#and because it expresses his presentation in a way that he likes; are foils to this

[youmakethelight]

The tendency of some to forgive David Zabel for his problematic decisions while retaining bitterness towards Angela Kang is shocking to me.

From a shipping perspective, David Zabel gave Daryl a romantically charged kissing scene with a character who had treated and spoken to Daryl poorly. And this relationship was used as a tool to progress the idea that Daryl was "conflicted" about choosing between his old world and his new world, as expressed by Didi. Zabel then killed this character off in the scene immediately after Carol and Daryl's reunion. This avoids exploration of whether Daryl would be "conflicted" between Isabelle and Carol when both are in his life, and leads some to feel like Carol is not depicted as 'first choice'. Meanwhile, the misogynistic issues with pitting women against each other for a man continue because we are constantly reminded that Isabelle "loved" Daryl, and we are confronted with Carol's reaction to this.

Meanwhile, Angela Kang wrote love interests for Carol and Daryl, who were clearly intended to act as foils and parallels in order to advance Carol and Daryl's relationship arc. For Carol and Daryl's story, Connie provided a tangible realisation of how Daryl can form healthy connections with women who could theoretically be a love interest while demonstrating exactly why "it's not like that". We saw Daryl continue to choose Carol regardless of whether or not Connie was there. And this was achieved without making Connie suffer with unrequited love, and without pitting the two women against each other.

Regarding Leah, the entirety of her arc in season 10 was intertwined with Carol. There isn't one time that she's mentioned or on-screen when her role in Daryl's life isn't explicitly paralleled with Carol. Additionally, it's impossible not to notice that she's used as Daryl's first active love interest at a time when Carol is married and talks about this every time she visits him. The Leah story explored Daryl's loss of sense of belonging, and it's no coincidence that he felt visibly and vocally conflicted about this until after Carol told him she wouldn't be visiting him much because of her obligations to her husband and son. Whatever you may feel about the way this story was executed, the storytelling enables stronger exploration of Carol and Daryl's relationship than David Zabel's use of Isabelle did. And we were never subjected to a "visual realisation" (to quote Zabel) of Daryl and Leah's physical intimacy.

There's no point discussing Carol's Ezekiel arc here because David Zabel didn't bother to present Carol as possibly having romantic relevance outside of Daryl, so there's nothing to compare it to. Daryl has three women (Isabelle, Carol, the demimonde dancer) demonstrating romantic or sexual interest in him, while Carol has no one - not even Daryl. It feels like Zabel is very much narrating a story from the male perspective, but that's another issue.

Shipping aside, David Zabel has written a series which does little to nothing to empower women while Angela Kang actively championed telling complex stories about complex women on TWD. In fact, Zabel has made a number of storytelling (and marketing) choices which are harmful to women.

But yet... it feels like vocally supporting/forgiving Angela Kang is still more contentious than supporting/forgiving David Zabel. It really is true that WOC have to work 10x harder to still not receive the same grace as white men, huh?

[598-inspiration]

Fatherhood as one of the Central Themes of Akane-Banashi/Akane & Kaisei as foils to each other

Having recently finished reading Akane Banashi, I have a number of analysis I want to write about, so I'll start with what I think is one of the central themes of the series: Fatherhood

Akane Banashi (Akane's story) begins with the ending of her dad's career as a Rakugoka.

Throughout the story, fatherhood takes shape in several different forms, not just the conventional form of Shinta's biological father-daughter relationship with Akane. But through non-blood related ways, like Shiguma's relationship with Akane, who is not just her master but a second father figure in her life who helped her achieve her full potential as a Rakugoka while growing up.

The main thing in common is that between her father's gentle personality of looking out for his family, and Shiguma's careful upbringing in teaching her the art of Rakugo, Akane had nothing but positive influences in her life, which helped shape her art and the person she became. Akane is a easily influenced person by her surroundings, and despite her talent, had she fallen on the wrong hands back then it would have likely caused her to become a completely different character from what we know now.

At the other end of the spectrum we have Kaisei.

Unfortunately, he had nothing but father-figures that would win no father of the year awards in his life.

Between a dead-beat dad who abandoned both him and his mother, and Issho who is seemingly just using him to project his ideals onto him.

All of this may have caused a form of unintentional transgenerational trauma to manifest itself on Kaisei, from Issho's own previous insecurities regarding his own master.

The reason why both him and Akane work as each other's main rivals is because they both started their training very early on, by actual masters.

The main thing currently dividing them is their two year age difference. (I will talk more about Issho's own darkness being passed onto Kaisei and why it won't turn out the same way, in another post.)

Issho and Shiguma were brought up by the same master but turned out completely different. Which brings up the idea that a person's personality can also be made up of what they choose to make of their shared experiences.

Regardless, much how Shiguma's traits are being painted on Akane and her stories

Issho's traits are being painted on Kaisei

Issho is not a character that should be judged as a bad/good person. While his upbringing of Kaisei can be questionable, more often than not, you don't CHOOSE to be a bad parent.

There's no guide to being a good parent, is just you hoping that your children don't make the same mistakes you did. And at the end these characters are just humans, and all humans are capable of making mistakes.

The stories told in the manga, are not just based on one or two things, but are meant to be layered and can be tied to the characters, telling and listening to them, in several different ways.

While him showing up to claim Akane as his pupil may have looked underhanded, I don't believe it was done with malicious intentions. He just has poor way of expressing himself.

Since a long time ago.

It should be remembered that he still chose to take in Kaisei, a kid he knew nothing about that wanted to help his mom. Because he knows what is like to have no money, and he rushed to take in Akane as his new pupil because he knows what is like to have your master/father-figure dying before you.

I believe the current arc, will go into further depth on how a father figure can influence the present and future of their children.

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

i am Thinking about nine and his hair, how his relationship with it and autonomy, and with caring for himself through it--and lack of such--are so much of a direct response to the type of abuse he went through from sandor, and to escaping from it, and how it is a near perfect foil to five's relationship with his hair and augh AUGH chews on a table it's so interesting and i could write so much about it, i really really wish they had kept NL!nine for that alone

[pnfc]

an issue i think owca files shares with like, mml s2, and even catu (the latter two i only watched once so i cant speak too authoritatively on them) is it sucks when doof's setup is that he is annoying a bunch of characters. making him an unlikable character to the other characters makes him an unlikable character, in that context! by contrast his setup in pnf with perry worked really nicely because he's usually isolated with perry, who is a silent foil, expresses frustration but does so in a way that's either understated (eyerolls) or cartoonish (slapstick fighting). and also who is increasingly shown to actually really enjoy doof's company.

ETA: another reason doof works well with perry as his silent foil is that perry's silence forces doof to confront his own failure: perry can't yell "you stupid idiot, blablabla" at him, instead we get doof being sheepish, realizing out loud his own mistakes, which serves to make both him and perry more likable/cute

i definitely think it's possibly to write doof in other contexts with other characters and present him as likable -- there was so much promise in the original movie with his mutual admiration of p&f's technical ability, that unfortunately never got expanded on. they just haven't figured it out yet, lol. i hope the new pnf eps go back to basics with his character.

[sweetmeatdale]

Upon her introduction to the series Kagami’s main weapon of choice is a foil, a sort of light weight blunted fencing rapier. This is however possibly also intended as a pun, because her purpose in the narrative is also a foil.

A word repeated changes it’s meaning.

Kagami means “mirror” in Japanese and as is often the case in fiction, that name gives us some insight to what the writers intended when imagining her. In this case, she’s a mirror/foil to both our main protagonists. But since Marinette and Adrien are already a Yin Yang couple, built on complimenting and contrasting each other all the way down to having their color schemes be each other’s negatives. So how does she manage to mirror them both?

Well, where is the mirror between you and your reflection? Right in the middle. She shows each of them themselves, but with a little bit reversed.

