#because 1 even if they were ignorant that doesn't make them evil | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gabgabwrites · 1 month ago

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DEVIL WEARS PINK | Eddie Munson [pt. 1]

summary ⇝ Eddie can’t help but be utterly infatuated with you, hawkins high’s most popular, prissy and preppy girl, who has one mean, vile streak for everyone, everyone but him.

warnings ⇝ bitchy!reader, language, bullying, mentions of divorce, sexual towards the end but overall not too bad, did I mention reader is a BULLY?? Ik there’s no smut, but mdni

part 2

You're everything Eddie doesn't like (or so he thought)

You dress in pink, you're preppy, you're popular. You're known to have the 'wrong' kind of fun, your type is jocks as jacked up dudes. Everyone at Hawkins High is scared of you on different degrees as you've been known to lash out.

That's why people thought you were trying to manipulate Eddie when you were spotted one day, leaning over his desk and talking to him, or when you'd greet him in the halls, even with a quick wave.

"Dude! She's psycho! How can you not see that she's trying to dig her talons into you and brainwash you?!" Dustin screamed as the group sat at a cafeteria table.

"She's not that bad..." Eddie quietly replies.

"Oh no, l'm afraid you've already been brainwashed!" Dustin clutched his chest in panic, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "It's too late!"

"Come on man, it's not that big a deal!" Eddie groaned, leaning back in his chair.

"It kinda is," Mike shrugged. "She is like the devil in pink, don't you know what she did to Greasy McGregor?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, "what exactly did she do to McGregor?"

"She pretended like she wanted to, y'know...shaboink him in the janitors closet, stole all his clothes—and I mean all, then locked him inside." Dustin told him.

"When the janitor opened the closet, McGregor came running out, not caring about being covered," Mike said with a shake of his head. "He was the laughing stock for the whole month."

"...did you just say shaboink?" He laughed out loud, "man, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And he's fine now, isn't he?"

The other boys exclaimed nervous looks.

"His dad had to enroll him in a different school in Barcelona."

"Yeah, cause that's soooo terrible, living in Spain,” Eddie rolled his eves again. "You're definitely overreacting."

Dustin shook his head, looking down and picking up a mini carrot before dipping it in the humus. "Point is, she's crazy and you're next."

"Or, hear me out, maybe I'm the first person to realise that she's actually a nice person. Crazy, huh?" he said sarcastically, waving his hands mockingly.

"Insane." Jeff mumbled.

Eddie crossed his arms and gave Jeff a pointed look, "Just because you think she's evil, doesn't make it true, you'd be shocked at how wrong you really are."

"Oh yeah? Then why is she laughing at Caity?" Mike jerked his chin to your direction, where you and your two tight knit friends were giggling at the poor girl who had her yogurt accidentally spurt all over her. Eddie turned his head, frowning as he caught sight of Caity wiping her face desperately with a handful of napkins.

He bit his lip, contemplating whether or not to say something or just ignore it.

"She's—." he started, but just sighed and shut his mouth, looking back down at his food.

"Save it dude, there's no point."

"Yeah, guess you're right." He said after a few moments, pushing his food around his plate, "Maybe I was wrong. She is kind of a dick."

"Oh yeah, big time." Dustin shook his head, the boys went back to talk about other stuff.

For the rest of lunch, Eddie kept his eyes down at his food, not daring to look anywhere near your direction, just keeping a low profile.

He got out of his seat as the bell signaled the start of the next class. He grabbed his food and tray, walking them over to the garbage bin and dumping the contents inside before throwing away the tray.

"Right...time for English..." he mumbled under his breath before turning around and walking out of the cafeteria.

Eddie contemplated skipping, but he had more absentees than present classes, and Wayne had scolded him so many times.

He let out a sigh as he made his way down the hallway.

"Why the hell do I even care..." He whispered to himself. He kept his head down as he walked, kicking himself mentally for thinking you might be anything other than what everyone told him you were.

"Hey, Eddie." You said, as you passed his desk. You were clutching your pink note book that had poorly drawn designs on it. You gave him a sugary smile that stretched across your glossy lips as he looked up.

Eddie looked up once more, his breath hitched as he was met with the bright smile that almost seemed to burn into his skull. He took a shaky breath before replying, "Uh, hey."

"I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out this weekend? There's this new Italian restaurant that opened and I've been wanting to go." You told him, shifting your weight from one foot to the other.

Eddie stared up at you, completely taken aback as you asked him to hangout with you.

This was the last thing he expected when he was warned to stay away from you.

But that wasn't what surprised him the most, no, what surprised him the most was that he wanted to say yes.

He swallowed hard, trying to find his voice as he stared at your face.

"What...me? You want to hangout... with me?" He asked quietly, trying not to seem to dumbfounded at the question.

"Do you know another Eddie?"

"No,” He chuckled, shaking his head. "But, I mean, don't you have other people you'd rather hang out with? People a lot cooler and more fun than me?"

"Cooler? Yeah. Fun? Maybe," you dropped down, leaning your elbows against his desk, your low cut top falling down a tiny bit. Your strawberry and blossoms scent filled Eddie's space. "But not as interesting as you." You whispered.

Eddie felt his jaw nearly drop as he got a better smell of your scent.

He tried his best to keep his eyes on yours, but you were giving him a hard time trying to do that as he tried not to let his gaze fall down to your chest.

"I'm—,” he was struggling with words again, looking down at your top for a split second. "I'm interesting?"

"Oh yeah, totally." Your voice was almost like a purr as you brought your manicured fingers to his hair, before gently grabbing a few strands and twirling it. Eddie's body felt like it was on fire from your words alone, and he had to fight himself to not shiver as you played with his hair.

He bit his lip, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart before speaking, "You sure you want to hangout with a freak like me?"

"Uhuh, I like freaks." Just as your words finished, Mrs O'Nelly entered the classroom, leaving you to smirk before pushing yourself off his desk and walking to yours.

Eddie nearly let out a swear word and just sat in shock, as he watched you waltz away back to your seat, leaving him completely flustered.

He sat there for a few seconds before looking forward and taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down. His mind kept going back to your words and your touch, burning the memory into his mind.

He had to snap himself out of it when class started, but he was barely paying attention all class, his mind occupied on just one thing.

Class had ended, and Eddie was quick to turn around, only to find you gone.

Eddie's eyes widened as he looked at your now empty seat, disappointment filling his chest.

He couldn't understand how he could be so upset over something so small. He never usually cared about girls like this, not even the girls in his D&D party were an exception.

He pushed his chair in and let out a huff as he picked up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

"You're fucked, Munson." He whispered to himself as he raced out of there. He decided to screw the rest of his classes and leave to go to Family Video, where he knew he'd find Steve.

Eddie walked in, raising his eyebrows as he saw Steve behind the counter.

"Hey, Harrington." He called out to Steve, walking over to grab some tapes from the nearest shelf.

"Oh, hey dude. Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Yeah, but a couple of free periods won't hurt, right?" Eddie answered, waving a hand dismissively as he set the tapes down on the counter. He leaned on the countertop, letting out a sigh.

Steve just frowned before taking the tapes and scanning them, snickering on the stupid Sci-Fi and horror names. "Uh, what's up?"

Eddie huffed, "Oh nothing... well—actually...I need your help with something,” Eddie ran a hand through his hair, looking down at the counter in front of him. "Okay, promise you won't laugh at me?" Eddie looked up at Steve expectingly, biting his lip anxiously.

"I don't do promises." Steve told him as he put the tapes in a packet.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "Whatever, just don't laugh and try to be helpful. Now, tell me something...hypothetically speaking, right?" Eddie leaned in on the counter. "If a girl...and let's say this is also hypothetically a girl who's considered to be...popular for 'the wrong reasons', what would you say if she asked you to hangout?"

Steve gave him a confused look. "What wrong reasons, Eddie?"

"Uh...let's say she's been called a bully..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "A dick to more than just some kids at school, in fact, a whole bunch of the school."

Steve blew air out his mouth. "She wants to hangout with you?"

"Yeah, yeah, see, it's crazy, right?" Eddie threw his hands up. "Like, what reasons could she have? It's probably just one of her tricks, right? She's probably trying to get blackmail or something to hold over me, or hell, to hold over all of us."

"Did you ask her why?"

Eddie stared at Steve with a 'are you kidding me' look. "Are you insane? How am I supposed to ask her that without sounding like a complete and total idiot? Come on, man!"

"I don't know! Who is she anyways?"

Eddie paused, hesitating to say it for a split second before sighing, "promise you'll keep it to yourself?"

"I said I don't do promises." Steve put his hands up in surrender.

"God Damnit Harrington, fine!" Eddie grumbled in frustration before telling Steve your name.

Steve's eyebrows rose. "Oh, I remember her. Did you hear what she did to Greasy McGregor?"

"Yeah, Dustin told me all about it." Eddie rolled his eyes, "It doesn't matter anyway, what the hell am I supposed to do? She wants me to hangout with her, like actually hangout, and I have no idea what to do! It's driving me crazy!"

"Do you like her?" Steve winced.

Eddie froze, his eyes widened as he looked at Steve.

"No!" He said quickly, shaking his head. "Absolutely not! Wh-what gave you that idea?"

"I don't know, man. Look if you really don't like her, say no, easy."

"Yeah, yeah, easy...simple," He said, sighing before leaning his chin on his hand. He then sat up and groaned again, "God, I'm gonna sound like an idiot, but say, hypothetically, that I did like her. What do I do then?"

Steve looked at Eddie, his mouth opening to say something before a third voice popped in. "Don't listen to him for girl related issues!" It was Robin.

Eddie spun around, his mouth falling open a bit as he saw Robin peeking out from one of the shelves behind him.

"Jesus—you need to stop doing that, Buckley!" He exclaimed.

"If you do hypothetically like her, go out with her, but, she is a total wacko who will bite your head off, both of them, so perhaps take a gun and a knife and bear spray and a laser gun, do those even exist?" She rambled.

Eddie let his head fall back as he heard Robin's response. "Okay...yeah great idea...just turn the hangout into a whole damn military mission..." he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes once more.

"Look, maybe say no, and see her reaction? Take that as a hint to what you do after."

Eddie's mind went back to your smile, your laugh, your touch, that stupid strawberry and blossom smell—He shook his head harshly to snap himself out of it. He let out a sigh as he nodded, "Yeah...yeah, you're right. Thanks, Robin."

"But I still say bring the bazooka...just in case." Robin added jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up..." Eddie smiled at her, flipping her off jokingly. The rest of the week was torture for Eddie. His mind was constantly plagued with thoughts of you. No matter how hard he tried to forget, he always ended up thinking of your beautiful smile or your laugh that echoed in his head endlessly.

He avoided eye contact with you, knowing very well he'd be lost the moment he looked at your sparkling eyes and your glossy lips that looked so delectably addictive that it made him weak in the knees. Eddie was unusually quiet at DnD night

The party all shot each other looks as they played, watching Eddie closely as he seemed to be distracted with his own thoughts.

At one point, Dustin leaned over to Lucas and whispered, "What’s with him?"

"I don't know dude."

Mike looked back at Eddie. "Earth to Eddie." He called out. "You paying attention there?"

Eddie snapped out whatever trance he was in. "Uh, yeah, yeah."

The boys exchanged another look, all of them knowing it was a lie.

"Dude, you've been off the entire week. You sure you're good?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'm fine, are you fine? You don't look fine? Does he look fine to everyone?" Eddie went of a word splurge.

The other boys all mumbled, "uhh... yeah...he's fine."

"Dude, we're not the ones that have been zoned out the entire week." Dustin said as he folded his arms.

Eddie frowned. "Right, sorry, back to the game..." he mumbled. "Where were we? Oh, so then the Paladin class gets attacked." He picked up the di, and threw them against the table.

