#teamwork makes the scheme work

[drtwit]

Miraculous Ladybug: No More Heroes - Chapter 26

Welp, this time it's actually chapter 26.

The Future Soon - Summary:

Chalot gives Adrien a tour of the Miraculous Task Force facilities, where Adrien finds an unfortunately familiar face.

"Gabriel, be honest. It wasn't Emilie's death that made you a villain, it wasn't the world, and it wasn't the miraculous. It was always you - You were a villain long before you created Hawkmoth." Three years after his death, Gabriel Agreste awakens to a Paris ruled by akumas. He has no idea how he's alive, he has no idea what happened to Paris, all he knows it that he was the one who allowed this to happen. Hunted by the ghosts of his past, with no miraculous to protect him, and his greatest enemy now his only ally, Gabriel must brave this nightmare with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and make a choice: To become the villain he knows he is, or to find a way to become the father he failed to be.

Fandom:

Miraculous Ladybug

Relationships:

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Gabriel Agreste/Nathalie Sancoeur

Characters:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Gabriel Agreste

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Nathalie Sancoeur

Colt Fathom

Lila Rossi

Nino Lahiffe

Chloé Bourgeois

Félix Fathom

Luka Couffaine

Alya Césaire

Max Kanté

Additional Tags:

Gabriel Agreste Redemption

Has a long way to go

Chloé Bourgeois Redemption

Retcons

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug

Identity Reveal

Ladybug/Hawkmoth team-up

Gabriel Backstory

Gabriel being an asshole

Protective Nathalie Sancoeur

Félix Fathom Is Bad at Feelings

Lila Rossi Being Lila Rossi

Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Story switches between two major points in time

Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Needs a Break

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: sacrifice / self sacrifice / slight suicidal themes / death mention / ]

I personally think that Leo took the wrong lessons from the movie. I definitely think he grew to understand the importance of teamwork and making sure he takes others into account so as to not harm them by proxy of whatever scheme he has cooked up, however based on the ending events I’m not quite certain he fully grasped two things.

The first thing is communication. Oh, he can communicate, and he does, when he deems it necessary. When he’s setting up a plan prior to the action. But this is where the second thing comes in.

The second thing I don’t think Leo truly grasped is “it’s not about you.” It’s so unbearably easy to take that the wrong way, especially when taking the rest of the series into account.

What I believe Leo took from this message is not “it’s not just you, everyone matters and can contribute, can help and be helped” but “put the whole of everyone above yourself” which can both be a good lesson…and a fatal one.

And it is fatal, we see as much in the movie.

Even after the big hope speech, when Leo is “fighting” Krang!Raph, he takes a huge risk. Sure, it worked, and Leo managed to get through to Raph through a well deserved apology, but it could have so easily ended in his death and yet he barely even hesitates to go for it.

And then again, to the big scene at the end, where Leo sacrifices himself not only for the sake of his family, but for the whole world.

To him, that’s the message to take from this. That the lives of everyone, of the greater good, matters…more than him. That the risk to himself is worth it if others can be saved.

Leo learned that gambling with his life as the betting chip is always the best move to make in the end.

And to make matters worse…this thinking is what works.

These risks are ultimately what is needed to save the day, so why would Leo look away from it now? Clearly it’s the right move and everything worked out!

Thing is, Leo did grow from the events of the movie. He learned to take things more seriously and be more mature, he learned to value his team’s input and capabilities enough to rely on them more, and he learned to be less self-centered and realize the turmoil others were going through (especially if that turmoil is a result of his actions.)

But still, he’s grown to accept the gamble of his life as a viable answer to their problems.

Personally, with how Leo has been shown to toy around with the idea of “it’s better me than them” I think this goes beyond sacrifice in the name of love or even sacrifice in the name of responsibility, and pushes over into sacrifice in the name of worth.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

What do they really want tho? At the grand scheme of things, William and Catherine are still going to be King and Queen and it's their bloodline that will continue the monarchy.

They want the deal Harry was promised in 2012, the deal that he bragged to Meghan about when they were dating, the deal she married him for, this deal right here:

A monarchy that was just King Charles, his two sons, and their two wives. No Cambridge grandchildren. No aunts and uncles. No cousins.

And the deal was that William and Kate would be King and Queen, remaining in and focusing largely on the UK, while Harry and his future wife would be Heads of the Commonwealth, traveling and raising awareness for local communities and issues in the Commonwealth.

The "splitting" of duties like this was largely speculation based on how much Harry preferred being in Africa. It went into a little bit of a fever pitch when Meghan came along. There were a couple of...yellow flags there, let's say. (Meghan wearing Harry's bracelets from Africa, Meghan suddenly talking about how much she loved Africa, everyone realizing that Meghan's humanitarian work and Tig travels were to Commonwealth countries - India, Rwanda, Malta.)

Then they made comments in the engagement interview that made everyone realize there really might be something here about Harry taking over the Commonwealth:

(Interviewer asks about Meghan having a big internaitonal profile already, is she ready for a bigger platform?)

Meghan: I think what's been really exciting as we talk about the transition of this out of my career but into the role is that as you said the causes that have been very important to me, I can focus even more energy on. Because very early out of the gate I think you realize once you have access or a voice that people are willing to listen to with that comes a lot of responsibility, which I take seriously. And at the same time I think in these beginning few months and now being boots on the ground in the U.K. I'm excited to just really get to know more about the different communities here, smaller organizations we're working on the same causes that I've always been passionate about under this umbrella. And and also being able to go around the commonwealth I think is just just the beginning of that.

Prince Harry: There's a lot to do, there’s a lot to do.

(Interviewer asks a question about Meghan giving up her acting career. She talks about working on Suits and spins leaving as her own choice.)

(Interviewer asks Harry of the responsibility Meghan was taking up by marrying him. Harry gives a blabbering word salad about "I hope she's in love with me" and defines teamwork.)

Meghan Markle: So nicely said, isn't it? (🤢)

Prince Harry: She's capable of she's capable of anything. And together as I said there’s a hell of a lot of stuff, work that needs doing. At the moment for us, it's going to be making sure that our relationship is always put first, but both of us have passions for wanting to make change, change for good. And you know with lots of young people running around the commonwealth, that's where we’ll spend most of our time hopefully.

Compared to William and Kate, who didn't talk at all about future or prospective roles in the monarchy during their engagement interview...flags were waving, bells were ringing, trolleys were clang-clang-clanging.

