#something something rivals-> reluctant allies -> friends arc

[cak31ssuperi04]

1bitJanuary Day 6- favorite ship

It's Izuchi/Sagara btw Kirai doesn't have anything to do with this.

[makedonsgriva]

Hi, do you mind if I ask, what do you think are Damen and Laurent’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic? Thanks if you want to answer....

HI! Thanks for this ask because I have SO MANY thoughts, feelings and emotions about these two princes, it will take a lifetime for me to get it all out of my brain. Anyways, here we go:

Damen

In my opinion I think Damen's greatest personality strength is his unwavering optimism, will power and courage. Man was shipped to the enemy nation as a slave to his biggest enemy and he came back to his own nation to fight for his right with the said enemy ending up as his lover???? I don't think anyone understands the sheer INSANITY of this situation. Like I am being 200% honest here, I would have survived not a day in Vere had I been in Damen's position so y'know I gotta admire my man's sheer power of will and courage and hope.

As for his greatest weakness I feel like it can be attributed to his impulsiveness. Once angered, it is very difficult for him to assess the situation and take action calmly. He is hot headed and violent. And we see this impulsiveness of him getting him in trouble multiple times in the series.

Laurent

I think it's easy to say his biggest strength is that beautiful, boggling, labyrinthine brain of his. Laurent is smart. And when I say smart, I mean every letter of it. He uses his wits, he relies on his cleverness and he is not afraid to play dirty to win unlike his righteous husband. He knows that to fight twisted and sick people like his uncle, he has to come up with more twisted plans of his own. You gotta love a smart motherfucker.

His greatest weakness has to be his complete inability to ask for help and rely on others. Although I can't completely blame Laurent for this since as soon as Auguste died, he found himself surrounded by people who only wanted to take advantage of him. He HAD to be self reliant. Yet, just when I started to believe that he might be starting to trust Damen to take his help and win alongside him, he turned himself in to his uncle in Kings Risng lmaoo like I get the self sacrifice and there was no other way or what not but jfc my dude you don't have to do everything by yourself.

Lamen

Every other book I have read has rivals or maybe like one of them dislikes the other while the other person is "I never actually hated you." And I get the charm of it okay, I love that trope too but Captive Prince? The enemies to lovers we get is ELITE. We go from two dudes wanting to VISCERALLY end each other to ready to die for each other. From the absolute hatred, lack of trust, various murder and torture attempts to forgiving each other and falling in love. Realising that whatever the other did was justified and the only thing they can do is move past it. Overcoming all that hurt and pain to build something so strong, beautiful and intimate. That's THE SHIT okay. That's what makes Laurent and Damen's dynamic so special. The way they both grow together and come together to become an unstoppable force. They help each other so much, both in terms of achieving their respective goals and to have great character developments. They bring out the best in each other and fill in the weaknesses of the other. Damen is impulsive but Laurent knows how to reign him in. Laurent doesn't know how to accept help but Damen is there for him every step of the way. From reluctant allies to friends to lovers to divorced era to I'm gonna die for this man, they have it all. Captive Prince has the BEST enemies to lovers arc of all the books I've read till date. PERIOD.

This really got me yapping I'm sorry lmao!!! But yeah here we go. Hope you liked this!

[wheeboo]

MOOT GAME: " make up a trope for your moots and their biases. doesn’t need to be romantic. can be crackfic/funny. ^ㅇ(๑>◡<๑)ㅇ^ "

okay i received this ask game 3 times so JDFKLS i guess i shall do it rn . i will be doing my moots svt biases <3 rlly wish i could do a lot more moots but this took more brain power than it needed 😭😭

@slytherinshua -> joshua

first thought was cute lil teacher x teacher couple!! maybe he's a new hire as a music teacher and him and zanna both have a lil meet ugly at first in the staff room (one of them spilling coffee on the other or something dsjfklfsd) but its all full of shy smiles and fumbled apologies, and joshua smoothly gives her his # with the purpose of starting over 😍

@etherealyoungk -> hoshi

the classic case of the class president x class clown. skye our big brain queen is just trying her best to sort through all these plans and plans for school while hoshi keeps curiously meddling in her business, trying to get close with her by proposing these weird n funny ideas at meetings (even tho he's not in the student council???) that don't make any sort of sense, and overall just wanting to make her smile cuz he may or may not have a tiny tiny crush on her. and skye may or may not like him having around...

@roziesmei -> jeonghan

love at first sight. not the biggest fan of this trope but hello who wouldn't fall head over heels over this man at first glance? maybe mimi is out and about running some errands to the store, and as she's about to grab for the door, another hand meets hers, and i WONDER who it is!!!! the two of them gaze at each other for a second, and maybe the world feels a lil brighter and a lil warmer in those few moments, before maybe jeonghan pulls away and holds the door open for her. she spends her entire time shopping thinking abt him wondering if they'll ever cross paths again (they do)

@bookyeom -> seokmin

i love the whole concept/trope of exchanging letters. maybe leslie gets received this Very long letter detailing something she has no idea what is and its signed sorry from me & my dog, lee seokmin. does she know who lee seokmin is? absolutely not. but is she very curious why he seems so STRESSED in this letter over his dog accidentally stealing a stranger's pair of socks from the laundromat? yes

@welcometomyoasis -> seungcheol

ngl the whole enemies to lovers arc from rival families has always been a concept in the back of my mind and i've ALWAYS envisioned something for cheol for it so here you go shu 😭!! and perhaps there's some forced proximity involved, where they both become reluctant allies for some overly complicated business reasons and realise 'maybe we aren't exactly enemies after all...'