The next day, Eddie came into school looking as though he'd been dragged through a bush of thorns. His hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes, and just looked incredibly exhausted.

He went through his classes in a daze, barely paying attention to anything that was said the whole time.

It wasn't until the bell rang signalling lunch that he snapped out of it for the first time that day. He sat at the table, picking at the folds of the cardboard juice box

He poked at his food with the plastic fork in his hand, his mind wandering all over the place.

He was snapped out of it when Mike's voice called out to him, "Eddie...dude... you look like crap."

"Well, gee thanks, Wheeler."

Mike huffed, raising his eyebrows, "Well, have you slept at all this week? Like at all?"

Eddie was going to say something, when the sounds of all too expensive high heels clacked towards them. Eddie's eyes widened as his breath hitched, knowing exactly who those hitched, knowing exactly who those expensive high heels belonged to.

Just like everyone else at the table, he looked up as you approached the table, all eyes falling on you.

The corners of your mouth lifted, but the smile was bitter, your eyes raked over everyone, biting your tongue to stop yourself from saying something about the way they stared and glared. "Hey, Eds."

'Eds?' the boys internally screamed

Eddie took a sharp breath, his hands clenched at his sides tightly as you spoke, using that stupid nickname that you always used.

He tried to speak through his dry throat. "H-hey.....what's up?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you accepted my invite?" You asked, dustin shot Eddie a deranged look of confusion. Why hadn't Eddie told them?

Eddie's mind was running a thousand miles a minute as you spoke, his heart feeling like it was going explode in his chest.

He could feel the table of boys looking at him, all of them curious why he'd never mentioned anything about your hangout.

He cleared his throat, "Uh... that...yeah... about that—."

He was cut off when Dustin spoke up,

"What're you talking about?"

Great, just what he needed. Eddie shot Dustin a look, silently screaming at him to shut up.

"Did Eddie not tell you?" You asked with a tilt of your chin. "Well since you're all friends I thought he would."

Eddie's eye twitched, his hand gripping the table as hard as it could.

"Oh yeah...l forgot..." he said through clenched teeth.

"So do you want to go?"

Eddie wanted to say no. He really did.

He didn't want to fall for you. He didn't want to get dragged into whatever games you had up your sleeve.

But something inside him said yes.

Something that whispered to him that maybe you were being more sincere than everyone gave you credit for.

With all eyes burning into him, he finally answered, "Sure...I'll go with you."

Your smile broadened, it was one of those post cover girl smiles that you'd see models give to a camera, hard to tell if it's artificial or not. "Mkay, great. I'll meet you there at seven tomorrow, do you want my number to keep in touch?"

The sight of your smile alone made his stomach turn upside down, his heart thudding against his ears.

"Yeah...yeah, sure..." He was able to say, trying desperately to keep himself from sounding like and idiot and failing miserably.

He could feel the group of boys practically burn holes into the back of his head as they continued to stare, but that was the least of his worries right now.

You looked up. "Does anyone here have a marker?"

Mike, who was sitting just closest to you, reached into his backpack and pulled out a black sharpie, reaching it out to you, "Here."

"Thanks," When your nails scraped against his fingers as you took the marker, Mike could've sworn you had talons, long, thick talons you probably used to shred apart your victims. "Arm." You instructed, pointing to Eddie's arm.

Eddie was reluctant at first, but he slowly pulled up his sleeve, holding out his arm for you.

He tried to ignore the group of boys' stares and questioning glances that were thrown his way.

You uncapped the marker before writing for your number across his pale, freckled skin, even adding a big heart next to the last digit.

Eddie could do nothing but sit there, letting you write your number on his arm, trying to pay as little mind as possible to the boys behind him that were no doubt watching you like hawks.

When you finished, Eddie quickly pulled his sleeve back down and shoved his arm back under the table.

"I'll see you there, later boys!" You gave them all one last look before spinning around and leaving.

Eddie watched you leave, his eyes lingering on you until you disappeared from his sight.

Once you were gone, he whipped around and let out an irritated sigh before glancing at the gawking faces of the boys.

"What the actual heck!?" Dustin exclaimed

Eddie looked from Dustin's confused face to the rest of the boys'.

They all looked beyond clueless and utterly dumbfounded.

"Look, it's not what you think—." he started, holding his hands up in defense.

"Yeah? Then what is it?" Gareth snapped.

Eddie rubbed his face, his brain feeling like it was going to explode. "I don't know...I don't know...one minute she's asking me to hangout and the next she's writing her number on my arm!"

Eddie took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, his leg bouncing up and down under the table.

"Don't tell me you like her." Dustin groaned.

Eddie's heart stopped in his chest for split second. "What?! No! Hell no! Where on earth would you ever get that idea?!" He exclaimed, waving his hands around dramatically.

He didn't like you, he didn't like you, he didn't like you. He repeated it over and over again in his head like a mantra.

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? If you don't like her then rub off her number."

Eddie's heart thumped in his chest once more, racing like a thousand horses stampeding against his ears.

He had to bite back the urge to cry 'no!' over and over again, trying desperately over and over again, trying desperately to come up with some excuse in his mind.

He looked at his arm and the numbers that sat so perfectly on his skin, his eyes burning at the idea of erasing it, the idea of losing that link to you.

"Go on..."

His heart was going going a million miles a minute, racing like never before.

He knew he had to do it. There was no way he'd be able to explain to any of the boys how you'd made him melt from just a single smile and a touch.

He let out a shaky sigh, before using his sleeve to wipe the numbers from his skin, his heart aching as he did so.

The numbers began to blend into each other, Mike even went as far as grabbing the small sanitiser bottle his mom made him keep, and squirted some on Eddie's arm.

Eddie kept his eyes on his now clean arm, the numbers now gone, completely gone.

It didn't make him feel better. It didn't take away the aching throb in his chest at the idea of you.

"Good, glad to see you've gone back to your senses." Dustin clapped Eddie on the back.

Eddie's face contorted uncomfortably, his heart twisting as Dustin patted him on the back, nodding in approval.

He let out another sigh but said nothing, keeping his eyes on his blank arm.

Eddie looked to the side, where he saw you, talking to Barb. Eddie grimaced slightly at the sight, knowing full well that you only used her to your advantage.

He could make out the faint sound of your laughter floating toward him, that annoying, stupid sound that made his heart backflip in his chest every single time.

The weekend rolled by, and Eddie had to distract himself from knowing that it was close to seven, the time you had wanted to meet. He didn't know the restaurant's name, he didn't know where it was to begin with. He'd asked Wayne about it and Wayne said he didn't know of a new Italian restaurant that popped up.

Ultimately, he decided to ditch you.

Eddie sat on the couch in the trailer, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Wayne had gone on a night shift, leaving Eddie by himself in the house. For once he actually wished Wayne was home, just so someone would keep him company. He checked the time, five minutes to seven. You'd be there soon.

Eddie let out a sigh as he checked the time on his watch once more. It was five minutes past seven.

He couldn't understand why he could still feel the aching throb in his chest as the minutes ticked past.

Part of him couldn't help it by wondering if you were pissed at him for what he'd done, but he also couldn't deny the other part that was silently hoping you would be pissed. At least that'd show you actually cared.

Eddie groaned, digging a hand into his pocket before pulling out a blunt, he thought that by smoking it, it would dissolve all his worries, and all thoughts of you.

Eddie lit the blunt, holding it up to his lips and taking a deep drag.

He blew out a cloud of smoke, hoping that it would help calm his racing mind and quell the painful throb in his chest.

But it didn't.

If anything, it made everything worse.

The high seemed to make him more hyper aware of everything his surroundings, the silence of the home, the pain in his chest.

His heart rate was up, his leg was bouncing up and down, and no matter how hard he tried to shut you out of his mind, you were still there, constantly reminding him of that aching in his chest.

He took another drag of the blunt, holding onto it for a few seconds before letting out a harsh breath, blowing out another cloud of grey smoke.

Eddie felt on end on Monday, if you found him you'd probably be mad, he'd be killed on spot. Eddie actually had yet to see you in the halls, or in class, but you hadn't come. In done way, he was thankful.

Eddie had tried to stay as low key as possible through the day. He sat through his classes, his leg bouncing as usual and his mind elsewhere.

He'd constantly looked ahead himself, bracing for the possibility that you would pop out right in front of him, but you never did.

He'd even scanned the cafeteria during lunch, praying you wouldn't pop up out of nowhere and confront him. But once again, you never did.

He didn't know whether to be thankful that you hadn't appeared, or upset. It was killing him not knowing where you were or what you were thinking.

But, the last thing he wanted to seem was obsessed with you and your whereabouts, so he played it safe and didn't ask anyone about you.

And it turned out, you'd be absent the whole week.

During the week, Eddie found it impossible to focus on anything. The lack of you anywhere in the school was a constant distraction.

He found himself listening out for your voice, or your laughter, any little sign that you were there.

He'd even looked out for you in the parking lot, hoping beyond hope that the BMW would pull in. But it never did.

So Eddie was back at Family Video after school on Friday, Eddie had actually attended every class and stayed the whole school day in hopes of seeing you.

Eddie had practically dragged himself into Family Video, slumping himself against one of the display cases.

He felt tired, both physically and mentally.

He rubbed his face in exhaustion, his mind racing as he tried to think about where you were and why he hadn't seen you all week.

"You look like you've had a rough week."

Suddenly Steve's voice echoed out through the store, drawing Eddie's attention. Steve stood by the counter, a smirk on his face as he looked Eddie up and down.

"You could say." Eddie sighed.

Steve leaned against the counter, folding his arms and letting out hum.

"You're usually in a good mood by Friday. But you look worse than Dustin when he's lost his D&D book."

Eddie snorted.

Steve chuckled, raising an eyebrow as his eyes darted along Eddie's face.

"Let me guess, this has to do with a girl." Steve stated.

"It's just, everyone, and I mean everyone says she's awful, yet the few times we've talked she's been fine. Then last week she wrote her number on my arm, but I got held at gunpoint to get rid of it, I flunked our...hangout—which I said yes to, sorry. Thought she's yell at me on Monday, only for her to be absent this entire week."

Steve let out a small whistle, his eyes widening at Eddie's words.

"Yeah...that's not good, man." He said, letting out a sigh, "but, what do you mean you got held at gun point to erase her number?"

"The whole group said if I didn't have feelings for her, l'd have to erase her number off my arm. Ugh, I'm so stupid."

Steve rolled his eyes, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Oh come on, the group was clearly being over dramatic. You could've ignored them."

He folded his arms once more, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Eddie.

"It was either that, or they never talk to me again over some stupid, dumb, mean, terrible... pretty, girl."

Steve chuckled once again.

"You think she's pretty?" He shot at Eddie, a sly smirk on his face.

Eddie sighed, dreamily. "Yeah, man. She has such soft looking hair, and pretty eyes, and her smiled, dude, let me tell you."

Steve made a face that looked like a mixture of amused and bewildered.

"Damn man, you've got it bad. " he said, leaning even more on the counter.

"I know." Eddie mumbled, solemnly.

Steve sighed, pity in his eyes as he watched his friend wallow in his own misery.

"Look man, you like her, a lot. But the rest of your friends hate her guts, it's not going to end well." Steve said with a shrug, "how do you even know if she actually likes you?" "I..." the words died on his tongue. 'Don't' he wanted to say.

Steve seemed to notice the change in Eddie's demeanor, taking a more softer approach. "You don't know whether she likes you or not, do you?"

Eddie looked over at Steve, with sad eyes.

It was then that his heart dropped to the depths of hell when he heard a laugh.

Your laugh.

Eddie stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening at the sound of your laughter.

The sound of you brought a flurry of mixed emotions, ranging from worry to excitement. His heart was back to its usual race from that familiar thump, thump, thump and his palms became sweaty.

