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strideofpride · 2 years ago

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not that i disagree with serena’s ending being massively disappointing, but for the sake of argument: wasn’t serena’s happiness when she left new york generally presented more as serena running away from her problems than as genuine contentment? when serena goes off to boarding school, she’s still pretty much doing the same stuff as before she left (which may be a retcon, but is canon nonetheless), and hasn’t really processed any of what happened with blair or nate or georgina or pete. when serena goes off to paris, although she has a good time, she also doesn’t actually emotionally deal with any of what happened with her dad and is just as lost (if not even more so) when she returns to the city. this is taken to its logical extreme when she runs off to upstate new york post-overdose and literally changes her name and identity to avoid her problems, until those problems quite forcefully show up on her doorstep. the only time leaving new york seems to offer her any benefit is when she spends time in los angeles during the summer between seasons 4 and 5, but that’s mainly because she’s focused on a new job she’s passionate about and wasn’t actually having any major interpersonal issues at the time. all of which is to say, while the ues is legitimately toxic and time spent away from it is generally a good idea for any character - serena included - i can’t help but feel that serena talking about wanting to go away to another state and “start over” is more of an avoidance behavior than anything else, given that anytime something traumatic happens to her throughout the series serena’s impulse is to “start over” rather than work through the trauma. i’m not sure how much it would actually matter if she had left if she was still unwilling or unable to do that, as no matter how much she might have wanted to, serena couldn’t truly run away from herself.

Okay so, I’ve been thinking about this all morning and I’m gonna start off by saying that YMMV when it comes to Serena’s characterization.

But the way I personally see things is that Serena doesn’t run away so much as she runs toward something if that makes sense? (Also I’m just gonna link to goodbye stranger now, cause a lot of what I’m gonna say I talked about in that fic as well lol). At the end of season 2, she’s running towards her dad. She only starts acting out and going back to her old party girl ways once he refuses to see her and she’s trying to get his attention. At the end of season 3, she’s kinda running with Blair if that makes sense. Like yeah, the summer didn’t turn out that way, but it was supposed to be this boy-free girl’s trip, you know? In season 4, she goes to try to help Ben. At the end of season 4, she goes to find herself, and she seemingly does find herself and her place in LA. Like the only two times Serena really runs away and not towards something are pre series to boarding school and the end of season 5. And while I don’t think those were the healthiest choices she could’ve made, she does seem happy. Like the retcon, but now canon, flashbacks at boarding school show her pretty happy actually? She’s having fun partying, there’s no hints that there’s something darker going on, she’s seemingly not mourning Blair and Nate at all (and sure there’s a way to read it that her still partying is her in mourning, but that would be a reach with what they gave us to work with in that scene), and then there’s all the Ben stuff, which, while I don’t like it, she’s pretty happy trying to be his favorite student up until he rightfully rejects her attempt to sleep with him. And all the Steven stuff too! I personally think it’s bad, especially you know the whole pretending to be someone else and all. But she states multiple times how happy she is! And given how her relationship with Steven doesn’t fall apart until after they get back to NY, there’s no reason to think that she was lying about how happy she was that summer between 5 & 6. But the narrative explicitly doesn’t want her to be happy ("And the only thing more disturbing than finding her on drugs or in a psych ward is seeing her happy and healthy.”), at least not if it means she’s not in NY, because the narrative pretty much requires everybody to be in NY, bends over backwards to try to keep everyone in it long after it stops making sense (also yeah, I agree that the UES is a toxic hole that every character deserves to be free of - again not to reference my own fic, but that’s like a plot point in goodbye stranger, getting everybody out of there lol).

But yes, Serena absolutely has an avoidant personality, but her running away is a symptom, not the cause. Like it’s not like she deals with her problems when she comes back to New York either. When she comes back in season 1, she doesn’t actively deal with all the reasons she left. She’s hoping things can continue on exactly as to how she left it. She’s forced to deal with the Nate stuff when Nate tells Blair, she’s forced to deal with Pete Fariman when Georgina comes back to town. When she comes back from Paris, it still takes her episodes and episdoes to make a choice between Nate and Dan. (And all the dad stuff doesn’t really return until season 5, and even then it’s more about him fathering Lola, than you know…giving Lily fake cancer to try to reunite the family which…god William sucks so bad how was he Lily’s endgame???) When she comes back with Steven, she still avoids Blair and Dan as much as possible for several episodes, has essentially cut them out of her life instead of dealing with all the events of the end of season 5.

I also think the most important part of that screen cap I shared is not the part where she says she wants to leave the state, but instead the part where she says wants to be around lots of people who don’t know her. There’s this contradiction in Serena. There’s the side of her that just wants to have an anonymous, normal life, and then there’s the side of her that is clinging to the spotlight and her IT girl status. I personally think the girl who just wants to live a life free from the Van der Woodsen name and all it entails is the real Serena. But the narrative wants us to beleive the IT girl version of Serena is the real Serena (even though it always brings out her worst qualities which…sigh). It goes back towards the classism that gets baked into the show the more and more it focuses on Chuck. Serena denying her “birthright" as the IT girl is her denying her true self, because she truly is just better than everyone else guys!! She just is!! She doesn’t need to reinvent herself or become a version of herself that she actually likes, because she’s Serena van der Woodsen and that means something in New York!!! (that was all sarcasm obviosuly)

And look, contradictions at a character level are nothing new to GG. Blair states multiple times throughout the series how unhappy Chuck makes her, but he’s somehow still her happily ever after anyway. But I chose to focus on what the character is saying rather than the narrative a lot of the time when it comes to GG, and Serena keeps affirming over and over again how much happier she would be out of New York, how much happier she was when she was in LA and Upstate, how things were easier in Paris, etc. So I personally chose to believe her, but I get why people interpret her another way. But I do agree that Serena’s avoidant personality would have to be dealt with wherever she ends up, and she would need to truly face her problems to finally escape her past (Gonna promo goodbye stranger one more time lol). But I also do think this would be harder for her to do in New York than somewhere else. The way things go in New York, Serena can’t help but get caught up in all her old patterns. And like I said earlier, the UES is a toxic hole that makes all the characters get stuck in their old patterns and regresses any potential growth characters ever make. (Yes, the UES is a metaphor for GG, a poorly written show that keeps characters stuck in their old patterns and regresses any growth). So that’s why I think she needs to leave New York to have a satisfying ending. Because I just don’t think she’s really capable of having any growth there.

#i basically wrote a whole essay and am not sure this actually makes any sense anyway lol rip #serena van der woodsen #gossip girl #gg meta #also wait this is soo much longer than i realized editing to add a read more #anonymous #strideofprideanswers

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violetlunette · 3 years ago

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Why Bakagou’s slapstick doesn’t work for me

Below is basically me saying why I don’t like Bakagou’s slapstick. This isn’t me calling anyone out, it's just a view of an opinion. If you find the angry porcupine funny I won’t judge you.

That being said, below does have anti-Bakugou elements and Bakugou Critical. If these bother you, I suggest you spend your time elsewhere.

Let’s get this out of the way; Comedy in itself is subjective to each person. Mineta is a perfect example; some people laugh at him along with his antics, while others don’t. Whether his actions may be funny to some, others who have suffered sexual harassment won’t laugh. (Personally, I don’t think the violence is harsh enough to make his antics funny, but more on that later.)

Nowadays, a lot of people don’t find physical violence funny. I am not one of those people. I love physical comedy—if it’s done right.

These are the official rules of slapstick comedy—Though they come from a mime school, so YMMV;

Pain without real consequences.

Editing to turn a situation more unrealistic.

Impossible situations.

Those are mime rules, but here’s mine;

The person that receives the pain must have done something to earn it.

The pain must be because of a direct action of the recipient.

Pain without real consequences. (We share this rule.)

There are a few exceptions, as I’ve seen nice characters get hit with slapstick, but because rule three is in play, I still laugh. Like with Courage the Cowardly Dog from the show of the same name. He is the sweetest and bravest thing, but he still suffers a lot of slapstick. Usually, though, the pain goes away right away, so most viewers laugh as it’s “pain without real consequence.” When the pain stays for more than a few scenes, it’s serious.

As I mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t mind Mineta too much if he received more punishment for his perverted acts and said punishment was more cartoony violent. I recognize his character type as a typical anime trope and because their actions earn the violence, I laugh when they get their just desserts. When Kota kicked Mineta off the wall, I laughed. When Jiro stabbed his eye, I laughed. And so on. As a person, Mineta doesn’t connect to me (though there was potential), when it comes to his slapstick, I’m all for laughing. His pain is funny to me because it’s earned by actions he consciously makes and there’s no lasting damage. Better yet, no one ever just waves off his action as ‘that’s just Mineta.’ More often than not when he acts like a perv others call him out and react properly--usually.

A character I do like that suffers is Monoma. Most of the BNHA fandom hates him—mostly Bakagoustans—but I find his antics funny, as well as his pain. The reason Monoma’s pain is funny to me is simple; he acts like a jackass and is punished for it.

Monoma is Class-B’s Bakagou, but unlike Class-A they don’t ignore his actions. When he does something rude or annoying, Monoma is called out. They tell him straight out that what he's doing is NOT okay, and they don’t agree with him. If he continues, then Monoma is knocked out. Class-B even goes the extra mile and apologizes for him. They acknowledge that Monoma’s actions are wrong then they do something about it.

Now, to be fair most of the scenes played for comedy with Bakagou technically fit the slapstick rules;

Pain without real consequence- Debatable, but we don’t usually see any physical scars from his actions.

Editing to turn a situation unrealistic and impossible situations- During these scenes, Bakagou’s face gets cartoony as hell, and the way he causes pain isn't usually something we see in everyday life.

So, yeah, I can see why some people laugh at him as he follows the rules technically.

This is where the subjective comes in. Now just a reminder, this is all my opinion, therefore there will be a little pettiness. Ye have been warned.

First of all, Bakagou seldom receives punishment for his asshole tendencies. He can yell at people, insult them, and physically attack others, but no one does anything. Once in a while, we’ll get a “knock it off Bakugou” or Class A will be appalled, but that’s it. If Bakugou showed he was irritated by getting ignored, then maybe it would be funny. But no. He yells, he hurts someone, then it’s brushed aside.

Cartman of South Park fame is an asshole, but I can laugh at his actions as the narrative never says that his horrible actions are right. Even when he gets away with it the show states, “yeah, we know this is wrong, but so what?” Because of that I’m not annoyed with the story and can laugh. See, if the horrible action is at least somehow acknowledged in some way, I’m more likely to laugh.

There’s also the fact that the people Bakagou attacks usually have done nothing to earn his ire. Bakagou’s just being an asshole. (Monoma’s an exception, but again, his slapstick is funny.)

Izuku is the most common target of Bakagou’s tantrums and he NEVER does anything to deserve it. He’s just doing his own thing and Bakagou will get jealous before attacking, verbally or physically. And Izuku just takes it! Even when Izuku isn’t even talking to him, Bakagou will attack him!

“But more often than not, Izuku is okay, right? So wouldn’t the ‘Pain without real consequence’ rule come into play?” Not in this case. Why? Because of their history.

I don’t like to throw the word “abuse” around unless it fits. The reason for this is that it takes away its power and seriousness. I also believe that there’s a difference between being a jerk and an abuser. To me, in anime or cartoons at least, a dope-slap here and there isn’t abuse.

I have no idea about the full story and said story seems to be changing to manipulate views, but what’s clear is this; Bakagou bullied Izuku.

I’m not clear when bullying passes the line into abuse (please forgive my ignorance of this at this time), but whatever Bakagou did had traumatized Izuku. I won’t go into it here, but there are several posts out there that prove Bakagou’s actions left lasting mental and emotional wounds on Izuku that affect him and his actions throughout the story.

There’s too much unpleasant history between Izuku and Bakagou for the latter’s actions to the former to ever be entertaining. Bakagou bullied Izuku throughout their whole childhood and belittled him. After so long of Bakagou’s actions being played seriously, I’m supposed to see it as a joke now? Nuh-uh. No way. Nothing’s changed.

Bakagou still jokes about Izuku dying, belittles him, and attacks him whenever he gets a little attention. Just like he always did. Whatever development he may have got, Bakagou is still a brat who throws a tantrum when he’s not the focus.

The only difference is that instead of reacting to it, Izuku’s gotten used to it. He’s numb to it all. That’s not funny at all. It’s sad.

When Izuku was flinching, at least his body was instinctively trying to protect itself. In that subtle way, it was acknowledging that something was wrong. By not flinching, or doing anything to defend himself, Izuku is no longer acknowledging the actions are wrong. The worse thing about it? No one else is either.

Sure it wouldn’t be in character if Izuku yelled or fought back, but others in Class A could. They don’t even have to do anything major, just along the lines of what Class B does.

