#at all the sacrifice that was tied up in it and the genuine danger it felt like the kids were in

[fullscoreshenanigans]

#I won’t even hate watch this #all hope i had died with Yuugo’s screentime #but this would be so fun to try when i am psychologically prepared (via @graphx)

If you're doing it all in one sitting I highly recommend switching everything to sips and nixing the OST rule.

TPN S2 Drinking Game WIP (English Dub)

Sip:

The kids mention missing Norman

Someone says "shipment/shipped"

They reuse bgm unaltered from S1

Chug:

There's awkward 3D

There's a timeskip montage

Finish:

Someone swears

[bats-and-birds-24]

Okay, so I know that we're all mad at Gege, and for good reason. But I don't agree with the fandom that he's wasting good characters by killing them off.

JJK is an allegory for the terrible pressure placed on people to be the best, or to be useful, which makes people stop seeing them as a fellow humans. And the characters in the show represent that.

For example, Gojo is labelled as the strongest, and as such, no one sees him as a person other than Geto. They always either put him on a pedestal or find him to be a nuisance that they deal with because he's useful to jujutsu society, such as the jujutsu society elders. Even in death his body is used as a tool.

In Geto's case, the honor of being powerful enough to save humanity from curses was dashed because he saw how the non-sorcerers they were trying to save treated them, in spite of the sorcerers facing heavy casualties. Jujutsu society didn't even send someone to check up on him, and he just spirals after the failed mission. After realising that this society didn't care about him, he tries to create a society that does care about sorcerers, at the cost of normal people, the same people who didn't care about him.

Yuta was sentenced to death because of the dangerous curse that was attached to him. Jujutsu society dehumanized him because of factors that he cannot control, same with Yuji.

Gojo sees this and realized that he can't let them be dehumanized like Geto was, gotten rid of if they were deemed pests or used until they were broken if they were deemed useful.

Yuta himself adopts this view in this chapter, risking his life so that they can defeat Sukuna. Yuji also adopts this mentality when he declares himself a cog in the machine that kills curses.

Hakari, Maki, and Noritoshi, are all an exception to this rule, as Hakari refused to let himself be merely a tool and have things decided for him. He enjoys passion and passionate people, while jujutsu society may admire his cursed technique, they don't respect him as a person. Maki and Noritoshi only achieved their full ability after cutting ties with their respective clans.

The Zenins viewed Maki as useless as she was both a woman and had no Cursed Energy. While the Kamo clan only viewed Noritoshi as useful for being male and inheriting a powerful cursed technique.

Megumi had a lot of potential with the ten shadows technique but when he gave up, the elders would have had him executed in order to kill Sukuna.

Sukuna himself stands in opposition to all of this, seeing everyone as equally worthless in a world where the strong have every right to make the weak suffer. In this sense, him and jujutsu society share the common view that only strength matters.

Yuji and the rest of Gojo's students stand in contrast to both Sukuna and jjk society here. They spend more time trying to save Megumi, because they see him as their friend. They spend more time protecting the people close to them not out of some sense of duty or usefulness, but because they genuinely care about each other.

Yuta takes Gojo's body not out of a sense of duty to kill Sukuna, but because he cares about Gojo and doesn't want his sacrifice to be in vain. Gojo died not by doing his duty, but by trying to care for his students.

Gege is saying that following orders and doing your duty until you burn yourself out isn't good, and neither is making yourself out to be better than everyone else because you think that the world revolves around the logic of "survival of the fittest". Which is Sukuna's line of thinking.

I think the story is going to end with only Yuji surviving and him beating Sukuna not because he's just a cog in jujutsu society, but because he's Yuji and he loves his friends and family.

The curse of "die surrounded by the people you love" from his grandfather is reversed as Yuji learns to live for the people he loved.

He's saying that people work best together, but not when they are forced to for some nebulous idea of duty or justice, but because of simply caring about each other.

That's why Gege made us care about these characters in the first place, so that we can fully understand the injustice that these characters are going through.

[empressofthewind]

i rewatched the japanese version of the death note musical for the third time today and i just NEED to talk about how well rem’s character arc is done. because my god, her fate is foreshadowed SO well and i love how you can see her feelings for misa developing in real time.

the first song she sings in the musical is "they're only human", and she has a very clear fascination with the idea of love. the line "looking down from above / i'm intrigued by their love" is the most clear indicator of this, but mentions of love are included in various places throughout the song, which establish the theme for rem’s arc. in the beginning, she is fascinated by the concept of love but feels removed from it, believing that love is merely a mortal concept and one that she herself will never experience.

this is then reiterated in her duet with misa, "mortals and fools". misa sings about how wonderful love can be, whilst rem sings about the dangers of it, and asserts that she "never will understand it". in her view, anyone who falls in love must either be a mortal or a fool. this song goes especially hard with the foreshadowing, particularly in the lines "love can make you come alive / or take your life away", and "love makes you break all the rules".

there's a small reprise of this song where ryuk sings most of rem's initial lines, and rem instead sings some of misa's, showing the subtle beginnings of a shift in her attitude. this is where we really see her feelings for misa start to develop, which brings with it the big conflict of her arc - she knows, based on her prior observations, that love only ever ends badly. ryuk even says at the end "rem, don't break the rules", seeing how attached she's already become to misa. side note, i also love how much ryuk and rem interact in the musical. they have great onscreen chemistry and their differing attitudes towards humanity make for a nice contrast.

and rem's final song is "when love comes", which closes out her arc as she accepts that she has fallen in love with misa and starts to consider the possibility that she may need to sacrifice herself ("share a kiss and then surrender / when love comes"). there is also a very tender moment here when L has misa tied up, and rem kneels at her feet and hugs her legs. it's similar to the scene in canon where rem brushes misa's bangs away from her eyes, but takes the tenderness up several notches and it's so so sweet.

there are also so many small moments throughout that show her affection for misa, both through her general protectiveness and physical acts like putting an arm around her or touching her cheek. the way misa’s character is presented as very vulnerable and lost as a result of her parents’ death also helps make rem’s feelings understandable and convincing. when rem first sees her and misa faints, rem comments on how pure she is. it’s like rem is so jaded from her many, many years in the shinigami realm that seeing misa - a young girl with such pure, mortal feelings of love and genuine hope for the world - triggers a protective instinct in her that later blossoms into her own kind of love. but it’s bittersweet, because the reason misa has that hope and love to begin with is because of kira, and he’s the one person rem wants to protect her from most.

[shysublimecoffee]

As someone who has strong ties with family and how in my culture parents are ranked highest and to respect my elders and then seeing the blasphemy of what Itachi did to "his" family and people riding on him saying he cared for his little brother lol is disgusting.

