#character breakdowns

[durotoswrites]

If you’re still interested in the character breakdowns how about Rick? :)

I know a couple of people have asked for my take on this character, and I’ll start right off by stating that I know he’s a polarizing character in the fandom.  And I can understand that - he acts very differently depending on which game you play with him in it.  There are things I love about him and things I hate about him, but in the end, I think he’s a really fascinating character and the love outweighs the bad.  That being said, many of my opinions about him might come off as unpopular.  But, of course, these are just my opinions and anyone is free to disagree. ^-^

How I feel about this character:

Rick in Harvest Moon 64 and Rick in pretty much every game after that are very different from another.

HM64 Rick: This version of Rick is Ann and Gray’s cousin who owns a tool shop in town.  He creates inventions that often fail, and Ann from SNES is his grandmother.  Overall, I find him very sweet and a little absentminded, closing his shop when it… rains?  He’s very focused when he’s passionate about something, and I love those determined and clever sides to him.  He’s a very cool bro who will help you fix the broken music box, no matter how many you present to him.  I really love seeing Rick so passionate about his hobbies, and his dedication to his craft is really endearing.

Mineral Town Rick: Determination is something that Rick carried over from his previous incarnation.  With an absent father, a sickly mother, and a sister who hasn’t been trained properly on handling the farm, Rick has more than enough on his plate.  We get a deeper side of his family life in this version of Rick, but it is often overshadowed by his more unflattering traits, such as allowing his emotions to boil out of control and not thinking before he acts.  Much of his dialogue revolves around his dislike for Kai and his fears of his little sister being stolen away by him.  More on that later.  I still like this version of Rick, but I can’t bring myself to like him more than that independent inventor incarnation (more on that to come!).

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Rick x Farmer: I wish he was marriagable in HM64!  I want to see events where the farmer cheers him on for his inventions and they come up with ideas together.  I also like the idea of two fellow farmers marrying in Friends of Mineral Town, and I feel the main character would help him feel more secure that he’s doing the best that he can and has a support system.

Rick x Karen: I always thought that HM64 Rick’s rejected love was Karen, as she doesn’t even seem to notice he exists.  I kinda got that vibe that he felt she was out of his league, but they could be cute together if they got to talking.  I also love their pairing in Mineral Town - Karen and Rick bump heads a bit, but they treat one another as equals.  I’m a sucker for friends to lovers, and the fact that these two have been through thick and thin together is really heartwarming.

Rick x Elli: These two have the potential to be cute together in both games - especially in Mineral Town, where they can relate to one another as caregivers.  I think they both have very caring hearts, and Elli would be able to reel Rick in if he gets too hot-headed.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Rick/Gray: (Kind of a mashup of both games)  These two would talk shop and have a friendly rivalry with one another - Rick specializing in clockwork mechanisms and Gray more so in electronics.  I headcanon that Gray does a lot of the work for the maker machines.  I also feel like Gray would be blunt enough to express to Rick that he doesn’t have to do it all.

Rick/Ann: Childhood friends/cousins.  I love their familial bond in HM64, and I feel like their personalities would mesh well in Friends of Mineral Town.

Rick/Cliff: I feel like these two would have a lot to teach each other, given that Rick is suffering from abandonment issues and Cliff was the one who left his family behind and regrets it.  There’s a lot of potential for these two, and I might need to delve into it in my writing!

My unpopular opinion about this character

I think the reason why Mineral Town Rick flopped with so many fans was due to the writing.  He talks about Kai year round, and his overbearing presence around Popuri can make it look as if he is trying to control everyone in his life (and some might even get the impression he has a sister complex).  

Rick even expresses concern that his mother is participating in the Cooking Festival, even going so far as to say he tried to talk her out of it despite her obvious enthusiasm to compete.  Also note that Doctor attends the event specifically to make sure Lillia is alright.

