#i also really like the tales of the hidden city episodes!!

[flurry-bace]

TMayNT Day 16: Favourite Episode

Snow Day, Clothes Don't Make The Turtle, and Rise!

1. Snow Day

SO CUTE! The conflict is silly, and half the time they're just goofing around. ("Leo, sacrifice yourself to buy us time!")

2. The Clothes Don't Make The Turtle

Oh my god. The clothes, the references, the lack of plot, did I mention the CLOTHES?

3. Rise

*deep inhale* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

@tmaynt i can't pick just one, whoops

[gffa]

STAR WARS CONTENT CHECK IN TIME. Congratulate me, for I have officially completed all of Phases I and II's comics and books! I think Young Jedi Adventures probably falls into Phase I, but I just haven't had time to put it on in the background while doing other things, as I was on a roll with the books and comics. I'll be a little sad when I have nothing left to binge with all this stuff, but I'm also looking forward to having time and space for idk getting back to the Lockwood books, finishing the ORV novel, or hell maybe even have time to read a fic???? MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE I:

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi

The High Republic: A Test of Courage

The High Republic: Into the Dark

The High Republic: The Rising Storm

The High Republic: Race To Crashpoint Tower

The High Republic: Out Of The Shadows

The High Republic: Mission to Disaster

The High Republic: The Fallen Star

The High Republic: Midnight Horizon

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: Path of Deceit

The High Republic: Convergence

The High Republic: Quest for the Hidden City

The High Republic: Cataclysm

The High Republic: Quest for Planet X

The High Republic: Path of Vengeance

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness

The High Republic: Escape from Valo

The High Republic: Defy The Storm

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE I:

The High Republic (2021) - 15 issues

The High Republic Adventures (2021) - 13 issues

The High Republic: The Monster of Temple Peak - 4 issues

The High Republic: The Edge Of Balance - 2 manga volumes

The High Republic: Trail of Shadows - 5 issues

The High Republic: Eye of the Storm - 2 issues

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: The Blade - 4 issues

The High Republic (2022) - 10 issues

The High Republic Adventures (2022) - 8 issues

The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Precedent - 1 manga volume

The High Republic Adventures: The Nameless Terror - 4 issues

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight - 4 issues

The High Republic (2023) - 6 issues [ONGOING]

The High Republic Adventures (2023) - 5 issues [ONGOING]

The High Republic - Saber for Hire (2023) - 1 issue [ONGOING]

MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE I:

The High Republic: Tempest Runner

MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE I:

Star Wars Adventures (2020) #6 - “The Gaze Electric”

The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2021

The High Republic Adventures Annual 2021

The High Republic Adventures: Galactic Bake-Off Spectacular

Star Wars Adventures (2020) #14 - “A Very Nihil Interlude”

The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2023

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE II:

The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE III:

The High Republic Adventures: Crash Landing

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE I:

Star Wars: The High Republic: Starlight Stories

Life Day Treasury

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE II:

Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - ALL PHASES:

The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life

EVERYTHING ELSE:

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures - 25 episodes

I really enjoyed The Eye of Darkness, once again each book that starts out the era is a real banger that has a lot of impact for me, I think this is probably my favorite book for Marchion Ro so far, a character who has felt a little too inscrutable for me up to this point. He could have easily fell into the role of saying he wants to "govern" people but really wants to rule with an iron fist, but nah that guy straight up doesn't want to fit into Republic-style politics or machinations, he just wants to do what he wants to do, this whole thing is about his ego/entitlement complex, in a lot of ways. His dynamic with Ghirra Starros was one I actively looked forward to, because so much of this plot was shaped by feeling like it was a palette swap of the Republic versus the Separatists, that on the surface it was being framed as seceding from the Republic, but really it was occupation. But I felt like this book helped shake off some of that, where they went in a direction where instead this guy is just The Strong Shall Prevail And I'm Strong So I'll Do What I Want and Marchion genuinely sticks to that. It doesn't matter what Ghirra could win for him via politics, he doesn't want that. He's starting to spin out and he clearly doesn't have a real plan, he just wants to fuck things up, but I found that really refreshingly fun here. (I think the way Marc Thompson reads him contributed a lot to that, too. He nicely captures the unhinged aspect of Marchion.) I enjoyed Avar's story a lot, how conflicted she felt and how badly that was affecting her connection to the Force. I hope that this isn't where her difficulty with her internal struggle ends, because The High Republic 2021 comic really had some great moments about how she was having trouble letting go of her anger and fear, and it's not that I want her to nearly fall to the dark side, but that I want the resolution to extend a bit beyond that the Force feels clear and coherent to her again. And It was nice seeing Bell's internal thoughts again, giving him time to work through his feelings, as he stumbles a bit and eventually manages to right himself. I wish Burryaga had gotten some character development, he was just kind of there to be a prop in Bell's story, but given that I love Bell so much, I'm not really mad about that. I'm also about a fifth of the way through Escape from Valo and it's about what I expected from the authors and that it's a junior novel, but I'm enjoying it! I enjoyed the comics, "The Monster of Temple Peak" and "The Nameless Terror" (the art is SO PRETTY), they're fun adventures, but I do wonder a bit of there's bigger plans for Ty Yorrick in Phase III, given how much she's consistently been around, but hasn't yet done a ton of intersecting with the main plot. Or is she just there because she's fun to write and they're trying to make this a big clockwork puzzle tapestry by including characters who are part of the story, just not the main story? I'd love to know what other people thought of any of this! And you should all tell me what you're reading/watching/playing right now, because I want to know how your Star Wars journeys are going!

[bluepeachstudios]

I know it's still a ways off, but have you decided who Ghost is going to go with during the Tales of the Hidden City four-parter? The obvious one is with Mikey, Splinter, and Draxum. But there's also quite a bit of character development potential for everyone involved if Ghost goes with Donnie and April.

Like I can see Ghost taking April’s place in giving Donnie the reassurance he needs. That very much seems like a thing Ghost would do. Meanwhile, April is left standing off to the side feeling out of place, like she's intruding on their father/son moment. Which could serve as good buildup for her story arc of feeling like an outsider amongst the turtle fam. The story arc that clearly was supposed to have a multi-episode build-up but got reduced to two lines in canon (I'm not one of you/You have always been one of us) due to season two getting chopped in half and I'm still SO UPSET ABOUT THAT OUR GIRL WAS ROBBED!

Though, the more I think about it, there's also potential in Ghost going with Leo. During Leo's Hidden City episode, he brings up him being a Battle Nexus champ several times. With Ghost also being a former champion, this could lead to Leo getting Ghost to open up about his time in the Battle Nexus, if he hasn't already by that point.

Now, unfortunately, I can't really see any way for Ghost to go with Raph that wouldn't completely alter the original plot right from the get-go. And while I would love for Ghost and Raph to end up in Big Mama's office, if only for the miniscule chance they might interact with Big Mama's Assistant this time around, Ghost's presence would just immediately derail that whole ridiculous series of events and change the entire course of the episode.

Still, I'm so excited to see which option you go with!

All of the options are very good, and very much spoilers, but I will say at least that Ghost doesn't go with Raph!

I am also very upset about the chop off of season 2 like DAMN AT LEAST GIVE THEM A FULL SEASON TO FINISH IT??? SOB

LOOK... Look... I'm very conflicted between adding in the ideas of the scrapped episodes and not, because adding in the scrapped episodes would make GitS so much longer and it's already going to be huge. I might... Do a poll on which ones people would want to see the most.....

[iztarshi]

I think the ending + movie of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is interesting from a Doylist perspective partly because of how rushed it was - sad as that is from a fan perspective.

In the same way filler and gecko endings came from anime being made from manga that hadn't finished yet, we're seeing storytelling happen under constraints of a) stories with ongoing arcs and character development being popular in western animation right now b) studios still cancelling them with no warning and leaving a minimal amount of episodes to wrap up. We're seeing a lot of slow build up to suddenly fast-paced endings.

So rottmnt goes from being halfway through the second season of a three season story to having six episodes to wrap up. Under those circumstances it does remarkably well! A lot of minor threads - Dr Noe's quest for Raph's tooth, whatever was up with Jupiter Jim's working movie props and yokai sidekick - simply get dropped, but the overall emotional arc of Splinter reconciling with his own mistakes and with his family both past and present comes through loud and clear. The tales of the hidden city episodes coming so soon before the end set up Splinter having reconciled with Draxum and his own feelings about being a mutant too, a good thing to get in before the finale.

Talking of tales of the hidden city, this also lands us on a fairly complete arc for Donnie, almost by chance. Witch Town both contextualised the issues he'd been having with mystic and let him move on from them. I think in a less rushed ending he would have starting working on getting used to mystic powers rather than gone straight to using ninpo with no problem having always used tech before - but on an emotional level it works. It means Donnie is going into learning ninpo without hang ups about it so the fact that he uses it with ease doesn't feel wrong.

Mikey's arc also ends in... kiiiind of not a bad place. We learn why he's so intent on redeeming Draxum, that he feels like he needs to justify his own creation, and he manages to make Splinter understand and get his parents to reconcile. We don't deal with whether Mikey really needs to justify his existence, or whether he's being too hard on the rest of his family by pushing this on them for his peace of mind. Worse, the movie can't even hint at resolutions here because Netflix wanted to focus on characters that were franchise wide and not Rise specific so Draxum gets at most a cameo.

Raph and Leo's hidden city episodes aren't as deep and we end with them in an interesting place because they're mid character arc. Season two was, iirc, meant to end with Raph and Leo as co-leaders. Maybe season three would have worked towards Leo taking leadership alone. The result is that they're in an emotional place where that would make sense as a solution but not yet in a place where the solution has even started to present itself.

Raph starts the series pretty gung-ho about leadership. It's a chance to boss his little brothers around! He gets comments about being "the guy who's always telling us he's our leader" from Donnie. Then the show wears on. Villains get more dangerous. Leo nearly dies in Bug Busters from a call Raph makes. The consequences of failing missions get worse, too. Raph starts taking it all more seriously, becoming increasingly anxious about his brothers and less able to trust that they'll be okay if he's not right there to pick up the slack. He also gets more resentful towards them for making him worry like this. Pizza Puffs shows it best. Raph's feeling trapped by the role he started out wanting.

Leo's behaviour meanwhile is getting increasingly wild. I wish we had had an equivalent to Donnie and Mikey's hidden city episodes where he explained what was going on with him, because it's hard to parse exactly where he's coming from. But he's picking fights with Donnie in a way he didn't in season one. He's refusing to communicate with the team, sometimes outright lying to them. If he's upset that they don't trust him he seems to be dealing with it by being as untrustworthy as possible.

I do think it's a set up for Leo moving towards finding a role on the team that a) makes him feel fully part of it b) requires him to behave more responsibly. Currently he's pulling away, trying to be better than his brothers instead of work with them, and that's what he needs to deal with.

Then the series ends and the focus is necessarily on wrapping up the plot, plus Splinter's relationship with his sons which has been shown as loving but somewhat broken throughout the show. We're rooting for them to understand each other better and pull through to win together and they do. In the most literal-symbolic way possible.

Raph also gets his feelings dealt with as part of the ending. We had him in a bad place and then - since we get no time for anyone, including Leo himself, to realise he's capable of leading - Raph has to remain the leader through the finale. We see him deal with his belief that he has to take care of everyone and how isolated it makes him feel, and learn to open up to his brothers more and rely on them too.

This does have the odd side-effect that the finale seems to show Raph becoming a better leader right before leadership is taken away from him. But the fact that Raph was overwhelmed and stressed by the job is made evident.

Then the movie gets used to tie up the emotional loose ends Raph and Leo's interrupted arc gave us.

One interesting thing about the movie is that despite a lot of its plot being based in this struggle over leadership and Raph and Leo's feelings about it no one ever mentions who the leader is. After seeing one of the deleted scene animatics I kind of get that, though.

The animatic has Raph claiming he never wanted to be leader and just felt he needed to take care of his brothers - which is very much a retcon of Raph's arc in season one. I think ultimately everyone's feelings about leadership were just too complicated to sum up in the movie in a way that wasn't reductive.

Or maybe Netflix just didn't want series specific plot points referenced. Especially since Raph having been the leader until recently is very much a Rise thing, whereas Leo and Raph having fights about Leo's leadership ability is very franchise wide. Even if it's not usually about Leo failing to take things seriously.

But the movie does, imo, a very good job of condensing the story and making the character arcs make sense despite the finale and the declaration of Leo as leader having happened in the middle of them.

Leo's wild behaviour - put on hold for the finale - returns, with the defeat of Shredder and being named leader now being added to outwitting Big Mama as reasons he's riding high. The degree to which it's driven by arrogance, insecurity, or a mixture of the two is still debatable, but it's the continuation of the arc he was on.

Raph's anxious resentment is still there, amplified by the fact that he should be able to get a break now he's not leader, but Leo won't step up and take the weight off his shoulders.

It moves things around. Leo gets thrown in at the deep end and has to realise that he's capable of being a good leader after he's already been leader for a few months. As well as learning that he has to work with his team instead of measuring himself against them and judging who did "better" at everything.

In the end I think it's fascinating how they told a good story around so many constraints.

[ailelie]

In posting, I realized that I've not really talked about How to Disappear Completely here on tumblr. So! Here are some copy/pastes from Dreamwidth.

from November 2011

Kilbey and Nero's friendship, they are the last people you'd expect to be this good of friends (and if you've any doubt, do listen to "Bury My Past in London Fields").

Theo, she is prickly and vulnerable. She sticks up for herself, but is also unsure of herself. She has so much she wants to be, but doesn't quite trust it is possible. This is all more prominent in HtDC than YDaN.

Flawed characters

How they handle time travel

How they handle history

The writing, this writer definitely knows how to turn a phrase

Nero. Nero. Nero. Nero.

from September 2009

I love all the characters, the writing, the story setting, plot, and so on. Plus, this story features an excellent example of time travel (something I'm rather picky about).

