#unnecessary analysis

[thatbirdrestaurant]

A deeply unnecessary analysis of NaLu and Natsu's feelings

I'm as much of a sucker for insta-love NaLu as the next guy, but I do genuinely believe it took these two a while to fall in love. I can't deny that there was an immediate attraction, especially on Lucy's end, and I do think romantic feelings have been stewing between the two of them since as early as season one, but the realization took a really long time to hit.

We'll start off talking about Lucy, because I have the least to say about her. I've said before that I think Lucy didn't realize she had feelings for Natsu until she realized she was in love with him, which was after the events of the Eclipse Gate. I can pinpoint the exact moment she realized; the moment right after, when her and Natsu are standing in the rubble, and she just starts crying before running to hug him. I think that's the moment she realized that she loves him, and she has for a while.

I believe it took so long for Lucy to realize because she grew up in a very sheltered environment. Her only exposure to typical teenage experiences that didn't involve arranged marriages was teen magazines; she knew what it felt like to be superficially attracted to someone, when someone was objectively attractive, and she's had crushes before, but never really been in love.

We're moving onto Natsu now, because I have the most to say about him by a landslide. For immediate starters, I don't really recognize 100 Year Quest; even though I love all the GruVia development within it, I find it to be a very unnecessary spin-off that doesn't respect its characters, especially Natsu. It's done horrible things for his maturity as a whole, including all the development with Lucy.

Natsu loves Lucy, that's something I've believed for a very long time, and he shows it in his actions more than anything. He's protective of her, he loves spending time with her and he's upset when she isn't around, and he wants to move Heaven and Earth for her. He has since pretty much day one.

But he doesn't realize he has feelings for her until their fight with Kain, and he doesn't even realize he's in love with her until he watches her (future self) die.

That doesn't sound right, though, does it? How can someone watch a scene like Natsu putting the rainbow sakura on a boat, just so Lucy can see it bloom, and think he doesn't realize he likes her until much, much later?

Natsu was raised in an environment where you would cut off both arms and a leg for your friends and family. Fairy Tail is a guild that values familial relationships and friendships more than anything. I truly believe that, to Natsu, most of the things he did for Lucy before the fight with Kain, he did with what he thought were platonic intentions.

On top of that, I do headcanon Natsu to be on the aromantic spectrum. He doesn't feel romantic attraction as "easily" as other people do, and he very seldom actually recognizes it as such. He knows what it is - how could he not, when surrounded by it so often - but he's never really felt it himself. Maybe he had a bit of a childhood crush on Lisanna, but that's stretching it thin. She was his best friend, that's for certain.

Natsu thinks he and Lucy are as normal as friends as anyone else in the guild, until she has the chance to leave him behind for her own safety, and she absolutely refuses. I cannot watch that scene without feeling like I'm watching Natsu fall in love, realize his feelings at the very least.

Another NaLu trope I'm an absolute sucker for is that Natsu thinks, and has thought, him and Lucy have been dating for quite some time. Do I realistically believe so? No, I don't.

I think, to some capacity, Natsu knows that Lucy loves him, too, the same way that he loves her, and I think he believes that's a mutual understanding. To Natsu, they both know how they feel, that they're in love, but they're not in a rush to discuss it, to put a label on it.

He knows they act like a couple, that people who pass them on the street see a boyfriend with his girlfriend, and that's enough for him at the moment.

Natsu and Lucy's final conversation before the end of the series was a confession. Hiro Mashima can pry this belief from my cold dead hands. That was Natsu's way of confessing his love for Lucy, his way of expressing that he wants them to be together forever, but he's still Natsu, and he still thinks Lucy knows he loves her.

Lucy is a very shy person; she gets flustered just from Natsu standing too close, and Natsu is already content with the two of them just existing near one another. Would he like to hug and kiss Lucy? Of course he would, but he doesn't need it.

Where him and Lucy are is already more than enough for him, he just, unfortunately, doesn't realize that Lucy isn't on the same page. She would like to be, though she doesn't even realize it, but she doesn't quite have the courage for it.

While I do think Lucy is pining for Natsu, I don't think she's doing so painfully. She gets flustered when people insinuate her and Natsu are a couple, as anyone would, but she doesn't seem very torn up about correcting people. She loves him, yes, but she's completely fine with just being his friend. She's grateful enough to have him in her life.