A foil exists to provide contrast; When Marinette’s too afraid to make a move Kagami’s bold and rushes straight ahead, when Adrien struggles to disobey his father her strong and stubborn will stands firm, when Marinette’s trying to self sabotage her best friends day contest Kagami’s making an earnest effort with Adrien’s quirky friend who he suggested she might like, when Adrien and Luka are too stunned to help up Marinette she makes her move, when Ladybug has a plan for a stealthy escape Ryuuko boldly attempts to fight Ikari Gozen, when Marinette’s clumsy and disoriented Kagami’s athletic and skilled, and when Adrien is unable to effectively comment why he can’t always be present for her Kagami is able to express why that lack of honesty won’t work for her.

A silvery foil is what gives a mirror it’s reflective surface, the things reflected on the other side will still match.

The Cat and Ladybug miraculouses always find each other through fate? Well Adrien and Kagami were literally made for each other.

She high society like Adrien.

She struggles to communicate and express herself like Marinette.

Adrien’s an anime nerd? Kagami reads manga and bases relationship advice off of them.

Marinette hates liars? Kagami’s reason for breaking up with Adrien also led to her becoming an Akuma that embodies her hatred for dishonesty.

She revels in tiny bits of rebellion with Adrien.

She tries to capture the world around her through art and even sketches and paints in her spare time like Marinette, she even paints with Marinette.

She tries to wingman for Adrien with Marinette like how Marinette tried to help her back together with him

She’s burdened by familial expectations like Adrien

She had a helmet removal scene that was literally copied for Marinette, both even happen at the front of the school

Ryuuko’s fighting style matches Chat’s, her main color scheme matches Ladybug’s, and her civilian attire has a white overcoat with a black under shirt like Adrien’s that give a perfect white/black futatsutomoe (☯️) with Marinette’s black jacket over a white shirt.

She’s obviously visually inspired by Marinette’s overall design with her hair and even her freckles are more prominent on the opposite side of her face than where Marinette’s are(Kagami has more overall but her’s are mainly on the left side of her face while Marinette’s are on the right)

When Adrien’s only parent is his father she’s left with only her mother

When Marinette has several friends to fall back on Kagami feels alone and when Adrien feels isolated Kagami’s there alongside his other friends

When we start to get clues about who is a senti-being we get scenes of both Kagami and Adrien

Both Marinette and Kagami have arcs about setting their own feelings aside to support the other

Both Adrien and Kagami have their image co-opted by their parents for a soulless ai assistant copy of themselves.

She even counterbalances their heroics by having some of the most akuma forms and by being one of the fastest to reveal her own identity

A foil has many uses in a narrative, and by letting her be a counterpart to two protagonists at once it has allowed her to become one of the most dynamic and fleshed out characters in the show, even if a lot of that was in service of fleshing out other characters. Heck she even mirrors herself in ways, just look at how Ryuuko’s symbol flows counter to the Tsurugi family crest, she’s a break from tradition and what was intended for her.

I know I’m probably still forgetting things but I just wanted to have a little rant about how I love these themes.

Kagami is a mirror, she is a foil, a word repeated.

[sinisterexaggerator]

... In this essay, I will reiterate that "Cad Bane is a depressed, sentimental bastard."

OK, so, @fat-tasty-krogan pointed out that the barrels of Bane's LL-30's are rusty in the Bad Batch via a screenshot and now I cannot stop thinking about things and connecting the dots.

Here's me checking different angles. 100% rusty. This is a man who is the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, a man who is *the* best shot — that’s his livelihood right there. Something is wrong.

I've always thought Cad Bane was depressed, mostly owing to his behavior in the lost arc, but this solidifies it for me. Let's talk about the canon, shall we? (Fair warning: I may throw in headcanons or share some other thoughts along the way, but I will warn you ahead of time if it's an original idea versus what is considered to be canon).

First, let's take the idea that Jango Fett is mentor to Cad Bane. This in and of itself says to me they had a close relationship and that they often worked together in some capacity. I will spare you my thoughts on the rest, but Jango does in fact associate with him and most likely in a meaningful way we never get to see. Jango Fett does not trust easy, yet he trusts him enough to be around his child; his prized possession, let's say.

Proof: When Boba first mentions Bane, (in chorological order) it is in the comics.

Him asking to spend time with Bane, and Jango saying "no, because you already know of him (and others like Zam)," means they had a close-knit relationship in my opinion. One that sadly comes to an end. In this comic, Jango wants to train Boba to deal with "the factor of the unknown," versus the known. Hmmm.

Moving right along.

The next time we see or hear anything about Boba and Cad being in the same room is during the Rako Hardeen/Box Arc, and in the audiobook CW: Stories of Light and Dark in the short story "Bane's story" that is read by Corey Burton as Cad Bane.

In it he states that the "kid's all right," and that he "owed his father a few favors." In the story, he reiterates what happens between him, Eval, and Obi-Wan to Bossk and little Boba Fett. It was Bossk and Boba who helped to create the diversion so that they could break out and escape.

Bane returns, his job foiled, and explains why. At the end of the audiobook Boba has a plan to get them all out of jail, and he wants Bane to be apart of it. This is AFTER Aurra leaves Boba for dead on Florrum ( don't get me started on Hondo, WHEW - they knew each other too, for SURE ), before TBB, and before we see Bane with a plate in his head, this one:

It is still present in the Book of Boba Fett.

Let's not rush ahead, though. Let's back up to a bit to where Cad Bane gets betrayed.

#1 betrayal on screen is Obi-Wan Kenobi as Rako Hardeen. While I don't necessarily ship them, I can see how Cad was very much hurt by this, as he felt he had started to develop a kinship with another hunter, someone who could watch his back, imo. Maybe he hadn't experienced anything like that since Jango Fett. Maybe Rako was ticking all the right boxes; I see Cad as prizing loyalty. When Obi-Wan turned him over, you could see the pain and anger in expression -- he was truly hurt, and he promised to end his life with a blaster bolt between the eyes. I honestly think he despises him and that's that.

Returning now to Boba, it is also canon that Boba was mentored by Cad Bane. Bane's story is also where he mentioned young Boba often reminded him of himself.

In an unaired Clone Wars Arc, Boba Fett works together with Cad Bane on a job. During the animation created for the episodes that never aired, Bane is seen drinking heavily and seems to give two shits less about Boba or the job itself and is not taking things seriously.

Boba begins to question his tactics, and does not like that he is willing to sacrifice innocent townsfolk just to get a bit of money. He stands up against him, and Embo, Bossk, and other hunters present decide to let him take his shot and do not interfere in their duel, even though most likely Bane is seen to be the one in charge or having authority.

In the end they both fall, but Boba was (unfairly might I add) still wearing his helmet. You can tell that the plates on Bane's hat, however, are also armored. Still, it is not beskar. Bane is severely injured.

#2 betrayal: Bossk and Embo retract their weapons and let Bane go head-to-head with the boy. He even looks surprised in the video footage when they do this! It's the same face he gave Obi-Wan Kenobi!

Boba comes out the winner. We see Bossk with Boba in The Empire Strikes back in the future, and in canon they are known to be seen often together. He especially looked after him in prison on Coruscant.

Thus, we can assume, Bossk went off with Boba after Bane's defeat and joined forces, leaving him for dead. I assume, and in canon it is depicted that Embo is honor-coded. If what he thought Bane was doing was not honorable, he most likely left him for dead as well. What we DO see is Todo 360 being there. I am almost 100% certain it is because of his droid he survives. But, where did he take him for help? Hmmm.... HONDO!! (Kidding, kidding - another HC I have, but ANYWAY).

In fact, Todo states he is Bane's "most trusted confidant" to Omega, and I believe this. He's a grumpy dick, but he never outright punishes Todo for anything, and he messes up quite frequently, but he is also a great help.

I have a headcanon that states his reasonings for keeping Todo, though this has no basis in canon:

"The little shit comes back after he is blown apart by a bomb Cad himself planted to go off in the Jedi Temple. Todo is loyal. He's there for him. He doesn't mind he's a grump. He provides conversation; stimulation in the otherwise solitary hours he spends in space. He becomes a comfort, someone to talk to, someone to fill the void that Jango left behind." Perhaps he also acts in the same capacity as a service animal.

