#obviously he has to be a recurring minor antagonist

[cerealforkart]

I’ve been working on making this and I just realized: Hermie wasn’t in the movie at all. He didn’t even have a cameo and no one either on screen or in the audience noticed

Just had a wild dream. I was at RTX and went to the DnDads event, but it wasn’t a live show, they showed a whole Dungeons and Daddies animated movie. I just watched Across the Spiderverse last night, which has bled into my brain forever, so it had all that good trippy dimension stuff and the teens were superheroes (sorta. Normal slipped into a dimension where they were superheroes and was trying to fix it but doing a bad job) and of course it had the gorgeous animation style of Spiderverse. Anyways. All this to say, I might need to make a superhero AU now

[magpiejay1234]

Now that I'm stuck with the last few bosses due to game crashing, I guess it is time to discuss story elements. Let's talk about Xion, first.

We discussed why Xion was introduced as a character in relation to external reasons, but we might need to discuss why she is present within the strict confines of Days.

Due to the nature of CoM, 5 of the Org. members were already destroyed before the bulk of the events, so Roxas's interactions with them is quite limited, even though they are some of the better ones. So they cannot become Roxas's partners through the game.

Among the remaining 8, two of them, Roxas, and Axel are already there, and Xemnas is the Orcus on His Throne, so this leaves the remaining 5. Saix is de facto antagonist of the game, and Xigbar is a minor antagonist here, so this leaves Xaldin, Luxord, and Demyx.

Xaldin has his big arc with Beast, one of the most important characters in KH1. Luxord, and Demyx have a decent working relationship with Roxas, as established in KH2, but they cannot become main characters due to nature of their personalities (Demyx being brilliant, but lazy, Luxord being a loner seeking new excitements), so they just end up being major recurring characters, like HPO.

(Of course, like Xigbar situation, the recent retcons made Roxas's relationship with Luxord a bit more weird, as it is now a reflection of the relationship he had with Yozora.)

We also cannot have much with Riku, and Naminé, due to their context in KH2, though we use both them to near full extent, mostly for Xion's parallel arc. This becomes more present in the last quarter of the game. Kairi, who does not directly appear here, but is thematically very important here, also cannot due to the memory meld with Roxas in KH2's prologue.

As for HPO, they are also used to near full extent here. They obviously cannot become party members, and we already breached the established canon by making them friends with Roxas (and to a lesser extent have Pence become associated with Axel) before the simulation Twilight Town who forgot about the situation because of Xion's memory erasure.

So, for Roxas to interact with somebody, we needed someone close to his biological age, and with similar powers. Or in Sonic Heroes terms, we needed E-123 Omega to round up the number for Team Dark as Eggman's replacement.

Gameplay wise, since Riku was going to be final boss due to KH2, and KH1 Secret Ending, and Roxas was going to lose against him, we needed a more proper final boss, so there could be a closure.

[matriarchsdevotee-archive]

As some of you know, I've been steadily working on a full Gerudo history a la the Hyrule historia don't ask me how the progress is going go away

But one of the really funny things it's done to my perspective of the Zelda series is that, not only can I take any form of Ganon seriously, dorf or otherwise, I often forget that he genuinely is the most frequently recurring villain because I have to deal with Vaati being a bastard all over the place.

Here's the thing. The Gerudo Guide follows the Twilight Timeline, as that's the one we're currently humoring Nintendo by pretending it's big C Canon, right? That leaves me with Skyward Sword, Minish Cap, Four Swords, and Ocarina of Time. Skyward Sword has Demise which is, at best, the demon that would come to claim Ganondorf as a vessel, but it also claims Vaati, Zant, and a few other minor antagonists through the series so that's not unique to Gan.

Then there's Minish Cap and Four Swords and we get the recurring bane of my existence and, theologically speaking, the first known "vessel" of Demise, as he was able to tame its power enough to wield it, but he eventually was corrupted into a demon. He's actually the vessel  of Demise for the entire timeline in Twilight Princess until Four Swords Adventures, but that's getting ahead of myself.

In the child timeline, which spurs the twilight timeline, Ganondorf never retrieves the triforce. Even though he's certainly powerful and dangerous, he never successfully carries out his coup on the king, so he never takes over Hyrule. The Gerudo abandon him when they learn he's pledged fealty to the crown, neither understanding nor frankly caring that he was doing so as a ruse, leading to his botched execution, which sends him spiraling into the timeout realm.

Obviously the villain of Majora's mask is the inextricable march of time and death Majora, then there's Twilight Princess proper. Ganondorf is the mastermind behind the takeover of Hyrule, but he's not really the power-wielder in this situation. He's come to understand that he doesn't have enough power, and the power he does have will always be balanced out by the powers of Hylia through Zelda, so he has someone else do the dirty work.

Then there's four swords adventures, which is complicated because while it is Ganon, it's even Ganondorf, it's technically a different Ganondorf than the one in OOT/TP/WW, because he's A) probably 18ish based on the chieftain's commentary, and B) was considered a perfectly normal kid until a few years before the beginning of the game, and in this timeline, this is the first time he actually succeeds in bonding with Demise's power through killing Vaati and stealing the source of his magic. This means that, through a twilight princess lens, we have a game where he played his hand too early, a game where he was only involved if you were there, and one game where he actually managed to fuck shit up.

Combine this with the General attitude of the Gerudo being either "he's our weird big brother," "he's the prodigal son and he's not coming back until he fixes our damn windows," or "he's our racist grandfather that we're all faintly embarrassed about but don't know what to do with" and. Yeah I occasionally have to remember that in any timeline in which he gets the triforce he royally fucks over the world.

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 21 of 26

Title: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers #4) (2021)

Author: Becky Chambers

Genre/Tags: Science Fiction, Third-Person, Female Protagonists

Rating: 9/10

Date Began: 8/15/2021

Date Finished: 8/22/2021

Gora is an unremarkable planet. It has no natural life and few resources to speak of. In fact, its only use is its proximity to more interesting places. Over the years, it’s become a waystation, notable only as a temporary stop for travelers as they wait for their spot in the wormhole queue. 

The Five-Hop One-Stop is a small, family-owned rest stop on Gora. Three travelers— a marginalized nomad, a military contractor, and an exiled artist-- lay over at the Five-Hop awaiting the next stage of their journeys. But everything goes horribly wrong when repair work on an orbital satellite causes a cascade event, destroying the planet’s communications. Now stranded on Gora with debris raining down from the sky, the travelers and hosts must live with each other while cut off from the rest of the galaxy. As they learn more about one another, each is forced to confront their personal struggles… and challenge their perspective on life.

Speaker had a word for how she felt right then: errekere. A moment of vulnerable understanding between strangers. It did not translate into Klip, but it was a feeling she knew well from gatherings among her people. There was no need being expressed here, no barter or haggling or problems that required the assistance of a Speaker, but errekere was what she felt all the same. She’d never felt it with an alien before. She embraced the new experience.

Content warnings and spoilers below the cut.  

Content warnings for the book: Non-graphic sexual content, child endangerment, ableism (if you squint; it’s not malicious), references to warfare, discussions of intergenerational trauma re: colonization (not the scifi kind), prejudice and xenophobia, recreational drug use. 

