#has SO MUCH POTENTIAL. and this is like one of the worst possible outcomes.

[love-has-a-way-ofgrowingbackward]

currently rereading heroes of olympus and after the comforting aura of trials of apollo it's heteronormativity and other things are standing out like beacons tbh.

[doe-eyed-fool]

Fear Of The Known

Lucifer x Fem!Angel!Reader

|Chapter Two|

Warning(s): Heavy Angst, Little Comfort

Y/n could not bare to face Lucifer after that. She knew already what would come of that meeting, and sure enough, Lucifer's ideas were rejected. Even if Y/n wanted to see him, and deep down she really did, Lucifer was never around.

His absences only lead Y/n to believe he had finally met with Lilith, Adam's ex wife. It would only go downhill from now. Chaos was just around the corner. Soon, Heaven would enter an era of disharmony.

Sin was unleashed upon the world, due to Lucifer and Lilith's actions. And for this, the two would be severely punished.

But not before Lucifer was placed on trial.

Y/n would not be there for Lucifer's trial. But that didn't stop the head Seraphim from questioning her beforehand. About an hour before the trail would take place, Sera would call for Y/n, seeking her vision of the future.

Y/n had the worst feeling as she stepped foot into that courtroom. Sera was not the only one present. Even Joel was there.

Y/n felt her stomach drop as Joel's eyes fell onto her. His expression was unreadable, only adding to Y/n's anxiety.

Of course he would be here. He was the overseer of all Heaven's laws, after all. And this case was something Joel would absolutely need to be present for. This case would determine Lucifer's fate, though, Y/n knew what lies in store for him.

Y/n exhaled shakily before stepping to the center of the courtroom. She looked up at Sera as she spoke. "You called for me, Sera?"

"Yes." Sera starts. "I'm sure you're more than aware of Lucifer's transgressions. Which is why I've summoned you here before his trial is to begin." Her eyes pierced Y/n's own, she sighs before speaking again.

"Did you not see this coming? How couldn't you? Heaven is in disarray trying to fix Lucifer's mess. The Earth is now corrupted by sin, and there is no undoing it. How has a future like this slipped your mind?"

Y/n tried keeping her composure. "I did see this potentially happening. My vision of the future is never one straight line. There are millions of possible futures that could occur, and this was one of them unfortunately."

"If that's true." Joel spoke up, catching the room's attention. "Then why didn't you warn us ahead of time? Possibility or not, it would have still been a problem. One we might have taken proper precautions to avoid."

Y/n, still calm, explained. "There are many other possible futures that could have ended up like this one. If this future was prevented, who's to say another wouldn't be similar or exactly like it?"

"You are to say." Sera says sternly. "It is your duty to say what will be. If there is a chance something as disastrous as this could happen, it is up to you to warn us."

"Even if there are thousands of futures like this?" Y/n questions. Why did it feel as if she were the one on trial? Well...She might as well be. She did hide this outcome from everyone after all. They suspected her of lying, and they were right to do so.

"If that's what it takes." Said Sera. "Heaven has never faced anything like this. And with it's population growing, we can not allow for something like this to happen again. The Earth was not spared from corruption. Heaven, most certain will not meet the same fate."

"She's right." Joel nods. "We can't have an event as atrocious as this to ever occurring again. So, Y/n, we highly advise you be more cautious of futures like this from now own. For your sake, and for the sake of Heaven. Understood?"

Y/n inwardly sighed, she nods her head. "Of course. I will not let this happen again."

"Good, that will be all. The trial will begin soon." Joel says to her. And with that, Y/n swiftly takes her leave.

The day had gone from bad to worse, though, Y/n expected as much. She knew that trial would end with Lucifer falling from Heaven. Knowing this, she couldn't bare to be there to witness it happen. She's already seen enough.

For the next few weeks, Y/n would barely leave her home. But that didn't stop the seemingly unending questions about what will come next. The people of Heaven were anxious, and only sought comfort in knowing the future would bring more good than bad.

After that day, Heaven has been on high alert and rules have become far stricter.

The Archangels, Seraphims, and even God himself would do everything in their power to keep something like that from ever happening again.

And with this, would mean Y/n using her gift to view the future more than she had ever before. It was starting to become exhausting. But it was her duty, she could not allow herself to falter.

And she had no one to blame but herself. Had she warned everyone of that future, maybe none of this would have happened.

Today would be another day of questioning, Y/n was drained. And just when she thought she had a moment to relax, there was another knock at her door. She stifled a groan before answering it.

Upon seeing who was on the other side of the door, Y/n immediately straightened her posture and bowed her head respectfully.

"Haha...You uh, don't have to do that."

Didn't she? They were God's right hand! Y/n rose her head and tried to ignore her fast heartbeat. "Hello Galim. Is there something I can assist you with?"

Galim shrugs. "Something like that. I came to ask you if you would visit Michael. He...hasn't been himself since Lucifer's departure. I'm starting to get worried. And I'm not the only one." They say with a sigh. "People are starting to get antsy and I'm trying my best to keep them as calm as possible. Michael is one of the more inspirational angels, and his absence is starting concerning others."

"We've already lost one bright star...we can't afford to loose another." Galim says under their breath.

Y/n nods, guilt started to build in her chest. "But, wait. Why me?" She asks.

"Well, everyone else is still doing damage control. And, Michael called for you himself." Galim answered. Y/n's eyes widened slightly. "He called for me personally?"

Galim nods. "I can take you there, if you'd like." They offer their hand to her. Y/n graciously takes it. "Thank you, Galim."

"Of course." Galim snapped their fingers and in an instant, they were right outside of Michael's home. "Well, I'll be off then. There's much work to be done."

"I'm sorry to have drawn you away from it." Y/n apologized. Galim waves their hand dismissively. "Don't fret. This was an important matter, I'm glad you could help me with."

"Yes, of course." Y/n nods. "Goodbye then." Galim says with a smile before teleporting elsewhere.

Y/n looked up at the doors before her. She inhaled deeply and exhaled before knocking. The doors opened, welcoming her inside. She walked through the foyer before the doors gently came to a close behind her.

"Michael?" She calls out. After a few seconds of silence, she was suddenly enveloped in bright golden smoke. And just like that, she was moved to a different part of the home.

"Hello, Y/n."

Y/n turned to see Michael sitting at a desk, head in one of his hand, while the other held a tiny porcelain duck. He was focused on the small sculpture as he moved it around his finger and thumb.

"Hello, Michael. How are you doing?" Asked Y/n. Michael shrugs. "Better, I guess. Gabriel has been checking on my injury every now and then." Y/n glances at one of Michael's wings. His looked near identical to Lucifer's. His wings weren't the only thing they shared in looks.

The two were practically twins. They only thing that kept people from actually calling them as such, was Michael's height. He was slightly taller than Lucifer. Though, when they were young, they grew at the same rate. It wasn't until Lucifer's late teen years did he stop growing.

Still their faces were a perfect match. Eventually Michael had to start styling his hair differently to keep others from confusing him with Lucifer.

"It's not broken, not anymore." Michael says. "The rest of my body healed quickly."

"I see." Y/n mutters. "Um, you wanted to see me, yes?"

"I did." Michael nods. He sets the small duck down onto the desk, his eyes finally meeting her own. Y/n didn't miss how empty they looked. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Alright." Y/n nods. "What is it?"

"Did you know my brother would fall?" Michael asks, his voice wavered ever so slightly. Y/n's gaze fell to the ground as she answered. "I did."

"And you said nothing?"

Y/n sighed shakily. "I...I told Lucifer."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

"I didn't tell him that he would fall. But I did tell him that his plan would not come to fruition. But he wouldn't listen. And...I just didn't want to crush his dreams." Y/n explained, then exhaled. "But I realize how selfish that was now. I won't ever make a mistake like that again."

Michael's eyes fell onto the duck for a moment before focusing on her again. He sighed. "I am no position to judge you for you choice. I can't honestly say I wouldn't do the same."

This surprised Y/n a bit. She looked back up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Lucifer is my brother. Had I known how passionate he was about that dream of his was...I don't think I would have had the heart to tell him it wouldn't work." Michael places his hand on his temple. "But..." A shaky breath leaves Michael.

"I would have preferred to break his heart, rather than draw my sword against him."

Y/n could hear the pain dripping from Michael's words. He wasn’t over the fight he had with his brother, nor his departure. "I'm so sorry, Michael. I know that was hard for you."

"It is my duty to protect the people of Heaven. I just never thought I'd had to protect them from him." Michael says bitterly. He takes a breath. "I am not the only one hurting it seems." His gaze was on Y/n once again.

Y/n fought back the tears that threatened to gather in her eyes. "I would never wished this upon Lucifer. Or anyone."

"You and him were close. He was looking for you in that courtroom, I could tell."

With that, the tears broke through and fell down her face. She brought a hand to her face and turned away from Michael. "I'm sorry." She sniffles.

"It's alri-." Michael starts, but Y/n beats him to it. "It's not! I wanted so badly not to hurt him, I wanted to save him from his fate! But I only hurt him anyway, and I did nothing to stop it! If only I had went to that trial, maybe I could have defended him somehow!" She cries.

"He wanted me there with him at that meeting. And I refused to go all because I was too afraid. I told him his dream couldn't come true. Oh Michael...he looked so betrayed..."

You barely heard Michael approaching you through your weak sobs, until he pulled you into a hug.

"It's not like him and I left on good terms either. I understand. But we could have only done so much. You know how Lucifer is. When he wants to do something, he will do it. Try not to blame yourself, Y/n. If he knew that you were only trying to protect him, he would have understood. And I'm sure he's forgiven you."

Y/n choked out another sob as she hid her face in Michael's chest. She would have given anything to speak with Lucifer one last time. She would have endlessly apologized for failing him. Y/n hated herself for not trying harder to keep him safe.

