#focus on the enthusiasm that drives me to be bitter about stuff instead

[thelogbookproject]

If you could do any licensed TTRPG product, what would it be? Someone else's IP, completely redoing an already established one, anything!

It's complicated. This is a thorny subject for me -- I'm happy to answer, it's just messy.

See, I designed Legend of the Elements. At the time, it was a definitive answer to "What Is the AtLA RPG". Fast forward to when Avatar got an official PbtA RPG, Avatar Legends, and despite years of experience adapting AtLA to PbtA, I was never approached, considered, or asked to contribute in any way. I get why the corporation went with Magpie over itty bitty solo me, but it stung. What hurts much more: Avatar Legends is, imo, far worse than Legend of the Elements 2e (in development a year before AL's announcement). I kinda hate it. I didn't like Masks even before it. I won't get into it here or I'll never stop and I'll hurt my professional standing with people I like. Ask me some other time if you wanna know about that.

Anyway, I'm obviously bitter. A big part of coping has been recognizing how freeing myself from the IP allows my game to improve. This isn't unfounded! LotE was originally Avatar World, and about halfway through development I knew I had enough to actually publish and stripped off the labels, becoming Legend of the Elements, and it vastly improved the game almost overnight. So I'm hesitant about working with IPs in the best of cases. I've been stripping IPs off my designs to improve them forever now, and most of my games start with IPs I love that I want to improve by going beyond them. Media provides ideas, but IPs are just shackles on adaptation work.

Still, I do have answers.

If I get complete freedom to adapt and shape the game, ignoring existing products: Avatar the Last Airbender.

If I'm bound to the character constraints of the IP: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

If I can play outside the plots and structures of the original to my own desires: Disco Elysium.

AtLA is, frankly, personal vindication. Plus my game is better and I want people to play it, for their sakes, but the answer here is driven by a desire for vindication.

She-Ra is so intensely character-driven that I don't think you can make a recognizable SRPoP game without directly doing the IP, and adapting LotE(2e) is actually perfect for it. I actually did it, only viewable on my Patreon or website, DTRPG (rightly) blocked it from sale. I would love to explore that further. As much as Thirsty Sword Lesbians is the Catradora game, I don't think a real She-Ra adaptation works without She-Ra herself in the rules.

I don't want to retell Disco Elysium, in plot, setting, or theme. But the underlying structures of what makes it what it is are eminently open to being worked with, and I have a vision. I have that vision right now, and it's in the early stages of being processed. Maybe it won't go anywhere, but that's what I'm excited about right now, so that's what I'm saying.

I have one more answer. All of those share one trait: I know how I'd do them. So if you want the deepest, truest, dark-of-my-soul answer for what IP I wish I could adapt but don't know how I'd even do it to my satisfaction: The World Ends With You.

It escapes me. I wish I knew how to do it. The firm #3 on my Personal Top 5 Games Ever list, I long for the day that I crack the code. Also: I know of, and respect, Vibe Check. It does capture elements, but it's not what I envision.

So that's my answer. Depending on circumstance, Avatar the Last Airbender, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Disco Elysium, or The World Ends With You.

[thelastyetfabolousmidwestmadman]

That One Fanfic Idea I Had That Was Too Fucked Up For Me

So picture this.

Your watching Highschool DXD with your mother. It’s weird I know but my mom has done much more disgusting stuff so it seems rather normal in comparison... 

No? You Don’t want to picture it?

Kay, now stop picturing it, cause you’re either squicked out or have issues so imagine just watching alone, with a friend, or if good fortune strikes you the best girlfriend/Boyfriend ever.

But lets talk about YOU.

You are a lonely depressed coed, who straight out of high school suffered one of the most painful experiences of your life. The one you love the most just broke up with you for reasons you don’t understand or can comprehend at the time. 

For brevity’s sake I won’t tell the cause of what happened between me and my ex. I think some things should remain private and everyday I’m regretful for how I acted and wish that things could have gone differently. That is the past now and it should only be revisited to show how much you changed for the better.

You present yourself a mask of happiness when in reality you are in so much pain you are genuinely considering suicide but in a attempt to keep your mind off the pain, you listen to music that you never liked before because what you loved reminds you of them, and most importantly you watch shows that you previously had no interest in due to a desperate attempt to feel something, anything.

Its been nearly four years since that happened and some things are better but the scars still bleed deeply in the sides of my cerebrum. Today while I still have many issues and I wont pretend to have them together, but with the passing of time wounds become less salted and eventually will heal. Parts of myself I lost I’ve regained and that has made me proud but in other ways my trauma made myself break in two more then shatter. I may never be the same again but that doesn’t mean I could be something new or better.

Some of you might me wondering, “Why Madman, why are you talking about this now.” Well if there is one positive thing I can say about what happened is that it made ma a better writer. I now take my time, and don’t stress out about due dates. Since I experience one of the worst experiences of my life, I could greater write and understand the pain, sadness, and fears the characters I adapted experienced. I guess talent increases through suffering and struggle. I guess the best I can say was before I wrote like a child who hears a song and only focuses on the feelings in their simplistic form while now the adult who has life experience and sense the greater meaning.

But even now I still have so much to learn, and improve from! Sometimes I look at both my ongoing and old work with a equal measure of fondness and disappointment knowing what I know now. Even after the tragedy, I wrote in stasis for a while and works like Goodbye Innocence could have started less like a soup opera and be better for it. But suddenly I had a ephinany. I couldn’t allow myself to keep my writing at this level with the lackadaisical attitude I had before. I had to try harder! And that meant  updating less and taking my time to get back in touch in why I loved writing so.

Then it hit me. The childish magic and wonder I got from writing hasn’t left me at all, even at my lowest most pathetic moments. There are people better then me and instead of repeatedly getting down on myself, I accepted my limitations and regained my enthusiasm that I thought lost. 

But briefly over a period of twenty months my mind sorta went to a dark, bitter place and I sorta gave in into nihilism and despair. I kept thinking about Deconstructionism in general and what it could be applied. As you could guess, my mind landed on one show in particular.

So I kept stretching out my mind, in a rather feverish pace, thinking about how could I turn Highschool DXD dark? I mean the show is literally nothing but fanservice and tame ultraviolence how can anyone possibly make that edgy? Even without Funimation’s help the show is so ludicrous how could anyone take a dark fic seriously?

Well... Unfortunately for my sins, I came up with one.

I thought about Issei when I got to the Diadora Asteroth part. I thought about how hypocritical he could be at times considering how he tried to influence Gasper into stopping time in order to fondle unknowing women, which is pretty much beyond comedic anime perversion and more Diadora levels of sexual predation. 

Granted, I’ve long since learned that if you spend all the time thinking about the unfortunate implications of jokes, plotlines, and character arcs, particularly in politically astute context like myself, you’re quickly drive yourself crazy and be unable to enjoy any work of fiction ever. There are some that are admittedly more egregious than others but author’s intent, values dissonance/resonance, and alternative implications are important to examine as well. Life is too short to turn into a zealot and their are other social-economic problems that require requisitely radical solutions like Medicare For All, Reparations, BDS, etc that are more important to focus on then minor shit like this but anyway why the fuck am I rambling, you didn’t read this far to hear me pontificate on politics, back to the point.