Theo moved to London so that she could start her life. Only, she hasn't quite made it that far yet. Her hand has stopped itching for a pen and her boyfriend is cheating on her. Then she gets a strange phone call that leads her to a one-night adventure. She can't give up that thrill, though, and so finds herself falling further and further. Eventually she has to decide between falling and stability.

Nero Dusk is a former addict with a penchant for poker, when he has the money. He loves his old taxi cab, rockabilly music, and a good drink. He grumbles and puts up with Kilbey, his long-time business partner, and dreams of one day finding his way back to regular society. He cleans up after Kilbey time and time again.

Kilbey Salmon is a smooth-talking charmer who once wore a suit. He risked everything-- even stuff not his to risk-- for a girl. And made it. Only, Kilbey has never been good at the daily domestic. He faded from that life and found work as a detective of sorts. Along with Nero and a corner of a special map, Kilbey finds whatever's been lost, stolen, or hidden. He has fun with his life and makes messes. He's never serious about anything. But now-- maybe-- he has a reason to be.

Order. Chaos. London and the Dream of London. History. Being real. Mystery. Noir. Friendship. Love.

I love this book.

June 2009

This is just-- this hits so much of everything that I love. Cities-within-cities, well-done time travel, hard decisions, history, becoming someone you'd never imagined you could be, cleaning up your own mistakes, secret wars fought when no one is looking, quirky characters overflowing with personality, etc etc etc.

from Yuletide 2010

How to Disappear Completely or Salmon and Dusk I want Nero's story. How did Nero fall? What does Nostalgia make him remember? What about when the drug goes bad? What does he yearn to forget and never relive? What are his regrets? Triumphs? When did he learn to play poker? Who taught him? How did he meet Kilbey? How did Kilbey coax him out of the bottle and into a job? Did they ever argue over music? How did they become friends? If Nero is so full of potential, who else has he followed into trouble? What events have made him into the man we hear about in the podcast novel? // If you decide to listen to Salmon and Dusk instead (and I love them both), then I'd love something around Yesterday Came Too Soon, which is one of my favorite stories from the series, mostly because it is all Nero. Or happy!Nero. Or case!fic. Ooh, case!fic would very awesome.

What is this fandom? This is a podcast novel and series. You have two options here. How to Disappear Completely is the novel. It is about 30 chapters long in segments ranging from 20 to 60 minutes in length. Salmon and Dusk is the series and is a collection of five short stories (and one bonus Christmas tale). Each story is one to two episodes in length with each ep ranging from 30 to 60 minutes. S&D is shorter and would likely be easier to get into. The author designed it so that either one can introduce you to Kilbey and Nero's world. Some details, like Theo's last name, do change between the two as the series came several years after the novel and are sequels to a revised (and unavailable) version of the novel. The series deals with the aftermath of the novel and many features of the novel no longer exist in the series. Even so, listening to the novel is not necessary to enjoy the series. Both novel and series are available here [Broken Link]. Why do I like it? I love the characters. They are all a wonderful collection of quirks, strengths, and faults. Also, I love, love, love the world Bartlett has created. The novel has a city-within-a-city setting, which is one of my fiction kinks, one of the things that will get me to read a book/story/etc every time. The series deals with aftermath and how these characters cope and survive once everything has changed.

[jajanvm-imbi]

Alright it's almost Hispanic Heritage month again yall. Here's a list of Animated characters that I, a Latina, cried over when I found out they were Latin American

For clarification, "Found out" means, having no previous knowledge of said characters and within the context of the show/movie they are confirmed Latin American.

(From the perspective of a Costa Rican 🇨🇷 specifically)

The entire Madgrial Family (Encanto)

The moment I saw the teaser trailer for Encanto I started crying. I was so BEYOND EXCITED to see real, true, positive beautiful Latin American representation in a Disney movie. I'm not even Colombian but seeing something like this become so popular made me so happy. Being able to fully understand "Dos Orugitas" in Spanish just hits so different, its not the same in English. It's such a beautiful step for Latin American representation, and I'm so excited to see what comes next for us. (Still holding out for my Latina Disney princess tho. And no, Elena doesn't count) I've also been told I look just like Mirabel and seeing a character that looks like me in a Disney movie just made my heart soar.

Luz Noceda (The Owl House)

Bruh a bisexual Latina with mommy issues AND she's bilingual??? She's just like me fr.

Lance McClain (V*ltron Legendary Defender)

He was my absolute favorite character in V*ltron and I will NEVER forgive them for ruining his arc and making him sad forever. He deserved a happy ending. He's NOT "just a boy from Cuba", he's so important and lovely.

Miles Morales (Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse)

I'm not a comic book reader, so Into the Spiderverse was the first time I met Miles. Finding out he was Afro Latino made me heart soar. He's a sweet boy, such a good character in the movie, and definitely deserved the Oscar. Can't wait for the sequel.

Claire Nuñez (Tales of Arcadia)

Claire is literally such a badass. She's amazing, an amazing character, her story with Jim is beautiful. Love it when she's speaks Spanish. 10/10 character (Watch Tales of Arcadia it's really good)

Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera (Ducktales 2017)

King of my heart. Wholesome dork. Voiced by Lin Manuel Miranda.

Gosalyn Mallard (Ducktales 2017)

What I literal icon. I really really REALLY hope that the rumored Darkwing Duck reboot uses the DT 2017 versions of the DW characters cause this Gosalyn is a QUEEN

Hector Nieves Aka: Hi-Five (Glitch Techs)

Glitch techs was such a cute show it deserved to keep running. Screw Nickelodeon for canceling it just as it was starting to get interesting. Anyway this dork is adorable. Bilingual gamer king.

Troy Sandoval (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts)

Hi this cutie patootie is a literal king. He and Benson are so cute together. (GO WATCH KIPO AND THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS ON NETFLIX I PROMISE YOU'LL LOVE IT)

Honorable Mentions:

(From top to bottom, left to right. Tumblr only allows 10 images at a time so I had to combine them)

• Señor Hueso and Capitan Piel, who together make the icon Don Suave (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2018):

I literally laugh my ass off whenever I watch the episode "Hidden City Job" and they do the whole Don Suave bit. Like it's so over the top yet accurate to telenovela characters that I can't help but laugh every time. When they first introduced Capitan Piel, I instantly laughed so hard before they even translated it because they did the whole Skin and Bones bit and I just thought it was so clever. 10/10 duo I'd love to see more of them. (GO WATCH ROTTMNT PLEASE THEY NEED ALL THE SUPPORT THEY CAN GET IF THEY WANT A SEASON 3)

• Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel)

People were giving Vivziepop shit accusing her of making Vaggie the "angry Latina stereotype) and I couldn't disagree more. Vaggie is perfectly fine as a character, and I can't wait to see what they do with her in the official Hazbin Hotel series!!

• Isabella Garcia-Shapiro (Phineas and Ferb)

Phineas and Ferb was the first fandoms I was ever in, and Isabella holds such a special place in my heart. Love her to pieces

• Marco Diaz (Star vs. The Forces of Evil)

Svtfoe was also one of the first fandoms I was in, so seeing one of the leads be portrayed as Mexican made 12 year old me so happy.

• Miguel Rivera (Coco)

Coco is such a beautiful movie, and I ONLY watch it in Spanish. Miguel is such a sweet and special boy, he really brought the joy of music back into his family.

• Soos (Jesus) Alzamirano Ramirez

Gravity Falls was ALSO one of the first fandoms I was in (PnF, GF, and Svtfoe were my main 3 for a time), and finding out this loveable goof was Latino made me really happy

• Princess Elena Castillo Flores

Now she may not be an official Disney princess (she doesn't meet all the requirements to be part of the franchise) but that doesn't mean she isn't excellent representation for young children. Although the show doesn't represent one specific Latin American country/culture, the show does have bits and pieces of many different LatAm cultures, and even some indigenous inspiration here and there with all the mythology aspects. It isn't perfect, but I do still appreciate Elena's presence in Disney.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month everyone!!!

[s-creations]

Talk to Me

Retelling of the episode 'Return of the Trollhunter.'

Jim should be happy that Claire's not have the same issue that he had when trying to interact with the Trolls. But it was all just to easy...and a little unfair.

Fandom: Tales of Arcadia/Trollhunters Rating: Gerneral Audiences Relationships: Blinkous “Blinky” Galadrigal & Jim Lake Jr. Warnings/Additional Tags: ‘Return of the Trollhunter’, Sort of a retelling of the epsidoe, Honestly I just added more family moments, Because you can’t tell me Blinky is not Jim’s father, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this awhile ago, And by awhile I mean YEARS

Being a teenager was awkward enough without the added stress of leading a double life and keeping a secret civilization safe. It also doesn’t help that most of this hidden city was not happy about having a human as their protector. Even defeating the son of an evil warlord barely raised status in the city. Vendel may have now seen Jim in a new light, but past interactions still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

 Even more so watching the elder troll accept Claire so easily into their culture. It was an awkward feeling watching the people he cared about talk so easily to each other when Jim could barely look Vendel in the eye when they first met. Even Blinky cheered when he found out Claire had read the book. Just reading a stupid book and Jim was pretty sure everyone wanted Claire as the Trollhunter.

 It was an interesting event, feeling happy that his friend was accepted and bitter that she accomplished it so easily. 

 “If only the amulet had chosen such a learned and delightful fleshbag!” Vendel announced, beaming at Claire. Both gave a salute to the other before the elder troll left. 

 Jim gave praise for winning Vendel over so easily, but he couldn’t stop the pang of jealousy that hit him in his gut. He stomped it down as they neared the destroyed bridge, giving Claire a comforting smile before she went closer to the rubble. Jim was concerned that he was having these emotions. Claire was his friend and he was acting like she was some enemy. Or at least what he felt about Steve, which was even worse. 

 He was quickly brought back to reality when Blink asked Toby to finish the tour. He gave a smile to his mentor when a comforting arm was placed on his shoulder.

 “Come, Master Jim, we have a Vespa to work on.” Blinky smiled as he led the way to his home.

 “I- are you sure? I thought you would want to finish showing Claire around.” Jim questioned, trying not to show how comforting the weight on his shoulder was. 

 “No no, it’s alright. We need to make sure it’s in perfect condition if it’s going to be your getaway vehicle. Besides, between training, school, and small missions, we haven’t really had time to talk.” 

 “A-Alright, sounds good. Hopefully the others won’t get into too much trouble.” 

 “Well, without you there…”

 “Hey!” Jim couldn’t help but smile at his mentor’s tease. They arrived at Blinky's hut soon after, Jim’s Vespa already propped up and ready to be worked on. The teen quickly relaxed as he watched the gears more smoothly, everything working as it should.

 “Are you feeling alright Master Jim?” 

 “Hmm?” Jim turned his attention away from the machine to face Blinky, “What are you talking about?” 

 “It does not take a being with more than two eyes to see that something is troubling you. Is there anything you wish to talk about?” 

 “No, not really.” Jim cleared his throat, digging through the toolbox. “What do you need next?” 

 “I need you to be honest with me, Master Jim.” The teen winced slightly, feeling the weight return to his shoulder. “Master Jim?” 

 “It’s stupid.” 

 “If it’s causing you distress, than it is not stupid.” 

 “I’ve defeated Bular, why do I feel like I’m not still trying to prove myself? All Claire had to do was read a few books. Suddenly you’re singing her praises and Vendel wants her to be the Trollhunter! I know it’s stupid because Claire’s my friend, but….” 

 Jim’s shoulders dropped, letting out a sigh. “What if the amulet picked the wrong human?”

 “Master Jim, why would you believe this?” Blinky was shocked by this conclusion, turning the teen to face him. But Jim refused to look the troll in the eyes. Blinky let out a sigh, brushing the teen’s hair out of his face.

 “While I can’t speak for Vendel , I would like to apologize for making you feel this way. The elder, very steadfast in nature, has been impressed by what you’ve accomplished. Even though he won’t admit it. Stubborn old troll.” 

 “But what if the only reason I was chosen was because I came across it first?” 

 “The amulet does not work like that. It passes to the next worthy troll, or in your case human, that holds powerful qualities.” 

 “What qualities could I possibly have, I’m a teenager! I just got my learner’s permit.” 

 “Nonsense, you have many qualities associated with being a hero. You’re brave, strong, courageous. You worry about your friend’s safety and put the needs of others before you. For someone so young, you are more mature than many trolls that I know.” Blinky frowned when he didn’t receive a reply. 

 Jim, for his part, was mulling over what the other had told him. “But what if-” 

 “No buts, no doubts, you should not be feeling this!” Blink gripped Jim’s shoulders and upper arm, “I will continually tell you this until you believe this! You have proven yourself to be the Trollhunter. I’m sorry if my comments to Claire have made you feel inadequate. I was just ecstatic to find a lover of books. But you are our Trollhunter, our champion, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.” 

 Jim was about to reply when he felt Blinky pull him closer, stone arms wrapping around the teen comfortingly. “I’m very proud of you Jim.” 

 Letting out a shaky breath, Jim wrapped his arms around Blinky, closing his eyes. “Thanks Blinky.” 

 “Of course Master Jim.” The troll whispered, running his fingers through the teen’s brown hair. Jim fully relaxed, allowing himself to be enveloped in the fatherly comfort.

 “Now, onto another topic. What are you and Claire planning?” 

 Uh oh.

[thestorycfus]

The Sweetest Apparition - Part 3

Pairing: Peggy Carter x fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and historian who specializes in the life and legacy of Captain Carter. After Nick Fury uses the Tesseract to bring Peggy back, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. contacts the reader to help her navigate life in the XXI century.

Warnings and notes: Food, mentions of Steggy, mentions of Stucky, very small mentions of war. Other characters are also mentioned. This got way longer than the first two parts, but there’s also way more Peggy here. This series takes place after the last scene of What If… episode one, including spoilers to that episode. Reader uses she/her pronouns.