Another thing is that the people Bakagou yells at or attacks are people who won’t or can’t fight back. Izuku, Fuyumi (who has lived with an adult version of Bakagou all her life), and Shoto. Shoto is a little better because Bakagou never hurts him or bothers him and Shoto ignoring Bakagou’s tantrums leads to the latter getting annoyed which is kinda funny.

All that said, to me Bakagou’s antics always have been and always will be bullying, and they are NOT something I can laugh at.

However, as many others can this just proves that humor is subjective. Take everything I said with a grain of salt.

#bnha #mha #anti bakugou #bakugou critical #slapstick

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eldritch-elrics · 3 years ago

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more svsss notes! from “shen qingqiu’s short but aggravating time in jail” to “shen qingqiu Fucking Dies” :]

...this got long. oops

so the book does this a lot but i’m always a huge fan of when a character (in this case little palace mistress) spouts off a cliche and sqq internally goes “oh my god here we go again. cringe.” it’s like... the reader gets to experience the drama of the cliche but also laugh at it

airplane has gay and homophobic vibes. or like...... araki jojo vibes. it’s so funny

the system keeps forcing sqq into plots that were originally meant for binghe’s harem members, which is of course hilarious (more so now that binghe’s not a teen anymore) - but i’m thinking about the fact that the system is literally powered by binghe. i wonder if binghe’s feelings are subconsciously influencing the system/the rest of the plot? like we know he has plot armor; does he also have enough influence to shift the story’s genre without knowing it? shit like this is why i love this novel. i’m really curious if it’ll be addressed

more of sqq being absolutely terrible at communication <3 please sir. say your FEELINGS. i’m sure you could figure out some way to explain without revealing that you know how the og plot goes...

another thing i find super interesting about sqq’s character is how sure he is that lbh’s gonna turn out how he did in og pidw. he’s just refusing to accept that lbh’s changed in any way, or that he cares about sqq at all anymore. there’s some line somewhere where sqq is like “oh no, being nice to him just made it worse... i’m stuck with him hating me even more now...” like NO. you’re just refusing to see all the signs of lbh’s hidden feelings. love unreliable narrators lmao

fate/destiny is such a big theme i keep noticing stuff about it

the system giving him a multiple choice answer to binghe’s “do you regret it” question, dating sim style, is of course hilarious, but it’s also a fascinating moment for a couple reasons. first, it shows how much of a crutch the system is for sqq - sqq’s leaning on it to fix his problems instead of actually putting in the work himself to get better at interpersonal communication. i hope that in a key moment later he’ll choose to defy the system. i think that would be a nice pivot point for three themes: first, accepting that sometimes he needs to fix problems on his own, without any omniscient outside guidance, second, accepting that not everything is written in stone (either by airplane or by the system), and third, recognizing that binghe and the rest are “real people” (ymmv on whether or not you think they are, but i think this is where i think sqq’s arc is headed) rather than video game objects to be manipulated.

i think that some shifts in his attitude do start to happen in chap 43 though when he sacrifices himself

back to slightly less analytical observations! sqq getting his clothes torn up. oh my god. and lbh’s REACTION...

dying at shang qinghua’s “coded” letter and the fact that its content basically amounts to “i fucked up, please escape from jail asap thanks bro”

gongyi xiao my BELOVED that prison break was pretty great. also i am so fucking sad about him. binghe WHY

so lbh wasn’t actually a disciple of meng mo? huh...

seems like the words of sqq’s vengeful ex weren’t completely true. i very much doubt the trial’s gonna happen now but i bet this will come up later

seriously losing it at sqq’s tavern disguise? smeared his face with dirt and drew on whiskers?? CATBOY SHEN QINGQIU???

love this development ning yingying’s gotten. the disciples’ relationships with their shizun in general are so cute omg

liu qingge keeps saving sqq from situations and it’s very fun. bros :)

also how lqg was like SO down to fight binghe at the end of that chapter?? king shit

binghe held out his hand to sqq when they were on the roof..... what was he planning to do.........

oh my god that whole confrontation. what is it with mxtx and Climatic Fights On Roofs

here is where the fate theme gets REALLY clear. sqq uses “we can’t avoid fate” as an excuse/coverup but lbh is like “no. was it fate that made you do all those horrible things to me?? i’ve decided that fate doesn’t actually exist. fuck the world i do what i want!”

which like. YEAH. protag energy. the rules of the world don’t apply to lbh so much do they???

im so excited for these themes to be explored more

also like. hell yeah. binghe finally sharing his emotions at a super climactic moment

and then sqq SACRIFICES HIMSELF...

god damn.

it’s a bit out of nowhere but also like. i kinda love it? because sqq knows he can’t talk his way out of this. he can’t say “hey it wasn’t me who abused you/made the choice to push you off the cliff.” so he goes and does the most drastic action he can think of. and it WORKS

now initially i was a lil mad about lbh changing his mind so quickly but i actually think it fits for 2 reasons. first, he’s a webnovel character. they do that. second, his mind has just been cleared of xin mo’s influence, which had been plaguing him during his most angry/violent moments, so with all that anger suddenly gone it makes sense for his feelings to shift. and deep down, he really does care about sqq!

sqq fuckin DEAD and finally binghe is sharing his feelings,,

i do think that lbh should be allowed to feel mad about what og!sqq did to him in the past though? like. it was wrong, and though sqq may feel like he’s made up for it, i do think he owes lbh a proper apology and (if possible) an explanation. there’s much more work (and communication) to be done between them but i’m glad they’re finally getting somewhere...

but of course i don’t think they’re gonna be seeing each other again anytime soon :]

#svsss #svsss spoilers #my post #analysis #oh god this is so fucking long. sorry #after i finish the novel i might come back to some of this analysis and clean it up and post it as its own thing #because i have a lot of thoughts #finn reads scum villain

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hrodvitnon · 3 years ago

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Okay, some new 'Abraxas' questions from me! :) I tried to send these the last time I was online, but I think me trying to install an image screwed it up. x)

(1) Did Ghidorah originally have a plan before Isla de Mara of what it was going to do to Vivienne after turning her into a Titan in its own image, if San's head was never ripped off and before Ghidorah read 'Paradise Lost' through the Many?

(2) The Strawman Has a Point entry on 'Godzilla: KOTM''s YMMV on TVTropes. If someone presented that argument to Vivienne, but re-worded it to be a bit more respectful and remove any direct reference to Emma Russell ('cos I imagine Emma's a real berserk button for Vivienne after her betrayal); what d'you think Vivienne's reply would be?

(3) Did a certain cinematic Evil-Santa with horns influence Thor's design?

---

Yay!

1. Any plan Ghidorah might've had, if it had any at all, would've taken a backseat in favor of establishing a base of operations of sort. Wake up, stretch the wings out and cause some mayhem after being stuck in ice for a long-as-balls time, assert dominance over the Titans, and while they're under Ghidorah's control destroying anything in their path, that's when Ghids would've kicked back and took their time doing... whatever they wanted with Vivienne. Would it have been better or worse than the Baby Factory plan after discovering Paradise Lost? Well... that's for you readers to decide.

2. Vivienne would concede that if it looked like Monarch was dragging their feet, they kinda were. After the MUTOs and MUTO Prime, Monarch would've worked to figure out which Titans were destroyers or protectors, which ones might've been safe to awaken without fear of causing unnecessary damage or casualties; unfortunately, they were also scared that their estimates might be off and any assumptions made could be completely mistaken. To put a Jurassic Park take on it, these are living things no human can hope to control let alone combat, with no idea what time period they're in, and will defend themselves with violence if provoked. After all, Godzilla may be a protector Alpha Titan, but even he can't get away with causing some measure of destruction just by showing up. Monarch simply didn't know what to expect and wanted to stall long enough for everyone to reach a general consensus of what to do.

3. Any resemblance Thor may have to the Krampus is purely coincidental; the basis for his design came from Shadow of the Colossus! Specifically, he was inspired by the likes of Valus (especially the mask), Barba (the beard), and Argus; though they're more like minotaurs than Thor's ape-goat.

Plus, I thought a goatish polycerate Titan would look really cool.

#zerm1v0hg #fic: abraxas #submission

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fine-ass-fatshion · 4 years ago

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Old Navy Order and My Thoughts

So, as I mentioned previously, I had gotten a gift card to Old Navy and figured I'd give them a fair shot (as I hadn't shopped there in years) and I'm glad I did!!

So, altogether I got 6 things; 3 pairs of jeans, a skirt, an orange puffervest and a Henley style tanktop. And I must say, I do love them all!!! I feel like everything fits as it should, and is very versatile

Youre prolly wondering what I need 3 more pairs of jeans for, and the answer to that is simple!! 2 of those are for work, so they don't rlly count in my opinion, they were also like stupidly cheap?? $15 each is UNHEARD OF in my size hahah. Being able to switch between my jeans should hopefully make them last longer.

My only complaint is that they're suuuuper thin, makes me freeze so they might be more summer jeans. They also have terrible hip pockets, but the back pockets are as expected

But the third pair is a pair of distressed jeans in a higher rise that I'm literally wearing while typing this up lol. Super comfy, very easy to wear with the rest of my clothes, and thicker than the other jeans I bought?? Also some of the jeans have patches sewn in behind which kinda irritates me, but its superficial. Theyre holding up amazingly, I'll have to check out there denim more, I just wish it wasn't so hit or miss

Next on the list is my puffervest. I LOVE this vest, but the sizing is insane?? I got it from the mens section, assuming it would be bigger, AND I got it in Tall, and it juuuuust fits me. I had debated getting it in orange over black, but the orange is much more unique. Has zippered pockets and isn't super bulky, has quickly become a favourite. I love wear it with a grey sweater and jeans =)

As mentioned, I also snagged a denim skirt bc theyre cute af and also super in right now, and I ADORE it. Im not THAT into skirts, but the denim makes this one feel so structured I hardly mind. It has big ole pockets in the front and back pockets too. Its supposed to be high rise, which makes it pretty short, but that could just be because of my bodyshape so ymmv

Last but not least I got the Henley tanktop, and I know I know I said I dont buy many - if any - of my tanktops new, but I had a free $25 anywaysssss so I splurged. I love it, it's so comfortable, I grabbed it in a Tall, and I'm glad for the extra length. It has the traditional Henley button placket, but they put these AWFUL tortoiseshell buttons idk why they put them on in the first place. Oh and its ribbed, so its warm and cozy =) Good to wear under clothes (if you dont mind the placket showing through) or to wear to bed

Here's a cute fit i made using the denim skirt and also a nice photo of me in the puffervest <3

Okay so I dont have any photos I can clearly identify as the jeans, but theyre jeans so I mean...theyre jeans.

#body posi #plus size #fatshion #trendy fatty #fat posi #old navy #mine #oc #old navy review

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the-evisceration-station · 5 years ago

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what do you think Dare Me did wrong? why did it get cancelled?

Uhh...shit dude, Idk. I mean, I don’t think it’s anything specific Dare Me did wrong. Different people are going to nitpick about different things, so YMMV. But the most common complaint I saw about the show was that the pace was too slow. The second most common complaint that I saw was that some folks, with the little bit of marketing the show did have and the first couple episodes, thought it was going to be about bullying gone too far and were kinda turned off when it turned out the body was the coach’s lover instead. The third most common complaint I saw was that folks felt like they were being queerbaited since the homoerotic subtext remained mere subtext until the eighth episode.

But I do not think in any way either of those things were why the show got cancelled. According to a couple articles, the USA network moving away from scripted series and toward more reality television was a factor in it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t think shows really have an opportunity to build a fanbase the way they used to because the competition has increased so heavily. So I blame part of it on that. Also, tbh??

I almost feel like Dare Me never had a chance. I don’t think it was on the right network, I think it would’ve reached a wider audience on a more popular network, or possibly even different platform (having gone straight to streaming). I also think it would’ve done better if it didn’t air in the US at 10 PM on a Sunday night. The promotion for it was also terrible. I live in the US where it originally aired, but no one I knew had even heard of it, save for my mom who only noticed, cause as she told me, “it looks like one of those killer cheerleader movies you love so much.”

And it’s not like it had a lot of time on Netflix. It was only on there for a month before it got the axe (this is going back to the way I feel about shows not being given enough time to build a fanbase). And even when it got on Netflix, it wasn’t available everywhere, to my understanding. At the least I know it wasn’t in the United States, cause some of my friends I told about Dare Me, who did want to see it, couldn’t watch it on the USA network without cable (you also can’t use the USA app without a provider), but did have Netflix, and were surprised when they realized they couldn’t watch it after its release date on there.