TRIGGER WARNING from this point onwards

So the idea goes like this. The girls of Rias’s harem fall in love with Issei just like in canon. But what if said love is only due to Ddraig’s influence? What it Issei now had a excuse and means to justify his perversions and channel them into outright sexual and emotional abuse?

Yeah I don’t particularly feel like going further into what I entailed other than saying that it got really graphic and disturbing. So why you may ask, why would someone who was infamous for his rape fics be unable to write this of all things?

I couldn’t stomach it.

The amount of talent required at the time was beyond me and I think it’s beyond me even now but lets pause for a second and really think about this. This is something that I have no experience but sadly too many people do. IF I got even the most single fact wrong, I simply wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

Even worse, the part that I would be at most knowledgeable about, the emotional aspect of abuse, would bring up memories that I would rather not think about.

You don’t like fics like this out of passion or joy, you write them out of sheer artistic conveyance to a particular issue. You write them cause you are in pain. You write them to punish yourself. You write them to reveal a dark part of yourself you suppress with thousands of years of civilization and morality. It would be an all around miserable experience for everything.

And why would I do that to myself and others? That is not the sign of a healthy mindset and it is counterproductive to the reason I write dark fics in general.

So I am happy to toss this idea in the bin. I can’t stop anyone from doing this idea, all power to you, but I don’t want to read it. Perhaps my curiosity would get to the better of me.

Either way, I say goodbye to this fic, and hopefully this painful period of my life.

Peace.

[harringtonheartache]

Call It Fate, Call It Karma | Part Two

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: A continuation of part one. Steve and Y/n are stuck in the Russian base, left with many questions they will only find the answers to if they escape.

Word Count: 2,105

Warning(s): Stranger Things 3 spoilers, mild descriptions of blood and injury, cussing.

A/N: Here’s part two! Sorry for the wait. I went off book a little in terms of how shit went down in ep. 6 (skipped some lines, etc.), but that’s just because I didn’t want to bore you with scenes you had already experienced. Also, go fucking listen to Joe Keery’s song “Roddy” if you haven’t. IT’S SO GOOD HE’S THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.

The needle had brought the most brief moment of silence, and then the room erupted again into havoc. “Wait a second, wait. Hold on, okay! Wait wait wait what is that thing?” Steve’s words bounced off the walls like ping-pong balls. “It will help you talk,” the Russian man answered with an unsettling tone, one that did not fit with his promise of help. While she was not the one first in line for the mystery meds, Y/n was equally panicked, yelling in unison with him. 

“Hey, hey, hey wait! Don’t fucking-”

“Did you even clean that thing?”

Both of them were cut short and the only sound filling the room was Steve’s scream as he was injected with the drug, just where his jaw met his neck. Y/n was next, but hearing Steve’s cry was worse than experiencing the needle herself. Chaos was drained from the room at once, the two strapped to the chairs having been returned to sleep. 

It was easy to assume that the drug given to them was not a pain reliever, although Steve did feel as though the tenderness of his wounds had been dulled when he woke up for the second time in the cold room. Y/n wasn’t far behind him in her physical state, waking up shortly after he had. While they had both just taken a nap, they still felt tired while they leaned their heads against one another. “Do you feel anything?” Steve asked her. “No, not really. You?” “I-I don’t think so. Maybe? I… I kind of feel good,” he answered her with a melodious sound to his voice. She offered him a chuckle, “I kind of do too”. Their heads knocked together sternly as they laughed, but they were too jubilant to feel the pain it caused in full effect. “Morons, they messed up the drugs!” he sang. “Dumbasses!” she agreed with the same satirical tone. They continued this for a minute or two, feeling joy for the first time since arriving underground, even if it was drug-induced. 

Behind the metal door, their triumph was heard loud and clear throughout the narrow hallway, indicating to the men outside that they were ready to be attended to again. Their booted feet stomped noisily back to the door, but the sound could not be heard over the laughter coming from within. They re-entered through the door, and to the teenagers tied together, the Russian men were no longer as scary as they had been earlier. “Let’s try this again,” said the man in the uniform and hat. “Who do you work for?” 

“Scoops. Scoops Ahoy,” Steve repeated his dried up answer like someone on a game show, completely certain but not too serious. Unable to keep themselves from laughing, they didn’t even bother with hiding the lack of urgency they felt in response to the situation. Y/n’s shoe tapped madly on the floor, so taken over with giddiness. Steve’s hair bounced as well, against his forehead as chuckles bobbed his body up and down. “How did you find us?” the man continued, seemingly unfazed but still bitter. “Completely by accident,” another answer that would not satisfy those looking for the reasoning behind their visit. The response did however satisfy both Y/n and Steve himself, prompting the laughter to continue. 

Russian was muttered from the mouth of the bitter man, and a pair of small doctoral pliers entered the conversation similarly to how the needle had earlier. Before the tool was able to inflict it’s intended damage, an alarm blared at an extreme volume, perhaps just as loud as the screaming had been earlier. Steve looked up at the captor, a cocky smile twitching onto his face as he poked at the inside of his cheek with his tongue. He could feel the blood that still resided in his mouth from earlier, but no longer felt concerned with the taste. 

No more than three minutes later, Y/n and Steve rode together in the back of a small red cart, Dustin steering hastily down the hallway. His style of driving could be described as “shitty,” or “dangerous,” but rather fitting considering he had never driven anything but a bike before, and he was trying to spare the life of four, himself included. He jerked the wheel in a manner that was rather unexpected to the two in the back, causing them to fall all over one another. Y/n’s arm ended up twisted together with Steve’s leg, and she laid sprawled against his lap. The enthusiastic driving continued to milk laughter from them. “Whoooo! This is like a roller coaster!” Y/n shared. Steve agreed wholeheartedly, “I love roller coasters! Dustin go faster!” 

“No,” Erica butted in.

“What is wrong with them?” she asked the chauffeur. “I don’t know!” he yelled over his assemblage. “Did you- did you know your initials spell sshhh?” Y/n spoke in a loud whisper to Steve, dragging the two letters to mimic a librarian. The roller coaster came to a halt with the pounding of heavy barrels and the two in the back were dragged from their train car. 

While adding significant chaos to the escape plan, the drugged up duo made it back to Starcourt. After deciding that their hiding spot in the movie theater Dustin had ordered them to stay in wasn’t captivating enough, the two stumbled out into the main lobby, taking turns holding themselves up on the water fountain and downing as much liquid as they could. Y/n’s fingers started to hurt as she held down the “push here” button on the metal box with unnecessary pressure. “Hey, Y/n,” she was interrupted, her hand unintentionally slipping from the fountain. “Look at the ceiling,” said Steve. She followed his walking pattern to stand next to him, staggering as if she wasn’t fully capable of standing with complete balance. “Woaah,” she exclaimed, equitably as entranced by the stars that seemed to be dragging through the sky like someone was painting stripes on a flag. 