And then, the first signal from the BRF that Charles's future monarchy had a plan for Harry involving more of the Commonwealth: Her Late Majesty appointed Harry President of the newly-created The Queen's Commonwealth Trust in April 2018.

And finally-finally, there was confirmation of the deal itself. By none other than the BRF's new leaky faucet, Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018 when she re-colonized the Commonwealth for her veil and again four months later when she co-opted the "Queen of the World" documentary to be about her, instead of The Queen's work in the Commonwealth.

So TL;DR, what do Harry and Meghan really want? They want the global prestige Harry was promised all the way back in 2012 and that Meghan was promised in 2018: equal status to William and Kate, permanently #3 on the call sheet, and the Commonwealth of Nations to rule over.

(Here's the original image from the RAF 100th anniversary that I edited to get a "Wales-only" balcony. You don't even miss him!)

(Also it's interesting that Meghan is visually centered in the RAF 100th photo but her dark outfit compared to the brighter, lighter colors of everyone else makes her disappear into the background and draws attention to The Queen instead. She pwned her own self. But also the RAF 100 balcony is exactly what Meghan wants from the BRF: to be front and center while Kate and William are shoved off on the sidelines.)

[phenixy-dunnhart]

WARNING ! SPOILERS for TLOVM season 3 and Campaign 1

I'm a bit sad with all the negativity in the tlovm tags following this new batch of episodes. Because all the usual appreciation and fun details pointing is drown in it. So I'll do my part and draw some light and appreciation for the following things:

"Allura can't teleport us 'cause we mind wind up in the ocean" Nice nod

The beauty of Glintshore sand? crystals ? I mean, I know the entire island isn't covered in it, but it's there and it's gorgeous

Vax and Grog banter, Pike and Vax friendship when she stole his badass line. Who says that the friendships in tlovm are not showed ? It's smaller because they're running out of time but if you keep both eyes open, you can catch the small moments.

How good was the delirium gas ?

Percy having bad Ripley PTSD ?Check.

Orthax forcing the (gas) mask on Percy's face ? Oh f*ck me that was so good.

Elaina's first appearence and Vex's heart torment ? Check

Vex fighting the gas messing with her mind and seeing Percy getting kidnapped ? Great

Her seeing Percy devoured by some hellish pain ? Awesome foreshadowing for Orthax feeding on Percy's soul

I won't dwell too much on ep 7 because I'm Perc'ahlia trash and this was pure gold but ALL their scenes.

And these two shots:

They're the last thing they think about before passing out. And look at them, they're looking at each other. Great parallels, great cinematography

You want more parallels ? You're not in enough pain ? I've got more ! How about this ?:

Percy cradling Vex because he doesn't want to lose her.

Vex cradling Percy because she lost him

MY HEART !!!!!!

Anyways back to our regular program: The color scheme in the factory is on point. Predominance of green during all Ripley's discussion with percy, some blasts of orange for Orthax.

This shot when they want to make us think Percy will go dark but also because he sincerly understand. He sees with her (green) eyes

Culminating in theses shots:

In the end, the true Percy is good (he's blue which is both his color and Vex's)

Then we got some nice Pike and Kiki character development with the delirium gas

Percy's fight with Ripley is pure display of his capacities and wits, not unlike Vex's fight against Saundor or Grog's fight against Kevdak. The fights with nemesis are always awesome, well choreographed and both characters and animators flexing.

And I like Grog's delirium both beacause it brings a bit of comic relief in this big painful episode but that's not all there is. Because when he gets out of it, he asks Pike if he hurt her again and you can't convince me that he didn't saw Craven Edge and the pain he inflicted Pike in his PTSD (not showed but we know)

Onto episode 8, love the Stilben flashback and the dead mystic cult leader being Taliesin.

The funeral was powerful and beautiful. The highlights being Cassandra crying her last family member and Vex'ahlia not saying the prayer despite being one of the Dawnfather.

Scanlan putting Kaylie's song music sheet on the altar for Percy breaks my heart. For him, he lost both of them and also he traded the life of his friend for moments with Kaylie (which he didn't even had, that's so sad)

Vox Machina assembling all of their allies with the beautiful OST was awesome while conserving this... heaviness. We're still grieving (at least I'm still am)

Vex and Syldor whole convesrsation. Laura Bailey, the talented woman you are and Troy Baker did a great job at humanizing him. though he's still a prick.

Vaxleth and Pikelan scenes were cute

We've got LARKIN mentioned and by Vax nonetheless !

Earthbreaker Groon and Grog doing the slapping hands/muscles flexing meme !

How brutal Thordak's attacks are in ep 8 and 9, all the people dying to rise up the stakes worked really well in my opinion.

Travis smarts piercing through Grog's 6 INT just like in the campaign

Earthbreaker Groon being a BAMF with that suplex

The teamwork going strong during all the fight

Zahra and Kash coming in to save the day. I love them your honor

My jaw dropped at Kashaw's badass magical attack. THAT WAS AWESOME and dropped further at his death. I couldn't believe it at first and as bold as a choice it was, I really liked it. Because it's a thing to kill NPC nameless army guys but killing a beloved character: that take some balls . And because of the unpredictability, the shock hit. I'm always here for the drama and it was beautifully done (the visuals for the Raven Queen and her powers are always as gorgeous as ominous).

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn also showing off her VA talent

In the end, every VM members getting his moment of glory :

Vex with getting the Syngorn army while being at her lowest/rock bottom ("The truth is the only bargaining chip at rock bottom", really nice parallels with the Stillben flashback + her using Percy's philosophy)

Grog destroying the lair

Scanlan getting them out of there at the peril at his life and ending up in a coma (nice subversion so there are not two dead party members followed up by two ressurections)

Keyleth being her badass elemental self (with her two gorgeous muscial leitmotives "blinded by the light" + "passing through the fire")

Pike being able to absorb Thordak -not red but- blue fire/laser which we saw went through Emon like butter. That's one MONSTAH move with beautiful beautiful colors (red yellow and blue mixing) look at this shot:

And Vax having the last kill, thinking of his mother doing this for Emon sure but most important for his mom, Vex and himself and what a beautiful shot and power move with the twisting golden and black torpedo that he is.

A great powerful death for a great powerful foe

And then some sorrow and sweetness. The Vaxleth back hug was adorable.

And that last shot of Keyleth after the confrontation with Raishan makes me long for more and to already be next week.

And that's some positivity and appreciation of CR work because they pour their heart and soul into these series and these characters and it's beautiful and I see it. I hope I could put some light on it at my small scale.