I’ve had a mixed experience with Wayfarers, which is unusual for me. I can’t remember the last series I read that fluctuated so much in terms of personal enjoyment and (in my opinion) quality. People as a whole seem to enjoy this series more than me, hence the multitude of awards and glowing reviews. I liked book two, A Closed and Common Orbit, because of the focused narrative and dedicated development of two lead characters. But the first and third books suffered from an overly large cast and reliance on generic archetypes. When a series is built on character development and plot is a secondary concern at best, those characters have to be outstanding. And to me, they usually weren’t.

But in this fourth and final book, I felt that Chambers finally hit her stride. On a surface level, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within has striking similarity to book three, Record of a Spaceborn Few. Both are virtually plotless novels which do deep dives into a cast of characters. What sets The Galaxy apart is its execution. All three leads have unique and compelling personal conflicts. An underutilized strength of the series is its creative aliens; something Chambers takes advantage of here with a fully alien cast. Finally, this book hinges upon interaction between the three leads, something sorely missing from the previous book. 

In these reviews I often seem critical of ensemble casts. But when done well, I actually prefer them to singular narratives. The main hurdle is having consistently interesting characters across the board. When there’s one or two characters I prefer over the others, I usually struggle with the novel. There’s an inherent sense of disappointment when leaving a favored character’s POV. For me this affects my overall enjoyment of the story. But when I like all of the characters or they all have something interesting going on, ensemble casts are great. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is successful in this regard because I thoroughly enjoyed all three perspective characters. In no particular order…

Speaker is an Akarak, a birdlike scavenger species introduced as sympathetic antagonists in the first book. Going in, we know their home planet was colonized by the Harmagians, which has caused irreparable harm to their culture. Robbed of their homeworld and forced into the margins of GC society, the Akarak are nomadic, and many of them rely on banditry in order to survive. We have seen very little of them besides that. The Galaxy expands their lore a lot; their short lifespans, their incompatible biology with other sapients, and the resulting generational trauma from centuries of colonial exploitation. Speaker’s arc in particular is about dealing with the prejudice she encounters daily, adjusting to acceptance after being othered for so long, seeing things from a new perspective, and persistent worry for her twin sister Tracker, who she’s been separated from due to the events on Gora. 

The Aeluon Pei is actually a recurring character; she’s Ashby’s love interest from the first book. Here we get a more intimate view of her as a person. In particular, she struggles with living a double life. She works a prestigious yet dangerous job among her people, running cargo into critical warzones. But her affair with Ashby (a Human) is a huge cultural taboo among the Aeluons. If her colleagues discovered her romantic relationship, her life as a cargo runner would be over. The double life is wearing on her, because she loves both aspects of her life, but knows that it can’t go on like this forever. To make matters worse, she goes into “shimmer”, a once-in-a-lifetime fertility period, during the events on Gora. This adds a layer to her struggle; does she do her duty to her species and produce a child, or does she pursue what she really wants? 

Finally, there’s Roveg, a Quelin. Like the Akarak, Quelin haven’t received a whole lot of development in the series. In the first book, they’re portrayed as a xenophobic insectoid race, and their role is unambiguously antagonistic. Roveg is the polar opposite of that. He’s something of a renaissance man; an appreciator of fine art and dining, who designs artistic sims by profession. He delights in meeting aliens, befriending them, and learning everything there is to know about them. His arc centers around his exile from Quelin society and all the hidden pains associated with that. Chief among these is a mysterious meeting he has to make— which the Gora disaster obviously complicates. 

Complementing the three leads are the Five-Hop’s hosts; a Laru mother and child named Ouloo and Tupo. Similar to the Akarak and Quelin, we haven’t seen many of the Laru (who I always picture as fuzzy dog-giraffe hybrids). Ouloo struggles to be a kind and accommodating host in the wake of disaster. She’s also forced to confront her own prejudices, especially regarding Speaker, the first Akarak she’s ever met. The two initially have a lot of tension, but grow to be great friends over the course of the novel. Her child Tupo is a nonbinary character using xe/xyr pronouns throughout the novel. Xe’s basically a Laru teenager, and super endearing. I love xyr natural curiosity and naiveté. Definitely the “heart” of the group. 

Interaction between these characters is the bread and butter of this novel. There’s very little action; instead it focuses on their differing perspectives and life experiences. It’s a gradual build as the characters grow more familiar with one another. The epilogue is brilliant, because we see the long-term effect of these characters meeting. Despite interpersonal conflict in the story, Speaker inspires Pei to make a specific decision. From this decision, Pei realizes she can help Roveg with his meeting. As a result of this, Roveg is inspired to help Speaker based on one of their earlier conversations. His help fundamentally alters Speaker’s perspective on life— and there’s an implication it will reach beyond that, to the Akarak as a whole. It’s a cascade effect, but rather than the disastrous version that happened on Gora, it’s a positive social change for the leads. That’s the kind of literary parallel that really fires me up. 

I do have a few criticisms of this novel, minor and otherwise. The first is, I wish the tension between Speaker and Pei was more strongly built throughout. While I’m glad the novel isn’t all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to the character interactions, their conflict goes from an idea in the back of one’s mind to an explosive event. This is something of a nitpick because it’s otherwise well executed. I especially like that despite their interpersonal problems, they work together in the climactic events of the novel without sacrificing their respective principles. 

My other criticism is a series-wide observation. Wayfarers is optimistic to a fault. As such, it’s pretty rare that we see true evil or even bad behavior in this series. On one hand, it’s nice to read something where the characters are people who want the best for everyone. But there’s a lot of dissonance here, because there are MASSIVE social problems with the GC at large. For example, we see the effects of xenophobia, war, slavery, and colonialism, but the ones who perpetuate these issues are faceless. If Chambers wants to portray good characters, that’s fine, but it strikes me as odd to build complex social issues into your society, yet exclusively portray groups of morally good people. Why would a society full of such nice, helpful groups also marginalize the Akarak, or create an entire caste of slave clones to sort through their junk? This approach comes off as a desire for nuance without committing to it. 

This trend continues through the final book. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is clearly a COVID-19 response novel (“we’re all in this together”!)— but everyone is blameless, and the government response is reasonable and timely. That’s just not how it worked in real life. So many people were (and still are!) selfish in response to COVID, often outright endangering others. Practically every government botched their response for the sake of money, leading to mass death worldwide. If Wayfarers has similar social issues to the real world, why would the response to a disaster be any different? It’s an ongoing contradiction; the Wayfarers society is simultaneously utopian and flawed, and it’s hard for me to suspend my disbelief. 

As an individual novel, though, I really enjoyed The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. Like all the other books in the Wayfarers series, it’s a standalone and can be read on its own. My experience with this series has been up and down; I recommend the second and fourth books, but I’d skip one and three if I ever do a reread. There are things to like about Wayfarers in terms of worldbuilding and the creative ideas behind all the different aliens. Characterization is hit or miss, but the hits are great, and this book in particular knocked it out of the park. Chambers’ prose improves a lot over the series, and it’s nice to see how she develops as a writer. As I’ve mentioned, Wayfarers has gotten lots of positive feedback, so it’s possible you will enjoy it more than I did. But I’m looking forward to reading something new.