@haecien -> jun

fake dating!! maybe cien accidentally says to his group of friends that he has a partner but like... who is it ?? and so he gets jun to play as his fake boyfriend for the time being and it's this whole cute mess but yeah they're both sorta falling for each other. i can imagine this whole cute prom scene where they are each other's dates and this cute slow dancing scene... yeah you get i'm going with this i think lmao

@planetkiimchi -> minghao

strangers to friends to lovers!! but it's the most natural, sorta slow burn ever. it's kinda like reading your favourite comfort book with your favourite comfort couple where they get together and it's like THE standard ?! they're both communicative with each other, understand each other's boundaries, etc. bonus for the plot since they're both dancers and meet each other for the first time at practice, and it kinda just blossoms from there :)

@blue-jisungs -> wonwoo

a very very cute office romance. axe may be like a new intern at this workplace and is nervous asf abt everything, but she gets assigned this very handsome man with the power of glasses in his eyes to help her around and get adjusted. but even after settling in axe really tries her best to get close with wonwoo. he's a little reserved, composed, maybe a bit cold at first, but it's enough to cause some gossip to float around the office hehe. one thing leads to another, and they're both trying to hide their relationship from everyone else (but they all know anyway)

[ultfreakme]

So one of my fav fic author, just wrote a non-power AU of GoYuu (gojo/yuji) & SukuFushi (sukuna/ fushiguro) and...... I don't know what to feel. Like, have you know someone who ship them (it's the first for me) ? The fic's not underage, yuji's and megumi's age had been aged up by the author, but still the age gap, the dynamics, right? Can you think the reasons to ship them? Well, creativity really knows no bound.....😂😶

Oooh I have actually come across both of these ships very often on ao3. The ItaJun tag has a bunch of them on top hehe. I actually used to ship Sukuna and Megumi a little back when the anime was first airing(not anymore though).

For Gojo/Yuuji I think the first episode scene where their faces are super duper close probably kickstarted it

(Gojo: tf is personal space??? what's thaaaat???) GoYuu has a very popular ship dynamic I've observed in many fandoms; Student x Teacher. There's always a kind of jaded, aloof and distant teacher-figure who's shipped with the cheery, open-minded and sunny student-figure. I've heard that dynamic is really popular in East Asian fandom spaces(it appears a lot in danmei novels I've read). GoYuu was apparently the most popular ship in Japan (it beat out SatoSugu). Gojo argued to keep Yuuji alive and gave him time, so that's probably a point of appeal too. Gojo usually has no serious reactions to anything, he could have easily killed Yuuji and been done with it but he wanted him to live(Megumi did but eh, technicalities). What made this distant and carefree person take interest in the well-being of this stranger? Why would he risk the world for this one boy? That's probably the start of it. And then in the development, it's probably about how Yuuji can break down Gojo's walls and make him be more honest in his emotions.

2. Sukuna/Megumi: I used to ship it because I thought Sukuna was interested in Megumi as a person, assumed he'd be someone who can give him a good fight or wanted him as an ally.

Also this probably, look at that aesthetic appeal:

(Damn Mappa had a thing for these, ItaJun also had this. Why???? Fuel fujo-bait??? I thank them for the ItaJun version)

Right before this Sukuna's all giggling laughing asking Megumi to give him more(to fight against, but like, SukuFushi enjoyers probably enjoy taking that to mean something different). I think we all assumed he was interested in Megumi's evolution as a sorcerer. He takes joy in fighting and if anyone can catch his interest, it'd be someone who's struggling to get stronger and sees him as a rival.

It seems like he doesn't give a shit about anyone but Megumi. Like that one time he verbatiom said "Aside from him, I truly don't care". Also in Shibuya arc he heals Megumi and fights Mahoraga and everyone though it's because he cares about him(I was a fool).

On Megumi's end, okay idk what the current SukuFushi shippers expect but I personally wanted Megumi to kill Sukuna even when I was shipping them. Enemies to lovers except one of them is permanently in the enemies phase. As far as I've seen, there's always this non-con element to it? Like Megumi is extremely reluctant, Sukuna is unrelenting in pursuing him, and Megumi goes through a bit of a corruption arc and Sukuna.....well he isn't redeemed but he tones down because Megumi asks. A Beauty & The Beast situation.

I was talking about it to my bff and she was (rightfully) roasting me like we were joking around. Me: "Sukuna wants him for his body.....but like literally he wants to be inside him." My friend: "You mean possess him???" Me: "That's the word yes!"

The age-gap thing for SukuFushi feels more okay because I grew up on a bunch of fantasy shojo manga where a high school girl fell for an ancient spirit with a minimum age of 100. This isn't even an animanga thing, it's there in western media too(....Twilight). A lot of people just don't see the point of mulling over age gaps when the differences are centuries, even if the other half is a minor.

As for GoYuu, well I guess it's fiction, they're just lines on a page at the end of the day and it's less about the legalities of the gap and more about the dynamics it brings to the table that people can find interest in. The power difference, the difference in ways they view the world, the younger one is always more innocent, etc.

I personally don't find these to be my interests 99% of the time but I get why others would enjoy it (my few exceptions are Scum Villain and ErHa but if I start trying to explain THOSE messes we'd all lose it).

I guess people would be confused why I'm still hung up on ItaJun too huh? XDXD But as you said, fanon and creativity has no limits and people do as they like and enjoy.

