (admittedly toxic) arranged marriage, every time a one-shot character expresses romantic interest in him he's horrified (unless there's some kind of mystical thing involved), and he was completely appalled at the suggestion he and Jesse could be together romantically despite them unambiguously being best friends and/or partners for life (he said he'd rather DIE, which yes was for comedy/exaggeration, but he so consistently has this kind of reaction to romance aimed at him).
Elsa (Frozen) - There's been plenty of discussion on this one before, but just. Elsa has the biggest aro moods in both films (she's also genuinely content being a bit more solitary at the end of the second one, staying in close contact with her family but living alone/single, which is pretty great). She's also just very relatable in general, which adds to the head canon appeal. And her being aro while Anna is super into romance, the possibilities of them learning to navigate that together? Big fan.
Moana (Moana) - This is another case of 'there wasn't a romantic interest and I adore the character, so to the aro bin you GO'. xD Her whole 'I am Moana' song being her Big Moment is powerful in general, but I really like how the movie centers on her individual growth, and how she has this big moment while she's alone and That's Okay.
Noe (Vanitas no Carte) - I know Noe is, in general, oblivious. But he's just SO oblivious to the most overt crushes on him (and there are more than one), doesn't get what 'love' is (which just, makes me think of all the conversations trying to define romance in the aro community that are very thought provoking but don't really get anywhere as far as a 'proper answer' goes xD), and just does not seem romantically interested in anyone. I also just like him a lot lol.
Sonic, Blaze, and Rouge (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Sonic is just never truly interested in romance, and even when he 'is', it doesn't feel like very...allo romance on his end? And that only happened one or twice anyways. Mostly, he's annoyed or repulsed or exasperated with Amy's crush on him and doesn't seem interested in others. And he's always described as a 'free spirit', which doesn't mean anything technically, but the way it's done here has prominent 'single for life' vibes, and he's very happy with his free spirit life style!
Blaze I fully admit the hc is just 'she's cool and doesn't have a canon love interest' lol. Because she is cool and should really be in the games more, and she doesn't have a canon love interest, so why the heck not?
Rouge I just enjoy the the thought of her being aro. She flirts and stuff, but sometimes just as a 'tactic', and sometimes just I think for fun, but that doesn't necessarily mean she has real crushes or wants a romantic relationship. Another case of 'hey why not, it's fun!'
Bow and Glimmer (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) - I am like 98% sure the writers were trying to make these two an end game couple. But they gave such IMMENSELY POWERFUL platonic vibes from the very beginning, and kept it that way the whole show as far as I'm concerned, so I read them as platonic all the way to the end. And I loved that about them! Both are such fun and cool characters in their own respect, and they got to have an epic friendship that was given time and weight! Also I am so so into platonic m/f epic duos. They feel so rare, and they make my brain so happy. xD
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I was chatting with a friend who doesn’t particularly like Shouto (while he’s my favorite character) and while I don’t specially agree with what he said, I still couldn’t think of what to say back to one of his argument : basically, to him, Shouto is less interesting than Ochako, Katsuki, Deku, All Might, Endeavour and many more because all his story is based on external conflict since the sports festival ended, meaning he doesn’t have any internal flaws to get past. all that he has to do is in relation to his family and he’s flawless, which makes him less likeable bc what he has to deal with is not really his fault or internal, and he never fucks up on a long term scale. Basically, all his flaws disappeared after the sports festival, and the only other time we’ve seen him fuck up (during the licence exam) it was a one time thing and was resolved too quickly. Now compare it to all the other characters who regularly fuck up or have trouble with themselves (Ochako deals with her crush very badly, Deku doesn’t take himself into account, Katsuki was an absolute asshole etc...), and their flaws are internal and actually endured time and make their development slower, it makes shouto too perfect too fast. Everything about his family and how he reacts is interesting, but it doesn’t personably challenge him bc he doesn’t have to change, everything is on Endeavour and Dabi, and shouto just have to deal with it. While I absolutely love Shouto the way he is, it made me wonder if Horikoshi shouldn’t have dragged his development more in the Sports Festival. I wondered what you would respond to this, since you articulate what I think about Shouto much better than I do, and he’s also your favorite character. I’m really sorry about the long ask! I was really curious about your opinion on this (and hoped I could borrow some of your wits and analytical skill to use against my friend, I didn’t give up on making him love shouto lol)
I think you can’t really convince someone with arguments why he should or shouldn’t vibe a character. If your friend finds the others more relatable or interesting, it’s because those characters are somehow relatable for him. But also don’t let these kind of arguments ruin for you a character you enjoy.