Maybe ya'll don't know what true familial love is.

He did what he could given the situation, but let’s be honest—his actions were far from heroic. Killing everyone and traumatizing his brother was his "best"? He manipulated and pressured his brother into violence, planning to strip him of his will and brainwash him into submission to the very people who caused their suffering.

Itachi didn't sacrifice himself; he sacrificed others, including children, for his ideals. True heroism isn't about preemptively killing based on speculations of future crimes. Itachi’s so-called sacrifice—leaving Konoha and living as a criminal—wasn’t a real sacrifice considering his background as an ANBU. He was trained for such roles, and it’s likely he would have continued in a similar capacity even without the massacre.

The notion that “greater good” justifies his actions disregards the rights of the minority (the Uchiha). Kishimoto used the threat of civil war and attacks from other villages to justify genocide, based on a speculative scenario that hadn’t even materialized. Justifying the massacre with potential future threats is a weak argument.

I don’t pity an arrogant, fundamentally messed up individual who imposes his dangerous methods on his younger brother. Itachi didn't respect truth, transparency, or justice. He asked Naruto to keep the massacre’s truth hidden, prioritizing reputation over justice. Kishimoto tried to portray him as intelligent and humble, but in reality, Itachi was arrogant and self-righteous, believing he had the right to decide whether the truth should come out.

Itachi is not a loving brother or unsung hero; he’s an over-glorified character embodying the series’ flawed political views. He was a self-righteous, manipulative extremist. The writing presents him as a pacifist, but he believed in preemptive killing for stability—a “peace at all costs” extremist. Itachi and Danzo’s method of achieving peace was to eliminate anyone who might become a threat, including children who might seek revenge. This isn't pacifism; it's a purge of dissidents, maintaining peace through violence and oppression.

Had Itachi killed Sasuke, it would have been a kinder fate. A swift, merciful end for a 7-year-old who had never encountered such raw evil could have spared Sasuke a lifetime of agony. Instead, Sasuke was left to grapple with unimaginable trauma, deprived of any consolation or reparation. His life became a tragic trajectory where he was constantly manipulated and used for others' goals, rather than being genuinely cared for.

Sasuke's suffering was prolonged and compounded by a loveless marriage to someone who pestered him relentlessly. His entire existence turned into a series of painful experiences, with people wanting him for their own purposes without truly caring for him. The tragedy of Sasuke's life is not just in the events that transpired, but in the profound loneliness and exploitation he endured at the hands of those who claimed to love him.

How does any of this consistutes as love?? A good big brother would never do what Itachi did; his actions completely undermine the concept of love altogether.

[dulcemaiden]

The coming conflict between O!Ciel and Snake

In the recent events of Doll coming back to the manga and diverse opinions about which side Snake will choose, there is something I haven't seen anyone consider that can become crucial to this dilemma: The mysterious incident of Snake keeping silent about OCiel sneaking into the tents of the first strings in Noah’s ark circus. Why he did?

The anime played for laughs that it was Wordsworth the one who didn't tell and Emily scolded him.

But in the manga is different, because it was Snake himself. Smile was caught up by Wordsworth, and we all know the rest: Doll found him, grabbed Wordsworth and gave it to Snake telling him to keep the snakes inside his tent (curiously, it's the same snake that Doll caught in F.O.L.)

Actually, Wordsworth told him that precise moment what was really happening, and Snake seemed nervous and trembling, not knowing what to do: Doll was hiding Smile, who had sneaked into the tents of the first strings. He would have done something about the intruder inmediatly, but this time it was Doll who intervined. Unsure of what to do, he walked away and kept silent about the situation.

But when Snake got in his tent, his snakes must have told him how they were tied up in knots by Black, and that Smile went to investigate the tents. Given how alarmingly suspicious the situation was, and how all the first strings could be in a potential danger, he finally decided to tell Joker. When he was asked why he took his time to tell them, he couldn't give a proper answer.

So he only kept silent because of Doll.

If this assumption is correct, the whole dilemma between Snake and OCiel worsens. Unlike the rest of the circus members who irrumpted in Ciel's manor, and Joker who was with Kelvin, Doll was alone at that time, and she was actually the only one who died under OCiel’s command. Snake has seen how skilled is Sebastian when it comes to kill...

So he won't believe that Doll was a real threat to them. Snake is also aware that she hid Smile from him and his snakes, and from the others first strings in an attempt to protect him, but OCiel still took her life, and that won't be a forgivable thing for Snake.

I've read opinions that in hopes that Snake will keep loyal to OCiel and the servants, expects that he will prefer them because unlike the circus troupe who kept him in the dark, he is one of them now. But maybe that would be underestimating how deep Snake's love for Doll might actually be.

She was the first one who reached a hand out to him, and she took care for him back then. His first reaction to see her again was to effusively tackle hug her while crying. We still have to see Snake's flashbacks, but from the little we have seen, Doll is practically the main one in his memories when it comes to the circus troupe.

Maybe there is the possibility that if OCiel explain to Snake about the children's abduction for Kelvin, and how the servants protected themselves and Lizzie, with time Snake will comprehend it, but he still won't comprehend why OCiel spared his life and not Doll's, not after she went out of her way to protect him, because even if Doll tried to kill OCiel later, Snake tried to kill him too.

Even more so, I don't think OCiel will try to justify himself, since he feels guilty about Doll's death.

Back then, when Snake tried to avenge the circus troupe, OCiel had every reason to kill him: Snake had tried to kill OCiel and killed a guest by mistake, he was not innocent and he was a danger. It is hinted that he let Snake live mainly because he reminded him of Doll.

I would like to point out that OCiel is a more empathetic person than most fans give credit for. He is aware that Doll trusted him and genuinely cared for him back then.

And he had to got rid of her, seeing her as a sacrifice. Doll's death was one that deeply traumatized OCiel as we see in his nightmare in ch95.

He probably don't even judge her, as he didn't judge Joker back then, as Yana mentioned in her blog years ago. You can read it in this post traslated by @akumadeenglish.

No matter which way it goes, this conflict will be inevitable, which is really sad for both OCiel and Snake, because they have grown to genuinely care about each other.

And to finish this post, I personally think that out of all the circus troupe, the fact that it was Doll the one who has returned makes sense from a narrative perspective; because she is the central character between Snake and OCiel: Snake let OCiel had his way in the circus because of Doll, and OCiel let Snake live because of Doll.

[novemberthecatadmirer]

I don’t headcanon Eol as evil but I headcanon him as the type to do fucked-up problematic shit to their children while believing he was doing the necessary right thing

Like, I think he was the type to force baby Maeglin to kill tied up orcs “for practice.”

