#just don't act surprised that he is still an antagonist

[imjulia-andilikecats]

The dude got that pretty privilege. Even some members of the fandom blame other characters like Mare for not returning his feelings or Julian (who is not even blood-related to Maven) for not helping him. Choosing to overlook the horrific deeds he and his mother did to them and more characters throughout the series.

Maven is a well-written, complex character with a tragic backstory, that makes him sympathetic. However, it does not absolve him from the terrible things he has done.

Controversial take here but: the horrible and horrific things Maven had done wouldn’t have been overlooked or forgiven by the fandom if Maven wasn’t attractive.

[androdetective]

As a poc, I have a complicated relationship to vbros. On one hand, the world is really immersive and the characters can be really great, on the other hand it is a very white show and has a racism problem. Many of the white characters have done racist things when characters have gotten punished or killed for less. There's also barely any side characters of color. And even then, many jokes get made at them regarding their races, because they're not seen as the norm. Also because it's an adult swim show made by white guys.

Off the top of my head, there are 4 side characters of color (Orpheus, Jefferson, Kano, and Dr Z). If we want to be generous, we could include Al. Maybe even Triana with her being biracial, albeit entirely passing as white. Even with those characters, Orpheus became whitewashed over the years.

However, ironically enough, he's the best written character of color. He's a very nice, multifaceted character. He's even become a fan favorite. He's also had no racist comments made towards him in the show. Which was a pleasant surprise. Especially since he lived on the compound with Rusty of all people. As happy as I am with that, it feels off because why did they spare only him but not others? I'm not sure if his race was ever figured out as the writers. It never got brought up, unlike other characters. I won't lie, that gives me a feeling they didn't write him as a brown man in mind. If they did write him with that in mind, he probably would've been written worse. It feels like they could only relate to him and made his character good by thinking he's white like them. Hell, they even projected their weird breakup feelings onto him.

With Jefferson, his character is a mixed bag. He's a cool character and very capable. He's a solid character, all things considered. It's just that he gets racist jokes thrown his way. And just, the show has one black side character, and they can't even act right. Why is racism, the hatred and otherness of one's entire existence, so funny. I noticed that each episode except one that he was in had at least one antiblack joke. That's an insane ratio. The worst joke was in the Halloween episode, where he was at the party. They specifically made his character open the door to a side character, red mantle, doing blackface. It was to make a shitty reference to some niche movie and just oh my god, can you stop being shitty white nerds for a second? People who think shit like this is funny makes me want to project years of racial trauma into their brains so that they could finally Get It. Again, this is the best black character they have, but they to make him go through cheap antiblack jokes.

At least with Kano and Dr Z their skin tones stopped being yellow. The other times we see characters of color are when they're background characters. They're either there to make a scene feel full or they're labor workers. The worst is when they were what I'd describe as background antagonists. One-off antagonists that aren't really villain villains. Moreso regular criminals. These tend to be depicted as black and latino. This was more common in early seasons and stopped happening over time. Which obviously great albeit bare fucking minimum, still doesn't change that it happened.

For a world that critiques the old mentalities from previous generations and even specifically denounces generational toxic masculinity. They don't say shit about the blatant racism of the Johnny Quest times they parody. And the times they try to, it's just showing racism and doing nothing about it. Princess Tinyfeet is the worst example of this. She's a blatant racial stereotype. Who for whatever reason, used to be married to Sgt Hatred, an American soldier. And Sgt Hatred is a whole can of worms.

With Dr Z who was apart of the Quest era, at least they tried to give him a character. The thing I will say is that he's voiced by a white guy (Publick) doing a stereotypical vaguely Eastern Asian accent. Something I wished when watching the show was for Dr Z to mention the old racist era he lived through, and maybe even how the present is still rough. The toxic masculinity of the era got mentioned, so why not that too. It would've been so obvious too.

I won't lie, a part of me is glad they didn't try to handle the racism because it would've been a horrible train wreck. I can get why they didn't delve too into it, they're white after all. I just wish there were more poc in the team and sensitivity writers because they were desperately needed. But for a show that can't even handle white women, I'm not surprised they can't handle people of color. For a show whose best thing they were able to tackle was toxic masculinity, I find it ironic how misogynistic they still were. Like quick, why were the side effects of misogyny that affect you 🫵 handled the best.

The thing is, if they did try to critique the racism, they'd alienate the audience, and it'd also be strangely hypocritical of them. Venture Bros'/Adult Swim's main audience is white cishet men. The ones least affected by bigotry. They're able to laugh at bigoted jokes, and they're the most marketable people. White guys will appeal to other white guys. In the early 2000s, white creators were able to get away with much more. Not because it was alright but because it was easier for them to shut down minorities calling them out. Despite how "normal" it was, that doesn't change how that fed into a very toxic, bigoted culture. Despite today still being hellish for minorities, it was even worse just a couple of years ago.

Venture Bros obviously did not invent racism/bigotry. The show is very much a product of their time and environment. And whenever I think about that, it feels draining. Especially having had to live through the 2000s. The show can be amazing when it wants to be. There's so much potential and a lot of charm and character. I really enjoy it, and that's why I'm so critical of it. Not only because I want it to be better but because I want something better for fans of color. We barely get anything, and the least we should get are characters that look like us and are respected. Just like their white counterparts. It's like, how am I supposed to feel when Sgt Hatred gets redeemed and made a main character before we got a character of color that didn't face racist jokes/got whitewashed. Or even before we got a female character whose existence didn't hinge on their relationship to a man. Obviously, the show doesn't hate people of color. They've tried to better over time, which again great. But it barely felt like they respected poc enough.

With the movie, despite its own problems (not helped by Adult Swim screwing them over), you could tell they were trying. And it was really appreciated. Jefferson had a big spotlight, and there weren't jokes against him. We even got to know a bit more about him. It was genuinely his best. Ignoring Orpheus still looking like he's in a perpetual state of winter, that aspect of the movie was alright.

I'm very glad to see fans who are critical of these aspects. It makes me more happy seeing them vouch for poc. However, there's still a large majority that ignores or even excuses the racism. Unsurprisingly, these tend to be the white dude bro fans. But I've seen even the more liberal fans excuse/ignore stuff. The fanbase is very white, just like a lot of other fanbases. I can get why a supportive white person feels they wouldn't be best to call out the show's shit. I just wish they'd mention it more with a simple "oh there's xyz in this episode and it wasn't alright." Something as simple as that carries a lot of power in very white environments. Also, of course, uplift other fans of color, especially when they talk about or face racism. Things as simple as that make me breathe sighs of relief. It personally encourages me to interact with communities more.

I'm unsure of how to close this off. This feels like a topic you could talk about all day. All I wish is for things to be better, you know? Hopefully this all makes sense. I just wrote shit off the top of my head. I'd love to hear thoughts expanding or adding on to stuff. Really hope this reaches the right people

[raziiyah]

tbh when i first watched monsters at work season 2 i was sad when johnny ended up being evil, bc i liked to think johnny put his rivalry with mike behind him and became a better person. like, i don't mind him being an antagonist, that was a given, but even though johnny was mean, idk he had standards? (other than the fact he was going to donate the funds from selling merch of OK's humiliation to charity like at least its for a good cause LOL) for instance, you can tell that ror values genuine skill, hard work and education, like when they reconsider sulley's placement in ror because of his dismissive attitude about his low grades, despite him being the image of a top scarer and being the son of a famous scarer

from this you can assume johnny also spent a lot of time studying and working fair and square to get good grades instead of trying to sail by, and that he wouldn't resort to cheating and got to his level through hard work and not solely his family name, unlike mu sulley initially

my point is that even though johnny did some bad things, he never did anything necessarily unfair to achieve his goals or win. even though johnny being an antagonist in maw wasn't a big surprise, i never saw him being randall boggs level of villainy. i will say he did a good job at being charismatic because even though he was an obvious antagonist and i knew it, i was still hoping he was a good person and became disappointed when his big plan was revealed

also this is really minor but i figured to just mention that there's a scene in s2 ep 10 where he gets carter's name wrong and calls him kenny, and when carter corrects him, johnny acts dissmissive and calls him carl, saying it wrong again and hardly acknowledging him. like he's shown to be charismatic and actually knowledgeable on knowing and caring about everyone's names beforehand, like he knows every employee he talks to at fear co, but now he's randomly being indifferent because, it was revealed he was a bad guy to just the audience and tylor? it's small but idk i thought i'd bring it up

what i found interesting about johnny sabotaging monsters inc and resorting to stealing laugh energy and claming it as fear co's is that to me, it didn't seem like something johnny (at least mu johnny) would do. however, it does seem like something mi randall would do

we already know that ror was a primary force into shaping randall's mindset and behavior in monsters university. and with johnny being the leader of ror and like the most popular guy on campus, i think it's fair to say johnny had a huge influence on randall during his uni years, which would cultivate into the personality he's known for in monsters inc

bringing it back to maw, perhaps johnny would first try to think of ideas to rival laugh power through improving scream, but randall would come up with ideas that would involve playing dirty and flat out sabotaging mi. this would've been great for johnny, to damage the reputation of laugh energy and improve the views on fear co., and would've doubled as giving randall an opportunity to get back at mike and sulley. i mean of course he would go the vengeful route

with randall constructing the scream extractor in mi, we know he's not shy to the idea of getting what he wants by unsavory means and at the detriment of others, and he could've pushed this mindset on johnny. maybe johnny's morals would've made him refuse at first; i like to think that he truly didn't want to go through with it wanting to do what he's ways done at the company and get things the honest way, but randall would've taunted him and pushed him to follow through with it, tempting him by saying that by doing this, he'd be protecting scaring, scream energy, and his family's legacy. despite what his conscience was saying, he had to for the sake of the company, a mindset similar to waternoose. with randall influencing his judgment to get what he wants, i think johnny would've been pressured to make the decision to follow through with this plan in order to save face

my point being: johnny influenced randall, and in return, randall influenced johnny

and they both suffered the consequences

[avelera]

What's your take on Jaymel? I've tried understanding and appreciating the pairing, but always end up coming short when I do. Nothing about them seems natural

When Mel first ropes Jayce into the council he gets so close to calling her out for her ways, then almost immediately does a 180 after talking to Amara, flirts with her, then acts surprised and hesitates when she comes onto him.

