got my first ever official customer complaint because when i was going over the terms of their life insurance they were like "well i don't plan to die" and i was like "well you're going to"
getting my little goblin minions to punch and stab me in the middle of the grocery store to try and whittle me down to half health so i can assume my final boss form and reach the top shelf
do you ever think about how profound the simplicity of lotr's messages is. "there's some good in this world mr frodo and it's worth fighting for" fuck yeah samwise. fuck yes it is
*tap dances into your inbox* Hi! It’s me! I’m the problem it’s me
I hear you’re willing to lend an ear for prompts, and who am I if not someone with ideas!
I’m sure you already know this but your girl is in her Hell’s Paradise era, so could I please ask for some Shugen tickles? Headcanons, thoughts- whatever you got I’ll be more than happy to take! If not him- could I get some Aza brother sillies instead? Whatever you wanna do 🥰🥰🥰💖🫂
Take care! *tap dances back out*
SHUGEN MY SON- don't tell me you came around on him? 👀👀
i watched gachiakuta so i haven't gotten around to s2 of hell's paradise yet but i'm sooo excited to watch it, my babies 😭🖤
all headcanons and thoughts under the cut ♡
shugen
bro is the most STIFF lee
you thought eizen was stuck up? if eizen has a stick up his ass, shugen has the whole tree
every time there's a tickle fight happening at the dojo, shugen is above participating, of course, and even if he wasn't already too cool for it, he couldn't participate because he'd be too busy anyway. with what? stuff. important stuff. mind your business.
there's a good bunch of asaemon who don't really buy this excuse, namely shion, jikka, tenza and eizen (eizen knows better than anyone, shugen copied that trick from him)
out of everyone, tenza is the first to try and drag shugen into a tickle fight; he'll just jump him in broad daylight
it usually doesn't work, shugen just deflects the attack and throws tenza over his shoulder, then he walks away
however, when it works. oh boy does it work.
the best way to get shugen is to latch onto him from behind and drill into the spot in his ribs that's just below what his arms are able to cover when he clamps them down
he's able to keep it together for about two seconds, but he'd need three to cover his spot, so if tenza gets that spot right away he won
shugen gets crazy expressive in those situations, his eyes go wide, he puffs out his cheeks and presses his lips together, then he's shrieking
once he's been cracked via rib drill, all you have to do is keep the momentum going; the trick is not letting him get used to the sensation
shugen is one of those guys who only has two or three very specific tickle spots at first (that one spot of his ribs being among them) but once you get it, all the other spots magically unlock
other spots include but may not be limited to right underneath his hip bones, the back of his neck and his kneecaps
he has a surprisingly high pitched laugh and most people are taken aback when they hear it for the first time but to his great dismay, all his fellow asaemon think it's very cute
he gets very shrill too and if you get him really really good, he'll start hyena cackling but that's really hard to get out of him and so far only shion has ever managed
after years of shenanigans he feels no longer humiliated when tickled, but he'll definitely get flustered if eizen is watching because he wants to look cool in front of his mentor
it's equally as hard to drag him into tickle fights as a ler (the tree is in so deep it's planting roots) but don't be fooled by his high and mighty attitude, he's incredibly ragebaitable if you hit the right spots
once again tenza is the expert to go to, he knows exactly what to say to get shugen to launch out of his seat and hunt him down (jikka is an expert too but shugen would never dream of attacking his seniors)
if shugen is successfully ragebaited no one's getting out alive; he's down for a good hunt and he's a TACTICIAN, he can catch just about anyone in ten minutes tops
once he's caught his prey, he's similar to eizen in the sense that he doesn't believe in teasing, he just views tickling as an efficient method to get people back in line and he'll go straight for the death spot and just drill in until the lee taps out
honestly he's terrifying as a ler, he's just dead fucking silent and staring daggers at people throughout the whole wrecking
he won't even tell people what exactly he wants an apology for, he lets them figure it out, and the most aftercare he'll do is call senta over and ask him to bring some water before Walking Away
don't worry tho, he's having fun, even if he would rather bite off his tongue than admit it
Toma pressed his lips together to stiffle his own giggles when he heard the door open with a creak. His hair was getting all messed up from the clothes around him, it was hot as hell in here and he could barely move, but it would all be worth it.