#dare me #anonymous #asks #answers #rly tho #i don't know anything #i just work here

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anissapierce · 5 years ago

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do you have any recs for media with older gay characters?

I would've been able to finish this sooner if Tumblr asks could b drafted. I typed this huge thing up when i got this on like Friday I think ? But then I lost half bc half didn't copy bc I didn't notice a paragraph break

Ok so The Cool Kids:which got canceled after a season, but Leslie Jordan's character, an actual 60+ (white) gay actor, had a four episode romantic arc with another 60+ character ? Its like a basic network comedy joke wise but the romantic arc and Leslie's character was .... Good. Here's a clip i poster : https://anissapierce.tumblr.com/post/183387758622/this-moment-in-the-cool-kids-was-cute-but-fox

The show Cucumber which oof ok I think Is a good show but I disagree fundamentally with the ending, I don't want to spoil if you don't want but the way it treats one oglf the black characters is rlly eh... Also the main guy ? Kind of a total creep n there's this very weird storyline tht borders on pedophilia n incest.... Just bad vibes. Like the main character from wht I remember is criticized for the bullshit but mmmmm. The shows about two bottoms whove been together for decades either have never had sex or just Rarely have and how they deal w breaking up essentially? There's a bunch of gay bi lesbian n one trans actor (two black main characters, one side black character, the bottoms in question are in an interracial relationship ) bc it's a Russel T Davies show. Pretty nsfw

Ok so I never finished this I think I got to the end of s1 but it's not Heinous: the webseries Old Dogs New Tricks, bout a group of (white) older gay guys in Hollywood. Its like ....not Rlly great but it's final season is coming out soon ? But it started in 2012 and uhhh it has the stink and shine of 2012 the writing is kinda bad .... The acting takes a bit to get used if ur not used to watching shoestring indie gay movies. One of them is faking a terrible British accent. There's like one or two recurring black characters according to IMDb. There's probs some sexual harassment issues considering wht I rmbr from a certain character who's uh ... Forward.nsfw.

Cloudburst is a very cute movie about an older pair of lesbians one of them isn't out to her daughter and she gets tricked into being sent to a retirement home. Her wife, I forgot if they call each other tht in the movie but for the ease of talking abt it, breaks her out. The rest is very Bonnie and Clyde but w no cops and they pick up this young adult dude. Semi nsfw you see a full on dick n there's discussions of sex n sex toys but there's not rlly s full on sex scene iirc.

Brother to Brother: stars Anthony Mackie as a gay l8 teen/early 20 sth who befriends gay Harlem renaissance writer Bruce Nugent, if you haven't looked up his poetry it's def worth a look, and how their friendship unfolds. Bruce isn't the main character but he's got a lot of screentime lines etc, a lot of it spent recounting his time in the Harlem renaissance thru flashbacks. Its kinda implied that him and Ant Mack character maybe had a thing but idk it didn't feel overt to me last time I watched? Its like kinda nsfw bc of talk if sex n a couple of cut short sex scenes.

Before You Know it is a documentary about gay men retirees or soon to be retirees, all white, and from wht I remember it was really interesting. One of them runs a drag bar the other is searching for a retirement community that'll accept him.

Tab Hunter Official: An interest documentary about a closeted movie star from the 50s and 60s and why he basically disappeared from the public eye. He isn't alive to talk in the doc but a lot of older LGBT folks n scholars are there. I think it's worth a watch bc it has a lot of older ppl talking abt the past n wht it was like for them as LGBT folks

Our Sordid Lives/A Very Sordid Wedding: This one might be very ymmv humor wise.The movie focuses on a young gay man coming back home to the South w his black boyfriend and the trials n tribulations his family n town are already going thru. Leslie Jordan plays an old drag queen locked away in a mental institution basically for conversition therapy. The character rides that very Angel Rent line where ur unsure if he's just a gay guy drag queen or the character is trans or both ? A warning for attempts at sexual harassment or violence kind of played for laughs from wht I rmbr ? The head of the mental institution keeps making passes at and harassing Leslie Jordan and I haven't seen the movie in ages but I think it's at least a little played for laughs at her expense ?The sequel has Leslie Jordans charcter out of the instruction and trying to kickstart his Queen career? Alec Mapa has a small role in the second one? The second film is Abt the dude from the first coming back to his hometown to get married to his boyfriend from the first movie now fiance ? There's a serial killer on the loose whose a nectofiliac n the way they choose to reveal him as bisexual is hmmmm some of the humor surrounding attraction to black men iirc is very hmm.. but like I remeber enjoying the movies ?

Doom Patrol: imo this counts. Larry Trainor had been alive for 90+ years but his body had changed much since he was 30 bc the radiation n burns etc have kept him perserved. He's played and voiced by younger men but later in the season u spend a whole episode with an older gay man played by an older man. Also Alec Mapa was in an episode and keeps showing up throughout to be a news gag basically ?

Bingo love- Very cute graphic novel about two older black women who were seperated from being together n their burgeoning relationship when they were teens n find each other way later in life. Id suggesting the deluxe edition bc the extra stories are all so good? The art is good the writing is and the other has a sequel tht focuses on a similar plot of two older men of color finding each after in life after a relationship while in the armed forces? And also a sequel based on the main characters of bingo love.

Axe and Crown- a podcast that's under the name Alba Salix because it's kind of a subpodcast of AS ... Its a comedy fantasy podcast starring a troll running a tavern,his pesky young human landlord who just got the tavern passed down to him from his dad(I think) and his neice. Said troll is nursing a breakup from his boyfriend who also uses to be the tavern cook. The voice actor is I'd say older than middle age n the troll character sits at an age range tht I'd def say is old.

O human star- So a robot engineer suddenly wakes many years in the future to find out he's an Android, someone uploaded his brain into this robot. He finds out that his former lover and work partner actually created another version of him thats an Android too,but this one was almost like a clone of him tht got raised as a child n grows and learns as one. (The partner did this on accident basically not for creepy reasons.) Also this clone version of him ? Is a now a teenager pretty much Andis a trans girl ? Both of the main characters are squarely wht I'd describe as older. Also the now cyborg/Android is bisexual but there's been a big moment in recent comics tht he's undergoing an examination of his sexuality n gender ? I don't want to go into more detail bc uhhh I feel like the reveal is very good ? The cast is pretty diverse but all three main characters r white.

Linoleum knife- ok so this is a nonfiction movie reviewing podcast. The hosts are two white men in their sixties who are married (to each other as they like to tack on sometimes bc apparently ppl don't think tht otherwise) . Idk I think it's just a sweet podcast ? They're both professional movie critics but sometimes their podcast just gets into squabbling Abt ironing ? Its cool tht they're both big old leftists and they're bears and talk a lot abt wht was cooked tht day ?

K so I watched Grandma and can confirm tht it's rlly good ! Also Anon I have another rec, this cute twenty minute short film Curmudgeons, Danny devito and David Margulies play two old men firmly in love. Its very sweet n worth a watch. https://vimeo.com/159449591/description

Also omg i can't believe I forgot the Exorcist Tv Show. Ben Daniels plays bisexual and has a very sweet kiss with someone around his own age. The show is very gay season 1 had a main character lesbian n s2 did too. Ben Daniels plays a priest who's an expert in exorcisms but has a very Constantine backstory ? His costar is Alfonso Herrera also a bit of sceptic to exorcisms but enlists Daniels characters help anyway ? Like holy God it's so amazing and it's messaging is so good ? You want yearning? Gay tragedy ? Gay love ? Love conquers all ? Found Family? Bc The Exorcist (fox) is tht bitch

@corvidaedream recommended Grandma, a Lily Tomlin movie where she's a lesbian whos dealing w the loss of her wife, she's an asshole and i love her. I watched it and loved it so much ! The push if the movie is that Lily's characters granddaughter needs money to pay for her aborition. And so Lily goes to all these different people to try to get the money fast before the granddaughters appointment at 5 pm. (The cast is really great some highlights : Laverne Cox as a rockabilly tattoo artist,john Cho as a very christian (Jesus fish necklace n all) coffee shop manager,Judy Greer as a recent ex of Lily's character. I can offer up triggers fyi I just feel like this post is too long already

Grace and Frankie has two older gay guys but I've only seen like ....half an episode

And yeah that's all tht I've seen? You're gonna have to brave the wilds of like pride dot com rec lists

#asks #anon #lgbt media recs

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tardispowered · 5 years ago

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Doctor Who Book Review: The Missy Chronicles

Summary

Non-Spoilery Review: The Missy Chronicles in and of themselves are an interesting idea and concept. They are even, dare I say, a pretty decent execution. (ha) All the stories are well-written, and while I like some decidedly less than others, I wouldn’t say any one was outright horrible. In fact, one of the main problems I have with the book isn’t so much to do with the stories told, but how they were told. It was very Moffatt era (understandably) and I think the stories suffered a bit because of it.

Read under the cut for the Spoiler Section

Before we begin, let’s talk about my two main gripes.

First, most of these stories and this book itself is a very Moffatt-era thing, at least for me. YMMV, but it feels very fake woke. Or that there’s a lot of Style! But not a lot of substance. It’s very commercial in that way. Just there to give you a nudge but not take you too far over. I will explain what I mean as I go.

Second…. Okay so, yes! Let’s talk about Missy who has adventures away from the Doctor (and, to be fair, the bulk of them are), because the Master is a woman now! Only I am sure there is more than one woman writing in the Whoniverse. Not that you would know from this anthology. I’m not saying that it has to be all women, but when you have one woman and four men, I kind of side-eye the goings on.

Dismemeberment by James Goss- C+

A strong opening to this set of stories. It’s pretty bloody and brutal what Missy does (and could not get away with on television) as she fights against the old boy’s club she used to be a part of just because they slighted her. She gives no quarter and is outright sadistic, which is par for course. On the whole, it’s pretty good.

That is until the end, which kind of falls apart. Yeah, I can see her helping this slave woman. Or at least I can see where the writer was going with it. A kind of Sisterhood, newly discovered—Abruptly discovered at that as Missy has, if not just regenerated, is fresh off the juice so to speak. But these white rich guys being sent back in time to be slaves and get their comeuppance is stupid as hell. There is no way they’re going to be enslaved. They’re white and look monied. (and if not white, at least look rich) The people who owned the plantations would not suffer to see people like them put to slave labor.

It’s a very Moffat-y story in other words, good until you scratch the surface and ask questions and then you realize that most of the cake is just comprised of frosting. Also, it could have gone further. So Missy is a woman now. How does she adjust? What’s different? What’s the same?

I think the biggest problem with the whole damn thing is that there’s this assumption that suddenly double-x chromosomes and evil Mary Poppins, ya’ll! There’s no mistaking ones own gender or getting comfortable in a skirt. It’s like the switch is suddenly flipped. Granted, you could say the Master is going uber!femme in an attempt to gain as much control over her image as she can, but that is no where stated or even touched on.

Also um, Missy’s name deriving from basically what a slave would call a master? Kinda problematic there.

And yeah, maybe it’s mean to be a light-hearted yet sadistic romp, but I think we could do so much more with a proper regeneration story where things are either explored or avoided. But this is commercial fiction and a short book meant to sell like a Funko Pop or a Collector’s Item so we get what we get.

Lords and Masters by Cavan Scott- B

I don’t have much to say about this one! It was a pretty neat little story and dark as hell but in a good way. Missy is her Missiest and her ‘companion’, for lack of a better word, deserved far better than what she got. (though there was a grim satisfaction to it). I think that, insofar as Missy being a Woman stories, this is one of the best in the anthology-simply because it’s mostly that she’s Missy and the rest sort of follows after. I also like that it touches on the darker political maneuvering of Gallifrey and who is part of the club and who is not. I also like the call back of them trying to use Missy and she using them instead. Even her capturing and using the time creature was savage and brutal but made sense character wise. This is Missy at her darkest, her most antithetical to the Doctor. At the same time you do see a little bit of potential in her, but by and large she’s without mercy in this one.

Could there have been more? Sure. But this is a wonderfully little self contained story (or maybe aweful) and doesn’t need anything else.

Teddy Sparkles Must Die!! By Paul Magrs -D

This was an absolute mess from start to finish. I get what they were going for, but nothing really about it worked for me. I also resent that just because Missy looks like Mary Poppins, she acts like it too, what with being Governess and all. There’s got to be an easier way to get what she wants. Though I can’t even remember what it was she wanted, which says how much of an impact this left. The title is also dumb as hell because she doesn’t want to kill him, she wants to use him. Also everything about him is dumb as hell. Everything about this story is dumb as hell. But it mostly suffers from being less about Missy and more about what she does. The children are the main characters and she’s just kind of in their lives screwing things up—but we see so little of herself it’s kind of a shame.