Word count: 2,304

Series Masterlist

It should be a short walk to your apartment, but you made a small stop each time Captain Carter was curious about something. You also got some take out on the way, making sure to pick at least four different options from separate places and a couple of desserts too, since you didn’t know her taste yet. It was a while before you made it to your street.

During the entire time, your chatting was limited to safe topics - how loud and bright the city was, how many screens there were, the amount of coffee options that existed now. You watched Carter fall in love with her caramel coffee and made a mental note to buy her more sweets.

Soon, the Captain would also need to go shopping. Fury had gotten her the formal white blouse and the black pants she wore now, an outfit much more discreet than the uniform she was wearing when she fell, but that was her entire wardrobe at the moment. That was another mission you should handle, but it could wait until after lunch.

When you finally got home, you placed the food over a kitchen counter and gave Carter a quick tour of the apartment. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it would be enough for both of you until she was more familiar with this century. The tour ended where it started: in your tiny kitchen. You pulled a stool for the Captain and presented her with the options for lunch.

“I suppose you’ve never tried some of those, so I got a few different meals. Burritos, sweet and sour chicken, calzones and Pad Thai. For dessert, there’s lemon tart and triple chocolate cake. I might have gotten a little carried away.”

Peggy took a seat and examined her options. You wondered if that would be, technically her first meal since the 40’s.

“They are all tempting, but I might start with this one.” Her eyes were fixated on a burrito as if it was the Holy Grail. Yeah, that was surely the first time she ate in seventy years. She dove in, so focused on her meal that you didn’t dare to interrupt. Meanwhile, you took the other stool and picked a calzone, eating it while you watched Carter.

You were still trying to wrap your head around the fact that she was really here, and it was surprising that you hadn’t completely freaked out so far, but the prospect of the rest of the day started to worry you. The Captain would certainly have a lot of questions and, if there were inquiries that Fury left for you to answer, they probably pertained more to her personal life than to great historical events.

If the registers about her were right, it wouldn’t be long before the real conversation started. Peggy Carter was too smart to have such a debate in the middle of the street, but she wasn’t known for stalling. As soon as she finished her meal, in the privacy of your (now shared) kitchen, you would have to provide about seven decades of answers.

Before you could try to prepare yourself, she was done with her second burrito. You almost suggested dessert, but the look she gave you left no room for pauses. Carter turned on her stool to face you directly, her posture becoming straighter and her eyes never leaving yours. She was the perfect image of Captain Carter, the hero, the legend who defeated all odds. Still, when she spoke, there was softness in her voice.

“The meal was lovely and so is the apartment. I can’t thank you enough for you kindness, Agent L/N, but I must ask a few things more of you. If you have studied about my life, you must know what happened to Steve Rogers after I was gone.”

You should be ready for that. Of course her first personal concern would be about Rogers. His story with Carter went down in history as a tragic tale of love, bravery and loss. To his last days, Rogers had made it his mission to honor her legacy, but that wasn’t all that he did. How do you tell a person that the love of her life went on to live a decades long, fulfilling relationship with someone else, even though, from her perspective, they were together the day before?

“Please, call me Y/N. And you can ask anything, Captain. I will tell you everything I can.” You took a deep breath, going through the words in your head in search of the best way to let her know. It was best to keep nothing out. Carter deserved that. “Steve Rogers continued to serve as the Hydra Stomper until the war had ended and all known Hydra operations had been eliminated. After that, he stepped out of the suit so that Howard Stark could continue his research with the Tesseract. I believe neither of them ever gave up on bringing you back, but, in many ways, they also moved on to build new lives.”

You made a small pause, in case she wanted to say something, but Carter only gave you a nod, encouraging you to continue. It was impossible to look away from her eyes, or to keep anything hidden when she stared at you with such intensity. Even in silence, sitting still, she emanated a power that kept you talking.

“A few years after the war, Rogers and Stark started an intelligence agency to keep the world safe from threats we could barely understand. They named it S.H.I.E.L.D., because of you. That is the agency I work for, directed by Nick Fury.” There was something poetic in the way that same agency ended up being the reason Peggy Carter was back, but it wasn’t your place to point that out. “Rogers never stopped fighting, even without the suit. He was a legendary agent, working along with James Barnes until they retired. They were also together for the rest of their lives.”

That was the piece of information you feared would break Carter’s heart, but she had a bright smile after hearing that.

“That suits them. All of them.” The joy in her voice sounded so sincere, and you couldn’t help but ask.

“Were you and Rogers… Together? It is said so in the official files, but…” In your studies, you sometimes wondered if their relationship was just a myth, maybe a publicity stunt to humanize the fallen super soldier. It was your job to question the data, but you had never paid that possibility much attention until now.

Instead of being offended by your invasion of her privacy, Carter laughed so lightly and freely that you felt your cheeks getting warm.

“Oh, darling, Steve Rogers had a heart too big to have only one soul mate. He was the love of my life, yes, and I was the love of his, but not the only one. A love so beautiful and dedicated is supposed to be shared. Of course I’m sad I didn’t get to share the rest of his life with him, but I’m relieved to know that he and Bucky had each other. And that’s not to say I’m a being of such virtue that I’m above jealousy. I felt jealous of Steve alright, many times, but I could never be jealous of him with Buck. They fit well together and they were good for each other. They were real, just as Steve and I were. Steve deserved to be loved through a lifetime. I’m grateful that he was.”

Carter’s eyes shined with tears, but she didn’t allow any to fall. Maybe she would let herself grief for the lost possibilities later, but for now she was handling such an emotional journey with more elegance than you thought possible. It didn’t seem to be an act at all. On the contrary, what touched you the most was the honesty in her words. That selflessness of being genuinely happy to hear of how her soul mate lived on without her, in love with someone else, told you more about Peggy Carter than any history book ever had. And that’s how she reacted right after being thrown into the next century, coming directly from a war and landing in a world she didn’t recognize.

“I don’t think history ever made you justice, Captain. The general public thinks of you as a hero, but they’re so far from knowing the person behind the suit... You know, it’s very nice to meet you.” You couldn’t help but sharing a bit of what was on your mind. To that moment, your hero was turning out to be even better than your daydreams, and it was only fair to let her know so.

At that, she gave you a big smile and your heart skipped a beat. You would have a hard time sharing an apartment with this woman.

“You are far too kind to me. To be honest, they never showed much interest on me, suit or not, until I went against official orders and started throwing tanks around and fighting the battles that needed to be fought. I am more concerned about what I am able to achieve, regardless of how they will see me. And there’s no need to call me Captain, Y/N. Heavens, we live and work together now and you’re my guide to modern life. Peggy is fine. And it’s nice to meet you too.” She took the initiative to get a slice of chocolate cake, already making herself at home. You had the feeling that her adaptation to this world wouldn’t be too difficult, all things considered. Peggy Carter would take whatever she was given and make more of it than anyone imagined possible.

“As you wish, Peggy. Speaking of that, there’s a lot I think you’ll like to see about life now. What else are you curious about?” You took your own slice of cake, trying to feel at ease in this conversation. You couldn’t be on high alert whenever Carter was around if she was going to be around all the time, but that was easier said than done. Your responsibilities here were enormous and, to be frank, you were determined to be your best self and impress her, even if just a bit. Maybe telling her about the wonders of nowadays technology would do the trick.

“I am curious about everything. I can’t wait to know all about the development of science, or what I missed in seven decades of sociopolitical turmoil, but there’s one more person I’d love to hear about before we get to that. You mentioned Howard moving on with his life, didn’t you? What exactly was that little menace up to while I was gone?”

Now, that was a rich topic of conversation.

“Well, Stark continued his research with the Tesseract and with many other projects, sometimes along with the US government, and he built a billionaire empire. Weapons, all sorts of technology, wild parties. The man had everything. He has a son, Tony, who inherited the tech, the money and the brains, but with a stronger inclination to heroism. You see, Tony Stark built himself a supersuit, partially inspired by his father’s Hydra Stomper, but with a larger variety of uses. It’s said that Steve Rogers was a sort of mentor to him, but I couldn’t get Stark to talk a lot about it when I interviewed him.”

You couldn’t tell which part made Peggy more excited. She nodded along as you listed Howard Stark’s achievements, as if it was all expected, and her eyes got wider when you told her about his son. When you mentioned Rogers, she almost jumped in her seat. She was already invested, but dropping that name sealed the deal.

“Fury gave me this.” She took two business cards out of her pocket. “It has his telephone number and Barton’s too. Could I use your telephone to call him? I would like to meet this Tony Stark, and I bet Fury would be able to reach him.” 

Giving Director Fury a call from your cellphone felt strange, but how could you deny Peggy that? If the Director gave her the number, he wanted her to be able to reach him, right? 

Instead of dialing yourself, you showed Carter how to use the phone. She looked like a kid on Christmas whenever she was given access to new technology. You would make sure she got a cellphone of her own soon so you could show her everything the device could do. 

She called Fury and you waited as they talked for less than two minutes. Peggy handed you the phone when she was done, with a smile that said she got what she wanted.

“So, what did the Director say?” You asked, anxious to know the outcome of the call.

“We’re meeting Tony Stark tomorrow at 2pm in his tower. Was it him who named it Stark tower or is that Howard’s doing?” She narrowed her eyes a bit, still smiling.

“The tower was built by Tony, so I think we can’t blame Howard for that one.” You joked. “Are you meeting Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. before you two go to Stark’s?”

“Oh, Fury is not going. He booked the meeting for you and me, if you would like to accompany me.” Peggy sounded hesitant, as if she had just considered that you might not want to join her on that plan. 

"You’re asking me if I wish to be there when Captain Carter meets Tony Stark? Please, if I didn’t get the chance to be a part of that exchange, I would beg you for a detailed retelling as soon as you got home.” 

Your reply made Peggy laugh once more, and you were getting used to that sound very quickly.

[emergingsentiments]

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: Episode 10 (Repost)

Loneliness must have drawn you back here, says Hwajung to Chohui. But these could have been words for Dusik and Hyejin, too. The past and current entanglements of Gongjin’s love affairs, after all, run parallel to each other. For Chohui, her mother’s death and her brother’s migration left her solitary, so it only seemed natural to return to somewhere familiar. Hyejin, on the other hand, visited the seaside town to reclaim the memory of happier times, when her mother was still alive. Dusik’s reasons are still obscured but the glimpses into the wakes he’s stood vigil by are compelling reasons behind his return.

Home, as I observed in the first episode of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, is where the heart is and the hurts are.

Episode 10 unfolded like the turning point that it is. As the previous chapters tackled the inner workings of all our characters, especially the progress of Hyejin and Dusik both as individuals and in their romantic engagements, we saw how people began to confront their fears. Whether it’s Cheonjae’s anxieties as a has-been singer and as a single father to a rebellious Juri or Gamri’s quiet suffering in her empty nest, the melancholy that undergirds the town’s surface pushed each one to face their scars and losses. For all the comic relief she brings, even Miseon had to brave confusion and rejection.

In this page of Gongjin’s tale, however, the theme of battling life’s greatest antagonist is truest among Dusik, Hyejin, and Seonghyun.

Poor Seonghyun, so new to the town yet so quick to have been thrown into the maelstrom of Gongjin’s charms and tragedies. His greatest fear was being late. He missed opportunities before, including in the postcard-perfect moments of his youth. Always an observer but never the one observed; always watching over Hyejin but always a step behind others in the line. If he were dancing, he’d be out of rhythm, too busy trying to memorize the choreography.

He has rehearsed his lines a thousand times. Will they come out right? Here, Lee Sang-yi gives Seonghyun his most graceful and yet graceless moment. Making an abrupt u-turn on his way to Seoul, he returns to Gongjin — late once again. Hyejin, attacked by a wandering sexual predator in town, has been saved by Dusik. If the shock of the night’s crime were not enough, he confesses the next evening to a Hyejin that had just mistakenly implied her growing affections for Dusik. She’s just had dinner, too.

Full and formal, Hyejin listens to Seonghyun’s lonely and tense confession. Sangyi delivers the lines Seonghyun has held onto for years. It’s a speech marked by jitters, fretful glances, and a slowly growing blush. Once out, he tries to stop the tension by marking the scene as a take. But the clapperboard humor isn’t enough. Hyejin watches him eat alone. She has no appetite.

Hyejin, for her part, couldn’t be blamed. She never really saw Seonghyun other than a senior to be admired. Yes, he’s saved her from a jerk before. But years of absence have made the heart grow duller instead of fonder. She’s also just come from an equally awkward dinner with Dusik, who is celebrating his grandfather’s death anniversary. There is no room for another meal. The night before — the night of the attack — she had slept in Dusik’s home for the third time as well.

At the first visit to his home, she kissed Mr. Hong on impulse and alcohol. On the second, she carried the weight and fears of an inebriated Dusik. On the third visit, she is traumatized from the night’s break-in, so now slips in to Mr. Hong’s clothes and stays over, unable to sleep unless Dusik’s around with poetry. He reads to her...It is my job to fall in love with you while waiting for you the next day. The antidote to Hyejin’s fear, after all, is Gongjin’s son.

But what does Hyejin fear? Well, it’s simple. She fears what she lost — her childhood, to be who she is. As a young girl who lost her mother, she had to grow up fast given her father’s alcohol-tinged coping mechanism. As a young woman, she had to build walls after a harsh rebuke of her lowly appearance. So she covers her scars with pretenses — and fancy shoes. Her clothes are her walls. Her life has been planned out. She steers this career with distinct professionalism and ambition. But it’s never ruthless. A woman-child, her core reveals a soft, compassionate heart.

This is what Dusik brings out in her. It’s not something Dusik necessarily gives. The two, after all, have their losses but they are whole persons, too. Dusik’s unconventional lifestyle and ways have eroded the surface of Hyejin’s fortress. Like salted sea slowly breaking down cliffs. With Dusik, she regains the lost child, the one who laughs when pieces of crab meat are flung to Dusik’s face. If that was Seonghyun, Hyejin would have been profusely apologetic and formal. But Mr. Hong is different. Around him, Hyejin can be unguarded, vulnerable.