Eddie whipped his head and peered round the corner where you stood with your friends, laughing at the funny covers of some of the films. Eddie swallowed thickly at the sight of you. You looked, well, you looked amazing, as usual.

He scanned your face, his eyes roaming over every feature of your face, his heart aching when your mouth curled up into that familiar smile.

He watched as you picked up a copy of The Thing, examining the cover and giggling with your friends.

All he wanted to do was go over there and talk to you, to be next to you, but he stayed rooted to the spot, watching you with a mixture of dread and relief.

"I'm going to go find a worker, I'll be back." You said to your friends, before turning around in search of a staff member.

Eddie felt his heart thump in his chest as your friends nodded and said their goodbyes to you. He watched you turn towards the counter, praying to all the gods, new and old, that you somehow missed seeing him.

Steve had to go attend to your needs, being one of the few staff on the clock.

Eddie let out an internal sigh of relief as Steve stepped out from behind the counter and went to serve you, which left him out of sight of you for the time being.

He slumped against the display once more, his eyes on you and Steve talking.

"Do you have a copy of Heathers?" You asked, nails drumming against the counter. Steve's eyes widened at your choice of movie, before he quickly covered it up with a smile.

He glanced over his shoulder for a split second, making eye contact with Eddie, before refocusing on you. "Yeah, we do have a copy, I'll go find it for you." He said, walking past you and heading into the back.

You nodded as you waited for him to get it.

Once Steve was out of sight, Eddie's eyes were immediately drawn to you once more, watching you quietly.

He let he eyes roam over the familiar features of your face, the features that he'd been thinking about for the past week. He was trying desperately not to notice the pang in his heart as he looked at you.

Before he knew what was happening, Steve was back, a copy of the film in his hand. He placed it on the counter next to you, ringing it up with a smile.

"Oh, and one more thing, tell Eddie I say hi, I know he's hiding behind that shelf." You told Steve before grabbing the bag and leaving.

Eddie froze. How did you know he was there?

When he was sure you were gone, he peered out from behind the shelf, an utterly bewildered look on his face. Steve was standing at the counter, trying desperately not to laugh at Eddie's dumbstruck expression. "She said hi, by the way." He said with an amused smile on his face.

"How did she know I was here!?" Eddie exclaimed, standing up from his hiding place and approaching the desk.

"Well it's not every day you see some guy dressed in leather and denim hiding in the soap opera section."

Eddie made a face at that, but chose not to comment.

Instead, he slammed his hands down on the counter, leaning forwards and looking at Steve.

"Did she look angry?" Steve shook his head. "She wasn't pissed?" Eddie asked, his heartbeat picking up once again. It was a good thing, right? You weren't mad, so that had to mean you were fine with what he'd done.

"There was no look of death in those pretty little eyes of hers." Steve replied, a smirk on his face.

Eddie gave him a look at his choice of words.

"What?" Steve said, his smirk only widening. "I'm just stating the facts."

He let out a small chuckle at Eddie's expression, a slightly amused look in his eyes.

Eddie grumbled a goodbye before leaving

"Bye!" Steve called out as Eddie turned and left the store.

Steve let out a small chuckle as he watched him go.

"Oh yeah, he's definitely got it bad."

Eddie was back at home, the air on had bust, and Eddie was dying. He'd long taken off his shirt and changed into black pair of shorts as he lounged around

The fan was on, but it was doing nothing to cool him down. He'd stripped down to just a pair of black shorts, his bandana in its usual spot on his forehead.

He slumped down onto the sofa, his chest and face glistening with sweat as he tried in vain to keep cool.

knock knock knock.

Eddie groaned as the sound echoed out through the home.

He knew he should have ignored it, hoping whoever it was would just go away. But he couldn't, he found himself stumbling off the sofa and walking to the door, opening it.

And there you were.

Standing there, a small, hesitant smile on your face, with your arms folded.

Eddie froze, eyes widening at the sight of you.

Surely this was just a hallucinations from the heat. A trick of the mind, or a fantasy come to life.

It was only when you spoke that he realised this was, in fact, real, and you were actually here, at his front door.

"Can I come in?" You asked, looking up at him through your lashes.

Eddie realised he'd been stood in stunned silence for probably way too long. He quickly shook himself from his daze, and realised he hadn't answered your question. Quickly, he nodded.

"Yeah...yeah, of course, come in." He said, standing aside and letting you inside.

Eddie began to feel conscious of the fact you had now seen him shirtless, you had indeed seen his few tattoos he'd gotten.

He didn't mind anyone seeing, in fact he wanted people to know about his sick tattoos, but there was something about you.

You sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't show up on Saturday."

Ok good, he thought, you wouldn't have known he also didn't show up.

Eddie shrugged gently, sitting down on the couch and watching as you sat on the armchair opposite him.

"It's all good."

It was silent for a few moments.

Eddie was silently thanking the gods you'd shown up in a simple vest, and jean shorts. The look was innocent, but for some reason, it was making the breath get caught in his throat.

You chewed on your bottom lip. "You're not mad?"

Eddie quickly shook his head. "Of course not."

He wasn't mad. In fact, he was overjoyed that you'd came here of your own free will, that you actually wanted to seek him out.

He took in a deep breath, trying desperately not to let his eyes linger on the way your vest hugged your body.

You nodded. "Okay, okay good. It's just, something came up and that's why l've been absent, I don't think you would've noticed."

Eddie had to resist the urge to laugh.

He'd noticed your absence painfully well, it had been all he had thought about all week.

He tried to keep his cool though, not wanting to come on too strong.

"What happened?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at you.

You looked down at your lap. "Can I trust you?"

That question caught Eddie off guard.

He leaned forward a little, studying your face, the way your face was contorted into one of slight worry.

"Yeah, you can trust me." He said, nodding once.

"You sure? You won't go around and tell everyone?" You asked, before taking in a breath. "I know how I act so you could use this as dirt on me."

Eddie had to once again stop himself from laughing at your words. No, he wouldn't use this as 'dirt' on you.

Why would he do that? He wasn't going to run off with the news the moment you told him what was going on.

He shook his head once more. "I won't tell a soul."

You nodded. "My parents are...they're no longer staying together," You head dropped. "It's just been hard at home."

Hearing that information shocked Eddie.

Your parents, the parents who always seemed so put together, and happy.

They weren't together anymore?

"Jesus..." He mumbled, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

"I mean, it's no excuse to be a shitty person, I guess l've been deflecting on others," You sighed. "Um, I should go."

At that, Eddie spoke up.

"Wait!" He exclaimed, stopping you as you moved to get up.

You froze, and slowly turned to look at him. Eddie swallowed thickly, his heart beating quickly in his chest.

"You don't have to leave just yet." He said, trying to keep a sense of control in his voice. He took a shaky breath."I mean, it's a hell of a lot hotter outside. You'll fry in that summer sun."

You let out an amused huff of air at his words. "I suppose you're right."

Eddie tried to ignore the way your voice sent a shiver down his spine.

"Stay a while." He said, attempting to maintain the cool, casual demeanour. "It's lonely here by myself."

"I bet." You grinned as you walked over to him before sitting down besides him.

Suddenly the air felt hotter for Eddie.

Your proximity was doing a number on him.

He could almost feel the warmth of your skin against his own, and suddenly the heat was back with double the force.

He was trying desperately to keep his eyes on your face, and not roam over the skin of your legs which were left on show with those shorts.

"U-Uh, you want one?" Eddie stammered before he picked up a cooler, showing you a range of popsicles.

He mentally cursed his own voice for how it caught in his throat.

He hoped to the gods you didn't notice the way his voice had wavered.

"Sure, why not?"

You picked up a red one, cherry flavoured, before pushing the treat out the packaging and wrapping your lips around it. You let out a small groan as the flavour seeped into your mouth and the colour stained your lips.

And there went any hope of Eddie remaining even remotely cool, or casual.

Your eyes flickered over to his, and he swore he could cum on spot. Your lips popped off the popsicle as you tilted it in his direction. "You want a taste?"

Heat immediately rushed to Eddie's cheeks as your words sent a jolt straight to his core.

He swallowed thickly, his eyes roaming over your face and landing on your lips, cherry stained and covered in the red liquid.

"U-Uh...sure." He said, clearing his throat.

"Open up." He hated how quickly he obeyed your command. Without another word, he parted his lips for you. Waiting.

You brought the cold treat to his lips, watching as they closed around the part you had previously sucked on.

Eddie tried desperately to focus on anything but the sight of your lips on that popsicle, the image burned into the back of his mind for later.

He felt the coldness of the flavour against his tongue, and he let out a soft moan around the popsicle.

"Do you like it?" You asked softly. Eddie didn't want to tell you he'd had this flavour a dozen times, yet none tasted as sweet as this one.

In fact, he was going to buy a whole box just so he could remember this taste.

He nodded, the popsicle still in his mouth, before pulling it from his lips.

"Yeah... do." He said in a low voice, his eyes still trained on your cherry stained lips.

Your eyes watched as a small, red dropped dribbled down the corner of his lip. "Can I clean that up?"

A shiver ran down his spine at that, and he couldn't stop the way that heat once again pooled in his stomach. He let out a shaky breath before slowly nodding his head, his eyes still locked with yours.

What he didn't expect was for you to crane your neck, and to feel your tongue brush his bottom lip, before your lips cushioned around it as you gently sucked the juice off.

He swore time stopped entirely, and all he could focus on was the feeling of your tongue on his lip, cleaning up the sticky liquid left behind by the popsicle.

The heat flared, and he couldn't control the low, guttural moan that escaped his lips.

"Well, fuck me." He mumbled to himself, as he watched you innocently go back to enjoying your popsicle. He had to throw a pillow over his lap, and ignore the feeling of him aching between the legs

Eddie was thankful for the fact you'd gone back to eating that popsicle like nothing had happened, as if you hadn't just made him let out that pitiful moan.

He shuffled in his seat, attempting to create some pressure for himself as he gritted his teeth together.

#gabgabwrites #my works ✎#x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things eddie #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson

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erabu-san · 2 months ago

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You are literally French. What would you know about any of this, an issue and drama stirred up by anericans.

Blackwashing exists and is used by bigots that hate white people. Its used to erase the ethnicity of asians just because people dont think they are "poc enough" because of their pale skin. Its used to demonize people with pale skin because its becoming more and more the norm to view anyone with pale skin as evil. That anyone who is "too pale" isnt enough or a human being.

They arent real people, and their skintones are fine as is. You wouldnt go up to, for example an albino or mixed race black/poc person and tell them they arent "dark enough". They dont even need to be special like that to be pale. Some just are pale.

Whether you think there should be more characters that are dark or not is not the issue. Its that you think they wouldnt be/arent good enough as is with pale skin that shows how much of a bigot you are.

Blackwashing is not the progressive act you think it is. Its obvious that your only experience with it is through genshin drama. You obviously know nothing about how much red haired pale characters & asian ones are substituted with black characters. How characters are simply replaced in the name of "diversity". How this forced inclusivity and diversity is just bigots trying to "get revenge" on the white people they hate so much, and to tick off DEI boxes on their little bigoted checklist.

You tell me to educate myself but its actually YOU who needs to be educated.

Many are complaining about sumeru and natlan characters with names similar to gods in cultures of our world that are pale when their inspiration is dark skinned. Claiming they want representation and for it to be accurate, to reflect our world on a 1-1 scale.

Yet these same people will make xiao, zhongli, Ei, and many more asian characters darker " because asians can be dark skinned too". Yet so can mostly dark skinned races be pale.

So why cant you (gen) respect such characters, who are gods and divine beings based on a culture where pale is more beautiful, and gods of such cultures are pale?