The Liar, the Glitch and the Warzone- Peter Anghelides- D-

This one was a mess from start to finish. I think it tried to do too much in the constraints it obviously had (in terms of words written/space/etc) And there are so many moving parts that Missy all but gets caught up in the shuffle. She goes around and makes people miserable. And has a scheme of course, but doesn’t she always. Again, though, so little of Missy herself. Just Missy as he happens to other people. But it doesn’t really seem she learns or changes or grows from this. It’s just a thing she does. It’s not a terrible read but it’s not a great one either. I would like to see it without so many moving parts.

Girl Power!-Jacqueline Rayner -A

Ahh, this one was a hoot! I really enjoyed the format and seeing the interplay of Nardole and Missy and the Doctor (also the delivery company) through various messages. It felt like one of those quirky episodes that fall just outside of the main baddie of the day ones. I laughed out loud several times and the ultimate direction it went bumped it up from a B+ to an A.

My biggest problems come with the title, like, I get it. I do. Annd the sort of chat with different women through time was fun but hard to wrap my brain around. Also loved the ultimate chat with her and “Circe”. I still think it tries to lean a little too hard into the Girl Power thing even if it’s meant to be tongue in cheek, but ultimately I enjoyed it.

Alit in Underland- Cavan Scott- C

It was an interesting concept to begin with. I really liked the character of Alit and kind of how she got wrapped up in things. But she eventually just turned out to be a tag along for Missy and the Master and for a way to keep some distance from them. Like you could tell Missy felt things, but we don’t actually get to see it as Alit is the main character. … kind of. We don’t actually get to see much of her either. She’s more often than not lost in the shuffle so Missy and the Master can do things and play off one another. It would be more interesting to see how they got along or didn’t and Missy’s inner thoughts about the whole thing—but that would require something far bigger than a short story and we can’t kill the misstery now can we? (Especially when that’s what your whole show running is built on. But I’m not bitter)

Also the end was meh. Just, this seems like a good place to stop. And stop it did. It was an ending, but hardly satisfying.

Conclusion: Eh, it’s so so, a product of its particular iteration of Who. It could have been more but it also could have been worse.

In my canon library?

Why not.

Three out of Five Stars

#dotor who #doctor who book review #missy #the missy chronicles #sharon reviews #three out of five stars #canon library #moffat #and a bit #anti-moffat #but just a hair

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bigskydreaming · 6 years ago

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And another thing!

Can we like, just collectively fuck offffffff with this whole ‘the natural opposite to Bruce’s abusive relationship with Jason is Jason having a warm, nurturing relationship with Talia after she adopts a pseudo maternal role with him when she dumps him in the Lazarus Pit’?

This trend has kinda been around forever, but I feel like its been popping up in like, every Jason-centric fic I read lately, and uggggh, dislike. Look, I actually feel no desire to defend Bruce and his parenting, ever. I try and go with AUs and canons like Young Justice where he’s like, Bad At It, but not to the point of the absolutely toxic abusive shit he’s guilty of in various writers’ runs in the comics, but that’s just because I want his kids to have nice things and his kids all at least WANTED Bruce to be a good father at one point. But if your take on Bruce is that he’s abusive despite his best intentions and the best thing for any one of his kids is to move on and get the hell away from him, I’m not gonna argue with you, or try and defend him in the slightest. I will read the fuck out of that, happily.

Until you try and pretend Talia’s not...just as bad?

Like, okay, I have complicated feelings on Talia, mostly because the shared universe nature of comics makes it impossible not to. She’s an extremely nuanced and complex character and has been for decades, which means I really enjoyed her and found her every bit as compelling as Bruce, until....Morrison happened. And I loathe Morrison’s dumbass writing and try and pay it as little heed as possible, so wherever possible, I go with one of the takes or canons or AUs where Bruce and Talia had fully consensual sex and she just never told him about Damian til later, because I will never ever ever excuse the date rape interpretation of Damian’s conception. And I’m fully aware that it was written that way largely BECAUSE Morrison’s a dumbass and most likely didn’t think through the full implications of what he probably just saw as an expedient way to give Bruce a longlost kid he knew nothing about, or how it would throw Talia’s character under the bus. It’s different with Dick and Tarantula, because Catalina didn’t have those decades of prior characterization and attachment, her agenda was pretty clear from not long after she debuted. (Although, we gotta talk about how just like with the aggressive man of color stereotype, the only times comics show a man being raped by a woman, its a woman of color. Pin in that for now).

So I mean, I don’t automatically write off Talia unless we’re dealing with a fic, AU or run in canon that clearly expresses its going with the version of events where she date raped Bruce. I vastly prefer being able to still enjoy her as the compelling equal and foil to Bruce that she was for a long fucking time before that.

But even with that, the idea that she’s a superior parent to Bruce and a convenient candidate to step into the void he leaves in any of his sons’ lives, let alone Jason, and just...Do Better....umm...how about could we not?

Like, YMMV obviously, but to me the entire point of Talia in the context of her relationship with Bruce has always been she and Bruce are as alike as they are at odds. Selina and Bruce, the appeal of their romantic dynamic is they’re opposites. Talia and Bruce....they have far more in common than they don’t. They have different goals, different lengths they’re willing to go to, they’re not the SAME by any means, but they understand each other in a way few other characters do, because deep down, they always GET why the other one does what they do.

So I mean, I’m not saying Talia is inherently WORSE than Bruce, I’m just arguing that even with all of Bruce’s flaws, she’s usually not any BETTER. Like...its pretty much a lateral move.

Sure, you could easily WRITE Talia as being a loving maternal figure to Jason or Damian or anyone....but just the same as you could write Bruce being a healthy paternal figure to them. The potential is there in either character, depending on what takes in canon you choose to focus on and you clarify where and in what ways you’re diverging from any takes where they both devolve into outright abuse of their kids. Because both definitely have, and thus, you don’t get to just....handwave away any problems with Talia’s character (and parenting) and default to her as this superior parental figure on the basis that hey, she’s not Bruce.

Like, okay....you want to write Jason moving on from Bruce and rejecting his attempts to reconcile because he’s come to view Bruce as having essentially raised them all to be child soldiers? I WILL TOTALLY BACK YOU ON THAT. I mean, the dude’s memorial to his SON, was a case containing his uniform and a plaque that said A GOOD SOLDIER. Case made, you know? Not one fucking argument from me. Your take is valid, and Jason’s complaint has my full backing.

But here’s the thing....if your fic does NOT significantly diverge from canon prior to Damian’s joining the rest of the Batfam, if it does NOT show Damian having a WILDLY different upbringing than he did in all versions of canon, and by extension, resulting in Damian having at least a somewhat different approach to interactions, worldview, mannerisms and ideology.....

Then no matter what relationship you craft between Jason and Talia, you are STILL swapping out his parental figure - who he resents for raising him as a child soldier - for another parental figure, who LITERALLY RAISED HER KID AS A CHILD SOLDIER.

Like, hellooooooo? Any take where Damian grew up in the League of Assassins without Talia objecting to him being trained with them or getting him the hell out of there, is a take where Talia literally does the exact same thing you’re holding against Bruce on Jason’s behalf. (While, I might add, ignoring that while Tim at least was well into his teenage years by the time Bruce became his mentor, Dick, Cass and Damian ALL have this child soldier upbringing in common with Jason. It really doesn’t work to single Jason out as the only one who was victimized by their parent in this way).

But okay. Let’s say you’ve got an explanation for Damian’s upbringing or have written that differently. If you’re going with the take that Jason has a connection with Talia now because Talia’s the one who put him in the Pit and either brought him back to life or restored him to full coherency, then almost inevitably (because you COULD do this differently, but I’ve yet to see a take where a writer DOES)....you’re also going with the take that before coming back to Gotham, Jason trained with the League of Assassins, and this is how he was so competent by the time he went up against Bruce and the others, given that he wasn’t nearly as skilled back when he died at age fifteen.

And it really, really, REALLY bugs the fuck out of me that people so rarely spend much time or focus looking critically at Jason’s time with the League of Assassins, and how that contributed to his ideology and methodology as the Red Hood.

And this is a complaint I have both with fics/writers/headcanons that are pro-Jason and anti-Jason.

Again, don’t get me wrong. I honestly don’t have a problem with Jason’s initial return to Gotham. Like, he can murder the fuck out of every rapist and crime boss he wants, I’ll be in the stands holding the OMG LOOK AT MY BABY, LOOK HOW GOOD AT MURDERING ASSHOLES HE IS sign and doing high kicks up and down the bleachers.

But ESPECIALLY if your take on Bruce and his raising of Jason is that he was abusive and trained him as a child soldier.....it absolutely IMO does not work to overlook the role the League of Assassins...and by extension Talia....played in shaping the man he was when he first returned to Gotham.

And they abso-fucking-lutely played a role.

Because Jason is not Bruce, was never going to be Bruce, was always going to clash with Bruce’s ideology in ways even Dick never did, especially when it came to killing. Even before Jason died, it was very well established that they did not see eye to eye there and likely never were going to. It IS part of Jason’s core characterization that he fundamentally disagrees on the subject of killing criminals, the worst of the worst. Whether you think he actually killed Felipe Garzonas before Bruce benched him, or whether you think he didn’t, or that it was an honest accident...this was a hard line they were always going to end up on opposite sides of, and that inevitably was destined to create at least SOME kind of divide in the family.

But thing is, arguing that its okay to kill a serial rapist they have evidence that should convict him, but who keeps getting away with it because of diplomatic immunity and legal loopholes that show how ineffective a corrupt justice system is.....is NOT the same thing as arguing even to kill a murderer in the name of avenging your son that he murdered.....and even THAT is still along way away from.....

tossing eight heads in a duffel bag down onto a table in the middle of a meeting of local crime bosses as an intimidation tactic.

Felipe? That was Jason’s own personal thoughts and morality, his own perspective on right and wrong at work there, 100% him. The Joker? That was a natural, easy to follow extrapolation of those same thoughts and perspective and how they might change and grow as a result of the trauma of what the Joker did to him and how it affected him.

But Jason’s tactics when he first came back to Gotham weren’t either of those things. They were textbook League of Assassins methodology and justification.

And its just fucking WEIRD to discount that when examining his character and how he changed from the Robin he was to the Red Hood he became.

Like, even with varying canon takes, the youngest Bruce took Jason in at has him at about twelve. He wasn’t a trained acrobat like Dick, he was a malnourished street kid with none of the head start on his training that Dick came to Bruce with, already having it under his belt. Everything Jason knew how to do as Robin, the detective work, swinging around Gotham on grappling hooks, various martial arts forms and mastery of weapons....Bruce had to train him in all that from scratch, and that took time. Jason was at the earliest still only like 13 or so when he became Robin. And pretty much every take I’ve ever seen on his death has him at around fifteen when the Joker killed him. That’s two, at most three years of time spent training and being Robin, under Bruce’s tutelage.

Then things split into two takes....some go with the sequence of events where Ra’s or Talia take Jason’s body right after his funeral and put him in the Lazarus Pit, others go with the sequence where he was resurrected on his own, and was found by Ra’s or Talia a year or two later, still largely catatonic, with them putting him in the Pit to heal his mind the rest of the way.

But either way, by the time Jason comes back to Gotham he’s put at around nineteen or twenty, with it usually said that it was five years after his death, and AT LEAST two or three of those years were spent training with the League of Assassins, or with other teachers thanks to Ra’s or Talia’s patronage.

So.....any way you cut it, if you’re going with a take where Jason’s skills post-Robin come from training with the League....he spent at LEAST as much time being trained by them, with their perspective, in their methods, according to their philosophies....as he spent being trained in all that by Bruce.

There is no angle here in which they didn’t play EVERY BIT as much of a role in shaping him as the man he resents for raising him as a child soldier! With it also largely unacknowledged that even WITHOUT the effects of Pit Madness from the Lazarus Pit, you’re talking about a KID, someone who was either fifteen or at most seventeen by the time the League started training him....who is recovering from a trauma the likes of which pretty much nobody can even comprehend. While nursing a massive grudge and resentments born of insecurities and issues that carried over from his fucked up childhood from even BEFORE he met Bruce, and that Bruce absolutely failed in addressing.

Again, no matter how you look at it, we’re talking about an extremely traumatized and impressionable and suggestible minor, desperate for anything to hold onto, any ideology to grasp hold of, any justification to make sense of all the shit that’s happened to him and where he goes from here, a purpose, a way to move FORWARD.

Like.....I’m all for Jason resenting Bruce raising him as a child soldier. What I DON’T get, is neither him nor anyone writing him in this way displaying the same awareness of the fact that....the League literally raised him to be a child soldier after he was brought back.

Same shit, different generals. That’s it. But again, that’s not an upgrade! That’s not better for Jason! That’s not an improvement over Bruce! It’s literally a lateral move!