Have a great day and let's wait impatiently for next week and end of season 3

[egg-emperor]

Speaking of Eggdad I don't remember which video it was but it had Ian discuss how family bonding between Eggman and Sage would be destroying villages and subjugating the inhabitants HAPPILY together. Eggman and Sage are new team dark if anything. In fact, if we got a new Sonic Heroes type game it'd be so awesome if we got a playable Eggman team featuring himself truly, Sage, and Metal Sonic.

Yeah every time Flynn has talked about Eggman and Sage that I'm aware of, it's not without him explaining how Eggman has messed up perception and conditions behind his embracement of the dynamic, or emphasizing that they're still very much evil together. It's cool that he doesn't seem to play into the hyper pure wholesome fanon idea because of how the fandom mass misinterpreted it and clearly prefer it that way, when he very well could. Goes to show that it really was never actually the written intention of their real dynamic in the games

Because it just reiterates what we already see to be the case in the game already, with Eggman's dynamic with Sage being anything but traditional and in fact very self-centred and conditional with just as selfish motives as ever, and Sage clearly being on Eggman's side of evil even after her developments by staying by his side as he laughed at Sonic's cyber corruption death and the way she says the world is his to conquer. She's still very much evil and her development is only likely to make her more so to please her father and attempt to bond with him

So the idea that closest to family bonding is through that instead of all the traditional things/at least with an original evil twist on them in the very rare occasion that they might be is great. Eggman wasn't the type to suddenly get into tons of traditional domestic family activities to please someone who was literally created to serve him, so Sage instead joining in on all the things he already enjoyed doing before she existed and her just being happy to be included makes way more sense. And it's way cooler to think about what fun diabolical things they can get up to together!

It's fun to think about how they work together in business and schemes and happily destroying villages and subjugating inhabitants. Also how Eggman could indulge in his love for theme parks with her, not by wholesome trips to Disneyland but showing how they really should be with Eggmanland, twisted and deadly dangerous thrills. Same with carnivals. And with his love for circuses, he kidnaps and showcases stolen animals like Circus Park. And he said he could turn Sonic and co into toys for Sage to play with in The murder of Sonic, teaching her that people are their playthings

It is pretty much his answer to a new Team Dark, though he prefers the name Team Eggman now, probably because he considers himself the founder and creator of the original Team Dark and feels it was highjacked with him being cast out and replaced by Omega so he wants to assert extra hard that it's his this time so it won't happen again, can't forget who it belongs to or replace him when he's in the name lol. And then he can show how much better he can be on a team with his own superior creations built in his image instead of with Shadow and Rouge!

While it's funny that he had Zavok on his Team Eggman last time, reflecting his cush and obsession with the guy lol, Eggman and his own creations makes the most sense long term. The best way for him to team up with anyone is if they're his own obedient creations that won't - or literally can't ever think of betraying him with the programming like Metal (for the most part!) or have the genuine enthusiasm like Sage and most of the "teamwork" is really mostly them serving him and him getting all the benefits and glory. Metal and Sage are the perfect fit

Also if going by team types again, they don't fit into the Heroes team structure as none fit Flight type much but certainly fit the Team Sonic Racing one. Sage Technique, Metal Sonic Speed, and Eggman could be Power class again like he really always should be and would've been again if Zavok hadn't stolen that spot in TSR! Eggman being the brains and the brawn when be wants to join the action and show off his physical strength, Sage also being brains and skill with her programme abilities and Metal being the speedy killing machine he's always been

Diabolical dream (nightmare?) team there! XD They could get up to some great evil together!

[yuurei20]

Crowley Info Compilation part 3: Teamwork (pt2)

Crowley forces Leona's Fairy Gala participation by highlighting how the students of Savanaclaw will suffer in the cold weather, but when he is reluctant to trust Ruggie, Leona turns the blackmail back on him.

When every single student refuses to go to Idia's aid in the Phantom Bride event Crowley solves the issue in a similar way, threatening them with potential media harassment until they comply: "We'll all work together to rescue poor Shroud from the Ghost Bride!"

When Crowley declares, "Let us join together to save our student and reclaim the new day!" at the start of Spectral Soiree he anticipates that they will refuse, as usual, saying that he will have to "just find a suitable motivation."

Crowley seems moved by the students' willingness to rescue their classmates, but he is less than pleased by Ruggie's clarification that they just don't want to miss out on the winter holiday.

We often see Crowley assigning tasks to the prefect: he charges the prefect with solving the drama of Book 3 and with taking over fire duty for the school during the winter holiday.

After the player character becomes the prefect of Ramshackle Crowley observes, "I just so happen to have a job for you, and that title will make it all the easier to foist...er, I mean, congratulations!"

When Grim and the prefect go to Crowley to complain about being evicted from Ramshackle by Eliza, Crowley responds, "I'm afraid I can't be bothered--ahem!--I mean, though I sympathize with your plight, we should't bother them."

Crowley is also often assigning work to the other students of NRC: he assigns the Fairy Gala team the tasks of seeing the gala through to completion and taking back the stolen magestone and has the students themselves decide how they will do so saying, "I'd trust any of you with this task...it is certainly not because I can't be bothered to expend any more brainpower on this, I assure you," and then that he is holding the students responsible for the outcome of the scheme.

[chaos-chloe]

The Charm of Cherry Blossoms - CloolessxReader

Summary: Clooless boys at Hogwarts

TW: Potion making

In a world where broomsticks soared and spells danced in the air, five young wizards found themselves entangled in the enchanting halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Among them were Puffer, the cunning Slytherin; Grizzy, the loyal Hufflepuff; Pezzy and Droid, the daring Gryffindors; and ___, the brilliant Ravenclaw with a heart as mysterious as her scent.

One cool autumn afternoon, Professor Horace Slughorn, a rotund wizard with a penchant for collecting talented students, announced a new project in Potions class. Each student would create a batch of Amortentia, the famed love potion, that wafted enticing aromas to ensnare the heart.

��Remember,” Professor Slughorn said, his eyes twinkling behind round spectacles, “Amortentia smells different to each person, based on what they find most attractive. Use your instincts!”

The students were paired into unique groups, a mixture of houses that would test their teamwork. Puffer, Grizzy, Pezzy, Droid, and ____ found themselves side by side, a merry band of misfits. As they worked, the bubbling cauldron emitted various scents. However, the moment ____ casually adjusted the tiny vial of her signature cherry fragrance, the entire room seemed to transform.