Anyway, it is known what Bane thinks about clones. "Once you figure one out, de rest are easy." I don't think he liked clones, even if he tolerated and respected Boba until a certain point in time. He was different, he had "his father's blood pumping through his veins," and maybe Bane had trouble staring at that face - looking in those eyes -especially if there was more to him and Fett's relationship.

Imagine how he must have felt when he betrayed him? When he shot him? When he failed at repaying Jango's favor and failed at being Boba's mentor?

I personally do not believe Bane would have agreed to the Clone contract idea as far as his opinion. I think he would have told Fett he was crazy to have millions of himself running around out there, that there is only one of him that's the real deal. Let's add this to the fact he has to see their dead and dying faces everywhere to the point he's so numb he shoots them every chance he gets - no big deal. No big deal to have to kill one of your partner's lookalikes everyday for nearly the rest of your life, eh? Even after Jango himself is already dead.

Coming to The Bad Batch, it was pointed out by another user that when Omega is looking for a way off Bane's ship, we see some medallions/coins/ingots that have the symbol of the Mythosaur in a cabinet she is searching. That is Mandalorian. Who was Mandalorian? Jango. Boba by default. They are accompanied here by a journal. I think it could be Boba's journal, too. The boy most likely resided with him on his ship as he had the Justifier during the lost arc and they were traveling together.

That man is 100% a sentimental bastard.

You could say he hated Boba. You could say he was his number one enemy, but deep down maybe he felt remorse. He had been drinking. Why? Maybe it was hard to be in Boba's company. Maybe he felt he could have prevented Jango's death. Maybe mentoring him was hard work, but in the end, Boba betrayed him after everything he had tried to do for him. And Bane liked the kid up until this point - said so himself in Bane's story.

In the lost bounty hunter arc, Cad is wearing the same outfit he is in The Bad Batch. Now he has a metal plate in his head. @allsystemsblue mentioned he talks himself up to Shand. Maybe he's trying to convince himself he's as good as he says he is. He headbutts her and it obviously throws him off. He shakes himself out, trying to regain his concentration. I personally headcanon he gets terrible headaches.

The plate is on the OUTSIDE, meaning it's protecting something underneath. I imagine he had a hole in his head and a bit of his skull was fractured. I say he wears the plate to reinforce a soft spot that makes him vulnerable.

Even so, she kicks his ass. He's off his game. Maybe he's been drinking even more since his defeat and embarrassment at the hands of a kid. One he respected, one maybe he called family.

All the other hunters sided with Boba, left him high and dry, and he hasn't even been caring for or polishing his blasters; his moneymakers. They are RUSTY.

He loses Omega, he loses his credits, and Fennec sabotages his ship. This man is pissed. He's at wit's end. For all we know, he sat down and cried afterward before he could figure a way off that damn planet, and the only one who was there for him was Todo.

Years later, we see him confront Boba. He's a hardass. Nothing left of his personality in that show but a villain. It was like they made him extra mean on purpose.

He's still hung up on the past, he says it. He talks about Jango's blood being inside Boba, his "father." He leers at Boba. It is almost as if he takes a pause (again crediting @allsystemsblue for this observation), a moment to truly look at him. And let's not forget the hiss he gives him right before his "final lesson."

"Look out for yourself, anything else is weakness."

GEE! Where did he learn that from, I wonder?! FROM BOBA HIMSELF MAYBE?! He was "weak" for Boba; he was his mentor; he tried his best to do right by his father and train him and he failed. He shot him, left him for dead, betrayed him along with all the other hunters present, and all that was left for him was to work alone. To grin and bear it. To take the jobs that came his way just to survive.

He had to of hit a downward spiral at some point in his life to come to this conclusion; something terrible must have happened, and I guarantee it's this.

Shat on all his life, all the way from being "hatched" in the Descent Ghetto on New Tayana on Duro, poor, coming up from the slums, working hard just to make ends meat.

Can't tell me he didn't have a wall up, and hell yes he was feeling low. What could make a man that mean besides betrayal and sentimentality for something he wishes perhaps he could have changed or prevented all together.

Now he takes the toughest jobs, the ones nobody wants. His reputation is fear and for good reason. He'll do anything for money, including killing innocents according to Boba. Where has his Code of Honor gone?

I'll tell you where.

No one ever respected Cad the way he tried to respect them. No one offered or afforded him the same luxury. Every time he was near to forming a decent partnership with someone, they turned right around and stabbed him in the back. We at least see it with Rako/Obi and Boba on screen. Bossk and Embo count too, for me. Maybe Jango was the only one he could trust. Him and Todo 360, which he was not around until long after Jango's death and in some form could have been a fractional replacement for companionship.

To throw in a few thoughts on Hondo, he knew them both well. Imagine if Hondo also kept secrets from Bane, whether intentional or not, or perhaps befriended him only to manipulate him for his own gain (which is definitely something that could happen). He speaks favorably of him in "Secrets of the Bounty Hunters," and calls him his friend, but he calls everyone that.

At one point they did work together as per the blurb on the back of a toy called the "Pirate Speeder bike," that features Cad Bane and a Starhawk speeder. If Hondo also betrayed him at some point, I can see it only adding fuel to the fire, IF Bane allowed him close to begin with. Considering his reputation, it's possible that no, he did not, but I also ship Cad Bane and Hondo Ohnaka as well as Jango Fett and Cad Bane. I won't go into it here, but I can see them being an insanely toxic, yet perfect match.

To sum it up, yes, he is totally depressed. I feel like this is why. Can't change my mind.

---

P.S.: This is also a lesson in how to cite your sources and give credit where credit is due when thinking about headcanons and fandom fun. :) Ain't so hard, right?

[jesncin]

I really enjoyed your excellent deep dive examination of Ma'alefa'ak and the underlying attitudes of ableism present in the writing. It's an aspect of the character that has always disappointed me and, honestly, combined with the hoary old cliche of an Evil Twin just left me cold. (Ma'al also began the trend of DC defining too many Post-Crisis stories around the reveal of YET ANOTHER Martian survivor, only for them to be bad news. Whilst that isn't strictly his fault, he certainly opened that door and no one's gotten around to shutting it yet.) Your remarks about J'onn's beliefs being too ill-defined also ring true. In his original appearance he had a science background, by the Bronze Age this had shifted into a military VIP, before finally doubling back and codifying Manhunter (re: cop) as his profession Post-Crisis. He's all over the fucking map about what his views are, what motivates him, and why, which persists even into the current comics. That's a roundabout way of me getting to my ultimate point: I've become quite fond of your reinvention of Ma'alefa'ak. Initially I was sceptical because I saw little reason to revisit the character, but you won me over by using Ma'al to remedy multiple shortcomings in the MM status quo. Rehabilitating Ma'al grants J'onn a direct foil, expands his (sorely undernourished) supporting cast, and most importantly allows J'onn to define himself by putting his beliefs into action. He's willing to give up his station, his privilege, and his life on Mars to defend his brother's right to live. That conveys so much to the audience and provides us with greater understanding of what makes him tick. Ma'al getting to be more than just despicably EVIL also gifts us with an overtly disabled character who is allowed to express themselves and help bolster the strongest themes of the Martian corner of the DCU. Apolgies for the wall of text. Thanks for all your creative work and I'm looking forward to more!

asdfasf!! oh my gosh thank you so much for all these kind words!! Gosh like I know a good bunch of how I play around with Martian worldbuilding will probably fly over most people's heads since J'onn's lore is not common knowledge to even DC fans, but it's when someone knows the material I'm pulling from and can see exactly how my choices are informed that I get really!! Happy! Emotional! Thank you 😭😭 more martian talk below asdfasf

in short: YES TO ALL THIS! I agree that while Ma'al had a whole history before he came to Earth as A Surviving Member Of An Extinct Race Turns Out To Be Bad News, he still absolutely kicked off that trend of rogues for J'onn. Kind of similar to how M'gann really shifted Martian lore away from ableism and more towards racism and civil war.

