#he deserved to have a least a little acknowledgement of his heroic sacrifices

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

"Do not speak to me of sacrifice, Stephen Strange."

After all this time, this line still bothers me. A lot. And I find myself wondering if it was simply the writer's outright ignorance of the canon suffering that Stephen repeatedly experienced protecting humanity from Dormammu and during his excruciating search for a way to defeat Thanos--or did Waldr🤢n actually know Stephen's history and decide it wasn't relevant to the script he was writing?

Either way, I'll never get over it. While remaining entirely skeptical of how Stephen will be treated in possible future projects.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

retrospective & predictions

Since we're on a hiatus week (between 320 and 321) I feel like waxing poetic about the depth and growth of bkdk for a bit. Especially because it seems like we’re right on the edge of their biggest development yet, I’m getting the urge to lay all my perspectives and insights I’ve picked up from others out on the table. This is ultimately only my subjective interpretation of subtextual material in canon, though. If you’ve never quite understood what people see in their dynamic and you’re actually open to hearing me out, maybe from this you can at least see where we’re coming from. And if you don’t like my takes after all, well, we’ll see who’s right in the coming chapters, won’t we? What I have to say can be taken platonically or romantically; I appreciate both. 

putting it under the cut, since it’ll be long:

At the risk of projecting, I want to start by examining a couple things based partly on personal experience.

From many different directions, I often hear people expressing that Deku’s persistent attachment and admiration for Bakugou is baffling at best. Despite the bullying, despite Bakugou’s loud, rude, and uncompromising personality, he still puts effort into their relationship and frequently describes him as amazing. It seems like Deku himself is aware of this as he’s said things along the lines of how he’s difficult, BUT... etc. Although I don’t think it’s exactly that Deku finds Bakugou’s personality hard to be around, but that he’s deliberately expressing patience for Bakugou’s emotional turmoil. 

I have to say I know what this sort of patience is like, as I went through it with someone I love. I only chose to put up with their behavior because I decided the possibility of what our relationship could be was worth it. I wasn’t blind or submissive to how they treated me, and I wasn’t coerced. I simply expressed myself and established my boundaries while still allowing them the opportunity to join me in my world once they got over their own hangups. And guess what? It worked out in the end. That doesn’t mean there aren’t circumstances where it’s better to cut ties, but I want to stress that true reconciliation is possible sometimes. I used to worry that other people around me thought I was delusional for seeking it, but what really helped was my therapist reminding me that I’m smart and strong. So I think Deku deserves to feel the same. In a way this is his whole mission in life, his approach to being a hero as well as his personal relationships.

Let me also be clear though that I don’t mean Deku is only tolerating Bakugou’s personality, his mannerisms, the parts of him that will likely never change. I’m drawing a line between those things and his emotional state (they so rarely align anyway, but I’ll get to that later). In fact, I think Bakugou’s general attitude is part of what Deku admires. This is gonna be hard to explain without inserting personal experience too, sorry. As a writer myself I’ve noticed I’m drawn to writing characters that are brazen and bold and don't mind telling people off. Really it’s because I operate in the world in the polar opposite way. I try not to draw attention to myself, I’m quiet, and I’m a people-pleaser. People who project confidence, especially in an impolite sort of way, fascinate me. It’s good to take cultural context into account, too: I've heard people who’d know better than me that part of the reason Bakugou is the most popular character in the Japanese fandom is likely because he contradicts a lot of their social norms. His disregard is refreshing and cathartic. I can speculate that Deku has a similar point of view based on what he thinks but does not admit about Bakugou being his image of victory and how this sometimes makes him mimic Bakugou’s speech and mannerisms: 

There’s also the bit in this fight where Deku realizes he's the only one able to receive Bakugou’s emotions. This is because he’s the most intimately familiar with him and his situation, but I think there’s another layer. Deku, as we know, has a self-sacrificing tendency, and in the current chapters we’re seeing the worst side of that. But let’s also not forget that to an extent, it can be a positive trait: resilience. When it comes to Bakugou, he has an almost comical ability to dodge the potential fallout of his outbursts. The example we all jump to (and fight about..) is how in ch1, apart from the initial shock of Bakugou suggesting he jump off the roof, the most he reacts is to criticize him for saying such a ridiculous thing. However, I think their interaction post- sludge villain is a lot more interesting:

Note two things: 1, in his head, Deku is practically making fun of how Bakugou’s acting as he stomps away without waiting for a reply. It doesn’t faze him. 2, Deku thinks, optimistically, that he can now focus on a different career choice. This is astonishing really. Up to this point, none of Bakugou’s attempts to put him down have worked; he just kept pursuing his dream. The only reason Deku concedes in this moment it because for the first time, he has been shown that he really couldn't do anything in a fight against a villain. All Might told him he couldn't be a hero (although he’s literally about to take that back in the next few pages lol) and the other heroes at the scene gave him a lecture about it too. It was those experiences, and not Bakugou’s words, that truly affected him. And when All Might tells Deku he can be a hero after all, it’s not thinking of Bakugou’s bullying that makes him sob and fall to his knees, it’s the memory of his own mom never telling him those words he so desperately needed to hear. Having spent most of their lives together, Deku must have been aware all this time that Baukgou was influenced by larger societal forces rather than a core judgement, so he didn’t take it personally. He separated the person from the action, and because he’s resilient and patient, he is thus equipped to handle Bakugou’s emotions. It’s a testament to his maturity and emotional intelligence, really. 

But I can almost hear some of you saying, “that doesn’t mean Deku should have to be the bigger person here!” Correct! Just because Deku is perfectly alright bearing all of that, doesn’t mean atonement-era Bakugou sees it this way. We can track his awareness of Deku’s care and selflessness as follows-

The bridge scene, when they’re little kids: Bakugou conflates Deku’s heroism with pity, and subsequently thinks Deku is looking down on him because Bakugou’s own insecurity makes him defensive.

The Sludge Villain, and also Deku vs. Kacchan Part 1: Bakugou witnesses first-hand how easily Deku jumps to risk his own life, but still thinks he’s being looked down on. 

The Sports Festival: Bakugou fights Uraraka and recognizes her endurance strategy and refusal to give up as very Deku-like. He’s half right. He thinks Deku advised her in the fight, when in reality she just mimicked Deku because she admired him. I want to draw attention to his very sober comment about her not being frail. It’s a great endearment of Uraraka’s character and Bakugou’s respect for her when others didn’t take “fighting a girl” seriously, but it also reflects on his opinion of Deku. Deku isn’t weak either. He never was.

Deku vs. Kacchan Part 2: Deku finally corrects him about the whole looking-down-on-him thing, and Bakugou is informed that Deku’s selflessness is in fact the reason All Might chose him. Since Bakugou had been in search of what he himself was “doing wrong” for All Might to favor Deku over him, he now has to reconcile the fact that selflessness is a heroic trait, and moreover something he lacks. This is also possibly the first time Bakugou is able to see his past actions toward Deku as bullying since he previously thought it was more mutual. Additionally, Bakugou can now link Deku’s selfless behavior to what he perceived as pity/contempt, and realize that Deku has been giving him A LOT of grace. Maybe too much. Maybe more than Bakugou deserves, and definitely more than Deku should have to. Holy heck- now Bakugou has to figure out how to live up to all the faith that’s been placed in him. 

Subtextually, we can see Bakugou’s feelings about atonement reflected in the Todoroki family:

1, Shouto is another example of Deku growing a friendship using his selflessness (since their fight in the sports festival) and their relationship is being acknowledged here where it hasn’t been in Bakugou’s situation. Perhaps Bakugou is wishing it could be so simple for him, to be able to thank him for being his friend like that. Deku saying the pleasure is all his also probably calls to mind how a mere apology from Bakugou would probably be dismissed because that’s just the kind of accommodating person Deku is. Bakugou has to operate more quietly in order to actually make up for their past. I personally don’t interpret this scene as Bakugou being jealous of Deku and Shouto’s friendship, exactly, just the lack of emotional baggage. Side note, Deku and Fuyumi are kinda similar in their desire to repair relationships. I like that she’s the one to give him some credit. 

2, With the common terminology, this can be interpreted as Bakugou receiving a model for atonement, one that is about action, and nothing to do with receiving favor or forgiveness. It’s a sense of duty. 

Many of the above sentiments are repeated in the flashback conversation between All Might and Bakugou right before Bakugou’s sacrifice. 

Bakugou acknowledges his bullying and that it happened because of his own insecurities, but aside from that, it’s interesting he neither confirms nor denies All Might’s suggestion that he’s trying to atone, or that Deku doesn’t see it that way. All Might is a bit of an unreliable mentor sometimes, but I don’t think he’s misreading here. Rather, Bakugou is displaying his tendency to hold back when talking about things that would make him really emotional. Besides, admitting to what he’s doing kind of defeats the purpose. He isn’t seeking acknowledgement. All Might has gotten to the crux of the issue here when pointing out that Deku doesn’t recognize the atonement, likely because Deku doesn't think Bakugou even needs to atone. Am I reading into it too much to say Bakugou looks wistful at this? It’s kinda frustrating sometimes trying to interpret Bakugou’s actions because he’s so paradoxical. Loud and in your face, but also extremely reserved. Sometimes I feel like I’m grasping at thin air, but hey, being hard to figure out is part of his intrigue as a character. The simplest way to look at him is to assume that unless he’s really showing vulnerability, he’s probably deflecting and hiding something.

Speaking of Bakugou’s tendency to to hold back emotional stuff, there’s his apparent lack of issue with Deku calling him Kacchan. Maybe to begin with, in his warped perception of things where he thought they hated each other, Bakugou saw it as Deku’s way of getting back at him for calling him “useless,” and didn't dare give any indication that it actually bothered him. However... consider how betrayed Bakugou has appeared when he was noticeably thinking Deku was looking down on him- the bridge scene, and the beginning of their first year at UA when he thought Deku was hiding a quirk all along. He looks shocked and hurt. That kind of emotion couldn’t be invoked by someone Bakugou didn’t actually care about his relationship with. “Kacchan” comes from a long time ago, before their relationship was strained, so it’s connotations are pure. Maybe somewhere deep down, Bakugou has always been hoping that Deku’s continued use of the nickname was not simply a matter of habit or teasing, but a vestige of friendship they’re both clinging to, and Bakugou himself was too afraid to admit to himself that he felt this way about it, so he mostly ignored it. (These are not original thoughts I am having here lol, this is a common interpretation. I’m just laying everything out like I said.) 

And now we turn to the current situation. Personally, I’ve been looking frantically back and forth between them wondering who’s going to break down first (Deku vs. Kacchan Part 3, this time it’s just a fight to get the other person to cry? ha.) Both have looked like they’re approaching a breaking point for some time. Also, I’ve addressed this before, but I think it’s significant that Bakugou is no longer wearing his mask with his hero costume, in contrast to Deku recently donning his own. It feels symbolic of Bakugou about to be upfront about how he feels.