“Do you smell that?” Puffer exclaimed, leaning closer, his Slytherin demeanor slightly softening. “Cherries! It’s delightful. Isn’t that right, guys?”

Grizzy nodded enthusiastically, "Absolutely! I smell that, too!"

Pezzy and Droid exchanged mischievous glances, “It’s definitely cherries! No wonder ____ is in Ravenclaw—she’s got a knack for creating magical scents.”

As the potion simmered and glowed with an otherworldly sheen, the boys felt an unfamiliar flutter in their chests whenever ____grinned, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. The cherry aroma seemed to weave a spell of its own, igniting a spark of interest that none could ignore.

After class, the trio of boys began to "accidentally" bump into Bella at every corner. Outside by the Quidditch pitch, Grizzy offered to show her how to catch a Snitch. In the library, Pezzy carefully perched a stack of books on a precarious ledge, only to have them tumble entirely. “Oh no! Let me help you with that, ___!” he exclaimed, his face turning as red as Gryffindor robes.

Droid surprised ____ in the greenhouse with a freshly picked bloom. “I thought you’d like this! It’s a magical flower,” he said, beaming, unaware that it was just a common daisy.

With each encounter, ____ sensed their awkwardness mixed with earnest interest, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. “You boys are really going out of your way,” she teased, raising an eyebrow playfully.

“We just want to show you how cool it is to hang out with the ‘coolest’ group,” Puffer chimed in, “and we can be really fun, I promise!”

Each interaction seemed to smell sweeter with the cherry fragrance dancing in the air, leading to increasingly dramatic moments. They concocted elaborate schemes to surprise her—like a Quidditch game in the moonlight or a late-night study session with pumpkin juice and Chocolate Frogs.

As days turned into weeks, ____ found herself enjoying the attention, laughter, and friendship. But things took a turn when Professor Slughorn announced a potions challenge, where the best Amortentia recipe would be judged. Sparks ignited in the air and friendly rivalry brewed among the boys, each trying to win over____’s affections through their potion-making prowess.

“Just wait,” Pezzy bragged one day, “my potion is sure to impress Bella more than yours!”

“Oh, it’s on!” Puffer declared, his Slytherin ambition flaring.

While competition thickened the air like smoke, ____ watched, bemused and a tad confused. It became clear they all had their charms and strengths, each displaying a different kind of affection. She was flattered, but also felt the weight of their desires pressing against her heart.

On the day of the potions challenge, excitement filled the Great Hall. The bubbling cauldrons and the scent of concocted love filled the room. ____ stood back, watching the boys test their potions and sharing laughter. The cherry-scented twists in the air highlighted their emotions, but they also made her realize that none of them had truly made her fall in love.

As she considered all their efforts—grating ingredients, collecting rare flowers, and the sweet tension among friends—she thought she might have to make a choice. But perhaps, she concluded, it wasn’t a choice between them, but to embrace her friendships fully without hastening into something more.

“I appreciate all of this,” ____ announced, her smile lighting up her face. “But I think love potions, while fun, can’t create genuine feelings out of thin air.”

The boys exchanged glances, blinking in realization. Maybe, just maybe, friendship was the true potion they’d concocted together.

With a newfound understanding, the group smiled. The cherry scent danced around them, a reminder that while love could blossom, strong friendships could ignite even greater magic.

And in the enchanted halls of Hogwarts, with laughter resonating through its corridors, they would cherish their time together as a cool, interconnected crew, with more adventures awaiting them on the horizon.

[blond-jerk-tourney]

Strawberry Bracket: Round 3, Poll 2

Propaganda from submitters Under Cut

Beelzebumon

Beelzebumon sold out for power in exchange for destroying his friends. Even in teamwork situations, he tends to lone wolf and do his own thing rather than coordinate efforts.

Tends to lone wolf and do his own thing rather than teamwork. Standoffish and headstrong Betrayed people who cared about him

HE MADE THE ORIGINAL DOUGHNUT!!!!!! VOTE FOR BEELZEBUMON!!!!

Nanami Kiryuu

She's the mean girl of the show, and a pretty interesting take on the "bitchy vain school rival of the protagonist" trope. She spends most of her early screentime being a bully and most of her later screentime being both the biggest loser imaginable and deeply sad/troubled (which still does not erase how much of an asshole she can be). She even laughs like your stereotypical mean rich girl. Nanami has so many problems and sucks so so bad. I adore her.

Shes a psychotic bully who seeks to ruin the lives and reputations of any girl who gets more of her brothers attention than she does. Reasons Nanami Kiryuu deserves to win: - she has made many attempts at physical and psychological terrorism against Anthy Himemiya (including a plotted wardrobe malfunction at a crowded social gathering) simply for drawing more of her brother's attention than her - tried to fill Anthy's bedroom with wild animals (a snail, a snake, and a live octopus) to make her out to be a freak only to find that her room was already full of wild animals - she bankrolled an elementary schoolers crush on her to turn him into her personal boyservant - briefly non-personed a member of her bully entourage for sharing an umbrella with her brother - received a luxury cowbell due to a shipping error and smugly wore it to school for weeks flaunting it like high coture - when her bully entourage rebelled against her due to her brothers manipulation she brought them back in line by just straight up beating the shit out of all of them - all in all just a petty, goonish motherfucker (she also does the ohohohohoho anime girl laugh)

she's blond: despite being Japanese her hair is yellow, unlike her brother's. yellow is even her image color. she's a jerk: introduced as a jealous and dishonest scheming bully, she is one of the more outwardly antagonistic characters in a cast where pretty much everyone is a Real Piece Of Work she's the best: the quintessential ohoho-laughing ojou, her fully-realized character arc makes people both laugh and cry even her sidekick is a blond jerk! how many blond jerks have their own blond jerk sidekick?

i don't know what you've heard but she's NOT the kind of girl who lays eggs!

The token mean rich girl of the franchise. Does the classic "ohohoho" laugh. Doesn't like either of our main characters. She never actually seems to get her way, and secretly has a lot of her own problems. also she lays eggs and turns into a cow

Absolutely THE quintessential anime mean girl. I mean literally her laughing is THE meme for the hohohoho anime laugh. Needs attention So Badly and straight up bullies anyone she deems a threat to that (so basically Everyone). I haven’t finished RGU but apparently she duels with the intent to kill and drowned a kitten once because it was taking up too much of her brother’s attention? Also she’s 13 which explains a lot

[allwormdiet]

Tangle 6.8

I hate this man's vibe

Don't separate her! From her dogs! Let them get in the limo!

