#and the only ones are 'perfect' and 'evil to the core' you have got to be kidding me
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Oh my god I don't have good and fancy words for it but I'm so tired of the fucking polarisation spiral. The whole 'those people and these people and their stupid barbaric selfish people and our good intelligent kind people'. The fucking separation of it all - "I won't do politics unless that guy stops being a politician, I don't want to play until the playing field is fair, I don't want to vote until those people stop voting". Oh my god!! Who do you think has the power to make the playing field fair!!! That's you baby!!! Are you really truly any better than 'those people' who stereotype and judge others? Of course you can disagree with someone, of course you can dislike a politician and their views and of course you can dislike it when someone agrees with those views. And of course you can dislike spending time with a group of people because of their views! But dismissing an entire group of people as barbaric and stupid and not worth your time and even subhuman (?!) because of their views? Be serious. How will that ever fucking help. Do you think separating the good people from the bad people has ever resulted in anything good at all ever? You know what helps? Talking to each other. Finding common ground. Good, you both like baking. Good, you both live on the same street. Good, you both like the name Ruth. Or fucking whatever. And then go from there. Try to maybe listen and understand each other for once. I'm not talking about forgiving people who plan on taking away your human rights or who would rather see you dead. Obviously. I'm not saying you should find the nearest 'bad person' and befriend them. Obviously. But take a good look at yourself pleasseeeeee. What do you mean 'bad person'? If you believe hatred is taught, have you ever caught yourself believing in the innate evil of a trump supporter, have you ever considered them beyond saving? If you believe empathy is human, have you ever checked if your thoughts still mean the same, does "i hate men" still carry the same value, do you still look at men the same way you did before you started saying that? Do you catch yourself stripping away hobbies and feelings and meaningful relationships from 'those' people, do you consider yourself above them? Do you praise and celebrate when people change for the better or do you hold on to what they used to do and put all your focus on what they still need to learn? A homophobe might meet a gay man and consider him one of the good ones, and that's a good start. That's not the end but it's a good fucking start. If your politics are in-group/out-group politics you are not helping and you do not have the interest of your fellow people at heart. If your beliefs have pushed you to the point you hate a certain group so much you think it's better if they're dead? I'm asking you to think about that a little, okay? Maybe go outside. Talk to people. Jesus christ.
#sorry for the rant and lack of nuance but every time i log onto social media everyone is sorting people into fucking categories#and the only ones are 'perfect' and 'evil to the core' you have got to be kidding me#its always have you donated all your money to your local homeless man today or should you die actually#its always did you ever say the f slur when you were in primary school because if so you are a danger to society#dude!!!! come on!!!#yeah my uncle doesnt know all the correct leftist language but he hates fascists and populism and will always always vote left#yeah he might not grasp they them pronouns but he would march the streets for my nonbinary partner#yeah my brother watched andrew tate videos because his algorithm only gave him jokes and he was shocked to learn about the misogyny#my dad used to be vaguely anti blm because he thought it was all a bit extremist#and we talked about it and we understand each others views now!#thats the tools you have to change the world!!#talk and listen!!#im just so tired of the polarisation#how will we ever make things better for everyone if everyone excludes people from what 'everyone' means#if you think you could be the sole arbiter of morals#or if you think certain people should die#you are mistaken#you have serious work to do#and im begging you to do it
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Another deaged Ellie and Dan, but Danny was reincarnated as Damian Wayne
Danny Damian because he was Damian now, wasn't he? He remembers now the Fentons, the GIW, Sam and Tucker, jazz. He wonders if they could have also followed him here. A part of him longs to see his fraid again, but are they his fraid still? He was a new person. Son of The Bat and Heir to the Demon Head. Something Dami he remembers reminding people of. If only Sam could see him now, he knows she'd love that. "Who's edgy now?" He can picture her saying. He can almost see Tucker laughing so hard he'd fall out of his seat.
Crack
The sharp sound of the thunder brings him to the present. He looked over at his clock, 3:00 A.M. The witching hour he can hear Ellie tell him with a mischievous smile on one of their flights around Amity Park. She loved to drag him and Dan sometimes Vlad if he was feeling friendly. Dan, his future evil self tormented by the deaths of all his family and friends, so hurt he got Vlad to rip his human half out so he didn't have to feel the pain. Ellie, his clone, created by Vlad to be the perfect son, too bad she was a daughter. Looking down at his stomach where their cores are now incubating, he couldn't help but wonder if Vlad had anything to do with this.
He shook his head as if that would rid himself of that thought. Vlad was a real fruitloop,but he would never purposefully endanger Dan or Ellie. Vlad, in his twisted and weird ways, did love them in his own ways like kidnapping and keeping him hostage to save Ellie. He had forgiven vlad for the desperate attempt to save his daughter, but incubating Ellie and Dan's cores would make him their father now, too. Ew, coparenting with Vlad does not sound like a fun time. He glanced down and lifted his shirt hesitantly. If he focused on his stomach, he could see a faint blue and red glow emanating from his stomach. Red, Vlads' color, he thought distantly. Hopefully, it didn't mean much. As if signaling him, the envelope they had carried with them to him fell off the bed carried to the floor by the slight breeze.
Lighting lumineating the bedroom, making the crisp white color shine for just a second. He tentatively reached down to grab it. He was being a baby. He was a trained assassin from birth, and his fear trained beaten out of him a long time ago. Some part of him whispered his father and Richard's teachings of being brave but not without fear.
He paused. Father would want to know everything. His past life, Ellie and Dan, the ghosts, being a halfa. He wouldn't understand, Richard would try to, but not even he could never really understand. He couldn't subject his babies to that. He couldn't live with the threat to being ripped apart molecule by molecule. His father's lack of emotional intelligence certainly would not help young halfas. He was fourteen again the age he was killed in his first life. The age he started facing ghosts from another dimension.
He started younger in this life. Killing younger, he learned to fight his whole life. Jazz would hate that. Jazz... he wondered if she was alright if she survived the attack... no, there's no time to think of that right now. He ripped open the envelope( like a band-aid, Richard would remind him), and he noticed Vlad's familiar fancy fruitloop writing immediately(he had fancy fruitloop writing now, instead of the chicken scratch Jazz chided him over). So he was right about one thing this had vlad all over it.
Dear Daniel,
Though I understand you might not be Daniel when this letter finds you. I have been reincarnated into another life as I believe you have as well. My new name is Alexander Luther. I own a corporation called Lexcorp. I unfortunately can not change the name according to my board. The idiot lot of them.
He snickered at that. His smile dropped immediately. Vlad was Lex Luthor, the archnemesis of Superman. Jon would most certainly not like this. He forced himself to read on before he spiraled further.
I regained my memories after an experiment went wrong. I know how original. My new incarnation was able to open a small portal that grew in size, and eventually, somehow Danielle and Dan fell through. The portal then exploded, and I regained my memories. Unfortunately, it destabilized their clone bodies. I couldn't grow working bodies in time, and eventually, I had to hope they could find you. I hoped somehow that the yeti doctor would have imparted some of his strange knowledge onto you that might save them.
Vlad, no Lex still wrong. Vlad was somewhat right about that. During one of his all things ghostly lessons from Frostbite, he told him of how in the old ages ghosts often incubated their ghostlings. A protective measure back when magic and spirits were more prevalent. He didn't really understand it back then, and he doesn't understand it much now, either. Apart from the fact he was doing it, he supposed. What if he did something wrong and he lost them? He doesn't think he could live out his half-life if he lost them again. He needed to get to Vlad, and quickly too so they could start building a new portal to the infinite realms.
If this letter finds you. Come find me immediately at these coordinates. I've gone deep underground to escape my new archnimesis's suoer senses. I've m started research on a new portal, but I'll need your endeneering skills. This world is severely lacking in ectoplasmic science and engineering. I am once again forced to start from scratch on my own. Once we get the portal open, you'll need to go straight to The Far Frozen.
It's as if he's reading my mind, I think jokingly.
P.s. One of my experiments may or not have regiven then my new DNA in an attempt to restabilize them.
Only Vlad.
Well, it looks like they actually were going to be coparenting after all. This was going to go great.
I sigh and lean my head back down on my pillow. He committed the cords to memory before lighting the letter on fire with the lighter he kept in his bedside drawer. Point to assassin training. Jason would be proud. He supposed he could stay for a month or so before leaving, which would give him enough time to get away or think of some kind of mission to give himself. He shoots up. Todd had died and came back. He was a revenant. He couldn't stick around if he were to visit he'd know something was wrong immediately even if he didn't understand it.
He sprung out of bed quickly, but quietly, his foot steps perfectly silent despite his rushed mood of packing a bag. He packed a few pairs of clothes and lots of hidden weapons, some snacks he kept hidden for that should keep him fed on his journey but leaving any sentimental things behind. He glanced longingly at his sketch pad, but Vlad was most likely under the water judging by the coordinates he was given. Who knows if it would survive.
He checked the pack, making sure he got all he needed. He promptly checked it again. Twice. After deeming it sufficient, he willed himself to open the door. He mentally cataloged everyone in the manor. Pennyworth was most likely still in Father's room, making sure he actually listened to his insructions. Richard and Todd in Bludhaven and Crime Alley, respectfully. Cain and Brown in Hong Kong. Thomas was sleeping after his dayshift.
Everyone accounted for except Drake. He was most likely using Pennyworth's attention on Father to work cases. He just had to take the risk. For his ghostlings, for himself, Vlad. He crept down the hallways. He was opening the grandfather clock in record time. He went slower this time. He would use his powers, but his father had supernatural wards of all kinds in the cave. Who knows what they did. He was also admittedly trying to save his little energy for his voyage on the open sea. Light snoring hit his ears as he peered around the corner.
Thank ancients.
Drake was sleeping at the batcomputer, still in his Red Robin suit sans mask surrounded by his poor choices. Empty coffee cups and files spread around. He would still need to be quiet, Drake was a light sleeper, as was everyone else in his family. He grabbed the keys to his bike quickly, sneaking by. If he wasn't ditching his bike at Gotham Bridge, he would have disabled his trackers. He checked the gas and made sure he could make it. That's when he made his first mistake.
Putting the gas jug back down, he accidently hit another of one of his siblings' tools to the floor. He tried catching it without success, but it fell anyway, the loud clang echoing. Mistake number two.
Shit.
"Huh? What's happening?" Drake arose sleepily rubbing his eyes.
He froze. Mistake number three.
"Damian? What are you doing down here?" His eyes landed on him, and he spoke confusedly with his voice heavy with sleep or lack thereof.
He panics. He's blaming the pregnancy hormones on this.
He runs.
"Damian!" Drake responded to his dead sprint with his own. "Stop!"
He reaches his bike, and he turns the keys and prays. Luckily, it comes to life. He fumbles with his helmet it would hide his tears he needed it. who knows if he'll ever get to see them again. He shoots off down the tunnel. Flicking the cave door open remotely.
Another bike rears to life behind him. "Damian wants going on?" Drakes voice echoes in his ears. He can almost taste the concern in it amplified by the helmet. He ignores it and accelerates. He ignores the returned acceleration behind him.
----------------
Tim has no clue what made Damian panic enough to run away. He quickly ran to his own bike while swearing. Damian is already gaining distance on him. After another attempt at getting Damian to calm down and talk, he calls the only person Damian would actually listen to.
He hopes Dick will forgive him for waking him at five o'clock in the morning on his day off.
#dp x dc#dcxdp#dpxdc#danny phantom#damian al ghul#damian wayne#dc characters#dc comics#dick grayson#jason todd#bruce wayne#batman#alfred pennyworth#danny as damian au#please forgive my writing#i promise itll get better once i get backstory building#de aged ellie#de aged dani#deaged dan#vlad is lex Luthor#lex luthor#tim drake#red robin dc
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I fucking hate BNHA The last panel about "granma is here" in fact further proves my point on another post of how empty and nonsensical BNHA became in the last arc because AfO wanting Tomura from the very beginning made impossible for him to be saved anyway, which means all his beef with the heroes became unjustified and his speech about violence and heroes and villains held no importance in the end. Why?
Because you cannot have a character built over the premise that society was so corrupt and selfish that put a little boy in the bad bad villain's reach for 5 arcs, to then say "oh, wait. He was fucked anyway because the bad bad guy was behind everything all along"
A bad bad guy not even all might in his prime could defeat, so it doesn't matter if people would or wouldn't help others. "It's all bad bad guy's fault anyway and he's practically immortal." Perfect, now we know granma didn't stand a chance against AfO, he planned this.
The whole idea of a society that relies on heroes too much instead of everyone doing their part from kindness falls like a house of cards if you have an evil so corrupt that none of said kindness will mean a thing. The moment Horikoshi went from "Tomura was found by AfO" to "Tomura was planned by AfO" the core theme of his series crumbled down. The league as a device lost its meaning, the characters that composed it became unjustified because whatever motivation they had was in fact a manipulation from the greater evil. And this applies to everyone.
What's the point in Toga and Twice calling out the lack of help for people with mental illness and problematic quirks if the message still is "If you do bad things out of despair no one will help you and you'll get killed." And yes, Toga died loved, Toga wanted to be loved, but she didn't wanted to die?? She was literally an abandoned child who found a family and ended up dying giving blood to the same girl she stabbed. And yeah, it's kinda poetic she died giving blood instead of taking it, but what was the point if she doesn't get to know she's loved? Further more, are we really to believe Ochako loved Toga? A girl she literally didn't know. Sorry, but once I got lost in a mall and a police officer helped me find my mom, that doesn't mean the officer loved me. And yeah, Ochako tried her best to be a good hero, but it's not about what the characters do, it's what the story tells you it happens with what they do. The story just told you the ill and abandoned die in the end before anyone helps them. And they die hunted by the police. What's the point of Touya as a whole? oh, wait. I know, it must be very awful for Endeavor to be such a bad person, his child ended up incapacitated. Very hard on Endeavor. Fuck Dabi being turned into a piece of charcoal, IT'S HARD ON HIS DAD.
What's the point in Spinner pointing out discrimination and people following him if in the end we got that he should have stayed in his lane, in his room, friendless because he only went out to be seen by someone who accepted him, just to have that person tortured in front of him before he was killed. And for what? For a teen to tell him "Yo, bro. I punched your bestie to death, make a comic about it. Btw you'll be staying in jail forever. So so sorry for you guys." Proving once again, murder is okay if you are on the right side of the story. No matter how much compassion, Tomura showed Spinner, or how much he suffered through life. Heroes had the right to kill him, and there was nothing Spinner (who legit loved his friend) could do about it because AfO had taken over. Again, another good character turned pointless, with a pointless point of view, with a pointless conclusion because he can tell the story of Tomura Shigaraki all he wants FROM JAIL, but under the public eye Tomura will go down as an insane mass murderer either way since looking at him in any other light would inevitably make a target of Izuku for killing him and that won't happen. You cannot have "the best hero ever" and "he killed this dude that was kinda right" in the same sentence. It doesn't make sense. Not to mention his case against discrimination went nowhere since everyone who followed him became a villain and the only person who actually makes a point about discrimination ends up being Deku on another, totally different chapter that had nothing to do with Spinner. And...he's a hero so he can say whatever he wants, we go back to "questioning bad, unless a hero says it" and "people are really that horrible in BNHA universe".