[kataraslove]

♡ Send me a ship and I’ll tell you -- ik you're already doing Kataang so Korrasami please!

i love your spirit, anon, but i reblogged that version of the ship meme because i specifically entered a kataang shipping block. i felt my love for the pairing dwindle more and more each day, so i reblogged with a series of headcanons. shipping something detested by fandom AND overlooked is not for the weak, i’ll tell you that! i needed to rediscover my love for the ship.

however, i will do this version of the meme for korrasami. because while kataang makes me feel an emotional rollercoaster on a daily basis, korrasami helps to uplift my spirits.

when i started shipping it if i did: no one has any idea what it was like to get korrasami representation during a time in which bury your gays was so prominent. i have their final scene memorized and can recite it by heart.

my thoughts and what makes me happy about them: korra and asami are two characters from two different walks of life that complement each other soooooo well. I love their romantic rivals to reluctant allies to friends to best friends to lovers arc so much, as censored as it was. i think their relationship definitely represents the core of the series’ prominent themes. as mentioned, korrasami was extremely vital to pave the way for sapphic media, especially in animation. it’s because of korrasami did we get ships such as catradora and lumity. also, it’s a great ship because this rich girl who is all about technology and industry, who emotionally represses herself on a daily basis, meets the avatar, a living spiritual entity, who is expressive and volatile at times. it’s a beautiful love story.

what makes me sad about them: the fact that asami’s character wasn’t given the depth it deserved (robbed of that equalist asami storyline) and the fact that they were so censored. i wish these two belonged to a better show with more competent writers - they would both be given the justice that they deserved.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: I don’t read korrasami fanfic, so i can’t comment. but things that i have seen in fandom spaces that i hate is when korra is turned into this bimbo, unintelligent type of character that cannot do basic things for the life of her and requires asami’s help. did we watch the same show? korra may have made rash decisions, but she’s not dumb. also, dudebros need to stay the hell away from the two of them because when they’re not calling the ship rushed and forced or being homophobic, they’re fetishizing the fuck out of them and erasing their canon bisexuality.

things i look for in fanfic: i suppose if i were to read korrasami, i’d love to read soft, quiet fanfics where they spend a quiet a morning or afternoon together.

who I’d be comfortable with them ending up together, if not each other: they should always end up together! just kidding - i would also love korra with opal; they’d be very cute. and asami would be fine with anyone imo, as long as it’s not mako.

my happily ever after for them: married long into their 80s, 90s, 100s. i see them having one child tbh (mako being a sperm donor is a headcanon that i will die on) and that child growing up to have grandchildren and so forth. also for them to be very close to kataang’s family ❤️

who is the big spoon/little spoon: asami is the big spoon and korra is the little spoon!

what is their favourite non-sexual activity: travelling, whether it’s on naga or asami’s plane.

[l-artemisia-del-secolo]

Hello, I love your writing so much, especially when it comes to Yelena. I was curious about something, since you said you have a specific headcanons (and I assume opinion too) about Yelena in every aspect possible, do you think an enemy (or rivals/reluctant allies) to friends to lovers trope is possible with Yelena ?

I know some people don't consider that as enemy, but for this situation, there is no abusive moments (either verbally, mentally or emotionally because I don't see at all Yelena being with someone who act like that, considering her trauma) or unequal power balance (this one is more personal tho, I'm not fond of that but if you think it may fit I'm more than happy to know you thought about that).

Maybe something like challenging moral codes because they are in a different sides, which end up with some fights, cute/funny bickering, but in the end character x is someone who gets Yelena like no one else really does and vice versa (idk if it makes sense, and now I realize it's mostly me who share headcanons lol, my apologies).

Thank you very much. 😊

Hi! Thank you for your amazing words. And this is an absolutely awesome question.

Disclaimer. I'm not a writer. And this is only my opinion, which might be completely wrong :). And I'm not an expert in Yelena's character study.

For the simplicity I'll refer to that "as soft enemies to lovers."

For the reference I'll use this story. Yelena was supposed to be a freed widow, R was supposed to still be a part of a rival organization. (We'll ignore the family commitments R had, so it's just the differences in moral codes.)

There are two aspects of that trope to work.

First one is the writing. If we're talking about something more than a flirt, banter or sex at some point characters need to understand the differences in their worldviews. And each of the character needs to have a respective character journey (redemption arc). Yelena and R were clearly drawn to each and they understood each other.

But R had to understand that her moral code was wrong and come into terms with the responsibility and possible outcomes of her choices. She wanted to get out of the system, but she needed to except the wrongs of her past.

If written well R's progression might be very organic and believable.

Second thing is the character herself. Would Yelena accept R's change? I think, yes. She understood too well, what was ot like to be caught in the system and have no freedom of choice. Yelena judges people by their actions, their commitment and their morality.

Of course, it depends on the story itself. But I think this trope is possible for Yelena, if done right.

I hope my answer makes sense 😄

Thanks for your attention.

*Yelena Belova masterlist

hit my inbox with any question

[ukaiknowsbest]

breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

[theheightofdishonor]

@asilhalawadi  I retyped it from memory. 

There’s a lot of things the Beyblade Metal Saga get wrong (do not get me started on how dirty they did Yu) but when they got it right, it was brilliant and the connection between Ryuga, Tsubasa, and Kyoya, is one of those things. 

So starting in Metal Fusion, these three are set against each other as Gingka’s rivals- I single them out specifically because these are the only rivalries that span the entire Saga. You’ve got Kyoya who starts out intimidating but is quickly established a reliable ally-no matter what he says on the contrary. There’s Tsubasa who you can’t quite get a read on until well into the third act of Fusion but ,eventually chooses a side and sticks to it. Then there’s Ryuga, the “big bad” who never chooses Gingka’s “side” even as Gingka saves his life, he’s a wild card and they often emphasize his untrustworthiness throughout the Saga.  Green, Purple and Red respectively. 

