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

[ihni]

Okay so, the basketball team at Hawkins High convinces newcomer Billy that the school is haunted and that it's a tradition for new kids to have to hide in the high school after it's locked up on Friday their first week on the team, and spend a night inside the achool to show they're not scared. What they're not saying is that it's also tradition for the team to show up at night to scare the shit out of the new kid (creeping close, making noises, tapping on the windows, preferably ending with them chasing said kid through the school etc). It's hazing of course, but it's presented like a challenge and Billy needs to prove his place at the top of the food chain so naturally, Billy accepts (with a scoff, because like, he's slept in worse places than a school, it's not a big deal).

Anyway, when the crowd disperses after practice, and Billy exits the gym to head for his car, a voice comes from around the corner. "It's hazing, you know."

Billy stops and glances to the side, and then waits there while a teammate passes him under the guise of taking out a cigarette and lighting it, and when the last classmate has left, he turns to the corner. And there's a guy there. Long hair, battle jacket. Obviously a metalhead, and also obviously very far removed from the top of the social hierarchy at school.

"Is that so?" Billy says.

"Yep," the guy says. "They'll show up at night, try to scare you. Just a head's up."

Billy, who has walked closer, doesn't say anything at first, but he holds out his pack of reds in offering. The guy hesitates for a moment before taking one and nodding his head in thanks before leaning forward to light it on the lighter that Billy produces.

"Why the head's up?" Billy says, after they've both taken a drag in silence.

The guy shrugs. "I heard what you played when you rolled in. Scorpions, right?" At Billy's affirmative nod, he gives a little lopsided smile. "Not many people in this town have a good taste in music. Maybe I just wanted to be nice to a fellow connoisseur." Billy raises one eyebrow and waits in silence, and is rewarded when the guy adds, "And maybe I'm not too fond of most of those jocks. Honestly, foiling their plans is like catnip to me."

Billy lets out an involuntary huff of laughter at that, and the guy looks doen at his feet but his smile can be seen behind his hair. They smoke the rest of their cigarettes in amicable silence.

Still, even after Billy throws his butt to the ground and grounds it into the asphalt with the heel of his shoe, he doesn't leave. Instead he looks out on the near-empty parking lot, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Oh, that looks like it hurts, California," the guy says. "What are you thinking?"

"My name's not California." A slight pause, then, "It's Billy. Billy Hargrove."

"Well, Billy-Billy Hagrove. Nice to meet you. I'm Eddie."

Billy narrows his eyes at the guy - Eddie - but there's a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. The guy's got balls. He looks at the patches and buttons all over the guy's jacket. And good taste.

"Eddie," he acknowledges, his tongue darting out to lick at his bottom lip. There's a glint of mischief in his eyes. "You look like you know your way around the school."

Eddie laughs. "One could say that I have more experience with this place than most, yes."

"I also get the feeling that you wouldn't mind a chance to ... let's say, play a little prank on my new teammates, there."

"Oooh, California," Eddie all but purrs. "Talk dirty to me. What do you have in mind?"

Billy smiles. "Turning the tables. You free on Friday night, Eddie?"

---

And that's how new kid Billy and social outcast Eddie team up and somehow manage to scare the crap out of the whole basketball team during what was supposed to be Billy's hazing. It's one for the ages, talked about for years to come. It involves a stolen set of keys from the janitor, carefully set traps around the school, a deer's heart (obtained by Eddie from a local hunter), a fake knife from the drama club's props, and Billy covered in dyed-red corn syrup. The team is not prepared. Two boys cry, one faints, and one runs out into the woods in a panic and doesn't come home until the following afternoon.

Come Monday morning, rumor of what happened during the weekend has spread throughout the whole school population, Billy is top dog just like he planned, and the first thing he does when he enters the school is fistbump Eddie Munson with a grin.

And just like that, a new order is established at Hawkins High.

[bright-hope-spot-19]

No way, I just saw a post by a Sasusaku fan trying to justify the ship by bringing canon proof from the manga to counter the arguments mainly used to discredit the ship. I decided to give it a go, see what points they offered, and well.