Dusik, on the other hand, always saw her in a different light. Carrying the weight of unexplained grief, Dusik knows exactly what’s hidden behind Hyejin’s front. But for all his bravado, he’s afraid, too. The people he loved the most have left him, leaving him with an unimaginable sense of guilt. It’s what keeps him tethered to the idea of boundaries. He only likes Hyejin as a friend. But his eyes, his actions — they speak otherwise. If he admits to loving Hyejin, then the prospect of fresh losses cripple him. He’s an engineering graduate, so he has made the calculations. And yet, this strange woman who has returned from a childhood memory is urging him to take those risks and forget those probabilities.

He took a stab on the shoulder, one that nearly cost his life. Isn’t that love — or even the semblance of it? Why does Dusik need to certify his affections with assurance? Gamri, Gonjin’s wisest daughter, sees through Dusik’s barricades. Life’s brevity, she says, demands risks but most of all, honesty with oneself.

These are words worth ruminating in the evening breeze at the town’s breakwater.

It’s the same place where Hyejin finds him.

After a trip to Seoul to forget the town’s powers over her and Miseon, she realizes the city’s offerings were no longer attractive. Everything reminds her of Gongjin. She can’t stop thinking of Dusik. As a grown-up, Hyejin had sought security. Her instinct of self-preservation made her hard. Drenched in a sudden downpour in Seoul, she remembers her rain-soaked self with Dusik at the beach. It is enough for her to understand.

These realizations surge from Hyejin’s adrenaline-filled confession. Unable to deny her growing affections any further, she takes the plunge.

The child faces reality with simple acceptance. In the presence of a vulnerable Hyejin, things freely move and are themselves. The effects are immediately clear. Like any sensible woman, Hyejin knows Dusik could all but reject him, too. Who drives back from Seoul to rant about love, right? But Dusik understands. The hours waiting for her return were sooner than he had anticipated. But the man had made his calculations. The formulas are no longer useful.

True to himself, Dusik fulfills his new duty. It is my job to fall in love with you while waiting for you the next day. So he returns the confession with the most reasonable declaration: a kiss, first tender, one that leaves Hyejin breathless. He speaks but yearns for more. So he lets his lips touch hers for a second time. A kiss now free from all the tentativeness of the night.

A few weeks ago I read several criticisms about Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. It’s cliched. People only watch it because the actors are popular. There’s nothing exceptional about a love story.

Cliched, true. But there is a reason why there are cliches because they are true. Do people only watch because the actors are popular? Perhaps. Perhaps not. A love story doesn’t hold a candle to the more intellectual and uncomfortable narratives available for consumption, right? You know, the stories that deal with war and violence, politics and its lack of virtue, the more profound tales that explore humanity or its degradation. But I fear this is an effort to leave the commonplace, the domestic, and the personal materials unattended for the sake of what seems profound. Yet, the production of these “better” and more profound stories does not offer any solace from suffering.

For over a year now, we’ve been fighting the wrath of an invisible virus. It might even be true to say that for many of us, we’ve lost someone dear, someone deeply loved. If not, we know someone who has dealt with these losses. Given the lockdowns and restrictions, even grieving has been abbreviated. Our reality is sobering. We fear many things. So while I don’t hold it against people to choose the more elevated tales, it would be a shame to dismiss those who gush over a love story as uncritical and frivolous.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha resonates with and appeals to many because it reminds us of the things we’ve lost to the pandemic. Face-to-face conversations. The stability of a job. Family. Friendship. The pat on the back. Our grandparents. Our first love. A hand to hold. Dinner with friends under the warmth of incandescent light. Office conversations. Senseless chatter. The thrill of falling in love. The smell of the sea, and the sand on our feet. Our best friend. The normalcy of a leisurely walk. Dancing in the rain. People. Our community. The words we wanted to say. A kiss.

In a world where physical intimacy and closeness are dangerous, we feel our lips with our fingers watching Hyejun and Dusik kiss. And we remember the way we were. Kim Seon Ho was right in saying Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a healing drama. To love and be loved, after all, remains the ultimate catharsis.

[maandarinee]

what are all the podcasts you listen to?

anon I'm so glad you asked

Since it is a pretty long list including synopses (stolen from the podcast feed or website because I'm Bad at summaries and in some cases it's been a while since I listened) I'm going to put it under a cut.

I've separated the list into "Complete" (either finished or cancelled) and "Ongoing" podcasts. Some have additional comments by me. Current favorites are marked orange. My eternal beloved are Our Fair City and Wolf 359.

Complete

ars PARADOXICA: "When an experiment in a time much like our own goes horribly awry, Dr. Sally Grissom finds herself stranded in the past and entrenched in the activities of a clandestine branch of the US government. Grissom and her team quickly learn that there's no safety net when toying with the fundamental logic of the universe."

Blackwood: "Five years ago, Molly Weaver, Bryan Anderson, and Nathan Howell started a podcast focused on the local legend of a monster called The Blackwood Bugman. Quickly, the investigation grew out of their control, as they discovered that, not only are the legends seemingly true, many people in Blackwood have turned up dead or disappeared without a trace." --> [this feels like the Blair With Project, but as a podcast. Didn't get a second season due to no funding, but it works as a standalone]

Dreamboy: "Dane, a spun-out musician spending the winter in Cleveland, Ohio, has two main goals: keeping his job at the Pepper Heights Zoo and trying not to waste all his time on Grindr. What he doesn’t expect is to get swept into a story about dreams, about forevers, about flickering lights, about unexplained deaths, about relentless change, and about the parts of ourselves that we wish other people knew to look for. Oh, and also a murderous zebra." --> [very NSFW; does cool things with music! Didn't get a second season due to no funding, but it works as a standalone]

King Fall AM: "...centers on a lonely little mountain town's late-night AM talk radio show and its paranormal, peculiar happenings and inhabitants." --> [cancelled after 100 episodes, ends on a huge cliffhanger]

Our Fair City: "A campy, post-apocalyptic audio drama." --> [I know the description sounds like nothing but just trust me, I love it so much]

Steal the Stars: "...is a gripping noir science fiction thriller in 14 episodes: Forbidden love, a crashed UFO, an alien body, and an impossible heist unlike any ever attempted."

Stellar Firma: "...a weekly Science Fiction, Comedy podcast following the misadventures of Stellar Firma Ltd.'s highest born but lowest achieving planetary designer Trexel Geistman and his bewildered clone assistant David 7. Join them each episode as they attempt to take listener submissions and craft them into the galaxy's most luxurious, most expensive and most questionably designed bespoke planets. However, with Trexel's corporate shark of a line manager Hartro Piltz breathing down their necks and I.M.O.G.E.N., the station's omnipresent and omniinvasive stationwide A.I. monitoring those necks to within 3 decimal places, they'll be lucky to make it a week before being slurried and recycled into raw human resources." --> [semi-improvised, I thought I'd have a problem with the improv bit because that's not usually my thing, but no, I absolutely devoured this]

TANIS: "...is a serialized docudrama about a fascinating and surprising mystery: the myth of Tanis. Tanis is an exploration of the nature of truth, conspiracy, and information. Tanis is what happens when the lines of science and fiction start to blur." [+ spinoff The Last Movie] --> [I have no clue what the hell is going on here]

The Black Tapes: "...is a serialized docudrama about one journalist's searc for truth, her enigmatic subject's mysterious past, and the literal and figurative ghosts that haunt them both."

The Magnus Archives: "...is a weekly horror fiction anthology podcast examining what lurks in the archives of the Magnus Institute, an organisation dedicated to researching the esoteric and the weird. Join new head archivist Jonathan Sims as he attempts to bring a seemingly neglected collection of supernatural statements up to date, converting them to audio and supplementing them with follow-up work from his small but dedicated team. Individually, they are unsettling. Together they begin to form a picture that is truly horrifying because as they look into the depths of the archives, something starts to look back…"

Time:Bombs: "...a new audio drama podcast about the hilarious world of bomb disposal. Ride along with EOD technician Simon Teller on the busiest night of the year for him and his team - when business is, quite literally, booming."

Wolf 359: "Life's not easy for Doug Eiffel, the communications officer for the U.S.S. Hephaestus Research Station, currently on Day 448 of its orbit around red dwarf star Wolf 359. He's stuck on a scientific survey mission of indeterminate length, 7.8 light years from Earth. His only company on board the station are stern mission chief Minkowski, insane science officer Hilbert, and Hephaestus Station's sentient, often malfunctioning operating system Hera. He doesn't have much to do for his job other than monitoring static and intercepting the occasional decades-old radio broadcast from Earth, so he spends most of his time creating extensive audio logs about the ordinary, day-to-day happenings within the station. But the Hephaestus is an odd place, and life in extremely isolated, zero gravity conditions has a way of doing funny things to people's minds. Even the simplest of tasks can turn into a gargantuan struggle, and the most ordinary-seeming things have a way of turning into anything but that." --> [starts funny, turns very intense]

Ongoing

Alba Salix, Roya Physician (+ The Axe & Crown): "A witch, her apprentice, and her fairy herbalist treat the ills of a fairy-tale kingdom." + "Gubbin the troll tavernkeeper deals with his clueless new landlord, his shady niece, and some new competition."

Archive 81: "A found footage horror podcast about ritual, stories, and sound."

Arden: "A (fictional) true crime podcast about cold cases and the reporter and detective who try to solve them."

Brimstone Valley Mall: "The year is 1999. Lurking somewhere between Hot Topic and the food court, five misfit demons from Hell kill time inciting sin in a suburban shopping mall. When the lead singer of their band goes mysteriously missing, the demons only have two weeks to find him before they play the biggest gig of the millennium - or face the wrath of Satan herself."

CARAVAN: "First rule of Wound Canyon: No one who gets in, ever gets out. So when a brilliant, ghostly specter flies through the sky amid the rain and lightning, Samir stumbles off a steep cliff and into a hidden world, one in which demons, vampires, and all other manner of paranormal creatures take sanctuary." --> [also pretty NSFW and horny in general]

Death by Dying: "The Obituary Writer of Crestfall, Idaho finds himself deeply in over his head as he investigates a series of strange and mysterious deaths… when he is supposed to simply be writing obituaries. Along the way he encounters murderous farmers, man-eating cats, haunted bicycles, and a healthy dose of ominous shadows." --> [I had to stop listening to this in public because it kept making me undignified laugh and snort noises]

Desperado: "Blood magic, Voodoo magic, old gods, new gods: We've got it all! Follow the story of misfits from all over the world, as they try to survive and protect their heritage from modern-day crusaders."

EOS 10: "Doctors in space, a deposed alien prince, a super gay space pirate and a fiery nurse who'll help you win your bar fight."

Girl In Space: "Abandoned on a dying ship in the farthest reaches of known space, a young scientist fights for survival (and patience with the on-board A.I.). Who is she? No one knows. But a lot of dangerous entities really want to find out. Listen as the story unfolds for science, guns, trust, anti-matter, truth, beauty, inner turmoil, and delicious cheeses. It’s all here. In space."

Janus Descending: "...follows the arrival of two xenoarcheologists on a small world orbiting a binary star. But what starts off as an expedition to survey the planet and the remains of a lost alien civilization, turns into a monstrous game of cat and mouse, as the two scientists are left to face the creatures that killed the planet in the first place. Told from two alternating perspectives, Janus Descending is an experience of crossing timelines, as one character describes the nightmare from end to beginning, and the other, from beginning to the end." --> [absolutely harrowing horror]

Love and Luck: "...is a fictional radio play podcast, told via voicemails and set in present day Melbourne, Australia. A slice of life queer romance story with a touch of magic, it follows the relationship between two men, Jason and Kane, as their love grows both for each other and their community." --> [soft and gay, feels like a warm hug]

Potterless: "Join Mike Schubert, a grown man reading the Harry Potter series for the first time, as he sits down with HP fanatics to poke fun at plot holes, make painfully incorrect predictions, and bask in the sassiness of the characters." --> [the only non-fiction podcast on the list]

Primordial Deep: "When a long extinct sea creature washes up on the shores of Coney Island, marine biologist Dr. Marella Morgan is contacted by a secret organization to investigate the origins of the creature’s sudden and unnatural resurgence. Soon, she and a team of experts find themselves living on the research station The Tiamat, traveling along the abyssal plains as they search for answers far below the waves. But there are dangers in these ancient waters. Reawakened, prehistoric monsters are rising from the deep -- jaws wide and waiting, and in the darkness, something is stirring."

Red Valley: "No one at Overhead Industries wants to talk about defunct research station Red Valley, and account man Warren Godby is out of his depth. When he meets Gordon Porlock, a disgruntled archivist with a bag of tapes from the station’s last known occupant, they will begin a journey to the limits of experimental science, confront horror and trauma from the past, present and future, and try to remember the cheat codes from Sonic the Hedgehog 2."

Rusty Quill Gaming: "An actual play podcast following a mixed ability group of comedians, improvisers, gamers, and writers as they play through the extended, tabletop roleplaying campaign Erasing the Line, an original game world of the GM’s crafting." --> [took me a while to get into because I have trouble focusing on non-scripted things, but eventually I got really hooked on the plot and attached to the characters. This podcast is really fucked up at times if you think about it]

SAYER: "A narrative fiction podcast set on Earth’s man-made second moon, Typhon. The eponymous SAYER is a highly advanced, self-aware AI created to help acclimate new residents to their new lives, and their new employment with Ærolith Dynamics." --> [feels like Welcome to Night Vale but narrated by GLaDOS from Portal]

StarTripper!!: "Join Feston Pyxis on a road-trip through the cosmos, as he leaves behind his old life in search of the best and wildest experiences the galaxy has to offer!"

The Amelia Project: "...is a secret agency that fakes its clients' deaths, then lets them reappear with a brand new identity! A black comedy full of secrets, twists... and cocoa."