Their stargazing ended with them in the bathroom, disposing of what little was in their stomachs. The only thing they had eaten in the past day or two was the popcorn Steve swiped from the trashcan on their hurried retreat into the movie theater. They now stood in front of the sinks, washing out their mouths to rid themselves of the taste of bile, a taste significantly more vulgar than blood. Water now dripped from Steve’s tongue as he stuck it out under the faucet. The bathroom mirrors reflected bloodied faces, but they were not ready to take on another task of self care and clean the deep red stains from their skin. Once content with the taste of her freshly washed mouth, Y/n dropped lazily back to the ground. Steve followed shortly, sitting beside her on the floor that could most likely use a washing itself, his back to the row of sinks. 

“I think whatever they gave us is wearing off,” he spoke. 

“Yeah,” she agreed in short. 

“Well, my optimism wasn’t in vain,” Steve said playfully, remembering their conversation back in the base. He stretched his legs out in front of him, his calves coming in contact with the cool tile. His Scoops Ahoy uniform would need a good cleaning before his next shift, as the red stripes of his shirt now appeared to be dripping like melted ice cream since the addition of the running blood.

A sober laugh left Y/n, tired but content with their survival thus far. “Guess you were right, sorry I doubted you Harrington,” the end of her sentence lifted in enthusiasm. She leaned her head against the base of the sink, wishing not to consider the bacteria it was painted with. “How badly does your face hurt?” she questioned, assuming the answer was ‘a significant amount’. “A lot,” he said, “but you got pretty bruised up yourself,” he added. He turned to face her now, scooting a bit closer to her on the bathroom floor. She looked to him, expecting to meet his eyes, but found him engaged in his own observation of her injuries instead. A hand was removed from his lap and floated to the space between their two chests as he hesitated with his next action. 

The palm of his hand met her jaw and he carefully laid his thumb near a gash on her cheek. Her eyes blinked solemnly, trusting him to be gentle with her face and it’s received damage. “Shit,” he said, feeling an indisputable sense of worry that showed on his expression. His eyes (one still swollen and purple) scanned the rest of her face, looking over every cut or bruise that was added to her complexion within the past few hours. If he had not been down in that Russian base with her, he might assume she had gotten into a nasty fist-fight like he was infamous for doing himself. “I’m okay,” she told him soothingly. “You got it worse than me.” He finally redirected his gaze to meet her eyes, forcing himself to draw his focus away from the colorful bruise on the edge of her jawline that was screaming for his attention. “I’m used to getting my ass kicked,” he joked. They laughed to themselves, smiling as widely as they could stand. 

He took his hand back, but they did not subtract the closeness in proximity that Steve had initiated. “I hope you know I wasn’t saying all of that stuff back there just because I thought we were going to die,” he said, bringing a more serious conversation to bat, yet still carrying a light tone. “The stuff about enjoying my presence?” she asked, not fully grasping the lack of humor presented with his last sentence. “I’d hope you were telling the truth,” she chuckled amusingly. A smile came to Steve’s face as he looked downward, slightly embarrassed but still feeling an obligation to continue with his intended conversational route. “No, I was, but I uh- I don’t know. I,” -he paused- “I feel more than friendship with you, Y/n,” he brought his head back up now, despite his apprehension in doing so.

Her eyebrows jumped slightly, but she brought them back down as to not leave Steve regretting his confession. He watched her carefully, not wanting to miss any indication of responding emotion. His fingers twitched against one another in his lap, and he became strangely self-aware and confused as to what he should be doing with his hands. “Oh,” she said, her reply giving him little relief with only this one word. “I mean-” he started, but she didn’t let him attempt a retraction of his words. “Me too,” a smile graced her face, an honest one. “I like you too, Steve”. In all transparency, she felt as if the word “like” was not enough to express her feelings towards the person who sat in front of her, but using a more profound word was too daunting. He joined her in an elated expression, smiling both at himself and her. “Thank god, I was worried that I was going to have to go back to those Russian idiots and just let them kill me,” he said. 

They laughed again, a sound you would have heard often if you had spent the day with the two. His eyes dropped to her lips, still plump and pretty despite the small cut running vertically over her bottom one. Her laughter at his recently spewed joke filled him with enough confidence to perform his next action with almost complete certainty in himself. He swiftly moved his head to meet her lips with his own; a gentle kiss, one that was careful not to cause extreme pressure against the cut that had been bleeding all of thirty minutes ago. Nevertheless, it was soft. A moment both comforting and sweet shared between them. 

If that moment had lasted but three seconds longer than it had, it would have been shared with a third person: Dustin. The small, fretful boy slung the bathroom door open with more power than many would expect from him. He found the two he was looking for, questionably close to one another, having pulled away from a kiss seconds before. Their eye contact was broken at the sound of Dustin’s entrance, as they turned their heads to quickly meet his startled stare. “What the hell? I told you guys to stay there! What are you doing?” The two didn’t even try for words, continuous laughter now echoing off of the tiled walls. What they had was good karma. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tags: @hearteyesmotherclucker

[maarmendes]

Chapter 2: Unknown Territory [II]

Warnings: Swearing, fighting, mental illness... (the main characters are pretty rough around the edges)

Genre: OC insertion; angst; fluff; others.

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x OC [Anahita Shuzenji]

Word Count: 2751

Tags: @bnhabookclub​

[Wattpad Link]

Lunch with Bakugo was nicer than expected. We had a lot more in common than I thought. Besides both of us getting in trouble a lot and both getting caught by villains, we both liked old rock bands, MMA, and old action movies. No matter how nicely we hit it off, I couldn't bring myself to be honest with what happened to me. Not that Bakugo would ask me anyway. I was grateful for how understanding he was. We also shared notes on other heroes, he gave me work-out advice and I helped with some strategy studying. It felt like any gaps one of us had, the other would fill in perfectly. He was more of a strength and power type of person, as I was a speed and strategy type of person. Not to say he wasn't good at strategy, he was one of the smartest persons I've met even if he didn't show it. Bakugo admitted he had a tendency to let his emotions get the best of him. I admitted I did as well and it took some training to deal with it. But we also disagree in a lot, such as how good that sandwich place actually was. It wasn't that good. He was delusional.

"I can't believe you're eating ice-cream... It's still cold out!" Bakugo frowned.

"I've told you already like ten times! There's no such thing as the perfect time to eat sweet stuff,-"

"Except all the time... Yeah, yeah, I get it!" He finished for me with an eye-roll.

"If you're that worried, you can always warm me up..." I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.

"I'll fucking blast you into fucking space."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Blast Boy!"

Teasing Bakugo was turning into my most amusing hobby. It's not like he'd get flustered, that wouldn't suit his 'cool' demeanor. Instead he'd get annoyed, and that's way more entertaining. Back at the U.A, we were met with Aizawa already in class.

"I told you to keep her out of trouble, not kidnap her during lunch." Aizawa glared at us.

"Calm down, old man. It was just a sandwich!"

I prayed for Bakugo's soul. May he rest in peace and find solace in his next life. Blessed be, Blasty.

