#because all the other human villians make sense on some level

[iliterallydecepticanteven]

A lot of things confuse me about TFA but the one that confuses me the most is how the fuck did a child get her hands on machinery and electronics capable of creating weapons of mass destruction? Like fucking Professor Princess is flying around on a robot horse and launching attacks on people with weaponry that I can only hope is not on the public market and I'm supposed to just not question that? That's a 7 year old. Where are her parents? How did she get all this shit? They should've just given her a DS and a copy of Animal Crossing Wild World and she would've been too distracted to do any of that destructive shit.

[fixated-dark-king]

Sooo, I had the amazing experience of attending a panel C.S. Pacat was part of during the Sydney Writers’ Festival on 25th May 2024. The panel was called “Creating a Monster” (with two other YA authors).

And finally a week later (because adult-ing is hard), I had time to actually go through my notes and write up some of the fascccccinating things Pacat had to say about: monsterous heroes, and villains, and enemies-to-lovers deliciousness, and queer identity!

I didn’t want to forget some of the interesting things said in this panel and thought others might be interested in hearing about them too? Please indulge the splurge. :)

(Please note that all bold headers are just my thematic summary of each section for people to jump to, not the actual question asked.)

WHAT APPEALS ABOUT ‘THE MONSTROUS’ TO PACAT:

From a technical writing standpoint, the ‘Monstrous’ is appealing because a villain will often do an act and the hero reacts to that. It gives unconscious clues to the reader that when the villain turns up, something exciting is going to happen. In that sense, villainous characters have a special sort of ever-present attention given to them (possibly because human nature is to always keep one eye on the dangerous thing that could harm you).

On a personal level: A) When queer characters are awesome but also ‘Monstrous’, Pacat says it can feel really ‘electric’ and empowering to reclaim/allow yourself to embrace the monster role that you’ve been told you fit into by society. Like in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles where queer people are allowed to be beautiful/glittering & powerful & witty & have existential conversations about good and evil while fitting under the Monstrous label. Like heck yeh, that’s cool. And B) as an author, you can feel a ‘minority pressure’ to have characters be Good all the time and be the perfect ambassador for that minority, but sometimes you just want to be a vampire and take over the world, you know?

THE EXISTENCE OF ‘PROTAGONIST-CENTRED MORALITY’ WITHIN THE DARK RISE BOOKS:

When pondering whether it is hard as a writer to convince readers that a Monstrous protagonist is a likeable character, Pacat pointed out that the funny thing is that the question ‘How am I going to make readers like this monster?’ never really ends up being an issue because people actually really like monsters! The thing you might not expect is that the struggle is actually: ‘How am I going to make these readers who are barracking for the protagonist feel that this ‘monster’ is actually monstrous?’

Pacat explained that when a protagonist is also a monster, it brings into play something called ‘Protagonist-Centric Morality’ -- where you bond with that protagonist and want the best for them etc, so much that it can obscure when the protagonist is actually doing something bad. Pacat mentioned that he has found the Protag-Centric Morality fairly striking in the case of the Dark Rise books because people have said to him things like: ‘The Dark King Did Nothing Wrong Ever In His Whole Life’ and Pacat questioned whether the moral centre of the story was landing somewhere different than intended. He was curious whether the other authors had experienced that with their ‘monstrous’ protagonists too.

IF A HERO IS ALSO MONSTROUS, HOW ON EARTH DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE THAT FROM THE VILLIAN? When pondering over the distinction between a Monstrous Hero and a Villain, Pacat shared some thoughts from his lived experience. He said the times when he has felt most threatened by the ‘Monstrous’ is when that person isn’t clearly identifiable to others around you; where there isn’t a shared understanding between everyone that ‘yes, that person is a monster’. Extending from that, the Truly Monstrous is when that person has some kind of control over you and control over the narrative as well; if the monster is the one telling the story but casting you as the monster. Essentially gaslighting via ‘narrative control’.

ENEMIES TO LOVERS TROPE:

This is Pacat’s absolute favourite romantic trope. And he elaborated that he doesn’t mean that in the sense of ‘these characters sort of don’t like each other’, but rather to the point where two characters really hate each other and for a very good reason. He likes when a path between two characters feels IMPOSSIBLE to overcome.

This trope was first explored in the Captive Prince trilogy and Pacat loved it so much he just had to use it again for the Dark Rise trilogy. The planning behind it for CaPri was brainstorming: ‘What is the worst thing I could think to use?’ (Answer: Killing a character’s brother, which lands the bereaved character into a set of hellish circumstances.) But that meant when Pacat decided to use it again for DR, he had to extend that to: ‘Now I need to think of something EVEN WORSE THAN THAT (CaPri)’ in order to separate the main characters. So Pacat had to spend ages thinking about what could be the absolute worst thing to use this time -- and he hopes that he came up with something that is ‘truly, truly way worse.’ Which essentially had everyone, including the moderator, laughing loudly in fear. XD

WILL KEMPEN: FOUND FAMILY & THE LONELINESS OF INAUTHENTICITY:

Pacat spent a lot of time trying to develop a really meaningful platonic friendship between Will and Violet. It meant a lot to see a friendship like that reflected on page for Pacat because some of the most important friendships of his life were across gender lines. The reception to Will and Violet has been so pleasantly surprising, so Pacat supposed he wasn’t the only one with a hunger for that kind of friendship within the romantasy genre.

Pacat also reflected on Will’s complex relationship with his Found Family -- that having the support of a Found Family can be so essential, but in Will’s case that lifeline is undermined by secrecy, turning that Found Family into a different kind of loneliness. Because the thing is: if something so immense happens to you that you feel you can’t talk about, or you feel some way about yourself but think you can’t share that with others, it means you can’t really be your authentic self. But if you’re not being you’re authentic self, who are your friends friends with? They can’t be friends with the true You; they can only be friends with a facade/with a performance. So as long as Will is scared to show his true self and remains hiding himself away from even his friends, he will be alone. It’s a hard step to take. (Note from me: so heavvvvy but poignant.)

NOT DR-RELATED, BUT PACAT’S FAV MONSTERS FROM POPULAR FICTION: Pacat was so excited to namedrop his favourite monsters from popular fiction, he volunteered to go first LOL. The answers: 'The Brat Prince' Lestat (Lestat has been on his mind a lot recently because the AMC TV portrayal captures Lestat so well & has completely rejuvenated Pacat’s 12 year-old love of vampires. Total mood); serial killers such as in the Ripley series; and simply: American Psycho.

Great panel, right? Now it’s Europe’s turn!

[luna-rainbow]

I've been reading through the posts and anons regarding Bucky's characterisation in FATWS and I couldn't agree more with your responses.

I think the deep dives and theories from some of the anons on how the writing for Bucky could be spun if we really wanted to are interesting and well intentioned but when I look at what was actually presented, I finished FATWS feeling like I was supposed to view Bucky as a reformed villain who was looking for redemption and that I was supposed to root for him now that he was on the right path and making choices to atone for his sins and make right for his life of crime ---and, considering Bucky was a victim, that did not sit right with me at all. I find it hard to believe that someone could have watched Bucky's story from the beginning and not rooted for him the whole way through.

I actually found the attempts to villainise him a disgusting narrative choice.

This was not an arc about a victim healing, it was an arc about an assassin looking for redemption.

So I think that even if the attempt was to show the shadiness of the government or to portray it as Bucky's misplaced guilt being the driving force, it ultimately doesn't matter because that's not how the narrative presented it. Bucky makes a lot of statements that signify his own feelings of guilt and low sense of self worth 'the power I gave her' 'I know crazy because I am crazy' the conversation he has with Sam about why he has to be the one to talk to Zemo--and none of these statements are shot down, not even by Sam who is supposed to be our hero and experienced PTSD therapist. In fact, Sam even encourages Bucky's negative self image at points with lines like 'even him, and he's killed everyone he's ever met' (which is why I'll also argue that Sam is mischaracterised in this show too)

That's because the narrative wants us to take Bucky's guilt at face value, they want us to see this as a matter fact and something that Bucky has to redeem himself from in order to reach his goal of feeling worthy and human again. They want Bucky's guilt to be a point both he and the audience agree on.

While the narrative leaves space for us to counter its perception of Bucky and his level (or lack) of responsibility for things that The Winter Soldier did--it does nothing to counter its own assumption that Bucky should be considered complicit in the things he was forced to do by Hydra.

We are told some form of this by everyone from Zemo to Sharon to Karli to Raynor to Isaiah to even Sam.

Even when Bucky finally breaks and openly admits that he's beginning to question Steve's faith in him, there is no response to counter his lack of self belief. Neither Sam nor Raynor argue the matter.

During the one moment that the writing could have explicitly made it clear that the narrative viewed Bucky as a victim of Hydra instead of the villian he believes himself to be, we got blank space instead. They could have expanded on the scene between him and Yori and used the father of one of The Winter Soldier's targets to make the point that Bucky was a victim too but instead, we got the implication that Yori was yet another person seeing him as the same monster that Bucky believes himself to be.

So when we take the writing as it actually is, we are left with Bucky believing he is responsible for the crimes that Hydra committed using The Winter Soldier. We are left with no one countering his belief, we are in fact left with both our protagonists and antagonists equally reinforcing Bucky's guilt and self-portrayal as a reforming villain and we are left with Bucky learning that he has to pay for what 'he' did by living in service of those 'he' hurt.

That is what the narrative tells us about Bucky Barnes in FATWS. That is what the character of Bucky Barnes tells us in FATWS, that is what the other characters tell us about Bucky Barnes in FATWS--and we have nothing within the narrative of FATWS that leads us to believe otherwise.

Hello lovely! I'm not sure how I missed this post although I did have a lot of personal stuff going on a few months ago and maybe I shelved it for a time I could reply properly, so apologies for the delay!

All excellent points up there.

Back during the height of the TFATWS discourse (mostly stemming from the fact that several of us were trying to write fix-its and just couldn't make the canon make sense), one of the key points of contention was between fans who felt the narrative fell short in addressing Bucky's lack of agency and therefore lack of liability for the Winter Soldier's crimes, vs other fans who felt Steve's one line in CACW "it wasn't your fault" was enough and hence his lack of agency did not need to be raised again in TFATWS.

But you are absolutely right. The narrative frames Bucky as guilty and volatile, and it does nothing to dispose the viewers otherwise. None of the characters treat him in a way that suggests any empathy for his status as a prisoner of war, only something bordering on derision that he's been spared punishment.

Which, I think, accurately reflects how most of the MCU writers have spoken of him.

[renoxvated]

SENSES & OTHER SPECIFIC HEADCANONS.

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE SMELL LIKE?

He smells a lot like warm skin on a summer's day, vaguely of (sweet but musky) sweat and earth— something akin to the hot sand and dust. There’s a smell that lingers of smoke and alcohol on his lips and you’ll often catch the waft of the coppery scent of blood, or the dull air of campfire from his clothing. 

Sometimes he smells like oil and grease too. If he's working on weapons or tinkering on something, it’ll linger on him a little longer than it should. 

When he’s in less hot climates— I like to think he smells more earthy but like the ground after it rains. 

WHAT DO YOUR MUSE’S HANDS FEEL LIKE?

Rough, calloused from using them as a weapon. They’re large and thick and they’re not soft in the slightest but when he holds someone just right you’d think they were. They’re also heavily scarred and bruised at any given time, both various shades of old and new wounds settled into his skin, they make his hands feel like a road map of every decision he’s ever made both bad and good.

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY EAT IN A DAY?

Food? Anything and everything, he doesn’t know when his next meal is going to be, so he’ll really just eat anything and drink anything that’s vaguely digestible and drinkable, even if it’s questionable at best. His favorite thing to eat is Sugar Bombs however as he has a bit of a sweet tooth. 

DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE A GOOD SINGING VOICE?

Absolutely not, it’d be scratchy, loud and out of tune. Maybe charming if you knew him in a way that’s like your drunk friend being a dumbass at karaoke night but he definitely can’t sing— unfortunately much like the drunk friend at karaoke that’s never stopped him. 

DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE ANY BAD HABITS OR NERVOUS TICS?  

He has SO MANY, he moves his hands a lot in weird little motions, he always has to be touching something like he’s grounding himself, most of the time it’s just his own hands cracking themselves together or rubbing at his arms or face. He rolls his shoulders often and bounces on his heels, or moves and wiggles in place. Roy licks and bites at his lips all the time, and he sticks out his tongue more often than any one person should when he’s excited or nervous, etc— whatever emotional extreme. 

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY LOOK LIKE/WEAR?

Usually like he just crawled out of bed, though it’s the sort of crawled out of bed that’s kind of half put together without him trying so you’re like, how??? His hair is in fluffy messy curls, when it isn’t drenched in sweat or covered in water, from him pouring it on himself when he gets too hot. 

He wears big ol’ dusty dirty work boots, or on occasion cowboy boots, depending on what he can find. He loves tacky tourist shirts and tank tops. Denim jeans are just fine by him, in either blue or black. 

He wears a lot of paramilitary clothing if he’s going out to fight more dangerous battles such as his NCR Ranger variant attire. Normally he has either a leather jacket on, or his Ranger duster that’s adorned with patches from all the places he’s been, they cover up all the bullet holes and mutant rips pretty nicely. 

He has two bags he carries around, one side satchel that’s his Mojave Express bag and an old beat up military looking backpack. There is of course the Pip-Boy that Doc Mitchell gave to him too, it’s nothing fancy but it does have some slight variation to it after he got House to have it upgraded. 

IS YOUR MUSE AFFECTIONATE? HOW MUCH? HOW SO?

Roy is…well he’s a bit of an enigma when it comes to affection because he’s VERY touchstarved, like he might as well be so starved for attention and affection that he’s in a desert and he’s PARCHED for it. Be he fears it just as much if not MORE than he craves it. I think on a deeper level he wants that human connection with people, he doesn't want to be seen as some hero or villian, he just wants to be seen as what he is, and he wants people in his life that will show him the affection, either emotional or physical, friendly or otherwise that he's lacked. That being said he’s so leery of being touched or being affectionate physically and even emotionally that unless he’s doing it to be annoying, he’s just not going to do it at all-- or usually react well to it. 

He likes to show his affection in ways other than touch though, usually by his actions or gifts and in that way he is the most generous and affectionate to those that he cares about, in stark contrast to his otherwise flagrant nature.

That isn’t to say he couldn’t be physically affectionate with someone but it would definitely be harder for him to get comfortable, that being said once he was I imagine the fact that he's been so scared and touch starved for attention would make him almost overly affectionate physically at times and at other times when he’s in his feelings not at all again. 

WHAT POSITION DOES YOUR MUSE SLEEP IN?

Roy tosses and turns A LOT, he tends to have bad nightmares after he returns from the Madre, so he prefers not sleeping around anyone if he can help it. Sometimes he just won’t sleep at all because of that. If he does sleep it’s always on his side, sort of curled up with one eye open. 

As long as he can anyway until he eventually surrenders to his exhaustion; before waking up sweaty clutching his golden arm or his neck. 

He doesn’t like to be under any kind of covers as his body temperature tends to run hot anyway and he doesn’t like feeling confined. He is however a bed hog and will slump his whole body on top of anyone next to him.

COULD YOU HEAR YOUR MUSE IN THE HALLWAY FROM ANOTHER ROOM?

If you didn’t hear him even from another room it’d be a miracle, Roy is loud and boisterous, some might consider him obnoxious— but it is what it is. He knows how to be quiet but it’s in the spare moments where it matters. 