The question is, what is it going to take to get Deku to accept help? If you ask me, Deku has dug himself so deeply into the I’m-doing-this-for-everyone-else’s-safety-and-smiles hole, no common sense argument can possibly reach him. By the end of 320, Deku’s mask is off, and we can see how desperate he truly is. But he has not cried, yet. I predict we’re going to see a bit more of his defiance, this time on full display on his face as the remaining class members and his other friends take their turns. But then I think Bakugou has to be the one to break down so Deku can witness his actions having the opposite effect he intended. People have been pointing out that Deku is currently ignoring Bakugou, and oof, that’s gotta be intentional. Regardless of what Bakugou says, it’s going to be wrapped up not only in his understanding of Deku’s self-sacrifice, but also the betrayal Bakugou feels at being ignored/left behind that ironically echoes his previous perception of being looked down on, as well as a need to express how much he cares about Deku before it’s too late. He must show that the two of them are inseparable because they both act to save each other without thinking, and both feel like losing the other would be like dying themselves. All Might may have been right when he told them they could learn from each other after Deku vs. Kacchan Part 2, but he didn’t fully realize that idea by making sure they stuck by each other for support and balance. 

I can’t wait to see what it’ll be like when they do finally get to that point, totally in synch and in tune with each other. They’ll be a powerful force no one is quite prepared for. Who knows when that will be, or even which chapter will be their big showdown, but I know the day is coming.

To speculate even further, I think the 2nd user is going to be really important really soon. And no I don’t mean to suggest that the 2nd user is Bakugou. But I do think their resemblance is key. Okay this is gonna be convoluted...

See how 2nd is the only one still standing? I think that’s symbolic of him withholding his quirk. Deku may not even know what it is at this point, let alone have unlocked it. Given that 2nd approves of Deku’s strategy at this point, it seems odd for him to withhold his quirk based on lack of faith. I think if his quirk was something that would help Deku in combat, he would have shown it to him already like the others did. So what if those gauntlets of his are support items that are meant to make up for his lack of a combat-oriented quirk, rather than to augment it? Mind you, I still have no idea what his mysterious power might be, but I’m dead set on it not being explosion-y. Regardless, I think 2nd looking like Bakugou is more about aiding some grand visual parallel, so! You know how 2nd and 3rd were probably intending to do away with Yoichi but 2nd changed his mind as soon as they made eye contact? This is really a long shot, but I wonder if 2nd’s quirk has something to do with that exchange. Maybe it’s something psychological, or some 6th sense about people he meets. So... in that way 2nd’s quirk could play a role in bkdk reaching a deeper understanding? Idk! But it could be significant at least that 2nd left Yoichi’s question about why he reached out to him unanswered. 

One more thing- while I was gathering screenshots I found this. I think “you’re the last one I’m telling” might be foreshadowing for Bakugou revealing his hero name to Deku and it being a Big Deal:

As for other lingering threads in the overall plot right now, such as the UA traitor, Stain, whatever Tsuyu is apparently about to do, All Might’s car maybe in the background of the last page of 320... man I have no idea. All I know is there’s literally 320 chapters’ worth of build-up to this confrontation that can’t be interrupted. 

See you next week <3

[itsclydebitches]

Not sure how I feel about anon bringing Yang not showing Salem empathy in that moment as a bad thing. Like if an immortal witch was trying to murder/kill all of my friends my reaction probably wouldn't be "how do you feel though"

That's been my response too, anon, though I understand where the previous anon is coming from. Though Salem started out as a generic Big Bad with no redeemable qualities, Volume 6 showed us a captive woman who was later tortured by the gods and sought death, only to find herself changed instead, thereby raising the question for the audience, "How much of the Big Bad's action is Salem and how much of it is the evil grimm magic acting upon her?" Just as important, Volume 8 gave us Cinder's backstory and a scene of her crying on the rooftop, alongside the forgiveness of Emerald and Hazel. I could go on another rant about how this sympathy didn't extent to Ironwood and, in a different way, didn't extend to Ozpin either, but outside of that there's been a very strong message of, "Abuse victims and people who have just generally suffered - lost a sister, lived on the streets - should be shown compassion and given a second chance," which becomes a problem when we consider that the most prominent villain with an abusive backstory since Volume 6 has not been extended that compassion. Gender dynamics aside, it's the same problem fans have with Adam's ending considering that his brand was revealed right before he died. The go-to explanations of, "But Adam was his own abuser who stalked Blake" and "Salem is literally trying to destroy the world" fall a little flat when pit against "But it's okay for Emerald to manipulate Pyrrha into killing Penny?" and "Hazel has also knowingly helped Salem try to take over the world. And also murdered countless huntsmen. And also was torturing a kid." It's not so easy to go, "The story shouldn't show them compassion because they're The Worst" when the story is already showing compassion to people who... are also The Worst. I say all this not as a way to excuse any one character's actions - I'm not in the business of going, "[insert horrific choice here] is fine actually!" - but rather to acknowledge that RWBY lacks a clear divide between what actions are forgivable and what actions are not. Fans aren't wrong to go, "If you expect me to feel for Cinder after everything she's done since Episode 1 and you expect me to laugh along with the cast after everything Emerald has done, why isn't Salem Adam Ironwood Ozpin getting that same sort of work?" Given the "trust love" message and the strong push to sympathize with/outright redeem heinous characters, a lot of fans are wondering why our cast hasn't even mentioned all the shit Salem went through. It's been months now since they watched Jinn's vision and they're accepting former villains into their ranks now because Life is Hard and they deserve that chance, but no one cares to even mention everything Salem went through and debate her own responsibility. Surely if they can forgive Emerald for willingly working with her, there's at least some room to discuss the question of Salem's morality in the context of two Gods' manipulations and a magical pool having some kind of impact on her. There's a disconnect here. The story can't go, "These heinous people are Good deep down, actually" without extending that to all our villains, Salem included.

(All of which, btw, is tied up in the frustration that the group hasn't discussed the vision at all. The question of Salem's morality is tied up in the question of her defeat. For example, if they decide they're not comfortable with killing her, that might lead to theories on how to contain her instead...)

So ALL OF THAT is churning in the back of fans' minds. I agree 100% that the group's capture was not the time to extend any sympathy for Salem and I've got posts out there saying the exact same as you, anon: "You really expect Yang to be compassionate after Salem was torturing Oscar, captured them, was planning to kill them, is attacking the city, and just reminded her of her dead mom? C'mon." The problem lies in the fact that we haven't gotten this kind of work anywhere else, the cast has barely mentioned Salem anywhere else - outside of freaking out over her arrival - so when a member of our main group is suddenly right next to her and they're discussing the concept of loss, some fans are like, "AHHHH TALK ABOUT WHAT SALEM HAS LOST TOO GODDAMMIT." It's putting an unfair expectation on Yang and the scene because, again, I don't think that was the time or place for discussing the nuances of morality in a fantasy setting, but because everything else around Salem has been so badly written, and Yang's scene was the closest we've ever gotten to scratching that itch... fans get frustrated that it didn't happen, no matter how unfair or ridiculous that frustration might seem. Really, I don't think fans, in a general sense, actually want Yang to sympathize with Salem then and there. That would be a whole other, messy can of worms given the context. But they want something and at this point "something" has become accepting even really bad versions of what they're looking for. Since no one discussed the vision at the farm, or at Argus, or any time in Atlas, fans are metaphorically throwing up their hands with a, "Well, if we have to delve into Salem's character only when she's doing the most damage in the entire series then fine! You didn't do it earlier when you should have, so this is just what we're left with! Better then nothing! I'm sick of watching Cinder cry and Emerald make quips and Hazel go out in a blaze of heroics and we still haven't even mentioned that our primary antagonist went through more shit than the three of them combined. Am I supposed to be compassionate towards the bad guys or not? Make up your mind, RWBY."

RWBY is a hot mess and the mistakes the story has made, sadly, are not easily separated from one another. Frustration over Yang's scene is prioritizing one problem over another. Namely, the problem of Salem's characterization over the problem of having your hero go "How do you feel though?" while the bad guy is about to kill her. RWBY has backed itself into a corner, both problems exist, but we can only easily discuss one at a time. Similarly, if someone goes, "Ugh they really need to work on Emerald's redemption in Volume 9" people are correct to go, "But if they do that then Volume 8 will look even worse since they've already forgiven her" or "But that's going to be so messy if they're flip-flopping between Vacuo and the island world. Should they even redeem her without the main girls around?" And it's like yes! Exactly! None of these are good options. RWBY has written a situation where ANY choice is going to be a problem on some level because none of this story has been well thought out. So it comes down to which problem an individual fan considers to be, well, more of a problem. In Yang's case it's going, "I will gladly sacrifice the integrity of this scene to get some acknowledgement of a theme that has existed for Salem since early Volume 6 and is now being heavily pushed on other characters in Volume 8. If a stupid moment where Yang is kind to Salem while she's captured is what it takes to start this conversation then fine. I'll take it. Especially when Oscar was kind to Hazel while captured and tortured. You already gave us the stupid scene - just do it again and actually get something out of it this time!"

It is, as said, a twisting, turning mess.

[stillness-in-green]

Thoughts on Chapter 314 (and surrounding events)

Being a loose summary of several things I thought about in relation to the leaks, what they say about the series as a whole, a bit of new operating headcanon on the Peerless Thief, and a dash of how fandom is responding to the revelations. Spoilers, obviously.

This chapter makes it quite clear that the HPSC absolutely would have gone in and eliminated the PLF quietly, lethally, and wholly unlawfully if Hawks hadn't reported back the numbers that he did. The only reason the raid involved non-Commission-affiliated heroes at all is because the PLF's manpower was simply too much for the Commission to deal with via their usual methods. I'm both appalled that the disregard for human rights in HeroAca Land is somehow even worse than I thought it was and smug that that tiny little piece I recently posted criticizing the PLF's treatment has turned out to be totally justified and supported by the canon.[1] (Note that this does not absolve Horikoshi of the responsibility to, himself, treat the PLF better than paper dolls tossed into the incinerator of Plot Irrelevance when they cease being convenient to his story.) The fact that the Commission was forced to involve heroes might mean Re-Destro, Mr. Compress and the others are somewhat safer than might otherwise be the case. Because of the involvement of the unsuspecting stooges law-abiding heroes, and because the botched raid became such a huge disaster, there’s far more public scrutiny on this than would otherwise be the case. Of course, "accidents" can still happen,[2] especially in a chaotic environment, but the factors above (combined with Clone!RD murdering the bejeezus out of the Lady Prez) do, I think, suggest that there probably isn't an organized push for quick solutions going on behind closed doors.

I don't think Nagant has been around for a terribly long time or that there was an uptick in vigilantism in recent years—I think the scene where she mentions vigilantes becoming accepted as heroes is just in reference to the early history of heroism. It's in keeping with what Tsukauchi Makoto described in Vigilantes, and forms the basis of the current system—the current system that Nagant was a single cog in a big machine grinding away to preserve.