There is hypocrisy in everything to do with blackwashing. Its okay when its done to pale characters because in real life black people have been oppressed? But these characters are not real, nor are they a reflection of our reality, as far as we have seen they dont even have racism in this fictional world.

It is one thing to explore a character like with the recent hatsune miku trend, atleast there most people arent going at each other's throats saying black miku is better than japanese miku(as far as i have seen)

Seriously how can you even begin to justify this. And who ever told you that dark skinned characters "scare white people" is an absolute fucking liar trying to justify their own bigotry towards white people.

No black washing IS just as disgusting as whitewashing. Neither should exist, and you shouldn't feed into the stupid circle jerk of bigotry that both of them are.

Aaaah that's what I like ! Yes ! Thank you for telling me your opinion, explaining what is wrong. I absolutely love to learn, and I prefer to read this long text calling me ignorant and explaining why that just a simple text of you saying you are annoyed by a fanart.

Thank you for telling me ! First yes I am french, and indeed my culture has more an european pov. But again, I also grow up as a minority "race" with my parents culture !🙏 in france, i don't look like a french. Well. Still I am aware that it doesn't remove anything from what I said

And I totally agree with you, some are just pale !! It just happens I draw Kinich black because I like it like this. Is Kinich true inspiration are actually pale ? Tell me more, I wish to learn !!

Tbh when you talk abt gods being pale is beautiful, I thought about Nahida. I did research when she were out and yes, I do agree, there is character who are fine as they are.

And because I live in France I also see "dark skin scare white" as a true fact. It happens and it is harmful. 🧍 not only in France tho, in country where pale skin is portrayed as beautiful, people who have tan skin are less represented even if it is the majority. I suppose the contrary happens too !!

"Character are not real" and yet you are annoyed, I guess it is the action of "blackwash" that make you mad, more than "a fictional character w diffent skin tone" tho! My opinion is fiction does affect real world, as do real life affects fiction, and this is something I won't debate on

"They don't have racism in this fictional world" sorry but it does in Sumeru. 🙏 about this one npc she is reject by forest and desert because of them being mixed, desert not being access to book and even Cyno said his scholarship was complicated because he is from desert

If you wish to continue, please send me DM with arguments. I don't know if I would change my mind of not drawing Kinich pale, but I am super interested about what you have to say !! 👍👍

#reply

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chaifootsteps · 3 months ago

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I think the thing that bugs me most about the 'Stella was always evil and you guys just ignored the signs!' crowd is that they don't seem to realize there's like, scales to how bad characters are?

Stella of season 1 is classist, shrieks a lot and is focused more on her own needs, but there's a difference between that and who she is in season 2 - a 2D abusive monster who in her own words only exists to torment Stolas

the Stella of season 1 didn't seem like a nice person but there was enough room to imagine the marriage had at least been civil once even if it had never been loving (the photo of them all at Loo Loo Land suggests she came along for Via's sake, she phrases it 'our bed' not 'my bed' when she's angry at him for the affair)

fans point to her hogging the covers and not wanting to get up as signs but those arguing about who should get up to comfort a young child and one partner stealing the covers isn't signs of pure evil. it's a sign that Stella is focused on her own needs re: the covers, but not immediately getting up to Via doesn't make her evil since the writers didn't bother showing it's not a pattern that she doesn't pull her weight in the parenting department. same with her not saying good morning to Via when she's older - it's not unreasonable that she's a bit distracted by her husband cheating on her in that moment.

speaking of, the writers caused themselves problems with opening on the fallout of the cheating, because it leads most fans to assume that what they're seeing isn't Stella's usual self and we'd expect to see what her usual demeanor is later, when she isn't in the middle of being furious with Stolas.

the closest s1 gets to showing Stella as the flat baddie she'd become in s2 is her ordering the hit on Stolas, but again the writers fumbled the bag because we don't know if her doing that is unusual for them being in Hell or not. Were we really supposed to think Stella is uniquely bad in s1 when other characters yell at each other just as much as she yells at Stolas (Blitzo, Loona, even Moxxie sometimes) and other characters perform hits and act like attempted murder is nbd (IMP)?

Same with the lack of worldbuilding around how nobility works - fans claim she just cares Stolas slept with an imp 'like a plebian' but then the rest of the show is so wishywashy about whether it matters dating outside one's own social class that it comes off like she was just given this prejudice so she can look uniquely worse (even though Stolas is just as classist, just in a different more objectifying/fetishizing way)

Exactly. Seasons 1 Stella wasn't a pleasant person, but she still shared a bed with Stolas and was upset that he cheated on her in that bed specifically, used to go with Stolas and Via to Loo Loo Land, and the portrait of them together sees her looking almost happy. Stolas starts to say "We weren't in love," showing awareness of the root of the problem, that neither of them wanted this. All of that goes out the window with S2, where we're meant to believe Stella was evil incarnate since she was a toddler and Stolas is God's saddest victim.

Not that it would have saved her either way. In this fandom's mind, "raises voice to Stolas" and "a violent, irredeemable person who deserves humiliation and death" are synonymous.

#Anonymous #helluva boss critical #viv stuff #actual blog post

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rabarbarzcukrem · 1 year ago

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The eternal opposing relationship between the two sides of a mirror

or: In defense of Shiori

I feel like Shiori is one of the most controversial characters in Utena. Some love her, others despise her. And I don't have a problem with people having strong opinions on her character. What bothers me is the tendency to exaggerate her most negative traits, focus on her most harmful actions, completely ignore any redeeming qualities she might have and then paint her as a one dimensional villainous caricature, a mean straight girl who plays with the lesbian's feelings for the sake of it, without anything deeper going on.

I'm aware of the fact that some people refer to her like that in endearment or in a satirical fashion, and I'm not saying that you can't consider her your favorite problematic evil girl representation. I'm only trying to make people realize that it's her complexity that actually makes her such a compelling character.

I've seen people call Shiori all sorts of names, some of which were baffling enough to make me wonder if they even remembered what happens in the show, and weren't just judging a version of the character that they made up in their head.

So, let's look at the things Shiori actually does, throughout the course of the story.

Disclaimer: I'm only going to take the series into the account here, because I think we can all agree that everyone's characterization and personality differs at least slightly in the movie. Background characters also get a lot less screen time to explain their motivations in order to fully focus on Anthy's journey and struggles, which is understandable.

1. She "steals" the boy from Juri.

This is her biggest crime, which seems to define her from the very beginning. Even though Juri didn't actually have any romantic feelings for him, this action is detrimental to their relationship - it breaks the trio apart, isolates Juri from the pair, is an act of betrayal against her and proves it was done with full awareness that it would hurt Juri emotionally.

Shiori is a deeply insecure person, who constantly feels inadequate and beneath other people. The only reason why Juri seemed to actually like her that Shiori could think of was pity, and even when she found out she was the object of her romantic affection all along, she still struggled to comprehend it. Her self loathing and constant perceived inferiority make her desperate to gain any sort of control over her life and relationships, but they're also the exact reason she feels that the only way she could ever do that is by hurting others. She's always one step below and incapable of crossing that distance, therefore the only way to become equal to people is to bring them down to her level, by humiliation.

When she "steals" the boy from Juri, she achieves that. For a moment, she feels good about herself and leaves Ohtori thinking that she has found the answer, the solution. But she's wrong. From that moment on, it becomes more and more apparent to her that what she did was never out of love for the boy, even though she doesn't let herself acknowledge it fully. Because the truth is, Shiori actually regrets hurting Juri, which she admits herself during her elevator confession.

When the guilt starts getting to her, her confidence high wears off, and she ends up feeling ever worse.

That's why she breaks up with him and comes back. She's not ready to leave yet, not ready to progress. There's still something binding her to Ohtori - Juri, and Shiori's unresolved feelings for her.

2. She tries to set things right with Juri and to fix their relationship.

Even though at this point Shiori still thinks that Juri only ever associated herself with her out of pity, she still makes several attempts to get closer to Juri, who understandably (albeit coldly) turns her down ever time. This is a very clear sign of conflicting feelings Shiori has for Juri - jealousy and admiration, resentment and longing, hate and love. After all, Shiori admits that the two practically grew up together. Their friendship may have always felt fake to Shiori, but she clearly cherished it deeply.

3. The Black Rose Arc.

First of all, we should establish what is the purpose of this arc and how it functions. It explores the motivations of background characters and shows their worst side to the audience. The characters that end up in the elevator are the most unstable, vulnerable ones, with the least power in the system, in unequal and/or exploitive relationships with the duelists and their agency under threat. Mikage offers them a way to gain that power by making them follow their most toxic, negative emotions. And despite all other characters doing exactly that, from what I've seen Shiori is the one that gets the most hate for it. I don't think she should be judged any harsher for what she did under the influence of the black rose than, let's say, Wakaba or Kozue. Especially because the reason all of them ended up in that elevator is because they recognized that these urges were harmful and were seeking help and counseling.

What this arc does do is reveal how Shiori's inferiority complex drives her to act against her own desires. Even though she longs for things to be different, even though she is not happy at all with how her relationship with Juri looks like, she is unable to fix it, because that would require her to consider her own affection for Juri. And she can't do that, because it would mean admitting that she's not stronger than Juri, that she hasn't beaten her, that she's doesn't have control and an advantage over her. Although she tries to keep up this smug, self-assured facade, the reality shines through.

They key to understanding Shiori is noticing that she specifically doesn't want to acknowledge that Juri's feelings are reciprocated, and the obsession is mutual. If you paint their relationship as one sided, you're actually falling for her act.

4. She enters a relationship with Ruka.

Ruka is a handsome (arguable), respected boy who appears out of nowhere and starts showing interest in Shiori. It's obvious that for an insecure girl, who in addition struggles with confusing repressed feelings, this would be something unthinkably wonderful. The affection and praise she gets from him is exactly what her low self-esteem craves. You might be wondering why she didn't perceive Juri's feelings for her in the same way. And a part of the answer might be that, post nameless-boy-incident, Juri was nothing but cold to her. She might have been pining after Shiori from afar, but in the end she's distant and untouchable, and they're divided by their messy past. Meanwhile Ruka is a clean slate, seems openly affectionate, engaged in their relationship and he pays attention to her. But I think the main thing that makes Ruka so different from Juri is the fact that...he's a boy. Because, as Revolutionary Girl Utena establishes, gender plays a crucial role in interpersonal dynamics. Attention from a boy is fundamentally coded as romantic, desirable, necessary and most importantly: increases the girl's worth in society's eyes. It makes one a princess. Meanwhile Juri's advances could only be seen as an invitation to friendship, at best. But Juri's status and beauty make her special, while Shiori is not. Therefore, it can only be pity and mockery.

Of course, Ruka only uses Shiori to influence Juri and dumps her as soon as he achieves his goals. It's true that Shiori could have listened to Juri's warnings, but then again... why should she? From her perspective, Juri's her ex-friend that doesn't want anything to do with her, who only suddenly comes to Shiori when she's finally happy and fulfilled, and encourages her to end it. She doesn't know the wider context of the situation, nor does she remember the Black Rose arc. Juri's warnings don't sound sincere to her.

And so, Ruka gets rid of her in the coldest, most indifferent way, not explaining anything or showing even the slightest sign of compassion. Before that though, he makes an interesting remark, about Shiori putting on an act and polishing somebody else's sword.

Honestly, I don't really know how to interpret it in any other way than Shiori actually having feelings for someone else, despite trying her hardest to conceal it. Are my shipping lenses not allowing me to see any different possibilities? Am I going crazy? I don't know.

Nevertheless, Shiori begs him to stay, devastated. Her life got turned around so suddenly, she found appreciation, status, comfort and stability, and now all that's been taken away from her as abruptly as it was given. It's a public humiliation.