It’s easier to split this up and discuss the inner dynamics first so Imma start with Kyoya-Ryuga. Controversial opinion but these two are just slight variations on all the same characteristics;their personalities are centered around individuality, mistrust, arrogance, a lack of manners, and a specific honor code that they don’t like revealing- they’re mirrors.It’s interesting to note that their respective colours (the colour of their auras, Kyoya’s green and Ryuga’s Red) are complementary colours. On a colour wheel, Red is directly opposite from Green. Even as they go through the same things, they’re on different sides. In Fusion, they’re both manipulated by Doji and fight to truly develop their own personality but they’re pitted against each other. In Masters, their developments take place mostly off-screen, never meeting and in Fury, they’re once again major players on opposing sides. There is exactly two points in the series where these two collide (other than Ryuga’s death) 

The first is Battle Bladers. Their match in Battle Bladers is fundamental in understanding how their characters connect. Seriously watch it, it’s one of the best battles in the Saga. Ryuga begins by trashing the stadium before the battle begins, a move that Kyoya counters by destroying the stadium even more. It’s a statement of power as much as an intimidation tactic and neither backs down. Their battle continues the same way as they snark back at each other and exchange blows each with the force of a special move. It’s very “fight fire with fire”, “eye for an eye” and it works better than anyone would have thought.  Tsubasa may be the first person to ever withstand the Dark Move but Kyoya’s the first one Ryuga fully takes seriously. It’s a fascinating battle. Kyoya taunts Ryuga to force him to use his full strength and Ryuga complies-knowingly. (The implications of him temporarily pushing back the Dark Force just because Kyoya asked-I) Kyoya has full confidence that his taunts will work, he admits as much. Ryuga, for his part, verbally praises Kyoya for being the only person to ever push him this far. (Granted, the way he says it, it’s more of an insult but.) They’re so equal in power that the battle was actually up to toss before Ryuga got possessed. But the thing with fighting fire with fire is that it leads to a lot of people getting burned. Ryuga gets thoroughly possessed (and would likely have stayed that way if not for Gingka) and Kyoya is impaled by a demon spirit. (Remind me to speculate on Hikaru and Kyoya’s response to the Dark Power). It doesn’t end well for either of them- but they’re equals. 

In Metal Masters, they’re both demoted to secondary characters. They get lives outside of Gingka and don’t meet face to face until Metal Fury. Like I said, their arcs are parallel so it makes sense that the next time they battle toe to toe- they’re both on the verge of a series long personal conflict that has direct consequences on the fate of the world. This time, Ryuga is the self-assured one, he had an entire (mostly)Gingka-free season to sort out his issues and grow in power. Kyoya, on the other hand, isn’t even comfortable with his new bey yet and it’s almost depressing how quickly Ryuga wins that match. Ryuga even marks on it,  that although their beys may be equal in power, they themselves no longer are equals. Their maths are set into motion and that’s the last communication between the two of them.

Their individual conflicts in Fury are actually the same exact problem- stemming from the fact that they are both horrified at the thought of selflessness. They have to justify their actions as something that directly affects them and being tied down by caring about something else is one of the worst things imaginable.  By this meeting in Fury, Kyoya was a ticking bomb that had its roots all the way back to the beginning of Masters. In Fusion, they had become friends, but when Masters starts, Kyoya forces their relationship strictly back into rivals and does his bet to keep it that way. (I feel so bad for Gingka who literally gets nightmares about this moment) Even when he shows up to stop Ziggurat like some kind of guardian angel with impeccable timing - he’s quick to clarify that he’s not there for Gingka and only showed up because he thought Ryuga’s presence in the World Championships was suspicious. Like he’s right but ouch. It’s important to note that no one ever calls him out on this behavior where even as he helps and fights alongside them, he’s denying that he cares. I can’t even blame them for it because it wasn’t worth the effort. 

When Kyoya actively joins Gingka again in Fury to search for Legendary Bladers, he’s obviously uncomfortable  with the situation. I mean, there’s only so much you can pile under the justification of doing it to secure your rivalry. Let’s be real, that excuse barely worked even all the way back in Fusion when Kyoya joined forces with a couple of people he can’t stand to follow Gingka all the way to effing Koma Village. So him going batshit was inevitable, Aguma was just the spark. 

Ryuga is in the same boat, except when he professes to not care, it’s much more believable unless you take a good look at his actions. His help in defeating Ziggurat could be attributed to his canon reason of dealing with ghosts from his past. But that doesn’t explain why he practically forces Gingka to realize his bey’s power before his battle with Julian or him advising Tsubasa on overcoming the Dark Power and even making sure Tsubasa gets back to his team. When Fury starts, the audience has a reluctant hope that Ryuga will help- a thought that is promptly and swiftly crushed with a sledgehammer. You’re given a bit of hope again as we explore Ryuga and Kenta’s bonds and are barraged with scenes of Ryuga displaying consideration if not concern for the actual child following him around. But it’s not to be. In a scene that’s actually very similar to Ryuga’s OG battle with Kyoya, Doji taunts Ryuga who allows that taunt to influence his actions and again, it ends badly for him. Not only does he fully revive Nemesis, it ends up leading to his own death.

However, Ryuga does a 180 in death and his affection for Kenta/honour/guilt that this kid’s going to kill himself because he blames himself for your death brings Ryuga back to life (?) to hand the Star Fragment to Kenta. But it’s already too late and Zeus’s barrier doesn’t hold even with a replacement Summer constellation bey. His grand gesture, which is actually super emotional when you watch the entire thing, ends up doing nothing other than prolonging the battle. 

But, but, but. In that very last moment when all hope is gone and Pegasus is the only bey left spinning, Kyoya admits what he’s been denying for years- the effect Gingka has had on his life and that he cares for the guy. In a show of trust that Kyoya from even a couple days previous would never have done, Kyoya offers his bey spirit along with that of his precious Leon’s to Gingka. This, of course, prompts everyone else to do the same and Gingka defeats Nemesis and saves the world. But it wouldn’t have happened without Kyoya doing that. One lives, one dies. 

Now, Kyoya-Tsubasa. No worries, the rest of this is going to be significantly shorter. Green and Purple, both cool/secondary colours, are on the same side Despite this, Kyoya and Tsubasa kind of end up playing tag throughout the Saga. In Fusion, Kyoya’s the one at Gingka’s side until Doji switches the battle order in Battle Bladers and suddenly, tag, Tsubasa’s the one facing Ryuga. He loses, tag, Kyoya’s turn. In Masters, Tsubasa’s “tagged” and is now the one who travels with Gingka while Kyoya takes off and then there’s a brief pause for the Season Finale™. In Fury, Kyoya gets the star fragment, tag, he’s the one traveling with Gingka now and out of the two, Kyoya’s the one in the limelight for the rest of the season. 