Those quiet moments before you put the fire out after dark, looking out at a sunset or someone just needs comfort without words, when it’s life or death if he doesn’t shut his trap, you know those kind of moments he could be so quiet you wouldn’t even think he was the same person. He can also be quiet in a rage just as easily as he can be loud, and heaven help whatever has him that quiet, because if he’s that serious; he’s also that deadly. 

Otherwise though yes, you will probably hear him from another room, but maybe if that loud laugh, or string of curses weren’t there the house would feel just a bit too empty. 

Tagged by @ruinouss

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do this!

[not-souleaterpost]

The suprisingly bad plot of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

So I played this little fun Jet Set Radio clone (don't worry, it ties into the iceberg, so I wasnt technically procrastinating with video games-)

And the thing that stuck out besides the expected and fun is how the story was bad. In a surprising way - not as "oh I didnt expect it to suck so much!!!" But nah, what I mean is that it failed in a interesting way.

So what do I mean?

Well lets start with the whole setup "Oh yeah, you get your head chopper of and are actually just a random scrap metal robot controling a should-be lifeless body."

This is weird enough, but the fact that there is that much head switching and body stitching is just strange, you wouldnt really expect that from a skating game - hell it makes the casual light-bulb eye-switching from Naruto look tame in comparison.

Still, one could guess that its just a quirky thing (or more disturbingly that some of the developers gets off from it, like not the weirdest thing that exist) - just some funny detail to get attention and stand out.

But not, this thing actually is the crux of the whole "theme" and "charachter arc"

And its weird that this kind of game trys that, like if mario struggled with alcholism as a framing decice for generic platformer #64. Cause why do something that is overly ambitious and will fail?

Like this game sadly failed - the whole search for "roots" just felt kinda unatural and as if the people were living in a different world from you (like ok I get it the society literally is that much weirder, but I mean in a sense of just procecing information and emotions differently than a standard human would)

Just the fact that the charachters feel empty and you dont really connect with them or their relationships makes everything hollow - yet its weird that they tried at all - cause yeah in the end in Jet Set Radio, nobody gives a shit about that stuff, we just wanna ride the line with carefull cartoon charicatures.

Yet still the story decided to introduce plot twist, thematic foils, villians with pseudo-arcs, drama etc.

But somehow it doesnt get how at the same time it just doesnt work on a basic level - like after its revealed that not only that Faux guy killed Felix for a petty reason but also is about to kill all other Graffiti pals, its kinda irellevant that his "big secret" was "Oh your dad kept you out of trouble"

Yet the game plays that up as some final all revealing shocker, and even gives Faux a death mirroring Felix initial fall.

Also the whole arc of Felix is both weird and at the same time something that seems to be trying to say something - from starting as some random smart hair-dryer, to it being revealed that he secretly was a legendary skater with amnesia, and the whole "you are both now"-

I get kinda that they tried to say "look he died partly because of his arrogance and not letting others be close may sparked Faux's psychopathy", but still at the end it just doesnt click, you know what Im saying - the first thing after coming to life with no memory is "Oh I wanna paint the city, yeah why not and find my original head even if its not really mine" and then "Oh I guess I learned the power of friendship, even if we interacted minimally and in the end only the final thematic attack showed the use of bonds"

Like yeah, it showed literally moments how without other people he would be dead but still it was so subdued that its weird to do a whole story like that.

Especially a story as whacky as it - with a evil skater head taking over the police and brainwashing everyone to do his biding while becoming a giant centipede monster.

But the weirdest part is that it even had the whole meta-commentary about how yeah it IS a rip-off and one cant escape that, but like, we are totally something new too guys!

But guess the only really clever writting was the set up of that weirdo with angel wings actually having a absurd but believable reason for overhearing everything lol.

Yet other things just go nowhere - the sniper kinda disapears from the story, there are obvious times where you are just sent in circles for padding, etc.

And that last thing is kinda what leads me to my attempt to reverse engineer the story -

I would guess they started with the wacky desing of the main guy and someone though "but why do he be having that crazy head thou?"

And from that it sparked the idea, well he lost the head - and that connected with the whole "identity" thing especially when they had to think if they were making something creative or just puppetering the corpse of a dead, head-team less corpse of a faux legendary franchise (I dunno why I said faux, I like JSR, but I had to tie in the names)

The details came later, hence why DJ Cybers Mask is supposedly Felix's, even though it doesnt fit the latter - cause yeah the charachter designs werent made like that originally.

And thats why there is some weird padding and moments - cause of budget reasons some things had to be stretched, or maybe some things had to be used in a way to maximise what one has done and to not throw away some cool concepts, even if they clash.

Also, Im not knocking this associative way of coming up with storys, just speculating if thats how it all came together.

Still, the fact that the story isnt just "Yeah we are rebels and here are police, lets fight!" without any of the before mentioned window dressing is surprising.

And, being non-generic is a positive surprise, no matter the execution - so see, this "essay" wasnt shitting on this game afterall.

(also contrast for a simmilar story that is unsurprisingly bad - Gravity Rush - but I'll save that for another time, man I wish that games creative direction was done by someone else, cause the gameplay itself has moments of being more fun than a lot of things...)

Oh also the proof that this all relates back to the Soul Eater iceberg - see what I found (sadly not first, cause I googled and some redditor noticed 2 months ago, alas if I played this game way back I would have had this eternal glory, not shame😔):

And if you say: That's it? I expected more!:

Yeah...Sorry

[sophiapathic]

Sk8: The Infinity - A Take on Love

Because my six unfinished assignments can wait until I throw this into the void, scream for five hours and after my voice gets hoarse, I resort to watching the beach episode on loop until next Saturday.

This was entirely sparked by the recap episode, which really pressed the reak havoc and theorize button in my brain. I am truly losing my grip on reality. Help. I apologize in advance, creatures of Tumblr. 

Me right now:

Anyways... 

I saw people mention here and there screaming that “we need canon relationships and they will get trust issues if a romance isn’t confirmed by the end of the series”. I think that mindset is harmful to have in this case. You can’t really avoid being disappointed if you get into the series expecting it to deliver on your wishes of gay romances. So, this might be controversial, but stay with me please. The anime and manga are both confirmed to be based primarily about the characters themselves and of course the sport -skating. I was hoping to take a closer look at what the series intends to do with certain dynamics and relationships according to yours truly. I also want explain my reasoning behind it not being queerbaiting, though it being inherently queer-coded, through the current lense of the canon.

Sk8: The Infinity is unquestionably a love story.

We need to state the genres this series is in, because some of us tend to forget. It is in fact not a shounen-ai, not a yaoi, not a romance, not even a josei. Say it with me it is a series in: COMEDY and SPORTS.

(Source is the official US Sk8 website.) The spotlight is udoubtedly on skating and what it means. Another important highlight of the show is how the definition of the sport relates to the characters, and how vastly different they are from what we expect. For example, when we see Shadow first, we pigeonhole him into this vulgar indecent rock and roll persona, only to find out later that he is actually a stweetheart at a flower shop. Joe is another very good case study. When we first see him we think of him as a womanizer muscle-head, later we find out he has a heart of gold and is very emotionally intelligent. We’re also quick to judge Miya as the cold, unfeeling prodigy then we discover how lonely and normal he is on the inside. And so on and so on. 

The show continues to defy our expectations of what each character should be like. In a way it is about breaking the conventional stereotypical roles we subconsciously assign to certain looks. We see that even in anime, multifaceted characters can exist without distrupting or damaging the delicate dynamics of a traditional sports anime. We successfully established the second focal point of the series as disproving stereotypes and presenting strong, diverse and unexpected personalities.

How about the defition of skating? What does it mean in the context of Sk8: The Infinity then? Where does a love story come into the picture? Skating is repeatedly described as a ritual of love within the anime, an idea that our villian, Ad*m, is obessed with. In a sense skating is a language of love canonically.

Then skating itself is love. Throughout the series we see varied styles of skating therefore different ways of expressing love, affection. We get to experience several metaphorical ways of “being in love” through characters skating with each other. Each dynamic shows us a type of love. Healthy, disfunctional, outright abusive. 

The way Reiki teaches Langa to skate can be interpreted as a direct metaphor for someone learning to love again after losing a person close to them. Langa’s father has died and Reiki literally brings him out of his shell again. It can also be interpreted as a queer kid’s experience of a world of romance that feels similar to his previous one, that being snowboarding, yet it still being new and different. Skateboarding. When due to Reiki Langa’s potential is discovered and his hunger for more and more develops, especially next to Ad*m, Reiki’s main frustration stems from them not being well-matched or on equal footing anymore. He feels like he cannot give Langa what he needs anymore. Which would obviously go againts the literal description of a healthy romance. Two people with mutual respect who both bring equal assets to the table. He feels like he needs to catch-up to be with Langa again. The only thing he doesn’t consider is Langa’s deep appreciation of him and the fact that literally he was the one who helped Langa experince the feeling of love again.

Kojiro and Kaoru’s relationships, to me, is very much representative of two people  wanting to be in each other’s presence, but due to their different language of love, miscommunicating horribly. Them bantering and insulting each other is the only way they know what to do with the other. The only way they can ensure the other’s attention and eyes are on them. This has worked so far. They are literal opposites, but both have a very clear definition of their form of love. To Joe skating, or love itself, is about the feeling and going with the flow. Being spontaneous. Whereas for Cherry, every move needs to be calculated and executed perfectly in order to be “efficient”. Their frustration comes from both wanting different things from the other, but not communicating their need properly. Despite this, they stick together due to a magnetic pull they obviously feel towards the other. The attraction is there, the trust is there, they are even well-matched in skill as we see them neck-to-neck constantly. They could give each other what the other wants. Only if they could express themselves well... This is why Joe pushes Reiki towards reconciling with Langa. he wants them to not fall into the same trap of not stating their  needs and thoughts properly.

Now Ad*m and Langa are obviously problematic and I don’t really want to have to explain, honestly guys. I really don’t  (since I have trauma regarding this subject), but I need to go into this a little bit. This is a textbook toxic predatory relationship. Where the older, twisted, damaged person, has an obsession with a young, outstading child. He wants to lead him into “Paradise” and show his “Eve” what love is really about. (Ain’t that disgusting you guys...) His form of love is inflicting pain, so I really can’t imagine a scenario where he and his “Eve” live happily ever after and everything is fine and dandy. He needs someone who he can torture. He literally is looking for someone who can handle his way of expressing affection, his “love hug”, who has the same type of crazy eyes for adrenaline and danger. His Eve. In his distorted mind, this all makes sense and Langa is that someone he was looking for thoughout the years. The problem is, he disregards Langa’s side where the relationship becomes problematic.

Cherry and Ad*m during their younger years seems to be a very innocent infatuation on Kaoru’s end. It is a one-sided relationship where someone is in love with the idea of a person long gone. They were discovering the world of skating, or the world of love together with Ad*m taking the lead. Cherry immediately became infatuated with him, wanted to learn his love language, wanted to be at the same level he was. It probably started very innocent. At first, Ad*m being gentle, because that’s how Tadashi was with him too, then after whatever happened between those two, Ad*m, disappointed in the way of love, or skating, Tadashi showed him, returned to what his aunts taught him. Maybe after injuring Kaoru with the “love hug”, therefore eliminating him from being his potential partner, started looking for his “Eve”, gradually became more agressive in love as in skating. Kaoru was distraught and wanted the Ad*m he originally learned love from back. Holding out some hope even years after. Trained to get used to his “love hug”, to literally condition himself to be able to get close to him. Ad*m, however showed Cherry brutally that he truly cannot handle his way of love.

Ad*m and Tadashi. *sighs* As of this post, I don’t really have enough information to give you a good overview of what I see this relationship representing. As far as I can tell Ad*m was abused horribly and to ease the pain and make him forget, Tadashi showed his another way of expressing affection. Skating or love. Basically a first love gone horrible bad, scarring an already abused child and turning them into a monster. Tadashi himself reinstates this during one of the episodes. It was his fault that Ad*m turned out the way he did. Their love slowly became strongly abusive throughout the years. Tadashi is stuck in it because he feels like he deserves it. This is a metaphor for  dangers of an emotionally and physically abusive relationship, where one person feels responsible and the other is using power. Tadashi’s guilt keeps him next to his master and he even endures abuse, now he is trying to break out and show Ad*m he messed up and I think this could potentially be a good representation of how difficult that process truly is. 

As far as Reiki’s, Miya’s, Shadow’s skating goes. Their main arc relating to love is first and foremost learning to accept themselves and aprecciating their uniqe way and style of skating. Only after can they become people who can truly be accomplished in love/skating (in Miya’s case I’m obviously talking about platonic feelings). Each of them had a preconception of their persona in love/skating, which gets questioned heavily throughout the series. Miya gets defeated, Shadow’s soft side gets discovered, Reiki... well. I get sad. :c Even though he taught someone to love again, to appreciate life again, he ended up discovering how dissatisfied he truly is with himself... These three all need to learn to love every aspect of themselves to reach fulfillment and to really experience healthy human relationships.

Sk8: The Infinity is unquestionably a love story, without explicitly being a romance, meaning that it is a tale about love, both romantic, platonic and everything inbetween through a queer-coded lens, showing both dysfunctional, abusive and healthy relationships, ways to express emotions and even delves into self-love and the idea of nature versus nurture in the villian’s case.

That is why I, personally don’t scream for a canon couple. To me, the show gets its main point about affection and love across, without making any of these relationships explicitly stated. Not to mention that it does justice to both of its assigned genres. Comedy and Sports as well. Yeah sure, I wouldn’t complain, but I think these dynamics are more than satisfying to watch, and much deeper than bishounens wanting to bang each other, which is, in my opinion, inherently sexualized. If they want, yeah they can confirm, make it canon without forcing it to be a center storyline. Hell, I would even be happy about it. I would clap with all of us. BUT, as the series currently is, I really see it taking the other route because of the above. This way audiences who want a yaoi or ikemen going at it, won’t be disappointed with the series when they find doesn’t revolve around that, straight viewers will just find it flamboyant, and people who look for subtext and want to read between the lines will certainly do that with the amount of crumbs and hints the writers gave us. 

We don’t need outright, written in black and white gay representation in Sk8 to experience very real types of love. The queer theme is secondary to me, just like queerness is, in most people’s lives. Yeah sure, it is a big thing, but not the only attribute a person has. My life doesn’t revolve around my queerness. I rarely talk about it. If I was a main character this would be a side-arc. Just like Sk8 doesn’t revolve around the characters coming out. It’s just them living their lives and possibly being queer while doing so. If you look at it this way, it is almost normalizing attraction between same-sex people by just showing it as regular love. If you can, why not interpret it this way, so it can be a liberating experience instead of a disappointing one.

Please don’t attack me! I am fragile and this is only my opinion. c:  *crawls back into her hole*

[whatisleftnow]

Ok so I gotta pop back in again because it makes me said that my last two post were so negative. So I want to talk about some of the top reasons I absolutely loved the Loki series.

#1 Tom Hiddleston. Just gotta be upfront about the fact that Tom is the main reason I was so excited about this show. He is obviously a very attractive human. But he is also so passionate about everything he does, especially performing as Loki. That passion is infectious and his joy make me uncontrollably happy.

#2 Aesthetics! The show is beautiful. The colors, the landscapes, the mid century modern vibes. The costuming! Every single frame is beautifully shot. I could talk your ear off about how stunning the end of time scenes were. I want to explore every inch of that magical marble mansion. Like who knocked the statue, why is it dusty, I want to know more!?!? The branching time lines were so pretty, I need a better word than pretty but it is all I can think of.