First things first: I'm not here to make fun of anyone. I don't like hurting anyone's feelings, I can't be comfortable knowing I've hurt someone's feelings. This is the reason I'm not gonna provide a link to said post cause I don't want that person to be harassed or receive hate from Antis for trying to defend their fave ship. That person likes SS they attempted to provide proof of it, and I can respect that! However, I'm also very honest: and most of that 'canon proof' didn't actually prove anything. So here I am, also to disprove the main excuses employed in that one SS defense post.

The first claim they tried to prove is that Sakura does actually know and understand Sasuke, and she cares about him.

The proof provided were the scenes of her in the forest of death and after noticing Sasuke's discomfort from the curse mark, bringing it up to him, asking him to withdraw from the exam, and warning that she'd inform the sensei in charge if he didn't give himself a break. All right. While these scenes do show Sakura being caring towards him, which is good! They don't show her knowing him or understanding him in any way. The only reason she was more observant towards his discomfort is because she was the only other person there when Orochimaru appeared to them. Naruto was absent from the scene cause he'd been swallowed by a giant snake, and he was stuck inside it for a while until he figured out to use the Shadow Clone jutsu to explode that snake and free himself. Sakura was the only witness to Orochimaru's and Sasuke's fight and how Sasuke was marked (cause, obviously, she just sat on a branch and did nothing). So, it makes sense that literally being the only person in the know, she'd notice it and ask him about it.

If her and Naruto's roles were switched and she was the one separated from the guys for whatever reason, not being there to witness the placing of the curse mark, I'm sure she wouldn't make any comments about it later, or notice Sasuke's strange behavior. This argument is further foiled cause once Naruto's free and goes back to them and Orochimaru, he starts taunting Sasuke for being scared or whatever, and Sakura sides with Naruto! She specifically has a line telling Sasuke that not even Naruto would be this scared or whatever (rn I don't remember her exact lines, but she does berate Sasuke for not wanting to fight Oro? Cause he was the only one who wanted to escape cause he knew they didn't stand a chance). If she really cared for Sasuke, wouldn't it have made more sense for her to side with Sasuke's idea of trying to escape from Orochimaru instead of siding with Naruto's dumbass, idiotic words about Sasuke being a scaredy cat? Do SS fans know it's mainly Naruto's and Sakura's faults that Sasuke got that mark in the 1st place cause they're the ones who both berated him for not wanting to fight? Bunch of clowns, Istg.

The second claim in that SS defense post was that Sasuke noticed Sakura acting weird before they entered for the chunin exams and tried to cheer her up so she wouldn't feel sad, so he does care bout her!

All right, the scene being referenced in this instance is the one before they presented themselves for the written test, where Sasuke's staring at Sakura and thinking to himself that somethings wrong with her. Well, I'm sorry to inform you that Sakura wasn't precisely keeping it a secret either. She was making very obvious sad, nervous expressions of hopelessness, so it makes sense that Sask noticed. He was doing it all to be a good friend. Besides, Sasuke is very smart and observant. He already knows Sakura is the weakest link of the team and, as such, the one who needs the most watching out for. He notices her sad feelings because: 1- it was pretty dang obvious to anyone seeing her. 2- Sasuke is a very caring person deep down. Not just to Sakura but in general. 3- He's very smart and observant and noticed her apathy cause he was probably expecting it and saw it coming cause as I've said: she is the weakest link, and Sasuke knows it.

Same with him trying to cheer her up by mentioning the floor genjutsu: it doesn't mean he has any special feelings for her specifically. We all know Sask most likely noticed it way before Sakura. He just let her get that win before the exam cause 1- as I've said before, he's a nice person who cares about the people close to him in general. 2- he urgently needed her to stop mopping and get her head back in the game so her emotions wouldn't negatively impact the team's overall performance in the exam. Being the smart cookie he is, Sasuke also knew that if no one cheered her up and she went into the exams still sad, that could affect her negatively into performing badly and he can't allow for her to have a bad performance cause it could potentially also affect him. Above all, Sasuke sees the chunin exams as another chance to get stronger so he can enact his revenge against Itachi. To him, it's just getting a step closer to his goals. That's why he can't let Sakura be sad cause her sadness could've potentially ruined the whole exams for them. He shows it again with Naruto not knowing how to get the test answers and feeling Sasuke's and Sakura's menacing stares on his back. It's very clear that Sasuke doesn't want any of them to mess up, and for that, he needs for them to be at full mental capacity.