Reading what you wrote about Shouto being “flawless” was really funny, because I have the same frustration with Deku, whose only fault is being “too self-sacrificing” and more often than not it’s not even a fault, but just a sign of how heroic he is.
I don’t think Shouto’s faults disappeared in a snap. He’s still blunt, rude sometimes, clueless, he can be extremely petty, he’s not great at interpersonal relations, etc. That’s what I like about his story. The Sport Festival made him realize that the hatred and negativity he was feeling for Endeavor was self-sabotage, and he was getting others caught up in his personal conflict . So he decides to change, but change is not easy and it’s not linear either.
What is important to realize that even if his rage at Endeavor is fully justified, it is an obstacle to become a hero. It blinds him to others. Whenever he’s driven by that anger, he’s letting people down, he’s sabotaging himself, he’s not able to protect the ones who matter to him. And whenever he deals with his rage in a more productive way, takes steps towards healing, the narrative rewards him. And it’s a lot of one step forwards - two steps back:
For example: in the cavalry battle, his whole team would have lost if not for Iida, because Shouto refused to use his fire. He was not only sabotaging himself - but the other three people who trusted him. But once he visited his mom and went to seek his father’s help with training, he’s rewarded by being able to save his friends against Stain using his fire. But not too rewarded, because he’s still a beginner, his fire skills are not great, he can’t switch sides fast enough - all the time he wasted spiting his father limits him to not being as effective as he could have been.
He’s too slow in the Forest, he can’t save Bakugou - again, it’s a consequence of the time he wasted not training both sides.
And his anger is not gone either. He keeps falling back again and again into the same pit of resentment - like he does at the Provisional License Exam. Many kids screw up there - but the one most harshly punished is Shouto, because he’s already changed and it’s basically his past (and Endeavor’s wrongdoings) coming back to haunt him. He’s one of only TWO students to fail the license exam in the entire YEAR!!! How is that not a harsh consequence? He goes from the top of the class, straight down to the bottom, having to go for months (from the summer to early winter), every weekend to supplementary courses, unable to see his mom because he has no days off anymore, while others in the class get to do work-study. He can’t be there for his best friend in the Overhaul raid - he just has to sit in the dorm unable to do anything while his classmates get hurt.
His unprocessed past comes back again at the JTA, where he does much worse than Deku and Bakugou do. His team draws, because Shouto has still been holding back all this time. He is hit with the consequences of letting his teammates down. It’s only through losing again and again that gives him the motivation to want to be stronger. To be able to see striving for strength as not something negative. And reaching out to his father again rewards him in the form of starting to master flashfire. It enables him to fly, to save Bakugou, Deku and Endeavor, and to fight Shigaraki. But again, he’s one step too late, he’s still holding back, and it’s not enough against Touya, because he started too late this training to have the necessary mastery.
So I think the important thing is not that a lot of things are happening around him that are out of his control, because that’s true for every character. But for Shouto the big challenge is to understand that the only one he can control is himself. He has control over how he responds, how he defines himself, what he strives for. He needs to realize that wanting to get stronger and more powerful does not make him into his father - it makes him into a better hero, who can do more, save more. He needs to find ways to stop limiting and sabotaging himself and he needs to find the right motivation to do that.
Healing from trauma, changing someone’s way of thinking, forgiving himself for his past mistakes - these are all incredibly hard things to do. And it’s not like Shouto is being passive in this. Every time he falls back into the pit of resentment, every time he’s realizing that he was still holding back, that he’s still not giving his all - he does the mental work. He does the soul-searching. He confronts himself again and again.