Mel pressures him to weaponize hextech, but then acts horrified when Jayce gets the same ideals in his head and wants to attack Zaun with their arsenal

There's more that's frustrating and confusing to me, but a lot of it just seems like Mel saw Jayce as a pawn until her mother showed up and then felt guilty he was exposed to Ambessa, and felt forced to protect him as a result

Jayce/Mel is interesting to me because it's a very complex, adult relationship the likes of which you don't always get to see even in live action prestige TV. In that they have come together over politics/manipulation and some attraction, grow closer, part ways to embark on their own adventures and growth, and reunite to hash out their grievances and then part ways amicably.

I think there are a few things that need to be factored into a fair reading of Mel/Jayce.

Mel was initially conceived of as a villain. Or, at the very least, as an antagonist in what I think was meant to be a much more generic story about Jayce being pulled between science/Viktor (his good side) and politics/Mel in a standard corruption story. The bones of that plotline are still there but I'm so, so relieved they made it more complex.

They made it more complex by making Mel a good person with complex motives of her own. She's not just a swanning villain helping the boys break in for selfish ends. She's not even promoting Hextech weaponry for purely selfish reasons, it's entirely practical to pursue given the circumstances (and an oversight by the boys that they didn't recognize the potential if they're against it maybe don't start with CRUSHING GAUNTLETS and a LASER BEAM).

They made Mel the pursuer, which works in a simpler story, but then she seems 1) taken aback by Jayce's physical affection the next day 2) slowly warming to him.

I'd also argue that while I think she always had sex with Jayce on the table as a manipulation tactic, the moment she goes for it is I think based on genuine attraction, when he expresses a desire to help others and she realizes how different he is from the warmongers of her family and home country of Noxus. She is genuinely charmed by him there when she makes her move.

But with all apologies to sincere MelJay shippers, those two were never the fairytale. I mean, do think there's a potential universe where they settle down to be a political power couple with astonishingly unfair good looks, but I think Mel was never seeing him as a long term prospect and Jayce, in my opinion, was actually an innocent who was genuinely responding to someone flirting with him and taking an interest. He's shocked when she kisses him, then clearly thinks about it a bit (IMO, reassessing if he has a chance with Viktor and sadly coming to the conclusion that he doesn't, Viktor isn't interested) so figures, why not? She's beautiful and interested and smart. Maybe they're not forever perfect or long term compatible (I think domestic Mel/Jayce would have led to Jayce driving her crazy with science talk in 2.5 weeks at most, and vice versa with her sincere interest in politics boring Jayce to death), but they can be Mr/Ms Right Now to each other and strengthen their political alliance too.

As for the actual beats of their story: yeah, Mel was manipulating Jayce at first. I wrote a longer meta about why that justifies him breaking up with her later. That manipulation is why they can't be together long term, because once Jayce gets wise to it in the cave, he's furious, and hurt, and he's lost all trust in her even though there's still some affection and care for her as a person. She's not bad but she did hurt him irrevocably with her actions.

I also saw a rather nice point that they're kind of living the relationship in reverse from each other, which is a tragedy. Jayce warms to her right away and then comes around to the fact there was manipulation at play. Mel starts out with intent to manipulate and then slowly warms to him. So when they both come back from their respective ordeals, Mel is looking for comfort from a person she cares for while Jayce has reassessed her role in his personal tragedy of Hextech and is ready for a fight. He eventually realizes it's not all her fault, he and Viktor are to blame too, but the relationship is over.

I hope this addresses your question at least a little?? Thanks for the chance to ramble!

[pitchouna]

Hello!! I just loved your work!! So may I ask for a scenario where something happens to the reader and Goku becomes overproctective??

Love ya and take care❤️❤️

Overprotective Goku x reader!!

HELLOOO!! I totally did not expect a request that fast damn but hey ig Goku fans are as down bad as much as I am 😔😔 you did not say what genre is the reader so I've done a general!!

Warnings : CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT / Reader is traumatized / Angst / Comfort / mentions of SA Words : 2154

Goku is far from overprotective.

He knows you're strong and trusts you! Plus he's too dumb to understand.

But sometimes, he'll definitely feel it if you are uncomfortable.

And you definitely don't wan't to be the person he'll take care of.

Definitely not.

Today you and Goku planned to hang around the City to change a little. Everything was perfect!! He picked you up at your house and took you on a ride with the Nimbus cloud!! You both enjoyed the ride a lot and the atmosphere was very peaceful. Just how you love it.

You guys went shopping, (you forced him of course, but he actually enjoyed it!!) and even bought him some casual clothes because let's be honest right there he looks damn fine in casual clothes. You did not told him of course...

After you two were satisfied with your shopping, you decided to sit on a bench wondering what you guys will do next.

"So what you wanna do now?" Your relaxed voice startled Goku who seemed lost. Of course you noticed it. Because you're a smart-ass ofc ofc. "Goku you fine?" you asked in a confused tone. He looked alright all this time! Was he faking?? Those insecure thoughts you wanted to forget came back. "Hm? Oh yeah I'm alright! I'm just wondering what we should do next!!" Goku said in his usual happy tone making your worries vanish. He was actually thinking how great you looked in those clothes you bought today and looked further in seeing you in these more. As you both we're thinking what to do next you spotted an Ice cream truck catching your attention. It wasn't that close but it was still on your eyesight. "Oh! There's an ice truck over there!" This has immediately picked Goku's attention as sparkles appeared in his eyes. "Woohhh! Let's check that out Y/n!!" Goku said excited as both of you walk towards the Ice-cream truck and taking your hand in the process making you yelp in surprise and blush a little. But his enthusiasm just made you happier "Alright!! I hope it's not that expensive though and it better be worth it.." You said chuckling "Heheee... It'll be fine I guess~" Goku hummed.

As you both finished taking your orders you've ordered a Strawberry Banana Ice cream, and Goku have taken a Watermelon Grape mix. "What kind of mix is that?.." You said in a disgusted tone questioning the weird Saiyan's choices. "Don't know.... It sounded great!!.." Goku whined sounding disappointed. You hum in happiness as you're very proud of the mix of flavors you've choosen. "Hmmhh!! It's so good!! You should try Strawberry Banana next time!! How does yours taste?" You've asked the Saiyan as he takes a bite of his Ice-cream. "Uhmm.... It's okay... I guess... But Watermelon doesn't taste very well.." Goku said as the disappointment was obvious on his face. "Well it's not like I've warned you-Oh-Hey!!! Give it back!!" Goku has taken your ice cream and took the biggest bite ever leaving you with barely nothing left. "Hmmhh! You're right it tastes amazing!! I'll definitely listen to you next time!!" Goku says with a big smile on his face as you dramatically cry for your ice cream. "How could you.... How could you do this to me..." You dramatically cry as Goku's making fun of you "Heheee... You can take my Ice-cream instead!! It's better than nothing-Ouchh...!! That hurts!!" Goku whined his head hurting making you laugh like an antagonist. "Hahaa!! Deserved!! That's for stealing my Ice-cream you big monkey!!" Goku dramatically acts offended, joining in your little game "Heyyy!! That's not really nice of you you big!.... Big...... Uh.... I don't have any ideas... Ouch!!.." Goku still holds his forehead as the brain freeze just seems to get worse making you laugh. "I guess using your head will just hurt more.. Meh now you know you don't have to steal my food anymore." You said patting his head even if he's taller than you. "Yes yes..." He cried disappointed, as if he wanted to do that again. "Well what do you want to do know?" You've asked Goku before you heard sirens and people screaming immediately catching your attention. Your head turns at the direction the screams and you see a car driving extremely fast as the police chase them. "Damn what kind of people drive this fast?.." Goku asked "Suicidal people I guess." You've replied sarcastically not noticing the doors of the cars opening as it makes it's way behind you. You then fell a hand on your waist and on your mouth pulling you inside. Time went slow for Goku as his eyes widened processing what was happening. But before he could react the car was already far away. "Y/n!!" he has screamed so loud that you heard it, before your vision faded away. He quickly summoned the Nimbus cloud to follow the car.

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You woke up tied up in a chair with a tissue covering your mouth. Your first decision was to look around knowing that struggling was pointless and it would just waste your energy. You seemed to be in a garage that you do not recognize. There are graffiti all around the place and some used dirty furniture. You heard a door opening immediately putting you on guard. What seemed like Gang members went inside, they were 17 they had weapons and seemed easy to fight one by one. But if they were all attacking you you won't stand a chance. Which made you forget the idea of beating them up. But before, you had to find a way of untying yourself. "Oh so that's the chick you've taken? She's smoking hot! We'll have a lot of fine with her.." One of the guys spoke. The way he talkedade your face twist in disgust predicting what's going to happen next. You're mentally preparing yourself to face it. Because you know you won't be able to escape it easily." Wait a second I want to hear her voice.." Another guy spoke. He seemed stronger than the others. So you assumed he was the leader. He removed the tissue covering your mouth and spoke.

