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nakanotamu · 2 years ago

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What's Kairi been like since she returned to Stardom?

When she first came back, she said "I was Kairi Hojo, then I was Kairi Sane, and now I'm just KAIRI" and honestly I think that's proved to be a rather good encapsulation of who she's been since she came back.

She doesn't shy away from her past at all, referencing past relationships and events, and frequently drawing on parts of her character that are very identifiably what she was like before. Sometimes she's very visibly Kairi Hojo, an overwhelmed underdog babyface pushing herself past the limits of reason. More frequently she's visibly still Kairi Sane, a bit of a weirdo and a huge dickhead who loves getting under people's skin, not seemingly out of maliciousness but bc she finds it entertaining, particularly when she's teaming with Nanae Takahashi. But there's a new, added element on top of it it too.

She's experienced now, and she's ~world travelled~, to be frank, she knows she's a big deal. She's a little aloof, and seems to see herself as a lot above everyone. (Except for maybe Mayu, but that's a more specific relationship than this post needs to get into.) She uses the suffix -kun for nearly everyone, which is extremely overly familiar to the point of rudeness. It's like when someone goes around calling everyone "buddy" in a way that makes it clear they are certainly not actually buddies.

And then, more recently, she started losing. (She only lost like 2 matches but, given she only wrestles infrequently and kind of assumes she can take everyone, that had her rattled.) Stardom is progressing and she looks around at an increasingly unfamiliar landscape that is catching up with her. The more she gets involved, the more clear it is how disconnected she actually is. When she first came back she quickly buddied up with Mayu, who was happy to team with her for a big return pop. But later last year, once they were set to actually face each other, Mayu was like, to paraphrase, "Yeah I can't fucking stand her. I think she's a bigshot who doesn't work for it anymore and picks and chooses her spots to look good and doesn't deserve the hype." So that's certainly not someone she can rely on to have her back. Her biggest ally so far had been Nanae Takahashi, based on a return to their tag team from like 8 years ago, and Nanae seems genuinely very fond of her, but also has her own stuff going on, and Kairi lost with her, so she's prioritizing that relationship a bit less after that.

So she reaches out to basically her only remaining connections at this point - Natsupoi, who is obsessed with her, and Saori Anou, who along with Natsumipoi showed up to save her from being shortstaffed years ago, when they first established their connections to Stardom, to challenge for the Artist belts. And sidenote, but even the connections she draws on sort of show how out of the loop she is. Like, this is stuff going back 6, 7, 8 years. Ancient history in joshi time.

They both agree to team together, obviously, but it's not just some perfect team that immediately comes together with everyone loving each other. Poi likes Anou, but is sceptical about teaming with such a major rival of hers, about even having her around. And, what's more, Kairi is her idol, but once she gets this opportunity, she needs to sit and think a little bit, because she realizes she's kind of just sad she's not teaming with Tam for it. And Saori seems perfectly content to team with them, but pretty quickly, the way I see it, tips her hand that she's actually there to be beside Tam again, and Kairi is almost more a means to an end for her, with how quickly she stepped up and told Tam she would join Cosmic Angels, before she'd even had her first match back in Stardom. (There's plenty of room for her to reveal herself to be much more selfishly motivated than that but this is how the story reads to me so far and I'm going to stick with that until they tear that interpretation from my hands.)

So anyway, bringing it back around to Kairi that is the most recent development of her story. REstart did win the Artist titles, so Kairi got the win she was looking for, but she also finds herself much, much more closely tied to Cosmic Angels than she perhaps intended or expected, and that's after herself admitting an interest in and similarity to Tam when she first came back. She pulled a team around her out of probably the last two people she figured would be totally devoted to her, only to immediately find they're actually more devoted to someone else. They're happy to be Kairi's teammates, but they already have a leader. So the question now is if after so many years away, and so much time seeing herself as kind of above the day-to-day goings on of Stardom, if she can make herself treat her teammates as equals and learn how to play nice again as a member of a team.

#Stardom #Kairi #Tam Nakano #Natsupoi #Saori Anou #long post

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borntolurk · 2 years ago

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Oh man...

(Caveat: I'm not going to lie, I too found Maggie to be Odd in some highly specific ways that kind of align with the OP's. But-)

But oh my god, first of all, I'm sure that Gaiman appreciates all the faith that the OP has in him, but he'd better hold on to it because as you note in the tags he is being insulted in EVERY line. Like, dear lord.

And honestly he's getting more insults than he deserves, because not every divergence from the writer's preferred character interpretation is bad writing or an error! Seriously! Do I think that there was some bad writing/characterization? Yes, I do. Do I think that that is clearly an objective problem with the script? Not necessarily, because while sometimes bad characterization IS bad writing (for example, if the characterization is thin or wildly varying), sometimes it does come down to one's subjective interpretation of the character based on evidence, and when someone is acting out of character you need to provide a LOT of proof that that is definitely their character before you ascribe it to Obviously Purposefully Bad Writing.

(TBH, also, I don't think all of the things that the OP pointed out as bad writing were bad. Some of them were just... cliches, but the kinds of cliches that are tropes. The kind where, hey, they're cliches because they're pretty normal things to say and so lots of writers use them! But that's a subjective opinion of mine so I won't insist on it.)

Even more importantly though, as I said in my post yesterday, it doesn't matter if there's a way to read bad TV as good, if you still don't actually enjoy the thing itself! There's no such thing as having experienced it wrong. If you didn't like it, that's valid. (To paraphrase Frasier Crane, "sometimes a TV season is just bad, doomed, and no amount of discussion will save it!") Even if I completely bought this theory, it wouldn't change the fact that the bad parts were just... not fun to watch. And no amount of retroactive anything can change or justify that. (For the record, I don't believe that everything that the OP singled out as bad is bad. I also disliked some things that the OP was apparently fine with. But the point still stands.)

Most key point, though- when you've gotten a one season extension on your passion project show, and you don't know if you'll get a third season to wrap it all up... you don't gamble on getting the third season by producing a "purposely bad" second one!!! That makes no sense! Nobody would do that! It is against literally every logical instinct that a creator of a show budgeted at millions of dollars could POSSIBLY have, particularly if he wants people to agree to spend another few millions of dollars on making more. It would be so massively shortsighted. Not only that, but if someone isn't bright enough to have figured out this whole plan, then he risks alienating an entire fandom that didn't like the season, and even if it DOES get removed he could lose the viewing base (though I guess he could just decide that it no longer matters once S3 is commissioned, made, and done, or assume that later he'll be vindicated).

There are a whole chain of really bizarre assumptions that are required to make this possible. They don't make sense. But that's not really my takeaway.

My takeaway is that we need to trust our guts.

The OP is spending a lot of time not trusting their gut. They're putting a lot of faith in Neil Gaiman, who is, contrary to what is apparently their opinion, capable of disappointing them. They're suppressing all their own instincts and tastes that would, under normal circumstances, allow them to reach their own opinion on whether something was good or not, and rewriting their own brain, practically, in order to value Gaiman's reputation over their own judgment.

Don't do that. Trust your gut, not Gaiman's.

The Magic Trick You Didn’t See: Being An Analysis of Good Omens Season 2

(or: Neil Gaiman, Your Brain is Gorgeous But I Have Cracked Your Sneaky Little Code And Have You Dead To Rights*) (*Maybe)

***

Soooooo I just spent the last 48 hours having a BREATHTAKING GALAXY BRAIN EPIPHANY about Good Omens Season 2 and feverishly writing a fuckin16,000 word essay about the incredible magic trick that @neil-gaiman pulled off.

Yes, it’s long, but I PROMISE your brains will explode. Do you want to know how magic works? Do you want to know what Metatron’s deal is (I’m like 99% sure of this and it’s EXTREMELY FUCKING GOOD)? Do you want to know about the Mystery of the Vanishing Eccles Cakes and the big fat beautiful clue I found in the opening credits? Do you go through the whole inventory of Chekov’s Firearm & Heavy Artillery Discount Warehouse?

Here is the essay, go read it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/ When ur done u can tell me I’m an insane crackpot, and u know what, i won’t even be offended

In case you don’t know whether you want to bother reading the whole enormous thing on google docs, I’ve put the first couple sections of it under the cut. JUST TRUST ME OKAY, HEAR ME OUT, THIS IS VERY EXTREMELY COOL, NEIL IS GOOD AT HIS JOB–

Keep reading

#good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens spoilers #gos2 spoilers #from the previous reblogger: “my favourite part is where OP calls NG a Hack over and over and over and unironically”#SO TRUE #i'm very definitely not thrilled with this season #i have significant problems with it #and while i'm not the biggest gaiman stan #i do enjoy john finnemore's stuff #and i'd LOVE this to be some kind of psy op #but the fact is that i DIDN'T really enjoy this season #and as much as i'd like to talk myself into thinking that i did #it's okay that i didn't #and just means that i have my own preferences and tastes #and to paraphrase a friend #if this doesn't pay off in s3 then this will in retrospect be the most damning critique of s2 possible #and TO BE CLEAR #i do think it is possible #nay probable #for stuff to have been seeded in for s3 #but while some of the “bad writing” stuff might be part of it #i just find it impossible to believe that part of that setup was MAKING it bad #like on purpose

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dizzyrobinsims · 2 years ago

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I am so mad.

I had been looking forward to the medieval management/dating sim Lakeside Legacy for awhile now. It released, I nabbed it up...

And oh my god never had I experienced a game that is working so hard against itself before. Not to mention the glitches, UI issues, and performance issues.

The final slap in the face was after muscling through the 75 year run, because I kept convincing myself it couldn't be THIS tone death to itself and the genre it's courting... the 'reward' for reaching the end of the timeframe is a lil' window with point bar and final score, and a generic gif of a faceless figure celebrating the points. That's. That's it.

It doesn't even say "you built a kingdom that will stand for years to come, formed on your expert matchmaking skills!" or anything like that. Nope.

