#are you insinuating the girl is possessed by evil what point are you trying to make here???

[stromuprisahat]

First of all, let's get personal insults out of the way:

There's so much wrong with this post I cant even- How old are you? This is so fucking stupid - oh my god- okay...ill try to explain as best as I can.

How old am I? Likely older than you, if I know better than to make a whole new blog just to reblog a post I disagree with instead of blocking said user and going on.

Stories like the ones set in Grishaverse are going to have violence and tragedy and deaths in them, and not all is as black and white as your childbrain might convince you to believe.Ravka is a dying nation. Its people are dying. Grisha are dying. And the power to change anything in this hypothetical world lies with the evil forces.

So what you're saying is "If the world around you is bad enough, nothing matters, so you can kill and kidnap people for selfish reasons however you please."? "Grisha are dying, what's one more?"?! You throw around phrases like "black and white", yet you're insinuating cruel world excuses causing more cruelty.

The second army? Run by the darkling- the literal villain of the story. The closer a grisha was to the darkling , the more morally corrupt they were - Ivan is a shining example of that. (Now think about what Pavel and Polina's closeness to the darkling meant for their characters) .

I beg you pardon- what?!

This explains your whole reply, really. The narrative says a thing, so you assume it's correct and adjust (lack of) information to such view.

The Darkling is the villain, because he wears black and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, when fighting for his country.

Ivan is morally corrupt, because he has about ten minutes of sceentime in total, in which he managed to act like one of few believable soldiers.

The two people your fav murdered had to be bad too, because all we've seen of them was:

a.) They enjoy skillful use of their powers and its appreciation.

b.) They tried to protect their home from a group of invaders.

The two grisha Inej killed worked for the Darkling, they were not working towards making a better world for others.

Let me introduce to a concept- the horror of people with malevolent intentions forcing their way into your home. It's a whole subgenre of horror, to be honest, called home invasion. I wonder why...

So no, they don't need to "work towards making a better world for others" for me to root for them, because I possess enough empathy to know I'd try to get uninvited strangers from my home too. Yes, even through violent means.

And yes inej being from a minority group doesn't give her a right to kill people- and she's never acted like it did. She didn't take pleasure in killing them, she didn't choose that path for herself, she didn't do it as a way to take revenge for the racial oppression her and her people have suffered. She did it because she needed to, because she needed to save Kaz's life, because she had a purpose to fulfill.

a.) You're kinda missing her race was used as an excuse for her actions in the original ask. Perhaps start reading from the beginning?!

b.) But she DID choose her path in the show. She chose to accompany Kaz on his trip to kidnap a girl from guarded place. Guarded BECAUSE people living there tend to be hunted, sold, murdered etc., KIDNAP a girl for people whose further intentions were unknown.

On that note about racism, your argument "oh wEll PeOpLe sAy rAcIst sHiT aLL tHe TiMe tO tHrOw SoMeONe oFF bALanCe dUrINg a fiGhT. I aM sUrE ShE DiDn't tRuLy tHInK liKe tHaT..." what if I told you she did? In the "suli trash" scene the Grisha guard was very obviously not saying stuff while thinking strategically.

You're right, possibly genuinely meant insult totally excuses murder! I'm only surprised others won't let me kill rude people irl!

Also she was already stabbed by that point - she wasn't going to fight. She was hurt and angry and saying what she believed.

Now you've refuted every post-argument apology ever, because people NEVER say in anger things they don't believe.

Plus Canonically most grisha and even most ravkans are racist towards suli people. That doesn't mean they deserve to straight up die for it, Grishas in particular are so indoctrinated due to living in the palace their entire lives their racism can even be explained away to some extent. But did Inej kill them for being racist? No. We've already estabalished that.

You got it wrong- "Most Ravkans and even some of the teenage Grisha we've been introduced are racist towards Suli people". Alina among them, because she never forgets to mention different looks of Suli, Zemeni, Shu... and parodies them with Mal, which is portrayed as amusing...

She was a Suli girl named Paja whom I’d never met before. She had dark hair and nearly black eyes, and the red embroidery at the cuffs of her purple kefta indicated that she was one of the Alkemi, Fabrikators who specialized in chemicals like blasting powders and poisons.

Siege and Storm- Chapter 15

He waved me over. I gritted my teeth and bent over the cup. “Is it bad?” the girl moaned. “Eeet eeees … goooood,” said Mal in the most outrageous Suli accent I’d ever heard. The girl sighed in relief. “You weeel meet a handsome stranger.” The girls giggled and clapped their hands. I couldn’t resist. “He weeel be very wicked man,” I interjected. My accent was even worse than Mal’s. If any real Suli overheard me, I’d probably end up with a black eye. “You must run from theees man.”

Siege and Storm- Chapter 18

The Darkling- as you correctly mentioned the leader of Second Army- doesn't seem to care about nationalities as long as you're not trying to murder him or his people.

Ulla felt the hurt inside her winnow to a hard point. “And did your witch mother care at all for the child she abandoned to the sea?” But the apprentice did not look troubled by her harsh words. “She isn’t one for sentiment.” “Where is she?” Ulla asked. A mother should be here to greet her daughter, to explain herself, to make amends. “Far to the south, traveling with the Suli. I’ll meet with her before the weather turns. Come with me. Ask her your questions, if you think the answers will bring you comfort.”

The Language of Throns- When Water Sang Fire

The envoy sputtered, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. The Darkling turned to the ambassadors. “I think you understand me now. There are no Ravkans, no Fjerdans, no Kerch, no Shu Han. There are no more borders, and there will be no more wars. From now on, there is only the land inside the Fold and outside of it, and there will be peace.”

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 22

There's absolutely zero proof Grisha were lead to be racist towards anyone, quite contrary- they're supposed to be inclusive.

I shifted uncomfortably. “Well … our teachers told us that you strengthened the Second Army by gathering Grisha from outside of Ravka.” “I didn’t have to gather them. They came to me. Other countries don’t treat their Grisha so well as Ravka,” he said grimly. “The Fjerdans burn us as witches, and the Kerch sell us as slaves. The Shu Han carve us up seeking the source of our power. What else?”

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 5

But hey- feel free to PROVIDE DIRECT QUOTE, that says the Darkling taught his Grisha to be racist towards Suli. It should be easy, since some lived in Little Palace and I don't think they'd be spared.

Inej didn't go there to kill. Yes she went there to kidnap the sun summoner but she's not "another member of said minority". She's not some normal Grisha?? She's the sun summoner and it comes with its dangers from every direction possible. In fact the guy she's working for is the worst and most dangerous out of the countless there are in the series?

It doesn't matter Alina isn't "some normal Grisha". She might be unique, but she's still Grisha. She's in same dangers as any other, only worsened by her strategic importance, or do you believe Shu knife wouldn't cut her? That some fat Kerch merchant wouldn't like to purchase her?!

Also you phrased it like it was Inej's masterplan to kidnap Alina and sell her into slavery and she was ready to kill whatever came in her path? another commentator wrote that Inej had "no qualms about kidnapping a young women and selling her to a sketchy man with unknown motives". Y'all either didn't watch the same show as me or are just plain moronic with an inability to take context clues.

Because it's true?!

Inej didn't know anything about intentions of the people that hired them. She knew nothing about Alina's intended (or perhaps indentured) future!

As for intention to kill- she's breaking into military base (among others)- the seat of Second ARMY- are you truly ignorant enough to say she shouldn't expect some resistance?! And they specifically plan their attack for Winter Fete- an event with Royal Family present! When the highest security measures are to be expected?!

What did you say about ~context~?!

1.Inej was apprehensive about kidnapping the supposed sun summoner, partially due to her own traumatic past, partially due to her reverence for saints and partially because she's the kindest character of the series. She didn't voice it out because of her loyalty to Kaz.

In short- you've headcanoned it.

2. There is contextual evidence to suggest she wouldn't have taken such a drastic step as to kill the inferni if Kaz's life wasn't threatened. We were literally shown her turmoil after she killed him in order to save Kaz and it was evident she was heartbroken for the man.

Ohmygod, you've made it SO much better!

The robber was heartbroken about killing the inhabitant of the house he broke into! But the other person had a knife in their hand after hearing noise in middle of the night!

3. Unrelated but if you'd have focused on the dialog in the first episode, the motives of the sketchy man in aquiring the sun summoner would be clear to you.

I admit I might've missed that, so feel free to share with the rest of the class- what's such a relevation, that it changes anything about all of the above?! That Inej could rest asured her kidnap victim won't serve as extra expensive set of holes for rich people's pleasure?!

4. "Helped to get in another guy- who was there just to kill its inhabitants." I now understand that you intentionally misphrase information for hyperbole purposes. Small change but the guy was not their to kill its inhabitants- the grisha- he was there to kill the sun summoner- technically inhabitant(s)

And Arken proved to be such an honorable man, he didn't try to kill Genya after she found him murdering "Sun Summoner". Nah, he sat back with "My work here is done! Arrest me, officer!".

Even without that- you're right- killing one person doesn't matter.

and actually just a tool for the darkling to use eventually.

Assuming that's correct (which it isn't)- are you telling me killing people's alright as long as others have nefarious intentions with them?! Why not wipe everyone out then?!

Not to mention Zlatan didn't want to kill Alina, because he knew about Aleksander's plans to attack him- you're interchanging cause and result- Zlatan wanted Alina dead, so East cannot be reconnected with West, and he's in better position for separation.

Reconnection, that would mean- among other things- likely losing influence in resulting larger territory.

Either way that was a bad guy but did Inej know that? Did she? Even Kaz Brekker didn't know his intentions until the middle of their journey. Why paint it out to be like Inej knew the man was dangerous and still got him into the Little Palace.

She didn't know him. She got a person she didn't know into heavily guarded place. Why would he want there? Because they've asked him nicely?! Even if he just stole cutlery "She didn't know he wants to do it." isn't an excuse.

5. Irrelevant to this particular argument but -"Member of distrusted group..." why say distrusted. Why not say oppressed?

I haven't re-read SoC yet, so again- feel free to provide quotes-, but I don't remember Suli being actively hunted. Sure, there's animosity and disrespect, but no pyres. Unlike you, I put threats to one's life above slurs, when it comes to rating possible danger.

Distrusted groups of people can still have some form of power in society. Like Grisha do. The suli have none. Oppressed or ostracised would be much terms to describe them don't you think?

Ostracized- why not, but claiming Grisha- unlike Suli- have power?!

Grisha are literally serfs- the Crown's slaves in colourful coats. On the other hand it doesn't seem the King particularly cares about Suli. Sure, it won't protect them from occasional pitchforks or stones, but neither would the King (See: #anti Grisha sentiments, especially from second book).

What's the power you're talking about? That once upon a time, one of the rulers allowed them to build a pretty stable for themselves on his backyard (to better keep an eye on)? That the moment they're discovered, they no longer belong to themselves (if they ever did)? That they're free to serve and die? That the (physically) most powerful of them can bow and bend his knee, scrape and crawl, so he's allowed to offer them creature comforts and more safety than anywhere else, even though it means said life-long service however long that is?

Some power!

6. As mentioned above Pavel's murder was a difficult choice Inej had to make - within a fraction of a second- and one she struggled with afterwords, probably scarring her for life. But with Polina she was again not taking revenge for being called a racial slur, she was just trying to survive. That scene was not written that way to excuse Inej killing Polina by letting her be racist. The show tried to portray the general attitude of Ravkans towards sulis with that scene.

A difficult choice Inej had to make due to her own well-thought out transgression. As written above- you still want me to feel bad for a thief, who "had to" become murderer, because the offended side didn't hide and let them take whatever she pleases.

If the show wanted to "portray general attitude of Ravkans towards Sulis", it chose a wrong moment to do so. Your beloved context applies here- Polina wasn't just some Ravkan, she's the woman, whose closest relative got murdered for the crime of protecting their home. You can't just scratch that, because it doesn't fit your agenda.

Polina was grieving her brother, sure, but there was an underlying attitude that just an inferior subhuman suli way beneath them harmed them.

And you've figured that out HOW?! Because her scenes before that were their presentation and the twins going after the intruders. If there's some super secret additional cut material, feel free to link it. I'd love to see more of the ordinary Grisha!

Inej was even going to spare her until the bitch showed her superiority complex and threatened everyone Inej loved.

Which is totally NOT something you'd expect from a person, whose (perhaps even only) family you've murdered a few hours earlier...

Hell, I'm not a fire-wizard, and I'd promise to kill you and "everyone you love", if you'd murdered my brother, and it wouldn't even have to be in our house.

Inej, as a teenager who's just trying to survive in a world which has been beyond cruel to her and does not want more enemies- takes her knife back with tears in her eyes.

That absolutely absolved her of any blame.

And I won't even bother with her age, that's been pushed up in the show...

You can cry for a character, without trying to do ~that~.

(While most Otkazat'sya would just move on thinking they just killed a witch that was trying to kill them- general attitude of Ravkans towards Grisha- remember?)

You're right!

Murder WITHOUT racism isn't nearly as bad! It's not like the person's dead anyway...

She should get an award.

Here:

There was discourse somewhere that Inej only valued Alina after perceiving her as a saint. Maybe. But Chauvinist Trash? Really? Even in the show Inej is shown to have more empathy than others. She is obviously drastically watered down in her complexity and empathy - but chauvinist trash? Religious fanatic?