[pacmastermeow]

tidelocked

animatronic band becomes homestuck and makes the readers learn sea animal facts along the way

viewers suggestion comic

whoever reads slightly educational webcomics about bisexual sea creatures i guess. and also the people from the Other World

define “time spent working”

not how mspas work

sure why not

mspfa

i was thinking about situations i could put my creatures in and decided using the format of something that broke itself by removing its core while refusing to break my version would be an interesting venture to take

headphones by britt nicole

visually it’s old computer games with limited graphics

it’s already partially posted online and i intend to expand on it there

davey and hexy are not officially a couple but grace and rose are. also in a non canon crossover story all of them faked their deaths giving the main antagonist of the other property guilt fueled nightmares

there’s a dog named sparky who was originally just a rip-off of the fnaf character but has since been developed into a sparkledog pack leader that is also a living computer virus

there isn’t really a main antagonist planned but there are/will be the altern8s, who are recurring minor antagonists that are basically just the evil mirror image of the main band (a lot like the neighbores from eddsworld)

currently it’s just in davey’s house on earth but just like homestuck they’re gonna get sucked into the game. except for them the game is music based and they have to muse their way through it

like chuck e. cheese, the world of davey radroller would blend near-seamlessly with the real world as they appear physically on stage and deliver cool animal facts to the audience. of course, they don’t exist as real animatronics in an actual animatronic restaurant (yet(?)) so this blending happens with the world where they do. there’s another story for that “real-esque” world, but that’s for another reblog of another longpost

only for the virus sparkledog subplot

headphones by britt nicole again

idk. challeng-edd neighbores mix i guess?

yes but it takes a backseat to the higher stakes that the blorbos have to deal with. my favorite couple would have to be grace and rose, only because they’re the couple i’ve put the most thought into canonizing (i am also debating putting them all into a polyship too though)

favorite friendship is the gift with any of the 4 protagonists

best dynamic is also the gift with the protagonists, though hope & grace come close

'

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whether octopi, axolotls, gulls, or hermit crabs have teeth (none of them do, but axolotls are the closest)

time is an illusion existence is a hologram buy gold bye

davey = davey jones, crowther greenglow = fiddler’s green (opposite of davey jones’s locker) the glowing animal. also the gift obviously

"I see you're very excited about Davey. I am too. / I can't show you what happens next, since it hasn't happened yet. My nigh-omniscience doesn't stretch that far. / I can, however, show you what else he has on his com puter."

'

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🐙🍥🦅🐚🎵🎵🎵💽

'

i just want them to learn the sea creature facts that i pepper in there

36 WIP questions

1. What is the title of your WIP?

2. What is your WIP about?

3. What Genre is your WIP?

4. What is the target audience for your WIP?

5. How long have you been working on your WIP?

6. What draft are you on?

7. Did you plot your WIP before you started writing, or are you pantsing it?

8. What program do you write your WIP in?

9. What inspired your WIP/how did you think of it?

10. Share a song that makes you think of your WIP.

11. What is your WIP’s aesthetic?

12. Do you want to publish your WIP traditionally, self publish, post it online, or keep it for yourself?

13. A little bit about your protagonist?

14. A little bit about your supporting cast?

15. A little bit about your antagonist?

16. What is the setting of your WIP like?

17. One fun fact about the world of your WIP?

18. Do you have any faceclaims/picrews for your characters?

19. Share a song that makes you think of your protagonist.

20. Share a song that makes you think of your antagonist.

21. Does your WIP have romance? If so, what is your favorite couple?

22. Favorite friendship in your WIP?

23. Characters with the best dynamic?

24. Share a song that makes you think of your favorite character dynamic.

25. Easiest character to write?

26. Hardest character to write?

27. Which character is the most like you?

28. What is the strangest thing you’ve had to research for your WIP?

29. What is the latest you’ve stayed up/earliest you’ve gotten up to write?

30. Do any of the names in your WIP have significance?

31. Favorite line from your WIP?

32. Is your WIP action heavy, or more relaxed?

33. What are your favorite tropes you use in your WIP?

34. Sum up your WIP using only emojis.

35. What are some of the themes of your WIP?

36. What is the message you want readers to take away from your WIP?

[amostimprobabledream]

I finally finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2!

My final thoughts... - Goddamn, the fighting style is awkward af. I got used to it after a while, but I couldn't stop comparing it to the Tales series where you actually learn new moves as the game goes on, instead of just doing like the same three or four attacks per blade but stronger. It took me such a long time to figure out why element orbs mattered and what various status afflictions meant, etc. Plus there were stretches of some boss fights where I was aggressively jamming buttons as Rex stood there doing nothing.

- My GOD Pyra is a boring character. It really says something when a ROBOT has more personality than you. Every time she talked it was just being a bland nice girl - also her outfit is so awful. She's meant to be the more most/girly type and then she just has these incredibly distracting hot red booty shorts so her ass is always a prominent part of any scene. Also her boobs looked so weird, like they belonged on a doll but they look so out of proportion with her body. Like there was a cutscene where she faints into Jin's arms, but her ass is pointed right at the camera at a weird angle so it immediately killed any drama of the scene. Ironically even though Mythra's outfit showed more skin I found hers a lot more tasteful than Pyra's because at least they weren't pretending it was modest and it was just a white dress instead of this weird armour/leotard thing with booty shorts. Plus since Mythra is a bit taller I don't find her boobs so odd-looking on her. Also even though Mythra's got some fairly clunky tsundere scenes, I overall found her a lot more likeable than Pyra because she actually comes off as like she has opinions and some intellect in there. Pyra just clutches her chest all the time.

- Am I the only one who found it kind of uncomfortable that Nia turned out to be a blade? I mean, it was fairly obviously foreshadowed throughout the game, but the notion of equipping her made me feel weird so I always just left her in her driver form. Nia herself was kind of the generic tomboy character and I absolutely hated her outfit, but I found her inexplicably Welsh accent really funny. (Also, 'Shellhead' is such a stupid nickname for Zeke - it's longer than his actual fucking name!)

- Did whoever designed the characters of this game just have a fetish for really high-cut leotards? Seriously, we have Pyra, Nia's Blade form and Poppi's Qt pi form. Also, boob windows.

- My favourite rare blades were probably Vale, Wulfric and Azami. Azami's sidequest was such a major pain in the arse to do.

- Jin and Malos...eh. They weren't terrible antagonists, their motives made sense and everything, I just found them both to be pretty lame. Jin's your classic brooding white-haired antivillain designed explicitly for fangirl simpery but turns out to be Not That Bad in the end and Malos is your psychopathic manchild who lives for fighting. But eh, for someone who is notorious for stanning animated men, neither of them did it for me. And usually I'm a certified villainfucker but I just found them both pretty bland. Also Malos's haircut is awful.

- Similarly, Rex is a really boring protagonist. He's like every cliché RPG main boy - kind of dumb, ridiculously idealistic, attracts a bunch of girls despite being a moronic teenager and his design is just so blah - wow, brown hair and yellow eyes, so interesting and unique! He was like Lloyd if you take away Lloyd's character development and genuine moments of badassery.

- The Nopon were a really fun bit of worldbuilding. At first I found Tora annoying but they grew on me and I liked there was this entirely new race alongside humans and their design is fun. I liked that Bana was a minor antagonist who had been running things behind the scenes and profiting off Jin and Malos's destruction and he was set up as a foil to Tora. (Also, Lila should have been playable, goddammit.)