#3 The exploration of trust. The show is a finely craft essay on what trust means and who deserves it. Not only the trust between Loki and Sylvie or Loki and Mobius. But also between Mobius and Rovanna. Like does the length of a friendship mean it is stronger, or is it better defined by the lengths you would go for that person. Putting your job on the line vs putting your life on the line.

Or even the difference between how Rovanna, Mobius, and B-15 place their trust in the TVA. The conversation between Rovanna and B-15 reminded me of the therapy session between Sam and Bucky in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Bucky says something thing along the lines of "If Steve was wrong about you, then what's to say he wasn't wrong about me?" Bucky was so broken that he defined his goodness by the word of Steve alone, so if Steve was wrong then maybe Bucky wasn't good. Similarly we see the way Ravonna is clinging to the idea that the TVA has to be good, because she has seen and done so many unspeakable things. And if it wasn't for the "greater good", then she would have to admit to herself that she was a villian.

That is some powerful shit!

#4 Well thought out characters that have the depth to stand up on their own. Whether you like, love, or hate a character, they are all just so well written and performed. If it wasn't already obvious I love main Loki. But I also love the character of Mobius, because he is such a soft gentle character who seeks truth calmly. He wants to understand Loki on a deeper level, and is willing to listen. And I hate Sylvie, but in a complex way that goes beyond surface level. I like that she gives us a new way to explore what makes a Loki a Loki. But I feel like growing up jumping through time has left her without a sense of consequences. For most of her life nothing she did mattered. No matter who she kissed or killed or loved or hated, either the TVA would come in and wipe away her every touch or an apocalypse would. So at the end what did one more kiss and one more kill matter? Ultimately she didn't kill Kang because she wanted to free anyone, she did it because the only constant in her existence was her hate of the TVA for stealing her life. Like that is some deep character development. Also on the note of costuming, the fact that Sylvie never sees our Loki in anything other than the TVA uniform and how that shapes her opinion of him is really well done. And how Sylvie doesn't know how to change her clothes, means she had to go somewhere to get clothes for herself as she ages but she continues to wear basically the same outfit as she did as child, also speaks to her character and I love that.

#5 Women power. A female director. A female sound composer. And all the other female crew that I know I'm missing because I'm terrible at looking things up. That represention is important, but also they did just a fucking amazing job. Like not only did they hire women, but they hired insanely talented women. And they gave those women the freedom needed to go out and use the talent to do a flip flap apple jacking amazing show.

I cannot wait for the second season.

[mcytbdamofficial]

A strange question. If the official DSMP lore of (a) character/s ever heavily changes from what you wrote it as (in example, if c!Velvet turns out to be long dead or the velvetisegg theory is true, or any of the major characters- that their canon lore starts being majorily different), how do you come up with things that would make them "fit in" again? I am just genuiely curious about that

usually a good way to go around things like that is to fall back on what i've already established and try to spin it in the right way. a good thing to use is the nether lore as well as everything with the memories - things like that are unpredictable and pretty much anything can come to light at any point.

(this answer went on for a while longer than i expected so i’ll put it under the cut in case there’s someone scrollin who doesn’t want this whole thing clogging up their dash)

a good example would be the sbi family canon - when phil first shouted the words "you're my son!" a lot of people instantly thought that techno, wilbur and tommy being his sons had been basically canonized (obviously this got debunked later with only wilbur being his son, but at the time that was the canon i went with and had to somehow push in). until a part of the story i wasn't planning to make the sbi family canon, so i had to think of something fast. so i considered how phil, for whatever reason, supported techno's reign during the antarctic empire days. why did he just outright follow him when his acts were universally regarded as evil? initial ideas were he, himself, was rather bloodthirsty, but this new issue came around and i used this blank in the story as a way to explain it - of COURSE phil would support techno unconditionally, he's his son, after all. later on, i managed to strike a balance in the story between phil supporting techno because of them being family, as well as him, himself, having his own agenda in the empire itself (bringing along the bloodthirsty nature of techno, which in turn i later explained with the voices, once those were canonized. that solution to a new canon was practically handed to me, with how i wrote the bloodlust as a voice beforehand. i just had to change it to “voices”).

for your example, i have one idea that could work! if velvet turns out long dead, i could quickly explain it in a simple way. ant WAS getting letters from velvet, but at one point they stopped and he received news velvet had died. ant has been lying about getting letters after some point because he didn't want other people who knew him to get hurt, and maybe he's even in a certain level of denial.

if velvet IS the egg, that could be more complicated, but still doable. tie it all into the source/nether lore, make him some sort of god or symbol of chaos, just play around with the rules of my own world until things fall into place. usually, somehow, i will find a way out just by stepping back and analysing what i already have prepared and thinking of how it can help me insert a new idea into the story without disturbing what's already there. 

this is basically how wilbur being a source came into fruition! initial ideas were him and schlatt decided themselves to not enter the bunker and escape the flood on their own, but how would that make sense? oh yeah, what if one of them IS the flood? then i rewatch the video, and who other than wilbur is putting the commands in to make the water rise! it was too perfect not to somehow include it, yknow? and then boom, i have this cool lore about sources. why not use it? and yes, initially sources were JUST gonna be a passing mention in the captain’s journal. they weren’t ever planned to go this far. and before you know it we have wilbur, kristin, foolish, hannah...

so yeah. what i’m saying is. when in doubt, use nether lore. and that’s how i’ll go around whatever comes of the egg, in the end.

a lot of it also comes down to very careful storytelling and knowing what to change and what to leave alone. when the story started there was a set amount of people that i knew were involved in the roleplay and others i knew would NEVER get involved (keep in mind the story started being written before even the festival happened live, HELL, even villbur wasn't a thing back then), and separated them into small groups based on what i could and what i couldn't play around with. for example;

i could easily change callahan, alyssa, etc around... they're people who barely appear who aren't involved in the storyline. i gave them small appearances to show they're there and mostly kept them to the back.

people who i KNOW will never join the smp can be mentioned, referenced or even included! minx is probably the prime example of this. and if she ever DOES join the smp, by some magical chance? there can always be some magical book in the library that can reverse her from a dreamon to a human. so nothing to worry about there.

future major characters like dream, quackity, niki, etc didn't have much at the start but needed something to push them into their future arcs. in these characters i changed their start but made sure it left space to be moulded into anything they become later - i made niki kind but i also showed her early critisism of wilbur, already sensing she may have a villian arc coming in the future. when season 2 came around, i was proved right so i went in on those small hints more and more.

for characters who have an established arc, start to finish, who it's hard to change in any way, i change nothing - but i look at their past. the obvious people for this are schlatt and wilbur. on the smp they were characters start to finish, their arcs started and ended in the story and had nothing else. so i focused on the past, instead. and boom, suddenly we have 35 smplive chapters of completely original content.

with every character i live small hints of SOMETHING coming in the future. i leave small holes to be eventually filled by canon, and if canon gives me nothing, i fill them myself with something minor. another good thing is to trust fanon - with a fandom like this, where the creators listen to their fans and canonize a lot of popular fanon, it's good to go in on small fanon knowing it will eventually be canon, or even knowing it will make readers happy and will never impact the story, no matter how much it changes (think tubbo having horns, puffy being a pirate/sea captain of some sort, stuff like that)

there are, of course, times when i can’t avoid changing things from canon. phil not knowing who schlatt is, wilbur not knowing schlatt, etc... but i think in those places, those changes serve to improve the story in some way, and i think it’s a welcome change in the end. this story is definitely leaning more into AU than RETELLING, but i don’t think it’s such a bad thing. while faithfully retelling every major plot point, it adds its own elements and creates a somewhat new and exciting story people can enjoy anew. i think that’s what i strive to do the most in this fic - not retell the story word for word. you’ve already seen the videos. you don’t need that. what i DO want to do is create an engaging read for both avid fans who have seen every stream and casual fans who want the lore to make a little bit more sense to them. and that’s that.

god that went on a while didn’t it haha...

okay so to summarise - whenever something major changes in the canon lore, i have various ways of going about it. usually for some characters i would have left behind hints of SOMETHING and will just try to fit them into whatever change has showed up, or try to at the very least explain them with the new development so it doesn’t seem out of nowhere.

if that is not possible, i look back on all i established and think how i can use it to my advantage. could someone have been forgotten in an old world? is there some sort of nether anomaly that could have caused this? is this character a reliable narrator and have we gotten the full truth? there are a lot of ways to change things around with it being completely out of the blue but seeming fitting for the audience - you just have to really think it through, plan it, and make sure you know exactly what you want to do before going into it.

and finally, if there truly is no way to change a thing, shift canon completely and make sure it doesn’t change the base story. allow me to use the sbi as an example again, since i think they’re a good tool for this;

techno will take tommy in and help him recover from exile, same as canon, because he is his brother, as bdam canon states. at first he’ll just do it because phil wanted him to, but soon it will become a matter of family. when tommy betrays techno, it will hurt him more deeply BECAUSE they’re brothers. when he comes back to phil and tells him what happened, even phil himself will become enraged. the two themselves have been shown to have a history of resorting to violence and aggression in the story (look back at the antarctic empire), so doomsday wouldn’t seem out of  character, or, at the very least, out of the question, when two men like them are pushed to their very limits by a betrayal like this. still, it would be unfair on tommy, but on both sides there would be something justified and something they did wrong - and that’s how you balance a good conflict in any story.

so yeah. i hope this long ass essay made sense. a lot of work goes into making sure this story flows naturally, so i’m glad someone finally asked something like this where i could reveal just how much work goes into it!!!

[rachetmath]

Why I love team JNPR

You know the usual. This is in my opinion. If you like it, reblog it or both that’s your choice. If you have questions, or want to add on to this then comment.  Read at your own time and will.

Ren and Nora compared to Yang: Yang had a mother. May not be by blood related but by relationship. Her mother died while she was young, but she still had her father and uncle to raise her. She had a social life in school, and she was trained by her father and uncle. Ren and Nora on the other hand, have no parents, only watched after each other and were trained by a bunch of strangers or by themselves. So unlike Yang, Ren and Nora would have a hard time relating to some people than Yang would.

Pyrrha compared to Weiss: Weiss was born and raised in a rich family. True, she was always cautious when it comes down to others using her for their own gain. But she takes her title way too seriously and it made her arrogant and cocky. Pyrrha doesn’t take her title too seriously, but she was overwhelmed by it. She hated how everyone only saw her as a tool or a weapon they can use for battle, and not as a person. She tries to welcome anyone into her life, but they always reject her, mainly feeling unworthy of her. Because of this Pyrrha felt truly more alone than Weiss. Unlike her, Pyrrha made her way to the top, she wasn’t born into it nor took the easy way to get there.

Jaune in comparison to Ruby and Blake: Jaune had nobody! Jaune had no uncle, no best friend, no teacher(sensei), NO SUPPORT to help him become a hunter. Jaune literally unlike Ruby is way out of his comfort zone. And unlike everyone he had no aura or training to help him. Jaune unlike Blake was treated, like a faunus, as a huge literal joke. This guy has literally had more reasons to be a villian than any of his teammates do. Plus, he has more things in common with the bad guys than he does with the heroes. He lost his partner and best friend due to the heroes, and Ozpin’s actions.

I liked team RWBY in volume 1-3, mostly because it made sense and was reviling each character’s problems and goals and was setting up the conflict of the story. But in volume three I started liking team JNPR more, because how they are not like the other teams. Everyone knows Pyrrha Nikkos, and believes without her, team JNPR is nothing more than failures. And you can’t blame them considering Jaune only became a leader because he was assigned to be one, and Ren and Nora were a bit too relaxed and into to each other to be leaders at all. And now with Pyrrha gone, they must prove that even without her, they can still be a great team. While defying the so-called “destiny” Cinder described as well.

In volume 4, we see Jaune does miss Pyrrha, and that he trains at night to her video message. He does feel sad that he lost her and that he couldn’t even express his feelings towards her as she did to him. And when he realized the truth, of course he was suspicious, his friend would have died either way by Amburn’s soul taking over or being a target for the rest of her life. Ren and Nora not only had to be there for each other still but now they had to be there for Jaune like Pyrrha did. (Even though they were completely horrible at it considering their flashback and action in volume four.)

In volume 5, (oh my gosh, this one is the reason I hate the show sometimes because of time constants) we learned the whole reason behind Jaune’s actions, which is revenge on Cinder. Team JNR were first to see Oscar before Ruby. Oscar was place under Jaune’s care do to the fact he was also a underdog (even though Oscar can just learn from muscle memory like Ozpin said) but Ruby takes that role for some reason and we are expected to take it. When the battle arrived, when Jaune had Cinder right in front of him, he did not hesitate to fight her. This backfired and one of his friends got hurt. He acknowledged that he missed up, that it was not suppose happen, and by doing so, he got his semblance. (Even when that makes no sense considering Cinder was after Ruby and Jaune’s secondary reason for coming along was keeping Ruby safe. At least I hope it was.)

In volume 6, could’ve better, Jaune made Oscar question himself even further, which is good. Because, one, Oscar is fourteen, and unlike Ruby he doesn’t have much of a clear idea on why he came along on the journey in first place other than Ozpin telling him to. When Jaune heard Oscar ran away, unlike Qrow, who punched him by the way, and don’t say it was for Ozpin because they share the same body, Qrow still hit a child, Jaune helped in the search and apologized to Oscar for his behavior. He gave Ruby an option when she couldn’t think of anything then she takes charge over it. Also, Ren and Nora admitted that they love Jaune and would not want to lose him just like Pyrrha. (Again, they were completely bad at that, considering they didn’t talk about that on the train, nor called Jaune out on his actions, completely ignoring him and etc. Really Jaune needs new friends.)

In volume 7, here’s the thing, Jaune had no reason to hate the General because he already worked things out with Qrow. How and when? We don’t know. But that shouldn’t mean he should flat out trust James with his life unlike Clover. Why you may ask, first, Qrow told him about the maiden powers. I mean, he wouldn’t leave out the people who knew about them like Ozpin, Good-witch and Ironwood, right? No. So Jaune has a reason not to trust James, not because of Pyrrha but Lionheart, the general’s actions so far and how the truth almost torn them apart mainly himself. Plus Jaune, and his team work more in Mantle, than RWBY, so they would have more run-in times with happy huntresses than team RWBY would on a regular basis. Then it’s how Mantle and Atlas situation is affecting their team with Ren and Nora butting heads over who’s right and who’s wrong, whether their ready to be hunters or not, and more importantly questioning their relationship and loyalty to not only each other but their friends. Image Ren, taking it too far where he could say something he’ll regret. Or by finding James to be right, he would sell out his friends believing it was the right thing to do. Image Nora having to choose between Ren or Jaune, which will be devasting more for Ren than Jaune because of how close they are to each other.

In volume 8, (Even though I highly doubt that team JNR will ever have a scene to themselves and now preview.) Jaune will feel bad because he not only lost the relic, he lost Oscar even though he’s alive. Now, how would this disturb him? Well, even though Nora would have to decide between him and Ren, in volume 4, there was a scene with Jaune going with Ruby and Nora going with Ren. It would feel obvious that she would follow Ren anywhere, even if it means leaving her friends behind. That could leave Jaune broken because he lost not only Pyrrha and Oscar but his teammates, making him the official Qrow and Raven of the group. This could cause Jaune to further out cast himself from everyone, trusting less in others and undoubtably make more horrible decisions than he already has before. That could also make him more of a target for the villains themselves. However, Jaune’s will to still protect the people and his friends will be the what keeps him sane and less brainwashed like Salem’s forces or the Ace Ops. (Or call team RWBY out on their mistakes.) But who can save him from a self-destructive path?