Another argument brought forward is that Sasuke also noticed when Sakura was lying to Naruto about her cut hair in the forest of death, after the fight vs. The sound team.

I mean, I don't know what to say to this. The scene is clearly shown in a way that makes it clear that everyone present there can tell she's lying, with the exception of Naruto cause he's that dense, I suppose. Sasuke noticing she'd cut her hair and that she lied to Nart about it to not worry him doesn't mean shit. He doesn't care if Saku cuts her hair or not. He literally also asks her no questions about it or checks on her injuries, despite knowing she'd had to fight alone for a while, before Lee and Ino-Shika-Cho showed up. Lee, Naruto, and Ino were the only 3 people present there to show any real, genuine concern for Sakura's well-being. Sasuke himself? Not at all. It would've made more sense for the ship if he was given at least a panel worrying about her or checking her injuries, but nope. That doesn't happen.

Another excuse frequently brought forward and that could be used as an argument for my words above about Sask not caring is how when Sasuke awoke from his unconscious state and saw that Sakura was injured he was so furious and overtaken by his curse mark that he asked her who did that to her and then proceeded to break Zaku's arms for it.

Now, this can very well serve as real proof that Sasuke does genuinely care and show concern for Sakura! And you know what? For once, I agree! Sasuke showed great concern for her in that scene. However, that concern was purely platonic. Besides, we shouldn't forget he was under the influence of the cm powering his negative feelings and making him lash out. When he broke the guy's arms, it was presented as a horrid "wtf" moment that was out of the ordinary cause regular Sasuke under regular circumstances would've never done that. The main point of the scene and Sasuke's whole violent outbreak was to 1- show the effect of the cm. 2- serve as foreshadowing for what would happen in later arcs (Sasuke deserting the village for Oros' offer of power). His concern for Sakura came as a byproduct, a result of these 2 main factors. Again, it is also cause he's just naturally a very kind, caring person. His emotions were out of control then because of an external factor, so it can't be taken as genuine when Sasuke wasn't really in control of his emotions there.

Another one of their arguments is when Nart and Sask are facing a Gaara who's slowly transforming into Shukaku. After Gaara had pinned Saku to a tree, Sask asked Naruto to save Sakura at all costs and run cause he wanted to personally face Gaara.

Once again, Sasuke is shown as caring. He sees Sakura in danger and is concerned with her safety and wanting to face the aggressor. The detail that's ignored more often than not is the fact that he also shows concern for Naruto. He wanted both of them to escape and leave Gaara to him. He does it cause he cares about both of them. The reason he also insists on facing Gaara alone is not just for Sakura but because he genuinely believed he was the only one strong enough to do it. He didn't think Naruto could do it, so once again, he was willing to risk himself for both his teammates cause he's that kind and selfless. Idk why SS fans act so surprised every time Sask shows care and concern, and they immediately attribute Sakura as the only source of those feelings. The only one who can make Sask feel that way cause he's normally distant and brooding and emotionless when that's not true. Sasuke's always been a good person. Every time he's shown caring and protecting, he's not just doing it for Sakura, but for Naruto's sake just as much. The reason he just seems to care for her more is just cause she couldn't defend herself back then, so she needed extra attention, not because of any budding romantic feelings. Sask knows that, unlike Sakura, Naruto can fight, and he still cares bout him, too. During Naruto's fight vs. Gaara, there's a scene where the blond is thrown by Gaara and Sasuke's body reacts on its own despite barely being able to move, throwing himself in the way just to cushion Naruto's hit against the tree, so he ends up impacting with Sasuke. If that's not true love, idk what is.

Other arguments brought up were all concerning Boruto and the Sasuke Retsuden manga, which isn't canon, so I won't discuss them here. It was stuff about a character named Jiji touching Sakura's hair and Sask feeling jealous, and him telling Sarada that she's a result of their love or whatever? Fam, your argument loses all weight and credibility the moment you decide to bring that Sasuke Retsu-trash into the discussion. The comic itself was written by another SS fan who knows little to nothing bout the og work, and the author herself has a tweet confirming her story is not canon.