"Hello there~ How come we've never seen you around pretty one?.." The leader said in a flirting tone that disgusted you. "Get away from me you pig!!" You replied screaming wanting to let them know that you don't want to do anything with them. The leader only smirked as the other men started to approach you. "And what if I don't?~" He said grabbing your chin and caressing your hair. Leaving you surprised and waiting for the worst. You decided to stay quiet. Knowing screaming will only make thins harder and more painful as tears starts to appear in your eyes. "Awhhh! What a cuite She's already crying !" You've heard a couple men saying in union. "awh... If you cry now how will you act when we'll break you?~" Your eyes widened not wanting that to happen. "N-no... You don't mean..." You say with a shaky voice making the men smile even more. "Hehe.. C'mon guys, let's start the party..." And the last things you've heard was horrible laughs.

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It was horrible. Ohh soo horrible. You were traumatized. To say the least. You didn't even had the energy left to cry. You were undressed only left with your bra and your panties. You wanted to forget everything. You wanted to wake up. You refused to believe it was real. You felt dirty. You still had the sensation of their hands touching everything on your body. You'll always remember how their lips felt on your body... On your face.... On your lips. The sounds of laughter of the men echoed in your ears. It was unbelievable. You'll never forget this day. You wanted to sleep and never wake up again. You closed your eyes. Hoping that the next time you'll open them you'll be in your bed, then spend the day with Goku and everyone else like the usual.

Instead what you've heard is an explosion. You slowly opened your eyes, puffed due to the many tears you've cried. But the door was behind you. So you couldn't not see what was happening. And you were too traumatized to move right now. You could just hear muffled voices and screams.

"I'm really mad right now. I'm going to kill you all." You heard a familiar voice say. But you didn't care. "Someone please help !!" You didn't care. You've heard many many pained screams. But you didn't care. You've heard many many sounds of bone breaking and liquids spilling. But you didn't care. You smelled a strong scent of blood. But you didn't care. It last for a very very long time. But then it stopped. You didn't care. You heard footsteps coming towards you. But you didn't care. You felt someone lifting your body but you didn't care. You then fell unconscious. And you didn't care.

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It was unbelievable. Goku was full of blood, holding you on his arms still shocked about what happened. Oh when he saw you undressed on the floor oh how mad he became. Even after taking care of theses rotten garbages do this to you ?? Oh he was so mad. Putting them on their place killing them was not enough. He contacted Bulma that has reunited the dragon balls for a project, and asked if he could have a wish. Bulma accepted. Goku went on her balcony with the Dragon Balls reunited and said, "Show yourself Shenron! And grant my wishes!" the impressive dragon got out of the Dragon balls as the sky darkened. "Express your wishes human." The Dragon said with his deep voice. Goku looked at your unconscious face before granting his wish. "I want Y/n to forget everything that has happened today!! Including everything her body felt!!" Goku exclaimed. "Nothing's easier." Shenron shined and immediately your expression looked more peaceful. Goku felt a wave of relief. As if the weight on his shoulders has been lifted. He sighed happy that you'll remember nothing about this. "You have 2 wishes left. What else do you want?" Goku looked at Shenron who forgot that he was there. "Bulmaaaa!! Come do you wishes I'm done here!!" Goku said hoping on the Nimbus cloud with you in his arms. Bulma ran to the balcony screaming "Goku!! Tell me what happened to Chiya!! And why is she undressed!??" as her tone holds very noticeable worry for her best friend. "It's best to not know!!!" Goku yelled already in the sky. Yet Bulma heard it. She sighed irritated, but if Goku told so maybe it was better to not speak about it.

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You woke up on your couch as the first thing you see was the TV showing a random anime about martial arts. You've noticed a bowl of snacks and pop corn. You realized you were on Goku's lap. You've gave him a confused glare while he was just smiling. "W-what happened? I don't remember anything..." You've switched for a sitting pose but since you were still tired you decided to put your head on Goku's shoulder. "Don't remember? We were shopping but then you felt tired so we've come back to your place. And I waited until you woke up." Goku said with a soft voice that replaced his usual energetic one. Maybe he felt tired too?? "Oh well... I still don't remember anything.. What time is it anyway?" You yawned as Goku looked at the clock. "It's 6:26 PM.. Why?" Goku asked tilting his head. "Wanna go to restaurant? They serve tasty rice!" You' said with a big smile seeing how Goku's eyes sparkled at the mention of rice. "Yess!! Let's go now!!" Goku took your hand and ran towards the exit of your home. You two were already dressed so you didn't mind.

At the restaurant you both ordered a lot of bowls of rice and ramen. Because you two were very hungry. For Goku it was like always. But you've rarely eaten this much, which was one of the many things you noticed was weird this evening. Why did you ate more? Why was Goku calmer? Why did he put a hand on your shoulder or on your waist protectively all the time as if something might happen? Why did he glare at every men near you? "Wahhhhhh!! This was so good!!" Goku exclaimed patting his stomach as you looked at the bowls. He had taken 15 bowls while it's usually 20. It added something on the list of what was weird thus evening. "What do you want to do now?" You asked him expecting him to say that he'll do his usual training of the night. But he replied with something else. "Hmmm what about we watch series and play games?" Goku said leaving you shocked. Okay. What was wrong this evening??! And why did you felt that Goku saved you from something you'd never forget?... You just decided to brush it off and enjoy the evening with him.

(Honorable mention of him hugging you while you were sleeping <33)

WOOOHHHH TTHAT TOOK SO LONG TO FINISH WTH?? But I again had so much fun writing this!!! I totally did not expect to write again so soon but the request seemed so fun I just couldn't ignore it and I definitely did not expected to get one so soon!! But I hope you guys enjoyed!! I'll probably make a request rule soon because there are some things I won't be uncomfortable writing.. Anyways Take care!! <33

[iskratempestmadness]

Hi ! Can you please write the reaction of 5 convicts (antagonists from season 3 of "Baki") to caring and short S/O ? All the best to you >3<

Whoa, let's try to do this.

Yanagi:

• not a big growth? It doesn't bother him. He's not tall enough himself, so you'll probably be on par with him. If you are still below him, then he will not react to it in any way. It's just that he will feel more masculine inside himself.

• But caring is new to him. He's a prisoner and he's used to being treated appropriately, so your concern is strange to him. But he still adapts to it quickly. This does not mean that he will not appreciate her, it's just that she will not surprise him. To some extent, he will also take care of you, but this is not so obvious.

Dorian:

• considering the condition he is in... It is unlikely that he will react somehow... But you can still try.

• You know, he's a pretty tall guy, so he's used to seeing the picture from the top. So it doesn't cause him much of a reaction. But if you are smaller than the average statistical person, then this may make them think about your height and that you look like a doll or a small child.

• caring... It quickly gets him used to it. This is the very person who gets too attached because of this. And taking care of a place with your height forms the opinion in him that you are probably his relative, most likely his sister. He can also convince himself that he has seen you before and that you have been with him since his childhood... So don't be surprised that he'll call you "sis."

Hector Doyle:

• small stature? It doesn't really matter to him, but it's another reason to act like a gentleman towards you. He will always help you get something or figure something out. So we can conclude that he likes it.

• Oh, there's a war going on here. Who will be more caring this time. He does not agree to a draw, so get ready for the fact that you will literally be enveloped in care and love. But in fact, he appreciates her, he knows what she is worth, so he tries to repay her on a large scale.

Sikorsky:

• Ready for jokes. He will mock you to the fullest. He will shove your things on a high shelf, well, where without the usual verbal banter. Like, "how's the weather down there? "He knows it's not witty, but he can't help himself.

• Uh.. Caring is difficult. He'll take your care, but... it is difficult for him to express his concern, and in principle emotions. So he'll decide that the best way to thank you is to shower you with gifts. On the one hand, it's nice, but on the other hand, it feels like he's buying your care.this is not really the case. Truth.

Spec:

• Jokes. Jokes. A LOT OF JOKES. He just can't stop. There are also a lot of offensive and not very offensive nicknames. And shorty is the most common of them. What can be said here... Accept it and get used to it.

• he will gladly accept your care and will also be happy to respond in kind. Although you can't tell it from him, but he's an attentive guy, so it's not difficult for him to notice a thing or a compliment that you like. But your concern still sometimes puts him in a stupor and makes him blush.

I think I'm done, but still I want to add another character who is unaccustomed to caring - this is Pickle.

Pickle:

• low height? It doesn't matter, he hasn't seen many people who are taller than him, so the low stature of those around him is no longer particularly surprising. But if you are lower than others, then he will notice you, but no more. Like, "How strange, what a little man"

• Caring is new to him. So the first thing that happens is that he just won't understand what's going on in principle. This will put him in a stupor. This guy is slow-witted in this regard, so be patient. The next step is that he will try to somehow explain to you that he likes your care, he can pat you on the head or something like that. The third step is that he will try to respond in kind to you, naturally in his mind. So don't be surprised that they will give you small or large animals they have caught.