Right! I think the fact that J'onn's occupation changes so much (where he's even reimagined as a sort of renaissance man with how many Martian jobs he had) before settling on "generally a cop" makes J'onn's ideals all the more ill defined. Clark is a working class investigative journalist and that informs his heroism! He has the themes of hope, marginalization and survival to inform it too. How does any of J'onn's occupations inform his heroism in any specific way? Especially when modern versions of J'onn reimagine him as both a Black man and a cop (when paired with Martian racism it's even worse) 😭 this stuff needs to be thought through! Most of the time, J'onn's just saving people because it's his job. He's a cop because that's the closest analog to what being a manhunter is on Mars, but then what? Why does he care?

And lastly once more! Thank you so much on the kind words about my version of Ma'al and J'onn! It means so much to me when I can take a "but why him tho" character out of obscurity and get people to understand just how much this change can really benefit not just Ma'al, but J'onn and Martian lore as a whole. I truly believe Ma'al is the key to revitalizing Martian Manhunter as a superhero, and your response perfectly describes why.

It was important for us to still have J'onn grapple with some sort of grief (since that's such a prominent theme for him) but have him actively demonstrate his ideals when put under pressure and show what he truly believes in. J'onn is usually pitched as "Batman meets Superman" because he's an alien detective, but the result is J'onn being redundant of both. We thought, since Bruce and Clark didn't have a choice in the inciting incidents that started their origins, why not make it so J'onn has an active choice in his? We shifted his ideals from his vague "I'm protecting my new home so it won't suffer the way Mars did" to "No one fights harder for what they love than J'onn J'onzz". Shifting the trajectory of the character from grief to radical love.

In the process of re-interpreting Ma'al from being allegorically/coded as disabled to being an explicitly disabled character, Martian ableism can be more properly discussed as the strongest theme to Martian lore (that functions way better than the shapeshifter racism). And in turn, we got to deconstruct the inherit authority-protecting respectability of J'onn's canon heroism.

I like the green guys a whole lot

[apatheticlexicographer]

i think i finally understand the exact reasoning behind how both will and mike's sexualities are presented, and how those presentations flatter each other.

will is barely queercoded from a subtextual perspective because there's no need to queercode him. the writers verbally establish in season one episode one that people percieve this kid as gay, so you're immediately guided to see him through the same lens, at least subconsciously. people continue to refer to him as gay and he continues to "act" gay, and most of the audience is able to see this for what it is very easily without the need for heavy symbolism. will being gay is simply treated as a fact from the start by both the characters around him and the writers themselves, for better or for worse.

MIKE, on the other hand, is so heavily queercoded it's barely even funny. he's the one with the queer imagery, the blocking, the set design, the lighting. he's never explicitly referred to as queer, it isn't so much as suggested verbally, but the sheer amount of incredibly blatant subtextual material that surrounds him is insane. none of the characters within the show have the slightest clue that mike is gay. there's a good chance that mike himself doesn't know, or has only begun to realize very recently. even the writers do their damn best to make it appear like they themselves don't know. still, the fact remains that he is, it just isn't expressed in a way that the homophobic masses both within and outside the show are capable of picking up on. when he comes out it will be a shock to the characters and the majority heterosexual audience, but not to the queer people who pick up instinctually on the signalling. basically, you only know mike is gay if you have a genuinely functioning gaydar.

in this way they're so strongly representative of two very different gay experiences, both of which are important and both of which are treated respectfully by the writers, despite the setting.

will is the kid who never really gets the luxury of choosing whether to come out to people, because everybody has had him pegged from the start. even his own family: jonathan tells will he accepts him before will can even hint toward the topic himself. however as much as we're told that he "seems" gay to other people, all we are shown subtextually is a totally normal child who happens to have feelings for another boy. this is important because it subverts the trope of making "being gay" the "obviously gay" character's sole or core trait.

mike is the kid who people would never in a million years guess was queer. it's not just that he gets the luxury of choosing when to come out of the closet; he's so deep in it that he's drowning in winter coats. he's the "twist queer character," except he's not. his subtextual queercoding has been there beneath the surface for just as long as will has been textually referred to as queer on a surface level. this makes it clear that him being gay isn't some kind of last minute decision and the subtlety of his presentation wasn't an accident. if you don't knkw mike is gay now before it's revealed then you aren't supposed to.

they're foils like that. they're the archetypal queers, and i think it's kind of beautiful.

(and if anybody tries to argue that one expression of Queer Experience is more important than another then i'm coming for their kneecaps. having both experiences not only represented but thoroughly explored is so rare, although there are people all over the world who resonate with each.)

[toweroftunes]

You’re the SteinMarie person right? Can you talk about what you like about them and their dynamic? 😊

Hi! Hello! Sorry for the delay in getting to this ask but thank you for asking me!!

Idk if I’m the SteinMarie person, but I guess we could say I’m one of them??

Hmm, I think I could say that there are two parts to why I like them.

One is that they’re both just. Silly.

Stein gets a lot of attention because of his neurodivergence — for not being able to properly connect with or understand people, and his way of going about it being concerning to say the least. But I’d like to point out that Stein is. Silly. He’s a smartass and an asshole. When he first meets Spirit again in the series, he jokes to him about his wife knowing full well that they’re divorced. He also says that he’d switched his toes during surgery. In the NOT series, he makes a replica of a girl’s head to scare said girl’s friends with. And Marie is introduced to us by way of her deciding to marry a toilet, then pummeling said toilet when she suspects even the toilet of infidelity. Furthermore when confronting the man who killed Marie’s ex, Stein spins and dips Marie. Absolutely ridiculous.

The other is that while they might be externally presented as ridiculous, they don’t view each other as such; rather they don’t view each other as solely scary, or solely silly, but they actually perceive one another as serious people. And, yes, this is my own reading of it — I think that Marie and Stein are willing to understand each other in ways that others don’t.

On the surface Stein is a perceived as a genius with low emotional intelligence, and disregard for others. And Marie, on the surface, is an overly emotional person who people perceive as obsessed with finding love, starting a family, etc. However, these two are able to express patience, support, and trust for one another outside of these roles/assignments/perceptions.

When Naigus tells Marie that Stein isn’t capable of love, Marie follows him anyway. Not because she thinks he’s capable or incapable of love, but because she trusts that he did not kill BJ. Because she wants to catch BJ’s killer, and because she doesn’t want Stein to go through it all alone.

Stein, in turn, doesn’t question Marie moving into his lab when Lord Death places her as his partner. Instead he exercises patience and support for her moving across the world, for her putting her life and other goals on hold because she holds herself responsible in her duty as a Death Scythe. He also doesn’t question her investment in others as being frivolous; her investment in finding BJ’s killer isn’t about a romantic option being taken away from her, but about giving BJ justice, which Stein is likewise willing to help her do because, yes their interests align, but also because I think he respects the principal of it (this could also go into a whole tangent on Stein’s mental/ideological support system through partnership but I’ll not get into that now).

Patience. Support. Trust.

I think it’s a common reading that Marie makes him better because of her healing wavelength, or because she knows how to take care of him. I hate this interpretation, tbh. I won’t say that that’s not real or how it’s written, because it is in the sense that Medusa and Marie are foils of one another in a fairly reductive way: Medusa as the villain without motherly/caretaker instinct, one who abuses Crona, corrupts Stein, and Marie as the hero with motherly/caretaker instinct, one who comforts Crona, heals Stein. Her goodness in this sense is tied to her ability to be a caretaker and a mother. Blegh.

Marie's goodness is linked to her own principles of justice and kindness, imo. And Stein isn’t someone who needs to be guided so much as someone who needs his own insecurities around his sense of morality challenged.

Agh, sorry this is so long. And also sorry if it isn’t super coherent? I hope it makes a modicum on sense lol. And again, thank you for the ask!

[st7arlights-side]

Theorizing Pt 1: repression

UP AHEAD: so much rambling about Orange. written very late at night and not the most coherent, sorry. (also, all uses of Thomas are referring to c!Thomas)

okay everyone talks about the dark sides being their opposites, opposing colors, colors on opposite ends of the wheel, but wanna know another term for it? complementary colors. I think the idea of "totally opposing, entirely contrasting, nothing alike" is not really accurate to the lore that we have been given? It's clear that it's important that all sides are accepted, and that there is no "solely good" or "solely bad" trait. Everything has complexities and different aspects to it, and the sides are no different.