On a superficial level, Kyoya and Tsubasa are opposites. Kyoya’s brash where Tsubasa is reserved. Kyoya clashes head on, Tsubasa keeps his cool. Yet, under the surface, they’re alike- moody, antisocial, and emotionally constipated. Jk, that part’s not til later. Really though, they’re pretty alike. Despite Kyoya’s abrasiveness, he’s almost always got some kind of plan in battle (even if they’re occasionally dumb things like let’s start a tornado which could potentially sweep away the helicopter that’s our ride out of here) and Tsubasa is no stranger to winging it -hacking the Dark Nebula without planning it beforehand, anyone?. Their differences balance the other person out. They’re almost foils in a manner.

With these two, Fusion is the place to be. (two pints of Sam Adams and I’m workin on three) Specifically, Tsubasa’s match with Ryuga and Kyoya’s attitude about it.That clip displays it better than I could explain. Tsubasa spends most of the actual battle avoiding El Drago- his plan is to draw out El Drago’s full strength and then attack when Ryuga’s at his weakest. (it makes more sense in the story) Everyone in the stadium is against this- the crowd is booing, even Gingka and the rest of their friends are unsure but Kyoya doesn’t lose faith for a second. He urges Tsubasa to not pay attention to the crowd-to trust his instincts and at that moment, he’s the only person that believes in Tsubasa. His faith is rewarded as Tsubasa becomes the first person to withstand the Dark Move. 

Despite having never battled each other, Tsubasa and Kyoya are established as equals in skill, power and intellect. And then the World Championships Qualifiers starts and along with it, Tsubasa and Kyoya’s one and only match.. The episode actually does most of the work for you by reflecting on these two, their skills and personalities. If you hadn’t thought of it already, you have now been spoonfed that Kyoya and Tsubasa are equals. The battle starts and them being equals is hammered in some more as they comment on how they know all of each other’s moves. But they don’t and Kyoya crushes him. Whether Kyoya would still have won if Tsubasa wasn’t possessed is up to debate. But the scales tip, nonetheless, and although Tsubasa overcomes the Dark Power, we’re not given a marker of any sort to tell if Tsubasa got stronger by the end. This is further complicated because in Fusion, Tsubasa never shows the extent of his power, so we don’t know if the Tsubasa that defeated the Dark Power is stronger than the Tsubasa before it. Either way, this battle marks the end of them as Tsubasa stagnates and Kyoya continues to grow stronger. 

Next is Tsubasa-Ryuga, also known as my shortest section because there is exactly one thing and one thing only that ties them together- the Dark Power. Initially there are two reasons because it’s Tsubasa’s job to spy on Ryuga but the Dark Power’s more important and they didn’t interact much because of that job, anyway. Although the weakest pairing in this triangle, they have the most significant meetings, a grand total of 4, 1 of which, notably, is not a battle. The first one occurs when Doji attempts to feed Tsubasa’s power to Ryuga once Tsubasa is revealed to be a spy. It ends in a draw because Phoenix saves him from imminent failure. The second one is the Battle Bladers Match-the one where a bit of the Dark Power latches on to Tsubasa’s soul. The third is in Metal Masters. Under instructions from the WBBA, Hyoma tracks down Ryuga who then finds Tsubasa and gives him advice on defeating the Dark Power (while destroying Excalibur for the hell of it) and safely delivers him to Gingka and co. It’s the weirdest episode- plays straight out of an alternative universe. In Fury, they meet for the last time in a completely random tournament while both are searching for Legendary Bladers. They battle, Ryuga wins and again, it’s straight out of an alternative universe because Ryuga’s almost cordial- at least compared to his usual version. Like if you look at his other battles, Ryuga in this clip can even be called nice. If you watch it, you’ll note the exact second Tsubasa determines that Ryuga’s crazy. It’s also got the line “The Dragon Emperor just is The Dragon Emperor” which cracks me up for no reason. Personally, I do think Ryuga’s a smidgen softer on Tsubasa because of the shared Dark Power thing but they don’t interact nearly enough to confirm it. 

(When I say last time, I do mean face to face confrontations, and not them just happening to be at the same place) 

Between the three of them, they’ve got this complicated push-pull dynamic despite very limited interaction between them. They’ve also got a long list in common; from personality traits:prickly, hard-working, skilled, smart, mistrustful/suspicious, pessimistic, confident if not overconfident, antisocial,  habits: most at home in the wild, unusually strong connections to their beys, and the weirdest of all; Yu who has idolized all three of them right around the time of their biggest self-crisis; Ryuga, Tsubasa and Kyoya in that order.

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Black Hawk. By Joanna Bourne. New York: Berkley Sensation, 2011.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Part of a Series? Yes, Spymasters #4

Summary: Someone is stalking French agent Justine DeCabrillac through London's gray streets. Under cover of the rain, the assassin strikes--and Justine staggers to the door of the one man who can save her.  The man she once loved.  The man she hated.  Adrian Hawkhurst. Adrian wanted the treacherous beauty known as "Owl" back in his bed, but not wounded and clinging to life. Now, as he helps her heal, the two must learn to trust each other to confront the hidden menace that's trying to kill them--and survive long enough to explore the passion simmering between them once again.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: blood, violence, graphic sexual content, graphic sexual content involving teenagers, references to child prostitution and sexual assault

Overview: This book appeared on Bustle’s list of feminist romances, which has been hit or miss for me. On the one hand, the list gave me favorites like The Suffragette Scandal and The Raven Prince, but also duds like Not Quite A Husband. I decided to give this one a go, and despite the high rating it has on Goodreads, The Black Hawk just wasn’t for me. While I applaud Bourne for creating a spy story that goes against the grain of usual marriage plots, I ultimately didn’t think I, as a reader, was given enough motivation to care about the politics or the characters. Maybe it’s my fault for coming in at book 4 in the series, but still. I wanted so much more than what I got from this novel.