Just (paraphrasing) "you built a kingdom that lasted for 75 years! Here are your points, yay!"

...like yes obviously it lasted 75 years I JUST PLAYED THROUGH THAT.

Then you get to use those points to unlock concept art which is pretty but has little to nothing to do with the actual game, and kinda looks like DnD digital art (which isn't BAD but. Like. I'm not playing this game for DnD digital art? If I wanted to see that I could go to DnD sites? Or buy dnd stuff?).

Anyway if you're still interested in it I would hold off until they finish patching several issues.

#lIKE LOOK I am not an expert on management sims #But I was shocked at how badly some things were balanced where even I a relative casual enjoyer of the genre noticed it #lakeside legacy

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inheroes--wetrust · 2 years ago

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ok this is based on first read only so it might get crazy but there is no fucking way that kiriona is gideon. evidence below anyone please feel free to discuss i am FERAL over here

(EDIT: no fucking way that kiriona is *full gideon. i am now fully in camp "kiriona is gideon with some very very key pieces missing like oh i dont know her love and humanity")

1) during the broadcast and in the book, it's made very clear that gideon's body is dead. she's described as waxy like naberius (who we all know is dead as a doornail). if it's gideon's body and gideon's soul, they should snap back together no issues. palamedes seems to think that just bringing nona close to gideon's body would draw her soul out and gideon would be whole again, and palamedes is the smartest necromancer of his generation (love you bb). there's a soul piloting a body here. they aren't cohesive.

2) tamsyn said in a recent interview (https://books.tumblr.com/post/693388542787846144/writer-spotlight-tamsyn-muir-tamsyn-muir-probably) there is a pecking order to POV characters. paraphrasing here, but she said that if possible, gideon is first and foremost the POV character. we obviously see this in HtN - gideon is narrating the mithraeum chapters of the book, and as soon as she comes to the surface, she is the POV character. when they first came into contact with gideon's walking and talking corpse, i half expected POV to switch to gideon, but we never got that.

3) a fucking FRIENDSHIP BRACELET? with IANTHE???? hell fucking no. what in the world. why would they even put that there? it makes absolutely zero sense, there's no point to it other than for nona to point out they're working together. chekhov's friendship bracelet. maybe ianthe is controlling gideon's corpse somehow? i have no idea it's four in the morning.

4) the way she interacts with everyone but especially the sixth house. you expect me to believe that gideon nav sees a dying cam for the first time since her sacrifice and is just like oh hey cam looks like you're dying soon? absolutely not. the sex pal thing was also aggressive. very "hey palamedes remember that thing we did together who else would know i called you sex pal once". iirc, she never actually called him that - she was just pointing out a fun gideon fact.

5) she doesn't care about harrow. gideon cares EXCLUSIVELY about harrow. gideon "it was not my thumb to let them bite off" sees alecto piloting harrow's body and just says sure i'm going to let that happen? not in ten thousand years.

this obviously leaves a million questions starting with 1) who is kiriona and 2) WHERE IS GIDEON but these are 100% two different souls. tamsyn i need alecto now please and thank you.

EDIT: More evidence on the second reread.

6) when cam and nona-as-harrow go to see ianthe, ianthe says, "How are you surviving, Harrowhark the First? How can you stand beneath the light of Number Seven? Unless I am addressing..." and then nona screams, there's a general panic, and ianthe is like FINE OKAY FUCKING RELAX and tells nona she's coming back to the emperor with her. lyctors can survive an RB when their cavs are at the forefront. harrow's cav is gideon. and pre-NtN, harrow had a lobotomy that caused her to have a breakdown at the sound of gideon's name. what else would she have been saying other than "Unless I am addressing Gideon Nav", which should make no sense considering ianthe knows full well that kiriona exists. unless of course kiriona is not gideon or at least not gideon all the way.

7) https://www.tor.com/2022/09/13/tamsyn-muir-on-lyctorhood-as-genderfuckery-and-greasy-bible-study-in-nona-the-ninth/ new interview by tamsyn for the nona release. the last question strongly hints that gideon's body and gideon's soul - or at least not all of it - are not in the same place, and at least some of it is still with harrow.

8) pyrrha says john shouldn't have been able to pull gideon's soul all the way back to put her back in her body. she explicitly says that harrow still has a piece of gideon and john could not have gotten it back, AND that john should have been able to do better. he resurrects. that's LITERALLY his thing. he should have been able to bring gideon back perfectly, but he didn't. why?

9) get in line, thou big slut. on first glance, this is gideon nav to a t. i love her so much. however. i find it SUPER interesting that slut, which has (to my knowledge) never been used in the previous two books, is used twice in NtN both by ianthe - once about the original lyctors, once about corona. idk what it was about it, but the use of it three times in the book, when previous insults have been along the lines of "you mutant, you mistake, you great big calf-eyed fuck-up" just struck me a little. iffy. this one is definitely more out there but the use of slut in the book just stood out to me for some reason (a sentence you can only type when talking about the locked tomb).

upon further review i have decided that kiriona and gideon are definitely not 100% the same soul, but kiriona could have a piece of gideon's soul, because a lot of the ninth house stuff is very gideon, especially with crux. i still want alecto now.

#nona the ninth spoilers #ntn spoilers #nona spoilers #the locked tomb spoilers #nona the ninth #the locked tomb #gideon nav

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variousqueerthings · 7 months ago

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ok i saw the tv glow

obviously. spoilers. but the first point stands as a spoiler free review.

the funniest thing im going back to with this movie is that a few days ago i was being driven home by a cis woman who's very nice and informed and is super into movies and the like and i mentioned how i was excited but tense about this film, because so many trans people i know online have gone absolutely wild about it and i didn't want to go in knowing the plot because i wanted to be surprised by a film that is probably going to be really different in feeling to most anything I've ever seen before, and her answer was "oh huh. the plot's not really trans though" (paraphrased)

so the plot is very very trans.

but also. this movie looked me in the eyes and said: this one's for you. not for the group of slightly rowdy (but polite enough during the movie itself, although the person next to me shifted a lot) cis guys that came and sat down next to you, not for the cis woman who drove you home the other day, not for the non-nerdy people that you grew up with that thought you were an oddity in their midst (sometimes negatively, sometimes positively)

THE BELOW IS LONG

this movie isn't just a movie that is very very trans. it's a movie that is very very trans about a particular time growing up that existed just pre-DVD as a capsule to an experience within queerness that is inherently fannish. I'm just a smidgen younger than the leads, but I remember this time. although my proper fan days began just post-DVD, my first movie experiences were all VHS and my first TV watching days were also during VHS recording

I also grew up in a small town. different continent. same small town feeling. the Haze. the Disconnect. time is non-existent, adulthood is a blank space (but one filled with terror), you have got to get out or you will die (you may die anyway, but you have to get out)

so this is a movie that's anti-taking-action. that is, Owen/Isabel is described early on as kind of a wuss by Maddie/Tara, and it's not Maddie's getting-out and becoming (returning to) Tara story that we actually follow -- we hear about it at one point, but it's Owen who's the narrator and Owen tamps everything down. Owen stays. Owen stays in the same house. Owen continues onward, carrying the feeling of wrongness/emptiness on and on and on, Owen's life stays hazy, Owen feels like nothing

within that haze there are Moments -- the dress (and Maddie smiling bashfully), the identification with Isabel, the pink ghost drawn on the neck, the really Big moment of Owen/Isabel putting his/her head through the TV, and of course Tara returning to help get Isabel out as well and briefly succeeding in making Owen wonder what if there is another me who is powerful and beautiful that I can become?

and then the ending. that wondering. that acknowledging that Isabel is dying. that Owen who is Isabel is dying. that there is a light inside of you that can get out if you do a lot of painful work, and you have until you die. even more aggressively tamping it down and apologising, but... maybe this door, now opened, might stay open? maybe it'll take another 20 years, but...

There Is Still Time

needed to take a moment to exhale there. I'm a relentless optimist and i do think this text is optimistic, in the sense that it's not clear cut, which is something Jane Schoenbrun talked about -- the feeling that they had that doing this was like having to bury yourself alive, because it is that terrifying, and that transition is not a neat process of before-and-after in the way you see it in many narratives.

in the case of this story it's not not a transition story in my opinion. while it is about stasis and how that repression decays you, there are moments (as mentioned) of enacting change, even if they are very brief. putting on a dress is a choice, allowing oneself to acknowledge that "this isn't right, this isn't who I am" is a choice, the end of looking at the light within is a massive choice. transition, in many cases, is fits and spurts, forwards and backwards, daring and undaring (aw drat I'm making binaries right now, ok hold on) and daring in a direction that actually turns out to be the wrong direction and being forced to un-dare and trying this or that and thinking this was wrong or bad, but realising later that that was your own shame holding you back, and this choice was right for that point, but we've outgrown that now and--- transitioning is not a binary choice, nor is it chronological

every brief Moment is courage. Quentin Crisp telling the world she was a woman posthumously in her memoir proves It Is Never Too Late.