She would never be the same again, not without Lucifer. Not when knowing she did little to nothing to stop him. And for thousands of years, he would be a constant and painful reminder of how she had failed.

But never again. Y/n was given her gift for a reason. And so, she would dedicate her time into making sure the future would bring nothing but safety and contentment for all in Heaven.

No matter the cost...

Tags-

@bloody-delusion-expert

[normal-enderman]

OK GUYS LISTEN IM GOING FULLY MASK OFF ABOUT CHIP X JASMINE DRAKE I LOVE THIS SHIP AND HOW IT INFLUENCES THE DEVELOPMENT OF FISH AND CHIPS

LISTEN TO MY UNHINGED RANTINGS ABOUT WHY ITS GOOD AND MAKES SENSE

(THIS IS MOSTLY ANOTHER CHIP INTERNALISED HOMOPHOBIA CHARACTER ANALYSIS I'LL BE HONEST)

(ALSO I HAVENT FINISHED RIPTIDE YET SO IF JASMINE TURNS OUT TO BE EVIL WHOOPS I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I JUST SAID)

OK LISTEN so Chip has internalised homophobia, as I have previously established. I also, like many, ascribe to the popular interpretation that he has not-straight feelings towards Gillion. And it's really interesting how we can track how these feelings develop as the series progesses.

Chip starts off by freaking out the merest implication of something gay, but he gradually starts getting more comfortable around Gillion, and these reactions decrease. There starts to be more descriptions from Bizly of Chip being physically affectionate towards Gillion, putting his arm around him, leaning on him ect.

Which leads to their encounter with Jasmine... (from here on out we enter the realm of intense headcannoning and nebulous connection to canoncial events, just warning you)

What's SO AWESOME AND INTERESTING AND EXCITING about Chip's interactions with Jazz is that HE DOESNT FREAK OUT when Jazz flirts with him in an extremely forward way, and Chip almost seems surprised by how unbothered his own reactions are. It's like he's had all this time to gradually become accustomed to the potentiality of something gay possibly existing between him and Gillion. In a way, his relationship with Gillion was a safe avenue through which to explore his feelings, since Gillion never made any moves on him, and therefore, never made Chip feel threatened or under pressure to make a decision about how he felt. Chip had all that time to basically think "ok, OBVIOUSLY IM NOT GAY FOR GILLION THATS RIDICULOUS HAHA. what if I was though. What would happen. Would everyone hate me and i would die" and gradually explore the possibilty at his own pace.

Which leads to meeting Jazz, and suddenly being confronted with something extremely gay and explicitly directed at him, and.... he finds it's actually not that bad. It's ok. It’s not scary. He doesn’t feel threatened. What would have elicited a violent reaction from him before he met Gillion is no longer scary, because he's had time to think about it and come to terms with it before that point.

So I like to imagine that Chip ends up having a fling with Jazz, because he decides he's got to figure out how he really feels once and for all, one way or another. And unlike with Gillion, who he deeply cares about and loves as a friend and is terrified of misstepping with, Jazz is just some guy who thinks he's hot and is dtf, so Chip isn't as scared of experimenting with Jazz, since the worst outcome if things go catastrophically wrong is Chip has to jump out the nearest window and run away and just make sure to avoid the Jazz Pirates for the rest of his life.

After this fling, he pretty much is able to come to the decision that "ok. maybe i do like men. in which case oh my god these feelings for Gillion are actually a real thing that I have to deal with and can't just ignore" and he starts gradually, very slowly, expressing his feelings for Gillion more honestly, which leads to the iconic "babygirl/babyboy" moment in Zero, which was Chip extremely awkwardly trying to establish new ground in their relationship (though it's uncertain how effective it was considering Gillion's lack of understanding of Overseas culture. Oh well. Our boy tried.)

[mobileleprechaun]

On Home, Wally, and their dynamic

Warning: Big Long Post! Rambly. Speculative!

In the early days of the Welcome Home fandom, it was often speculated that Home's role in the narrative was antagonistic, one defined by coercive control and abuse of Wally. This idea of a sinister, manipulative Home has inspired many AUs, pieces of fanart and has overall made a big impression on the fandom's perspective of Home as a character.

While this still remains very possible as an outcome, especially given that the series is still in its prologue, a lot of what I've observed in the latest update has painted a very different picture in my mind.

Below are some miscellaneous observations, both from the update and from information we had prior to the update.

Wally is excited about Eddie potentially being able to lift Home in the storybook recording, as he would like Home to be able to get a hot dog from Howdy's bodega like he and Barnaby always do.

Wally speaks often of his love for Home in the guestbook, and even writes Home's signature for it at the bottom of the page.

Home is shown, in a famous piece of art on Clown's Tumblr, to be the "plus-one" Wally would invite to a wedding, and he's shown smiling fondly at it through the window of the chapel while it peers in from outside.

This piece of promotional art, as well as this crayon drawing from the April Fool's Day prank where Wally briefly took over Clown's Twitter to post his drawings, show a big Wally cradling a small Home in his arms. This is an inversion of their actual relationship, as Wally is just a little guy and Home is a great big house. In the latter drawing, Wally has obsessively written Home's name over and over again.

In the bug vignette featuring Barnaby and Home on the page with the script, Barnaby understands Home perfectly when it speaks and has a fluent back and forth with it. Its responses to him seem amused and sarcastic, and it generally looks to be having fun bantering with him and sassing him. When Barnaby becomes concerned for Wally at the end, Home's noises sound concerned and urgent, like worried questions. It's concerned for Wally's change in behavior too.

Conversely, Wally is shown in his audio excerpts from the show to be socially-awkward and unable to comprehend things like sarcasm and turns of phrase. At his best, he sounds like he's saying things he's rehearsed before. At his worst, especially in the audio messages he leaves, he struggles even to speak, as though he cannot find the right word or that speech itself is hard on him. He begins to hyperventilate and lose his grasp on proper intonation in the latter recordings, likely out of distress or frustration.

In the Morse code message on the So Below page, most people interpret what Home is saying as either "help" or "hello". The former indicates distress on its part, while the latter indicates it trying to go along with Wally, as he introduced it in the previous audio message and explained (while struggling not to hyperventilate) that it makes noises.

In the picture of Wally and Home in "So Below", Home's eye is shuddering in seeming distress while Wally is knelt at its window. Although this is commonly interpreted as an act of worship, Home does not look particularly happy or powerful here. Wally's outstretched hand may be caressing it, or otherwise trying to pat or soothe it. Wally's eyes shudder in a similar manner in the "Stay Quiet" page.

The dark substance beneath Home has begun leaking to the point that it is now visible on the desktop version of the Neighborhood page. This is very likely the same substance mentioned on the secret, staff-only page, which apparently causes "nausea, dizziness and fatigue" upon physical contact.

The impression that I've gotten from this is that Home and Wally are more akin to intimate peers – siblings, very close friends, possibly even romantic partners* – than they are to an abusive guardian and their child. Much of what I'm about to say is speculative, and may not hold up after further updates, but it's nonetheless the vibe I'm getting.

Wally and Home have a deep understanding of one another, deeper even than Wally's friendship with Barnaby. They are bound so tightly that one can scarcely exist without the other. Home shelters Wally within itself, granting him the sanctuary of its own body. Wally, in turn, grants Home a purpose as its inhabitant and tends to its needs, always making sure to help it feel included in neighborhood activities. Both are seen doting on one another with the sort of fondness only years of intimate familiarity can bring. Each is attuned to (and interested in) the other's needs.

Neither Home nor Wally are doing well at this point in the narrative. Wally is audibly deteriorating when he addresses us (or the Question-Answerer) in the audio snippets. He's barely able to keep it together, and some sort of horrific distortion is slipping into his voice. Home, meanwhile, has only seen its sludge problem get worse, and does not seem able to do much at all besides the occasional response in Morse code. These utterances are few and far between, especially compared to how chatty and lively it seemed in the Barnaby vignette. It seems withdrawn, perhaps even exhausted. It is very likely sick.

Home has, up until this point, been "the strong one" in the relationship, as a house must be. In addition to bearing up its body as shelter for Wally, it may have carried the little fellow's social burdens, as it seems to hold its own very well in conversation. But now it's fallen ill. Gravely ill. It's unable to go and look for help, being a house, and is put in a precarious situation due to its immobility. None of the other neighbors are around to help it.

Wally cares for his Home deeply. He is grateful for its shelter and its friendship. He's the only one who can help it now – it's finally his turn to be strong. He wants desperately to protect it, to find help for it, and this is what drives him to reach out. But he doesn't know how one asks for help, or how even to describe the problem. His tranquil neighborhood never made him confront that reality, and he's now left floundering. Home can only watch helplessly, through a haze of sickness, as he humiliates himself again and again in his pained, futile struggle to be understood.

It's driving him mad. It's forcing him to feel emotions he can barely describe. Every attempt only serves to further terrorize the Question-Answerer and double his own anger and misery.

But he can't stop. He must be strong for Home. He will make his neighbor understand.

So TL;DR, I see it as less "Home has Wally trapped!" or "Wally is doing something bad to Home!" and more this heartbreaking nugget from Learning With Pibby. If Home is malevolent, I think Wally's going to be right there at its side. And if he manages not to be, I think it will be a tragic effect of the corruption rather than any innate badness Home has in it. I think we are shown how wonderful and precious this Home can be so it will be all the more heart-wrenching when that is no longer the case. At any rate, I am enthralled and am so grateful to be able to engage with this wonderful piece.

*I hate that I have to even say this, but – please don't misconstrue that I think siblings and romantic partners are the same thing, or any other implication therein. I'm an eldest sibling myself and find the idea abhorrent. I say this only because relationships in a text can be very ambiguous, and there are many flavors of closeness between people that share similarities.

Anyway, thank you so much if you read this far! Welcome Home has really given me the analysis bug again... heehee, bugs.

