#just sorta unreliable about activity
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sakuravalelp · 5 months ago
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Ellie(Dani) didn't realize how dangerous Danny's home was for him until he was more worried about her when she got her own home. - Prompt I think(?)
Ellie wasn't sure how to feel when Danny excitedly animated her to accept Arthur's invitation to live in Atlantis.
"Just if you want of course, but you'll get a stable home, and Frostbite said living underwater might be good for your water cores stability."
She had already been planning to accept the offer. Once she gave the guy an opportunity to have some sort of conversation, the guy was pretty chill, and the castle was pretty cool. So yeah, she was going to accept the offer.
But for some reason Danny's eagerness for her to go with Arthur hurt. It felt like he was trying to get rid of her.
She knew that was ridiculous, she didn't even live with Danny. He looked out for her, and was always a call away but, as much as Danny parents her, he was just a child like her. It made sense he was happy to give away the responsibility of taking care of her.
So when Ellie moved into Atlantis, she was expecting to hear less from Danny. After all, she had settle down, and he didn't need to worry about her adventures anymore. That was Arthur's and Mera's job now.
Weirdly enough, it was the complete opposite.
Now that Ellie was living with adults, Danny seemed MORE worried for her. They went from a call once a week or so, to almost daily calls in the afternoons. He would be more insistent about her telling him if anything was wrong.
He would ask specifics about the food she was eating, and her activities of the day, and her room, and the castles security...
Sam had told her that it was because he used to be able to monitor if she was eating well through the transactions of the debit card they had given her. Tuck had told her that he used to evaluate how safe she was through the phones location, and the hotels receipts.
And well, maybe she underestimated how much attention Danny put on her before, but the way the calls went made it seem like he thought she might be in more danger now that she had a stable home.
Which made no sense, because unlike him, she didn't even need to hide her ghostlines. Anything that was out of normal for Atlanteans was excused with meta-abilities, she didn't need to worry about being classified as a non-sentient species.
That was when it caught up to her. Danny was worried now that she was in a stable home because his stable home had always been dangerous for him. It isn't even a think of it being dangerous now that his a ghost, it has been dangerous ever since he was a child. She remembers all of Jazz's rants about how unreliable their parents have always been.
The food has always been contaminated. The security now attacked him directly, but there had always been a possibility of it malfunctioning and hurting the residents. Him and Jazz had always had the responsibilities of not only keeping the house clean, but the lab as well. If she tops it with the house security system attacking him, and his parents been ghost hunters...
Ellie hadn't found it too dangerous back then, Danny mocked Jazz rants with her, and Jack and Maddie were kind when they interacted with her in her human form. The Fentons neglect seemed liberating in comparison to Vlad overly controlling nature. But thinking about it now, after two months living in Atlantis, she doesn't like the picture.
She doesn't like the idea of Danny being somewhere so unsafe, but where would he go? He doesn't have a water core like her, and even if he had gotten sorta used to shapeshifting, he isn't good enough to live in a second form, which isn't recommendable either way. So he wouldn't be able to move underwater with her.
More so, she doubts that Danny would like to leave his Amity, he had taken the sole responsibilities of dealing with the whole humans - ghost conflicts. With the anti-ecto acts, there's no way he would leave the portal unsupervised.
What should she do now? Should she talk with Arthur about it? He said he was part of the heros friend group, what if they already know about the anti-ecto acts and are okay with it? What if they change hoe they act with her when she tells them she isn't actually an atlatean meta?
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koolades-world · 9 months ago
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hello ^^
was wondering if youd be able to write something about the demon brothers (and maybe diavolo too) with mc whos a little dumb? as in they forget a lot of stuff (what day it is, where they put something only a few seconds ago, etc) and dont know a lot of things even if its obvious. theyre also a bit gullible and fall for fake news or scams a lot. basically a bimbo/himbo type of mc.
hi!! yeah sure thing!
actually went to google if there was a gender neutral version of bimbo himbo and apparently there actually is
presenting: thembo! haha I love this term
enjoy :)
Thembo/Himbo/Bimbo Mc
Lucifer
very protective of you
can't help but internally smile whenever you forget your train of thought or asks him what today's date is for the third time
if there's an unreliable news source that keeps finding it's way into your hands he sees personally that they mysteriously goes out of business
gotten surprisingly good at finding things you lost, like he'll just move one thing out of the way and what you're looking for will be there (big mom energy here)
Mammon
he's a himbo himself tbh
you're cut from the same cloth so you can be silly together
100% both of you will ask each other the time, check your D.D.D., and only leave that situation with what percent it's at so you have to check again and still don't have the time
you match each other's energy so well it's meant to be
Levi
he's not quite sure how to feel at first
he gets overwhelmed by the amount of questions you ask, but once you start asking questions about his games, you're instantly close
he doesn't mind repeating himself since you actually care about him
sometimes he forgets everything besides gaming so he gets it
Satan
if Mammon is your birds of a feather flock together, he's your opposite attract moment, even better than Lucifer
he always makes sure to let you know if something you've heard is fake or not and always makes it a lesson even though despite you listening, never seems to stick but that's ok he still loves you
however he loves how you embrace all of the things he loves even if you don't fully get it, like all the more complicated books he reads for fun
it's alright he has enough brains for the both of you lol
Asmo
sometimes he's very himbo so he has solutions to your problems
gives you a cute little invisible ink pen that activates when you stand or sit in spots you're in a lot to write on your arm with since regular ink isn't cute (solomon made it <3)
always asks you if you have everything before you leave the house with a checklist, and when you got home
please make sure to thank him!!
Beel
he also has the same oblivious nature, but he's more dense while you're more airhead
if you put your heads together (and with a little help from belphie) you can usually figure it out
will help you look for your D.D.D. while the both of you use the flashlight on your D.D.D.
ultimate duo fr
Belphie
he thinks you're so silly but tries to keep any playfully mean comments to a minimum
sometimes he can't help but poke fun at you but afterwards he always tells you he's sorry and tells you you're pretty
straight up puts tracking devices on important items that you handle everyday so that if you lose something, you can easily find it again, such as your toothbrush and textbooks
Diavolo
another sorta himbo, since he seems like he has no idea what he's doing but actually is very aware
if you lose something and really can't find it, no worries! he can just buy you a new one or have the Little D's search for it since they'll do anything to help you out
very understanding and sweet about it since he kinda gets it
the both of you can embrace this lifestyle together
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thecertifiedboykisser · 5 months ago
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I'm not sure if people are still talking about this but I saw some people being confused on how mystic flour is in the cocoon and not the tree and I think the 'forks' or the beasts prisons, in the first trailer weren't all in one area.
For context, at the end of chapter two of beast yeast, white lily seals the tree back up, trapping shadow milk cookie again. I saw a few posts saying that if lily sealed it how has mystic flour been in the cocoon for so long?
I don't think the witches were stupid enough to put all the beasts in one area. If the worst-case scenario happened and the beasts got free (like is happening now) It would be easier to manage if they weren't together. They could cause a lot more damage even to a smaller area together than if they were apart.
As shown below, the tree was almost in the center of the prisons, a way to hold them together and keep them locked away.
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I think that the tree was just Shadow milk's prison, no one else's. The way he popped out of the tree at the end of chapter one makes me think he was actually in there, but I think I was only him.
A lot of people made the connection that he has attachments to the blueberry yogurt (?) Academy, the school that while Lilly and PV went to. I don't think he lived in beast yeast but in Crispia, so they didn't have a place they could store him thus, into the tree he goes.
But that tangent over, Mystic flour was most likely trapped by the witch's in her cocoon, but cloud haetae cookie said she entered it, so I'm thinking that A- She was lying to them, or B- she made it for herself and entered and the witches were like "Fuck yeah, she did it for us" and just kinda kept her from getting out by attaching it to the tree.
But, the cocoon was empty besides the giant enemy spider. Mystic flour wasn't there! I have two theories. A- That was mystic flour, or more like what she became. She talks so much about the cycle, and I don't think she's immune to it. She said she was almost there but didn't reach it. I think she turned into that spider in the cocoon. Bugs normally enter cocoon for a while to transform into something new or better.
(Side note, I'm not really taking much that mystic flour cookie said in the story but more focusing on what actually happened. Not the dialog, and I think she's at least partially unreliable as she's trying to convince DC all I'd futile.)
Or theory B- Her dough was taken to the tree, but her spirit and power were left there. If that makes sense, (her dough wasn't with her soul jam or actual soul.) She made the spider for whoever tried to open it up or (the more likely one) as a lure to DC after doing a plauge be apon ye to him.
The beasts are awoken but not free yet. They can create chaos and issues for the ancients to get them to go to beast yeast but they are still trapped in there prisons. The seal kept them from going actively but the damage was already done. They want to be free and they want there powers.
Also the seal probably sustained heavy damage even after it was fixed by white lily. Sure she fixed it but I doubt it's at full strength, allowing the chains a bit of slack in a way.
Though, this is all just theory's and me putting together parts of the lore to make this with my Sorta good media literacy skills. We will probably find out more next update!
Tldr- The prisons are in different areas of beast yeast, Shadow milk was probably trapped in the tree himself, Mystic flour cocoon was her prison and the spider may have been her or just a way to rid of DC if he didn't sucum to flour, the beasts aren't physically in the world yet but can still do things.
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shrimp-dumpling · 2 months ago
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twst oc
yes it is i, i have decided i wanted to make a twisted wonderland oc
Here is the beautiful boy in all his colorless glory (i got lazy and if u think the hair looks strange i changed brushes when drawing the hair and got too tired to make it bolder it 😭😭)
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And here is his uhh idk reference sheet ig? Not rly but ehh
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character: Jol seemed like the quiet type, and that was... not really true? It wasn't wrong, yet it wasn't right either. Actually, he had quite a lot of friends (whom he considers as only acquaintances, with this statement usually false for the other party) and was rather friendly despite his lack of ever smiling. He's a good listener, a good friend too. He tries his best, though often times he would always undervalue his own efforts, an unreliable narrator of his own story.
Name: Jol Ninvale (pronounced Jol Nin-veil)
Dorm: savanaclaw
Class: 3-D, second year
Birthday: July 1st (7/1)
Age: 18
Height: 176 cm (5'9") with his ears (doubt that adds much but i'll just put it there anyway lmao) and without his rollerskates
Dominant hand: right
Homeland: shaftlands
Fav subject: visual arts
Best subject: track & field and potions
Club: gargoyle research society
Hobby: watching the world pass him by, roller skating, gaming
Likes: games especially virtual ones, roller skating, food, bells, etc..
Dislikes: the yellow part of a boiled egg, pain, watching his friends in pain, group projects, pears
Habit: going into places where he probably shouldn't be in because of his Unique Magic and not realizing it
Talent: skating and having really good balance
Flaw: exchanged strength for speed so he's not that strong, doesn't look friendly, undervalues himself
Unique magic: Reawakening reality
Allows him to fast travel to somewhere. It is not teleportation, but with untrained eyes it does look like it
Chant and visual: His ability is called "reawakening past" and his chant would be like smth like "fall through the current past, don't lose yourself in the endless future. Reawakening reality." And when he activates it time would slow and he would fall through the floor like this
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So the red line is the floor and when he activates his unique magic it would sorta different dimension under idk how to explain it but under there is like a purple grey version of the world upstairs but theres nothing and its like a sea ig
The blue line represents that he can still see the above and can see where he's going
Its basically fast travel yk bc the space time there is a lot faster
Also he can drag others with him into the "dimension" but he cant keep them there for long bc they cant breathe in there, only he can
time speeds up unusually down there so for the people who got dragged with him they see a faint image of the world downstairs but then they're at their location, its like teleportation and they just run out of breath a little
Oh yeah i chose fast travel instead of actual teleportation bc thats just cooler and makes more sense than just popping in and out of existence without any explanation
And i chose fast travel cuz the oc's a cheetah beastmen and cheetah's are known for being speeeeedddyyyyyy
So yeah :3
further elaboration:
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The red is the floor and the blue is the part of the floor that would let him fall through like theres nothing there even tho he can see still that the floor's there
So if he was like in an animation it wouldn't be him changing but it would the background, like idk its those pov changing roblox games yk pls get it 😭😭😭
Anyways i also made a meme about his UM in a nutshell
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Beautiful 🥰
Funfact: he has a bell on his foot
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jingle jingle
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Special mention from the Colorless art: he's so cute right guys
another funfact: his wheels are retractable
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gallus-rising · 1 month ago
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UGGGGH FINE. Give me your best mouth washing pitch I’m intrigued
OH BOY ok i'll try my best. this is kinda rambly and all over the place. i'm trying very hard not to spoil
first off here's the game blurb
The five crew members of the Tulpar are stranded in the empty reaches of space, shrouded in perpetual sunset. God is not watching.
