#they could've handled these subjects a little better

[justwinginglife]

Can I req a hoshina x reader, but school au and they're academic rivals? Leikk, they're in the same class and debates every now and then who's correct. Fights aren't uncommon between them especially when they both ran for council

But what's surprising is that they actually study together outside school?

(I'm sorry if this is to much 😔, I love your fanfics. Theyre my oxygen, ty for keeping us hoshina fans well fed 🫶)

You absolutely do not need to apologize! I am totally happy to do this for you. Thank you so much for your support, and of course, I'm always happy to encourage the Hoshina hyperfixation.

The Best Plans

You had so many ideas about how you thought your college life would go; you'd be top of every class, give a rousing speech at graduation, rock your first internship, and score a killer first job. You didn't anticipate anyone having the smarts to fuck up your masterplan. But Soshiro Hoshina was a whole different beast, something you couldn't have anticipated.

Your whole life, you'd been smarter than everyone around you even without trying. It was just a given that you were better. So you never could've predicted that you'd have to break a sweat just to keep up with him. For the first time in your life, you were pulling all nighters, just raw dogging tests with no sleep, no sanity. You were frequenting the library so much, studying at all hours of the day and the night, that you had become good friends with the librarian. Her name was Himiko. She had two cats and loved Italian food. She was a sweetheart.

But even through all this struggling, you persevered. You got 100% on almost everything (with the occasional 99% that Hoshina would tease you about relentlessly until your next 100%). You were not about to let some scrawny, short-ass, bowl-cut wearing, squinty-eyed, nerd disrupt your whole plan.

You hated the way he laughed at you. It was loud and unhinged. And it was uninterrupted, nothing could stop him once he'd started. And the way that he smirked was so smug and unapologetic, you thought you might just hit him with your encyclopedia.

Your favorite class was debate, because then you could argue with him to no end and even win participation points for it. Of course, you'd argue with him for free, but it was significantly more fun to destroy him for a good grade. It was like a nice little treat to yourself, compensation for having to endure his cocky personality.

And you endured a lot. You had the unfortunate luck of knowing him better than you had ever wanted to, better than anyone else ever could know him or ever would know him. You knew what arguments he was going to use before he used them, you knew what energy drink he felt was more effective for his late night study sessions (you'd run into him so frequently at the library), you knew his poker face, his stressed face (you were surprised to discover that he actually got stressed, and you teased him incessantly about not being so superhuman after all), you knew which subjects were his favorite, which subjects were his least favorite, which classmates he liked and disliked. And you had always thought you were on the "dislike" list until one day you both ended up on the student council together.

It was the first time in this school's entire history that they'd ever had two student body presidents. Your grades were so even that it was hard to assign the role to just one person. Though, Hoshina would constantly introduce you as his vice president anyway. You'd get him back by telling people he hadn't even qualified for vice president, so he was stuck with the position of treasurer. No one knew who to believe, but everyone knew the two of you had an intense rivalry.

It was so intense, you almost thought you wouldn't be able to handle being in even closer proximity to him than you already were, but you refused to step down from the council and let him be the president, and of course, he wasn't stepping down anytime soon either. So the two of you spent even later nights together, poring over the school budget, planning out events, discussing new policies.

And eventually, to your shock, he admitted that he actually enjoyed spending so much time with you. He enjoyed the banter, he enjoyed your perspective, he enjoyed hearing your opinions even if he teased you that they were wrong, and he especially enjoyed the way you'd walk by a vending machine and think of him, then buy him a snack but -not wanting to let on that you cared- you'd chuck the bag of chips in his face, saying if the hunger didn't kill him first, you would.

And when he admitted these things to you, you were shocked to realize you felt the same. You liked the way he absentmindedly ran his hands through his hair when he was deep in thought. You liked the way his eyes settled on you when he was listening intently to your plans. You liked the way he always made your plans into a reality, shrugging and saying that it was no big deal and it was half his plan anyway.