The Big Loop: "...a biweekly anthology series. Each episode is a self-contained narrative exploring the strange, the wonderful, the terrifying, and the heartbreaking. Stories of finite beings in an infinite universe." --> [I don't like anthologies, except this one]

The Bright Sessions: "Dr. Bright provides therapy for the strange and unusual; their sessions have been recorded for research purposes." --> [think X-Men, but with therapy instead of a school]

The Deca Tapes: "Recordings have surfaced of ten people that are locked into the same space together. We don’t know where they are, or if they'll get out. But the answers must be somewhere on these tapes."

The Silt Verses: "Carpenter and Faulkner, two worshippers of an outlawed god, travel up the length of their deity’s great black river, searching for holy revelations. As their pilgrimage lengthens and the river’s mysteries deepen, the two acolytes find themselves under threat from a police manhunt, but also come into conflict with the weirder gods that have flourished in these forgotten rural territories."

The White Vault: "Follow the collected records of a repair team sent to Outpost Fristed in the vast white wastes of Svalbard and unravel what lies waiting in the ice below."

Tides: "...is the story of Dr. Winifred Eurus, a xenobiologist trapped on an unfamiliar planet with hostile tidal forces. She must use her wits, sarcasm and intellectual curiosity to survive long enough to be rescued. But there might be more to life on this planet than she expected." --> [think The Martian, but on a water planet]

Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery: "Lillian Harper moves to the small town of Mt. Absalom, Ohio, to care for her estranged mother Dorothy after an injury. Living in the town's boarding house which has been run by her family for generations, she discovers conspiracies, ghosts, and a new family in the house's strange assortment of residents."

VAST Horizon: "Nolira is an agronomist tasked with establishing agriculture in a new solar system, but when she wakes up on a now- empty colony ship, the whole of her plan disappears. The ship has been set adrift, with numerous mission-critical problems requiring immediate attendance outside of her area of expertise. Nolira is aided by the ship’s malfunctioning AI, which acts as her confidant and companion during the fight for survival."

Victoriocity: "Even Greater London, 1887. In this vast metropolis, Inspector Archibald Fleet and journalist Clara Entwhistle investigate a murder, only to find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy of impossible proportions."

We Fix Space Junk: "...follows seasoned smuggler Kilner and reluctant fugitive Samantha as they travel the galaxy, dodging bullets and meeting strange and wonderful beings as they carry out odd jobs on the fringes of the law."

Welcome to Night Vale: "Twice-monthly community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, where every conspiracy theory is true. Turn on your radio and hide."

Within the Wires: "Stories told through found audio from an alternate universe."

Wooden Overcoats: "Rudyard Funn and his equally miserable sister Antigone run their family's failing funeral parlour, where they get the body in the coffin in the ground on time. But one day they find everyone enjoying themselves at the funerals of a new competitor - the impossibly perfect Eric Chapman! With their dogsbody Georgie, and a mouse called Madeleine, the Funns are taking drastic steps to stay in the business…" --> [one of THE funniest podcasts I have ever listened to]

[dahniwitchoflight]

Pokemon Legends Ideas

speaking of pokemon though...

ideas for the various Pokemon Legends remake line:

Pokemon Legends: The Ancient Jungle/Mew

Based on an ancient jungle environment where fossil and dinosaur pokemon thrive an abound, the environment is thick muggy jungle and the lore of the game focuses on the discovery of the ancient pokemon Mew perhaps by following clues related to the origins of Ditto as potentially related to Mew, side stories about the origins of the legendary bird pokemon (also, even though Lugia is gen 2, perhaps he could be included here since hes the supposed leader of the bird trio? and the Johto game would focus on Ho-oh and the Beasts anyway) Mewtwo obivously wouldn’t feature but that’s fine he doesn’t need to, could easily have stories about Meltan and Melmetal instead, who are ancient pokemon

Pokemon Legends: The Burned Tower/Ho-oh

Based on a more traditional ancient Japanese style retelling of the origins of Ho-oh and the Legendary Beast trio, see the original tower burned, maybe finally see who exactly were the three original pokemon lost in the flames? with side stories about Celebi’s ancient forest and it’s travels through time but also GIVE ME UNOWN LORE BLEASE

Pokemon Legends: The Great Meteor/Jirachi

Goes into the ancient stories of the draconid people introduced in the delta episode of the ORAS remakes, Primal Ancient Kyogre and Groudon, at the peak of their power, a time where meteors constantly fell upon the earth and the first ever Mega-Evolution of Rayquaza, from the wish the first lorekeeper made upon the rainbow stone (Maybe this was originally just Jirachi themselves), plenty of side story content in the form of the Regi’s (Including Regigigas and Regidraco/Regieleki) and the twin Latias/Latios

Pokemon Legends: Arceus, duh

(but I can hope it’s not JUST Arceus, ples give some spotlight to the tons of underused in lore legendaries this gen, Darkrai, Cresselia, Shaymin, Manaphy, HEATRAN)

Pokemon Legends: The First Dragon/Kyurem/??? Pokemon that might have a different name then Kyurem

OBVIOUSLY gonna be about the first dragon, the true singular form of the original dragon that split into Kyurem, Reshiram and Zekrom and the conflict between the early factions of humans hinted from the story of black and white, give the Justice trio (Terrakion, Cobalion, Virizion, Keldeo) some side story content in the form of being active in those ancient human conflicts, Victini lore, the weather trio representing the wilderness of nature back in those times, Genesect very likely wouldn’t be a thing, but Meloetta could

Pokemon Legends: The Ultimate Weapon/Zygarde

Huge potential here for a pokemon game set during the great kalosian WAR, view the original stories of King AZ and the unique floette, how their story happened, give Zygarde some sort of role or function as antagonist against those who would create the weapon out of a captured Zerneas/Yveltal in it’s role as balancer of the natural order, easy easy side content stories, flesh out Diancie’s connection to the Carbinks, go into the story of that huge crystal sundial of Anistar City, Hoopa gots some cool stuff, and Volcanion could even have a role as something cool

Pokemon Legends: Ultra Space/Necrozma

While they could focus on Magearna for this game, since Magearna is the only pokemon with some Ancient Lore from within the region itself attached to it from this gen, I fell like Sun and Moon’s fancy legends game would actually be better served by exploring much deeper into the role of the Ultra Space, you get glimpses of the alien worlds when visiting the ultra beasts natural habitats, and you get the main Necrozma based city in ultraspace

Modern Alola is actually already very traditional, already holding fast to ancient observations and traditions that going back to plain olden times alola I feel wouldn’t do as much? Esp cuz all the interesting stuff back then the aura and totem Pokémon, all happened because of Necrozma’s fall into the world from Ultra Space

I think the intro would be best served as starting in the distant past of Alola sure, but then Necrozma falls out of Ultra Space, rips open a wormhole, and our protagonist is then Sucked Into it and their journey is throughout the cosmos of the space inbetween and giving legendary like lore to the actual Ultra Beasts themselves, Lunala and Solgaleo and Cosmog/Cosmoem originate from here anyway, so they could still be included in this story as our way back, perhaps as our original ally in the fight to stop Necrozma from devouring all the light of our world in the travels through ultra space

Marshadow and Zeraora should get some obvious love as well for sure

Pokemon Legends: The Darkest Day/Eternatus

So it’s true that we have a clear once a time story with the darkest day event from Eternatus’s history

but funnily enough, I kinda always figured that that “Darkest day” was actually Necrozma’s doing that got falsely attributed to Eternatus, since yknow, in eating of the light of the world, the day would actually darken, and doesn’t Eternatus look REALLY like something that popped out of an Ultra Wormhole? really makes you think...certainly would be a hell of a coincedence

On the flipside for “okay but what else would they do in ancient galar”, I feel like if they did do a Galar Legends game, I think a pokemon King Arthur type legendary story would be very cool, just legit make a pokemonized King Arthur/Calyrex story and we would go Nuts over it

sooo, Pokemon Legends: The Old Kingdom/Calyrex

obviously Calyrex and his steeds would be the main focus of this ancient tale with some sprinklings of Zacian/Zamazenta, but really when you glean through the ancient stories hidden in the galar, more of it focuses on the Acnient Kings of the galar region, and really Eternatus already got explored enough in the actual galar games anyway, give me the Dark Hidden Lore of Galar

but again, still some very cool side content with Zarude and Urshifu at least and perhaps maybe a tad more of the cuckoo galarian bird trio? make it tie all the way back to Legends Kanto game somehow? Ancient bird rivalry between twin trios of legendary birds would be a neat thing to explore

though how neat would it be if they actually tied all fo the ancient apolcalyptic stories from across the regions into one connected story?

in Hoenn it was that a great meteor threatened to destroy the planet so person wishes on a falling shiny rock to make the apocalypse go away, SunMoon has Necrozma darkening the sky and eating the light and when they got shattered it caused powerful shiny rocks to coalesce out of the sky, SwordShield had twin kings wish upon a magic shiny rock to make the darkest day go away

hey wait a minute, seeing a pattern there...

wonder if the great war of kalos old was also fought under some sky darkening event? and if it also involved the magical power of some shiny rock? and each region’s story is just their personal twist on the same ancient event, in the land of old, when all regions were once one...

what if the ancient conflict in Black/White’s history was actually the same war from kalos’s history? And it was actually a war between Unova and Kalos? Same war from two different sides of the conflict

[mychemicalficrecs]

Do you know of any fics that are more platonically focused between the band?

I'll admit I'm a romance reader and it appears most writers like shipping too, but there is the occasional gen fic to be found...

Platonic Relationships

Like A Dream, It's A Fear by likeasugarcube, Frank/Mikey, 1k, General. Frank is dubious about pizza-and-horror-movie night at Mikey's new place.

Darling, It Is No Joke by Kaysa, Frank & Gerard, Frank & Ray & Gerard & Mikey, 3k, Teen And Up. The dog really was huge, unnaturally tall and with a big head. The coat was a brownish black, the eyes reflected what little light reached them. It was crouching, ears flat against the head and back arched. Gerard shivered. The dog growled lowly, then snarled and showed its teeth. Gerard froze. “Frank, I mean it. Please. It’s afraid. Don’t get hurt,” he whispered desperately.

Trope Meme Ficlets by alpheratz, Gerard & Mikey, 572 words, PG. Mikey realized that he was in Gerard's body when he opened his eyes and the tattoos on the arm of the person sleeping beside him were all wrong. His hair was also the wrong color.

Roomies Versus Spider by Anonymous, Frank & Mikey, 1k, Teen And Up. Mikey and Frank faced many things in their time as friends as roommates. But this one was for all the Doritos, folks. This time, they might not make it out alive.

pulses can drive from here by inlovewithnight, Mikey & Pete, Gerard & Mikey, 12k, Mature. Mikey is kidnapped and held for three months. When he's released, he doesn't want anyone to help him put things back together. But Gerard and Pete aren't going anywhere.

Stargazing by SittingInSilence, Gerard & Mikey, 2k, General. The tale of two brothers and a trip to see the stars. Mikey has always loved the stars, but the city lights kept them hidden from his view for most of his life. One day Gerard has enough of the sad look his younger brother gets every night when he stares out the small living room window and takes him to see the stars.

Beasts In Repose by Go0se, Bob & Frank & Ray & Gerard & Mikey, 10k, Teen And Up. They'd all heard the mansion was haunted, but the curse came as a surprise.

One Day, This Day by claireweasley (dul_cin_ea), Ray & Gerard, 2k, Teen And Up. Whatever it is, they were a family and they would take care of it together, Gerard decides. Thirteen and a half episodes of Full House hadn’t been wasted on him.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Gerard Way by pyrchance, Frank & Gerard, Gerard & Mikey, 9k, Teen And Up. When Gerard straightens back up again, suddenly immensely sympathetic of Bilbo’s desire to dodge the draft of any adventures, the scarecrow is laughing at him. Gerard wants to have never thought that sentence. He wants to have thought: someone was laughing at him. He wants to have some sort of doubt. Some room for ambiguity. But no. - Gerard carries two things in his pockets: a lighter and chip for 90 days. He wishes the talking scarecrow was his biggest problem.

Ache by easystreets, Frank & Ray & Gerard & Mikey, 2k, Teen And Up. Frank takes a pull from his cigarette, already down to the filter, and reminds himself: this won't last forever.

Germ Catcher by pyrchance, Frank & Gerard, 4k, General. It's their first tour together, barely a month after Frank was brought into the band. Of course Frank has to go and get sick.