And if your take includes ANY aspect of Talia training or overseeing Jason’s training to help him get back at her ex, someone she definitely has issues with at the time, no matter what canon or existing adaptation you’re going with.....you’re talking about someone literally weaponizing a traumatized teenager against her ex.

Ummm. Yeah. We’re just....not gonna call that better for Jason, or healthier for Jason, or in any way, shape or form to JASON’S benefit, okay? Cuz its not. No matter what his issues with Bruce, no matter what your issues with Bruce as a reader or writer, no matter where you fall on the ‘is killing bad people bad, y/n’ spectrum.....it is just deeply WRONG to just generically write Talia as forming a maternal bond with Jason WHILE he’s being trained by the League she holds enormous influence over, even if not as much as her father.....and act like this is the opposite of Bruce and how he failed Jason. Instead of just more of the same.

Like sorry not sorry Talia, but if you actually give a shit about Jason when he comes out of the Pit all traumatized and chock full of issues....you put him in fucking THERAPY, not How To Be An Assassin and REALLY Get Back At Your Dad 101.

And it doesn’t have to be that way, to be clear. You can write Talia taking off with Jason and toddler Damian in the middle of the night, abandoning the League of Assassins to take both of them far away and hide them so Jason can heal and cope and find himself and Damian can grow up not learning how to poison people by age five. You do that, all my objections vanish, THAT is infinitely superior to Bruce’s parenting, and that’s a parental bond with Jason I can happily stan as being for his benefit and to his betterment.

But no fic where he debuts as the Red Hood with years of League training under his belt has that. And this oversight is realllllly starting to get on my nerves, lol.

Again, from both sides of the Jason camp, pro and anti alike.

Cuz if you’re a Jason fan for any reason, no matter whether you’re in favor of him reconciling or bonding with any or all of the Batfamily or not, why WOULDN’T you want them acknowledging that who he is now and what he’s done as the Red Hood has every bit as much to do with the skills the League gave him and the philosophies the League taught him as it does with what he learned from Bruce? That he was conditioned in these things while in a highly vulnerable point in his life?

And if you’re not a Jason fan, no matter the reason, it is again, STILL a massive oversight not to acknowledge that his actions and agendas as the Red Hood stem from years of being trained as a teenage assassin while in a highly vulnerable and thus suggestible state and with a clear lack of other options or support systems to counter anything they taught him.

Like I said, I’m pro Red Hood, I love Jason, I agreed with him back when he was arguing with Bruce about Felipe Garzonas. Jason’s never targeted anyone but the worst of the worst and he’s always displayed an ability to see reason and back down, he’s not some mindless killing machine. I lean way more towards his philosophies than I do Bruce’s, even if I don’t always agree entirely, and part of my point here is like...this isn’t about judging Jason for his actions or like, ugh, I really like Jason but I think he’d be even better if he was less murder-y, you know, more like Dick.

But like...the rest of my point is that I just honestly don’t see Jason’s actions and professed ideologies as one hundred percent HIS natural perspective, not influenced to an unhealthy degree by others in a position to take advantage of him at more vulnerable times in his life and sway him more to their positions. And THAT’S my problem with how little people reflect on the role the League played in who he became, AND with the insertion of a maternal and nominally supportive bond with Talia that’s written as being superior and more to Jason’s benefit than anything he shared with Bruce.

LOL even when I don’t mean to, like I definitely didn’t when I started this post, I always seem to keep coming back to how alike Dick and Jason and their stories are and how well and how often they parallel each other, because its the exact same issue I have with Dick. They’re just a very easy way to point out certain things about the other.

Like, I’ve talked before about how I think Dick’s aversion to killing, not when others kill but when HE himself is presented with killing as an option - its really just him being terrified of disappointing Bruce and being abandoned by him if he does so, no matter that he’s an adult now. Because I DO agree and always have, that at the very least, Bruce was at times emotionally abusive with Dick and Jason at least, with a strong case to be made for Damian as well. (Tim’s harder to gauge given that most of his time under Bruce’s direct care was at a time when Bruce was overcompensating for all the things he missed with Jason and blamed himself for, and ever since Jason’s return, Tim’s written as being so independent and removed from Bruce’s influence that its more like Bruce rarely has the OPPORTUNITY to fuck things up with Tim to the degree he has with his other sons.)

Sorry. Digression. Point being, like, I do fully agree with the interpretation that Bruce’s rigid moral code and how forceful and insistent he was on imprinting it on Dick, Jason and Damian has at times been emotionally abusive, and I think the effect of that is most clearly demonstrated with Dick, due to the simple fact that Dick has spent more time under Bruce’s care and tutelage than all the others combined.

So my problem with Dick’s aversion to killing and how its so often hyped up in canon and in fanfics as him being so like Bruce in this regard, or just a Boy Scout, or ‘too good’ or ‘too pure’ to ever kill, at least not without it ‘breaking him’....that’s got nothing to do with me wanting Dick to suddenly go all trigger happy and kill his enemies with no problem. It’s just because.....I don’t think its Dick’s moral code at work there. I think its Bruce’s, and the way Dick’s written sticking to it without any self-analysis of where it came from and WHY he clings to it so rigidly, I view as evidence of conditioning due to how he was raised. With Dick so focused on other areas where he pushed back against Bruce he’s never really realized that how thoroughly Bruce influenced him in this regard flew completely under his radar.

It’s not that I want Dick to kill more, its that I want his choice to kill or not to be based on HIS choices, HIS morality, and not just a kneejerk response to conditioning he’s never recognized as such because who doesn’t have blinders on in regards to parts of our childhoods, you know?

And then circling back to Jason, I went on that tangent to emphasize its the exact same thing there, just in reverse. It’s not even that I DON’T want Jason to kill his enemies, to have the same philosophy or ideology or methods as Bruce or Dick or Tim. It’s that I want his choice to kill or not to be based on HIS morality, as the result of conclusions he came to after having the time and space and distance to separate himself from his various teachers and surroundings and decide for himself just what it is he believes, what choices and instincts are his naturally, organically, and which ones are leftover from his training by the League, drilled in by his instructors - just as he’s taught himself to recognize when his old training and lessons from Bruce are kicking in.

Anyway.

tl;dr - Bruce sucks and is a terrible parent but lolololol unless you’re going well off the beaten path from canon and faaaaaar away from where the League of Assassins can get their hooks in Jason to any degree, like...Talia is not better. Let Jason be Jason, not just a child soldier raised by your general of choice and aimed in the general direction of philosophies you agree with more than their opposite.

#abuse cw #rape cw

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friedesgreatscythe · 6 years ago

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tbh i’ll never quite understand the pearl clutching ppl do specifically over the seeds, not just because i like villains, but because when i think of them as compared to villains in other works of fiction, they don’t even approach the same levels of monstrosity??

and i get that’s probably a YMMV (your mileage may vary) thing, but people act like the seeds are so far beyond the pale, when i kinda look at them and go, “you know, i’ve played games/read books where the villains were much worse.”

resident evil 2 has birkin facehug his own daughter, embryo implantation and all.

silent hill 1 has a mother burn-torture her seven year old daughter so that she can become an unwilling vessel for the spirit of their god.

the uncharted series has multiple war criminals as the villain, and a goddamn homicidal maniac as its hero (he’s just charismatic and witty and on the “right” side of sanity to avoid, y’know, being a maniac).

dark souls has a god-king who infects humanity with an undead curse out of fear of humanity’s destined rise to power--a curse that effectively destroys the entire universe in a slow decay. and to make it worse, it fucks up nearly every living thing on the face of the planet right down to the nature of the soul.

bloodborne’s whole problems start when the dead body of a god is torn apart, and her infant stolen all for the sake of ascending humanity beyond its ignorance. and there’s evidence to suggest that there were problems before this--that the beast curse happened before kos’ corpse was violated. this suggests that the brutality of humanity in its quest for knowledge and improvement is cyclical and unavoidable, and a curse that “good” humans must push against however they can.

every single boss in persona 5.

and those are just a few examples. there’s a lot more but those are the ones that stand out to me the most. hell, the persona 5 villains’ evil is FAR more realistic, and thus far more horrifying, than anything the seeds do. realistic villains are always going to fuck me up more than melodramatic scenery chewers, and the seeds are all dialed up to eleven. yet people talk about em as if they like. exist lmao. in real time. they contain elements of realism (cults? check. manipulation and coercion? check) that are cranked up past believable levels (joseph’s damn near psychic status? the bliss and jacob’s eldritch presence in the deputy’s brain? john seed taking the whole “mortification of the flesh” thing too seriously??? f a i t h??). but never for a moment did i feel like their “evil” was in any way approaching reality.

i included some examples of “unrealistic” villains to show that those types of villains can still be effective and terrifying to me. i can’t easily pinpoint why the seeds never feel like realistic/non melodramatc villains, so for now i’ll just say again it’s prolly a YMMV thing. and i’m not asking to have someone come explain to me this phenomenon. i don’t care. i just think it’s strange.

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sparklyjojos · 5 years ago

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CARNIVAL EVE recap

Or: way too many characters to remember, Ryusui sending people weird stories YET AGAIN, an ominous prophecy, and horses and deers and cats, oh my!

[This is a sequel to Cosmic and Joker, please check these out first if you haven’t]

[tw: mentioned suicide]

---

This book is more of an introduction to Carnival than its own thing (although Seriyoin claims in the author’s note that it’s a separate whole, so YMMV). It’s set in August 1996 – 2,5 years after the Locked Room Lord case – and so we have to catch up on what the characters have been up to.

Because of the sheer amount of old and new characters, I’m doing what Seiryoin does and bolding names that you Really Should Remember For Later.

THE ‘CATCHING UP WITH CHARACTERS’ PART:

Hikimiya Yuuya, the statistics expert of JDC, is going through a rough patch. He’s so concerned with the vague Internet rumour about the worldwide “Crime Olympics” coming soon that his work performance suffered and landed him back in the Second Group of JDC. Cue imposter syndrome. Hikimiya is also afraid that were the worldwide crime event to really occur, his sweetheart Ryuuguu Otohime (the older sister of Ryuuguu Jounosuke) would have trouble surviving because of her disability. Right now Hikimiya’s leaving for France, where he will assist / learn under one of the seven S-rank detectives in the world, nicknamed Deus Ex Machina.

Yaiba Somahito, the leader of JDC's First Group, recently had to be hospitalized after he’d collapsed from stress. He’s worried that the stress brought on by the Crime Olympics -- will they occur -- could finally trigger his (still unclarified) hereditary psychiatric disorder. In the hospital he befriends a young boy, Amano, who with his prematurely white hair looks a lot like Yaiba’s brother Amato (who committed suicide years ago because of the aforementioned hereditary disorder). Amano was given only a few months to live.

While Yaiba’s hospitalized, Kirika Mai takes over his duty as the First Group’s leader. While people seem to like her in this position, she considers herself a temporary replacement. Since the last time we saw her she cut her hair short and has started dating a forensics expert Hazama [who showed up briefly in Joker]. She’s still confused about whether or not she has/had A Thing for Juku or was it just deep respect or what, and she certainly feels a pang of jealousy whenever she thinks about him surrounded by other people but not her.

Kirika mentions getting an author manuscript of a book describing the Locked Room Lord case. Every detective concerned gets a copy so they can approve the scenes they show up in. The book is written by a mysterious writer using the nickname Seiryoin Ryusui and is called Cosmic. It seems Seiryoin is already working on another book, Joker, this one about the Geneijo case. [WE META NOW, WE META HARD]

Tsukumo Nemu is there, but doesn’t really do anything in this book. Aside from instilling JDC representative Ajiro Souji’s “stupid parental feelings” and indirectly making him remember his dead son Souya, that is. [Have I ever mentioned that my favourite JDC AU is the one in which Ajiro inexplicably becomes the dad to Juku, Nemu, and the Ryuuguu siblings in addition to his own son? Just the 30-something Ajiro and a bunch of quirky genius kids he’s dadding over. Perfect.]

Amagi Hyouma is distraught after his work partner Yakuma Suzume was arrested for drug possession. Yakuma was a JDC detective whose reasoning ability was at its height when he subjected himself to risky activities like bungee jumping. Adrenaline and all. Nicknamed “Akuma”, or demon.

Later Hyouma is entrusted by Ajiro to take a bottle of alcohol to Yaiba as a get-well-soon gift, but predictably drinks it all right there in JDC’s lobby – his own meta-reasoning method relies on him getting drunk and, well, it didn't have the best influence on his life. Hyouma thinks a lot about his mysterious past: he can’t remember his parents, and all that his early childhood left him are vague memories of a terrifying fire and burn marks he usually hides under his bandana. He still dearly remembers his dead girlfriend Takabe Yuu (the one who died in Cosmic) and always wears a locket with her picture.