There was discourse somewhere that Inej only valued Alina after perceiving her as a saint. Maybe. ... Religious fanatic? You're not even reading, what you've written. Either you don't have an opinion, or you're doubting mine.

As for the chauvinism part- again, you might have troubles with reading comprehension, because my text said:

It doesn't make her automatically right and unable to be chauvinist trash herself?!

To simplify- being a possible target of one kind of hatred doesn't make you immune to being unreasonably hateful towards other groups. To make it even more explicit- I wasn't speaking about Inej specifically, but people in general.

I want you to go and rewatch the scene of Inej killing Polina and her face afterwords. And contemplate whether you hate show Inej so much (while worshipping book Inej) because of her actions (because it is clearly written in the books Inej has killed others before for her survival) or because you don't like that book Inej was given a face not of your choice, even if it is canonically correct.

Sure, book!Inej killed people, but she didn't kidnap them for a third party, or break into rightfully guarded places, then expect our pity, when she killed its inhabitants.

I have no idea, what you mean by that "face not of your choice" part, truly. I was talking about her action and general principles above.

I'd be happy for some book!Inej fans to add details, as long as they can read and comprehend the topic.

Lol why tf u mad that Inej “murdered two people of an oppressed minority” (lol) when she’s Suli and it’s said explicitly that Suli have been treated like trash by Ravka, she has no loyalty to that swamp

Eh, because she literally broke into their home- the only safe place they were supposed to have- with specific intention to kidnap and sell into slavery another member of said minority and helped to get in another guy, who was there just to kill its inhabitants?!

The fact she's Suli doesn't give her a pass on murder of other minorities? Or another forms of violence against other opressed groups? It doesn't make her automatically right and unable to be chauvinist trash herself?! Because treatment of Suli in Ravka doesn't say anything about Grisha?! Because another of so called heroes is both Suli AND Grisha and no one seems to mind, so even if your point about Ravka was valid in some way, it hardly applies to Little Palace?!

Because wrongs done by a third party doesn't excuse your agression against others or even entitle you to it?!

Bacause being member of distrusted group doesn't give you any right to break into other people's houses with violent intentions- people, who's done exactly NOTHING to you?!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Response to an ask from Ophelia:

Ophelia! Hello! Yeah, it wasn't exactly pleasant but it luckily wasn't too long and she wasn't very assertive. You could just tell she had some beliefs she didn't question the impact of and assumed that we all shared them.

Also I wasn't very clear about what guest teacher meant because I wasn't sure what to call her, but she's a teacher at the high-school level. The first period (I'm in fourth) of my english class is co-taught by her and my english teacher for ESL, so like she's a teacher but just not mine? And she came in to give a presentation as an example of what our final projects should look like. So she's a teacher but was a guest in my scenario

I'm really sorry that you had to go through/still go through that kind of stereotyping and discrimination. It's so unfair and really frustrating to deal with. And 100% not your fault. I don't have the exact same experience since as I grew up I went from a little brown kid to much paler, but I definitely at first meeting don't fit the stereotype of autism. I could talk (very stressfully) to the psychiatrists and excel at school, and so that immediately threw out their expectations and it was like...you'd think the 20 years of experience you claim to have would teach you that you need more than 20 minutes talking to me to actually understand me? You'd think they'd understand I might be masking and very stressed rn?? I said that I struggled to interact with people and she went "Well you're doing just fine right now!" Like thank you but also this is all a front and I will be exhausted later and it feels icky

That's not the same as the racial bias you've experienced, but I'm trying to understand and show that I'm paying attention so. It probably didn't help that I was alone; I don't like to have other people at my appointments, but that also means I'm at a disadvantage of being taken less seriously as a minor alone with two doctors. Add the very obvious anxiety and they think I'm just overreacting to things. At least I assume that's what's happening.

But yeah, those doctors you had sound awful but are a sad reality right now. There's injustice and stigma and stereotypes everywhere and we, unfortunately, can't escape it all. I generally surround myself with really great people, but I can't control everyone around me and sometimes I end up running into people like this and realize welp! The world is like this right now and even if we change it I still have to deal with it as it is right now! God this is frustrating! She's just out here thinking a certain mental disorder is evil like that's okay!

I have no idea if that teacher will learn as I will probably never see her again, but hopefully she will. I would've said something in the moment but I was momentarily stunned like...did you really just say that?? And trying to comprehend the arguments she was making (I don't do great with quick responses to auditory questions or statements) that by the time I'd gotten my own thoughts in order a different student was already arguing with her.

Emotionally I am preparing hot chocolate for the two of us while we watch the raindrops race down the window :) (sorry about your glitchy tumblr with no colors :/)

[ootahime]

analyzing every gojohime moment in the manga 😈

this series will probably have more than one part because tumblr only lets me upload ten images per post </3

warning: there are disgustingly long paragraphs in here and delusions

chapter 32

utahime’s first introduction!  akutami lets us know right off the bat that she thinks gojo is an idiot (so true).

chapter 32

i love the contrast between miwa and utahime’s reaction to gojo’s appearance.  

chapter 33

NAH BC TELL ME WHY HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO NOT GET HER ONE LMAOOOO!!  when he traveled overseas to meet with yuta, he picked up the tribal protection charms and thought to himself, “let’s get enough for the kyoto students as a gift since i am such a great and caring teacher, after all.  mmm, i should skip utahime to make her mad~”  this guy puts way too much effort into getting on her nerves.  his mind = utahime brainrot

chapter 33

she’s laughing at him here because he’s getting disciplined for being a lil shit.  i wonder...what would he say if he saw her laughing at him like that?  

chapter 33

this interaction between them is a little strange don’t you think?   i feel like over the years he’s learned how to pick up her mood based on the way she’s acting towards him.  you’re probably thinking, “well any person can figure out how a person’s feeling based on the way they’re talking or acting.”  yes, that’s absolutely true, but it’s kind of different with this.  she’s acting normal.  utahime has a rather indifferent expression on her face and what she says is spoken in a calm tone, but gojo still asks her if she’s mad at him.  it’s likely that he knows her well enough to be able to notice these subtle things.  even if she wasn’t actually mad at him, he was being considerate for a split second, then he went and said, “of course.  i didn’t do anything wrong and all.”  what a guy LOLOL.  to me, this implies that maybe he made her genuinely angry in the past to the point where he realized that he went too far, and thus decided to be more careful of her feelings.  she has definitely gotten annoyed at him so many times after that so whenever she seems angry, he probably asks himself if he took it too far.  i’m curious to see if he can pick up if she’s upset with something that’s not involving him.  would he console her?  how does gojo satoru console someone?  

despite him always annoying her, she’s still courteous and brings him a cup of tea during their talk.  she didn’t have to go out of her way to get tea for him but she did.  that’s the kind of person utahime is.  a kind and caring woman who would never put her students in danger.  in the anime they were sitting far away and not facing each other like they’re doing in the manga.  she also has her own tea cup.  i think that little panel of her placing the cup down on the table and him picking it up to take a sip is a nice little detail.  it just proves that her hating him most of the time isn’t actually pure hatred but annoyance because of his shenanigans and teasing.

chapter 33

i touched upon this a little bit in my previous post, but i wish to go more in depth about this panel.  first of all, he ends the sentence with her name twice.  two times too many, mr. gojo.  i like how they can be serious with each other too LOL.  i wish we got to see them talk about the traitors because they did figure it out together after all.  does it always end in bickering?  can they interact with each other like adults all the way through?  somehow, i feel like that’s not possible when it comes to these two.  furthermore, notice how gojo confides in utahime about his suspicions.  from what we know, she is the first person he brought it up to.  i mean, i guess he has to start investigating the schools and would need extra assistance to save time, but he could have done it himself if he really wanted to.  by deciding to ask for her help we know that he thinks she’s trustworthy, smart, and strong enough to face whatever considerable risks this task may entail.  

i didn’t point this out in my other posts but see how he makes a hand sign in the last panel when she throws the cup at him?  gojo is manually activating his infinity.  why though?  about a year after the whole star plasma vessel incident happened, gojo develops the ability to keep his infinity up at all times by using the reversed curse technique to consistently heal himself to prevent exhaustion.  this means that it really makes no difference whether he leaves it on or off.  there are a few times where we can witness someone actually touching gojo.  for example, yuuji giving him a hug.  did he turn his infinity off, or was it able to deduce that yuuji was not a threat?  the erasers and pencils shoko and geto threw at him during his demonstration of his new ability aren’t dangerous normally, but is it the speed that makes them dangerous?  even if it did hit him, it wouldn’t hurt.  how does the infinity know when to allow an incoming object to touch gojo?  i believe it is up to gojo himself to let things touch him; his infinity restricts anything and anyone.  some people say it could just be the fact that water is not dangerous to him, so therefore, he has to manually put his infinity up.  i thought this was a reasonable explanation as to why he put up the hand sign when the tea was thrown at him, but then i realized that it couldn’t be.  remember the second opening?  it’s raining and everyone is carrying an umbrella, then it pans to gojo with a bouquet in his hand and rain drops slipping off his infinity.  if he DID manually put his infinity up to prevent getting soaked then that implies that he chose to turn his infinity off.  you can argue and say that jujutsu high is a safe place with students so there’s no need to have his infinity there, but do you remember when he stepped on the ants in front of gakuganji and yaga?  the ants were perfectly fine after which insinuates that his infinity prevented his shoes from crushing the ants.  he most likely had his infinity on during the baseball game even though he was in a safe environment.  how does this long tangent relate back to utahime?  well, it simply indicates that gojo trusts utahime so much to the point where he can be vulnerable around her.  turning off his infinity symbolizes completely letting down his guard  in a way.  

how about what happens next?  utahime throws the tea at him, he turns on his infinity to deflect it, and he responds with, “scary!  hysteric women aren’t popular, you know!”  why would he even say that LMAO??  utahime doesn’t even try to deny what he said either.  she just hits him with the good old, “i am your senpai!”  could it be that he’s trying to poke fun of her relationship status?  maybe, maybe not.  doesn’t he like people a lil crazy?  he did say that all jujutsu sorcerers have to be a little crazy because they’re willing to put themselves in danger constantly.  

chapter 0 p.1

i wonder who he’s thinking of when he said that.  could it be utahime?  it seems like he’s reminiscing or thinking about someone.  he wears an amused expression on his face as he laughs - almost like he’s seen his fair share of how scary women can get :>>

chapter 34

the pattern behind gojo and utahime is called yagasuri “fletching,” a traditional japanese design.  this design is inspired by arrow fletching.  it's a lucky charm for weddings and other celebrations since it's based on the Japanese belief that an arrow shot once never comes back.  brides were given kimonos with this pattern for good luck during the edo era (1603–1868) to ensure they would not have to return to their original family home.  this pattern can have numerous meanings such as steadfastness or determination to achieve a goal, or a wish for the happiness of the bride.  there is a belief that a bow and arrow represent the fight against evil.  honestly, this meaning fits the narrative of the story.  utahime and gojo are unearthing the traitors that are feeding intel to the curse users and cursed spirits.  they are in the middle while the kyoto students surround them, which could mean that it’s their job as adults to protect these children from the grasps of evil slowly making itself more prominent.  do you also notice that the arrows are pointed toward utahime from gojo?  from all the images i’ve seen, the arrows are usually pointed downward.  what could this mean?  is gojo trying to protect her (in the future (?)) or does he have a big fat crush smh...

i think it’s a good time to mention utahime’s clothing.  she’s wearing miko attire.  miko are shrine maidens who were once thought to be shamans (you connecting the dots?).  in their service to shrines, miko used to perform spirit possession and takusen (in which the possessed person acts as a "medium" (yorimashi) to communicate the divine will or message of that kami (god) or spirit; also included in the category of takusen is "dream revelation" (mukoku), in which a kami appears in a dream to communicate its will).  this was back in the old days, of course.  to become a miko back then (shaman), one needed to have potential.  neurosis, hallucinations, odd behavior, and hysteria (HYSTERIA HELLO???) are some of the signs that a person is being called to shamanism.  when a miko is communicating with a kami (god) or spirit by acting as a medium, she is in a trance-like state, and so she must learn techniques to control herself when this happens.  chanting and dancing were used to accomplish this, so the girl was taught melodies and intonations that were used in songs, prayers, and magical formulas.  all of this could give us insight about utahime’s technique and explains why she’s good at singing :)  maybe she can’t control herself when she uses her technique which is why she isn’t shown using it because it should be used for dire situations.  i imagine being possessed by a spirit or god must consume a lot of cursed energy.  it makes sense that utahime and gakuganji wear traditional clothing.  they’re the staff of jujutsu high’s kyoto branch.  in chapter 0, kyoto is known as the sacred land of jujutsu.  it’s more traditional compared to tokyo.  if you want to learn more about miko, you should check out the wikipedia page!  

chapter 34

i swear he tries to annoy her every chance he gets.  i bet he sets a goal for himself to see how many times utahime lectures him about respecting his seniors every time he’s within the same vicinity as her.  at least he called her utahime-sensei!!!

chapter 40

this isn’t even a gojohime moment tbh...i just wanted to share a pic of them sitting next to each other HEHE.  why are they sitting next to each other anyway?  it’s not like they have assigned seating.