and here's the top review on Steam which i think captures the Vibes really well
This feels like a trolley problem but there is no lever and there is no alternate track. you are simply watching a group of people suffer
game is first person PSX psychological horror in space, and i mean some real psychological horror shit. Pony Express long haul ship Tulpar gets stranded in space after an act of sabotage. you will run out of food several months before air. no one is coming. you bonce back and forth between Jimmy, co-pilot suddenly turned leader after a devastating ship failure, and Curly, former pilot turned crispy meat man after a devastating ship failure. the psycho-sexual tension between them is radical
the reason the game is called Mouthwashing is because it's revealed early on that the ship's highly important cargo? the thing you are under absolutely no circumstances to touch? something that needs a full 5 man crew monitoring it 'round the clock for a full year?? mouthwash. tons and tons and tons of mouthwash. this is the only thing the crew has to possibly supplement their diet, which i feel like really sets the tone. from there things go from bad to worse to worse to catastrophe to worse. just. the whole domino effect of how things collapse is one of the best i've ever seen
the characters aren't bad people (mostly >.>), they're just perfectly normal dudes just trying their best. the game then goes on to show what happens when a group of perfectly normal dudes are pushed to the absolute brink. what if you were trapped in an elevator with your coworkers who you only vaguely get along with. hell is other people. but also hell is yourself and how you're treating those other people. also i can't call them out for obvious spoiler reasons but multiple instances of characters just causally dropping a line that had me like. "oh. oh shit. OOOOOHHHH SHIT!!!!!" love it when something like that happens
people smarter than me are dissecting the Imagery and Symbolism in the game like crazy holy shit
ok i think that's as much plot stuff as i can get into without major spoilers (tho since i'm Mouthwashing Posting non-stop everyone here has already seen plenty of spoilers lol, but i feel like this game has a lot of stuff that makes fuck all sense outta context) ok gameplay stuff now
for reasons i'd need an entire separate post to explain Mouthwashing is the sort of story that can only be told via a video game. there's a lot of unique things about video games as a media that people are only really starting to dig into, so if you're even a little interested in that i recommend checking out the game on that alone. the story is told non-linearly to excellent effect, and if you're looking for some good unreliable narrator?? OH BOY!!!! 👌👌 i know the term "walking simulator" is typically used derogatorily but i fucking love a good walking sim. it is really, really hard to pull off a horror walking sim imo given the genre is sorta chill by nature, so that's also a feat of it's own. you are watching people suffer, you are undergoing suffering. it is a game that feels like it actively hates you for playing it because by playing it you have let all this happen
the game is about 2-and-a-half hours, only like 13$ on Steam, and will probably go on sale for Halloween. if you wanna watch a playthru tho (like how i discovered it lol) i highly rec Vinny Vinesauce's 👌
hhng i hope this is a suitable pitch and sorry for the ramble orz
[I HOPE IT HURTS]
this game is heavy so if needed spoiler/trigger warnings for:
as graphic violence as you can get with PSX graphics, alcoholism, starvation, some proper fucked up cannibalism, suicide, murder, referenced sexual assault, scopophbia, and the general hopelessness/claustrophobia/agoraphobia/sanity slippage you would expect from a space horror. all subject are handled tastefully imo. but yeah. it's a lot. if any of that seems like it'd be too much but you're still interested def give the playthru a shot
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betweenlands · 7 months ago
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i know we're like, one of the people actively writing for it, and the fandom is by no means dead and there are so many things to backwatch and so many other cool projects out there by the same people, but
man, today's one of those days where i just really miss dominion. miss the main discord being active, miss getting to go insane about it live, miss cheering with friends for the characters to Please Get Even Worse, miss hyperanalyzing the characters in general, miss when it was like... this small, niche thing, that everyone seemed super pumped about doing
tsmp's almost hitting that niche for me, but there's something different about watching stuff that i know is only going to be stream-exclusive on most povs when part of what i got really hyped for was seeing how candid stream footage got turned into unreliable narration in people's videos -- what gets left out, what gets editorialized, what gets added, how different people see the same events.
i dunno. it was cool. i miss it. i miss being able to point at something and go "look at this! you could feasibly catch up right now in time to watch more of it live! there's new episodes soon! go check it out!" without having to precede it with "yeah there's like Several Weeks Of Paced Watching worth of stuff but it's good i swear"
it feels like it was really close to being the ideal size fandom for me, small enough that people know each other, big enough that there's new strangers, big enough to have fics to pick and choose between but small enough that you could probably read the entire tag if you wanted to? but now it's... sorta in hibernation.
and, yeah, we miss that. we're gonna keep doing our part to keep the lights on but sometimes it really feels like we're out here alone.
anyway if you liked datd you should go read bsch source dude trust me,
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mischievouslittlecreature · 14 days ago
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Hey Lily! I hope you’re doing amazing today. I read one of your answers to a question concerning Tommy and Lucy and children. I love how you handled her infertility and how the matter of children does not determine the concept of family that they have or the value of their relationship; that is, they are as content with each other without children as they would be with them, which must be tough due to marriage and parenthood expectations for women back then. Tommy does not really mind but I feel like he would have loved to only be a father to Lucy’s babies. Not that he doesn’t love his children, but you know what I mean since the kids were sort of unplanned.
I can’t quite recall whether Lucy ever wanted to have children or not but do you think that she sometimes think about what that would have been like if she hadn’t been infertile? Does she think of the babies she could have given Tommy when learning about Grace or Lizzie’s pregnancies? I’d like to know if a part of her yearned for that since it is arguably the ONE thing that she does not seem to provide for her lover. Also, I don’t remember if she was naturally infertile or due to all the trauma ordeals she had been subjected to eventually became one.
Hi anon! Thank you so much for the ask! 🖤 This got longggggg so apologies in advance lol.
I'm so glad that you like the way I've handled Lucy's infertility. I always wanted it to be clear that, despite not being biologically linked to any of Tommy's kids, she still views them as if they were her own, and they love her as a parental figure in their lives. Of course Lucy does have a lot of self esteem issues, on top of battling with the expectations and views on family of that time period, so she sometimes thinks that she's "not a real family member". But I hope that it's clear that those are just her being an unreliable narrator, and not how things actually are. Tommy would physically fight anyone who tried to say that Lucy isn't really his family just because they don't have bio kids together.
I always sorta interpreted Tommy as being neutral on the idea of having kids of his own. Don't get me wrong I think he loves his children, but I also think he would have been wholly content not having kids. Which is why Lucy's infertility never bothers him. However I do think you're right that he would have loved to have had kids with her and only her. It certainly would have made certain things a lot less complicated.
I've purposefully presented Lucy as being a little wishy-washy on the topic of kids. She was raised in a very traditional, religious household, and brought up in Catholic schools, so the idea that all women need to have kids to have purpose and value was beaten into her skull from an early age, and she therefore struggles sometimes to separate what she actually wants versus what she's been told that she should want. Ultimately I think she settles on the side of not wanting to have kids. Pregnancy freaks her out a little, and having children would have made it difficult for her to continue being such an active member in the gang, and Lucy hates being left out of the action.
All that being said, I do think that she thinks about what her and Tommy's kids would have been like. There's a certain longing and wistfulness to those thoughts, especially because she feels extremely inadequate that she couldn't give Tommy at least one baby. And it just feeds into her insecurities because she feels like Tommy has this super special connection with his children's mothers that connects him more permanently and strongly to them. And that's something she will never be able to share with him. (This is untrue, of course, but mental health issues like these are rarely rational)
As far as her being natural infertile or it being a result of her past trauma, I personally go a little back and forth on it, which is why I've left it up to interpretation. In general though, I tend to fall on the side of her being born infertile. Just for simplicity sake especially when we get into the AUs.
Also a brief little fun fact: the reason I chose to make Lucy infertile is because I have tokophobia, aka fear of pregnancy, and while I'm fine reading others' OCs being pregnant, I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of my own OCs being pregnant. I needed a reason to justify why, with how much sex they have, Tommy and Lucy never have kids. And infertility seemed like the most simplistic way to go about that. (You'll also notice that I dodge writing most of Grace and Lizzie's pregnancies as well, because writing that stuff in too much detail makes me uncomfy. I'm okay talking about it in this type of context, it's just writing characters actually being pregnant in detail that starts to trigger me). This is also why it's very unlikely that I'll ever have Tommy and Lucy have kids, even in any of the AUs.
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aforrestofstuff · 3 years ago
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It’s time for the
One Punch Man Chapter 156 Expert Chapter Review 156 One Punch Man Review uuuuhhh
Let us begin! I am writing this while working and there is a woman on the phone yelling at me because I haven’t said anything for fifteen minutes but jokes on her, internet clout comes first bitch! I don’t know how to put people on hold so I allow them the privilege of listening to my breathing.
Retroactive addition: I’m writing this like 3 chapters later because I opened my drafts for the first time in two months and was presented with this… abomination… and I put just enough work into it to where I’d feel bad deleting it, so I figured I’d finish it and add my retroactive thoughts in italics like this. Please enjoy!
Ever since Flash kicked the shit out of Hellfire Flame and his anemic boyfriend, he’s just been having the worst fucking day of his life and that’s what you get for being a fucking fruit you high-heeled piccadilly shit.
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“A being who truly wants to help the weak does not exist” Yeah right, fucking bozo he’s right THERE. His name is Garou and you CANNOT laugh at him because he was born in a cardboard box all alone. Nice panel choice Murata, thanks for being the world’s only 50 year-old Garou stan.
I mentioned before that Garou’s entire introduction arc is just him betraying himself and his inherently good nature because that’s really what it is; this entire monster thing is him acting out due to anger and trauma and everyone else can fucking tell!! Saitama and Darkshine tell him to his face that he’s “playing” a monster because who he really is inside is a hero, and not the type working for the Association, the real heroic ideal that recognizes what it’s like to truly want to help the weak.
(And now as we approach the end of his Monster Play, it’s been really cool to see him become not what he wanted, but what he needed to be. Instead of being the Ultimate Monster, Garou is just returning to his Ultimate Self: being a sorta-hero and karate-chopping Sage Centipede or whatever [alongside City Z’s #1 Baseball Player in the Juvenile Detention Center].)
ONE makes it a point throughout the entire series that the Association heroes* don’t show up unless they’re getting compensated in some way or if something directly affects them, meanwhile Garou went in and risked his life just for Tareo and blocked the shed from Death Gatling just for Tareo and saved Tareo from bullies that one time and— you get the point. There’s the Heroic Ideal and then there’s the actual heroes, and Garou is the Heroic Ideal deep down, even if his actions don’t reflect that. Which makes him a hypocrite (also mentioned this in a previous review), yes, because he’s bitching to the Association heroes for betraying the exact ideal his entire intro arc revolved around him betraying, but hey! Uuuhh spicy narrative morality or something idk I failed English twice and have the reading level of a third grader. Anyways.
*Save for a select few (Sneck, Lightning Max, Metal Bat, etc.) who have selflessly risked their lives for innocents, sure, but even then, they lost those fights, and therefore, the Association is still deeply unreliable. Heroes, in general, are deeply unreliable. And when they’re not being unreliable, they are actively choosing not to participate. The entirety of the heroes can’t be painted with the same morality brush, some are definitely better than others on that front, but all of them can definitely only be counted on to a certain extent— another thing Garou hates about them. Another thing that makes him closer to the Ideal Hero. Another thing that makes him a hypocrite, because he has definitely also gotten his ass kicked once or twice (Ex. when he was trying to protect Tareo from Royal Ripper and Bug God).
I gave Garou a guitar so he can shred absolute shit while Platinum Sperm explodes behind him
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I liked their fight. I think it was fucking ridiculous and stupid but that’s very fitting for OPM. You cant take this shit seriously when you’re watching a Gen Z kid in a black morph suit beat the shit out of a shiny dude named Platinum Sperm of all things. I don’t know what else I wanted to say about this. Uh, the fight was very nicely drawn. Yes. Murata is good at draw. Anyways.
Tatsumaki may be a human chihuahua but at least she’s really cool deep down or whatever idk she still owes me 20$ and I’m mad about it.
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ONE and Murata really banked on making Tatsumaki an annoying little shit at the beginning of the series just so we’d all cry when her tragic backstory came out, okay. That’s fine. I’m fine.
Even though it was never true to begin with, it would’ve been really easy to characterize her as another tragic power-hungry proud hero who just wants to win the clit-measuring contest prior to this scene, but I’m really glad they added it in. It’s really cool to see how Blast has influenced her to the point where even she knows him better than God after the like, only ten minutes they’ve spent together. He’s really… her only role model. Which is interesting because it kinda opens this idea of like, a role-model chain? I assumed, at one point long ago, that Tatsumaki was the #1 bitch who didn’t look up to anyone else because she really couldn’t? Where else do you look when you’ve already reached the top? But then we figured out it was Blast and then it was this big oooooh moment so I just have one question: who does Blast look up to? Is there another, higher ceiling somewhere else that even he has yet to reach? …Maybe in that weird ass mirror dimension or whatever with the other Overpowered Rangers?