SOME OTHER THINGS PART ONE: GENDER

Wanna take a moment to mention some other things that spoke to me in this film

first, I think it's very strongly hinted that Maddie/Tara is a non-binary lesbian. The lesbian part is stated outright, but the casting of Brigette Lundy-Paine, the fact that this character is going through very similar emotions as Owen when they're both kids and as adults because they're connected psychically/via the soul, the evolving grunge-to-butch aesthetic, the "that's not my name," and coming back for Isabel, knowing that Owen is Isabel, the like-for-like of it all, THE T4T OF IT ALL!!! If Owen is the person who represses and stays behind then Tara got out, but because Owen is the POV character and deadnames Tara and runs away then that "I never saw her again" becomes potentially suspect, because Owen, after all, cannot open up himself to find his own she/her, never mind see Tara's potential gender queering journey for what it is -- also this is based in 90s TV in which the best one can do for anything called queer gender is a woman who is coded butch (and even that is fucking pushing it in terms of suspension of disbelief in this film), that feels... very very very intentional

this leads into the next part -- the way this movie deals with liminal space and gender, which again hearkens back to the Moments and to this in my opinion being about transition rather than non-transition (or perhaps the idea that non-transition is impossible in a story about queer gender). because transition is liminal space, and trans and nb and gender diverse people get this, we've lived in these spaces, I'm living in it right this fucking second, massively courtesy of my government and society! Owen is Owen in most of this film, because Owen cannot be Isabel, Owen has repressed Isabel so deeply, Owen will perform Owen until possible death, except the ending gives us that door-open-a-crack that makes me think that Isabel will make it, although the intentional ambiguity is the point -- many many people have lived their entire lives with these Moments, with these acknowledgements, with these breakdowns, and continued to repress even harder. how many "men" and "women" were not men and women? we really won't ever know, and this also feels like a kiss blown to them, a small bit of respect, because Tara is not the POV... neither is Isabel... it's Owen who tells us the story...

but yeah this really will be the only movie in modern days that can cast a cis man (at this point of writing, I'm not gonna put Justice Smith in a box though + I think it's also very deliberate casting on his part, because this isn't like casting some random straight cis guy (continues my feud with Eddie Redmayne forever) who isn't Connected to the material, Justice Smith is in the community, he has the ability to communicate this story, which is the whole point, genius casting 10/10 no notes) as a severely repressed woman, also because of the inherent fantasy/scifi conceit, like nono, this is a woman who is trapped in the wrong reality in the body of an ostensible "man"

the fucking. the layers. to that sentence on its own. because being trans can frequently feel like being in the wrong reality. it's not just that I, the person, am wrong, reality itself is wrong, it's moving incorrectly around me, people are blank, time is too slow or too fast (or both at once), the world is a haze, but you know what's real?

TV shows

SOME OTHER THINGS PART TWO: TV SHOWS

So I've heard on the grapevine that some people (mainly cis) see this film speaking to the dangers of nostalgia and like. sure that's in there, but also no that's wrong. or shallow, at best. or cis, at best

I am the person whose life was saved by TV shows. where I differ from the lead is, well a. I'm not repressed (not about that at least) and b. I never had the moment of looking back at the thing that saved my life and going "oh. this is stupid. embarrassing. humiliating even."

I had an adjacent experience that went something like: "oh. this thing isn't real. it'll never happen to me. i will never actually be saved in the way I dared to imagine when I was a kid. the scales have fallen from my eyes and I am utterly alone"

I think these are very very similar feelings and I imagine many people have had both (I think Owen has a bit of that second one within the first) and it's heartbreaking. that doesn't mean that being saved by them was wrong, or identifying intensely with them was wrong

I did read Jane Schoenbrun saying something along the lines of how TV shows for them replaced relationships, specifying romantic, and I think it's the one place I'll put some "death of the author" on there, because to me none of that journey was a negative. the tv shows, the books, the movies, the music, those narratives, they were life-saving -- and they still are, but differently (no tardis, no enterprise, no howl's moving castle, no portals into other realms, no vampires and monstrous friends, no mysterious destinies, no people coming into my life with Undertakings, no reinventions of reality... the saving comes from what all of these things mean, not their literal progressions, which was a tough pill to swallow and I will probably always be a bit of a fantasist in the end). and I will probably forever be someone who feels more deeply about them than about personal relationships

I have very meaningful, important personal relationships, but as someone faaaar out in the aroace field of things (loveless is a thing I've been writing a lot of poetry about recently) for me it was about finding peace within that, not "fixing something that was wrong" and I don't necessarily think Owen needs that either

I do know trans people who ID as ace before they got to a point where they were confident in their own bodies -- often after starting hormones, and that was a good experience for them. but I come at Owen's continued relationship with The Pink Opaque from a distinctly aroace and neurodivergent POV

which is coincidentally also how I read Owen (well, the neurodivergence is fucking canon). whether Isabel would pursue romantic and/or sexual relationships is another question, and one that we never get a definitive answer on. Isabel and Tara are obviously lesbian coded, and there is the scene with the pink dress, so if anything, lesbians, and I can definitely see that read and I will be looking for Isabel/Tara fanfic + versions of this story where Isabel/Tara are in the real world, there is no The Pink Opaque reality they can jump into, they both needed to come out, and now they're t4t

but Owen's romantic and sexual identity is fairly firmly stated "I like TV shows."

so I said mood out loud accidentally at that point while watching and the person on my right (not the cis guys on my left) laughed. this movie experience really was having little like-for-like moments. Just like Maddie and Owen before Maddie becomes Tara and doesn't know how to free Isabel

but yeah, before I was anything, I liked TV shows. and now that I am... something... I still like TV shows. they won't "save" me in the way I wish they would have done back in the day, but I'm not much different to how I was then, with the two biggest shifts being a. I am more myself and not ashamed of it and b. I have the ability to express through words and visually who that self is

I like to think that the TV show -- the thing that fills Owen with so much shame for having been so important to survival -- is something that is True within all of the repression and lies. it does, after all, represent Owen's true self, Isabel. and the version that Owen watches in which they're all little girls and it kind of sucks (and Isabel isn't there...) is distorted, fake, canonically so

this isn't a thing saying "the things you liked as a kid are far dumber than you remember" it's saying something about Owen's state of mind, about how much Owen hates himself that this lifesaving thing can no longer reach him

and so I think that if Owen were in the future to become Isabel, being someone who doesn't "like" girls or boys, but likes TV shows would still be the case

something I go back to with my younger self is the things that I liked then that I still like now. I was expressing truths with the tools I had, and one of those was the way I imprinted on fiction

it's that aroace autism swag

A CONCLUSION OF THINGS

brain fucking. go brrr. I've not gone into so many things so quickfire:

the visuals and sounds of it: amazing, but also sensory overwhelm. it's the one thing that puts me at odds with Schoenbrun, but it does make sense for what they're trying to do

Me: oh that looks like Buffy in the finale of s1. OH that text is the same as the Buffy font (written and directed by...) OHHH THAT character is called Tara. AMBER BENSON!!!?????!!!!!!!

soundtrack: FUCK ME SOME OF THE BEST IVE HEARD IN A LONG TIME INSTANTLY ICONIC! INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCES AT THE CLUB

the American smalltown horror aesthetic, but actually the horror just is the American suburbs, don't need to put anything else in there

this one was for the 90s kids

people mentioned a lot of movies for this one, mainly The Matrix and Donnie Darko. yes, but also. these connections (esp Matrix obvs) continuing to build a thematic canon of what Trans Cinema is!!!!!

t4t -- yes I said it twice I will SAY IT AGAIN!

I've often felt that modern movies don't know how to be cool -- this movie? so fucking cool!

i saw the tv glow

will have. thoughts. do in fact have them. but need to process

#i saw the tv glow #bottom line: oh I'M the target audience for smthin???? wild unheard-of #fuck. i just. damn. boy oh boy

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wowowwild · 2 years ago

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Ok so I've played through all of the first game now so I'm just going to ramble on for a bit. I was previously familiar with all but the last case.

Tbh if you don't go in a wrightworth shipper you aren't very likely to come out as one. The first game has it's moments, but I'm hoping the following games are more concrete bc I wouldn't want wrightworth to be a thing at this juncture. Miles has too much personal development going on, he's not ready for that. Also, different than I was expecting: Miles seems more into Phoenix than vice versa and I thought it would be the other way around. Phoenix has that undying optimism for Miles (which may be hurting their case actually), but it's not convincing as romantic interest for me. Not that I would say it's impossible he's interested, it just hasn't developed much yet.

I like the overall theme/lens to view through of leaving, being left, and choosing to stay (my personal interpretation, and I am in no way writing a complete thesis paper here).

The first instance is in Mia's death. You could argue Phoenix's choosing to stay starts with Larry, but I think Mia's death is where it really takes off. Mia's death is a consequence of her choosing to stay (she chose her path and stuck to it), and the consequence of her death is leaving. Phoenix and Maya are the most notable of those left behind. Phoenix is the one with the power in this situation and he chooses to stay (with Maya). He consistently chooses to stay with Miles, his belief unwavering.

We learn that Miles left and is choosing at first to stay leaving. In the Powers case he seems to be beginning to be choosing to stay and makes the decision more thoroughly during his own trials. His decision to stay with Phoenix and his morals. At the end (we all know what happens next) he chooses to stay by leaving.

At the end of Miles' cases, Maya leaves, but her leaving is really more about staying. She is leaving now so she can stay later, more staying by leaving.

Ema and Lana have the benefit of doing the leaving staying arc over the course of a single case. Lana left her morals and subsequently her sister but Ema chose to stay and so Lana had a place to come back to. Ema assures her during the trial that no matter what they'll still be sisters and showing once again she is staying. Had Ema chose to leave, Lana would be in jail and their relationship would never recover. Had Lana chosen to stay leaving the result would be much the same.

Rip to Gummy in RFtA. Phoenix is constantly roasting him, the guy (temporarily) loses his job, he has the worst timing imaginable. Love my boy.

I really like Angel Starr and Jake Marshall. They're such compelling characters and their gimmicks are fun. I feel like no one talks about them but at some point in the future expect many reblogs featuring them (idk when anything will pop out of my queue, it's got close to 500 in it so I keep having to up how many it posts daily)

Phoenix really sets up the 'Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death' with his 'you can either let what happened kill the prosecutor in you or let it grow' paraphrasing obviously bc I cannot be bothered to find the exact words but I knew as soon as I saw it.

I need someone to get Larry some help. idk if anyone can help him, but someone ought to try.

Not actually related to my play through but I got a 'let the parrot take the stand' shirt and it's my new favorite article of clothing.