Anyways, this is all I've got for now. Yeah, Sasuke definitely cares, or used to care bout Sakura, I won't deny that. Those feelings, tho, are purely platonic, stemming from a heavily traumatized survivor of genocide who doesn't want to lose any more of his friends and hates to see them suffer cause he knows what it feels like. It's all because Sasuke is naturally kind and caring, and he hates inflicting violence on the innocent. Not even on people who do deserve it, in fact. Of course, SS fans have to make it all about Sakura every time Sask shows any smidgen of concern or care, believing her to be the only reason he shows those feelings, that he doesn't feel for anyone else. That Sakura, and only Sakura, brings those emotions out of him. When the truth is, he has way more scenes caring for Nart than her (their fight against Haku?) All while ignoring the bigger things and factors at play that may influence Sasuke's emotions (such as the cm), the main goal fueling him (killing Itachi to avenge his clan), and that in his mental state Sasuke really wasn't open for romances (he says so, on multiple occasions. But why would Sakura fans care about Sasuke's mental health, amirite?) Period.

[hazamacore]

Hey!! It's kaisturntoshine (aka that one person that made long responses to your Eloise and Desmond essay) from my main blog.

I was thinking about Wolfgang's first interaction with Desmond (the "you haven't killed anyone with these weapons" one) and it reminded me of how differently Wolfgang treated Eloise in comparison:

... I thought I had a point to make with this but nope. Or, well, I do have a rough idea of what I meant to explain but I'm too sleep deprived to properly articulate it.

HIII and yeah I think this observation is basically telling us immediately and outright how these two contrast each other with this theme of "judging by appearance"!!! You are absolutely right to point it out because it is SUCH a stark contrast.

...Somewhat related and connecting this to Wolfgang and Damon - we have Wolfgang who extends sympathy and understanding towards Eloise who he perceives as in need of additional support due to her being more outwardly affected, but who suspects and consistently undermines Desmond (reaction to his thoughts on exploring the Alpha Sanctuary, reaction to his bunking idea EG) without any basis besides his talent despite Desmond's pretty open support of him and despite how Desmond was one of the only ones to validate his feelings during the mock-trial.

Comparatively, we have Damon who extends understanding to Desmond and views him as the most "normal" person here, and whose distrust of him can be put down to Average Damon Behaviour rather than the bias others show, and he quickly concedes that it's not productive - EG in the pharmacy after Desmond expresses a wariness around the sleeping pills being readily available and Damon initially says "you're already thinking of ways to murder?" but proceeds to agree with Desmond's reasoning and again label him as the Most Normal Guy Here, or in his FTEs where parallels are drawn between their work ethics and relationships with their talent, not to mention how Damon is suspected in a similar vein to Desmond but for much more personality-based reasons. Conversely, Damon doesn't understand Eloise (who doesn't really do much to help him understand her because she doesn't like him lol) and it's through his interactions with her that we see how the "judging by appearance" theme presents in her character! Most glaringly in the chapter one investigation where he doubts Eloise's ability to stand up to Grace and proceeds to be utterly proven wrong - him describing the Ultimate Fencer as "uncoordinated" and "bumbling" really lays it bare lmaooo as she takes Grace down in one fell analytical swoop, just like she asserted fencing is all about.

So it's sort of like one foil dynamic making another foil dynamic more apparent... Wolfgang takes Eloise and Desmond at face value, whereas Damon (more hostile in tone on Eloise's end for sure) becomes privy to their deeper layers. Which is FASCINATING considering Wolfgang and Damon present themselves and would have you assume the opposite! Beneath the veil of hypocrisy anyone...

And, on an additional note, I do think it's safe to say that Wolfgang had a more vested interest in the well being of the women overall! And more of an innate respect for them. #feminist but seriously a good example of this again related to Desmond (because he can't catch a break I guess? Desmond get behind me) is comparing how he doesn't level the same accusatory question at Ingrid after learning she works with swords as he does towards Desmond after learning he's a marksman which becomes ESPECIALLY blatant when you note that Desmond and Ingrid's relaying of their abilities has almost the exact same structure - "Not just swords, but tools, armour, statues...If you name it, I can forge it." / "Guns, bows, slingshots... You name it, I've hit bullseyes with it." Of course, only Desmond's talent indicates that he uses these weapons, but it's still a hell of a leap to make with energy Wolfgang really doesn't level at anyone else as consistently, which is my point.

It's interesting stuff EEEEE I LOVE the writing of these characters they are ALL so multidimensional!!! THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO RAMBLE

[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.

[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.