Writing: Personally, I found Bourne’s prose to be a little stilted. There were a lot of paragraphs where the sentences would be the same length, making some passages feel robotic, and Justine, in particular, spoke in ways that felt either archaic or overly formal. I also think Bourne had a problem of over-writing in some areas; characters would narrate what they were doing or going to do rather than Bourne showing us (”I am going to put the kettle on for you, and then you will shave” rather than something like “She put the kettle over the fire as he sharpened his razor”) and some scenes would get dragged down by unnecessary detail. As a result, I felt like the pace throughout the entire novel felt the same, and even when we get moments of sentence variance, it didn’t feel like form matched function.

I also think the structure of this book was a little strange. The narrative flashes backwards and forwards in time, and while I like it when books do this, I think authors need to be deliberate and show how the two (or more) timelines parallel or compliment one another. The Black Hawk seemed to not know why it was jumping through time; I thought at first that the first plot thread (Justine’s assassination attempt) was going to be a frame narrative, and somehow, the assassination would be linked to her past. Granted, we do get some of that, but I think overall, the time jumps weren’t deliberately placed. We got an intro where Justine seeks out Hawker and he treats her wounds, then we jump back in time and follow them as 13 year old spies for some 60 pages, then back to the present for 6 pages, then a different point in the past for 30, etc. I think I would have preferred a structure where the events happening in the present were made more significant by the plotline of the past. When Justine is laying in bed and recovering, for example, maybe Hawker could be worried about her dying and start thinking back to when and how they first met. When Justine starts to sicken from the poison, maybe there’s a scene from the past where they discover the Caches have been learning to make poison or something. In short, I wanted the past and present to comment on one another a bit more, and for the present to be more of a frame, rather than a plotline in itself.

Plot: The summary of this book makes it seem like the main plot will be about Justine and Hawker overcoming their tumultuous past and learning to love one another again. What we really get is a story with 3 main threads: 1.) the present day assassination plot, 2.) the discovery and rescue of the Caches in 1794, and 3.) thwarting a plot to kill Napoleon in 1802.

Personally, I found the present day plot to be a little underwhelming, which is why I wanted it to be the frame rather than the main draw. There wasn’t nearly enough angst to make the present day story feel suspenseful, and I ultimately didn’t feel like I was watching a mystery unfold because the motivations of the perpetrators were somewhat bland. I think if Bourne had put more work into the emotional turmoil and developing the relationship by navigating old wounds and lingering angst, the present day stuff would have felt more suspenseful.

The 1794 plot is mostly significant for establishing the concept of the Caches - children who are trained to essentially be sleeper agents for France. This plot is less significant to Justine and Hawker’s story than it for a side character, Pax, which meant that I didn’t feel like rescuing the children and thwarting the operation was personal for our main characters. Even though Justine claims to want to rescue them because they’re children, I never got the sense that she had unusually strong convictions - she (and Adrian) seemed to act only because it was the right thing to do. I think I would have liked to see more personal stakes in this plot, like if Justine herself was an escaped Cache. While Pax and Hawker’s friendship makes the stakes somewhat personal for Hawker, I feel like it doesn’t come to fruition until much later, so I would have liked to see more immediate concerns for Hawker as well (maybe he has a soft spot for children or something).

The 1802 plot was also similarly empty. Justine seemed to want to thwart the assassination attempt because she’s pro-Napoleon and pro-France, and Hawker wants to subvert the assassination because he doesn’t fancy England and France going to war again. While I can understand these nationalistic and political motivations, I never got the sense that Justine was spying because she loved France or felt like she owed her spy organization anything. Bourne seems to take for granted that the reader will care about saving Napoleon or preventing war, and personally, I didn’t really feel strongly about any of these potential consequences because the characters don’t seem to have complex feelings about them. I think this plot would have been more compelling if Justine had some event in her past that makes protecting France and France’s interests personal for her, or if she felt like she owed the Police Secrete for saving her from prostitution. The same would be true for Hawker; maybe a friend or family member died in the Napoleonic Wars and he has to balance the need for revenge with the desire to prevent more human suffering. The vague “I’m doing this for my country” felt rather empty and impersonal, and I think that prevented me from really getting into the story.

Characters: Justine, our heroine, is likeable in that she’s a competent spy. I liked that she never made any stupid decisions for the sake of the plot, and even when she was put in a position where she was helpless, it felt like a believable fault or limit to her abilities. I also really liked her devotion to her younger sister and her sense of pragmatism, even when her emotions told her to do something else.

Hawker, our hero, is also fun in that he’s a competent spy and master thief. I liked that he was ruthless without being cruel, and he wasn’t overly broody or belligerent.

I don’t really have anything to say about the two of them other than that because it my opinion, they didn’t really evolve that much. They were still likeable, they had some nice banter, and I think they were competent enough spies, but there wasn’t much in terms of a character arc. Justine seemed to have some trauma from her past as a child prostitute, but other than the first sex scene and the protectiveness she feels for her little sister, it didn’t really play a big role in her life.

Side characters were interesting in that they embodied archetypes that are useful to the plot. Pax, Hawker’s friend and fellow spy, is a great addition and a good source for a potential conflict of loyalties. Severine, Justine’s sister, gives the story a personal element while also providing a sweet familial relationship to counterbalance the darker elements. Antagonists like Leblanc and allies like Doyle were also complex and well-used, and I think Bourne did a good job showing how these espionage networks were made of different people with messy personal and political motivations.

However, I ultimately didn’t think the “main” present-day antagonists were all that interesting. Because we don’t spend a lot of time in the present (compared to the past), we don’t really get to explore their complex motivations for wanting to kill Justine and frame Hawker. I think if these characters had been integral to Justine and Hawker’s story in both 1794 and 1802, their crimes would have been more impactful, but as it stands, these antagonists felt like random background characters who have a shallow grudge.