[jules-ln]

I've seen a lot of people say that Viktor was controlled/corrupted by the hexcore and that's why he did everything

But personally I don't think that's the case

Like maybe... getting convinced by it, like the friend that just keeps telling you "yes! That's a great idea", but not controlled. Viktor always had it in him to do that, even in s1

Let me explain

Viktor is this character that I don't think I get completely, so I keep thinking about him. But I see people say "Oh, he's getting controlled because Viktor isn't like this at all" or "that's not Viktor" and the thing is; I don't agree

I think Herald Viktor is the real Viktor, same as s1 Viktor, it has always been him 100%

First we don't actually know how Viktor is with most people. Most of the time we see him, he's interacting with Jayce, and I think we can admit that Viktor has a lot of affection for Jayce

But we see him interacting with Mel briefly And I always found funny how he reacts when she brings up the hextech weapons, all dramatic and offended, he's like "Absolutely not!" But then he "calms down" as soon as he sees that Jayce isn't supporting him, he even looks a bit sad

I'm mentioning this because of how different he acts with Ambessa later when she asks him for an immortal army; he agrees with everything she wants, of course he won't give her that, he just wants to trick her into helping him, but it does makes me think that had he been alone when Mel started asking about building weapons, or had he known that Jayce wouldn't support him, he probably would've acted in a similar way to how he was with Ambessa, agreed with everything Mel wanted to get her off his business while he thought of another solution

And my point with this is, I think a lot of people assume that Viktor is an innocent little angel that is always honest and just wants to do good; but we only see him being honest with Jayce (most of the time); because he truly trusts him (tbf he's also honest with Singed, but I think he probably has affection for him as well); with the rest of the world Viktor is more than able to lie and manipulate to get what he wants; he isn't necessary a 100% good perfect person

Now, let's looks at how Viktor acts in the commune, because I think everyone can agree independently of whether you think the hexcore was controlling Viktor, that at this moment Viktor is still pretty much in control of himself and his actions

There's this comic called "a perfect life" about LoL Ekko, where Viktor is the antagonist; it has an oddly similar plot to the second season of arcane, (apparently this comic is from 2023 and by that time Arcane s2 was probably on the last part of production, so Idk why it's similar, but anyway!) In the comic, there's a rich dude offering free prosthetics (augmentations? Let's be honest they are futuristic prosthetics) to the people of Zaun, and everyone goes to get one part of their bodies replaced with technology willingly. Then later it's revealed that Viktor is the one actually doing all the surgeries lmao

But that got me thinking, Viktor in LoL doesn't need better morals, he needs better PR!

Because, people want Viktor's help, the only part they don't like it's the losing humanity and free will, which, understandable

But then, why does everyone still go to Viktor in the series? Because he isn't saying the whole truth

When Ambessa asks him if he could inhabit his followers, Viktor simply says they all share one mind and that it was part of his glorious evolution. He doesn't act surprised, It doesn't seem like he didn't know, he simply shrugs and is like "Yes, this was part of what I wanted"

But he never said that to his followers? When Vi and Jinx are talking to Viktor about healing Vander, Viktor never says "oh, btw, if I do this, your dad is going to lose his individuality and become part of my hive mind, hope that's ok :)". No, he simply says that he'll do what he can to heal him.

And again, you could argue that he lied because the hexcore was controlling him, but I still think that lying was 100% Viktor's choice and the only thing the hexcore could do or did was suggest him to do so

Why am I so sure Viktor wasn't controlled in this moment?

Remember when Viktor first meets Vander, Sky; who is very heavily implied to be the Hexcore, tells him to not save him because it would be too taxing to do so for Viktor. And he says no, that he wants to help Vander, because he thinks Vander it's worth it.

And I think that's all the power the Hexcore has over Viktor, suggest certain things, but at the end Viktor it's still on control; because if Viktor is the Hexcore's host, then it would be very detrimental for both of them if Viktor lost all his energy, both of them could die if that happened; yet Viktor ignored it for Vander's sake

So the lying by omission he did with his commune, if it wasn't his idea, it was something he 100% agreed with. And again, Viktor isn't 100% innocent, he's an intelligent man that knows how to lie and manipulate and will do so if he thinks it's necessary

(Which makes it so old Viktor in LoL is more honest than Arcane Viktor and that's so funny to me lmao)

Now, I know people say that Herald Viktor it's a corrupted version of Viktor, but I don't think so. Not corrupted, but something Viktor always had the potential to be. Herald Viktor was the version of him with the most control over his actions and surrondings; he's the Viktor that was always inside him, the person he would've been if he didn't feel limited by his own body, by his social status, by where he was born, and this shows on how this parallels Jayce's arc

I've seen a lot of people saying that Jayce went through what Viktor had to suffer, having to climb up from the deepest parts of Zaun with a hurt leg to the top of Piltover, only that with Jayce it was literal. But I saw someone on tiktok (I don't remember the account and I can't find the video anymore, sorry :( ) pointing out that Viktor also had to go through what happened to Jayce in the first season

In the first season, Jayce was a scientist with a pretty face and charming personality that was seduced by power, he was suddenly given a lot of it, and instead of holding onto his ideals, he turned away from them. He became a corrupt politician and then used that power to betray Heimerdinger, someone who was very important to him. Later he thought himself judge, jury, and executioner and that resulted in a child from Zaun dying

Viktor finds himself in a similar position, a scientist with a healthy perfect body that was suddenly given a lot of power, he became the leader of a community, someone people looked up to for guidance and help. And then after Jayce rejected him he also thought he was judge, jury, and executioner with the right to do whatever he wanted because he was right and everyone else was wrong. The problem being that Viktor had way more power than Jayce ever did

So, if anything Viktor wasn't being corrupted by the Hexcore, the thing that seduced Viktor was power over other people

And you could say "Viktor during the first season wasn't like that at all" but it's easier to be a good person when you don't have the choice to harm others

Another point to add it's that Arcane is a series that uses a lot of visual storytelling, if you just hear the dialogue you are missing 50% percent of the story at the very least; it trusts you to see what's going on

Now, after Ekko throws the Z drive at him and breaks the mask of the Arcane Herald; we can see the real Viktor underneath

I think this is why a lot of people think the Hexcore was controlling Viktor because we see the Arcane Herald, then we see "real" Viktor underneath, but that's not necessarily the case. In that moment we see half of Viktor's face, but look at what we can exactly see; his whole mouth and one eye are visible

Viktor is seeing what's going on, he understands what is happening around him; but he isn't seeing the whole picture, hence why it's only 1 eye. But his mouth is completely uncovered, whatever he says, that is 100% Viktor no doubt

And if Viktor was truly being controlled by the Hexcore/arcane/void/whatever, that would be the perfect moment for Viktor to snap out of it. For Viktor to say "this isn't me" and fight to get away from the corrupting force

But that isn't what happens, what happens is that Viktor is confused by Jayce's insistence and he says "Why do you persist? After everything I've done" this isn't Viktor saying "oh, I'm being controlled, help" this is him saying "I've done horrible things, why don't you hate me?"

So, Viktor was 100% aware of what was happening, he understood that what he was doing was wrong, and he still did it anyway

To add to this, there's this meme about Arcane that said something like "when in Arcane somebody is robbing banks and killing people the songs will start saying "oh, I'm robbing banks and killing people"" and that's true, and sometimes it's funny; but other times it's useful because the songs say things we aren't seeing

The line is 100% Viktor's song; it's the song that's playing as he erases Vander's memories (and the memories of the rest of his followers as well probably) and decides to give in and transform into the Herald

Once again, if the Hexcore was controlling Viktor, I think the song would've said something like "there's demons in my head" or "I can't help myself"

But no, the line is about someone, in this case Viktor; thinking about the consequences of his actions and if he's ready to accept them

The part where it says

"Honestly

I thought I was fully prepared for

The threshold in store

Stay your pretty eyes on course

I guess I never really faced my fears before

So stay with me because"

For me it's Viktor basically saying "I thought I was ready for the world (Jayce) to hate me; but I'm not so sure if I can face my fears of being alone"

Again, it's not about him not being in control, it's about him knowing that what he's doing is wrong, and that there'll be consequences, but he isn't sure if he's ready to deal with them

Then later, when Jayce shows him what mage Viktor saw; I think for him it was like himself confirming what he already thought or had an idea of what was going to happen, the consequences aren't worth it

After that, when we see Viktor again, this time he is fully visible, with both eyes uncovered because he can finally see the whole picture

But now that I've said that I don't think he was being controlled the question remains, then why was he doing all of that?

And this is more my interpretation of Viktor's story more than anything that happens in the show

So, look at Viktor, he was born in Zaun, disabled, sick, poor; but he managed to climb out of the undercity to Piltover going beyond the social structures that held him back, and even then, he only ever managed to be an assistant to Heimerdinger. That wasn't what he wanted, he himself says it, he was capable of so much more. And I think that Heimerdinger made the mistake of not believing (maybe not on a conscious level) that Viktor could be more; then along comes Jayce; and listen, if Viktor was the only one who truly believed in Jayce, I think the opposite it's also true, Jayce was the only one who believed in Viktor's true potential

Now put yourself in Viktor's shoes, nobody has ever believed in you, you had to drag yourself to the top; then you died and were brought back to life by this monstrous thing that you created that killed an innocent bystander, so you decided to run away to try to make your dream of helping people come true and redeem yourself (because the commune was that for Viktor, his dream of the glorious evolution) just for the only person who truly believed in you, probably the most important person in your life, coming back and rejecting you? I too would want to tear apart the world piece by piece

And the funny part, it's that Viktor is 100% using logic to justify his very irrational decision; no he isn't doing it because he's hurt, he's doing it because he wants to help people! He wants to stop suffering and the best way to do that is to erase free will

That's why I think what Viktor said after being confronted with Jayce in the Astral plane is so important "Why do you persist? After everything I've done" in my mind, after Jayce's rejection, he decided to give up and to do the bad thing; he knew it was wrong, but he decided to do it because he was hurt and wanted to hurt back, then he justified it by saying it was what it was necessary to do

And the funny part is that Singed already explained Viktor's motivation during the series "Why does anyone commits acts others deem unspeakable? For love"

Also, my last point on why I don't think it was Viktor being controlled or corrupted by the hexcore; simply because it would be very boring to do so lmao

Like, if Viktor was being controlled, suddenly a lot of what makes him interesting and complex is gone. So I prefer to think it was Viktor all along, that he always had it in him to do horrible things

[lightlycareless]

I’m curious, how would you think Naoya’s canonical first appearance would be like if he was married to Y/N during the events of the manga? I wonder if he’d still maintain his role as antagonist(maybe he’d turn ally?) or if he’d just be nonexistent because him and Y/N decide to leave Japan post shibuya(he can’t let y/n get caught up in that) XD

Hello anon!!!