Tomura's case it's even more fucked because even when he said he didn't want a future, every single wish he had fell flat. His hatred for not being saved as a child proved to be out of anyone's control, his desire to destroy society didn't land because nothing really changed. There are still schools for child soldiers, and people are still not questioning the violence heroes use to keep the status quo, and certainly no one is wondering how is that a couple of heroes were able to kill a couple of villains (because so far Hawks still has a job). His friends ended up dead or locked away, and the child in him that begged to be saved ended up...being not. In the end, we got a suffering festival for Tomura, from his granma being pushed to drop her kid, his dad being tricked, his parents getting killed in front of him, Mon-chan and Hana's memory squeezed dry and young Tenko asking for help while Tomura was assaulted by his creepy guardian for 200 chapters straight just to tell us that Deku at sixteen was a great hero for putting a twenty one-year-old dissociated guy out of his misery like a euthanized dog. And for what? To finish a guy who was infatuated with his dead brother AND THAT COULD HAVE BEEN EXECUTED IN JAIL LIKE...300 CHAPTERS AGO, since the manga already made the point that villains can be executed with little repercussion, and it can be justified if said villain it's a threat. Then...why was AfO alive to begin with? Oh, I guess this is something we can trust to a 16 year old instead of... the government or whatever. And yeah, these are tragic figures, they certainly are, but you can hardly claim that they achieved anything in the end because the first premise of the league, why it was formed and why they joined was
To live as we want/are. And now they are dead, or locked away, or bedridden crispy for something that was planted by someone else from the very beginning. And what they believed didn't change anything in the end because it's not like the public saw them do something meaningful but, again, they are being told what to believe, by whom? BY THE HEROES. Are we really arguing that Iguchi's comic will change society? ARE WE FOR REAL????? Have you ever read the story of Jesus Christ? he died for our sins by Marvel. And on top of that as the last nail in the coffin to prove that NOTHING changed, Hawks really said rebranding + target audience =📈🤙🏼 StOnKS✨ I wish I was joking.
#Iguchi it's about to make a lot of money if he sells the rights of his story to Disney#bnha critical#bnha leaks#my two cents I'm rambling this is incredible
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!! She, mattheo riddle !! Summary: Mattheo Riddle, your beloved ex-boyfriend, sees you trying to move on. He won't let you, scaring away any potential new guys. pairing: mattheo riddle x reader word count: 5.7k. warning: reader is a malfoy, described to be pale with long hair. smoking of weed. partial blaise zabini x reader. Gore, killing of pets, writing with blood, spelling with intestines, crucio used. smut
Golden rubbers in these denim pockets.On my waist theres a black glock New girl moved on the block
"You don't have to do that for me, Pansy." You denied her offer, it would be too much to ask. But the fact that she went out of her way just to tell you, made you smile, pink lips pulled into a grin as you stared up at her.
"You're cool, Y/N/N. There aren't many cool people in this school, so when I find one, they have to be my friend." She said it as if it was factual, making you giggle softly. You shake your head, denying the compliment.
"Whatever you say, pansy."
The girl grinned, standing up from where she sat at the end of your bed. You watched her curiously as she searched the room, seemingly looking for something.
"Looking for something?"
You asked, confused as to why she had got up so abruptly. Pansy nodded, kneeling down on the wooden flooring beside her bed, pulling something out from underneath it.
"My shoes."
She sits on the ground, opening up a cardboard box, revealing a pair of black, brand new ugg boots. This only confuses you further, why would she need her shoes?
"The boys are usually in the common room, we're gonna go pay them a little visit."
She must've seen the curiosity written on your face, answering your unspoken question. At this, you scramble to get out of bed. "Pansy, I look like shit!" There's panic evident in your tone as you stand in front of the vanity, picking apart your appearance. You grab the nearest hair brush, running it through your hair. Not that you needed too, being a Malfoy meant no matter what, you always had perfect hair.
"Girl, look at me."
She deadpanned, making you glance at her through the mirror, where she still sat on the floor in her green pajamas and unbrushed hair, watching as you get ready.
"Besides, you look hot."
She says bluntly, shooting you a flirty wink as you caught her gaze, her green eyes boring into yours. You roll your eyes playfully in response, placing the brush back onto the dresser, cheeks turning rosy pink at her romantic demeanor.
She gets up from the floor, using the bed to help her stand. You turn, walking towards your bed to grab your previously discarded sweatshirt. ---
On your way to the common room, Pansy speaks up, her voice quietly echoing through the hall.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't met more of Draco's friends."
You hum softly in agreement. Draco was popular, you knew that much, yet you'd only ever met two of his friends, one of which was the girl you walked beside.
The other... Lets just say, he's a big part of why you don't go home much anymore.
"I preferred spending my holidays at Beaux Batons. When I'm at home, my parent's usually task me with running around after the dark lord, doing all of his chores and stuff like that."
She grimaces, remembering just how close your family was to Voldemort. Her family was also involved with the dark lord, but nowhere near as close to him as your parents were. She's never even seen Voldemort, so the thought of being in your place, stuck alone in a room with him for most of the time, scared her. Often, Draco would tell her stories about the man, 9/10 his tales would shake her to the core, further adding onto the evil perception around the lord. Plus, the things that he made Draco do, knowing that the boy wanted no part in such gruesome activities- but had no choice but to participate, greatly angered Pansy, who knew just how much it truly shakes her boyfriend. So, if you were stuck, doing all of the dark lords bidding, Pansy could only imagine the horrible things that you've likely seen, maybe even had to do. Seeing her change in mood, you think it's best to add on something that would allude being around Voldemort, 24/7, wasn't actually that bad. "He's not that bad of a guy, personality wise. His motives just aren't that great."
You tell her softly, as if asking her to cut the horrible man some slack, after all he'd done, killing innocent people for his own, selfish reason.
From the look on her face, you can tell she doesn't want to continue the conversation.
Mentally, You sigh in relief. If you talked any longer about he-who-shall-not-be-named, you'd probably end up spilling the real reason you transferred. ---
Finally, you both reach the bottom of the stairs and Pansy goes to open the door, but not before turning to you with a reassuring smile.
"I can't promise that they don't bite, but if they do, just know they don't mean to."
She spoke as if she were a poet, her sentence a metaphor of it's own. She had pre-apologized for her friends possible actions, in the case that they did say anything rude, or insensitive, though if they did offend you, Draco would have each of their heads on a stick by the morning. Silently, you thank her for the warning, sending a nod her way. She doesn't see your movement, occupied with opening the heavy dungeon door.
"Thanks."
You muttered, following her into the dimly lit room. Instantly, a wave of coldness washed over you, the fireplace doing next to nothing in keeping the space heated. You glance towards the culprit, huge windows line the stone walls, condensation dripping down the glass, almost blocking your view into the black lake, not that you could see much inside of it's darkness. The place reminded you of home, with it's intimidating aura and leather couches, the only difference was, the Malfoy manor wasn't green. Green, clearly handmade, blankets were strung over most surfaces, if not draped over a couch, it was folded on a table, ready for the students to use. It was certainly a prettier sight than the bland, blue walls of beaux batons.
Aside from a group of boys, lounging around the fireplace, the room was void of any life, the sound of yours and Pansy's footsteps echoing through-out the quiet, the only other sound being their voices, barely any louder than the crackling of the burning wood.
Pansy strode over, confidence in her steps, as if she had a purpose to be there. You followed behind, hands shoved into the pockets of your grey trackpants.
"Piss off, pansy."
Somebody spoke with an accent, you couldn't quite place where it was from, but you knew that you'd heard something similar, before. In the corner of your view, you can see Pansy roll her eyes before leaning back, sitting on the arm rest closest to her before an arm snakes around her waist, presumably your brothers.
"I've come to introduce you to my new best friend."
You hear Draco groan from where he sat, on the couch, behind pansy. You let out a scoff, stepping closer to the group as Pansy stifles a giggle.
"It's great to know that I'm appreciated, Draco."
Your voice catches the attention of the boys, their attention shifting to where you stood, your arms crossed over your chest.
You looked almost angelic, the fireplace casting a gentle glow onto your pale figure, arms crossed over your chest, your long hair gently cascading down your back.
You were... pretty?
From the angle of where you stood, their faces were perfectly in view, all looking semi-familiar, probably from when you'd met their parents, once or twice.
There was Theodore Nott, an Italian bloke with dead looking eyes. Lorenzo Berkshire, a charming boy with a sharp jawline, and Blaise Zabini, who always looked uninterested and unamused.
You finish checking them out, before having to do a double take. Mattheo wasn't there and you knew that he was supposed to be, since he was your brothers closest friend.
You mentally curse yourself for looking for him, forcing your gaze to pansy, who motions at a spot between Nott and Zabini.
You glance towards them, to see if they were okay with you sitting near them. Blaise nodded and you stepped towards them, Theodore stayed quiet, but made no move to stop you as you got closer.
You could feel somebody look at your figure as you sat down, their gaze leaving a trail of warmth in its wake.
"Boys, this is my little sister, Y/N."
Draco introduced you and Theodore's head snapped towards you, it looked as if a piece of puzzle had fallen into place inside of his head. You look at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to why he had that look in his eyes.
"Enzo."
The boy sat beside Draco said, holding out a hand for you to shake. You rip your gaze away from Theodore, instead giving Lorenzo a warm smile as you leant forward, shaking his hand.
Once again, somebody's eyes raked over your body, sending shivers down your spine. You let go of Enzo's hand, leaning back into the plush sofa.
"That's Theodore-" Lorenzo nodded towards the boy on your left, the one who had who seemed bewildered to learn your name. He continued to say nothing, just watching your interaction with Enzo. "-and the one staring you down, is Blaise."
At this, a harsh shove was sent to Lorenzo's shoulder, Draco's lip curling up in disgust as he scowled at Lorenzo, who raised his hands in surrender.
"Nobody will be staring down my sister." He stated, a threatening tone in his voice as he sat back in his chair, leaning against the plush cushion, clearly not happy with Lorenzo's words.
Draco would never let another one of his friends touch you, not after what happened last time. They were all a bunch of players, anyways, you were worth more than any of their hoes.
Pansy shot you a knowing look, as if to say, 'they already have.' In response, you grinned softly, shaking your head as you glanced away.
---
You lay in bed that night, propped up on your side to look at Pansy as she spoke, the two of you gossiping about anything and everything.
"So... You find any of them cute?"
You didn't say anything, hiding your face in the pillows so that she couldn't see the blush on your cheeks, the movement telling her all she needed to know.
"Who!"
She squealed, excitedly. She loved talking about girly things like this, not really having a lot of female friends after she started dating Draco, surrounding herself with his mates who, sadly, didn't like to gossip.
"Zabini."
You said sheepishly, voice barely audible, muffled by your pillow. Pansy grinned, egging you on as she said.
"Oh, Blaise is totally into you, I swear I saw him looking at your ass!"
She been plotting on my brown cock
By now, the first week of school had been and gone, with no signs of Mattheo, the boy that you were dreading to see.
If anything, his absence was only making it worse, under all of the circumstances- like being the new girl in his friend group, getting sorted into the same house and even being in most of his classes. You should have seen him by now, it was a miracle that you hadn't.
However, you tried not to think about him. Which was hard, nearly impossible, so you'd distracted yourself, thoughts of Blaise Zabini plaguing your mind.
He was hot, gorgeous even and the two of you got along well, in-fact, so well that he strolled up to you in your shared potions class. His hands in his pockets as he, casually, asked if you wanted to 'hang.'
Just the two of you, alone in his dorm. Which everyone knew was basically code for, 'I'm trying to fuck.'
In response, you sheepishly nodded. You'd been asked out before, so many times that you couldn't even count, but none of the guys that asked you out were cute, or respectable, like he was.
Plus, if yours and Blaise's relationship did blossom into something more, he was the son of a pureblood death eater, meaning that your father would, hopefully, approve.
But in all reality, there was only one boy that your father wanted you to date, or in other words, give a second chance.
Not that you would ever, ever get with Mattheo Riddle again, no matter how much your father wanted you too.
After Blaise had left your table, Pansy came back, lips curled into a smirk, having watched the interaction between you and your crush.
The entire class, she pestered you about it, doing annoying things, like drawing 'Y/I + B.Z' on your paper, or shaping her hands into a heart and putting it over her eye, so that it was around you and Blaise.
It was at lunch when you finally gave in, the two of you planning to spend the rest of the day sitting by the black lake, so you could fill her in without fear of being overheard, you were also due for a gossip session, so the hangout would be solving two problems at once.
Although, as soon as you left the castle, you could feel it. A pair of eyes staring lasers into your back, watching as you ventured towards the black lake.
You couldn't recall how many times you had glanced over your shoulder, looking for something out of place, anything that could possibly be giving you the feeling of being watched.
But to no avail, until you and pansy started talking about how well you fit into their little group. She mentioned that there was still another member, who's yet to come but will be at dinner tonight.
You sat with your knees to your chest, your back facing the black lake, probably not a good idea as anything could jump out and grab you, without you knowing in time. But it was worth it, as long as you were filled in on all the Hogwarts drama.
Pansy sat across from you, her legs crossed as she rambles on, telling you funny stories about the boys.
"You know, I think you fit in really well, With the boys and I."
You smile at her honesty, you hadn't really thought about that until now, but you did slide into the group pretty easily, your jokes always at the right time, making everyone laugh, knowing with one look how was somebody was feeling, though you did that outside of your friends, as well.
"There is actually a 6th member to our little group, you'll meet him tonight."
Horror, which you feigned as surprise, crossed your face. You'd known that Mattheo had to come back at some point, but that didn't mean you dreaded it any less.
"W-what?"
Pansy dismissed your odd behavior, assuming that you were just confused as to who she was talking about.
"Apparently Mattheo was sick for the fist couple of weeks, couldn't catch the train with the rest of us."
Hearing his name left a bad feeling in your stomach and suddenly, you didn't feel like going to dinner tonight.
"You know him?"
She asked, noticing the uncomfortable look on your face. You shook your head so fast you might've given yourself whiplash, hoping she wouldn't notice, you cleared your throat, trying to get rid of the anxious lump rising in it.
"Just... heard some stuff."
You lied through your teeth, not ready to tell the girl about your bad past involving Mattheo. Well, it wasn't completely untrue, you'd definitely heard some pretty horrible things involving the boy, you'd also experienced it first-hand.
"Fair enough."
Pansy stated, shrugging.
"He's a little scary, but he's not all that bad."
You nodded, glancing away from her, opting to stare into the darkness of the black lake instead.
---
Not much happened at dinner. Sure, seeing Mattheo for the first time, since you were fifteen, was... Weird.
He looked different, in a good way. His face was more scarred than when you last saw it, but his wounds were in all of the right places. His lips were slightly chapped, glossy from his spit and his skin was tanner, not holding the same paleness he used to shar with his father, as a child. His eyes were no longer brown, having darkened to a pitch black, his pupils barely visible.
You only knew this because he had been staring at you during all of dinner. While everyone else was eating, his eyes were on you.
The kind glint they once held was gone, now holding a look of stoic, coldness as he watched you pick at the garlic bread on your plate.
You could barely eat, hyper-aware of the fact that you had Mattheo's full, undivided attention.
You tried to rid your thoughts of him, focusing on the conversation around you. Which, ironically, was just Draco talking to, or about, Mattheo, who would only respond with short answers, still not tearing his gaze away from you.
It had started to irk you, was he seriously still hung up on it? It happened over three years ago, the both of you should be over the situation by now.
You told yourself that there was another reason, not wanting to think about the bad decisions that your younger self had made.
You probably just had something on your face, or maybe, a bit of food stuck in your teeth.
When Blaise tugged on your hand, pulling you out of your seat to go to his dorm with him, you silently thanked every god that you could think of. Mentally noting that you owed the boy a favor, not that he had helped you out on purpose.
In your departure, you missed the death glare that Mattheo had given to Blaise, said boy quirking a brow towards Mattheo, confused as to why he was staring lasers into him.
Theo took a sip from his gauntlet, filled with lemonade, he regrets not telling Blaise about you and Mattheo. As much as he liked you and Blaise together, he was scared that the boy was going to get caught in the crossfire of your ex. Which Theodore knew about, from when him and Mattheo had shared a blunt on a particularly rainy day.
---
Mattheo had laid across the bed, his head hanging off the side, poorly rolled joint between his lips. Theodore was his most talkative self when high, his quiet demeanor completely out the door. Mattheo however, was the complete opposite. When intoxicated his extroverted self could only ever cough out one or two words.