I take Tolkien’s idea and headcanon him as an ex-thrall of Angband, and ended up with this very bleak perception of the world, believing there was danger everywhere.

Knowing about kinslaying absolutely did not make him feel safer. Now there were these murderous overpowered elves occupying twice-stolen Sindar land. And the kinslayers were not sorry they would likely murder again when it felt convenient. (Living right next to C & C’s realm did not help with his negative feelings about Noldor at all.)

He never expected to have a child, and when he got one he ended up as this paranoid obsessive overprotective parent that wanted to tough their child up to prepare them for the harsh world. He genuinely believed he was doing the right thing, because what if an orc just appeared out of nowhere and snatch my child to the Iron Jail that happened to so many children out there

He had some idea all these trainings were traumatizing for his son but he believed it was an acceptable sacrifice.

Aredhel argued with him over it but even Aredhel did not have a good idea of what was proper to teach a child. She brought her baby out to hunt wolves “for fun.” Eol saw danger everywhere and she could not see danger at all, which caused an entirely different type of trauma.

I think Eol had a very twisted perception of danger due to some past trauma and would take drastic measure to have control over the situation. Which rather caused a lot of damages.

[bratspike]

no megan because it makes SO MUCH SENSE.

okay. hear me out. we know dead reckoning as a movie was envisioned to pay homage to the previous instalments of the franchise, right? so luther knowing about ilsa being alive + helping her hide brings it full circle to that scene in fallout where he tells her that he's the one who taught julia how to be a ghost. ALSO. "we're in this mess because ethan wouldn't let me die." cut to the entity presenting ethan with the choice between grace and ilsa and "he cares about you more than he can admit. that's one more worry than he can handle right now. if you care about him, you should walk away." and so she does. we know it wouldn't really be a choice because ethan would never let anything happen to ilsa but at the same time some flaw deep in his core being (again, fallout. but the entire series, too) won't allow him to let grace die either. and so ilsa chooses for him. grace isn't the reason ilsa dies, but ilsa is the reason grace gets to live. she plans and schemes and deceives like she's done since she was introduced in rogue nation; she's morally gray, she's like smoke between everyone's fingers; she's the queen on the chess board (i am once again quoting luther), the one that sacrifices herself to come back and save her king at the right moment.

we also know from kittdrige that the entity thinks they follow a pattern: ilsa gets in trouble (she steals the key/paid assassins are after her), ethan gets her out of trouble (they fake her death), she gets in trouble again (she comes back). but if she is dead, if she stays dead, then she has all the power because how is the entity supposed to predict someone's moves if it can't see them? if it doesn't think they're an active player?

so by faking her death ilsa becomes the one who can overturn god. her "death" gives ethan all the leeway he needs. it's reason enough to go full rogue; like you said, ethan will probably be more and more blasé about the dangers he'll take because he won't have to worry about his friends and the love of his life. essentially, he'll become who he was always thought to be: the wild card that no one, not even an all seeing computer, can prepare for, and that will ultimately save the world.

and this is where the entity's plan is faulty: the entity is trying to isolate him, but by doing so, it is giving him all the reasons and motivation he needs while also giving him his friends the freedom to operate undetected and to come back when he'll need them — one after the other, saving the best for last. aka ilsa. the final and unpredictable resource. the deus ex machina.

literally the only way for them to win is if she leaves because otherwise her life will always matter more to ethan than his own. but his life. his life is what keeps the rest of the world alive. they're two faces of the same coin: tied together, both absolutely necessary, they hold up each other. but they face different ways and they have to work in each other's shadow (which, again: references to both rogue nation and fallout).

it just. it makes sense. at this point i am genuinely convinced that those who think ilsa is really dead either haven't watched the other movies or are just daft. like of course mcq is not gonna knock on your door, hug you and tell you she's alive but all the evidence you need is RIGHT. UNDER. YOUR. NOSE. connect the fucking dots.

(sorry this is so long!!! i just have so many feelings about these movies)

you are just simply so correct you’ve laid out exactly what is in my brain! luther as the ethanilsa whisperer/protector just makes it all so much clearer. and you’re right! ppl who expect mcq to reassure them don’t understand him and tom and creatives at all. story is king!!!!!!

[c-130jsuperhercules]

okay rant on dark souls poison swamp got too long

like. one of the ways people fault darks souls 2 is that Miyazaki wasn’t very heavily involved in it. But apparently, looking at the other games, ds2 was even better for it. Like, take each games obligatory poison level, and i know i’ve ranted about this before, but holy shit. Dark souls 1, blighttown. the top part, fantastic, once you get past all the frame dropping issues. the verticality of it, the complexity of it, the way it makes you change up your play style, love it. The bottom tho? the bottom of blighttown? i will die on the hill of how bad and boring it is, not that anyone reasonable would kill me for it. You get past this amazing level of spooky mosquitos coming after you, evil dogs, stupid fucking toxic dart shooters, elevators, the whole nine yards only to get to the bottom and be introduced to Walking Simulator but it Hurts 2011. And, you have to keep going back there if you want to finish like three or four npc quests. 

DS3? Ohh, now there’s a miyazaki poison swamp alright. This time, he didn’t even put a blighttown before it, and don’t get me wrong, road of sacrifices is a pretty decent level, but it wasn’t blighttown with five extra years of thought put into it. this time, we’re spared the npc quests in favor of having a fuckton of items(one or two of which you do need to grab for an npc quest tho). I will give ds3 that it does have better enemies in it than ds1, tho. rock throwing fucko got nothing on the elder ghru. And we can see that this time, FromSoft heard people say “ohhhhhh the poison at the bottom of blighttown almost killed me so oftennnnnnn, it was so annoying to have to mitigate for the sake of some npcs and a couple items” and decided to just drop the poison damage down to fucking nothing. I have genuinely not used a poison cure item out of necessity in ds3 everrrr. At least the boss fight that came afterwards was badass.