I don't have any other thoughts off the top of my head so that's it for now, but my other statements i started live blogging are under (#game posting) and I have decided I will continue to live blog as I go through JFA

#ace attorney #miles edgeworth #phoenix wright #wrightworth #maya fey #dick gumshoe #mia fey #larry butz #lana skye #ema skye #angel starr #jake marshall #game posting #pwaa #ace attorney meta

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spaghett-onaplate · 3 years ago

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!!YOUNG ROYALS SEASON 2 SPOILERS!! (from the screencaps specifically) warning: extremely long-winded post

Okay, so, many thoughts. First of all, HOLY SHIT! Second of all, I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm sure plenty of much more talented Young Royals blogs will do better analyses on the pictures, but here's my half-drunk-on-giddiness take on them.

First, this lovely pic of Sara, Felice and the gang. I love Felice's hair oh my GODD!! I was hoping for some natural curls in season 2 but I fear the drastic hair changes in both Felice and Wilhelm possibly hint at a massive time skip. Apart from that, Fredericka and Stella are off to the side, looking almost dejected. This could be interpreted as them being jealous of Sara's newfound closeness with Felice but honestly, I doubt it. In Season 1, the catty girl group trope was stomped on so I can't imagine they'd take that route in Season 2, at least not as anything more than a minor plot point. That aside, this could mean Sara is now boarding at the school, but not necessarily. It is hard to see the time of day in this photo, it could be morning or afternoon.

Now, Wilhelm and Simon. Wille's hair looks great - I expected it to but I was still nervous I'd miss the flippy bangs. I'm sure I will but we'll see ahah. So this looks like Wilhelm is getting the personal entourage again. See that badge on his blazer, and the badges of the people behind him? I wonder if that means they are in a position of leadership - e.g. rowing captain, prefect, etc. And if Simon is lined up along with the captains, does that mean he now has a position such as that? Also, I think that might be Felice's (straightened) hair just off behind Simon.

Now onto the most obvious part of the photo - Wilhelm's expression. Very intense. I love the way Edvin portrays his characters' emotions, he does a great job. Now Wille has his mouth pressed in a line, and he's staring very obviously at Simon. If this is their first day back, it means they haven't seen each other in ages, and they've both had time to think things through.

Next, this screencap of Wilhelm and his parents. A different dining room to last time, and standing above them is who I assume to be the chef. Is that snow I see through the window? This is probably the Christmas dinner at the palace, as I imagine that will be an important scene. Such a shot would not be possible with another person at the table... it's the first Christmas without Erik :(

Wilhelm doesn't look happy, but that's understandable. Kristina is looking at him, and the king is (once again) a wallflower. I wonder if we'll learn more about his character? Who knows.

Next, Simon and Wilhelm together again. I'll start with the background. A few returning characters, a few new ones (unless my facial memory is just that bad, lol.) The classroom is unfamiliar as far as I remember, potentially for history judging by the pinned-up portraits on the wall in the back.

Simon is reading, Wilhelm is neglecting his work to stare at him - as such is a recurring theme. It's hard to read their expressions. Are they smiling slightly? At what point in the season does this scene take place? Towards the start could mean they are sitting together in an attempt to maintain a friendship. Towards the end could mean Wilhelm has decided to follow his heart, rather than the monarchy.

Aside from that - new wardrobes! Very interesting. Simon's seems to stay quite similar, Wilhelm's jumper is rather new. The cut seems kind of fancy, but bear in mind I know nothing about clothes. Henry is wearing a surprisingly bright and casual outfit in front of them, with a graphic on the hoodie, which was previously unseen from most of the Hillerska elite. Someone analysed the clothing in all of Season 1 (please tag their blog if you remember who!) and they paraphrased RWRB in that "graphic prints make a statement." Now I'm probably over-analysing the shit out of this but that could possibly hint to a friendship with Simon - they have grounds to interact, after all.

Next, this scene. I was immediately reminded of the choir scenes, and I think it quite likely that they are in the audience listening to a song. It could also be a speech of some sort. I'm going to assume this is toward the start if it is the choir. Wilhelm is looking at Simon with a rather sad yet veiled expression. I think Henry is sitting next to him - you can see the gingerish hair just behind August. This might not mean anything as Wilhelm sits next to a few of the other boys in Season 1 with no further friendship.

And August is in front of him, looking horrendously smug/happy. I hope someone takes it upon themselves to knock him down a peg in Season 2. I'm not going to speculate why he's so cheery - he's August, after all.

Now, the rowing team around Wilhelm. Matching uniforms, potentially meaning there is a rowing competition that they enter. The boys are all encouraging him. Please correct me if I'm wrong (once again, terrible facial memory) but it seems that the boys behind them are Walter and Vincent, plus a new character (?). I have nothing to back this up on but if there's going to be a Love Triangle in Season 2, I think it's going to be with HIM.

Now, my favourite part of this picture - Simon's hand's on Wille. A casual one on his hip from the front, but if you look in the mirror you can see his other hand is on his back. Is Simon using this as an excuse to touch Wille, or are they together(-ish) and comfortable being intimate in front of the rowing team? And apart from that, there is a boy hunched over by the door behind August in a maroon top, a colour we frequently see on August.

Now, the Bjarstad trio. Simon is looking understandably dejected. He's wearing the same clothes that appear in Season 1, so I would wager this is toward the start, after school. Ayub and Rosh are clearly concerned for him - the conversation probably has to do with his relationship with Wille. They've already had the talk about the sextape. Now, Simon's backpack indicates he came home from school. He potentially saw Wilhelm for the first time in ages, and now they need to console him about it.

I was reminded of the woodsy place outside Hillerska at first, but I am fairly sure this takes place in Bjarstad. It would make sense, plus there's a telephone pole and (Linda's?) car vaguely visible through the trees.

Felice and Wilhelm friendship? Let's fucking GOOOOOO! Wille needs someone now that he's lost Erik, August and Simon (seriously, almost the entirety of Season 1 is Wilhelm taking a fat L. give the poor boy a rest in Season 2 please), and Felice is the perfect person for it. I'm fairly sure they're in Wille's room. Also, I am living for the casual clothing (Felice is in a Hillerska hoodie!) and Nikita's natural hair, omg.

I can see the parallel to that shot of Simon on his bed alone and I can already smell the edits. As for when this takes place in the series, I can't guess. Possibly toward the start, if Wille needs consoling about the situation in general. Either way, I'm excited to see their friendship in Season 2.

And last but not least, this shot between Sara and August. Sara is wearing the same purple coat as in the first image and has the same pink bag (you can justtt see it in the first pic behind her left elbow). Sara's expression seems to be inquisitive, pleading or disbelieving. August is looking down at her with what looks like a sneer. The clipboard is what I assume the Hillerska boarding application, and the lake behind them tells me this must take place at the school.

So, I hope you enjoyed my over-the-top analysis of these pictures. I can't wait to hear all of your opinions! I can't wait to be completely wrong about all of this, but hopefully I'll get some stuff right. I can't wait to see all of your analyses, and I am SO excited for Season 2. Now I'll give my fingers a rest from this rapid typing (it's so loud and has been going on for about an hour straight. I have 90 new things on my dashboard, wish me luck.)

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 3 years ago

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Float Like A Butterfly... Ch.6 ...Sting Like A Bee

Summary: An unexpected ally appears before Marinette. The only problem is, he's stumbled onto something he shouldn't have. And she needs it back.

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Marinette was having a terrible day.

First she shows up late with the principal accessory of the Gabriel line's Fashion Week showing. Fashion Week! Marinette was looking forward to it all month!

Next Audrey Bourgeois, Style Queen herself, treats the hat Marinette worked so hard on like gum on the bottom of her shoe. Sure Adrien had been super encouraging but he hadn't seen the look of utter contempt on Audrey Bourgeois face. No one could look that disgusted all the time!

Speaking of Adrien, he didn't make getting over him any easier by being so kind.

And if that wasn't enough Marinette's brain insisted on using Chat Noir's Miraculous to fight the akumatized villain. Again! She didn't want to think about Chat Noir right now because... Because... Marinette blinked rapidly. Deep breath... Because thinking about Chat Noir was painful.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

"Don't worry, Tikki. We'll get the box right after the show," Marinette stage whispered so as to not alert her parents. Who walked not even a meter away.

Tikki let out a concerned whine. Oh, this was a bad idea. She could feel it. Marinette was right that they couldn't get away from her parents beforehand. But that only made Tikki even more anxious to get searching. And Marinette really didn't need something else to worry about on top of... everything else.

She hoped no one found it.

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

Chloe's day was ridiculous. Utterly, ridiculous!

She sat next to her mother as Adrien walked down the runway. Lingering dread squashed and thrown into the very back of her mental walk-in closet where she kept unimportant things. Like shoes she never wore anymore, problematic outfits and lingering guilt that totally wasn't her's. Adrien wasn't slowly disintegrating anymore so why dwell on the past?

Adrien's performance was flawless and Chloe was absolutely certain she appreciated his efforts more than anyone else... Even if Alya Cesaire was livestreaming.

The show went off without a hitch. Adrien seemed fine but then he was almost as good at pretending as she was. Chloe eyed him as Gabriel's lackey, um, assistant pulled him along. Not physically, of course. It was more of a metaphorical pulling.

Ugh, Gabriel Agreste started talking with Chloe's mother through his assistant's tablet. Like, yeah, apologizing to the Queen of Style was a no brainer. But he could have at least come in person! Not like Gabriel was doing anything important besides being the world's richest hermit.

... And Dupain-Cheng was there too. Of course she was. At least her mother would put Dupain-Cheng in her place. Chloe felt herself smirk at the thought.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. As though reading her mind.

Chloe pretended not to notice. No petty satisfactions here! No, sir! But it wasn't like the Queen of Style was going to say anything about Dupain-Cheng's hat except-

"It's the most exceptional thing I've ever seen!" Audrey Bourgeois announced.

Exact- Wait, what!?