"Once, when I was in muggle school, there was this one blonde girl, who would always dance in the rain. I had a crush on her, I think. I don't know, honestly, I can't remember. But, anyways. I would always watch her-"
Theo rambled on, sitting with his legs laid out, leaning against the headboard, next to where his bong sat on the nightstand. His hand flew around as he spoke, making quick gestures to accentuate what he was talking about.
"Creep."
Mattheo said, his face void of any emotion, making Theo unsure of whether the boy was joking or not.
"Shut the fuck up, Mattheo. Don't rain on my parade just because you've never had any type of love in your life." Once again, Mattheo cut in, eliciting a grumble from Theodore, but making him wonder about what Mattheo could possibly have to add.
From what Theo knew about the dark lord's son, Mattheo was practically incapable of loving, it was rare for him to show any emotion other than angry. It was rare that he'd laugh if it wasn't at someone else's expense, in other words, he found amusement in hurting other people, much like his father.
But, Theodore knew that Mattheo had next to nothing in common with his father. Then again, Theo only knew of Voldemort through what his parents told him, being death eaters they saw the dark lord often. From what he'd heard, Theodore could determine that Mattheo and Voldemort were nothing alike.
"I have." He spoke, his tone un-describable , it wasn't one of anger or sadness, but, it wasn't happy or disappointed either. Theo's face was one of surprise, his brows raised and eyes, still redder than a tomato, widening.
The boy let out a deep sigh, bringing his blunt to his parted lips, deeply inhaling as Theodore sat patiently, eager to hear about Mattheo's love life, or lack there of.
"I was 15, she broke up with me, didn't want to do long distance. She was going to beaux batons, I wasn't."
He kept it short and simple, not wanting to tire himself out with trying to string a sentence together, he couldn't function properly when high. Theodore hummed, in a tone that said, 'continue.' He could tell there was more to the story, that there were unsaid words on the tip of Mattheo's tongue.
"I... I was angry, worse than you've ever seen me. I just, didn't understand why she'd want to leave me. Still don't."
Theo nods along, ushering the boy to hurry up and get to the point.
"She's my soulmate, That's rare to find. So, I tried to make her stay. I wanted- no, need her to be around me. I- uh, I crucio'd her cat, made her watch."
---
Blaise collapsed back onto his bed, sighing tiredly before propping himself onto his elbows to look at you. "Come, sit."
He nodded to the space beside him, eyes trailing over your figure as you moved to sit.
You sat next to him, feet hanging over the edge of the bed. He chuckled at your movement, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion, not sure what he was laughing at.
He lays back down, patting his lap softly, motioning for you to straddle him. You rip your gaze away from him, a blush rising to your cheeks. Noticing your embarrassment, he placed his hands on your hips, grabbing them softly to pull you onto him.
You stare down at him, perched atop of his lap. He looks at you, as if you're a riddle he can't figure out.
"You're inexperienced?"
He says it more like a statement, rather than a question. Sheepishly, you nod and Blaise smirks softly, drawing circles on the small of your back.
"Surprising..."
He trails off, behind you, there was a movement outside of the window. His gaze hardened, thinking that it was someone breaking into his dorm. But then, he remembers that the dungeon is underwater, meaning that it was probably just a fish swimming past. Something like that, anyways.
You, on the other hand, are busy admiring his face. Resisting the urge to run your hands over the curve of his jaw, or the soft slope of his nose.
The feeling of being watched still hadn't left, you knew it wouldn't, that it was just your brain being paranoid because of Mattheo.
"Being Draco's sister, I thought you'd live up to his reputation as a player."
He spoke, but not before doing a double-take of the window. It was true, Draco is notorious for being a man-whore, or at least he was before he started dating pansy.
"You know, I'm not completely innocent."
You said, catching his attention. You looked into his eyes, only to find his gaze fixed on your bottom lip, where your teeth bit into the plushness, nervously.
"I had a boyfriend, when I was 15."
He raises his eyebrows, mocking surprise. There's a teasing tone in his eyes, as if he's egging you on, to say more about this 'boyfriend.'
"Didn't turn out?"
A rhetorical question. If it had turned out, you'd still be together, but you were here, sitting on Blaise's lap, completely oblivious to the boner you'd given him.
"I was going to Beaux Batons, didn't think long distance would work."
You shook your head before speaking, purposefully leaving out the part that still haunted you.
The reason you couldn't sleep at night, laying awake in bed, the image of your childhood pet, sprawled out on the floor, guts on display, blood used to draw hearts around it, 'M + Y/I'
"Fair."
Blaise's hands moved from your hips, trailing up your waist, pulling you closer to him. You fall against his chest, a gasp leaving your parted lips. He uses this to his advantage, pressing his mouth to yours, messily kissing you.
After a moment of surprise, you kiss back, attempting to go just as fast and needy as he is, but he bites your bottom lip, just as he had seen your own teeth do just a few seconds ago. Feeling the cushion of your flesh between his teeth, he moans softly, the sound scratching an itch in your brain, dampening your panties. He slips his tongue into your mouth, instantly asserting dominance with the way he searched around. He drops you onto the bed beside him, rolling over so that he was on top of you, without breaking the kiss. His knee split your legs apart, your clit rubbing against the fabric of his slacks, a whine escaping your mouth, into his, at the sensation. He swallows the sound, running his tongue over the back of your teeth.
Last night, I slept over hers.
A forearm is rested either side of your head, your eyes tracing over the veins that trailed up to his biceps, usually soft looking, but now flexed as he hovered over you, staring down at you with an intensity in his brown eyes. "You want this?" The question caught you off-guard, he had you practically writhing underneath him and he stopped to ask you for consent? Total baby daddy material.
You whimpered, "Blaise, P- please." The sound of his name falling from your lips makes him let out a shaky breath, half-way through a moan.
Pressing a soft kiss to your lips, he aligns himself with your entrance, slipping the tip between your soaked folds, you gasp softly, his size taking a moment too get used too.
"Fuck... you're so tight, baby."
It doesn't take long for you to get acquainted with his size, needily grinding down onto his cock, to show that you were ready.
He glides in and out of your canal, each thrust agonizingly slow. He clearly just wanted to get a reaction out of you,
During sex, I overheard.
Clouded by lust, Blaise almost missed the movement in the corner of the room. His brows pulled into a furrow, he went from leaning on his forearms to his hands, craning his neck to look behind him.
"Blaise... what's wrong?" Your voice had a whiny tone to it, the sound reminding Blaise of what he was here for. Taking one last glance around the dorm, before he turned back to you. "Nothing." Blaise placed a hand under your thigh, pulling it up to be pinned against the bed. This newfound angle lets Blaise bury himself deeper inside of you, planning to make you moan so loud that he won't be able to hear any other noises.
Once again, he thrusts into you, the tip of his cock instantly hitting that spongy place in your pussy.
A sword sliced the air, I pulled out the na-na.
"Stupefy."
A voice whispered through the air, a flash of red flying past Blaise's head, just narrowly missing him.
Under his breath, Mattheo lets out a frustrated groan. He re-adjusts his stance, moving to point his wand more specifically at Blaise.
Rolled off the bed then shot back, paow-paow.
In the blink of an eye, Blaise had slipped out of you. If it weren't for the intensity of the situation, you would've whimpered at the loss of feeling filled.
His left hand held his wand, pointing it at the intruder. The right one scrambled to make himself look decent, tucking his rock hard member back into his pants.
"Sectumsempra!"
You flinch, the sound of Mattheo's voice not only surprising you, but making you scared, as well.
A white light illuminates the room, hitting Blaise square in the chest before he could react.
He dropped to the floor, an assortment of cuts sprouting open on every inch of his skin.
You lifted yourself off the bed, scrambling to kneel beside Blaise. Your eyes rake over his wounds, which were only multiplying by the minute.
Your face held a fearful expression, scared of what Mattheo may be capable of. But, that doesn't stop you from looking up at him, lip quivering as you beg him to stop.
"M- Mattheo, stop! P- please, this isn't funny!"
Mattheo's face was devoid of any emotion, although he had the ghost of a smirk on his lips, as i fhe was proud of himself.
"Mattheo, please!"
Mattheo took note of the way you looked up at him, your doe eyes big and pleading, a slight sheen over them, a sign that you were on the verge of tears, clearly out of worry for Blaise.
Truthfully, he hadn't meant to hurt Blaise. He was just checking up on you, to make sure that the boy wasn't hurting you, or making you uncomfortable.
He just hadn't expected to find Blaise balls deep inside of you.
Mattheo tried to hold it in, he really did, but he just couldn't stand watching anyone else touch you, talk to you, or even just be near you, especially in the way you were with Blaise.
Blood on the sheets, probably spilling from my gash.
Blaise's crimson blood dripped all over the floor boards, seeing the mess, Mattheo muttered the counter curse. Causing an end to the whimpering of Blaise. Mattheo watched as you gently stroked Blaise's face, soothing the boy. After seeing this, he quickly departed, unable to watch you worry after someone else.
Looked out the glass, se him sprinting on the grass, A real ninja with the blade and the mask, got them gold ninja stars and red supreme nunchuks.
Blaise hissed, the alcohol you were dabbing onto his cuts stinging him. You sat on the sink, he's stood between your thighs, gripping them every time it hurt.
Now she tryna patch me up, but Girl, I was just trying to get a nut bust.
His blood stained your pale skin, dripping down your fingers. You cupped his jaw, using it to tilt his head to the side, giving you access to a cut underneath his ear.
Neither of you had spoke for the last five minutes, a pregnant silence between you both. You pressed a soft kiss to the wound before placing a plaster over the damaged skin.
"I'm so sorry, Blaise."
He shakes his head, as if to tell you that it was alright. He watches as you care for him, making sure that he was okay.
"If that's your ex, you should probably own a pistol."
There's a tone of honesty in his voice, making you debate whether or not to tell him that trying to get rid of Mattheo wasn't worth it.
But, I'm guessing its just wiser to exit with the dude.
After returning to your dorm, you sink into the bath, pink bubbles clinging to your skin.
It takes a good amount of scrubbing, but finally, you get the red off of your skin, a floral scented soap taking it's place.
The hot water relaxes your muscles, your back de-stiffening. You try to ignore what had just happened with Blaise and Mattheo, but it plagues your mind. Mattheo's behavior provoking a disturbing feeling in your core, one that your sure you shouldn't be having.
The blinds wide open so he can see you in the dark when you're sleeping, Naked body, fresh out the shower.
Pansy wasn't in the room, so you assume that she planned to spend the night with your brother, the thought making you cringe.
The curtains were wide open, the view of the black lake crystal clear, the movement of the fish swimming casting shadows in your room.
You adorned your body in a pair of skimpy underwear, a matching bralette just barely covering your bust.
Uh, and you touch yourself after hours.
Your fingers curled inside of your canal, failing to reach the spot where you needed them most. A whine escaped your lips, hips bucking up into your palm uselessly, trying to push your small digits deeper.
Ain't no man allowed in your bedroom, You're sleeping alone in bed.
Your movements paused, the gaze of an unknown pair of eyes trailed over your body, replicating the feeling of ice sliding over your skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
Chills crept up your spine, eyes widening as you registered what was happening. On one hand, you were concerned. On the other, however, it only encouraged you to chase the orgasm that you were so desperate for, especially now that you had an audience.
A whine escaped your lips as you pulled your fingers out, leaving you achingly empty. Slowly, you sat up, knees pressing into the mattress as you scramble to grab your pillow.
You pushed the plushness underneath your aching heat, needily grinding down onto the cotton once it was situated, making you let out a moan.
But check your window, He's at the window.
You rode the pillow as if your life depended on it, breathing shallowly as you bobbed your hips up and down. Your eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to deal with the pleasure, your back arched to the roof as you desperately chased your high, head thrown back as the pillows seam rubs against your swollen clit, making you whine softly.
Your movements grow slower, sloppier as you near your high, knees starting to give out, jaw going slack as inaudible moans slip past your lips. Your head falls forward, eyes opening as your hips stutter down onto the soft foam between your thighs.
You had blurry vision, but it wasn't nearly fuzzy enough to hide the reflection of your window, a figure stood at the foot of your bed, his brown- no, black eyes locked onto your face, rather than your body.
The sight of him did something to your body, the knot in your stomach unravelling itself. You couldn't look away from him, your gaze locked onto his face as your movements halted, you watched as his eyes flickered down to the mess between your thighs, a smirk pulling at the sides of his mouth. You weren't sure how to feel about him, on one hand, he was so... Whats the word? Smoking hot, he was so smoking hot. On the other hand, however, he both shook you to the core and had you wrapped around his finger. It was crazy how much of an effect he had over you, even without saying any words. With every passing moment, you could feel your resolve slipping and your need for him in, every way possible, growing stronger. You knew you shouldn't, but if he kept this whole 'mysterious' thing up, you were sure to fall again. You panted softly, basking in the afterglow of your release, the exhaustion crashing into you like a truck. You fell forward, onto the plushness of your bed, forehead pressed into the headboard. Shame washes over you as you reach down, pulling the cushion up to join the rest of your pillows. The velvet is soaked with your scent, emitting a sweet musk into the empty room.
You feel an urge, a need to see if Mattheo was still in the dorm, you told yourself it was just out of curiosity, but really you hoped he had stayed. Weakly, you lifted yourself off of the mattress, peeking over your shoulder.
Gone. He was gone, the foot of your bed was empty aside your school shoes. His absence made the realization sink in,
What the fuck was that?
----A/N I wrote this like 2 months ago, I did plan to finish it but lost motivation. I will make a part 2, if anyone wants one. If you've already read this, I have updated the ending a couple of times, for more suspense.
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Everything Johan did was For Anna/Nina
Everything Johan did was for Anna.
A “Monster” capable of love.
“What I’m most afraid of is…forgetting Anna. The strange lessons we have everyday… are making my memories fade. Please, don’t make me forget Anna. It’s only Anna and me in this whole world. Just give me that - please. Please.” – Johan Liebert”
I was very confused about the complexities of Johan's character up until the last handful of episodes. After rewatching the series for a 3rd time and exploring how Johan is portrayed in the manga, it became very clear to me that my initial opinions about Johan were basic and devalued the intricacies of Naoki's writing. From the beginning we are only TOLD by conflicting views, who Johan was. His character, in the fictional world as well as our own, is simply defined by an individual's perception of him and the story presented. However, if we dissect ALL of the themes and even the undertones Naoki presented to us through the world of characters; I think it would be evident that Johan was not committing heinous acts for superficial reasons such as simply being evil to be evil.
So what was the method to his madness?
I believe... Everything he did was for Anna.
(Yes this includes erasing himself from existence too )
Author's Note: I want to preface before you read on that although these essays are written in a sympathizing light that Johan has done PLENTY of wrong. This is not written in an attempt to dismiss his heinous acts lightly, but to simply understand the "Monster" of the series by tackling Johan's crimes deeper than the surface. I tried to make sense of Johan's every action in regards to his OVERALL PLAN and why Naoki presented them to us as viewers. For those who will nitpick the term "everything" quite literally, I want to make it clear that not E V E R Y S I N G L E A C T I O N Johan has taken coincides with his love for his sister; his actions towards the children specifically - because there are some things that had nothing to do with his "perfect plan" but more to do with attempting to build Johan's character and his view of the world us as viewers. Justifying ones actions vs. rationalizing ones actions are completely different. I am in no way attempting to discard the accountabilities that Johan should face for his actions, but instead trying to make sense of it all. I've analyzed Johan's crimes against children here: https://xprincessgarnetxvi.tumblr.com/post/691678531250487296/i-really-love-reading-your-essays-i-can However, this will explain the root of Johan's character and the core of his overall plan(s) that was committed for the sake of his sister from the very beginning to the end. The overarching theme and message of Monster is that there are no such thing as Monsters, only broken human beings capable of great evil; so we will humanize this great Monster in order to understand not only Johan Liebert, but the hows/whys Tenma/Nina was able to forgive him and ultimately find value in saving the life of this supposed Monster.
Before we begin, I'd like to take the time to thank you for reading! I can't wait to review your comments and further discuss this magnificent series of Monster!