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I kinda wish we got to see Tatsumaki react to the actual Blast, but I assume that’ll happen later. She’d probably either cry or pretend she’s too cool to have role models and idk which is funnier.
I thought Sage Centipede was a weird ass-pull but now, two months later, I’m proud to announce that The Character Arc Understander Has Logged On.
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When I was first making this post a while ago, I was trying to think of a rant to make alongside Sage Centipede’s appearance because I really did think it was a weird, abrupt ass-pull in an attempt to pad the arc somehow. But now, after reading his death at the hands of Garou, I Understand.
SC and Boros are the same in the sense that they’re both absurdly overpowered enemies introduced abruptly just to show us, the audience, where the current protagonists are in terms of power and their intentions as a hero. Because, as I said, SC is a major stepping stone in Garou’s journey to becoming his ultimate self. I feel like Garou’s final battle with Saitama just wouldn’t feel as complete if his encounter with SC and all the things we learned about him (additional backstory, his cooperation with Metal Bat [oh em gee Batarou !!!����🤧], his capabilities in combat, etc.) didn’t exist, so I’m glad it does. Thanks ONE and Murata, you’re like, okay at your jobs or whatever.
In conclusion: if you want to write chapter reviews, make sure you finish them in time because then you’re gonna cringe at what you thought was happening later on when you actually do know what’s happening (or, at least have a better idea of it. I have never, in my life, known what the hell was going on). Cheers, have a good Sunday. I gotta go to church. I’ll pray for more Young Bang and then maybe get triple-baptized. idk, we’ll figure it out.
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bigskydreaming · 3 years ago
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https://screenrant.com/robins-nightwing-dick-grayson-failure-support-bat-family/
WTF is this trash?
Like my favorite thing about that take, in that not at all sorta way, is how it tries to put the responsibility for all the later Robins on Dick with zero acknowledgment that the ONLY one he had any role in making Robin is Damian, and in his case there was a huge element of trying to actively guide Damian towards finding different applications for his skills than how he'd previously been encouraged to use them. Like he didn't just make Damian Robin in a vacuum. It wasn't like they were just sitting around one day and without prompting or any kind of actual reasoning Dick was like hey you know what you should do that would be fun? Be Robin!
And this is why I fucking hate so much the way people try and remove Bruce entirely from the discussion of all things Robin when like....Bruce post-Crisis and in most peoples' eyes was the one who made Jason Robin, regardless of what Dick wanted, thought, or had anything to do with. 
Tim became Robin because of what he believed Bruce needed (and yes, even if Dick ultimately gave Tim his blessing and support and like, Tim wouldn’t have been Robin if Dick went back to the role like Tim felt he should, this still doesn’t make Dick responsible for Tim as Robin or anything that happened to him because notice how people never analyze Dick’s reasons for telling Tim no, he wasn’t going back to being Robin, or examining that through a lens of not Dick being ungrateful to Bruce but Dick being Bruce’s kid who Bruce had just behaved abusively towards and he shouldn’t have to suck it up and get over that for Bruce’s sake, even IF him not doing that is what led to Tim being Robin and bad things happening to Tim as Robin. And again, ultimately Bruce and his actions and choices were Tim’s catalyst for being Robin, regardless of what role Dick played in all of that. You can’t remove Bruce from this equation. Why do people keep trying SO DAMN HARD to do just that?) 
And Dick never even INTERACTED with Stephanie the entire time she was Robin, he was busy being in the middle of having every aspect of his life in Bludhaven fall to pieces at that very same time so I remain hard-pressed to see how of all the people who DID make choices in what happened to Stephanie-as-Robin, Dick is the one to focus on.
BUT I DIGRESS.
What if you stop acting like Dick is to blame for every bad thing to ever happen to a Robin, people with absolutely terrible Robin-takes, when like.....
NO MATTER WHAT YOUR VIEW ON ROBIN, IT IS EXTREMELY RELEVANT THAT DICK NEVER CREATED THE ROBIN MANTLE WITH THE INTENTION OF IT BEING A LEGACY AFTER HIM. HIS CHOICES AS ROBIN WERE ABOUT HIM AND HIM ONLY. OTHER PEOPLE CO-OPTING OR GIVING AWAY HIS MANTLE WITHOUT HIS INPUT IS NOT ON HIM.
He didn't WANT successors when he set out to be Robin initially, and he was not the one who set the succession of the Robin mantle into motion.
Any discussion of Robin and Dick's responsibilities towards the rest of them or their fates as Robin, which refuses to acknowledge this or take this into account, is fundamentally flawed from the jump.
(And yes, as always, before people jump in on this I KNOW Dick is an unreliable narrator at best and takes on more responsibility than is merited, but as I'm always saying, unreliable narration fails if the way its framed brings zero attention to even the possibility it might be unreliable and not meant to be taken at face value by readers. And Tim Seeley's thoughts on Dick and Robin are definitely on display here so no, the idea that this isn't necessarily a bad take because Dick has an Over Responsibility Complex doesn't actually hold merit for me, its more like....Dick can be an unreliable narrator about his own guilt/responsibility AND this is a Bad Take, like both things can be true rather than just the one cancelling out the other).
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gottawriteanegoortwo · 3 years ago
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The most baffling part of WKM is that everyone trusts and adores Damien, despite him being the only one in politics and actively in office. Mark made the mayor character the most trusted and loved. How????
(uh oh, you unlocked my 'Love Damien' mode)
You came to the right person! This is a great question and I will gladly go on a rant to try and help shed a little light on this!
In short, it's exactly because of how you phrased your question. There's a politician. He's seen as nice and trusted and loved. It seems like something that shouldn't be, and you assume the worst of him because it has to be an act for whatever reason; and that is because of the general view of politicians at the moment. I'm not touching IRL topics with a ten foot pole, but I will say that at present, there is a sorta wariness/a 'they don't care about us' vibe toward politicians in certain countries (including my own). That's something that then seeps into media.
Think about it. If there's a politician in a show of any sort (especially one holding office), they're usually up to no good behind the scenes or are unreliable - just like how a librarian might be cranky, for instance - in a sort of caricature. Off the top of my head I can remember seeing... A mayor that wanted to evict an entire community to build a business something-or-other to make lots of money, a mayor who branded a local team of agents as non-trustworthy when they went against his pretty crummy views (which could be the same show tbh), an absolutely useless buffoon of a mayor who needed the help of children to constantly save his city from supervillains, and a politician (maybe a mayor?) who constantly clashed with the chief of police in a city. This isn't even considering the times a politician character (whether or not they hold office) is involved with criminals, bribery, is being blackmailed, or even has a criminal record of some sort.
Damien is an exception to this trope. It may or may not be completely intentional, but it's genius on Mark's part. You walk in, see this well-dressed man with a rather cheesy Mayor badge pinned on... And people would immediately get suspicious... Something which Mark called people out on at a panel! Don't forget, every character was framed in a way to give reason for them maybe being the killer. I watched WKM (and got vaguely into the fandom) a week after it finished, so I missed the speculation in between each episode. From what I've seen, it appeared that a lot of people were wary of Damien, though I'm not too sure if it's because they were like "IT'S JUST DARK IN DISGUISE DON'T BE FOOLED" or if it was because of his job and mannerisms. Either way, it turns out his worries were genuine, and he was innocent of any crime that night, which completely subverts the expectation of a politician in a show. He's a rare breed - someone that has good intentions and a good heart, who wasn't 'tainted' by politics in some way.... But ends up getting corrupted anyway through matters far beyond his control.
Not only that, there's two important points that I think people forget and I'll go into better detail of under the read-more because this is getting pretty long.
-
1. The character that is the viewer has known Damien since university. That means they've been friends minimum... Let's say five years, but probably closer to ten. You're going to be more at ease and more 'yourself' around people you are very fond of, and Damien's face lit up the moment he noticed the viewer arrived. Since the viewer would be going into this cold the first time it's viewed, they wouldn't feel that bond and might think Damien's friendliness is an act. 2. While he is the Mayor, he's not The Mayor at that moment. He's merely a Mayor by title alone. For the events of Who Killed Markiplier?, he's just Damien. It would be different if we had walked into his office, but we arrived at a party with people Damien was comfortable with. He had no need to impress anyone because they were friends. Remember, the reason the badge exists is to tell the viewer what Damien does. Otherwise he could be any sort of businessman or guy in a fancy suit, and the explain everything video states that everyone thought Mark got the suit for a wedding when he shared a photo.
(Both points are showcased nicely in the very first scene we meet Damien if you compare the way he talks to the Detective - someone he barely knew - to the viewer - who has been a friend since university. When talking to Abe, Damien stands poker straight (almost rigid) and rests his hands on his cane. One hand moves to emphasise something, but the rest of his body remains still. There's a polite, yet formal, air to him. Here, he is The Mayor. I'd bet they were having casual conversation on how they met Mark or some other generic topic to break the ice. Then the pair notice you and that conversation is instantly DROPPED. Damien immediately lifts his cane as his entire body turns to the viewer. That smile isn't one that's given out of politeness. He's now Damien. There's no need to put on an act when it's a familiar friend. He still stands straight, but his body language and facial expressions are far looser and more casual. Gestures are with both hands now. His expressions are more playful, including widening his eyes to emphasise his tease about the viewer's skill of poker. This continues until he walks off-screen where, I presume, he was going to say hello to William.)
We don't know the extent of how much anyone trusts anyone else, but one of the big exceptions is the Colonel. I know I've written a headcanon on a roleplay blog about this, but he didn't know you, so he was polite, but distant and aloof. He had no reason to even care about you. We saw a good example of William acting like this the morning after. HOWEVER, after spotting the viewer talking to Damien outside at the end of the first episode, he notices a connection. The moment he knows you are Damien's friend he opens up with no hesitation in the second episode and is rather friendly toward you from then on. He trusts you because he trusts Damien, which to me suggests that our Mayor keeps good company and has a good judge of character. Plus, no one really has a reason to think ill of Damien. He and William have an argument focused on William's reaction to Mark's death (and don't forget that Damien wanted to apologise but William kept running away), while Celine shuts him down for Damien trying to get her to reconsider her idea; but neither are motives for them to be suspicious of Damien. Chef and George are indifferent, while the Butler is probably indifferent but feels comfortable enough to make a drug joke with Damien in earshot (and Tyler's IC stream as Butler had it that he thought well of Damien, but this might not be considered canon). On the other hand, you could say that the Detective is wary of Damien, but he was suspicious of everyone between all the work he did and the warning he got from Mark, so it's not completely reliable.
Speaking of, I haven't forgotten about the Detective's study and how there's a record sheet for Damien with something scribbled out. Unfortunately, I don't think it's something we'll ever get clarification on. I double-checked the explanation stream and there wasn't any mention of what was on it... But I feel like I heard Mark say something like 'forget about what is there, focus on why it's there', or how it got there in the first place? Maybe it was for another project, but the idea is more that the Detective's work was built up over time, and not in the span of that weekend; rather than focusing on every little piece of writing that can be seen. Perhaps there is something shady in Damien's life... But since it wasn't relevant to the 'story' we were being shown, it was omitted. This could very well be where people take the idea of a corrupt politician and run with it (and I have seen some excellent roleplayers over the years work with that!), or they could be like me and say that the crimes were things he was framed for. Or maybe, as I'm writing this, it could be like how Abe had documents for things that didn't happen in WMLW, and that the crimes he scribbled out were ones that Dark would do later... But that's going into theorist territory and that's not at all relevant to what I'm talking about.
Anyway, I've rambled on waaay too much as it is. He's trusted and loved as a character because he's so human. Mark pointed out in the explanation stream that Damien was the only one to question what was going on. He was upset, mourning, and had no idea what to do. It's a vulnerability that you don't see from people often, especially if they are supposed to be leaders.
If there's anything people wanna add or point out, jump in and do so! :D
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fanartfunart · 3 years ago
Text
Fly Away
Episode 2: The Collector
Ao3 - First
(Féline Sombre & Paon Lilas designs)
Summery: An AU where Adrien never went to in-person school, not getting the cat miraculous, and found the peacock miraculous. -Gabriel Agreste sets out his plan to protect his identity as Hawkmoth. (and try to get some miraculous)
(this is like... twice as long as the first one...whoops)
Adrien felt like a ragdoll. Chloé squeezed him around his shoulders and shook him; squealing the entire time. He just went limp. Resigned to being dragged around from the doorway.
“Hi Chloé. Hi... Sabrina? Er…" Adrien stared at the comically tall stack of luggage, only identifiable as Sabrina by their favored shorts over tights style on the legs behind the luggage. "Is this… a sleepover?” His father barely let them over anymore, how did Chloé convince his father to let them stay overnight?