[jeannereames]

I saw someone asking here about Alexander grieving his father's death. That brought this question on my mind. Do you think Alexander openly grieved Philip's passing? What I can think of is, it was Hephaestion to whom he opened up. I can imagine him crying his heart out in Hephaestion's arms when they were alone together. I am not sure if he would even open up much to Olympias, though he was pretty close to his mother. What do you think?

Alexander Mourning Philip

For the ancient Greeks, Real Men Cry.

To a point.

Quite specific gender differences existed for male and female mourning in ancient Greece. If men swayed too close to women’s mourning, it was a problem. That was key to criticisms of Alexander’s mourning for Hephaistion. Essentially, he couldn’t control his grief, so he was “too girly.” But a failure to show any emotion—the proverbial “stiff upper lip”—would have been impious, not just “girly.”

Mourning was a religious expectation for any Greek. And Macedonian kings were duty-bound to bury their predecessor. Even Kassandros had to bury Arrhidaios and Alexander IV, no matter what he actually thought of them. At least in public, proper mourning behavior was expected.

That public mourning would involve the recitation of a goös, or formal elegy. Stylized mourning included loud calling out, a hand tearing at the hair, and possibly dirt on the head. Tears would be expected, as long as he wasn’t crying like a garden hose—or wailing “like a woman.” Note that, in the Iliad, Patroklos is made fun of by Achilles for “crying like a little girl” over the death of so many Greeks when the Trojans reached the Greek ships. There were limits, even as some expression of grief was not only allowed by expected.

As for Alexander’s mourning in private, I expect it was complicated, but I don’t think he would have kept it to himself except for Hephaistion. That’s not a very Greek view, imo. He’d have vacillated between anger at whoever killed Philip, and grief, and a need to learn what happened and punish the assassin. This was also a political act. Remember they did not know who did it, and it was entirely possible Alexander was the next target. (No, I don’t think Alexander had anything to do with his father’s death.) Even if he wasn’t, he’d still have been a target for his cousin Amyntas. Either he took the throne and lived (and Amyntas died), or Amyntas took the throne and Alexander died. That was the way of Macedonian inheritance with two viable Argead candidates, even with Alexander as designated heir. The next king waded to the throne through the blood of his competing relatives.

So a lot of pragmatic political matters would have impacted normal expressions of mourning. That’s independent of Alexander’s personal feelings about his father, which are difficult to know.

IMO, the popular image of Alexander and Philip at constant odds is exaggerated. In fact, if I were writing the novels today, I’d probably tone it down even more. But note that in DwtL, their relationship goes up and down. Sometimes they get along rather well; other times, not so much. Partly, that owes to Alexander being a teenager, when boys fight with their fathers anyway. But I think it also owed to the fact raising children was seen as a woman’s job and Philip was busy running a kingdom. He wasn’t present in Alexander’s life until he reached an age to be trained as an heir. Philip was that father with a high-powered occupation who sends his kid off to boarding school—literally, with Aristotle. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t interested, but he didn’t see himself as a father first. For one thing, he didn’t himself have exposure to good fathering. This is one of my novel’s themes, with the foiling between Philippos and Amyntor.

As for the real people, we’d need to know more about the state of their relationship when Philip was killed, and we just don’t have enough information because our sources for that period suck, honestly. Justin can’t at all be trusted, Plutarch has an agenda, and Diodoros is abbreviated to the point he stops making sense sometimes, but he might also be the least biased. As for Plutarch’s agenda, Philip is a barbarian king while Alexander is properly Hellenized due to his proper Greek education (via Aristotle), so he contrasts his father—until he falls under the sway of Corrupt Persian (Barbarian) Luxury and loses his Greek card. We must read all the Alexander-Philip conflict in Plutarch's Life in that fashion. Diodoros suggests things weren’t as dire as they appear in Plutarch, never mind Justin.

So I expect Alexander did mourn for his father, both in the ways expected of an Argead royal successor, but also as a son for his father. And not only in private with Hephaistion.

[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.

[dust-jacket-analysis]

It's thinking about Drake and Halia parallels time. Because they literally consume my entire thoughts.

They're both a singer x person who they used to be friends with turned bully ship. Accept Drew was always a bully, and is now just also bullying Jake.

Also breaking down parallels between each individual character in this foursome.