Many of you will say team RWBY might be able to help since their the main crew. Well, sadly, I disagree. Do to the fact that none of them tried to talk to Jaune after the Cinder and Ozpin incident. And there are multiple characters who have gone through a similar process or are wiser, than the main cast. The only ones who I feel can make an impact on him are maybe Maria and Penny. Penny may be android, but she seems more human than the RWBY girls put together. She is kind, friendly and mostly very supportive towards her allies. Maria may not have had many friends or levels of companionship as others, but she does know about how it feels to be powerless and scared of what’s to come. Maria would basically remind Jaune that being afraid and sorry for himself isn’t going to make things better. Penny would try to keep his sanity alive until he could once again maintain it on his own. However, the final person who I believe can help him is Qrow or even Oscar (Ozpin). Qrow would just remind Jaune on how far he has come, and for him to understand that nothing will play out as he planned. He would even tell him more about his team, mainly Raven and himself and how their decisions affected their family. Same goes for Oscar (Ozpin) but telling him how many mistakes he has made during his lifetime. He might even tell Jaune he knew about his fake transcripts, just didn’t care much about it if Jaune was willing to work and improve.

I know many people love team RWBY due to them being an all-female cast or for other reasons I cannot explain. But sometimes, there are situations that they cannot relate to. And even if there was, team RWBY does nothing to resolve it. For example, Jaune was sad about Pyrrha and trains under her videos. He wanted revenge on Cinder and Weiss almost died for it. And though he was asking appropriate questions, he went about it the wrong way, causing Oscar to feel unwanted and run away. Yet, none of his friends, bothered to either call him out on it, nor done anything to cheer him up or reason with him. Ruby who literally saw Jaune committing every one of those transaction, and has a dead relative, said nothing. Yang who lost both her moms, whose uncle was a constant drunk and had to take care of Ruby while her worthless dad is busy, said nothing. Weiss who has a somewhat of a dysfunctional family, said nothing.  Blake who is supposed to be an escape victim of a one-sided relationship, who seen how friends change or show their true colors with time, and literally seen more death than her team members and blames it on herself, said, nothing. Basically, Jaune overcame some of his problems on his own along with the help of the Red-Haired Women (and she barely mattered). And even though Ren and Nora talked to him, he already had reinsurances he needed to move forward. The point I’m trying to make is the reason I like team JNPR is that they are more real than team RWBY. They have weakness, they have arguments, nothing goes their way and when something bad happens they face the consequences.

That is why I love JNPR better than RWBY. Jaune, he was just a normal person until he made a chose to leave his old life behind for something greater, only to have his character taken by Ruby and Oscar, who just ruins it, and to never improve. And we still know nothing about him. Pyrrha who should just stayed alive because no one has learned from her death. Ren and Nora are just to be a better ship than Bumblebee. I hope these characters get better, but I highly doubt it.

[miyomiikonran]

Burn the Witch Personal Review

I know how this sounds, especially I never did smth like that, so just pls treat it more like bunch of thoughts and opinions on this new title from long-term fan of Bleach rather than some professionally done review. I watched all three episodes and for now I didn't have much time to read the manga (I have a lot of stuff to read for my studies so ;;") so I just went through stuff written on fan wiki. So beware! Spoilers ahead!

So anyway, new title from Tite Kubo. I could not know who's the author and I still would've guessed who it is. It has such a familiar vibe for me, it's a lot like Bleach for me in terms of humor, dialogues, character interactions and so on. Backgrounds also have this kind of similar vibe but I can't tell what's exactly causing it cus I'm no artist. Kubo in his glory days always had great backgrounds so that's all I'm able to say. I think he catched some breath after Bleach's ending and came back with new energy, so his skills are back too.

About characters. I'm glad he did two main female characters this time, even though both Noel and Ninny annoyed me through most of these ~60 minutes. I'm gonna say that's how it usually is before you get to know these characters better. Balgo annoyed me the most because he's typical perverted guy (which I'm really tired of) but with sweet dumny appearance (I'm here for it) so we'll see where will this character go further. Ninny's idol type, so I wasn't really excited at first, but I really liked her interactions with Macy, so I see chances for future development. Kinda the same with Noel and Balgo, they have some chances to get better through their influence on each other. Noel is kinda boring on her own most of the time, but her drive for money is sooo relatable for me right now.

My absolute favourite for now is Osushi, which kinda amused me, cus it's complete opposite compared with how I reacted to Kon at first, who also was sort of mascot in Bleach. I think Kubo has a thing for "seems cute but can kill you" type of mascot...

Let's adress the elefant in the room now. It's the same damn universe as Bleach. It blew my mind completely since I read about this series. It's the same universe (12 years after the war) and it has witches and dragons! Don't get me wrong, tbh I think it could work, it makes sense in it's own twisted kind of way. I just wish we were given any clues about existence of other "reverse worlds"/Soul Societies before this title came out. Cus it makes sense when you think about it. For me it looks like each country/culture (cus idk if each country wouldn't be too much) could have it's own kind of reverse world coexisting with human world, with it's magic, creatures and rules rooted in it's history, culture and beliefs. That's why suddenly we have these european-looking dragons and completely different approach to them- rather than kill them, humans are using them for their own gain, which for me makes sense for country that started industrial age and was first capitalistic-kind of system in the world. Obviously they would be like "ey, it's kinda a waste to kill them, maybe we could use them to make our life easier?". In Bleach it was all more about restoring and keeping balance between worlds, moral duty, honor and strict rules which makes sense (at least for me) in japanese society. Same with Shinigami and their powers. Other stuff like Quincy and Arrancars kinda throw off this kind of logic but well, I'm just trying to find some sense in this madness.

How's the plot then going, in such weird curricumstances? For me it could easily defend itself as independent idea and separate universe. If someone didn't knew Bleach and watched this I'm pretty sure it would be viewed almost the same for now. Will it have more connections to stuff we know from Bleach? Idk, I hope so, cus if not then it's just kinda using the nostalgia left by previous series. This world is surely builded the same, we have two coexisting worlds, one with common humans and the other with people being able to see and fight supernatural beings that endanger both of these worlds. We have the same kind of structure of power as well, at least for me. Wind Bind is new Gotei 13, this time with symbolism based on zodiak signs. Cool, it would probably suggest 12 divisions, but for now we know about only 8 but once again, we'll see.

Each division has it's own field of work, responsibilities and leader. They all look just as weird and eccentric as Gotei 13 when we first met them, so hello darkness my old friend, especially one lady looks like nazi-wannabe again (Quincy I'm looking at you!). For now we only saw Bruno in action who's division is a fighting type, tasked with extermination of dangerous dragons. He's got very cool design and I adore style of magic he uses because I never saw anyone use spray paint for drawing magical symbols before. Very modern-looking guy and I'm here for it, especially he looks like Grimmjow's younger bro. In general this universe is on our typical technology level with smartphones and stuff everywhere, which is suprising to see having in mind whole traditionally japanese looking enviroment from original Soul Society. About the rest we barely know anything so well. We'll see, once again.

Do I see any clear villain in sight? Nah, not for now. For now we only know about 8 dangerous legendary dragons based on common fairy tales. Interesting concept, but I would like to see some classic villian too. However, we already got the same kind of lesson that Bleach served us- authorities cannot be easily trusted either, as their judgement also can be too strict, cruel and subcjetive without many possibilities to oppose them by avarage person. I smell more future drama in this topic. Especially we once again got elderly boss who looks similar to Yamamoto from Bleach.

One thing that kinda dissapointed me was music. Bleach made me used to very climatic, often dramatic soundtracks, kinda dark-sounding most of the time. Openings were mostly very good too, while here I barely noticed any music at all. Animation didn't really leave me in awe either, only fights seemed interesting and magic was nicely animated. But it's kinda boring compared to very dynamic animation in Bleach. First two episodes made me think of first two arcs of Bleach but it's been over 15 years! ;-;"

In the end, will I watch more? Yeah, for sure. I got very excited to see something new from Kubo, I'm rooting for him and his new series to be less damaging for his health and mental state so this time he'll have means to develop and finish it properly, ideally without more conflicts with Shounen Jump. If he'll play it right with connections to Bleach it might get every good and bring back old fanbase, maybe even make people forgive him completely for Bleach's rushed ending. I see he already got some lessons from that experience, as now he decided to publish chapters in small batches rather than weekly. For me it's good solution that may help him keep his sanity intact. I'm willing to wait if it means he'll get back to his fomer skills and glory because I loved Bleach with my whole heart. If only anime production will be okay with such work dynamic then sure, great. I hope music and animation will get better overtime, maybe with more people getting interested they'll be able to spend more time and effort on it. I'm waiting for more characters to appear for more screentime as well, despite what I said about weird looking leaders of Wind Bind. Kubo proved he can make interesting and unique looking characters before, as well as create engaging villians and fights that fans are waiting for for months or years even. Maybe he even learnt a thing or two from plot holes that happend before. We'll see, I'm hopefull and willing to see where this series will be going c:

[analyzingadventure]

Psi: What we’ve learned so far (1-8)

Before we get into the actual thing, I wanna explain what this post is going to be about and why I’m writing it; if you’re not really interested in that you can skip ahead

On my first watch of Psi’s first 19 episodes, I’ve had this struggle with the series. To me it has often felt like the world of Psi feels empty and hollow, the characters shallow, and the pacing of the first arc has felt off, like the pace of the overall story going at a snail’s pace and little to nothing actually happening in each episode.

Now there’s three main elements that I think could be causing this impression on me. First, it’s the unavoidable comparison to Adventure, a series I am far too familiar with for my own good if we’re being honest, and a series where I could probably list off every imporant detail from each episode from sheer memory. Second, I often enjoy a series better on a rewatch, my first impressions tend to be incredibly luke-warm and because I’ve only experienced the story once, I don’t remember it quite as well as something I’ve seen at least a dozen times. So between these two factors, it is very possible that my first impression of Psi’s first 19 episodes has felt as negative as it did due to nostalgic overfamiliarity vs unfamiliar first impressions.

But there is that third factor too. It is entirely possible that Psi just isn’t written like Adventure (not nececarily better, more like “in a way that panders to me”), and my observations of it so far have been accurate

And really, I just want to get to the bottom of it. I want to try and figure out why Psi has felt the way it has to me so far, and that is why I’m going to make these posts (because this post is way too long already and I had to split it into two parts)

So what this is going to be is quite simple to be honest; like I mentioned above, I could probably list every major story element in Adventure for each episode from memory, where as with Psi I can’t do that. So in this post I am just going to rewatch each episode of Psi and write down what we learn about the series in each episode; what we learn about the world, the characters, the mechanics, the lore, the beings that live in it. This is mainly so that I can form a better, slightly more objective view of Psi in my mind instead of depending on the vague memory I have of it so far.

And yes, this is going to be just, mostly, me writing bullet point notes of obvious things we learn in each episode; not plot summaries or a timeline of key-events, just things we can “learn” from the episode. For example, while a Digimon evolving is a key-event, if we don’t learn anything new about the Digimon that relates to their backstory or personality, then it’s not worth mentioning, and will try to do my best to not repeat information that gets re-inforced through out different episodes. Also, this isn’t a critique of Psi’s writing

Also, I am going to do my best to write these from the perspective of “not knowing anything”, in the sense that I’m trying to parse out info and write it out like someone who knows nothing about Digimon would be able to get out of it. Also, I won’t nececarily write these in the order they happen in the episode, rather I might write what we learn from specific subjects in bulk (character establishment, world building, etc)

One last thing, I could possibly do this for Adventure later on, just for comparison’s sake, if I have the time, but first let’s just start with this.

Episode 1: Tokyo Digital Crisis

Opening Monologue doesn’t get too many points for what we learn from it as it is an opening monologue, stating kind of obvious stuff we’ll learn very fast, but none the less; it’s the year 2020, our world is connected by the Network, and in there live Digimon

Tachikawa Computer; minor foreshadowing for later

We're introduced to the main character Taichi, supporting cast Koushirou, getting a decent idea of their main personality traits (Taichi is friendly and very open, while Koushirou is polite, a little bit more withdrawn/closed) and briefly get to see Hikari (as well as Mama Yagami and Miiko)

Taichi is putting great effort into preparing for the summer camp; he’s the type of person who likes to plan ahead it seems. That said he can also rush into action without thinking if he’s worried enough/the situation is dire enough; this is elaborated when Taichi learns his family could be in danger, when he leaps in to catch the falling Koromon, or when he leaps into battle with Agumon

Taichi is surprisingly calm when realizing he’s been spirited away and sees a weird little disembodied pink head floating in space, only really appearing shock after a small dinosaur speaks to him; he sometimes needs a moment for everything to settle in before he even knows how to react

Taichi is more than willing to get physical beat up weird monsters

Koromon knows Taichi’s name, and Taichi somehow heard Koromon calling him; there’s a mysterious connection between these two

Agumon is more than happy to see Taichi, immidiately willing to both protect him and help him achieve his goals; Agumon seems to love Taichi unconditionally, despite only meeting him for the first time

We learn that one of the primary features of Digimon is their ability to evolve, Koromon evolving all the way to Greymon and the unnamed enemy’s (Algomon’s) evolutions being examples of this

There is a mysterious, unknown force in this universe, one that tends to manifest in the form of mysterious, glowing symbols (the Crests), that will appear in certain moments to certain people (our main characters), almost like it’s reacting to said people’s actions and/or feelings

Taichi and Koushirou are both granted mysterious devices, which we soon learn can be used for communication purposes as well as evolution, the devices coming from seemingly the same mysterious light/force as the symbols

Digimon causing issues within the Network have an immidiate effect in the electronics of the Human World, and the Digimon rampaging in the Network are willing to hurt and kill other Digimon too (not that many seem to be present there); they are an active threat to everyone but themselves and need to be dealt with

We see glimpses of other children who seem to have a 6th sense, reacting to Taichi’s actions (establishing the connection between the kids); foreshadowing

Taichi and Koushirou aren’t the only ones who have been sucked into this mess with Digimon, there’s another child within the Network as well, with his own Digimon along side hime

Episode 2: War Game

The villian of this Opening Arc, the Algomon, seems to act like a hivemind

Yamato is established as being distant and somewhat cold, seemingly uninterested in others as he’s more focused on other (more imporant?) things. He also seems to be more experienced in dealing with the Digital World/Digimon (in Taichi’s mind who wonders how experienced Yamato really is with Digimon). Despite how cold he seems from the outsite however, Yamato will quietly make plans and put them into motion, expecting others to catch on and follow up. His general unwillingless to intentionally and clearly team up is a character flaw for him though, it causes issues during battle and it’s something he struggles with. But he also worries about causing harm to Garurumon (and Greymon), so he does care for the well-being of others; all of this could suggest that Yamato is a tsundere

Greymon and Garurumon are established as knowing each other, implying they have a history

Greymon and Garurumon both tell the kids they can handle the rough plan; they’re comforting

The episode fleshes out the severity of the danger Digimon rampaging within the Network can cause; it can reach nuclear disaster leveks

We learn that Digimon can fuse

Feathers appear to Hikari and Takeru; foreshadowing for later. When the feathers touch their hands, mysterious symbols appear once more, implying a connection between them coming in contact with the feathers (and what they symbolize) and the fusion of Digimon

Episode 3: And to the Digital World

Taichi clearly loves his sister and takes good care of her

Hikari seems to know more than she lets on

A connection between Yamato and Takeru is established, as well as the fact that Yamato isn’t in Tokyo (at the moment at least)

Sora is established, us learning that she is a character much respected and liked by her classmate and that she and Taichi know each other really well (also we see an unnamed character fumbling comedically; foreshadowing for later)

When the danger was cleared, Taichi and Yamato were returned were they came from; whatever summoned them will also return them when their duty has been completed

A new mysterious threat is introduced to have been born, its birth causing massive power outtages and electrical issues

We see three lights fly through the gates of the Network, followed by three other lights;we learn that six children have been spirited away

We see the Digital World for the first time. Unlike the Network’s surreal, Tron-like landscapes with no sentient life in sight, nor water, clouds, plants or anything, the Digital World is alive and beautiful, though clearly fantastical based on the strange, arching mountains in the distance, and it’s fantastic, digital inhabitants

The fused Digimon is super duper strong and has some special powers that Greymon and Garurumon didn’t have; there’s a distinct difference in the level of power

Episode 4: Birdramon Soars

We get to know Sora a lot better in this episode, she could be described as being Just Really Cool; she seems to be super chill (not like “laid back”, more “cool”), taking in being thrown into a different world really well and calmly, not even surprised by the existence of Digimon aside from them being able to talk. Sora was also in the middle of buying supplies to get through the power outtages before getting summoned to the DW, so she’s come in well-prepared. Whether she went out to buy the supplies because she was requested to, or she did out of her own inniative, it does indicate she’s very responsible and trusthworthy. Much like Taichi too, Sora isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, being more than willing to come rescue Piyomon from the mouth of a giant mantis monster

Piyomon, scared out of her mind, doesn’t really do or say much for a long time, only clinging onto Sora for her dear life, until a calm washes over her as she seems to remember or recognise something; when Piyomon wakes up, she knows Sora’s name without ever being told it, much like how Agumon knew Taichi’s name, and Piyomon tells Sora she’s been waiting for her. Sora being present also brought confidence to Piyomon, inspiring her to be active instead of fleeing from danger, as she now has someone to protect.