- I find it amusing you can warp anywhere in the game at any time - like yes, we're trapped inside a Titan, or we're trying to chase down the big bag, but first I need to go back to Torigoth and play Tora! Tora!

- I was pleasantly surprised that Morag became a playable character - I figure Zeke would join the party after he showed up for the second boss fight, but I just thought Morag would be a recurring boss.

- Mor Ardain is so hard to navigate when everything is sepia-toned. It took me forever to find people there.

- I hate Temperantia.

[hellyeahheroes]

Let Molly Punch Wolverine: Why I’m worried about X-Men appearance in Runaways

I want to preface this by saying that I have strong trust in Rainbow Rowell and while I am behind her series due to financial and pandemic related reasons, I trust her to deliver the best story she is allowed to. The worries I express below come from the fact I do not trust X-Men editorial and Jonathan Hickman enough to believe they will allow her to tell the best story.

The way I see it, Runaways are the quintessential Millenial comic in that it perfectly captures Millenial generation’s disillusionment with world and society built by Baby Boomers. A disillusionment that was to be expected in face of failiure of American defenses to prevent 9/11, the government and mass media wholeheartely embracing islamophobia and homophobia in it’s wake and American war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, on top of myriad other problems that were already present in the 00s and only got worse as we went ahead. 

This is not seen just in the core premise of the original series, the idea that the parents kids are taught to respect and look up to are actively evil and damning the world for their own benefit. But also in the general potrayal of adults and adult superheroes in the series, who are mostly useless or outright malicious in case of Doc Justice. Sole exception being somewhat Spider-Man, who himself is portrayed as having gone through what Runaways have and so having insight and empathy other adults lack. 

While that theme has become more gray over the years, as Runaways managed to gain a good footing with teachers and students of Avengers Academy alike, and Nico and Victor were on Avengers offshot teams, even then it was clear that the older heroes are not these perfect ideals too look up to, but flaved in their own way. Entire Avengers A.I. is about fixing one of Hank Pym’s screwups and A-Force’s premise is the team doubles as a support group, every member having gone through traumatic experience in the past and being on different stages of healing process (not to mention how it crashed and burned due to mistakes made by Carol in Civil War II). Even X-Men themselves started as outright antagonistic to Runaways under BKV. And then uder Yost went into the mutual “MAYBE they aren’t THAT bad” relationship with Runaways. Every meeting so far had Molly punch Wolverine.

In current series most of the team moved from teenagers to young adults and their experiences still reflect those of late Millenials. There is this feeling in current series of powerlessness, Runaways making it to the adulthood only to find all it gets you is more problems and all ability to fix the world have been systematically wrestled from your hands by the very people who broke it just so that you cannot fix their mess. It is a story about trying to live in a messed up world with that realization and how your found family can help you carry on whatever it will throws at you. I think in this way is why I can turn a blind eye on things like Nico in Strange Academy - it makes sense she would want to at least try to help kids who are going through what she did to not have as much a hard time. And, you know, Strange didn’t invite A NAZI WHO ACTUALLY WORKED AT AUSCHWITZ WITH MENGELE to help him run the school.

I do not beleive X-Men editorial can play along with that. Right now X-Men and their fandom are at the height of drinking their own kool-aid, portraying their stupid sex island as the msot perfect and best thing ever, to the point they ignore the blatantly fashy things happenning like making up new minority groups (precogs and clones) to oppress, or abovementioned inviting of Nazis, mass murderers and islamophobic crusaders who want to “take back Jerusalem”. They are so into the “mutants are a minority” metaphor that they outright demand that every other book touching on it portray negatively anyone who does not immediatelly bows down at their feet. Something we have seen in X-Men interactions with Fantastic Four, where Sue Storm’s legitimate complaints about X-Men’s current position are caricaturized to cast her in a “uniformed homophobic mom” stereotype just to keep the metaphor working. Even in Fantastic Four’s own book. In wake of this I can somewhat see why the infamous “Franklin is not a mutant” retcon took place.

I cannot beleive that current X-office could allow X-Men to be shown in a way that adheres to themes of Runaways. I mean for Pete’s sake, look at their treatment of New X-Men Academy X - another Millenial at heat series. And another one that tackles disillusionment of that generation with Baby Boomers’ run world with its own 9/11 equivalent in form of a terrorist attack that killed many of its students and traumatized the rest. It is a known secret editor Jordan White considers this a “mistake” because it made old X-Men look bad. And under him in particular X-Books had a history of undermining and derailing NXM kids to show them as inexperienced, dumb kids who never had any hardships and do not know what it really takes to be an X-Man, who see it as all the glamour and no work. All in spite of the fact they may have suffered more than all their elders except Karma, writers’ favorite punching bag. Now the books are outright lobotomizing the surviving kids while bringing back dead ones not to explore any stories with them or how such return could affect the ressurected and their friends alike and maybe allow a possibility to heal. No, this is done solely to erase that massacre from ever happenning because it make Jordan White’s heroes look bad. 

I’m supposed to believe this editorial will allow Cult Sex Island to be shown as imperfect or not a place that would “obviously” be much better for Molly? That it will allow Runaways to not be cast as “bigots” for not wanting to handle Molly to “real family” (as determined by genetics) same way X-Men treated Fantastic Four? As things stand now X-Men, a franchise and fandom that is ever entitled to special treatment to the point it cried Marvel wants to bury them when having “only” four books a month. One that has demanded for Kamala Khan to be handed over to them and made a mutant just to spite Inhumans over some perceived slights. A fandom that has wished death members of every superhero team with a mutant who refuses to hand the mutant over and celebrated brutal murder of a kid with a reprogrammed Sentinel. This blind entitlement is not jsut a fandom thing but also infects creatives working on it. Need I remind you how Jason Aaron made a big deal out of making Firestar join the X-Men? He took a character who canonically didn’t care much for the team and wanted to do her own thing and retconned her to be a total fangirl who dreamed of joining but was never before truly “worthy” of this “honor”. Right now we have more and more evidence every franchise interacting with X-Men needs to bow down and play a secondary role to it. but the respect here is a one-way street, Jonathan Hickman outright complains about having to adhere to work of other writers. I have absolutely zero trust that editorial will not try to force the story in Runaways to also be worshiping the ground X-men walk on. Worst case scenario they insert themselves like they did with Fantastic Four, becoming recurring plot thread and casting rest of Molly’s family as evil for not wanting her to join what is effectively a cult.

I wish I’m being wrong here. I do not want Runaways to become a glorified advertisement to a bigger franchise that has become souless and vile and whose fans turned into bullies. I have faith in Rainbow Rowell but that faith is outweighted by my distrust in Jordan White and Jonathan Hickman and their egoes. I hope I’m wrong. All I want is a story that ends with X-men fucking off and Molly staying with her real family, the Runaways. And of ocurse, her punching Wolverine. Which I do not trust White and Hickman to allow either.

PS: Some of you are probably already typing some sort of “if you don’t like the X-men, just don’t read them” response. To you I say: I would be glad too. Too bad they keep forcing themselves into things I actually like. Like a mold. Which is a good metaphor for what this old, gross thing the franchise has become.

-Admin

[gascon-en-exil]

Now that I think bout it... Awakeining is the only FE game without queer subtext going on unless you count Chrom/Male Robin. Even the Archanea games had some Minerva/Palla action in the remakes. I find that weird bc they obviously didn't shy out of it on old games, Ike being a good example.