I've never been particularly fond of the idea of wrath/anger/cruelty being orange because it seems like a scapegoat? I am more in favor of it representing regret (as most appearances of it are present in scenes or conversations with regret present) [forgot where i saw the theory first :sob:] and passion (impulsive acts based in emotions, a contrast to Logan's character while simultaneously rounding him out and forcing him and thomas to accept the parts that aren't all logical) [theory from @/dillydallydove] as these have more dimension and seem to fill out the gaps in the sides a bit more, especially considering the general theme going with remus, janus, and virgil. These are aspects that Thomas represses, and he knows them by names that aren't really accurate to their full purposes. He knows Janus as deceit, while he is more accurately described as self-preservation. He knows Remus as intrusive thoughts, when he is more accurately described as his repressed creativity. He knows Virgil as Anxiety (which is fairly accurate, though it still minimizes his functions) though he might be more accurately described as caution? fear? an aspect of self preservation? Regardless, perhaps orange could be known as wrath or anger because that's what he manifests as, but that doesn't mean that this is accurate to who he is as an aspect of Thomas. Remus is intrusive thoughts because that is the only way he can get recognized, the only way he breaks through the suppression. Janus is known as deceit because he has to manipulate the other sides to get them to prioritize Thomas's self-interest (as well as his personal responsibility to protect Thomas from what he can't handle at the moment; deceiving himself, sure, but at it's core, preserving his presently fragile mental state).

What emotion, what passion, does thomas repress the most? he's clearly open to expressing love and joy and, more recently, stress and anxiety, even some hints of sadness showing. but what has he been repressing the most? his anger! his frustration! his (and his sides') sense of inadequacy!! Orange is being seen in these contexts because that is what he isn't allowing himself (and the sides) to express as themselves.

Sanders Sides' whole thing is accepting the different parts of yourself, with underlying themes of c!thomas's upbringing causing him to repress, deny, or otherwise have an unhealthy relationship with "bad" aspects of himself (which, boy do i have some ideas for possible explorations of OCD in this, especially with the prevalence of intrusive thoughts- and the ways Thomas and the other sides change their language around Remus to prevent him from "getting ideas"-). Orange could be treated as a character foil to Logan, or Orange could be like Janus, but instead of protecting c!T from things he can't handle, Orange is the result of that suppression. Like how remus formed from thomas (patton) forbidding Roman from having "bad" ideas, orange could be formed from thomas (logan) pushing down "bad" feelings, feelings of passion that don't directly help other people.

Of course, this brings me to how Janus (a "gatekeeper" of sorts for Thomas) would interact with orange. this is reaching more into prediction territory. I suspect that Janus wants orange to emerge, as prolonged repression is harming Thomas (which i'm pretty sure he alluded to at least once, though i'm blanking on when). (also, an aside, is it not concerning that during the christmas special, Janus, c!T's self-preservation, was increasingly inebriated?? ooh and the occasional gags about Logan drinking wine too-) Notice how Janus has been watching Logan? this plus the general willingness to exclude Logan (further pushing his frustration and feelings of inadequacy) makes me suspect that he (as per usual) knows more than the rest.

I... don't really have a conclusion. I think Orange isn't an embodiment of aggression, moreso a result of repression? I guess? And I'm concerned about... yeah everyone involved, but especially Logan and Janus.

[finitevoid]

d3 script doctor

ben and mal are being pressured to get married after they turn 18 because it would endear the other royals in auradon to the idea of the fact that the isle kids can be rehabilitated; mal being such a success in rehabilitation that the king marries her is a big deal. however shes not really being prepared sufficiently for the political side of things, just the appearance stuff. so when shes in the war room with beast belle & fg, they start really unsubtly pressuring her.

wouldnt it be safer if the barrier was shut forever? we're in danger right now. Mal. Mal, what do you think .?

and she chooses to close the barrier because if its a choice between her gang's safety vs. a bunch of random people on the isle, shes going to choose her gang no contest. ben throws a HUGE hissy fit and completely loses his mind. im talking yelling, maybe a little crying. this is his dream and hes the king but hes being strongarmed into this decision; beast belle & fg are using mal as their scapegoat, like look, shes from the isle and she agrees. and ben should say something like, shes from the isle, of course she agrees.

yowch.

ben stays with mal instead of turning into a beast for some reason. when the core 4 meet up with the sea 3 hes the one playing peacemaker while evie giggles cutely in the back about shrimps and chaos. evie is the first to come around to his peacemaking however, shes totally on board to work with the sea 3 but everytime she sidles up to be on ben's peacemaking side she has to school her expression into a not-laugh. she claps her hands like a youth counselor and suggests icebreaker games just to see the looks on everyones faces at the sheer ridiculousness of it. shes fucking with everyone

instead of coralling the sea 3, the core 4 slide back into old isle ways. theyre meaner, louder, brasher. when the sea 3 start stealing stuff the only reason jay fights it is because he doesnt like harry and he wants him to suffer. instead of being surprised at gil's delight, jay is nostalgic and charmed, and shows him more things that he wouldnt know about. carlos threatens to bite someone. etc

hannah is the girl's dorms RA

instead of just saving audrey's life the plan is to save her from death and then throw her on the isle (a fun foil to FG and beast creating the isle! yay). but the big blowout fight she had with her gang and uma pushes mal to see past her own selfishness. so she very publically drops her political clout persona, stands up for the isle, and when beast and belle try to stop her, she stomps on their metaphorical toes and tells them to shut up.

FG doesnt give up her wand, but the core 4 know without having to be told to chase and corner her into giving it up. (i think carlos should do this). jay is the one who presents her with the wand. then they stand in a line and break the barrier

the final shots are a lingering, contemplative scene in which the core 4 agree that they'll protect people from the violence that will be razed down by the newly freed isle residents, and then, lAst one to the hideouts a rotten apple!!!!!!!!!!!!! running off into the sunset

everything else can stay the same

[julians-muscles-and-tits]

"Lipstick Smear"

*NSFW REQUESTED JULIAN TRAILER PARK BOYS SMUT X READER FEM FIC*

You and Julian had known each other for years and he was a close friend, he was a stoic man who carried the stresses of the park on his broad shoulders well and because his demeanour was usually a serious reserved one there was just something about the idea of ruffling his feathers slightly that appealed to your playful fun loving side.

One night you were at Julian's trailer hanging out and having a few drinks while he was sat down on his silver shiny floor you kept looking around and wondering how the hell Ricky managed to cover every square inch of the place in aluminium foil but he did, the first time you saw it you couldn't help but quietly giggle in shock.

He's sat on the brown furry coat with his right bruised arm in a home made duct tape arm sling and was using his left arm to read a book about how to build and maintain a wealthy business, that was Julian always with his head in a book always cooking up new ideas and wanting to make money.

He's sat there with his sturdy back against the wall his crystal blue eyes fixed on the top of the page using the small amount of lamp light to read. You take a brief second to admire him and what a handsome man he is, even having been accidentally beaten up by his friends and being mistaken for a Samsquanch, bruised up with a huge reel of duct tape wrapped around his arm he was still as striking as ever with his focused but stern stare, Julian rarely smiled he always had a frown, a scowl or a deep in thought expression on his face, he was always so serious and blunt, you wanted to break the icy exterior and let a little light in for him.

He reaches over to pick up his glass of rum and coke and realises he's run out.

“I'll take care of that” you offer warmly taking the empty glass out of his hand.

“Thanks” he says quietly turning his attention away from the book briefly and then going back to it. You get up, go over to his kitchen to refill his glass with equal parts rum and coke, swimming in ice cubes just the way he likes it. You look over at the head of jet black messy curls as you hold the glass of dark brown liquid in your hands and you smile mischievously as you decide to be a little bit naughty so you take a small sip of his drink, the sugary sweetness combined with the bitter taste of the rum hits your tongue and taste buds as you walk over nonchalantly and hand him his drink sitting next to him with a small smile on your face. He doesn't notice the smear until he takes a sip himself and then spots the faint colour of your lipstick on the rim of the glass. His brows furrow into an annoyed frown and he looks over at you sternly.