You spent so much time together in school, that eventually it spilled over into your personal life, and suddenly he was visiting you at home. He'd bow to your mom, shake your dad's hand, wave to your little sister, and then run upstairs and collapse on your bed beside you. You'd stare up at the ceiling and talk for hours, until he'd decided to tickle you, to which you responded by shoving him off the bed.

And then you'd eat dinner together, study together, and just keep living life together.

It was hard to believe that just a couple months ago, you were butting heads, clawing at each other's throats. But it was even harder to think about living without him anymore.

And suddenly, all those plans you had for your college life, all those goals and lofty ideas, none of them mattered as much anymore. Your only plan at this moment was to enjoy your time with him, and pray it never stopped.

[mochiajclayne]

Marineford Law is no question interesting to me because he pulled off a surprise, motherfucker moment and the timing was so good to the point that both pirates and marines least expected it.

Before I proceed with this self-indulgent lawlu meta post, I will go ahead and say that everything that happened between them in Marineford is a catalyst of establishing their connection later on in the future arcs. I am a firm believer that those feelings™️ started to truly bloom in Punk Hazard and went downhill in a good way in Dressrosa.

Long post ahead. Enjoy!

When I was rewatching Marineford arc, the part where Buggy was already carrying an unconscious and injured Luffy and Jimbei, their conversation sparked my interest.

Highlighting the bit where Buggy was confused about Law's verbal tic of using the suffix -ya in referring to anyone, overall doubting him, then asking for Law's name. Don't forget that Law is a little shit (affectionate) so he proceeded to ignore all of those questions to say this:

Interestingly enough, this part is tricky to translate. I found two translations that closely encapsulate what Law wanted to say here but mind you, and I will sound redundant about this with everything that has got to do with Trafalgar Law's speech patterns: he likes speaking in runarounds, purposely using terms with double meanings and connotations on them, and he's both reticent and cryptic. (I wouldn't say not to trust on his words but don't take them at face value.)

Law described his connection with Luffy as 悪縁 (akuen) which directly translates as evil destiny or connection.

Forgive me for a bit of sidetracking but the kanji used for akuen is the same with Robin's epithet which is "Demon Child" (akuma no ko). To further elaborate, 悪 (aku) means evil--both as intent and violating a moral code. It is also used to refer as the direct opposite of good.

Going back to 悪縁 (akuen), in true Law fashion, this word doesn't only mean evil destiny or connection. Depending on the context, it can also mean unfortunate love.

(It sounds tragic coming from him, isn't it? If your mind was blown after this part, no worries, I am too. This part gave me so much whiplash when I was researching about it.)

So, considering these two interpretations of 悪縁 (akuen), that begs the question, what is Law's connection with Luffy?

On surface-level, they are enemies as Law said so himself. They're rivals when it comes to One Piece. Their common ground, which is only known among people that Law trusts the most, is sharing the same secret name of D. However, I will take one step ahead and say that they both went through the same tragic fate of losing their loved ones, for being weak and powerless to protect them. They were both involved in circumstances where if they were capable enough, they could've saved the person they loved the most. Doomed by the narrative and subjected to trauma that breaks their heart and spirit should they be lesser men to handle such misery and grief. It is unfortunate, disastrous, and cursed to love fully knowing the fact that the other person could die like the ones before them but these two have the biggest heart.

Of course, Law will never say it directly. Thus, settling for 悪縁 (akuen).

It gets better. He did say 悪縁も縁 (akuen mo en) and 縁 (en) itself means fate or destiny (especially a mysterious force that binds two people together). Additionally, も (mo) is also a particle that is used for emphasis.

The implication, in turn, of what Law said to Buggy can be translated this way: Strawhat-ya and I (will) eventually be enemies, but an evil connection is (the futuristic possibility of Luffy becoming his enemy) is fate (that binds them).

Law made sure to emphasize that their "evil connection" is fate: specifically, that mysterious force brought them together and compelled him to be there, that he was meant to sail to Marineford, and help Luffy escape.