"You're a visionary, Marinette! Glitter's had its day..."

Chloe's ears rang, drowning out her mother's voice. Exceptional? Her? Over a- a- a hat!? A vice squeezed Chloe's chest with cruel precision. When her own present was rejected without even unwrapping it!? Chloe's fists shook as she bit her tongue.

"Isn't that nice for your friend, Chloe dearest?" Andre Bourgeois asked.

"It's ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloe whirled on her mother. "I've never been to New York with you and you're taking Marinette Dupain-Cheng!?" She spat.

"I'm afraid I have a last minute meeting to attend, my dear Audrey," Gabriel announced from the tablet. "Nathalie, bring Adrien home immediately."

Adrien's attention snapped from Chloe to Gabriel. "But, Father, I-"

"Do not embarrass me in front of the Bourgeois," Gabriel snapped, ending the call.

Jaw clenching shut, Adrien stared at nothing with stormy eyes as Nathalie led him away.

"I'm taking her because she's exceptional, Claudette. Uh- Chloe," Audrey stated matter-of-factly, the Agrestes already forgotten.

"I'm exceptional too!" Chloe shot back.

Audrey inspected her white gloves, bored of this exchange. "The only exceptional thing about you, my dear-" Audrey deigned to glance at her daughter. "-is your mother."

Chloe's blood boiled as she shook off Andre's hands on her shoulders, standing straighter. "I'll show you how exceptional I can be!" she promised.

Just as an akuma entered Chloe's present.

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

Alya was having an amazing day!

Her livestreams hadn't gotten this many new views since she almost got sacrificed by Pharaoh. The Ladyblog's activity was up. And Ladybug chose her as the Black Cat!

Sure it was weird that Ladybug didn't want to talk about it. But still! Black Cat! Alya tried to contain her grin as she thought about being Ladybug's partner for a day...

Her pace on the sidewalk slowed, enthusiasm dampening a little... Setting her face in determination Alya skipped into gear. All the more reason to piece together what happened! And she'd start with-

A burst of yellow light shot forth from the Grand Palais. Jolting Alya out of her thoughts as the newest akuma victim gave their villain speech from the roof.

"I am Queen Glitter! And from now on the only exceptional person in Paris will be me!"

Alya ran... straight for the villain who was obviously Chloe as she summoned a cloud of glitter and shapped it into a collection of accessories. The constructs restricting the movement of whoever they landed on. Scarves wrapping people's legs together or tying them to lampposts. Hats covering people's eyes as they tried to yank them off. There was even someone with his hands stuck in high heels. Queen Glitter made a giant floating scarf to stand on and took off in a random direction; leaving a trail of gaudy accessories in her wake.

Great. It was going to take forever to catch up to her now! Taking cover in an alleyway so Queen Glitter's sparkly formal wear wouldn't notice her, Alya scanned the street. Mentally kicking herself for not having recorded the villain speech for the Ladyblog.

"Looks like you're raring to go," Ladybug observed as she landed next to Alya. A familiar box in her hand.

"Ladybug! Didn't think I'd be helping out again so soon!" Alya held out her palm and Ladybug placed the Black Cat Miraculous in her hands again.

"Y'know the drill, right?" Ladybug's eyes wandered to the people in various states of running-for-their-lives.

"Give it back when we're done and don't take it personally," Alya paraphrased as Plagg emerged in a ball of light when she placed the ring on her finger.

"Ladyblog girl again?” Plagg gave her a once over. Ears flat against his head but swishing tail betraying his apprehension. "Well, at least Alya's not blue boy."

“He wasn’t that-“ Ladybug shook her head. “Y’know what, never mind.”

Glancing between them Alya filed that tidbit away for later. "C'mon, Plagg. We did great together!"

"You were okay," Plagg acknowledged. "Could've used more cat puns."

Alya chuckled. Of course he'd like those. With a -slightly forced- encouraging smile from Ladybug, Alya called out: “Plagg, transforme-moi!”

Green lightning traveled from Chat Noir’s ring across both arms and down her torso. A green sash wrapping around her waist and trailing into a tail. Running her clawed gloves through her hair as cat ears materialized. Said hair puffing up into an afro. Armor padding her shoulders and torso. Alya flexed her fingers to get used to the feeling. Chat Ombre's suit still felt strange on her skin compared to Rena Rouge.

Ladybug leapt onto the rooftops and Chat Ombre followed her lead. Racing towards the villain while avoiding her glitter. "So what's the plan?"

"Queen Glitter is basically a reskin of Style Queen," Ladybug thought aloud.

"But without that annoying habit of turning into a cloud!" Chat Ombre supplied.

Ladybug launched her yo-yo at a pedestrian and yanked him away from Queen Glitter's constructs as they passed by. "But she can spread her power over a wider area."

"Don't worry, Ladybug. We'll be- Look out!" Alya tackled Ladybug out of the way as a trio of glittery top hats zoomed past.

"Your reign is over Ladybug and wannabe Chat Noir!" Queen Glitter announced as she floated over them. Her appearance was similar to Style Queen except her crown was even bigger and gaudier. A foux glitter scarf around her shoulders. "I don't even care if you don't give me your Miraculous! I'll simply immobilize you and take them by force!"

They evaded a flurry of coats by jumping down to the street. "Really?" Chat Ombre called out. "That all you can throw at us? A tacky outfit?"

"Wouldn't be the first time!" Ladybug agreed.

"No one ever appreciates my gifts!" Queen Glitter stomped her foot. "Fine then. Why don't we try something more expensive!" Raising her hands she lifted two cars wrapped with giant bows into the air.

Alya's eyes widened. "Oh, shi-" Chat Ombre evaded Chloe's attacks as the villain played wack-a-chat. Glitter accessories flying in and attempting to restrict their movements as well.

Ladybug wrapped one of the vehicles with her yo-yo and spun it back at Queen Glitter.

The bright red sports car hurled towards her and- She stopped it with the palm of her hand. "You'll have to do better than that if- Where'd you go!?" Queen Glitter scanned the empty street, rising higher for a better vantage point.

Chat Ombre locked eyes with her for a second before a chimney obscured her line of sight. "Somehow I don't think that bought us much time." Alya voiced as a wave of clothing rose over the city.

Ladybug spotted a strip of blue between the rooftops. Thinking quickly, Marinette grabbed Alya's hand and turned them towards the Seine. Diving into its waters with a torrent of glitter in their wake.

Queen Glitter's constructs crashed into the river and washed away with the current.

Chat Ombre made for the surface once it was clear but Ladybug pulled her back. Chat's staff in her hand and yo-yo on her face. Pointing towards the magic tool Ladybug offered it to Alya.

Nodding, Alya quickly pressed it to her lips and took a deep breath, sweet oxygen filling her lungs. Giving Ladybug a thumbs up once she didn't feel like her chest was on fire.

Grabbing her hand Ladybug led Alya further upstream until they found a boat.

Gasping the (relatively) fresh air Alya examined Chat's staff. "I didn't know it could do that."

"Yeah, the Miraculous are full of surprises. And we'll need one of our own to beat Queen Glitter. Lucky Charm!"

A spotted snorkel fell into Ladybug's hands.

"Don't we already have one of those?" Chat Ombre asked.

Ladybug's brow furrowed as she stared at it. "Yeah... Wait, Queen Glitter's powers don't work underwater!"

"So, all we need to do is get her there!"

Ladybug glanced at a pair of recycling bins. "And I know just how to sneak up on her."

Chat Ombre grinned. She liked this plan.

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

Chat Ombre hated this plan!

It had all gone smoothly. The glitter constructs ignoring the recycling bins they used as disguises. Snake style. Chloe was dumbfounded when she saw them. Enough to let them take the elevator up to the Grand Paris' rooftop where Queen Glitter set up her makeshift throne. Giving them the opportunity to tackle her towards the Seine.

Unfortunately, Queen Glitter could make constructs of any size. Like, for example, a wide brimmed hat big enough to stretch from either bank of the Seine.

"You were going to make me wear this?" Queen Glitter held up the Lucky Charm- "No thanks!" -and struck it across her knee.

Alya winced as the villain broke Ladybug's insta-win button in half. "Please, tell me you have a plan?" Chat Ombre glanced at the spotted hero currently wrapped up in an extra long scarf just like she was. The floating constructs squeezing just a little bit more as Ladybug struggled against them. Alya tried bending her wrist to Cataclysm her restraints but her right hand was held away from the rest of her body.

"No planning! Not that it'll do you any good. I've already won! Me! Queen Glitter! MWAHAHAHAH- Do you mind? I'm trying to savour the moment!" Chloe snapped as Papillon's emblem glowed over her face.

Alya's head turned from an increasingly frantic Ladybug to the annoyed villain.

"Of course I'm going to take their Miraculous! Why wouldn't I take their Miraculous?"

"An excellent question, your Highness!"

Three pairs of eyes snapped towards the source of the unexpected voice.

"... Who the heck are you supposed to be?" Queen Glitter demanded.

"Aristos! At your service!" He bowed with a flourish, giving Alya a good look at the bee shaped comb at the base of his ponytail. Blond hair highlighted with black stripes. Goggles obscuring his face, making his green eyes hard to read despite the grin on his lips. Suit mostly yellow with black, V-shaped stripes on his torso, forearms and lower legs. Three hexagons on his chest giving the impression of honeycombs.

"No no no no no no." Ladybug stared at Aristos, not realizing that she was speaking aloud.

...Well, that can't be good, Alya thought.

"Ha! Did you really think more insects would help, Ladybug?" The villain mocked. Her constructs closing in on the interloper.

Aristos' smile took on a darker edge. "I'm not with her, your Majesty. I'm here to pledge myself to the most exceptional Queen I've ever seen! Really, where does Papillon get off talking to such a glittery figure as your Highness like that?"

Alya blinked. Really? Even Chloe wouldn't fall for-

Raising her hand the villain halted her constructs' advance. "Hmm, well at least you know how to treat royalty." Queen Glitter offered her bejeweled fingers. "I guess you can be my underling."

