One of the funniest things I ever experienced was when I went to go see John Mulaney live, and halfway through a bit about how expensive college in the States is, he looked down at the sleeve of his suit jacket and just. stopped. dead halt, mid sentence.
And after like three seconds, where we’re all trying to figure out the punchline because the story clearly hadn’t ended, and John Mulaney quietly says, “Has there been tinfoil on my buttons the whole goddamn show?”
He’d taken his suit to the drycleaner, and they’d wrapped the buttons on the sleeves and the coat with tinfoil to protect them, and John Mulaney didn’t notice until half-way through his set, and was SO FLABBERGASTED that he never did finish the story about college and instead did five minutes on how stupid it was that his buttons were reflecting the light and he just didn’t notice, and in that moment I understood more about John Mulaney as a person than I ever have.
during one of his portland shows, he noticed this like 7 year old girl in the front row and asked her (and her parents) if she ‘is aware that she is physically here right now’ or if she was just brought along. turns out her favorite john mulaney bit is the “and I’m new in town” bit and that she’s seen all his stuff. He was so shocked and discomforted by the fact a SEVEN YEAR OLD has seen his shows, that he couldn’t get through a bit about donating to charity without interrupting himself at least three times to import good life lessons on this small child, as if that makes up for all the horrible things he’s said that she heard
When I saw him in Ft. Lauderdale, there was a bar in the lobby that people kept leaving to go to. At one point, a guy in the front row just got up and BOOKED IT to get drinks. John Mulaney looked over at a woman who was next to the empty seat and asked, “Are you with him? What’s his name?”
She was, in fact, with him, and she did tell him her date’s name. John Mulaney considered this, looked around, and unplugged his microphone. Leaning in to us, he told us that we were going to trick this guy so fuckin hard. He said, “At some point during the show, I am going to stop and say, ‘Well, you guys know what they say here in Ft. Lauderdale,’ and then you guys are all going to scream back ‘WE LOVE MILKSHAKES!’ He’ll be so confused.”
He then continued on with the show as normal, the drinks guy returned to his seat, and that was that for quite a long time. We thought he had forgotten about it until, at some point during what I believe was his McDonald’s drive-thru bit, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “You guys know what they say here in Ft. Lauderdale…”
Naturally, we erupted with “WE LOVE MILKSHAKES” and John Mulaney SWUNG around to face the drinks guy and said, “I bet you’re real confused now, huh, JASON?!”
ah so john mulaney is a chaotic neutral cryptid
i saw him last night and there was a good ten minute interlude where a woman told him everything she found wrong with his suit, including that his pants were too high waisted to which he replied “that’s where my hips are” and someone in the back shouted “look at that high waisted man he’s got feminine hips!” and he yelled back “that’s my joke! i’m offended!!”
i just think that’s adorable ok, she finds his temper tantrum against Kaminari hilarious and that’s adorable. she takes complete joy in it an that makes me happy
2. He calls her “Round-Face.”
like. omg. that’s the dumbest insulting nickname i’ve ever seen from him and i love it??? it implies a lot; A. that he’s a huge dork, B. that he thinks her face is round, C. the first thing he could come up with in regards to an insulting nickname for her was “Round-Face” and honestly that’s just so lame i love it
what a fucking dork
(in case anyone is curious, here’s a post about the translation of “Round-Face” vs. “Angel-Face.” long story short, “Round-Face” is the correct translation)
3. Bakugou taking Uraraka seriously
B/C HONESTLY I LOVE THAT HE DOESN’T GO EASY ON HER AT ALL, AND THAT BY DOING SO HE’S SHOWING HER RESPECT AS AN EQUAL. JUST. WHAT A GOOD SCENE
HE’S TESTING HER. HE’S SEEING WHAT SHE CAN DO. HE’S SHOWING HER RESPECT AND TREATING HER AS AN EQUAL AND WANTS TO SEE WHAT SHE’LL DO AGAINST HIM. AAAHHH JUST WHAT A GOOD SCENE
4. Uraraka thanking Bakugou for taking her seriously, and Bakugou’s surprised expression in response to it
i just love this little interaction ok she thanks him for not letting his guard down. and this just throws him off completely, because he wasn’t expecting that. he just looks so genuinely surprised and caught off guard by it. it’s an expression we’ve never seen on him by this point, and it’s just so interesting to see
5. Bakugou acknowledging that Uraraka nearly took him out
i just….. love that ok. it’s the first time we’ve seen him pushed to that limit, where his hands are pounding from overusing his quirk, and she’s the one who did that, and he’s acknowledging that
6. BAKUGOU USING URARAKA’S NAME
LIKE HE FIRST STARTS USING IT DURING THEIR FIGHT AFTER SHE IMPRESSES HIM WITH HER FINAL ATTACK, AND IT’S A SIGN THAT HE RESPECTS HER. HE STOPS USING THE “ROUND-FACE” NICKNAME AFTER THAT ATTACK, B/C SHE SURPRISED HIM, IMPRESSED HIM, AND AFTERWARDS HE ONLY EVER REFERS TO HER BY NAME
ONLY BY NAME. HE ONLY DOES THIS FOR KIRISHIMA AND ALL MIGHT. EVEN AFTER THEIR FIGHT, HE CONTINUES TO REFER TO HER BY NAME–EVEN WHEN HE’S PISSED OFF AT HER. EVEN IN HIS OWN HEAD, WHERE NO ONE ELSE CAN HEAR HIM.