These two translations are the closest that I found to be accurate but it's still scratching the surface of what Law said:

This entire panel between Ivankov and Law makes it funnier because he clocked him IMMEDIATELY.

Ivankov asked if he's friends with Luffy to which he replied: no.

He also emphasized that that he doesn't have any obligation to help him but then went on to say this:

親切 (shinsetsu) means kind, generous, gentle, considerate. 不安 (fuan) refers to anxiety, uneasiness, worry, apprehension. These are surprisingly direct words but of course, Law had to go back and be cryptic again when he followed up with 理屈 (rikutsu), which could mean two things: theory, reason, logic or (unreasonable) argument, excuse.

I think this panel did a good job for translating it.

Law himself is providing Ivankov here the benefit of the doubt. To reiterate, Ivankov beats him to the punch which makes their entire interaction so funny.

Again, brilliant translation for directly calling out Law's bullshit. Lmao. Ivankov says 直感 (chokkan) here. It means intuition, instinct, hunch. Please take the next statement that I will say with a grain of salt but "instinctively moving your body" is usually associated with the context of being reckless to the point of directly exposing oneself to danger, consequences be damned, in order to protect someone.

Even Law himself acknowledged that he's not obligated to be there, so why?

Unfortunately, this is the elephant in the room that Law will never address. Several characters even made sure to point out that he helped Luffy two years ago and he purposely dodges that topic.

One thing I can guarantee is that Law never did it to get Luffy to agree for the alliance. Hell, he thought of the alliance after reuniting with Luffy! He adjusted his plans by then. Additionally, he never used the fact that he saved Luffy's life as his bargaining chip and leverage to get him on board the alliance.

Lastly, this is too much for saving a life on a whim, isn't it, Law?

[impactrueno]

(thread i posted on twitter copypaste)

i think musical bj and lydia have the most interesting dynamic of the three…they go toe to toe, seem to be in perfect sync without even trying, she managed to turn his marriage threat on its head by tricking HIM back, and then a mini redemption arc? we love to see it but this also means it's hard for me to think of interesting things for them, because they already said everything that needed to be said in the musical. perfect closure too. what else is there even to tell?

thinking about this again since i've been rewatching the musical over and over. the emotional resolution and closure they had was so satisfying after offering what is probably the best (subjectively) and most balanced (objectively) dynamic of the three iterations

over at tumblr i've been talking about how cartoon bj and lydia's friendship isn't as perfect as it seems, especially in the later episodes. it's so sad to see but i'm also invested in their potential downfall and how that would go down…it's interesting to think about

but hey at least they're not movie bj and lydia lol. what….a mess of a dynamic those two have now with the sequel. it could've been handled so much better. they obviously wanted us to root for bj a little in this one, but the cool things he does amount to nothing, pretty much.

feels weird sympathizing with THIS beetleguy of all three but wow not even a reluctant "thanks i guess" or anything? idk feels like something was missing there. just one of the many things that feel like they're setting up for a third installment

thinking so hard about this because when i write them i gotta think about their motivations, feelings and why they feel that way, etc and bj saving astrid's life and exposing rory as a fraud and abuser (in an incredibly satisfying way) definitely tipped the scales in his favor.

so i'm still figuring out how lydia would feel about all that. i have this scene stuck in my head of her and astrid talking about bj. and astrid, who's really only seen him do good things, goes "…really mom?" and now i'm going "welp she's kinda got a point, lydia" NOW WHAT.

if i were in her shoes, me personally, that would've won me over or at the VERY least i would've forgiven him since he made up for the bad stuff. and i keep seeing people who feel the same way… then again, the ending does show he's still messing with her so idk. mixed feelings

trying my hardest to work with what canon gave us if you couldn't tell lol. sloppy as it was. i will try to make sense of it so i can do my stupid little comics

i guess at least she let him down easy lmao. as sarcastic her "look i'm sorry things didn't work out between us but the 600 year gap is a little much for me" line was. but he's not gonna give up that easily, is he? of course not. he's beetlejuice. he's gonna be annoying forever.

none of this would be such an issue if they had given them more screentime together to let their dynamic cook a bit and actually see how they get along 😑 hmph

anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk im done now

[theyapper0]

PART THREE OF "DISHONORED GUESTS"

Charlie's??? Super confused? But she goes with it, albeit a bit thrown off by the sudden subject change, “Uh… no. ‘Still just Angel”

Emily: Angel? There's an angel in Hell!? 