So, I think it can be easy to see Rick as a bossy blowhard that has a tendency to lose his temper when things don’t go his way.  And I totally get that.  He is bossy.  He is selfish.  But he’s also had so many responsibilities handed to him from such a young age that he’s traumatized and the thought of losing any more family members causes him to react irrationally out of fear.

Rod left Lillia to find a cure for her illness, and it’s been years since he has been gone.  He’s missed watching his kids grow up.  He’s missed his lonely wife’s company for who knows how long.  Even Anna admits she regrets giving him the lead on the cure because it’s caused him to abandon his family (I also wonder if that’s a small part of why Anna dislikes flowers when you gift them to her, besides her resentment for Basil choosing work over quality time with her).  Rick was made “man of the house” and he takes that role very seriously, filling all of the manual labor aspects of running the family farm, taking on the the role of caretaker of his mother (yes, Popuri and Rick both make a medicine run for her in an event), and taking over as Popuri’s pseudo-guardian, as the only parent present is very ill.

Was he asked to do all of these things specifically?  Probably not.  I imagine Rod telling Rick to take care of his mom and sister and Rick taking it to the extreme.  Rick wants the farm to be successful.  He wants to financially support his family.  He wants his family to be safe and at his side.

In a way, he wants to show Rod that they can get by just fine without him.  I really sense a love/hate conflict for Rick’s feelings about his father.

How does Rod contribute?  I think he sends a single letter (maybe two?) in the game, and we as the players never see him.  No flower, no cure - at least not in the Mineral Town games.  It’s stated in the DS Island games by Popuri that her father finally did come home and her mother got better, but think of all the pain that Rod put his family through.  I don’t believe he did it to be malicious, though, and I really don’t think he thought it was going to take as long as it did.  Regardless, his decision to leave the family behind while his wife was ill left devastating effects on everyone in the family.

Popuri’s desires to go out and see the world are seen by Rick as Kai (someone who doesn't get along with his own family) attempting to potentially take away the remainder of his family, as he doesn’t know how much time Lillia has left.  Even when Popuri admits that traveling with Kai is her idea, Rick is reluctant to believe her.  In a lot of ways, it feels like his father leaving home all over again.

Yes, Rick is quick to judge.  Yes, Rick is untrusting of his own sister, who doesn’t really contribute to the poultry farm.  Yes, Rick could take the time to teach her.  He’s flawed, and I think that’s okay.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

HM64 Rick:

More events in general and the chance to woo him!  Let me marry my cute inventor! <3  Also, let me buy more of his inventions!  I want to have mods to my shipping bin or something, or an auto milker that milks all animals at once.  It’s a shame Rick’s inventions are flops. :(

FoMT Rick:

There was sooo much potential for him.  There were so many missed opportunities for Rick to talk about the big issues.  To tell his mom and sister that he’s sad and angry - for the family to sit down and talk about how Rod’s absence has had such an effect on them.  I want more events that allow him to grow - to understand that he can’t do it all on his own, and for him to learn to accept help.  His marriage event with Karen implies that a bit, but I really wish it didn’t take that much for him to be able to trust others again.  I want to see that process of him changing over time.

Thank you so much for the ask!  I really love Rick as a character and I had a lot of fun rambling about him.  I’m curious to hear what y’all think of him as well!  Have a great day! <3

[sendmeavision]

nezuko kamado: extremely popular, yet often overlooked {MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD}

Oftentimes, while Nezuko is greatly loved by fans for her cuteness and strength, her character writing and role in the story is grossly overlooked and under-appreciated - I see people constantly pass her off as poorly written and wasted potential. Personally, I think there’s far more to her character than most people perceive, if you just look even a little deeper - Nezuko is the centre of kny’s story, and in a way, I think much of demon slayer is Nezuko’s story told through Tanjiro’s perspective.

One of the most common themes of the series is identity, we see quite a few of the other characters struggle with their sense of self - Muichiro, Kanao, Mitsuri, Akaza - but Nezuko is by far the most prominent.