Dark Souls 2. Now, i may be biased, but i do believe Harvest Valley is the best poison “swamp” between the three. Here, poison is actually a danger, but there’s enough items around and in a small enough area that it feels like holding your breath to dig around in a radioactive treasure chest, instead of wallowing through the equivalent of a prostate exam if the guy you’re elbow deep in suddenly decides to kegel really hard and twist. Instead of standing ankle deep in poop water, you at times are wading through a toxic miasma, that sticks to your skin and continues to make that poison meter rise unless you use several poison mosses to wait it out, use a cleansing spell, or bathe! BATHE you can fucking bathe by rolling in water. Poison even does about five times more damage, compared to ds3, simultaneously making poison builds viable while making the entire way they approached poison different. Instead of it just being a status effect that puts a little timer on how long you can trudge around for, it is an actively threatening experience, you have to cure it as soon as possible or you will be facing some heavy losses. The devs, recognizing that, made it so it’s not an ever-present, yet mild hazard, but something more akin to a trap from ds1 sen’s fortress. And that’s not even getting into earthen fucking peak

Earthen fucking peak is one of my favorite areas in any souls game. It’s unorthodox, it’s fun, it’s vertical, it’s surprising, i love it. There’s several hidden doors, headless fucks, women you can make out with(but watch out), an old shifty fuck who makes ladders, you see pate again, elevators, hidden rooms, and the main advantage it has over blighttown(in addition to being a larger, more fleshed out level with a lot more stuff going on), is how well the boss at the end ties it all together. When you get through Blighttown, you face Quelaag. When you get through farron keep, you face the Abyss watchers. Neither of these bosses share a connection with their boss run except by lore. Mytha, the Baneful Queen, tho? Not only is she a headless snake lady, akin to the headless manikins and the poisoned area, but her boss room is almost filled with poison that heals her if she stays in it. However, if you set fire to the windmill(which you can find out how to do bc a npc summon will help guide you and point to it and cheer when you do it) below her boss room, the poison stops getting pumped up there, making the poison ring around you smaller, and the boss fight that much easier. Like fuck yeah! That’s what i call interesting level design! That’s what i call sticking to a theme! Not to mention, you kill her deeply devoted and in-love-with-her servant on the first floor, then go upstairs to meet her, so the entire is a metaphor for cuckolding.

[throwaway-yandere]

I have to say I have plans for a slasher au and I can't draw for the life of me so I just wrote the au for Childe so far. I was planning on doing it during October and November. I just suffered writers blog. I am also really looking for your ideas since you usually have good ones. I am thinking of doing pairings of two survivors and one killer ascosciated. One of the survivors is the reader. I had was Ayato as the killer with the other survivor either Ayaka or Thoma IDK who to choose. Eula would give of this energy of a final girl and my first thought was Childe cause they are opposites in Eula who represents Bad Family, good person with Childe representing Good family, bad person. I am stuck with who the survivors tied to Xiao, Diluc, Kaeya, Cyno, Pantalone, Albedo/Not Albedo are. I planned zhongli as another killer with yunjin or ninguang as the survivor. I am stuck with who to choose I want to ask who do you think would work well.

I have these pairings so far.

Killer- Survivor/ Final Girl without reader

Itto-Shinobu

Zhongli-yunjin

Sorry if this is too much to process.

I genuinely wish I could help but I'm not too familiar with slasher media ;;;----;;; also no dear I don't have great ideas hAHAHAHHAHA

If you want angst, choose Thoma as the survivor. Imagine his survivor's guilt as a servant who failed to protect his Lady. Imagine Ayato's pain as he watches the light leave his sister's eyes. It's be fun. They can no longer continue their lives now that the Kamisato Estate is more spacious than before.

Childe "bad person" dhsjdjoaoa my poor boy sorry kiddo you're officially labeled as bad for life /jjj

Xiao has angst potential so if you're gonna ask me, a fricking menace, then I'd definitely kill this man. That is, right after I show everyone that he's a poor man that never got over his friends' death and that the last thing he recalls is how his friends desperately wanted him to live, and he fails.

Diluc and Kaeya kill each other till there's only ashes left /hj

I'd consider Cyno as one of the likely ones to survive. This man is great at assassinations, I don't think you can easily kill him

Pantalone would be fun in a killing game. This man is ambitious– he'd probably sacrifice others in order to survive. Considering how he's born from poverty, there's a dangerous sense of him wanting to live long enough to prove to everyone else in the slums that he deserves to live. He can crash the economy if he wants to. I want him to survive simply because I am biased lmao–

If scara is there wouldn't it be fun to partner him up with Dorian? They're both immortal nonhumans after all

Have Zhongli kill Ningguang and make sure her last words sounds like something Guizhong would say for extra guilt tripping lmao

I can't recommend who you should pair up with the reader cuz that depends on their personality. If they're anything like Capo!reader in ocmc then they DEFINITELY need to work with Pantalone cause they share 1 braincell. Sneaky bastards w/ little fear.

[rachelbethhines]

60 Years of Doctor Who Anniversary Marathon - McCoy 2nd Review

Destiny of the Doctor: Shockwave - Short Audio

It's amazing how much a decade can change your perception of something. Destiny of the Doctor (not to be confused with the video game Destiny of the Doctors) was a special audio series released for the 50th anniversary. Each entry focuses on each Doctor having a short adventure that eventually ties into a larger story arc. Kind of like the Prisoners of Time comic that ran at the same time, but without a crossover at the end. The series is a blend of both the Companion Chronicles and the Short Trips formats. Like the Companion Chronicles, each entry features one main character narrating everything and a guest actor playing another character to bounce off of. And the adventures are roughly an hour apiece. Yet the narration is all in third person rather than first, and the story is not necessarily told from the perspective of the companion. Hence why it's kind of more like a Short Trip. Plus Short Trips tend to come in collections like this.

But I'm beating about the bush; what of the story itself. Well it's good. It's well produced, nicely preformed, conveys the era it depicts perfectly as an anniversary special should, and the plot is both easy to listen to as a standalone while still tying into the larger story arc in a way that's not distracting. It's also deeply triggering. The story involves a planet blowing up and everyone running for their lives all while a group of doomsday cultists try to 'save' everyone by killing them. Now back in 2013, this sort of plot was fine. Standard Who stuff even with the bleaker setup. But in 2023, I've now lived through a global pandemic, several climate change induced natural disasters, two economic crashes, an attempted Nazi led coup, seen various terrorist attacks, wars, and senseless act of mass violence play out daily on the news, and watched as idiots repeatedly refused to partake in basic safety persuasions all because they didn't 'believe' in the very obvious danger before them because they wanted to feel 'special'!!! I just don't have the patience anymore. The main problem I have with this story, beyond just the anxiety inducing opening which is meant to evoke such feelings, is the sympathetic way the deadly lunatic tiring to murder everyone is dealt with. I kept wanting to reach through the speaker in order to slap the silly little dumbass. I appreciate that the story doesn't have her give up her faith as part of her redemption... but it also doesn't feel like she learned anything either. Even when she changes her mind and sacrifices herself to save everyone else instead, it's feels less like a change of heart and realizing that what she did was wrong, and more like she just changed her plan cause her deity told her too. Ugh! I can't. I just can't anymore. I no longer care why authoritarians do what they do. I'm not interested in empathizing with their selfish insanity. I don't want to 'hear them out' or 'politely' give them a platform. I genuinely, truly believe that coddling abusers is what has led to all of our recent problems with the world, and a cult is nothing more then an organization of abusers. That's what makes it a cult. And it doesn't matter how outwardly 'nice' or simply 'misguided' the antagonist is in this story, she's still a bully. End of. And I desperately wish that she was called out on that by the main characters rather then being forgiven so quickly.