Eh, there’s some:

Frederick’s excessive devotion to Chrom is a shallow parody version of the homoerotic lord/knight relationship trope that produced stuff like Quan/Finn, Perceval/Elfinn, and Dimidue.

The bara bandits have always been a little odd on this point, but the twincestuous Victor and Vincent turn that up to eleven as recurring minibosses rather than the usual one-off fight.

Virion and Libra is basically a shallower version of people getting confused over Lucius’s gender in FE7, not that it leads to anything substantial.

Some people see something to Inigo/Gerome, which - maybe if you squint?

Don’t reference me for these because I’m terrible at picking up on F/F subtext, but others say the same for Lissa/Maribelle and Severa/Kjelle, the latter in the harvest DLC especially.

Excellus has...something about him that apparently got lost in translation, comparable to Kyza from FE10, as in he might be trans or that might just be a misunderstanding of Japanese cultural norms surrounding gender presentation and/or their language’s overcomplicated pronoun system. Either way the character is a physically and morally repugnant minor antagonist so I’m not sure why anyone would care enough to want to claim that.

I wrote this post back when FE13 was the latest game in the series damn this blog is old, and three games since I stand by what I said about FE being in an awkward phase of explicit homoerotic denial at the time. I’d argue that Fates, Echoes, and Three Houses collectively reinforce this idea by integrating Awakening’s awareness that queer people and relationships do in fact exist - mostly via Avatar same-sex S ranks...and also Leon - with the heavy subtextual approach favored by the older games. That’s not a perfect combination by any means, but it’s an improvement.

[modestmuses-a]

anonymous said: “Cindy's primary emotion is obviously rage, bus has there ever been a time where Cindy fell in love?”

i actually ship cindy with like half the mucha lucha cast if we’re being honest, haha! so, i definitely think it is possible for her to fall in love.

my go-to ship with her has to be with timmy of a thousand masks, one of the minor antagonists of the series who REALLY deserved to be a recurring antagonist instead of... just used in his title episode and the christmas special. this ship is one that i will occasionally reference in threads, like for her college and colieso verses. i can and will, of course, have her be single in these verses if somebody asks, but i tend to default to shipping her with timmy in those.

they get off to a fairly rocky start, which is to be expected, with cindy being so angry and timmy being... well... a dick who gets people expelled for giggles. the two of them don’t immediately get along, with cindy finding timmy annoying and (obviously) untrustworthy. however, they both do have a sort of mutual respect for each other. timmy admires that cindy can go toe-to-toe with the other guys and that she’s pretty much the only female rudo (or i guess ruda) in her school. cindy also respects timmy a little bit for having the balls to get so many people expelled and for getting away with it for so long. he admires her strength, and she admires his intelligence - they compliment each other in that way.

cindy starts off their, uh, ‘friendship’ - let’s call it that for convenience - kind of expecting that timmy is going to fuck her over someday. and honestly, timmy goes into it neutrally, unsure of whether he is getting close to cindy to acquire blackmail materials or... just because.

as they spend more time together, they develop a symbiotic relationship, with cindy being able to fight their way out of situations that timmy can’t solve with his lies and charisma, and vice versa. perhaps against her better judgment, cindy begins to put more faith in timmy, opens up to him a little more, starts to feel safe around him. she knows, logically, that she shouldn’t - after all, his reputation precedes him, and literally everyone tells her to stay away.

timmy doesn’t fuck her over as expected, though. she watches as he fucks everyone else over but consistently uses his cunning and sneakiness to help her. he knows all the best places for her to hide from her father. he sews his own masks, so he has some knowledge of stitching up wounds, and she comes to him when she needs a patch job. in the colieso verse, he is the only reason she doesn’t have her true identity leaked or her mask taken away, which is one of the most shameful things that can happen to a wrestler in the mucha lucha verse.

despite him being small and weak in a physical sense, he ends up serving as her protector in other ways.

basically, their dynamic is two absolute assholes who are soft on each other and no one else. everyone is theirs to torment, but not each other, never each other.

[ohfugecannada]

Ok so...

A couple months back, I was thinking about how various chracters in the Dark Crystal universe would fit into @ben-the-hyena and @dracocheesecake’s natives au. More specifically, the UrSkeks and I thought about the Darkheart.

Now, for those of you who haven’t read the Creation Myths comics (which I recommend you go track down a copy of if your a fan of The Dark Crystal), the Darkheart was an UrSkek who was banished to thra along with the other seventeen other UrSkeks for having “darker natures”. But he still missed his homeworld, and so sang an UrSkek song in order to try and contact his people. Many trine later, at the Second Great Conjunction, he heard the song again from a gelfling song teller named Gyr, who had overheard the song on his seattavels long ago. It reminded darkheart of the pain and sadness he felt for being banished from his homeworld. This, coupled with Raunip calling him and the other UrSkeks out on ther hypocrisy, clauses him to snap and lose his composure during the conjunction. Which in turn causes the Crystal to reject all of the UrSkeks, splitting them into mystics and skeksis.

As you can tell, The Darkheart is a pretty interesting chracter and I wanted to include him in the Natives au. However, since in the Natives AU, the skeksis and mystics aren’t two halves of the UrSkeks, are, as the name of the AU suggests, natives to Thra, and UrSkeks are a hybrid species of Skeksiscand Urru, I spent some time wracking my brain over how Darkheart would fit into the Natives AU.

After some thinking, I came up with, not one, but TWO chracters that are this AU’s Darkheart equivalent.

The first Darkheart is a recurring character archetype of both skeksis and Urru myths, legends and folktales. From which of the two cultures specifically the figure originated from is a topic of much heated debate among the literary historians of Thra. But what is known is that mentions of a figure known as the Darkheart in early texts (referd to in some translations as ‘The Darkened One’, ‘The Poisonous’ or ‘the Heretic’ etc) started some trine after the second conjunction and since then tales of the Darkheart have become quite popular in skeksis and Urru folktales, literature and theatre. Such popularity has resulted in the Darkheart character to find its way into gelfling tales. Even some podling cultures have their own versions.

With the character of the Darkheart being so widespread across mutiple cultural mythologies, there are multiple interpretations and variations of the tale and the chracter itself. (With the version I wrote being just one example of many, many, MANY alternate versions)

In most stories, they’re an antagonistic figure ranging from a simple trickster to an embodiment of pure evil. Some stories don’t focus on the Darkheart as a main chracter but as an minor chracter for heros such as Jara-Jen of gelfling folklore to fight against or out wit. The ultimate fate of the Darkheart is almost never a good one. With them either being slain by a hero, being destroyed by a fault in thier own dastardly plan or, at best, being defeated by the hero who spares thier life and instead makes the darkheart thier slave humble servant to atone for thier villanous existence (the latter ending usually pops up more in tales from skeksis culture)

when it comes to the physical appearance of the Darkheart, there are some recurring features between the diverse range of versions; sharp fangs, tall, elongated body, spiked hair, multiple limbs, a tail and some form of supernatural powers, usually manifesting in the form of a glowing eyes, a hypnotic song, and of corse a literal black heart visible in thier chest. Some scollars have pointed out parallels between the physical characteristics of Urkeks and those of the Darkheart character. Parallels of which I’m sure are a complete and total coincidence and in no way had any part in the perception, oppression and eventual enslavement of UrSkeks by Skeksis and gelfling *cough* *cough*

The second darkheart on the other hand, was a real urskek who lived some time around the first and second conjunction. It’s entirely possible that the Darkheart of myth was very very loosely inspired by this one (somewhat like how Jesus Christ of Christianity was loosely based on a man known as Jesus of Nazareth. Or Robin Hood possibly on a man called Robert Hod of York). Though, obviously they weren’t evil and, In many ways, more similar to the canon Darkheart: they were banished by thier people from thier home, she’s joined by other UrSkeks who were also cast out by thier society for who they were, and they eventually met Aughra during the first conjunction.