[gffa]

My current progress on The High Republic books, comics, etc. I DESERVE CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL-WISHES TO CATCH UP BEFORE THE ACOLYTE AIRS. MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE I:

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi

The High Republic: A Test of Courage

The High Republic: Into the Dark

The High Republic: The Rising Storm

The High Republic: Race To Crashpoint Tower

The High Republic: Out Of The Shadows

The High Republic: Mission to Disaster

The High Republic: The Fallen Star

The High Republic: Midnight Horizon

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: Path of Deceit

The High Republic: Convergence

The High Republic: Quest for the Hidden City

The High Republic: Cataclysm

The High Republic: Quest for Planet X

The High Republic: Path of Vengeance

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness

The High Republic: Escape from Valo

The High Republic: Defy The Storm

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE I:

The High Republic (2021) - 15 issues

The High Republic Adventures (2021) - 13 issues

The High Republic: The Monster of Temple Peak - 4 issues

The High Republic: The Edge Of Balance - 2 manga volumes

The High Republic: Trail of Shadows - 5 issues

The High Republic: Eye of the Storm - 2 issues

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: The Blade - 4 issues

The High Republic (2022) - 10 issues

The High Republic Adventures (2021) - 8 issues

The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Precedent - 1 manga volume

The High Republic Adventures: The Nameless Terror - 4 issues

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight - 4 issues

The High Republic (2023) - 5 issues [ONGOING]

The High Republic Adventures (2023) - 4 issues [ONGOING]

MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE I:

The High Republic: Tempest Runner

MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE I:

Star Wars Adventures (2020) #6 - “The Gaze Electric”

The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2021

The High Republic Adventures Annual 2021

The High Republic Adventures: Galactic Bake-Off Spectacular

Star Wars Adventures (2020) #14 - “A Very Nihil Interlude”

The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2023

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE II:

The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE III:

The High Republic Adventures: Crash Landing

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE I:

Star Wars: The High Republic: Starlight

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE II:

Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - ALL PHASES:

The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life

EVERYTHING ELSE:

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures - 25 episodes

This is a bit misleading in that several of these I'm halfway through, I've been watching Young Jedi Adventures in the background while I do other things and it's super cute! It's very much a preschooler-aimed series, but the animation is gorgeous, the voice acting is adorable, and it's fun to have on in the background. (It does make me pine for this style of animation to be used for more familiar characters, what I wouldn't give for baby Mace Windu in this style or baby Obi-Wan or baby Plo or baby Shaak, THEY WOULD BE SO CUTE.) I'm also halfway through The Fallen Star, which isn't as far as I'd like considering I started it several days ago, but I don't have as much on-line time these days and I listen to it in the background while doing other things. It's fine so far, I'd say! I'm eager to get to Phase III, though. One thing that's really hitting me all over again, especially as I'm wrapping up reading Shadows of Starlight is that the Nihil are now trying to set up their own area of the galaxy, to set up a government in their claimed area, they've been strong-arming planets into being forced to join them, they've been actively killing Jedi--including one general who opens his coat to reveal a collection of lightsabers to show that he'd be a good fit to join the Nihil--and it's so many echoes of the prequels that it's fascinating. Because the way the Jedi react, the need to align with the Republic for strength, the need to fight back against an enemy that is specifically targeting them, the need to help free the worlds that are being occupied by this government that claims to have nobler intentions, but really just wants to crush worlds under its boot? It's really showing, consistently, the Jedi being put in the same positions as the prequels Jedi and showing why their choices weren't great, but they had to choose something, because the alternative was worse. Reading all of this has given me a more sympathetic reading of the prequels' set-up, served up to me on a silver platter. OKAY, WISH ME LUCK in getting through at least one more comic run today and tell me how your High Republic reading journey is going, too!

[jockvillagersonly]

2020 Drama Round Up!

Jock’s Alphabetical Watched List

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Ancient Detective

Rating: 🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣 5/5 cozy winter garments

Watch Status: done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

The MC is, objectively, the coziest man alive

MC said “simp rights” and honestly...good for him

I guessed the ~final twist~ really early, but it didn’t dampen my enjoyment of each individual case or the show as a whole!

Any Bad Stuff?

The last few episodes are like...oddly homophobic? With a queer-coded character presented in a somewhat grotesque stereotype? SAD!!

🌸 more reviews under the cut 🌸

Ever Night (S1)

Rating: 🌂🌂🌂🌂 4/5 inexplicably magic umbrellas

Watch Status: ...like 30% done

The Good Stuff:

Some of the BEST fight scenes I’ve seen

Lots of interesting world building!

My queen Meng Ziyi 👑

Any Bad Stuff?

God the MC’s hair is UGLY 😔 pour one out 😔

Guardian

Rating: 👬👬👬👬👬 5/5 gays

Watch Status: done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

It doesn’t get any gayer than this folks

Really this is some of the queerest media I’ve ever seen

Also the main and ensemble characters are all endearing and fun 🐍

All I know is have diarrhea and be hindrance

Any Bad Stuff?

The middle portion of this show DRAAAAGS

Also ZYL’s hair makeover is awful and someone needs to say it !!!!!

Legend of Fei

Rating: 🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰 5/5 dog safe chestnuts

Watch Status: still airing

The Good Stuff:

The pure yibotonin in this show could power a city or at least one depressed viewer (me)

Zhou Fei could and frankly should kick my ass

I love her your honor

Any Bad Stuff?

Has the odd effect of each plot arc feeling both way too long AND like you’ve been crammed way too full of information

Maiden Holmes

Rating: 🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️ 5/5 superior detection skills

Watch Status: one night and 15 episodes in

The Good Stuff:

The main pairing is so fucking cute guys. He loves her so much. He thinks she’s so smart 🥺

Includes one of the purest archetypes of a himbo on screen today 🤌

Crime solving! Hidden identities! Bisexual panics!

Any Bad Stuff?

One episode includes a pretty long assault scene / near r*pe of a main character - the scene is flashed back to throughout the episode, as well

Oh My General!

Ranking: 💪💪💪💪 4/5 beefy lady biceps

Watch Status: like 25% done because FUCK it’s long

The Good Stuff:

Literally EVERYONE in this show is bi. I have the screenshots to prove it. It’s glorious

call me old fashioned, but i was raised to serve my general. clean for her. cook for her and everything i do is for her. and if she cheats? that is on me! she caught me slipping and i will apologize and do better.

Any Bad Stuff?

My only complaint so far is the romance takes awhile to pick up? I’m pretty tired of the main love interest being rude to his objectively incredible wife >:(

S.C.I.

Ranking: 🐭🐭🐭 3/5 mouse archetypes

The Good Stuff:

The pacing is quick! Sometimes too quick? I got lost a lot @___@

Bai Yutong is simply TOO ripped

Any Bad Stuff?

Honestly this show is a bit of a poorly edited, problematic dumpster fire with not even a passing understanding of what psychology is

...but god if it isn’t fun to watch

Silent Criminal

Rating: 🥸🥸🥸🥸 4/5 conveniently disguised emperors

Watch Status: done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

They’re gay and in love your honor

Honestly the two leads really grew on me! I found myself wanting to rewatch their interactions

Not a whole lot of actual crime solving :(

Any Bad Stuff?

Yet another example of the tragic underutilization of female characters with potential 😔 justice for the ladies of this show

There is an assault scene (a character straddles a main character and forces a kiss while he protests). Easily skippable and not referenced again

Sword Dynasty

Rating: 🐛🐛🐛🐛 4/5 divine silkworms

Watch Status: just started (like 3 eps in)

The Good Stuff:

The fight scenes are very wuxia and very fun

Idk what the fuck is going on, but I’m pretty sure the emperor deserves to be stabbed, so go off I guess!

Any Bad Stuff?

Honestly I have barely begun this so ... idk yet!

Tale of the Nine Tailed

Rating: 🦊🦊🦊🦊 4/5 immortal foxes

Watch Status: mostly done

The Good Stuff:

Lee Yeon is very hot and that’s a fact

Nam Ji Ah (main female lead) is SO powerful and SO amazing and LITERALLY my queen

She stabs her fake mom when she’s , like , 5!

The communication b/w the leads??? Iconic

Any Bad Stuff?

This is just me, but I truly cared so little about the Imoogi. I just. Wanted an episodic monster of the week with all the same characters. Pls

The Lost Tomb Reboot

Rating: 👨‍🦰👨‍🦰👨‍🦰 3/5 bad mustache disguises

Watch Status: I stopped watch once [SPOILER] Wu Xie was cured, because I just ... don’t care about the mob politics? So for me that was where the show ended

The Good Stuff:

Zhu Yilong is like ... way too fucking pretty

Also the Wu Xie & Pangzi friendship is so FUN in this show!!!!

Everyone is 2 hot 2 handle

Any Bad Stuff?

Not nearly enough Iron Triangle hangouts >:(

Shockingly large amounts of white collar crime, shockingly few tombs

Every lady is CHRONICALLY underused and/or murdered. Yawn.

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty

Rating: 🎩🎩🎩🎩 4/4 detective hats

Watch Status: I’m always on / off with this show 😔 I’m like 2/3 done now

The Good Stuff:

Crimes !! Solving crimes !! Gay domesticity !! What more could you ask for

One of the best OT3 set ups in the business

Any Bad Stuff?

Silly hats

For folks with secondhand embarassment issues, the main lead can be ... hard

The Untamed

Rating: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰 5/5 soft bunny metaphors

Watch Status: Done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

Everyone in this show is so pretty I’m convinced it’s illegal

Like if this didn’t pass censorship it wouldn’t be because of the obvious gay longing but rather because it’s setting unrealistic expectations for beauty

Also: the gayest longing around. And murder!

Any Bad Stuff?

Nothing this show is perfect in every way

(Except like maybe don’t kill or write off all your women ... thoughts)

[aliaslua]

In broad daylight

Chapter 01: Out and about

Raphael is still learning to cope with his new life. On the rainy evening after Michelangelo's first national interview, the big and solitary turtle brother decides to go on a walk and while he tries to adapt to a world he never wanted to be a part of, he meets a human woman that changes his path.

This is an AU that diverges from cannon after the events of Out of the shadows. Instead of choosing to keep living hidden in the sewers, the family of mutants accepts chief Vincent's suggestion of trying to live a normal life among humans. This is a compilation of events that unfold after the fact, tales about the turtles and the humans that cross their paths.

This series may contain mature themes (Trigger Warnings will be included before every chapter), if you’re a minor please don’t interact.

TW: None

You can also read it in AO3

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

It took Raphael two years to finally decide to walk on a sidewalk alone. It was the first time he was alone in... Well, Michelangelo called it “upstairs”, Leonardo called it “the real world” and Donatello just called the streets of New York by their common name. Raph didn’t called it anything since names carry meaning and that world and its residents were a mystery to him. When he had to describe the world above him, he called it “outside”.

He was 19 when he was outvoted and then convinced of accepting the idea of coming out into the world. Now a grown 21 years old man-turtle, he still felt his palms sweaty and his fingers cold as he held the knob of the door that led into the streets of New York. A shaky breath left his mouth when he finally opened the alley door.

It wasn’t the first time he walked among humans but in every occasion he had to (knowing he would only do it if he was obligated) he had Casey holding one of his shoulders or April holding one of his fingers. Now, the world presented itself in front of him and he was alone. Despite his anxiety, the landscape wasn’t as intimidating as he once anticipated, there was no big crowd filled with scared looks of disgust, only the concrete street and light rain drops. He didn’t know exactly what he expected, actually. It was too late in the night to be walking the street alone, no human would dare to bet their safety to wander around an ugly and stinky street. Raphael wasn’t human and he would bet his life knowing no one ill intended would dare to cross his path... No one would even dare to ask for directions or to wish him a good evening. No one would dare to approach him. He had learned sooner than later that even well meaning humans would avoid being alone next to him and despite his efforts to understand them there was a deep part of Raph that held a grudge against it.

The second oldest brother would rather spend the rest of his life avoiding contact with this reality. It took maybe two or three minutes after he started to walk down the street for him to regret that decision as he felt the warm thick air of the night against his skin. He kept his pace despite that, determined to reach at least one mile before coming back home. The streets were still empty and he could only hear his heavy steps on the ground and the distant sound of cars. There was a time he loved this city... A time when all he wanted to was to roam around hidden in the roof tops and the dark shadows of the alleys, a time when he could watch this world and not be a part of it, when he could be invisible, a mere observer. Maybe he still could, he thought, maybe his outfit made him look human enough from a distance... Raphael liked the clothes, he liked he was now able to hear Knicks' shirts that fitted him perfectly thanks to his new access to tailor-made clothing, he liked his loose trousers and the dark colored sweaters that covered his shell, he liked his sneakers and his watch. Life out on the surface had brought him many new luxuries: now the lair had tiles and furniture and a long corridor that led to a door facing the streets, it didn't smell bad anymore thanks to modern isolation and he had his own bed, a king sized bed, with many pillows and clean white bed sheets. Raph sighed loudly once again, maybe Mikey was right. Maybe life could be more than he perceived to be.

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"Turn it on!"

The crowd cheered lively as the host turned in his chair.

"Good night, ladies and gentleman." He started talking in a pleasant voice "Tonight, in a exclusive interview... An absolutely unique moment in history. It's an honor to be here, sharing this moment with you as we receive with a warm round of applause please welcome... Michelangelo Hamato!"

Mikey walked into the stage with the biggest smile as the applause kept going, he was wearing a well fitted set of blazer and pants and he looked nothing like the wild and anxious brother they new. He waved to the crowd with such confidence that the absurd size difference between him and the host looked funny instead of terrifying, he even flipped the edge of his blazer behind him as he seated in the two-seater sofa and crossed his leg, showing a shinny elegant shoe.

"Michelangelo.... May I call you Mikey?"

"Yes, please."

"It's an honor... and I mean it, it's an honor to have you tonight."

"The honor is all mine, Jim."

The crowd cheered once again.

"Now... Mikey, I've to start saying... You're a sight to be seen!"

"Thank you!" Loud claps echoing from the crowd.

"How tall are you?"

"I'am 6'5"

"Taller than Micheal Jordan!"

"... And the smallest in the bunch!" Mikey commented with a big smile and the host returned the smile with wide eyes.

"Must be a very tall bunch!"

"A very big bunch!"

"Yes indeed!" The crowd laughed along with the host as Mikey shared a wide smile again.

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

Ten minutes had passed since Raphael started his walk and three minutes had passed since a man with a dog on a leash had walked past him, completely unbothered by his presence. Had he made it? Has he invisible? Comfortable enough with the prospect of an empty city that slept while he walked, Raph took his headphones and pressed play in the link Donnie had sent him, the cellphone opened a new tab and a podcast started playing. Soothing was followed by a female voice that introduced the name of the show.