[kneelbeforeclefairy]

So I haven't done like a huge study of it, but I think the short answer is there isn't any practiced religion.

So in the first episode, Arthur says "god have mercy" when looking at Morgana, "thank God" when he finds merlin again, and Huniths note to Gaius says "May God save you both." I think these are the only references to a single god in the show, though I seem to remember one time when Gaius says "thank God," in a very casual way, the same way one would say thank goodness or something. The first references in episode one you could chalk up to early installment weirdness, which there is a lot of in episode one (Merlin's Anxiety Time Stop ability never appears again, a guy has a last name, Arthur has cronies who disappear etc) and the last one seems like just a common figure of speech that some writer forgot wasn't used and stayed in. But it looks like the show was intentionally avoiding references to religion and especially singular god. But, for the sake of world building, let's assume they have meaning.

In verse, gods are literally real. Off the top of my head is Merlin's summoning of the White Goddess who heals Gwen, and the Triple Goddess is mentioned more than once, though she never appears. There are other spiritual creatures as well, (the Disir, Merlin himself) , that are literally real as well who aren't necessarily worshipped as gods. The afterlife is known to be real. (Lancelot coming back as a shade, Arthur immediately accepting as fact he can talk to his father, references to the spirit world, the weird spirits whose names I can't remember who came through during Samhain.) Uther may consider these things sorcery, but he doesn't disbelieve their existence.

Of course, there's constant talk about the Old Religion, which sometimes seems to be a euphemism for any sort of magical practice, but does sometimes seem to have been a semi-organized religion with High Priestesses, who served the Triple Goddess, and who performed at least some rituals and rites that had to do with gods, though ancestors and spirits are referenced too. The druids seem to have their own practice and culture, and it's possible other magic users have some sort of nature religion, or worship of magic itself, that isn't necessarily tied to whatever the High Priestesses have going on. From how Gaius describes their rituals (human sacrifice, blood magic, summoning the dead, and at least one made an ARMY of the undead, creating lamia) it's possible the high priestesses were not ...popular ..among the people, as their rites were dangerous and violent, and they were a closed society limited only to very powerful, female, magic users, which suggests ordinary people did not participate in the old religion in an organized way. One of the reasons I think Uther was able to carry out his purge so successfully and with so much popular support was he started with targets that people actually did fear, and removed some genuine problems. Then, of course, while the people were celebrating the destruction of evil magic, he was able to frame ALL magic as evil, and destroy everyone who had magic, weather they were good bad or indifferent.

Gaius is an interesting case. From his name I always assumed he was Roman, perhaps coming to Albion as a child, or, more likely from his extensive knowledge of Albion's history and legends , is of mixed Roman and Brittanic heritage. The ikon in his rooms suggest that he, at least at some point, was Christian, as Christianity was the official religion of Rome, which is supported by his use of the singular god a few times. Hunith saying "may god protect you both" in her letter may not necessarily be a reference to the god she believes in, but to the god Gaius believes in, as a polytheist may see the Christian god as just another god that some people worship. However, Gaius knows a lot about the Old Religion, and speaks of it with respect, though he speaks of the high priestesses with some scorn, suggesting that he may never have followed their brand of it. Perhaps he's culturally mixed in religions as well, and the icon doesn't necessarily represent his personal beliefs, but is culturally significant to him rather than religiously significant.

So here's, going off of all that , what I think is going on in Merlin. Before Uther's reign most of the inhabitants of Albion practiced the Old Religion, which could mean different things to different people, but largely worshipped the Triple Goddess. The High Priestesses were the direct servants of the Goddess, but they may have been feared more than loved. Ordinary magic users may have had a more benign practice that didn't have much to do with the High Priestesses, more like a nature religion. Magic users may have had a special place or role within the old religion, and It is possible ONLY magic users practiced the Old Religion, with ordinary people being more secular, but they seem to know OF it.

After Uther conquered Camelot and made magic illegal, the old religion was similarly abolished, and all it's practices. Gaius, out of obedience to this decree, may have given up any worship of either or both of his religions. Uther does not offer a replacement for the old religion, but seems to mandate secularism and atheism.In the 20 years since the end of the purge (and who knows how long the purge took, we know Arthur's birth kicked it off, but we don't really know his age, though it's been 20 years since Kilgarrah was imprisoned, which I think was the END of the purge, since Uther declares it a holiday to commemorate Camelot being "freed" from sorcery) it seems that Uther's anti religious beliefs have taken off, to the point that most people don't practice any religion, and don't seem bothered by that. Festivals that were once religious (the high priestesses had rites to summon the dead on Samhain) have now become secular celebrations, and the upper classes, at least, have no organized beliefs or practices. Most of them still seem to believe in the EXISTANCE of the afterlife, or spirits, but they'd be stupid not to, as these things are literally real, they have just reframed them as Sorcery, and thus evil, or, at very least, to be avoided. Arthur himself never references gods, so his exclamation of "god have mercy" and "thank God" seem to just be figures of speech, perhaps picked up from Gaius, or leftover from influence from the Romans. He doesn't say "god have mercy" again, and I don't THINK he says thank God again, but I could be wrong.

Its a little harder to tell what's going on among the lower classes. Uther's purge of magic users seemed pretty thorough, and it looks like belief in the old religion went with them. From the scene where Arthur stops a group of peasants from burning an old woman in season 5, it seems his propoganda against magic has spread enough that many non magic users fear magic, if not hate it out right, and they probably no longer practice any religion they might have had. If you assume the practice of the Old Religion was limited to those with magic, as most of them are dead, the common people without magic now don't think much about it, as it was never much a huge part of their lives. If they practiced at all, perhaps they were content to give up religion as long as sorcery went with it, an acceptable sacrific. To go even further, it's possible that because the high priestesses were genuinely a problem, their religion was never popular among non magic users at all, and if they practiced it at all, it may have been more out of fear that love, and they were glad to be rid of it . What does survive of the Old Religion seems now inextricably tied to the practice of magic, and seems to have gone completely underground, but survives as a more benign version of nature worship, and the Triple Goddess seems almost forgotten.

Essentially, Uther killed religion and no one minded too much.

(I admit to zoning in on the upper class' world more, and their beliefs, so if anyone has anything to add about the common people, which seems more complex, please add it. )

Christian iconography? in my Merlin??