This is so fucking funny

Coil is trying to flex on a pack of teenagers with a coin trick

and Skitter's immediate response was "okay hang on fucker, I'm supplying the coin for this trick"

and is only satisfied after that

...Also man, when's the last time i saw a dollar coin anywhere, huh

So, having been spoiled on how Coil's power works (in my defense, I went like three or four years knowing about this series before I even considered reading it), I can't help but feel like this is simultaneously a petty means of flexing power and a melodramatic means of describing it.

I kinda suspected Tattletale was playing carefully with her word choices when talking about the boss, nice to see the confirmation.

...Now that I think about it... Hmm. Three of the six groups at the table in Somer's Rock were under Coil's command, and when Tattletale was talking about how everyone but "Grue and maybe Faultline" was planning to take advantage of the truce to advance their cause, that didn't mean that the Undersiders weren't part of those plots. It turns out to have been the opposite.

...Tattletale, I think you're my favorite, but I'm watching you like a goddamn hawk now

Taylor seems to have a lot of "not-best calls" when it comes to people, huh

Also oh boy the Travelers have some shit going on huh

and that's not just whatever is souring their teamwork and communication

...Did Coil practice this? Was there a rehearsal period for his speech, getting the timing down right for the window's speed and the emergence from the tunnel? I can't escape the feeling that he spent at least a day on this, maybe a week

And, yeah, ambitious is a word for it. Man wants to control every aspect of an entire city? He wants to play the cops and the robbers and the bankers and the... whoever else exists in this metaphor? Just play Sim City, honestly, or get into 4X games. If we could just get this man hooked on Crusader Kings or something the world would be a lot safer

I'll grant that he's making a good play at this if nothing else. Certainly not going to cry for the collapse of the Empire, fucking Nazis that they are, and none of the other criminal organizations seem both able and willing to make any kind of major play.

...Though that doesn't preclude groups from outside the city, does it. You could have people from New York or Boston or whatever decide that some expansion is in order. Hmm.

Oh he's doing a real estate scheme, okay. So now we're in a Ryo ga Gotoku main plot. This is a lot easier to follow, I just have to keep an eye out for the Millennium Tower

...Also, Taylor. Are you confident this man isn't also putting moles in the Protectorate and PRT? Like, c'mon now. Bribing government employees works no matter the agency. I'm not gonna say it's beneath the Protectorate's notice, far from it, but a web this intricate means there's no way he's not accounting for multiple angles

...Okay so in The Order of the Stick, there's a sideplot involving a group of former adventurers who realized that they could take over most of a continent through an everchanging map of alliances, conquests, and treachery, with all of them acting as the hidden powers behind multiple thrones and keeping up the appearance that there was no singular rule, so that their own control over the territory had multiple points of failure.

Coil's plan sounds... similar. He's trying to carve up the city between multiple lieutenants who themselves belong to different organizations, with him as the secret mastermind at the heart of it all. Main difference in these two plans is, of course, that Coil is only one man, and also that he's telling his puppets ahead of time that he's the actual shot-caller.

It's not a terrible plan? It's not super complicated at least, but then that's only the criminal side of the city; I'm not sure how he would expect to play all sides off each other with sufficient balance to keep all his pieces on the board (or keep the pieces in line if he decided to make a sacrifice play with one of them).

Anyway. Coil making his appeals to each individual member. Bitch gets more resources to care for her dogs, Regent... something with his old man. I don't know if Coil is reading his wants exactly right on this one.

Hmm. Guess that's the best reassurance that can be provided, not that it feels reassuring still.

Okay so Coil is offering to wave his magic wand and settle the matter of Aisha's custody for Grue, that much lines up. What's the benefit he's offering Tattletale? It can't just be money or power, that's too simple and I don't think any of the Undersiders are that simple in their wants. I don't even think it's true of Regent, much as he's trying to play the lazy hedonist role.

Little funny that Skitter being respected enough to afford silence while she thinks is the exact opposite of what she wants right now.

And it's interesting that she can't pull up a wish that Coil feels like confirming. "Bettering the city" is vague enough that there can be disagreements, and it's the kind of thing with no quick results which means a lot of patience. Obviously it's because Taylor only ever tried to become a hero and the villain thing was... I don't know if "accident" is the right word, but definitely unforeseen, but that sense of higher purpose is still firmly in place.

He's sounding entirely too cool about this, and I hate it. There's no way this man doesn't have a thousand hooks and caveats waiting out of sight, he literally described himself as being able to control destiny and wants to control all crime.

Yeah probably a huge pain in the ass to do finances as a supervillain, huh.

Also what the fuck kind of name is Number Man?

Yay, sloughing puppies

Not to steal a well-worn metaphor from another superhero story, but here and now Taylor is the dog that finally caught a car and is only now realizing "oh shit, I don't know what I'm supposed to do now"

This can only go well

Current Thoughts

Man I hate Coil's entire fucking vibe. He's scummy, entirely too sure of his abilities and resources, and I don't trust a man who acts this overdramatic and this reasonable at the same time. I also don't fully trust a guy who insists on having his meetings in a limousine, or who insists on using teenaged girls as his proxies, and I'm sure I'm going to get even more reasons to hate his rancid ass as time moves on.

Side note, Tattletale, I'm like pretty sure you could be doing better than working for this guy. Blink three times if you need help.

...Wait, shit, there's no way they can keep playing at the small fry game now, is there? They tweaked the nose of the entire Protectorate in front of a bunch of rich and important people. He made them prove their abilities in a way that involves dire repercussions in the event that they back down after the deed is done. Motherfucker.

And just to think that this isn't even going to be the worst conversation in this arc.

[108garys]

MoM: Darkness, antagonists analysis

so random thoughts about our three human antagonists and why I was recently thinking that there did need to be specifically three of them. As we know the people that made MG are far removed from the circumstances that our characters find themselves in, the chemical itself has no will and the human antagonists are also victims in this scenario so why not look at them the way we look at our playable characters?

(long ass ramble below)

As we know the things our characters see are influenced by their fears and anxieties and are generally representative of their deeper psychology, while we don't see these things for the fishermen we do see their before and after. 2/3 weren't that bad and were obviously roped into the original crime and the third is the least bad of the anthology's antagonists. My thoughts are of the individual reactions to the darkness, to lose their sense, to concede to it or be consumed by or overcome it.

...Hopefully this will make a level of sense.