I find him to be one of the most dynamic characters in terms of growth - but he’s an introvert (which I relate to a lot), and for some people because a lot of the conflict and work is internal, it’s really easy to miss how much he struggles with himself.
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Hi Foxyyy! This might sound like a stupid question, but why did you decide to make JK a virgin in Little Bean? I understand idol lifestyle is a huge hindrance to his social life, and that led him to be a bit sheltered. I'm curious about your thought process behind it :D Have a nice week!
Yeah! So the short answer is obviously... because I wanted to haha. The whole story actually began with me wanting to write a "JK has sex for the first time" story --which is the scene in Little Bean, and clearly exploded out from there.
But I'll explain under the cut my rationale for how I got him to that point in this story as long as everyone promises to remember I'm talking about my work of fiction, not the real guy. <3
Here are all the various tidbits that were floating in my head when building LBJK and his limits/experience:
- Korea is a conservative country and the age for sex and marriage is coming down with new generations, but still on the higher side compared to less homogenous and conservative countries. His character is an interesting blend of tradition and progress thinking, so it was easy for me to imagine him as being pro-sex but also a little careful with his own activities.
-JK is surrounded by older guys (and no sisters) with varying sexual confidence in the story, their porn stashes, and their stories, probably exaggerated, which would make it all seem sort of intimidating and exciting... and feed right into his insecurities. Porn and the bragging of older brothers don't necessarily teach you the things you need to know. The sheltered comment you made is right and we'll see more of that soon: there are a lot of aspects of dating that most of us take for granted that he just has no experience or emotional IQ about yet.
- JK started a VERY demanding job very young, with a very rigorous schedule that left him little time for privacy, or for freedom at the age when most people are learning how to interact with the opposite sex. He was already having fear of exposure, scandal, and career implications drilled into his head, and he was tired. I didn't want to write him as "scared to have interactions with the opposite sex" because he clearly has a bunch of noonas he loves, but more that he gets a little nerdy shy when he actually wants to have sex with a woman because he's not quite sure how to progress things from Point A to Point B.
- JK has a lot of self criticism and insecurities wrapped up in shyness. I've heard that factoid about real JK that he wasn't comfortable showering around his hyungs as a teenager. His body has been under scrutiny always. I think that fear of negative feedback (such as he received with earlier girlfriends in the story) cuts deep and has held him back from being really open about the parts of him (both physical and emotional) that he's able to keep privacy about.
- On an emotional level, he's this blend in the story of very romantic, very lazy about relationships (previous relationships mainly; because he's tired but also a bit of a loner naturally, introverted, and has a limit to how long he can keep the BIG EFFORT train going), and very insecure about his own likeability. In the first book he talked about the difference between stage and his real self. He meets people constantly who expected him to be one way or the other and he worries about disappointing them. So in LB I saw that romanticism in him as something he dreams of for the future but has not felt up to the task for yet... until Sasha. He also doesn't want to settle for less. I think in the most recent chapter is when he said something about how he thought he'd have to be his best self before anyone really loved him. And since he was afraid of the risks and vulnerabilities of casual sex, it meant he put things off.
-I also wanted to push on the reality that no one knows about anyone until you're told. There is literally no way from someone's personality to tell whether they're sexually active or not. Sasha assumes he has no experience, which is incorrect. You can get up to a lot of shenanigans before penetrative sex, and he did! But it tended to not go well for him, which fed into his fears about being that close with someone.
-I wanted a big character growth for him in the story to be him taking control and comfort of his own self --physically, emotionally, mentally-- and genuinely learning to love and trust himself, and recognize that others can also love him and be trustworthy. We're still early in that growth, although he's always taken such HUGE steps thanks to the acceptance and adoration of Sasha. But he still relies so much on external feedback (I know some readers have called that out too!) I want him to build that innate love and acceptance of himself.
OK, I think that's it, but happy to answer questions like this :) Character analysis is fun!
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