We’re introduced to the kind Tentomon and his odd Osaka-accent; Tentomon, being more familiar with his home world, explained all sorts of things to Koushirou. Tentomon, much like a parent would, thanked Taichi ���for looking after Koushirou”, indicating that while the two have only known each other for a short time, Tentomon is very fond of Koushirou, much like Agumon is of Taichi

We are introduced to an ominous silhouette, most likely a future villian

The DW lies within the deepest part of the Network, so the DW isn’t a separate world from the Network, just a specific section of it. Also, athough we had previously not seen Digimon the Net beyond the relevant characters Whamon being there do imply that some Digimon do indeed just like to hang out within the Network

Within the Digital World there are tablets and stone ruins of an ancient civilization, with text written on them; the Digivice react to the ancient texts, guiding the children to them and using the children as vessels, translate the message to them. The texts are instructions to guide the children, meaning whoever wrote them centuries ago, for-saw the coming of the children. At the mountain we see more ruins mysterious writings and ancient statues of winged figures. If it is a temple as Sora thinks, then that implies the existence of a religion that is or was worshipped in this world

Moving away from the lake, what we next see of the DW looks like a tropical paradise, with lots of lush jungles and forests with plants both familiar and strange. But through out the world there are these tiny visual “glitches” all around, small colorful lines and dots scattered through out, which give the world a subtle, artificial feel. There’s also a glittery rainbow mountain in the distance, further driving in the point that we aren’t in Japan anymore

We do learn that despite the world looking like a paradise, the Digimon do seem to hunt and eat each other for food; the aren’t many food sources then (like Meat Trees), or if there are, some Digimon ignore those for the Fresh Meat instead

The episode starts out kind of suggesting that maybe Sora ended up in the Digital World by accident, but as the episode progresses it gives out suggestions and hints that maybe Sora didn’t come by accident after all until she finally gets her Digivice. This is foreshadowing for the idea that none of the Children came by accident, they were brought there on purpose and for a reason.

We learn that while the kids can make the Digimon evolve, the Digimon will revert back once a danger is cleared

Episode 5: The Holy Digimon

Koushirou can remain calm even when swallowed by a Digimon, as long as he has his comfort item (tablet); foreshadowing for later

Koushirou can be a little bit shy, embarassed to repeat himself saying that maybe they were meant to meet

Tentomon really loves Koushirou

We learn that Orgemon (whose name we learn in this episode) can’t speak very clearly, which probably implies he’s not very smart; not all Digimon have the capacity to full-speech it seems

We see the super ominous silhouette of a yet unnamed villian sending orders to Orgemon; we have a hierachy, and this guy is at the top of it

We learn for sure that the kids are being specifically targetted and being tracked by the dark Digimon, the troops being lead by Orgemon and some small surveilance Digimon (SoundBirdmon) that can control other Digimon with the power of sound, as well as send messages between Digimon

The Holy Digimon tells us that the warriors that fought in the war long ago were reborn, Agumon, Piyomon and Tentomon being the reincarnations; the three take notice of specific Digimon in the Holy Digimon’s vision (themselves no doubt) and the sight brings them to tears; although they can’t remember anything, their souls/hearts can, and what they experienced must’ve been sad

Agumon doesn’t remember evolving into Omegamon, despite remembering meeting Taichi; this must imply that evolving to Omegamon was a blur even for him

There once was a large city in the location of the temple, with beautiful, artistic architecture; the former civilization here was truly prosperous

The rainbow glitter wasn’t as much of a mountain as it was a desert (or a mountain range, hard to tell which)

We learn that this land mass of unknown size (is it an island or is it a continent? Never stated) isn’t the only ones, there’s oceans at least one continent beyond it, its name being Cloud Continent

We see a small village in the middle of the forest, the houses looking sort of like hollowed out pumpkins with palm leaves coming from the top; while major civilization has crumbled in this post-apocalyptic Digital World, with most Digimon seeming to live on their own like, minding their own business, some Digimon do form communities

We learn the name of the Digivice

We learn that the statues at the temple are depictions of certain Holy Digimon, and that with the last of their powers they had left a message for the children from beyond the grave as they’ve passed a long time ago

The Holy Digimon had had a premonition that human children equipped with Digivices, also known as the Chosen Children, were “a power” that could surprass the natural law of evolution

It’s not quite explicit, but we are vaguely introduced to the evolution stages and their names (the natural law of evolution)

We gain confirmation that the feathers we have seen through out the series so far are indeed connected to the Holy Digimon

We learn that the Holy Digimon were ones that “governed the good of the Digital World”, most of them and the city that once stood in the place of the temple perishing in a great war between light and dark when dark Digimon disturbed the balance between the two.

The major parties on the side of light in that war were a great army of holy Digimon, eight special holy Digimon, six warriors and even Omegamon, who managed to vanquish the darkness at the cost of their own lives

We do learn that the six warriors turned into eggs, and are told that the Chosen Children would appear to guide the ressurected souls once the enemy would make a move once more

We learn that Taichi and co must go find the Holy Digimon of Light and Hope at the Cloud Continent as they will fight along side them against the dark Digimon

Although the Network is tightly connected to the Human World, the Digital World isn’t; disaster taking place there won’t affect the Human World. We also learn that monitoring the spread of dark in the Network is impossible to do from the Digital World

Episode 6: The Targeted Kingdom

We’re introduced to Mimi, the queen of Mimi Kingdom, the village we saw in the previous episode that she took over between being spirited away and Taichi’s group arriving.

Mimi, much like Sora is pretty cool with the situation she’s in. Ehile we do learn she was lonely after being stranded in the DW alone, after Palmon joined her side she’s been seemingly a-okay, not afraid at all of being (as far as she knows) the only human in a different world. In fact she is super into ensuring her kingdom remains peaceful and her underlings well-fed, as she has put great efforts into making sure Tuskmon don’t come and steal all the fruit the Tanemon live on. Mimi has a kind heart, and that she hates seeing others suffer.

We also learn the Tachikawa Industries we had heard about was her family’s, her grandpa being the chairman. Mimi’s grandpa must be important to her as hearing his words on video touched her, reminding Mimi she has to do what she can, which to her translated to taking care of her adorable underlings. Those same words later inspire her to leave her beloved kingdom behind to help the other kids

Palmon adores Mimi a lot, acting in a kind of enabling way, playing into and encouraging the whole Queen-thing just to make sure Mimi’s confortable and happy, feeling loved.

The Tanemon have a signaling system to pass messages on; whether this system was set up and taught to the Tanemon by Mimi or if they have invented it before Mimi took the kingdom over is unclear

Although Orgemon seems to lack intelligence based on his very basic speech, we do learn that he is a Digimon of honor, and losing his horn has gravely hurt his honor

This landmass does seem to be mostly forest as far as the eye can see (aside from the rainbow mountain range/dunes and the lake-area)

We learn time passes at a different rate between the Human World and Digital World, the DW being much faster, the time becoming more distorted the deeper into the Network you go (the Digivices somehow bypass the distortion to ensure communication happens at the same rate)

We see what a near-death Digimon looks like; colors washed out, glitching in and out a little, but evolution will instantly heal the Digimon from that near-death state back to full health  

Episode 7: That Boy is Kido Jyou

We learn Mimi likes tea and has been teaching Palmon how to make tea; she also seems to enjoy things that make her come off like she’s a KIND, LOVING pampered rich kid, as indicated by her cup and chair etc

We learn that Palmon was familiar with the area and was able to guide the kids to the ocean (something Agumon and Piyomon couldn’t do)

Jyou is so serious about passing his exams it’s kind of becoming an unhealthy obsession for him, to the point he might somewhat lash out and take his anger out by beating up trees and even self-harming. This kid, is super stressed out, the weight of his family’s achievements (everyone being doctors) really pushing him down. Due to this, he is super unwilling to go save the world, all that matters to him is making sure he can study and pass his exams so he can have a prosperous future. Jyou also doesn’t seem to like himself much, as he asks if Gomamon was disappointed by what his partner human was like

Jyou is studying for his exams, as he has priorities set straight and nothing will stop him from passing his tests, not even being spirited away into a different world all alone. While seeing other kids did make him somewhat glad, it was only because he assumed it meant there was a way out of this world so he could get back to his life.

Although Jyou said he wouldn’t participate in the world saving business, he did keep an eye Gomamon, and seeing him get hurt did send Jyou running; while Jyou tried to seem like he didn’t care, he did, a lot

Unlike Jyou, Gomamon is super willing to go save the world; if Jyou’s duty is to study, Gomamon’s duty is to save the world, and Gomamon would like it if Jyou realized they share their duties. Even without Jyou, Gomamon is willing to help as much as he can, even if he’s alone

Gomamon is super observant, seeing how and why Jyou is struggling, and he just wants to help Jyou too, Gomamon even “nursed Jyou” back to health after finding him passed out in the DW

We learn that Taichi, Sora and Jyou (as well as Koushirou) do go to the same school, its name being Musako Elementary

The hut we’ve seen was either built by Gomamon (which implies that Gomamon is super crafty), an unknown party or was always there; Jyou didn’t build it as he woke up inside it after Gomamon brought him there

In the Human World we see it is now evening, the kids having been spirited away sometime around noon-afternoon.

We do see that Jyou has spent at least one night in the DW, which could mean the other kids have as well, if not even more

Episode 8: The Children’s Attack

Ikkakumon is strong enough to swim across the ocean while carrying 4 kids and 3 Child Digimon

We learn Jyou gets motion sickness and that he can’t swim

Jyou is somewhat irritated and/or imidated by a kid 3 years younger than him having so much info and being more aware of the current situation, which ties into his need of trying to be in-control of the situation and lead the group; this leads to Jyou trying to be responsible and ensure everyone survives unharmed by surrendering to the enemy (his heart is in the right place)

We learn that Yamato has been on his own this whole time; considdering the other kids were brought to this world, scattered around a little, it is possible Yamato was brought directly onto the Cloud Continent

Yamato is charmed and touched by the other kids and the Digimon cheering him on and believing in him, despite him being so cold to them; he is super tsundere

The first thing we see of the Cloud Continent is a beach with high cliffs and a lone fortress guarding it. On the outside the enemy fortress looks like old and realistic (in the sense that you could probably find a fortress like this in our very real world), but is straight from a sci-fi movie; the enemies have access to some advanced technology

With this episode taking place over night, we are moving onto at least Day 3 (if not further)

We see the Black Miasma for the first time

[a-student-out-of-time]

Got to disagree with Review anon on the Yasuke thing. Byakuya might be a jerk, but Yasuke likes to take things too far. I see Byakuya as more of the Chaotic good. He's a jerk, but he still tries to help without going over the line. Yasuke, is leaning betweet chaotic neutral and Lawful evil. He's more of a jerk and tries to force his ideas onto others. He even crosses the line on multiple occasions. He's more of a villian than a hero.

//A fair assessment, but we should also take into account just how different both their perspectives and their approaches to situations are

//I think a lot of people seem to overlook what Byakuya was like in his first appearance. That’s not an indictment on him nor anyone who likes him, especially since he did undergo some pretty serious character development over the course of the series, but we should also keep in mind many of the following facts:

He made it clear from the get-go that he was fully willing to murder and just waited for the right time so he could arrange a murder that would let him win the game.

Repeatedly showed extreme contempt for anyone he deemed part of “the 99%”, seeing their lives as shallow, empty and meaningless. He made it clear to Makoto in his Free Time events that he saw the majority of the human race as disposable.

He purposefully arranged Chihiro’s body in a way to make it look like it was done by Genocider Syo, psychologically cornered Toko to get her to confess that she is Syo after she told him in confidence (he never agreed not to tell admittedly but still), and then admitted he did it just to make the game more interesting and to sus out who would be his biggest threats in the Killing Game.

Ironically, it was due to his beliefs in both his own superiority and his general cynicism toward the group that nearly got him killed. He misunderstood Hina’s motives, entirely bought into her fabricated evidence, and simply couldn’t comprehend the idea that someone would willingly sacrifice their lives for another. And that entire trial blindsided him completely, probably forced him to reevaluate.

Granted, when the others quit the killing game, he stated that he didn’t care if it wasn’t fun anymore and later said that he didn’t care what happened to Makoto, just that he wanted to beat the game and claim the Mastermind’s life. Again, he makes it clear he has no real problem with murder.

//And much of this is explainable by his role in the Togami Family. Byakuya believes wholeheartedly that his hard work and determination to do whatever it takes to win is what allowed him to become the next head of the Family. That left him with an overinflated sense of importance and egotism, though not exactly entitlement. He doesn’t feel like he deserves to be praised just for having the Togami name, but because he earned it.

//That, unfortunately, manifested in a view of seeing games entirely as scenarios to be one regardless of circumstance and seeing others as opponents, mistakenly applying his own sense of morality and motivation to them due to his past experience. He only knew games with winners and losers and didn’t initially see the point in being friendly or compassionate toward anyone.

//None of that means that he’s completely heartless, of course. Byakuya clearly still has a sense of compassion, humility, and respect for others. He grew much closer to his fellow survivors after escaping Hope’s Peak, even if he’d rather not admit it. His motivation to be the best of the best among the Togami Family could also be seen as being partially out of respect for the 15 half-siblings he’d beaten. They had an equal shot at earning the role and a lot of it feels like he wants to respect them, even if they’re part of the 99% now.

//Speaking of, Byakuya makes it clear in DR2 that one of his motivations for stopping Junko is because of how many died during the Tragedy. For a guy that said 99% of humanity was disposable, that’s a huge improvement.