But, of course, the story of this Darkheart. Or rather, the story of MalVa,* is probably one for another day... ;)

​*lol get retconned son

[pass-the-bechdel]

Dollhouse s02e05 ‘The Public Eye’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, five times.

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

Seven (58.33% of cast).

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

Five.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Episode Quality:

It’s ok.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Cynthia counsels Madeline. Echo calls DeWitt. Bennett talks with Grace. Cynthia meets with Bennett. Echo is tortured by Bennett.

Female characters:

Cynthia Perrin.

Madeline Costley.

Adelle DeWitt.

Echo.

Kilo.

Bennett Halverson.

Grace.

Male characters:

Daniel Perrin.

Harding.

Paul Ballard.

Boyd Langton.

Topher Brink.

OTHER NOTES:

Watching video of Perrin talking about the need for accountability with medical research, Topher declares that he’s “a demagogue” and that if Perrin had his way, all research would be shut down “and we can go back to leeches”, and it’s such a nonsensical statement from every angle I’m baffled and irritated that it’s even there. But also, in addition to being an idiotic remark, this is a type of moral judgment being levied by a ‘sympathetic’ character against one who is antagonistically positioned (which means the audience is predisposed toward assuming that Topher’s perspective is correct/agreeable), and I take issue with that kind of presentation against something which is categorically true: there MUST be accountability in medical research, being able to do whatever you want in the name of science and profit is inherently evil (and being held accountable does not mean that research stops, nor does it mean that medical understanding and practice would revert, obviously - Topher’s just being an alarmist donghole). This particular statement is a relatively minor example, but this show has had a recurring problem - amidst its many recurring problems - of having sympathetically-coded characters utter reprehensible moral statements, while villain-coded characters issue genuine ethical call-outs (top example: Hearn the serial rapist being the one to call out the Dollhouse for the sanctioned-rape it facilitates with its engagements. The genuine ethical perspective kinda loses its power when it’s being presented by a total scumbag). Anyway. This is just another one of those things.

It’s hilarious that Perrin remarks that Echo’s programming is ‘so detailed’ after she tells him her mother’s name, her birth place and date, and the reason she became an escort. That’s the most basic fucking stuff, bro. If they weren’t going to AT LEAST program those details, they might as well not bother.

Cynthia Perrin hits Echo in the face with her gun. We’re at three for five this season.

Ballard nicely explains to Madeline how he didn’t know that she was a doll when he got involved with her as Mellie, absolving himself of her rape. What he doesn’t bother to mention is, y’know, those other times he took advantage of her AFTER he found out the truth. The show might want us to forget that Ballard is a repeat sex offender, but I haven’t forgotten. You’re human garbage, Paul.

First of a two-parter, so I won’t linger. I’ll just say, this doesn’t feel well-earned. They’ve done like, two scenes total with Perrin previously, there was no real build-up of the story there, and the stakes in Rossum being investigated, throwing the LA Dollhouse under the bus, et al. are basically nonexistent. Let’s see if the second half resolves it all better than this half set it up. 

[lizz-blizt]

Yknow whats sad? I can't even tell who's who. Like I'm guessing the red-head is Bloom and the blonde is Stella but thats it.

Winx Club always had eye-catching and distinct character designs. You could tell them apart and guess who they were just by seeing their looks and hearing their names(which was great if you couldn't watch the show everything it aired or you forgot who was who).

The girls all had distinct personalities(from each other) and dressed accordingly.

Flora wore things that had obviously taken inspiration from plants and had color pallettes of greens, pinks, purples, and whites. Which makes sense because she was a flower fairy and her powers were plant based. She loves plants, was basically a botanist and was extremely empathic.

Techna was more practical and was a fairy based around technology. Her design was minimalist(though it grew more ornate as the show went on), allowing her to be more open with her movements and being Matrixy. Her color pallette was shades of purple, greens, and blues(colors that were associated with computers and coding at the time).

Stella is a officially a fairy of the sun and moon, though she mostly uses and presents herself as sun-based. She is a fasionista type character and acts/dresses accordingly. She is bright, dramatic, but cares in her own way. Her color pallette represents the sun alot. She wears orange and yellows with some sparkle effects. Sometimes sky blue is included.

Aisha is the adventurer of the group. She always wears something with layers, belts, or pockets and usually has her hair up in some way. She is protective(perfect for her as a guardian fairy), caring(often providing advice for others in need), open to new experiences, and very athletic(as expected for a fairy of the waves). Her color pallette always has some shade of green, purple, and/or white.

Musa is a fairy of music and is expectedly skilled at music and dancing. She presents herself in a tomboyish manner, is witty, always having a smart answer for everything, and will do what was needed to protect what she loved. Her color pallette was originally red and dark blues but changed to dark blues and purples, sometimes with pink highlights.

And last but not least of our protagonists, our human who turns out to be a long lost alien princess, Bloom! She sticks her nose into everything and will get involved with others in order to help. As a fish out of water, she makes many mistakes and is somewhat easy to anger but sticks to her guns no matter what. Her magic is fire based(specifically Dragon's Fire) and her hair matches. Her color pallette is mostly light blues and some yellows or pinks.

The antagonists are eye-catching as well. From the minor ones to the recurring ones.

Darkar looks like a skeleton wearing armor that caught some curtains as he was walking and never noticed.

Gantlos looks like evil Van Helsing(Hugh Jackman's version)

Valtor looks like someone a Belmont would fight

Icy looks like evil, goth Elsa

Darcy looks like someone wanted to make Scarlet Witch evil(or goth)

Stormy's hair looks like a storm cloud and that she shops at hot topic

Diaspro looks like someone mashed Stella and Bloom but made her color pallette dark red and white

My point is, the character design of the original cartoon was great and it pains me to see that Netflix can't even cough up an attempt to make them even look interesting, unique, or even fairy like. And it wouldn't be hard to do that. Just go to a Marshall's or H&M, give some basic descriptions of an aesthetic and buy some that go with it.

Seriously, this is a disappointment Netflix.

Also here are what the characters look like in the original show.

what have they done to my girls flora and musa

ALSO WHERE'S TECNA

[antichrist-bf]

Why brooklyn 99 is my favourite show of all time (a compiled list):

1.) Rounded believable characters:

over the six seasons this show has (currently) been running (i am hyped for seasons 7 & 8!) there has been time to make the characters rounded and true to life. in season 1 most of the characters are very one dimensional, with set goals and limited personalities, in many other shows this would stay that way for the whole show (*cough friends*) however overtime the characters have developed believable relationships with one another as well as their own separate, deeper personalities and have changed and grown, as real people do, instead of being stuck in a certain mindset.