Luckily, Aizawa simply sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I don't have time for this... Gear up, you're training with All Might today." I jumped in excitement. Training with the number one hero? That would be the best research opportunity I could ask for. "Except you, Ana. You're with me." All excitement washed away and Bakugo muffled a laugh as he walked away.

"What? Why?!" I walked over to the teacher in hopes of begging for mercy. "Aizawa, please... I promise I will never leave without telling you first ever again!" Adding a pout for good measure was useless against this man.

"You didn't do any of your tests and I have to submit them before the end of the day." I kept pouting, hoping I could at least get something out of it, and I did. With a grunt he caved in. "You can join the rest of the class after the tests."

I threw a punch in the air in victory and wasted no time running over to get my gear, shouting a quick thanks over my shoulder. I was excited about getting my suit on and jumping back into action! It'd been a few weeks since I'd been allowed to go all out and the tests would serve as a nice warm-up. And All Might? The cherry on top of this messed up situation I call life. I was glad the girls shared my enthusiasm for our first real training session. Once changed and walking back to class, we were all having fun commenting on our suits.

"Uraraka! We're twins!" She took a good look at me and laughed.

"Oh, my God! We're like the Pink and Blue Bodysuit Crew!" I gasped dramatically. That got all the girls laughing. I had to admit, she got us a pretty cool team name.

"Then Tsu and Mina can be the Green Dream Team! And Momo, Jiro, and Toru..." I paused for a moment. "The Sexy Squad?" This time I burst out laughing with them.

I'm glad I could fit in even if I got into the class later than the others. They were all very welcoming despite the fact they knew nothing about me or why I transferred. Walking into class, a ping of sadness hit me when I realized I had to leave them.

"Sit down. All Might will be here soon to take you to Ground Beta, where you'll get special training. I'll leave the explaining to him." He turned to me. "Let's get this over with, kiddo."

I sighed and waved the girls goodbye while I followed him out. Taking one last glance over my shoulder at Bakugo, he paid no attention to anyone around him while adjusting the biggest grenades I'd ever seen around his wrists. It amused me how much they suited him.

Once outside, Aizawa didn't waste any time pushing me to the limit. From jumping as high as possible to running as fast as possible to bench pressing the heaviest weights. By the end of the tests, All Might was a long-gone dream of mine.

"Come on, get up. I've seen you do more for less." Aizawa dragged me to my feet.

"For the last time... It wasn't for nothing! I got free pizza."

"And now you get to meet All Might. Sounds more worth it than pizza." I retorted with a look. That was as much as I was willing to move. "Come on, I'll take you there."

For some reason, it still surprised me that we had to drive to some facilities in this school. The amount of resources they have will always astonish me. Once there, Aizawa guided me to some kind of control room where the class was watching some team practice All Might plan out.

"All Might. This is Anahita Shuzenji, Recovery Girl's granddaughter." Aizawa introduced me and I couldn't help but beam at the giant in front of me.

"Ah! Young Shuzenji! Welcome to class 1-A!" Some explosions on-screen caught my attention and I shot the hero a questioning look. "Ah, yes! Today's exercise! The students were divided into teams, some will take the role of heroes and others the villains. The goal is to secure the payload the villains are keeping somewhere in the building with minimal casualties."

A bigger explosion echoed in the room along with a few gasps. Looking at the screen I recognized the sandy-hair student. Bakugo was ceaselessly attacking Midoriya, leaving no room for the boy to breathe. It was the most intense battle I'd ever seen. The look of pure rage in Bakugo's face told me this fight had gone out of hand a long while ago.

"All Might..." Aizawa's tone was low and cold. "Did you just put Katsuki Bakugo in a fight against Izuku Midoriya after I told you to not do exactly that?"

I never thought I'd see the number one hero cower under anyone's gaze, but I guess Aizawa had to be the one to do it.

"I- I might have forgotten about that..."

The giant cleared his throat, avoiding Aizawa's glare. Turning on the microphone, All Might issued Bakugo a warning in hopes to calm the fight down without calling it off. To no one's surprise, that only pushed Bakugo further off the edge. With what to us was a silent scream, the boy blasted off back into the fight. Everyone was commenting on his fighting style and how talented he was, but I couldn't focus on that. This wasn't fair. This isn't what heroes are supposed to do. Heroes are supposed to protect, not hurt. During lunch, Bakugo expressed how much he wanted to fight to the top and become the best hero ever, but also admitted he wanted to protect people, followed by some threats about if I ever told anyone about it. He made it sound like we shared the same desire to make the world a better place... But this wasn't it.

"Call it off..." I mumbled as I watched the boys run towards each other with one last cry of war. "Call it off! He's gonna hurt him!" I turned to Aizawa in a frenzy but it was too late. Midoriya screams and one last explosion echoes. Uraraka deals the last blow and All Might gives the sign.

The fight was over.

"The heroes win!" The hero yelled at the microphone as I bolted out of the room. Midoriya needed immediate medical support. There are only so many blasts one can take. Aizawa tried to stop me but there was no way I'd let this go on anymore.

Running into the building as fast as I could, I get in just in time to see Bakugo standing over Midoriya, trembling with rage.

"Bakugo! Stop!" I yelled out and he froze. I spared no attention to the idiot as I run past him to assist Midoriya. The boy had fainted from exhaustion after sustaining many burns and breaking his arm. He held out for as long as it took to win the challenge and could not fight a minute longer,  yet Bakugo showed no mercy. I placed his head on my lap and brush his hair off his bruised face. Rage built up in my chest as I stared at the poor boy on my lap.

"How much of a dickhead can you be?!" Bakugo wasn't expecting the bitterness in my tone. He glared back at me but I stopped him before he could say anything stupid. "You lied to me! You told me you'd make the world a better place! You liar!" I burst out, unable to contain the emotion in my voice. "You're supposed to be good. You're supposed to be a hero! You're worse than a bully, you're a villain!"

I took the crack in my voice as a sign to stop talking and start helping Midoriya. Bakugo didn't say anything back to me. He just stared at the ground, quiet as I healed his opponent. Aizawa and All Might arrived soon with a stretcher and I followed Aizawa as we took the boy back so my grandma could look after him.

I couldn't look at Bakugo. When we hanged out, we shared the same ideas on what it means to be a true hero, to protect everyone from villains. But now, he seemed more like a villain than a hero... Maybe that's why they put us together. Two kids at risk of becoming this worlds' worst nightmare. I couldn't blame them though. I just thought maybe Bakugo would call out to me and prove me wrong.

But he didn't.

Leaving the class behind, I insisted on taking Midoriya back with Aizawa. I was worried he might wake up in pain on the drive back. I wasn't as much of a healer as grandma was, but I could at least reduce his pain and lull him back to sleep. I played with Midoriya's hair in the hope it makes him feel better. I wished I could do more for him, but I wasn't strong enough yet.

"Feeling better?" Aizawa glanced over the mirror.

"I don't know, he's still unconscious."

"I was talking about you." My attention shifted towards the teacher, not understanding what he was getting at. "I heard what you told Bakugo... It was a bit too much, Ana."