Well, I actually wrote a little something detailing that hehe. Kind of. I hope it still answers your question :>

Also, because this is the perfect opportunity to do so, why not write something sad/angsty for a change. A "what would happen with Y/N and Naoya during Shibuya" :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) but somewhat taking into consideration the post above? Hmmm more at the end.

warnings: slight mentions of character death. mentions of pregnancy. angst. sad overall I believe. :') Naoya loves you and has done things differently than the jerk we all know of course. Or not? Also, I don't remember much of Shibuya anymore so forgive me if something is odd about it.

Happy reading!

I would say Naoya would quickly decide to get you out of danger. No questions about it; he doesn’t even consider otherwise. As soon as he hears what is going down he intends to send you far away in some remote safe house where he thinks you and the kids will be ok—perfectly tended for, as he’d always made sure.

You, on the other hand, aren’t too enthusiastic about leaving everything behind, simply because your family was right in the middle of the crisis! And of course they would be, always rushing to serve the noble cause, you were not surprised to learn that they were doing their best to prevent the situation from worsening.

But this was no ordinary task, that much obvious by a simple glance. And if not through that, then by the growing uneasiness settling in your heart. One that demanded you to stay… or at least remain attentive to what is to follow.

“But I don’t think that’s even necessa—”

“We’re not discussing this anymore, Y/N. You are leaving, and you’re doing so tomorrow first thing in the morning. I already made all the preparations, you just need to have the kids awake and ready.”

“I don’t want to leave my family.” You insist. “I shouldn’t! They—They need me. They’re putting their life on the line; I can’t just leave—”

“Our children need you more. I need you more.” Naoya frowns, frustrated that of all things you’ve decided to refute him on, this had to be the one. “As I said, I won’t discuss this with you anymore—you are leaving.”

“But Naoya—!”

You’ve only seen this firm side of him on scarce occasions; either when reprimanding your naïve kids when accidentally doing something that might hurt them, or when putting his family in place after saying… well, the things they normally did.

And since you obviously don’t like pushing him over the edge, having more than enough with the weight of being the heir of a prestigious clan, as well as all his work as a sorcerer, you tend to just go with what he wants.

But not this time around, you simply couldn’t act like there wasn’t something bothering you. Something looming over your mind, a frightening omen that involved someone directly involved with you.

It could be anyone. Either your family, or… Naoya.

Both chances you did not wish to take.

“…Please.” Naoya would quietly insist after seeing you grow silent, regretful of the domineering way he seemed to take over the conversation, for after all was said and done, he loved you more than anything else in this world and would rather die than hurt you.

He wasn’t happy about this arrangement, no, in fact he despised it.

Hated the fact that he had to be the one to come up with it in the first place—but after what he heard from Shibuya, alongside his father being summoned for support, it was nothing but clear that he needed to act.

“You’ll be stationed in a nice place. A quiet little village with a nice, ample house and access to a relaxing beach for you and the kids to spend time on.  Now, doesn’t that sound nice, mochi?”

Had it been literally any other occasion, you would have been ecstatic. Happy to have the opportunity to spend time with your family without worrying about anything, simply what you and your kids were to do next.

But it wasn’t meant to be this way, so much that even the kids were unusually calm about the so-called holiday. Having sensed their mother’s anxiety and preferring being by her side than thinking of having fun.

“And school? What about their friends?” You eventually ask, of course, one of the many ways to stall him.

“I don’t believe you will be away for long, but I arranged everything in the meantime. They will be homeschooled.” Naoya explains, you frown. “As for friends… I guess I can consider occasional visits. Though they’ll more likely make new ones over there.”

“…And you? Will you be… coming with us?” You know that wouldn’t be, assumed so either way. But still, you hoped he would surprise you otherwise.

“…You know I can’t.” Naoya responds, your heart sinks to your stomach.

“Why not? Your father is already there for support. Why do you have to go?” you scowl.

“I have to stay at the estate to oversee it while he’s gone.” He explains. “I wish I could go, or that you and our kids could stay but… it’s too dangerous. If anything happens at Shibuya and things decide to escalate, it’s only logical that the estate will become a target and I won’t risk it.”

You press your lips together, understanding his words, yet disappointed that it had to be that way. A part of you tried to accept them, let it go, for you knew exactly what you were getting into when you married him.

And the other…

“I can’t… I don’t feel comfortable being away while you and my family are in danger!”

“This is no different from any other mission I’ve gone to, or that your family has.” Naoya attempts to console you, but both knew that wasn’t the trutht. “What is it? What is it that has you like this?”

“…I…I don’t…I don’t know.” You begin slowly, hesitant to admit your thoughts in fear that they might become true. To painful to even consider it! “I just… have this awful feeling that something bad is going to happen soon.”

“Like what?”

“Please don’t make me say it.”

Naoya didn’t need more to understand, and such, leans closer to you, enough to wrap his arms around you and gently place a kiss on the top of your head.

“…Nothing will happen. I swear. I will contact you whenever possible so you’ll be at ease. And if there’s any change, I’ll let you know as well. I promise.”

“…Please?”

“Of course, princess.” He smirks, now kissing your cheek. “I wouldn’t even dream otherwise.”

“You haven’t called me that in a long time.” You silently admit; his words lift some of the burdening weight from your heart.

Not enough to free you, but enough for you to slightly jest at him.

“Well, our little Naomi kind of inherited it, didn’t she?”

“She’s well deserving of it. It fits her.”

“Technically you’re my princess, and she’s our little princess.”

“…I guess so, if you put it that way it kind of makes sense.”

Silence engulfs the two for a brief moment soon after, motivating Naoya to hug you even tighter.

“Everything will be fine, Y/N. It’s nothing but a situation that… got a little bit out of hand, but nothing I can’t handle. That’s all.

Just remember that my father is involved too. And…” as much as he hated admitting it, the old man was a very talented sorcerer. A good decision was made by considering him. “Gojo-kun is also there too, and everyone knows there’s no one stronger than him. As for your sister… well, she’s quite a force to be reckoned with too.”

“I never thought I’d come to hear you compliment them, ever!” You tease, he scoffs, slightly embarrassed.

“I just want to make you happy.” Naoya silently admits, placing his fingers underneath your chin and lifting your gaze to his. “You mean the world to me; I don’t know what I would do if you—if you… I can’t lose you. I can’t.”

“Then hurry up back home.” You pout, a tear sliding down cheek. “Please, for me. For the kids.”

“Promise me to always send me pictures of you and the kids. It’ll serve me as motivation as to why I even bother doing all this…” He frowns. “…And to let me know if you’re ok. You’ll be secured there with some of my men, but I still wish to hear it from you.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll send you so many, you’ll ask me to stop!”

“Now, mochi, no need to say fallacies we know won’t happen.” He teases back, which you respond with a giggle before quieting down, the realization that his impending departure is near.

“May the gods bring you back safe to me.” You silently pray, pressing a kiss on his lips to seal your protection charm, the one you’ve previous on prior occasions and has always worked—or so you believed.

The same one you desperately hoped would work this time around as well, especially after beginning to hear the horrific loses Shibuya had brought along.

From the death of your beloved friend Nanami to Gojo’s unprecedented sealing, you remained on edge as you tried your best to keep constant communication with Naoya, trying to figure out if any of these happenings had affected him one way or the other, praying that nothing would befall him.

Eventually cursing yourself when realizing you had unknowingly called a bad presage into reality when Naoya one day, without previous warning, directly and sternly, sends you the following message:

“My father died in Shibuya. I am now clan leader.”

To congratulate him given the circumstances of his death felt out of place, if not incredibly imprudent—even if this was his biggest dream.

It just came to you so… unexpectedly, though some would say that incidences would occur in such conflict. Perhaps it was Naobito’s time to leave this earth.

And yet, another part of you decided to take this as a warning, a reminder that this was no common attack. Not if it was capable of claiming the life of someone so skillful as your father-in-law.

…

What did any of this mean for Naoya? Is he safe? Is he ok? Has he been injured? Where was he right now?

But most importantly, what is he going to do now that is Leader of the Zen’in clan?

Did this mean that you were finally able to return with him? After so many days of homesickness, would you be able to see your husband in person?

…

Or… or did this just made things even worse for your family, forced to remain away until things cooled down, because you were now a bigger target?

“It’s still not safe. With Gojo-kun’s sealing… the clans have been nothing but a mess; and apparently that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There seems to be a deeper plan unfolding in the background—We still don’t know what for, but I know for sure one thing: I wouldn’t dare endanger you.”

“…Ok. I understand” You dejectedly agree, forced to remain behind as you lonely mourn the death of your friends, or the unknown fate of one of them.

Well, at least your family was relatively safe. Your siblings sustained injuries, but nothing they wouldn’t be able to heal in due time. You could only wonder the stresses your father had to deal with now that the Gojo clan was rendered nonexistent… Was someone trying to nominate Satoru’s replacement?

…

You wished you could do more. Longed to not feel as useless as you did nowadays, more so since Naoya’s messages turned to be fewer and fewer as time passed…

But at least he still responded. Took a little bit of his time to let you know that he was fine. Busy, perhaps a partial lie, but ultimately alive.