[megala-theia-praxidike]

My Thoughts on Impulsiveness and Carelessness of Sejanus Plinth

There is no doubt Sejanus is smart but he has a big fatal flaw. He is an impulsive, self-destructive teenager who feels so much guilt that sometimes has no regard for those he could possibly hurt with his actions. Sejanus' guilt of being able to live a quality life in the Capitol made him want to compensate by being loud about how he hates being there.

He's compassionate and cares for his fellow districts, yes, but ultimately he feels guilty.

When he failed to connect with Marcus, he wanted, then, to give up or exchange tributes to lessen his guilt (cuz at least it wasn't someone from his district or one he knows).

If Coryo had taken his offer of exchanging tributes, would he have done what it takes to save her? Would he cheat? Ally with other mentors? Kill another tribute? Would he have stomach having appeal to the horrendous sponsors? Would he be willing to give her poison to kill other tributes? Would he create a thesis of new horrendous rules and spectacle that would give her advantage inside the arena like the betting and sponsor system? Or would he not participate at all and leave Lucy Gray to her whims aside from perhaps feeding her before the games?

When he entered the arena, he did not think what would happen to his parents, to his mother, to anyone associated with him. In the Arena, he laments about his father buying his way into power and how they left district 2 and how guilty he is about having to be safe. He didn't think that power, that money, that buying could make changes.

Sejanus wanted to become a medic, he wanted to help, he wanted to end the suffering but he didn't think that ambition takes time and takes more than gut, but also ruthlessness and efficiency. He has to stomach horror and morally grey actions.

Sejanus was careless in 12, he knows the reaping in 12 was rigged He knows Billy Taupe is with the Mayor's daughter who got Lucy Gray reaped. So associating with him is dangerous especially when he wants to break rules and help people in the district.

Sejanus and Coriolanus witnesses what happens to rebels in the district (Arlo Chance) and those associated with them (Lil). He is always with him. Coriolanus witnessed Sejanus drawing maps and out in the open, conspiring with Billy Taupe, the very day he and Lucy Gray reunited, even Barb Azure witnessed and knows what they were doing.

so it wasn't really hidden. Sejanus knows Coriolanus lurks and Coriolanus already knows he is doing some kind of trouble. It's just that Sejanus promised he'd stop for his sake but lying about it made Coriolanus even more paranoid.

Coriolanus is smart as well, thinking of the worst possible outcomes is his biggest hobby, he said so himself in chapter 1 but he is stressed and anxious for a month now. He is paranoid that hecould die by being associated with Sejanus so he snoops into Sejanus' stuff only for his fears to be affirmed.

Sejanus goes with Coriolanus everytime they go to the covey because he is the only one in the peacekeepers who knows Coriolanus and Lucy Gray's relationship. He is always with him and he is conspiring with rebels, Billy Taupe of all people, that could get Coriolanus hanged even if he won't do anything. And even if Coriolanus didn't tattled with the Jabberjay and followed Sejanus to Spruce, Mayfair would still be there and would have tattled or Spruce would have shot her and would have doomed them both.

Sejanus is a compassionate and kind boy who has the potential to be so clever and perhaps even become some one who could have helped aid the rebellion. He may be district and knows their plight but he is also a rich boy who never had to grow up, scraping to survive. He had his father protecting him so he never got to be as afraid for his life and be careful with it the way Lucy Gray and Coriolanus have to. He wants to be the hero, the doer, not dreamer. But it seems like he can't handle or don't know that he had to walk through burning coals to get results.

[into-september]

"Destruction" is the worst episode of Miraculous Ladybug

Oh hey guys, remember way back in April or something when I said I was doing this? Well, the one year anniversary of its premiere is a suitable time to post this, particularly since yesterday saw the airing of the last piece of canon to come out in a while, which happened to be set immediately after these events.

With the always obligatory reminder in place that I generally think that “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir” is in fact a good TV show whose appeal potentially reaches beyond its merchandise-mandated target group, it has an unflattering pattern of introducing the juiciest story threads and then just… do nothing about them.

The topic of today’s sermon isn't in isolation the worst offender. But it is thanks to this that the worst offender happens at all, so I'm not gonna be nice about it.

Scroll past to skip the negativity.

So, “Destruction”, possibly the most eagerly awaited episodes of out S5 if you don’t count all the false advertisement that was “Revelation”. I remember finding this episode uncharacteristically charmless for this show when I first watched it. They've been onto heavy topics before, but those episodes still had that je ne sais quoi that gives this show such heart. But re-watching "Destruction" I found it lacking already from the first scene, and felt it only in glimpses. It's just not fun.

The episode is also poorly paced, no way around it. It is inexplicably a flashback to two episodes ago which is not evident from the start. More than half the runtime technically consists of Marinette and Alya having a sleepover. The battle and its game-changing outcome is over at 12 minutes into the episode, which is barely past the halfway point. After that, we spend five minutes - a quarter of the episode's full runtime - on a flashback re-playing the same battle but now with verbal exposition explaining Marinette's clever plan. Mind that the confrontation between Marinette and Gabriel lasts for all of seven minutes, meaning that the flashback is nearing the length of the battle itself.

To top it of, it's bogged down with lengthy exchange between Gabriel and the kwamis just to make clear that the haters on the twitter were totally wrong when they bitched about Orikko being OP because actually its powers were something else than we established last season. Here's a bonus plot hole which has nothing to do with everything else I'm going to nag about: Orikko allegedly can't give out the powers of time-travel because no kwami can replicate another kwami's powers. Except for Nooroo and Duusu, I guess, who have done so on several occasions. One of the more remarkable being the episode which first heralded the event that "Destruction" set in motion: "Timetagger".

And who can forget that this was the second time in three episodes where Ladybug and Cat Noir had Monarch at their mercy but spent so much time giving triumphant speeches that he gets away.

Or that that in fact was the second time on the same night.

But while those things certainly make the episode poor, they are not what makes it the worst.

What makes this episode the worst isn't its technical failures, but about the way it leaves its feces all over the themes and the character arcs it seemed like the show had been building up until this point. Moreover: in the role it plays in S5 and the Agreste storyline, and how the show's refusal to touch it again creates a black hole in the season at large, and arguably in the show as a whole.

I. THE INESCAPABLE CONTEXT OF WHAT CAME BEFORE IT

The art of telling a story is the art of highlighting what matters and leaving out what doesn’t. In a well-crafted story, no matter the medium, no detail is insignificant. Every word is carefully chosen, every line or hue made with intention. The curtains aren’t blue just because, and Miraculous Ladybug has made too many meta jokes to hide behind the claim that it’s just a silly rom-com for kids. It has trained its older audience into looking for context and connections; after “Mr. Pigeon 72”, you can’t insist that nothing that happened earlier in this show matters for what happens later. Titles matter a lot in a show where episodes are titled after the villain-of-the-week who usually is the thematic mirror to what our heroes are going through.

“Destruction” is the fourth episode somehow named after Adrien, and the third somehow named after Plagg. You bet this matters.

As some might know, "Kuro Neko" is not my favourite episode. That's not to say I don't like it! It's cute! It's playing a really interesting scenario! We get Plagg hanging out at chez Marinette! But to enjoy it, I have to willfully ignore the storytelling incompetence it flagrantly displays. Because the moment you peek beneath the surface of the events happening to consider theme, motifs, and narrative parallels, it's just

"Kuro Neko" is the second episode that is named after Cat Noir. The first one was "Cat Blanc". There is a thematic connection between the two; not a very clear one and probably not an intentional one, but all the same: both episodes are about an alternative to Cat Noir. One is the result of his father's violence; the other is Adrien's own attempt to become more like the person he presents around his father. They also both show us Plagg and Adrien negotiation Adrien's relationship to Ladybug, and how Ladybug and Cat Noir negotiate that same thing.

"Cat Blanc", for all its apocalyptic visions, starts and ends with hope. It starts with Marinette’s hope at confessing to Adrien, to Adrien’s hope in finally knowing Ladybug’s identity and knowing her like he’s yearned for for three seasons. Those hopes lead to disaster, but the episode ends with Ladybug finding Cat Noir on the Montparnasse Tower, where he is singing his lullaby about the kitty being "all alone without his Lady". As is fitting, Marinette breaks the pattern: after having just witnessed a world turned to destruction because the two of them loved each other, she leans her head on his shoulder in perhaps the most romantic gesture she's ever given him.

"Kuro Neko", in contrast, starts with Adrien resigning the job when he realises that Ladybug no longer needs him and that makes him feel bad. It ends with him coming back and verbally accepting that Ladybug doesn't owe him any exclusive treatment; he isn't her unique partner, just one of many. Where the final scene of "Cat Blanc" seemed to confirm that Ladybug is indeed the answer to Adrien's solitude, the final scene of "Kuro Neko" and its continuation in the first scene in "Risk" both make clear that the opposite is now status: Adrien has to accept the painful fact that as much as Ladybug might be the most important person in his life, Cat Noir does not hold a similar space in Ladybug's.

(The end of “Strike Back” of course claims to remedy this, but those words don’t ring very true when to Marinette’s knowledge, nothing of what went wrong today had anything to do with her keeping secrets from Cat Noir. More damning: Marinette never follows up on her purported regret. In all of S5, she never once sits down to share all those secrets with Cat Noir. Status from "Kuro Neko" still stands, and Adrien is fine with that now. This has nothing to do with the many problems “Destruction” creates, but talking about “Kuro Neko” by necessity means talking about how it wasn’t fixed even if they put the words in Marinette’s mouth. And now back to our scheduled programming)

"Cat Blanc" and "Kuro Neko" by their very existence bring up a thorny topic: That Adrien being Cat Noir isn't wholly unproblematic, and that both Adrien as an individual and Ladybug as the Guardian might have legitimate reasons to question that choice. This has always been obvious to the viewer who knows Hawkmoth’s identity, but the show itself eventually starts calling attention to that from an entirely different angle - namely that of his powers.