//Byakuya began as a rich asshole who looked down on others because he felt he’d earned his place at the top. I’d argue there is still a level of entitlement there because he was born into the Togami family and that’s why he got that chance, but it’s still an interesting perspective. He changes a great deal over the course of the series into much more of a kind team-player, even if he’s still kind of a dick : P

And now onto Yasuke, who only had one real appearance in Danganronpa Zero and I feel like fewer people have an understanding of his character:

Yasuke is similarly cold and sarcastic, but also a more openly rude, apathetic, and misanthropic person than Byakuya. He insults and belittles Ryouko by calling her ugly and stupid repeatedly, refers to Reserve Course students as sheep, and has no problem mocking people when he feels they deserve it.

However, Yasuke also has a disdain for people who mistreat others who can’t fight back. For example, he stands up for Ryouko when the Steering Committee threats her to get to him. This is also part of the reason why Ryouko says that she likes him, as he doesn’t treat her with fake sympathy due to her condition.

While Yasuke can seem just needlessly cruel and harsh, part of it is due to his need to feel in control of the situation. He doesn’t like people and would rather not have friends or acquaintances getting in his way when he’s trying to reach a goal, DR0 makes it clear that he’s an internally neurotic and emotionally unstable person who tries to stay calm no matter the situation.

His biggest flaw, however, is his need to protect Junko. He knows how dangerous she is and what she’s trying to do, but he also can’t bring himself to let anything bad happen to her. She’s one of the only people in his life who he’s ever felt genuine affection for, something she’s aware of and manipulates to her advantage. 

Unlike Byakuya, Yasuke dislikes killing and harming other people, and is noted to hate gore, but he is willing to sacrifice and risk himself and others for the sake of Junko.

//Like Byakuya, much of his can be ascribed to his upbringing. When he was very young, his mother, his only family, was diagnosed with an unnamed disorder similar to Alzheimer's disease, which caused her to forget who her own son was. His mother's doctors forbade Yasuke from addressing her as “mom” or “mother” and he was subjected to neglect, abuse and being treated as a stranger by her because of it. All of which made him very distant and depressed growing up, especially after she died.

//His only real source of support was Junko, who he met in elementary school and who became the closest person to him, even saying she’d never forget about him. Whether or not Junko was truly the despair-obsessed manipulator we know her as back then is hard to say, but she eventually became his girlfriend. She was also the first person other than his mother he cried in front of.

//Shortly after his mother's death, Yasuke began studying medicine on his own. He managed to become an expert physician and a full-fledged neurologist before even graduating from middle school, which is a ridiculous achievement. Junko, of course, used that fully to her advantage.

//Of course, as I said, Yasuke was aware what Junko was planning and, while he wasn’t willing to kill her or harm her, he planned to keep her as Ryouko forever to protect her from the world and the world from her. In the end, after many people still ended up dying and knowing that nothing he could do would stop her, he tried to strangle her to death, which he said was for her sake and his own. 

//Ironically, that act is what lead to her becoming Junko again and fatally stabbing him. She suggests that his entire motivation for helping her was his despair and before he dies, Junko bluffs that it was her who was responsible for the death of his mother, but it's left ambiguous if she was actually responsible or just said this to push Yasuke further into despair as he died.

//With all this in mind, I don’t think I’d necessarily compare the two. Yasuke and Byauka are both jerks in different ways, with different upbringings and different perspectives on the world. I think the reason why many people gravitate more toward Byakuya, and even Mukuro for that matter, is because both of them show a greater capacity for positivity and growth thanks to how they interact with the other people in their lives.

//Yasuke never had a support system like that, with his only friend, confidant, and companion for most of his life being Junko. Does that excuse all of his actions or his behavior? No, not at all. Just that it’s important to keep all that in mind.

//I don’t think being nice or being a jerk is enough to label a character as heroic or villainous. Their personality is not as relevant as their actions, intentions, and motivations.

[ablogthatishenceforthmine]

Unpopular The 100 Season 7 Opinions

1. People are too harsh on Echo. Yes, I think she was a poorly written character in seasons 5 and 6, but the character for her writing has much improved in Season 7. And the hate for her character has been far too venomous for just being a poorly written character. I feel like fans of the show never give her character a chance. Like when it was revealed that we we going to see an Echo backstory flashback in season 6. BEFORE THE EPISODE EVEN AIRED, people decided that they hated the flashback, and that it was going to be boring and a waste of time. I actually think the flashback was quite interesting, but think the show had problems framing it in context of the themes of the season. I feel like the same is happening in season 7. People aren’t giving her a chance, even though they are doing some really interesting things with her character this season.

And i think people put too much emphasis on “liking” and “agreeing” with a character. To me, it’s more important that I find a character interesting and engaging: I don’t have to agree with all, or even most, of their actions. I also don’t think the show is framing Echo’s actions this season in a positive light. So I really don’t get the complaint, “How am I supposed to like Echo when she does XXX bad/morally dubious thing.” I don’t agree with most of her actions either, but they make sense with her character, and I always understand why she does what she does this season. And I get it, emotional investment in a character is built. The show has done a poor job creating emotional investment in Echo in Season 5 and 6. But i think investment/engagement can work on two levels: emotional and mental. Mental investment is when you find the character, their storyline, and the themes explored with that character interesting. For me, in seasons 5 and 6, I wasn’t emotionally or mentally invested in Echo’s character. But in Season 7, I am mentally invested in her character. I am still not emotionally invested or care too much about her pain or if she survives because of the shoddy character work the show did for her in the previous 2 seasons. But I am interested in her character, and am excited to see her journey this season.

The show is doing a lot of interesting exploration or Echo’s character this season. But it seems to me like some people came into the season determined not to like or be interested in her character. They never gave her a chance to be interesting to them this season, which I think is a shame.

2. I don’t want Echo to be a spy; I want her to believe in Bardo and their teachings.  I think it’s wayyy more interesting if Echo has actually drunk the kool-aid. And it makes sense for her character to actually believe in Bardo’s teachings. They have a lot in common. They both value loyalty to a troubling degree. They both believe in suppressing and having complete control over one’s emotions. After believing that Bellamy has died, I can see her wanting to bet rid of emotional attachments because they are just too painful. A love is weakness kind of thing. And I can see her deciding that it’s better to be loyal to the mission of saving the human race than to be loyal to individuals, because loyalty to individuals just brings pain. Honestly, I will be really disappointed if Echo turns out to be playing the Bardonians. If that’s the case, then it just all about the plot and plot twist. If what i described above it true, then this storyline is all about character and Echo’s internal life, beliefs, and transformation.

3. I don’t get why people are mad at the show for the lack of Bellamy. It’s not writers fault that Bellamy is barely in this season so far. The actor decided to take some time off.  I get that it’s frustrating and disappointed, but  it wasn’t the writers’ decision. The show is trying to do the best it can with the hand it has been dealt. And I don’t think it’s been doing that terrible. Bellamy is easily my favorite character of the show; has been since season 1, and every season since. But I don’t think the show is suffering that badly from his absence. Like, I miss him, but I don’t feel the show is empty without him. His disappearance is a mystery I am interested and invested in. And I am so excited to find out where he is and what’s been going on with him. For me, the far more frustrating absence is that of Clarke, who has barely had anything interesting to do this season. She feels completely decentered from the season. I wouldn’t mind her lesser screentime if they screentime she did have was devoted to more interesting things. She has had a few good scenes, but most of her plotlines have not been very interesting this season.

4. This season isn’t bad so far. It’s not one of the show’s better seasons, but it’s not terrible. There’s some very good stuff and some very bad stuff. I really like everything with Bardo and Sky Ring. I enjoyed these kinda self-contained episodes like 7x02. I enjoyed seeing new families and bonds form, and seeing character dynamics we haven’t seen before. Hope is a great new character and I am both emotionally and mentally invested in her in only a short amount of time. I find the mystery of Bardo very intriguing. I am excited for every new bit of information we get on the place and it’s way of life. It was super cool and interesting learning their philosophy and a bit about how they live in 7x09. I just really like the world-building that this season is doing. The bad stuff is, of course, sanctum, which is one of the worst, if not the worst, storylines the show has ever done. It’s boring, especially in contrast to the new and exciting world of the anamoly, Bardo, and other planets. And the Sanctum storyline just seems more of the same, except there are not enough people that we care about in the mix. They are too many new characters, and none are developed well enough. It’s hard to care too much about the warring factions, when we don’t care about most of the factions. Despite J.R. Bourne’s excellent performance, Sheidheda is not an interesting villian. And many of the characters are behaving stupidly and making bad decisions. So, yeah, this season is a mixed bag, but I don’t find it to be nearly as bad as people say it it.

4. I disagree with the “Nothing is happening” opinion. Things are definitely happening. Think about how much we’ve learned since the premiere episode. It’s A LOT. And yes, we have a lot of episodes that are more character driven or world-building driven than plot driven. But I actually like that! I don’t know why people want to speed through the plot. I think the plot can move slowly as long as the episodes are engaging and stuff is happening with the characters, even if its only internally. Think about one of The 100′s best episodes, in my opinion: Season 3 Episode 11, Nevermore. The plot barely moved that episode, but there was soo much good character stuff happening. So i really liked the plot slowing down to show the Octavia/Hope/Diyoza family form, and see Octavia find her peace. I liked the plot slowing down to show us the Echo, Hope, Diyoza, and Octavia’s journey through Bardo training. I liked that it slowed down to explore Echo’s grief and Hope and Diyoza’s difficulties in 7x07. But, that is not to say that this season does not have an issue with it’s plotting because it definitely does. For me, its not in the Sky ring/Bardo stuff, it’s with all the other characters. Clarke, Raven, Murphy, Indra, Emori, etc are soooo behind the viewers in knowledge that it’s frustrating to slowly see them catch up to things that the audience already knows. And the Sanctum plot is moving too slowly too with too much build up. And i do agree with people that yeah, it still feels like we are getting exposition for the season, which is a problem. However, i’ve enjoyed a lot of the ride when it comes to learning this exposition in regards to Bardo, so I do not mind as much.

5. I want Murphy to die. And it’s not because I don’t love Murphy, because I do. He has become one of my favorite characters of the show. And that is why I want him to have a great ending and arc. And I can’t think of a better one than him dying doing a heroic or self-sacrificial thing. Murphy started as an utterly selfish character who would do anything it takes to survive, no matter the cost for other people. Slowly, he has come to care for other people. First, specific individuals, and now, more and more, has has started to care for people as a whole. But, he still struggles with his selfishness and his do-whatever-it-takes-to-survive mentality. That’s why giving up his life for a good cause would be the perfect ending to his story. To go from someone who would survive by any means necessary to someone who willingly died to do something good for others. It would be beautiful and perfect, and i hope it happens no matter how sad it would make me.

[citrusandbergamot]

so I haven’t watched the untamed yet

but in typical me fashion I have started reading fanfiction what is my problem I have so much due tomorrow the fuck

and I know, in the depths of my stupid emotional heart, that Jiang Cheng is my fave

the same way that Anakin Skywalker is my fave. I mean, I love Luke more than anything, and Obi-Wan is the best the BEST for loneliness!angst and survivor’s guilt and also the dry goddamn wit and the “how far can you push one person” levels of endurance

but Anakin Skywalker is my fave

if the troubled birds quote “he had an uncontrollable temper that made him literally insane when angry but he was good-looking” can describe them, then yes, they are my fave.

also worthy of consideration - I like Caranthir, Celegorm, and Maedhros the most out of all the Feanorians. Caranthir and Jiang Cheng give off the same energy, except Jiang Cheng is probably worse because he’s the youngest child, and being the youngest child myself, there is miles and miles and miles of entitlement to attention and preference, and soooo many feelings of inadequacy that nothing you can do can ever change (so why bother, right? I mean, I am beyond glad I’m not a middle child, I have enough issues thank). I love  feral!characters who are angry and do bad things and hurt people and I also love the characters who are proud, who will not apologize or bend even though they do more damage to their loved ones and to themselves by refusing to change. (Interestingly enough, I find angry!Dean winchester to be fascinating to watch, basically cause his competence at killing things is sexy but I do not consider Dean to be a fave character. Angry!Sam though, he would fit into what I’m saying. But Sam had the anger Cage!bent out of him and so *shrugs*) I just... it’s one of the things I love about stories with characters who do bad things. They’re not just faceless monsters, they’re not cartoon villians. They are people who hurt, and want, who have been hurt by others, who think they HAVE to do what they are doing, and so they do what they have always done. Because if they stop, if they look for one second beneath the anger and the pain, they would drown. You can’t go back, and so the path that you walk is the path that will dominate your life, for the rest of your life. How can you apologize when you keep doing the thing that is causing harm?

if you can change, than you could have changed before. if you were better, you never would have fallen so far. but there is something monstrous inside, and it eats away every soft touch, every outstretched hand, every hope. better to embrace the truth, better to push everyone away, better to hold onto anger. then you can fight, then you can stand tall, then you can survive; you can rage against the unfairness. It has made you bitter, it has made you cruel. You can make them all hurt. where else can that hurt go? The hurt that is inside? The hurt tearing you apart? Better to rage than to give in, better to hate than forgive. Better to hate than need forgiveness. What could forgiveness count? too much has happened for forgiveness. There is no way back across the river Sirion, as a Feanorian would say.

you have to keep your anger wrapped tightly in your fist. hold on to the hurt. How else could you stand it? How else could you ignore the howling emptiness inside you, the well of grief that has no end?

I added a couple paragraphs of Stars Wars Return of the Jedi Anakin Skywalker fanfic because I had things to say  and it seemed like Anakin could say them, so that’s under the cut. Whoops.

I think about Anakin Skywalker, trapped in a suit, unable to feel the touch of another’s hand, unable to feel the light of the sun, unable to feel the whisper of a warm breeze. Unable to smile, to see through his own eyes. Unable to turn from his dark path.

Until the end. When his son said, I need you, Father help me. Father, father, how could he be a father? He was a monster, burned and shattered, and held together with pain and a promise of vengeance. He was a faceless horror, attack dog and executioner. Kinslayer (ha!). Who would claim him as family? How could this boy claim him as family, while his friends died in the battle around them?

But he did. Father, help me. And Anakin Skywalker, the boy born in the light of the twin sons, the boy who wanted to be loved, who wanted family and safety and peace, looked out through Darth Vader’s mask and saw his son, his son crying for his help. Saw his master, with lightning at his fingertips and sadistic delight on his face. Father, I need you, help me.

My son. Padme’s son. What heart did Darth Vader have to give? What heart could survive in a Sith? What could he do to stop his master, what could anything amount to, after so long?

Father, there is still good in you. 

Darth Vader could do nothing. 

Anakin Skywalker could save his son. His son, his son, he had promised to love his son. His hands had trembled against Padme’s belly when she told him the news. Her hands had stroked his hair. They had laughed. They had been so young. It had felt like flying when Padme placed her hands in his, the weightlessness of hurtling over an edge, leaning into the fall, daring the ground to meet you, daring gravity to catch you and pull you into the crash, her hand in his, his heart full of sunlight. what could gravity do to such a heart? what force could stop him? Anakin, you’re going to be a father. 

Anakin was motionless, trapped in the center of a deadened husk, the ground rushing up to meet him. What force indeed. He had been falling for so long, he was insensate to it, the sickening lurch of nothingness beneath him, of nothing that could stop him. How much further could he fall? What would ever be enough? There was nothing there, nothing beneath him. Some days he was glad, because he would shatter such a foundation upon impact. Some days, he could convince himself the fall was over, a headrush, a bad dream. How could he still be falling if the abyss was all he could see? Father, help me. Please. 