----

that was so long and i apologize for the gargantuan paragraphs you guys had to read through.  i’m writing this at 4 in the morning and i’m feeling borderline delirious so i apologize if there are any errors.  i’ll edit this when i have time <3

the next part should come shortly.

[thefandomlesbian]

Do you have any headcannons or things you never wrote about for tlag? It's my all-time favorite fic!!

Why thank you!

I actually have... several versions of the TLaG canon, things that do fit and that universe and some things that are like, tangential fanfic of the TLaG canon--yes, it’s a bizarre concept but I think that’s what happens when you spend more than a year writing a half a million word story. 

There will be a sequel, To Rule and Guide, and then a series of one-shots (probably, unless I decide to chapter them) after that which detail Kit’s death and Lana and Mary Eunice taking custody of his children + also features Terry, Frieda’s daughter, who goes to university in Boston and stays with them. 

I do have a lot of things for TLaG that got cut out of the original outline, and I probably won’t remember all of them, but I’ll throw in the ones I remember.

-Jasmine and Katherine were once major players, but I realized that I could reassign almost all of their appearances to Lois and Barb. Because Lois and Barb are canon characters, I opted to take that route, and I cut out the rest of the Jasmine and Katherine appearances. If I ever get the chance to rewrite, Jasmine and Katherine will be cut out of the story entirely. 

-Rachel, the woman who Lana slept with in Chapter 22, is supposed to be the prostitute Dr. Arden hired in canon to imitate Mary Eunice. Originally, she had a plot point related to this and developed an uneasy friendship/alliance with Mary Eunice and Lana, but I felt that diverged too much from the story I was trying to tell and cut her out. 

-Katherine was originally a first love interest for Mary Eunice assisting in her lesbian awakening (realizing she was attracted to women as a whole, not just Lana), but it got trimmed with the rest of Katherine’s appearances. 

-The original outline did not have any appearances for Lana’s family. I was commuting to school one early morning (had a 55 minute drive one way at that time) when I had the image of Mary Eunice carrying a little girl out of a black forest with Gus leading the way. It took a few more weeks for me to conceptualize the rest of Lana’s family and link everything together for them. 

-In the first draft of chapter 32, Frieda came out as bisexual to Lana. I eventually trimmed this and altered it so Timothy came out as gay instead because Frieda’s original dialogue made her sound like she was considering leaving John/breaking up her family after Lana’s example, and that just made me feel really icky inside to have a bisexual character insinuate she wasn’t willing to commit because of her bisexuality. 

-Gus was added on a complete whim. In the first outline, the mysterious sound they heard was a rabid raccoon that Lana had to shoot and kill. It happened that around the time I was about to start writing that chapter, one of the individuals I work with had the exact same thing happen with an extremely emaciated, neglected rottweiler--weighing sixty pounds, supposed to weigh around one hundred pounds, skin and bones, arthritic. The real Gus’s name was Gavin, and he gained weight, was conditioned well, and went into his forever home after a few months of TLC. 

-Pepper lived in the first outline, but I realized that her reappearances unnecessarily complicated things upon review. I opted to kill her off to monopolize on Mary Eunice’s emotional vulnerability so that she would be prime for the demon to take possession of her body, because technically according to Catholic canon, possession is a choice and not one I could imagine her opting into without being under extreme emotional duress and being trapped between a rock and a hard place (feeling she needed to succumb to evil in order to spare Lana’s life). 

-Sister Jude died at some point in the first outline. Upon reconsideration, I realized I had a very important role for her to play in the sequel, which I’m sure you’ll see when we get that far. 

-In TLaG, Mary Eunice did not choose to leave the sisterhood; it was forced upon her when she was defrocked. In TRaG, she is given the opportunity to choose Lana. 

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na RACIST! (how Dobson thinks Batman is a supremacist, why I think Batman is not so good and Frank Miller is problematic

Over the last couple of years, Andrew Dobson has mad eit clear that he is not a fan of the character of Batman much (or anymore), calling him a Mary Sue and an embodiment of toxic masculinity as if that term means something nowadays considering how often it is thrown around. And don’t get me wrong, if you don’t like Batman as a character, that is completely fine with me. I myself am not the biggest fan of Batman myself. Or rather should I say, his overexposure in the comics.

Cause honestly, I do not hate the character on concept. I watched reruns of the Adam West Batman show from the 60s and the animated 90s show long before I even saw the Burton versions. Batman Brave and the Bold is one of my favorite animated shows of the 2000s. And I think that there are quite a few good Batman stories, shows and games out there overall. I do however believe that when it comes to Batman in the mainstream comics, things have taken a nose dive for a long time. Writers like Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder and Tom King in particular have over the last 10+ years (at least in my opinion) not just attempted to write stories about Batman as a hero, but also put him into the center of ever escalating events and philosophical wang fests so often, the comics and its characters (Batman and his villains alike) have become quite ridiculous. As a result Batman as a comic series is at times just too edgy, people get sick of certain characters (I like the Joker, but the way how he was handled in some of Snyder’s stories was ridiculous to the point they should have just called him Satan) and Batman comes off as a Gary Stu almost by default, cause the only way a “normal” human could even dare to deal with the over the top situations he faces, is by being even more over the top and smart and awesome by default.

 Now that we got my soapboxing regarding why I think Batman is not as good as a comic character anymore out of the way, lets see what Dobson’s take on Batman is and why he thinks he is turning Bat- I mean bad.

 He believes that Batman turns into a fascist.

... I would ask if that is a joke, but I know that Dobson does not get humor at all or can tell a good joke if he was possessed by Leslie Nielsen.

Okay, so lets just try to dissect why this is dumb.

First off, while I did not talk about it in detail, I did mention that there are different incarnations and versions of Batman to enjoy. Hey, Dobson himself said that the one he enjoyed the most was the Batman of the animated series in the 90s. Which btw I highly recommend. And so do others. But here is the thing: There is not one “ultimate” version of Batman to stick to. There are different interpretations of the character. And most people are okay with that. Heck, there are more than enough people who both enjoyed the 60s Batman and Burton’s Batman. The important thing is, that all those interpretations need to have a certain key element of Batman still in order to make the character recognizable as who he is to be. Which in my opinion is the willingness to fight for good even in the face of some serial killer level baddies and show also once here and there his smarts as well as a bit of heart (guess what people, Batman can be compassionate too if he needs to be) while at the same time wearing a costume as he does and try to convey the image of being “the night” to put fear in the hearts of those cowardly criminals.

 Which is why people in general will call writers out on being bad, when you do not “get” Batman or what people in general associate Batman to be. But Dobson seems to insinuate at least indirectly that people are dumb for not understanding it. That he is supposedly the only one who “gets” Batman right. No Dobson, you are not the only one. The shitton of people who mocked Batman vs Superman of which you were a part of, are proof enough.

 Next, I have to admit I find it hilarious that he believes that Frank Miller’s version of Batman is what he believes people consider slowly the mainstream version of the character. No they don’t.

 Let me try to explain it with this version a bit, seeing how Dobson does not and in doing so is utterly misinformative. In the late 2000s, comic writer Frank Miller, known for work such as Sin City, 300 and his run of Daredevil in the 80s, was tasked by DC comics to write “All Star Batman and Robin” a miniseries in 12 issues. While the thing has actually pretty good artwork by Jim Lee (an artist Dobson wishes he could be), the story itself is very, very bad. While Miller was in the past quite respected and was the man behind “The Dark Knight Returns” in the early 90s (a comic even I think is pretty decent as a story about Batman as an older man taking the cowl up again)  , his work in general even at this point was not that good. Miller had become an openly racist person towards people of muslim background after witnessing 9/11 in New York in person, Batman in his work became a vigilante who gets away with levels of assault, violence and edgy philosophing and beating his meat (metaphorically) that it just became pretty obvious that Miller had turned into a racist grandfather with power fantasies whose ideas oozed into his work. I am not denying the accusations Dobson throws here at Miller. His Batman in All Star is violent, acts like a self righteous psycho, kidnaps an underaged boy and does at one point consider that if he had Green Lantern’s power ring he could make the world “better” than Hal Jordan. Which considering his actions so far in that comic makes any person with self preservation instincts and empathy  wonder, what “better” means. Additionally, other characters like Superman, Wonder Woman and the mentioned Green Lantern don’t really fare good either when it comes to having likable personalities, making you wish a villain like Luthor would just get rid of those “heroes” already just to assure us they could not go crazy next tuesday.

So yeah, it is a shitty version of Batman, despised by many to the point All Star Batman is mocked to the nth degree. Miller himself became even more controversial and hatred when he wrote and got Holy Terror released, a beast I do not even want to touch upon at the time righ now. I just say it is bad as shit and one of the worst writen and drawn things I ever saw.

 HOWEVER… this version of Batman is not the mainstream one. I repeat: this is not the mainstream one, “accepted” by a majority of people. As the paragrpah previously show.

The character All Star Batman is considered ONLY associable with Millers miniseries of the same name, that did not even properly conclude as it was put on endless hiatus with issue ten. It has never become inspirational for any other portrayal of the character so far and DC comics also does not endorse the character in correlation with its main universe, even if they still sell tradepaperbacks of the series.

This, if you have any reading comprehension, points towards one of the biggest lies in Dobson’s comic: The idea, that THIS Batman is the one that’s been popular for the last 15 years or so, as STATED by Dobson himself in the second panel of his comic.

 No. No, this “Batman”, the violent psychopath who uses guns and drives a tank, is not the mainstream and never was so in the last 15 years. Or I should rather say 20. See, this comic was published like in 2015. Meaning he is referring to Batman from between 2000 till 2015.

Lets see what versions of Batman were popular at this point

So we got a Batman who was there for a girl dying cause of something done to her brain, a 60s inspired Batman who still was badass and worked well with other heroes and saved the world a few times, a videogame Batman who would not even have let the Joker die when his poison finally got the better of him (Arkham City), a Batman who travelled backwards through time into the present and then tried to use his fortune to support heroes in other parts of the world to do good (I acknowledge though, the Batman shooting Darkseid thing was crap, even if Darkseid is the god of evil in DC) and we even got (though not shown here) a Batman who even when he drove a freaking tank did not run over peolpe with it (Batman, Nolan trilogy) and would rather accept people hating him than being a hero, by taking on the blame of Harvey Dent being killed to not taint the laters reputation. Oh and did I forget to mention that Nolan’s Batman almost sacrificed himself to prevent Gotham from nuclear destruction?

And before someone says “gotch’ya” by pointing at another rinfamous work by Miller, known as the Dark Knight strikes again… I said popular. That comic from the early 2000s was not popular and again NOT referenced much by mainstream media or mainstream fans as good.

 Now I will say, Batman as in the mainstream comics at the same time got unfortunately darker to the degree I hinted on when I made this post. Cause the last 15 years were comic wise the time of Morrison, Scott and others in particular. Who were involved in such “brilliant” moves as the Court of Owls story, the introduction of Professor Pyg, turning Joker into a satanic archetype villain stu, Batman having the brilliant idea to go Big Brother Eye, the No Man’s Land shit, having to deal with more brutal murders than previously etc. Yes, mainstream Batman got more violent. But the violence was less in the character itself as more within the world he was part of. Mainstream Batman comics took on a more violent tone than there was before. But ironically, even if Batman had to face more brutal beatdowns and villains, by comparison he is one of the most “kind” characters compared to the ones he faces or even works with. This is a character who had to teach his own son that murder was not okay, cause the kid was raised by an evil murder cult.

 And even with the mainstream comics such as Detective Comics and Batman main series becoming darker… they are not pro-fascist or go into that direction. I read a lot of DC in general, not just Batman, and Batman is not going sieg heiling or beating up people because of the color of their skin or because they are poor. When Lex Luthor was president, Batman was one of the main heroes opposing him. Mainstream Batman is beating you up for being a murderer and highly violent criminal with a gimmick, independent of your political agenda. And the writers are also not pro fascist, including even post 2015 Frank Miller.

 Yeah. Frank Miller, whose work I am not fond of and who I think is a racist asshole who had things coming for Holy Terror,  is not really writing (or at least publishing) racist Batman anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think the guy is bad and I believe if he had a chance to get his opinion out unfiltered, we would be in for a shitstorm. But I actually read up on his Dark Knight 3: The Master Race thing because I was worried how racist that is and how DC would recover from that dud. Turned out… it was not as bad as you would expect with a title like this. The “Master Race” referred in that story to a group of racist kryptonians who thought they should take over earth because their powers made them superior. While Batman was not the most positive character in it, he was fighting against them with many other heroes. This Batman was actually a vast improvement personality wise from Batman in Dark Knight strikes again and All Star. So yeah, Batman written by racist grandfather was still a hero. Granted, I think a lot of that was also thanks to the fact that DC had partnered up Miller with someone who kept things tighter around him, but still. Fascist Batman is not a thing the comics and the majority of fans want.

 Ironically, if you want to see how a publisher taints the image of a hero people look up to by making him more racist… well, Dobson’s “praised” and woke Marvel did once something called Secret Empire. Which had Captain America turn into the Fuehrer and taking over America. And the Nazis for a lack of a better word, were “competent” enough in the story that the heroes really only won in parts thanks to a shitton of asspulls. So… yeah.