-
Anna was set up from the beginning to become The “Monster” given she was the one who actually endured the experiments. Her tendencies are shown in glimmers throughout the show. The heartbreaking twist to it though... is that the only reason why she DID not become the beast, was because SHE ( unlike Johan ) HAD KNOWN REAL UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
-Johan’s love and sacrifice is what kept her safe from the darkness he knew very well. He got his hands dirty to shield her. He chose to leave her behind in the care of her foster parents, knowing she would forget him, in order to heal.
He chose her than himself over and over; becoming her shadow; choosing to lose his only attachment to his already weakened identity in order for her to heal.
His love for her is why she never became a monster...and tragically, why Johan had.
Which reflects exactly what Mikhail Petrov (whose real name is Reinhart Biermann) said about his "PROFOUND DISCOVERY" concerning his current experiment on the children he had in his home; he said the children did not become animals because he gave them LOVE.
(Mikhail Petrov telling Grimmer how the children in his current experiment did not become Monster - it was because they had LOVE.)
In his own twisted way and view on things, he was protecting her. He killed every "parental" figure they had because he was betrayed by every adult figure in his life so far. People who mentioned calling the police, ended up finding out about their past - anything that could lead the man, who Johan referred to as “The Monster” into finding them, he disposed of.
The adults in their lives thus far would betray them, torture them, hurt them, throw them away- and forcefully separate them. In his severely abused mental state, any adult figure was a potential threat to his and Anna’s safety. So he’d kill in order to runaway from "the monster" and protect Anna. Then when Anna found out about the blood on his hands that fateful night the Monster paid them a visit, he realized that now he had become someone Anna feared - a different kind of Monster but all the similar to the one they were running from.
So he rationalized that now he needed to die.
In that moment, I think we should focus on his body language and expressions. Johan faced the ground. hardly picking up his eyes. His shoulders were sunken and he did not have that menacing little smile he usually had. Johan has killed in secret various times with Anna and back at Kinderheim.
So why was he so messy with the Lieberts?
Because he did not want to kill them - he said HE HAD TO.
It was not a calculated murder, because he was not truly calm and collected; He was afraid.
Lets not forget who Johan was up until that moment: the infamous little boy who provoked an entire riot and massacre by simply opening his mouth. With mere words he was able to sway the adults and children into doing what he wanted. BUT IN THAT MOMENT when Anna caught him red handed, he could not, or rather, would not - try and manipulate Anna.
(He has never once been shown trying to manipulate or abuse her throughout the entire series as he has done intentionally with the rest of the world.)
Instead, he asked her to shoot him and run - in an attempt to finally liberate her from the horrific life they had to lead up until now - blaming his existence for the constant chase their predator (Bonaparte) gave way to them as prey because in that moment, his memories were distorted and he believed he was the one who went to the Red Rose Mansion. **** (X) (this theory is challenged referenced below)
To Johan, him living was a danger to Anna and that night made it evident to him.
But when he was brought back to life and realized the gravity behind his methods, seeing how terrified Anna was of him - he started to cry. Because despite his initial feelings of finding his death absolutely necessary for her to be safe, he still wanted what he had with her; the only bond of love he ever knew.
What set his entire ADULT plan into motion (wiping out everyone who ever hurt Anna and created HIM) was Anna's rejection at the hospital. That was when he realized internally, he was beyond forgiveness and that he was nothing more than a monster. A Nameless monster in her reflection that needed to die in order for her to live in peace. (Referencing the God of Peace storybook. )
Johan was the one who gifted the God (Anna) her hat and then she saw herself as the Monster she was supposed to be due to the Red Rose Mansion experiments. This would NOT have happened if Johan did not give her the hat (the red hat which can symbolize the blood he spilled for her. ) so in this instance, Johan is also the reflection (you are me and I am you. They are both nameless monsters)
From that moment on, he wanted to wipe out his entire existence, and that meant those who ALSO "created" him so that Anna could heal as Nina.
I believe this is what is depicted in the Nameless Monster storybook.
Initially, we are made to believe Johan wanted to “consume everyone” so he would be the last one standing. The Monster known as Johan in the book also devours his counterpart, the Monster who went West and then there is no one left to call him by his name. But clearly, Johan never does this, because Johan never attempts to kill/devour Anna/Nina - because what it symbolizes is entirely different in nature regarding Johan’s intention.
A quick reminder that both Johan and Anna were considered Nameless Monsters. HOWEVER - by Johan’s hands, Anna does not remain “Nameless” nor does she ever become a “monster” the moment Johan decided to not only leave her behind in the hands of a loving family, but by her changing her name and her identity to Nina. The Fortners never made any implication that they knew of Nina’s past concerning the Lieberts murder and I believe this is because Johan introduced her as Nina to the Fortners and never allowed them to see the trail behind her identity as Anna Liebert.
Symbolically, Johan, as the Nameless Monster, consumed the Monster inside of Anna and became the only Monster left. This is what is mirrored in Johan’s intentions and the Nameless Monster storybook.
With Anna forgetting him and Johan leaving her behind thus losing his only connection to someone who truly knew him, now all that is left is Johan, without absolutely anyone to call him by his name - the one and only Nameless Monster.
And this is heavily referenced in Another Monster:
(This reinforces that Johan was trying to make Nina forget her past as Anna)
There wasn’t some sick satisfaction from any of his killings done when he was a child. To him, it was needed for the sake of her safety. This was Johan’s initial “plan.” set in motion. He wanted to be the only one left in the world with his sister - so that they wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore.
(I also believe at that point when they were kids, Johan's very first plan he referred to when telling Anna "Remember, I have a plan." was to run to another country with her so that the Monster will never find them. It is the only logical idea of a plan that a child could conjure following what he actually leads them to do, which was cross the border. Simply destroying the world is unreachable in his current state and Johan is smart enough to not be delusional in his endeavors. With that being said, he had to kill that old couple to erase any trail they may have left of "two beautiful blonde twins." But this plan fails because they nearly die at the Czech Border and was discovered. )
(Johan telling Anna he has a plan.)
RUHENHEIM:
One of the biggest moments in Ruhenheim has been misinterpreted and lost due to the mistranslations in both the English Dub and the Japanese subtitles.
I clarify and mend this by breaking down what Nina unraveled in Boneparte’s house when she looked at the portraits by correctly translating the Japanese script/text in depth here on this post:
But to summarize it for the purpose of this essay, it was revealed to us as viewers that Johan apologized to Anna when she returned from the Red Rose Mansion, revealing the overwhelming weight of guilt he carried when Anna had been taken that day.
(That day depicts the moment their mother made the terrible 'Choice')
and then Johan accepts his mother will never return to them (assuming she abandoned them) and goes on to tell Anna this:
Johan is the one crying because soon after, Nina tells us that Johan was in that room crying.
This information provides clarity as to why Nina was finally able to understand Johan, empathize with him enough to be able to forgive him. She remembered he was a boy who felt guilty over what happened to her; a boy who cried when he realized they were now all alone in the world. She understood that Johan desperately did anything and everything to ensure he and Anna survived despite it all.
That Rainy Night:
I want to GREATLY EMPHASIZE the important factor I missed my first time watching the scenes with Johan/Anna - the scenes shown to us were ONLY through her recollection as fragments due to her memory loss. They were told from what she COULD remember, so her take on what really happened that rainy night the first few times the events are unfolded before us should not be taken as absolute. At least...up until it is revealed in the final episodes that Anna realized that on that night instead of seeming like an empty shell of a person asking for death, Johan was crying and crying before she shot him.
The scene where Anna finds the portraits reveals what truly happened between them and its so important. She said “Johan was crying “here” just like before.” She was mimicking a memory she had just recalled in its entirety. “Why are you crying, why are you crying?” She sounded in distress. Directly after she reveals that she remembers him crying, it shows the image of him pointing at his head that rainy night.
Even though Johan told her to shoot him, it is IMPORTANT that he was crying and the author highlights this for a reason.
I believe that, finally being able to vividly remember that day finally revealed to her that Johan wasn’t the “face of absolute evil” she initially dismissed him to be; he was a boy/man who could cry and mourn - he was human. He was a terrified boy protecting Anna and himself the only way he knew how. and instead of showing him forgiveness/love - she added on to his collection of wounds scarred upon his soul from everyone else who chose to harm him.
Tenma...was ultimately the ONLY one in his life who showed him kindness.
Johan's intentions and reasons behind many crimes: Essay II.
( I will summarize it here as the extension essay was far too long to put on this post)
**** (☓) I want to ask, did Johan truly believe he was the one who went to the Red Rose Mansion or was that simply a masquerade he performed to make sure Anna did not remember?
(I wrote an essay on this being a possibility here: PART 2 OF THIS ESSAY. This will explain Johan's intentions in depth)
(this is a theory I FIRMLY believe and have completely adopted. But for the sake of argument, I will entertain both concepts behind Johan's memory in this essay.)
If we entertain the idea that Johan never misconstrued his memories about the Red Rose and pretended he did, I can dissect Johan’s intentions a bit more intricately.
Throughout the series you see that he is trying to wipe everyone who knew of what happened to Anna off the face of the earth, that included himself. He did not want Anna to remember. So when it was revealed she did remember, he mourned. It was subtle but evident in the anime when she reveals “you are wrong.” something in him shifted - for once he was reacting to the words of another.
She said "he had a smile but seemed like he was crying. I never seen such an expression on his face before." That entire scene, Johan’s eyes expressed something we’ve never seen from him throughout the series - a sense of mourning or longing?
Johan in front of Anna always appeared the most human and I feel Naoki did this with purpose.
(Naoki specifically told the directors/animators of the anime series to never stray from how he expressed Johan's eyes for a very important reason. )
Johan's expression finally meeting Anna after 13 years apart.
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If, however, Johan DID truly think he was the one who suffered at the red rose mansion, his “perfect suicide” plan still relates to his twisted-selfless feelings for Anna.
Johan learns it was not him that suffered at the Red Rose Mansion...but Anna instead. and then Johan goes on to commit the "perfect suicide." In his plan to die, he wanted to take The Monster with him, forcing Bonaparte to endure the same exact hell he forced Anna to suffer as a child.
Call it an act of revenge. Some may think Johan is incapable of being vengeful but I cannot see this cruel and calculated act as anything other than malice. After Bonaparte was finally dead, the monster disposed of - Johan was ready to die.
But you can see his conviction began to slip away when Anna forgave him. What made it worse was realizing he was wrong about Tenma because even now, Tenma was still hesitating on killing him ruthlessly like he always presumed would happen. Johan thought he had humans all figured out - after all, all Johan has EVER known was the darkness in people’s hearts. That is why he was so confused/moved by Tenma and wanted so desperately to prove him wrong.
The manga portrays Johan’s expressions 1000X BETTER THAN THE ANIME. As soon as Anna arrives, Johan is just staring at the floor, unable to look at her - Repeating everything from that fateful rainy night when they were kids. But this time, Anna doesn’t kill him, she chooses love and compassion. and when she says she forgives him - his reaction is something the anime does not do justice
(The subtle shift the artist expressed in his eyes from her words is so significant but missed in the anime; but he reacts rather deeply, moved and shocked by her words.)
Because "Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again."
In the manga he isn’t quick to reply. He ponders over her words carefully and I think this is when his mind starts panicking.
Anna realized that forgiveness was the one thing he wanted that night she shot him, despite him also thinking his death was needed. His value depended on her view of him; and what she once robbed from him was now returned - a human being worthy of forgiveness instead of a monster.
He is telling her the evident truth that he cannot turn back because he TRULY believes Tenma is going to kill him any moment.
Johan refuses her forgiveness not because he resents her or thinks its too late for her to redeem herself - but because he doesn’t think he deserves it. “There are somethings that cannot be undone.” Because it is too late, Johan is going to die - he WANTS to die. Then you see the fear and helplessness in his eyes after getting the one thing he always wanted [ Anna’s forgiveness] because he desperately wanted to die as the only thing he knew himself to be: the nameless, nonexistent monster. But both Anna and Tenma rob him of that by bestowing upon him the gift of compassion, mercy and empathy; for the first time treating and valuing him like a human being instead of a monster,god,experiment, devil etc., as everyone around him has his entire life.
(The Monster inside of Johan begins to crumble.)
Johan in his final moments was cracking and finally falling apart. You see it in the final expression he makes: the distraught, confusion and sadness. Because he realized, he was wrong about people, he was wrong about the world. But how can we blame him for his view on humanity when all he has ever been shown since birth was how ugly, selfish, cruel and inhumane people can be?
How can we expect someone who has only seen darkness to be able to find the light?
I want to clarify one thing I noticed: Johan has never shown to take any kind of sick satisfaction from killing unlike all the other serial killers being interviewed in the series. (aside from Richard) Specifically, Johan is without "the lust for murder" as Lunge explains in Another Monster - which is why Johan hired other people to kill for him instead. Especially contrasting Johan with Roberto, specifically, when Roberto tries to kill Anna.
(that is until Richard, which makes Johan's dealings with him stand out for a reason. He doesn't even take pleasure in killing the Red Hiddenburg, he leaves before witnessing her death instead of reveling in his 'checkmate' coming to fruition.)
Despite his callousness and his lack of care for life - Johan, despite how much of a "monster" he was, very clearly had humanity and had love....for his sister most of all. Johan saw when his mother choose, how little their lives meant to her and this instilled his nihilism at such a young age. He watched Anna get tossed to the wolves like nothing and in that moment, he probably thought his mother chose Anna over him for a reason. (even though the question on her intention would haunt him for the rest of his life) But her being able to choose is what hurt him the most and it's probably what instilled his self sacrificing mentality to care for Anna above the world in order to never make the same mistake his mother had.
That is why after she got back from the Red Rose Mansion, he cried for her story and apologized as if it was his responsibility to feel guilty over what happened to her. It should have been him that suffered. Then after, he treats her with the upmost care, telling her everything is hers, no matter what she will win everything because he would deem it so. He is kind to her, never letting go of her hand even when she is dragging behind - he sacrificed all of himself for her...
Because she deserved everything in the world to contrast their mother throwing her away.
(it should be noted that the Lieberts did not want Anna either but only adopted her because Johan refused to leave the orphanage without her. Which is also why I believe he killed them when Bonaparta came because he thought the Lieberts were conspiring with Bonaparta to get Anna)
🌰 (The ‘Acorn game’ represents their Mother's choice, a child in each hand. But in this version, Johan would ensure that no matter what hand Anna chooses, she will NEVER choose wrong. He manipulates the fate behind her choices by holding two acorns instead of one; never letting her make the same mistake as her mother.)
He wanted her to know above all else, she was loved.
A clear indication of this adoration/attachment he has for her is the fact that he DOES NOT forget her even after enduring the hellish experiments in Kinderheim that aimed at wiping out / messing around with his memories.
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I wrote this because I was astounded to see various posts/Wiki pages implying that Johan’s intentions were to torture Anna and make her kill herself. Telling her to shoot him was his first attempt to drive her insane? They twisted a lot of things Johan did to try and make this statement true. But I cannot comprehend how they drew this conclusion? The series has characters mentioning on more than a few occasions that Anna is dear to Johan. "He is lost with you."
Everyone knew Anna was important to Johan, Professor Geidlitz was the first to mention this besides the old blind man. Roberto was aware of this which is why he tried to kill her as mentioned in Another Monster. Which is ALSO why Peter Capek tried to hold her hostage to prevent Johan from killing him.
and for the first time, Johan DOESN'T kill him.
Johan cried when he awoke at the hospital after he reached for his sister and she screamed in fear of him. His face full of tears - his heart completely broken. If his intention was to drive Anna insane, he would have triumphed in that moment she screamed and fell to the ground after he reached out to her. But instead he mourned.