He silently counted down from ten as he listened; the door closed, then steps, the rustling of a blanket and a quiet groan as Chobei dropped down on his futon, like he always did when he had had a long day.
Three. Two. One.
“BOO!”
The reaction was priceless.
One second the doors of the wardrobe slammed open, the next both that noise and Toma's own scream were tuned out by what was arguably the most shrill shriek that Toma had ever heard from his brother—and that included their childhood years before the vocal change. And Toma knew he should use the lingering shock to run, but he was too busy doubling over, nearly crying with how hard he was cackling.
“Gohods- yohou sh- you should've seheen your faha- AGH!”
He had known this would come, but he still yelped when he was grabbed around the waist and tackled onto the floor, Chobei wasting no time to straddle him and drill into his ribs right away.
“WAHAI- Chohobehei, wahaIT-”
“Forget it!” Despite the spook still lingering on Chobei's face, Toma could hear the grin in his brother's voice. “You should know you don't get to do shit like this without consequences!”
Toma squealed and slammed his heel into the floor, trying to squirm away when Chobei pinned his arm down to drill into his armpit. “EEHE- IHI WAS JUHUST PLAHAHAYING!”
“You don't say.” And now the grin didn't just show in his voice as Chobei smirked down at his little brother with a subtle, fond glint in his eyes that Toma surely would've caught if he wasn't busy laughing his head off.
Ashitaka is an Emishi prince and that is important
Let me elaborate
Many people have touched on the facts about Emishi history in the context of Princess Mononoke. But so far, few have addressed the question of "why" to a satisfactory manner. Of course, it may have simply been to position a character as "neutral" in a story so full of opposite sides and festering hatred.
Personally, I think there is more to be said about the significance of Ashitaka's ethnicity.
As is mentioned in the movie itself, the shared history between the Emishi and the Yamato people was not one of peace, fraternity and prosperity. It was one of bloodshed, suppression, war, annihilation. The Emishi people were branded as "barbarians" and driven off the land they had lived on for centuries. The full title of Shogun - Seii Taishogun - was coined initially to denote the commander who lead the army against the Emishi people.
So to me, Ashitaka's ethnicity does not make him a "neutral party" in the conflict. He is a neutral party because he chooses to be. However, it's not difficult to imagine what he must be thinking to travel across Japan and see warring states tearing each other apart from within the same country, the same people, the same clan even. First, they drive his people to extinction. Then, they turn against each other. And now, they want to fight nature? Where in hell does the hatred stop?
Second, and perhaps more poignant. It is an allegory for the effects of environmental disasters on small, usually poor and/or indigenous communities. Ashitaka's curse was passed onto him from a boar who turned monstrous after having been shot by Lady Eboshi with her fancy gun. Clearly, he and his people played no part in that violence, but they are the ones who faced the consequences of environmentally destructive militarism and industrialism.
If the curse is read as an illness it can symbolize zoonotic diseases. In the 1990s, a sharp decline in vulture population in India lead to one of the worst rabies epidemics in recent history, killing tens of thousands of people per year. Ongoing deforestation destroys the habitats of many species, resulting in exposure to terrifying diseases we do not yet know about. And the first people to be affected are the communities who live around such areas.
In more general ways, it symbolizes the impact of environmental disasters as a whole. The Fukushima nuclear leak destroyed the lives and livelihood of countless residents of Tohoku - one of the poorest areas in Japan, and the last homes of the Emishi people. Even to this day, many of them remain displaced, living in temporary shelters. Meanwhile, the electric company responsible for the power plant's faulty design got off with a meagre fine, and its top executives were acquitted of charges. Reason being: they provide electricity to the Kanto region. Modernity, convenience and comfort at the cost of people's lives.