Speaking of Nagant and the system, it's interesting to me that one of the groups Nagant apparently targeted at the HPSC's behest was corrupt heroes—those who colluded with villains or specifically goaded/incited civilians into using their quirks illegally, thus turning civilians into capital-V Villains in the eyes of the law. One might easily say that targeting corrupt heroes (albeit using a much broader definition of "corrupt") was Stain's whole shtick, but it actually puts me more in mind of the Peerless Thief, Harima Oji. Harima punished greedy or corrupt heroes with theft, and presumably with a measure of declaration and exposure,[3] then distributed their money back to the streets. Someone who ridicules those who abuse their power, and gets away with it for long enough to build a reputation: that right there is a recipe for a folk hero. The HPSC, in whatever form they existed at the time, obviously couldn't let that go on—such repeated humiliations would weaken peoples’ faith in (and obedience to) the system the HPSC was trying to build. At the same time, though, it would also weaken faith in the system to openly acknowledge that system's flaws, to acknowledge that some pretty awful people had found their way into the heroics business specifically for the power and ability to abuse it that the title of Hero afforded them. Public trials would make it a matter of record that some heroes—and, accordingly, heroes at large—did not deserve the public's unquestioning faith. Obviously in a system that was built from the ground up on faith, that was unacceptable. And so Harima was branded a supervillain for exposing the system's flaws, while the corrupt heroes who embodied those flaws to begin with were—and continue to be—quietly disposed of at the HPSC’s discretion.

There's a lot of talk around about how Lady Nagant is stupid, or hypocritical, or delusional, or whatever other dismissive adjective people want to use, because she expresses a preference for AFO's rule over the HPSC's. Firstly, I think it's dubious Lit Crit to fault a character for not being a Paragon of Rationality, especially when they're under the cascading stressors Nagant has been under since she was, what, 13? 14? Forced to live this dichotomy of smiling gallant hero and ruthless covert assassin, had her life threatened by the man who'd taken her in,[4] probably dumped in Tartarus until such time as her trial could be held,[5] and kept in those ghastly, dehumanizing conditions for who knows how long? How shocking, that her objectivity might be somewhat compromised! Secondly, it's not like she's saying that AFO's rule would be a sunny walk in the park. The kanji she uses doesn't even mean "better"; while it can mean serene or tranquil, her more likely meaning is clear/transparent. Her phrasing indicates that she's aware it would be pretty bad; she's simply of the opinion that at least his rule wouldn't be a sham, a pretty lie. It would be bad, but everyone would know it. No one would have these comforting illusions they could lose at any time; if you stepped out of line and got shot in the head by an assassin, well, at least you would probably know you that being defiant was running that risk, rather than never seeing it coming because you'd been told all your life that Heroes Didn't Do That To People. Again, this is a woman whose life was shattered no less than three times by the duplicity of the highest acting authority in this comic.[6] She doesn't have to be Objectively Correct By The Standards Of Ethical Utilitarianism—nor do you have to agree with her choice that because she doesn’t want to live in the Matrix, no one else should get to either—for her opinion to make sense from her own perspective! Thirdly, while I think it's fair to say that the HPSC and AFO actually use fairly similar methods to recruit followers and punish dissenters, we have no idea how much Nagant herself knows about AFO's recruitment tactics other than her own brief experience of it. And while AFO is a controlling and manipulative bastard, at least in his case it's coming from a man who openly styles himself as a Demon King, not an organization positioning itself as lawful regulators of the protectors of society at large while secretly training child soldiers to flagrantly violate every law protecting the human rights and due process of that society's people.

Overhaul's presence is delightful, and yes, he is a victim of Hero Society, if only because Hero Society could have put him in some kind of prison-based rehab facility after Shigaraki was through with him, but chose to dispose of him in Tartarus instead, for absolutely no justifiable cause. I suspect it's only due to Horikoshi not being very interested in the harsh realities of the trauma caused by enforced isolation[7] that Overhaul is the only Tartarus escapee that talks to himself and has dissociated from reality almost completely. Overhaul's maiming was not the fault of Hero Society, nor did Hero Society force him to torture Eri and repeatedly commit cold-blooded murder. But his madness? Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable laying that one at Hero Society's feet, actually. I can’t wait for Deku to have to face the victim that Chisaki Kai has become due to levels of systemic cruelty and negligence that really ought to be criminal—and which, if this were real life, would be.

--------Lately, footnotes are really popular with us!--------

[1] Lady Nagant: *talks about how the Hero Society everyone believes in is illusory, a thin fake over a brutal reality, and that returning to the false simplicity of that status quo will only cause history to repeat itself* Me, two weeks ago: Hero Society will never stop creating its own villains so long as, every time it fails people, it does nothing but shrug and write off the victims as unavoidable, inevitable sacrifices for the greater good.

[2] Yes, I'm still highly suspicious of the "Destro committed suicide in prison" claim.

[3] Compress tells us Harima “preached reformation,” but regardless, you don’t dress up in a modified kabuki costume and waltz midair through nighttime cityscapes raining cash out of the sky if you’re trying to keep your activities a secret.

[4] And her family situation couldn't have been much better than Hawks', if she was targeted by the HPSC to begin with. I would guess she was an orphan in the childcare system, easy to move from whatever alternative care arrangement she was in, be it an orphanage, a group home, or simply mature enough despite her relative youth that she lived alone on government support payments—that kind of thing isn't as unbelievable in Japan as it is in the U.S.—to the HPSC's care.

[5] And given what we learned between this chapter and 297, I doubt she was even allowed to be present for it. Japanese law states that everyone by default is supposed to be present for their own trial, but as in the U.S, that right can be waived if the defendant proves themselves to be a threat to the safety of the judge, court staff and other attendees. And of course, what a threat the HPSC could have painted her as being!

[6] At least until Hori deigns to show us a damn Diet session.

[7] To say nothing of the physical consequences of spending six months stuck in a tiny room with no natural light while frequently being strapped into a straitjacket, of which there should also be several.

[davidmann95]

So it's official, there's nothing left between now and Crisis on Infinite Earths. Any last thoughts before it starts?

A list of wishes, classified by likelihood:

Here’s hoping!

* Brandon Routh and Kevin Conroy get a scene together and are preferably addressed as the World’s Finest, since they’re almost certainly from the same Earth and the clear idea there is positioning the Donnerverse Superman and DCAU Batman as literal peers to match the power of their iconography.

* Earths 1 and 38 merge but the multiverse remains (perhaps reorganized; no reason for Jay Garrick for instance not to be on Earth-2 now that the original trick of switching 2 and 3 no longer serves a purpose).

* The odd contradictory stuff with the Monitor that we’ve seen is revealed to be a product of him and the Anti-Monitor actually being two aspects of the same being.

* Some sort of note of the major Batwoman timeskip given I think everything in that series so far takes place pre-Elseworlds.

* Danny Trejo, a multiversal cop who was already recently brought back, sticks his head in during the final battle to be Danny Trejo in Crisis on Infinite Earths stabbing and shooting the death of all things.

* Lynda Carter shows up even if she likely can’t be acknowledged directly as Wonder Woman. Probably also on the Kingdom Come Earth?

* That guy who we all know is John Stewart becomes a Green Lantern, and he throws up the first time he flies as the culmination of that running gag.

* A solid first onscreen confrontation between Hoechlin’s Superman and Cryer’s Luthor (and for that matter Luthor with Tulloch’s Lois).

* Other DCAU voice actors who have played assorted roles in these shows briefly appear as live-action versions of their animated counterparts, or at least Mark Hamill (at minimum a recording or echoey memory of him laughing on the Kingdom Come Earth, for the love of god).

* Since I hear Black Lightning is set on a relatively realistic Earth without other superheroes, play a lot with him being caught up in all this nonsense with characters who he’d known as fictional.

* Speaking of which, the episode of Black Lightning that I just saw apparently ties in is accessible, since I’ll want to check that out. I hear that show’s really good!

* There’s some sort of at least minor bit of the Supermen comparing costumes, laying the groundwork for improvement on the side of the ‘prime’ guy.

Wouldn’t count on it, but it’s not impossible either!

* Conroy as Batman also meets Welling and Hoechlin, as Welling getting to meet a Batman would be the fulfillment of a longtime dashed dream, and Hoechlin as the best Superman should get to meet the best Batman.

* Some sort of resolution to the occasional light hints that there’s an important reason there isn’t a Superman or Supergirl on Earth-1.

* There’s specification or at least room for interpretation that Lois didn’t necessarily die on Earth Kingdom Come, it seems likely but I’d prefer it didn’t hew quite to that aspect of the source material.

* John Shea’s Lex Luthor shows up, that dude ruled.

* Green Arrow’s “The entire universe needs you” line to Superman isn’t (just) a reinforcement that he’s got an important job he’d better not fuck up or a bolster at a low moment, but a pep talk and/or acknowledgement that he as Superman (and a lead of an upcoming series) is the guy they need at the front on this.

* Since they’re paired in the poster, Superman and Constantine are forced to work together and absolutely hate each other.

* Routh either survives to occasionally guest star as the equivalent of the old Earth-2 Superman on Superman and Lois - maybe he just could be on Earth-2 in a reordered multiverse alongside Conroy, Carter, and Shipp’s Garrick - or plays a suitably major role in saving the multiverse with his heroic sacrifice.

* Lucifer from that show is in this after all and is very pointedly confirmed to have fucked John Constantine.

* Conroy growls “I was Batman”.

* Speaking of Batman Beyond, have Will Friedle make a cameo as Terry, if only in voiceover on a comm link.

* I don’t know the exact limitations of how Batman can appear in the non-Fox TV shows; clearly it’s somewhat porous. Would Conroy in the Kingdom Come Bat-armor be permissible?

* The gathering of heroes here is directly referred to as the Justice League.

* Smallville Clark mentions having dealt with Monitors before in passing acknowledgement of Smallville Season 11, which the writers mentioned they know of and at least won’t actively contradict.

* Welling wears a damn super-suit.

* Everything about the Legion of Superheroes is completely changed; all their history is revised and all actors are recast. I actually have no idea whether this would be a good or bad thing, but tradition’s tradition.

* A subtle shot at Dean Cain given why he’s not showing up.

Sigh. A boy can dream.

* Welling sees Routh and - since it’s technically supposed to be Christopher Reeve - exclaims “Doctor Swan?!”

* The Monitor displays ‘viewscreens’ of other universes, and someone leaps back in shock when George Reeves’ Clark Kent looks directly at said screen and winks.

* Uncle Sam is in this and tells everyone to stop for a second so he can give a speech about how saving the multiverse from the Anti-Monitor is really...about freedom, and Cryer’s Luthor exclaims ‘I hate his guts, but by god he’s right!’ Otherwise this will never be a spiritually true adaptation.

* Ezra Miller puts his money where his mouth is and makes a little cameo.