Just a matter of days and you’ll be back in his arms, with your children, and the little bundle growing inside you. Where you belonged.

Unless… fate was to cruelly decide otherwise.

“Naoya, I… haven’t heard from you in quite a while. I just… hope you’re ok and not overworking yourself. Naomi, Naori, Naoko and Naoyuki miss you. Please let me know how everything is doing as soon as you can. I love you”

…

“I don’t want to bother you, nor distract you from your duties. But I’m very worried about you Naoya, you haven’t answered any of my messages or calls. And… and I can’t shake this feeling that something horrible happened. Please answer me, Naoya, I can’t take the thought of you mot—

Just let me know if you’re ok, please. I love you.”

…

“Please, just give me a sign that you’re alive. I beg you, Naoya. I can’t take this anymore. I feel so lonely without you. I always do, but today… today it feels worse. Please, if just a letter, you don’t even have to write a whole message. Just a dot or something. Anything!

Just… anything so I can know you’re fine. Alive. Please. I beg you”

…

“Please. Please. Please. Naoya, answer me. Please. We love you.”

…

…

“Please. For our baby. Please.”

…

…

…

“…Naoya?”

Obviously I wanted to make it tragic and say that Naoya died; but how did he die? By being in Shibuya? Maybe. Maki? That means he still would've been a jerk! akjgkags

Also, I believe he didn't tell Y/N that he wasn't actually clan leader because... I don't know, pride. It's what he wanted all his life, after all! Maybe he hoped to fix that before meeting up with you again, and that's how he died :) OOF

Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this little "what if" piece. I still have another Shibuya-centric oneshot to write 😏 maybe that could add on to this one? Thankfully, the good things about these prompts is that they're not really connected to one another, they could all essentially be read individually hehe nice.

Now, thank you so much for sending in this ask; take care and hope to see you soon!!!

[theautismgoblin]

Okay so Welcome Home ramble time, spoilers for the spring 2025 update ahead

Okay so just got through it all, and I have alot of thoughts..

First off, I think there may be more nuance to home than I originally thought.. I still think he's tied to the problems happening and is probably one of the main antagonists.. but, I also have a bad feeling towards Marlo co, especially with the logo they have

Some is just up with them, especially with it looking like neverending spirals kinda .

Anyway so, I definitely think Wally wants to help. I don't think he's acting maliciously at all, and in fact it sounds like he's trying to either revive home itself, or to help his friends get out.

In the 2nd secret video, he speaks telling Julie "are you sure that's how it happened" implying quite a few things. He's trying to break them out...

Now onto Julie, now the different voice thing wasn't to surprising to me, and I don't think they are implying she's a different person .. I think it's a case of burnout, she's the sunshine character. But she has emotions to, and can become overwhelmed...

And when one gets overwhelmed things can drop, in this case it's her happy go lucky voice.. which as much as I love it, it does sound, not fake exactly, but not like the regular voice of a person.. Anyway, so the thing that stood out to me was her getting upset at this bud and then getting scared, scared that if the bud did not bloom she'd be kicked out of home..

Which like why it's one bloom. So suffice to say here, I think there's something messed up going on , both in and outside of home.. Because Julie did not want to go back to where she's from. She was so determined to stay in home, it's implied she well killed the bud.

Anyway so where am I going with this, I think that all the residents of home were in bad situations outside of home, and offered safe haven inside the neighborhood.. BUT if they mess up , they are kicked out ...

The way Julie panicked, makes me believe this has happened before ... Now if I had to say, I think the clock could have something to do with this .... It was only now put in the map, all the way at the bottom... It's almost ominous, it's tall, has a face on it ... It's able to see everything..

Now it could also be home.. But I genuinely do not believe it to be Wally

[bunji-enthusiast]

Could you do fluffy relationship hc with Tristan liones and nasiens with a reader who has a tsundere personality?

Hello hello, this was fun to write :)

hope you like your headcanons! reader is implied to be more male leaning in Nasiens' section (I used they/them pronouns for Nasiens, it seemed to make sense).

Quite the opposites, in one way or the other — if one really looked close, they could tell the difference in your personality, and Tristan’s. You were quite cold and aloof, rarely ever showing the distinct more affectionate side of yourself. In private, only Tristan ever saw that side of you, but even then it was hard to get it out of you.

Some people were used to it, others they were not. Perhaps having questioned Tristan how he could put up with you, but then again -- it is Tristan after all. He tends to see the good in everyone where possible, especially you.

When you cuddle (which is absolute mandatory, Tristan will be upset if you don't), you always pout and begrudgingly lovingly cuddle up to him. The smile on his face is worth it though, even if your face is blazing with heat when he seems to stare at your face for periods of time. You'll never understand why he does that.

Tristan still talks and hangs around you as he would with anyone else, he doesn't necessarily go out of his way to treat you any differently. Personally, he thinks it's rather charming and adorable that you can have such a rare side to you, in contrast when you are often aloof and antagonistic behavior you display towards him and any other person.

He enjoys the small talk and even the deeper ones, speaking about the intricacies of life. Tristan wouldn't be able to speak of such things with anyone else, it was quite the pleasant surprise for him however when he had delved in pretty deep and began a more fond and complex conversation with you. When leading a life of battles and helping people across the land, it can become quite the wear and tear on the mind and soul -- so he began to find a sense of comfort within these conversations with you, and that expression you have is rarer then anything else he had seen before. Beautiful.

Sometimes the nephilim is left to wonder if you actually do hate him, but you seemingly prove him wrong everytime. Despite it being huge, or small, in the face of adversity -- you always prove him wrong. That alone, all the more makes him love and appreciate you.

On occasion he'll give you gifts, one of his many ways to display his affection toward you. It always amuses Tristan when you get so flustered, it's something uniquely and inherently your own, something he saw alone. So it never fails to remind him that this was something real, and he wasn't putting effort into this for nothing.

Of course, it doesn't go without saying that you too have your own way of showing your love for him -- even if it may seem cold-hearted to others, he can tell.

Everyone just sometimes stares, questioning the two of you holding hands sometimes. Tristan knows why, but he couldn't care less, he was with you and that was all that mattered to him right now.

The last anyone expected was the two of you actually being in a relationship, which was, unexpected. But it was welcomed with warm arms.

A resilient and scientific innovated boy and an even colder one, which had brought the question of how long the two of you would last. But what they didn't know, was how incredibly affectionate you were when there was no one else around. Or even if it was obvious out in the open, you still were incredibly aloof even within performing acts of affectionate gestures.

You two seem to do quite a lot for each other, gathering herbs on occasion, talking in the quiet tresses of thick air and the barely noticeable act of hand-holding within the crowd. It seemed incredibly vague in the sense, but Nasiens didn't mind, they could tell and they could know.

The act of cuddling was seldom rare due to the recent events in the following days, and Nasiens was somewhat big on physical touch. However, when faced with constant adversity, they wished they could just cuddle you for a while instead, even with their entire wish of healing and curing everyone who is in ailment. Nasiens realized they needed breaks, yet it was always with their friends and you that they always pushed themselves to their limits -- and truly, they didn't mind.

Whenever you had blushed, Nasiens always committed the expression to memory, as it was rare to see due to your behavior and tendencies to act more resentful and close-off. So it was nice on the off-chance when you are warm and affectionate.

In general, both of you cover your weaknesses and strengths for each other. So in battle, you end up working with each other well in order to avoid the worst possible scenario in combat.

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

"Izzy Canyon dwellers just want to turn him into an innocent victim who did nothing wrong!"

Actually my problem is that, in hindsight, Izzy didn't do enough wrong to justify the common interpretation of his relationship with Ed. In my book, the first time in the series he legitimately crossed over to villainous antagonist territory - someone you actually loved to hate for it even if you understood his reasons - was when he set the British Navy on the Revenge. That way he not only betrayed his integrity as a pirate by consorting with the common enemy of all pirates, but risked Ed's life too - cause, like, come on, that "plan" to send CJ to convince Ed to leave Stede was so far-fetched it barely counts as a plan. I don't buy Izzy ever looking at CJ and going "yep that seems like a smart, responsible, trustworthy man I could rely on for a delicate mind games operation like this". It was an act of sheer desperation on Izzy's part, but he still chose to do it. IMO this was actually worse than what he said to Ed in S1 finale. Although of course that was very nasty, too.

But the thing is, we don't actually have any info on what their relationship used to be like before S1. We were only ever shown, not told - and both times from Izzy's perspective: the first time in S01E04 during his resignation rant, which was very heartfelt and I'm sure a lot of it was true, but it's still one-sided, and the second time during his deathbed speech, which was, again, one-sided and this time biased in another direction - instead of airing his pent-up grievanced Izzy was putting most of the blame on himself.

Other than this, the entirety of Ed and Izzy's pre-S1 relationship gets extrapolated from one single episode, S01E04. The narrative itself seems to want us to see it as a microcosm of their usual long-standing dynamic, at least on the surface. We see Ed being depressed and suicidal, trying to open up to Izzy about it, and Izzy shutting him down and making him act like Blackbeard again. Since it's already clear that Ed and Stede are the main characters, we're primed to see Ed as the victim here and Izzy being an annoying, insensitive nag.

Except the context of those interactions changes everything. The context being that they are literally about to be attacked by the Spanish - something Ed knowingly brought on them with his decisive power as captain - and Ed is deliberately withholding crucial information from his own first mate and the rest of the crew, making them all think they're going to die and he isn't doing anything about it. Izzy wasn't just being a boring buzzkill not being excited for Ed when he showed him that ship model. He was actively panicking and trying to do his job asking Ed for orders so they don't all get slaughtered.