I mean, the event still ended with the good guys winning and the bad guys defeated, but still.

[queencamellia]

ask and ye' shall receive @teaplease1717

Also tagging @selephi @salicis @ikari-cat @theoneandonlyshipqueen because if I'm going down, I'm taking some people down with me lol

===============

"You know, you could be so much more than this."

"I am a hero," Momo emphasized, whipping around and immediately registering that there was a highly dangerous criminal lurking just behind her. "I don't know what about our previous encounters had led you to believe otherwise, Dabi-san, but I believe in helping society."

Not destroying it, she implied. Not like you.

He caught the insinuation easily; Momo had quickly discerned that Dabi was scarily perceptive. He was a walking enigma, in all honesty: terrifying yet surprisingly courteous, cool yet tempermental, a villain yet—

—different.

"The world isn't that black and white, ponytail," he drawled, looking almost amused when she bristled. "Your Quirk has a lot of potential, you know. You could change the world."

"I am much more than just my Quirk," Momo retorted, crossing her arms over her chest and strictly ignoring the sensible voice screeching in her head that pissing off the dangerous villain was not a good idea. "And I'm changing the world in my own way as a hero."

He hummed, the challenging glint in his eyes catching her off guard. "There are things you can do—things that heroes can't do—when you're on the other side of the law, you know."

"The laws exist for a reason," she replied stiffly.

"Do they work, though?"

She fell silent.

He smirked, offering his hand. "Come on, Yaoyorozu Momo. The League's interested in you. With your help, we can change things."

With a stroke of boldness she hadn't known she possessed, Momo took his hand.

Then slapped it away.

"I think you're not an evil person, Dabi-san," she said sincerely, tilting her head so she could meet those blue eyes again. "But I will never work with those people who hurt my friends."

As she walked away as quickly as she could, Momo could've sworn she heard him chuckle.

.

.

.

"Peach?"

"I don't take bribes from villains, Dabi-san."

"Consider it a gesture of good will, then."

"If you're trying to tempt me, you might want to try a little harder."

Nonetheless, she took the proffered fruit against the advisement of her sensible side.

.

.

.

"Piano, huh?"

"I consider it essential to be diligent in both my studies and hobbies alike. Being well-rounded serves well to not only enhance one'e hero skills, but also to enhance their individuality. A hero is not just brute strength."

"I never suggested anything like that, though."

"…that's right. Pardon me. I'm just used to—" People judging heroes by their strength and charisma alone. Never their cunning, nor their battle tactics, nor—

"I understand." There was something heavy about that statement. "I do."

"…I must leave. Good day, Dabi-san. Please give up your villainous ways."

"No thanks. See you around."

.

.

.

"I've got the Yaoyorozu girl."

"Didn't you say you wanted to take on that explosive guy the other day?"

"She's more interesting."

.

.

.

"Take me seriously or I'll make you regret it, Dabi-san."

"Don't worry, ponytail, I plan to."

.

.

.

"Evening, ponytail," he greeted.

"Dabi-san," she acknowledged stiffly, fingers inching to her bo staff. "Here to finish the job?"

"What happens on the battlefield stays on the battlefield," he replied, something akin to satisfaction glinting in his eyes at her spunk. "Enjoying the cast?"

Momo smiled her brightest business smile. "About as much as you're enjoying your broken nose. I see you've treated it."

His lips tugged downwards at the reminder—though Momo had gotten few hits on the villain, that one was certainly a killer. "I'm here to renew my offer."

Momo laughed, the strange surge of confidence that had kept her going only growing stronger. "The League is that desperate for new recruits?"

"They want you. I want you."

Against her will, Momo felt heat rush to her cheeks. "Bold words," she managed. "But futile. I won't, and will never, become a villain."

"I'm not asking you to become a villain," he insisted, and suddenly Momo was very aware of the fact that she was in a willowy dress that clung to her slender frame. Damn her parents.

"Then, pray tell, what are you asking of me?"

His words would ring in her ears constantly for the next few days.

"I'm asking you to become a reformer."

.

.

.

"What are you mad about now? I didn't have anything to do with your injured classmate, if that's what you're wondering."

"Midoriya-san was injured by someone else, yes."

"Then why are you glaring at me like I just killed your kitten?"

Momo squinted at him. Then, she narrowed her eyes. Finally, she gave up. "I can't take it anymore! You're coming with me."

"Alr—wait, why—"

"I am not having my enemy walk around wearing that all day," she emphasized, gesturing at his outfit wildly.

He glanced downwards. "What's wrong with my outfit?"

"Everything."

Without another thought, Momo let her impisliveness rule her as she abrutly seized his hand. "Come with me," she ordered. "And you have that mask of yours, right? Put it on."

Somehow, she could feel his scowl without having to look. "Right," he murmured, the word almost coming out like a growl. If she was feeling bold enough, Momo might have dared to claim that he sounded bitter. "We can't have someone that looks like me around you."

What?

...oh.

She stopped walking.

"I'm not bothered by your scars at all," she said quietly, pivoting on her heel to face him. She could see that he didn't believe her. "I go around with Todoroki-san all the time in public," she pointed out (if Momo had been looking closer, she would've noticed that Dabi flinched at the name). "It's just that you're a villain and I'm a hero. If anyone recognized us, I'm sure the press would have a field day claiming that we're dating and my classmates would surely have heart attacks."

He snorted incredulously, casually slipping on the mask without another word. "They'd probably think I'm kidnapping you."

"Or that," she acknowledged cheerfully. "Or, they'd think I'd gone insane."

"I don't blame them, considering how welcoming you are to the villain who just put you in a cast."

Momo blinked innocently at him. "Weren't you the one who wanted to get closer to me? Here's your chance to woo me to the dark side, Dabi-san."

She could've sworn she heard a sound that resembled a snicker escape his lips. "You'd make a terrifying villain, you know," he informed her.

"I'm well aware. Did you realize that you'd make an amazing hero?"

"…in another life, maybe." His voice was strained.

Not daring to test the tentative truce they'd worked out any further, Momo simply shot him a smile. They walked in silence, finally reaching her desired clothing store.

"For today," she said suddenly, catching his attention. "You and I are just Dabi and Momo."

Not villain and hero. Not evil and good. Not enemies.

Just two people.

"For today," he agreed.

For today.

And maybe—her treacherous heart dared to hope—maybe tomorrow would hold something new for them.

=====

wrote this all on mobile so formatting might be janky

[bthump]

I've notice that Miura treats male rape recovery better than female recovery. I mean look at Casca. But I've also noticed that the male victims are always underage and never adults. But with girls majority of the time they are adults. Do you have a post that goes in depth with this subject?

Yeah I’ve definitely noticed that this is a trend, though I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it in depth so I don’t really have anything to link, but thanks for asking.

I’m gonna put this under a cut just bc it’s kind of long and meandering lol

In general I think it’s mainly just because Miura is a man and his presumed audience is mostly adult men, and rape only has the effect he’s going for when the audience is distanced from it. Children and women as victims are kind of like… expected and unfortunately more easily othered by men. Even when Guts is raped as a kid the reader is meant to feel sympathy, but not necessarily empathy. There’s no implicit threat to the reader, no sense of ‘this could happen to you,’ that women get every time we watch something with sexual violence.

In Berserk sexual violence against women is often used as like, tone-setting. It’s treated as a given that women are constantly under threat of sexual violence. Like eg we know the apostles are going to rape Casca as soon as they notice she’s a woman, because that’s what happens to women in Berserk. The possibility of any of the male Hawks getting gangraped by monsters is never suggested, and never crosses the typical reader’s mind. Wyald, trolls, all of Casca’s random enemy soldier assailants, the grotesque sexual violence in every shot of the torture chamber we get in the Conviction arc, even the damn rape horse lol, etc etc, women are the victims by default. The threat to men is death, the threat to women is rape.

Even when Guts is being held down by monsters while Femto rapes Casca, there’s no sexual threat to him. It might be purposefully reminiscent of his rape trauma, if I’m being generous to Miura, but if so it’s only extremely implicit. Guts never even shows a hint of fear, only rage.

There are some exceptions to this trend though, to be fair. Griffith is kind of an exception in that he faces an explicit rape threat as an adult, and it‘s actually a pretty big focal point of the story - it contributes most of the tension the Battle of Doldrey has, and Gennon being creepy and trying to capture Griffith as a sex slave instead of kill him is the plot point that wins Griffith the war lol. But then, this is also a unique circumstance - he’s not being threatened just because he exists like the women tend to be, he’s being threatened because he has a past history with this particular rapist.

And then when he is presumably actually raped as an adult that gets left in subtext, with the torturer’s creepy insinuations, so yk, he still contributes to this trend of Berserk’s textual rape victims only being women and children. And like, it’s rare that characters are assaulted in subtext instead of text in Berserk, Rosine’s the only other potential example I can think of, so this is kind of notable lol.

The other sort of exception imo is Slan kissing Guts, but again it fits with an audience of men in mind, because beautiful women sexually assaulting men is not really treated as threatening in most media aimed at men lol, it’s treated as titilating. In Berserk Guts is at least clearly afraid rather than turned on, but yeah it’s still pretty par for the course that when the adult male protagonist is sexually assaulted it’s by a sexy evil woman, and Guts brushes it off after the fact. This isn’t shown to be particularly traumatic.

When it comes to recovery, I’m kind of torn on this actually lol. I mean Guts and Griffith definitely get realistically portrayed trauma from their instances of childhood sexual abuse. Guts gets a ptsd flashback and more subtextually a pile of issues that contribute to his need to fight, Griffith washes himself with extremely closed-in body language, self harms, asks someone if he’s dirty, and subtextually it contributes to his self-loathing and view of sex as something he can trade. 

But to be really fair I think you can argue that Casca also got a realistic traumatized reaction to her attempted rape by the nobleman that informs her character throughout the Golden Age as well. Buuuuut if this is the case lol it’s also more subtle than the other two, enough so that I’m hesitant to give Miura credit for it lol.I’m thinking about how Casca latches onto saviours, first Griffith, then Guts, to the detriment of her own independent identity. But I mean, idek if Miura considers that a flaw potentially rooted in trauma, or just the natural state of a woman to define herself around men lol.

But still, either way Casca’s reactions to every other instance of rape and attempted rape she experiences are extremely disappointing and unbelievable imo. I mean after the Eclipse she goes insane and it’s basically used as a way to remove her character from the story for 20 years. And she doesn’t even get reactions after being sexually assaulted by Wyald or nearly raped by soldiers during the 100 man fight - her priorities in each of those instances instantly switch to Guts’ wellbeing as soon as she’s not in immediate danger.

There are a couple other instances of assault that at least get reactions, if not nearly as emotionally powerful as Guts and Griffith’s - Charlotte shuddering when her father is brought up and refusing to acknowledge him, Farnese breaking down after her really bad night with Guts and possession, Casca demonstrating clear fear of Guts after he assaults her - so like, it’s something at least? But yk, Charlotte’s is perfunctory, Farnese’s is more focused on seeing ghosts than being assaulted by them, and Casca is still infantalized.

But hey, I guess now we’ll see if Casca finally gets a strong and compelling expression of her trauma.

Anyway yeah tl;dr I do think in Berserk a lot more care and thoughtfulness is given to traumatized men than women, and despite having a couple prominent male victims, it still falls into the typical default of the basic threat to women being rape, while with men it’s always either when they’re children, and thus more readily viewed as potential victims, or under particularly unique and personal circumstances that don’t lend themselves to viewing men in general as potential victims of sexual assault.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S2 Ep 41: It’s Mai’s Turn to Get Electrocuted

Hey guys, welcome to the Christmas Break.

It’s TV watching season, so lets watch some TV and over-analyze a 20 yo kid’s show, you in?

Odion, after suffering from a lightning strike and getting impaled by many pieces of that fake millennium rod he was holding gets dropped off in the only room on this blimp that has sheets. He also had the added shock of witnessing his brother morph into a somewhat evil-er dude with saiyan hair, which I dunno, I’d want to take a nap too, that’s a lot to deal with.

(And thanks to some reader input, turns out this Marik isn’t so much a ghost situation so much. I mean, I guess it’s more of a Season Zero --this is your deep down scary personality taking over-- type thing but it’s not like I really finished Season Zero so...We’re just rolling with it.)

Glad we have an actual hospital wing--confused as to why Bakura isn’t here.

But I guess lightning strike is slightly worse than having a bleeding stab wound for 12 hours. I mean I’m no doctor, maybe it is? Anyway, Odion is hooked up to all sorts of computers and life support although there aren’t any cords attached to him anywhere on his body. Not even one piss-yellow IV bag.

Check out the size of that IBM. This is what a widescreen used to look like.

The rest of the Yuge Crew are here although I’m pretty sure that’s not how hospitals work. Pretty sure you have to be related to drop on in directly after being put in intensive care but like, they are on a blimp so I guess it’s different up there. But also, this guy has abducted them once already and just tried to kill Joey for the second time, and now they are like “We’re basically on BFF family terms with this Odion guy, lets visit that bedside.”

Although, mind you, his real family is Marik and Ishizu, both of which have never said aloud that Odion is their brother. This family is sort of bad at life, TBH.