* The Monitor appears before Barry Allen as he’s about to sacrifice himself and confirms that the actual reason he’s lured him into this is as rightful punishment for his disrespectful Superman impression, and as he’s agonizingly torn apart atom by atom Flash’s final screamed utterance is “I objectively deserve this!”

* Justin Hartley shows up but as Aquaman.

* Oliver Queen survives in spite of cosmic odds to the contrary through naught but his wits and his will, and nothing seems to be standing in the way of him resuming his life and career after all. Except remember when he hilariously puffed out his chest in naked insecurity upon meeting Superman? That, except he meets Conroy’s Batman, and he just starts sobbing and runs away, never to be seen again, and that’s how Arrow for-real ends.

* Burt Ward puts on DKR Bat-armor to join the final battle and kicks an utterly stupendous amount of ass.

* Now that Roy Harper’s doing a Rise of Arsenal, (which is how I learned I am a maniac, given my what I can only describe as childlike glee when I realized what was about to happen in the last episode of Arrow) he injects a shitload of whatever that super strength drug is that gives him Bloodlust™ and goes ham on the Anti-Monitor with a dead cat.

* An unsubtle shot at Dean Cain given why he’s not showing up.

* I can get the damn Walmart tie-in comics. Most of the time the place near me is reliable with those, but they still haven’t gotten the last issue of King/Kubert Superman and I’ll probably just have to give in and get Superman: Up In The Sky #6 to get the final chapter Saturday or Sunday. I’m assuming my luck will hold steady with this.

[magioftheseas]

I'm the Nanami anon from earlier. I'll be nice this time and ask you to defend a character you love. Either Komaeda or Angie since both are at least a bit divisive. Your choice. ^_^

Just did Angie so it looks like I’ll have to write for Komaeda instead. Oh, the horror.

*sips milkshake*

So like… People are really fucking weird about Komaeda, even his fans. There’s…a lot of lacking nuance to be sure. Komaeda definitely suffers from “if you don’t always acknowledge all the damn time that he’s flawed then fuck you” which is really fucking exhausting, ngl. I just can’t be bothered to give a damn about that shit anymore. Komaeda’s an angel who did nothing wrong. Fuck you right back.

*sips*

…okay let’s actually do this seriously.

One thing that people miss about Komaeda is that he’s multi-faceted. Which means he shows different sides of himself in different situations.

He can be bitchy, but he can also be sweet. He can be cruel, but he can also be considerate. He can be capricious and contradictory and also change his mind dramatically when new (dramatic) information is revealed to him. He acts…like how a lot of people in reality…actually…act.

This also translates to how he should be viewed. Calling him a terrible person or evil misses the entire fucking point of how he should be viewed as morally gray (which is literally stated by the game in case that was too unintuitive) and while he does act for what he believes is the greater good, he’s definitely still selfish in that he’s motivated by a strong desire to make something out of his life and all the suffering within it. He’s selfish. But also selfless. It’s a contradiction, but a meaningful one driven both by self-preservation and self-sacrifice. It’s honestly really striking character writing and a big part of why Komaeda’s such a resonant character with some people.

Komaeda does not wish to hurt others but he often compartmentalizes pain as inevitable, sometimes even necessary, to cope with what he feels he has to do. He has no trace of sadism in his body and does genuinely want to help but because of how he’s been twisted by trauma and mental illness (dementia doesn’t help), he has a warped perspective on what he can and should do and because of the situation, he’s even more cornered and thus acts a lot more destructively.

It’s even worse that to Komaeda, suffering and loss are normalized to an absurd degree. Remember, Komaeda lost his parents when he was still in elementary school. He has no had a single person close to him since and if anyone had ever tried, they were likely brutalized or killed by his luck. Komaeda struggles with maintaining human connections, but he does what he can to understand them, he’s not completely oblivious. That said, when it comes to loss, he really does struggle with understanding why people are super hung up on that kind of thing because to him, loss is normal. It sucks, it hurts a little, but all you can do is move on from it and try not to let the loss drag you down and he had to learn this at a very early age. It’s not a moral failing so much as a tragic upbringing and people really ought to be more sympathetic.

It’s also important to remember that Komaeda’s used to being demeaned and dehumanized, but he still tries to remain patient and kind up until people’s cruelty gets to a point where he simply can’t accept it anymore. If he believes you as a “good person”, he’ll tolerate being mistreated by you because to him, he probably wronged you in some way and likely deserves it. Remember that Komaeda is literally incapable of recognizing what is socially acceptable or unacceptable behavior so he’s never really sure when what he’s doing is rubbing people the wrong way and thus can only assume he’s just…always doing something wrong.

But if he believes you’re a “bad person” and mistreating him, then he’s much more willing to believe that you’re in the wrong here. And why not? You’re a bad person. You literally destroyed countless lives. You don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. But it’s important to note that he only believes that people are “bad” when given extremely damning proof of it…such as being part of the world-destroying terrorist cult.

Komaeda really is extraordinarily patient, but he’s also like…pretty childish, which is really interesting. His idea of what’s “bad” is really exaggerated even if he still has respectable limits such as “don’t fucking sexually harass people, hanamura-kun, what the actual fuck”. He just kind of assumes that the Ultimates are all good people even with that because to him they’re like…designated as such the way heros can be in fictional stories, even when they don’t do the most heroic of things.

A lot of Komaeda’s mindset is influenced by fiction and tropes which I think is woefully unnoticed by the general fanbase. Komaeda literally believes “suffering builds character” because that’s how it works in fictional stories where conflict is what drives narrative and development. He only believes in the “goodness” of the Ultimates because he was lead to believe that “talent = greatness” which is pushed not just by HPA but also many stories in which the “hero” is meant to use their extraordinary capabilities for good. But when people are revealed to be “despair” (which is like, pure fucking negative, there’s not one positive aspect to despair), he’s quick to categorize them as “bad”.

What’s important, though, is that he clearly struggles with this simplistic mindset in Chapters 4-5 because Hinata, who should similarly be discarded, is someone he actually wants to believe better in and someone he still very much cares about. He can’t help but give a shit even when he “logically” knows that he shouldn’t, to the point where he even expresses regret (and envy) in regards to Hinata in his last video.

Komaeda is like…a mess. But he’s a mess of very real human complications and emotions, and that buried desire of wanting to be accepted, even perhaps loved in spite of his many faults, both perceived and not. He’s certainly not irredeemable (presenting him as such not only misses the point of his character but also the entire point of the game at large) and he’s very sympathetic as a reflection of a lot of struggles due to familiar issues of isolation, illness, and mistreatment. He really is like, a really good and relatable character and I think people are far too quick to overlook his nuances in order to make sweeping statements…which honestly come across as a means of looking more “superior” rather than being just plain critical. That’s just the impression I get.

And that’s my defense on who’s easily my favorite character of the series, lol.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

ASM v3 #16.HU Thoughts

SPOILERS

I’ve already covered the first few pages in this post here so check that out for my thoughts on those pages.

As for the issue over all I confess I was walking into this with some trepidation and that continued throughout the issue.

My concerns were focused upon:

a)      Peter possibly proposing to Felicia in spite us never having heard about it

b)      Felicia stealing again (and Peter possibly knowing about it)

 However I must say that in thinking about it and seeing how Spencer delivers the story it all adds up.

Even at her least criminal Felicia still stole from other criminals, specifically big name major players who could not only afford to lose some of their ill-gotten gains but also do not deserve to profit from such crimes. Peter always turned a blind eye to those sorts of crimes on Felicia’s part out of loyalty and friendship to her (plus she was able to go to moral places he wasn’t).

And really that’s all she is doing here. She is settling her past as a crime lord by profiting from another criminal. Which is her dancing close to going back down the darkside again and Peter wouldn’t approve of course. BUT the issue calls that out, noticeably by having Felicia be very upset with Peter, having Peter not know about this stuff and by having Felicia acknowledge the temptation this scenario presents her.

But then it fundamentally frames her heroically by both presenting her as compassionate to Billy (a side to Felicia which exists but is also rarely highlighted) and willing to sacrifice her score for his sake, stating its no real choice at all.

And that is how in one issue Spencer firmly re-orientated Felicia back to being on the side of the angels (though never one of them ;).

I think there is also an element of Felicia’s morality being all mixed up as her past and present are slamming into each other as a result of her memories returning. It’s an angle we’ve not seen before with anyone else who remembers Peter is Spider-Man post-OMD but we’ve also never seen anyone who was as intimate with him as Felicia was.

I think this accounts for Felicia’s inaccurate account of her feelings when they first met (or at least could be used as a No. Prize resolution) and also why she is dabbling in that side of things again.

It’s a more interesting angle to adopt than simply having Felicia snap back into being pre-OMD Felicia immediately.

The issue also does a marvellous job of showing us how Felicia can go to places and do things Peter just couldn’t, not only through her superior investigative skills but because she can walk on the darkside in a way he just cannot.

Now regarding that flashback sequence, I honestly didn’t see the twist coming. I thought for sure Spencer was going to pull a stupid proposal that we’ve never seen or heard of before. But no it was a fake out, a good fake out at that. And he even went a step further to cover why neither Peter nor Felicia mentioned this Spider tracer before and it makes sense, it’s realistic from an emotional standpoint!

Remember good writing like that in Spider-Man!

Was it a little dickish on Peter’s part to fake propose to Felicia as a joke?

Maybe, maybe it was just him being socially inept, or maybe he genuinely didn’t think Felicia was the marrying kind given her problem with his civilian identity.

I personally choose to look at it as a slightly subconscious passive aggressive move on his part because of how hurt he was about Felicia rejecting his normal identity.

Either way it re-contextualizes that stupid Spec #300 story where Felicia fake proposes to him. Clever move Spencer.

I feel this issue is as much a primer for Felicia’s upcoming solo series as it is for Hunted and I must say it succeeded!

Highly recommended, Spencer does it again!

P.S. the art was also really solid (sans those problems in my linked to post) and even that cover looked nice in spite of it probably being traced pornography cos Greg Land gotta Greg Land.

[jennifersylvesters]

Can I please have a 68 and 71 with Peter Parker 🤗😁

i cannot believe you really asked for those two prompts with those smiling emojis knowing full well this was going to probably be angsty. you wild, anonny. i’m sorry that i can’t write action sequences to save my life, so please forgive me for that. per the usual, bullets points and blurbs. also this is gonna be a superhero!reader x peter parker

68. Heroic Sacrifice / 71. Twenty-Four Hours to Live  

You never expected to get scouted to potentially become a part of the Avengers. It wasn’t like you were aware that Maria Hill kept tabs on you, watching to see your progress. So when Nick and Maria “stopped by your place” as they so nicely put it (not at all breaking in and entering), you were a little wary at first. Because truth be told, you didn’t trust the Avengers. 

You had seen the destruction that they caused in the past. You were young when the Avengers first teamed up; Captain America actually saved you, causing you to forever be in awe of the man. But you heard how friends’ parents would discuss how the Avengers needed to be put in check with how much damage they created. You saw how they worried about superheroes rather than embraced them. Which is why you tried keeping your powers to yourself when you realized you had them. 