2.) lack of toxic masculinity - male characters with an appreciation for other men and femininity

as many other people in the brooklyn 99 fandom are, i am incredibly torn between wanting a canonically bisexual jake or just being able to appreciate that he is a straight man who’s masculinity isn’t so fragile that he can’t find other men attractive or have to be hyper ridgidely masculine and stereotypical constantly. none of the male characters (apart from people like the vulture, who are antagonists) are stereotypically super masculine, and while many have “male” interests none of them are ever trying to prove themselves as better and the relationships between the main men (and the main men and main women together to some extent) is very positive due to this.

3.) Racial and Ethnic diversity

although most characters (especially background/side) are white, there definitely is an amount of racial, ethnic and even to some extent religious diversity within this show. two of the initial main seven are black, two are latina and one is jewish (& white). there are several POC recurring side characters and one-time characters and the way they approach race is good, as they don’t put right ignore it but it isn’t a big deal (& many important issue such as racism in the police force is discussed)

4.) address important issue in a way that you learn about said issue but at the same time are aware you are still watching a comedy show

thoughout the running of this show, many important, relevant issues have been raised, such as racism in the police force (previously mentioned), sexual harassment/assault, homophobia, transphobia and treatment of people in prison (as well as others that don’t currently come to mind). and, whether these issues are addressed in passing or there has been one or multiple episodes regarding it, it is very clear that none of this comedy is “offensive comedy” and despite it being a comedy show, they tackle the issues in serious, very clear understanding ways without making it a serious show. at all times you are aware you’re watching comedy.

5.) LGBT representation

according to fandom there are seven LGBT characters in brooklyn 99, two main ones (Holt and Rosa), one incredibly recurring side character (Kevin) and four other characters who are the partners (or ex partners or love interests) of the lgbt main characters. Holt, who is introduced as gay from the start, is not at all a stereotypically gay person at all and nor is his husband Kevin. Neither of their characters revolves around their sexuality and, although their sexuality is prevalent in their journey to being where they are and they talk about it relevantly, they are defined characters outside of their sexual orientations. i really appreciate gay characters in fiction who haven’t just been labelled as gay for diversity points and genuinely are good, loveable, interesting characters. Rosa (who didn’t come out as bi until season 5) became a developed character before her sexuality was known and once she came out she wasn’t just known as “the bi one” and returned to having a personality again. (there was a very relatable arc about her coming out as bisexual tho which i appreciated, having unsupportive parents gang) furthermore she is shown as having relationships with both men and women and lots of different relationships but no one sees her as a slut or “greedy bisexual” she is just seen as exploring her identity and this is a very refreshing take on bisexuality that isn’t seen much in fiction!! (not pertenant but i cried at the end of the episode ‘game night’, that being the episode rosa came out and is it one of only two brooklyn 99 episodes i’ve cried at, the other one being S5 - “jake and amy”)

6.) a comedy show that doesn’t rely on offensive humour or a cheap laugh

brooklyn 99 is an incredibly funny show but it doesn’t attempt to achieve this by poking fun at minorities or making bad jokes that they know will get them a good laugh, each of the actors are genuinely funny people and the writing and plot lines are great and there is excellent comedic timing all round.

7.) incredibly believable relationships

jake and amy have so much genuine chemistry that their relationship and love interest for each other is incredibly believable. when jake was crushing on amy and very awkward around her that was very realistic and relatable and as their relationship has grown from a disruptive friendship to married life, all the problems they’ve had to deal with along the way have been realistic and genuine. not just them but the way all characters treat all other characters is very believable and it’s good to have a show with truthful realistic dynamics.

obviously there is loads more i could say but i think i’ve highlighted the key points of what makes it a great show aside from the basic stuff like the plot line and all the other stuff you would assume. am probably gonna reblog this and make both a parks and rec and the good place versions because they are my other 2 favourite shows we stan micheal schur

[infodump-daily]

Infodump #4

( submitted by @lukethespoo )

Hi! So I really love Les Miserables, the musical. I’ve watched the movie lots of times and seen the show once on broadway and it’s just so good! I’m gonna talk about the parallels between Jean ValJean, the main protagonist, and Javert, the main antagonist.

Just a heads up this has spoilers for Les Mis if that’s something you care about, and also mentions suicide a bit.

The two main songs I’ll be using will be:

Valjean’s soliloquy: https://youtu.be/JP31L6AhB3M

Javert’s Suicide: https://youtu.be/hRzvdQh8D2Q

At the beginning of Les Mis Jean ValJean has his soliloquy, where he’s torn about what to do. After going to jail for 19 years (For stealing bread to feed his family), he’s let out on parole, but he can’t get a job because nobody will hire a former criminal. He ends up becoming a thief and steals from a priest. He gets caught by the police, but the priest lets him go, saying he believes that Jean ValJean can turn his life around.

So Jean ValJean goes into this huge soliloquy where he’s super torn on what to do. He’s been given this second chance but he doesn’t think he deserves it, thinking he’s nothing but a criminal. “If there’s another way to go, I missed it 20 long years ago…” he’s become wary and reserved from others due to how he’s lived all this time. “Take an eye for an eye / turn your heart into stone / this is all I have lived for / this is all I have known.” So after 3 minutes of anguished singing he vows to turn his life around, and he tears up his parole papers, going off to start again.

So I’m not gonna go through the entire movie because that would take waaaaaaay too long and spoil everything, but Jean ValJean turns his life around and becomes the mayor of some town. However his vengeful parole officer, named Javert, has no chill and keeps hunting him down. Over the course of like 10 years Javert keeps going after him. This is taking place in like early 1800s France, and there are some minor rebellions to try and overthrow Napoleon, and ValJean and Javert are caught in the middle of it. ValJean is fighting with them, and Javert still has no chill and tries to infiltrate the rebels as a spy. He fails, and they tie him up and plan on killing him. ValJean asks to do it personally, and takes him out into an alleyway. However, instead of killing Javert, he lets him go.

So now let’s get into Javert’s character. He’s essentially a tool of the government. He exists only to enforce the law, and that is his only goal in life. When he is arresting Fantine, he ignores her pleas that she has a daughter she needs to care for. “I have heard such protestations / every day for twenty years / Let’s have no more explanations / save your breath / save your tears” In his solo song “Stars” (Which by the way is literally the best I love that song) he sings about this point of view more. “And so it must be, and so it is written / On the doorway to paradise / That those who falter and fall / Must pay the price”

So ValJean saving his life definitely puts a wrench in this perspective of his. Javert always viewed ValJean as nothing but a criminal who broke his parole, and therefore is a threat to society that must be punished. When he sees ValJean doing something completely righteous, saving his life, especially the life of the person who’s been trying to kill him, he has no idea what to do. He leaves with his life, as any reasonable person would do. The rebellion continues (And fails) and ValJean ends up escaping through the sewers with Marius on his back. He finally exits the sewers, safe at last!

Except there’s Javert, standing at the exit with a gun pointed at ValJean.

Now, ValJean is a very caring and friendly person, overall. He sees the good in life, and people. His immediate reaction is “Oh yes hello Javert, just on my way to bring this wounded man to a doctor!” and continues walking. After they stare at each other for a bit, ValJean goes on his way, walking past Javert and away. He continues pointing his gun at ValJean, but can’t bring himself to shoot him, eventually dropping the gun into the water once ValJean leaves. And now we get Javert’s big soliloquy, ending with his suicide.