“Hi,” Sabrina said, muffled from under the piles of luggage.
“It is Adrikins! Your father finally stopped being a stick in the mud for once! I have sooo much for us to do. It simply can not be all done in a measly hour. Sabrina, the guest room is over there, we’ll be sleeping there.” Chloé pointed, and Sabrina grunted in effort before they made their way towards the room. 
“Do you need help, Sabrina?” Adrien asked, watching her fumble with the tower of luggage.
“Oh she’s fine, aren’t you Sabrina?”
“Uhhh, yep! Just fine!” They kicked open the door before Adrien could escape Chloé’s hug to help. She stumbled, and the luggage fell into the room. Sabrina rebalanced themself with the skill of a gymnast, avoiding the fate of the luggage. They looked at the mess and sighed, shoulders sagging.
“See? Now!” Chloé grabbed Adrien’s arm and pulled him towards his own room, “I need to tell you everything about this new hero I met!”
“Oh. Okay?” Chloé had been most of his first-hand information on the superheroes of Paris. Obviously he’d seen the newscasts, and, despite Chloé’s insistence that the “Ladyblog” was unreliable, he followed that too. But Chloé was who he got the details from. He’s been reconsidering some of the stories from Chloé’s hand in causing the last akuma. 
While listening to Chloé embellish her own role in a story he was in, Sabrina eventually returned. She smiled and sat, listening to the last of Chloé’s tale. “After the fight I did get a good look at Paon Lilas. He was kinda cute. Not as cute as you, though, my Adrikins!”
Adrien chuckled and shook his head. “I’m sure he’d look just as cute with a team of people doing his makeup, hair, and wardrobe for him.” 
“Shh, you’re not giving yourself enough credit.” She rolled her eyes, waving a hand dismissively.
"Well, I don't know about him..." Sabrina said cautiously, "When I came in at the end there... Ladybug seemed pretty suspicious of him. Maybe there's something we don't know?"
"He did seem sorta new, but he gave me a real Mr Cuddles! No strings attached like with Hawkmoth. Really, he can't be that bad."
Adrien nodded, "I'm sure he did what he thought was right…"
Sabrina hummed, "Probably..."
Chloé shook her head and waved a hand "Anyway, Sabrina show Adrien our surprise!" 
"Oh! I'll go get it!" They stood up and raced off to collect whatever it was.
-
Sabrina stared up at the stack of suitcases and sighed "This… may take longer than intended."
Plagg zipped out of her purse and propped himself on top of one. "Ugh why go through the effort? Just tell her you broke it when you tripped."
"Chloé is my best friend Plagg, and Adrien is a good friend too. He's been pretty upset since he couldn't go to school. Least I can do is find the gift."
"Blegh, what kid wants to go to school. If I lived in this fancy place I'd be eating camembert all day long!"
Sabrina chuckled and shook her head "You do that anyway. Come on you lazy kitty, at least help me look." They hefted the first suitcase and started carefully looking through it.
Plagg groaned. Then dramatically huffed. Then sighed twice as dramatically and zipped away to find something more interesting. Like cheese, perhaps. 
Sabrina looked up and frowned at the lack of kwami. "Plagg!" She whisper-yelled. Abandoning their task, they ran after their kwami. 
"Oooo, what's this?" Plagg disappeared into a room, and Sabrina followed. He glanced around the room then shrugged, "Boring, next?"
"What's that?" She gestured at the ajar painting. A… door? She stepped over to find a safe.
Plagg hummed. "Okay, interest spiked. Let's see what they're hiding in there."
"Oh I don't think we should. We should get back to finding Adrien's gift-"
Plagg already disappeared into the safe. The door opened and Plagg riffled through the contents, muttering about what was there. Sabrina tilted their head, and Plagg handed her a book. "Pretty mundane if you ask me. I was hoping for a secret food stash, maybe the World's Finest Camembert."
Sabrina shook her head and flipped through a few of the pages. "Miraculous? Why do the Agrestes have this in a safe?" They glanced at the portrait. "Behind a painting…"
"Sabrinaaaaaaa what's taking so long? And fetch my nail kit! My nail chipped!" Chloé called.
"I'll go down and help her-" Adrien responded. Sabrina gasped and closed the safe, and ran back to the guest room…. And they still had the book! Ohnoohno. She scrambled for a place to put it before shoving it under a pile of clothes in Chloé’s suitcase.
Adrien walked in with Chloé trailing behind. "Adrikins it's a surprise, don't you know the meaning of surprise?"
He chuckled "I do but Sabrina, don't you want some help?"
They stared a bit at him, "It might be nice? There's… a lot of suitcases here…"
Adrien gave Chloé a 'See?' look, and picked up a suitcase to look through. "What am I looking for?" 
"It's a surpriseeeee," Chloé huffed.
Adrien smirked, and picked up a shirt, showing it to Chloé "This it?" He picked up a lipstick "This it? Oh what about this?" He picked up a set of earrings, placing them against his ears. Sabrina giggled as he continued, shaking her head.
Chloé groaned and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her nails with a pout. Sabrina quietly handed her a nail kit from their own purse, earning a smile. 
Adrien found it. He pulled out the DVD and tilted his head "What's this?"
"I uh, convinced the class to do a virtual hello- since you couldn't- uh, I also have something else if you don't like it."
His eyes got shiny, and he rubbed his cheeks, smiling, "Thank you. Really." He pulled Chloé and Sabrina into a hug.
Chloé looked a little startled. She likely was used to having to start the hugs, but softened into the hug.
He pulled back with an awkward giggle, "Sorry, uh, I'll watch this later. Really, thank you."
"Yeah, no trouble at all. Apparently one of the kids is like, all about film making. He kinda took over, actually."
Adrien giggled and nodded, "Well, I'm sure you have other plans too-"
Chloé fluffed her hair, "But of course! I have the whole day planned!"
Adrien gave Sabrina a look, clearly looking for comradery in the exhaustion of Chloé’s day-long itinerary. She smiled and shook her head, ready to help Chloé make her plans reality.
-
Chloé had the book. Sabrina stared at it. Why did Chloé have the book? Chloé did not waste a minute to dramatically show off the book.
"Can you believe there's tons of other superheroes that aren't active?" Chloé called, almost immediately summoning the class to surround her and the book. 
Sabrina was going to die of mortification. How were they going to get that back to the Agreste house? Chloé wasn't going to just let her put it back now that it was her newest attention magnet. 
Marinette wasn't late for once. Although, she did feel late. She hopped up and down trying to get a look at what was at the center of the small crowd.
"Is there a horse superhero?" 
"I wonder if Ladybug and Féline Sombre have powers we don't know about."
"Do you know what language that is?"
Tiki gasped. Marinette’s eyes widened as Tiki weaved in and out of the group of teens’ legs. 
Marinette stared anxiously. Tiki returned quickly. “We need to get that book, Marinette!”
“What?” Marinette cried, but thankfully the only weird look she got was from Ms. Bustier.
Ms. Bustier clapped and the group dispersed disjointedly. “Alright class, that’s enough. We do have more to learn about than superheroes.”
Marinette anxiously watched Chloé’s new book the entire class period. The book was mocking her, sitting on the desk like it was innocent.
Marinette eventually got her chance at the end of the school day. Chloé was once again showing off, as Sabrina tugged on her arm, apparently trying to get her to come with her. 
Lila was on her other side, with her head tilted in curiosity. "Where did you get this?" Lila asked.
"It's one of a kind and totally a secret~" She fluffed her hair.
"Come onnn Chloé." Sabrina tugged on her arm again. Hard. Chloé stumbled backwards, and Sabrina caught her, face flushed with embarrassment. "Ohmygosh I'm so sorry!" The book was on the floor. 
Chloé gaped. She pulled herself from Sabrina and walked away without a word. Sabrina immediately followed after, abundant with apologies. 
Marinette dove for the book. And hit her head against Lila's. 
She grinned uneasily at her. "Hi Lila." She tugged on the book, with resistance from Lila.
"Hello Marinette, I've got it don't worry." She tugged back, and Marinette's grip hardened on it.
"I can go to return this to Chloé, they look like they're going my direction anyway. No need for you to go out of your way!" She smiled broadly.
"Oh no, it's fine, I wanted to ask her more about it anyway."
Marinette's smile strained, "Funny, so was I."
Lila yellped. She jumped up and twirled, as if she was stung. Marinette only just barely noticed a red blur return to her purse. She raised a brow. Tiki sure was going to great lengths to make sure Marinette had this book.
Marinette pressed the book against her chest and ran in Chloé’s direction. "I'll tell Chloé you said hi!"
Lila huffed and crossed her arms with a frown, watching the girl run off. 
-
"Chloé could be Hawkmoth!?" Marinette cried, dragging her hands over her face as Master Fu gave her a confused look. "Bah-wha? I need a plan of attack! Paon Lilas did immediately try to protect her so they must be in cahoots. That must be why she torments so many people! She's not waiting for people to have bad days, she's causing them! How do I confront my own classmate? Do I-"
"Marinette! Chloé isn't Hawkmoth." Tiki said, hands on her hips. 
"No?"
"Chloé is a teenage girl, Hawkmoth seems to be an adult man."
Marinette blinked repeatedly. She giggled awkwardly, "Right, right I knew that."
Master Fu shook his head, "But.. Find out where Chloé got the book, and we may find Hawkmoth. I will start translating the book. I am glad you found it, it should be useful."
Marinette gave a firm nod and set out to find Chloé.
-
Adrien stared at the video of Sabrina taking the book and was suddenly very grateful he had thought about cameras when he finally took that brooch…
"Did you know about this?" His father demanded coldly.
He shook his head "No, no. I- didn't know you had that back there!"
"Your friends will not be allowed back here again. Ever."
"What?" Adrien felt like he was sinking, falling, "But father I-"
"They stole the source of my inspiration and betrayed my and your trust. That is not the sort of people I want you associating with. That is all."
Adrien slumped into his chair as Natalie and his father left the room. He stared out the window as a numbness settled into his chest. He didn't know how long he sat there until he noticed Duusu was curled against his chest. A bird flew past outside.
"... Paon Lilas can fly free."
"Huh?" Duusu tilted his head. "Adrien you know what will happen if you transform too often-"
"I just need to get out of this house. Duusu, spread my feathers." Transformed, he leapt out the window and ran. 
-
"Not quite what I expected but the result is the same. Kids, so nosy, taking what does not belong to them. It is time I got my 'book of inspiration' back, and perhaps a few miraculous while I'm at it." Gabriel Agreste picked up the empty book. "Come my Akuma, and evilize me."
The Collector grinned. "Surely they won't mind becoming part of my permanent collection."
Natalie and Adrien’s bodyguard were all too willing for their likeness to be captured, but the bump in the road came with his son. Adrien seemed to have run away. He growled under his breath. But, as long as he was out of the way of the fight, it didn’t matter. He huffed and made his way out to cause as much of a show as possible. Eventually the superheroes would show their faces.
-
“Chloé, I didn’t mean to! But really we should return the book as soon as possible! I don’t want Adrien to get in trouble.” Sabrina pleaded.
“Ugh, but I finally had something that Lila didn’t!”
Sabrina tilted her head “I- Why would that matter?” Chloé just pouted. They sighed, “Can we please return the book now? Uh… Where is it?” 
Chloé looked up. “Oh nooo, you made me drop it!”
“Sabrina Raincomprix and Chloé Bourgeois,” an ominous voice called. Sabrina spun on her heel. It only took them a glance at the akuma to fall into a fighting stance in front of Chloé. “I am the Collector. You stole my book of inspiration, and for that you shall help me build a new one!” The Collector threw his book like a boomerang towards the teens.
Sabrina pushed Chloé onto the ground before it could touch them. Sabrina got up, and taking the opportunity of distraction, ran.
“Sabrina! You- ” Chloé looked around, finding her friend had already left. “….Sabrina?”
“Looks like your friend left you,” The Collector grinned, “She seems to be all around unreliable, hm?”
Chloé took a page out of Sabrina’s book and ran.
“I knewwww I should’ve just put that book back! Now Adrien’s father is akumatized,” Sabrina turned a corner as Plagg zipped out of her purse.
He shrugged, “Eh, not your fault the door was open.” 
They shook their head. “Plagg, claws out!” 
They vaulted up and returned to the spot they’d left Chloé and the Collector, only to find both of them gone. “Sorry Chloé…” She gritted her teeth and began to search for the Collector. 
They found Paon Lilas before they found the Collector. He was sitting on the roof of a building, legs dangling over the edge, eyes distant. Féline Sombre vaulted onto the roof and walked up next to him. “What are you doing up here, tweety bird?”
He chuckled and looked up at them. “Just enjoying the fresh air. Did you and Ladybug reserve this spot?”