I once heard someone say that this would be the perfect moment for Juri to step in and defend her. And to be honest, although it may be true, I'm not completely sure. It may have been the one display of open care that Shiori needed from her, but it might as well have been interpreted by Shiori as Juri affirming her superiority over her and feeling sorry for her again. We will never know. In my opinion, so much of their relationship is going on in their own heads that the only thing that could ever cause positive progress is communication (which neither of them seem to be a fan of).

Instead, Juri only tries to console her after the fact, when Shiori's at her absolute lowest. In the context of all the assumptions Shiori holds and Juri's previous indifference, it quite understandably comes off as a sneering attempt to gloat.

That's about it. You may have noticed that I've summarized all Shiori's appearances into 4 points, and only one of them includes an instance of Shiori hurting Juri voluntarily, out of her own free will, not influenced by anyone. I'm not saying that she was forced to taunt Juri during the Black Rose Arc, I'm not trying to diminish the suffering she's caused or trying to paint her as a perfectly good person. I am trying to make it clear that she is not some cunning plotter, dedicating every minute of her life to finding ways to make Juri suffer that some people seem to take her for. I am trying to humanize people's perception of her a little bit. Especially considering the fact that last scenes of her include those when she waits for Juri and follows her so that they can go home together, and then joins the fencing club. If this doesn't show that she's capable of change, I don't know what does.

She's not an innocent princess, that's true, but she's not just an egoistical, manipulative liar either. She's a bit of both. After all, if Revolutionary Girl Utena is supposed to teach you anything, then I think it's that we're all just people, and the complexities of human experience make it impossible to fit anyone into a box, assigning them definite labels like "princess" or "witch".

And if you look at a teenage girl who, like all people in Ohtori, struggle under the system of patriarchy and heterosexuality, and all you see is a wicked, sinister witch, then you may have just fallen into the trap that the narrative had set for you.

#Shiori: I may be pathetic but you're the one who fell for me lol #no fr you don't need to make up reasons to hate shiori there's plenty enough right there in the text #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #shiori takatsuki #juriori #I guess #she's so fucked up I love her #like girl feeling delighted after finding out your bestie has a crush on you is not very straight no matter how you justify it #moje

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pftones3482 · 11 months ago

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"Ummm they toned down the abuse from Gabe in Percy Jackson because it's a kids show, stop being mad about it"

Ignoring the fact that it's also a children's book, let's take a look at some children's media in the last couple decades that depict parental abuse towards children that isn't physical, but still makes the abuse feel real:

1. Harry Potter. I'm loathe to even put it on here bc of how much I hate JKR, but HP DOES depict child abuse in probably one of the best ways of any modern media. As far as I can remember (correct me if I'm wrong), the Dursley's never lay a hand on Harry. But it is never even questioned if they're awful people towards Harry - they literally make him sleep in a closet.

2. Matilda. Like do I even need to explain this one? Abuse from not only her whole family (again, NONE of it physical from what I recall), but also from other authority figures. And she's not the only character who deals with parental abuse - Miss Honey is a grown adult shown to be dealing with the negative effects of an abusive parental figure.

3. Phineas and Ferb. Laugh all you want, but Doofenshmirtz's parents were genuinely awful to him. His stories are just tamed down in a way that's palpable to a much younger audience while still also being clear abuse - a young child can chuckle at his stories but STILL understand why maybe some of his stories would turn him evil.

4. Avatar the Last Airbender. Zuko's father physically disables his own son. Not to mention the constant emotional neglect and manipulation on top of it, the writers never held back on how bad his father was. Even if he hadn't scarred Zuko, he would still be a clear depiction of an abusive parent.

5. The Willoughbys. The parents are so awful that the kids literally plot to murder them. The parents abandoned them to freeze to death on top of a mountain. Enough said.

6. Percy fucking Jackson.

Percy Jackson IS a book made for kids that depicts child abuse from a parent - and not only does it depict child abuse, it depicts spousal abuse.

I know Percy doesn't know that Gabe is physically hurting Sally in the beginning of the book. But we as the audience know that Gabe DOES hurt Percy. There is not a single sign in the new show that Percy has anything more than a snarky, annoyed view of Gabe.

Gabe is supposed to be smelly and disgusting, a drunk (which, even if they can't depict that in a Disney show, you can still play around with his grossness), a slob, and a gambler. He's barely even greasy in the show. Literally they could have just had him belch a few times or eat messily and it would have given off a better impression of his character. Instead, he just quips back and forth with Percy and then later is just...whining. He's whiney. He does not ring as a man who abuses his family, emotionally OR physically, he rings as a pathetic step-dad figure who can't support himself (which is ALSO not canon, because in the book he runs an auto store! His abuse towards Sally is not for lack of money, it's just because he's a dick!!!) The fact that I think that Doof's parents in Phineas and Ferb are more overtly abusive than him on screen is actually absurd.

And Sally fell flat. Her character in the book doesn't yell literally ever - not once in the whole series can I recall her legitimately yelling at someone. Her persona is kind and gentle in the books and as for wits, she's clever, and sneaky, and cunning. She fights back with Gabe in ways that we as the audience can see, but Gabe misses because he's so dense.

Take the bean dip scene.

In the show, she basically is like "Yeah yeah I'll make the bean dip, shut up" and Gabe just whines about the sour cream while they yell at each other.

In the book? That's her bargaining chip to take the car for the weekend. That's her ticket out of the house. Bribery. Not just placating a whining husband - she bribes him in the books.

And her yelling back? Just feels so unnatural to Sally Jackson as a whole. I saw someone say she feels like Disney girl-bossed her, and they're right. She doesn't feel like Sally Jackson. She feels like just another cut and paste Disney woman who's snappy and doesn't take shit.

And to be clear - the OG Sally Jackson also didn't take shit. She was just so much more clever about it, in a way that made sure Percy never saw her actively yell. She doesn't have to be snarky and rude to get her way. Percy knows she's fighting back without physically fighting, and that's what makes her so strong. Sometimes you have to fight more with your wits and cleverness than you do with screaming and fists

(Gee...wonder what other character Percy ends up really admiring that also holds that philosophy in life?)

Anyway...all that said, stop blaming the fact that it's a children's show on Gabe's watered down personality. Children's shows/movies and family shows/movies have been depicting serious parental abuse and neglect for decades, in both realistic and more humorous ways that don't take away from the neglect. Kids can handle it, because there are kids going through it.

To say that "It's a kids show, kids shouldn't have to see that," is a disservice to the kids who need to see that, so they know that they can get away too, and they don't have to get physical to do it.

Also, this version of Gabe? Doesn't deserve to die. He's just annoying, not an asshole that scares Percy more than literal monsters do.

#pjo #percy jackson #pjo series #gabe ugliano #sally jackson #disney #yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me

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vynxluvzsoundwave · 18 days ago

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What are your thoughts on the fandom's reaction to the new Earthspark episodes? I feel like so far... it's weird how these episodes are so obviously just the next half of the last batch and there seems to be almost no acknowledgement of that at all? Feels surreal to me. I also think it's interesting how I was dreading people being furious that their headcanons weren't supported but instead while I'm not seeing the furious rage I expected (which is a relief!) it's almost like anything that doesn't line-up is just ignored? I also have seen some of what you expected which is the "This is so much better than the last batch!!!" stuff. Very little analysis so far too, I almost didn't even bother posting the thing I said about Twitch because I initially thought, "Well that's so obvious I'm sure everyone's said it already," only to check and see nobody had! -arceespinkgun

I've definitely seen the same. S3 is so connected to previous episodes it's really a shame people aren't talking about it!

As anticipated, people are still wishing EarthSpark was what they thought season 1 was and this hinders their ability to understand/enjoy this season.

Loootsss of people are angry at how Starscream was I'm seeing. How he is treated makes sense following S2E09 Witwicky because his plan was foiled but he himself hadn't been addressed.

I didn't anticipate him being trapped in Terratronus but it does make sense. His beating on Terratronus's eye reminds me of when he and the other seekers left Swindle and Soundwave behind the anti-energon field that had caught them without pause with Swindle shouting "Starscream! You can't leave us!" while beating on the field — and, most recently, the fact that his betrayal of the Decepticons essentially imprisoned them all again! Of course the Decepticons would leave him up there.

I love that Starscream even made himself a little crown in the tea party shot, making himself look like a king while holding the Cyber Slayer too. He is a far cry from how he was in S2E09 Witwicky when he felt empowered/victorious, and now he acts completely nonthreatening as if it'd help him. He tries to appeal to the Autobots, but because of his very own actions he has nothing actually substantial to offer them; he's hit rock bottom! Him being easily cowed made sense because he's cornered and powerless, unlike the other episodes where he had power/glory in sight, a viable plan, or power actually in his hand. And it is here that Starscream receives some poetic justice — Hashtag using the Cyber Slayer on him.

I've seen some misunderstanding of the Cyber Slayer's ability (not only just now, but since S2)? Mandroid in the S1 finale described it as "For a bot [Shockwave's] size energon depletion is dangerous, for [Terrans] it could be lethal." We see it used on Shockwave, Elita-1, and Optimus Prime in the S1 finale — but it does not kill them. Same with Wheeljack in S2. I was about to add "where did this misconception come from?" but then I reread its name, like ah, that's why.

The direction of the Decepticons is really cool, and it's a shame a lot of people don't like it. Given what Shockwave told Starscream in S2E09 Witwicky I anticipated the Decepticons would be working to get back to Cybertron, so how they were didn't surprise me at all because it's completely in line with how the Decepticons have been built up.

They've been hunted, experimented on, imprisoned, betrayed, and imprisoned again — of course they don't like Earth or want to stay; with Starscream's failure, they have no means of conquering Earth. Shockwave's plan is, of course, the most logical.

One thing I dislike is people's overuse of calling the Decepticons "evil" in lieu of just... not understanding the their motives. Like yes, they are, but people are acting like they have been reduced to black-and-white villains which is so weird. Like, Breakdown was going to offer Bumblebee a hand before Thrash intercepted and helped him up, Shockwave honors the deal he made when Breakdown loses, Shockware doesn't blast Megatron despite him refusing to join the Decepticons, and Starscream reaps what he sows. The Decepticons want to return home to escape the planet they've been imprisoned on, and of course they'll do that by whatever means they deem necessary.

Not too much discussion or analysis of the Quintessons so far, but I reckon that could just be from people not having finished the episodes yet. I can connect a lot about the Quintessons from this new batch to previous episodes, which I'll be posting about probably tomorrow.

I would've thought people would be way more vocal about S1's point about not knowing Cybertron's status being continued in S3 but I haven't really seen it mentioned xD. I thought Breakdown raised a very interesting point!: "You ever think Cybertron might be in trouble and need our help?"

#earthspark spoilers #earthspark season 3 #vynx.analysis #earthspark #transformers earthspark

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le-panda-chocovore · 5 months ago

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I think the reason for all that discourse in the JJK fandom is that we had some expectations about what this story would be about, and we were wrong. I'd say it was our fault for having them, because Gege had his own story in mind and it isn't our role to tell him what to write/draw. But I'd also say that we were misled into having those expectations and then being deceived, because shock value is fun.

(I'm not in the AOT fandom so maybe I'm 100% wrong, in which case don't pay attention to me. I'm just rambling I'm not trying to make a point)

See there's not such a thing in Attack On Titans. I mean I know people are arguing whether a decision was good or bad or a character development was positive or negative, but no one is rioting the way JJK readers are even when someone dies, kills, or does worse (they do start a genocide lol). Because in AOT you know since the beginning what this story is about : surviving, war, and liberty. With time you learn that it's also about racism, destiny and injustice. But the story starts with death and blood and it never calms down, characters keep dying or getting hurt and no one's safe all along the story. So you just know it'd end the same way, you know what to expect, that power of friendship won't save anyone here.