So, yeah, those are some very exceptional circumstances that don't say anything about their typical day to day interactions go when they're not in immediate mortal peril due to lack of communication. Was this the first time Ed ever told him about not wanting to be Blackbeard anymore? Izzy didn't seem very surprised, so probably not, but we don't know, and if Ed had confided in him before, we don't know how Izzy reacted - but I'd like to point out that this time he didn't ridicule Ed in any way, he simply pointed out that they were about to die if Ed didn't do anything. Does Izzy usually indulge Ed in the stuff he finds fun when they're not about to be killed? Again, we don't know, but Izzy's playfulness during that first confrontation with Stede in S01E02, and his whittling and jokes in S2 showed that he wasn't always as grouchy and joyless as he's made out to be. We actually saw him smile when Ed got excited about Buttons, too. Pretty sure if Izzy always shut him down about things like that, Ed would have stopped trying to share it with him long ago.

And, finally, there's one piece of this puzzle that doesn't seem to fit in with the rest at all. The show both told us and implied that Izzy couldn't let Blackbeard go because his own identity was too tied up in it, and because he idolised the glory of violent pirate lifestyle. But if that's the case, then why did he have no problem with Ed wanting to retire? Izzy literally gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up on the whole "kill Stede and steal his identity so he could live the rest of his life as a rich aristocrat" plan. If Izzy only admired Ed as a pirate, and was so hell-bent on keeping the Blackbeard persona alive, why was he ok with Ed retiring? How does this square up with the idea that Izzy had been keeping Ed chained to piracy?

I'd honestly hoped we would get some flashbacks of the two of them in S2, and then S3 before that hope died too, because there's still so much we're missing.

[icy-watch]

Z is now the Guardian of the Grim Real, the Nightmare King is imprisoned, Sneak is in the Waking World, and this seasn ended with a lot of questions.

Does everyone who went to the Fall Festival seriously think a bunch of kids put together a creepy act this year? Did the blind witch get off her island? What route did the Night Buereau take, bc honestly that made no sense! And so many more.

I'm still thinking that the blind witch will be the antagonist in the next season.

And thoughts I had about Z are now completely altered, so that's fun.

I'm thinking we're going to learn a bit more not just about Lunia, but past Dream Keepers in s2. They seem rather important to the Dreamworld.

I really don't know what to expect beyond that, so I will see everyone tomorrow for the first episode of s2. Until then!

Correct

The Grimspawn were taking Cooper to the Nightmare King in the first episode. Horrifyingly, yes they were. To have him imagination drained.

Logan and Mateo are going to go thru big character developments. Logan's going to become less of a bully, and Mateo's going to break out from his little solitary artist shell. And they're going to become good friends. And they have.

The kids are going to become Dramcrafters. They did! Even with Logan’s unique form of Dreamcrafting, he’s still a Dreamcrafter.

The Nightmare King is having the kidnapped dreamers create dream creatures to make Grimspawn. ):

Mateo, Izzie, and Cooper will get their hourglasses soon. Logan is going to take much longer. Mateo, Izzie, and Cooper did get their hourglasses, but Logan… yeah. Still waiting.

The 1 girl with the hair twists is the Dream Bandit. I connected the dots! I connected the dots!

The Nightmare King knew Lunia in some way. Ha ha ha. Ha ha. Yeah.

The Night Hunter and Zoey are connected in some way. There’s too many physical similarities. And the song is a clue. EPISODE 4! I SAW IT WAY BACK IN EPISODE 4! Honestly, that kind of surprised me. I thought I started seeing the connection later.

They’re going to use the locating device to find a person in the Dreamworld at some point in the future. They did!

Logan is going to bring Lunia’s hourglass to the Nightmare King. TToTT He didn’t know, but still.

The mission to rescue Logan from the Nihgtmare King will go disastrously. But they will manage to save Logan. I feel like this was pretty predictable.

Strick will capture Z-Blob and there will be a rescue mission for him. Yay! I mean, totally sucks that he got kidnapped, but I predicted it!

Zoey is the Night Hunter’s daughter. Officially pointing it out in ep11.

Nova will prove her conspiracies correct. Girlie knew what she was talking about.

Something happened to Lunia and her dream creature before she left. Hahahahahaha. Ouch.

Incorrect

Grimspawn were dreamers who have been trapped in slumber. Honestly? I think this would be neat. Very dark, but neat.

The reveal of the Dream Bandit’s identity will be revealed after the group make it thru the Forge. It actually happened beforehand.

We won’t get the Sandman for a few episodes. 9 episodes – instead of 2 or 3 – later…

The Nightmare King will try to recruit Logan and replace the Night Hunter. That could have been a fun plot point to follow on, but it makes sense that the NK was planning to use Logan to spy on the others.

The Night Hunter and the Nightmare army are going to hurt Albert. Thankfully, they just locked him in a cage. It could have been so much worse.

The Nightmare King was sealed away in the Murky Realm. Probably on the same island. And the Night Hunter had to fight off her wolf to free the Nightmare King. Really thought I had something there.

Something happened between Lunia and her dream creature that she didn’t state in the windows. She put that information in the painting Zoey and Mateo hid behind. Sadly, no. I really felt that the painting would be more important.

The Insomniacs, as a whole group, aren't going to learn the truth. It's all going to be chalked up as a very bad dream. I'm pretty sur they all know that Nove was correct now.

Nova will be the only 1 to actually learn everything. And she and Izzie are going to have the good heart to heart that they need. Putting this here bc it seems like Nova wasn't told everything in ep19. She was told somethings, but not everything. And she and Izzie didn't have their much needed heart to heart.

The Nightmare King and his army will be locked in Brooklyn. Sadly, they weren't. It really would have been funny. To me.

Partial

The Nightmare King has the Grimpawn on a mission to find someone with a powerful imagination to help him take over the Dreamworld and the Waking World. While technically true, it was originally just the Dreamworld at first. Wanting to take over the Waking World happened when the Night Hunter told him about Z-Blob.

Cooper is going to struggle with Dreamcrafting. While he still struggles, it wasn’t the way I initially tried to guess that he would. He just needed to learn to think outside of the box.

Zoey will be the key to finding the Sandman. She was, but not in the way I was expecting it to happen.

The loose Night Terror is going to terrorize people in the maze. It did show up and cause terror in the maze, but it was to a single person.

In ep19, we’re going to see how Lunia defeated the Nightmare King and how the Night Hunter became the Night Hunter. We got 1 of those. Was really hoping for both.

The Dream Chasers will defeat the Nightmare King thru the power of friendship and dreams. They defeated him thru the power of friendship and imagination. I was so close!

Ep20 will have the big battle in where Mateo is going to try to reunite the halves of Z-Blob, and failing until a pivotal moment that'll change the tides of the fight. Well, there was a big fight and Mateo reunited the 2 halves of Z. It just didn't go the way I expected.

Unconfirmed

Mr. Oz def knows about Mateo an Izzie's first adventure in the dreamworld. A part of me is thinking that he was spying on them, and making sure they didn't actually get into serious trouble. And another part of me is thinking that he specifically chose Mateo to pick up the hourglass. Putting this here bc it’s never really been addressed. It’s most likely incorrect, but nothing in the show explains how Mr. Oz knew to go look for the Night Terror that came back with Mateo and Izzie, how he figured out where they all were, or how the hourglass moved from the middle of the road to the garbage.

When someone who actually gets trapped in the dreamworld by the Grimspawn, they will die if they're kept there too long. This might actually be correct, but I can’t recall off the top of my head if it was ever really addressed.

Logan will use Lunia’s hourglass again. It could still happen!

Then there's that 1 book Izzie tossed to the side in the middle of their last minute scramble to hide all of the Dreamworld items. I'm thinking that that's the book that Mr. Oz was looking for. This is hasn’t been addressed (and probably won’t be), so I’m putting it here.

The Night Hunter was coerced into his position. Putting this here, bc most of his backstory hasn’t been confirmed.

Sneak doesn’t like being in the Nightmare King’s army, and he’s going to help Logan and the others in the future. I’m hoping this’ll happen in s2.

Mateo and Izzie’s mom just up and left 1 day without saying goodbye to her kids. I… yeah. This still needs to be addressed more in the series. For now, it goes in unconfirmed.

The blind witch is going to be the next antagonist after the Nightmare King's defeat. Surprisingly, not confirmed in the last episode.

The blind witch lost her sight in a fight. Not surprised this is unconfirmed. I'm thinking this'll be something addressed in s2.

The song Zoey’s mom sung can be used to activate Lunia’s hourglass. We can assume that it can, but it hasn't been shown in the show yet.

Whatever happened between Lunia and her dream creature effected the way the Night Bureau sees and treats dream creatures. We actually don't know the answer to this, so it's going down here.

When Zoey and the Night Hunter have their long awaited fight, he’s going to get his hands on the pocketwatch. Hoping and begging for s2.

Lunia is stuck in the real world, unable to dream, after creating the realm the Nightmare King was imprisoned in. We don't know where she is to even say whether or not this is true.