"He lied. I thought he was different, but he's just another jackass." I looked back at the bruised boy on my lap.

"Watch your mouth, Ana." I scoffed at him, earning a glare. "You shouldn't judge people when you have no idea what's going on in their lives. Especially Bakugo. That short temper of his already got him into enough problems as it is."

"That doesn't justify his actions!" My voice came out louder than intended.

"Anahita." He called out softly. "Sometimes we need to be understanding in order to help others. He messed up, that doesn't mean he's hopeless. He just needs a little patience."

I knew he was right, Aizawa was always right. He always knew what to say when I mess up. And I knew I messed up. I said something I would hate to hear and I didn't even understand the situation. There's no excuse for his aggressive behavior but there's no reason for me to be an ass too. There's no way I'd forgive Bakugo for his behavior, even if I had to apologize for what I said. I stayed silent for a while, reflecting on my actions, much as I usually do after getting told off by Aizawa.

"I'm sorry..." I sighed. "I know you're right. I'm sorry I did it... And I'm sorry I raised my voice at you."

"Don't sweat it, kiddo. I got you." He smirked at me over the mirror, making me smile and remember why I look up to him so much.

Back in the main building, I left Midoriya with Aizawa. He instructed me to change, grab my stuff, and meet him back in his office. Sometimes I wish I'd never done anything stupid enough to call for this sweatshop labor... Or at least that I wouldn't have been caught. But I did. And now I have to help Aizawa with his stupid paperwork until grandma's ready to go home.

I was making my way back to class when I spot Bakugo stomping down the hall, a distraught Kirishima trying to catch up behind him. I knew I had to apologize sooner or later, and I'm too impulsive to wait around for the perfect timing, so I might as well get this over with. Running to catch up to him, I called out.

"Bakugo!" He stopped. "We need to talk."

"I don't wanna hear it!" He faced me, clearly still upset, and got closer glaring down at me as he yelled. "You can fuck right off with your stupid opinions! Sorry if I didn't meet your dumb fucking expectations. Too bad you're disappointed, I don't fucking care! So you can fuck right off." We stayed like that for a minute. Both glaring at each other infuriated in our own ways. I tried not to forget what Aizawa said about patience, but he didn't mention anything about being polite though.

"I came to apologize, dipshit!" That remark made Kirishima wince and Bakugo freeze. "I know I was an asshole and I wanted to apologize because I know I did something stupid. Now, my 'stupid opinions' and my 'dumb fucking expectations' used to be the same as yours, asshole! You said so at lunch. That is why I'm so pissed off!" Poking my finger on his chest I unintentionally get louder. "You know you fucked up! You know you did something stupid! And, even if I was indeed too harsh, you know you deserved to be called the fuck out! I'm sorry I hurt you but no way in fucking hell I'll ever be sorry for calling you out on being a fucking dick." Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed a handful of my grandma's signature candy and threw them in his face. "And here! Have some sweets! Maybe then you'll stop being so god damn salty."

I stomped away, leaving a really scared Kirishima mumbling something about Bakugo finally meeting his match. I didn't care. I did what I had to do. If he wants me to fuck off, then so be it, I'll fuck right off just like he wants. I paced around the changing room, still pissed at the way he spoke. I knew he had some anger issues, it was obvious, but you hit it off nicely during lunch.

I thought I'd made a friend, guess it was all bullshit.

I took one last deep breath proceeding to get changed, following Aizawa's orders. All I wanted was to forget about this and get back to work. Who cares about some stupid bully either way? It doesn't matter. It's not like I need anyone anyway. I'll get to the top on my own. People are just a distraction from my goals anyway. Nothing good comes from trusting someone anyway.

That's what I told myself for the rest of the day. Helping Aizawa, walking home, doing homework, eating dinner, laying in bed...

I don't need anyone.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

[harveywritings92]

Cheater! Tim Drake x Reader Part 1

The following is a non profit fan based story Batman, Red hood, Nightwing etc. belongs to DC Comics please support the official release.

_

I gain no profit from this nor do I own anything other then OCs  and whatever sprouts from my imagination. Thanks for reading!

Y/n practically flew up the steps of Wayne manor she was so excited! She had to tell Tim, she got the voice acting gig she'd trying for Outta Wack productions! she was a voice actress and apart of the Trophy Scavenger team effective next week! She knocked and ringed the doorbell.

 Dick eating a bowl of cereal answered "ey y/nf!" he greeted as he swallowed a spoon full of Trix he moved aside to let her in Jason who was reading Terry Pratchett's Mort nodded and grunted at her as the h/c merrily walked inside "Is Tim in his room? I got big news!" She chirped and went upstairs practically skipping.

Dick chuckled at her enthusiasm then back to watching cartoons. When it slowly dawned on the brothers; they were pretty sure they both heard Y/n getting 'busy' with Tim in his room, they blanched as Dick was the first to speak "w-wait if Y/n just got here...." Jason whipped his head towards the stairs. "The who the hell is up there with Tim?!" Dick dropped his bowl while Jason bolted over couch and they ran upstairs to catch up with Y/n.

only hear a horrified "WHAT THE FUCK!" the two almost trip when they stopped in front of Tim's room to see a shocked and crying Y/n who was staring at Steph and Tim who were both naked and staring at the three stunned. no one moved nor said anything when a hollow bitter laugh came from the h/c a few seconds of her laughter she spoke up.

 "Jaime was fucking right..." she snorted as tears blurred her vision. "You fucking bastard! You knew I was cheated on in my last relationship! How could you!?"she demanded as taking a step towards them Dick held her back as the 'couple' flinched, the h/c was hands were shaking she so fucking distraught she "He and Bart told me you had a thing for Steph...Did I fucking listen--"

Y/n shook her head "No, Y'know what?...Fuck this! Fuck you both! you deserve each other!" She then turned to Tim took out the cellphone he had gotten her and threw it at him, the phone hit the raven haired boy in the head causing it to turn on and a picture of himself and Y/n came up on the lock-screen he looked down at it dazed.

"Never come near me again...I hate you Timothy Drake." she spat venom dripping off of every word Tim look sick as he watched her shove passed Dick and Jason who were still staring stunned that Tim would betray Y/n like this.

 "I'm gonna go make sure Y/n's alright, help her get home..." Jason muttered and followed after the heartbroken girl, While Dick just shook his head in disbelief at his younger brother disappointment and shame clear in his eyes "Way go Tim, you got the girl you always wanted..." said boy had yet to move from his spot eyes still glued to the phone screen.

Y/n... the way she looked at him with devastation and malice, her words kept echoing in his head "...I hate you Timothy Drake"  Every word felt like a dagger was twisting into his heart...Why? He wasn't in love with Y/n...he just using her,right? that was the plan...act as a rebound. Make Steph jealous then break-up with Y/n before it got too serious (he skipped that step.) and start dating Steph...after all that, He couldn't have fallen for Y/n, right?