"...As always, thank you all for listening. In today's episode we'll be discussing the new revelations in the law case that wrecked the nation: the case Sacks vs Hamato, that absurd demonstration of pure capitalist greed that tried to condemn four literal teenagers to pay an equally absurd amount of money - and prison time!- for materials damage caused to the Sacks company-" "...and illegal espionage." A second voice complemented "Yes, thank you Sabrina. We have already discussed the legal implications that case could open for the judicial system here in America and all the possible outcomes in the Thirteenth episode of the first season of this podcast, if you haven't heard it yet, I heavily suggest you do so you can follow the argument of the developments in this case. Now, Sabrina... Yesterday we saw the final outcome of this case and the hearing that decided the sentence ended with an incredible emotional speech from Donatello - we know he was one of the brother's more involved with the whole process" "Yes" "... And now they're free! Of all charges!" "...Yes Gabi what we saw today followed by Michelangelo's incredible interview in the Late Night Show back on Thursday was, honestly, a beautiful strike against bigotry in this country..." "Absolutely, I mean... The judge of the case himself assumed that the charges were unfounded and biased..." "Yes! And now we have a established background to be able to-"

Raphael stopped the audio, unable to disguise his contempt. Geez , is that the kind of thing Donnie spends his time listening to? Wasn't real life already a bore? He let out a grumpy sigh and put his phone away. A human figure across the street started to stare indiscreetly at him and Raphael felt his heart shrink before making a blunt turn in a different street. The rain had stopped and the night wind was starting to feel colder, just like Raphael's heart as he tried to escape whoever it was that was trying to identify his figure.

A bright blue light appeared at the end of the new street Raphael just walked into. An all-night convenience store. Raph had been in a place that before, he and Casey had brought snacks and a couple of beers. He felt his mouth water at the idea of a cold beer. He had cash - more than enough. Maybe if he promised a fat tip they would let him get in. He shift his height between his feet as he observed the inside, the neon blue light was coming from a weirdly shaped advertisement placed above the entrance, perfectly contrasting with the ugly green light inside the store, some shelves appeared through the glass window and door, but he could tell that the place was empty - or almost that. In his head, Raphael had decided to take that chance and he was determined to perceive, his body, otherwise, didn't seem as thrilled with the idea. He waited outside as the rain started to pour once again, trying collect the mental strength to got in when a skinny old man opened the translucent door

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"Mikey, your last name is now worldwide known since the start of the trial, tell me: is it Japanese? Was it inherited from you father...?"

"I don't know, actually... We made it up!"

"What?" The human man asked as the crowd giggled

"It's exactly that, actually. When we came to the surface and Sacks decides to sue us the judicial system needed a surname to use... Apparently!"

"So you just made it up!"

"Hell yeah! Wouldn't you like to come up with your name?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"What would you call yourself?" He host made a surprise expression as Mikey changed the dynamic

"Jim Linotax!"

"...Oh, it's a pleasure, Mr. Linotax!" Michelangelo said, offering a handshake as he managed to pull more laughs from the crowd

"Michelangelo... It's a unique name!"

"I heard once it was very popular in the sixteen century."

"Oh, really?"

"Oh yes."

"And all your brothers have renascence names, is that right?"

"Yes. Thanks to old dad."

"How 's that?"

"Well, you see, when you grow up in a tiny sewer house you have more concerns than you weirdly specific name..."

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"Are you gonna steal?" The tiny man asked and he seemed to fight the same nervousness as Raph. The turtle-man on the other hand, felt all his limbs stiff and his hands go numb at the sound of that old man directing calling to him. He made a genuine effort and reached his pockets for the dollar bills.

"I-I just want a couple of beers."

"Go AWAY! Go away! No beers here for you!" The man started to yell as Raphael finally caught up his accent. It was stiff and hard in the h's and o's, he couldn't decipher where it was from.

"I just want to buy something! I am a client!" Raphael responded too late to recognize his anger.

"Nothing here for you! Go away!"

"I HAVE THE MONEY!" Raph screamed back at him, waving the bills in the air. The world started to feel out of focus as he realized people had gone to their apartment balconies and were looking at him through the windows in the buildings surrounding the store. Had he woke the whole street? Did he hear someone saying they were calling the police? No, please... The last thing he needed was a scold from Leo for causing a scene... All he wanted was a beer. Fuck, fuck, fuck. More and more lights started to turn on as the buzz around him got bigger and louder. He felt his heart sink and his hand hurt from the tight firsts he could not undo. Something inside him couldn't decide between the want to murder that man and the uncontrollable desire to scream and shout. "No more roof climbing." Leo had said "We're like humans now. We can't just go out jumping through people's houses." He couldn't just vanish away, despite the burning desire to just escape that situation.

"Look," Raphael managed to say, after two or three deep breaths "... I am sorry. I just wanted to buy a beer... I am leaving now."

"Hey! I finally found you!" An unfamiliar voice shouted from the other side of the street. Raph turned to look and almost knocked over whoever it was. Their bodies bumped into each other but only the smaller of them reacted to the impact, he felt a tiny pair of hands grab his arm."OooOOooww! That was close... Hey, we've been looking for you! Did you get the drinks?"

"NO DRINKS HERE FOR YOU!" The store owner screamed once again.

"Damn... Ok. We can go somewhere else!" The female voice had a sharpness to it, finally Raphael finally looked at her.

Nothing in this world could have prepared him for the vision of the young women holding his arm. She was short (but most people usually are in comparison to the mutant), had a luscious curly hair, tied in two pigtails that ended in the back of her neck. She was wearing a very revealing blouse and high waisted pants that matched in color. She was clearly dressed up, with sparkly high heels and long elegant earrings and she was holding his arms with a casualty he had never experienced before.

"C'mon!" She said and turned her head to him, showing a full face of makeup and bright brown eyes "Let's get the hell out of here."

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

The crowd followed Mikey and the host as they laughed at the childhood story the turtle just shared.

"Mikey, unfortunately our time is almost over... I just wanted to thank you once again for coming tonight, for coming out into the world."

"The pleasure is all mine Jim, really... I've spent all my teenage years watching you on TV... I never thought I would be here tonight, I never thought I'd have the pleasure of meeting such a welcoming audience (loud cheering noises) and I never thought I could be part of this world."

There was an almost child-like honesty in his words making the brief moment of silence that came after especially touching.

"He's killing it." - April whispered to the TV

"100%" - Leo's voice came after

"Thank you, Michelangelo... I hope we can have all your brothers soon!"

"You can count on it!" Mikey answered, excited

"You can NOT count on that" - Raphael responded at the TV

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"I thought you guys didn't walk the streets... I've red the interview your brother gave to the New Yorker... He said you probably would wait a while until you decided to stroll around." The woman said as they walked back to the lair's alley door. She had told Raphael her name was Clara and they had held hands until they turned the corner and were out of sight from those judging eyes. She was smaller than most humans, Raphael later realized, maybe 5'1 or 5'2 and had a high pitched voice that made the turtle think about those weird anime dubs he used to watch as a kid. The strangest thing about his savior was that she seemed strangely familiarized with his presence. He ignored her comment as they kept walking in silence for a while. Raphael couldn't stop thinking about how long it would take for him to finally reach his destination and how could he respectfully ask for her to back off. Not that he wasn't grateful but her presence alone made him incredibly uncomfortable. She was too small, too elegant, too beautiful to walk just like that, beside him.

"I guess it is equally strange to you, right? To be here, in the real world... Out and about." Clara walked casually with both hands in her pocket as she looked up to the streets lights, Raphael wondered if she actually expected him to answer "... Is it weird for me to be like this? I mean... I thought you could use some help back there. But I don't mean to be inconvenient... Is it ok if you just walk with me closer to the next bus station? It is a bit late and I guess you're the perfect body guard..."

They kept walking, Clara and her tiny hands in the neon green pockets of her pants and Raphael with his stiff steps and dark clothing, all he wanted was to walk home without meeting everyone else, lock the door behind him and drink until all the memories fade away... But it didn't seem his wishes would come true as a pair of men jogging appeared at the end of the street, just in front of them. They looked at the strange couple and one of them startled at the vision. Clara looked at them and waved.

"Good night to you!" She said with a calm tone.

"Are you alright??" One of them asked from far away, still trying to figure out Raphael's image.

"Yeah!" She answered immediately "Why wouldn't I be?" Then she gave them a wide welcoming smile that made Raphael's heart beat uncontrollably "Good night to you." Clara then said, just as she turned one corner, grabbing Raphael's arm.

She then let go of him and offered a warm smile "It's ok... I don't think they will bother you. The bus stop is just right there turning the other corner... Thank you for bringing me here. Good night!" And just like that, she turned her back to him and started to walk away. Each step pressing Raphael's heart against his chest.

"WAIT!" The worlds came out of his mouth before he could stop them. She startled at the unexpected sound and immediately turned to him

"What?"

Raphael waited a minute so he could gather all the emotional strength to ask: "Can you walk me home?"

Clara smiled as she approached the mutant once again: "Is it too far?"

Raph took a minute to answer but instead said: "I'll pay you a cab when we get there." Clara hums and adds:" You sure? I leave pretty far." Raphael only nodded. Then she gave him the same silence answer. He couldn't mentally trace the path he had taken that night but he knew it was almost morning. The rain had stopped long ago but the air was much colder than when he left the lair, he was actually getting cold and wondered if she felt the same. They kept walking in silence until it finally hit him:

"What were you doing in the streets so late at night?"

"Oh..." She seemed surprised by his question, her voice a comparison that made him realize how low he sounded "I was on a date actually..." She said showing her teeth in a straight smile that indicated self-awareness, well that explained the clothing. "The guy turned out to be a prick, so I bolted! I was completely lost when I heard all the fuss the store guy was making... Thank god I found that mess, actually... I was getting pretty scared."

Silence as they got closer and closer to the lair's street door.

"... It was a complete coincidence to find you, actually... I was watching the rerun of your brother's interview today... I am actually in love with him! "she said in a ambiguous tone "Can you introduce us? Do you think I have a chance?" Raph finally laughed. Not at the idea that Mikey was charming enough to acquire the interest a woman like Clara, but at the absurd fact she thought she had to ask if she had a chance. With Mikey?

"He's also a prick." Raphael responded sharply but with a captivating tone to his voice. Then... She laughed. Raph couldn't contain his own grin.

The first sunbeams were about to appear at the horizon and when the red-wearing turtle finally reached the large metal door, he felt a relief like never before.

"I'll call a cab and get inside… So you know… The guy doesn’t bail because of me."

"Ok." Clara said, a light smile in her cheeks. "It was nice to meet you..."

"Raphael." He added after realizing she never asked his name did she knew it already?

"Hope to see you around soon."

Raph nodded with uncertainty and grabbed the metal knob. Clara's last words engraved in his brain as he crossed the long corridor that led to his underground home.

[linkspooky]

Toga Himiko’s Normal Life

Himiko looks like the most straight forward case of what pop culutre considers to be a classical sociopath / psychopath in My Hero Acadmia. Shigaraki, Dabi, Hawks were all groomed to become the way they were, but Himiko possessed a natural inclination towards blood and violence from the start. She seesm to be a natural born cold blooded killer, however in this meta I’ll argue that while Toga seems like the flip-side of a normal, good person like Uraraka, she’s actually just a normal girl herself. 

1. Character Origins

Volume sixteen of My Hero Academia had an official illustration included as an extra that shows the characters Twice and Himiko drawn together in an illusion to a famous Joker and Harley Quinn illustration. 

Now, I’m not going so far as to claim Himiko was based off of Harley Quinn, but one the league of villains and characters like Twice (and ReDestro) have made similiar references to the Joker before that especially with the quote “All it takes is one bad day”. There’s also enough similarities betweeen the two characters, they’re both the only female members of a crime syndicate that is mostly men, and dominated by men. Their backstories mirror each other, they were both relatively sane, normal, girls, until suddenly they cracked one day and became a total inversion of their previous presonality. There are enough similarities that I could use Harley as an example to explain a few of the important ideas present in Toga’s character. 

They are also both female characters who are written with love as the central concept of their characters. Harley’s origin as originally depicted in the comic and episode for the Batman the Animated Series “Mad Love” goes as follows: Harleen Quinzell was a psychiatrist working at Arkham. Eventualy she came to sympathize with one of her patients which triggered a transformation in her from well meaning doctor, to love-sick sycophant of the joker who broke him out of prison. 

A lot of Batman Villains have origins like this. The most comparable one is Harvey Dent. Proescutors, Doctors, we are told the people who hold these jobs are good and righteous people. Even Harley herself started out as someone who just sympathized with a patient too much. However, somehow they become flipped into the exact opposite versions of themselves. They go mad for lack of a better words. Harvey Dent who was once a symbol of justice, becomes nothing more than a murderer, and Harley Quinn goes from healer to the sidekick of a mad clown willing to destroy everything in the name of love. 

The question, asked in both Himiko and Harley’s stories is how can good people flip like this? 

Most people have a black and white view of these issues: good people are only capable of good actions, and bad people are capable of bad actions. It’s hard to swallow the fact that any normal person has the capacity to cause so much harm inside of them. 

We see similiar remarks in the background of Himiko’s story. Himiko comes from a good upper class family, she went to what was most likely a good school, she was always smiling and surrounded by friends. Everyone who comments on her sudden transformation reacts in a similiar way. “She was aways so cheerful and well-behaved, I still find it hard to believe.” She was always such a good girl, and good people don’t do those things. 

Normal people, good people, don’t have the capacity to do bad. That’s what makes the transformations so shocking. Therapists/Doctors are supposed to heal, Prosecutors are supposed to be just. And now we return to our old friend Jung. 

The story of Harleen Quinzell and Harley Quinn. The story of Himiko Toga the happy middle school girl and Himiko Toga the serial killer is a tale told over and over again, it’s just usually told with male protagonists instead of female ones. It’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) is a late-Victorian variation on ideas first raised in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). Stevenson’s monster, however, is not artificially created from stitched-together body parts, but rather emerges fully formed from the dark side of the human personality. In the story Dr Jekyll, an admired member of the professional Victorian middle-classes, conducts a series of scientific experiments which unleash from his own psyche the ‘bestial’ and ‘ape-like’ Mr Hyde (ch. 10). Gothic fiction had examined the idea of the sinister alter ego or double before on many occasions but Stevenson’s genius with Jekyll and Hyde was to show the dual nature not only of one man but also of society in general.