Starting with Danny, in the early part of the game he is shown as a voice of reason, consistently advising Olsen towards less drastic action and being all around level headed, even when things get worse he attempts to look out for the player characters on multiple occasions but the situation repeatedly presses against his very reasonable actions until in the end he can no longer trust his own judgement and is seen attacking the soldiers who could have rescued him. In the darkness he loses his discernment, in a way his arc is the inverse of a character like John which is usually pegged as the "learning to lead" arc where as Danny goes from a level-headed advisor to a reactive survivor. This is why I think he always survives but never dies, he shows a possible fate of our characters if they lose their rationality.

Olsen is an interesting case because he's in the exact mid point of horrifying in real life but really just a guy compared to the other villains, his early game motivation is literally just trying to make ends meet, obviously his decision to do that by taking tourists hostage is both reprehensible and recklessly shortsighted in terms of it actually working out for him and worse is that he drags everyone else into his scheme. His motivation seems more like pure greed towards the end and his paranoia grows but I think it's interesting to note that everything he does is motivated by survival at all costs. A thing I've never seen brought up(probably because it's far more complex than most of us are equipped for) is how Olsen and Fliss share a lot of the same views and life circumstance, both talking about doing what they must to get by, even outside the bounds of the law, both holding disdain for Americans and generally foreign influences and are superstitious, with Fliss she carries these pressures alone but learns to both rely on and be relied on throughout the game, the burden of survival is then shared but Olsen despite having more people than her to begin with views it as his burden and is crushed under it(sometimes quite literally), taking those he cares for with him, the player is on more than one occasion challenged with prioritising another characters wellbeing over there own or not and survival depends on teamwork which is something that Olsen fails at as he concedes to darkness and dies alone in his pursuit of survival at all costs. Across all playthroughs.

Finally junior is unique as our one meaningfully determinant NPC, especially because you have to go out of your way to save him. In the early game it is easy to see that he is just misguided or more so misled by his brother, the player can build a rapport with him over the game, he's never shown as level headed as Danny but he more easily sympathises with the player and in turn becoming sympathetic himself. During the later part of the game he is lost in the darkness having lost the guiding force of his brother and the balancing influence of Danny so when you get to him at that critical point you are trying to guide him out of the darkness, failing which he and potentially another are consumed in that darkness, if you save him you are literally helping him to see the world around him more clearly and in turn he guides the player to Olsen, in this way his arc is a coming of age arc where he learns to make decisions for himself and grows to be proactive in his ability to help others, much like a character like Mark or conversely if you do not save him he never gains a sense of self or sees the world clearly, comparative to Andrew's worst ending. Ultimately if he survives he under goes a sort of redemption/self-actualization arc and I think that you don't really 'win' MoM without his survival.

So yeah that ended up being longer than expected but tl;dr I think the fates of Danny/Olsen/Junior matter more than it originally appears and their respective arcs and characteristics are more deep than they get credit for

@kassiekole22 @delurkr @ctrvpani @tinynightmarewoman

@eframschweigersskincells @aydeenchan @conra @qusok what do y'all think of my semi stream of consciousness analysis? 😂

[drtwit]

Miraculous Ladybug: No More Heroes - Chapter 25

Moving On - Summary:

Adrien learns that Nathalie has a life outside of work, and Marinette and Gabriel's lives entirely depend on pretending that they can stand each other.

"Gabriel, be honest. It wasn't Emilie's death that made you a villain, it wasn't the world, and it wasn't the miraculous. It was always you - You were a villain long before you created Hawkmoth." Three years after his death, Gabriel Agreste awakens to a Paris ruled by akumas. He has no idea how he's alive, he has no idea what happened to Paris, all he knows it that he was the one who allowed this to happen. Hunted by the ghosts of his past, with no miraculous to protect him, and his greatest enemy now his only ally, Gabriel must brave this nightmare with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and make a choice: To become the villain he knows he is, or to find a way to become the father he failed to be.

Fandom:

Miraculous Ladybug

Relationships:

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Gabriel Agreste/Nathalie Sancoeur

Characters:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Gabriel Agreste

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Nathalie Sancoeur

Colt Fathom

Lila Rossi

Nino Lahiffe

Chloé Bourgeois

Félix Fathom

Luka Couffaine

Alya Césaire

Max Kanté

Additional Tags:

Gabriel Agreste Redemption

Has a long way to go

Chloé Bourgeois Redemption

Retcons

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug

Identity Reveal

Ladybug/Hawkmoth team-up

Gabriel Backstory

Gabriel being an asshole

Protective Nathalie Sancoeur

Félix Fathom Is Bad at Feelings

Lila Rossi Being Lila Rossi

Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Story switches between two major points in time

Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Needs a Break

[the-derpy-duck]

Quickshadow is amazing the essay

This is for @cayennesugar and cayennesugar only

Quickshadow is a Rescuebots character that appears in the show’s fourth season. She prefers to work solo and is absolutely perfect.

She’s obviously skilled in her craft and she knows it. She is confident and snarky but she’s also not a villain which I like. She’s not a braggart, but she doesn’t pretend that others are better at a job then her. The first thing she says to Heatwave when they first formally meet is that he is short. I didn’t really get why people shipped them together but some of what she does could be read as flirting (theirs an episode where she appears and when Heatwave asks why she’s back on Griffin Rock she says something along the lines of ‘I thought you missed me’ in a sarcastic tone). I don’t personally ship them but I see the appeal. Heatwave and Quickshadow have a very interesting relationship to me. I want to see them interact more because it’s fun.

When she was assigned to work with the rescue bots she seemed sort of upset when Blades said Heatwave didn’t like her (looking at her face she seems a bit more surprised) which I think is interesting. She doesn’t intend to offend Heatwave and probably wanted to be on good terms with him. She doesn’t do teamwork and seems to be introverted but that doesn’t mean she would be opposed to the idea of ✨friendship✨ and I do think that they would work well together, especially after the episode where she was put in charge. Teamwork is something that she did need to learn, but she still chooses to work on her own because that’s what she is good at and how she best works. She has her own system and I respect that. I also like that she wasn’t really an antagonistic force or rival to the rescue team. She was actively helping before she revealed herself and was teaching the team a lesson that they would need to learn eventually. Chase was prepared for the issue that arose when the plan went wrong and she was able to learn.