Lest we forget: The first episode of S4 that aired wasn't the first episode chronologically: It was "Furious Fu", wherein we learn that The Order of the Guardians has it out for Plagg specifically, and where Ladybug's status as The Guardian is almost revoked on the grounds that she's letting him run around unsupervised. This question of Plagg's whereabouts comes up again in the only episode that is named after Adrien sans Plagg: "Ephemeral", a re-play of “Cat Blanc” except not good. This whole subplot is quickly forgotten, though it being the only one of Su-Han's complaints that weren't about him being a boomer, it's also worth remember that "Destruction" technically happens a couple of hours after he made his last appearance. One might expect that his one consistent lesson would be important enough to echo a bit in the episode where it’s proven to be justified.

"Destruction", as not only one very early episode of the season promising to finally bring about some significant and not the least permanent changes to their lives, but indeed an episode happening on the same night as Ladybug's declaration of regret and Cat Noir's renewed declaration to be her partner, would by its title and its topic seem like the obvious place to finally resolve what "Cat Blanc" and "Kuro Neko" both asked us to question: The existential terror of Plagg's powers, why it is that Adrien is uniquely chosen to temper them at Ladybug’s side, and how Adrien feels about being the one to carry that responsibility.

Yeah. Well.

II. ADRIEN'S PRESENCE IN "DESTRUCTION"

Where "Kuro Neko" and "Cat Blanc" place significant focus on Adrien Agreste in his civillian life, in "Destruction" he appears on screen for a total of 25 seconds - most of which are another flashback to a previous episode, and whose purpose is to highlight Gabriel's hurt from the cataclysm, not Adrien's thoughts about what is happening.

Cat Noir's presence is also marginal. Three minutes of screentime pass from his first appearance until the battle is over. Said battle is the turning point in the war between the heroes and Monarch, thanks to neither Ladybug's powers nor Monarch and all the kwamis, but Monarch using Cat Noir's powers for an impulsive act of self-mutilation. Cat Noir is distraught over this, turning desperate when Monarch first start toying with the idea and being near tears after he carries it out.

I'll get back to the impact of this event, but for now I'll point out that the aftermath is brief: After Monarch escapes, our heroes have this exchange:

LB: We had him, we almost had him! The kwamis were safe, they were right here! CN: I cataclysmed him! I can't believe this, I just cataclysmed someone! Granted it was Monarch, but - there was a real person behind that mask, and it must have hurt him terribly! Milady, you gotta fix this! LB: Cat Noir, Monarch just ran away with my lucky charm! Without it, I can't fix anything. I can't call on my powers and undo the effect of the cataclysm. There's nothing I can do...

We then cut to the slumber party, where Marinette tells Alya that she and Cat Noir "split up" immediately after, and Alya comforts her. From this point in the episode, Cat Noir and Adrien only appear in flashbacks. First a fifty-second flashback wherein Marinette sets up her convoluted plans, then a few seconds of him moving his statue in the wax museum before Monarch appears.

In the episode that more than anything should thematise Adrien, Plagg's powers, and his relationship to his father, Adrien is on screen for a whooping four minutes and twenty seconds.

And because I am that devoted to proving my point, I went and timed all of Alya's on-and-off appearances, which clocked in at a total of five minutes and six seconds.

Alya is of course core to the slumber party which frames the setting of the entire episodes. Moreover, it is with Alya that the emotional arc of the episode ends: it starts with Marinette tormenting hersef watching a Ladyblog report about Monarch's recent win, for which Alya chastises her. The last scene (before Gabriel pulverises the miraculous) has Alya reassure Marinette that she will get the kwamis back. When she regrets her lack of superpowers, Marinette in turn reassures her that Alyas true superpower is being her friend. The journey of the episode was for Marinette to stop blaming herself for messing up, and learning to rely on Alya's support in the new turn the war has taken.

...

IN THE EPISODE WHERE ADRIEN KILLS HIS FATHER.

III. SIR NOT-APPEARING-IN-THIS-FILM

In the episode where Gabriel commits suicide on his son's miraculous, here are some things that got more screentime than the son forced into using his only source of liberation to kill his father:

Flashbacks to past events (four minutes and fourty-five seconds)

Alya (five minutes six seconds)

The kwamis (six minutes and nine seconds)

Bet you can't guess which one is the only kwami who doesn't appear in this episode!

...okay, and Duusu, but you get the point. In the episode detonating the nuke that is the gruesome potential of Plagg's powers, and the potential damage Adrien might deal with them, Plagg never appears on screen.

In the episode highlighting the presence of the kwamis and their importance to their holders, the kwami whose presence is the most thematically tied to his holder's character arc is completely absent.

In the episode irreparably going into the only kwami whose powers is straight up murder, the kwami who The Guardians have singled out specifically as particularly dangerous, the kwami whose irresponsible nature has previously caused problems both to Adrien privately and Cat Noir professionally, said kwami is never even mentioned.

It's almost as if we're not supposed to remember that it is because of his presence that this whole tragedy was possible.

IV. THE EXISTENCE-DEFINING HORROR OF A CATACLYSM GONE WRONG

And ain’t that a funny one, when the gruesome potential in Plagg’s powers was the driving factor in Adrien’s first true crisis as a hero?

Marinette faced her moment in "Origins", where she gave up on her miraculous after the first disastrous attempt. She knows that she is the only one who can do something about the situation, but refuses out of her own lacking courage. She only becomes Ladybug of her own choice when she realises that she can save Alya's life. After this, Marinette never again questioned her place. She would grieve the burden on occasion, but she never once thought anyone else could do better.

Adrien, as we all know, was the polar opposite: he jumped right into it without reading the manual, had to have Ladybug pick up the pieces after a rash cataclysm, and never doubted his calling again until he realised what Plagg’s powers could do when used on a living being.

The NYC special has Adrien quit for reasons that had nothing to do with being unsatisfied with Ladybug's HR policies. It is in part because he effed up his duty as Paris' substitute guardian, but it's certainly also because of the recent horror he just witnessed: his hand forced by someone else nearly killed Ladybug, and killed Uncanny Valley instead as she stepped between them. Adrien just saw a mother weeping over her daughter's corpse, and how only the lucky presence of Ladybug's powers could undo the damage caused by his, unintentional thought it might have been. Adrien would of course never kill anyone on purpose, but Uncanny Valley’s temporary malfunction was a brutal display of what would happen if he stumbled the wrong direction with the gun loaded. Ladybug might have the duty to protect Paris, but Cat Noir has the duty to not to disintegrate people on touch.

The show never before discussed the weight of this burden in Adrien’s presence. “Cat Blanc” did it from Marinette’s side, but this never was a consistent story thread, only briefly brought up as her remembering why his knowing her identity is a bad idea. The sabbatical in “Kuro Neko” has nothing to do with Plagg or with Adrien’s sense of duty, and where you’d think this would be where Marinette finally brings up the issue bridging the NYC special and “Cat Blanc”, neither of the two are as much as alluded to. That Adrien has the power of murder has yet to be explicitly discussed in the show proper, but in combination with his personal relationship to Hawkmoth being a ticking irony bomb, the question of can he even bear it is inevitable.

That Adrien’s post as Cat Noir wasn’t as given as Marinette’s as Ladybug is echoed in the amount of times that Adrien has either quit or at least contemplated doing so (“Syren”, NYC special, “Wishmaker”, “Kuro Neko”). He likes being Cat Noir more than Marinette likes being Ladybug, but he lacks her iron certainty in the role. It is notable, then, that THE ONE TIME where Marinette questions her part, it is after Cat Noir has quit. She says this, out loud, in words. When Cat Noir’s powers become too heavy for Adrien to carry, then Ladybug, too, disappears.

So surely "Destruction" must be the point where this is finally comes together - where Adrien's history of quitting meets his ultimate crisis, where his powers abused on a human being of flesh and blood forces him into confronting the potential cost of being this particular hero, which will foreshadow the ultimate choice he’ll have to take: between being Cat Noir and being his father’s son. And where his choice, in turn, will define whether Ladybug can exist.

Or not.

Maybe we'll never again have Adrien think about how he probably murdered a man. Maybe we'll just - oh I don't know.

Have him start trying to cataclysm people?

Repeatedly?

While showing none of the horror at himself which he clearly had in the aftermath of accidentally cataclysming the villain responsible for his later victims’ possession?

And in the end, after never calling attention to Adrien’s new and trigger happy ways, we’ll have him give in to his fear, claim that he isn’t strong enough to responsibly use Plagg’s powers, and send his miraculous away for Ladybug to use alone, because it turns out that “Kuro Neko” was right and the NYC special was wrong: she can be Ladybug without him.

Growth, amirite.

V. IN THIS HOUSE WE DON’T TALK ABOUT PATRICIDE

Dramatic irony was the main engine driving "Miraculous Ladybug" from the start, and it was Adrien who bore the brunt of it. Not only did he spend four and a half seasons in unrequited love with a girl who rejected him for himself; he spent five seasons doing weekly battle against his own father.

The superpower war between father and son isn't just a source of story tension, however: it is inextricably mirrored in their relationship as family, where the father is openly abusive and the son is magically incapable of protesting. The show repeatedly makes A Point about how the freedom Adrien so wants, is one that he only gets through being Cat Noir, and the only way Adrien is capable of fighting his father - albeit ignorant of it - is with Plagg's powers.

Cat Noir defeating Hawkmoth was necessary not just for his story as a superhero, but as his character arc as a normal boy.

And in "Destruction", this is exactly what happens. Thanks to Plagg's powers, the path to Adrien's freedom is finally paved, in the most gruesome and unwanted manner possible. Adrien might not get the big cathartic show-down with his evil father, but technically he was the one to bring him down.