Charlie's like, oh no, LOL! I'm talking about Angel DUST, a really good friend of mine and our first patron at the hotel!!!! Angel Dust is just a performing name! You get it? Angel Dust? 

Emily does not get it.

Charlie: One of the things he's trying to work on is getting clean and Angel Dust started using that name a long time ago. It's a another word for-

Adam: Uh! Charlie! Umm… Emily, don't worry about that! 

Adam leans into Charlie and says how Sera doesn't like having Emily hear that kinda stuff

Charlie’s TOTALLY confused now, she just sorta stares at him like??

Emily sighs, more than used to this, and is like, “Okay….”

Charlie looks at Emily and then at Adam like, “Great! ‘Glad we got that outta the way! Okay, see you at the Trial, Adam!!! ^^”

Adam: Oh! Uh… Alright, you two..!

When they’re a little further away, Charlie asks Emily if she’d like to hear about Angel Dust and other stories from Hell. Not in like an evil way but in like a friendly way :)

Emily’s a grown woman and Charlie doesn’t understand why she would need permission from her sister to hear certain things, obviously he knows that Sera is sorta overbearing because she cares for Emily but at the same time, she knows it’s also stifling Emily a LOT

Emily OF COURSE agrees like OMG FOR REAL?? YES!!!!!!

Adam stared at them as they left.

He knew what was happening.

(Why doesn’t he ever act?)

Cut. The Sun is beginning to set, the Trial will be in a couple hours. 

Vaggie is walking around the Heavenly cathedral, looking for Sera. 

She needed to leave. She HAD to leave, if she doesn't, Lute will tell not just everyone, but CHARLIE, that she's a….

Vaggie knew that if she were to ask Sera that she wished to leave, the Seraphim would be MORE than happy to conjure up a portal back to Hell no questions asked. 

Charlie didn't TRULY need Vaggie here for the Trial, she only thought she did. If Vaggie were to leave, sure, Charlie would be sad, but she'll get so distracted from preparing for the Trial that she'll forget that her girlfriend had even come with her in the first place!! 

Charlie comes up from behind her, “Sera? Why're you looking for her?” 

Vaggie: AAHAATTOOoooo ask her… where you were! HAHAHA! I just knew you were having such a good time with Emily and I wanted to make sure you were okay!!!! 

Charlie's like you could've called me :( and Vaggie apologizes

Charlie: It's fine, no worries! I'm just glad you ended up coming out for some air! Speaking of, man, even the air feels better to breathe in! 

Vaggie tells her that it was because there was no air pollution in Heaven  

Charlie: How do they even power their factories? Magic? 

Vaggie: Probably

Charlie smiles at her and kisses her, “I missed you, Emily showed me all these amazing places! Did you know the parks here aren't constantly on fire? Or filled with garbage!!!

Vaggie: That probably helps with the lack of a pollution problem here 

Charlie laughs and tells her that she totally has a point. 

Charlie: Oh wait!! I got you something!! A little thank you for coming with me today!! I know you don't really dig Heaven but you came anyway… for me. I just want you to know how much it means to me. 

Charlie gives Vaggie a golden, handheld blade sharpener.

Vaggie is completely awestruck and she stares at it as Charlie speaks, “Me and Emily got stickers and we were gonna put them all over but we figured that since it's YOURS, you should get to pick where you want them… or if you want them on it in the first place!”

Vaggie looks at the handle, on the butt of it is a sticker. 