I absolutely love her transformation. It’s probably my favorite in the show because it does a good job of conveying her personality. She is quick witted and has a tendency to show off. She has a strong skill set and is well coordinated. I just really love the way it looks, it’s one of the smoothest bits of animation in the show. And her design is fantastic! She isn’t given boobs that would be out of place amongst the others and doesn’t have eye lashes or lipstick like other female transformers have had in the past. The main way you’d tell the difference in gender is her voice and the fact that the others use she/her pronouns when referring to her. Her head piece is also quite unique, the darker color contrasts nicely with her mostly white color scheme. I like the blue used for her as well, and I really like that she has her wheel on the right side of her car in vehicle mode because she’s British. She has a small amount of kibble that looks nice with the rest of her robot mode.

I like that she can manipulate her body to be able to gain speed, travel faster underwater, and even fly for short periods of time/slow her fall. She could 100% fight in a war and kick some ass. Not that the rescue bots are actually physically weaker from the other Cybertrionians, they handle environments much better than a lot of the autobots in prime. But that’s off topic. Quickshadow has one of like three fight scenes in the show. She takes on a temporary mentor roll to Blurr and Salvage but doesn’t like it because they are special. When she races Blurr she wins not because she’s faster but because she was smarter (which is a lesson that Blurr would utilize in a later episode) and the way she talks to Optimus makes me think that she is known for this. Also her message to Optimus is one of the best ways to do a ‘last time on…’ it made me actually listen to it instead of just skipping over and it’s very engaging in my personal opinion.

Also she’s British

I like her a lot. She should be used in more stories as she has a unique perspective and skill set. I also just really really like her. Hasbro please make better toys for the rescuebots I will buy all your overpriced legacy figures if you just make more rescue bots.

[nrdmssgs]

Know your people

Masterlist

Summary: this is practically Nikolai and Zhar fangirling over the newest Chimera member, Nak. Just nice cozy moments of getting to know each other. (Just Nikolai nailing mentoring) Happens waaaay after the Matters. Phayvanh "Nak" Sotsvahn belongs to @vasyandii

No TWs.

"I'm not asking, how they are built. Ok, just describe primary defensive methods for protecting against HEAT rounds!"

Zhar doesn't even fully wake up, when her brain starts forming an answer automatically. "Three primary methods are use of stand-off armour, composite armour and explosive reactive armour, or ERA. A stand-off armour is a light layer situated in front of the main armour. This causes the HEAT warhead-"

A broad palm falls on her shoulders, and she finally opens her eyes, immediately regretting this. A meeting room falls silent as two pairs of eyes watch her. Olga raises her head from the desk, on which she accidentally fell asleep, and curses under her breath.

"I'll go make some coffee." Zhar mutters and tries to get up from the table, but Nikolai pulls her towards him for a short moment.

"Go sleep on a couch in my office. This one is stubborn - she won't calm down, till she knows this all by heart."

Nikolai gestures at a pile of schemes, texts and charts laying in front of Phayvanh, who, taking advantage of the moment, quickly repeats the material she is learning.

Zhar sighs and leaves them two to their over-protracted lesson. She was almost sure, it was illegal in some countries to deprive such a young person of sleep, right after her very first mission. Of course, every soldier, and Olga herself went through this: endless trainings, lessons, tests, deployments. But it was easier to do it all by herself, than to witness, how others have to walk down this path.

Nikolai loved to mock Olga for recruiting Krueger. "Your golden child is too stubborn for you to teach him new tricks. You wanted a seasoned professional - you got yourself one! Only he has no interest whatsoever in learning from you, commander... If I were you - I'd find someone fresh and raise them."

Usually at such moments, Zhar would look up at him and answer, “Says the guy who hired me, someone almost your age...”

"You, moye nebo, were raised by my best friend, so that doesn't count!"

That dialogue kept repeating every now and then, until Nikolai introduced Nak to others. One of the youngest members of Chimera, she was immediately assigned to the combat group, skipping a common for members of her age stage of work in the office. Zhar shared Nikolais excitement about such an incredible talented and hard-working soldier, but deep inside she was worried, that Nik will push his apprentice to the limits, just to prove his point.

Every time, Olga tried to steal Phayvanh away to give her time to rest, Nikolai was already there, behind Zhars back, whispering softly, but menacingly 'hands off, love, go train your German disaster, if you have that much free time'.

The more she watched Nikolai drill Phayvanh, the more she recognized so familiar John Price intonations in his voice. This reassured her, that Nak was safe with Nikolai.

That was, of course, until one evening Olga led her team back to the base and met Nik, preparing to meet the other group in the hangar.

"Didn't know, we were doing that infiltration this day as well. Who was on it?" Zhar already got used to Nikolai, checking if she got back unwounded, so she tries to find out fresh statuses of all their teams, while he practically scans her gear.

"Mhm, they did great, by the way. Syd is already back, Sebastian and Phayvanh will be back any minute."

Zhar frowns. "Don't tell me, you left Nak alone with Krueger... For fuck’s sake, Nik, our goal is to train her - not traumatize!"

Nikolai only chuckles, "I know my people, love. Phayvanh won't let that guy traumatize her. Never."

"You don't know what you are talking about! Krueger can be unbearable, when it comes to teamwork! Ok, I'll need a blanket for her... and maybe a bat for him." Olga takes off her gloves and grumbles something, and Nikolai laughs louder. Finally, he takes her by the shoulders and carefully turns her to face the entrance to the hangar where the car had just stopped.

Zhar awaits screams, swearing, the appearance of Krueger’s dissatisfied face, Nak’s cheeks shiny with tears. Her palms instinctively clench into fists. First, Krueger gets out of the car. Usually, by the end of the mission, he is always pissed with something: it doesn’t matter - with himself or those around him, in any case, it’s better not to fall into his hands. But now his face is surprisingly calm. Nak also gets out and whistles a low melody as she collects her ammunition, and Kruger calmly and patiently waits for her at the hangar doors to help her put everything in its place in the warehouse.

"Am I dreaming, or is this guy really doesn't try to eat anyone alive?" Olga relaxes and leans back against Nikolais chest.

He is happy, Zhar doesn't see his shit-eating grin, that might have ruined the moment. "Know your people, love. It's a two-way lane: we teach them the ways of war - they teach us their ways."

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Okay, so. Mon-el is at the academy right. What if his mom Rhea abducted Lena from earth as a child and sent her to infiltrate the Academy with Mon-el? Obviously Lena wouldn't be aware of this plan-- she just feels massive imposter syndrome bc even though she can fight and is smart, she's just a normal human with a bunch of superpowered kids.