But we don't talk about that. Except for his one (1) line after Monarch escapes with Ladybug's lucky charm, Adrien never again brings up the fact that his being careless with a cataclysm certainly maimed a man, by precedent (Aeon) possibly killed him. Rather than a story arc about Adrien being afraid of his own powers, it’s only now that he starts aiming it at people when he’s under emotional duress. This could of course have been one hell of a story point if it was intentional, but by all accounts, it wasn’t. When Adrien never again reflects on his having probably murdered a man, or reasons that Monarch is probably fine since he’s clearly still around so maybe a cataclysm isn’t so bad, and he never dwells on his nearly murdering two of his friends, there can’t have been any connection intended here. Moreover: when Adrien is scared of his miraculous towards the end, it’s not about its capacity for normal murder when he’s having a bad day, but its capacity of ending the world if he happens to be akumatised.

Gabriel is likewise disinterested in the cause of his impending disintegration. You’d think the man would feel some kind of special resentment towards Cat Noir and his powers, you could think this was where he’d get to re-thinking his relationship to the two people who are sitting on the keys to solving all his problems. Maybe he’d start doubting himself now, bearing the ultimate testament to his magical hubris. But no. The cataclysm wound is there and it’s a problem, but the reason it happened is completely irrelevant to the man who did this to himself and unknowingly, to his son.

That is almost as mind-blowing as the fact that they really had a straight up patricide happen on screen. Sure, death was never the intention of either of the two parties, and Adrien certainly holds no blame for what happened. But Gabriel must have at least known what he was risking, and even if the soft-hearted Adrien would somehow reason away the gravity, Plagg would certainly now. By its very nature, this one cataclysm drags out and distils a plethora of questions about both Adrien’s role as Cat Noir, about Gabriel’s vision of himself and his goals, and about their relationship not as father and son, but as villain and hero. The gruesome narrative irony looming over all this is in that regard just the icing on the cake.

There is certainly an Oedipal layer to the drama of Gabriel and Adrien, though the often more scandalous incestuous angle is considerably downplayed here. Even so: By the denouement of S5, Adrien has successfully killed his father and set up a home with his mother. That really happened, but we’re sure not going to investigate how this influenced the relationship between two nemesis, between father and son, between Adrien and his kwami.

The cataclysm in “Destruction” turned Adrien from anguished shoujo love interest to the hero of a greek tragedy, but the show is dead set on pretending that it didn’t.

VI. SO THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT

In isolation, "Destruction" comes across as weird more than anything. It's named after Adrien's kwami, it spends an inordinate amount of screentime on Adrien's father, it reaches back to Adrien's perhaps most defining moment as Cat Noir as it fundamentally changes the game between our heroes and our villains as one of them is finally dealt a damaging blow - which in turn sets Adrien's life down a path towards tragedy that must be interfered with for him to have a happy ending by the end of the season.

And yet, Adrien is a peripheral presence in it. Marinette and Gabriel dominate the screentime, Alya and the kwamis are consistently present as the thematic chorus at their respective sides throughout, the episode plays its events twice in order to make it clear that Ladybug is too clever for Monarch's miraculous, the emotional arcs that are followed are the follow-up on where Marinette and Alya stand after the disaster in "Strike Back" as well as Gabriel's renewed vigour. Adrien's only contribution to the episode is to follow Ladybug's instructions and to make clear that his relationship with his father is still awkward. The episode depicts probably THE most important event of the show, but this event is treated almost as an afterthought, and the horrors of it are confined to one (1) line of dialogue from Cat Noir.

The only thing in “Destruction” that is brought up in later episodes is that Gabriel is now actively dying. If they wanted for Gabriel to live on a countdown for his date with the grim reaper, there were countless other ways about it: Have it be his use of too many miraculous which backfires, have him having used the peacock before it was fixed, have it be too much evil on the hands of Nooroo, have him get a serious call from his doctor, have him screw up Tomoe's machinery, have him develop a drug problem. This is a fictional narrative; its twists and turns are absolutely in the hands of the writers, teenage girls being irredeemable or not. It was never vital that this happened by cataclysm specifically.

So what was the point, then? Did we truly turn our magical girl show into a Greek tragedy for the shocked pikachu faces only?

The one thing I somehow haven't seen people bring up, is that "Destruction" makes it impossible for Adrien to learn Monarch's identity. According to the writers themselves, the reason lies in two of the other episodes named after him: "Cat Blanc" and "Ephemeral", wherein he learns his father's identity and is promptly akumatised. This is of course bullshit: both these cases relied not on Adrien learning his father's identity, but on Gabriel specifically scheming to traumatise Adrien with both the Hawkmoth reveal AND the fact that he's been living in the same house as his mother's dead body for the last year or two (timeline here is spectacularly contradictory). There was anothing inevitable about this. You're the writers. You could've set up a scenario where Adrien didn't learn about his father's crimes as an act of psychological warfare, and where he'd have the time to absorb it, to grieve and to find support by the time he'd confront him with it. Having every person close to Adrien keep life-defining secrets from him “for his own good” is, by god, not a good look on anyone involved here. Still it’s understanable, at least for those who aren't either adults or gods of destruction.

"Destruction", however, serves as an explanation for the gaping plot hole in the epilogue: Marinette tells Alya, she tells Su-Han. The one she doesn't tell, though?

The partner who was at her side before Alya or Su-Han ever appeared, and stood by her in far worse storms. Because telling Cat Noir the truth would mean telling Cat Noir that he dealt Gabriel Agreste the killing blow, and ain't that a nifty way to ensure that Marinette won't. Because if Adrien does learn Monarch's identity and the truth about his fall in future seasons, Emilie better hide those garment pins.

The truly damning part of "Destruction" isn't so much what the episode itself does. It's what it doesn't do. It's the storylines it cuts short and leaves behind, and it is the storyline it by its very existence introduces, but which the show refuses to touch.

Per title and content both, "Destruction" should be the culmination of thematic storylines from "Cat Blanc", the NYC special and "Kuro Neko". It’s not; it’s not even about Adrien, and Plagg isn’t even present in it. Moreover: its lacking presence on future episodes make it painfully evident that ambitions, there were none. Those storylines were either aborted like Adrien picking up Felix's spyglass in the S4 finale, or the show never did mean for there to be such a thing as "layers" to this story about a boy who becomes a hero to unknowingly break free from his superhero father.

The real reason why "Destruction" is the worst episode of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is that it obliterates the most cohesive character arc this show had going for it, and that this was done on purpose.

[damnfandomproblems]

Going to make one more compilation post about Fandom Problem #5277.

Anon:

As the author of 756118972541337600, I feel like I need to clarify (especially to whoever sent 756203997755539456) that I wrote this one as fun math for the lols, not as a full blown thesis against selfcest. I am fully aware that you can't clone yourself in real life, much less fuck a clone of the opposite gender. If that was a possibility in real life I'd sure as hell go to the clone-fucking facility instead of the bar after a long day at work.

My actual position on selfcest & incest is pretty much the same as everything else : Do whatever you want, let others do whatever they want, and as long as it stays healthy and it doesn't turn into actual incestuous relationships, I don't care what you do. If I see something I don't like, I'm just gonna move on, there's so much more content on the internet to see.

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

Anon:

Scalding hot take

Incest isn't bad due to potential (or even extremely probable) "bad" genetic outcomes. Aruging people shouldn't reproduce due to the potential of producing disabled children is just eugenics, and the same logic can be (and has been and still is being) applied to disabled people to restrict their rights to reproduction/autonomy

Incest is bad because it utterly shatters a primal familiar bond through grooming, manipulation in general, and sexual abuse. It is the second worst betrayal one relative can commit against another relative, only beaten by familiar murder, and only by the technically that you can heal from the trauma of incestuous abuse but you can't come back from being murdered

Self/clonecest is only wrong if they grew up together and formed a family bond (not just called each other bros or using bother/sister as term of endearment and closeness, but genuinely had a familiar bond). Otherwise, there's nothing inherently wrong or problematic about self/clonecest

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

Anon:

for people who are still pulling on genetics and inbreeding...here's the main deal: self-cest and incest in a fictional setting are just that. FICTION. inbreeding stuff doesn't hold any weight in FICTION. these are not REAL PEOPLE or REAL BABIES.

next you all are going to come into mpreg spaces like "ouahgfhhgd but how does he HAVE the baby. how does he get pregnant anyway. it doesn't make sense from a biological standpoint". YEAH. BECAUSE IT'S FICTION. the characters aren't REAL, so they don't have to adhere to irl biological standards, just like incest and self-cest fiction doesn't have to adhere to irl biological standards.

tl;dr there's nothing inherently wrong with fictional incest and self-cest, you guys are just looking for a way to enforce your squicks on other people. if you can't do it by invoking morality, you try to do it by invoking biology.

[eldritch-spouse]

pinnie mother that moment when people ask you stuff that I know for sure you've answered four months ago in your post #2555. off topic but I need you to expand a little on the vampiric pissbaby lore - so since mosquitoes go nuts for my blood, hypothetically speaking - how much danger are we in as Grimblys obsession, I mean realistically (ha), would he even let us pry him off - I know guy's acting like a twink but we know that's just an act 💀

[I mean, part of what I do here involves re-explaining concepts several times. Especially because, even with the masterlist, sometimes I have to fetch posts that aren't there and are buried in so much shit I'd spend a day scrolling to find them. It's been a great exercise in patience.]

Alright, so Grimbly's vampirism is a mixture of two things:

Catalina's recessive vampirism gene (sshhh, let's say it can be inherited in this universe);

And Rinx's infernal nature, which helped activate the vampirism gene, as tends to be the case when demons copulate with a species which has the potential to be vampiric.

The thing that holds most importance here isn't even the fact that he's vampiric, but rather the fact that he's a vampire whose father is of Greed. Think of it this way, when vampirism is "activated" by a demon parent, their type plays a role in the actions that monster will make, how they feed.