Since we’re barrelling right into a Mai arc we have to confront one of her 2 big Mai character conflicts--which is either “this is why I don’t get married” or “OMG I am going to die forever alone.” Which is interesting, because last time we hung out with her, we did whatever we could to keep her independent, while in this episode Mai mourns that being independent is the ultimate curse. Girl wants whatever she doesn’t have, pretty much.

Ah, Miss independent, never thought I’d get that song stuck in my head again. Thanks, Mai. Except in this version, instead of falling in love, Mai just makes weird friendships with jail bait teenagers. Why can’t she make friends with like, Roland? He’s her age. Or maybe this nice doctor? But whatever, age is meaningless on this show.

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, Joey has decided to tell us all about that dream he had but leaves out the parts where he dropped everything he owns, and then knocked himself over a desk onto his face, and then in the same dream Kaiba kinda walked in from off screen, dunked on him, and then walked directly off screen again.

Mai is deeply touched.

And then, because she is Mai, gets extremely offended immediately afterward.

I can keep hoping it’ll be Duke Devlin but like...as much as I want him to do more on this show, I really think the only people who remember Duke Devlin at this point are all the animators who were like “HOW many people are in this shot?! Why did we make a season where every scene is a freakin crowd scene!?”

*I know the shading on her ass was supposed to be attractive but it looks like nasty sweat stains*

(Also what the hell computer-machinery is supposed to be behind them in this scene?)

This one time where Joey doth protest too much is the first time we have ever, ever on this show seen Joey act less than vague towards Mai. During the dream episode he blushed, but I thought that was because of Serenity being there for her brother in his dream. I didn’t at all think that was over Mai at the time.

But I guess this is happening now? I mean people kept saying “yes, Joey and Mai will be a thing” and I was like “they better start building up to that because like...nothing is happening.” but this show’s version of building up to that was by just not being vague one single time.

Which in this show is a big deal, I guess. Because shortly after this event, Tea remembers that her character description sheet says “Is bossy AF” with red underline and was like “OMG I totally forgot and it’s been like 20 episodes since I did anything, I gotta hurry” and she just lost her lid.

I’m regretting more and more that joke I made that TeaxKaiba was way more reasonable than TeaxYugi, because sometimes when Tea goes ham she may as well be wearing a long spiky coat with boots leggings. Tea had two very different personalities way before she ever got possessed by Bakura. Like, Tea is kind of a monster actually, but we rarely get to see it because she gets completely distracted and cries a lot when it just feels like...the other half of her, the half that bit a guy once--like she legit bit a guy on this show--that side of Tea would just never cry over cards. Or cry, period. She sure wasn’t crying when she bit that guy!

This is mostly because I think the writers didn’t know how to write a girl like Tea since she’s a mix of a Season Zero Tea and this more old fashioned-’feminine’ version I think they were trying to turn her into for this series. It’s weird. It’s weird that this group of friends have nothing to say about these very abrupt changes in her behavior. Then again, it took them a while to notice the abrupt changes in Yugi.

Anyway, Joey isn’t done getting harassed by everyone he knows yet.

We have Marik trapped in a blimp in the sky and the entire Kaiba security force, why are we dueling him anymore? I mean I know why, we are contractually obligated to show lots of card content in this show to sell cards, but at this point I feel like maybe they should drive the blimp over international waters and resort to maritime law. Give Kaiba a gun.

Actually don’t do that, it would be bad. Don’t give Kaiba a gun. Give it to Duke or something, he seems stable enough. He seems like he’d be able to shoot somebody but not everybody, if you know what I mean.

And because it’s the Mai arc, we gotta have Mai duel next. There’s only 3 people left to go against: Ishizu, Kaiba, and Marik. I think. There’s so many people on this show. Tea isn’t playing, right? I mean I really do feel like like I’ve forgotten someone--maybe Shadi? Miho? So many people are on this blimp.

Whatever, I’ll just roll with it, if I forgot someone I’m sure they’ll show up at some point.

Mai sure is that girlfriend.

Anyway, lets see what Marik’s up to. Ah, he really is visiting his older brother after all.

That’s right--Marik has to play twice. I mean obvi the first Marik was Odion, but still, it just feels like it’s Marik playing twice.

Also can we please talk about Marik’s cargo pants obsession for a little bit? This arch villain is in CARGO PANTS. Like, they have puffy pockets. He figured out that the hoodie was a bad look, but then he was like “I’ll just cover my tum-tum, and then put on my khaki cargo pants with a sensible belt.”

It just sort of insinuates that Marik only owns cultist robes and cargo pants. Just those two things. Imagine if every pant in your closet was cargo pants. Just imagine with me. You’d go mad, too. Imagine you packed for a trip, a nice vacay on a blimp, and then you opened your luggage and you were like “oops! all cargo pants!” you’d fly home.

Marik looks like he’s going to Casual Khaki’s Friday at the office from about the stomach down, and then stomach up up he’s ready to join piccolo and fuse brains or whatever the hell goes on in Dragonball Z.

And Yugi and his friends are late to Mai’s duel because they are teenagers and also of course they would. This whole season was introduced with Yugi being chronically late to stuff.

The bathroom joke in this episode is canon, PS. I skipped a Season Zero episode where Tristan went to the loo and so Yugi held his spot in line and it took like 30 minutes before Tristan finally got back. Tristan’s epic poops have apparently been Yugioh canon since the very beginning.

I’m learning so much about the lore.

Now that Marik no longer has to hide who he is, he has decided that he’ll just use the Shadow Realm willy-nilly now. Although Marik did this without playing any cards at all, it doesn’t seem to register to Seto Kaiba that this is not a hologram. Maybe Kaiba sneezed when Marik summoned it and just assumed he missed a card play or something.

So now, for our gimmick!

Every time we fight in the Shadow Realm it feels like the rules are a little bit different, and Marik decided to make this duel a memory fight.

The Shadow Realm seems to eat on your greatest insecurities, and for Mai it’s feeling all alone. Not sure how that works once the duel is over--her friends will still be there, so like...she can just get a heads up on the one day they went camping that one time and then boom, friendship rekindled, I think. But for now, this is very scary for everyone involved.

But I mean at least she isn’t a playing card, or being thrown into a graveyard by being played as a card, or being devoured by gloopy blobs, or rapidly dying because of the exposure to the shadow zone. As far as Shadow Realms go this one seems kind of tame.

But I guess we shall see if somehow losing Tea will effect her story in any way.

Depends on which Tea, in my opinion, but if we’re going for the normal boring one that only cries wellllllll I wouldn’t notice if she were gone, just saying. Now, if it’s the fun Tea that bites people and yanks their ears off their face, well being forced to lose my memories of her is what the writers do to me basically every episode of this show. Let Tea bite more people in the arm. Let that girl rage.

But all that will be for another recap where we can all watch Mai get Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-ed as if a memory wipe hasn’t happened at least once to every single person on this show with the exception of Mokuba. And Mokuba was a paper card for like I want to say about 10 episodes, so...

Anyways, if you just got here I do have these in chrono order from s1 ep1, here is a link.

[coffee-obsessed-writer]

Mommy Dearest

A/N: For Soy’s 666 Challenge Fic @hornsbeforehalos . My prompt was: “I’m evil, babe, kinda comes with the territory.” Prompt is bolded within fic. This is my first time writing a fic with an OFC, please be kind. Also, @hornsbeforehalos congrats on the followers baby!!!! I LOVE YOU!

Dean Winchester x OFC Rhiann Clay; Bobby Singer; Sam Winchester

OFC(s): Flora & Rhiann Clay (mother/daughter)

Summary: Dean, Sam, and Bobby are on the hunt for a century-old witch who has made it her job to take out as many Hunters as she can. When they stop at a random motel during the search, things take a dangerous turn but, in the chaos,, find a possible new ally.

Warnings: Mild violence, mild language

Words: 3956

Banner graphic made by me. Unbeta’d - all mistakes are mine to own.

Everything Tags: @his-paradox  //  @sorenmarie87  // @lefthologramdeer  //  @grace-for-sale  //  @redm81  // @becs-bunker  //  @docharleythegeekqueen //  @moonchild-shoshanna // @idontfuckingknowgurl // @geeksareunique

SPN Tags: @soythedemonqueen  // @kazosa  // @lucifer-in-leather // @perseusandmedusa // @tiquismiquis // @mrsbarnes-rogers  // @yorkeylover // @through-thesilver-lining // @illysamorgan // @fictionalabyss // @gettinjoyful // @auntsalgal // @stuckupstucky// @miss-spnm0mma // @teller258316 // @sphollis-blog // @sweet-things-4-life // @hobby27 // @sweetlythoughtfulbird // @theoriginalvicki // @dreamchester67 // @xxwarhawk // @assassinofmasyaf // @mahalaraewolfe // @negans-wife // @superwhovianfangirl // @toobusynerdfighting // @vickyfarley // @missihart23  // @letsby // @babykalika2001

“This is not someone you boys wanna mess with,” Bobby warned, squinting back against the midafternoon sun. The dust still hadn’t settled from his arrival, but he didn’t waste a second telling Sam and Dean what he had uncovered about this new threat.

“Why? What is she? What do we need to take her out?” Dean asked, somewhat confident they could take out anything. “I mean, its just another monster, right?”

Bobby shook his head disapprovingly. “No, she’s not just another monster, boy. She’s human. Or at least she was.”

“Was?” Sam’s concern over their new foe was not unfounded. He could read the level of Bobby’s warning and take it for what it was. This was a “seek shelter” red alert of the Emergency Broadcast System, not a blip on the radar of some small storm to come.

Dean rolled his eyes. “C’mon, you two are acting like this little brunette could wipe out the world. What’s the worst she’s gonna do?”

“Dean, you know better. Lilith was a little girl—”

“Lilith was a demon, Sam,” Dean corrected with a bark. “This girl, she’s human. Let me find her and I’ll put a bullet in her damn head before she takes out another Hunter.”

“It just ain’t that simple, Dean.”

“Oh yeah? And why’s that?”

“Because, she’s not just human. She was a Hunter. She was the most skilled Hunter for her time; the stuff legends were made of. Story goes that she was after a coven out on the west coast somewhere. They found her, and instead of killing her, they turned her. I don’t know how or with what. But after that, she wasn’t the same. She turned on our kind. She started hunting Hunters, throwin’ ‘em up to whatever monster was close by.”

Dean flashed an exasperated scowl at Sam; his eyes ablaze with anger at what this crazy psycho bitch was doing to his fellow brothers-in-arms. Sam merely brushed him off and recommitted his attention to Bobby.

“You said, of her time, what time was that?”

“Oh, somewhere in the nineteenth century. Probably around the time Samuel Colt was pouring the metal for that gun.”

Bobby nodded to the Impala’s trunk, but the boys both knew what he had meant without the insinuation. The Colt was locked away safely in its protected enclosure, and Sam was glad now, more than ever, they happened to have it in their possession.

“Will it be enough to take her out?” Sam asked, absently resting a hand against the trunk where their best hope weapon rested.

“I have no clue, Sam. I know what I told ya. This girl, she’s got magic in her that runs deep, plus the mind and knowhow of a skilled hunter. She ain’t gonna—”

“You two are ridiculous. Sittin’ here all scared of some old ass half human half witch who shoulda been dead decades ago. Show me a picture and let me go all Boba Fett on her ass. We’ll see who comes out on top.”

Bobby and Sam shared an exchange that did not go unnoticed by Dean. He was getting frustrated with them over how scared they were acting over the latest target. Shaking his head, he pushed off the Impala’s driver side door and started pacing between his and Bobby’s car.

“Where is she now, Bobby?” Sam asked, ignoring Dean’s silent wandering tantrum.

“Working on that. Rufus is supposed to be gettin’ back to me real soon. But, last I heard she was stalking these two hunters outside of Philadelphia. Somewhere up in the Poconos. Doubt she’s still there, but I got ears on the ground everywhere I can think of. We’ll find her.”

“Yeah, when?” Dean asked with a sarcastic shrug. “When she slits another Hunter’s throat? When she leads a nest of vampires straight to our door?!” The volume of his voice was escalating, even being remote as they were Bobby tried to shush him, but Dean was having none of it.

“I’m tired of losing people we know, Bobby! Yeah, this one ain’t on us, but I’ll be damned if I am gonna just sit by and let it happen. Let’s get back to your place, pack up what we can and head to Pennsylvania. Let’s track this bitch down before she takes someone else out.”

  The trip east was wrought with one roadblock after another. It was three days before they rolled into the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and thanks to a near miss with a deer and three blown tires, one extra day before they arrived in the Pocono area.

Dean’s mood was nothing to be trifled with. The last few hours in the car were silent; Sam knowing better than to try and engage his brother in conversation when Dean was being this crabby. His furrowed brow and pensive glare were fixed to the road ahead and barely registered any change but a flicker of his eyes when Sam’s phone began ringing.

“Yeah, what’s up Bobby?” Sam said answering it. “Great, thanks.”

“What?” Dean grunted without giving his brother a glance.

“Rufus finally called. Looks like those two hunters turned up where they were supposed to. If she was after them, she didn’t succeed.”

“So, we drove all this way for nothing?” Dean’s patience was already thin, this news did nothing for his mood. “Damn it!” he growled and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“Not necessarily, it just means that they got home.”

“Alright, well, where were they then? What where they hunting? Gimme something, Sam.”