Later in the hospital Hyouma spends some time playing UNO with a fairly new detective Suzukaze Unomaru. Unomaru talks and dresses like a samurai completely with a wooden sword strapped to his back. His reasoning power increases when he’s playing card games (any and all, though UNO is his favorite), and in fact he got hospitalized because he’d somehow fucked up his hands due to too intense card game playing.

Later Hyouma is given a lift back to JDC by Kasumi Fuyuka (whose D-name, that is her “detective nickname”, is Fuyuu Kasumi), who’s similar in looks to Kirika and reasons better while she’s sleeping. (I'm starting to think they just pick someone's characteristic at random and call it a reasoning method.). The two were an item once, but nowadays Kasumi is more into someone else.

That someone else is Christmas Mizuno, a girly young man wearing all red except for the white shirt. People often call him Joya (“New Year’s Eve”) as he was born on 31st December. He’s the younger brother of the late meta-detective Pyramid Mizuno (who was ironically the one born on Christmas), and has a baby sister simply called JDC (born on the anniversary of the establishment of JDC). He was once Ajiro Souya’s friend in school, and sort of became a detective inspired by him. As of recently, Christmas became Ryuuguu Jounosuke’s assistant. His reasoning, sometimes called “anti-reasoning”, is kinda… searching for the truth via randomly wandering around or rambling to eventually stumble into the right thing. It doesn’t help that he has zero sense of direction. He’s trying his best, but can clearly see the barrier of talent between him and the big name detectives. Really wants a stuffed Catbus.

Ryuuguu Jounosuke hasn't changed much – still wears the same black clothes everyday, loves word plays, has autistic traits out the wazoo, is as aroace as they come (yay!), and is affectionately known as “JDC’s greatest weirdo”, or sometimes “the black-wearing Joker” because of his cheerful disposition. He’s horrible around machines and WILL break your laptop or phone if you let him as much as touch it, which is in a way really impressive. Ryuuguu lately feels exasperated because of one of JDC’s new detectives…

... Somedaring Amagoi [or Same Darling Amagoi? It's romanized differently on the cover and in the annex]. She's pretty much the teenage female version of Ryuuguu (that is, a walking pun hell), except she dresses like a shrine maiden. Her D-name is Amagoi Samidaare? (yes, with the question mark), but most people call her Ittai-chan because of how often she says “ittai” (“what the hell”). She considers Ryuuguu her teacher and constantly challenges him to riddle battles. Even Ryuuguu is a little done with it at this point.

On the day most of Carnival Eve is happening, Ryuuguu is giving a welcome to a new detective who has recently passed the hellishly difficult JDC entry exam. It’s Hoshino Tae, the very same person that survived the Geneijo case. Tae accepts a D-name that Ryuuguu created for her: Fuumonji Jouka, which honors the memory of Tae’s brother known under his pen name of Fuumonji Kousei.

Another future detective is Yuiga Dokuson. For now we’re just told that he was Hyouma’s school friend. Emphasis on “was”. Dokuson is a self-proclaimed narcissist (his reasoning method apparently relying on that) who claims to be thousands of years old, and rumour has it that he once drove a man to suicide simply by talking to him. If Tsukumo Juku’s beauty could be described as godly, Dokuson’s unusual good looks (fortunately not to the point of making others faint) feel like the demonic equivalent. Hyouma doesn’t have the highest opinion of the guy, and is pretty pissed off that Ajiro let the dude come anywhere near JDC.

As for other JDC detectives we haven’t met yet, there are two we need to mention:

Ushiwaka Gigolo (that’s her D-name, not real name) usually dresses in traditionally male clothing, and while she may seem brash and bold at first sight, she’s actually very amiable. Her reasoning abilities rise whenever she falls head over heels for someone, but as soon as the case at hand is solved the feelings for the partner fizzle out completely, which understandably leads to Problems. While she feels attraction to any gender, it seems she likes other ladies the most. It’s mentioned that a lot of female JDC employees certainly like her a lot. Think of that what you will. [...I don’t think I have to point out that having your bi/pan character be the one who’s defined by changing partners like socks is uhhhh not good.]

Kakuusan Kanke (this D-name being a pun on a relationship triangle) is a talkative woman with round glasses and okappa hair which gave her a nickname “Kappa”. Her reasoning ability soars whenever she’s jealous about something (a relationship, talent, fame…). Before JDC she worked as a DJ. She’s also an amateur hypnotist, weirdly enough. Kakuusan and Ushiwaka worked in a trio with another female detective, who unfortunately was murdered fairly recently.

While we’re looking at JDC, we should mention that Ajiro Souji’s usual secretary Hanto Maimu had to recently take maternity leave. (She already named her yet unborn kid Hanto Kuraimu. 'Crime Hunt'. That’s metal.) The new secretary is Mito Muramasa, a young office worker guy with low levels of self-confidence who’s fairly anxious all the time, described as evoking maternal instincts in everyone, and who basically isn’t sure how to adult properly and feels completely out of place. Relatable.

For reasons that will only come into play much, much later, we also have to mention one of JDC’s security guards called Nakamoto Hiroya, whose secret dream is to become a writer.

As for the God of Detectives Tsukumo Juku, he’s taken a paid leave -- which he never does, mind you -- to return to Shunkashuutou, the Tsukumo family’s residence in Shimane Prefecture. He invited two people along.

One is Tousen Yomiko, a private detective specializing in criminal psychology who was Juku's childhood friend and at one point in life his fiancée. Yomiko previously showed up in Cosmic helping others solve the Jackie the Ripper case. Just like Juku, Yomiko has the atmosphere of being an extremely loving and understanding person to the point that it kinda wraps around to feeling uncanny. Yomiko’s father Yomi was good friends with Juku’s father, and in fact was the one to built Shunkashuutou.

The other invited person is Inugami Yasha, now around 17-year-old private detective who helped JDC during Cosmic. Walking to Shunkashuutou, Yasha accidentally remembers that time he saw Juku’s eyes and faints (hfjsjkhf), and while he’s unconscious the black cat he brought along goes missing. The cat had been entrusted to Yasha by a randomly met dying man who introduced himself as Kanai Hidetaka, or Employee D who once worked in Geneijo. [Kanai Hidetaka is our world's Seiryoin's real name, btw.] The cat is called Kanaihidetaka ( Yasha says you’re not supposed to split that name, so I write it together). Apparently it’s connected to something called “the last case of humanity” that also has to do with a mysterious "Shinrui” (Yasha has no clue what it is, but thinks it should be written with the kanji meaning “God's tear”).

In a conversation with Yasha, Yomiko reveals that there’s something that even Juku still can’t solve -- he still can’t figure out the tricks to his father Saimon Ryuusui's “Miraculous Illusions”. The illusions in question were only ever shown once, and only to little Juku, before his father died during the Saimon Family Murder Case. The Miraculous Illusions were still unfinished at the time, but Juku thinks that if they were perfected, they could lead to some sort of an “ultimate trick”.

As for the missing cat, there’s a Shimane legend about people and animals being spirited away, so who knows if that didn’t happen to Kanaihidetaka too? But thankfully the cat is soon found by Juku, and everything's fine. (For now.)

THE ACTUAL PLOT (what little there is of it for now):

Hoshino Tae / Fuumonji Jouka brings to JDC a letter that Dakushoin Ryusui sent her a long time ago. It was sent on 26th October 1993… that is, during the Geneijo case. It contains another envelope and a curt note from Dakushoin asking the recipient not to open it until the date given (yesterday as of now). The envelope contains a short story consisting of 7 acts and called:

ANOTHER JOKER ---The Revised Detective Myth (But The Culprit Is The Same?)

[Note: Joker’s full title is Joker: Detective Myth As The Old Testament]

This short somewhat absurd story takes place in a building without an entrance or exit called Gensoukan (Phantom House? Phantom Mansion? Either way, it’s a clear riff off of Geneijo). Aside from the lead character – Ryuuguu Jounosuke – the story features only people who are already dead: Kirigirisu Tarou (apparently the owner of Gensoukan) with his wife Kano; Ajiro Souya; everyone else who died in Geneijo; as well as Kosugi the butler and his son, who both died during the Locked Room Lord case. (Incidentally, the kid’s name is now furigana’d as Katsutoshi and not Shouri like it was in Cosmic and Joker. This is never explained, but I’ll go with my Meta Instinct and assume this is an intentional change. None of the detectives reading the short story seems to notice the change. Oh, and the kid is reading a certain book called Joker. Meta intensifies.)

Another Joker’s Ryuuguu is quite confused about how he got into Gensoukan and why all the dead people he saw die in Geneijo are alive and acting like nothing happened, but he feels like he may as well go with the flow and solve the case. The victim is one Employee O, or Ousetsu Kan. The locked room he was in burned down. Witnesses heard the victim yell something like “dou, dou”. While everyone was running around and trying to break the door open, the victim must have tried to extinguish the fire by turning on water, but he was too late to save himself from burning down to a pile of bone fragments. (Ryuuguu realizes that a normal fire wouldn't be hot enough to leave only bones, but whatever, this is Gensoukan, it’s weird.) There seemed to be more bones left than just one man would have, though. The only other clue is a message carved into the floor that “the culprit is ZI”.

Murder aside, two animals held in Gensoukan's stable went missing: a man-eating horse called SIKA (“deer”) and a deer called UMA (“horse”).

Ryuuguu was apparently chosen to be in Gensoukan as Dakushoin's guest, whatever this means. Dakushoin helps the investigation by making a map of Gensoukan including everyone present's name and room location. This helps Ryuuguu eventually figure out the case and who 'the Joker' (the culprit) is. He gathers everyone in the recreation room to explain it, but the story ends just as he points and yells “You are the Joker!”

Attached to the story is a short bonanzagram (a riddle in which you substitute free spaces with letters) that prompts the reader of Another Joker to fill it in with the answers to the case.

–

The real Ryuuguu Jounosuke and Tae / Jouka solve the story's case incredibly quickly, but still have to help Christmas through his own stumbly reasoning.

The title having that But The Culprit Is The Same? part would seemingly point to whoever committed the Geneijo murders as the culprit of the story.

However, Christmas says that the person he suspects is not the culprit of Geneijo, but the Kosugi boy. [A statement which should give everyone who read Joker a long pause, but then again, Juku and Yaiba probably didn’t reveal the truth to anyone.] Ryuuguu and Jouka think the boy is just a red herring here.

Christmas’s next guess is the story’s rendition of Nijikawa Ryou. The map that Another Joker’s Dakushoin made has everyone’s pen name and real name. Everyone without a pen name has a note that “(Real Name Is The Same)”. However, Nijikawa Ryou has a slightly different note that “(Real Name = The Same)”, which can be read as him being called The Same, and since The Culprit Is The Same...

If a person was called 同じ, onaji (The Same), then the last name would be Ona and the first name would be Ji. Or maybe the last name would be Dou (same kanji, different reading) and the first name Ji. The syllable “ji” can be romanized as “zi”. And that’s why the victim yelled “Dou, Dou!” (the murderer’s last name!) and the dying message said that “the culprit is ZI”.

[I feel like this is a good time to remember Juku’s final observation in Joker about Dakushoin’s manuscript having a message that mina onaji, or “Everyone’s The Same”. I sense multiple meanings here.]

Since Story Nijikawa shared alibi with Story Miyama Kaoru (they were playing hanafuda in the recreation room), this means they were partners in crime, and maybe lovers. See, there’s apparently a proverb that “the one who interferes in love will die kicked by a horse”, so the two could symbolically use a horse as a murder weapon to deal with Ousetsu Kan, who threatened their relationship in some way.

Nijikawa planned to get the horse and the victim in the same room, scare the horse with fire and make it trample the victim. Things went awry and Nijikawa had to flee the now burning room. The victim locked the door in fear of Nijikawa returning and tried to extinguish the fire, but the unhinged horse ate him. The bones found at the scene belonged to the horse.

As for what happened to the deer, well, there’s this proverb that “the person who chases a deer does not see the mountain”. Yama, mountain, is also a term for a card deck. Like the hanafuda card deck Nijikawa and Miyama used. Hanafuda, which has a deer card in it. The deer called UMA was a card all along, and Nijikawa hid it inside a deck of cards in the recreation room.

[A somewhat absurd story, as I said.]

The filled-in bonanzagram looks something like this:

“KAN died. HANnin [culprit] ZI. UMA was brought into GORAKUshitsu [the recreation room]. DEKOI [the person used as a 'decoy' killer] was the KOSUGI boy.”