Romance: Despite being about two rival spies, The Black Hawk did not contain nearly enough angst for my taste. Hawker and Justine are supposed to be on opposite sides of a political conflict, but they didn’t seem to clash much or be put in situations where they had to choose between their love and their loyalties. They were more reluctant allies than anything, with both of them working towards the same goal more often than not - their relationship only seemed to be taboo because Justine was French and Hawker was English.

I also didn’t quite buy that they had many hang-ups in the present-day, as they seemed to reunite after being apart for years and just get over their emotions without any real, honest reconciliation. The main barrier presented - that Justine had once tried to kill Hawker - was ultimately revealed to be an accident, so there really wasn’t anything to grapple with, emotionally.

Overall, the book feel less like a story about Justine and Hawker’s romantic relationship and more like a political/spy thriller. While I wouldn’t normally knock a book for trying to subvert or play with genre tropes and structure, I personally felt like Bourne was more interested in espionage than in character relationships. For me, that made the romance feel like an afterthought, and while I’m ok with books that are light on romance, I feel like character relationships should still be important, regardless of genre. In this book, there wasn’t really an arc to the relationship, and though I liked how well-matched Hawker and Justine were in terms of ability, I didn’t see how being together improved or enriched the emotional lives. It was difficult to see why they loved each other (rather than just having professional admiration or respect for one another), and in my opinion, not enough was done to show that their loyalties were in conflict.

I also was not a huge fan of the first major graphic sex scene, since it was between the two protagonists when they were 16 years old. I know there’s an argument to be made about how teenagers experience sexual desire and there’s a way to handle teen sexuality with care, but ultimately, the sex scene in this book just made me uncomfortable.

TL;DR: While I appreciated that The Black Hawk doesn’t follow typical romance structure and focuses on spies, this book ultimately suffers from a plot with no personal stakes and a barely-there romance.

[emiliachrstine]

ok this was an ask i got and had a good time with but! what would jackie’s comics history be if she had been canon/how would it have differed from the film adaptations?

Okay, I need to preface this by saying I know nothing about the comics. Only what I’ve read through my research, so I apologize if I get something wrong. Anyways, here we go! (also I know I’m going to forget major points so I apologize)

Comics History:

Jackie doesn’t appear in the comics until the late 1960′s when they revived the character and comics in the early 60′s. When she’s first introduced, she is the only child of Addie Harris (nee Lewis) and Joseph Harris. She takes on her mother’s maiden name when she joins the academy. Jackie was born after WWII and her mother was friends with Steve during the war. She grew up around SHIELD and the stories about Steve Rogers. Since Peggy Carter was a very minor character in the comics, her relationship with Peggy wasn’t shown too much in the comics. But she did often talk about how much of an influence Peggy had on her growing up. 

By the time Jackie is introduced, she is already working as a SHIELD agent and has a rather fractious relationship with Tony Stark. She’s not as close with him as she is in the films, in fact, there are several instances where her dislike for Tony is very prominent. They are very much reluctant friends and allies, but they work very well together and share a few moments of genuine friendship and admiration for each other. There’s even a period where Tony has a clear romantic attraction towards her but Jackie persistently rejects him. But as the comic series goes on, their animosity slowly melts away and they become really good friends. Close to what would happen in the films.

Jackie is one of the best agents working for SHIELD. She and Sharon Carter are two of the most trusted agents and often go on missions together. However, there was always a level of competitive nature between the two, but it was always in good fun. They were always like sisters to one another. 

The character’s popularity spawned her own spin off series which were actually a rather big hit. The Argentina mission was the first major arc to be covered. The series starts off in the early 60’s during the first few years of her working at SHIELD. And it starts this whole complicated relationship between Jackie and Bucky Barnes that actually turns romantic at one point, way down the line. Jackie’s trauma from the failed mission isn’t as intense in the comics as it is in the films. She’s able to understand Bucky’s situation and forgive him more easily. It’s a very on and off type relationship, never one where they officially are together or anything of that matter. And it is a big rival against Natasha and Bucky. 

An offshoot comic series, has Jackie getting pregnant by Bucky and giving birth to a son. She gives her son up for adoption to protect him from a domestic terrorist, Baker, who discovered her identity after she infiltrated his group. Jackie ended up going on the run, never telling Bucky that he had a kid. It’s not until the kid returns as an adult in search of his parents. Jackie is presumed dead since going on the run and Bucky doesn’t believe that this kid is actually his. The kid is named Michael and he makes on and off appearances in this issue run.

But going back to the main comic series, Jackie is made head of the team who found Steve in the North Atlantic. While she’s not assigned to help with reintegration, she ends up helping Steve adjust to modern life. And they become close friends fairly quickly. But Steve and Sharon become a thing and they are a couple for quite some time. However, during the periods where they are not together, it makes way for a romance to blossom between Jackie and Steve. Much like her romance with Bucky, her romance with Steve is a very will they won’t they type relationship. But it became a very popular couple and most of the reception given was that people wanted them to get together. But they never do. Steve and Jackie’s romance is the tragic love that was deep and affectionate but was never meant to be. Even though Sharon and Steve are considered the couple and have a longer trek history, Steve never stops loving Jackie, even up to when he’s killed by Sharon. One could make the argument that Jackie was his true soulmate. 

Jackie is a lot more involved in the comics’ run of Civil War. She takes on the side of Captain America, becomes part of the Secret Avengers, and fights against the ones who are for the federal registration which brings her face to face with Tony Stark. When the Secret Avengers respond to a fake emergency call, they are ambushed by pro-registration forces and Jackie ends up getting killed during the skirmish which makes the team retreat. Steve continues on with the fight but ends up surrendering at the end, as we all know. Her death is mourned by everyone. Sharon lost her best friend and sister, Bucky lost someone he felt truly understood him, and Steve lost the love of his life. Even Tony ends up feeling guilty for what happened to her. 