Charlie: Ok so I might've realized that AFTER I already put one on…

Vaggie smiles with a light laugh, she hugs Charlie, “Charlie, I love it. Thank you so much, babe”

Charlie: You don't need to thank me, Vaggie!! I love you”

They kiss (⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠³⁠˘⁠)⁠♥

Charlie: We still have a few hours till the Trial, I'm gonna go over all our points! Feel free to join me whenever!! 

Vaggie stays where she stood, watching as Charlie turns around to walk away

Lute’s words- her threats, are clawing at the inside of her brain. If Vaggie showed up to that Trial, if she saw Lute, everything would be revealed…

Vaggie needed to leave. 

Vaggie: Wait, Charlie..!

Charlie turns around, “Hm? Yeah, Vaggie?”

Vaggie: I…

Vaggie: Do you really need me here for this..? I mean, you’re basically the one who thought of all our arguments for this Trial, I don't want to… hold you back”

Charlie: Vaggie… Everything we have, we built from the ground up TOGETHER. You're just as an integral part in this as I am, we're a team. 

Charlie: I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather have here with me than you- I WOULDN'T WANT anyone else with me here than you

Vaggie stared up at her. 

Shit….

How could she leave now? Not after such a confession like that. 

Charlie didn't NEED Vaggie here, she really didn't. Honestly, either one of them could have gone here to fight in this Trial and all would be fine, they both knew their material. 

But Charlie WANTED Vaggie to be here… with her. 

Vaggie: I uh….

Vaggie: I guess we can go over everything together…

Cut. Charlie and Vaggie are outside the grand doors of the Courtroom. 

Charlie is FREAKING OUT!!!! The Trial's just MINUTES from starting!!!! FUUUUUCK!!!!!!! 

Vaggie reassures her that everything's gonna be fine and to not stress so much 

While Vaggie's telling her this, she eyes Lute approaching them in the corner of her eye

Vaggie: How about you go set up and get organized inside, you'll feel better once you start doing something. I'm just gonna head to the bathroom real quick

Charlie's like, “Can I come?? 🥺”

Vaggie: Charlie…

Charlie: Okay, okay! You're right, I'm gonna go

They give each other a quick kiss before Charlie runs inside

As Charlie leaves, Lute finally reaches Vaggie. 

Lute: You're still here. 

Vaggie: Don't you have Adam to follow? 

Lute: I've extended my grace towards you because of our past, old protégé.

Lute: But you've completely disregarded that

Vaggie ignores Lute, trying to walk away and down the hall. 

Lute grabs her shoulder, “It would do you good to listen to the people above you”

Lute: I thought I taught you well… 

Lute: But I'll make sure you learn. 

Vaggie jerks her shoulder away, “Don't touch me!”

They tussle for a bit and eventually Lute roughly grabs hold of Vaggie's arm and shoves her into the Courtroom.

They both enter the Courtroom and it's quiet, there's only a couple murmurings here and there. 

Vaggie goes to Charlie and Lute to Adam.

Charlie and Emily are talking to each other. Adam was watching them from afar but then was completely thrown off once he saw Lute enter with Vaggie

This is the first time Adam is seeing Vaggie today and UMM???? WHAT?! SHE’S ALIVE?!?!?!?!!?!?

(In this rewrite/AU/thing, everyone thought Vaggie died by Lute once she was banished from Hell)

Adam looks at Lute and there’s no time to explain anything.

Sera: The Trial will now commence!

Sera: We are here to determine whether or not a mortal soul in Hell can be redeemed into the heavenly realm via means of this “Hazbin Hotel”

Sera: All mortal souls, in order to grant passage into eternal bliss, must follow the Ten Commandments. If they do not, they are sentenced to the fiery wrath of damnation.

Charlie speaks up, “Yes but a mortal’s life isn’t over when they die- so to speak!”

“They're still conscious and aware of their actions and consequences even IN the afterlife! If they are just as lucid as they were when they were alive, that means their principals and morals are continuously subject to change just like anyone else!”