“I have no idea Dean, I’m giving you the information I have. Bobby—”

Dean growled a low, guttural noise rose in his chest as he sharply pulled the Impala to the side of the deserted mountain road. “Bobby is dragging his ass on this.”

“That’s not fair, man. He’s getting the info second hand, too.”

“Why is it, we can figure out how to kill and track all kinds of funky monsters, but can’t get a grip on where this bitch is?”

“I don’t know, but we will find her.”

“Hmpf,” Dean muttered and looked in his rearview mirror, waiting for Bobby’s old beater to catch up with him. When the familiar headlights pulled in behind the Impala, Dean hopped out, but left the car running.

Bobby rolled down the window and watched as Dean approached, and knew he was in for some kind of pouty tirade.

“Bobby…”

“I know, Dean, I know. But I am telling you, Rufus is convinced she’s still here.”

“Here? Here where? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“He said to take the next exit. There’s a motel up and off the highway a few miles. Said she’s somewhere close by.”

Dean closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. He turned on his heel and went back to the Impala without another word.

  Rhiann watched from the window as the rain fell hard enough to create puddles in the grass. Being stuck in the room, again, was more than she could really handle, but there wasn’t too much choice in the matter. Her mother had told her to stay put, and it wasn’t because she wasn’t old enough to make her own choices; not following her mother’s orders would just be stupid, and deadly.  

Headlights swept into the parking lot, followed immediately by another pair. Two old cars shut down in front of the office and she watched as the three men who exited, dash through the drops and inside where it was dry.

Her heart sank. She knew who they were, and that they were coming. Mother had told her as much. But what could she do? She couldn’t do anything without putting herself into jeopardy. And what were the lives of three strangers, compared to that of her own?

“Nothing,” she mumbled into the empty room, but knew it was the wrong answer.

Using her finger against the cold, foggy window, she drew a small x on each of the cars, and secretly prayed they’d find a way to live. She rolled her eyes at that small voice, the one that hated the death and violence, no matter how justified mother claimed it was. The part of her that was human enough to understand that you couldn’t continue killing in the name of one person or one thing. It wasn’t right.

Rhiann sighed. Her whole life to this point was to obey Flora’s rules, then use her innate psychic abilities to help find and eliminate Hunters. Her mother was ruthless when it came to this mission, regardless of the fact that she was once a Hunter herself. It had been a century ago, but still, she had been one.

Rising from the window sill, Rhiann began to pace the floor. She didn’t know those men; couldn’t pick them up out of a line up, but she knew they were the latest targets and began to feel sick because she part of what helped to lure them in.

In the bathroom now, she flipped on the overhead fluorescent light and cringed at her reflection. She’d not been sleeping, and it was beginning to show. Her red hair was a wildfire of tangles and the remnants of yesterday’s makeup was left in small traces around her eyes. The air in the room suddenly became stifling. The more she stared at her pallid reflection, the more she wanted to run screaming out of the room. Flora told her to stay put, but she couldn’t anymore. Rhiann was desperate for fresh air against her skin and damn the consequences should she get caught.

She didn’t bother with a coat, instead just ran out of her room and into the parking lot. Relishing the feeling of the cold mountain air against her skin, she didn’t stop until she was halfway through the parking lot. She wouldn’t have stopped either, if not for the collision with the man.

Rhiann had been walking hastily, with her face upturned to the rain when she ran smack into his chest, his arms grabbing her shoulders before she could fall back completely. “Hey there, you alright?!” he asked, releasing her shoulders once Rhiann was steady on her feet.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. I should be paying closer attention.”

“No problem, these things happen.”

Rhiann studied his face and immediately knew, he was one of them. She looked past him towards the office, saw the other two through the window waiting at the desk. She wanted to warn him before Flora worked her magic; tell them to get gone before they could get hurt. But that could potentially cost her own life. Mother or not, Flora was a witch with great power and an incredible amount of malice intent.

Guilt ate at her in the seconds it took to refocus on the man in front of her. He was watching her curiously, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. Rhiann had been raised to hate hunters, they were the reason for so many tragedies in her mother’s life. On blind faith, she did for years, but lately, she began to question it. More so now that she was face to face with this one in particular.

Something in the way he looked at her, not through her like most people do, but in the way people dream about. His bright eyes were soft and kind, his hand that lingered against her shoulder warm in comparison to the cold rain soaking through her shirt.

“You gotta go,” she begged, suddenly grabbing the lapels of his coat. “Please, PLEASE, you and your friends, you have to leave now. Don’t go into your rooms.”

He stared at her, confused at first. His green eyes flickered back towards the office and back to her. “What? Who are you?”

“My mother… she’s… you’re a hunter, right?”

His body tensed. From the corner of her eye, she noticed his hand twitch towards the weapon he most certainly carried on his hip.

“Maybe.”

“I know you are. You and your friends need to leave. She’s going to kill you.”

“Who?” he barked, causing Rhiann’s nerves to shake.

“Look man, I don’t know your name, just that you’re a hunter. Most likely here to try and find a witch named Clay. Flora Clay. She’s my mother,” she explained quickly, her eyes continually darting between him and the office door.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the overhang by the rooms. Once out of the rain he stepped in closer, his face drawn into a threatening expression.

“My name is Dean Winchester. I am a hunter, damn good one, too. Got two other ones in there. So, if this is some kind of game you’re playing here, sweetheart, I can promise you, it’s not gonna end well for you or mommy dearest.”

Rhiann’s bottom lip was quivering. For a moment Dean considered the fact that she was just a pawn, but he knew better; at least his instinct reminded him that he did. He engaged in his desire to end the witch they were hunting and if her daughter could help move that along, he would at least give a listen before he had to end her, too.

“No game. She’s here, and she’s not going to stop until she takes out every hunter she can find.”

“How exactly does she find them?” he asked, his rage simmering just under the surface.

Rhiann hung her head. She was afraid to face her part in it, but the longer she denied it, the more that voice in the back of her head would scream at her to own up to it. “Me. It’s my fault. I have this ability… I can touch someone or something that belongs to someone, then sense where that person is, who they are, what they feel... I hate it. But mother, she forces me to use it.”

Dean bit down on his lower lip so hard, she thought he might draw blood. “We aren’t done talking about that, but I need to know where she is. Right now!”

“She’s in the office. At least she was.”

Dean turned in a panic. Knowing Sam and Bobby were still in there, caused a bolt of fear to race through him. Without thinking, he grabbed Rhiann by the arm and drug her towards the office door.

“I don’t want to kill you, but if she hurt them, I’m gonna kill her. Then, you.”

Rhiann was silent. Her body shook with fear of what they would find when Dean finally pushed that door open. She felt deserved whatever torture he had in store. After all, she was the one who found them in the first place.

Dean cautiously turned the handle and walked inside. Bobby and Sam were on the floor, alive, but knocked unconscious. Flora stood over them, her back to the door. Dean grabbed Rhiann and held one arm tightly around her neck, so she couldn’t run and silently withdrew his weapon, targeting the back of Flora’s head.

“What did you do to them you bitch?!” Dean yelled, eliciting a dark chuckle to rise from Flora’s gut.

When she faced him and saw he had her daughter by the neck, her salacious grin grew across her wrinkled face. “Oh, another hunter to play with. Lovely.”

“Flora, please… enough…” Rhiann pleaded quietly, a steady stream of tears falling. “These are good people, they aren’t responsible for—”

“Darling, please do shut up!” Flora moaned and rolled her eyes. “Honestly, all these years of hearing you whine is aging me. I can’t listen to it anymore.” Under her breath, she mumbled a few incoherent words, and Rhiann’s mouth became shut. She couldn’t speak no matter how hard she tried. With a flick of her wrist, she moved Rhiann from Dean’s gripped and hurled her against the wall of the office, her head knocking into a shelf, then crashing to the floor.

Dean watched in shock and disgust as Rhiann was torn from his embrace and flung into the faux wood paneling. He was frozen in place as he watched Flora stalk towards her daughter, now unconscious on the floor. She muttered another spell and raised her hand again when Dean finally found his ability to move again. Grabbing his gun, he pointed it at her and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced her shoulder but barely affected her.

“Stupid boy, bullets won’t hurt me. Now sit down.” She flicked her wrist again, and Dean was pushed back against the door and shoved by an invisible force to the ground. Flora glanced over her shoulder and cackled at Dean. “That’s better.”

“Why? Huh? Why go through all this trouble? You’re gonna kill your own daughter now?”

“I’m evil, babe, kinda comes with the territory. Besides, she turned on me. She’s useless to me now. You three will just have to be the last of my hunter kills. Then, I can move on to bigger and more destructive things,” Flora purred, her raspy voice croaking a laugh.

Dean tried to fight against his capture, but he couldn’t move anything. “You’re just a witch, how the hell do you have this kind of juice?”

“Just a witch?” Flora questioned and feigned offense. “I’m hurt you don’t recognize good demonic work when you see it.” She snarled another smile, flashing black eyes at Dean. His gut lurched at the sight of the demon embodying the witch and felt a brief moment of despair. She turned towards him and way from Rhiann, eyeing him up like a piece of candy. Dean saw movement from behind her, washing away the speck of doubt that they would come out of this ok.

“Oh great, more of you nasty ass things,” he smirked, trying to keep her attention. “How long have you been playing dress up as a witch? Hmm? Can’t keep it up as a demon, so you gotta take some witchy Viagra or something?”

“Please, Dean. Do you have any idea how powerful this makes me? Trust me, I’ll—”

Flora screamed in pain, a light flashed from her eyes as the demon inside her succumbed to the blade that was now protruding from her back. Dean was immediately released from his invisible captivity and further slumped to the ground. Just as Flora’s body fell to the floor and began to immediately deteriorate, Bobby was stumbling backward and shaking his head of whatever Flora had done to him.

Sam was starting to stir, trying to get back on his feet when he realized there was trouble happening around him.

“You alright?!” Dean asked and helped Sam to his feet before checking him for any further wounds.

“Yeah, fine. You?”

Dean nodded and clapped him on the chest. “Yeah. Good. Bobby?”

“In one piece,” he gruffed and patted down his own chest in relief. “What the hell just happened?”

They all looked at each other, then down to Rhiann still lying on the floor. Blood was pooling around her head from where it collided with the shelf on the wall. Dean cautiously knelt beside her and felt for a pulse.

She was alive. He gently rolled her over, allowing Bobby and Sam to get a better look at her face.

“Who’s she?” Bobby asked.

“Her daughter. She ran into me in the parking lot and knew we were hunters. Said her mother was Flora Clay, and she was out to kill us.”

“So, this was her?” Sam asked, “the witch we were after?”

“The very same,” Bobby said and shared a look of surprise with the boys. “I still don’t get how—I mean, what’s the odds?”

Dean sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe we just got lucky.”

“Seems that way,” Sam said, bending down and checking over Rhiann’s wound. “What do we do with her?”

Bobby looked between them and shrugged. “Good question. Dean, got any thoughts? You spoke to her. She something that needs to be put down like her momma?”

From below them, Rhiann began to come around. She groaned softly, her hand traveling to the painful spot on her head. Dean was at her side, helping her to sit up and stayed hunkered down beside her.

“You know who I am?” he asked, once she was focusing on his face.

She nodded. “Dean Winchester. A damn good hunter.”

“That’s right,” Dean said and snorted a laugh. “Do you know who you are?”

“Rhiann Clay.”

Dean nodded. “Flora is taken care of. Did you know she was possessed?”

“Possessed?” Rhiann asked, her mind still reeling from the pain she felt in her head. “Possessed by what?”

“A demon.”

Rhiann shook her head slowly, “No, I had no idea.”

Dean seemed to consider her answer and she felt relieved when he accepted it as fact. He stood up and extended a hand towards her to help her up on her feet. Rhiann jumped, startled by seeing Bobby and Sam both on their feet and staring at her.

“You’re alright,” she said, a small, exhausted smile on her lips. “I thought—”

“We’re fine,” Bobby replied. “But, uh, now what do we do about you?”

Rhiann moved to the small couch that was against the wall. She sighed and looked between the three men towering over her. “Whatever you must. I didn’t like what I was doing, but I did it. I helped her. That blood is on my hands, too.”

The hunters shared a silent exchange, and all seemed to know and agree what the others intended.

“You’re not your mother. Everyone deserves another chance. At least once,” Dean said quietly. “We won’t hurt you. But don’t let us find out that you picked up in mom’s footsteps.”

Rhiann felt a sob of relief expel and she didn’t even care who noticed. She covered her face with her hands and began to cry, years of fear and now relief, pouring out in waves.

“You have somewhere you could go?” Bobby asked, ignoring the looks of curiosity on Sam and Dean’s faces after he asked.

“No, just this place. I can’t stay here though. I just—”

“It’s fine,” Bobby tutted and sat beside her on the couch. “I maybe got somewhere you could hang your hat for a bit. Just till ya get on your feet. Let’s us keep an eye on you, too.”

Rhiann looked at him cautiously. She was taken aback by his kindness and wasn’t sure if she could trust him or not. She reached out and hesitantly took his hand, wanting to see if she could feel his true intentions. The vibration raised from his flesh and coursed into her mind’s eye. Her psychic abilities were a bit dulled since the crack on the head, but she could feel them nonetheless. This was a good man. True of spirit and word.