The answer was pretty clear as his blue eyes stayed on the screen, focus on Y/n's happy face, it was mocking him. Tim felt dirty as every memory and moments they had shared together started replaying in his head. Tim hadn't realized he was crying until a few tears landed on the cellphone. He hadn't even noticed Steph curse him out and leave. 

Needless to say, the last couple weeks wasn't much of a shock to anyone. Steph wanted nothing to do with Tim, she punched him in the face when he tried talking to her, "You two timing sleaze! I had to find out from Barb, you and Y/n were dating for almost a year and six months! You lying son of a bitch!" she hit him again then called him every name in the book; 

Tim just stood there and took it knowing he deserved every bit of it "Well I hope it was fucking worth it, because we're through!" She yelled before storming off. And as for Y/n nobody seen or heard from her since the incident, and no one would tell him where she was, He asked Jason who was the last person to see her and he told Tim to shove it.

He ended up going to Y/n's apartment and a shady looking guy answer the door. Tim's jaw clenched he was pissed thinking Y/n had gotten together with this guy! he pushed himself passed the guy and looked around the apartment. His anger soon turned to fear and confusion to see all her stuff was gone and unpacked boxes littered the living room. 

"Hey, you can't ju-" The guy reached for Tim's shoulder only for the teen to grab his hand and bend it behind the man's back."Who the hell are you, what are you doing here?" the teen hissed the man winced feeling Tim's hold tighten he stuttered out his name and how he just bought the place from some depressed chick who's boyfriend cheated on her.

"How..do you know about that?"

 "S'what the neighbors told me, I take it the boyfriend is you?"

"Where's the girl now?"

"I don't know! some animation company hired her out of state...She's gone."

Tim's eyes widened he dropped the guy and just stared at his feet, the teen was silent for a few seconds then apologized walked out of the apartment and just as he was about leave he heard the guy speak up. 

"Y'know love is pretty confusing kid, Some are together for life... others aren't so great at it...But that doesn't stop them from trying, I hope it works out for the both of ya's..." Tim frowned taking what the guy said to heart and walked down the stairs and out into the street he stared blankly at the sky for a minute.

 Figures it would be a beautiful sunny day while he's miserable, he then locked on to to some trash cans that were left out, a sudden rush of anger overcame the teen his foot came up kicking one of them sending it crashing into a wall denting it. 

Tim let out a shaky breath then continued back to his car, thinking about how he had picture perfect life and a girl who loved him. and not for money, fame or any other form of greed. But loved him for being his own horrid self...And he threw that all away, because he couldn't let go of a stupid crush! 

Tim looked at Y/n's phone which was resting on his dash, He stared at it forlornly she must've known he put a tracker in it...Clever girl, Too bad he was to hung up on getting Steph to like him to notice at the time... It was a long drive back to the manor, Tim stayed hulled up in his room burying himself in work only coming out for patrol or if Alfred forced him out to eat, he made the wrong call and he's paying for it.  

2 years later...

"Tim my boy, someone your age should have a nice girl by his side..." And old man boasted to the young CEO, Tim mentally rolled his eyes annoyed and exhausted, listening to Mr. Georgeman boast about his grand-niece, every fricken time he went to gala, there was always some old money or debutante type who would try to set him up with their pretty young niece,cousin,daughter or granddaughter...

And every time he'd turn them down...he learned a long time ago saying that he'd "think about it." gave the parents and the girl false hope and the wrong impression; dates would be set up without his knowing, or he'd show up to a "lunch meeting" and see a living barbie doll dressed to the nines waiting for him.

 which would end in tears and embarrassment for them both when he turned them down, or the girls would show up at his job or apartment whining and wondering why he stood them up.

Now whenever ever a meeting was set up he'd double check to see who set it up and message them to cancel, it saves him the embarrassment and spares the girls their feelings. Tim was pulled out of his reverie by the old man patting his shoulder. 

"Well Mr.Drake would you be interested in my Luba?" the raven haired boy's eye twitched just a bit..."Erm... I'm sorry sir, I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment." Mr. Georgeman bristled at Tim's rejection and stomp away into the crowed which Tim surveyed he sighed checking his watch wondering if he's at that point where he's stayed long enough? and it was nearly quarter-past nine...

Tim hummed and slipped away from the ball room and out into the hotel lobby, when he saw a group of girls gasp when they saw him, They advanced towards him, Till one of them noticed something over his shoulder and shrieked excitedly, Tim sighed annoyed waited for the person to rush up to him and ask for a selfie or whatever only for the person to yell.

"Oh my god it's Y/n L/n!" Tim blinked Y/n...his Y/n? he whirled around as the girls forgot about him, and made a beeline for the h/c who wasn't alone he saw Jaime and Bart with her, but that's not what he was focus on...

His eyes instead were focused on the little raven haired girl who was freaking out and crying at all camera flashes going off. Causing Jaime to step in front of Y/n and the kid protectively, Bart took the baby from the h/c and got into the elevator while Jaime tried to get everyone to back up. "ey,ey everybody just needs ti calm down here" the Latino urged waving his hands. 

"Y/n!? was that Erin, she's gotten so big!"

"Whens your next album coming out?"

"Are you dating Bart or Jaime?"

"Did Erin get the dragon hoodie I sent?" 

"Will you marry me?"

Y/n was overwhelmed by the sudden ambush she barely had any breathing room to think! then she saw him... Tim standing a few feet from her. the h/c felt goosebumps form on her arms, as she watched his eyes narrow and he advanced towards her, she tugged on Jaime's shirt. 

"I see him too.." he said eyes glancing over his shoulder. Y/n took a deep breath and faced the crowed. "To answer your questions, Yes, June, neither, yes, NO!...anymore questons will be answered at the convention, goodnight!" Y/n and Jamie got into an elevator before Tim could reach them or anyone could stop them.

"That was too close!" Y/n sighed sliding down the wall Jaime sat down next to her. "You can't keep avoiding him, hermana." he said causing the girl to snort. "Yes I can! I've been doing it for two years." she huffed crossing her arms, the Latino frowned damn this girl is stubborn!

 "And what about Erin? what are you gonna do when she starts asking about her dad?" The h/c frowned she hadn't thought that far ahead, according to Bart; Her and Tim were apparently still together in the future, she scoffed when she heard that! As if she would take that cheater back! maybe in upside-down world! But in real life that bridge wasn't just burned, it was nuked beyond repair!

"Well what are you going to tell her?" Jaime asked again Y/n hummed "I don't know..." she mumbled Jamie patted her knee and they got up when the elevator pinged telling them they were at their floor, when they got to their room they found Bart waiting sitting on a chair watching TV while bouncing Erin on his knee, He looked nervous as he saw them come in "Tim called...He wants to meet with you." Y/n took Erin from him and balanced the toddler on her hip.

"Well, that's too bad c'os I don't want to meet him." Bart winced as she said this "it's kind of important that you meet him Y/n..." Speedster urged but, h/c wasn't having it, every time he even mentioned Tim she would stare or shoot him down, eventually the brown haired man begrudgingly dropped it. Both he and Jaime knew that Tim wasn't going let it go...he will find a way to get Y/n alone, especially since now Tim saw Erin...he was going want answers.