But Jujutsu Kaisen is different, because it has all the codes of a basic Shonen. Everyone was comparing it to Naruto during the 1st season so you would believe it'd follow the same path. Of course there's fights and fails and suffering and death, because it's necessary for the growth of the protagonist. He'd learn he's not strong enough and he'd try harder and mature more and be better. Jujutsu Kaisen makes you think it's your One Piece-type manga where 1 person dies every 4 arcs and the main team survives everything, even when it looks impossible.

And then Shibuya happens and you're shocked because it's way to early to kill so many valuable characters in a row. Usually that kind of massacre happens during Big War arcs like in MHA. At first you think it's an interesting writing choice because it changes from other mangas, and you wonder how the main character will evolve from that. But then the training arc never happens, because shit keeps falling on them and there's a pile of deads and you start to wonder when it'd stop. Spoilers : it doesn't.

So at some point you realize it. This isn't a classical shonen. This isn't an happy-ending after a hard fight kind of story. There's no power of friendship to save them, there's no important moral path to keep following no matter what (like "I won't do to you what you did to me because it'd mean that I'm the same" no it doesn't work here), and there's not even a chance to run away from that cursed role no one wants to bear. There's no one protecting the kids anymore. The MC isn't strong enough and the mentors are dead and close friends are off-fight and the one person able to end this has to make the horrendous choice to give up his humanity.

In AOT, you were shocked, but it felt logical in the sense of where the story was leading you from the beginning. In JJK, you feel betrayed and manipulated because everything made you think about those other mangas where people ended up fine, but it was just a cover.

Honestly you COULD have guessed it'd end that way. Many people did. You just ignored it.

You thought Junpei's death was an exception, the Major Point for Yuuji's development, the Shock Value Kill to put some depth nuance in the story. But in reality it was a warning, a taste of the future. There WERE signs after all, and Gege never pretended to write another Naruto. You were so used to the classical shonen that you read the signs and fell for the trick.

JJK has never been a nice story from the beginning, Sukuna was at the center of every event since the beginning. You can dislike what is happening but you cannot say it's bad, as in a scenaristic choice. Gege is a writing genius and unfortunately he's also pure evil.

You shouldn't have trusted a one-eyed cat after all.

#jjk #jjk spoilers #jjk manga spoilers #analysis #rambling #jujutsu kaisen manga #gege akutami #jjk analysis #By You I meant Me obviously. I'm the one who got tricked. I'm the one crying on the sideway.#i don't want AOT discourse on this post I don't really care I'm simply spilling my thoughts on JJK

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doubleddenden · 10 months ago

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The topic of Palworld is pretty charged, but often times I see people be shamed for liking it because the CEO tweeted stuff about NFTs and the company using AI art in a separate game. Acting as if that's the most damning thing ever for a gaming company in an industry filled with similar people.

Make no mistake, I dislike both AI art and nfts, but do you realize how many gaming companies have involvement with that?

To begin with, Pokémon used AI art in a promotional piece for Pokémon Go in September, and nobody gave a shit because uwu Pikachu. The Pokémon Company also put a job listing some months back seeking an expert in NFTs. That's not quite damning evidence, but if I were a betting man, no "NFT expert" will willingly say "yeah nfts suck are bad for the environment, man, I'll take my paycheck and fuck off now." There's also a strong argument to be made that Pokémon has stolen ideas from fakemon artists (Finizen and Palafin, Scovillain, Dipplin, etc) and other franchises (kaiju movies, Dragon Quest, Megaman, final fantasy, western cartoons and food mascots, etc), a dubious legal statement that claims they own all fan art from the remixes and fakemon made on youtube to the pikachu your kid drew at breakfast; they have yet to apologize for the state of Scarlet and Violet while charging full price to millions of paying customers for a clearly unfinished and barely functioning game (which i did enjoy, but you can't tell me it was finished baking when it struggles not to shit itself just to run), and a bunch of other things people shit on Palworld for, but A. It's Pokémon so people don't care and think it's fine, and B. That's not the point of this post.

You know who else does NFTs and AI art? (Yes I heard Muscle Man from Regular Show in my head just now, too, moving along)

Square Enix sold several of their IPs for NFTs and claims to have used AI art "a minimum amount" in Foam Stars, yet I see nobody yelling for boycotts of Final Fantasy 14, 16, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, Life is Strange, etc etc etc.

Sony has invested in both, they want to implement AI into gaming, and has a patent for nfts to be used in games and consoles, yet there's no movement to throw out your playstations.

Bandai Namco- you know, that company with a hand in pretty much most anime games on the market and popular games such as the Dark Souls games? They have a game called RYU that's essentially a virtual pet game that uses the blockchain, and its AI driven, among other projects. Yet there's no outcry to stop playing the many, MANY games they brand with. This also includes quite a few Nintendo games (btw they just partnered together to form a special studio quite recently) like Smash Wii U/3ds and New Pokémon Snap. Nobody gives a shit though.

Android, Microsoft, Google, Apple- I don't even need to explain those, they have whole teams dedicated to both. Even popular VPN companies accept crypto.

I'm just saying an awful lot of you guys that scream and shit bloody murder about Palworld's company being involved with that shit are either the biggest "It's okay when my favs do it" type of hypocrites, or you're sorely ignorant to just how evil and greedy most corporations are. You'll be hard pressed to find a game company with popular AND fun games that DOESN'T have some interest in either, let alone movie and show studios. That's the awful reality we live in.

You have 2 options

1. You basically stop doing anything involving most modern tech, including throwing out your pc and smart phone. You could probably live a comfortable life with tech circa 2010, but you have to be aware that any thing you buy may go towards a cause you don't like.

2. You accept that people can enjoy a product while not necessarily agreeing with the CEO of said product. Most CEOs tend to be jackasses anyway, that's kind of the shared trait they all have. You can also discourage companies from using them while understanding it is everywhere.

Palworld at the end of the day is just a toy, that's it. From the looks of it, it's not even actually hurting anyone, and it seems like the company at least treats their employees pretty decently- at least according to a few things I've seen here and there that seems rather progressive for a Japanese studio (with room for doubt obviously, it's a company after all and as we've established, they're all evil). At the least its not like when people supported Hogwarts Legacy and directly put money into JKR's wallet so she can openly hurt more Trans women. In fact, the only people seemingly hurt in all of this Palworld drama are obsessed Pokémon stans that can't accept a parody, or the Pokémon Company themselves, who rightly deserve some punching up tbh.

You can just say you dislike the game, that's fine, I totally get that. Even though I personally think The Pokémon Company deserves a few nut shots after the way they've treated fans these last few years with the state of their games (and you know, stealing ideas from fans without credit), I can see why someone would be turned away from a parody that's literally meant to be Pokémon with guns. I can totally understand all of that, personally I'd prefer if the game was MORE like Pokémon with turn based combat.

But if you're going to defend Pokémon because you think its perfectly innocent because of Wooloo or something like that, just be sure you're aware you're defending the World's Richest Franchise and their own attempts at AI and NFTs while calling out an indie company (a real one thats learning as they go, not the fake "We're totally indie" franchise that hasn't been indie since gen 3) for having a ceo that also seems interested in the same stuff. And remember, you don't become number 1 without hurting people somehow (we could dig up receipts about certain partners Pokémon has teamed up with, such as Tencent with Unite, but I'd rather not right now.)

Just saying. I don't think you're an irredeemable person for still liking Pikachu, cuz I do too believe it or not. I've been a life long fan and still have fun with the games despite the clear scummy business practices towards their paying customers. Just maybe extend that courtesy to the millions of players just trying to have fun in this awful, putrid, shithole planet that just keeps getting worse and worse with each passing day.

Plus... you know, think about it. Do you think Pokémon would ever get around to making a gunless Palworld? Probably not. Do you think Palworld would exist if The Pokémon Company and Nintendo were the slightest bit chill about Pokémon fan projects like SEGA is with Sonic? Also probably not. From what I've read, the devs just wanted to make a fun game that happens to mostly be ARK with Pokémon adjacent monsters. That's not really a bad thing, all things considered, and it seems like the worst they've done is reference official Pokémon when making their own models.

Palworld being successful is actually beneficial to Pokémon fans, as well. It'll never really truly compete, but it has outsold Legends Arceus in terms of units sold (not as much financially because Palworld was only $30 plus a sale recently, but still impressive), and it is enough that Game Freak is aware of its existence. Let Palworld light a fire under their ass, and maybe GF will actually finish their next game before releasing it for full price (and no, we're not bringing up the tired imaginary ball and chain game devs, game freak owns 1/3rd lf the franchise and can easily take methods to get more dev time, they just haven't because money). Just saying, at least the Paldevs were honest enough to sell it in early access for half the price.

#palworld

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icantspellthings · 6 months ago

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The thing that I really like about The Boys as a show is that there is no *truly* evil characters, there is nobody so irredeemable and 100% an evil asshole piece of shit for the sake of being one (well except stormfront but we're ignoring her).

Like with A-train at first when we met him, he was this fame obsessed adrenaline junkie who is only focused on winning/being number one and his popularity. He literally killed Robin and was totally set up to be the "main bad guy". But as the series went on, we actually see his character fleshed out more. There are nuances to his actions that yes were done out of selfishness, but if you looked at it from his perspective he is nothing without the Seven, he is nothing without his fame and money, he wants so desperately to not fall into poverty and irrelevancy anymore that he would fight tooth and nail just to maintain statusquo. And we start to see he realises the consequences of his actions whis brother got hurt and he apologised to hughie. Does it makes A-train a "Good" person? No but it certainly makes him a more sympathetic character.

Other characters, too, like The Deep who is a fucking rapist who you are primed to HATE right from the start for what he did to Annie. But as time goes on, your hate starts to lessen and transform into pity. At his core, Kevin is pathetic, insecure, and quite frankly a very idiotic and gullible man. He sexually assults other to gain power over them, does this make his actions justifiable, No. But it does make his actions understandable. He isn't a good person but he's a good *character* because he isn't just this 100% evil caricature of a person, he has nuances and contradictions and sometimes even sympathetic moments.

I could go on and on and on about the other characters in The Seven or even all the other minor villains. How they're actually fleshed out characters instead of just one dimensional villains. And also the inverness of the good guys not being saintly, can never do wrongers, always doing the right thing. They're the protagonists, but that doesn't make them perfect people. Case in point with butcher!!! And how he drags hughie down to his level of "doing anything for the mission." The way butcher uses MMs obsession against him to literally drag him back into his revenge plot despite the fact that MM just wants to live a normal life with his daughter and literally had ro rebuild his life from nothing 3 times! Now thanks to butcher, the man is a grade A CUNT who manipulates the people around him for his own gains! Yeah it's "for the greater good" but it's still not a nice way to treat your friends

Hell even fucking annie who the show sets up as this pure saintly paragon of goodness and kindness fucks up. Half the time she doesn't know what the fuck she is even doing just stumbling along trying to do what she thinks is best. Hell most of the time her plans doesn't work out or activity makes things worse! AND THATS OKAY!

BECAUSE I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH! because they're so painfully human, they make mistakes, they try to seek forgiveness but somethings can't be forgiven. They try their best but somtimes it makes things worse. They have a characters arc but then will walk back 20 steps until they become even worse because its the essence of what being human means! We all make mistakes, progress isn't linear. Sometimes, you take 1 step forward and then 40 steps back until all improvements are undone and you're back at the same point possibly even worse of. But you keep trudging forward because you're alive and you're human and the least you can do is wake up another day and try your damnest.

Its what I love so much about this show, everyone is SO SO SO painfully human.

#the boys tv #the boys #sorry that was a long ass ramble lmao #billy butcher #mother's milk #the deep #a-train #annie january #hughie campbell

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starlightshadowsworld · 10 months ago

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I hate how Luke's allowed to be morally grey but Octavians just supposed to be unquestionably evil.