At its centre, kny is about Nezuko recovering not just her humanity, but her identity as well. In the beginning of the series, she suffers an incredibly traumatic loss and in the process of losing her humanity, her identity fractures.

We see pieces of her shattered identity within her demon forms - her youngest form is playful, cute and sweet, her regular form calm, caring and responsible but also deeply protective, and her demonic adult form is unpredictable, powerful, sometimes violent and rageful. While she’s most commonly seen in her regular being, I think her full demon form is deeply important. It's when we see her express her strongest emotions, hence why it is very hard for other people to control.

As the story goes on, we see these fragments begin to come together as she regains her humanity - there’s also an undertone of Nezuko finally coming to accept what happened to her. I think one of the reasons she is so removed from her identity is also her fear of accepting the loss she experienced - the times where we see her briefly remember her family's deaths are traumatic. She becomes uncontrollably angry, and feels her grief full force - but only for a few moments before she returns to a different form and has to reign what she is feeling back in.

When it comes to Nezuko’s character, the most important thing to her is her family. She is able to see every human as a member of her family, because it is her driving force behind not losing herself entirely. It’s in the final chapters of the series that she finally confronts and accepts this part of herself. When she fully returns to being human the first thing she thinks is “I am Nezuko Kamado. a demon killed my family.” - she recognises that the loss she experienced is a part of her, and was essential to regaining her humanity fully, no matter how painful it is to bear.

Nezuko also fits into another very common theme, we see a lot character’s different experiences with anger and how they respond to it - it is a deeply important emotional theme to the story. She is much like Tanjiro in this aspect, it’s deeply important to both of their characters that they should never be consumed by their anger - rather they control it, and it guides them when they need.

 And when it does leave their control, they are the ones to help pull each other back. Just like during the entertainment district arc, when Nezuko almost breaks her promise and gives into her demon self, Tanjiro is who holds her back and helps bring her back to herself.

During the final chapters, it’s Nezuko who does the same for him. It’s her voice that reaches him first - and reminds him of who he is, and what he’s worked towards the entire story.

They both revolve around each other, just as the story revolves around them. It’s not difficult to notice that they tend to have breakthroughs in power/capability at similar times. During the entertainment district arc they both find extreme power for the sake of protecting others, but push themselves too far for their own anger, and almost lose themselves for it. During swordsmith village, Tanjiro properly finds his feet with sun breathing - it’s no coincidence that the end of the arc remarks Nezuko’s discovered immunity to the sun.

It seems like people see what’s presented of her character in the early parts of the series (aka the barebones of her characterisation) and take that surface level as her character in its entirety - while i definitely agree that she’s not the best written character in the series, and she’s far from perfect, most people give her much less credit than she deserves.

There is even more here I could breakdown as part of her character - how she fits into demon slayers exploration of grief and loss through familial relationships, or what her dynamic with Muzan and the power he attempts to have over her means for their characters - but this is already fairly long, so I’d consider it a basic exploration of her most prominent themes: identity and humanity

[nothingavailable]

My Analysis of Ben 10,000

In the original future timeline of classic Ben 10, being a hero has clearly taken its toll on Ben. When we first meet Ben 10,000 he is dedicated and serious to the point of being rude, acerbic and toxic to those around him.

After rewatching the entire classic series you can see where the future Ben’s negative traits came from: He had his life turned upside-down at 10 years old, his secret identity stripped away at 15 years old and the biggest parts of his future predetermined through time travel at 16 years old. The stress he experienced caused him to be more brutal towards his enemies at around 20 years old, starting by fatally injuring Vilgax and essentially killing him as well as presumably being the one who reduced Dr. Animo to a disembodied head.

As a result of this newfound determination he eventually neglected his family, especially his wife Kai Green and children Ken Jr. and Gwendolyn Jr., never showing up to any of their birthdays or other celebrations.

The only thing that changed his mind was the arrival of his younger self, who saw what he would (or could) have become.