[ghostmartyr]

As far as Im aware Snk arcs are all generally around just under 20 chapters. Uprising being an exception since instead of ending it at the arcs end point in chapter 69 the anime instead shoved 3 extra chapters in. Is that why this Season had so many cuts? Is the next half of the season going to have a similar amount of cuts? If all the arcs are generally around the same length I'm so confused as to why this happened to this arc and whether it's happened to any of the previous ones before?

…I really like the anime. It is what got me into the series. I am what you would call a fan. I sometimes can be coaxed into admitting I like the manga, when it isn’t inspiring rage with the force of a thousand suns.

That. said.

Part of the conflict the anime seems to have with Uprising is that. Uprising is. Um. What’s the word.

Good?

While dialing its themes up to high key in the midst of toning down the monster slaying with scores of red shirts dying?

Season one is straight action. It taps into passion and uses that hotblooded enthusiasm to bludgeon you with feels that you’re hype enough to enhance into one heck of a trip. Honestly, it cuts a lot, but unless you’re an Annie fan or really, really bitter about the finale, people are largely chill with the first season.

My personal opinion is that that is because the introduction of Attack on Titan in all its forms is getting people invested for the aesthetic. Which is a funny thing to say, considering where its art starts. But people are so ready to get into humans with cool toys versus mindless monsters, and the anime does the art and the sound and everything up to eleven, that it doesn’t really matter that we don’t actually know the first thing about those five people who just died. It matters that holy fuck they’re dead.

Annie’s content, followed by season two, is where that starts to change. We’ve had smatterings of character work all along, but the pacing is so awkward that it’s much easier to connect to the fighting than the talking.

In season two, we descend into heartfelt emotional passion plays. As good as the fights are, it’s about Connie coming home to his village. It’s about Kristoria and Ymir. It’s about Reiner and Bertolt.

It’s like a bottle labeled Feelings got dumped over everything. All the stuff going on will matter to the plot, but the main focus is the overwhelming Emotion all these kids are going through, and the anime does that great.

Uprising is where the story takes a deep breath, and tries to bring the aesthetic and feelings together into a narrative driving the themes of the series.

Without the aid of gimmicks that novelty made so valuable to the original aesthetic.

Really, the first two seasons are kind of cheating. You draw action and death all pretty like, toss an awesome score on top and keep your cast from being inherently unlikable, and you’ve got a show. You have the same pretty with even more money and all the emotional heart tugging of romance and betrayal, and you’ve got a show.

Now. Try doing both those things at the same time.

The first two seasons are simple compared to the entire rest of everything. They get your feet wet. They introduce a badass world for you to roll in, then they introduce painful feelings for you to fall in.

Uprising involves actual story instead of running purely on pathos.

…I’m trying to say this politely, and that is as close as I’ve gotten. Yeah, I’m disappointed with me too.

But you can see how the anime crew tries to run season three the exact same way it runs the first two seasons, and you can see exactly how it fails. In the first season, sure it might have been better if Eren’s bond with Annie was stronger, but for the level of depth entry-level SnK asks for, it was not actually required for what story there was to make sense and be enjoyable.

In season three, those small cuts are infinitely more important, because while the narrative is developing, the characters and their emotions, having been more deeply established in the breathing room of the second season content, should be running the show.

Put… not as bluntly as I possibly can, but close, Uprising is where the writing becomes a crucial component. Before, what happens is more important than the hows and why behind it happening. During and after, how and why these plot things are occurring are the examinations that the entire series runs on.

Season three falls victim to sticking with what happens at a time where what is one of the least important details. You can’t outmatch the initial shock and awe aspect of the titans or 3DMG, you can’t hit as hard as the feels of Utgard and traitors revealed.

What makes the content work is not the beautiful blossoms, but the plant that is growing them. The blossoms are beautiful, but unlike the ones that came before, these ones need to stay on the plant to truly shine.

Season three cuts off the blossoms and leaves them in a nice vase.

There are excellent moments.

Their meanings are completely gutted, because for the first two rounds, that plant over in the corner really wasn’t growing well enough to belong in the same shot as its flowers.

Uh, to actually try and get back to maybe answering your question, I think each season has had cuts (likely comparable in number of panels), but none of the earlier cuts stole away so much of the content’s soul.

That’s why the third season feels so much different; it’s treated the exact same way as the first two. The problem is that the writing has improved, and there’s more ambition behind the story being told. The better the writing is, the more awkward and unbalanced cuts feel.

(For instance: I will complain about nearly every second of the first twenty episodes of Brotherhood, and all of my whining can basically be summed up with, “the manga did this better.” Because it did, because FMA’s writing is amazing, and being so amazing, changes can pretty much only make it go backwards.

Hi I’m never going to stop being mean to Brotherhood.)

That’s also why the second half of the third season is going to be so much fun. We’re back to pure action and pathos. All the whys and hows of the emotional impact of the conflict have been covered in previous material, so the Shiganshina arc can just go straight wild and leave everyone in a sprawling heap of pain in the aftermath.

The things that make the first two seasons so fantastic will make the second half of the third season phenomenal.

But the first half is a different beast put through the same paces. Things that worked for the first two seasons couldn’t fly with it.

…I really never thought I’d say anything positive about the Marley arc, but hopefully that will be complicated enough for them to realize that the story is not just constant action and shredding of heartstrings. There’s a significant narrative involved in the plot, and ignoring it for cheaper, yet still intensely dynamic, thrills, isn’t good for the anime as a whole product.

Hopefully somewhere in there I actually answered what you were asking. ^^; Thank you very much for the ask, sorry for keeping you waiting on it!

[clovexei]

An Honest Review of the Emoji Movie

Longer than intended! Tbh I’m just leaving this here as physical evidence of the fact that I watched the whole thing. What was The Emoji Movie? Honestly we just don’t know.

The world-building was cool in concept but underdeveloped. It feels like a knock-off of Inside Out, but I spent most of the movie plagued by the same sort of stressful confusion that accompanies the Cars universe. A sampling:

Where do emojis come from? Are they born? Are they initially created in heterosexual sets of two so that they are able to procreate? If they're not born, why do some of them have children? How does the Princess family work, where there are apparently no male princesses? Is the Poop emoji an only father? What about the emojis who don't apparently have children/a heterosexual counterpart? Are those emojis going to grow old and die? What happens then? Do emojis die natural deaths? Do emojis age?

Why do the face emojis have to express the same emotion all the time and not just when they're on screen? It's like they're actors, but they have to be in their roles forever. Why? Why not just take pictures of the emojis and put those in the cubicles? Why do emojis have to physically stand in the cubes and wait to be picked, if they're only going to be face-scanned anyway? If there are multiple emojis, do they all take turns in the cubicles? Do they have to eat or sleep? If they do, then why? Aren't they made of code? Do they have to be in the cubicles whenever the phone is on? What if that's all day, every day?

Most of the questions I have about this movie carry over from world-building into the plot. Most of the events driving the plot feel like thinly-veiled plot holes. For example, the reason Alex is going to wipe his phone is to keep it from acting up – but it's acting up because Gene and company are moving from app to app. Buy why do the emojis hopping from app to app activate each app? If they're bopping around behind the scenes, why does that activate the user interface?