Ah. Right. Never underestimate the power of Chloe's ego.

The Bee, Alya was ninety-nine percent sure he was the Bee, took Chloe's offered hand and leaned down. Lips hovering over the back of her hand. "Oh! That reminds me your Highness, I have a gift for you."

Queen Glitter's eyes shone. "A present? For me? It better be the latest- Ow! I'm getting to that!" She snapped at Papillon, looking away from the Bee to glare at the absent supervillain.

Aristos removed the striped top Alya recognized as his Miraculous tool from around his waist.

"You didn't beat them! I did!"

Casually, carefully, Aristos placed his top on Queen Glitter's hand. Point against her glittering skin.

"You couldn't do it yourself so you sent me!"

"Venom," the Bee breathed.

"What was-"

Queen Glitter froze as Aristos' top glowed; his power paralyzing her. The constructs bursting into clouds of glitter. Chat Ombre landed in a crouch as her restraints vanished.

"It worked." Aristos sounded as surprised as Alya felt. "It worked! Yes! Nailed it!" He pumped his fist as relief overflowed and- Was he crying?. "Independent hero debut successful!"

"What?" Ladybug was staring at the Bee apprehensively and that didn't help Alya's nerves.

Aristos' mood instantly became more subdued. Blinking rapidly to get the water out of his eyes. "Oh, right. You're still here."

Chat Ombre tried not to take that personally. He did just save them, after all.

Ladybug stepped forward. Voice even, diplomatic. Never mind that she seemed this close to freaking out. "Listen, Aristos was it? I don't know how you found that Miraculous but you have to give it back."

His face was disturbingly neutral. "...Don't I get a 'thank you' for saving the day?"

The tension in Ladybug's shoulders wouldn't budge. "Thank you, but I really need that Miraculous back." She held out her hand.

Aristos stared at Ladybug's hand like it was something alien. Cracks appearing in his facade. "Yeah, pass." Walking backwards, away from Ladybug and Chat Ombre, he kept them in his field of vision.

"Wh- The- Y-you can't just decide that!" Ladybug sputtered, stepping forward.

"Just did! How do I even know this Miraculous is even yours?" Aristos asked, increasing the distance between them.

Alya got the distinct impression that he was bullshitting them.

"I'm the one who lost it!"

Alya's eyes widened. "You lost a Miraculous?"

"Not helping, Chat!"

Aristos' features twitched, eyes narrowing. "Sure you say it's yours but how do I know that?"

Chat Ombre bristled at the implication. "Ladybug is the Hero of Paris!"

Aristos gave her a once-over, his expression inscrutable, but said nothing.

Wow. Rude.

"That Miraculous belongs to the G- to me."

"That's interesting because I say it belongs to me." Aristos laid a hand on his chest. "Looks like it's your word against mine. Guess which one I'm choosing?"

Ladybug's yo-yo was suddenly spinning in her hand. "I swear, I'm not gonna lose another-"

An insistent beeping from Ladybug's earrings interrupted her.

"Welp! Love to stay and dance but it looks like you two need to buzz off before your precious identities are exposed to little old me."

Why did he sound bitter? Everything about him made Alya's head spin with questions. Not least of which being how the heck someone holding the Bee Miraculous showed up in the first place.

Taking his top, Aristos hopped onto the edge of the Grand Paris' roof. "Might want to deal with her before that happens."

Alya looked to where he was pointing to see Queen Glitter still paralyzed. When she glanced back at the Bee he was gone.

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

Adrien's day sucked.

Paris Fashion Week was always a chore but this year was even worse. Despite having friends around he felt lonelier than ever. Getting to talk to Marinette only helped so much. Adrien was still expected to plaster on a smile and represent 'the brand'.

And that was before he got turned into a freaking statue!

At least it's better than mind control.

Shut up!

He did not want to see Ladybug or her new partner up close and personal! Thank you, very much! But like always what Adrien wanted didn't matter.

Imagine his surprise when a Miraculous practically falls into his lap. A familiar glow blooming in his chest against all reason as Adrien opens the box.

"Hello, my King," the unknown, bee-like kwami greets formally.

There's a turning in his stomach that Adrien tries his best to calm it. "H-hi! I'm Adrien. What's your name?"

"I am Pollen," she bowed. "Kwami of Subjection. An honor to meet you. It has been a long time since I've had a king."

"Just Adrien is fine." Taking the Miraculous, a comb of all things, out of it's box Adrien stares at it. It's disguise all black and only vaguely shaped like a bee compared to the details he glimpsed before Pollen came out.

"Of course, my King."

Adrien sighed. Pollen was nothing like Plagg. Then again, Adrien wasn't sure the world could survive two of him. The lazy little jerk was enough to drive any Guardian mad all by himself... God, he missed Plagg.

"Um, anyway, how does your power work?"

Pollen clapped her small appendages together. "It's very straightforward, my King. You simply call out 'Venom' and your top will activate. Then strike your opponent with the point and they'll be paralyzed for however long you desire." She whooshed toward him for emphasis.

"Paralyze..." That was certainly more straightforward than using Cataclysm.

'Cause you sucked at that, didn't you?

Shut up. This was... What was he doing? When Adrien held the Bee in his hands he felt... Alive. Like a promise that things could be better this time around.

Adrien jumped as insistent knocking on his changing room door startled him out of his thoughts.

"M. Agreste? Mme. Sancoeur says we're back on in five."

"Be right out!" Brushing the Miraculous with his thumb to make sure it was really there Adrien placed it in his pocket. Hesitating for a moment he offered his jacket to Pollen.

Nodding, she zoomed into Plagg's old hiding place.

Taking a deep breath, Adrien opened the door. "Let's get this over with."

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

Adrien ran off as soon as Papillon's mark appeared on Chloe's face. Catching Marinette doing the same from the corner of his eye. Glass raining down as Queen Glitter broke through the Grand Palais' roof.

Pollen zipping out as he tied his hair into a makeshift ponytail. Holding it in place with the Bee Miraculous.

"Quickly, my King! Say 'Pollen, transforme-moi'!"

Adrien stared at her. He could hear screaming as people ran.

"My King!"

His oldest friend just got akumatized for the second time.

"My King!"

All he had to do was speak!

"Adrien!"

His knees shook as his back hit the wall behind him for support. "But... I wasn't chosen."

Pollen floated higher as her eyes widened in surprise. "Weren't you given my Miraculous?"

Adrien shook his head. "I f-found it... After giving up the Black Cat."

This time Pollen dipped as she nearly fell out of the air. "Chat Noir."

Adrien shook his head even more emphatically. Hands going up to cover his face. "N-no! Not him! Can't be him!" he choked.

Pollen laid her hand on his and Adrien tensed at the touch. "My King."

Something in her voice made Adrien look at her.

"You wish to help, do you not?"

"... Yes."

Pollen's eyes softened. "Then help."

Adrien stared at her. So sure that she'd want nothing to do with him once she knew what a failure he was... But that wasn't the case.

Rising shakily to his feet Adrien gave Pollen a grateful smile. "Pollen, transforme-moi'."

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

Aristos panted as he glanced up from the alleyway. Spotting no pursuers. "Pollen, detransforme-moi."

Landing on Adrien's outstretched palms, Pollen beamed tiredly at him. "Excellent work, my King."

Adrien smiled back. "Oh! What do you eat? Plagg loves Camembert but..."

"That would be fine. However, I prefer something sweeter."

"Yeah..." A weight settled on his chest. "Let's see what we can find..."

Pollen frowned. "Is something wrong, my King?"

Adrien avoided her gaze. What was he supposed to say? That disobeying Ladybug felt wrong? That he almost let his guilt and resentment make him say cruel things to his replacement? That his heart wouldn't stop pounding? "It's just... Do you want to go back?"

Pollen blinked.

"You're supposed to listen to the Guardian, right?" Adrien bit his lip as his heart tried jumping up his throat. "It's not fair of me to keep you if you want to go back."

Pollen sat up on his palms. "I have been in the Miracle Box for a long time, my King. I can think of worse things than spending what time I have outside it with you."

Adrien's eyes burned as he wiped away tears. "Thanks, Pollen."

Ladybugs swirled in the sky as they repaired the city.

"Of course, my King," Pollen smiled.

"Call me Adrien."

"Yes, my King."

Adrien sighed. A smile coming to his lips. Looks like Aristos was sticking around for a while.

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

Retroactively giving Black Cat Alya an afro.

#bee!adrien #bee miraculous #adrien agreste #canon divergence #canon divergent au #ml au #ml fanfic #queen wasp #kinda #ml #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #chloe bourgeois #alya cesaire

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delusion-of-negation · 2 years ago

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they didn't say "get criticised less", they said they wouldn't get. I explained that. your comment falls apart here, because if they'd simply said "less" that would be, y'know, exactly what I said. my comment you initially responded to explicitly said it's likely you would get more/more frequent/meaner comments when you're marginalised than not - albeit not fixed (you can't say "x person would definitely get worse if they were also y" because that isn't actually how trends and the chaotic nature of reality work). your response keeps assuming I'm being uncharitable, but I'm not. it literally said "skinny people will be called gorgeous", no saying it happened generally less often, no less, no more, no maybe. that trend is something multiple people recognised when I posted. it immediately flagged to the person who reblogged the post as it being about the post they reblogged, and they deleted it, and all without me tagging them or explicitly quoting or anything since literally the last thing I wanted was to attack a friend over a post otherwise 100% agreeable which just flipped and fell on the last hurdle, but it's distressing when that hurdle is "denies a group is treated in a way they're treated". again, I was the one here who's clearly said from the start that being marginalised, including fat, would likely increase the likelihood of shitty comments, the post being talked about simply said people are complimented when they're not fat and not called names if they don't look perfect. it obviously isn't something I'm attacking the op over either, since there's a whole new post here. it wasn't just unclear wording, I'm definitely not attacking over unclear wording, I'm making a post warning against forgetting your experiences aren't universal, it's strange that you jumped on me when you misunderstood that, I reacted badly, and now you're acting like I'm the one here who's jumping on people over poor wording. didn't you do that to me?

edit: hold up

I apologised that the other reply was worded harshly, nothing in there was wrong or outright nasty. you were shitty to me and in expressing my upset at that I paraphrased hyperbolically, and it generally didn't come out well. I still am upset. I still stand by all points, just not how I phrased them. I still don't want people on posts talking about the thing I asked you not to talk about. don't paint it like something happened that it didn't 'cause I say sorry.

people can read for themselves, I'm not hiding it.

you literally did something I talked about then *again* here

in fact, since you're pretending to understand when others have corrected you, then coming back and repeatedly backtracking about that to me, when I said it was upsetting you were, it's just obvious you're sealioning. that tag was horseshit. blocking you.