Personally you didn’t think anyone would find out. Occasionally you’d save a person or two, but it wasn’t as if you did it frequently. Keeping your powers in check was hard to do, especially when there wasn’t anyone around to help you out. 

When Nick offered the chance for them to help guide you, your interest was piqued. It was the only reason that you were interested in becoming a recruit. If there was a possibility of controlling the powers, you wanted it so badly. But neither of them seemed trustworthy to you. How could you believe in the stern woman and the stone faced man?

And that’s when you met Spider-Man. He came a couple days later after your meeting with SHIELD, swinging by your place and accidentally terrifying you. In fact, you almost punched him in the face if it hadn’t been for his Spidey senses. He told you how Nick had sent him down to talk with you. At first, you were cautious of the hero. But he was good at calming you, making you feel comfortable around his presence. 

“It’s hard doing this thing by yourself. I should know” he mumbled to himself. You asked him about it, and he told you how he just knew he needed to help out others when he discovered his powers. It was a similar feeling towards your own, wanting to protect those around you who didn’t deserve to be attacked. 

And when he encouraged you to join, you couldn’t help but say yes. If someone as caring as him was around, you were willing to trust this organization. 

A couple months later, you were surprised to find a home within the group. Everyone was so kind to you, understanding the struggles of not feeling in control. You formed a bond with Wanda, her calming you down when you felt like you might lose control. She knew what you were going through, refusing to let you deal with it alone. But it was Spider-Man who could always help you keep your powers in check. 

It was shocking to say the least when you found out that Spider-Man was actually a native from Queens named Peter Parker. You had just been walking by his room in the compound when he yanked off his mask. You backpedaled, jaw dropping to see a cute brown haired boy shaking out his curls. His face paled when he caught you staring. “So, um, yeah. Hi?” he said nervously. 

from that moment on, you became close with peter. you hadn’t realized that he actually lived in nyc like you did, which was nice knowing your good friend was nearby

so the two of you actually end up hanging out with one another not as teammates but as friends. and you like hanging out with peter parker more than you can even explain

because peter parker goes onto science tangents and then gets embarrassed when he realizes he’s been rambling. and he apologizes, but you always remind him he doesn’t need to apologize for that. but he always does anyways

he loves talking about his aunt may and his friends. and he talks about them with such excitement that you can’t help but be stoked when he introduces you to them

but you appreciate that he makes you feel special. he whispers about how it’s so cool that the two of you guys are real avengers “we’re not avengers yet, pete” he doesn’t belittle you or make you feel like you’re not as good as the rest of them. he encourages you, helping you figure out things logistically when you feel your temperature rising

sometimes you let yourself more invested in peter parker rather than spider-man. because peter parker feels tangible, someone you can actually relax around without having to think about your powers or the villains in your life

except that’s the thing - there are always going to be villains causing chaos and both of you need to be there to stop it. relationships will just make things harder. 

so the sinister six have teamed up together to try and destroy nyc. it’s a “what else is new?” scenario, except you weren’t expecting that many bad guys. 

they keep upping up the chaos, forcing everyone on the team to secure different locations and take down each individual villain

but things take a turn for the worse when mysterio announces that they released a toxic gas into the hospital, killing everyone in the next 24 hours if the sinister six’s demands aren’t met

none of you can figure out who has the antidote and what’s more, there’s not enough time to figure it out with all the boroughs getting destroyed

by the time you guys figure out that doc oc has the serum, you’ve only got an hour left

since you and spider-man are closest to where they expect doc oc to be, the two of you team up to take him down in an abandoned building that the sinister six have set up as their base camp. except he’s got newer technology, and it’s more difficult than you expected. it takes both of you to knock him out, but not before he manages to catch spider-man - blasting him with tranq darts in order to electrocute and paralyze him. his web shooters are on the fritz unable to web him out of there

at this point you see where he’s hidden the serum, hidden away in a small compact bag. and once he knows that you’re aware, the fight is on. with spider-man unable to fight, it’s up to you to keep your powers in control as you fight the villain

by the time you manage to knock doc oc out, the building’s in complete shatters. somehow you’ve set off explosions, fire consuming the building. the bag holding the antidote has been cast to the side on one of the high beams, threatening to fall as the structure collapses

but spider-man isn’t free from the net. even when you manage to get it off him, he’s still pretty weak from the poison in his system. as the both of you are rushing to grab the bag and go, he slips. you turn back and quickly grab hold of him, but his body’s heavy as he dangles over the edge and fire

“Hold on!” you urge, trying your best to keep a tight grip on his hand. You refuse to acknowledge how you can feel the grip getting weaker, the possibility of him slipping out of your hands. 

“Y/N, you have to let go.” His voice trembles, knowing this is for the best. If you want to save the citizens, you have to let him go and bring the serum to the hospital. You’re wasting precious time, something you don’t have enough of. 

“I’m not letting go, Peter!” You can’t call out his alter ego knowing that this isn’t Spider-Man’s life in your hands; it’s Peter’s. And Peter’s life means so much more to you than he’ll ever realize. 

“You have to.” How he sounds so sure of himself is beyond you. What’s worse is how you can see the look in his eyes; Peter doesn’t want to go. He has so much to live for, so much to accomplish. He’s the hero of New York, but he’s so much more than that. He’s a symbol of hope to those who need it. 

And you don’t want him to go. Because there’s so many things you still need to tell Peter. This isn’t the right time to reveal your feelings, not when his life hangs in the balance of your hands.

“Backup will be here soon! Peter, please hold on. Please don’t let go. Please!” you plead, tears forming in your eyes. You do your best to blink them away, but it just blurs your vision.

“I love you, Y/N.” These are the words you’ve long to hear, but you didn’t want to hear it in this context. He pulls his hand free, free falling as he takes one last glance at you. 

You scream out, desperate for him to come back. The tears pour out as you continue to yell out his name, wanting to follow after him. 

But you know this isn’t what he wanted. If you do that, you’re only ruining all the effort that he’s done to protect the city and you. Your body feels heavy as you rush over to grab the serum and take off. By the time you stumble to the hospital, you quickly hand the vials over to Bruce so he can start work on distributing the antidote. 

They ask you about Spider-Man, and you just shake your head. You can’t look any of them in the eye. Because how do you tell them that a part of you died just like that? You feel nauseous, replaying the moment over in your head. You keep asking yourself what you could’ve done to save him, why you didn’t take out Doc Oc first? Wanda can see that look in your face, and she takes you away from the rest of them. 

“Are you alright?” Are you? Tears build up again and you finally look up at Wanda’s concerned face. 

You saved the day, didn’t you? You kept your powers in check? And while you’re so glad you saved so many, you can’t help but weep that you couldn’t save the one person you treasured most. 

[yootaesowlwrites]

I Was Feeling Heroic Chapter 11;

Chapter 11 - I Was Feeling Heroic Series.

First Season.

Second Season.

Elijah stood on Vincent's balcony waiting for Alex to retrieve Vincent, Elijah hasn't been invited into Vincent's apartment yet and the only one that could enter was Alex, she stood near a wall and clears her throat to get Vincent's attention.

"I've never heard of an angel breaking and entering," Vincent mutters.

"You seem to forget, I'm not just an angel," Alex says with a slight smirk on her lips. "You have a visitor on your balcony." Vincent lets out an irritated sigh.

"Why am I not surprised that you didn't come alone?" Vincent says as he walks around the table with a bunch of pictures and notes on it, he walks past Alex and stared at Elijah on his balcony. "What do you want?"

"Can we at least pretend to be civilized?" Elijah asks.

"We're supposed to be civil?" Vincent asks. "Does Marcel know? I'd ask him, but I can't find him anywhere."

"He said pretend," Alex says.

"It is outrageous, where is that young man's sense of courtesy?" Elijah says, Vincent appeared to be unamused. "And, please, invite me in." Vincent takes a step closer to the door.

"Tell me where Marcel is," Vincent says.

"Detained until we can be sure that he's free of this things vile influence." Elijah states.

"You Mikaelson's, you always find a way to get right back on the top, don't you?" Vincent says. "And I bet you got a plan all figured out."

"As a matter of fact, I do, a rather festive one," Elijah says.

"Let us tell you about it," Alex says, Vincent glances at Alex before looking back at Elijah.

"Look, if you're gonna help me fight this thing, you're gonna have to know what it is that you're up against," Vincent says. "Come in before I change my mind."

"Wonderful" Elijah says as he steps into the apartment, they walk around the wall blocking the view from the pictures pinned up against Vincent's wall.

"Is this every place it's appeared?" Alex asks as she examines a map.

"Yes, and it always comes up in four," Vincent says, Alex nods her head and begins reading through some notes. "This thing has been haunting the city for a very long time and before today the only thing I knew about it was that it was a spirit." He inhales deeply. "Practiced some very dark magic, and it was trying desperately to get back into this world, and that's why it tried to sacrifice those kids, that's why it tried to do the exact same thing to Marcel and to Klaus."

"Because if it kills them and they die, it absorbs all their power." Alex finishes his sentence.

"Exactly," Vincent says.

"It's already stronger than before, I can't find it anywhere, and the spirits on the other side claim they haven't seen it," Alex says as she looks up at Vincent and Elijah.

"Talk to us about this," Elijah says as he looks at Vincent.

"This is the history of the city, this is the ebb and flow of violence and tragedy," Vincent says, he points to the corkboard. "Look, this is Madame LaLaurie, this is uh, the Axeman, I mean the list goes on and on and on and on ad sometimes it's hidden, but if you know you're looking for, right, there's always a sign it's The Hallow, and when it does bubble up, it always does so in a pattern of four."

"What does it want?" Elijah asks.

"It's a ghost." Vincent states.

"What most ghosts want, to be alive again," Alex says. "And what do most ghost do? They reach out to those that are desperate, giving them empty promises."

"There have to be other's, someone else, someone who could speak to us of its desire, of its weaknesses," Elijah says.

"You think this person might be at your party?" Vincent asks.

"I'm counting on it," Elijah says, Vincent nods his head. "I'm counting on you, help me find them."

"And if you need a little extra power, I'll be right there to help," Alex says.

Alex and Elijah enter the abattoir hand in hand and saw Klaus chiselling an ice sculpture, they walk towards him.

"Mhm, you've outdone yourself," Elijah says, Alex examines the sculpture with a faint smile on her lips.

"I'm inclined to agree," Klaus says. "It's such a shame these lovely linens will soon be red with blood."

"Violence must only be seen as a last resort, it will only weaken our position," Elijah says.

"Yes, well, I am a creature of very specific habits," Klaus says as he points the chisel at Elijah, Elijah takes it from Klaus's as he releases Alex's hand, he walks towards the mini bar that had been set up.