Another: A big scene happens in a Just Dance app, but Just Dance isn't an app? It's a motion-based dancing game, and you can get accessory-style apps for it, but the game itself is only on consoles/systems with a sophisticated motion-following camera. So it's not something that Gene an Jailbreak would be able to activate as a game on a phone.

(As an aside, I am human proof that you can suck at dancing and still pass levels in Just Dance so cut Jailbreak some slack, she was doing fine.)

Hi-5 is presented with a character goal (be a part of the Elite Favorite Emoji Club), but he doesn't actually do anything to achieve this goal. He wants to be a part of the club, joins Gene on his adventure, learns nothing, and gets to have his goal as a result, despite having no character growth and no indication that he's done anything to actually earn his goal. It's given to him as a way to wrap up the movie in a neat little bow.

As much as I didn't like that Jailbreak rejecting Gene's romantic advances was what finally turned Gene into the “Meh” emoji of his dreams, I do appreciate that him getting his Good Feelings back wasn't dependent on her reciprocating his feelings. That's a very good post-rejection message, and as much as this movie was weird and bad-romantic (“I've known you for twenty minutes but I LOVE YOU so let's  BE TOGETHER FOREVER like in the FAIRY TALES”), at least it dodged that particular bullet.

The characters in general were likeable but ultimately uninteresting. It's the same standard fare that I think is the easy trap to fall into: bland but relatable main guy, tomboy girl, and comedic side character.

Jailbreak was my favorite, but even so, I'm not sure what to think about what her arc was. The intended direction felt like “girl feels oppressed by rigid gender roles and leaves home, forms agreement with fellow outcast to further both her goals and his goals, realizes that she can be different and returns home to create her own rules about how she represents herself.” And this largely feels like what does happen in the movie, but I'm not sure how I feel about the execution of it?

She makes some interesting comments about feminism that seem like Character Flavor, and have elements that fit into the story overall, but her backstory and thought process isn't explored beyond “I had to do princess stuff and I HATE princess stuff so I left.” It falls into a style that I think is in vogue right now: to present girls as being Princesses and Not-Princesses. (This is especially popular in movies that are deliberately lampshading Disney's princess movies, but Brave did this, too.) And while I like that, at the end, Jailbreak realized (apparently) that she didn't need to not be girly in order to be happy and express herself, I don't know if that message carried over really well in general. We last see her in her original princess design as she runs the tech board for the emoji cubicles, so I guess she's comfortable with herself? And she's not picking Princess or Not-Princess but occupying a gray area in the middle? So that's good? But everyone else is still in one box or the other? So that's maybe not good? But with Gene paving the way to “be different,” there's a place for her and for others to be more socially flexible? But it felt like a sudden and easy resolution to something that was something that was so ingrained in their society that Gene was going to be executed for diverging from it.

Anyway. That was a tangent. TL;DR: Jailbreak is very queer and I like her but if feminism was going to be a part of her character arc, then I want it to be done with a lot more focus and nuance than there was? Yeah.

I liked Gene in the beginning of the film, when he was set up to be this energetic force for ENTHUSIASM, but Hi-5 muscled him out of that. Hi-5 is excitable, energetic, causes more trouble than good, and honestly, why do they even need Hi-5 as a character? He has the role that should have been absorbed by Gene. Within the first five minutes of Gene's introduction, we know that Gene is goofy, cheerful, and doesn't fit in. Hi-5 coming in as the goofy and cheerful side character demonstrably pushes aside those traits in Gene so that Gene can, nearly every time, play the straight man to Hi-5's hi-jinks.

If Hi-5 wasn't in the movie, then Gene would be both comic relief and the protagonist, which suits the energetic, playful way in which he was introduced. He would also have a much more interesting dynamic with Jailbreak: Jailbreak is jaded and bitter; Gene is (or should have been allowed to be) peppy and enthusiastic. With that push-pull dynamic, the interactions between the two would have been much more exaggerated and engaging, and it would have been believable that Gene encourages Jailbreak to be less standoffish and isolated.

Recommendation: Instead of relying on one-time gags and overdone food-related jokes, drop Hi-5 as a character and let the interactions between Gene and Jailbreak carry the comedic weight of the film.

Also, what is the target audience for this movie? Kids? Kids younger than 12? High schoolers? What do you gain by portraying students who have smart phones as mindless phone-obsessed zombies? Aren't you alienating your target audience? You're making fun of the people you're making this movie for?

There's a lot of that: of the creators being out of touch with their target audience. The gag of the text-based emoticons being old and out-of-date struck me as odd, when people are still using emoticons like that all the time. And, on top of that, we've developed new ones.

I also can't tell if Jailbreak's asides about feminism and female stereotypes are supposed to reflect her Cool, Modern persona or if they're meant to be funny? I think they're supposed to be the former, but they come across as the latter, especially since she gets so angry about the “Birds come when princesses whistle” stereotype... and then that stereotype turns out to be true and also plot relevant.

It did have some good jokes overall. The constant mismatch between Gene's parents having no visual expressions or tonal inflections paired with lines like, “I'm on the edge of my seat,” was right up my alley of humor. I also liked the Devil emoji's poop joke followed by the Poop emoji's tired sigh and “Aim higher, Steven,” but overall there were rather too many toilet jokes. “Aim higher” is kind of a good overall takeaway: this movie had jokes, but most of them felt like the same basic fare that one can usually find in kid's movies. It felt a lot like the humor in The Smurfs: The Hidden Village in that they cracked a lot of jokes, but most of them were overused or borderline mean, and so I didn't spend much time laughing, despite the fact that I was watching a comedy.

As for overall theme/message, I am biased on this front because, with little effort, this movie is a really odd, definitely unintentional allegory for, like, gay conversion therapy? And why it's not good? And why it's okay to be queer? This movie is about a cheerful, enthusiastic young man who disrupts serious social norms in his home community, who sets out to find a way to artificially alter his genetic make-up and encounters a young woman who likewise does not fit in and has rejected the social role/gender role she was expected to embrace, and the two of them realize together that what makes them different isn't bad and their differences should be embraced both by themselves and the wider community. Gay.

That metaphor is PROBABLY DEFINITELY very unintentional, but the romance between Gene and Jailbreak feels ham-fisted even without the queer undertones.

So, for a takeaway message, we have “It's okay to be unique,” which is the same message 50% of the rest of the kids' movies have these days, so cool, I guess. It's good to have that message reinforced, but there are also, as a result, more cohesive movies with the same message but better plotting and more interesting characters.

Overall Verdict:

Not great, could have been worse. I left The Bee Movie brimming with a confused and impotent rage, but this movie left me with vague good feelings and no deep impressions. I couldn't remember anyone's name either during the viewing or after. The animation was stretchy and bright and expressive, which I really liked. And the soundtrack was bright and bouncy. But the message was muddled, and I think the world-building/plot could have been (and should have been) a lot stronger than it was.