[random-writing-thoughts]

hey, are you gonna continue 142.4? :0 no pressure!!! i just genuinely wanted to ask ^^ i really love ur writing btw, it's awesomee

Thank you so much!!! 🥰🥰

Part 130.8 is here!!

Thought #142.5

Previous

Warnings: swearing

Villain paced around the house. Hero had gone silent on the device 20 minutes ago.

They threw a plate against the wall. It shattered joining the rest of the broken plates on the floor.

The doorbell rang. Villain jumped to the window and peaked out. Someone was there... with Kid.

Villain threw the door open. Kid smiled up at them and jumped forward. Villain bent down and swept them up into their arms.

"Who are you?" They asked looking the stranger up and down.

"I'm Sidekick. Why did Hero sacrifice themselves for you?" Sidekick asked stepping into the house.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Villain locked the door and walked to the couch.

Sidekick looked around the room. "What happened?"

"I was angry. "

"So you broke every dish you could find?" Sidekick sat down and cradled their head. "Listen I don't know why Hero decided to trust you of all people, but I trust them. They must have had a reason. So..." Sidekick stared at Villain. "Tell me why they did."

Villain sat on the couch and rubbed Kid's back. "Because I forced them to. I threatened to tell their best friend about their secret and tied them to the kitchen chair."

Sidekick nodded. "Why did they sacrifice themselves then?" They said softly.

Villain covered Kids ears. "Because they're too much of a fucking hero."

Kid wiggled and pulled Villain's hands down. "Did you say a bad word?"

"I did." Villain said with a smile.

"I don't like bad words." Kid said curling into Villain.

"I know." Villain pulled them closer.

"What can they do?" Sidekick asked softly.

"Can I show them?" Kid jumped off Villain's lap.

Villain smile disappeared. "Sure. But small."

"Small." Kid repeated. They closed their eyes and held out their hands. A small flame popped up in their palm.

"The way Superhero talked about them made it..." Sidekick stood. "Fuck."

Kid glared at them.

"Sorry." Sidekick started pacing. "They lied. They said that Kid was dangerous. That they had a power that would wipe out city blocks. But they just wanted to use them to complement their own powers. Fuck. Sorry."

Villain stood. "We have to get Hero out of there."

"Why do you care? You're the reason they got into this mess."

"I know." Villain swept Kid up. They sat on the couch and pulled Kid close. "I can't just let them die. They helped me. They saved Kid and put themselves in harms way. For a..." They looked down and Kid who stared up at them. "Screw up like me they risked everything. I have to do something."

"What are you going to do?" Sidekick crossed their arms. "You don't even know where Superhero is keeping them."

"But you do." Villain said softly.

"I do." Sidekick whispered. "But Superhero..."

"I won't let anything happen to you. You don't even have to come with me, just tell me where to go. I've got a bone to pick with Superhero. They hurt my friend and my kid."

Next

[miraculouscontent]

Anonymous asked:

I agree with you. Marinette having anxiety and panic attacks has always been there, it’s just the first time it’s actually being taken seriously instead of being the butt of a joke. Narrative framing, everyone! It’s only happening so Adrien looks good for cutting Chloe off lol.

soap-lady asked:

It's not enough that they use Marinette's panic attacks as comedy, but now it's the catalyst for Adrien to "cut ties" with Chloe? Is this yet again for Bland Blond Boy's benefit?

I'm tired of narratives where the male protagonist's reward is a relationship.

(Lukanette forever) Luka respects our girl.

Yup. Again, we’re sure the writers don’t intend for any of this but it doesn’t change what’s there.

Basically, they wanted to step up Chloe’s antics for the umpteenth time, and they also wanted Adrien to have his “big moment,” so they thought, “We’ll have Chloe do something bad to Marinette, but in the past, and it was so bad that it caused Marinette trauma. Therefore, Adrien didn’t see it and Marinette isn’t even aware of it, so Adrien can’t be blamed for not doing something about it sooner.”

But none of them realize exactly how this looks when you look at the show in full and what it all means.

Anyone remember how Luka’s sacrifices for Marinette have basically never been used to promote the romance side of things?

Luka hid Marinette away in “Captain Hardrock” and Marinette didn’t even blush at. In fact, it was Luka’s concern for Marinette (when he’s only met her once) that touched her heart later. Then, in “Miracle Queen,” he gets kicked out of the plot sacrifices himself and it’s basically just a random sacrifice. The more important scene was earlier when he was comforting Marinette to the point of dropping his bike and guitar (something that would obviously be a big deal for him but that the show doesn’t make out as a big deal in terms of Marinette’s feelings).

Luka did not, at any point, “earn” Marinette’s love, because that’s not how it works. The first episode that really shows Marinette going all breathless and wide-eyed over him, he’s the one in danger when he gets akumatized, and her saving him doesn’t earn her any points at all because he doesn’t know she’s Ladybug at the time. They just communicate, Marinette is treated to a sweet confession, but they don’t get together

The show wants to prop Adrien up and make his actions a big deal, no matter how small (Chat’s sacrifice in “Dark Cupid” got him kissed, by the way, and it was his fault that he had to make that sacrifice in the first place). He’s so “perfect” and “handsome” that Marinette is afraid to even touch him. The writers are practically screaming at you by saying, “Wow, look how awestruck Marinette is by him, and you should be too!”

Luka doesn’t play that way. He does things because he respects Marinette and is genuinely happy with whatever she wants to give him (whether friendly or romantic). He’s content with playing background if he has to because his goal is never to “earn Marinette’s love.” He’s just himself and does what he believes that she wants without expecting/asking anything in return.

[2broschlininahotub]

Meet the Rikka

The Rikka fairies are all named after cold resistant flowers found in Europe and/or Africa. The Rikka Queens are named after a type of flower arrangements.

They all have a few abilities they share one teleportation. They can appear any where that is cold to the point ice is freezing or snows. That means they can appear on dragonspine mountain. How they use these are the umbrella like staves they have. Naturally they are immune to the cold. Even if they are naked in the snow they would not be effected.

Here is my idea about their origin. They were once human but transformed into as winter spirits. During a situation that happened during winter or winter months where they could be in a dangerous situation.

Meet teardrop the fragment of snezhnaya. She is the fragment that represents a genuine love.(Note The love is that of romantic and parental love) The reason why she became this cause she was abandoned by her husband during their wedding. The reason why cause, the husband wanted to protect her cause a cult was about to sacrifice her and her unborn baby. She ran in the middle of the woods and dying cause of lack of food, water and the cult trying to sacrifice her. She was transformed into a rikka queen cause of this. She feels her husband is out there but doesn't know what he might look like cause maybe he might be corrupted by the cult.