So like one of my favorite things in any sort of media is foreshadowing. It’s just so cool looking back and being able to see what everything meant. One thing that I really love about musicals is that they often do this with recurring musical themes showing up in different parts. Les Mis has my favorite use of it ever, because ValJean’s soliloquy and Javert’s suicide song have almost the exact same music. The speed and instruments are slightly different, but the notes and rhythm are the same. Even some of the words are the same.

So obviously there’s a parallel drawn between these two situations. ValJean and Javert are both faced with a moral conflict, but the way they react are extremely different, mostly as a result of their characters. Javert has seemingly never encountered a morally ambiguous situation in his life, or at the very least the ones he has were too minor for him to see them. ValJean’s whole life, meanwhile, was full of betrayal and hard times. He rarely sees anything in black and white, and therefore tries to find the good parts of any situation. Javert, instead, can only see his two options. “There is nothing on earth that we share / It is either ValJean or Javert.” “And my thoughts fly apart / can this man be believed / shall his sins be forgiven?”

Javert can either let ValJean go, making him a criminal himself who defected from the law, or turn in ValJean, making him someone who betrayed the one who saved his life. He’s unable to do either of these things, since both are very morally ambiguous situations which he does not deal well with. He instead jumps off the bridge, committing suicide.

There are a couple lines in their songs that I think sum it up best. ValJean says:

“I’ll escape now from that world / From the world of Jean ValJean / Jean ValJean is nothing now / Another story must begin.”

vs Javert:

“I’ll escape now from that world / From the world of Jean ValJean / There’s nowhere left to turn / There’s no way to go on.”

[jennlegacy]

Notes for 2016 anime post. Only read under that context.

·         HaruChika: Haru and, the show’s lead heroine, Chika are both crushing on the same teacher, so there’s a bit of a love triangle going on. Don’t worry; the teacher never ends up with either of them and they’re both precocious crushes if anything.

·         Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: On the image, only the character to the left, Kikiuhiko, would be considered in the LGBT spectrum. The show is a tragedy detailing his backstory surrounding a woman and his best friend. He is not outright stated to be gay within in the show, but there are a lot of visual cues and subtextual evidence to back it up. So much so that nearly every essay and analyses dissecting this show are seen through an LGBT lens. (My personal favorite is ANN’s episode review guide.) Moreover, the original mangaka is known exclusively for her BL stories and the fandom has unanimously agreed that this is an LGBT story, so make of that if you will.

·         This Boy is a Professional Wizard: A four episode 13-minute short miniseries. This is the fourth entry in Soubi Yamamoto’s “This Boy…” series which are all fluffy BL romances.

·         Doukyuusei: Movie

·         Concrete Revolutio: Aki only appears as a minor unnamed antagonist in the first season (which aired in 2015). Even when she is reintroduced in the second season, she only appears for about 3 episodes. She is however, important to the storyline. Also, this show is…er…very dense. I recommend you read historical essays or very top notch episode analyses as you go along to understand what’s going on.

·         Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto: Acchan’s a very prominent side character. He’s adorable.

·         Kiznaiver: This relationship is presented in a very “tragic lesbians” way. There’s still no denying that it happened and it’s important to the story though. Personally, I found Kiznaiver to be very dumb, mean spirited, and up its own ass, but more people seem to love than hate it, so what do I know?

·         Macross Delta: Very important side characters.

·         Sailor Moon Crystal: No need to explain.

·         Tanaka-kun is Always Listless: The show flip flopped on the nature of their relationship a lot. They’re very cute together and are well loved in the fandom however. The show itself is cute and inoffensive, but as for complete legitimacy of their relationship, tread with caution.

·         Battery the Animation: This show is written from the same author of “No. 6” which is pretty famous in the anime community for introducing a non-fetishized gay male couple in a story that didn’t necessarily focus on their relationship even before “Yuri on Ice” did it. “Battery” however is in the same boat as “Rakugo”. Don’t quote me on this, but I’ve been told their relationship was toned down from print to screen.

·         Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!:The Beppu brothers have a very creepy crush on the main character’s older brother. What makes them different from stereotypical gay panic type villain characters however is that they are not defined by gay stereotypes but by their pettiness, childishness, and transparent classiness. They are a delight; my favorite anime villains from 2016.

·         Dangan Ronpa 3: I FUCKING LOVE JUZO SAKAKURA. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT CAN REMOTELY CONTROL OUR BOY JUZO? NO THERE ISN’T. JUZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Despair Arc also contains an caricatural bisexual character, Teruteru (he thankfully doesn’t get much focus), and whatever the fuck Komaeda is.

·         Flip Flappers: One of the major themes beneath the truckloads of abstraction and symbolism in this show is Cocona’s coming out story. During its fall run, people jokingly said it was in competition with “Yuri on Ice” to trying to “out gay” each other each week, and coincidentally, it confirmed its LGBT themes the same week “Yuri on Ice” had its kiss scene.

·         Gakuen Handsome: This is a parody of BL dating sims. It fit into my “not offensive” criteria. Please watch it. Don’t ask questions, just watch it.

·         Izetta the Last Witch: “Izetta”’s a bit complicated. The romance is very much there, but this show is very obviously aimed towards cishet dudes. I’ve seen a lot of debate for this show, and hey, if you feel validated and empowered by it, no one’s stopping you from feeling that way.

·         Kiss Him Not Me: The “gay option” in Kae’s harem is treated on equal footing with all of the guys. I’ve never seen that happen before. Be warned; the last few episodes introduces a male bisexual character who leans towards the predatory side.

·         Magical Girl Raising Project: Side characters.

·         Show By Rock!!: Nothing ever really comes of it, but Retoree’s constant infatuation towards Cyan is a cute recurring gag. This doggy’s very thirsty for the kitty.

·         Sound Euphonium: There is so much violent discourse for and against “Sound Euphonium” that I can only suggest that you watch and judge it for yourself and then never ever talk to anyone online about it.

·         Yuri on Ice: Yeah.

·         Classicaloid: This one’s weird and I wouldn’t have put it here if it weren’t for me desperately trying to amend “Gundam” into here. The show is about reincarnated classical music composers and Franz Liszt is reincarnated as a woman rather than a man. The show acknowledges this too. She’s still attracted to women and seems more than happy to tell Kanae about that time she stole her buddy Chopin’s wife. The whole “the original composer wasn’t gay, but this anime version of them is” thing is the main reason I was initially reluctant to put this here. Not pictured: Tchaikovsky is also reincarnated as a girl, a fact that is acknowledged, and is still attracted to dudes (Tchaikovsky was gay in real life).

·         Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: Side characters. Shino, the boy on the left, was confirmed as bisexual by his voice actor. Yamagi, on the right, is allegedly gay, but somehow, it is easier to find confirmation that he is attracted to Shino than it is to find confirmation that he is attracted to dudes.

·         Nanbaka: Hitoshi only appears in the first the first episode of season 1, but returns as a full-fledged recurring character at the start of season 2 (winter 2017 season). The main cast is initially caught off guard by their gender reveal, but they are otherwise treated respectfully afterwards. They are adorable. Additionally, there is much debate over whether or not the main character, Jyuugo’s, claim to be bisexual was meant to be a joke or not.