Ryuuguu and Jouka notice that there's a hidden message obtainable by making an anagram of all the filled-in letters. Poor Christmas Mizuno feels inadequate as he's not able to guess it as easily as these two did (and the reader will share his pain of being denied the knowledge of the message before the end of the book). Concerned about the message, Ryuuguu brings the story to Ajiro, who then arranges one-on-one meetings with each of the big name detectives to ask them what they personally think of it.

While this is happening, Ryuuguu thinks about a dream he had that night in which he talked to someone. He can’t actually remember anything else, but he has a vague feeling that the dream was important. What was it about...?

–

[This chapter is called “The real short story: Cosmic Zero”]

Ryuuguu is in some empty space in which he can only hear Dakushoin's voice. Dakushoin talks about vague and weird things, about space-time curved into a Moebius strip in which the cases are recurring again and again, and the dead are coming back to live and repeating their deaths without noticing.

Ryuuguu asks about Another Joker and the manuscript from the Locked Room Lord case. Just how much does Dakushoin know if he was able to hint at future events in them? Dakushoin answers that since Ryuuguu will forget this conversation even happened (because it shouldn’t be happening in the first place), there's no harm in telling him some things.

A plan to exterminate all humanity is under way. It started back in 1979 with the Saimon Family Murder Case, one of the Four Great Tragedies. The other three are the Geneijo case, the Locked Room Lord case, and the future Twin Disappeareance case of 1999. The Crime Olympics are not included in the Four Great Tragedies, as it's a worldwide event that doesn't concern just Japan, and it's really just a preparation for the last Tragedy.

The Twin Disappearance case will be the last one. Then, on the night of the last day of the current century – 31st December 2000 – Tsukumo Juku will be murdered, and the human race will perish soon after.

All of the culprits of those giant cases – Shiroyasha, the Artist, the Locked Room Lord, Kamikakushi of the Twin Disappearance case, as well as the Billion Killer of the Crime Olympics – are nothing more than decoys. They are all controlled by a mysterious Tsukumo Jaki (九十九邪鬼), who will be the one to kill Juku. Tsukumo Jaki is apparently someone Ryuuguu knows – why, it's one of his fellow detectives!

Ryuuguu is upset, but Dakushoin points out that since he'll forget this anyway, and all is destined, there's no reason to care a lot about it now. The two have a conversation about language and writing, and Dakushoin hints at there being a root language that all others came from, and that Ryuuguu should look into it.

Finally they bid each other goodbye. Dakushoin says that he himself can only return to 'the beginning' and tread the same path over and over again, but Ryuuguu can now continue walking forward in new time.

[End of Cosmic Zero]

The hidden message is finally revealed:

KAN HAN ZI UMA GORAKU DEKOI KOSUGI --->

HANZAI GORIN SUGU KOKO DE KAIMAKU

“The Crime Olympics will be starting here soon.”

–

At exactly 1 PM on 10th August 1996, the Crime Olympics really do start.

With the JDC building -- and about 300 detectives inside it -- exploding.

And that's where Carnival Eve ends.

[To be continued in Carnival]

#sparkly reads carnival eve #maijo and jdc stuff #can't imagine how people waited for carnival for 2 years after that ending

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shoushatohaisha · 6 years ago

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review: hajimari no kyojin (osaka 6/1)

so. hello. i usually write up my butai thoughts as, um, 100+ tweet threads in the immediate wake of whatever i just saw, but this time around i thought i'd work them out into a proper report, of a sort. if you, too, have seen this show already and want to talk about it... please. any time. always.

about reviewing: this is my very favorite 2.5D franchise, ever. but this is also a review, not a cheerleading exercise, so not every single thing i have to say is unrelentingly positive. having said that, i respect kinoshita, wada, suga-zachou, and the staff at large more than just about any creative team in this corner of japanese theater fandom so like. i'm not here to drag, lol.

about spoilers: i talk about the plot elements covered but try to avoid spoiling any of the fun production surprises. :) happy to do a more spoilery play-by-play later if folks are curious.

about length: i just checked and it's 2400 words im so sorry.

without further ado...

first of all, i admit that based on the preview clips i doubted, and i was swiftly taken to task for doubting. IM SORRY WORRY-SAN i trust u implicitly and i should have known better. after the major changes in shinka no natsu, i was concerned that bringing back the revolving stage and the original opening theme would feel stale/regressive. it did not. while they did bring back the revolving element they also extended the stage backward and added a second level behind a full stage height projection screen – the second level was used to do some neat staging for flashbacks/parallels and the screen was used to, how shall we say this, up their projection game in a major way, which i frankly did not think was possible. i will not spoil the details but it was pretty great, on a purely technical level.

i also realized that a lot of the repetition – opening with the bike scene, bringing back the original opening credits music, the staging, etc – is the "look back" over the last couple years that i'd expected to come this fall. they are very obviously already preparing for the end – you could think of this as part one of their last show, with the fall as part two. the show opens with a restaging of sixth grader hinata seeing the little giant on tv for the first time – then the current karasuno team take the place of the tv and hinata joins them for a team jog. "karasuno, fight!" "oh!" "fight!" "oh!" only then each character calls out their signature line from the show so far. "uchi no renchuu wa chanto tsuyoi" / "mou tobenai karasu nante yobasenai" / "murabito b mo tatakaemasu!"

and haha. let me tell you. BOY, DID I FEEL THINGS. a lot of things. i think yachi got me the worst but they were all real bad. (i have so many feelings about yachi's story and what a beautiful job saitou ami did with her character on stage. god. ;_;)

the theme of this play was the role of captain – what makes a good captain, what a captain does for the team, and how to step into those shoes when the captain is gone. the johzenji match is fun, but here, in a sense, it exists more or less to set up the wakutani match – (re)establishing daichi's importance so that his absence feels like the gut punch it is. and fully settling the weight of that responsibility on ennoshita's shoulders, as both daichi's substitute on the court and the captain-in-waiting.

with that in mind, the rival schools: imo it wasn't strictly necessary to cast full teams for each school – each match got its own dedicated act, and unlike, for example, nekoma/datekou in karasuno fukkatsu (which had a similar story structure), there aren't really any individual characters on these rival schools who have a role as such other than terushima and takeru. (you know, the captains. see above. XD) so in theory one could get this done with, like, one actor for each captain and then an ensemble cast playing the rest of the team across both matches. HOWEVER, having all those bodies allows them to do super cool stuff visually, and why force yourself to create the illusion of a full team if you don't have to? i.e., /i/ sure am not complaining, isn't it nice to have $$$ to achieve the max vision of your choreographer. XD

i also have no doubt that the kids playing these other characters are doing whatever they can to create a character within the ensemble, and i suspect there's plenty for repeat viewers to pick up on, esp during say the johzenji match (see below). however for the first time viewer following the main flow of the story it's more or less a very large ensemble cast.

the johzenji chaos was well expressed, haha, there was so damn much going on all the time that i hardly knew where to look. (i've also seen opinions on j-twitter that that diluted the impact and i can see that too – it worked for me as a "funny" match that didn't cross the line into comic relief, but ymmv.) i thought the final scene with misaki would pack more of a punch, but i fully expect them to cry at daisenshuuraku so that might fill in the last 10% that's missing rn.

wakutani are another Good Dance Team. one did get a sense, stylistically, of fukurodani- and nekoma-lite with johzenji and wakunan, respectively – i assume that was intentional. mirroring the cats vs owls match, as it were. yanagihara rin's takeru was like… scary?? i had to rewatch those episodes this weekend to see if i'd just forgotten something, but no, stage takeru is not so much reliable middle brother as scowly quiet tough guy. he looked like a kyoutani tbh, and looking at the kid actually cast for kyoutani, one wonders if someone in casting mixed up some paperwork or something. having said that, yanagihara was great at being the character he was, i enjoyed what he did on stage. i'm just not sure that character was takeru. XD (edit: ok having just rewatched, i have to revise this somewhat, i think a big part of my impression was due to being too far back to properly see his expressions the first time around -- up close he was much smilier, and bc i was thinking about it i noticed some nice details like him going over for a family hug afterward.) otoh big post-match scene – all of wakutani, actually – was really good. v effective, i heard sniffles around me.

during this match, johzenji reappeared dressed as takeru's family: FUCKING HILARIOUS omg, everyone involved has clearly learned how to do this right wrt blocking, the very fine line between comic relief and intrusion, etc, after the, er, shaky shousha to haisha experiment of kuroken doubling as oikawa's fangirls. seichou shita na, errone.

also, some great wire work for hinata and takeru – you could tell kenta is really comfortable up there these days. the first time the wires came into play one of the women behind me went "UWO!" which, when a japanese theatergoer makes a noise out loud, that's a true sign something's impressive. XD

nekoma vs fukurodani: Yeah, That Happened. it is a testament to how well done karasuno vs wakunan was that i didn't just spend the entire time screeching BRING BACK CATS VS OWLS because fjkdajfkdlsfjd KYAA. another good staging moment – they used mirrors to create the effect of two full teams playing at a crowded gymnasium, it was brill. i won't spoil some of the fun details but vvjakdlfjdf. and tbh i think the best performance of the four was probably shouri's?? not that this is news but istg idk how someone so soft offstage does THAT on stage. is it this "acting" thing you speak of.

new bokuaka: i mean it was clear some of this material was meant for yoshimoto kouki and i did kinda miss him – i appreciate higashi-san's pinch hitting and he did a solid job. but. ah well. HAVING SAID THAT. fucking "michi wo tsukurimasu yo" i mean we should all be grateful it wasn't kouki and yuuki or it would have just been a fucking fanfic on stage. it was still bad and i don't even go here. XD

and last but not least, arita ushiwaka kenji: not exactly the world's most natural line delivery but that's fine because, i mean, he's ushiwaka. and his physical presence was perfect. which was about all he was called on to do in this particular show, ahaha.

now, for karasuno. and specifically, for my son, kawahara kazuma. remember what i said approximately a thousand words ago, about captains and captains in waiting and stepping up to the plate? (or onto the court, as it were.) ennoshita's story was the heart of the wakutani match and kazuma carried the second act. he was. so. good. he had good material to work with, of course, but he made it even better. i was saying to a friend that in retrospect i think this is one of the very very few parts of the series that actually played better and more emotionally affecting on stage than in the source material (as opposed to differently good/differently affecting). in the manga/anime, you can only see what the paneling or the frame shows you, and those initial paneling/framing choices are focused on the drama of CAPTAIN DOWN. but on the stage, daichi goes down… and off to the side you see ennoshita freeze. and from that moment on, for kazuma, it's go time. he doesn't let up until the end of post-match scene in (here) the locker room – which, jesus, that scene. it packs ten times the punch it does in the anime. because of kazuma.

sorry if i sound like a crazy person here ahaha. but like. like, imagine you have been acting since childhood, you've studied dance with famous choreographers and innovators, you had a main role in The Franchise That Changed 2.5D as a teenager, you've done a solo album, you have a serious history in performing arts... and you get cast in what was initially the smallest role of the entire karasuno team. and you take it! and pull your weight! kazuma was a team player for three years and he deserved this chance to let his actual skills shine so much. ;_; because i don't necessarily think he would have been better in any of the other roles than his actual teammates – but i do think he is a much better actor than several of his actual teammates. and he finally got the opportunity to show that.

anyway, when it came time for curtain calls, the applause swelled noticeably for kazuma – a louder ovation than anyone except kagechan and kenta. and one of those people clapping her hands off, say in row 20, just a random row choice, was definitely tearing up at the same time.