Her powers are that the ability of to resurrection but they must have an affinity with ice. Another is the ability to freeze any object. She can instantly make someone freeze and have frostbite on their heart.

She is not a loud person. She prefers to stay hidden in most areas. She is the mom of the group because she is actually is a mom. She also has trauma of said event.

Meet Snow Princess or snow

This was teardrops daughter. She was born after Teardrop's rebirth. This means she contains a fragment. Her fragment represents familial love. She is somewhat shy around people in general. She usually calls upon other people around her when in danger. This might lead to meeting a few people. Most of the time whopperflowers or any sentient plant life help her.

Meet Mudan and Erica.

Mudan's name is Chinese for peony. Erica comes from the Erica genus of flowers have a flowers known to be cold resistant.

@bye-bye-sunbird this is the girl that is going to be his suitor.

Mudan is a very shy girl. She acts very mature. She was saved by a mysterious masked stranger. She was in love with him but feels like she he doesn't like her back.

Erica is a very up beat girl. She is that friend that tries to help her beastie by telling her to confess her feelings. She wants her to confess her feelings. Erica was accidentally saved by another masked man. Erica asked if he wanted to visit her again.

Erica and Mudan were both framed with attempted murder cause of voodoo dolls of another concubine. They were both looked in a prison left to die but became fairies cause of their genuine innocence and they were dying.

Meet kanzashi

She is named after a flower ornament that she is actually wearing.

Kanzashi has an ability to basically make life grow around her. Any where she goes nature starts to come but in a way that it still matches the weather. Fruits start to come from trees but the trees bloom wisteria like flowers.

Kanzashi was actually supposed to be assassinated but ran away.

Meet these three, primula, cyclamen and strenna.

Primula comes a flower called a primrose. Cyclamen comes from a flower with the same name.

Strenna comes from a goddess called Strenia. Strenia has a holiday in the new year in which gifts are given. One of does gifts are wreaths or flower crowns.

The reason why Primula and cyclamen joined the rikka was cause of an specific event that led to a large boom. They were all nearby a meltdown of an experiment. They became rikkas after they were saved by another pair of rikka.

Strenna was a little girl that was about to die by an avalanche.

This is a specific ability tied to strenna. She can power people up by giving them a flower crown or ornament. She can also summon other beings to help her. She summoned a penguin that beat up a dragon.

Primula and Cyclamen have a habit of waking on water to ice skate around. These twins both love playing children's games like hop scotch. They are going to meet a young boy and his "toy seller" of a brother.

Meet Snow drop and Hellebore

Snowdrop is named after a Snowdrop flower while hellebore is named after a genus of cold resistant flowering plants.

Snowdrop and Hellebore both saved primula and Cyclamen. These two are their current caretakers with strenna as the older sister of primula and Cyclamen. Snowdrop is going to meet a certain ginger.

How these two joined was cause they were lost in the woods looking for something. Hellebore was lost going to a funeral while Snowdrop was lost going to a wedding as a bridesmaid. The reason why they were lost was cause snowdrop's driver was drunk while Hellebore's had a seizure mid drive.

@nomorefstogive if you want to imagine what their home would look like the entrance of their home would look like a wedding venue. There are teardrop bouquets being tied to tries. Then their home is that of a castle made of snow and ice.

[maliceinborderland]

Hey! On the topic of kids, a thought: how do you think the AiB main cast would act and what would they do if they found a young kid in the Borderland?

I’m answering this hella late, but I’m finally in a place where I don’t feel cautious about going into my ask box, sooooo here it is!

Arisu, the shining poster child for all things moral, would 100% take the child under his wing and do all he can to protect the kid from any dangers, and quite literally do anything that he can to make sure the child lives because, let’s face it, no one wants a child’s death on their hands. The child would probably have a lot of questions and Arisu would do his best to answer them whilst doing everything he can to not scare the kid.

Usagi… if we’re talking about Usagi at the beginning, she probably wouldn’t think twice and leave the kid behind. She has one goa in mind and one goal only: survive. She doesn’t care who has to die as long as she lives, even if it’s a kid. They’d just have to tough it out. As the series progresses, Usagi’s sense of unity seems to grow, thanks to Arisu’s presence, and she’d probably go along with anything he decides. She’d initially be hostile towards the kid but eventually develop a sense of responsibility towards the child and look after it.

Chishiya, I honestly don’t see him bothering to care for a child. He’s an “every man for himself” sort of person and a child is no exception to the rule. A child is too much responsibility and too much of a hassle to take on in the Borderlands. If others are around he might feign interest and care for the child, but if it ever came between his life and the child’s he wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice the kid. Hands down. Despite being a resident at a hospital working to become a full fledged doctor in which you are required to swear and take an oath to protect human lives, Chishiya isn’t one to really care. Keep in mind, this a man who took a dying man’s final letter to his family, promising to get it to them, and threw it in the trash. This is who Chishiya is.

Kuina, like Arisu, is a person with a strong sense of morality and quite sensible. Since she is her mother’s caretaker outside of the borderlands, so being a caretaker comes naturally to her. She’d shield the child from any harm and offer to care for it. Despite having spent a lot of her time with Chishiya, Kuina is shown to have a stronger sense of right and wrong, and is works as a conscience for Chishiya, often expressing her dislike for his cold decisions, so this would greatly reflect when taking care of a child. She’d probably try and teach the kid some self defense moves, just the basics, enough to survive. I feel like out of all the women, she has the strongest maternal instincts of them all.

Hatter, this dude would 10/10 mold the child in his likeness. Take it under his wing, take it along with him in every game, making sure the militants protect them both. Hatter had a close relationship with his father, so he has a strong paternal instinct, as well. The child would be at his side at all times, even when showing “justice” to immigrants at the Beach so that the child would know that despite being cared for, that there was a hierarchy to follow.

Aguni… [SPOILER ALERT]if you’ve read the manga, you’d know exactly how he’d act if he came across a young individual in the borderlands, he’s not one to sugarcoat things and will call out childlike behavior as a nuisance and a disrespect for the lives that have been taken while the young individual remains. Aguni is a man of power, so he’d train the kid in order to gain more power and leverage in the games. Aguni had a tough childhood, and no real father figure, so I don’t think he’d be a perfect picture father figured but he was an SDF officer, and there’s a strong sense of camaraderie in the military.