Despite the fact they are about the same age and were used by powerful beings to further their goals.

Luke was used by Kronos to cause all out war and awaken.

Octavian was used by Gaea to separate the Romans and Greeks into all out war, allowing her to awaken.

Luke has killed and tried to kill multiple people... but Octavian ruined some teddy bears so we know immediately and on sight that he's unredeemable?

I'm not trying to say Octavian didn't do some bullshit, he absolutely did he still caused an all out war with the Greeks.

But than so did Luke.

And I know it's because Luke had development, we got to know him and who he was.

While Octavian is rather cartoony and a 1 dimensional bad guy. Which sucks honestly because he has so much potential.

A phrase I say a lot when talking about Heroes of Olympus to be honest.

All we know is he has a vendetta against the Greeks and wants to be Praetor, that's it.

And he dies in a way that kinda mirrors Paris's death in the Trojan war.

Nothing about his past, nothing about who he is, his friends, his family, what it means to be a legacy.

Nothing.

Octavian goes from a cunning, ambitious and crafty guy to falling apart by the final battle. His laugh being described as "brittle and quite insane."

And calling anyone that doesn't stand by him a traitor.

Man goes through a whole Macbeth arc behind the curtain and I'm supposed to ignore this?

Also Octavian had the potential to be a great foil to Jason.

Given how Octavian, at least at the beginning stands by tradition.

While Jason is trying to change traditions, and change the system that Octavian wants to enforce.

Jason is terrified of breaking rules and Octavian followed them to the letter. While also bending them to suit him.

It's also, according to his wiki hinted that Octavian knew that he had to die to defeat Gaea.

Which puts a whole other perspective onto all of this, especially if he was being influenced by her.

And still tried to sacrifice himself to end her.

Oh jee don't that sound similar.

Only Rick can make 2 characters a mirror image of each other and than make one horribly underdeveloped and like they shouldn't be compared.

The fact that doesn't even just apply to these two is something.

#luke castellan #octavian pjo #heroes of olympus #percy jackon and the olympians

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glitteringcrab · 5 months ago

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Rick Prime's decoys

1. If Evil Morty knew for sure that the fingerguns would work on Rick Prime and he had the situation totally under control, wouldn't he have used them the first time he came within close proximity of Rick Prime?

You know. Instead of punching and kicking and getting strangled?

2. If he didn't know for sure whether the fingerguns would work on Rick Prime, was it because he made them with another Rick in mind, a Rick whose head was full of cables that could be overloaded by electricity...

(there is really no other way I can interpret his look except "uncertain")

Maybe he thought that, at worst, the fingerguns might temporarily incapacitate Prime, granting Eyepatch Morty a few more seconds, and at best, Rick Prime might have some sort of implant allowing them to work kinda as intended...

And work as intended they did...

(kinda similar, isn't it? Not the same, but similar.)

2. So, what, is Prime's head filled with puppeteering cables like Evil Rick's was?

Well, no.

And why should it be?

It shouldn't.

He works alone. He doesn't bother to team up with anyone, to manage people, or anything of the sort. He has said as much.

(headache? Interesting choice of words heh)

And yet, against the face of opposing evidence, I will continue talking :P

3. Because how do we explain THIS:

I've read a fan theory that Prime has time split himself (go read it!!!), and that's how he was able to be at several different places at once:

"I wish Morty. It's all the places he is."

And there could be a lot of truth in this theory, but it doesn't really explain why there would be a "main" Rick Prime.

If all copies of Rick Prime are the main one, and are just time shifted, then Rick C-137 would really have to kill all of them.

No, wait. Maybe killing the first (chronologically) Rick Prime would work as a domino effect and make all of them disappear via paradox??? (this might explain how Evil Morty seemed to be able to delete whole trees of Rick Prime clones at once)

Could be.

However, Prime being time shifted doesn't explain by itself how the copies were apparently able to communicate with each other. Finish each other's sentences.

They act like a collective, don't they?

Of course, you don't need mind control to explain that. It could just be a simple communication thing.

However, we've seen Rick C-137's decoys not only acting independently from each other, not only being unaware they're decoys and ignorant of each other's actions, not only being worried they might be fake, but trying their best to be the ones to come on top, the last ones to survive.

Compare this with Prime's decoys, which, despite Prime's massive ego, didn't even bat an eyelid at the prospect of being shot:

(I'm dead XD Look at his face)

So...

4. What if Prime was... mind controlling his own decoys? Puppeteering them, sorta?

Or maybe, if that was too much of a drag for his concentration, what if he let them act independently from him most of the time, overriding them only when the situation called for it?

Or maybe it was a time thing, and he used a puppeteering-ish/operation phoenix-ish implant to communicate his thoughts and transfer the consciousness? (but I still feel the various time split Rick Primes would try to fight each other... Time split Rick C-137 was quick to become paranoid and try to murder himself.)

Or it could be something entirely new, something that incudes all of the above at the same time. Maybe he did time shift himself and then merged his consciousness or something, to become one ultra person.

5. Anyway, the lack of visible cables (or any kind of implant on the head) could be explained by craftmanship more superior, discreet or compact than the one Evil Morty is using...

(and, interestingly, we never got to see what Rick Prime looked like at the very end... because Rick C-137 was blocking the view)

6. If this theory is true-ish, then this would be the understatement of the century...!

It's the least stealthy technique possible!!!

Prime would have at all times detailed information on exactly what Rick C-137 was doing, where he was, who was with him, and how far his search progressed.

This would be an extreme disadvantage for Rick C-137 I feel, which points away from this theory.

7. (Still going along with the theory anyway) Maybe THAT was the purpose of his Very Cool Chair: maybe the "main" Rick Prime (whatever that means) would sit there and control all his clones and decoys simultaneously, like a king on his throne:

Maybe all those thin black cables really were supposed to go to his head, but probably through a different piece of equipment or implant, and not through Eyepatch Morty's fingergun.

8. If this theory is true, it would be in line with the show's implied narrative that Rick Prime is the smartest, craftiest, strongest, most cunning Rick; he is the best in every aspect (except empathy lol), trading emotion and family and morals for... infinity. Greatness. Playing god.

His weapons are the deadliest, his teleportation goo the most versatile (it can take the form of living organisms!!), his creations the most elaborate, his messing with time the most advanced (he keeps himself youuuuuung)...

...So it would make sense that he has dabbled in brain control as well, reaching the point of simultaneously controlling hundreds of bodies at once.

#rick and morty #rick prime #rick sanchez

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bonebabbles · 9 months ago

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Slash's Famous Scene

Here we are, lads. Everyone's favorite scene in the totally best arc of WC. The one where Slash pins a pregnant woman to the ground and licks her face, while threatening her fetuses and cutting her cheek open so Clear Sky can have more man pain.

So far I've been using "fridging" as synonymous with the brutal killing of a female character to advance a male character's arc; but I do want to remind everyone that the term "fridging" describes disproportionate violence done to women in the service of their husband/brother/father/son's arcs. It doesn't HAVE to be death; it can also be battery, maiming, depowering, or sexual assault.

So far, 8 women have died to serve male arcs, most of them for Clear Sky specifically. Fluttering Bird, Bright Stream, Storm, Misty, Bumble, Turtle Tail, Rainswept Flower, and Petal. Now Star Flower gets sexually harassed and kidnapped, bringing the arc's fridge total to 9.

Anyway content warning, obviously. It's still Warrior Cats and doesn't get too graphic, but this bag contains a dead dove.

First, Clear Sky gets another toesucking from the ghost of his wife who died after leaving his controlling ass. Specifically, after he threw his disabled brother out of his Clan, and after his lust for seeing random people (including his brother) get mauled at the border resulted in the death of Fox.

She tells him that his behavior never drove anyone away, it was all totally not his fault. I'm waiting for a laugh track and it never comes. The apologetics in this arc are unrivaled.

Then, Clear Sky wakes up and his pregnant wife is not next to him. So he goes looking for her and sees her being flanked by Slash and his memorable minions, Grunt 1 and Grunt 2. Star Flower is so possessed by fear that she doesn't move.

They REALLY need to sell that Slash is TRUE evil, PURE evil, because of the wet fart that is Clear Sky's redemption arc. They're saying that Clear Sky ISN'T bad, because he is not this. A dirty, sadistic monster who coos evilly about how he's going to hurt the kittens in his wife's belly and cruelly twitches his whiskers.

(as a petty side detail, please also note that this passage cannot even keep Slash's fur color straight. Behold, a cat so evil that he cannot even remain a brown tabby! He turns gray when he commits nefarious deeds! Ashfurification included!)

Star Flower is the one being pinned to the ground and having her face cut open as Slash screams about how she promised her father she'd be his mate, but this scene is about Clear Sky's distress. Star Flower is an object to this narrative, which these two men are in conflict over.

The pinning, the violence, the sexual implications, are being done to make Slash as monstrous as possible to contrast to Clear Sky. Slash doesn't kill anyone, so the narrative needs to make you SO UPSET your emotions are thrown into overdrive, so you'll accept how truly terrible he is.

The simple truth that this rancid book is trying to make you ignore, is that Clear Sky is exponentially more deadly. He has caused harm so unspeakable that they have to describe his bloody murders in passive voice. They "died" now, instead of "were killed," and the violent system he created is presented as "making up" for the trauma he's caused to the survivors.

"Pushing his muzzle close to her injured cheek, he licked the blood from her fur with a long, lingering lap."

Think critically about the characters they are presenting and the actions they make them do. None of these are real people. They are writing choices. They have portrayed Slash as a perverted, domineering, child-abusing savage, so Clear Sky the Settler can look good in comparison.

then Star Flower gets dragged off, kicking and struggling, feeble and completely unable to defend herself as clear sky thinks about how she might die along with his fetuses.

Obviously Clear Sky is so very stressed out by all this and needs to blow off some steam, so he smacks the nearest woman and starts screeching about how Star Flower is more loyal than the son he abuses

The first thing he does after the Slash event was physically assault the nearest woman. I can't... I don't have the words. Are you seeing this. Do you see what I am fucking dealing with. literally the first woman he sees.

"DOES THAT FEEL LIKE AN ACT??" He bellowed like a fucking wifebeater at the girl whose face is bleeding because he cut her in a fit of rage. That's fine as long as you don't lustfully lick it afterwards I guess!!!

#dotc hate #bones reads dotc #Slash dotc #this arc is going to END me #ill also get into how slash's description of events is a lie #but the fact he is a liar and pulling a bluff is a plot point later #Starf is around the same age as Thunder based on her order of events and Clear describes her as 'young'#Starf also does not lie. They talk about 'manipulation' and 'betrayal' but no. she's very honest #the only misleading she ever does is through vagueness like when thunder asks her 'do you know one eye'#and she says 'yes' but doesn't elaborate #a woman will have absolutely no choice in her actions and do nothing wrong by telling her dad about an assassination attempt #and the writers will put that on the same level as a man who beats kids and kills women and commits war crimes

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fantasy-anatomy-analyst · 3 months ago

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Do you have any critique for the designs of the Mudwings or Rainwings (from the Wings of Fire novels?)

okay, you know, i think i am going to just use this as a chance to talk about the most common pitfalls for dragon wing designs.