“No, but we do have an Akuma to deal with.”
Paon stood up, “Where?”
“No idea, he disappeared before I could catch him. I already know it’s Gabriel Agreste.” 
Paon stumbled. “Are you sure?” 
“Yes, he’s aiming to add to his ‘collection’ whatever that means.” She gives the boy a glance over, frowning, “Can I trust you to help find and keep him busy until Ladybug shows?”
He nodded firmly. “I’ll follow your lead, kitty-cat.”
Féline Sombre blinked a little then nodded, “Okay, you go to the left, see if you can find him. We’ll meet up at the Eiffel if we can’t find him. Otherwise, call me.”
“I can call you?”
They blinked “Er- There’s a phone in both mine and Ladybug’s weapons so I’m sure there’s one in your fan?... Good luck. I’ll avoid crossing your path.” She smiled a little then they vaulted off.
He watched her go, the numbness sinking deeper into his bones. He took a deep breath in and headed to the left, watching for someone who would look like an akumatized version of his own father… He let the tides of emotions lead his way more so than his vision, looking for some sense of an exaggerated version of familiar cold anger or disappointment.
He found his father, and the expected feelings were there, but it didn’t seem to fit in with the severity he’d noticed from the last akuma. He didn’t know what that meant. He glanced at the fan, fumbling for whatever would activate a phone. He blinked as the fan created a pop out screen. He found a contact for Féline Sombre, but no Ladybug. He raised a brow, and shrugged, tapping the contact icon. She picked up quickly. “Féline Sombre, I found him. He’s just outside the Louvre.”
“Okay, try to keep him busy and away from the civilians. I’ll call Ladybug.” They hung up, and Paon Lilas dropped off the roof down towards his father. 
“Looks like someone got trapped in a race car paint booth,” Paon taunted. His father turned around and smiled at him. He did not like that smile. Was it bad that he was unnerved by his father smiling?
“Hello to you too, little peacock. You’ll do lovely in my new collection,” He lifted his book and aimed, “But before I do, allow me to seize your Miraculous for Hawkmoth.” He threw the book at Paon Lilas.
He ducked and the book hit the guardrail causing it to disappear. He blinked and his father showcased the guardrail's place in his book before swiping it away, erasing it from the page.
"Just stand still, pretty feathers like those need to be immortalized!" 
"I'm allergic to paper, actually." Paon Lilas joked. He circled the Collector, getting a sense of his surroundings and how to keep him there. He really didn’t want to hit his father, even if it was an akumatized version of him...
"How unfortunate." The Collector said coolly. He threw the book at him again and Paon leaped out of the way.
"Really, I'm not much of a by-the-books person!" 
The Collector growled and caught his book, glaring at Paon Lilas. “I’m starting to see that. You’re all just troublemaking children.”
Féline Sombre did not seem to have the same reservations as Paon Lilas about hitting his father. She vaulted in and kicked him from behind. “Whoops, cat’s out of the bag.”
-
Marinette was definitely glad for the Ladyblog. Having notifications on for Alya’s obsessive tracking of Akumas and the superheroes movements has certainly allowed her to find the Akumas that didn’t show up right in front of her. She turned down an alley, and double checked for onlookers before transforming. She found Féline Sombre’s message, and listened to their briefing while she set out to the Louvre. 
Féline was already there keeping the Collector at bay. ...And working with: “Paon Lilas?!” 
“Oh! Hello m’lady!” Paon grinned. The book flew at his head and his eyes widened as he leaped into the air to avoid it. “Don’t let the book touch you, it will trap you in its pages!”
“M’lady? I love that!” Féline Sombre giggled, “Can I use that too?”
“But of course, Mittens. I’ve got plenty more where that came from!” 
Ladybug landed next to Féline, giving Paon a glare “Oh hush Feathers.”
Paon Lilas gave her an uneasy grin which was quickly erased as the Collector threw a kick at him while throwing his book towards Ladybug. Féline Sombre moved in front of her, blocking with her staff. The staff disappeared from their hands.
“I think we need some luck right now Ladybug!” Féline said, shifting into a hand-combat pose.
Ladybug nodded, calling “Lucky Charm!” The magic provided a miniature trampoline. She looked around with a frown.
The Collector meanwhile, threw his book at the entrance pyramid. He kicked Féline Sombre into the resulting hole in the ground, jumping down after them.
Ladybug and Paon Lilas immediately leapt after. Ladybug caught Féline, swinging in from her yoyo. Paon tumbled onto the ground, and looked over to the Collector. The Collector grinned, throwing his book towards where Ladybug had hooked her yoyo.
“Ladybug!” Paon called. It only earned him a frown and a sharp spike of suspicion rather than her following his gesture toward the book. She and Féline tumbled onto the ground as the yoyo was sucked into the pages of the book.
The Collector caught his book in the other hand, tapping the page with the yoyo, “My collection really isn’t complete with some superheroes in it, but, I promised Hawkmoth your Miraculous first.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not much of an option!” Paon Lilas went for a punch, only to get blocked with one hand. He ducked the swipe with the open book.
Ladybug looked around, glancing at Paon Lilas’ fan and the book. “Of course! Bird Brain, I need a friend who likes to play ball!” Ladybug raised her trampoline. 
Paon jumped back away from the Collector and plucked a feather from the fan. He tried to focus on Ladybug’s determination and imbued the feather with power, sending it Ladybug’s way, “Fly away, little amok.” The feather fluttered into the trampoline. “Got a plan? I assume?” 
Ladybug tilted her head at the presence of Paon’s voice sounding much closer than it should be. The mask of light had surrounded his face, and assumedly hers. She nodded. “We’re going to try to see if we can fill up his collection.” 
Paon nodded and a bouncy ball dropped onto the ground, and multiplied on the impact. “Meet Doubounce!” Paon winked and caught one in his hand, “Hey, wanna play ball?” He threw it towards the Collector who caught it with his book, frowning. Ah, yes, that looked like the usual response to that question.
Ladybug rolled her eyes and used the trampoline to rebound the multiplying bouncy ball sentimonster towards the Collector “We need Dou and the Collector a little more contained- Féline?”
“On it! Cataclysm!” They touched the stairwell, causing it to crumble, blocking everyone against the ruin and a wall.
Paon started using his fan like a tennis racket, while Ladybug redirected the senti-bouncy balls towards the Collector. He walked towards her, catching the ones that got too close to him. The Collector pressed the book against Ladybug’s lucky charm trampoline, but it didn’t disappear. 
“What? Full already?” He flipped through the pages and made a move to erase a page, but Féline kicked it out of his hands. They grabbed the book and tore it in half. 
“Miraculous Ladybug!” The swarm of ladybugs returned Ladybug’s yoyo, allowing her to catch and purify the butterfly. Féline Sombre meanwhile, hugged their baton against their cheek. 
Paon Lilas snapped Doubounce out of existence and raced to his father’s side. “Fa- Sir? Are you okay?”
He looked up with confusion, but he didn’t… feel confused. Which only made Paon confused. Gabriel looked at the hero, frowning. “What happened? Where am I?”
“Er, the Louvre. You were akumatized by Hawkmoth.” Paon offered his father a hand up, which he accepted. “Don’t worry, it’s over now.”
“You’re… The new one, on the news.”
“Oh uh, Paon Lilas.” He smiled uneasily, and glanced at Ladybug. Who was suspicious again. What was so suspicious about talking to people?
His father nodded, and then gasped, “Adrien! I must find him.”
“I’m sure he is safe. If he was caught by your book, the miracle cure should’ve returned him to wherever he was last,” Ladybug explained.
“Nothing must happen to him. He’s too precious to me.” Gabriel said, placing his hands on Paon’s shoulders (daringly close to the miraculous clipped to his chest). Paon smiled softly, hearing his miraculous beep, as well as Ladybug’s and Féline Sombre’s.
“I’m sure he’s fine sir!” Féline said, “But we’re about to transform back… Goodbye!” Féline waved and vaulted up to the entryway of the Louvre.
“Paon Lilas. We need to talk.” Ladybug said.
“Oh…” He stepped away from his father and placed a hand over his miraculous protectively. “Er… Get back to you on that, M’lady…. Goodbye!” He ran. 
Ladybug gave a glance towards Gabriel and smiled, “Sorry sir, goodbye!” She zipped up and away.
Gabriel huffed and called up Natalie. “I’m going to need a ride… I have found a few interesting bits of information about this ramshackle team.”
-
Paon Lilas stumbled into his room. "Fall my feathers."
Duusu appeared with a whoop and giggled. "That was awesome!" 
Adrien closed his eyes, standing still as he tried to let the dizziness fade. "Yeah…" He braced a hand against his temple and huffed, "But… Do you know how we can fix the miraculous?"
"Oh no, you're hurt?" Duusu cried.
"I'm fine…" He sighed and sat on his bed, "But it's probably a good idea to fix it if I'm gonna keep using it…"
"It should be in the spell book!" Duusu said, collecting some seeds from a drawer.
"There's a spell book? Where?"
Duusu tilted his head, munching on his snack, considering. "I remember it somewhere!"
Adrien sighed and dropped himself against the bed. "Alright. Guess we gotta find a spell book." He yawned and closed his eyes, quickly succumbing to sleep.
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bitchfitch · 3 years ago
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I Have Been Enabled.
Time to talk about why Henry is Hash Tag Like That.
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This video by the pop culture detective will give you the basis of what we're talking about, but it sorta skirts actually discussing the type of person who would Intentionally go about romancing someone they have so much influence and control over, this is not a critique of the video and Is just a different perspective on the topic.
Now originally this post was going to start with a bunch of coddling, but ima jump right into it and save myself the word count, bc this is already like 1k words.
The underlying personality of a character (cough cough also the writers usually cough cough) who would want to or actively seek to date someone who is completely naive but still physically mature looks a bit like this:
They will be adamant about it not being their fault they are single. nobody will date them because they are too [select all that apply: Weird, Cool, Normal, Busy, Nice, Talented,] or because [select all that apply: Women Are All Enigmas Playing an Elaborate Game With Mens Hearts, Society, Women Only Like Assholes, (other incel talking points here)]
they have a need to feel above their SO, this might look like a savior complex, or it might look like having to always be one or two steps ahead of the SO in everything they do.
They will want to be the center of the SOs world. A normal person would be eager to introduce the newly minted naive SO to as many people as they could, just to help the SO learn how to socialize and to take some of the burden of teaching them off of themselves.
They will have a need to be seen as the Best. they dont want a mature adult partner, they want a golden retriever who looks like a super model. Someone who will worship the ground they walk on, usually because the SO has nothing to compare them too.
If you met a person in real life who acted or thought like this you could be forgiven for assuming they were trying to talk in semaphore with all those red flags they are waving.
The Pygmalion takes this one step further, he didn't just Find a perfectly blank slate woman who would love him no matter what,
he made her. 
The Pygmalion is the absolute extreme of this trope. They will go the furthest to avoid ever having to address what makes them unlikable and will often present themselves and their plights as not just no fault of their own, but as the direct fault of another person's, usually a specific past partner. 
Henry is the absolute least forgiving depiction of a Pygmalion I could cobble together. and the three muses that came before Adonis are the easiest way to illustrate that.
This next bit ia written using a very specific type of unreliable narrator you often see in these sorts of stories, where the MC's perspective and beliefs tint the word choices. Read carefully.
He blames his first muse's death on her. She shouldn't have taken that tone of voice with him, she shouldn't have lied about who she was talking too, she shouldn't have lied about not loving him anymore, she shouldn't have tried to leave. If she had only listened to him, the more mature and knowledgeable one, he wouldn't have gotten so angry and she would have never chocked on those razors. 
His second muse was far better than her, in fact he was damn near Perfect. he was young and unspoiled and willing to listen to and do whatever henry said. He had never been tempted, touched or taught the wrong sort of things. Henry was his everything, his mentor And his lover and the one who kept him off the street. But Henry's traitorous brother stole him away. Said such awful things about how their relationship was disgusting. That henry was a monster for taking in and caring for his muse instead of leaving him to die in the street before he was even old enough to drive.
The third was the worst. She was the one that destroyed henry and made him swear off human love. She had smashed all the sculptures he dedicated to her, all the projects he had finished for her, all her art he had gotten into museums for her under his name. She was ungrateful and horrid. And she had grown disgusting and ugly following the birth of Henry's truest muse. His daughter who this Wretched witch had stolen away following one light bit of discipline. His daughters arm had healed just fine, the witch was just too soft and their daughter was going to grow up just like her if Henry hadn't stepped in.