When Kara arrives she's angry and grieving. She barges through the halls with little consideration for anyone else, too caught up in her loss to care. She meets Lena when she collides into her in the corridor outside a classroom. Lena goes flying into a wall, though isn't seriously injured. Kara is horrified by it, finally shocked into noticing her disregard, but the rest of the students laugh-- they don't like Lena, and don't think she belongs there, so they think it's hilarious.

Later that night, Kara finds Lena in the sparring room, practicing. When Kara arrives, Lena is skittish, immediately offering to leave so Kara can have the room to herself. But Kara heads her off, confessing she's there to apologize.

She finds herself telling Lena how alone she feels, how she's lost her world and doesn't know what to do or where to go, only feeling utterly adrift and detached from everyone around her.

Lena can relate, and does, sharing her own hardships (but not the truth of her abduction/upbringing, that comes later). When she mentions how much she has to study and train just to keep up with the others, Kara offers to help give her some tips-- after all, on Krypton she was about to join the military guild, so she knows her way around a fight.

Lena accepts, and it becomes a routine of theirs. Kara enjoys sharing her knowledge and likes the bits of Lena she starts to see as Lena relaxes around her. It gives her both a purpose and someone to connect to, while Lena steadily improves-- and if they create some teamwork moves together that they later do in class, well, that's just for fun.

When Mon-el shows his true colors, its on a night where Lena asks to see Kara after hours. She wants to tell Kara about some suspicions she has about her "brother", but when Mon-el's treachery is discovered, Kara believes Lena lured her away to give him access.

Kara sees to it that Lena is imprisoned intitially, but when she stops to think about it later, she realizes it doesn't make much sense. After all, when has Lena had time to scheme? She barely sleeps as it is. And why would Mon-el leave her behind if she was part of the plan all along? Why would LENA let herself be caught? She had the brains and the means to escape before her capture, so why wouldn't she have?

So Kara goes back to the cells and finally listens to what Lena has to say. Only then does Lena share that she wasn't rescued by Rhea, but stolen from her home. She was raised by her captor and then sent away, here, to the academy. She doesn't know why, but she's suspect Mon-el and Rhea had some evil plan in store for some time now. That's why she wanted to meet with Kara.

Kara releases Lena from her cell and together they confront Mon-el and Rhea in the academy vault, where an ancient weapon has been stored since the 21st century. A weapon keyed to Luthor DNA.

Together, Lena and Kara work with the other academy kids to stop the Daxamites, and though Rhea does manage to get Lena's blood on the sensor to activate the weapon, Lena is later able to disable it, thanks to her Luthor intellect.

After the crisis is over and the Legion returns, the academy kids finally realize that Lena has only ever tried to be a hero, just like them-- and she's succeeded alongside them. It leads to Kara and Lena finally finding their place among the halls of the academy-- together.

[randompersonstalkingyou]

My main issue with Arcane S2 is that they should’ve kept it Piltover vs. Zaun if they were going to only make 2 seasons. Like I’m interested in Mel’s story but Mel’s diplomacy skills should’ve been in play instead of her mage powers. Like have her seek out her origins after helping Zaun gain independence. Ambessa shouldn’t have been used as a common enemy and I would’ve preferred to see her story unfold in the next region(s) too. Caitlyn going fascist was a stupid decision because why make her go too far and not have any repercussions for what she’s done? This is just a few of so many weird decisions.

I think the problem with arcane is that instead of being a league AU it was changed to canon, because now it has to open up the world. Piltover and zaun are fine regions as a quick standalone show but in the greater scheme of runeterra theyre baby regions, and so if arcane is the official league canon then we need to open up the universe more and introduce other region.

I do love Noxus and black rose though. They could have made this season 99% black rose stuff and I would have been so happy. I loved seeing Mel as a mage. But I do also think this ties into the problem of making arcane canon. Because as soon as it’s canon it goes down the route of how can we bring in all these different people and connect them. And once you start doing that you realize how little a class conflict feels compared to all these other world ending threats. And so then character have to get scaled up to the world they’re in now. Mel being mage, Viktor going from machine man who gives you cybernetic upgrades to arcane hive mind god. Now piltover and zaun get to be part of the world ending threat common enemy stories and we lose the original plot in the process.

Also league zaun is still in a bad place, pretty much where it was in s1. So if they kept with the piltover v zaun they’d have to completely overhaul the entire city and all the champs in it. And so the easier solution is just the common enemy, have the cities slight work together enough that we can make a show of teamwork without actually changing any status. Again if this was an AU it wouldn’t have mattered if Zaun gains independence and becomes its own great city but since it’s canon they were restricted in what the end state of zaun was. Yes they can make Zaun doing better but it can’t have it reach that level that we saw in the alternate world from episode 7.

Cait fascist “arc” to me comes from the fact that she is a really simple character and she doesn’t really have anywhere to go. She is the sherif of piltover in game which means that’s her arcane counterpart really doesn’t have a major arc it’s just a couple promotions to get her there. And so there’s not a lot to do with her character in terms of growth besides 180 it to make her the bad guy, but then she’s a good guy and so she can’t stay fascist for long and there’s not real consequences. I personally would have had preferred her to take a backseat role this season but then she gets reduced to just vi’s love interest which is also bad.

[arahabakix]

look look y'know how soukoku uses their irl literary works as codes during missions???

 there is an element of teamwork in all of these since well y'know they're a duo. but dazai and chuuya probably have a million plans and code words to set them in motion. i've been thinking this over for a while now and many ppl have raised it too since guddobai (グッド・バイ) is dazai osamu's final unfinished work it could be an SOS signal sorta situation.

dazai being dazai probably did make provisions for a scenario where he would be of no use, where the other person's (chuuya's) decisions would have to take center stage BUT not dead apple flavoured since he literally can't do anything unlike then where his revival could nullify shibuzawa's ability. (and also yes, chuuya did technically move according to dazai's plans in dead apple. because he banked on chuuya reviving him in time)

but i do think dazai already made/has a plan in case he was indisposed of. like he knew/accounted for a possibility where he wouldn't be able to do anything. that dazai would be severely injured or handicapped or idk plummeting to his death? <not saying he foresaw the events but dude makes plans for everything he has ANXIETY: EXTREME EDITION>.

dazai probably never thought he'd make it out of meursault alive. but dazai probably hoped that should that be the case chuuya would know what to do. then again dazai probably never foresaw fyodor using chuuya and the usage of 'guddo bai' could essentially be him signalling that he has faith in chuuya like he has always stated. 'a come save me you're the only one who can and i have no more cards left' type of deal. where chuuya will have to work with the premise that there is no more scheming or snark waiting to greet him at the end.