The worst possible outcome is a vampiric monster whose demonic parent is a glutton. Those vampires should not be trusted to feed on someone.

In this case, you're not in a really good position either, because a greedy vampire wants all of your blood too. They just tend to have more self-control than the "glutton-activated" one.

Grimbly's greed and materialism has a strong hold of him. But do you know what's even stronger? His fear of abandonment and loneliness. It is such a strong fear in fact, that Grimbly will "come to his senses" even in a half-starved state.

He's clever. What ends up happening is that Grimbly doesn't let himself get hungry. That's too risky, he's had a couple of nasty encounters in the past because he neglected his hunger before, leading to sunburns and and groups wanting to gang up on him.

Thus, Grimbly "snacks" in the break room, where a mini refrigerator in the kitchenette are holds a couple of blood bags and blood-infused foods.

He loves to feed on you, for sure, but these sessions are a lot shorter than they'd otherwise be with other halflings or "pure" vampires. He will still nag for a minute or two more, but it's easier to dislodge him purely because Grimbly isn't actually hungry.

That being said, Grimbly can and will gorge on your blood to incapacitate you and keep you too low-energy to resist his will.

[johnny-depplyloveyou]

Tw: animal cruelty, animal deaths mention

Can we talk about how Larian put so much unnecessary animal cruelty in bg3? Like Yenna and Grub only exist to serve as a backup option for the Orin abduction, which involves Orin killing Grub and trick your character into eating his meat! 🤢 I was utterly disgusted when I encountered it and almost quit playing until I found a way to avoid this outcome in my first playthrough (I used no romance limit mod and romanced all of the possible companions that could be abducted therefore I needed to breakup with one of them and leave them in camp), it’s really triggering for me because I also have a cat and we live in a place where animal cruelty is not illegal and companion animals are not protected by law from being served as food, there are countless pet and stray cats and dogs got stolen and later found slaughtered in meat factories and made into off-brand sausages and meatballs, not to mention there are many torture rings that target cats in here and they’re openly taunting and threatening people who oppose them to kill more cats because they know they can get away with it, it’s every cat parent’s worst nightmare. We already get that Orin is this sadistic evil shapeshifter who tortured and killed people for fun, is it really necessary to show us that she’s indiscriminate to children and animal too for shock value??

And for Durge, Larian and the writer they hired from a fan discord server for writing ast*r**n fanfics really put extra effort into making more animal cruelty scenes into the storyline which I have to look into guides before I play durge’s origin to avoid them(a squirrel, a bird, a cat could fall into durge’s victim), making durge unnecessarily edgier when there’s tons of other stuff already shows his gory urges, while durge’s main story in act 3 has so much plot potential yet still feels underwhelming, underwritten and lacks companion reactions other than ast*r**n’s. Really shows their priority, huh? Isn’t these animal cruelty content avoidable? Sure, but you need the knowledge of how to avoid them first, the dialogue option that leads to killing Steelclaw the cat is something like “trying to remember why you know this cat” which is just like the one that leads to durge cut off Gale’s hand, these options doesn’t explicitly say you are going to choose violence, it’s very misleading almost tempt you to choose them. There should be explicit indications of these outcomes in the dialogue options. And that squirrel encounter, durge just automatically kills them if you don’t have speak with animals on. Players that go into the game blind are going to have these triggering content shoved into their faces. But I guess Larian just doesn’t care.

[traewilson]

So yesterday I saw Inside Out 2 in the theaters. Gotta say, I left quite conflicted. The film itself is good, pretty darn good, in fact. But all my thoughts about it that aren't just "the animation is purty", or "it made me laugh once or twice", were largely negative? It is decidedly, I dare say objectively worse than the first in most respects. This film gives the established characters much less to do that aren't Joy, and the new emotions are wafer-thin that aren't Anxiety. It isn't nearly as funny or as emotionally impactful as the first. If you're expecting any plot beat to hit as hard as Bing-Bong from the first, curb your expectations.

The old characters who aren't Joy aren't given anything interesting to work with. The new (non-emotion) characters are mostly bland and undercooked. One of these characters just plain disappears from the movie completely, never to be seen again, and it's so ODD. It's a kind of narrative sloppiness you usually dont get from animated films from Disney specifically.

And then there's the new emotions, most of whom are wafer-thin and barely even characters. Anxiety being the main antagonist is given dimension and nuance almost rivaling Joy, but Ennui? A one-note joke character. It's funny because Ennui is a big word so Joy calls her "Ui-Ui" instead. Embarrassment has a bit of nuance being the one emotion from the new batch to be friendly towards the older emotions, specifically Sadness, but otherwise again his whole bit can be summarized as: Ha Ha, Big Guy Be Bashful, Please Laugh. There's no spin on the joke. It's just that ancient moth-bitten joke, again. But Envy is I think the worst of the bunch. The character does nothing throughout the film. All they do is cheer on Anxiety. They don't even really act envious which is really really odd? You'd think they could be a twist baddie - where like Envy wants to take the controls away from Anxiety and run the show herself. This is one time that tired Disney trope of the twist villain could've worked. But THEN we wouldn't have the seemingly mandatory now Realistic Panic Attack Scene, so, this character just Exists. A vestigial character that adds nothing, does nothing - it just Is. Criminal waste of a talent like Ayo Edebiri. Darn shame. Maybe in the third one you'll get to do something.

The film tries to follow in the footsteps of Turning Red, in regards of being a analysis of life as a child entering puberty, and it's a wet fart in the wind compared to what Turning Red did. It doesn't have the honesty, the heart, the integrity - it's toothless. It's too generic to be of any use to someone in the same position as Riley in the real world.

But this isn't why I'm writing this. No. There's a specific scene in the movie that just hasn't left my head since I saw the movie, and I have to get my thoughts written down and out there so I can stop thinking about this already.

Minor unimportant spoiler here. So in one scene, Anxiety is compelling a team representing the imagination, if I recall correctly? Anyway, she's compelling the imagination - represented like animators working on animation - to draw up as many scenarios as possible that affirm their paranoia. Joy and Gang enter, and stealthily start drawing up potentially positive outcomes, upsetting Anxiety. Joy gives a rousing speech about how they should draw the things they genuinely believe in, and not let Anxiety push them around, culminating in a chair being thrown at the Apple commercial Big Brother monitor Anxiety is speaking to them through. The mind cops show up, Anger immediately tries to pummel them (based,) and the gang is forced to run away.

To me, this is yet another in a long line of Disney not so subtly trying to control or manipulate discourse through their art / product. Now, an important disclaimer: Of course, all art is trying to say something to the audience - at least any art worth its salt does. But this isn't any one artist's messaging; this is the Walt Disney Corporation's messaging, to my thinking. The difference should be stark between the messaging of a lone human being and a monolithic megacorp's executive staff. Be aware: this is my read. If you don't see what I see, cool and fine. Just keep an open mind.

This sequence has no bearing on the rest of the story. It's a digression that only exists for the sake of the message contained within. It obviously is addressed partially to Disney animators. Disney is acknowledging they've been overworked before, and it gives them the false hope they have a voice within the company, that they can defy their boss and make a stand. They can draw what they want! They can say no! This is, of course, nonsense. Disney does not support this. If their workforce acted out like this, they would all be fired, and Disney wouldn't lose an ounce of sleep over it. I feel like it's a message to the audience as well - a virtue signal to give the dullard audiences the impression they're Good Guys when they most definitely are not that. And I feel it's sending another message to both animators and audience - the solution isn't actually changing anything. The bad leader is calmed down, put back in their place within the system, and the old leader restored. This kind of messaging is mind poison to a susceptible mind, young or old. You dont change anything. Only the leaders can fix the problem with leadership, and the solution is simply to get the Right Leaders in charge again, for everybody to reconcile their differences. I see Anxiety as the Republican Party in the eyes of the executives / writers and directors - mentally unstable, but well-meaning. A vital component to the functioning of the Body, but one that needs to be kept pacified or it will run out of control and cause damage; try to dominate the Body and cast out the people who know what they're doing. Anxiety is, to my thinking, conservatism in the eyes of the team / the executives. You could extrapolate extrapolate it out so that Anxiety is literally Donald Trump. Admittedly the evidence is slim. The domineering (orange) authoritarian who monopolizes the power around themselves. Envy is the mindless sycophant who blindly agrees to everything Anxiety says - the Marjorie Taylor Greenes, the Ted Cruzes, the Lindsay Grahams. Ennui holds the controls too, but does nothing with them beyond introducing sarcasm to Riley's mindscape. Ennui is the passive fool who sees everything going down and just Does Not Care enough to do anything to stop it. And Embarrasment, in the eyes of the team, is the Good One who is doing good behind the scenes, helping Sadness. The liberal image of the ideal Republican. This is, I admit, a major stretch, and it's ultimately just my read. But I don't think I'm completely off base here.

Uhh, so yeah. Not Pixar's best, and not really spectacularly bad in a way that's at least memorable like Cars 2 or Good Dinosaur. No, it's just another Pixar movie. And you know? I almost think that's worse than if it were a spectacular failure. Cars 2, Good Dinosaur, they make me really stop and think. They're fascinating. Inside Out 2 isn't interesting. It's emblematic of the continued downward spiral of Pixar into becoming an empty shell, fully filled by Disney.

But hey it played the Triple-Dent Gum jingle again and Anger hates cops so 8/10

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

I can't stand a good two-thirds of superbat content because so much of it is "blushy awkward sunshine beam Superman x angsty sexy always-in-control edgelprd Batman" and I'm just like

Have they even read the comics? Or watched the shows or movies? Or played the games? Anything involving these two that isn't fanworks?