"Brother, please." Elijah begins. "Remember that the point of tonight is to create a false sense of security, a little music, a little champagne, some stealthy reconnaissance, no bloodshed." He turns and points the chisel at Klaus like a sword, waving it as one would wag their finger while scolding a child. "Do we understand each other?" Klaus walks towards Elijah as he placed the chisel down on the bar counter, he grabs a bottle of champagne from a worker at the booth.

"They threatened me, they threatened my child, bloodshed is inevitable." Klaus states.

"And how do we protect Hope from all of this?" Elijah asks, Klaus appears to be at loss for words as he goes to say something but stops. "She worships you, Niklaus, and she must not see the monster." Klaus placed his arms on the table and rests his nose against his hands.

"I do not wish for her to see me as a monster," Klaus says, frustration clear in his voice. "But I cannot sit idly by while threats to our family go unanswered."

"They won't," Elijah says. "Now let me do this." Elijah placed his arm around Klaus's shoulder. "Please, and should any turmoil arise, should anyone dare to disrupt our kingdom, let them answer to me." Klaus looks at Elijah, Alex takes the chisel from the bar causing the brothers to turn and look at her.

"The only monster here will be me, I am after all half-demon, might as well be the devil seeing hell is no longer existing," Alex says. "You will be the perfect father to her, while you and Kol will be the uncles, Hayley will be the mother, Freya and Rebekah will be the aunt, and I will be the monster that takes care of every unwanted thing."

"I cannot ask you to do this," Elijah says as he takes a step towards her.

"I didn't ask for permission," Alex says. "And besides, it's about time the Mikaelson's catch a break and become a proper family, the girl needs her mother and father present." She could see the sympathy in Elijah's eyes.

"If you do this... I will be in your debt forever." Klaus says.

"Just don't treat me like shit, or try to stab me," Alex says. "Now, I have to go find a stupid dress for this forsaken party." She placed the chisel on the table by the sculpture and makes her way towards the stairs.

"What did we do to deserve her, brother?" Klaus mutters to Elijah.

"I have no idea," Elijah says.

"Elijah, are you coming?" Alex says from the top of the stairs.

Alex kept herself hidden from the party as Elijah stood at the top of the stairway with a glass of champagne in his hand, an illusion of Marcel stood behind him to gain everyone's attention.

"My dear friends, tonight, we celebrate an alliance between our family and Marcel Gerard, let us all raise a glass," Elijah says, Alex could see Vincent arriving from where she stood. "And salute the glorious city of New Orleans." Elijah begins raising his glass as Klaus arrives, he quickly stops him by starting a speech of his own.

"But before we do." Klaus begins. "My brother and I wish to acknowledge a painful truth, our relationship with this city, and indeed with most of you, has been long and complicated, we hope you will be put at ease knowing that we intend but a brief and peaceful stay, let this evening be rest bit from past grievances and an opportunity to form new friendships, cheers." Alex concentrated on Marcel's illusion as she made it raise its glass.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." The Illusion of Marcel says, everyone raised their glasses to the toast as the music begins playing again, Alex made the illusion walk towards her into the room she was waiting in before letting it vanish into thin air, she takes in a deep breath feeling her energy drain, nothing ever came without a price.

"Excellent work," Elijah says as he steps into the room, he speeds towards her as tried to catch her breath. "Are you all right?" She nods her head.

"Yes," Alex mumbled. "Making it speak takes a lot of energy, I'll be fine in a moment." Elijah placed a hand on her hips to steady her, he didn't want her to fall, his eyes slowly moved over her body as he examines her, the dark green dress she had on ended above her knee's, exposing just enough cleavage with he v-neck it had, she placed her hands on his shoulders as she looked at the floor.

"Have I told how ravishing you look tonight?" Elijah says, Alex looks up at as a soft smile forms on her lips.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Alex says, she takes in a deep breath as her breathing returned to normal.

"May I have this dance?" Elijah asks as a slow song started playing, Alex softly chuckles.

"I don't dance if you don't remember the last ball in Mystic falls," Alex says. "But please feel free to ask someone else attending the party."

"None of them has my attention," Elijah says, his eyes looked into her hers. "You have my attention, I'd much rather prefer to dance with you."

"No, no, say you'd rather prefer me standing on your feet while you lead," Alex says, a smile forms on Elijah's lips.

"I do not mind," Elijah says. "But I have come to the realization that we have yet to properly discuss our relationship.

"What is there to discuss?" Alex asks. "I like you and I sure do hope that you like me back, otherwise this is going to be awkward." She could feel his hands moving up and down her sides.

"I have much to discuss, much to confess," Elijah says. "Things I should have confessed fiv- no, eight years ago." She slides her hands down from his shoulders, resting them on his biceps.

"And what exactly would that be?" Alex asks.

"You," Elijah says.

"Me? What about me?" Alex asks, if her heart was still beating, it would have sped up.

"Allow me to finish," Elijah says, she softly giggles and looks up at him. "Alexandra Zastrod, you truly are one of a kind, and I can never forgive myself for what I said to you eight years ago, there is not a day that does not go by that I do not wish to take it all back." She smiles up at him. "And five years ago, I thought I had lost you, and it made me realize something, I am utterly in love with you." Alex's eyes widen in shock as her mouth falls open.

"I uh, um, what?" Alex says in shock. "I uh, are um sure?"

"I have never been more sure about something in my entire life," Elijah says. "And it is completely fine with me if you do not feel the same way, but I cannot keep them to myself anymore."

"What do you mean not feel the same way about you?" Alex asks. "I've been in love with you ever since Mystic Falls, even after your heartbreaking words." Elijah's smile falters.

"I am deeply sorry for the pain I've caused you with those words," Elijah says. "But with your confession, I am hoping that you are about to make me the happiest man in the world." He pulls her closer to him. "Would you please give me the honour of calling you... how do the people of today call it? Oh, right yes, girlfriend, will you please give me the honour of calling you, my girlfriend?" A wide smile appears on her lips, showing off her teeth.

"Oh, so it will be an honour?" Alex asks, Elijah softly chuckles as she made him sweat for an answer. "Of course I will be." He leans down, moving one hand from her hip to her cheek.

"Vincent is looking for our guy right now," Klaus says as he enters the room, Klaus sees them practically jump away from each other and realized what he had just interrupted. "It's about bloody time!" Their little moment short-lived.

Vincent enters the upstairs living room with three men following behind them, Alex quickly picked up whom the leader was of the three.

"Our esteemed host, Vincent tells me you requested a private audience," Dominic says, Elijah looks at the two guards by his side.

"Private, yes, yet you brought these two fascinating Neanderthals," Elijah says, Vincent snickers at the comment.

"Well, given your reputation, one can never be too careful," Dominic says, not realizing Elijah could kill them in a matter of seconds and have him by his neck before he could even escape, not mention Alex could assist him as well, she only had to wave her hand for the two by his side to fall dead.

"Not unless you have something to worry about," Vincent says, Dominic looks at Vincent. "Which you do, because you're the high priest of The Hallow." Elijah and Alex turn their full attention to Dominic.

"You seem to have made up your mind about me, not really fair, after all, you're the one who allowed The Hallow into this world, see your ancestors were the only thing holding it back, and when you severed the link, you allowed it to go free, and it has been feeding and growing in power ever since," Dominic says as he moves closer to Vincent. "See, I wonder if it will want to show its appreciation, perhaps by letting you see your dead wife?" Vincent punches Dominic in anger.

"Now you've done it," Alex mutters, she appears behind the two guards as claws replaced her nails, she slams her hands into their chest from behind and wraps her hands around their hearts, she pulls them out and the two guards fall dead to the ground, she drops their hearts next to their bodies as Elijah steps between Vincent and Dominic.

"That'll be all, both of you." Elijah loudly says, Alex appears behind Dominic and placed her hand on his shoulder, blocking his magic, Elijah looks at Vincent. "Leave us." Vincent looks at Dominic before leaving the room, closing the door behind him, Elijah looks back at Dominic and drags a chair closer to him. "Let him sit." Alex forces him to sit down as Elijah takes out his handkerchief, he hands it to Dominic as Alex moves her hand away from him letting his magic return to him. "Now, let's start again, and I do hope you plan on telling me the truth." Alex steps into Dominic's view. "Or my beautiful girlfriend here will have to force it out of you." Dominic looks up at Alex.

"And I love picking around people's brains," Alex says as she lifts her hand into view, her the razor-sharp claws still on display. "I love hearing them scream in pain, begging for me to stop." Dominic looks back up at Elijah.

"Tell me, what does it want," Elijah demands.

"Well, The Hallow has lain dormant for a long time, it needs to feed," Dominic says.

"Oh, the poor dear, you know, I understand it has a penchant for innocent children," Elijah says as he pours a drink for himself and Dominic, Alex stood aside watching, ready to pounce if she had to.

"Only as hors d'oeuvres," Dominic says. "It prefers the power channelled by the death of someone like you, old, ancient, imbued with magic, but it needn't feed on you, your brother or niece or anyone else you care about." Elijah walks towards him with two whiskey glasses in his hands. "Marcel Gerard will do nicely." Elijah holds a glass out for Dominic but pulls it back before he could take it.

"Why would I give you Marcel Gerard?" Elijah asks.

"As patriarch," Dominic says, Elijah gives him the glass. "I'm sure you'll make the right decision on your family's behalf, but in the meantime, I'll take Vincent Griffith as a show of good faith." Dominic stands from the chair he was sitting on. "Marcel was business, but Vincent is personal, he turned his back on The Hallow once, and now it's rather angry."

"Unfortunately, if I betray Vincent, the covens will declare war on my family." Elijah states.

"Well, at least with the covens, it's a fight that you have a chance at winning," Dominic says. "Regardless, my terms are set, Vincent now, Marcel later, and your family will be spared, what do you say, Elijah? Do we have a deal?" Elijah glances at Alex.

"Unfortunately not," Alex says, Dominic looks at her. "If that thing wants to come, I will take care of it."

"A werewolf with magic will not stop her," Dominic says, Alex takes a step closer to him.

"And who said anything about a werewolf with magic?" Alex asks. "All witches think that they can control the world, that you can balance something with nature, but I am actually the one that can control the world, I hold everyone's life in my hands, my touch is murderous, I can create anything with a snap of my fingers, I can bend reality to my liking, and I can bring anyone back from the dead." She was now in front of Dominic, a hard glare fixed on her face. "If I were you, I'd consider switching sides." She could feel her wings twitching to spread, to show her dominance in the situation, Elijah steps towards Alex and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I must say, it is a compelling offer, murder in exchange for clemency if only I could believe that you would uphold your end of the bargain," Elijah says.

"You're even more perceptive than your reputation suggests," Dominic says as he takes a step away from Alex, he looks up at Elijah.

"I grew up on a Viking farm, I'm familiar with the scent of fertilizer," Elijah says. "I won't ask again, what does it want?"

"Why, freedom, of course, a spirit cannot manifest the true depths of its power, but when it's once again made of flesh..." Dominic says, he looks at Alex. "Perhaps you could bring her back for us? Seeing as you claim that you can revive anyone." A low chuckle escapes Alex's throat as a response.