Hailey and Jake

Both were singers who were bullied for their passion. Both are terrible at communication (though Hailey is much better at it than Jake). And then they foil each other becasue while Hailey stayed stedfast in her beliefs and didn't let the bullying change her, Jake did. He choose to become a bully to be accepted and to make the bullying stop. A survival tactic.

Which brings me to the next parallels:

Jake and Lia

Both characters were people who were bullied and then changed themselves as a result. They weren't able to stay true to themseleves and their passions. They wanted to be accepted, adn wanted the bullying to stop. So they did just about anything to make it stop. Lia and Drew

They have the most parallels lowkey in my opinion.

Both had friends who they really cared about (beyond platonic feelings, I'd argue), but ended up betraying in the end. Both characters were Jealous of the Music Club and how clsoe Jake was to them + missed Jake hanging out with them all the time and hurt him as a result. Lia with the leaking of the audio to the club and Drew during the whole Drake up debacle. Both deal with Zoey, and have a relationship with her in some capacity. And Both ended up leaving her because of her actions. Drew and Jake

Both have terrible communication skills. Obviously. But they way they're bad at communication is the same too. They both don't speak up about how they're feeling. With Drew I just think he's emotionally constipated. And wouldn't know how to express his feelings if his life depended on it. And with Jake I think he's just used to hiding himself for group acceptance. So it's partly people pleasing, and partly force of habit. But by hiding how they're feeling and not talking about it, they both let those feelings simmer. And eventually they get angrier and angrier at each other, over things the other had no idea about, and explode. Ta da! Drakeup.

Drew and Hailey

Both are stubborn, and surprisingly "Loyal." Like say what you will about Drew (There's a lot too say) but he cares about his friends.

They both are also wildly insecure. Obviously with Hailey we see that presented in her stage fright as a result of years of bullying. And while we don't have a reason for Drew yet, it's obvious he is insecure. Hailey clocked it so fast.

Also their own anger issues (not issues, but they're both hot heads). We don't see that in Hailey's characterization as much in later episodes, but in the early days she's a loveable hot head. Drew is a (not so loveable) hot head to. We see that when he snaps at everyone throughout the series, and also during his and Jake's fight. Lia and Hailey

Both Hailey and Lia were bullied. But while Lia decided to change herself to be more liked and to stop the bullying, Hailey remained how she was in spite of it. Halia is honestly just basically Sapphic Jailey. I will NOT take criticisms. All four of them parallel each other a lot. And that's what makes every possible dynamic in this foursome so appealing and interesting. They play off of each other really well, and the writing potential is INSANE.

[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?

[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!

[akkpipitphattana]

I just need to brag for a second and, as a fellow connoisseur of the Dramatic Stylings of Mr Kanaphan, I thought you'd get it - I've been watching reactions to ep 5 and nobody clocks that the phone call is fake until they actually see Kant outside the assassin's lair (well, a couple started wondering after Fadel's line about him finally being trustworthy followed by Style looking shifty!). But I knew before he even answered the call, all thanks to yet another tiny but fantastic moment of First Face Acting: there's a split second before he picks up where you see him look up from the phone with a sort of 'oh fuck' expression, which would make sense if it was someone like the Captain calling, but then by the time he answers he's back to normal, and it's (theoretically) Babe, so why would he have made that expression upon seeing his beloved younger bro calling? Unless it's not so much an 'oh fuck' but a 'fuck, here we go', cos the game is now on. And then that's just compounded by the exaggerated 'Huh??' he lets out, because no way that's First acting shocked - it's so OTT! That is First acting Kant acting shocked, and we all know by now that Kant is no First. And just the entire conversation after he hangs up - it's so fake! It's so Kant! The whole 'oh I couldn't possibly spoil your fun. No, I will go alone like the long-suffering martyr that I am' - said the lying liar who lies! (even if the long-suffering martyr thing actually is true - ooo yet another example of him only being able to pull off lies based in truths! Plus I would kinda love it if Kant deliberately used the younger bro in peril sob story to tug at Fadel's heartstrings, even though I think it was prob just a convenient excuse - two birds with one stone though I guess!). Sorry, this got away from me! Point is: First is amazing and he's doing SO MUCH with this role, bringing SO MUCH nuance to the table - the least we viewers can do is try and pick up what he's putting down instead of...well, let's just say I agree wholeheartedly with your impulse to take Kant away from an undeserving audience!