Wings of Fire designs are fine. the style is nice, the dragon designs are each unique enough from each other to stand out in their context. i can handwave some things about their anatomy because of the more cartoonized style and i will ignore the trope of making the evil dragons look distinctly more animalistic because it's clearly a series made for a younger audience.

but it still falls into the exact same dragon wing design problems i see absolutely everywhere. I've done it, you've done it, every single person who has ever tried to design a dragon in any style has done this. my points here are all based on the most common dragon wing type, which is the bat-like wing.

lack of patagium (the membrane between the shoulder and wrist) the Wings of Fire dragons are a bit awkward because some of them do have it and some of them do not and there does not seem to be a reason for this difference. the patagium is important! you really should have it on any dragon with that bat-like wing shape.

wing fingers extending past the membrane, especially with claws included. why are they doing that. when are those claws going to get used. wing fingers are built for the specific purpose of moving the wing. the only finger that should be extending out on its own with a claw is the thumb. unless you want to do pterosaur wings, in which case there are a few forward-facing fingers and one very long finger acting as the wing frame. honestly, more dragons should have pterosaur wings, they're an actual real life flying reptile and some of them were huge. please, we need more pterosaur-winged dragons.

membrane being way too deeply scooped between the fingers even when the wing is extended. this one makes me think people just don't actually know how wing membranes work. they are not a stiff material at all, but a very flexible type of skin. it should fold up between the fingers and near the body when the wing is withdrawn, but stretch out tight when the wing is extended. i know the scooped shape Looks Cooler but it's not very functional.

wing fingers being too stiff. those things move! they bend! they're very bendy! bats fly with a lot of finger curling. here are a few videos in slow motion that show the fingers and the flexible membrane really well: video 1. video 2. video 3. a lot of dragon designs i see just use the shoulder of the wing as the main point of motion. they won't even change the elbow angle. now, the elbow will never be fully straight in flight, but it should move too! I think one of the reasons people don't do this right is that it's just easier to use fewer points of motion in animation and obviously all dragons in motion are animated ones. but when you see it even on the hyper realistic style of dragons in things like Game of Thrones, it gets pretty frustrating. make those wings flex more. (and by mentioning the GoT dragons, I know they do move more than just the shoulder, but even their wing finger motion is very stiff, like the fingers only have one joint and the membrane doesn't move as much as it should)

elbow strut. you know what i mean. that weird little bone strut on the elbow on like every dragon design ever. it gets in the way of some very important membrane motion. it does not exist in any real life membranous wing that i am aware of. the closest you can argue for is that the yi qi, a dinosaur that might have had a membranous wing and also feathers, does have an odd strut-like bone and we don't know exactly how it was positioned. but from what i've seen, there is at least a consensus that it was connected to the wing hand, not the elbow. it might have been positioned parallel to the forearm and thus would create a strut-like shape extending at the elbow, but that's not how people draw the elbow strut on dragons. it always looks like there's just a weird stick attached to their joint. it serves no purpose. the reason people do this on their dragons is because they design the membrane poorly and need to add a strut to give the wing a bigger membrane. but this can be avoided if you just attach the membrane lower on the body to give it more surface area, and also let it stretch taut instead of making it scooped like it's slack even when the wing is extended. just do more studies of bat wings in motion and you'll have a better understanding of how your bat-like dragon wings should work.

#dragons #dragon wings #membranous wings

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liquidorcard · 17 days ago

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Could we maybe get an analysis on her “stop making villains like Magneto, they suck” video?

Also, I for one am sat patiently for that Flowers In The Attic analysis.

FItA Lorch Analysis coming next.

For right now: Part 3, Final round. FIGHT!

[Part 1] [Part 2]

Lily Commits Elder Gay Mutant Abuse, feat. "Eldritch Lily" (Part 3)

8:30: "And making these characters hop in the giant death robot so they can randomly do some heinous act of evil so you feel less guilty for wanting to bring them down is very telling about your priorities as a writer." [We're still talking about Korra, for context.]

I'm highlighting this quote more than anything as a means to really dig into the big stink with Lily's media analysis here. I've said something along the lines of, "I kind of agree with her, but not actually," several times while writing this, and this is exactly why.

I think a lot of people come at media criticism from a very flawed position because of the way the grading works in our school systems, of all things. They judge it like there is the possibility of getting an A+ on your show, movie, novel, video game, etc. For the purpose of reviews, as a quick way to indicate quality/how much you recommend a piece of media, I understand why critics would use scoring systems like that-- but when it comes to analysis, that's not really a useful approach. There are technical skills and proficiencies in execution that you can grade media on like that, but even they have their nuances. Conceptual ideas presented in media, however? No dice.

There are certain filmmakers in particular who I fully acknowledged are very skilled at their craft-- I still strongly dislike their films. I don't agree with the conceptual ideas they have to present, and I don't think they convincingly rationalize their position textually, subtextually, or otherwise. With that said: I think most media produced, regardless of quality, is a net positive for the intellectual landscape of humanity as a whole. With the exception of media that is actively harmful in a very direct way, disingenuous propaganda, or particularly egregious cases of cooperate slop, I support any creative's ability to add to the long-form conversation art and creation offers. Those highly proficient filmmakers I ideologically disagree with, their ability to articulate their worldview so genuinely, and clearly helped me as a creative articulate why I disagree.

With all that said, it's clear Lily doesn't think in that regard. Lily has taken media crit she has heard from other sources. She has just retrofitted it to whichever property she wants to rip into. If it superficially applies enough that she can misrepresent a piece of fiction with an argument, she will apply it across the broad. Approaching media crit like there is a definitive way to "score" fiction on its conceptual value, like it's a high schooler's end of term essay. Context be damned.

What she is articulating here is a valid criticism of certain fictions that try to present morally complex villains. This is a complaint I've made myself over properties like the first Black Panther film (which, thankfully, they at least did their best to rectify in the second). But not Kuvira. Not Magneto as a whole.

9:07: "Which would have been interesting, and led to some criticism of the main characters for trying to restore the same monarchy that has previously failed the people."

They weren't trying to restore the monarchy. They were protecting the prince from assassination. I feel like it'd be pretty tyrannical of the Avatar to say, "fuck you Earth Kingdom, you don't get your royal family anymore," without their say, Lily . . .

9:18: "Maybe talk about the United Republic being a literal concurred settler state."

YET AGAIN LILY'S CRITICISM BOILS DOWN TO, "I HAVE NEVER READ A COMIC."

9:30: [Lily takes like, the 12th bullshit pot shot at the creators of Avatar.]

I've ignored it up until this point. There's been too much else to talk about. But Lily has assumed an absurd amount about the authorial intent of everyone she's discussed in this video-- including Jack Kurby's intent when creating Magneto.

9:40: Lily fumbles through some final point here with two sentences that make no sense when put together about how this is all people doing tropes badly, but if you did it well then the trope wouldn't exist and aaaaaaaaaaaaa.

God please strike me down.

10:10: Lily calls this all propaganda.

Again. She's sort of right in the abstract, divorced from the content of her video. Wrong when taken in context of what she's talking about. SOMETIMES "sympathetic villains" are used as political propaganda. Sometimes, they're a legitimate expression of a creator's misunderstanding or mischaracterization of an ideology. Sometimes, they're an earnest dissection of the ideological concept.

Good argument of specific pieces of media, retrofitted, flattened of any nuance, used to discredit a thing Lily doesn't like across the board.

We're in a timeloop.

10:25:

God is dead and we have killed him.

11:01: "The problem is that this idea of all villainy being nuanced and complicated has just never really been true. Evil people in real life will often just invent justification for evil things they already want to do. And there's a point where someone crosses the line of evil so much that nothing they say earns them sympathy."

Lily thinks people commit acts of extreme violence and atrocity for . . . Fun, I guess. Disturbingly enough, this tracks real well with how she's justified her own abhorrent actions in the past. When other people do bad things, it's because they like it and are bad. When she does a bad thing, she has a reason, and therefore, it's justified. Another self-tell Lillian.

11:42: "The problem with my idea for these kinds of villains is that they inherently make white people of any gender uncomfortable."

GOD FINALLY FUCKING DONE THIS GOD FORSAKEN VIDEO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Pray for me, the fucking psychic damage I just fucking took for you guys.

I suppose the only take away here is this:

The thing that's so exhausting about Lily's videos is the complexity of the degrees in which she is wrong. She's developed, for lack of a better word, a talent for laundering good arguments in a very disingenuous fashion. I wouldn't go so far as to call what she does plagiarism. Her work is more than just stealing other people's arguments and regurgitating them back-- but what she does is a spiritual cousin of sorts.

She bootlegs intellectualism to sharpen it into a shiv she can use to stab at anything that displeases her. The same way she weaponizes her marginalized identity, she weaponizes honest and thoughtful media analysis aswell.

This video was, frankly, barely even about Magneto. Barely even about sympathetic villains. She has no interest in the material that was the topic of this video-- not even enough to do a bare-bones Google search beyond looking up vague facts she could massage into supporting her claims.

A lot of those very early X-Men comics are fucking rough. They include shit like Charles expressing some very creepy thoughts about a (I believe then) teenage Gene Grey. Some very yikes dynamics with the then mostly/arguably entirely white mutants acting out very on-the-nose imagery associated at the time with the black liberation movement. And some very questionable framing and dynamics due to the fact that, real life marginalized groups typically don't have dangerous superpowers.

However, you can almost sense the moment when Kurby started to take the reigns and make the X-Men into something really special. Not to imply that Stan Lee is a bigot or a bad writer, he had very good intentions. By his own admission, he did his best work as a collaboration with his artists guiding the story along with him (sometimes, well, functionally being the actual writer, no offense, Lee left a bit of a complicated legacy, we can't get into it right now.) Anyone familiar with Kurby's work as a whole will know just how profoundly humanist he was with the stories he told.

Despite what Lily arrogantly implied here, he always intended Erik to be a very sympathetic character. Even as a "villain," a sympathetic character vaguely coded as an "extremist" black activist was kind of bold for the 1960s. I can't tell you for certain what ol' Jack's authorial intent was, the man very rudely died 3 years before I was born so I never really got the chance to ask him-- but dare I say this was his best attempt at laundering the idea that maybe "radical" activists actually maybe had a point? To an audience who would have been VERY against that idea if presented to them outright at the time? Even now?

Media does have the power to shift cultural perception-- even if that takes time. In the early 2000s, when I was taught about Malcome X for the first time as a child, even then, 40-some-odd-years later he was presented to me in a negative light. It was in the context of him being the inspiration for Magneto, however. The emotional connection I had to that character made me question whether that characterization of Malcome was entirely fair-- even though I was too young and didn't have the full context to grasp what I was being told at the time. I do believe to some extent that Magneto's popculture relevance has helped preserve the legacy of some of the more controversial activists in history. By being a figure people can personally connect with. Of course, it's all more complicated and messy than I'm making it sound, however. It's unfortunately very easy to flanderize figures of history, boil down their motives, and flatten their narratives. A character in a story, detached from any direct sociopolitical baggage, is something you can form a bond with. Something that can (if handled properly) promote empathy for their real-life equivalents.

There absolutely is a conversation to be had about certain ideologies or positions being more often than not, for practical or political purposes, cast in the antagonistic role in fiction. However, Lily's thesis here, boiled down to the bones, has been disproven ten times over by the abject failure of shit like The Comic's Code Authority and The Hays Code. People don't emotionally connect with squeaky clean moral paragons as much as they do messy, complicated, emotionally challenging complex characters-- even when you paint them as the abject villain of the story.

People fucking adore Magneto. He's a cultural icon. Even before the FoX-Men movies came out, he was probably one of the few comicbook characters your mom could name. Vaguely recognize, at the least. And yes, that doesn't always translate into people being charitable to "radical" civil rights activists in real life-- but doesn't necessarily harm it either. Anecdotally, it helps, if but just a smidgen.

Anyway, get fucked Lily. Magnet Daddy FTW.

P.S. X-Men '97 is really good. Also, it's 100% alluding to these two having fucked. Maybe outright confirmed it by now, I'm not totally caught up.

I mean, we all already knew they totally were lovers, but.

Come on Disney, give the people what they want. Make 'em kiss. These poor old men have been having sexual tension for like, 60 years.

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