Once, Anakin had known. Once, Anakin had leaned into the fall and dared gravity to reach out its hands and pull him to the ground and slipped, laughing, laughing, from its grasp. Once, Anakin had loved, and was loved in return. His son, his son, his son had a smile full of sunlight and soft eyes. His son had a face etched in pain. His son had spoken without bitterness, without weapon. His son, letting go of his rage, His son, palms upturned.  

His son, reaching out. There was the ground, after decades of the endless, bottomless dark. Anakin had longed for it, dreaded it, feared it, He had been afraid for so long. How had he done it, once? How had he leaned into the fall, unafraid? He had been falling for so long, what could lift him from it? He was pieces frayed and shattering, what could catch him? What could stop him now, with a heart full of hatred and hands made of ruin? 

Father, please.

There is still good in you, I can sense it. The conflict. 

Let go of your hate.

He was so weary. His hands shook. How could the sense memory that overcame him then, how could it still be his? his hands, his real hands pushing the controls of his pod-racer forward, knowing that he had to win. Knowing that he would. His hands on Padme’s skin, leaning into her kiss. She would recoil from his touch now, and she would be right to do so. What could he feel, through murderous, monstrous hands of her softness? He had held her tightly, in the fist of his love, his desperate, violent love pouring from his fist, outstretched. Fire raged around them. Fire raged within him, from him. Her words of love  choked in lies. Her lies suffocated by his love, his powerful love. Padme’s hands rising, useless. Padme’s hands, curled-in.

Luke’s hand, outstretched. Padme’s son, his, theirs. He had a son, still; still, after everything, even though his son knew. Obi-Wan would have told him everything, everything that Anakin had ruined and yet his son could not hold onto hate. It was such an easy hate to hold; it fell from his grasp (human, mechanical, like Anakin’s own, Anakin who had maimed his son, his son, who looked to him for salvation; his son, whom he could save, if he could just, if he just could...) as water falls from hands clean. His son, after such grief and betrayal, with a heart made full in sunlight, asking --

Anakin leaned into the fall and was saved.

[zeroxz21]

[WP] You're the most powerful villian in the world. Formerly. Now you run a bar, that works as a neutral zone for heros and Villians alike. One day, a hotshot hero tries to arrest you.

A short story I wrote based on this writing prompt, submitted on reddit by u/zxcxdr:

So first of all, I accomplished what no other villain or hero has ever done, before or since.  

I Won. And by Won, I mean there was nowhere up for me to go. I dominated the world uncontested.  

  How did I get there? Well, it started small. I was among one of the first, you know, except I didn't know it to start with. One of the first superpowered humans. Even *my* scientists still aren't sure what started the cascade of births of humans that exhibited supernatural phenomena. My power, I eventually realised, was that of mental suggestion, control, and manipulation. I had unwittingly climbed my way up through the education system and into being the owner of multiple successful business enterprises, before I figured out how it had come to be that I had accomplished this. Not through my skill and intelligence alone, but because I had coerced those around me into following my will without even realising until then.  

That first ‘hero’, back when they were totally unrestrained vigilantes, had decided that I had too much of a monopoly, and decided it must be wrong somehow. They came to stop me. They found me, and though they were not an especially strong superhuman by many of the standards we now find, it was more than a match for the ordinary man that was me. I was not incompetent in martial arts but it didn’t do much against someone who could feasibly tackle a rhino in hand-to-hand combat. I was swiftly levelled, bones broken, bleeding from cuts and gashes their blows inflicted. I was messed up, my life beginning to flash before my eyes. They loomed over me, ready to finish me off, this self proclaimed executor of justice. I closed my eyes, willing desperately that they’d just leave me alone, let me live, please!... and they did. I peeked out of my blackened eyes, just to see them turn and walk away. Totally inexplicably. It was then that I figured out exactly what gift I had.  

I curbed myself for a time, so as to avoid drawing further unwanted attention, as I learned to harness my powers more deliberately. Everything now made sense, fell into place. I could do anything with this. So I did.  

My empire grew, eventually expanding beyond my birth country into others. My profits I collected entirely for myself, other than what investment was needed to expand my business fronts. I used much of them to hire many learned people in order to do research for me, and me alone. Biology, genetics, engineering, physics. I wasn't sure what I needed them for yet, or how big I would grow. I just knew that I wanted to be bigger. My power was to control, to dominate, after all. It was… only natural, that I exerted that power as far as I could.  

I briefly considered using the fruits of my research to further enhance my business, but then realised I was doing just fine increasing my monopolies without them. All the better that I save the results of that research myself, to ensure I was always several steps ahead of the rest of the world; weapons and defense tech, medicine, computing, so on.  

I increasingly tangled with heroes and villains of various stripes. Heroes who disrupted my more illicit machinations, villains who saw me as a threat to their own plans of domination. This was very rarely directly with me, of course, but with some subdivision somewhere several steps down the chain of command; I had learned from that first brush to keep myself better hidden, allowing others to be the face of things, even behind the scenes. By now I had amassed hordes of paid mercenaries, assassins, my new robotics division, and other superpowered people I had brought under my personal manipulations, in order to counteract any interference. I was absolutely untouchable.  

It took nearly a century before the governments and public at large realised just how much my empire had begun to infiltrate and control the world. One particularly devious heroine managed to connect the dots in secret, somehow beneath my notice, and outed to the world how all these businesses were, behind the scenes, all feeding their profits, and being controlled by, a singular source. It was a scandal that shook the world, the anti-monopoly laws many countries had having been long, long broken.  

It was especially damning for them as they knew not how to respond. I simply owned everything. Food production and dispersion, communication services, military research, utilities production, construction, banks… so much of what society at large relied upon to function was connected, at the top, to myself. My personal identity and existence remained hidden, so no one knew what they were all collaborating for, not even the higher ups that operated for each of these factions knew, just had a strange urge to do certain things, send supplies off to who knows where, transfer funds into a nameless back account. All easily hidden as I owned and operated all these things myself, and controlled everyone involved at a higher level. No one who knew would call me out.  

For me, much had changed. In secret, knowing this would happen eventually, I had been building myself up. I had a top of the range facility hidden in the middle of the ocean in a politically neutral zone, with little marine life to draw ships to it, seeing as the currents were not favourable. And I say top of the range, well it was more than that, seeing as top of the range would be the height of what is available on the public market.  

I had carefully held back the technological advance of society, everything being over five decades behind where it would be if I hadn’t deliberately drip fed out new advancements.

So, where was I all this time? Hidden in my top secret facility. A small island, purely of my design, I had spent a decade in the past building up the foundations. My own personally designed ecosystem kept the island naturally functioning, enhancing long term stability. The facility itself, totally secure from any and all detection by ‘modern’ top military tech of any nation, immune to any conceivable attack. And further than that, resistant to all known and documented superpowers out there. Laser vision, temperature manipulation, pyrokinesis, raw enhanced strength - nothing would get through the advanced materials and defensive technology my cabal of enthralled scientists had been devising.  

And if that wasn’t enough, I myself was all but untouchable too. My biological and cybernetic divisions had enhanced my body, infusing me with powers taken from the heroes and villains over the years that had unwittingly crossed me, new abilities and enhancements on top of that they had devised. I was as close to immortality as was feasible to achieve. I certainly wasn’t ageing, hence all these extraordinarily long term plans by the standard of any other villain who sought ‘world domination’. They were foolish to me.  

Yes, you may notice I haven’t mentioned them much. Heroes, villains. They were there, but all just part of a much larger framework. If it wasn’t for me, they may have been much more significant. But, supposed villains were as much as problem as a hero finding me out were, so I ensured they were stopped before they got out of hand. As such, heroes never rose up to be the executors of justice they probably would have done, because significant foes that needed that kind of response never truly existed. Back then, to me, they were all just the superhumans. Just another aspect to worry about.  

So it was that I broadcast publicly for the first time. I told everyone of who I was, what I had been up to all these years (not in any real detail, of course). I told them of my powers, my control of the world, and my personal supremacy as an individual being. All would kneel before me at my command, all would do as I bid of them. No one would resist.  

Naturally, those in governmental positions who were not being manipulated against it, all took this as an act of war. Many of the stronger world powers immediately launched large scale assaults on my facility, easy to triangulate with such a large broadcast. Many superhumans of all stripes also joined the charge. Nuclear warheads, missiles, bombs, even some advanced laser weaponry, was fired upon me, the might of nations focused on a single point, as well as fire, lightening, strange energies and brute force hurled at my fortress by the superhumans themselves.  

My facility’s highest recorded energy expenditure during the prolonged, month long assault was 23.7% of maximum output.  

Having exhausted themselves of so many resources, I sent out my own, entirely robotic and unmanned ‘military’ to forcefully seize control of any and all places that had defied me; I might have controlled much of the business side of the world, but the people themselves, the politics and governments, had been difficult to fully control, only influence and hold back from achieving too much undesired progress. It was an easy, simple coup.  

The world was mine, none would ever again raise a hand against me. Me long, long plan was finished. I went to my station, ready to make my second broadcast. I would tell them all to…  

What was I going to tell them all to do?  

I sat down then in the chair before the cameras and microphones, slumping. It had been pure instinct and human nature to be the top of the food chain, to be safe and uncontested, to be the fittest in the survival of the fittest. But now that I was here, completely and utterly with no resistance or further efforts to secure and maintain my position really needed… why was I here? I had never really thought what would be done beyond this point, merely that there was a drive to be in this position.  

I could tell the world to do anything. To kneel, bend a knee to my power. But this was the pathetic folly of monarchs and tyrants past; the forceful submission of people didn’t really have much meaning for me. I didn’t really care. But what else was there to do? Just let them carry on? I could have stayed here, quiet and safe, without enforcing my will over the world. But then, that was what I was good, it was my power that had started off all these things. It had to mean something.  

So I thought about things. What did I want to do with them, the world? Moreso, what did I want to do with me? What did my life mean?... what did theirs? Everyone else?  

I listened to what the world was doing. Apathy reigned. Resigned to their fate with no choice at all, productivity of the world was declining. Motivation to continue producing, creating, living, was beginning to decline, and had been since my announcement. It had taken a steeper turn again since my forces had been sent out. Birth rates plummeted, as did the marriages, the kindling of new relationships, even divorces and splits.  

I sat on the moon, watching the planet for myself. I spent some time there, watching it turn. I watched the lives people lived, listened to their pleas to one another. I don’t know when exactly I realised what the truth was, that free will was important above all. For life has no meaning if you cannot, in some small way, control your own fate, have some say in it. This is at least one of the meanings of life, for I would not dare so arrogantly claim to have divined the one true meaning of it.  

I still didn’t know what I wanted for myself, but at least, for the world at large, I knew what needed to be done. No matter whether my intentions would have been good or evil, right or wrong, anything other than what I was to do would be appropriate.  

It was two and a half months when the second of my worldwide broadcasts went out. I breathed in a sigh, put on the mask, and appeared before the world, and told them:  

That they were free. That I would withdraw any and all of my forces. That I would relinquish control of all people, to do as they wished, for themselves. That humanity would be truly free for the first time in over a century, since my dominion had begun. I told them I would remain here, just in case to prevent true calamities, but that otherwise their fate was now their own.  

Switching off the broadcast, I broke down, completely and utterly, weeping ugly tears as for the first in one hundred and seventeen years, 4 months and 12 days, I pulled in my power to control the will of others.  

I don’t know how long I was out cold on the floor for, exactly. I had not realised the pressure it had been having on me, years of building up endurance and resistance allowing my stranglehold to grow impossibly vast. I couldn’t rest yet though; I needed to check on my facilities. All my scientists, researchers and their families (some no local here into the third generation of being my thralls) had just been freed.  

I went to them, seeing into their rest chambers before I entered for myself. I wretched as I saw the expressions on their faces, far deeper than mere confusion as those I controlled elsewhere may have felt. I wasn’t sure I could live with myself, but then, suicide was simply not acceptable; after what I had done to the world, the least I could do was safeguard it from destroying itself. If those nuclear weapons had been trained anywhere but here…  

I entered, then, and called the attention of all those who lived here with me. For me, really. No one had ever really been… with me. It was strange, how I could watch the world and how people lived, had my scientists study the depths of human psychology and social need - and not apply it to myself. I had no friends or family to speak of.  

Having seen the broadcast themselves, I reiterated it to them personally, and what it meant for them: they were free to do as they wished. If they wanted to go anywhere, I would take them, do whatever they needed to be set up safe and secure away from here, and out amongst the nations. I also offered a home for those that wished to stay, and further their studies here, as I explained that I would remain on watch for the world to try to prevent the worst of potential consequences, either from the people to each other, or an unseen natural calamity. Remaining ahead of the militaries of the world would be prudent. I told them they did not have to make an immediate decision, but to let me know of their wishes by the end of the week, preferably.  

I spent the week isolated while I waited for answers, trying and failing to determine what my own purpose and desires might be. I left the isolation at the end of the week, nervous as to what messages had been left for me.  

It shook me to my core to find that I didn’t even have any.  

I went out and spoke to them, then, not as their ruler, but as a compatriot. I was amazed at their kindness and generosity towards me. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve it. My psychologist team laughed off the explanation that I had actually enacted effectively the results of their research into my home for, such that they were all kept happy even on finding out they had been under my thrall for so long.  

So I asked them, if they would be so kind, what about me? Unfortunately, they couldn’t decide for me. That would have to be something I found for myself.  

There was plenty to do, don’t get me wrong, but one finds one needs a drive to truly thrive. I watched the happenings of the world for clues. Most hobbies I had indulged in at some point, but nothing like that was really enough.  

A curious development over the coming months was the marked rise in superhumans having influence on society. Often at odds with one another, marked heroes and villains arose. Villains threw their weight around, trying to bend society to their will and under them, as heroes rose to meet them in battle, both physical and ideological. The right and wrong of the matter was rarely clear in such engagements, a far cry from the cheap fictional heroes that had provided entertainment for many over the years.  

Large factions formed, self proclaimed Lords of Evil, Bearers of Light and so on had increasing social, and eventually political, influence. They were beginning to drive the turn of society.  

But so their powers grew. Able to exercise them to their totality, villains I might see from the past that could turn the wind cold, were now able to chill entire towns. A mighty hero who lifted a car to save a child was now able to grapple with a mountain avalanche. I was concerned things were getting out of hand, excessive loss of life and environmental damage may occur. I was not sure what to do with this; I had my concerns, but I was also unwilling to interfere. Especially so now that the only way to stop this sort of thing was personal intervention with individuals, which was far more meddling than merely blocking some wayward missiles or asteroids would be, which was the sort of thing I’d had in mind.  

As I watched the increasingly ridiculous scope of clashes unfold, tens of superpowered men and women crashing into one another like forces of nature, from many factions founded all over the world, I wondered if things could be settled with talking. Some tried it and usually bore the brunt of a violent, energetically charged response from the opposition, hero/villain relations now being reduced to attacking one another on principle, so deep had the hatred become over the years.  They all had so much pent up emotion and energy, always needing to exert it somehow, the barest excuse. Always fearful of the opposition, true rest was rarely coming to them, either. They were all trapped in a cycle of constant escalation.  