In all of those examples Henry's wrongdoings were intentionally obfuscated to make him seem like the good guy, to intentionally set someone else up as the villain coming between henry and his happiness. in Pygmalion stories, and in almost all bsy stories, this sort of narrative voice is used unintentionally to make you feel sorry for the Pygmalion and to want to like and side with him despite the reality of the situation. I went for some Very obvious and egregious examples to really show how effective this sort of narrative voice can be. if you want a better written example read Lolita, and then every review that calls it a love story to get a very good picture of how this works and how effective it can be (lolita is psyche horror about pedophilia, not a cute romance,)
tldr:
The Pygmalion and the Born Sexy Yesterday tropes are Rife with squicky elements bc a lot of people who write them do not realize how vile their characters sound if you look at the at any angle other than the the one they want you too
 a lot of the time the use of this trope is a Great insight into the minds of the people who use it without really thinking about the implications
both tropes are some incel shit
And Finally Adonis Should Have Beat Henry To Death Sooner.
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thejudgingtrash · 4 years ago
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would you class percy as a morally grey character? i’m really interested to hear your input
Anon 2: Would u class percy as an Morally Gray character?
Hey there! Let me write that essay for you about morally gray Percy ^^
It’s not about whether Percy is a morally gray character or not, it’s about he has to be otherwise the story doesn’t make any sense. At least for me it wouldn’t.
Ashley (@gr33kg0ds) said in the tags of my dark!Percy post something along the line of people diminishing Percy’s character because they need him to be pure and fluffy and I wholeheartedly agree with that!
Just because Percy’s twelve doesn’t mean he’s pure and didn’t do unproblematic things. I’ll mostly refer to The Lightning Thief because that book is the Magnus Opus for Riordan and perfectly stands for Percy as a morally gray character from the very beginning of the saga. (Also the only book I’ve recently re-read)
As much as I love fanon with all the amazing artworks, debates, memes and jokes, analysis, cool edits and wonderful fanfics, projecting your version of Percy doesn’t make the image in your head real. Percy in canon is not the fun and fluffy boy you imagine him to be or which social media sites (Reddit, Twitter, Instagram and yes, also Tumblr) tend to make him to be. He’s a scrawny little sarcastic twerp that was the unpopular kid. He isn’t that cringy dude Tony Lopez doing that fucking weird TikTok dance (side note: I don’t even know who this person is and I don't care, I saw the video and immediately wanted to delete every social media app on my phone, so thanks Tony?), kissing his Yeezys goodnight, vibing to our lord and gay icon Taylord “T. Swizzle” Swift song and flexing them iPhone 11 Max Pros. Percy literally said that going to Burger King with his mother once in a while would be considered a luxury. He’s a poor bastard in literal sense.
Part of the problem with the distinction of Percy’s character and his motives stem from the fact that Percy is a sneaky unreliable narrator and we as the audience (especially if you’re younger) don’t question most of his behavior if you even question some (pretty sure that most of us only picked up weird stuff as adults). Everything seems plausible to you. But does it mean that his behavior is necessarily good? Something that would paint his character as good?
Like I’ve said, let’s take a look at TLT. The very beginning of everything and the wonderful line that gets quoted everywhere: “Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood”. 
The very first line that quoted everywhere or used as in moodboard and edits but its meaning and significance get brushed off for the most part. It immediately sets the tone and the atmosphere for the book and for Percy as a character. A(n in my opinion) morally gray character. The very first thing we hear from Percy is that he doesn’t want to be in this world. He’s an involuntary participant who has been (upon further reading) blackmailed and forced into this world and is only cooperating to get his mother back and said in regards to his father (who also stands for the Greek pantheon) ”well yeah, would be nice to know about my dad but I’ve survived without him the past twelve years so I don’t know, he wouldn’t be missed necessarily I guess?“ That pretty much tells you, it foreshadows, that we will be dealing with someone with grit, someone that fights back, someone that went through shit, someone that isn’t a goody two-shoed character. Does it mean he’s a terrible (in the sense of evil or bad) character from the get go? Not really, but it tells you in nuances that he won’t be the white shining knight you might expect from a fairy tale.
There is so much that little Perseus Jackson has to offer you directly in the first book. So much that paints him as a morally gray character. From the illegal candy stash all the way to tricking Procrustes into his own trap. He knows right from wrong and isn’t innocent by any means. He wants you to think he’s innocent. Yes, he hunts monsters and the book also tells you that some adults (Gabe) can also be monsters, but Percy’s personality is so interesting and full of facets which I love! He’s misleading you on purpose. Deflects, plays events down. He lies in front of you to others but you don’t really doubt it. Instead of questioning it, you understand it.
What distinguishes Percy from other male protagonists in that notion that the author doesn’t try to paint him as particularly good (the reader connects the dots, in reality) is pretty much that. Percy is neither inherently good or bad. He’s in the middle. He does lots of questionable things and his personality adds to it. Something that immediately comes to my mind is his lack of fear of consequences. He thinks in the short term and not in the long term. Of course, he’s caring about those that are close and important to him (Grover, Annabeth and his mother of course. And well. The world not getting destroyed by his weird father and fucking crazy uncle would be a plus). But Percy isn’t really a strategist (yet). Look at the Medusa head thingy. Annabeth and Grover warn him, that he’s gonna get his ass beat and he doesn’t care. That these gods could squish him in the end didn’t matter to him.
The Olympian gods are painted as these unpenetrable huge mighty force and some fuzzy annoyed twelve year old dipshit sends them the severed head of a monster - but not any monster, the monster his father had a role in creating (well, Athena for the most part, but you know what I mean). (Also, I know this kinda reckless behavior gets sorta rewarded but at first, everyone was like ‘NO, NO, NO!’ before Percy was glorious with his attempt). Percy essentially tells these ancient forces that drive the way of his new cosmos how shit‘s gonna work from now on.
Percy isn’t fear riddled and doesn’t think about the possible outcome. He manipulates, he lies, he persuades and all of this as soon as he hits twelve. But probably earlier. Pretty sure he had to become a believable lier in order to trick (survive being around) Gabe. Perseus is angry, he’s agitated. Had Riordan written Percy as a soft spoken, frightened, goody two-shoed kid, almost nothing in TLT and the follow-ups would have made sense. He’s the outcast, but slowly blossoms into the strength and muscles of the group. Of the entire camp. Someone that outsmarts opponents and wins battles. But he didn’t do that by playing nice and being a bootlicker.
TLT would’ve been a perfect standalone book that would have emphasized that Percy is an involuntary person sive) if you skip Kronos, leave a little bit foreshadowing with the prophecy out, tweak the talks with the gods and Annabeth’s first meeting and skip Luke and the scorpion at the end. The ending would’ve been “and so Percy had a first awesome summer vacation and found a group of friends for life” or so (aka PJO movie 1 in less shitty and more cohesive).
The morally gray character shrinks a little bit in the SOM because there lie straighter dangers ahead which dive more into the bigger picture and Percy grows more into the character who takes care of friends and but he does come back with TTC, and definitely BOTL and the St. Helens explosion.
Consequences of Percy’s interactions had people partially dying. There is doubt, there is guilt. But the show must go on. There are battles that have to be won. There is no big giving up, no big overturn for the bad guys.
Also... isn’t it interesting that we start with Percy saying ”look, I don’t want to be in this world“ in TLT and it ends with TLO where he says ”for once I didn’t look back“? The full circle? The way that accepting his fate took five books? To change Percy from being an involuntary participant to becoming voluntary? He didn’t want to be a half-blood, he didn’t want to be the kid in the prophecy, but he actively chose to be in the end. He went from a darker shade of gray to a mayhaps lighter, if you want to say so.
To conclude, I repeat myself again: it’s not about whether Percy is a morally gray character or not, it’s that he has to be.
Thanks for asking me about some meta stuff I really do like diving into these things here and there. Tumblr’s sorta glitchy, I do get notifications but I really don’t see asks, so I’m sorry if my response is mad late ^^
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icecreamkink · 4 years ago
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so i watched cobra kai all in two days and i have so many -
this show has so many cool and smart angles to it, but the same time.... its so stupid oh my god everyone is so dumb literally mr miyagi held all of the braincells in this whole universe 
like i am but at the same time i am not surprised it was made like this, bc in hindsight of course there were hordes of ppl simping over johnny lawrence ....  but it still amuses me that this is like... an Actual Official Thing
ok this will get long so cut it is
how much fun this cast has is super visible and i love it
i rly enjoy how the world was expanded ! i did grow up watching the karate kid movies, so watching how they progressed the world of the movies so organically was pretty cool. it rly feels like its the same universe
i fucking LOVE stories that are largely about a Thing. dancing ,skating, sports its just so thrilling to experience this all consuming relationship people can have with this type of activity? and martial arts are just that much more intense, so yeah, grown ass men kicking each other around at the lightest provocation and a war veteran caring so much abt teen karate is Ridiculous.... but i love it all because thats the intensity i find so thrilling
was kinda surprised with how much im missing mr. miyagi. first because, like everyone is so unhinged jesus christo, it just really throws into relief how much his character grounded the narrative of the movies. but also hes just a really great character
and on that note it rly Gets Me that the show itself aknowledges that and plays that into daniels angst and all the little ways they sorta weave myiagisms into the whole show........ im not getting emotional over this dumb karate dads show OK
related - i really miss hearing ‘daniel-san’ 🥺🥺
ACE DEGENERATE oh god oh no
they really went down the down and out johnny lawrence route huh. like i was always kinda bummed we see kreese choking him and then we never see him again in the movies, and while i love dumpster fire problematic trash himbo ck johnny, its like......................... actually really sad that his life turned out like this fjngn
everytime i hear ‘babes’ and ‘pussy’ i die a little inside. i know thats the point but i am a v cringe easy person, have mercy (ehe)
loved the way they are constantly drawing parallels between johnny and mr. myiagi of all people. hes the handy man of his building that has a bullied kid asking for help and eventually steps up to teach them karate, beats up a bunch of bullies for him, creates a friendship with said kid, estranged from family, drinks his sorrows away, surprisingly one of the least quick to anger characters (which says more about everyone else really but.... Well.), no schemes or ulterior motives hes just tryna vibe here.... oh and ofc magically heals miguel of is asthma apparently. the true disciple.. meanwhile daniel is his usual messy petty self even tho he wants to be mr myiagi so bad 
also interesting about that is how miguels character is a parallel of both johnny and daniel at the same time
overall the parallels in ck are done really well, drawing comparisons and also subverting them constantly. theyre well thought out
THE PARALELOGRAMS
fr tho, the angle being explicitly the cycle of trauma and its effects and how trumatized adults in turn traumatize kids, maliciously or not, is so interesting
but! on the flip side of that, it feels like the writers are getting in their own way @ letting the characters grow. especially this last season. theres only so many times you can do "johnny and daniel are getting along but 5mins later they are (literally) fighting over some dumbass random issue" or "johnny puts in 20% of effort with robby and then gives up" before it gets on your nerves yknow?
i see daniel no longer talks like macchio ingested 15 shots of espresso before every take and idk how to feel about that tbh
interesting tension in daniel, as in, in tkk mr miyagi was there and daniel was frankly, kind of a lil shit, this messy petty spitfire hot tempered sassy kid,(johnny lawrence voice: just... stop being so annoying) but now hes the adult, and he wants to be mr. miyagi... but hes just not, and never will be to his very core and it shakes him and in a way hes trying to find who he is now that he sees himself in a position to be a not! cobra kai figure. i kinda really like that 
plus how that relates to his cobra kai trauma. idk if the writers thought abt it Like That, i think so, but in any case, its interesting bc it seems like daniel has told everyone whod listen about johnny lawrence his Pretty Boy Karate Rival and high school and 84 cobra kai... But. no one seems to know what went on in 85 (or 86? idk) which was just so much worse
like ye og cobras were shitheads, but tkk iii is just two hours of daniel being emotionally and physically tortured. 
like, the third movie is.............chaotic, to put it nicely, and many people ignore it, but the writers clearly didnt. daniels actions are, in a way, responding so much more to the events of tkk iii than to the first movie ie. johnny himself, AND. daniel doesnt rly seem to have dealt with that trauma? he never told sam? doesnt feel like hes ever told amanda? he doesnt even say terrys name out loud? freaks Out over kreese ? the way he reacts to robbys deceit? his FACE when he walks past the new "fear does not exist in this dojo" paint or kreeses photo? hmMm i sense Pain
his fashion tho........... disappointing. where are the flower shirts daniel huh we had one (1) shirt what a tragedy STOP WEARING SUITS ALL THE TIME . also the band ts/grunge bi are a look for johnny but part of me longs for the preppy lovable 80s bully chic johnny lawrence getups
weird that they never used that last moment of karate kid where johnny kinda... snaps out of his anger and hands daniel the trophy almost in tears. like “youre alright larusso, good match” “thanks a lot”  that being their last direct interection seems like itd be perfect fruit for cobra kai but... they just dont. weird. 