"[group] should be allowed to chill and be happy!" fuck yeah!! "because [other group] is allowed to chill and be happy!" oh no unfortunately you fucked it up. you fucked it all up. no. they're actually not. especially if they are otherwise marginalised. bro.

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alto-angel · 4 years ago

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in this post, i would like to present my thesis on why the song metaphor by the crane wives belongs to goro akechi.

"i've gotten good at leaning on metaphors": goro's speech as the detective prince is very flowery, exaggerated, and calculated, in order to please the crowds of people with their eyes trained on him at all times. public appearances, television shows, and interviews are all very important for his image, and as such he's forced to adapt his speech and choose his wording carefully to appease those watching. robbie daymond especially does a very good job of vocally pushing the line of politeness into a tone that sounds just a bit too sugary to be genuine, but not something u would notice unless u were listening closely.

"i've gotten good at living on someone else's page": much like the first line, this one can also refer to goro's public image. because he's put an immense amount of work into his life as the detective prince, he aims to please. or at least, he needs to act as though he does. in order to keep up appearances, he needs to be able to get a read of those around him and keep himself on the same wavelength as them. this also applies to shido—not only does goro need to please his fans, but shido as well, in order to stay one step ahead of him. goro is purposefully putting himself on eggshells every day of his life, and in order to keep that up as well as keep himself safe, this is what he has to practice.

"i cut my teeth on secondhand sentiments": goro is often forced to follow a script, or at least an embellished, public-friendly version of his own thoughts. the things that he says when acting as the detective prince are rarely ever his own thoughts as they would be presented in normal conversation. goro has to hide his true opinion of the phantom thieves behind crowd pleasing buzzwords, keep up appearances by catering his opinions, and even quotes philosophers and other literature ("to paraphrase hegel"). the things that he says as detective prince goro akechi are rarely ever entirely his own, and he's gotten very good at tailoring his speech.

"you can't trust a single thing i say": this one, i think, is fairly self-explanatory. the "you" doesn't just apply to the phantom thieves, but to those goro works with as well. what is it he says to sae; "to trick your enemies, you must first trick your allies"? he uses deception to get what he wants, but his primary motivation for it is to move his plan forward, and to protect himself. obviously, if he were honest with shido, he would've been killed on the spot. goro's proficiency with lies isn't just a tool he uses, but a defense mechanism as well. bc of his fear of and difficulty grasping the concept of opening up to someone, through that skill, he is able to keep himself closed off and in control (that is, until he meets akira).

"i keep my closet free of skeletons": this one strikes me as irony, personally. goro's closet is so full of skeletons that it's practically bursting at the seams. but as the detective prince, something like that just isn't allowed. he needs to play the part, otherwise he pays the price. as himself, as goro akechi, he's got so many skeletons in his closet that he probably can't open the door anymore. but as the detective prince, he has to uphold an air of perfection that seems unattainable to others. goro as the detective prince is the epitome of the culture behind the idolization of celebrities, and the way others place and expect them on pedestals of something near godhood, far above the rest of the world.

"cause i'm much better at digging graves": well, goro akechi is certainly no stranger to the art of killing someone without a trace. we have no idea how many shutdowns or breakdowns he induced over the course of his professional relationship with shido. but i also think this lyric in tandem with the one right before it could relate to goro's tendencies towards repression; the idea that he cannot and should not have any "demons" or "skeletons"—such as past traumas, meaningful relationships, or feelings that he's jammed down and shut the closet doors on, if u will—bc since vengeance is his only objective, then digging graves is his primary task, or the only thing he's good for, in his mind. the word skeletons doesn't have to represent mistakes specifically, but could also refer to how goro views his own heart and how he deals with his emotions. something like, he feels he shouldn't deal with all that turbulence, bc he's far better at warping it into anger—something that he's used to dealing with, and can easily rationalize. the more complicated emotions, not so much.

"but i always dig up bones in your sympathy": this is where i start connecting things to goro and akira specifically. another definition of sympathy entails two people who share an understanding of each other. doesn't that sound like goro and akira to u? so, if u take these lyrics to be from goro to akira, it feels to me like this one could represent his regrets/desire to leave his situation. according to rank seven of his confidant in royal, we know that goro is practically screaming for help before the events of sae's palace. unfortunately, as the player, we are not able to save him. but i think this lyric could represent his desire to connect with akira despite his better judgement—"dig up bones," as in; i'll still arrive at the decision to bury them in the first place, but bc we have an understanding, i'll show u as well as i can that i do not want to be doing this. and that's exactly how rank seven with goro plays out, through the metaphor of a billiards game.

"i can't trust a single thing you say": this could refer to the fact that both goro and akira are withholding truths from each other throughout their relationship, and since they are of equal standing, the same deception that applies to goro would apply to akira as well, albiet in a far different way. however, i can also see it as an unwillingness on goro's part; he feels as though he cannot trust akira not bc akira is truly lying to him, but bc there's no other way for him to rationalize the fact that akira cares for him and wants to spend time with him. as goro akechi, not the detective prince. goro can't trust the kindness akira extends to him not only bc he's used to conditional love (shido, foster parents, etc.), but also bc he doesn't feel as though he deserves it. goro does not have a very high image of himself, as we see later on, and it's easy to see throughout his confidant that he cannot quite understand why someone would want to spend time with him, and not the perfectly crafted version of him that he presents to everyone else.

"don't look too hard, cause you won't like the scars he left in me": the "he" here refers to shido. shido is the sole reason for all of goro's trauma and hardships. he has scarred goro more than anyone else in his life. and goro's sharing of these traumas is very limited: he opens up seemingly out of nowhere, before immediately retreating under the guise of things like "oh, that isn't like me," or "oh, am i bothering u?" such as the scenes that take place in leblanc and the bathhouse. goro cannot fathom the fact that someone (akira) would wish to get to know him, as he is, so he assumes that a normal interaction between friends is somehow too much transparency, and keeps himself at a distance. he mistakes his feelings for akira as hatred, right? obviously, that's entirely the wrong word to describe them. but if goro himself believes that he hates akira, he would likely believe akira to hate him as well; as evidenced by the fact that the dialogue options which give u the most points are the ones where u mention ur "rivalry"—bc again, goro cannot rationalize his emotions as anything other than negative; anger, hatred, etc. it's far easier for goro to blurt out the words "i hate u" rather than "i love u," or "i care for u," isn't it? and this is how he keeps himself at enough of a distance, although simultaneously feels himself drawing closer. emotional closeness is not something goro is well versed in, and bc goro has built his image on being talented and skilled, he refuses to reveal his shortcomings.

"i've gotten good at making up metaphors": the words here are only slightly different than the ones at the beginning, which i think works for goro's further descent into his deal with shido, and subsequent difficulty. instead of "leaning" on metaphors, he's completely making them up. it's more drastic, which could represent a sort of desperation. almost as if he's losing his touch—which we do see after the events of sae's palace, during the tv interview where he monologues internally about his backstory, and we start to really see how damaged he is. goro is frazzled and distraught, enough for it to visibly show, something he prided himself on being able to avoid.

"i've gotten good at stretching the truth out of shape": again, the same situation as before. similar to the beginning, with slightly harsher wording. the lies that goro is immersing himself in are getting more intense, and almost impossible to separate from. his "murder" of akira is a turning point, in a way; akira is the first and only character we see goro kill in what he believes to be outside of the metaverse. he's not only stretching the truth out of shape, but he himself is bent out of shape as well—this stuck out to me on my ng+ run; his sprites in the scene just after akira is reported to be dead from him to shido are very unsettling and absent, as if he's almost completely zoning out. it's a very jarring scene to watch, and i think at least part of that has to be due to the severity of his actions.

"and all these words are sweet and meaningless": this feels to me, if we're going by the timeline i've been suggesting throughout all this, like it's directed at shido. now that akira is dead and the phantom thieves are no longer a threat to goro's plan for revenge, he can focus his energy back on his original objective. goro lays it on incredibly thick in his scenes with shido, so much so that it sometime surprises me that he didn't realize shido was onto him. again with the more intense wording here, which fits with the events i'm corresponding it with.

"you can't trust a single thing i say": now this wording is exactly the same as the first time, but given the progression of everything i've talked about, i take this as a sort of last word to both shido and akira. goro intends to follow through with his vengeance no matter the cost, and this could read as a final nail in that coffin. the song repeats this lyric four times, as well. if i wanted to keep it up all the way up to the engine room scene, and go completely off the rails in the process, i could say that the first iteration of this line is an affirmation to both shido and akira that his revenge takes precedence, therefore it would be stupid to trust him. the second is an affirmation to himself that he is in fact doing the right thing, and everything will pay off in the end, that this is just the way things are supposed to be, as always. the third is a kind of plea, born from confusion, after he's defeated by the theives and they offer to bring him with them to take down shido, an offer he cannot fathom the reason for extending. a sort of "why would u trust me" in the form of "u shouldn't trust me." and the fourth would refer directly to goro speaking to his cognitive self; as he decieves the deciever, making it seem as though he is running back to shido only to close the bulkhead door and resign himself to his "noble" sacrifice.

i hope at least some of this makes any semblance of sense. put this song on ur goro playlists, goroboys.