Anna has mentioned several times that Johan has cried for her, like when he was in the room full of their happy portraits, he was crying. He never once tried to bring harm to Anna - not intentionally towards her person. Explaining the Fortners murder - either he killed the Fortners after they decided to keep lying to her, thus keeping him in the shadows when he wanted to return. OR he killed them because they were going to tell her the truth about her identity, which was something Johan worked to conceal. (this theory is explained thoroughly in essay #2 )
Regardless, if he wanted to torment her, he would not have tried to lure her away to the castle when he set up the Fortners to be killed.
They imply that Johan wanted to torture her and then kill her at the end. But that makes absolutely no sense. Where in the storyline does Johan give off this tendency towards her? Even at the end he told her where to meet him in Ruhenheim and not once did he try to shoot her or Tenma. Honestly, if he really wanted to provoke Tenma to shoot him, he would have held the gun to Anna instead of a random child. But even though being shot by Tenma was his greatest endeavor, he refused to point the gun at someone who was important to Tenma...because Anna, is important to Johan too.
To say Johan, despite being hailed as the Monster of the series, had no love or humanity in him and was merely the Devil himself...completely missed the point of the story...
I’d like to point out the constant mentioning of Hitler in this story and draw another important factor...Hitler brainwashed people to commit mass genocide. Under his rule, millions perished in horrific ways. But despite that...Hitler was capable of loving others. Hitler was also loved by others. The terrifying truth about people who commit atrocities...is that they are not monsters or demons or devils...
they are merely human.
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Here’s two passages from ANOTHER MONSTER [novel post Monster written by Naoki] that really drives this point:
- PSA: My twin brother FINALLY finished his 2 HOUR Johan Analysis Essay, that dives deeper into Johan's character. This essay and essay #2 will be included in this analysis video as we both worked on it together. However, this lays out the details visually and with beautiful music. Please watch!
youtube
#anna liebert#Nina Fortner#Johan Liebert#Naoki Urasawa's Monster#Monster anime#Naoki Urasawa#Anime twins#Dr. Tenma#Kenzo Tenma#Franz Bonaparta#Leovoid#Johan#Liebert twins#Monster meta#anime meta#Youtube
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When will we, as a society, understand that Jin Guangyao’s story is about survival and the things he had to do to make it, rather than one super evil guy just trying to be awful and kill people? We can look past Wei Wuxian torturing and killing nameless Wen soldiers because we’re not attached to them and they’re Wens. That gets to be justified because it’s the bloody revenge of the protagonist on henchman #362. We can look past his desecration of the dead, his raising of fallen soldiers to tear apart their brothers in arms, because they’re the baddies. We look past him deserting Jiang Cheng after his return because he had people to protect and Jiang Cheng is an asshole (affectionate). Don’t misconstrue me- I love Wei Wuxian, and I think that he is a basically good person that was pushed past his breaking point and did some truly awful things as a result. He’s not a bad person. But he’s not better than Meng Yao.
Walk with me, Jin Guangyao antis. Let’s recount every bad thing Jin Guangyao has ever done in chronological order.
1) killed Nie Mingjue’s general
2) got Su She to cast the 100 holes curse on Jin Zixun (possibly to frame Wei Wuxian)
3) advocated for and later worked with Xue Yang
4) killed Nie Mingjue
5) banged his sister before he knew they were siblings, later married her after knowing
6) everything about Jin Guangshan’s death
7) allegedly killed his own son
8) chopping nie Mingjue up into little pieces and keeping his head in a cupboard
9) putting all the juniors in The Zombie Cave to get everyone on Wei Wuxian’s ass and kill a lot of people
10) almost killing Jin Ling
Numero uno first ever Bad Meng Yao Deed was killing Nie Mingjue’s general. You know, the general that constantly belittled him and repeatedly insulted his mom. Not only is this one totally understandable, it was also filial.
Next the 100 holes curse. There’s not solid proof that he wanted to frame WWX for this, it’s more likely this was just a better hidden filial killing in the name of his mother’s honor that ended up negatively impacting WWX.
Xue Yang is a little freak, but he’s a powerful, smart little freak. He was to protect Xue Yang in the interest of his father, although he does keep working with him after JGS’s death. This one was a power grab, trying to have extra pieces on the board to ensure his position among the Jin.
Nie Mingjue was another filial killing. If there’s one thing Meng Yao is gonna do is always be filial to his mom. Additionally, Nie Mingjue was not a perfect innocent angel either, he supported killing the Wen remnants. This wasn’t Meng Yao killing the last unicorn y’all. AND AND ALSO ALSO Jin Guangshan ordered this!!!!!!!!!! He was obeying his father to maintain his social position!!!!!!! What’s not clicking?
I get really mad over the Qin Su stuff, because marrying her after she was already pregnant was the kindest thing he could do for her. Should he have told her they were siblings and let her make her own choice? Absolutely. But he was trying protect her, and I can’t fault him for that. (Call back the nonconsensual golden core transfer)
The only thing I won’t defend is how he killed JGS. JGS was world’s worst guy, but no one deserves to be raped under any conditions. The sex workers he hired didn’t deserve to die, they didn’t deserve any of that. One thing I will say is that he didn’t plan for Sisi to be there. She had been transferred, he didn’t expect her, and after the fact he fed and clothed and kept her comfortable for the rest of her life. Keeping her under house arrest was how he protected his social position. Psychologically speaking I understand why he killed JGS like this however. While jiggy loved his mom, it’s clear he didn’t love sex workers more broadly, and saw his mom as an exception among them. He didn’t see the sex workers he killed as people, only saving Sisi because she was another supposed exception. For JGS, this was a taste of his own medicine type beat. JGS is a rapist, who raped Qin Su’s mom and jiggy’s mom when she was 15. I completely understand why he chose to kill JGS this way, but that doesn’t make it okay.
Jin Rusong’s death is completely alleged. While it ended up being politically advantageous to jiggy to squash the smaller sects that plotted against him, we have no idea if he killed his son. While he does say he does, he also says he killed Qin Su, who killed herself. While he may feel responsible for both their deaths, that doesn’t mean he killed them. I should point out the one claiming he killed his son was Sect Leader Yao, you know, the mob mentality character.
Chopping Nie Mingjue up is just common sense. Harder for a fierce corpse to kill you if it’s just a head. Harder to identify a body if it’s just a leg. “This is desecrating the dead” AND WHAT WAS WEI WUXIAN DOING, RIDDLE ME THAT BATMAN
For the juniors, this one was just poorly thought out tbh. He needed the Jianghu to get WWX’s ass because he was going to uproot him from his comfortable life. So he harmlessly leaves all the kids in a cave, gets everyone out there, gets their energy sealed, and lets people point fingers at WWX when the zombies start coming. He knows this likely would result in the deaths of many cultivators- many cultivators who need I remind you, make up the bourgeois, talk nasty about his mom, and who supported killing the Wen Remnants. This was like the ocean gate of wuxia, but y’all aren’t ready for that. He was protecting the life he worked so hard for, plain and simple 
Okay there are two things I won’t defend. While I don’t think he would’ve taking JL’s life, I can’t imagine how traumatic that was for Jin Ling. BUT AGAIN, I understand why he did it. He was grasping at straws, clinging to anything he thought might keep him alive, and he did a desperate, shitty thing. If you want to believe he never loved Jin Ling because of this moment, be my guest, but if there’s one thing jiggy can do is love.
All in all, he did a lot of desperate, shitty things to claw his way to a better life, and a lot of desperate shitty things to keep it. If you think he shouldn’t have cared so much about being part of the Jianghu, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU MISSED THE POINT !!🎉🎊 Poverty is violence, and he grew up in it. It was his mother’s wish, what she broke herself doing, to give him a better life. He was a good son, not going to squander what his mother gave him, trying to protect his very precarious position in a society that hated him for the fact of being born wrong. He’s not a moral paragon, but no one in mdzs is. They’re all people that react in deeply human ways to deeply unfair situations. They lash out, commit violence, do things they regret. Jiggy did a lot of terrible things, but the point is that he shouldn’t have had to.
#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#jin guangyao#wei wuxian#jin ling#meng yao#meng shi#jin guangshan#jin zixun#su she#su minshan#qin su#nie mingjue
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Breakup smut pt 1 🫶🏾🥲
Poseidon x Fem Reader || NSFW || Warnings: body worship (hopefully lol), evil princess esque reader, but really youre just traumtized lol, repeated mentions of human sacrifice and the like, porn interlaced with plot, and kind of established relationship? Idk bro I obviously know nothing of relationships 🫠💔
A/N: I may have outdone myself
Your body is a temple, and Poseidon, the greatest of your devotees.
You are quite used to being worshipped. Back in the human world, your skin was kissed by peasants for good luck, and a strand of your hair was said to bring wealth upon families for generations. There was no shortage of adoration, for you were the blessed child, the one born to bare the gods' wrath like fine silks.
A very long and tedious way to say you were raised to be the human sacrifice, but you can't deny that it sounds better.
When the knife was raised, you knew at once you would not die. And when it lowered, you found yourself unsurprised that your skin stood strong as steel. The gods' wrath was not something that could be bested by mortal weaponry, it'd seem.
The resulting flash from impact left much of the happenings after as naught but a blur; how you got to Valhalla, and what happened to the villagers.
But it wasn't important to you anymore. You were no longer a scapegoat people could simply pin their fates on, a body to be slaughtered so others may live. Now, you were a true God, and the way the haughtiest of them all was gazing at you from his place at your feet proved it.
Eyes as cold and blue as a glacier were clouded with something akin to delusion. Obsession, perhaps. The way he couldn't keep his hands off you yet fought to follow your every order certainly lined up with such a trait.
As big a man as he is, even on his knees he'd dwarf you easily. Which is why you sat on a big throne- his throne, in fact. You find the sapphires and white gold compliment you quite nicely.
"May I taste you again?"
It made your head spin, the power you had in your lap. Your ascension to Godhood was accompanied by no powers; no super strength, no mental magic. All you had was your tongue, your body and your face. And with that alone, you've defeated one amongst the greatest of foes.
Your eyes are lowered to mere slits, a cocky sort of mischief darkening your irises and contorting your face.
"Do you truly believe you deserve a second taste?" The words slide off your tongue far too easily. If only you'd known the many ways you could use your power before... if only you'd always been a nasty bitch, maybe things would have turned out differently.
Oh well.
"Allow me to prove myself. Allow me to touch you, Princess. I will make you feel good."
You knew he would. He'd done it before. You'd seen stars when you came, felt muscles you've never used contract. It was pleasure so intense it almost pained you. You'd been quite vulnerable then.
But it was the sudden loss of control that put you on guard. For those moments, you were a weak human girl again, molden entirely by the people around you. If they wanted you happy, then you were. If they were scared, you were the brave one. If they needed a human sacrifice, you were it. If Poseidon wanted to make you cum, then you'd let him.
In the back of your mind, you knew that didn't make sense. But an emotion you didn't want to name pushed you to push him even harder.
"You will? Really? So much confidence... After your rather lackluster performance earlier, I can't quite say I'm ready and willing for you."
Poseidon was, at his core, a prideful God. For him to lower himself to his knees was already a great feat. But to gaze up at another? As they fix him with a disgust that was a cheap copy of his own? It was tearing apart the very foundations he'd built his persona around.
Poseidon was perfect. Everyone knew that. Perfect beings didnt bow to others– yet "may I's" left his throat in shards, like so much broken glass. And his knees were not used to such a position. The slow-creeping ache was deeply discomforting.
But your insult to his performance struck deep. A being incapable of subparness, being told he was a failure. Pride wasn't the only thing on the line here. It was his identity as a God itself that you've challenged.
"Watch, Princess. I shall wield your body as though you were waves at sea, and soon, you will know."
The sudden poetry left you speechless for once, allowing your legs to be spread as his lips crept up and over faded scars you still got insecure about. They were just slightly darker than your skin tone, and to you, stuck out like so many sore thumbs. They were ugly. But he kissed them with a reverence saved for something beautiful.
You hated this part; when his hands start to roam, and your mind, once so clear and your thoughts once so calculated, become muggy and muddled. He touched you with a gentleness you didn't think him capable of, as though you were something- someone -precious.
It's embarrassing to admit, but you're still quite new to the many facets of pleasure. Lust was never something you had a chance to indulge in. And now, under the slightest of pressure, you're left sensitive and open, your moans as common as flowers in the spring.
"P- Poseidon. Slow down..."
He was already going quite slow, and you realize that making him go slower was worse. His tongue dragged up your torso at a most agonizing pace, and the seconds it took him to slip your gown above your head felt like hours.
Now bare, the coldness of the room latched to your skin. You started to tremble, just slightly. If you'd been a bit more clear-headed, you would have forced yourself to stop. But Poseidon's mouth has found your tit, and he's got both hands at your hips kneading the skin like it'd make him cum. You never stood a chance.
You flinch, head thrown hard into the cushioned back of the throne as his tongue sucks on your nipple. He twirls it in his mouth, savoring the way your whimpers change in pitch when he runs his teeth over it. Part of him wants to bite hard, hear you squeal as pleasure mixes with the pain. He wants to feel your whole body jerk into his embrace, and hold you there while you suffer through it.
But the part that knows you knows you'd never recover from such a move. It'd be no fun to torture you if you'd become pliant after. He'd simply have to make you twitch in other ways.
His hands take more direct action as he lifts you up and into the air. You're balanced on his chest, and find yourself shy to be fully naked in front of him. You've had to bare yourself before crowds before, of course. But he was just one man, one God. You couldn't run from his eyes, from his hands, from his tongue. His attention was all on you, and you were far too aware of that fact.
Gosh, it made it no better that you were the only one naked.
"I-I demand you take your clothes off!" You meant to sound powerful, commanding, like earlier. But your voice broke and watered and you stuttered over your words and your face was getting hot and you couldn't look him in his eyes and holy hell. You weren't sure you could take much more of this.
"You demand me...?" You can feel the vibrations of his voice in his chest. However, it's rather inconvenient that your cunt is pressed so tightly to it. You almost sob out a moan at how good it feels. Your arousal was surely soaking through his robes, and you fear you'll pass out if you so much as glance at the stain you've made.
His deep voice has gained a tone of authority, much like the Poseidon everyone was used to. But it didn't thicken the air with his anger, like when he spoke to his brothers. It was cold and calm and calculated.
Where your authority faltered, his bloomed. It came naturally to him, of course. It made quite the farce out of your earlier bravado.
"Yes? I, I do. I do demand you!" You sound like a little kid. This is going terribly for you.
Poseidon doesn't answer you. He's still staring. His hands mold themselves into the fat of your ass, and the sensations leave you gripping his shoulders till the fabric rips, arching into his hold with full confidence he wouldn't let you fall.
You can't help but grind against his chest, just a little bit. It's muscular, but his pecs are soft like your own chest, and meld to your cunt so perfectly you can't help but chase the feeling. The thought to be embarrassed doesn't have time to cross your mind, as you're already long gone, riding the waves of pleasure to wherever they take you.
You're jostled suddenly, and you realize your eyes are closed when you open them and find Poseidon has retaken his rightful seat. You'd react, but he moves first. You're set down in his lap, all contact discontinued.
You feel... small. You now look up at him. And being that the chair was made for him, you find he looks far more regal than you ever could've. In seconds, you're transported back to that night. Being woken up from your bed in the middle of the night. Full restrained, your screams drowned out by the prayers they chanted as you were walked up the stairs towards the alter. Being laid flat along it, seeing the dried blood in the dim firelight. The way the knife gleamed under it.
Subconsciously, your hand moves above your heart, as if protecting it. The knife never struck home. But you're feeling pains as if it did.
Soft lips along your cheeks make you realize you're crying.
The stoicism hasn't left his features, but deep in his eyes you notice something deeper than admiration. Something that far surpassed the superficial love a devotee has for a God. This was a love for equals. For people who have seen each other, known each other's souls like they know each other's skin, who's loyalty isn't out of duty or convenience, but out of the most genuine of cares.
You find yourself standing up and leading him to the bedroom.
On the mattress, you see eye to eye. He's bared his skin for you. You got to watch as he did it. Waning candle light flickered across pale skin as he slowly loosened his fabrics. He enjoyed the hunger in your eyes. You enjoyed feeling hungry. It'd felt forbidden to want for yourself. But now, you let your greed consume you. And consume it did.