They're in this weird limbo of 'not a couple, but not just friends' because while they're not oblivious to their own feelings, they're oblivious to the impression the other has about their relationship. Natsu thinks they're dating, but are taking things slow; Lucy thinks they're just friends, but would love to be more.

[kerokerrrokerroppi]

Everyone talks about how “Bart the genius” has amazing adhd rep in it (which it 100% does), but I’ve never seen anyone talk about the scene in “The Itchy and Scratchy Movie” where Bart was pulling up the carpet (among other similar things previously in the episode) and Marge asked him why he was doing it and he just shrugged and said “I dunno” and then went back to pulling up the carpet .

Obviously, it’s not better adhd rep or even comes close to it compared to “Bart the Genius”, but tbh I still feel like this scene (in a most likely unintended way) also shows what adhd can be like for (some) people. (Not the disorder as a whole.)

[incorrectmlpquotes]

The Analysis no one asked for, but you’re getting anyway

Well folks, we’re going to do something a little different today. I’ve been stewing about this episode for quite a while and have finally decided to pen to paper- er- fingers to keyboard. I want to discuss the faulty morals of The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. 

A great name and a great song.

 Now, I’m not going to recap the episode because you all know the plot. It aired a decade ago and that’s a real punch to the kidneys. 

The Flim Flam brothers roll up to Ponyville to tell them that they’ve got trouble with a capital T and it rhymes with C and it stands for cider.

There brand new shiny machine requires minimal manual labor and the cider costs the same as the hand-churned stuff. Plus the added bonus of having enough cider for all of Ponyville.

Now, I could discuss how failure to update production methods will eventually leave you behind even if it worked this one time, or how no one even tried the Flim Flam cider before they turned off quality control, but no one wants to read about my hot-takes on the lead up to the Industrial Revolution on an incorrect quotes blog. 

Maybe make sure everyone has a mug before you let ponies come back for seconds

Instead, I’m going to compare this to another episode from a 2010s cartoon reboot of a beloved eighties property: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The season-one episode Metalhead starts out with the turtles fighting against the Kraang. Donatello (the purple one) is frustrated because a bo staff isn’t as effective in fighting an alien in a robot body as a sword or nun chucks. He asks to upgrade his weapon and Master Splinter agrees because, “Ninjas have improved their arsenal for centuries. [They] are masters of adaptation.” But he warns against relying too heavily on the weapon because technology is a means, no an end. Naturally, Donnie gets carried away and creates a robot that he controls from the safety of the lair. It works at first, but gets taken over the Kraang and he has to used god ol’ fashioned Ninjutsu and his bo staff to save the day. In the end, the lesson is learned and he upgrades the traditional staff to have a retractable blade.

While this is very different from a tale about ponies making apple juice, the moral is the same: technology can be helpful but reliance on it can hinder your natural advantages. Except, Applejack and co. go right back to using an unsuccessful method.

This is hilarious, but...

It’s been established that the Apples frequently run out of cider and while what they make is high quality, their practice isn’t efficient. Maybe if they just updated one part of production. Granny could still do quality checks, but maybe Twilight could set up an automated power source so Mac doesn’t have to run five miles a day just to power the contraption. 

Look at this screen-cap. Just look at it

They aren’t going to have all their friends doing free labor every day just to have enough for all of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash is moments away from committing a felony.

 Also, who’s managing the apple farm if they’re out there before dawn?

In conclusion, I’ve had a lot of feelings™ about this episode for seven years and now everyone has to deal with it.

Am I taking this too seriously? Possibly. But what else are you here for?

I’m not saying the 2012 TMNT show is always perfect with the lessons, but it is pretty funny

Donnie: With all due respect, sensei, I can't keep fighting alien technology with a 6-foot staff. I was hoping to upgrade my weapon. Splinter: Mmm. A 7-foot staff. Interesting. Donnie: No, I meant using modern technology. Splinter: Aah, a solar-powered staff. Donnie: I'm serious, sensei. Splinter: I know. And yes, you may upgrade your weapon. Donnie: That's totally unfair! You can't just- Wait, did you say yes?