“Man is not one, but truly two.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

Both cases are tales are transformation, of the monster coming from within. Himiko transforms from middle school girl into serial killer. Harleen Quinzell transforms into Harley Quinn. Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde. We witness a transformation into a monster that seems the antithesis of everything that person was boefre, but was inside of them all along this works because of the jungian idea of the shadow. 

The shadow is the unconscious side of personality. The shadow is what exists but what we do not acknowledge. If our behavior during everyday life, choosing to smile, choosing to talk to people, choosing to use our manners is a mask then the shadow is the face beyond the mask. The conscious personality conceals, the shadow reveals. It’s the difference betewen who we are and who we choose to be. The shadow isn’t necessarily negative however. The shadow is just the repressed side of our personalities, it’s what we try to hide. 

The shadow plays a role in Harleen’s transformation. While it’s present in Mad Love as well, a recent miniseries ‘Harleen’ really dives into the Jungian symbolism. There’s even several similarities in common with Himiko’s story, for example there’s a scene where Harleen is shown watching the bat man beat up joker and notice how everyone is cheering despite the fact that it’s violent. 

Himiko’s interest in a boy is sparked by watching him get into a fight while everybody else is cheering for him. 

The cover page depicts the change between Quinn and Quinnzel as a crumbling mask, which is the exact same imagery used for Himiko. 

When she enters Arkham she chooses to depict Harley Quinn’s silhouette in Harleen’s shadow. Once again implying that the transformation is not so sudden and jarring as it seems, that Harley Quinn has always been there and is a part of her psychology the same way Mr. Hyde is inside Dr. Jekyll. 

The comic even points it out. Harleen, and also by extension Harvey Dent are people who claim to be “good, righteous people’ and yet both of them end up transforming into murderers. Two-face’s name is literally two-face.

There’s also one particularly Jungian sequence in the middle of the conflict. She dreams (dreams are unconscious and therefore the realm of the shadow in Jung’s theories) about the city of gotham as a place inhabited with citizens who are monsters wearing the faces of human beings. 

The idea is consistent throughout that Harleen is not really a ‘good person’ she’s merely repressed. She has had this capacity to be violent inside of her, this selfishness, all of these dark desires carried with her all along but rather than deal with them in any healthy way she repressed them until repressing them is no longer an option. Harvey Dent’s face gets half burned off, Harley’s skinn gets bleached by chemicals, the monsterous features inside of them are now worn on their faces and they have to wear their ugliness on the outside rather than the inside. They are now expressing every single thing they have repressed. However, the suggestion in both stories is that these are not special cases, that Gotham is such a repressed society that everyone is repressing the things they don’t like about themselves in that way. Harley fell in mad love sure, but love was just the reason, just the trigger, the truth is those feelings always lurked inside of her and she had no healthy way of dealing with them before that point. 

That is the shadow, it’s everything you repress but it never disappears. If you ignore it, it takes on a life of its own. In some cases, like Harley’s you basically become your own shadow. Harley is the flipped upside down version of Harleen Quinzel, now her inner demons are what are expressed on the surface (desperation to be loved, violence, etc.) while her ‘normal’ self is hidden under a mask of insanity. That’s in fact how she ends the comic, Harley qalking around while Harley is trapped on the other side of the mirror because they have basically traded places. Now Mr. Hyde is walking around, while Dr. Jekyll is hidden personality. But it’s important to remember it’s not something like a split personality, Harleen Quinzell and Harley Quinn were always two sides of the same person. Even when she starts expressing her ‘bad’ traits, the good traits don’t go away. They’re just hidden underneath the surface the way the repressed bad traits used to be. Because you’re not good or bad, you’re not one side or the other. You’re both at the same time. Man is not one, but truly two. 

So the complexity in Himiko comes from understanding that she’s BOTH a normal girl, and also a blood crazy yandere psycho. 

2. A Normal Girl - Uraraka Ochaco

Uraraka is a pretty standard shonen heroine. She’s a cheerful girl. She’s a supportive friend. She’s the embodiment of what you’d call a good, kind, person and doesn’t seem to be any more complex than that. She lacks say the drive to be a hero that Midoriya does, the superiority complex that Bakugo has, the emotional issues that Todoroki has. She seems to always be agreeable and in a cheerful mood. 

If you look just a little bit closer though she always seems to be walking on eggshells when she’s around others. She doesn’t want to join Deku and the others to try to save Bakugo from the heroes because, it might hurt Bakugo’s feelings. 

When she loses in the hero tournament, she apologizes to her parents crying not because she feels bad that she lost, but she feels like she failed them. Like it was her job to win and bring money home. However, when Deku comes to check on her in the room she’s already completely hidden her tears. 

Going into her backstory we learn that Uraraka is walking on eggshells around everybody due to her own parents, that she’s spent her life trying to be as small of a burden on them as possible because she could see the tired looks on their faces. She’s a child who felt guilty that her parents had to take care of her. 

So, for Uraraka her entire life is devoted to making herself seem as small and inconsequential as possible. Other people’s needs will always trump hers. Other people will always have more noble motivations for becoming a hero than she has. Other people’s emotions will always be louder and take priority over hers. Uraraka sees her own emotions and needs as mere trifles that get in the way, and so she always shuts them down. We see Uraraka as a version of Himiko, a high school girl who always appears to be cheerful and well-behaved but is merely repressed. 

Uraraka repeats the same unhealthy behavior as Himiko once did. Which is why Uraraka’s first meeting with Himiko goes with Himiko getting such a cold read on her. 

It’s helpful to view Himiko as the flipped version of Uraraka. Uraraka hides everything that’s pleasant about her on the inside, and on the outside appears like a perfectly selfless girl. Himiko is someone who hides her good qualities and instead wears the mask of a bloodthirsty psycho on the outside. While Uraraka lives by denying her selfish desires, Himiko always chases after them and is true to them. 

Traits that are repressed in Uraraka, are expressed in Himiko. Especially traits that society sees as bad in girls, like selfishness, being emotional, etc..

The way Himiko acts is especially jarring because she seems convinced she’s a normal person. She’s in her own little world, making friends, getting along with other people, it’s just her friendship just happens to involve stabbing. 

Himiko appears to be a girl psychotically obsessed with blood and nothing else. A girl who only cares about killing other people and chopping them up to bits. When she expresses the feelings deep inside of herself, literally no one can make heads or tails of what she’s saying, she doesn’t sound like a girl just a bloodthirsty monster. 

While Uraraka seems like she has nothing in common with what is essentially a weird serial killer, we learn that the exact behavior that Uraraka’s creation is what led to Himiko’s current state of mind. 

The difference between them is not that Uraraka is a person of higher moral character, or a better person, but rather of circumstances between the two of them. It’s not the choices they made but rather things they were born into and couldn’t control. Uraraka has parents that accept her even when she fails and encourage her. 

Toga had parents that  abused their daughter, and then abandoned her. 

Uraraka chose to repress herself, while Toga was forced to become repressed by her parents. While we don’t know for sure if it was physical abuse it’s at least emotional abuse, and it had to be to an extreme extent to make Himiko snap that hard. The same unhealthy behavior but push to extremes gets extreme results. 

3. Normal Girl - Himiko Toga

Himiko did not become the way she is because she was lacking empathy or born with uncontrollable urges for bloodlust, but because of the environment around her that always forced her to repress herself. From the knowledge that her parents would never love her for who she really was. Himiko wasn’t born that way she was a response of what was done to her. 

People who don’t really know Himiko always judge her this way, that she’s incapable of understanding other people, that she has no empathy for others. She’s almost literally labelled and dismissed as a one dimmensional yandere trope by the people surrounding her. 

However, Himiko is in fact always doing the opposite. She’s constantly trying to empathize with others. Her maddened way of talking to both Tsuyu and Uraraka in her character introduction is exactly that, her trying to feel that kind of connection. 

Himiko’s fascination for Uraraka is a desire for empathy and understanding. One that you could say even surpasses some characters on the hero’s side, because she’s willing to try to understand the world’s of people who are nothing like her. Himiko’s next most significant action in the manga is to take Camie’s place and go after the kids. While she does fight against them she’s not overly violent, just curious. Deku even reaffirms some of Himiko’s primary traits. 

Himiko is always talking a lot and trying to explain her way of thinking to other people, because she wants them to understand her. However, because she’s bad at communicating this tends to come off as babble and a lot of people completely dismiss what she says and don’t attempt to listen. 

She expresses two things one a desire to know Deku on a deeper level, immediately asking him very personal, and sometimes very downright invasive question and two she also notices the closeness that Deku and Uraraka have for one another. 

Once again this is a repeating theme for the league. Himiko repeats the same desire that Twice has, to become a person who is trusted in the same way. 

Once again it’s important to remember that Himiko is just the flipped version of a normal girl. If most people hide their bloodlust and show their good sides, Himiko hides her desire to be trusted and to empathize with other people underneath her bloodthirsty urges she shows on the surface. She positions herself as a femme fatalle, but she’s actually just a girl who’s trying to understand why other people are different then her, and why Deku and Uraraka can have a relationship mutually founded on trust when she can’t. 

Himiko’s past was so repressed she never formed real relationships with people. Not only that she assumes that nobody will want the real her, because the moment she flipped and the real her was exposed everybody in her life abandoned her and she had to run away. 

After her brush with Deku and Uraraka we see Himiko start to be trusted by her comrades and a marked transformation takes place in her. 

We see shades of the old Himiko. A selfish girl who only exists to fulfill her whims. However, we’re shown Himiko is capable of empathizing because not only do Shigaraki’s words get through to her. 

Himiko is also for the first time able to reach the emotions of another person. Remember when Himiko tries to explain how she’s feeling, she babbles, and babbles and nobody listens. However that changes and for the first time, not only does Himiko pick up exactly on what’s troubling Twice, she also comforts him the way he needs to be comforted. She tells him that yes it might be his fault that Magne died, but she sees that he’s doing his best to make up for it and she gently encourages him. 

Remember how important this is for Twice. The world has never forgiven Jin for his mistakes. He hit the wrong guy on accident, while obeying the law, and lost both his job and his home. He started stealing to make ends meet, and as a result he lost his mind. When he makes a mistake it always blows up in his face but this time, Himiko notices that she’s panicking and comforts him telling him it’s okay he’s made this mistake and he can still work hard to fix it. 

Not only that but she notices what the problem was with Jin, she was able to notice the symptoms of his psychotic breakdown and rather than dismiss it as just Twice being crazy was able to help him in real tangible ways by wrapping her hanky around him and covering him up like he asked. Uraraka has a very surface level kindness, she’s kind but only by walking around on eggshells with everyone. Himiko is able to see through people, but uses that to comfort people on a deeper level. 

The “Himiko just can’t control herself because of her quirk” narrative is something that Himiko rejects herself. Because that’s not what Himiko wants. Himiko doesn’t want to be special or different from other people. 

Himiko sees herself as normal, and what she desires to be understand and be understood by other people. She doesn’t like Curious’ narrative for her because it made her out to be a freak or someone special when Himiko is trying her best to get others to understand her as a normal girl. Himiko can’t repress herself anymore, she can’t become normal the way her parents taught her too so not permanently broken, and forced to always express herself she’s trying some other way. 

What she wants isn’t to hurt other people, not really though. Those thoughts just turn violence, because Himiko is herself a person who’s endured a lot of violence. Himiko is basically a child that’s been on her own living on the streets and surviving for years, with all the dangers that entails, and also people who can shoot lasers and punch things really hard chasing after her. 

The more she’s isolated and on the run, the more violence she endures, the more violent and unhinged her thoughts become. The more she’s exposed to people who accept her for who she is, the more she’s trusted by those people, the more empathic and sensitive Himiko becomes instead. Himiko’s desire isn’t violence, when she’s pushed to her utter limit she says what she wants is to become a girl like Uraraka who is just loved and trusted by others for who she is. 

And I genuinely believe at the core of Himiko’s character this empathic girl exists. Himiko becoming violent and unrepressed doesn’t mean her empathy disappears. The complexity from Himiko is that she’s both the knife wielding psycho and the normal girl who just wants to have friends at the same time. If behind every normal person there’s a monster lurking is true then the opposite is true as well, behind every monster there’s a normal person. 

This is an idea expressed by Twice again. One of the villains that Hawks dismissed as a bad person, was capable of showing him compassion and gentleness even when he screwed up. Toga was capable of empathy for Twice besides the use he had for others. Toga herself is shown to be capable of more empathy than Hawks, who is one of the most selfless characters in the series, and who is convinced his actions are always done in order to save others.

However we see their treatment of Twice is so drastically different. Hawks treats Twice in a selfish way refusing to listen to what Twice wants, and only ever used Twice as a tool to exploit. Twice himself thinks that now that he’s no longer useful, Himiko won’t be kind to him anymore however we see the opposite. 

Twice admits to Toga that he’s the reason that everyone is in danger right now and he completely failed, and he’s not going to come save them. He admits that he’s useless and Twice himself said Toga wouldn’t be kind to him anymore. However in that moment, Himiko ignores the fact that her life is literally in danger and everything is going to hell around her to comfort Twice one final time and tell him the words he needs to hear.

It’s literally the single most empathic moment of the manga, and it’s in direct contrast to Hawks�� behavior. A hero as devoted to saving other people as Hawks, who genuinely likes Twice as a friend doesn’t show him any empathy at all and even stabs him as the back. A psycho like Toga puts her own feelings aside and notices Twice’s feelings, and gives him comfort and thanks him in his final moment because to her Twice has value as a person beyond what his use is. That Himiko is capable of this kindness, but equally capable of her monstrous actions earlier in the series  is what makes her human. Her kindness doesn’t make her any less mosntrous, and her monstrous qualities don’t make her kindness go away she’s both at once, rather than either or. That’s where the complexity comes in. 

Toga is a very human character precisely because we see her at her most monstrous, and we see that girl slowly relearn how to express the kindness that’s always been inside of her in healthier non-stabby way. A normal girl who learned how to be a monster to protect herself. A monster who is slowly relearning to be a normal girl.