You basically drooled as the folds slid down his hips. His cock was soon exposed, and the red, throbbing tip made your mouth water. His thighs were sticky with precum, and now that you look, you weren't the only one leaving stains on clothes.
You found him gorgeous. Ever last inch of him was pure and perfect, the very image of Godhood. From his perfect golden curls to the deepness of his gaze and the stony expression on his face to match.
You wished you could tell him all this and more. Instead, when he approaches you, you kiss it into his skin.
You're maneuvered slowly onto your back. Kisses that felt like prayers rained down by the dozens. Open mouthed, wet, messy. His love for your body was so strong it seeped into you. Suddenly, you loved the skin you were in, loved it for everything its lasted through, loved it for being the temple he prayed at. His reverence was a clear sign he intended to finish what you started earlier- showing you how a perfect God pleases his partner.
All at once you were eaten. The teeth of desire are sunken deep into your flesh, your arousal drunken like water in a desert of lust. He was everywhere and you were nowhere, you were a map, and him a traveler determined to explore every corner. You never knew you could feel so many sensations at once. It was wonderful and terrifying and your hips were moving on their own and you could barely hear your thoughts over your own moans and-
"Ohhh..."
His tongue is inside you and his thumb is at your clit. His other hand palms your breast. Whatever spot he just hit triggered something to explode deep inside you, and you were cumming across his tongue before even you knew it.
You trembled hard, but his hands held you steady at the waist. If you saw stars last time, the whole universe has now spread itself out before you. Galaxies boasted a beauty you couldn't comprehend for mere seconds before you were dropped back on Earth, panting and sweating and surely out of your mind.
Your lover rises, and you find he looks rather good with your cum running down his chin. His whole chest was wet, and not long ago at all that would have left you feeling embarrassed. But right now, all you felt was a sense of rightness.
Pride bloomed alongside it when you see he'd blown his load all over his own thighs and the bed. He came untouched. And that was your doing. ♥︎
He hadn't softened even a bit though. He was looking at you like you were some kind of savior, and it made your cunt throb that much harder in anticipation.
"Poseidon...My love?"
Your tone was innocent, but one look at your face revealed the act for what it was. Your intentions were unholy despite the obvious irony of that, but as long he'd indulge, you could care less.
"I may not bend oceans to my will, nor be experienced in the wielding of the skin nor the sword..."
"But I find you've broken a spell over me tonight. The shackles of my past shan't hold me anymore. For the first time since that night, I have left the altar. I have left the false throne I'd known most of my life, and come to you not as a figurehead, nor a Princess, but as myself. I do not order, but ask: allow me to prove myself. Allow me to touch you. I, too, will make you feel good."
Your question is not answered with words, but a kiss. One as soft as a feather, and as sweet as freedom.
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A/N: This came to me in a wretched vision this very night, believe me or not. Will I spellcheck this? I'll see after I add tags. Will I edit and sharpen this? I'll see when I'm spellchecking. Enjoy.
#the psychotics writing#record of ragnarok#record of ragnarok x reader#ror#ror x reader#ror x you#poseidon ror#poseidon snv#poseidon x reader#poseidon smut#snv x reader#♥︎
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This singular frame was all it took to undo my very extreme hatred of Adam, Vivienne Medrano how dare you make me feel sympathy for this man-
Like, Adam before this scene? A blatant misogynist and a hypocrite who unabashedly revels in sinners' suffering. A guy who has no regard for anyone else, and who pisses pretty much every viewer off with patronizing jabs like "sorry sweetie" and "try to chillax, babe." Ugh, disgusting.
As the first man, it seems like he got an easy pass into Heaven. Maybe the angels were just saving face, given that their core pair of humans both took the fruit of knowledge of good and evil willingly, ordaining Adam on the technicality that "Eve did it first." But I think we can all agree that it was not on the merit of Adam's virtue.
And then Charlie draws blood during their fight in Episode 8, and, for the first time, Adam genuinely realizes he can be hurt. Like, for the first time in the duration of the show, in his entire fucking existence, someone shows him that he is not, in fact, an all-powerful symbol of power and superiority. He's just a guy with privilege who is just as vulnerable, just as flawed, just as human as the rest of them.
But once the mask is shattered, revealing the rather unexceptional man underneath, does Adam back down? Of course not—he doubles down. There's nothing worse than a narcissist who is virtually incapable of seeing the error of their ways, even when they're clearly backed into a corner. Bruised and bloody, he bellows that he's THE man; everybody should worship him.
For me, that pretty much hit the nail in the coffin. There was no redeeming a character like Adam (ironic, since he's one of the few characters in the show not in need of redemption).
So isn't it fitting, then, that his death didn't happen in some grand display requiring all of Lucifer or Charlie's might? Isn't it fitting that Adam falls to Niffty—not Lucifer, not an overlord, but a common sinner, who sees him as nothing more than a foot soldier that needs to be eliminated, a pest as easily squashed as a roach? For someone as self-aggrandizing as Adam, this has to be one of the most humiliating ways to die. The perfect end for an insufferable antagonist.
But nooo, Vivziepop didn't end it there.
Because INSTEAD, we hear Lute's heart-wrenching screams as she realizes that Adam has just been defeated; we see the look on her tear-streaked face when it registers just how badly he's been injured. The fear in her eyes at the prospect of living in a world without the angel she idolizes, the man she serves.
She's not concerned that she's just lost her arm, or that Vaggie is standing right there. In that moment, the only person in Hell is Adam, and all she wants is for him to stay with her.
Adam could have easily dismissed her feelings entirely. He could have spent his last breath hurling one last insult at Lucifer, getting the satisfaction of having the last word before his death. He could have thrown himself a pity party and cursed his fate.
Instead, this greedy, selfish, murderous fiend has the audacity to see Lute in his field of vision and flash her one last, tender smile.
We don't know for sure what Adam was thinking in this shot, but personally, I think it was something along the lines of I lost. Proud of you, Lute. I'll miss you. Goodbye.
Whatever his final thoughts are, we can surmise from his expression alone that he's accepted his fate, and that he's grateful his last seconds alive are locking eyes with someone who's important to him. Someone he cares about.
And THAT—that was enough to crack through that thick shell of hatred I'd developed for Adam and shatter it like the mask he wore for seven and a half episodes of the show. THAT 8-second moment was enough to make me reconsider my stance on Adam as an irredeemable villain.
(CURSE YOU, VIVIENNE!!!)
Does this scene cancel out all the heinous things Adam does throughout Season 1? All the lives he destroys, all the pain he causes to thousands upon thousands of souls? Absolutely not. But it does change my perception of Adam from "obnoxious egomaniac with no self-awareness" to "obnoxious egomaniac with no self-awareness that is a product of the flawed system he perpetuates."
And, I gotta wonder, what would Adam have been like if Heaven had been different?
#hazbin hotel#hazbin#hazbin spoilers#hazbin hotel adam#hazbin adam#adam hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel lute#hazbin hotel charlie#hazbin hotel niffty#hazbin hotel theory#spirit musings#I had to do a character study of adam#that scene lives rent free in my mind#and now i'm kind of obsessed with adam despite how much he irked me#how dare you vivienne
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Okay, sorry (I'm not at all), but someone was appreciating the outfits of Viktor's commune on Twitter, and it reminded me I just have a whole lot of thoughts.
But I just love love love love them because essentially?? Looks aside (though they are stunningly gorgeous), these outfits—specifically being wrapped in blankets—sort of represent these individuals at their base/"pure" humanity.
But if you think about it, for most people, even in fictional settings/media, a blanket is your very first "outfit." It is your very first armor to brave this big, big world. Then and there at your birth, you are at your absolute most vulnerable. It's you BEFORE all of the wrong of the world (prejudice, disease, harm, death, etc.) has any chance to affect/shape you. From then on, they—this life, this world, this society—all will take every chance they can get to leave its fingerprints all over you. But in that moment, coddled by a blanket, you are a bare canvas of whatever your genes have ordered. Which is why I say "pure/base humanity."
And RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA if this does not perfectly encapsulate the commune's (Viktor's) mindset at this point??
I want to first preface this by saying. No. OBVIOUSLY the commune was not 10000% all good. Loss of self and autonomy and free will are Not good things. 🧍♂️🧍♂️ (As these things makes us ourselves. Yes, though their bodies move, this is essentially murdering these people.) This is the core principle of which original game Viktor and Jayce disagreed and ultimately separated upon/got Viktor expelled. However, one of the MAIN themes of Arcane is how we can do very horrible things with good intentions. We know that this happens to be Viktor's. Clearly not probably one of the best methods of trying to bring this about, but what I'm saying is that not a single soul can argue that everything/the aftermath was done out of malice/an "evil" plan. TL;DR: No, the commune was not perfect like some people for some reason?? were convinced (looking at all of you with the 🚫 Jayce pfps after Act 2 lol). However, no way can someone genuinely say that it meant Viktor was evil because of all of it. Ok, preface over.
(Also, don't even get me started on the tragedy of how the world made Viktor, a disabled man, believe that the solution was to change himself and not ?? making the world more accommodating/educating people. That's for another time and I'm supposed to be talking about BLANKETS djksfnosfjskm.)
ANYWAYS, like Viktor himself says in Act 2:
"The reason for our failures in the commune. The doctor was right. It's inescapable. Humanity. Our very essence. Our emotions... Rage. Compassion. Hate. Two sides of the same coin. Inextricably bound."
Humanity has a ton of good to offer the world and each other. The commune was born out of Viktor's genuine empathy and desire for people to live free from all of the downsides of the human condition and the things that come with it. The commune was an attempt to separate the good side of the coin from the bad side. Which is why I say that their outfits, simply blankets wrapped around them like their "pure" selves (birth), perfectly encapsulates the commune's/Viktor's mindset at this point in time. He was convinced that he could find a way to have only the good. It also meant everyone was put to the same "level"/showed a sense of equality, which was another thing Viktor was trying to do. (I.E. Uniforms are VERY big in Piltover. Certain clothes mean STATUS. Even Salo, a former councilman, being in the same robes as everyone else is a good example of bringing everyone to the same playing field.)
Also, since I cannot help but note on it. My fellow religious trauma girlies were also very tuned into just how biblical Act 2 was in general (Jesus Viktor jokes, you will always be famous). I could make an entire essay on all of THOSE parallels, but on the topic of clothing: Adam and Eve only adorned "clothes" out of shame/self-consciousness once the biblical version of Pandora's box had been opened, releasing all of the bad (sin) into the world. This point in time of humanity before the apple is exactly akin to what Viktor was trying to achieve. (He even had a damn greenhouse omg like that's literally the Garden of Eden?? 😭😭) So while Fortiche/Riot definitely wouldn't have been able to have the members of the commune all naked without getting bumped up a couple ratings, it definitely makes sense that they would wear/appear as the next thing closest to that. Huzzah!! Blankets!! 🤌🤌
I also very much appreciate it because it makes the transition of Viktor's mindset changing very stark as well, going from "most" human (blanket) to least human (machine). I have been rationalizing these two differing points in my head kinda as:
[Commune/Act 2]
"I must save humanity from the world"
(Mentally, you have to equate bad things to the world if you believe you can have humanity without it)
VS.
[Arcane Herald/Act 3]
"I must save humanity from itself"
(Inarguable, as this is the canonical current state of new game Viktor. Also can be seen like "the world from humanity.")
Anyways, I'm crazy. 🧎♂️🧎♂️ Thanks for reading.
#kris shut up#the brainworms#arcane#viktor arcane#the arcane herald#the commune#viktor's commune#arcane s2#act 2#and also#act 3#text#i guess#i just love the blanket outfits#and am crazy#league of legends
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twirlymarimo's 2024 year-end zosan fic rec!
after a full orbit around the sun reading zosan fanfics, i decided to make a list of recommendations bringing light to these beautiful pieces of work, whether it made my heart hurt, made me laugh, or just simply hooked to the story. enjoy reading!
☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★
i would give you my heart, i think by fairv it's not finished but the first chapter is an absolute banger. multiple angsty trope in one - canonical character death, pining, miscommunication, friends to lovers, secret dating, what more could you ask for. i constantly find my self thinking about this story and i wish i was patient enough to wait for the finished work. this one deserves a lot more kudos!
homesick by summerofspock another mystery banger from summer! the vibe is twin peaks meets teen wolf and the premise is angsty but fluff is sprinkled here and there to keep our hearts stable.
insiduous by riotoftime and aevv the dynamic duo of the century that brought us tin lover is back with a new world to take over our minds with every update. their synchronized writing style reads like a book, just take a look at the world building in this one. the story is starting to pick up just like the intense dynamic between our two faves.
a heavy heart to carry by inkinmyheart i realized none of the first recs are finished, my bad but this one is! i typically avoid vampire aus because trauma from reading twilight but the concept here is interesting! i always enjoy ptsd sanji and the build up to the ending/reveal was satisfying.
the proposal by brunetta6 a well-written adaptation of the rom-com classic, the proposal. the accurate description of hokkaido brought me back down memory lane when i visited in 2023. hilarious dialogues with a tiny slice of angst makes a perfect pick-me-up read in the winter time.
lost myself when i caught sight of you by thecrownofclowns the sigh i let out after reading this. so hauntingly beautiful, like one of the fics that made me believe zosan is canon lol if this was a song, it would be a house in nebraska by our queen ethel cain
the knight shift by strawhatbougie inspired by THAT photo that circulated the internet, the author brought justice to what the audience wants - sanji in white fishnet leggings.
the mummy by greenyogurtelephant i love movie adaptations as you can see lol i read this on my e-reader in the summer and it was so hilarious, entertaining, and truly fits the essence of zosan. i would suggest to watch the actual movie either before or after reading the fic.
loose ends of the night by veto_power_over_clocks if you like pain like me, the first 4 chapters are all about miscommunication and wanting to smack both of these guys' heads and screaming at them the entire time. zoro POV too which is so rare these days but author delivered!
this post has been deleted. by evils if you love social media au but need it in a written format, this one is for you! a mix of comedy, fluff, and a slice of angst thru miscommunication.
seagrain by fruityumbrella ever thought about what would happen if sanji and zoro find out they've both done the one thing that make up their very core? "you know what, hell yeah," author fruityumbrella said.
thank you for reading if you made it this far! i have way more fics that i liked this year but i only got my account a couple of months ago so i couldn't track the ones i read earlier in the year. i also tried to feature ones that are not from well-known authors but i still had to give credit where it's due ;) thank you to all zosan writers for keeping my mental health stable (or maybe not for adding to my delusions about these two) <3
if you liked any of the fics above, please don't forget to give kudos, comment and bookmark! writers work so hard to give us amazing stories and they take so much time out of their schedules to do so.
if you're interested in more of my fic recs, you can check out my ao3 bookmarks here.
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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 악인전기 / EVILIVE.
EVILIVE is a 2023 Korean crime drama about a mild-mannered middle-aged lawyer who becomes convinced by a beautiful tall mob boss that he is tired of being nice and does want to go apeshit.
I'm going to try real hard not to do the "[guy who has only seen Beyond Evil, watching a second Korean drama] this is giving Beyond Evil vibes" thing, but you have to admit up front that comparisons are inevitable. Both of them are tight, emotionally charged dramas with a lot of blurred lines about right and wrong, and both star the absolute acting powerhouse that is Shin Hakyun playing against a gorgeous younger man who sexually threatens him a lot.
However, EVILIVE makes Beyond Evil look warm and fuzzy. The series is tight, violent, messy tale of what happens when bad choices are the only choices left to make, but you lean real hard into them anyway. So especially if you're a fan of Infernal Affairs, The Gangster, the Cop, and the Devil, and/or other homoerotic East Asian crime-and-punishment media, let me give you five reasons why I think this ten-episode series is worth your time.