“..did you take a sip of my drink?” Julian asks in a quiet irked manner.

“Hmm..maybe” you reply coyly struggling to contain your excitement and naughty nature.

“You left a fucking lipstick stain on my glass” Julian says irritably holding the glass up to present the evidence which makes your smile even wider and you're also struggling not to laugh, perhaps its the home made arm sling or the fact that he looks so adorable when he's mad but you find yourself filled with fiendish glee and also extremely turned on.

“Gee, I'm sorry Jules” you say sweetly as you twirl a strand of your hair in your fingers your voice has gone a little bit higher you feel a little bit nervous. Julian rubs his temples and the bridge of his nose seethingly but he's also equally turned on by how coy and flirtatious you're being, he sighs taking another sip and further examines the lipstick smear as he slowly twirls the glass around in his hand.

“I'm gonna make myself another drink” you say brightly and you go over to his kitchen sink that looks like a shining mirror ball where you pour yourself a drink. You hear him come up behind you and immediately your knees weaken at the nice smell of his cologne, he's taller than you and is towering over you.

“You fucking naughty bratty girl,” he growls in your ear as he brushes your hair to one side of your neck, you feel goosebumps rise on your skin. “You did that just to rile me huh?”

“Maybe” you reply smiling wickedly. He looks down at you slowly, admiring your outfit, your body shape, the way your hair looks staring at you like he wants to devour you.

“Yeah?..fuck you look so hot right now,” Julian whispers sultrily as his muscular arm travels around your waist and you shiver at the touch, his muscles are your weakness and he knows it he's seen you check them out too many times when you think he hasn't noticed. “The things I wanna do to you” his deep gravelly Canadian voice makes you melt like butter inside.

“What-what things?” You ask quietly feeling a lightning bolt of arousal shoot through you, your loins burning. His hand slowly trails down from your abdomen snaking into your jeans and then his fingers dip into your panties where they're greeted by a warm gooey slickness. His eyes darken and he chuckles lightly feeling triumphant he's already made you wet with barely even a touch. His fingers wriggle and swim in the soaked lips until he finds your throbbing engorged clit and you let out a small gasp at how his whole hand is so big his fingers are practically covering your pussy.

“I wanna play with your clit until your legs shake and you cry out as you come all over my hand like a good little slut,” Julian whispers sensually and begins rubbing the pad of his index finger down and up on the bundle of nerves making you buck your hips uncontrollably and let out a small whine which amuses him as he laughs wickedly. “Then I wanna eat your fucking pussy, my wet face between your legs, my tongue rolling over your swollen clit making you come over, and over, and over again until I decide you can't take it anymore” you let out a shaky breath and whimper helplessly at his filthy obscene words beautifully pouring into your ear, his black beard and strong nose brushing up against your cheek and his warm breath, you feel feverish and drunk with lust, feeling how wonderfully your sensitive clit tickles and aches as he exquisitely presses and strokes it. You feel weak, your hands firmly clasping the tin foiled sides of the kitchen counter making a slight rustling noise, there's a pleasant heavy warmth swirling and pooling in the pit of your stomach and groin, your breathing feels ragged your clit is burning and aching so much more now and you twitch your hips again. He rubs harder making you even wetter and it's pure ecstasy.

“Oh fuck oh my god” you mewl your legs quivering, moaning even louder and feeling light headed. You're inches away from climaxing all over his meaty hand which your inner thighs have clamped around, your eyes are rolling back in your head.

“You gonna come?” Julian asks darkly lightly kissing your neck enjoying watching you crumble and the desperate noises you're making as you bite down hard on your lip and writhe.

“Mm-hm” is all you can physically utter out as your face scrunches up. You pant and whine feeling the waves of pleasure rippling through you.

"I don't think so,” Julian says huskily and immediately stops just as you're right on the edge and feeling your orgasm about to topple over.

“That's what you get for drinking my drink sweetheart” You open your eyes feeling exasperated and desperate, like the warm orgasmic rush got torn away from you and you feel deprived and frustrated knowing you fell for him edging you cruelly, that you should have known he'd get you back for the lipstick mark but your desire got the better of you.

He's smiling evilly and he lightly kisses your cheek as he removes his hand and brings his sopping digits up to his mouth to slowly suck on them licking them clean and appreciating every drop of you on his fingers that he made happen. You turn around looking up at him feeling painfully horny and aching for him, hoping and praying he'll finish what he started and not torturously deprive you of another orgasm. You need this man terribly you've never needed anything more in your life.

“Julian,” you whine his name like it physically hurts to say it. “Please make me come” he licks the last bit of you from his thumb then he passionately kisses you forcing you to taste your juices on his moist goatee and tongue. He wraps his good arm around you and guides you over to the spot on the floor where the coat is. You get down on your knees and kindly help him unbuckle his loud jingling belt as doing it with one arm would be time consuming and difficult and you pull his black jeans and boxer shorts down until you're greeted by his engorged erect cock. You decide to sweetly kiss it and give it a slow teasing lick from the base to the head tasting how salty he is from the precum and feeling how warm he is, making his muscly chunky thighs tense up slightly.

You remove your clothes until you're completely naked then you lay back on the brown fluffy material and spread your legs in an invitation, he gets down gently one knee at a time inching closer to you. He realises the difficulty of trying to do missionary sex with one arm and putting his full weight on it and the realisation of this makes him grunt in frustration.

“What's wrong Julian?” You purr.

“Turn around and bend over” he orders. You get up and crouch on all fours like a dog but you slouch down with your arse sticking up in the air in a doggy position giving him the perfect view. He enters you and you gasp out feeling his warm fat length stretch you out and fill you up, he groans with satisfaction his eyes fluttering its been a while for him since he's had sex and your hot dripping pussy is so deliciously swallowing his sensitive cock. He thinks about the lipstick stain on the glass, how you did it to tease him and ruffle his feathers, the mild annoyance but also how much it turned him on, he pulls himself out feeling your inviting snug walls tug his hardened flesh then he pushes himself back in helplessly groaning with satisfaction again and begins to swing his hips as he rams into your hole hard and fast.

Your eyes widen and you gasp loudly at response to the speed and the force, you're so wet every powerful thrust is making a loud squelching clap noise. He has his left hand fiercely clinging onto a fleshy part of your arse cheek for support and to maintain his balance and you melt letting out loud pleased moans and whimpers feeling him gorgeously pound his full weight in between your legs.

He's groaning loudly, his gold chain necklace is bouncing up and down, he's gritting his teeth he looks pissed off and like he's scowling but your pussy feels like wet, warm heaven around him your inner walls clamping, carressing and kissing like you want to drain every last drop of come from him, it's so good it's almost like a torture.

“Mm, ah FUCK!” He shouts out as his eyes scrunch up and he bites down on his lip and goatee while you're feeling how deep he is inside you the angle of how you're laying is making his dick strike your G spot in a curved way, making you aggressively cling onto to his “bed”. His grunts are deep and mannish. It feels so good you don't want him to stop. It's nasty angry sex, he's so strong so fierce and relentless, each heavy thud more delicious and addictive than the last, feeling him rub and massage your insides feeling how much weaker it's making you your legs are fighting an uphill battle to stay up they're beginning to cramp, you've lost track of time and how long he's been drilling you for he's not slowed down once he's banging every last bit of strength out of you and it's euphoric. You can't even speak all you've been reduced to doing is let out cries and moans like a sleazy slutty porn star from your mouth that’s hanging open in an O shape while he jack hammers you with immense force, reminding you that he's the one in charge that he holds all the cards because his thick rock hard cock is making you melt and fall apart underneath him and its completely out of your control as a woman, you feel heady, submissive you want to surrender your body to him let him use you up and keep chasing the feeling of him being inside you. It's impressive to say the least how he's doing all this with an injured arm and one that’s keeping him upright behind you.