Clark Kent is many things, but he’s not a pushover. He's fundamentally kind and good, but his timidity and nervousness is for the most part an act. He's no stranger to fumbles and fuck-ups, but he can absolutely handle himself in a situation. Lest we forget, he's a married man with a child, in a steady career, he leads the fucking Justice League, he's the standard to which all other heroes hold themselves. Clark Kent is gentle, but only because he can afford to be. He isn't just called Superman, he embodies everything that title implies. (Also, he can absolutely be a total bitch sometimes. He can hold his own in a verbal spar as well as a physical one. Let him cuss out Lex Luthor.)

And for Bruce... poor Bruce. People take the "master planner" aspect of his character and act like that makes him a grand chessmaster, when in most iterations it's a coping mechanism, plans upon plans upon plans in case something goes catastrophically wrong. It's a man permantly caught in the Bargaining stage, who can only see the worst possible outcome and sadly keeps getting proven right. At his core Batman is a lonely person, desperate to love and be loved yet shutting himself away from those who want to be a part of his life. It's no coincidence that he has the most children and sidekicks, when he both wants to protect children by keeping them under his wings and by pushing them away from him and from danger.

And the two of them are such interesting foils! A man rising above his limits to be the avenging knight for a broken city, who somehow befriends the shining beacon of truth, justice, and the American Way. Two people who started off with an intense distrust and paranoia who learned to open their hearts and accept someone so fundamentally different, yet somehow so perfectly mirroring them. They're best friends and rivals and sometimes enemies and each other's contingency plans and co-leaders and none of this contradicts with anything else because how could it, it's as natural as a heartbeat.

TL;DR, I'm tired of people taking a complex and multifaceted friendship that had the potential for a deep and powerful romance spanning decades and turning it into yaoi-lite.

Nothing to add, just…yeah

[marshmallowprotection]

Jumin with ….. a little sister. DOES ANYONE SEE MY VISION?!

I've seen the concept done many times before but I've never liked the execution. I think there is potential to the idea but it would take a lot... and I mean a lot to make it make sense. Chairman Han very much did consider his marriage to Carolyn, Jumin's mother, to be fruitful. She's the one who got away in his eyes even though she never cared for his romance or desires. Her goals and aspirations were materialistic.

She wants what she wants and if she doesn't get it, you won't get a damn thing from her, and Jumin never gave her what she wanted.

I don't see her as the kind of person who would have another child in life when Jumin would be enough to secure her ties to Chairman Han for the rest of her life and ascertain enough money to live in luxury as long as she wants. She literally wouldn't divorce that man until he had a settlement in hand that gave with I don't even know how much! The fact remains that if Jumin had a sister, it certainly wouldn't be a sister that shares a mother with him.

Then, that makes another issue.

Chairman Han is the kind of man who throws money at women all the time to win their love and affection.

He will move on from one relationship to the next after whoever he's dating gets what they want out of the relationship and then they leave him for greener pastures... as seen in the RAE where you speak to him on the phone and he tells you about a lounge singer he dated who he put down a on of money on to help her further her career only for her to leave him in the end in an instant when she got her goal. It isn't unexpected given what we know about him.

He loves to throw money and gifts at people to show his love. Hell, he does the same thing to Jumin! I can't stand the man for that. He truly thinks throwing money at the problem helps. He dates woman who're in his life only to get money from him, and he does just that over and over again, as if that pattern is something that will change. He is also the worst when it comes to hitting on women.

To the point where we know that Jumin asked Jaehee to cut her hair and wear glasses so his father wouldn't hit her on and try to make her his girlfriend! Chairman Han has done that to him before, and we're not going to get into how Jumin was wrong for that one, either. That thought made sense to him to "protect" Jaehee to him but it wasn't what needed to change. His father is the one that needed to change ll all along. He still does.

He is a womanizer who wants to "settle down" in theory, but he's never going to be able to do that given how fast he goes through relationships when he fails to get what he wants out of it. He thinks he wants one thing and then he sees something else, deciding that he wants that instead. He's looking for something he won't find in the ongoing pattern he continues as he shuffles through love again and again to find what he thought he had with Carolyn.

Jumin can't even begin to tell you how many failed relationships and wives his father has gone through. Let's not even get started on the relationships with women who traumatized Jumin as young as eight years old because after the divorce from Carolyn, Chairman Han put himself out there immediately.

Now, for your consideration, we have to consider how Chairman Han handles his relationships. He doesn't seem like he would be the kind of person who would have sexual encounters without protection nor would he be the type to have kids out of wedlock, but if it did happen to him, he would marry that woman immediately, and God knows the outcome that would have on Jumin's life.

So, with that in mind, I'm so doubtful that a marriage like that would last long, if at all.

Without any context as to what that relationship would be like, all I can do is surmise his sister's possible age and where that might be along the timeline. Jumin was seven years old when his parents split apart. That means the absolute earliest Jumin could've had a sister is when was nine years old, since I don't think Chairman Han would've jumped into something in the first year and some change after that divorce.

That would put a sister way younger than anyone in the RFA around the time of the game. Since a nine year age gap would put a sister at 17 when he's 26. That's an interesting dynamic. Jihyun actually has a half sister that's a lot younger than him like that, too, but I know that his half-sister lives out of the country with his dad and stepmother! I don't see friendship for those siblings in the works, though, I do think Jihyun's sister is a preteen from the one photo of her that exists...

Hm.

As far as a sibling dynamic with Jumin? I believe he would value a strong bond with his family, since full and half blood mean nothing when it comes to him. Family is family and he wants to be with his family.

I think a lot of people could pull an interesting story out of this but most of the time, when he is given a younger sister, she is usually not that much younger than him, and shipped with Zen. There's nothing wrong with that because everybody's allowed to enjoy silly scenarios like that, it's just not my bread and butter, so I don't consume content like that. 

I do think it would be sweet to see him looking out for a sister who's still in high school, trying to do her best in a world that expects a lot from someone who is related to Jumin and Chairman Han, and it would flesh him out further in a good way, pulling that soft side out of him a lot sooner with his MC on the horizon. 

Like, imagine Jumin in a situation where his sister is teasing him about MC, and Jumin is very honest and sincere about it, dampening the teasing and turning it into a sweet conversation about emotions! If I were to give Jumin a sister, she would be strongly empathetic and outgoing, able to understand the people around her, even if she's just a bit silly because of her age. A natural foil to Jumin who often has a hard time expressing himself to people since not everyone knows his personality and kindness at face value.

Basically, if Jumin had a sister, I'd focus on the family bond between them and help further flesh out how much Chairman Han sucks as a human being, while Jumin and sister focus on building a family with the RFA, you know, the people who actually give a shit about them.

[teeth-cable]

Hey. I've seen some of your HB rewrites and their pretty cool. I even like some of the ideas you came up with (ex. Stolas & Stella being political enemies rather than a married couple, imps being intersex & following a binary gender system, etc).

I was wondering if you could give me some writing advice with rewrite stuff. See, I have this portfolio-like series called 'Let's Reimagine', where I revision (i.e. rewrite and/or redesign) a piece of media (be it a show, movie, webcomic, video game, etc), whether it be something I like, or something that while I'm not a fan of, believe that it could've been great (or at least decent) had it been handled better, while also integrating my OCs (including self-inserts) into my revisions as if they were canon characters in said media. This is one of my passion projects that I'd love to bring to life someday, as I wish to make YouTube videos about them when I create my YT channel (which doesn't exist at this point in time) in the future, so for now, I'm starting small by making posts talking about my revisions on Tumblr & Reddit as like a practice run of sorts (like for ex. creating a manga and then having that manga get an anime adaptation, or creating a comic (like a webcomic) and having that be adapted into an animation of some sort (ex. series, short(s), etc), or creating a book or novel and having said book or novel being adapted into a movie and/or series).

I'm also an aspiring writer who wishes to share their stories with everyone for them to enjoy, including 'Let's Reimagine' (where Helluva Boss is one of the shows I plan on reimagining, due to the many issues it's got, especially with the increase of them in Season 2; as much as I like & enjoy HB, I do have to agree that it's kind of a mess, and I get where fans are coming from with its criticisms, especially towards Season 2). However, there are some issues of mine that I feel could detriment my writing abilities & projects (including 'Let's Reimagine') in general (ex. not thinking about potential plot holes, inconsistencies, worldbuilding/lore issues, & questionable/weak/bad writing choices/ideas, rushing into things before thinking & planning stuff out, worrying about my stories not being good enough for anyone to enjoy, feeling inferior compared to other artists & writers, people hating what I make, and thinking the worst possible outcomes; apologizes if that got a little too personal and if I (potentially) made you worried; I suffer from anxiety and have a tendency to get anxious and worked up too quickly, especially when thinking negatively, and trying to be a perfectionist, worrying that if I or my content aren't perfect, then I come across as a failure; but I assure you that I am trying to work on these issues and getting past them for the better).

So, with all that said, do you have any advice in creating & doing rewrites/revisions (ex. planning stuff out, character arcs/development, worldbuilding/lore, plot points, fixing & covering plot holes & inconsistences, fulfilling wasted/missed potential & missed opportunities, avoiding questionable/weak/bad writing choices/ideas, integrating ocs/self-inserts into said rewrite/revision, etc) to any writers out there (including aspiring ones)?

Feel free to respond back to me whenever you get the chance. Thank you and have a wonderful day/afternoon/night. 🤗💕❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖💕🤗

This is very late, I'm so sorry it took me this long to answer your ask.

Things has changed sufficiently from when this ask was submitted. My HB rewrite is on currently on pause so I can focus on my Hazbin one instead.

I do like the concept of your Let's Reimagine series. It sounds like a fun passionate project in which you experiment with your writing and show tough love for the shows you're rewriting for. I hope soon you'll be able to release your first rewrite for the series.

I have some general writing advice and one specific advice for rewrites I personally use.

Create the world building first

If your rewrite takes place in a fantasy world, I suggest fleshing the world building first before the characters. This is a different world from our, so their rules and lore will affect these characters differently, and you should know why first to explain the certain elements of the both the characters and world. Fleshing the world building first can help create plot ideas and external conflict easier.