1. Daddy's home
But which one of them is Daddy??? Well, that's part of the fun. See, one of the characters is older and more composed, but also clearly the economically and hierarchically subordinate of the pair; the other is younger and has spent more time obediently submitting to his crime bosses, but has all the money and wields all the power in any room he walks into (and also uses every inch of his 6'2" frame to do it). So whichever one you think deserves that title, you're right.
Watching Shin Hakyun in a couple other things, I realized how often he's cast as a sniveling, pathetic, nerdy boy-man -- and he makes good use of that experience here. His Han Dongsu starts off as a wet paper towel of a person. They put that handsome fellow in the worst possible haircut a Korean man is allowed to have by law, frumped him up in some ill-fitting suits, and left him out in the rain for a couple scenes. It'd be criminal how much they nerfed his hotness if you didn't know from the start he's got a glow-up coming.
And it's a perfect contrast to the tall, lanky, and always slightly underwashed Seo Doyeong, played perfectly by Actual Runway Model Kim Youngkwang. Equal parts sleepy-eyed and vicious, Seo Deoyeong is a perfect handsome thug. He too looks like a lion who asked a good fairy to turn him into a beautiful Japanese lesbian, only his good fairy missed slightly, but the results were still pretty great.
And oh boy, does he want to fuck that old man in half.
There is a lot going on in this show, but the core dynamic is the weird dance between these two as Seo Doyeong opens the door to the criminal underworld and Han Dongsu makes the choice to step through it. The Korean title translates roughly to 'Villain Story,' so you know from the start this is going to about one guy looking at another and going, I can make him worse. And then he does.
I know there are those of you reading this right now who like it when those boys get rough with one another. I am here to tell you that EVILIVE does not disappoint on that front. If you consider stabbing someone a love language, this to you will be romance.
2. The TENSION
And I don't just mean the sexual tension, though, as my previous point noticed, there sure is a whole lot of that.
EVILIVE is not an easy feel-good funtime show. The very first scene (a flash-forward) involves seeing a character get stone-cold murdered by another character. This show features Legitimately Bad People Who Do Legitimately Bad Things. You may want some of them to get away with it because you like them for other reasons! But you know that geting away with it gets less and less likely every time you see them do yet another Legitimately Bad Thing.
The general shape of the plot is that a deeply stressed normie man who has been repeatedly fucked over gets a chance to strike back against the people and organizations that fucked him over by going to work for a violent mobster -- because all the systems that were supposed to help him are deeply corrupt and run by people arguably even worse than said violent mobster. So you don't even get the moral high ground of saying that Han Dongsu should have done things the right way because, motherfucker, he tried. He tried doing things by the book, and all that got him was a bunch of debt and humiliation. Worse, it got his loved ones a bunch of debt and humiliation to go right along with his.
Yeah, you notice I call him "normie" up there, and not "normal"? Han Dongsu is not a normal guy. Maybe he was, once, a long time ago, but life broke him very badly. Now he's trying to do what all the nice people say he's supposed to do, all the while being a bottled-up rage monster beneath the surface.
That's where Seo Doyeong comes in.
I do think the back half of the show is unevenly paced, to the point where I don't think it should have taken your full standard sixteen episodes of a regular-sized Korean drama, but I definitely think it should have gotten more than ten. The show kind of handwaves over months-long stretches of time that I very much would have liked to see play out, especially to watch Han Dongsu and Seo Doyeong bounce off one another some more.
If I were to put on my tinfoil hat, I would say that you would have to fast-forward over those stretches, because if you did show the extent of those boys' interactions during those periods -- enough to give some later events in the show the gravity they deserve -- things would quickly get unsustainably gay.
All right, all right, I know I'm calling things gay again, but how gay is it?
Well, to some degree, only as gay as these things ever are. I mean, you know the genre, so you understand the inherent sexiness of busting the lip of a guy you have a complicated life-or-death relationship with. If one of them were a girl, there'd be no question about what we're looking at here. (See: the Butch and Sundance digression in point 5 of my Sand Sea rec post.) You pretty much can't create the intense dynamic needed to sustain this kind of story without getting into at least a little unintentional homoeroticism.
Except I don't think it's entirely unintentional, and for that, I'm going to point (again) to Seo Doyeong.
When we first meet Seo Doyeong, he claims to have a girlfriend -- but then we actually meet her, and she's everyone's girlfriend but his. He never shows any interest in women. He never mentions romantic or sexual histories with women. I don't think he even interacts substantially with any adult women, minus one critical scene. Actual Runway Model Kim Youngkwang playes Doyeong like he clearly has the 'fight' and 'fuck' sections of his brain cross-wired, and he is always spoiling for a fight.
Now, of course, we are getting into the murky territory of 'just because a guy doesn't express interest in women doesn't necessarily mean he's gay!' Which, you're right, it doesn't. But when said guy is spending damn near every scene looking like somebody's about to get their dick sucked, yeah, it kinda does.
Wait, did I say we weren't talking about sexual tension? Well, that's fine, because there's still lots of high-stress surprises left! I've already made allusions to some of the general shapes of the narrative, and I'll make even more before this rec post is through -- and I don't feel like those are spoilers, because you can know the trajectory of the story and still find yourself holding your breath about what's going to happen next. It's like Breaking Bad! You know he breaks bad! That's not a spoiler! It's in the title!
EVILIVE's plot exists in a tangle of warring organized crime factions, all the bosses and goons vying for power inside said factions, the politicians they've paid off, the lawyers who know all their secrets, the businessmen trying to maximize their profits through illegal enterprises, the corrupt law enforcement agencies trying to make the conclusions fit their preferred narratives... What I'm saying is, it's going to get messy.
Oh, and there's also the one honest cop who's onto them, so, you know ... good luck with that.
3. Baby brother. Baby.
Every tragedy needs collateral damage. EVILIVE's comes in the form of Han Dongsu's dipshit younger half-brother, Han Beomjae.
God's perfect failure to launch, Beomjae is an underachieving doofus who has some real computer smarts, but lacks the ability to get his shit together in any meaningful fashion. Dongsu has taken care of Beomjae pretty much their whole shared lives, and now he also takes care of Beomjae's precious daughter, Minhui, who lives all but full-time with Dongsu and his wife.
I like that Beomjae's not some perfect angel either. Pretty much the first thing we do is see him scamming a customer at his part-time job so he can earn some extra cash. He's sweet and earnest, but he's also absolutely capable of taking advantage of situations to get by. When he's lying to customers about the price of refurbished hardware, that's one thing. When the big brother he'd do anything for gets wrapped up with a mob boss, that's quite another.
The show is kind of fuzzy about what the age difference is between them. Shin Hakyun is nearly twenty years older than Shin Jaeha, Beomjae's actor, but we get one little flashback when we see the boys together as kids, and there they look like they're maybe five and ten. I'm going to call bullshit on the flashback and go with the actor ages, because to me it definitely makes a big difference in Han Beomjae's character if he's supposed to be thirty and has been managing being a single dad -- and mismanaging everything else about his life -- since he was twenty.
Beomjae's a gentle little disaster, a petty fuckup who's used to getting by on petty crimes and trying his best (which is not very good). He is not a bottled-up rage monster. He does not want to go apeshit. He wants a mild-mannered existence, scraping together what he can to make a, well, mostly honest living for himself. Unfortunately for him, he's wound up in a genre that doesn't reward honesty.
Shin Jaeha turns in a solid performance here, especially considering his part is more understated than a lot of the others. Most of the time, he's sharing the screen with at least one of two real heavy hitters, but he holds his own. At first, I thought Beomjae was going to be annoying and exhausting, little more than a burden on Dongsu, but he turns out to be wonderful -- and because this show is the kind of show it is, you know eventually that's gonna hurt.
4. It's just beautiful
Ugh, this is the point where I have to get mad about how few screenshots there are of this show to poach from the internet, because it's lovely. The folk behind the camera are quite talented, and shots are framed and lit so well.
Here, I'm going to do my best with what's out there.
I mean, yeah, this show gets a cheat in how Actual Runway Model Kim Youngkwang is so gorgeous that you can't really get a bad shot of him. But the camera knows how to lean into his menace so effectively that it uses his natural resources perfectly.
Also, the posters they did for the main three are stunning.
I actually think this beauty is not just an incidental charm, but a key feature of the show. As I've said a couple times now, this show is quite violent. The violence, however, is presented in a way that is both lovely and awful at once, so you have something worth looking at even during the brutal scenes that isn't just ceaseless human misery. This is especially important to me because I'm pretty squeamish about violence! While I had to look away from the screen more than once (scenes with severing and breaking fingers in particular), I always kept wanting to look back.
Also! This show is set in 2008, which means it's got a cool recent-past vibe to it. Pretty much everything looks modern, except all the technology and cars are just out of date. It's a neat effect.
5. It resists an easy moral
Ah, we're back to Beyond Evil! You knew it was coming. Anyway, Beyond Evil ends -- and I'm saying this in as unspoilery of a way as possible -- with the people who did bad things getting punishments suitable to the level of badness they did. It's a show that skates the edge of copaganda but avoids it because of its steadfast belief that power and privilege should not insulate you from the consequences of your actions. Through this belief, it creates a story about a fantasy world in which power and privilege do not insulate you from the consequences of your actions.
Ha ha ha oh boy that is not EVILIVE's take on things.
EVILIVE exists in a world of extensive corruption and collusion between organized crime, politicians, and businesses -- and that world is very real. I remember when the South Korean president declared martial law last month, which prompted an immediate oh hell no response from pretty much everybody in the vicinity. A lot of non-Korean people were asking online how a country whose citizens seem so cool and action-oriented keep electing a bunch of absolute shitbags. And the answer seems to be, the whole system is jaw-droppingly corrupt, which means all the candidates are shitbags. You must be this shitbag to play. There is no non-shitbag option.
So it's not like Han Dongsu and Seo Doyeong are inventing some new kind of crime here. This is not the tale of how two bad dudes disturbed a pure and perfect ecosystem. It's a story about how, when presented with the choice of becoming the abuser or staying the victim, the "moral" choice is not the easy one.
I don't even think you can draw an easy conclusion about "oh, back when he was poor, at least he was happy and had friends!" because no he wasn't! His lack of money created so many problems for him and everyone around him! He has moments of happiness and togetherness, but they are vastly overshadowed by the grinding horror of his day-to-day life and the way it keeps him from being able to provide for or protect his loved ones. And he's haunted the whole time by the knowledge that the reason everything is so fucked up in the first place is that, once upon a time, he tried to do the right thing.
The real villain of the show is poverty, with a henchman of how it's so much easier to join a bad system than it is to challenge it. If anything, I wish the show had been a little more upfront about that, because I think that it's subtle about it to the point where it's easy to take away a shallow 'wow, bad things happen to people who do bad things!' lesson. That's not what it's saying. Yes, bad things happen to bad people, but sometimes good things happen to bad people. Actually, frequently good things happen to bad people, because the bad people do the things that make enough money to keep the bad things from happening to them. And bad things happen to good people because the good people don't have enough money to keep the bad things from happening to them. And if you're going to end up suffering either way, why not choose the way that also lets you live in a really nice house?
...I mean, okay, I guess there is at least one easy moral here, and that is DON'T GAMBLE ONLINE, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, JUST SET YOUR MONEY ON FIRE, IT'S FASTER
Ready to play ball?
For some reason, EVILIVE is not available on your regular streaming services. MyAsiaTV was how we were watching it, except that between episodes eight and nine (argh!), whatever external site they were hosting the videos on went kablooey for me. I'm leaving the link there because maybe it'll work for you? However, in searching for a replacement, I found that this DailyMotion account has the episodes as well, and has had them uploaded for over a year now, so perhaps that's a more reliable source. Whatever works for you!
In both cases, the subtitles are absolutely fine -- definitely some hiccups and typos here and there, but on the whole they're fine. They are, however, bowdlerized to the point of hilarity. You get scenes where these blood-covered gangsters are stabbing one another, and the subtitles have them yelling things like, "You jerk!" Which adds to the experience, but maybe not in a good way.
Anyway, watch it, then come back here, and we'll go together to see what AO3 has in the way of fix-it fic, okay?
He's a Benjamin Button baseball boy!
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Omg, guess who Lia???
These days cockwarming with jjun thoughts are so on my mind, Lia... I mean just imagine how he'd just not move within you, and test if you like dirty talking, to see what stuff from his filthy mouth makes you clench, or actually some other teasing like touching and playing with your tits and nipples, or your clit but not moving in you is the best torment he can give you, when you're dripping so much and he feels so warm...
"jjun p-please," your small pleas are dead to him from the moment he actually stuffed his fat cock in you, the stretch even so pleasurable, all the thoughts in mind abandoning your conscience where all you see is to beg, but Yeonjun's not listening to his princess tonight as he stills your moments from gripping thighs hard and tight, restricting any friction/stimulation you try to get by squirming or moving yourself ever so slightly, but that's better than nothing, or so you thought, the feel of having him stay still in your warm heat, your core embracing his length, and actually squeezing him as tight as you can sometimes, oh Yeonjun really did enjoy that and deep inside as tormenting it is with the exciting butterflies dancing in your stomanch, you liked it when you shouldn't have. "you want me to fuck but you aren't letting me, baby. if you clench s-so tightly, I might break when I move, so what's it then? Fuck or.. this..?" damn cunning fox. He knows why he isn't moving, watching you fall apart from slightest stimulation by him, absolutely watch you go nuts for his slightest acts of service, he is so obsessed for interested in such a side of yours as his smirk does not falter a little, if anything, it only curves more. "What's wrong baby, cock not enough? What does my pretty slut want? I can see her losing her mind, just by cock huh, isnt it baby?" fuck, you weren't supposed to moan and clench at that. Yeonjun's eyebrows arch a little and he notices your sudden clench at his words, how your hands actually arch themselves along your back but he isn't fucking you, is he? "jjun please, do something." At this point, Yeonjun's lost count of how much you have said 'jjun please's to him tonight, but he just has begun. "Exactly, what do I do baby, when you're clenching at me and not letting me fuck, come one baby, slut up and say it." no. Not again you shouldn't clench but you do, why is he so lewd with his words that makes you wanna clench at him, is he having a control on your body? Oh yes he does but this. Fuck that laugh he lets out, as he grabs yours and cages them in his one hand and caresses your thighs, laying pressing and soothing touches as he reaches your inner thighs near your cunt, filled with his cock, the sight so fucking lewd to see, as his eyeballs curve into crescents and he smiles so heartily, his princess is perfectly sized for his cock, dripping exactly as he desires, "fuck... could you look at this, how dirty, you love my cock so much huh? Look at how well you've taken it all and yet dripping, clenching at my praises, ah, see that's exactly what I mean... f-fuck that's my slut." He is so lewdly articulate with his words, having you drip like taht, but he isn't getting enough, when you're trembling at his cock, him absorbing every tremor that your cunt exudes, your sweating face and your desperate face, just like he wants. "jjun, f-fuck me please." He shifts his gaze at you, with a pouty face that he makes, as he looks down at you pity, he tsks so much as he speaks so mockingly, "well, baby... no." As he teases your clit and gets you to squeeze him more, uh oh. It's so good, I want more. She is so perfect.
IS THIS NOULLI i am so sorry i've been sitting on this for ages gatekeeping this little drabble i almost wanted to keep it for myself it's so good but others have got to see it... i'm losing my mind i'm gonna be so embarrassed if this isn't noulli omg
i've been on such a yeonjun brainrot era this is wild and darksided and evil!!! my brain rn omg
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they managed to massacre Aang's character and all the struggle and importance of his choice in the finale in a SINGLE page, and yet there are people who think the comics are good
and of course Katara's would have nothing to say on the matter, toootally in-character
Not to mention: yes, Zuko is right that a lifetime of indoctrination won't magically stop affecting him just because he's aware of it now, but the way the comics really said "If you're not perfect, you deserve to die. Not rehabilitation, not even incarceration despite it being an option, just straight to violent, lethal punishment" is horrying.