“Oh fuck oh god, yeah right there, faster harder” you whinily beg in a muffle your face buried in the tickly dark furr making him let out a pleased rumble and he can’t resist the manly urge to lightly slap your arse. The noises of his grunts and moans and your loud moans combined with him penetrating your sensitive wet flesh are filling the trailer and because there's no furniture and it's empty these noises are reverberating more than they usually would be, you honestly wouldn't be surprised if Bubbles could hear you both from his shed you're being so loud.

He goes even faster now pulvarising your pussy your body jiggling. Your legs are sore, aching, your drenched pussy and hole smashed and pounded you don't know if you'll be able to walk after this, he begins slowing down panting as your eyes screw up his hips stutter, his cock is throbbing with the sweet promise of relief and release, his groin and thigh muscles seizing up as his blunt finger nails grip your arse while he throws his head back bellowing out a loud “Hah! ah! hoh! ohhhhhhhh! ohhhhhh! mmmm, hmm” and you can feel his dick spurting thick warm creamy come inside you. He shudders pulling himself out and collapses next to you laying on his back as your legs give out and you lay spread Eagled feeling completely obliterated.

You're both breathing heavily and you look over at him and smile at how beautiful he looks, his dark hair a moist sweaty mess, his soaked spent cock flopped to one side of his thigh, still with a shirt on and the arm sling. Your body is completely wrecked and you feel floppy and useless but in the most delightful way you feel drunk and completely drained of energy like you're struggling to stay awake and so is he, you try to get up but your legs fail you as they're too wobbly, you'll be OK in a minute you just need to rest them. You've never seen that side of him before, passionate, frenzied and carnal. You think about how orgasmic he felt between your legs, how it made you feel, every little beautiful detail. You watch him gingerly pick his glass up to have a drink and notice him drinking from the side where the lipstick is and you weakly smile feeling yourself glowing with affection and love for him.

#trailer park boys #julian #NSFW #smut #fem reader #x reader #reader #tpb Julian #"lipstick smear" #sex #trailer #suggestive #tpb

[liquidstar]

arc 4/season 2 of re:zero really did have a bunch of sets of siblings with lots of focus on them. it seemed to be a bit of a recurring theme for the season. family bonds as a whole were really important, especially where the backstory was concerned, but in contrast to that, the sibling relationships seemed to be about moving each other forward. in different ways though...

like, you have frederica and garfiel. they're estranged half-siblings, but frederica still obviously cares so much about her little brother. the reason she left was because she wanted to make a place for him and the rest of the people in the sanctuary in the outside world. garfiel was stuck inside the past, fearing the outside world for what happened to their mother. but when he finally faces his trial again, it's the memory of his sister that gives him the motivation to move forward.

similarly, in emilia's second trial, it's her conversation with archi that enables her to face the present for what it is. even though trial archi seemed to be pushing her towards the world of the trial itself, that's exactly what reinforces her will. with her memory of the real archi, she calls him "big brother" for the first time, and she thanks him for always being worried about her. the sad thing is, unlike all of the other sibling duos, archi has already been dead for a long time. but even then, like we saw in the first trial, he gave his life because he wanted emilia to keep moving forward.

and in otto's backstory too... he spent most of his childhood completely unable to interact with the world around him. the constant noise was too overwhelming, to the point that he couldn't actually hear anything else. he had no way to understand or communicate his feelings. and though his parents did their best to understand him, he was still stuck in this state. it wasn't until oslo decided to teach him how to write that he was finally able to express himself. despite the fact that it was harder for otto than other kids, he finally managed his first real message to his family, "thank you for everything." and with that, he cried for the first time since was born, and was able to move forward again.

even the antagonists this arc are siblings. meili and elsa dont get as much focus into their relationship as the others (not for this arc at least), but one very obvious development is that elsa has someone she cares about. elsa "bowl hunter" granhiert, a serial killer/assassin/vampire who takes great pleasure in watching people die, and tearing out their organs, has a person she cares about. this is a humanizing trait for her, and that's on purpose. loving meili literally makes her "more" human. someone that she's also willing to give up her life for. and later on, in arc 6, we see just how much elsa's death impacted meili and how she hasn't been able to move forward since that day.

this theme is even more noticeable in the negatives too. in rem and ram's case, who have already been set up as a matching set all the way back in arc 2. they're identical twins, they've loved each other literally since they were born. ram awoke her powers as a newborn just to save her crying sister. they share a deep and powerful bond. but... what the hell happens when that goes away? because rem had her name and memories eaten, ram forgets she ever had a sister. her character digresses, her entire world is now centered on roswaal, she's more devoted to him than she was before. without her sister, ram moves backwards.

and of course, there's the sibling duo that this entire season centers around- subaru and beatrice. i've talked before about how subaru's relationship with echidna and roswaal is like a foil for his relationship with his actual parents. subaru has been raised living in the shadow of his father, but his actual dad never once forced him into it- he encourages his son to stand on his own and be his own person. roswaal is the opposite, he corners subaru in an attempt to make him a mini roswaal. subaru's mother was always watched him closely, but never made his choices for him. echidna is the opposite, where she wants to manipulate and control subaru's every action to satiate her own goals and desires.

but echidna is also beatrice's actual mother, which places beatrice in the role of subaru's sister in his fucked up found family echidna had created. but beatrice and subaru were never forced together, they chose each other. beatrice was left alone in a library for 400 years, abandoned by her mother and left to wait for a person who would never truly come (who never truly existed). she has been stuck for so long, unable to break her chains. but the action that finally does free her from this stasis is when subaru asks her to choose him. the only way for them to escape this "family" and move forward was for them to choose each other.

[lakemetaphor]

Gonna throw my metaphorical tin-foil into the ring for a second here and say, I am cautiously optimistic (hoping?) that the Mystery Man at the end of 425 is Tenko/Tomura, in some form. Mainly because, I don't really believe this is the end of Tomura as a character.

It goes without saying that Tomura's death was unsatisfying. It's not so much that he died that's the problem, but how it was handled and how quickly it seems to be brushed over. But the epilogue so far has given me hope that this was all kind of done on purpose.

Whether or not you agree with All Might that "Tenko's heart was saved", or Gran Torino that "killing is a way of saving", doesn't matter. What matters is, Deku doesn't believe he fully saved Tenko/Tomura. Deku is not happy with how things turned out. He's dissatisfied. It's clear from his expressions and words these last two chapters. He believes he failed. So, he failed.

I think the disconnect comes because Deku can't figure out exactly how and why he did. He shattered Tomura's hatred, he reached out to the crying child, he killed AFO and released the hold he had over Tenko/Tomura, but still, he didn't save him. Still, Tomura wanted to destroy. Why? There's something he's missing. Something he doesn't understand.

Since the events of 417-419, I sort of formed this theory that there really isn't one easy way to save Tomura Shigaraki/Tenko Shimura. But instead, his "saving" can be broken up into three separate elements that need to be addressed individually.

Tomura is an amalgamation of everything that can go wrong to create a villain in MHA's world. He is like Dabi, abused, neglected, and ignored by his family. Like Spinner, someone lost and rejected without agency and his own drive latching onto the words and direction of others. And like Toga and Twice, rejected by a society that ignores their struggles and saw them as "too dangerous" and/or "too far gone". (Of course the League all have their own separate issues as well, but core elements of their stories are reflected in Tomura. Making him their leader both in story and thematically.)

In addressing each of these points in Tomura, we are also addressing them in the League. To save Tomura is to save every member of the League, and to save Tomura, there are three things that would need to be fulfilled.

The abuse Tenko received from his father while his family neglected and ignored him and his pain, and how this treatment led to his perception of himself when it came to ultimately killing them.

AFO stripping Tenko of his agency, giving him Decay, and manipulating and grooming him into a being of pure hatred and anger.

Tenko being ignored on the street after killing his family, no one helping him, and the complacency of civilians that rely on heroes to save the day.

Without meeting all three conditions, the idea of "saving Tenko/Tomura" becomes hollow and dissatisfying. If you took care of AFO and society, Tomura would be unable to let go of what happened in the Shimura house. If you dealt with society and his early childhood, Tomura wouldn't have a chance to deal with AFO's grooming. And most notably, (as we're seeing now in story) if you deal with AFO and the Shimura house, the world remains unchanged, and the deep rooted issues present in MHA's society get swept under the rug.