IN OTHER KARASANEWS. kt-san. LIVE IN PERSON KT-SAN BACK IN THE ROLE HE WAS MEANT FOR cries into my hands i love him daichi-saaaaaaaaaan. very occasionally his delivery reminded me he's a model not an actor, if you know what i mean, but like, for the vast part it didn't matter because he is naturally such a perfect fit. have i mentioned i love him.

new suga: mmmmm. he looked and moved fine but his line delivery did not convince me. tbf it's not like suga has a huge role to play in these matches so 1) it's not a huge deal 2) he didn't get much chance to get into the character. either he'll get better or he won't, and if he doesn't it's not going to sink the next play or anything. he seems like a nice enough kid, i wish him well!

kageyama tatsuya: still can't yell and enunciate at the same time. loved that they brought back the archer analogy from shinka no natsu though!! it was one of my favorite things about his kageyama, and it's nice that it's something he "owns" instead of imitating/inheriting from tatsunari.

tsukishima & yamaguchi: miura kairi continues to get even better, i'm so pleased. <3 also, i love love love that they still use the musical motif from shousha to haisha for yamaguchi's jump float serve. it was the same in shinka no natsu, it's the same here. THE TSUKKIYAMA WAS REAL CUTE, great detail work before and after the serve as well as after tsukki's block(s). as for tsukishima, much as they brought back kageyama's archer imagery, they brought back tsukki's fancy katana kill block. (they didn't waste kondou shouri, either, i'll leave it at that.)

last but not least, MY ACTUAL SON AND FEELINGS TWIN, SUGA KENTA: ok like. to set the scene here. i have mad respect for this kid and also love him to death as a human. i think he puts more thought into this production than anyone else in the cast – he is practically worry-san's AD. and he clearly has a lot of real deep thoughts and feelings about the source material. so deep in fact that it took a while for me to come around to his hinata because while, for example, tatsunari's kageyama could have walked straight off my television screen, kenta went down to the manga and built hinata up from there. he didn't have a choice – he's nothing like murase ayumu's voice. all too often we, and i include myself here, think of the two dimensions in 2.5D as anime, rather than manga... but just as there's a big gap between the two dimensions of animation and the three dimensions of live theater, there's as big a gap again between static black-and-white drawing, and movement and color and sound. and when i looked at kenta's hinata as something created solely from furudate's art style, it all slotted into place for me. (naturally, ymmv.)

it also took kenta longer than some of the others, i think, to portray all of what he wanted to. shoen hinata was pretty yelly, and pretty single-register yelly. hinata is a yelly character, of course, but the balance between that hinata and Serious Match Hinata was out of whack at first. this got better and better with every show. and then—

his encounter with ushiwaka here. was IT. it was what i was looking for all this time. his delivery of hinata's big line there was like – i think maybe i clapped my hands over my mouth, unclear, bc it was like the final missing piece and i was so happy. kentaaaaa. ;____;

part of me wonders if this is what kenta's always had in his head but maybe couldn't get his face/voice to express the way he wanted it? OR, IT'S KENTA, SO MAYBE IT WAS ON PURPOSE and his previous Serious Hinata was meant to be like, just a feral hunger child whereas this is the kid who experienced the heartbreak of losing to seijou. i would love to ask him tbh. XD

anyway, my son, after five plays continues to grow in his portrayal of this character. kenta is the heart of gekidan haikyuu in so many ways, and i will be at their graduation show if it kills me.

(breathes out) i think that's. everything. a best setter award to anyone who read this far, and feel free to ask if there's anything specific you want to know about? i will be seeing it again this weekend for daisenshuuraku and will be sure to report back on who cried, etc. all hail volleyball stage the end. ��

#review #engeki haikyuu #hajimari no kyojin #im sorry i have so many feelings #AND THIS IS THE EDITED VERSION #i spared you my intensive theories on how kazuma ended up in this role in the first place #i just #look #i love this production so much

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dr-dean · 7 years ago

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ABO Fic Rec List

In honor of ABO Appreciation day I am doing a NEW ABO Fic Rec List! You can check out the Original ABO Fic Rec List here. So if it was included in that one, it won't be on this one.

Just a disclaimer for all my reader insert buddies: I have been having some “issues” with reader inserts as of late so this list will be ships only. (Again, Destiel is my OTP so the list is 100% that this time) Sometimes I like some pretty ‘weird’ shit and YMMV, so always heed the tags on these. But they all have happy endings as that's what I like in a fic! (The show gives us enough unhappy endings and cliffhangers, I just want my boys to be happy! Is that too much to ask?)

It's my list so I can start with me! Check out my new fic Bringing Home the Bacon with art by @vinnie-cha for @deancastielbigbang

Omega Dean was doing just fine. He had an apartment, a good job, and a great family. But he didn’t have an alpha. When Castiel starts as his company’s new CEO everything changes. Alpha Cas becomes family, and Dean takes care of his family.

ABO office AU with Fluff, Smut and a happy ending

Also check out my short fic The Billionaire's Pregnant Mistress for @destielharlequinchallenge

Lingerie Model Dean is pregnant with his Billionaire's Alpha's pup and he doesn't know what to do. They just broke up and he doesn't want to be where he's not wanted. Spoiler Alert: Happy Ending and minimal angst.

Gravity vs Velocity by PaperAnn @paperannxo

Newton's law of universal gravitation states that any two bodies in the universe attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two bodies.

Dean swears he feels an honest-to-goodness gravity (not any scent-true-mates-bullshit) pulling him to a mysterious omega and makes the worst mistake of his career... he only has one thing to say...

Fuck science.

Dean is a detective and Cas is part of a mob family. They get in and out of a lot of trouble together. A must read!

A Story for Every Corner by thepinupchemist @scarlettshazam

Dean's a late bloomer. When he presents as an omega, everyone is surprised, and everything changes. Only a few months into omegahood, Dean decides to book it. A couple of truck rides and a state later, Dean's in Apple Springs, Colorado at a bed & breakfast called The Snoozing Squirrel. The off-beat omega owner is just the beginning.

The hard part is the offbeat brother of the offbeat omega, an alpha named Castiel.

Gabe is the best, and I really love him in this fic.

For Science! by pm_lo

Selected transcripts and supporting materials from Dr. Castiel Williams and Dean Winchester’s seminal study on physiological and psychological sexual response by gender designation.

This is a crossover of Supernatural and Masters of Sex, it doesn’t use any characters from Masters of Sex, just the plot and the whole set up so you don’t need to know anything about Masters of Sex to enjoy it. It is written very differently than most fanfic (it's not lying when it says “transcripts”) but it's totally worth a read! (And go watch Masters of Sex! It's important sexual history!)

Arranged by Miss_Lv @the-miss-lv

Dean Winchester is the omega chosen to marry Castiel's son. The arranged marriage is as awkward and lackluster has Castiel expected it would be.

What he didn't expect was what would develop between himself and his new son-in-law.

So I think this one qualifies as ‘weird’ but I’ve read it at least 4 times and love it. Don’t let the infidelity bother you as (*SPOILER*) Dean never has a relationship with Castiel’s son and only has a sexual relationship with Cas.

Obsession by Miss_Lv

SPN kink meme: Castiel is John's friend and becomes fixated with his son Dean. The main thing is that as Castiel spirals into obsession Dean isn't scared but rather likes it and encourages it.

Big age difference, but Dean knows what he wants and that is Cas. Very different way of mating.

A Hole in the World by AnnelieseMichel

Dean Winchester never wanted to go home again. Going back to Lawrence meant people who knew what he was, who didn't buy into the lie. But with a tragic accident, he's back and dealing with the death of his father, the social stigma and objectification of being an out Omega, and the lingering aftermath of a long-ago crime.

This is a super long fic with lots of sexual violence against omegas. About halfway through the tone really changes and it gets super political. So if you like you ABO with a good helping of civil rights, this is the fic for you!

Take On Me by Powerfulweak

Alpha Dean Winchester figured the closest he’d get to the apple pie life and fatherhood was a one-shot, “wham-bam-thank-you-mam” trip to a sperm bank. That is, until he comes face-to-face with the omega carrying his pup on a fateful trip to the grocery store. When the the omega runs off without a word, though, Dean learns the situation is far more complicated than he expected. Can an anonymous sperm donation and the favor of a lifetime help two complete strangers find everything their life was missing?

Super cute hijinks and happy ending. What more can you want?

Violator by MooseFeels

Dean's fifteen, and his knot doesn't pop. Part 1 of Revelation

You need to read the entire series, not just the first one. It starts out dark (and Dean has a lot of issues to work through) but it has a happy ending.

No Righteous Path by jupiter_james @jupiterjames

On his 40th birthday, Dean Winchester suddenly begins to worry that he may have lost his chance for a real mate. He's been so focused on his business as a 24-hour roofing and repairman, that he's never taken the time to date properly, or even make any lasting friendships outside of his family. Beginning in their late 30's, alphas and omegas start to lose their mating and bonding hormones, making it more difficult - and often impossible - to mate or bond with anyone past a certain age. But as a modern Alpha, Dean would be content with a companion, at least. Blood bonds aren't the be-all, end-all. However, after a late night emergency roofing repair call from Castiel Novak, Omega, Dean starts to hope. Yearn. The only hangup is that Castiel admits to being as old-fashioned as the books he teaches. Nervous to go against his religious upbringing by being with someone who he can't bond properly, as alphas and omegas are intended to do. But he can't deny his attraction to Dean, and despite his sensibilities, he thinks that, just maybe, he can change for the man he's falling in love with.

Totally LOVE this fic! Super fluffy and has a happy ending!! All the (totally necessary for plot) angst gets resolved. Its everything you (ok fine, *I*) could want in a fic. (GIVE ME ALL THE FLUFFY ABO SMUT LONG FICS!!!)

Mulder and Scully by teller_of_tales_and_hero_of_songs

Castiel Novak is an undercover FBI agent working to take down a white collar criminal named Azazel, but Castiel finds himself way out of his depths when the case takes a dangerous turn and Azazel gets involved in an omega trafficking deal. With the help of an OPA agent named Dean, the Bureau and the Omega Protection Agency take down Azazel and his seller, Dick Roman.

As it turns out, that case wasn't the last Castiel would see of Dean Winchester, and it isn't long at all before Castiel finds himself falling in love with the fiery, strong-willed omega.

Dean is quite the kickass Omega. This story is really good, and it has THE BEST first “I love you”s that I have ever read in any fic. I still laugh thinking about it!

Best Laid Plans by Persephoneshadow @ibelieveinthelittletreetopper

Things are going well for Dean: he's landed the biggest design job of his architectural career and is about to get final approval on the project despite how difficult the development company, personified by Castiel Novak, has made it. It's not bad for a moody omega...except things are also going terribly for Dean because he has to get in a plane and fly to a meeting, and course ends up in heat a few hours before. Luckily, Castiel is there to help and both men discover the good that can come when nothing goes quite as intended.

This fic is great! Dean and Cas work together but don’t meet in person until Dean has to travel for a meeting.

Get Knocked Down, Get Back Up by Unforth @unforth-ninawaters

With an over-sensitive sense of smell, omega Dean Winchester finds the scent of most potential mates to be, frankly, nauseating. Enter alpha Castiel, who smells fracken *perfect* but has problems of his own.

As someone who in general finds most fake scents awful instead of pleasing I kinda relate to this. If my sense of smell was as good as most ABO fics I could totally see Dean being me. I love how unforth plays with sexuality and gender expectations in her fics.

Like Cats and Dogs by sweetdean

Dean Winchester, Alpha, lead Hunter for the Pack, is in need of a mate. His wolf is out of control, he's on edge, and nothing seems to be doing the trick. Dean is convinced that he'll never find a mate, but when the Pack's Council forces him to figure it out before he ends up going rogue, Dean doesn't have much of a choice. Problem is, Dean isn't interested in what the members of his pack have to offer; and that means looking elsewhere.

Dean knew his mate would have to be different. He just didn't know what "different" would really mean, and how "different" would bring his whole world crashing down on top of him.

I love werewolves! And this has a lot of weres in it!

Caribbean Wonderland by LittleAngelCassie

Dean Winchester has spent his life working towards his dream: to teach and care for omega students. But a genetic mutation from birth has kept him from his field of choice. After years of hiding under the protection of his Uncle Bobby and his younger brother Sam, Dean has finally been given a chance.

He accepts the position to care for a young orphan who needs more than just a teacher but also a fellow omega to help her traverse the changes ahead. There is always a hitch, however, and in Dean’s case it’s a hot billionaire alpha with piercing blue eyes. This remote island paradise has the opportunity to give Dean everything he’s wanted, but will he be able to rise above his own fears and the stigmas associated with his unique biological designation?

Throw away what you know about alpha/ beta/ omega dynamics because this is a brand new adventure in wonderland.

So this one is really great and it has a “new” gender designation within ABO. Super original and I totally love it.

Gray Matter by PaperAnn

It should have been a night like any other night, but for Dean Winchester this evening was different.

Tonight was his last on Earth.

The omega finally snapped; the weight of his kills moonlighting as an assassin were too heavy to carry. So he decided to set out to numb the pain with whiskey and the white noise of whatever seedy bar he randomly ambled into. Although he’d intended to drown his sorrows alone, a bold alpha (who introduced himself as Castiel) wormed his way into his party-for-one, but more importantly: his story.

After brazenly announcing that Dean’s plan to shoot himself in the head was “unoriginal,” the alpha lured him out into the bar to prove there are much more interesting and creative ways to go.

A bizarre, deranged game turns into a night of passion, and leads Dean into introspective questions he never would've asked before. Maybe everything wasn’t as black and white as he thought, maybe there’s more to his own story that he, himself, didn’t even know. The stupid fucking alpha had transformed his world into shades of gray and made him doubt everything.

You need a dark sense of humor for this one, but if you have that, this is fantastic!

#abo fic rec list #a/b/o appreciation day #abo fic recs #abo fic rec #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic rec list #fic rec list #destiel #destiel fanfic #abo #a/b/o #destiel fic rec list

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