"And in what fairy tale do you think that I would allow that to happen?" Elijah asks, making it clear where he stood.

"My offer was a courtesy, The Hallow will take what it wants, Vincent and Marcel will be ours regardless, but if you insult us any further, we will take your entire family." Dominic threatens him. "Do you still doubt our power? Well, you shouldn't, as you will soon find out, we came here tonight for one thing only, and we already have it, The Hallow will not be stopped." Elijah only smirked at him as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

"Of course I doubt your power because you doubt hers," Elijah says lifting his hand from Alex's shoulder, her eyes turn a dark blue as Dominic looks down at her. "Perhaps I should have warned you about her, she's a little protective." Alex wraps her hands around Dominic's neck, her claws sinking into his skin, he grabs for her wrists, clawing at them as he tried to gasp for air. "I'd like to introduce you to my dear girlfriend, Alexandra Zastrod."

"Aka, one of the last angel demon hybrids on earth," Alex growls out. "So bring your Hallow, I'll end that fucking bitch."

"Would you mind bringing him, darling?" Elijah asks as he opens the doors, Alex follows behind him dragging Dominic along by his neck. "Ladies and gentlemen." The music stops causing everyone to look up to the balcony Elijah stood on, Alex pulls Dominic into everyone's view. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have an errand boy of The Hallow, a disciple of the very darkness that threatens to devour our city, your loved ones and mine." Alex pushes Dominic forward and lifts him into the air with telekinesis. "Now, whether or not you despise us, my family will do everything in its power to remove this scourge From New Orleans, I recommend you do the same." Alex's hand engulfs with holy fire before she placed her hand on Dominic's chest. "Or Else" Dominic screams out in pain as he burns, Alex drops his body to the ground below earning shocked and horrified gasps from the crowd as his body burned in front of them.

"This thing wants to be reborn, this morning Vincent said that whenever it resurfaces it does so in four distinct locations, and I can't tell why," Elijah tells his family, Hayley walks into the abattoir.

"It's looking for something," Hayley says. "Four things by the sound of it, and I'm pretty sure I have one of them." She shows them a jawbone. "My parents were killed protecting this from The Hallow's followers."

"We've seen this time and time again when a witch wishes to be reborn, its remains are required to complete the spell, you've just found a piece of our enemy." Alex extends her hand towards Hayley.

"May I?" Alex asks, Hayley hands the bone to Alex, dark energy quickly surrounded Alex.

"Lucky me, who has the other three?" Hayley asks.

"Dominic, Dominic said that he had found something here," Elijah says, Alex suddenly drops the bone on the table in front of them.

"I uh, sorry, but that is a lot of magic and a lot of dark magic in that bone," Alex mutters, Hayley picks up the jawbone.

"So what? There's just a bag of bones lying around that I didn't know about?" Hayley asks, Klaus glanced up at the sky above them.

"No, but there is one," Klaus says as he turns around making his way to the study, everyone follows behind him, as they enter they saw Klaus opening a safe, he practically rips it open and saw nothing inside, Klaus turns around to face them. "Dominic's death was a distraction."

"They used our own deception against us." Elijah states.

"This thing has followers everywhere, they've infiltrated the entire city if they get the other bones before we do..." Hayley trails off.

"Then they will try to raise this monstrosity," Klaus says. "And it will come for us all."

"No time to waste then," Alex says before leaving the room.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

No.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

One (7.69% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twelve.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

Excellent! Full of as much heart as action, the film takes on the complicated task of delivering a Captain America for the modern world, avoiding jingoism while also acknowledging the origins which brought the comic-book hero into being. Against the odds (and my personal expectations), it is a sound success, and I consider it easily the best of the Marvel franchise’s early films.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Female characters:

Peggy Carter.

Male characters:

Johann Schmidt.

Steve Rogers.

James ‘Bucky’ Barnes.

Howard Stark.

Abraham Erskine.

Arnim Zola.

Gilmore Hodge.

Chester Phillips.

Brandt.

Fred Clemson.

Timothy Dugan.

Nick Fury.

OTHER NOTES:

I’m mad about the Hydra symbol being the coolest insignia in this franchise. I would wear the heck outta some Hydra merchandise, if it weren’t for the, y’know, evil Nazi fascism stuff. 

I love little Steve. They pulled that off so well.

I don’t love that Peggy’s introduction revolves around her being disrespected by a guy and then knocking him on his ass. It feels far too prescribed, too Strong Woman Cliche, so expected as to be rendered essentially meaningless. It implies that these are the most important things about the character - she’s a woman and she’s tough - and it panders to the sexist perspective by requiring Peggy to ‘prove herself’ upon arrival in a traditionally-masculinised way. They could have handled this introduction much better.

Man. This movie has such a good cast. The goodness of this cast has no chill.

“So many people forget that the first country that the Nazis invaded was their own.” This the good shit.

“Go get him! I can swim.” Snort.

Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, ‘Star Spangled Man’ plays over and over again in my head. That’s probably why I can’t sleep.

“Do you...fondue?”

The thing where someone gets hit and they fly off-screen in an exaggerated fashion is never not funny to me.

Characters surviving explosions without a scratch, however, is never not rubbish to me. 

A super-soldier is never late, Peggy Carter, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.

Steve really isn’t very precious about choosing his team: they’re all just Bucky’s friends. He basically just went “ok, show of hands, who loves Bucky Barnes? Good, you guys are with me”. I mean, it’s solid reasoning - he trusts Bucky, and these guys have Bucky’s endorsement, and that’s good enough for Steve. I note that only one of the other guys on the team besides Steve and Bucky is a white American - the other guys are a black American and an Asian-American (and I see you there, recognition of racism against Japanese-Americans which led to their incarceration during the war, etc.), and then there’s a French dude and a Brit. That’s Captain America’s elite team: not all-American, and racially inclusive. I DIG that subtext.

*hisses* why is this whole Natalie-Dormer-mackin’-on-Steve thing even here? It’s a useless contrivance, plus I am extremely displeased at having Peggy being so petty in her jealousy that she actually fires a loaded gun straight at Steve. I sure hope she heard Howard’s explanation about the properties of the vibranium shield, or that she already knew them, because otherwise this is completely outrageous, but even then: what if the shield hadn’t performed as advertised? What if a bullet ricocheted and hit someone else? This is such a dangerous thing to do, and did I mention it is in service of a useless contrivance anyway? Peggy deserves better writing.

Lemme tell ya straight up: I thought I was gonna hate this movie. I mean...it’s Captain America. I expected cloying patriotism, a blandly self-righteous hero, probably some good ol’ war glorification as well. What we got instead was a film that barely even mentioned the good ol’ USA outside of the (explicitly recognised as) propaganda rigmarole that Captain America slogs through - a tool used to excellent effect to acknowledge the character’s history (the comic was created as propaganda during WWII in real life) while also carrying through the idea that what Captain America stands for is something far grander than nationalist fervour - and Steve himself is imbued with unassuming charm, fueled by the strength of his personal convictions but never forcing those convictions upon others in a show of moral grand-standing: an essential facet of the character is that he’ll pursue what he believes to be right regardless of whether anyone else follows him, and he accepts that there are consequences to his actions; he never props himself up with holier-than-thou declarations, he never shames anyone for disagreeing with him, and he never claims any kind of superiority over others (an important distinction when you’re juxtaposed with a Nazi Ubermensch villain). Other characters are inspired by Steve, but the film wisely never positions them as if they were weak or wavering without the symbol of Captain America to unite them: the war is a grindhouse, and they know the only way out is through. No one is fighting because they perceive battle as a great and noble cause, nor because they are righteously empowered; they fight because their enemy is too terrible to let pass, and there is no room for glory in that.

I can (and will) still quibble about the representation of war in the film: while the fact that it is sparingly shown does help to avoid the glorification of violence and death in battle, it also undersells the horror of war, which runs the risk of looping back around to glorification by making it all into fun skirmishes with faceless goons and glow-weapons. Additionally, Captain America clashes exclusively with Hydra and its operatives; while Red Skull severs his ties with Hitler early on through the welcome disintegration of a few Nazi representatives, the film cannot entirely distance itself from Hitler’s legacy (which Red Skull actively takes on for himself), and I take long-standing issue with anything which uses Nazis as an evil catch-all but fails to acknowledge and respect the victims of their reign. After Steve’s heroic nose-dive in the Valkyrie ends Hydra’s campaign, the film cuts to celebrations of the end of the war; they don’t actually state that it was Captain America who just defeated the Nazis by taking down Red Skull (despite the fact that Hydra’s soldiers with their fancy tech and also, um, actual-Hitler and his armies, are all still out there), but the implication is there, and it feels a mite bit insensitive, to say the least. I do think it is better that Steve has his own corner of the war to fight, rather than taking on the whole thing and battling actual-Hitler in the end (now THAT would be insensitive), but I do wish that the destruction and evil of the war at large were the backdrop of the film, rather than the comparatively sanitised Hydra operation that we see.

In this context, the weight of the war and the toll that it takes on the psyche of those suffering through it is carried almost exclusively by Bucky Barnes, who emerges from the unseen tortures of a Hydra work camp changed, his buoyant enthusiasm from the beginning of the film subdued, locked up behind the shattered look in his eyes and the fragile way he carries himself, determined to see this thing through to the end so that he can fall apart later, if he makes it that far (he doesn’t). Fandom has made much of Sebastian Stan’s understated performance, and with good reason: despite a minimal number of scenes there is a richness of detail in Bucky’s character, and as the emotional sinking ground for tragedy - both as the personification of the war’s devastation, and as a personal loss for Steve Rogers - Bucky’s narrative importance belies the amount of time dedicated to him in-text. Fandom has also made a strong point - with which I agree entirely and for which I will not pretend to take unique credit for noticing - that despite expectation, Bucky’s archetypal function in the film is not as the Hero’s Sidekick; he is, in actuality, fulfilling the cliche of the Love Interest, not in competition with Peggy Carter but instead of; Peggy, likewise, is not an archetypal Love Interest at all, because she’s the Hero’s Sidekick.

I am entirely of the opinion that this is an essential part of what makes Peggy - the sole named female character in town - work out so well, against the odds. As Steve’s sidekick, Peggy’s primary functions are to support him and give him advice; the sidekick is traditionally a rational role, someone who keeps the hero grounded and helps them to make the right choices, especially when they are emotionally conflicted. The Love Interest compels the hero’s emotions, sometimes (often) framed as driving them to acts of recklessness, to joyous heights, and depressive lows. Bucky is Steve’s damsel in distress; Steve is compelled to act when he learns that Bucky has been captured by the enemy, action which is tempered and assisted by Peggy’s influence and which ultimately brings Captain America out of propaganda mode to practice what he has preached, and be the soldier Steve always hoped to be. When Bucky falls, Peggy is there to talk to Steve, as a friend, and help him stop wallowing and concentrate his grief into the resolve which carries him through the climactic confrontations of the film’s final act. I’m not going to argue that Steve wanted to join the army just to be with Bucky (presumably that was a factor to some extent, but to call it the primary motivator would be to ignore the value set which made Steve into Captain America in the first place), nor that he was willing to sacrifice himself in the end because Bucky was gone (Steve’s mourning for Bucky certainly played a role in his mental state at the time, but ultimately, bringing down the Valkyrie was a practical choice, not an emotional one), but undeniably, Bucky was either integrally or tangentially attached to all of Steve’s major decisions across the film, as is common for a Love Interest, whereas Peggy consistently filled a support-and-guidance role, as any good sidekick should.