So with Tomura's story seemingly ending with only 2 out of 3 of the conditions fulfilled, it feels incomplete. It feels like we're missing a very important piece of the puzzle. Because we are. Tomura still wants to destroy because his desire to destroy is connected to all three of these pieces. And until all are dealt with, that itch (pun intended) cannot be satisfied.

It very much feels like the epilogue is setting up to deal with the final missing piece. The kind of giant elephant in the room of "what are we gonna do about the society that created these villains". From Deku reflecting on Tomura's last words of "it depends what you do from here", to Mirio's speech about "turning minuses into zero" and "going beyond", to Dabi, Toga, and Spinner's fates slowly being revealed, to the restoration project class (now) 2-A is going to be working on.

Which is where I think (hope) our Mystery Man comes in.

Whoever this is, he's clearly distressed, wandering a destroyed city or town, and in need of help. It's entirely possible this is just Some Guy™, meant to represent the type of people that were/are ignored and need to be saved. That he's going to be the person Deku reaches out to and saves where he failed in saving Tomura. Therefore resolving the issue of no one helping Tenko when he was a kid, and showing how heroes and society are going to change from here on out.

Putting aside the obvious visuals pointing to this being Tenko/Tomura, (and I'm talking about more than just his looks) for me at least, I feel like him being just Some Guy™, falls really flat. It feels like a consolation prize for Deku. "You couldn't save the guy you really wanted, so here, have a new guy, free of charge, maybe you'll do this one right." On top of that, it feels like a rehash of what happened with Eri (a hero reaching out before it's too late).

But the most important thing is, it doesn't fix Deku's failure thematically. He has always been about "total victory" and "saving everyone with a smile on his face", so why would his final save, his most important save, end in such a way that neither of those conditions can be fulfilled? It doesn't make sense. And I wanna have faith that this isn't just bad writing, but rather the beginning of the setup to resolve these issues.

With each step so far in "saving Tenko/Tomura", things have been happening in a very literal sense. Deku (and Nana) literally stopped Kotaro from hitting Tenko. Deku literally held Tenko's hands and validated his pain and confusion at killing his family. AFO literally showed his evil hand in shaping Tomura into a villain. And Tomura literally made the decision to end the control AFO had over his life. So in order for the societal piece to be dealt with, Tenko/Tomura needs to literally be reached out to in his time of need. Something that cannot happen by proxy and cannot happen if he's dead.

It seems like a very convoluted way to get here. And (if I'm right in this) I'm not saying the way it's being done is perfect, but it does make sense. Tomura has no reason to believe Deku and the heroes will change society for the better. And in the context of the battle, there was no real way to show Tomura that they would. In the same way that he needed to be stopped from killing his family, that he needed to be shown how badly AFO groomed him, he now needs to see society changing in order to have faith that it will.

And if we call back to Tomura's line about wanting to be a hero for the villains, that statement alone is what meshes these conditions together. From the kid who was abused for wanting to be a hero, to the kid who was raised without a choice of his own, to the kid who saw firsthand how the world treats so called "villains" through his own experiences and those of his friends. In order for him to fully be a "hero for the villains" he needs to be allowed to be a hero, allowed to make his own decisions, and allowed to protect the ones society rejects. He's done the first two, the third is still hanging in the air.

Which has a number of ways of being dealt with, but the most obvious one would be to utilize the broken half of Overhaul to heal their current critical conditions. Dabi is alluded to being alive, but hooked up so some kind of machine. Toga lost a lot of blood. Spinner was basically brain dead. I genuinely don't think any of them died, or will die, but something needs to be done to help them. And the set up is too perfect to not come into play in some way.

Of course, all of this could be wrong. And that is what it is. I know it's kind of impractical for this Mystery Man to be Tenko/Tomura. It also doesn't immediately fix the issues brought about by Tomura's (initial? seeming?) conclusion. But, I do believe there's a lot more potential to fix what's been broken with an alive Tomura rather than a dead Tomura.

[will80sbyers]

Making Mike and El hug last and her collar snapping open after she hugged him, not Will, would have been a great way to show that Mike is Brenner's foil for El in the way of "Mike is the safe person that really loves her instead of how other men in her life just wanted control over her"

Because I've seen analysis of the monologue from Melevisione that said the parallels with Mike/Brenner in what Mike says to her during the love monologue are to say that Mike is the opposite of Brenner and loves her with real love, and I can agree that Mike is very different from Brenner and that he believes in El and loves her so so much in a real way (even if I don't think they are in love with each other right now in a romantic way)

but I don't see what Mike tells her about flying as a contrasting parallel to say that Mike was right and Brenner was wrong, because in a way Brenner was right, El wasn't ready for that fight yet but Brenner was never going to make her ready by keeping her there

On the other side of things we see that El getting free in subtext happens with Will (her REAL family) not with Mike...

I think this could be because Will gives her her autonomy freely and trusts her completely

"We'll fix it together." = I trust you to fix it with me, we are a team and a family

Mike means well but he is too afraid of losing her to really trust her with the autonomy she needs right now and that's why he also was scared to tell her how he felt for her... Until Will almost forced him to

The dynamic for them has been

"I will fix this!" = I need to have the control of things because I'm too scared of not having you in my life in the future

I don't know if this mentality Mike had before the monologue was really gone after it because he repeats that fear to her in the monologue itself and then after he expresses to Will in the cabin how he hopes Vecna is dead so she in particular doesn't have to deal with him again... which is super valid but it shows his thoughts to me that are still full of fear for her

Will instead tells him she will get her chance to try to win again showing Will has complete confidence in her ability of winning and wants to help her in every way

So to me that interaction shows that Mike is still feeling like he's kinda useless to her even after the monologue... he's trying to talk to her but she avoids him because he can't give her the reassurance and trust she needs because of his own anxiety

Instead when we look at how Mike approaches "being a team" with Will he really means that because he feels like they are on the same level and that reassures Will

El feels on her own when she's with Mike because Mike doesn't believe he can be at her level, they are too different and misunderstand each other's needs too much

Will and Mike are a team and one that can make each other feel like they are special even by just being themselves as they are in the present

Will looks at El like his sister first and even if he's afraid of losing her too he has complete confidence in her abilities and doesn't let his own fear overpower their bond

[shewholovestoread]

STORY OF KUNNING PALACE - Zhang Zhe

I've been dying to watch this show since the first trailer dropped way back when.. Now that it's finally on air, I've been rationing it (i want to finish it soon but also savour it)

There are 3 main love interests (4 in my humble opinion, but that's for another post) one of whom is Zhang Zhe and I cannot begin to express just how dull and annoying he is.

Throughout the narrative, he's presented as someone who's honourable and just, in stark contrast to pretty much every other character in the show. Except that's it, that's his defining feature. Add to that, the man has ZERO tact. Your honour and sense of justice is worth squat if you offend the emperor and get your head lobbed off.

His relationship with Xuening would have never worked because she put him on a pedestal and deified him. It makes sense when you look at the events of the previous life, she's still guilt-ridden about the fact that he got implicated, imprisoned which also resulted in the death of his mother. She 'feels' like she still owes him. I think she's more in love with the idea of him and not who he really is. I genuinely don't think she would be happy with him. She is cunning, she's not above manipulating people to get what she wants and with him, she'd have to constantly restrain that part of herself.

Zhang Zhe also sees things in black and white; you're either good and honourable or you're bad and and dishonourable, there's no space within him for nuance, for all the many shades of grey. If he knew just what Xuening herself had been up to, he would announce her as deceitful and unworthy of trust, irrespective of what her intentions were and what the end result was. Those things don't matter to him.

Which is also why I don't think he'd be a good official unless he either had the emperor's ear or seriously strong support within the court (which again would be hard since he doesn't try to cultivate relationships.)

Zhang Zhe is a nice foil to Xie Wei, who's just as twisted as Xuening (probably a whole lot more) but more importantly, sees her with all her scheming, all of her faults and still falls for her, he likes who she really is. Now, if only he could stop threatening to kill her every few minutes, maybe she'd be more amenable to his advances.