Also, not to be a lesbian on main, but if Rainbow Dash was in such a hurry to get there before Pinkie, why did she take to time to wake up Fluttershy and drag her alone?

[cryptid-lucid]

Hello everyone, and welcome to: Lucid Nitpicks commercials!!

this is a post about the verizon commercial that features Ebenezer Scrooge, finding his lack of cell phone service an annoyance.

Using old-fashioned language to truly make the character distinguishable, Ebenezer Scrooge laments that he cannot find service in "the town center," for his phone. There are implications by his use of language describing the issue, as he pinpoints the exact problem, that he knows how cell phones work, and uses his frequently enough. And that he is casual enough with his phone usage to be in public and randomly complaining to no one in particular about his lack of service. In reply a lady offers the information that he can switch to verizon where he will only have to pay $30 a month for better service.

This information would NOT be celebrated by a man from a novel publised in 1843, assuming he was from that time or earlier. Not even as a wealthy man as he was prtrayed to be, due to the purchasing power of $1 in the 1800s being worth about 20 something dollars today. (a more specific ratio for the 'cost' associated with $1 then vs the amount now that you'd have to pay for the same exact purchasing ability would be $1:$23. This data according to a calculations post on officialdata.org)

THEREFORE a man written into existence in the 1800s would have a HUGE adjustment period surrounding just how much the same money was worth then vs what it is now, and even if he had been around long enough to adjust he would likely still feel a bit stingy about his money given the character being written as a selfish man who doesn't like spending his money on unnecessary things. Therefore I believe he would;

a) not adjust well enough to modern inflation to find spending money worth it for ANYTHING enough to celebrate a $30 price for something he lived perfectly fine without,

b) He simply would not want to learn to use new technology if he has to pay for and integrate so much of his life into something he had no knowlege about. The only reason he considered opening up to Christmas was the fear of unfulfillment in the face of his mortality, so I believe it would take a great push to get a stubborn man experiencing much change already, (as the use of the character's old fashioned language suggests he was previously taken from the time period that the story took place, and he is not a modern version of the character or something like that) to open up to something as new and unnecessary seeming as new technologies.

and

c) Even if he had all of his money from the time period, there is no way that he would be able to appropriately convert the value of his money then into $ today due to the prevalence of people willing to lie and scam elderly people instead of help them and the fact that whatever cash he had would likely not be valued the same if brought into today's economy. His money then would not give him a great advantage even if inflation should technically bring the value of his money up to match inflation, it simply would not work that way with physical money the same way it does in theoretical scenarios. He may have a lifestyle adjustment in wealth and property as well as being in a different time and space than he was used to, so I believe technology (including thoughts of the costs) would be the least of his concern.

[beautyinflight]

OK HOT TAKE ALERT

Adrien is the *marginally more sensible one because he is used to having bad luck and therefore needs to make things work to get what he wants out of a situation

Whereas..

Marinette is extremely chaotic because she is used to having goodluck and is used to things turning out alright no matter how clumsy or crazy she is

(You may not agree but I think it always ends up for the best)

Now add in the kwamis

They are supposed to keep balance right? So what if they’re actually just ‘maintaining’ Marinette and Adrien because they’re too lucky and unlucky respectively. Planning to keep them together (not necessarily romantically) to balance each other out even if the kwamis aren’t always with them.

Now onto my point:

Marinette and plagg get along so well because their personalities are pretty chaotic but they balance each other out luck-wise.

Adrien and tikki, though more neutral, balance each other luck-wise too.

If Ladynoire and Misterbug were the original heros then they wouldn’t be so cosmically dependant on each other and their relationship would be much healithier and (arguably) more human. They would each be individually balanced and though its less ‘romantic’ I think it would have made their relationship stronger in the long run.

And if/when they didn’t have the kwamis anymore they would have built a relationship before being dependent and that to me is just so much more romantic and healthier..

Thanks for coming to my TED talk :)

[nullarysources]

The Lord of the Rings Family Tree Project is a somewhat absurd undertaking by Emil Johannsen to catalog the characters of Tolkien's Middle-earth and their relationships.

One of the things that's possible with this database is crunching numbers!

Only 19 percent of the total number of characters are female with the highest percentage among Valar, Maiar and Hobbits.

Oh. :(