especially when, the FIRST SCENE they see each other, suposedly in 30+ years, the first thing to come out of daniels mouth is QUOTE "u still got those golden locks huh?" WHO SAYS SHIT LIKE THAT DANIEL FUCKING SAN 
also amandas immediate reaction "your pretty boy rival?" like. can we talk about the fact that daniel had to have imparted to his wife the very important information that his high school bully/karate rival was like Really Cute and Fucking Hot Actually
 the writers Knew exactly what they were doing and honestly.............. power to them
tkk director voice: and billy was just so cute  
also I was thinking that daniel sounded strangely fond in that first scene, and i wonder if he developed a weird affection for johnny on the grounds that of all of his Karate Rivals johnny was actually the only one who didn’t actively tried to literally kill him
i was actually delightedly surprised with how great the chemistry between them is, like from the get go i am Invested. their rl friendship totally bleeds through and its fantastic
. granted, idiots enemies to lovers friends is my Thing so i am biased  
johnny lawrence: i am down in the dumps, i fucked up my whole life and my sons probably, largely in light of the trauma that the father figure sensei and the philosophy of my karate inflicted on me and all my friends. u know what i should do, as a traumatized, unreliable mess of an adult? teach that same philosophy to some other kids! what could go wrong! 
but really i enjoy the setup of it. i kinda like that i watched it late because, season 1 was johnny setting himself up for failure in a way and it was exciting to watch it all go to shit sjfn
Like. his heart might be in the right place, but theres just.... not a way to teach something like ‘strike hard, no mercy’ and not have it fuck up a kid 
case and point: aisha, miguel and hawk become annoying as all hell over that bullshit in the end of s1, even before shit gets truly fucked up
billys subtle panicked eyes when he sees hawk and miguel fighting dirty in the all valley was SO GOOD especially in parallel with the panic that is so visible in his face in the movie when kreese tells bobby to injure daniel and in the sweep the leg scene 
seen people question wether kreese should have returned and i absolutely think he needed to. johnny needed to realize that cobra kais fundamentals are flawed, at the root, beyond kreese himself being a toxic piece of shit 
also who are we kidding? we are here to see the tkk characters play on new playgrounds!
i get what they're doing abt kreeses backstory, ( also. cobra kai. pq eles caem nas cobras djjs sorry) but did it need to take up that much time? feels like they couldve  done it in half the run time and developed some other stories better 
martin kove has such an evil eye. i love it
love that we get a good follow up to kreese breaks johnnys trophy and tries to CHOKE HIM in the parking lot, which happened in the movie and then....................... was never mentioned again
“the gang is all back together again” aaaa u piece of SHIT 
also. terry silver is definetely appearing ha ha ha PAIN i cant wait
seen ppl say kreese was too much of a cartoon villain like..........................oh......... sweetie........... u dont even Know
interested how johnny will fit into that bc kreese was simping rly hard for johnny here. like i did not expect him to be so adamant to have him with cobra kai ... under his control, sure, but he really wants johnny by his side despite already having control of the dojo and how will terry silver self appointed jon kreeses forever simp going to feel abt that? 
like bitchs dropping by every episode like ‘joooooohnny ..... come bacc to me joooonny......... this ur last warning! for real this time johnny! i wont say it again! watch me ! im leaving johnny! im rly leaving ! im dragging a chair” and johnny is just like. dont let the door hit ya bitch it was so funny pls
and on that subject oof, johnny! doesnt! Know! he doesnt get that side of daniels cobra kai trauma. and i kind of.............. cannot wait for ck 2021 johnny lawrence to meet terry silver like. what a shit show i need a front row seat and popcorn (imagine terry tries some greasy charm and johnny just roundhouse kicks him in the teeth bc he just doest Not Have the Patience for This. glorious)
feels like we, as a society, should acknowledge that cobra kai will never die................ bc their sense of design is just chefs kiss. their name is COBRA KAI. they have sexie sleeveless black gis. theyve sneks. colorful leather jackets with embroided naja insignia, the get ppl thru the aesthetics. evil geniuses
the flashback cuts : masterpiece behavior
the other takes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! of the movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the differente angles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! of the FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE CLOSE UP ON JOHNNYS FACE AT THE KICK 
that scene of daniel and johnny vibing to 80s music in the car. just. oh my god. the fan wish fullfilment. no thoughts head empty.
the new characters! theyre .... good. but. idk. i really like miguel (save for the annoying phase mid s1 - end s2) and amanda, who is a damn riot and has some functioning braincells, but everyone else is       
like dont get me wrong, i dont hate anyone,its not a jane and rafael from jtv situation,  and i am interested and invested in their arcs, but i wouldnt say i like   Like them, as in, personality wise 
like, sams grappling with ptsd was rly gutting and i enjoyed that plus her slight rage issues, 
which nicely parallel torys rage issues. torys background is all over the place tho so im pretty on the fence abt her so far
robby deserves better in every way, and i like how smart and cunning and surprisingly sweet he is
hawk............... is there i guess,
 demetri is annoying in the best way possible,
 carmen is sweet but. i just feel like her character is blunted to make the johnny relationship easier. like when shes furious with him after miguels injury but then forgives him like an episode later? and then convinces him to fight for the tournament bc she had a karate epiphany off screen even tho she was always against it? meh. feels like with the plot thiccening she was swallowed and now shes like a crutch for johnny mora than anything, which is disappointing.
aisha was cool and im kinda mad she wasnt in s3, especially bc a storyline with her tory and sam was like RIGHT THERE , but also... cant say i was super super fond of her... doesnt feel like we ever spent enough time on her
moon the bi icon, 
overall its a good cast but the main draw for me remains the og cast 
the tory/sam miguel/robby Thing. enjoy how theyre Narrative Foils and i like how their stories were so dramatically entangled but oh god give me a break with the teenage love square for the love of god. if u gonna put us through that at least have the decency to not make it so straight
and honestly some sam/tory        miguel/robby romantic tension would even make more sense. just saying! 
also im not sure how i feel abt the cobra kai: red miyagi do: blue theyre going with since some of daniels most iconic looks in tkk are also red. like it was a color they (johnny and him) sorta shared. i get it, opposite but complementary but idk... a little too fire nation and water tribe for me .
 and like the cobra kai kids are so funny abt it bc their outifts grow progressively more ridiculously coordinated. its like do they group chat every morning before leaving their houses? 
robby still sticks out like that tho. he went thru an athleisure/daniel san tsleeves phase and now hes back in the bandts grunge, but his color scheme doesnt fully blend with the other cobra kais. hmmmm.
LOVED LOVED LOVED both the okinawa episode and the cobra kais easy rider episode just such good good heart aching fun
bobby is an icon. he was in tkk and he is now ck hope appears more and more
 tommy is like the most iconic background character. all his lines, freaking gold then and now. sigh :( 
the framing in the okinawa trip was so good everything was so good
i stand by the fact that kumiko was the love interest daniel had the most chemistry with and shes is overall such a joy to watch, loved to see her again, idola, fashion icon
also tkk ii is good u guys are just mean
also really enjoyed chozens role in the episode, his evolution; i love that they introduced the pressure points (ty lee the blueprint) and! the honk + karate! cousins! absolutely iconic
when kumiko reads mr miyagis letters........ oh my god, my eyes FILLED with tears, it was so heart wrenching :(( tamlyns delivery was so emotional and lovely and its so obvious everyone involved in ck has so much love and respect for pat morita and mr miyagi as character, and i adore that it exists like this electric current through the show
when we were watching i told my sister i thought that ali would be miguels big shot surgeon and ngl i am so disappointed that didnt happen. hire me cobra kai writers
also the johnny ali daniel amanda chemistry? off the charts
AND the sassy retconning of daniel and alis breakup! LMAO ‘I HOPE U DIDNT TELL MR MIYAGI IT WAS MY FAULT’ HFDJJGNKFKSD
i am preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty sure back injuries dont work like that    but oke
daniel and johnny are so good together whenever, like they never actually help the kids or get shit done and end up fighting anyway but its just so much fun when theyre hanging
JOHNNY LAWRENCE AND DANIEL LARUSSO FIGHTING TOGETHER
daniels “plan” on how to get robby to juvie was so stupid. literally were u TRYING to make him hate you. dumbass
parents at those hearing rly brave for ppl that did not do ANYTHING as their kids got involved in a karate gang war until now
“bullshit i heard u were the real bully!” i mightve screeched
this s3 ending was SO DRAMATIC omg
everyone is such a MESS go to THERAPY u unhinged motherfckers
also im sorry but uh. a richass neighborhood in california doesnt have some type of neighborhood watch? the larussos rly dont have any security at all? neighbors wont hear the sound of a damn karate brawl happening next door??? also wasnt tory all like ooo i cant go to juvie, my mom yada yada yet shes always running around town getting into fights even at the rich girls house she was kicked out of school for fighting??   ?  ??    ??        ?                ?    ?          ??                  ?    ? girl??
stop destroying the larussos house, its so pretty :((((
sam finding her center looking at mr miyagis picture...  uwu maybe
robby yelling ‘U ARE WEAAK’@  johnny \as he is easily blocking him is like.... so funny and so sad to me. sweetheart. 
also i know it was meant as ‘oh johnny pushes him and HURTS HIM’ but it just looks like robby runs himself into the lockers and IM SO SORRY I FEEL SO BAD BUT IT WAS SO FUNNY 
i like that he and tory are the cobra kai kids now. we need ppl we care abt there to not revert to a good vs evil schtick, and this is the most engaging it could be... tho it hurts that these kids cant catch a break
ah yes "lets bet some real shit on the result of this teen karate tournament bc that is always a great idea" is BACK
so daniel saves johnny from kreese..... maybe johnny will save him from terry 🧐
and dojos unite ohohoho. lets SEE how that’ll work out 
miguels face of Despair when the ck defectors and the md kids are bickering like 'this is never gonna work' : gold
also. Johnny Lawrence is gonna learn some myiagi-do karate AHAAHSJAKDFH
 ive been waiting for this moment all my lifeeee oh lawrd 
final thoughts! there are def things i hope the writers will improve on the next season, but i am very excited for it either way AND i feel like it has made me enjoy the movies even more and that is a win for a reboot/sequel to me!!
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flickityfics · 4 years ago
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Ch.10 A Day Without Zuko
a/n:Warning: smut
Hi, Gaang! The construction is going to take another six months but it's coming along nicely. I've met a lot of people and they're all use to me being around, they've helped me as well so it's been great knowing everyone and being a regular here. I learned things down here doing laundry, cooking and I'm always doing my training of course, gotta stay sharp you know! Katara, I'll never underestimate women ever again. I've seen first hand how hard it is for girls to be taken seriously or respected, its brutal and outrageous. Let me know how you  guys are doing by the way, its taking a long time to see you guys again and I wish I could be over there helping you but as long as I know you guys are okay, I don't mind staying longer to help out over here so just take care of yourselves .
-Sokka
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Suki its so hard being a girl. So many creepy guys hit on you or don't think you can do a job on your own, its annoying. Then they're the girls who starts fight with each other or looking at you with disgust and pure hate, you just can't win with anyone when I'm just trying to mind my own business here. Anyways I'm working different jobs here, still searching on how to turn back when I can, mostly stuck at the library with no answers and just crossing things off that don't make sense with my situation. I'll probably have to look into some spirits like you mentioned before. Oh and what could really help me is if you can tell me different parts of my body and what it does? Maybe even draw me a diagram as a reference please and thank you, so sorry for this uncomfortable favor. I'll keep my head up and keep trying to work this out. Hope you're doing fine on your side, write me whenever you have the time, take care.
-Sokka
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Sokka mailed off the letters deciding to use his free time before work to put up the posters he made earlier of Appa around Ba Sing Se. He just wanted to do his part in helping out the gaang however he could. It took about twenty-five minutes to get all the posters everywhere before taking a snack break. After a small meal he headed to his new job.
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Sokka came into the Jasmine Dragon exhausted and ready to vent at Zuko but caught Iroh instead by himself in the kitchens.
"Hey uncle, where's Lee?" he asked curiously looking for the scarred teen.
"Ah, my nephew went on an errand getting new tea sets and tea." Iroh expertly lied.
Sokka couldn't help being suspicious since it was late to be getting stuff at this hour but he also didn't know how businesses do there whole delivery system so he'd just question Zuko later and see if their story matches up.
"Guess I'll just have to settle with talking your ear off old man." He grinned to the elder.
Iroh grinned back, "Well you know this old man is a big talker so go right ahead." He waited curiously knowing the young girls story will be interesting from the conversations he's overheard from her and his nephew.