#persona #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p5 #p5r #goro akechi #character analysis

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settersprouts · 4 years ago

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꠵ look at me : chapter four ꠵

パニック。

"How in the hell did we manage to get in this situation?"

Iwaizumi's and Matsukawa's shared thoughts explained the worst possible situation they would be in : they lost Oikawa and Hanamaki.

"Damn, this is bad." Iwaizumi reached for his phone, dialing Oikawa's number for the seventeenth time. Of course, just like the other sixteen times, there was no answer : the call just went straight to voicemail. "He put his goddamn phone on silent, what the hell was he thinking?"

Matsukawa rubbed Iwaizumi's back, supporting his teammate. "I'm sure they're fine. Maybe they went to get food or something." He checked his own phone to see if Hanamaki had read his texts, but his results were the same as Iwaizumi's. "I got no answer from Makki. He probably turned his phone off as well."

Iwaizumi grabbed his own hair, practically tearing it out of his scalp. "Crap, they're really starting to worry the living shit out of me." Matsukawa snorted a little bit, taking Iwaizumi's hands in his own to force him to stop making himself go bald.

"Look, you need to calm down. If they were in actual danger, the last thing they need is you not thinking straight." Matsukawa flicked Iwaizumi's forehead. "So, just take a deep breath. Breathe with me. In for four, hold for four, and out for four." Iwaizumi matched his breathing with Matsukawa's, and after a couple minutes his mini panic-attack had gone down, and the veins that were popping out of his forehead earlier weren't visible anymore. Muttering a small thanks, he checked his phone again just to see if Oikawa had texted. It was the same as earlier; no answer.

"Hey!" Hanamaki's bright voice rang through both boys' ears. They turned to greet the huge smile plastered on the boy's face. "Sorry about leaving you guys, I got you some food!"

Matsukawa and Iwaizumi both let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. "About time," Matsukawa muttered, opening his arms to give Hanamaki a little hug. "Was 'boutta call the cops on your dumb ass."

Hanamaki scoffed, shoving two paper bags into his friend's arms. "Well, screw you. I even got yours and Iwa's favorite too."

Iwaizumi peaked over Matsukawa's shoulder as the latter opened the crinkled bag. Inside were two foil-wrapped packages, the smell emitting from the wrapping suggesting Hanamaki had bought some food. Iwaizumi reached inside and pulled out one of the packages, opening the foil just a little bit to reveal Matsukawa's favorite food, cheese-filled hamburg steak.

Matsukawa gasped, taking the food from Iwaizumi's hand and looking at it like it was his lifeline. "Makki, you are a literal angel. God bless. I love you." He took a bite out of the steak, closing his eyes and smiling. "No homo though." He added on in between bites, finishing the meat in under fifteen seconds.

He gave the other bag to Iwaizumi, which held little plastic containers with some agedashi tofu. He inhaled the food's scent, wrinkling his nose a little bit at the sudden waft. It smelled normal, but it wasn't like the tofu Oikawa and his okāsan⭒ used to make. Even though Toorū was a brat about making food for Iwaizumi sometimes, he still managed to cook something up that tasted absolutely fantastic. It kind of scared him.

Iwaizumi pulled out the container, popping the lid open and stabbing a toothpick into one of the tofu pieces, popping it into his mouth. "So, where's Crappykawa?"

Hanamaki shrugged. "Dunno. I think he chickened out." An unamused expression made its way onto Makki's face. "He's probably still pissed about Karasuno beating us, that he didn't want to watch them go against Shiratorizawa."

Matsukawa and Iwaizumi both glanced at each other as Hanamaki stalked off, hands in his pockets and everything. "Sometimes, I really wonder what goes on inside his head."

"Honestly." Matsukawa replied, as they both speed-walked to keep up with Hanamaki. "I've been meaning to ask you, how's 'Kawa doing?"

Iwaizumi stiffened a little at the mention of his friend. A thousand things flew through his head. Should he tell him? Would Oikawa get mad? How would Matsukawa take it? Would he call the cops? Would he believe him? Would he tell Makki?

"You know, if you don't want to answer, you don't have to. Just don't glare at me, you're giving me chills." Iwaizumi snapped back to reality at Matsukawa's words, realizing he was glaring daggers at his friend. He mumbled an 'oh, gomen'nasai ⭒ ,' feeling relieved when Mattsun waved it off like it was nothing. "If it's personal, I get it. I'd be pretty 'pressed too, if I was in his situation."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Matsukawa sighed, looking up towards the cloudy sky. "Well, Oikawa is an amazing captain, and setter. He tried for three years to make it to Nationals at Seijoh, worked his knee into a brace, and his chances were all swiped out from underneath him." Iwaizumi noticed his fist clenched a little bit, but decided not to mention it. "You know, I don't blame him for hating Kageyama. He was just born gifted, while Oikawa worked his ass off to get to where he is right now."

Iwaizumi nodded, remembering Oikawa's semi-hatred for the first-year Karasuno setter. "But, even so, that doesn't explain why he tried hitting him. You remember that, right?"

"Seriously?" Matsukawa turned his head to stare into Iwaizumi's olive-colored eyes. "I mean, sure, but he was having a panic-attack, if the things you told me and Makki were true."

"A panic-attack?" Iwaizumi looked at Matsukawa in shock. "Shittykawa? Having a panic-attack?"

Hanamaki slowed his pace so that he was walking alongside Iwaizumi and Matsukawa. "Yeah. From what you told us, he was breathing really fast and his pupils were small," he pointed to his own eyes while saying this part. "And he was sweating a lot more than he should have been, since he didn't practice all that much yet. Seeing Kageyama probably triggered his flight or fight response, and made him freak out even more."

Iwaizumi's eyebrows furrowed as the facts dawned on him. It all made sense now, why Oikawa had distanced himself so much more from Kageyama than he did before the incident. He'd avoid him at all costs, making sure he never came too close in contact with his underclassman : probably in fear of coming close to hitting him again. What if Kageyama triggered another panic-attack, and Iwaizumi wasn't there to stop him from doing something he'd regret?

Hanamaki looked at Iwaizumi's expression, clapping him on the back. "Oikawa's come a long way since then. That was what, three years ago?" He intertwined his fingers, flipping his hands and holding his palms to the sky. "He's doing a lot better now, and I'm really proud of him." He flashed a bright smile at them, which nearly blinded Iwaizumi and Matsukawa.

"Aw, man. I should've brought sunglasses." Matsukawa muttered, rubbing his eyes. Hanamaki laughed, slinging his arms around the latter's and Iwaizumi's shoulders.

"Let's just find some seats. Maybe we'll find Oikawa!"

⊱─ ‧̥̥͙⋅. ♔ .⋅‧̥̥͙ ─ ⊰

Iwaizumi muttered incoherent curse words as he climbed the fourth set of stairs, looking for Oikawa on the right side of the stadium now. "I know he's here. Why the hell is he so hard to find?" He, Hanamaki, and Matsukawa had split up, deciding that it would be easier that way to find the setter quicker and easier if he even decided to watch the match. Iwaizumi was about to give up when he noticed the familiar chestnut-brown tufts of hair that peeked over one of the chairs in the stadium. There he is, Iwaizumi thought, walking up behind his friend.

"Ah. So you're here too."

Oikawa stiffened, turning around abruptly at Iwaizumi's voice, probably expecting his childhood best-friend to yell at him. Fortunately for him, he didn't get that reaction, and he relaxed his shoulders a bit, but was obviously still a little tense. "I thought you said you didn't want to come, since it'll piss you off no matter who won," Iwaizumi said, as he hopped over the back of the chairs to stand next to his friend.

Oikawa smiled slyly, taking his arms off his knees and leaning back into the chair he sat in. "No matter who wins, I'm going to be able to see the faces of whoever loses."

"Man. You really are a piece of crap." Iwaizumi glanced at Oikawa, who's face now held his "oh so famous" setter pout. It really confused the latter how every setter he saw seemed to make that same face whenever something pissed them off. It was kind of freaky. Pushing his thoughts aside, he sat down just one seat from Oikawa, knowing that he would want a little bit of personal space while dealing with all the crazy emotions going on inside his head.

Oikawa leaned forward in his seat a little bit, his eyes dead set on the so-called "Chibi-Chan." Iwaizumi could've have sworn he saw stars in his eyes, like Oikawa was just taken aback by every move the middle blocker made. Hell, maybe even every breath he took. Iwaizumi watched as the orange-haired ball of energy scored a point, yelling out in triumph. Oikawa seemed to smile with his eyes a little bit, his complexion brightening by the second. It was obvious what team he was mentally rooting for, even if he didn't say so himself.

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi, probably to say some snotty remark about Ushiwaka, before noticing the latter was staring at him already. Chocolate-colored eyes met olive-colored ones, a blush rising on the setter's face. Oikawa quickly turned his head, his ears noticeably flushed.

Fuck. He's cute.

⊱ ─ ‧̥̥͙⋅. ♔ .⋅‧̥̥͙ ─ ⊰

⭒ dictionary !! ⭒

¶-12 : okāsan, お母さん : an honorific form of address; used to call someone else's mother.

¶-18 : gomen'nasai, ごめんなさい : i'm sorry

** some of the dialogue in this chapter is paraphrased or taken from the actual scene in [ haikyu!! ] . this was not with the intention to pass it off as my own original work : it was only put there to fit the timeline and script of the anime/manga. all rights reserved to haruichi furudate. **

chapter 5 !

#oikawa tooru #iwaizumi hajime #hanamaki takahiro #matsukawa issei #hinata shouyou #hinata shoyo #ushijima wakatoshi

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