This is not to imply, by any measure, that Peggy can’t or shouldn’t be seen as a viable (lower case) love interest (or that Bucky’s time as a hero’s sidekick somehow doesn’t count as what it is); actually, I think that both character’s relationships with Steve benefit from being framed in this switched fashion. Bucky’s lifelong friendship with Steve comes across stronger and more meaningful due to the emotional pitch, allowing it to resonate as something deeply significant to Steve despite the limited exposure we have to it in action - extra important considering that Bucky is also fulfilling that sacrificial-character role. For Peggy, the fact that she is presented as a love interest but coded as a Hero’s Sidekick is even more important in its effect: since she is the only woman around, we have been taught by approximately All Media Ever to perceive her as the Love Interest from the second she steps on screen, and with that perception we are also encouraged to devalue her character as essentially existing for no other purpose than to be an attractive female prize for the Manly Male Hero to win by story’s end. By reinforcing Peggy as a friend to Steve, we subvert the expectation that she has no real function and/or that her personality is irrelevant, because narrative coding has taught us that sidekicks (almost exclusively male) matter, they have things to say and their influence on the hero is meaningful. Whether they are stalwart sidekicks, or bumbling fools, comedic, or secretly-insidious, a sidekick should be noted, because they’re a lot more likely to have something plot-relevant going on than a boring old Love Interest. Being presented as a helpful, sympathetic presence in Steve’s life who also Has Her Own Shit Going On allows Peggy to meet Steve on more even ground, and her interactions with him are not built around being romantically or sexually available: by having a working relationship built on a foundation of understanding friendship rather than attractive chemistry, the development of feelings between the characters comes across more as extraneous and organic, rather than a prescribed cliche. It still is a prescribed cliche, but it’s not one that compels Steve to do dumb stuff or that undermines Peggy’s relevance as a person in her own right, and that makes it a much more palatable romance than what we usually get.

This is also why that idiotic ~jealousy~ contrivance I flagged earlier is so out of place - I mean, it’s out of place because it’s idiotic, it has no impact on the story in any way and its an insult to the characters and I don’t know why it exists or why they kept it in the final cut of the film because it’s asinine rubbish, but it’s also out of place because it approaches Peggy as a Love Interest, scorned and emotionally lashing out, an attempt to generate Love Interest drama where it has no place in the movie, for the characters as the people that they are, with the established dynamic that they have, or in the context of their situation. Throwing a misunderstanding and some hurt feelings on top of a relationship which has worked refreshingly well thus far because of the honest and open conversations the characters have shared is utterly tone-deaf, and it’s one black mark on what is otherwise a shockingly strong and tonally-consistent film. She may be all alone in the movie, but I will happily argue that Peggy is the best, most-rounded female character in the MCU at this early stage, and she’s playing across from an eminently worthy leading man in Chris Evans’ charmingly-sincere Steve Rogers. The supporting cast is there - Seb Stan, of course, but also Stanley Tucci! Tommy Lee Jones! HUGO WEAVING! - being wonderful and engaging across the board, and there are no weak links (except Natalie Dormer, but that’s not her fault, and at least the misstep is brief and POINTLESS so that it doesn’t taint the rest of the film). Captain America: The First Avenger may not be absolutely perfect - nothing is - but it is a great ride, sometimes surprisingly nuanced, sometimes intriguingly subversive even while it plays straight with the expectations of its genre. I went into my first viewing of the film just hoping it wouldn’t make me mad, and I gotta tell ya: I ain’t mad at all. As far as I’m concerned, this is the platonic ideal of superhero films.

[wanderingthroughwickford]

Agents of Shield Season 4 Episodes 16 and 17: What If and Identity and Change

It’s too late and I’m too tired/overwhelmed from this episode to do a long, thorough write-up like I normally do - plus, the tag is already full of posts saying most of the same things I would - so I’m just going to jot down a few of my opinions/reactions that I haven’t seen much of so far, or that I felt particularly strongly about. Forget that this is going to be super long-winded and I have no regrets. Still going to focus on more specific things rather than an overall review though. Obviously contains spoilers.

I’m ... not sure exactly how much free will the show is implying the characters in the Framework have - i.e. whether Fitz, May, etc. are truly being themselves. I’m completely averse to the idea that not knowing Jemma or not killing the little girl in Bahrain would turn these good people into remorseless, Fascistic murderers, so I’m just going with the belief that they’re essentially ‘brainwashed.’ Programmed. I don’t see this as “what would have happened” if things had been different, I’m seeing this as how AIDA thinks things would have wound up.

My sister pointed out to me that it’s not terribly different to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which I really disliked due to the plot twist that Cedric Diggory would have become evil if he’d been humiliated in the Triwizard Tournament. But I don’t feel the same towards AoS as I do HP, and I can’t quite pinpoint why. I guess it’s because this is a virtual world so it doesn’t seem as real, and it can have been programmed, whereas Cursed Child was simply an altered timeline, implying that it would have been 100% real if things had gone differently. 

Something else I don’t know quite how I feel about is AIDA. I started out liking her in early Season 4; she was interesting and innocent-seeming, and I was glad that (in the first 6 or so eps at least) she didn’t seem to be going down the ‘evil AI’ route. After the reveal at the end of 4x08, I was still hopeful because I wanted to see where they would go with this. I enjoyed her in that arc because she still seemed somewhat childlike, like she didn’t really understand that what she was doing was wrong, and was just going along with Radcliffe’s misguided but ultimately well-intentioned goals. But after this ... idk man, I just can’t really find it in myself to like her much anymore, at least not as anything but a hateable villain. If she’d just forced the protagonists into a fake but benign world, it wouldn’t be so bad, but the world she’s constructed (or at least help bring into being) is horrible, and the characters are doing evil things they never normally would. Plus, I’ve just ... never been into any sort of ‘seductress’ villain, and that’s essentially what she’s doing with Fitz.

This was the same thing that happened with Jiaying; I started out liking her but over the course of Season 2 I realized she’d crossed a line that I couldn’t forgive. I still like her as a villain, just not as a person, at least outside of AUs. And sort of the same with Andrew, although his was less a ‘descent into villainy’ arc and just ... weirdly-written character assassination, in my opinion. 

And not to be completely fucking annoying but I think this is part of the reason I’m able to genuinely like Lucy Bauer in a way I don’t any other AoS villain, because - as unrepentantly bad as she was - she didn’t have any sort of evil master plan, to control the world or wipe out most of humanity. It was all about getting her body back and having revenge on one person, who himself was no saint.

Despite never having been a Ward fan myself, I’m actually kind of happy for his fanbase that they can see him going through a redemption arc. There’s nothing wrong with the act of being a Ward fan in and of itself, and after years of disappointment I feel like that fandom deserves /something/. Plus, my mom really loves Ward, and it was adorable to see her so happy and excited over his turn-around.

Even though Framework!Fitz and May are awful, there are some things I liked about the Framework versions of other characters. As I’ve said in some of my tags, I really liked seeing a more innocent, fanboyish side of Coulson that’s similar to how he was portrayed in the Avengers. As AoS has become increasingly dark and Coulson has had to make morally grey decisions, he’s become a lot more of a serious character, so it’s nice to see those qualities that first endeared people to him being able to shine through.

I would die for Framework!Mace, he’s hitting so many ‘favorite character’ tropes for me right now and if he dies in a heroic sacrifice it’ll be even more so.

MAAACK sweetheart D: This poor man, just trying to live his life and keep out of trouble with his daughter. I’m not ready for Mack inevitably being forced to realize that the Framework is fake and to leave behind his daughter. I want to say “just let him be happy” but I don’t want him to be trapped in the Framework forever, either. But still, knowing that he’ll have to give up Hope in order to return to the real world ... damn, this might be the cruellest thing AoS has ever done.

I’m hoping that Vijay is still alive in the real world, but it was cool to see him in the Framework as well. 

On the one hand, I appreciate the political commentary they’re going for, but on the other I feel like the way it’s conveyed is a little heavy-handed. Like ... you can’t get much more unsubtle than a villainous character outright saying “We’re going to make [x] great again.” Not that all of this isn’t relevant and important, but it just feels a little clumsily-handled sometimes.

I 100% called that Radcliffe would be living in some secluded area with Agnes, and that they’d seek him out and he’d be remorseful but wouldn’t really want to help because it would threaten Agnes. Maybe I’m awful but I kind of feel bad for him; he never wanted any of this. I figure he’s going to help Daisy, Jemma & co. get out and will accept that he has to stay behind, as punishment for what he’s done. 

But as for someone who REALLY didn’t deserve what they got, poor Agnes damnit. She was completely innocent in all of this, didn’t even understand what was going on, and got shot for it. :C

On a somewhat more cynical note, I think I understand why the writers had Framework!Fitz kill her - it removes the moral dilemma as to whether or not to destroy the Framework. She was the only actual person in there besides Radcliffe who wouldn’t be able to escape (because her physical body is dead), and with her out of the picture, the protagonists can destroy the virtual world without getting innocent blood on their hands. (Radcliffe is still in there but he’s largely responsible for all of this, plus I feel like he’d choose to stay behind out of guilt anyway, and Framework!Ward isn’t a real person, just a simulation based off memories). 

ALSO poor Lincoln. :( “Died during testing” reminds me of every angsty X-Men or Hetalia torture-fic I’ve ever read and I’m not ready to go back to that dark place. 

I’m wondering what other characters are doing in this Framework? Not that we /need/ to know - we’ve honestly got so much going on that I don’t want them to just cram every character they can into this - but it’s interesting to speculate about. Like, since AIDA and Radcliffe scanned all their memories, then potentially anyone the Agents of Shield have ever encountered could be virtually recreated in the Framework, and even ones who were dead (like Ward) can be alive, so ... what’s Robbie up to? Bobbi and Hunter? Trip? Andrew? Jiaying and Cal? (Though Jiaying’s probably dead, otherwise she’d most likely be leading the Resistance). Mike Peterson? Yo-Yo? Joey? Raina? Senator Nadeer? Lucy?

I s2g all this pain has to end with everyone (but Radcliffe, since his body’s already dead) getting out of the Framework, a clear acknowledgement that none of the ‘bad’ characters were themselves, all-around friendship and relief, and a beautiful FitzSimmons wedding for me to be satisfied. (I know it won’t, but ... how much more of this can these poor agents take????)

I might not be able to watch again for two weeks, but we’ll see!