She let go of his hand and smiled. “If you mean it, I think I’d like to take you up on that.” Rhiann looked up at Dean and thought maybe there was a hint of a smile there. When she looked back towards Bobby, he too, seemed pleased.

“Good. No reason you have to suffer cause mom there was a monster. Maybe a stable place is just what you need.”

Dean reached down to take her hand and helped her up from the couch. Bobby also stood up with a slight groan and Sam clapped him on the shoulder.

“Job ain’t getting’ any easier, is it Bobby?”

“Shut up, boy,” Bobby muttered and reached down to the place on the floor where the demon blade now lay in a pile of ashes that once belonged to a possessed witch named Flora Clay. “Let’s go home. I need a damn drink.”

[akumageist]

Gonna Analyze all the Devilman Media

You can totally ignore this, I'm just comparing elements I liked and didn't like. The good news is they all contain both, so it's an even playing field!

Devilman Manga (1972):

Alright this is the original core story, and I really adore Mr. Nagai for writing such an intense and powerful story. EDIT: Apparently Ryou wasn't even supposed to be Satan and was supposed to DIE and THEN Devilman was born, so all the foreshadowing/plot twist was total bullshit and frankly that really crushed me. I respect Mr. Nagai in a different way now, but..... man, I really liked it better as this huge intense plot....

Akira was portrayed as a crybaby in the manga, so I'm happy to see that change in character! But unfortunately once he became a demon he lost that intense compassion and became a sort of basic hero in my opinion, so that was a little disappointing.

I liked how Mr. Nagai also mentioned real life problems. There was an an entire page of humans accusing each other of being the next to become demons, and it was exactly as you expected; choosing eachother based on evil hate that had nothing to do with actually becoming demons. I liked how Nagai had humans react, clearly portraying how evil humanity was, and exactly what would happen if something like this happened in the real world. I fuckin love super heroes, but goddammit humanity would never come together as efficiently as we (and Akira) hope.

I LOVED how Akira realized humans weren't worth saving. I loved how he saw that humans were destroying each other and were just as bad as demons, and that Akira literally said he was ashamed to be trying to save them, and that there was truly nothing in the world left to save. I'm always a sucker for a hardcore optimistic character getting shot the fuck down, so that's also a factor, eheh.

I disliked Miki. She was funny as hell, but she was an absolute fuckin useless character. She didn't care for Akira until he demoned out, so she only genuinely liked him for being so "manly". She could have been cut clean out and it wouldn't have changed the story. I did like how she fought back, though. Less Good Little Christian Girl, and more able to stand her own ground. She fought literally to death.

I disliked that Akira acted as though she was so great, she was so important, but we never had any basis for this because of her lack of character, and therefore were going off of Akira ~~suddenly~~ caring about her deeply when everyone else was dead.

I disliked Jinmen's victim was some random girl that suddenly showed up and supposedly meant a lot to Akira. We never knew her because she died on the train two fuckin pages later, and again, had to take Akira's word for how much she mattered.

I LOVED how Satan repented, apologizing to Akira for doing exactly what God had done to the demons in his rage, trying to defend the demons against God. I didn’t like that Akira’s death was so lackluster. His last words are “the moon...”, but you never see how he died. And when Satan reacts, he’s clearly sad, but seems... still too calm about it. But it could simply be the outdated manga style.

Devilman TV Series (1972):

Sorry folks it just doesn't follow the actual story at all and I can't say I liked it all that much? Basically just Miki being a damsel in distress and Amon, who is possessing Akira and falls in love with her, rescuing her and fending off demons who are mad he's protecting and staying with humans.

BUT it gave us Devilman No Uta and for that I am forever grateful. Plus it was entertaining, so I mean!

Devilman OVA (1987-1996)

Went pretty much by the manga, so the same factors kind of stick for a bit. With Jinmen, however, it was his mom, who was killed in the ice caverns they resussitated the demons from. I LOVE JINMEN. He is my favorite Devilman villain, because of this scene. He taunts Akira because the faces are still alive, and Akira would be the one to kill them. Akira must fight his own morals to know that they are suffering.

It is a tragic scene when Akira is crying naked after he defeats Jinmen because of what he had to do. No other Devilman media has given such a powerful potrayal.

I didn't like Miki's weird interactions, they made her out to be in love with Akira but Akira... not really like her again...? It was a little more weird and perverted in this version on both sides.

Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman

This is heavily based on Amon: Darkside of Devilman but goes on a totally different tangent! I'm really gay for Amon so this was a treat to see big red fuzzy demon boy (who looked arguably cooler in the anime than the manga, whoops)

It was still kind of random and you really would have to know everything else about Devilman to een follow this one, because the entire thing was the first chapter of DOD, revolving around Akira being trapped in Amon.

I LOVED when Akira saw Miki dead HE FUCKIN OBLITERATED THE ATTACKERS BY HAND and the scene cuts to him just dropping a body part into a fuckin lake of blood surrounding him. It was powerful and angry and raw emotion, and it made Miki's death more powerful to the viewer in this version, because you saw just how angry Akira was over it.

That being said, I didn't like how Miki and Akira's relationship was in this, with Akira seeing a weird in-school dream with Miki, and him telling her it was all his fault she was dead. She kisses him and idk something about it wakes him up? It was powerful but random, because it really insinuated there was this whole love story that wasn't actually there..?? I think everyone remaking Devilman just really wanted Akira and Miki to be a bigger thing than it was...?

The Amon vs Akira fight scene was wayy extra too, he legit just kept fucking punching him and there was no build up AND THEN IT CUT TO AMON BEING DEFEATED that was dumb af not gonna lie

Again, only loosely based on DOD so I really dunno what they were going for in this.

Amon: Darkside Of Devilman:

Arguably my FAVORITE Devilman media, even if it’s more of a “behind the scenes” edition. I really liked the fact it hyper focused on Amon and Satan's past, building their characters and giving you a soft spot for Satan. It also painted angels as not "good" but just obsessed with purity, and all in all, makes you question God's authority.

It made me fall head over heels for Silene, who I unfortunately did not care much for at all up until this point. It also portrays demons as just as emotional as humans, and is very important for the reader to understand demons aren't the sinister barbarians they were painted as in the other versions by humans.

The only downfall I suppose was a kind of confusing main antagonist. And maybe that was deliberate, so I won't go too much into that.

I LOVED Satan actively defending Akira against Amon, and admitting again his love for Akira “Do you love someone so much you would destroy the world for them?” This version of Satan is my favorite. A lot of it is him sulking over Akira not loving him back, and being tender towards Akira. As mentioned, it really expands him as a character.

Devilman Crybaby:

Aaaandd last but definitely not least!

I liked how Akira was portrayed as a tiny baby child who ran fuckin, track and field and no one gave a damn about him. Even in the small amount of time, he was portrayed as a sweet kid who would defend any of his friends at the blink of an eye. He's such a good boy in every version, but this version of Baby Akira takes the bait for #glowup but remaining pure.

I liked how Akira was still a big fat crybaby, crying for others and seeing straight through emotion lies. He was still a good boy despite being all demoned out, and stayed confident in humanity till the very end, which I adored because it made you feel it 10 times harder when you saw everything be ripped away from Akira and watched him crumble, but hold strong.

I LOVED how Miki was his friend before everything, and that throughout she was constantly reassuring Akira she was there for him. It made her all the more important to the viewer, because we fell in love with her! Not to mention her innocence and naïevity but strong belief in humanity made you WANT to root for her. She was so genuine.

I liked how Miko was a huge character in this, seeing as the only other time was in DOD and AOD, which she was the boob-hole chick they showed in the very end of Crybaby. I liked how they redesigned her so majorly, bringing light and giving you yet another character to fall in love with even if you weren't always sure of her intentions.

I LOVED Taro's death in this. It was the most powerful, and the most heartbreaking. I wasn't sure if you were supposed to like Akira's parents personably, but I didn't because they had a child and proceeded to travel the world and leave him with family friends, hardly knowing him aside from occasional visits. Akira's finded fucking memory with his mother was her teaching him how to TIE HIS SHOES!

It did in fact make Jinmen a slightly more powerful villain, dealing with the possession of his father and the murder of his mother, however I was disappointed Jinmen didn't have that "they're still alive... i didn't kill them, you are!" Factor to him as he always did. It really ruined the 

It was still hard, but easier for the viewer to not care, seeing as they were telling Akira they were already dead anyway. Jinmen was also a slightly bigger feat in the other ones because of this.

I hated all the sex scenes. Unnecessary and uncomfortable, the first 3 episodes make you want to turn it off. The first episode I was in love, but the second, I began questioning if I should keep watching if this anime was always gonna be a sex fest. Not because I’m such a prude, but jesus christ we get it already.

It was in no other media, and I really think it was just for a weird sort of "sex and gore" shock value. It was offputting for Akira, kicking his sex drive into high gear and almost portraying him as a creep to Miki, AND RAPING SILENE?? She was in fact asking for it, and she was evil, but that was uncalled for and once again not based off any other Devilman media.

I HATED Silene's arc, in no other media was she in love with Amon, in no other media did she fuck Akira. I legit skipped the scene because I didn't like the fact they randomly through more and unecessary porn, especially between a 17 y/o and a clearly much older demon who was in love with his demon not him ??? which was hardly a canon fact, but rather, a joke other Devilman media played off of insinuating that’s why she was angry at Akira. It really put a damper on Silene as a character too, you saw her as this big pervert instead of just absolutely hating Amon for no clear reason as she always had in the past.

I always love Kaim and Silene's story, but I liked how Akira actively pointed out to Ryo that they had been in love, and had felt love. This was a great refefence to Ryo and Akira towards each other, but also a good character build.

I liked Miki’s death in this one. Really gripping and tragic and close to her original death. I also loved Akira’s choked sobs when he saw her head on a stick. That hurt.

I understand a hero to the end is tragic in and of itself, but I much prefer Akira losing his faith in humanity. I didn’t like “they were frightened, Ryo!” But I did like Akira saying he wanted to cry for Satan, but couldn’t.

[feministbynature]

I don’t really post on here, but I just found myself inspired after watching “Plus one” so here are my thoughts on the ep...