Have a Beta Reader

This one is standard. I suggest having a beta reader to review your rewrites and concepts. As writers, we think our stories make sense because we know the context, but to readers who don't know anything, our scripts realistically be confusing at first. Along the same vain, they can help you realize that an idea is underdeveloped or useless. Another good reason is they can offer new and improved concepts and ideas you didn’t or wouldn't think of before.

Be open to criticism

Criticism will help you grow as a writer. You don't have to like them all or listen to every piece, but still keep an open mind because they can and will help you. I heavily suggest being open to criticism specially when you’re writing a topic you have no experience in (Ex: mental illness, addiction, a specific identity). Again, not only will it help you improve, but also portray those topics better.

Rewrite

My only rewrite specific advice is to expand and flesh out ideas and characters, you felt the original show skimmed over. In both of my rewrites, I'm putting a greater focus on the world building, dark character concepts and how they intertwined with each other because the shows barely touches on them. It's your rewrite so do whatever you want with it, don’t feel limitless.

I hope this helps!

[chewbokachoi]

FOR BOTH CASSAN AND OLIVER PLEASE 🙏 (I am so curious about their dichotomy)

break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

Aww yeaa

Some questions from this lil ask game! Note, some things for Cassan may or may not have changed.

CASSAN:

Break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

Cassan being reminded of what brought her to Ryu's store. But now a new addition for her! Should Oliver die from anything that is not old age or natural causes, that would definitely push her over the edge. As for what that would look like--Blue Screen of Death moment. Once the shock passes, a lot of ugly crying and just uncontrolled emotions. And for Oliver's death, it'd be unrestrained violence.

As for seeing them at their lowest--Ryu, Marle, Avery, and Max have seen her at what she'd consider her lowest. Not sober and an emotional, reactive mess.

Future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

Oh man. Cassan has both avoided and not fully avoided her worst future yet. Without going into spoilers...all I will say is Dovi is very heavily tied to what that future could be. Cassan is very aware of potential futures and she is very happy and hellbent on staying at the bookstore since that seems like the best shot at keeping her in check an everyone else safe.

Too bad that doesn't continue for her!

Mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

Cassan would say she doesn't have one. She's honest about everything--by her definition. Any question asked, she gives an honest answer or one that is technically honest. "Do you have a good relationship with your parents?" "Yes (by parents I mean Ryu and Marle)." She'll be very boring with her answers as well. She went to high school. She did okay in school--and by okay she means she didn't get into massive fights or get shitfaced at parties. Just mild to moderate fights and nobody invited her to parties.

As for the people who get to hear the actual, fleshed out truth--the bookstore crew (Ryu, Marle, Avery, and Max). Rain eventually learns as much as they do and more.

OLIVER:

Break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

Finding out Cassan died would send him over the edge. If not that, hearing she came to some sort of harm he felt he could have prevented. Others dying when he could have done something is one he eventually becomes numb to.

As for what that looks like--shock and not fully processing the situation (the type of denial that can happen before reality sets in). Probably some yelling and swearing. Tears but not like crying--like he'll be going about doing whatever he needs to or thinks he should do and it's just tears pouring out but none of the bawling.

And who has seen him this way--Erron Black! He accidentally triggered it too oops. The pro and con to being the first adult to listen to Oliver talk about his past and then be like "that don't sound normal" and suddenly everything about Oliver's life falls into place and he wasn't ready for that shock.

Future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

Oliver would consider his worst possible future being one where Cassan is dead and died alone and thinking he hated her. Oliver is doing all he can to get out of the Black Dragon "before it's too late."

He also considers the idea of the Black Dragon corrupting him a possibility and he's starting to not be too sure how to avoid that part.

Mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

Yes. Oliver wears a mask of becoming numb to everything the Black Dragon's had him do. He's become a lot colder and crueler, and not entirely for show.

Erron's the only one who knows Oliver's still got limits to what he'll actually be okay with vs what'll probably haunt his dreams.

[technovillain]

I LOVE the aquatos' family dynamics theyre so juicy and interesting... Raz and Frazie's dynamic is an especially interesting one bc of all the implications like... the fact they used to play little psychic games together before frazie decided that was dangerous/childish... frazie girl you are 16(approx)

EXACTLY. The fact that Raz keeps encouraging her to admit her own psychic abilities and ensures her that it will be okay but she just can't believe him. And that he seemed surprised by that statement she made about the fact that they can't do psychic stuff together anymore because that was something they did when they were 'kids'.... like girl what happened to you!!!

I really like the dynamic between the children and parents of the Aquato family too bc its like. So many people will try to demonize Donatella or Augustus and it's like...have you even played the game and paid attention???? It perfectly captures that dynamic of like. Engrained systemic fear stemming from family trauma. Raz and Frazie both gauged the possible outcome of them telling their parents that they were psychic based on the perceived connections of psychic=bad, therefore these actions make me a deviant and I will be punished and hated for expressing them. And despite Augustus's appearance in the Meat Circus, I know for a fact that Raz does not hate his father or even fear him. The way that he immediately ran to him when his real father appeared in his mind showed that he knew that his father would embrace him no matter the environment. The scary version of Augustus stems from a worst-case scenario.

I feel like everyone has those. "Bad" versions of people that we love that are locked away in our heads. We know they aren't real. We know that realistically, they would never act this way. It is obvious that Augustus is a kind and loving father and only wants his family to be safe. Nona is all that he has, and he has to take her at her word about the family curse. And when Augustus sees this version of himself in his son's mind, he can't help but see the fear that he has accidentally instilled in his son, and by extension all of his children. But you know what he doesn't do? Take it as a personal attack and get mad at Raz. Instead he gives him all the power he can to help him and the Coach overcome this obstacle. Essentially by giving him his power, he is showing Raz that he would help him and love and support him no matter what, and that they are the same. And that's where that shift starts with his feelings about psychic powers.

But even with her dad now being psychic-friendly and even embracing his own powers, Frazie still can't get past that family guilt. Because she hears it from Nona, she hears it from Dion, from Donatella. She never got her own little runaway mission of glory, her own community of psychic peers. And while Raz was gone, he caused so much anxiety and stress for the family. Donatella's stress is obviously just connecting the dots between "things that make my family undergo stress" and "psychic powers" and she isn't wrong, but it isn't for the reasons that she expects. Frazie says at the end of her little conversation with Raz that she would consider joining the intern program, and I feel like that is the plot's way of telling us that she is almost ready to stop connecting those dots too, despite having more of that rhetoric put in her head than Raz over the events of the first game....I would love to see(/write?) more conversations that Raz and Frazie would have postgame....dunno man there's just so much POTENTIAL there with the Aquatos, you're so right!!!!

[abigailnussbaum]

So Secret Invasion is a tedious slog, and like most MCU spy thrillers post-Winter Soldier its politics don't really bear thinking about. But one thing I do appreciate about it is that three episodes in, the one thing that unites all its characters and factions is their conviction that Nick Fury is the Worst Spy Ever and their willingness to bring the receipts. So far, we have learned that:

Nick Fury was a middling SHIELD agent with a career that was going nowhere when, after the events of Captain Marvel, he recruited the Skrulls to act as his secret spy organization, which was actually run by Talos.

To reiterate, the reason everyone thinks Nick Fury is a world class spymaster who knows everything before everyone is that he had an off-book army of shapeshifting aliens doing the actual spy work and feeding him information.

The Skrulls agreed to do this (dangerous, wearying, neverending) work because Fury promised to find them a new home off Earth. And then he just... did not do that. I don't know if he lied or failed or decided, at some point, that the Skrulls were too useful to him to let go, but the upshot is that he has strung them along for thirty years. And it seems to have come as a surprise to him that failing to live up to your promises to a group of desperate refugees - including orphaned children! - might have negative consequences down the line.

While he was working for Fury, Talos secretly sent for all the remaining Skrull refugees and resettled them on Earth, a fact that Fury - who was climbing the ranks at SHIELD at the time and thus presumably had other intelligence assets at his disposal - was blissfully ignorant of until episode 2 of this very series.

(While all this was happening, of course, SHIELD was playing host to Hydra, a fact of which Fury also remained ignorant until it blew up in his face.)

Skrulls have infiltrated the upper echelons of many Earth governments and organizations - at last count, the British PM, the head of NATO, and a major US media talking head are all Skrull imposters. I suppose it's possible that Fury signed off on this, but it seems like a bit much. More likely, this is something Talos and the rest of the Skrull leadership put into motion without Fury's awareness or approval.

Over the years, as Fury failed to live up to his promises to the Skrull, a group of them became disaffected and splintered off, aiming to take over the planet from humans. Again, not only was Fury unaware of this until the beginning of this series, it's not something that he anticipated as a likely outcome of his own behavior, and he completely failed to identify some of his proteges as potential turncoats.

Oh, and Fury is married to a Skrull who is apparently working with the "kill all humans" faction. But it's not his fault that he wasn't aware of this, because after the blip he just fucked off to space, left Talos to impersonate him, and apparently did not for one moment consider that there was a volatile situation on Earth that required his attention.

And look, none of this is going to stick. As I've mentioned in the past, one of the MCU's core moves is to give full, articulate voice to the criticisms we naturally have of their characters, but always in a way that undermines that criticism. It's being made by a villain (Black Panther, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), it's misguided (Yelena Belova hates Hawkeye not because he's a mass murderer, but because she mistakenly blames him for her sister's death), or it's just raised and then ignored (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the early seasons of Agents of SHIELD). It is very clear that the thrust of Secret Invasion is going to be to reveal how Nick Fury got his groove back and proved to all the naysayers that he's the baddest motherfucker in the MCU. But for the time being, I am enjoying the litany of "this is why you suck" speeches that Fury is being subjected to. It's one of the few things that makes this show worth watching.