Jackie remains dead throughout the proceeding comic issues. When the first few mcu films are released, marvel makes a whole new comic run that could run parallel with the films, while still keeping some details different. Of course, Jackie is brought back with a lot of changes done to coincide with what was being done with her in the films.

The Films:

There are quite a few changes that are made to Jackie and her backstory. Since the films were taking place in the 21st century, her birth date was changed to 1985. She is no longer the child of Addie but retconned to being her granddaughter. Kathleen and John were created for the films, then were put into the new comic runs. Jackie’s relationship with Tony becomes a more familial bond than what was depicted in the comics. Although, it was important for the films to keep in the fact that they butt heads a lot with each other. And the romantic interest on Tony’s part in the comics is completely erased in the mcu. 

Her involvement in Civil War is drastically changed compared to what happened in the comics. In fact, when it was announced that the civil war storyline was being done, a lot of the fans speculated that Jackie would end up dying in the film since she did so in the comics. In the film, Jackie refuses to take sides despite being against the accords. Her relationship with Tony and Steve prevents her from choosing one or the other. She very much becomes a witness and only intervenes when she sees no choice. Her being pregnant in civil war is a new detail created for the film. 

The biggest change is her relationship with Steve and Bucky. It is definitely decided between Feige and Stan Lee to try and put Steve and Jackie as the endgame couple, since their relationship tenure in the comics was quite popular. Their relationship is made to be much more complex and ended up being controversial because of key events that happened (i.e. the biggest being Steve choosing Bucky over a pregnant Jackie). Her relationship with Bucky is definitely toned down a lot more, the movies played more into her trauma and her hesitation to forgive Bucky. And this did not please bucky stans and also the bucky/jackie shippers because their relationship in the comics is pretty significant, and the films pretty much erased how important they were to each other.

Madison and John are also a new addition. They are eventually written into the new comic run and are given their own spin off as well. Though, John is based loosely on the son that bucky and jackie had in that offshoot series. And as for Madison, her name comes from a Captain America issue where Steve and Jackie talked about what a normal life together would be like. They would have a house on an isolated patch of land, away from the city. And they would have a kid, they always debated whether it would be a son or daughter. They liked the idea of either but always agreed that Madison would be the name of their daughter. So in the films, they decided to give them two kids with the daughter being named Madison and they move to a new home almost in the middle of nowhere.

Then, there will be Madison and John’s tv show, maybe even a show depicting Kathleen and John in their early years at SHIELD. There would definitely be a comic run for her parents in the new comic run. 

[philcoulsonismyhero]

Yeah, no, that’s pretty much it and it is Highly entertaining. There’s also about a dozen incredibly ridiculous teenagers getting into nonsense karate antics thanks to the influence of those maladjusted middle aged men. The whole thing is deeply silly and knows it, but it’s also really surprisingly earnest about that. Like, the events are ridiculous but the character arcs and the relationships are all very genuine. It really takes that 80s movie earnestness and runs with it.

The main thing I find appealing about it is that the entire Central Theme is ‘what makes a good mentor vs a bad mentor’. There’s a lot of very sweet relationships between the main two guys and the kids that end up in their lives, and a lot of really interesting stuff being unpacked re: their own mentors and the influences they had for both good and bad. Plus, there’s the whole rivalry which turns into a really delightful rivals to reluctant allies to friends arc that takes 4+ seasons to actually reach the ‘friends’ point because every time they get anywhere one of them does something stupid and ruins everything. The whole show is basically ‘watch these trainwreck losers slowly and reluctantly figure out their own and each other’s shit until they reach a point of genuine friendship’ and it’s very sweet and deeply compelling.

There’s also a whole thing with basically all of the kids at one point or another falling under the influence of Johnny’s shitty mentor (and later said bastard’s villain bestie from the third movie) and becoming angry bullying little shits until they eventually get some positive adult influences in their life and start to change for the better and reject the toxic shit they’ve been taught. The show has a really nice attitude of ‘sometimes teens are shitty, that’s usually not their fault’ and seems determined to eventually drag all of them to a more positive and healthy place even if it takes multiple seasons of character arc. It’s just very well-meaning overall? 

But also yes, it is fundamentally ridiculous and Johnny and Daniel’s bullshit is So entertaining to watch, as well as all the unhinged shit the teens get up to. The only character who lives in the real world is Daniel’s wife Amanda, and she’s an icon and a delight and blessedly free of ‘nagging wife’ tropes. And even she eventually realises that the only way to solve this mess her husband’s ridiculous karate enemies are making is to play along with the karate movie tropes.

It’s also just a really good sequel to the Karate Kid movies? I’d only seen the first one when I watched the whole show and it gave more than enough context and flashbacks for everything to make perfect sense. Then I actually watched the rest of the trilogy and ended up appreciating everything even more. The show takes all the stuff that happened to Daniel in those movies and is like ‘hey, that was Fucked Up’ and extrapolates where he’d be as a adult who didn’t really deal with any of it properly at the time, and then brings it all back to torment him to force him to actually deal with it. And to his credit, he does! Takes him five seasons (at least), but still. Same with Johnny. They may start out as maladjusted middle aged men, but they grow and I’m very proud of them both.

It’s a fun ride, and the nonsense going on between the adults is so deeply enjoyable that even I, a notorious Teen Romance Drama Hater, was willing to put up with the obnoxious teenage love square that they spent far too much time on in s2. (And seemed to realise was a bit excessive, so they dialled that drama back a bit from there.) A fun time, fun characters, and an Extremely good soundtrack, frankly, there is No reason for the music to go that hard. I didn’t expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I have.

okay I'm biting what is the allure of this cobra kai show. from the gifsets it seems to be about two maladjusted middle aged men starting karate fights all over california, which is objectively one of the saddest things you could be doing as a maladjusted middle aged man