Niragi, this may come as a wild card, and as shitty of a man he might be, I don’t think he’d stoop so low as to kill a kid or to leave it to die. Niragi is aware of the circumstances they’re in and if anyone belittles the kid and shoves them aside with little to no importance, I think Niragi would snap. He knows what it’s like to be cast aside and over his dead, charred body if anyone mistreats the kid under his watch. Niragi’s never really had friends and his relationship with his parents is quite strained, so he’d be flying blind when taking care of the kid. In his mind food, water, and a place to sleep we’re all the essentials to taking care of a kid. If they were old enough, he’d teach them how to use a gun, but not so that they’d be a militant. It was only to be used if they really, really needed it. In case of emergencies, ya know? He’d probably lose his marbles if in the middle of a game, he was stuck with a losing hand and fighting another player, and the child shot the other player. It’s not the fact that the kid fired the gun that has Niragi losing his shit. It’s that the kid fired it with their eyes closed and without even aiming properly.

Last Boss… sigh. What do we do with you, Takatora? This man gives no fucks, okay? 10/10 would slash the child up like butter. No fucks given. He lost any sense of human feelings after clearing his first game in the borderlands, this is something he himself admits.

Karube, I feel like he’d be like Usagi. Initially, I’d feel like he’d be a bit apprehensive about looking after a kid in the borderlands, but with Arisu’s intervention he’d probably give in and help watch over the kid. Would probably teach the kid how to use a switchblade or a Swiss Army knife, just for defense. I don’t see him wanting to establish any sort of emotional ties to the kid, though.

Chouta, we all saw how he warmed up to the schoolgirl from the first game and how he reassured her when she was scared. I like to believe Chouta wasn’t a total creep(as for manga Chouta, well…), as he seemed to show genuine concern for her, so I feel like he’d demonstrate similar concern towards a child.

[baya-ni]

How Ep 7 Gave Us More Reasons to Hate ADAM, Beyond Being a Homewrecker: a Short Essay

Ok look, I know that we all hate ADAM for a multitude of reasons including but not limited to: driving wedge between renga, traumatizing reki, engaging in weird pedophilic bullshit with Langa, and just being a creep in general. But it's this scene from ep 7 between ADAM and Tadashi in particular that really infuriates me...

And I don't see a lot of analysis of the truly horrid implications of this scene so I’ve taken it upon myself. In this essay, I’ll dive into ADAM/Tadashi flashback scene of ep 7, exploring the dynamics of their relationship through a class lens, and demonstrating the true extent to which ADAM deserves to be shot between the eyes. Ok let’s do it.

Early on in the season, we get a clear sense of ADAM's character as pompous and condescending, if not through the way he skates but through the way he treats his secretary; he degrades Tadashi, calls him names, shows no gratitude despite Tadashi’s unfailing service and compliance.

And ADAM's abuse of Tadashi culminates in ep 7, when we learn that ADAM plans on letting Tadashi take the fall for his acts of political corruption.

But what I find truly awful is the reason why ADAM is going to let Tadashi take the fall. In ep 7, we get this flashback:

So these scenes tell us is that ADAM was first groomed by his father (then later by his aunts) to occupy some position of great influence in society, in business, in politics, or something similar. He was probably born into great wealth (since his family could afford to send him to America for school) and was expected to take up the mantel as family patriarch or something like that.

And in this scene, it’s implied that in an attempt to get ADAM to finally “grow up”, his father forces him to give up skating, trashes his board, and sends him away to America. Tadashi witnesses this, and clearly sympathizes with ADAM, but doesn't speak up for him.

And supposedly, ADAM feels so betrayed by Tadashi's silence...

...That he carries this grudge into his adult life, and it fuels his abusive behavior towards Tadashi. This is so utterly fucked up for so many reasons.

This scene takes place when ADAM was still a teenager, which means that Tadashi has served as his assistant/secretary for many, many years. I wouldn't be surprised if Tadashi's family has been serving ADAM's family for generations; Tadashi's loyalty to ADAM despite the abuse seems to imply such is the case- he has an inherited obligation to remain at ADAM's side.

But I also do think that Tadashi genuinely cares for ADAM, at least the person he used to be. If Tadashi has been tied to ADAM's family since ADAM was a teen, it's likely that they grew up together, and were probably close friends. One can imagine that ADAM often confided in Tadashi, trusted him and shared with him his love for skating. And though ADAM had skating friends like CHERRY and JOE, Tadashi would be the only one to understand the full extent of the expectations placed on ADAM to give up anything unrelated to his career and the success of his family.

My point is that Tadashi obviously feels guilty about not speaking up- its probably a big reason why he's so determined to stay by ADAM's side and why goes along with every one of ADAM’s dangerous skating (and skating related) stunts. He failed to support ADAM in the past, so he does so now. But ADAM hasn't forgiven Tadashi and never will...

Rather, ADAM’s bitterness and resentment runs so deep, he sees Tadashi as nothing but a disposable tool.

But here’s the kicker, this backstory is some great drama (and I’ve been dying to know what the whole deal with Tadashi is) but the relationship between ADAM and Tadashi tells us a lot about what kind of person ADAM is, and why we should hate him for more than just being a renga homewrecker.

If we step back for a moment and and analyze the flashback a bit more objectively (that is, without much consideration for either of these characters’ personalities) what we have is a deeply troubling power imbalance.

Fundamentally, Tadashi is ADAM’s employee, and has been for all of ADAM’s adult life. No matter how fond ADAM might have been of Tadashi in the past, the gap in their wealth and class would have prevented them from ever being equals.

Tadashi has always had more to lose than ADAM.

And this holds especially true for the events of the flashback. What ADAM expected was for a Tadashi, who at the time couldn’t have been much older than ADAM, so literally a teenager, to jeopardize his livelihood by standing up to ADAM’s father, essentially the boss of his boss, in a culture that stresses respect for your superiors above almost all else, just so his skinny privileged ass could skateboard. It’s the entitlement and sheer willful Ignorance of that sentiment that really makes my skin crawl.

And again, this office scene illustrates an earlier point I made that Tadashi always has more to lose than ADAM.

See how despite whatever trauma ADAM experienced in being made to give up skating and being sent away to America, he’s now one of the wealthiest and most influential political figures in Japan such that he has police chief in his pocket. He’s one of the greatest skaters the underground skating scene has ever witnessed and the founder of S, the most popular skating race in the region.

He hasn’t suffered one bit, yet Tadashi has lost everything.

Blackmailed and abused, a forced accomplice and fall guy for ADAM’s political corruption, Tadashi is a hostage and a victim, all because of one moment many years ago when a teenage Tadashi dared to choose self preservation over self sacrifice.

It makes me sick.

But at the same time, cheers to the writers for getting me to hate a character so singularly for so many reasons. I’m now very invested in Tadashi’s character and I so hope we get to see him team up with The Gang and the Inspector to get ADAM’s ass thrown in jail.

So in sum, Eat The Rich, Tadashi supremacy, thank you all for coming to my TedTalk.