One day when I was relaxing a bit, I was watching a rather old film of fictional heroes and villains clashing (at the time the fictional beings had looked impressive, now paling against the excesses of modern superhumanity’s capabilities) over something or other, when an idea hit me. I watched them broker a moot, which fell apart, but it lasted a while. I wondered if it could have gotten somewhere if tempers had been held more in check? Then the idea struck me. These people needed some sort of no man’s land, where they could rest, maybe talk things out if they fancied it, even. A true neutral zone. Something that no nation on Earth could hope to provide.  

But maybe I could.  

I discussed the suggestion at length with my scientists from various departments, but preeminently the psychologists. I noticed hidden smiles from others as I talked enthusiastically about my plans and what could be done. I eventually realised they were happy for me, seeing I had found some sort of purpose. I smiled back.  

The place needed to be well designed, able to bear the brunt of their outbursts. But ultimately, I would be responsible for managing it; my many enhancements and stolen powers meant I was more than a match for any who dared break the peace. An overseer of sorts, like I always had been. Just now, it would be used for maintain a neutrality and allow the wills of others their freedom to be expressed, not to throttle it. The physicists and advanced materials teams designed the functional underlay of it all. But the atmosphere and visuals were also important.  

After much study, argument, and discussion, the decided ideal setting for a neutral, restful zone was… a bar, strangely enough. It would function as a bed and breakfast setting, with beds freely available, but the main draw was the large bar area. Visually designed to mimic a classic English bar, dark coloured wood and leather seating throughout, this had been decided to be the best setting to encourage a relaxed atmosphere in the patrons. When construction was complete, I raised an eyebrow, but couldn’t help myself grinning in pleasure at the sight of it. Compared to what I had been used to, it was pretty twee and mundane, but then, maybe what was the appeal. I couldn’t help but appreciate it. I profusely thanked everyone for their help, and we had a party that night, the bar all to ourselves this one night.  

The day of opening had arrived. The set up was perfect, if I did say so myself: my - our - island home was politically neutral from all nations due to its location, and would be readily accessible once I launched the warp in locations which I’d quietly been setting up in the world at large. The bar itself was time dilated, so that those entering and leaving always found it approximate to the time zone of where they had arrived from, so patrons from around the world would all be experiencing the evening bar simultaneously.  

I excitedly put out a new broadcast advertising ourselves, though less intrusive to the population of course. Freely available to all superhumans, faction affiliated or otherwise, our traditional bar would serve as a safe haven when you needed a break from the wears and tears of a newly free world at odds with itself. Verbal sparring was the limit of the altercations that would be permitted.  

The Bar, so it was called, had its inaugural opening evening at 6pm that night. Bewildered and unsure, a few heroes and villains from all corners of the world began to pop in through the warp system. Some were in costume, others in casual dress. They all shifted uncomfortably, speaking little to one another. I decided to break the ice.  

“First drink’s on the house!” I declared loudly, drawing all eyes to me as I swiftly littered the bar with glasses and pitchers, filled with all sorts of ales, beers and wines. Of course, anything anyone asked for could be procured, but I figured they were a bit shy for that. “Of course, all your future drinks will be too, but come on anyway, help yourself!”  

Some of the nervous guests drew near. The first I recognised as Cascademan, wearing his trademark suit of multiple blue hues. He eyed a tall, thin glass of sparkling white, before taking it and touching it to his lips. He gave me a shy nod before backing away.  

In my excitement, I’d all but forgotten my own reputation amongst them all. Now was not the time to crumble, however. I needed to remain strong and confident. What else could a bar owner be? I was the only one here; I had not wanted to risk any of my friends getting injured until we could be sure of their safety. I had to keep the mood lifted, and if necessary, keep order. Naturally, that was when the shouting began.  

The members of two rival factions had gotten into a shouting match, the length and breadth of their rage and insults escalating rapidly. I sighed irritatedly and loudly, hoping to get their attention. The threat was lost on them.  

Magma-Eye was spearheading for his side against Chaoschick (the names sounded a bit silly to me, but it was heavily determined by the publicity angle). Heroes, villains, all the same to me; they often thought it held real weight, but so often villains and heroes argued amongst themselves that to me the distinction was a bit meaningless.  

I made my way through the bar (literally) towards them, others stepping back as I closed in on them. Chaoschick was first to lose her rag, her bizarre energy coursing through her body as she visibly channelled it into her fist. Everyone nearby cowered as she thrust it forwards, expecting to be blasted across the room.  

With a casual wave of my hand, all her energy dissipated into the air. She crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath, the wind taken out her.  

“No. Fighting.” I said, calmly, sure to infuse it with the air of a threat not yet made real. Eyes widened as they looked at me with a mixture of awe and fear.  

“Just… come get some drinks. Chill, relax, chat, whatever. That’s what this place is for!” I told them, cheerfully, before making my way back to the other side of the bar and loudly making some mixers.  

That seemed to break the ice, a couple of more interested looking supers coming closer.

“What you makin’ there?” Whip-Wild asked me.  

“A little number I devised; base of pineapple juice, a shot of tequila, some lemon and lime juice, and the tiniest, teeniest pinch, of liquid nitrogen!” Supers were generally hardier than the average human, even before any wild powers they might possess were part of the equation.  

I finished shaking the drink together, pouring it smoothly into a steel goblet. Mist drifted over the sides as I did so. “Haven’t named it, yet.” I pushed the drink towards him.  

He took it, eyeing it curiously, before putting down a swig. He grimaced at the powerful flavour, before regaining his composure.  

“That there sure is some strong stuff. Thanks, pardner!” He exclaimed excitedly. I grinned, pleased. Nothing like a good, stiff drink for people to commiserate over. “Hey, Steelskin! Come ‘ere, try summa this!”

I cheerfully mixed up and set out more of the drinks all over the bar as the patrons made their way up to the bar, each finding their own drinks and bringing their friends over.  

Magma-Eye and Chaoschick had been left alone awkwardly, their allies having ditched them for making a scene. A pair of drinks made their way into their unwitting hands. They looked at me in confusion, as I just grinned knowingly at them from my behind the bar position.  

They looked at each other, nervously laughing as they both took a sip of their drinks. Chaos smiled appreciatively as Magma inspected it.  

“Uh…” Magma asked, awkwardly. Not really sure how to interact with his arch nemesis outside of a spirited pummelling. “You, uh, like that, then?”  

“Yeah, I do…” They looked around the room in silence. “This is pretty weird, huh?” Chaos said.

Magma nodded. “We did both come here, I guess. We could, um… grab a table?”

“I’m game if you are.” She challenged him, sauntering towards the nearest empty table, sliding into the booth seat.  

I watched as he followed her and sat opposite. Glancing around the room, they seemed to be mingling a bit. Mostly people with more shared interests were keeping to themselves, but it was early days yet. Maybe the tempests around the world would calm a bit, now…  

  It’s been fifty seven years since that night. The Bar is still going strong, more popular than ever. Society is still divisive at times, and likely will be forever to some extent; people will always differ in opinion, and supers will always fight it out, either individually or on behalf of their country or faction.  

But I remain here. Serving drinks and keeping the peace. And I’ve never been happier with my place in the world. I’d like to think in some small way, I’ve atoned for all that I did. I still don’t know, of those who come in here, who’s right and who’s wrong. Maybe no one ever will objectively discover that truth, if it even exists. All I can do is ensure the worst never befalls us all, and maybe just keep things out there just a bit calmer.  

  ~~~  

  The darkness was beginning to lift. Where was I, I wondered… the fog began to lift. I could feel the heavy leather seat supporting my body, and noticed a small table before me. The bustle and bustle of The Bar began to enter my ears. Then everything that just happened came back to me.  

“Ooohh…” I moaned as I felt my head throb. My memories were a total mess; those weren’t mine. Uurgh…  

“I told you to cut it out.” I heavy voice boomed before me. My voice? No, those weird memories… oh. I remember what happened now, I think.  

I stood up, ready to attack the evil MaesterMind before me, before my head swam heavily and I fell back into my seat.  

He shook his head. “Just… stop. Think for a minute. What did I just show you?”  

I couldn’t help but listen. I sat a moment as I woke up properly, remembering everything I’d just dreamed.  

Wow… that was a lot to take in. I groaned as I sunk my head forward into my palm, elbow rested on the table.  

MaesterMind turned and headed back behind his bar, whipping up a quick drink before coming back to me. He put the fizzy picture down in front of me. I took it and downed it.  

“...I hate doing that.” He said.  

“Sorry you had to.” I said. “I just heard things, I guess, and-”  

He raised a hand. “Don’t worry about it.” I turned his head to another commotion elsewhere. He sighed irritatedly. “Shout if you need anything else.” He put on a bit of a forced smile and headed for the commotion.  

As he left, my head thunked onto the table. How could I have been so stupid, trying to arrest freaking MaesterMind. What even for? I waved a hand to get the attention of a passing waitress. She smiled cheerily upon seeing me and approached.  

“Oh, hello Ma’am. I don’t recognise you, are you new here, Miss…?”  

“Jenny-Justice. Can I get something stiff, please?”  

“Yeah, not surprised after the ol’ Maester did that to ya. I know just the thing for ya, girly.” She swiftly headed to the bar.  

Oh, you are a fool, Jenny, I thought to myself...

___

If you read through all this, thank you. Hope it entertained you somehow. Spent long enough writing this that I wanted to put it out somewhere, seeing as it got no response at all on r/WritingPrompts: I guess I took too long writing it and now it’s among many other, probably great takes on this prompt that aren’t among the quicker responses that got upvoted to the top of the comments. It’s just a silly short story, but either way.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Brave police j decker character review!! (1/5)

Alright you guys! Lets get to reviewing the BEST part of this show. The characters!(note, i will not include all villians, despite them meeting my criteria. Too many goddamn people, that honestly? We won't remember. Humans first, bots second, and any other creature last. Bots will have their alt modes.)

Humans!!;

Yuta Tomonaga!!;

Yuuta!! The boss of the brave police! While young,(about 9-10) Yuuta has more passion in his pinky finger than any of the adults on the show. Loving, caring, and determined, Yuuta has proven time and time again that hes a worthy leader, and an incredible friend. He's faced more than most kids his age should've honestly, and the nightmares and trauma needs to stop for him. He just needs ONE goddamn day with him hanging out with his friends and family, with plenty of good food.

Verdict:10/10. Hes adorable, and i wanna hug him and give him a golden sticker. Take him home, feed him and Deckerd.

Juuzo Saejima!!;

He. Is the most EXTRA bitch ever. Seriously, he's essentially a 12 year old in a 44 year old body. Constant upgrades for the team, constant new names and abilities. Hes an oddball, but despite this immaturity, he's a GOOD person. He listens to Yuuta and his opinions, and treats him as an adult, and treats the bots as humans. He deserves all he has, and honestly? Underrated character.

Verdict:9/10. Wish we had more background on him, but overall a character that i enjoyed seeing on the show. Take him home, be prepared for him to be SUPER extra.

Shunsuke Toudou!!;

SUCH. A surprising character. He made his one and only grand appearance in one episode, and i surprisingly??? Fell for the guy. He cares about the bots, and cars. He puts in effort, probably more than his entire team would. Even as a mechanic, this guy does more than his fair share of work fixing up the bots, physically mostly, but we've seen him do so emotionally as well.

Verdict:10/10. Hes the father we all need??? He GETS people. He knows what you're gonna say before you're even gonna say it, and buys you feel good snacks, and drives you around a few times while you talk to him. You've heard of mama bear, well this is papa bear. 10/10, take him home, talk to him about cars.

Seina Onoue!!;

(First of all. Yes I've been getting her name wrong this entire time. Im still putting her as 'Seina' and not 'Seia' for tag reasons)

My girl Seina! Gorgeous, headstrong, and and underestimated, sweet gal. Military lady, she's quite firm handed, but thanks to her boyfriend, McCrane, she's learned more about being human and embracing life. For someone who specializes in Japan's offensive branch, she's surprisingly shy and self conscious. Its sweet, in a way.

Verdict:9/10. She's a sweetie! She cares, an fights for whats right. Plus, she's a total historical figure, being one of the first few women who smooched a bot! She demands respect, and damn does she have it.

Ayako Kimizuka!!;

Our fellow reporter lady! (And Seina's best friend)She's the person who sinks her head deep into the news sand, fully commiting herself to her reporting. She dives in headfirst so strongly and quickly, the rest of the world melts away. A bit abrasive, but i grew to like her, and I've approved her to date my boy, Dumpson.

Verdict:9/10. Shes cute, flighty, and honestly cares about Dumpson! She teases him often, and i appreciate it. Plus...she's kinda gorgeous, honestly.

Regina Argine!!;

Me and her got off on the wrong foot. She treated bots, her own Duke included, as mere tools, to be molded perfectly into whatever was requested of them. However, upon almost losing Duke and meeting Yuuta, she learned. She had basically mentally abused Duke, and she can't un do. She can however, grow and try to make amends. She is now highly favored amongst the team, and no longer has this strong sense of entitlement. Most importantly, her past is no longer hurting her. And she's had such an impressive change, honestly. Duke cares about her immensely, and now? I do too.

Verdict:9/10. She's adorable, and now i absolutely adore her whenever i see her. She's just a delight to have around, honestly.

Azuki Tomonaga!!;

Yuuta's older sister!(who i just learned is 16) despite being the eldest, she doesn't behave as though she has the authority. Timid, a bit flighty, and incredibly sweet, Azuki is honestly just a cinnamon roll. I adores her the second i saw her, and i want whats best for her. She's essentially considered Shadowmaru's best friend (though my boy wanted to go to the pound, we all know what i mean), and although doesn't get many opportunities, shes a surprising emotional support, and a wonderful caretaker.

Verdict:9/10. An absolute bun! She'd absolutely make a nice, cinnamon cake for her neighbors, just because. Take her home, she'd just absolutely love to cook for you and your folks.

Kurumi Tomonaga!!;

The second eldest of the Tomonaga family! Shes adorable, albiet a bit abrasive and gossipy. Towards the end, she was considered friends of Shadowmaru, along with her sister, but honestly? She...kinda doesn't do much in this series. We wouldn't lose much having her leave, but i liked her personality, and shes pretty relatable.

Verdict:7/10. She...didn't really do anything in the series, plot wise. She was more of an extra. She worked, but really, she wasn't that important of a character.

Eva Farhzeug!!;

I know i said i wasn't going to include every villian. But i AM including her, mainly because i like the whole 'some other force was in control of shit getting messed up, and is now controlling everyone in a giant ass ship, and is a mixture of hot and creepy ' trope. I found her interesting, and honestly? Led to an ending that i didn't expect. She had a good villian motivation, was visually appealing, and had quite the surprising tie to the plot. I mean, the mother of all robotics??? No way you could've seen that coming in the first watch.

Verdict:8/10. She was good plot wise, but not an overwhelming character. I just wanted to point out that i liked the role she played. Don't take her home. Bitch is NUTS.

Emily, Kikjmaro, and Masaki!!(right to left;

These three are essentially labeled as Yuuta'd and Power joe's best friends. Id give them their own spots, but honestly? They're almost always together anyway. Emily is essentially kinda spoiled and whiney, and honestly? An itty bitty bitch. But shes cute, and she cares. Sometimes. Kikjamaro is the smart guy, basically, acting as the more level headed and reasonable of the group. Masaki is the dumbass. He's got anger issues, and is prone to being pretty fucking annoying. This group by themselves are honestly useless. But i fucking LOVE them when they're with Power joe. They think hes the shit, and hes DAMN right.

Verdict:7/10. This is PURELY because we have one thing in common. They love Power joe. Unless Power joe is with them, id kick them out tbh.