[jonathangroffappreciation]

Remy Zaken posted on Instagram today emails from 2004 which included the original character breakdowns for Spring Awakening. The character of the Masked Man was later removed from the show.

[pokeasleepingsmaug]

Osferth for the character ask game?

How I feel about this character: The sweetest baby monk. Loyal, smart, regularly yeets himself way outside his comfort zone for those he loves. I’ll admit he really annoyed me when we first met him, just because he was so out of place with the rest of the Coccham Squad, but he’s really grown on me in the last few years. Plus I have a fondness for bastards, so I will happily adopt him just like I did for Sihtric, and just like that, I have an idea for a new series of fics.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: This may be because there’s mostly dudes in this show, but so far, I haven’t met a woman in this show that I think would be a good wife for Osferth. However, I want to think that he eventually falls in love with one of Eahlswith’s friends. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Finan CLEARLY adores him and thinks of him like an annoying little brother, and I live for it. And then I think he and Sihtric share a lot of similarities, being the unwanted bastards of powerful men. I think they have a deep bond, the kind where they don’t have to talk much, and one of them can leave for long periods at a time, but they never doubt that the other is there for them no matter what. 

My unpopular opinion about this character: Despite being with Uhtred for years now and becoming more of a hardened warrior, Osferth is never okay with killing. In the moment he doesn't think about it, especially when the lives of people that he cares about are on the line, but afterward, he goes straight to the chapel and prays. He’s still half a monk, in his own mind, and thinks he’s probably going to hell for murder. However, he thinks that sacrifice is justified, because it preserves his father’s kingdom and the Saxon way of life. 

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon: I would have loved to see Father Pyrlig take him under his wing and teach him how to navigate his guilt over killing people. 

[fluff-and-such]

For the character ask -- Imperius!

How I feel about this character 

I like him! He’s fun to draw, and presents a kind of awkward morally-grey area when it comes to the angiris. Very loud, very angry, he’s relatable.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Tyrael, Malthael sometimes (King and Queen baby), Inarius sometimes (they’re pretty together IDK), Diablo, Baal, Rakanoth (thanks Maca), And I have a poly-council ship that is very warm-fuzzies so. The whole Council. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Auriel. Two of the most vocal, passionate angels on the council. From what we see they usually put forth the two sides of an argument, and the other angels figure out which they agree with. I like to think they get along really well, actually respecting and listening to each other.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don’t think we’re going to see much more of him. This isn’t really a character opinion, but uhhh idk which of those would be unpopular. I kinda don’t see Blizz doing anything big with him in D4. Maybe if there’s another game we’ll get some content outta him.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I kinda wanted him to become the Dad-Friend who slaps all the Nephalem into shape. Begrudgingly. He’s not super friendly with them, but eventually sees the advantage they present, and decides to play nice. Eventually grows the slightest bit fond - after repeatedly tossing them on their asses in the training grounds. 

[solange-lol]

lets give Will Solace a break down

oh HECK yeah lets!!!

How I feel about this character

say what you want about him but he & nico? my favorites ever. hes canonically high int low wis & literally the definition of dumb blonde and i Love Him. hes also my favorite person to draw i just <3 

All the people I ship romantically with this character

i mean nico obviously. i dont know many other will ships besides will x percy which i think would slap but ive barely seen content for it

My non-romantic OTP for this character

HAZEL i would love to think they were friends before nico, obviously they werent but i know hazel would love him theyre both soft on the outside but everyone gets surprised when they curse yknow? 

and lou ellen obviously someone in our discord server the other day said something about will meeting lou ellen and being like “I Just met you and i Love Everything about you”

My unpopular opinion about this character

uhh i mean a lot of people say that solangelo shippers only like will because its a canon ship and he doesnt actually have a real personality or smth? i dont really know i dont look into it bc i dont like to argue with people about it but obviously i would disagree,,, ik in canon will barely makes an appearance but i always love when he does and i think he has the capability to be a well developed character. every series needs a soft gay 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

everything? he barely appears i want background on his mom more and i want to know what happened in the three days in the infirmary i just. i want to Know

send me a character!