"I just can't seem to find a job that I enjoy or liked to stick with. This is already my seventh job and I want a new one already but I'm limited to jobs because of stupid men not thinking I'm capable or not deeming the workplace fit for women. On the other hand I can't be too picky either because I have living expenses and don't want to come off as unreliable from switching jobs so much, I'd like to find my calling and enjoy a job I'm passionate about. I have skills but they can't be utilized because dumb men don't want to hear opinions from women. I know how to fish, somewhat fight, I'm good at planning, being a strategist, fast learner, strong, learning how to take charge and great with organizing and planning. I've just got all these good ideas and things to invent but no one wants to hear me out or to take me seriously." Sokka was frustrated with these types of problems, he realizes what a complete jerk he's been himself towards his sister and other girls but he's definitely gonna try being a better person seeing all the efforts they put in but don't get the same efforts back.
"What do you think uncle? Am I asking for too much?" He asked.
Iroh stroked his beard, "Let me get us some tea." He then left the young girls side to prepare the tea he had in mind.
Sokka could only lift his brow at the old man, watching impatiently as he took his sweet old time with the tea.
"Now it's not bad trying out different things to find what you're good or passionate about but I do see where it'll be difficult since most people are set in their ways and not wanting change. You are young and strong-willed, I believe you have the courage and strength within to make these changes possible no matter how slow the progress may be so long as you do not give up." Iroh really believed in his words about Miyuki, she was quite stubborn and willing to tell people off for any injustice she felt towards herself or others. It's why he's liked her so much near his nephew.
Sokka really thought about the uncle's wise words, it seemed so simple hearing it out like that. All it takes is small steps and he knew he wasn't one to give up....well, maybe only when things are really looking bad. In all honesty Sokka was sure he could keep up and handle being a girl a bit longer even though he'd really like his body back but he's gotta do what he can to live comfortably as is for now. It may not to be as freely as when he was a boy but he could handle putting some rude men and or women in there places if need be.
"Thanks for the pep talk geezer, that actually helps clear my mind, guess I just needed someone's perspective on stuff." He was happy talking with Zuko's uncle, it really helped him get things off his chest and feel heard. Normally these would be talks with Zuko but the jerk bender just had to be off on an errand.
"I'm gonna take off now, can you let Lee know I stopped by?" He asked.
"I'll let him know. I'm glad you drag him along places, thank you." Iroh was really grateful towards Miyuki always taking his nephew out, she brings more life into him he noticed.
Sokka waved off the old man as he left the tea shop. The sun was down and already the streets were lit. It was a nice, calming walk with the light buzz of late night activities. He really did enjoy the weather here in Ba Sing Se instead of being in layers, he had loose pants with a dark green tunic. As he kept walking he noticed off to the side a wanted poster that caught his eye, he walked over seeing a vaguely familiar mask but not really remembering, scanning the words he mumbled to himself, "Blue Spirit wanted blah blah may be a ghost? uh..Kidnapped Avatar, hmmm... feels like something I should know." The poster piqued his interest for a short while before he shrugged it off as no importance to him and went his merry way towards the inn.
Back at the inn Sokka felt like a nice hot bath would be perfect to relax at the end of the day. He went straight for the bathroom as he got back in his room, did some cleaning around the room as he waited for the tub to fill. He still felt awkward with his body but today he felt sure to do some more exploring.
The warmth of the water relaxed him to the bones, it felt like such bliss to feel the nice heat incase his whole body. He splashed around a bit making ripples in the water. This was the first time he took a bath with his eyes opened, he tried to avoid washing for two to three days and when he did it was only a quick rub down and rinse with eyes closed the entire time. But now? Now he watched himself as he slowly moved his hands on his new girlish thighs, he could feel hairs along the way, they were actually quite long, he knew Katara and Suki kept they're legs smooth but not how and now there's another embarrassing question to ask Suki later.
He tried again groping his chest just going for it, squeezing and moving them in all directions, it didn't really feel much to him still. He just kinda bounced them but couldn't feel anything sexual, he was sure if he had a girl in front of him and not his own body that it would be more exciting. Going a bit more down, he played with his soft little plump of a stomach, he definitely missed his flat stomach that he was working so hard on for nice abs. Eyes scanning further, he thought his feet were kinda cute not to say he checked out feet but he totally lucked out in cute feet as a girl.
                  --Warning: smut--
Now for the part he was anxious to explore more thoroughly. With a deep breath he ran his hand down feeling the dark course hairs covering his newly made vagina. He split the wet hairs just twirling them and rubbing between his fingers just curious at how they felt and looked. They felt much the same as his so no difference there...well besides the obvious missing usual protrusion. It was kind of fun playing with it and sorta felt good to. Closing his eyes he slipped a finger in his folds noticing it wasn't as wet as the other times he felt awkwardly aroused as Suki embarrassingly explained through letters. Sokka rubbed at the nub he felt and added pressure realizing the pleasure it caused, he pressed down harder rubbing slow circles. As he rubbed himself he could feel his wetness making the pleasure easier. After feeling the fun sensation for a bit he then lowered his fingers again feeling a dip into a small hole, it felt tight but once he tried to dip his finger in he flinched from the dry pain he felt. "Okay, that definitely didn't feel nice." It was actually quite scary he thought, he waited til his body relaxed once again before foregoing that area and sticking with the pleasure he got from the small bud up top. He didn't think of much besides building the pressure towards this nice pleasure he felt, it was like a nice slow yet intense build up to an amazing uncontained burst. He couldn't stop himself from speeding up his fingers and thrusting his hips slightly to catch that release, his fingers were aching with the pleasure that was sure to come. It felt completely different from his own body but totally awesome still. His hand was cramping, he could hear the splashes in the water but all he cared about was that sweet peak and nothing else, he was so close, so close.
"Ah, ah right there. " Sokka let out his moans as he felt his hips shake and hand move faster finally falling into an amazing orgasm. He had to catch his breath and remove his hand gently now feeling the unpleasant cramping. "Oh that was different but so so amazing." He tilted his head back enjoying how relaxed he felt and finishing up in the bath. He emptied the tub and rinsed once more getting out on slightly shaky legs.
                       --End smut--
He was back in his room relaxed and feeling good. He did feel kinda weird about the whole self pleasure with the new body of his but it was great once trying it. Before heading to bed, he did some light combinations of kicks and arm movements along with some breathing techniques he's learned form Zuko. He started doing them every night and morning as Zuko suggested, 'dang, that violent jerk is actually giving him good habits to learn from.' he realized. Everytime he tried to repeat how dangerous and horrible Zuko is it just gets overruled  by the Zuko he's been getting to know now. And that's how the tanned teen slept, with thoughts overflowing with prince Zuko.
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nichester · 5 years ago
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Review: Extracurricular
Media Type: Korean Drama
Genre: Teen drama/Crime/Noir
Summary:  Ji Soo, a diligent but poor high school student is saving for college and paying rent by moonlighting as a pimp.  His precarious balance of school and work begins to fall apart when another student, Gyu-ri, discovers the truth about his job and wants in.  Things spiral quickly out of their control.
Why you might care:  If you enjoy watching teenagers do crime and get realistically in over their heads; if you are interested in dark shows with Really Good performances (in particular from the leads, who have enough chemistry for us to buy their toxic but unbreakable bond) or if you are interested in any of the themes of crime and class struggle.
Why you might not care:  Give this one a pass if you don't like your shows dark and/or are looking for a happy ending. Importantly, pay attention to potential triggers in this show! (Suicidal ideation, self harm, violence against women, sexual assault, hallucinations, and torture all occur, although not always explicitly, on this show.  Feel free to message me if you need more detailed warnings!)
Trope Bingo! Partners in crime/Bonnie and Clyde; enemies to sorta? lovers, literally I have no idea how to categorize their relationship
If you liked _______, try ______!
Can't say I've watched much in this vein! I've heard that School 2013 or Sky Castle are both excellent dramas about struggling high schoolers, but which have less grim endings.  The Get Down is a great netflix show also about marginalized teenagers struggling to pursue their dreams despite the crime and violence they're surrounded by.
~Spoilers (not anything detailed but just to be safe) and overall thoughts under the cut~
Plot:  I'll be honest, I'm not a big plot girl. Unless there's something stand-out about a story's plot, I tend to consider it more as a vehicle for character development than anything else. In this show's case, I was on the edge of my seat in horror for most episodes. The plot unfolds in a seemingly inevitable negative spiral that takes all of our characters down and leaves them far worse off than when they started. This show did rely a lot on coincidence, both positive and negative. Usually I would consider this a flaw, but I think it worked well here as a way to portray a random, unfeeling world around the characters and to emphasize the precarious nature of their situation.
Central character(s):  I was really attached to both of the leads. They had the convincing contradictions and vulnerabilities of deeply troubled teenagers, and their different traumas and personalities played off of each other well. For all of Ji Soo's smarts and skill, he has a startling naivete and a tendency to panic when things don't go according to plan. Gyu-ri is equally smart, but loud and manipulative in contrast to Ji Soo's awkwardness and isolation. Gyu-ri pushes Ji Soo to try to expand his business to make up for his unexpected losses (decisions that drive the plot), but this goes against his every cautious instinct.  Ji Soo tends to focus on maintaining what little he has, while Gyu-ri fully embraces the philosophy "the best defense is a good offense." Indeed, Gyu-ri is reckless to the point of suicidal, but the later episodes reveal a protective instinct that seems to be as unexpected to her as it is to the audience, an instinct which continually drives her to throw herself into harms way in defense of Ji Soo.  The strongest development that both characters had was in their relationship with each other, which led them to be both braver and more open than they had ever been in their lives. But their involvement with each other and their reluctance to cut ties is part of how they got to where the show leaves them--cornered and bloody.
Romance:  Technically this show has no romance, but I think it's fair to say that the leads develop an obsessive, Bonnie and Clyde-style relationship that is partially romantic in nature. Ji Soo has a distant crush on Gyu-ri at the beginning of the show, which she exploits. Honestly, some of the funniest moments in the show come from the contradiction between Ji Soo's side-hustle as a pimp and his complete and total inability to speak normally in Gyu-ri's presence. His disillusionment with her is genuinely painful, but necessary for their relationship to become one of equals. Their grudging partnership is abrasive, but their bond feels very convincing. No matter how much they resent each other, they're more strongly drawn to each other. (Watching Ji Soo pack up her discarded chip bags to bring with him on the run is just….. Its so….. Kids make me cry ok!)  It's clear for both of these lonely and deeply messed up kids that simply having a partner--someone who they can reveal their ugly sides to and depend on--is an intoxicating feeling. By the end of the show, they'd kill for each other and probably die for each other. The show smartly doesn't ever "consummate" the romance--they don't really have enough downtime when they're not actively fighting to make it convincing, and despite everything they've done both characters are still very young.  If there is a second season, this is a ship that is likely to sail (but possibly crash and burn).
Side Characters/Side plots:  In a show like this one, which depicts a marginalized and frequently abused group of women, the presence of sympathetic characters who are also members of that group is crucial, or the drama would feel exploitative. This show's most prominent side plot depicts an underage sex worker, her post-traumatic stress response to a violent client, her struggle over whether or not to speak to the police, and her desire to find genuine human connection, whether it is with her shitty boyfriend or with her pimp. (Their odd father/daughter relationship was one of the most moving parts of the show!) While I thought the writing was sympathetic to Minhee's situation, she is frequently used as a reminder of the human consequences of the other character's actions. This is both good and bad--it's important to remind the characters and the viewer of how damaging their behavior is, but it also risks treating her as a more of a tool for the lead's development than a thoroughly explored character. Up until the last episode I think the writers gave her a distinct enough arc to avoid this pitfall, but depending on her ultimate fate (in a theoretical season 2) I could change my mind.
Tone:  The tone is dark, tense, and constantly on the verge of slipping into chaos. Hallucinatory sequences play out as Ji Soo and Gyu-ri imagine themselves killing people, destroying things, or being buried alive. These sequences emphasize the character's instability, while also establishing the camera as an unreliable narrator of events in a way that pays off in the ambiguous final moments. The fantastic acting is buoyed by the directing to depict the precarious state of the leads' minds as their situation spirals further out of their control. Ji Soo's scenes feel claustrophobic and paralyzing--when he ventures out of his apartment to talk to Gyu-ri or to go to the café you get the blinking, shuffling sense of something emerging from a cave. Gyu-ri, on the other hand, is a loose cannon, and her scenes have a jittery, dangerous edge to them. As a whole, the show is excruciatingly tense and frustratingly unresolved.
Theme:  This show is a full-fledged tragedy. It is a brilliant example of a negative change arc, with all of the characters taking more and more drastic actions while still managing to retain our loyalty. I think the writer's are clear that although none of these kids have made good choices, the real tragedy lies in how they have been abandoned, used, or neglected by the adults in their lives. The few adults who show any care for them are either relatively powerless themselves (like Mr. Lee and their teacher) or too late to avert disaster (like the prosecutor). Extracurricular is a grim look at how we fail vulnerable children to the point that even a boring, average life seems like an impossible dream.
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