Who would have thought hell would freeze over and I would find myself giving Chris Carter credit and literally wanting to thank him for not completely screwing up an episode and finally giving us something that he has been dangling as bait above our heads for literally decades?!? ATTHS!!!! That should be the title of the episode because let’s face it that’s the main thing that I am taking away from this episode 😂 but that’s just me, one track mind and also no tolerance for Chris Carter’s “did they didn’t they” bullshit. Philes have withstood it for ages and I’m glad the game of torture is finally over. Apparently this is going to turn into a love letter ode to Chris Carter because right from the get go it felt like a proper xfile, I got that reminiscent chill way deep in my bloodstream when the doppelgänger appeared, nothing like things that go bump in the night with loud music in the background to raise my Adrenalin level to a high. The first dialogue between far fetched theory Mulder and rational medical doctor Scully  as they battle it out cerebral style is how we like our x files! Or at least how I like mine. It also continues Mulder’s theme of claiming the x-files as “theirs” as states in the last episode “This”. These cases are collectively Mulder and scullys bread and butter, and as much as Scully puts up a fight in trying to discredit Mulders whacky enthusiasm over the idea of doppelgängers Scully is intrigued enough to jump into a car with him hit the I95 south to get to the bottom of this phenomenon wether they are mental illness or else... and Mulder is gracious enough to extend her the first go at discrediting him by allowing her to conduct Arkie’s first interrogation at the jail. Bringing Karin Konoval back is yet another mark in Chris Carter’s favor, her fabulous acting abilities as both male and female deranged and mentally ill just blew my mind!  The whole theme of the episode evil minds evil forces borderline mental illnesses was just the thing that Xfiles has been known for and allowed for the frameworks in which Mulder and scullys mind work to kick into high gear ringing true to my ears. And now let’s talk foreplay! Cause there was so much of that interweaved with comedic splatters that I had to rub my eyes in disbelief that Chris Carter actually possesses these abilities (and why has he not used them more frequently?? They are equally as supportive of the show as the angsty ones if u ask me).- Asking for a couple of rooms and not just one assisted to get these two where we wanted them, together in each other’s arms, and it also ties in with the bureaus policy of agents sharing a room. the scold on scullys face as she tells Mulder she is glad to hear all he wants is some shut eye could be seen as an older prudish version of Scully minus the eye roll and skip in her step. But in the aftermath of the episode it reads to me like a married couple that the man is feeling frisky and the woman is just not feeling it that night so she sternly puts him in his place. Let’s face it right now Scully is leaning towards her medical theories to try and make sense of this case and the subject matter is hitting her, she sees more in Judy than meets the eye, and so I kind of understand this scene and appreciate it. Especially since we get the eyebrow foreplay when Mulder asks if that bed is nice and comfy as he comes through their adjoining rooms making it clear that he is still frisky and would rather be in that bed with Scully rather than chasing the case as needed. That actually says a lot about Mulder, sex with Scully is better than weird ass theories (I wouldn’t argue with that). I kind of got catapulted back to “rain king” when Mulder denied blatantly that he stared at Scully while someone pointed out the sheer attraction to him. And here we have Judy clearly seeing the connection between our two agents from just being in the same room with them for a few minutes. And also her twin brother who asks Mulder if he is “tapping” that tasty red head. Everyone sees it and at least they are not denying it even though they aren’t yet addressing the elephant in the room. I found it quite interesting that Special agent Dana Scully as well as Doctor Dana Scully who has fought men with guns and other social deviants and has conducted multiple surgeries and autopsied dead bodies in the past would get so flustered while dealing with a psych patient and her own mortality and aging. I think this was a critical comment about how society brands women as useless and nothing more than their labels, a woman who hits her 40’s is apparently less worthy bcs her womb is no longer functioning.   The fact that she can turn to Mulder for the cold harsh truth when it comes to insecurities shows just how Dana Scully has progressed from the woman who’s catch phrase was “I’m fine Mulder”. She no longer feels the need to hide from this man, she trusts him in more ways than one. And how endearing is it to hear him say “u have still got it going on”. The man speaks the truth! (Bless). And I don’t know if Chris Carter had “tony Orlando and dawns” song in mind when he wrote knock three times but that completely fits in with the solicitation of one Fox Mulder who tells Scully he is just a door away if she should ever want to get it on 😂 and let’s face it, it’s hard to resist the upper arm and torso muscly built of Mulder in that tank top 👅 Knock three times: Hey girl what ya doin' down thereDancin' alone every night while I live right above youI can hear your music playin'I can feel your body swayin'One floor below me you don't even know meI love youOh my darlingKnock three times on the ceiling if you want meTwice on the pipe if the answer is noOh my sweetnessMeans you'll meet me in the hallwayTwice on the pipe means you ain't gonna showIf you look out your window tonightPull in the string with the note that's attached to my heartRead how many times I saw youHow in my silence I adored youOnly in my dreams did that wall between us come apartOh my darlingKnock three times on the ceiling if you want meTwice on the pipe if the answer is noOh my sweetnessMeans you'll meet me in the hallwayTwice on the pipe means you ain't gonna showI can hear your music playin'I can feel your body swayin'One floor below me you don't even know meI love youOh my darlingKnock three times on the ceiling if you want meTwice on the pipe if the answer is noOh my sweetnessMeans you'll meet me in the hallwayTwice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show Continuing with the progression in scullys character I love the fact that she can come into Mulders room and just ask to be held, it’s a little reminiscent of the bed scene in I want to believe where Mulder offers to take the burden, curse god so that Scully can have a break and sleep peacefully. At that given point in time Scully might be cursing god for the pain that is in human mortality and having the ultimate stop be at heavens door so to speak. Mulder undressing in freak out mode and scullys naked shoulder bobbing from above the sheets is the moment that the fandom will forever be screaming about because we finally got a literal confirmation that our duo are doing it!!! (Enter mental freak out and jumping up and down with ecstatic overtones). And there we have it, the afterglow of sex apparently agrees with Scully as she has become the calm and rational no longer haunted by the ghosts that seeped in to her psyche beforehand. And apparently sex with Scully agrees immensely with Mulder as well who movements before his freak out smiled at himself in the mirror. He’s always been so harsh with himself so it was a touching moment. And that last scene, if you mute it and watch scullys facial expression as she shoots off Mulders invitation of a second round of bed wrestling u can see that she is flirting and contemplating it even as she is saying no. I would put more emphasis on the part where she is shooting him down if it ended with just that, but hey, I just call it a knee jerk reaction which was erased momentarily cause let’s face it Scully will now forever be drawn to that damn afterglow of sex with Mulder!!! And now that I have all of the positives out of the way, it’s inevitable to put aside the truly bad dialogue that was held between Mulder and Scully in bed. Had it been anywhere else I would have shrugged it off but Chris Carter, dude, the spooning was probably hurting your retinas and so u thought u would try to distract us with words that were just plain and simple garbage! (Lucky for us we can hit the mute button and just relish in the intimacy and the love that is Mulder holding Scully close). Here is the 💩 that Chris had to inject (I mean how can u get your characters so spot on in all of the other scenes and then fuck up the scene with the best potential??? This is the mystery of CC himself one which we might never really understand)- insinuating Scully thinks Mulder wants children and with a younger woman! 🤦🏼‍♀️ I mean sheesh! He has stuck by Scully for so long and looks at her like a love sick puppy!!! This whole Scully doubting Mulder when it comes to their personal ship is something that will never ring true to me. - Also the stupid question asked by Scully - are we going to spend time together (when they are retired) - as if the x files is the only thing that keeps them together. Has Chris forgotten he wrote a whole damn movie where Mulder and Scully were living in the same house, sharing a bed and not working at the FBI? I know Scully is talking after retirement but seriously man when would Mulder never be part of scullys life? - What’s stopping u from having another kid??? Like are u fucking kidding me dude?? Mulder knows what Scully went through to actually get pregnant (or try to get pregnant) that is not a line he would ever throw her way! And Scully saying she wouldn’t have anyone to have a kid with even if she wanted to? 😡😡😡 I would like to throw “per manum” in Chris Carter’s face and smash his nose with it! Mulder will never say no to scullys request of fathering her child no matter how uncomfortable it might be for him (which at this point I don’t even think this element even exists between them anymore). - Sorry not even Scully saying “we will think of something” as an answer to Mulders question what will we do if we  lose our jobs, which ultimately leads to sex can salvage this scene!!!  I want to see the original script of this scene because it seems that dialogue was cut form it, it kind of is all over the place near the end which is such a chris Carter move, leave the social criticism dialogue in, super glue it with some sort of Shippy elusive declaration and try to get away with it knowing fully well it’s less than perfect. But he gave us the sex, and as a PHILE I have over the years gotten accustomed to blurring the parts and selectively choosing the strong points of the episodes so I am choosing to focus on the physical closeness on this one rather than the flaky words. Ending with a few comments that I had that don’t fit into any long argument 🤷‍♀️ - let’s face it Scully can even make the words “gestalt gestven syndrome” sound like foreplay and totally sexy (and is anyone else wondering how many takes of that they had to shoot because Gillian just kept messing it up? I’m counting on seeing this scene in the blooper reel 😂- The mature  version of Scully, skeptic as she might be is willing to subscribe to the notion better safe than sorry while popping the bread pills- It was nice to see the actual scene on the road where the bear story happened 🐻🐻🐻- Chris Carter with his sexist dick/sword collection scene at the diner 🤢 - And seriously who has that amount of ammunition in his home???? 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

[movieswithkevin27]

Sweet Smell of Success

A seedy, jazzy, and morally loose film, director Alexander Mackendrick's dark noir film Sweet Smell of Success was an unsurprising critical and commercial failure in 1957. Released at a time where audiences were largely unfamiliar with such detestable main characters, it was only natural to reject the unsavory nature of the men than to really appreciate the risks undertaken by the film and the deep underlying themes at play. Thus, unfortunately, Sweet Smell of Success was cast aside as merely a morally disgusting film that features an against type lead performance from Tony Curtis. Yet, bubbling under the surface is a searing comment on the shaky ethics of journalism, communist and drug paranoia, and obsession. Now, in a time period where morally questionable characters are revered as excellent antiheroes, Sweet Smell of Success has rightfully received a re-evaluation to become the misunderstood classic it is today.

Pairing together Curtis and Burt Lancaster in this darkly lit, shadow-heavy noir film, director Alexander Mackendrick's foremost theme is that of journalism and its shaky footing with reality. In today's world where every story is sensationalized in the name of gaining viewers or retweets, Sweet Smell of Success' events have been ignored and only worsened. With Curtis playing Sidney Falco, a morally repugnant press agent, the film shows the shady behind closed door dealings embarked upon by press agents and journalists in order to secure clients and to play favorites. Having the ear of renowned journalist J.J. Hunsecker (Lancaster), Falco is often able to plant stories about his clients in order to drum up positive press for them with a mention in the latest article by the most popular New York writer alive at the time. Falco even goes so far as reading Hunsecker's upcoming pieces in order to see who he mentions without being asked to mention in order to quickly sell himself to them in order to claim credit for the mention. In order to fulfill Hunsecker's request to break up his younger sister Susan (Susan Harrison) and her boyfriend Steve Dallas (Martin Milner), Falco plants Communist and marijuana related propaganda in the article of one of Hunsecker's enemies. All too wiling to slander and hurt Hunsecker, this opposing journalist obliges and further sets the film's events into motion. Displaying the shaky ethics of journalists, how stories and press can be bought, and how the press manipulate things from their high perch as gatekeepers for what goes and what does not go, Sweet Smell of Success is a troubling and damning portrayal of the ego and power possessed by the media. If left unchecked, the media can sway things in whatever way they wish, wear whatever hat suits them in the moment, and damn those who will not play ball with them by shutting them out or by slandering them in the paper. As trusted gatekeepers of information, they have the final word on fact and are entirely able to determine the truth as they see fit.

Tying this manipulation and gatekeeper impact possessed by the press into Cold War and drug-related paranoia, Mackendrick shows the damage that can be done by simply insinuating that a person is a Communist or a dope smoker in the on-edge 1950s. With Dallas accused of being both in the name of breaking up his relationship with Susan, his career is on the rocks with him losing his spot in a jazz club. People easily convict him and escape from the blowback of his alleged Communist dealings. Regardless of whether or not there is any truth to the story, people convict him easily and file an orderly line to get the hell away from him. In portraying this, however, Mackendrick shows the false bravado of overly patriotic men. Championing demoncracy and patriotism while going to bat for Dallas, J.J. Hunsecker is a fraud. He knows Dallas is no red and yet, in the name of saving face with his sister, he backs him and criticizes those that convict him before he is even proven guilty in a court of law. Showing the disingenuous nature of those who champion any ideology too forcefully, the film shows how a person in the media or with a voice can align themselves with whatever movement benefits them the most in that exact moment. From day-to-day, this can change between damning communists to defending suspected ones out of fear of convicting an obviously innocent man. Yet, had he opted to damn him, he could have easily done it, if it had benefited him in that exact moment.

However, the very core of this film is certainly obsession. Greatly in love with his sister Susan, there is certainly incestuous insinuation with regard to J.J. and Susan with how overly protective of her he is and how he repeatedly calls her darling. Hugging her, kissing her, and running away boyfriends in big shows of defensiveness, J.J. is like a nice guy stuck in the friend zone, but the girl happens to be his sister. He is absolutely obsessed to the point that he actively tries to possess her and ruin her life in order to benefit his own. Quite cynical in the portrayal of a brother-sister relationship at-large, the film takes it to another degree with how J.J. manipulates situations by manipulating everybody around him. His role as an influential journalist who gets whatever he wants has certainly corrupted him to the point that he believes everybody in his life should jump when he says jump. Forcing Sidney into orchestrating the break-up to make it subtler and then finally trying to give Susan the final push away from Steve, J.J. is a brutal and cruel antagonist who is always out for himself. Above all, however, he is deeply creepy with his perverse obsession for his sister than far exceeds brotherly love and become something far more sinister.

Yet, this deeply subordinate role experienced by Susan is only the surface of the film's chilling portrayal of women and their role in the world and the film. Used as merely somebody to manipulate and to use to manipulate, J.J. and Sidney team up to manipulate Susan into making both of them happy, though in different ways. However, in the process, Sidney also manipulates Cigarette Girl Rita (Barbara Nichols) into sleeping with the man who will plant the story on Steve in the newspaper. Using women for their own gain and making it appear to the women that they love them only to pull the rug out from under them, Sweet Smell of Success' depiction of these events ensures that both J.J. and Sidney are shown as being cruel and deeply evil men.

Contrasting this deeply cynical portrayal of men emotional abusing women and of seedy and unethical journalism, Sweet Smell of Success hits consistently sweet notes with its smoothly jazz score. With the cinematography so strikingly dark with an emphasis on the power and presence of J.J. in the camera angles used to portray him - especially in the shot of him overlooking the city of New York, which he owns, as the shot mirrors a king looking upon his land - and in the way in which he is staged, the jazzy score feels nearly out of place. Soothing, calming, and underground, the jazzy score stands in direct contrast to the rest of the film. Yet, it works entirely. Setting the scene with the film entirely occurring at night and jazz being an eternal fixture of nightclubs in New York in the 1950s, the jazzy score is not just sonically pleasing, but wholly essential for the film to accurately display New York and its nuances. With the shadows lurking around every corner and New York in an eternal state of night aside from the bright lights of Broadway, the jazzy undertones of this film still make it feel nostalgic and homely, in spite of all the carnage and cruel manipulation depicted in the film.

Cynical to its very core, Sweet Smell of Success explores the nasty nature of the press in a way previously shown in Billy Wilder's equally cynical Ace in the Hole. Adding in commentary on obsession and the abhorrent treatment of women as means to an end by the men in their lives, Sweet Smell of Success' commitment to showing its protagonists (if you can call them that) in the darkest lighting possible merely scratches at the surface of their dark interiors. These are full-bodied antiheroes and villains, with the night incapable of covering up their nefarious intentions and nature. Gorgeously shot and subtly conveying the dark nature of the men in its cinematography, which is terrifically contrasted by a jazzy score, Sweet Smell of Success has certainly earned its classic billing. Yet, what makes it truly great is not just how well-written its multi-dimensional characters are or how well shot it is, but how strongly written its dialogue is at every corner. Sharp, witty, and packed with zip, the dialogue punches quite brilliantly and brings strong wit to the cynicism on display.