HE ONLY USES THE NICKNAME ONCE, AN EVERY SINGLE TIME AFTER HE USES HER NAME.
IT’S HIS OWN PERSONAL FORM OF RESPECT AND IT MEANS THAT HE RESPECTS HER A GREAT DEAL, BECAUSE HE CAN’T BE BOTHERED TO REMEMBER ANYONE’S NAME, NOT EVEN HIS OWN CLASSMATES. IT MEANS HE RESPECTS HER A LOT OK
he uses her name and that makes me happy okay
7. Bakugou’s face after Uraraka falls
okay just look at the previous point where Bakugou is EXTREMELY FUCKING HYPED TO FIGHT HER. she impressed him and he hOLY SHIT HE WANTS TO FIGHT HER MORE, THE REAL FIGHT STARTS NOW…….. except she collapses immediately afterwards. and he’s genuinely surprised.
he was not expecting her to fall. she impressed him, and he respects her now, and godDAMN he was ready to go at it with her again, EXCITED to fight her… only now she’s on the ground because she hit her limit.
and suddenly he realizes that someone he thinks is amazing has a limit. he’s just so surprised, maybe even slightly worried?? and subdued. someone he wants to fight, someone who impressed him and pushed him has a limit, and he wasn’t expecting that.
he’s not really sure how to process that, and it made him pause for a moment. and i love that
8. Bakugou reprimanding Izuku for giving Uraraka a dangerous plan
okay so there are actually several reasons here why Bakugou is doing this; A. he thinks Izuku is trying to fuck with him (b/c in Bakugou’s mind, that’s what Izuku is always trying to do), B. he feels like Izuku robbed him of a good fight by giving Uraraka a dangerous plan that pushed her too far, C. he knows Izuku’s written about his powers in his notebook and could easily come up with a counter attack plan from that an given it to Uraraka….
and D. Bakugou is showing concern for Uraraka because he feels like Izuku gave her a dangerous plan. he just saw her collapse in front of his eyes. i’m sure that left an impression on him, and it’s one of the reasons why he’s so angry at Izuku here. because he just fuckng saw her collapse because of (what he thought was) Deku’s shitty plan.
in a very backhanded way, he’s showing concern for her by reprimanding Izuku for this. and i love that
9. Bakugou saying Uraraka isn’t fragile
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME BAKUGOU’S EVER ACKNOWLEDGED ANYONE ELSE IN THE SERIES, IT’S THE FIRST TIME HE EVER DEFENDED ANYONE ELSE. Kaminari is going on about how Uraraka was a fragile weak little girl and Bakugou just refuses that–he reprimands Kaminari and says there was nothing fragile about her.
and this is right after the above scene–where Bakugou finds out that Uraraka came up with that plan all on her own. that she designed that dangerous plan all by herself, and that she pushed herself to her limits by her own fee will. she knew what she was doing an what she was getting into, and she forced him into a corner with her own plan and skills.
it was all her. no one else.
“Where do you see fragile?” indeed
10. Uraraka going to Gunhead because of her fight with Bakugou
i just love that her fight with Bakugou influenced her decision here–she wants to become strong. she doesn’t just wanna focus on rescue because then she’ll end up with tunnel vision, she won’t actually improve at all. no, she wants to be well-rounded and stronger because her fight with Bakugou proved to her that she needs to improve more.
11. she’s just SO GODDAMN CASUAL WITH HIM
like before their fight, she was a little bit scared of him. but afterwards, hooo boy, she fought his fucking ass and faced the worst and lived to tell the tale. now he’s not scary to her at all. nah, she’s just 100% comfortable and casual relaxed around him, and will casually just throw out random comments or observations about him just because.
she just genuinely does not think of him as a threat at all. she’s completely relaxed and has no fear with bringing up uncomfortable topics and confronting him about them, because she’s worried and cares for him (and Izuku).
she has absolutely no fear that he’d ever hurt her, because she’s dealt with the worst during their fight, and everything after that is just child’s play. she’s just so totally cool with him now an it’s great
12. Uraraka genuinely understands Bakugou
like, seriously. she understands him better than anyone else in the series. she’s the only person to ever realize that the reason Bakugou hates Izuku so much is because he’s afraid–no one else has figure that out before. no one bothered to question why.
but she figured it out. Bakugou is scared of Izuku–he’s terrified. he’s scared of Izuku’s potential and constantly tried to push him down. he’s been scared his whole life. the only reason Izuku and Toshinori found out was because of the Bakugou and Izuku’s fight. because Bakugou finally expressed that in clear terms for them to hear.