And PLEASE do a deep dive into the Fadel=Kant thing because yes! I was just thinking bout all the Fadel meta re. why he folded so fast and so thoroughly - years of repression etc. - and how that will most likely apply to Kant too: once he gives up the 'I'm an unfeeling mission-oriented' ghost, and resigns himself to the fact he's in love, he's gonna be sooooooooooo gone! He's gonna be the most unbearably sappy lovesick romantic loser in the whole show! And for the exact same reason - because he's spent so long denying himself. They are the same person! It's just the wrapping that's different - Kant's all glitzy gold foil with velvety ribbon flourishes while Fadel is recycled black Kraft paper, but once you tear it all off you get the same present underneath: a protective, self-sacrificing orphaned older brother trapped in a toxic and coercive dynamic with an authority figure, armed with an array of failing defense mechanisms (e.g. Fadel's coldness, Kant's dishonesty), and undone by a penchant for unhinged chaos gremlins. I hope they're reluctant bffs by the end of the show!

oh yes yes yes on the call front i was so shocked people were genuinely believing that cause i literally said in my liveblog i clocked he was lying from the exaggerated “huh??” - the points about his face right before the call too is great, like first is doing SUCH an incredible job showcasing when kant is being genuine vs when he’s lying through his teeth. and it’s like okay, i get not everyone is good at picking up on nuances and microexpressions and what not but with kant it’s not even about the small things because again he’s a BAD LIAR! first makes it so so obvious for us what kant is feeling at any given moment because it’s obviously written on his face even when he’s trying to lie. that’s why his lies that aren’t really lies work the best, because there is truth to it!

god genuinely kant is such a FASCINATING character and first is doing such an incredible job portraying him in all his nuances. and i absolutely do plan to do a deep dive into all the ways fadel and kant are exactly the same especially cause it’s crazy how different the audience reaction is to them both when again, they’re very, VERY similar characters. your description of them is honestly perfect because while their packaging may be different, it’s all the same underneath. and like bison already has kant completely wrapped around his finger, style even pointed it out, so it’s gonna be beautiful to see when he can truly allow himself to feel everything for bison :)

[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

[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.

[classyruinsbarbarian]

I don’t know why Steve McClean is on my mind but uhhh anything to say about him? I highly doubt it lmao

I don't think about him often but I do have a fun concepts with him ya know

Him being like a parallel to Steven, Dr two-brains, and Squeaky.

He would be alert always on the lookout for anything. Oh! Almost forgot to cover this piece of incriminating evidence towards me committing this crime or hey this looks off might be a trap. While Steven is distractible even if he were to notice those details he would get lead off.

Steven is friendly and approachable while Steve is quiet and secluded. He is unknown while Steven is open.

Squeaky is a lab mouse, mistreated for experiments, disregarded as disposable until he was adopted by Steven and when the opportunity presented itself became part of him — no longer disposable.

Meanwhile Steve was a successful villain outwitting wordgirl for weeks until he was caught, he was dethroned as the number one villain (honestly not sure if he cared about the title or not seems like he didn't) but then was treated by the show as disposable. Only showing up in the background sometimes but never mentioned by name or had a speaking role in the show again

Dr. loves his title as number one villain something that keeps him going even if his week was bad — but when Steve rolled around he swept things out of order and made him second-best; angry tried to outwit him though this rivalry seems more one-sided if anything

Steve on the other hand isn't doing this because of the role or because it keeps him going to know he will end up top villain — he just is good at what he does, making sure that he doesn't end up in prison.

Dr. Two-brains cannot help, but see Steve as a sort of different way his life could have gone. If he didn't pursue theater if he focused on chemicals instead of whatever science idk I still haven't hc what I wanted for him

Steve wants to be back and seen, not much but still a bit. The doctor gives him glances, but it is an expression he cannot make out, it isn't one of anger or amusement or even playful rivalry.

One day the two are forced into a situation where they have to team up or something similar and Doc cannot handle him — he's starting to see small similarities between the four of them. It becomes unbearable for Steve he can make out the glances a bit better now they were teamed up. But then something happens which causes the two of them to confront the fact that they are their narrative foils. Ending off on either worse or better terms (leaning towards worse not everything can turn out good in the end)

[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