And lets not forget the blatant abuse apologism of having Zuko, the kid who was told by his abusive parent that his disfigurement and banishment was "for his own good" after he made one "mistake", turning to his closest friends and asking them to be his "safety net" by MURDERING HIM IF EVER STEPS OUT OF LINE - and said friends then agree to it.
Are you fucking kidding me? The real Aang would have double-down on the "You're NOT your father" bit, and the entire friend group would have been super concerned about Zuko because a victim of abuse saying they're as bad as their abuser thus deserve to die is one hell of a red flag as to how their mental health is going.
Speaking of mental health: I talk a lot about how Azula was constantly being abused by the supposed heroes in the comics, and how the justification of it is rooted in ableism, but this nonsense with Zuko asking to be put down like a dog is also peak victim blaming, and one of the few moments in which one can actually feel bad for comics!Zuko.
And it ties into a disturbing pattern I noticed among Avatar fans - and mainly Zuko fans. They don't truly understand that what Ozai put his children through was wrong, they simply think he chose the wrong kid as the escapegoat. They think Azula should have been the one that is constantly punished just for existing, while Zuko is the golden child that can do no wrong - or else.
This moment right here? With the people that he trusts agreeing to inflict violence on him if he ever makes a mistake? This is that "or else". This is literally the same mentality that led to Azula's breakdown because NO ONE CAN SURVIVE UNDER THAT MUCH PRESSURE.
And that leads us to the main reason why the comcis suck: Yang was using Zuko as a self-insert.
"Zuko‘s relationship with Ozai is something we – Mike, Brian, Dark Horse, Nickelodeon, and I – talked about extensively when we first started working together. There’s this strange thing that happens to people in power. The pressures of power often blur the lines between enemies. That’s part of what happens to Zuko here. Ozai is the only one who knows what it’s like to be Fire Lord, the only one who has the wisdom of experience. I also looked at my own life. I used to clash with my dad quite a bit when I was a teenager. However, as I grew up and found myself in roles that he used to have, I began to understand more and more of his decisions. My father isn't thoroughly evil, of course, but I imagine Zuko feels a little of the same pull."
Yang. My guy. My dude. The words "Ozai" and "wisdom" should NEVER be in the same sentence. Every single action of Ozai's as Fire Lord was based on him being an abusive piece of shit that finally got access to absolute power. He is not a stern dad, he is abusive. He's not misunderstood, he needed to be stopped and locked away. He is a human being with feelings and motivations, yes, but he is WRONG ABOUT LITERALLY EVERYTHING EVER. He NEVER had a point. Zuko has nothing to learn from him except what NOT to do. That's why he looks like an older, unscarred Zuko. A version of Zuko that never changed.
This is the core issue of the comics, and why it had so many moments of unintentional abuse apologism: they say Ozai is a villain, but they're going out of their way to constantly make the characters come dangerously close to saying "Maybe he had a point." That's why they have Zuko turn to Ozai for advice despite claiming he wants to avoid becoming like him - because the guy writting them couldn't understand that the bad guy was, in fact, bad and in the wrong and has no wisdom to offer to anyone.
Avatar, the series, is about the world moving past from the sick mentality people like Ozai had, and about his son realizing that he did not deserve to be abused. The Avatar Comics are about telling Zuko (and others) "Ozai isn't wrong actually, you'll understand when you're older."
No, Yang, they won't. Because there's nothing to "understand" here other than THE GUY THAT ABUSED HIS CHILDREN AND COMMITED GENOCIDE WAS WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING, YOU DUMBASS!
Saying "the villain had a point" does not make a story better unless it is true - and in Ozai's case, it simply isn't. Insisting otherwise doesn't make the story and characters more mature, it just means you couldn't understand a cartoon aimed at 7-year-olds despite being a grown-ass man.
And I won't even get into Bryke approving of this bullshit otherwise I'll start tearing my hair out in rage at how badly they seem to have lost touch with the message of their best work, so let me just use a simple statemet to make everyone understand just how much of a disaster this is:
Even M. Night Shyamalan didn't misunderstand ATLA to the point of thinking Ozai wasn't actually wrong, but Bryan, Mike and Yang did. The comics understand the show less than M. Night Shyamalan did.
I rest my fucking case.
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⋆. 𐙚 cyber-princess ⋆. 𐙚
PART THREE - FINALE
You find yourself in a panic as you realize you sent Mike, one of your closest friends: a set of holiday themed spicy dropbox content meant for Jess to look over and get tips from her on positions- turns out you fat fingered and sent it to him.
info// cam work, marking/bruising, overstim, pet play, pet names (puppy, good girl, baby, ), impact play, tying of hands, Dom!Mike-Sub!Reader, brat x brat tamer dynamic, implied chubby reader but can be read as any body type, sex toys (vibrator wand, dildo, cr-crop whip.), I'm probably forgetting something like usual lol!
and this is set where Jess and Emily have not dated Mike prior and there is not beef or weirdness between anyone
You see, Mike Munroe finding out you did online sex work was definitely not something you had anticipated first of all- second of all... you didn't expect it to end up in the situation you found yourself in.
10:00pm.
its been an hour since he got there... and you've yet to be seated onto his cock yet.
WHHHHHHACK!
your back jolts as your knees buckle- trying to desperately keep count of how many times he's fucking whipped you with that damn crop whip he spotted in the corner... with all your other fun props.
Now your hands are tied above your head, your chest first on your bed, bent over the edge of it and trying to stabilize your legs as Mike shoves the didldo into your at a brutal pace- while also whipping your ass so hard you know it'll be bruised.
"n-nine! ah!-"
"Good girl... love seeing you be so obedient for me after being such a damn brat our whole friendship...maybe if i whip you enough you'll be branded all for me huh?"
"Mmhm! Mhm.. yessirimsorry-"
oh god. you called him sir? oh wow. it's that good huh?
"Did you just refer to me as.. 'Sir'?......keep that shit up."
WHACK
you moan in pain as he hits you harder- your whimpers and breathing and slow sink into pure submission making Mike's brain go off the rails.
You gasp suddenly as you feel Mike trail the crop whip lightly on the surface of your pussy- feeling the wetness dripping down your legs, you see Mike move out of the corner of you eyes as you feel the crop whip move to your clit...
SMACK!
your moan pitches up as Mike swats at your clit with the whip- an evil laugh making its way into the breathey filled air.
"Aww..poor pup you are.. hm? y'want me t'fuck you yet?"
"Please!pleaseplease-fuck me i need you to do something to me..."
Which is where you find yourself now...
with your thighs quaking against his chest as your calves and feet hand off his shoulders- him drilling your cunt so hard little drops of your slickness splash onto his abs and hips, your heads thrown back onto the pillows all the while.. Mike is.. moaning? oh my god.. and he sounds angelic... the sounds sending overstimulating shocks to your cunt and core.
"Ohh..ohbaby-uuhggfuck.. pussy.. so f'cking good-" his eyes roll back into his head as he continues to swivel his hips down to clash against your own- the dirty talk never stopping between loud noises.
His legs are shaking himself as he pulls out- making you whine in protest as he roughly tosses you back onto your chest and yanking your legs off the edge of the bed. He leans over your sweaty body to grab the wand again- giving it to you and telling you exactly how to use it.
"Take this..hah-... take this little toy.. place it between those soaked thighs of yours... second to highest setting yeah?... lemme make you squirt all over my fucking dick mhm? mmmhm... do what daddy's asking of you? please princess?... wanna feel it against my balls too.. aint my first rodeo"
Now you're moans are as loud as his as he drives into your puffy core- you can feel him in your guts now.
rearrange your guts who?
he's only been back to fucking you for 15 seconds and your legs tremble as you cum- effectively squirting all over his length and thighs...just like he said he's make you.
"baby-babybaby- c-can i cum? can i cum in this perfect fucking cunt?.... yeah? o-ohh ohh fuckinshit-"
He's cumming and now you're reaching the toy farther back to press into his gooche- Mike's moans turning into loud pathetic whimpers as he stills and jolts at the vibrations as he cums hard.
"Well..now what are we?"
You two are splitting a joint in bed under your soft orange fairy lights-naked and sprawled out
"Mine, you're mine now, hun."
"oh yeah like a damn trophy okay."
"No..no.. my girlfriend.. i'd like you to be my girlfriend... and have for a bit now."
THIS SEEMED RUSHED AS FUCK IM SO SORRY YALL BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOIIYYY!!!
#until dawn#until dawn smut#until dawn x reader#until dawn mike#until dawn x reader mike#mike munroe until dawn#mike until dawn#when mike#mike munroe#mike monroe x reader#mike munroe x reader#mike munroe smut#dahli's.thots#x camgirl#GUDHJWJCJ
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The thing that I really like about The Boys as a show is that there is no *truly* evil characters, there is nobody so irredeemable and 100% an evil asshole piece of shit for the sake of being one (well except stormfront but we're ignoring her).
Like with A-train at first when we met him, he was this fame obsessed adrenaline junkie who is only focused on winning/being number one and his popularity. He literally killed Robin and was totally set up to be the "main bad guy". But as the series went on, we actually see his character fleshed out more. There are nuances to his actions that yes were done out of selfishness, but if you looked at it from his perspective he is nothing without the Seven, he is nothing without his fame and money, he wants so desperately to not fall into poverty and irrelevancy anymore that he would fight tooth and nail just to maintain statusquo. And we start to see he realises the consequences of his actions whis brother got hurt and he apologised to hughie. Does it makes A-train a "Good" person? No but it certainly makes him a more sympathetic character.
Other characters, too, like The Deep who is a fucking rapist who you are primed to HATE right from the start for what he did to Annie. But as time goes on, your hate starts to lessen and transform into pity. At his core, Kevin is pathetic, insecure, and quite frankly a very idiotic and gullible man. He sexually assults other to gain power over them, does this make his actions justifiable, No. But it does make his actions understandable. He isn't a good person but he's a good *character* because he isn't just this 100% evil caricature of a person, he has nuances and contradictions and sometimes even sympathetic moments.
I could go on and on and on about the other characters in The Seven or even all the other minor villains. How they're actually fleshed out characters instead of just one dimensional villains. And also the inverness of the good guys not being saintly, can never do wrongers, always doing the right thing. They're the protagonists, but that doesn't make them perfect people. Case in point with butcher!!! And how he drags hughie down to his level of "doing anything for the mission." The way butcher uses MMs obsession against him to literally drag him back into his revenge plot despite the fact that MM just wants to live a normal life with his daughter and literally had ro rebuild his life from nothing 3 times! Now thanks to butcher, the man is a grade A CUNT who manipulates the people around him for his own gains! Yeah it's "for the greater good" but it's still not a nice way to treat your friends
Hell even fucking annie who the show sets up as this pure saintly paragon of goodness and kindness fucks up. Half the time she doesn't know what the fuck she is even doing just stumbling along trying to do what she thinks is best. Hell most of the time her plans doesn't work out or activity makes things worse! AND THATS OKAY!
BECAUSE I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH! because they're so painfully human, they make mistakes, they try to seek forgiveness but somethings can't be forgiven. They try their best but somtimes it makes things worse. They have a characters arc but then will walk back 20 steps until they become even worse because its the essence of what being human means! We all make mistakes, progress isn't linear. Sometimes, you take 1 step forward and then 40 steps back until all improvements are undone and you're back at the same point possibly even worse of. But you keep trudging forward because you're alive and you're human and the least you can do is wake up another day and try your damnest.
Its what I love so much about this show, everyone is SO SO SO painfully human.
#the boys tv#the boys#sorry that was a long ass ramble lmao#billy butcher#mother's milk#the deep#a-train#annie january#hughie campbell
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youtube
All right...for those of you who don't know my thoughts about Wish, yes, I wasn't happy with the finished result, but no, I'm not a hater. I'm mostly just disappointed that this project that had so many good ideas came out so half-baked, and THIS is a perfect example of what I mean.
No, it's not because "Star Boy" appears in it -- at least, not by itself. I do actually like Star's "himbo" personality in this, even if I also completely understand liking the idea of a mute version of the character. (The downside is that the mute Star from the finished film honestly doesn't have much personality outside of just being cute, in contrast to other mute magical Disney characters like Tinker Bell.)
No, the lost potential here is two-fold --
Firstly, I once again felt more emotion watching this storyboarded sequence than I did at any point in the finished film. I smiled hearing the fun banter between Star and Asha, insinuating that they're becoming closer despite their contrasting personalities; I felt some suspense in how Star and Asha were going to get away from evil!Queen Amaya; I even laughed pretty hard at the cat-and-yarn gag! I didn't laugh once while watching the finished movie.
Secondly -- and this point is actually the one I want to focus on more -- is the commentary given about why this scene was cut. I truly think another unspoken reason behind the decision was that this sequence was clearly inspired by the transforming chase scene in Nimona, which Disney of course infamously dropped when they closed Blue Sky Studios and later got picked up by Netflix, only to receive glowing reviews from just about everyone...but one of the core reasons that Head of Story Mark Kennedy cites for why they changed this scene (aside from wanting Star to be mute and not a shapeshifter like other Disney characters, which I'm a bit confused about because yeah, Disney's done cute, mute non-human characters before too -- what about Dopey, Pascal, Maximus, Dumbo, Bambi, Magic Carpet, Sven, and again Tinker Bell?) is that they wanted Asha to be the hero and be able to "solve all her problems" without Star's help.
Up to a point, I understand what Kennedy means -- the theme of the film is supposed to be that we all have the power inside of us to make a difference, and that's great. But by making it so that Asha doesn't need any help from Star, it takes something away from their relationship. No human is an island, and relationships, both in stories and real life, are often built on that fact. Just look at Ariel and Eric in the original Little Mermaid -- Ariel saves Eric from drowning and from Ursula zapping him with Triton's trident, and then Eric saves Ariel from Ursula by skewering her with the broken figurehead of a ship. Even in non-romantic examples, we have Judy and Nick having to help each other solve the case in Zootopia; Buzz and Woody helping each other get back to Andy in Toy Story; the Parr family and Frozone all fighting together against Syndrome's robot with their unique powers in The Incredibles; Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver working together to save themselves and everyone else at the end of Treasure Planet; even Anna helping Elsa learn how to control her magical abilities through an act of authentic, courageous, selfless love that only she can do in Frozen. These characters needing help and deep emotional connections with others is what creates a bond between them, helps the characters grow and change into stronger people, and makes us as an audience enjoy watching the two characters together. We become invested in both the two individual characters and the relationship forged between them. Because they all have their unique strengths and weaknesses, they supplement and complete each other. Even perfect paragon Superman in most DC properties isn't an island -- when he's in the Justice League, there are plenty of times where he needs help from Batman or other team members to save the day. Even Superman is a stronger character when he has people around him who can balance out his flaws.
If Asha never needs help, that runs the risk of the challenges she's facing seeming far less consequential, because no human can handle absolutely everything, all by themselves. Yes, perhaps in the finished film, Asha asks her friends to help her liberate the wishes (a task which ultimately fails, leaving Asha to confront Magnifico alone again and realize exactly what everyone has to do to defeat him on her own anyway)...but just in regards to Star and Asha's relationship -- which even the filmmakers have said is something like a "soulmate" relationship, though not in a romantic sense in the finished product -- these two can't have a meaningful connection if one of them is completely self-sufficient. This is also why quite a few Disney fans didn't like that the Little Mermaid remake changed Ursula's defeat to have it be Ariel who killed her, rather than Eric, because it hurt the "equal" dynamic between the main couple where they both helped and supported each other.
In short, "girl power" shouldn't have to mean never needing to rely on anyone else...and honestly, looking at this scene concept, we don't see Asha relying on Star too much! She's the brains of the outfit -- she's making plans; she's providing Star some much needed common sense; she's using Star's light as a distraction so they can get away...she even escapes Amaya at one point by sliding right under her horse! Asha in this storyboard is a bad-ass!
What we see in this sequence is these two characters having to help each other in order to succeed. And that would've been a great foundation on which to build more dramatic stakes and a relationship with actual pathos, whether romantic or not.
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