[vegalocity]

Star Butterfly and Janna Ordonia

Character Hot takes

How I feel about this character

Star is my baby girl and I love her dearly, she’s a complex flawed heroine that really was doing her best in a bad situation. And really the post-series hate she’s been getting is mostly unwarranted since like...Ya girls been forced to make heavy adult decisions non fucking stop since the end of season 2 and whetehr destroying Magic was the right decision or not it makes perfect sense that she’d come to see the damn stuff as an overall net negative on the world.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

TENYA IIDA-She’s got a type and that’s the nerdy bois, but like nerdy bois who are also half jocks. Also Iida would be good for her. Marco’s nice but he’s mostly an enabler for her more wild tendancies, as is Tom, Ya Boi Iida would actively challenge her and encourage her to grow.

Hiro Hamada-again, nerdy bois, but Hiro would be an interesting and fun outlet for her to grow through since they’re both very young and able to grow together

Tsuyu Asui-it cute

Jackie Lynn Thomas-Starkie is DEEPLY underappreciated my guy

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Janna Ordonia-Brotp of the ages

Momo Yaoyorozu-I just think it’d be very wholesome

Kelly- one of my big complains of seasons 3 and 4 is that we never really got any Star and Kelly one-on-one hangouts. She was a former Bounce Crew member too you’d think she and Star would have their own dynamic.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Actually wasn’t all that bad of a girlfriend to Tom? At least not in relation to how 15 year olds who are dealing with WAY TOO MUCH OTHER STUFF can be. In fact I’d argue that either of them probably should have known better than to get back together int he first place from how much shit was happening. A lot of the Star hate surrounding the eventual dissolution of Startom is actually perfectly consistent with how she’s always acted around friends. if anything the issue with star lied in the fact that she DID just kinda treat Tom as a friend. She’d take Cheap Pot Shots at him like how she does to Marco and Ponyhead, she’d double book herself and try to juggle everything because she refuses to let one person feel more or less important than the other. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

No matter how much sense it makes with her character, I still REALLY wish she’d been able to find another way to stop Mina. like... a spell for Solaria to possess her and SHE could call off the army or something. Something i’ve considered for my big ‘Star in BNHA’ AU is basically where in the battle against the Solarians all of the friends she’s made along the way, Mewman and Human, all come together to wield the magic of the queens that came before to heal the Magic dimension as one.

How I feel about this character

Primo Crow aesthetic. The trash tier daughter. The Ultimate Gremlin child

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Draco Malfoy- It be funny

Jackie Lynn Tohmas- Long live Janackie

Tom Lucitor- Honestly who the friggity fuck ELSE?

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Star Butterfly- Again, Ultimate Brotp

Marco Diaz- Absolutely hilarious combination of ‘you’re my friend’ and ‘YOU RAPSCALLION’

My unpopular opinion about this character

I honestly can only Imagine Janna seeing her concept of attraction as a distraction and general nuisance than anything beneficial. The other person will have to do the pursuing because no matter if she thinks you’re hot, she’s not interested in you beyond a passing appraising glance.

therefore all of my appreciation toward Janna ships is lightly thinking about how Hilarious and excruciating the courting process must have been. Like a montage of valentines stuffed into her locker being casually incinerated spare the chocolate she’s already eaten, a single rose left on her desk casually getting its petals collected and dried for a spell. if you throw a pebble at her window to serenade her, you’re getting a bucket of water dumped on your head.

Janna is the only teen in Star Vs to not give anything RESEMBLING a shit toward romance and I don’t care how cute anyone thinks their ships are, i’m still taking that to it’s natural extreme.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

really would have liked a Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy esque episode that was entirely Kelly, Ponyhead, and Janna making some mischief. That could have easily been one of the funniest episodes in the entire series.