Ochako figured it out long before that. (that omake takes place immediately after the midterm exam)
she’s also the only one who thought about how Bakugou would feel about being saved; and she’s right, he would, usually, see being saved as disgraceful.
every single other time he’s been saved, he’s hated it, denied it, ignored it, etc. (the Sludge incident, Izuku dragging his unconscious body with him during the midterm exam, Bakugou refusing Izuku’s help in the forest, All Might saving him for the first time at Kamino (”I-I didn’t need you, goddammit!!”), etc)
the only reason the second rescue at Kamino worked was because Kirishima and All Might were there.
13. Uraraka being genuinely worried about Bakugou and Izuku’s relationship
like. i just love this. it’s expressed in some of the above images from the omake, too–Uraraka honestly just wants them to be on better terms. she realizes that Bakugou is scared of Izuku, and she knows that their relationship as is isn’t doing either of them any good, and wants to help them have a better relationship.
and interestingly–it seems like she wants this mostly for Bakugou’s sake. she’s more worried about how their relationship seems to be negatively affecting Bakugou, and how Bakugou’s fear of Izuku is hurting him and holding him back.
she’s so genuinely worried about this that she up and confronted Bakugou about it, to his face.
14. she is TOTALLY READY TO FUCKIN’ THROW DOWN
LIKE. AS MENTIONED ABOVE, URARAKA IS COMPLETELY CASUAL WITH BAKUGOU. SHE HAS NO FEAR THAT HE’D HURT HER. BUT THE SECOND HE GETS INTO AN ATTACK STANCE, SHE IMMEDIATELY RESPONDS BACK WITH ONE OF HER OWN. SHE IS 100% READY TO FUCKING GO AND HAS NO FEAR–SHE CAN HANDLE THIS, NO PROBLEM.
SHE ALREADY FOUGHT HIM ONCE AND SHE FUCKIN’ LIVED. SHE CAN HANDLE HIM–AND SHE’S ENTIRELY FUCKING READY TO FIGHT HIM AGAIN SHOULD SHE HAVE TO. NO HESITATION, NO FEAR, JUST THE FIGHT. HE DOESN’T SCARE HER. SHE FOUGHT HIM ONCE AND WILL DO IT AGAIN, GODDAMMIT.
The short and sweet answer is that he probably wouldn’t. Well, not emotionally anyway.
Gaara is very logical, and he thinks in terms of what the best strategy would be in any given situation, reflecting more heavily on a military mindset. He doesn’t like to be fooled or feel taken advantage of, and he’s always looking for either a way to win or an “escape.” I think that if he were to recognize a difference in his mood around a love interest, his immediate thoughts would default to what kind of tactic/jutsu/ability the person in question was inflicting on him.
Though he’s adaptable in some areas, he’s also very stuck in his ways for others. I think he’s so hyper focused on doing the best for his village that romance isn’t even on his radar. Literally he doesn’t even think about it – yet that doesn’t make him naive, even despite him admitting that himself. He understands that he’s missing some pieces of the puzzle, but just never really took the initiative to do anything about it. Gaara has such an ambitious attitude that nothing will stand in the way of him getting what he wants, and that’s inclusive to romance. He may be a shy boy, but if it bothered him that much he would keep up an effort to at least try to understand. Gaara is okay with being naive romantically.
BUT WAIT!
What if this person is a weasel? What if they do weasel things like weaseled their way into his life and now he’s stuck with them? I think his reaction would rely HEAVILY on the type of person that he’s interested in, and then you have to dust off the ol’ calculator and do some Gaara Math!
The Gaara Math:
-Anyone + Gaara + No Mutual attraction = Awkwardness + eventual disregard for (his own) feelings.
-Shy and quiet love interest + Gaara + Mutual attraction = Awkwardness + friendship (unlikely to move from this without help from his siblings).
– Loud, bubbly and over the top love interest + Gaara + Mutual attraction = (His) discomfort + (Yet his) Curiosity + (beginning of a) Friendship + (eventually having) Dates.
I hope this was a convoluted mess just like my life.
So lets talk a little more about Gaara. A curious Gaara is one that you WANT in order for things to go anywhere. He likes to be amused, despite acting like a boring old man, and I think that someone who is willing to spice up his life will always keep him coming back for more. It’s not that he can’t be with a shy person, it’s just that they would both have to be willing to take the risk involved with romantic love. It would just take longer. Meanwhile if he were with someone more assertive or blunt he would feel more secure in how he should behave towards them, and that is likely to go places faster.
KayjsCage 
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