[davekat-sucks]

ik everyone in homestuck is related at the end of the day but im surprised it wasnt UNTIL NOW people are starting to realize that the prospit family + peixes are related despite the fact it was one of the most obvious ties between two families or i guess one big one. not to mention the comic does frequently bring up their relationship like constantly calling the condesce a mother/grandmother/great grandmother to the prospits. even after killing the condesce karkat gets mad because he has to accept john as his supposed new ruler now because he is meant to be (one of) her heir(s).

its so interesting too like the main character and his family are related to one of the most relevant and super cool influential antagonists in the entire story and a lot of the symbolic ties between them. and then the fandom for some god damn reason didnt realize they are related until now or you have another side that still doesnt wanna acknowledge it just to defend some shipping that isnt even canon. i hate the absolute missed and untapped potential a lot of the fandom missed out on. yes there is some old content depicting the fam at times but its just not enough especially for characters just that major and big.

even the handmaid and doc scratch have more family content and fanart over the years and people care about that ancestor less than the condesce. was also gonna bring up dolorosa and signless too but the reason for that could be as you said karkat replaced john as the homestuck poster boy and kanaya is one of the poster girls and they are paired with two of the strilondes so people would focus on their ancestors more.

Doesn't help in the base webcomic themselves, said Egbert/Harley/Crocker/English barely get to have a deeper connection with some of the fuchsiabloods like Feferi or Meenah. It seems like there was going to be something big between Jade and Feferi, even after said troll died. But nothing came of it. John did meet with Meenah in Act 6, but they don't do anything that big together as it was Vriska leading the way. Then, of course, there's the missed opportunity with Fefetaspritetalking with Jane. Closest we get is Jake beating the shit out of Meenah. I'm not sure if it even crossed his mind that he is beating up someone who is his stepmother and in her current self as Meenah, she would be like his sister or cousin. Even now in HS2/Beyond Canon, Fefpetasprite is there, but she is reduced to never saying actual words and not confronting with Jane Crocker in the Candy Timeline. Neither Meenah or Jane, or Jake acknowledge the other side as their sister/brother or cousin due to both having strong ties with The Condesce. Not even Tavvy realizes that his aunt and mother are fighting. Ah, but you forget that Karkat gave up following the Signless of being a leader. So he is not part of the Vantas family with The Sufferer or Kankri anymore. All Karkat needs in his life is his boyfriend Dave. Nobody else.

[cacklingskeleton]

Sonic 3 Movie Thoughts

spoilers below

the opening with shadow escaping prison was very cool, good way of introducing shadow and setting the tone of the movie (although I feel like it kinda contradicts the sonic 2 post credit scene where GUN finds out shadow is still alive)

the chaos garden scene was cute, ig it means we're not getting actual chao in the movies tho lmao

they did a pretty good job setting up shadow and maria's friendship, made his anger believable

shadow is not a creation of gerald but an alien that crashed on earth in a meteorite, I know some people might be upset by this but if it's a way to set up black doom I'm down

the workaround for maria's death isn't bad, the soldiers were still about to shoot her and that's probably the best way they could have a child die in a pg movie

having the olive garden guy be that remorseful feels a little weird when he's the one who froze shadow, but ig he's had time to stew it over

I'm still not 100% sold on keanu as shadow, I honestly kinda wanted hayden christensen to do it but keanu's decent as shadow

I genuinely wasn't sure if they actually killed off tom or not, I was kinda into it but if he was actually dead it would have made it harder to redeem shadow and make the ending a little too depressing, so I get why they didn't. I do wish he was in a wheelchair or something at the end tho lmao.

tails and knuckles were actually useful to the story which made me happy, makes me wonder if having rogue would have been too many characters to juggle or not

my only real nitpick with the movie is gerald. I was hesitant when I found out that he was going to be alive and working with ivo, but now that I've thought about it more, it is a good way to have an antagonistic force for the story if shadow isn't released by eggman and the biolizard isn't a thing. I have two problems with him tho:

a: they don't make it clear if he's been driven mad by grief or if he was always evil. the "you're no maria" line implies he genuinely loved her and is being driven by grief, but the way he acts kinda just makes it feel like he was always like that. ig it fits with the theme of grief changing you, with gerald becoming so bitter over the death of maria that he views his surviving grandchild as disposable, but I wish they showed more of him interacting with maria to show how much he changed after her death

b: he's too goofy. I know it's jim carrey but they could've toned it down a little, especially in the climax. it would have been super chilling if he dropped the goofiness after revealing his true plan, as it is it feels super jarring to go back to slapstick afterwards. also his death/defeat is way too silly, and ivo is too nonchalant about killing his last family member

jim carrey eggman is starting to wear out his welcome for me, I still liked him in this movie but I'm kinda hoping that this his last appearance, especially with how gerald was handled. I totally understand people who are sick of him at this point and mad that we kinda didn't get rouge because of him. rip stobotnik tho :/

AMYYYYYY AND METAL SONIC POST CREDIT SCENE

I've heard people say that sonic 4 might be a time travel plot, and if it involves amy and metal that would also make it somewhat of a sonic cd adaptation which I'm all for

I'm gonna be sad if that credit scene is all we're getting of metal sonic in the movies tho

who even sent him if eggman is dead? agent stone? neo metal? ig we'll see

shadow isn't dead to no one's surprise lol, wonder if they're going to give him a spinoff show like they did with knuckles (and if so is black doom going to be in it)

anyways good moobie, still kinda can't believe it's real lmao

[mcsm-confessions]

I absolutely love Ivor as a character and what did they for him after the Witherstorm arc, but I hate HOW they did it. It would feel more deserving for him to act his jolly self post-Episode 5 if the game (and writers) didn't pretend everything before that didn't happen.

Like, how did that man get off scot-free? No consequences or anything? Now, I'm not asking for them to toss the dude in jail or anything, but at LEAST give him community service or SOMETHING. Characters and background characters should be angry with him! You kinda unleashed horrors beyond comprehension on the world my dude, unintentional or not.

None of the townspeople at the beginning EP5 seemed at the very least annoyed that Ivor, the man that basically caused the destruction of their previous homes and for them to relocate, was relaxing among them and above them all (unless you take down his house I guess). Just that his house was a fire-hazard. I'm surprised they still let him stay after bringing lava into town like that. The main gang doesn't seem to mind this either. Petra at least voiced SOME concerns, but she never liked him at the start anyways.

Also, I don't think it was ever confirmed that other people were killed due to this incident (other than the determinant ones). Still, a little icky that we just progress the game in a "eh, life goes on" kinda way.

Of course, the game is ultimately a Minecraft game and... it shouldn't be taken super seriously, but... come on now. They already toyed with serious undertones before this (which I loved that it wasn't afraid to do so). It was odd for them to double down.

Anyway. Again, I love Ivor as a character. He's one of my absolute favorites in all of media. Great antagonist and anti-villain, believable motives, amazing personality and voice. But I wish his redemption went differently and had real repercussions for his actions.

Sorry, this was more of a rant than a confession. I'm finished now.

~~~

[escapedaudios]

The new series about Clay and Sky you mentioned in an ask yesterday... is it inspired by "The Third Wave" experiment from 1967? Because there's a book "The Wave" and a German Movie based on (or inspired by) that. We read the book and watched the movie in school. It was very interesting.

I've never heard of The Third Wave, but it sounds interesting. The base concept has been brewing in my head for a long time. I was thinking about how common fascist (mostly nazi) inspired imagery and plot themes are among fictional villains, but they're always depicted in a way that I feel never really captures just how they get into the heads of normal everyday people.

All the goose stepping and intimidating military uniforms and other nazi-esque imagery in the world falls a little flat as social commentary when you don't depict the psychology of it all. How brainwashing works, how evil things can be made to feel ordinary or even heroic, how tens of millions of people can completely buy into systems that dissolve their individual identities and destroy everything around them. Usually, the depiction is as simplistic as a powerful and extremely evil force just appearing without explanation or existing in its powerful and evil state all along, like some kind of force of nature with no connection to the real history that inspired it other than aesthetic similarity and their role as the antagonist.

Right now, in real life, there are people getting drawn into fascistic beliefs. Despite being warned on a surface level, there's still a dark, almost seductive appeal to it that persists. I think it's because all the warnings in fiction ignore how and why the first seeds manage to germinate in people's minds. Fascist-inspired antagonists usually appear as flatly evil forces of nature. Nameless, faceless, and commanded by an outrageously diabolical leader who just inexplicably holds the unquestioning faith of millions.

That's why I want the antagonist who represents real-life, politically-empowered to start out with a very different relationship to the heroes. He starts out as a close friend, an admirable hero, an ambitious man exuding extraordinary charisma. He gives lost people a sense of purpose and destiny, he gets in people's heads and finds their grievances to exploit them. He makes people feel empowered, special, and exceptionally valued. He masterfully employs aesthetics, music, and inspirational speech to make people feel like they're part of a great destiny.

As the story progresses, he chips away at any ability to doubt him. Anyone not aligned with him is the enemy. Even thinking that he might be wrong is taboo, and saying it aloud marks you as a traitor and a threat. Atrocities become necessary sacrifices for the righteous destiny he painted in people's minds. Overcoming doubt and apprehension at committing violent and oppressive acts become signs of heroism and true devotion to the cause. People's own lives and individual identity become less valued than his vision. And the worst part? People like it. The protagonists like it. He fulfilled psychological needs that they didn't even know they had, and he slowly erased any other way to feel purpose, empowerment, or belonging until there was nothing left.

By the time the protagonists break out of his spell, he's in control of nearly everything. They gain the courage to doubt, and the courage to find purpose on their own, which empowers them to fight against him and stop a war that would surely lead all the world to ruin.

There's more to how it plays out, a lot of it is tied to the lore of the story. There's a lot of fantasy and light sci-fi elements in it that take inspiration from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. I'll save those for a surprise.

Anyway, TL;DR, I don't believe that you can meaningfully immunize people against the allure of fascism if you refuse to acknowledge that the allure even exists at all. It's very real and very powerfully exploits psychological and societial vulnerabilities, and it's reduction to esthetics and fairytale-esque forces of evil has always left me dissatisfied, so I'm just going to do it myself.