Charlie: I believe our Hazbin Hotel has the potential to reform Sinners! 

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

[shoyoist]

𝟎𝟐:𝟑𝟎 𝐀𝐌 : mikage reo.

the first thing that hits reo as he steps out of the plane is that the air around him smells familiar once more. the night is cold, and the crisp atmosphere that blankets japan beyond sunset soothes his nerves as he breathes it in, shutting his eyes momentarily to bask in the comforting feel.

the second thing that hits him, is that he's alone again.

reo watches, one hand languid on the handle of his suitcase, the other pulling at his ponytail to loosen it a little — as people take out their phones and dial their parents, their families and their partners, "hello?"'s and "i'm coming now"'s and "wait for me at the gate"'s filling the drowsy silence as they climb down the stairs and queue up for the bus that's waiting for them on the runway.

looking up at the blank night sky, he remembers absently that his mother had texted him to let him know that she and his father were not yet at home, and that they would send a chauffeur to pick him up.

boring. it's like the richer a man gets, the less people care about him. really care about him. and judging from the way his parents act sometimes, it's like the richer someone gets, the less they care about other people, too.

a chauffeur? fuck that. his eyebrows screw together. it's the first time he's ever gone abroad by himself. that too, as a subject of a project that government officials and authorities had zero trust in. the least they could do in such a situation, was to come pick their only son up from the airport themselves.

he doesn't have any luggage to pick up, so he skips past the group of people that line up by the conveyors, hauling his backpack higher up his shoulder and rolling his suitcase across the smooth tile as he makes a quick escape from the crowds, heading towards the exit.

he's scanning the line of cars in the waiting area for one with the mikage corporation emblem on it, when he catches sight of you.

and he can't believe his eyes, he really can't — so he just stands there and stares like an idiot, mouth hanging open — until you wave at him, and then he calls out, almost hesitant— "baby, 's that you?"

"reo?" you yell back. "hurry up, i've been waiting hours!"

the smile that blooms on his face then is dazzling. so bright and so full of unmasked happiness, that your aching feet and the hours you spent waiting in the frigid night air are all worth it.

he drops the bag he was carrying on his shoulder, forgets his suitcase just inside the big, sliding glass doors and he runs to you, pretty violet eyes creasing with his widening smile as he slams into you, all 185cm of him enveloping your frame in a tight, desperate hug. "hi."

"hi," you say back, wrapping your arms around him and letting his warmth save you from the icy night air. "you okay?"

"yeah," he sighs into your hair, before he starts laughing. "yeah i'm okay."

he's scooping you up into the air and twirling you around with the biggest smile on his face, before setting you back down and taking your face in his hands, meeting your lips in the most heated, breathless and starved kisses ever.

"mmh," your protest is muffled, lips pressed to the corner of his mouth. "you sure you're okay?"

"i've never been better, bunny." he laughs against your lips because he doesn't want to pull back even just to speak. "didn't think you'd come to pick me up."

when he finally lets you go (just to squeeze you in a hug again) you look past his shoulder and see people side-eyeing his suitcase and the bag he'd strewn across the floor on their way out, and you notice a security guard staring right at the two of you, looking unimpressed as he taps his foot, waiting for reo to retrieve his things.

"of course i came." putting your hands on his chest, you reach up on your toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "now, go get your things back, baby. your chauffeur's been waiting as long as i have."

poor man, reo thinks. if his parents had just driven here themselves, along with you or not, he could've gotten himself a good night's sleep. but no matter. he can't find it in himself to remain gloomy when you're here.

his phone buzzes in his pocket, and when he fishes it out, the screen is lit up and a couple of notifications pop up.

nagi: hey. you landed yet? m sleepy... :x isagi: hi reo! text me when you get home ok?

he looks up at the night sky once more and somehow, despite the bright lights overhead, he can see a couple of stars.

"'m glad you came, bunny." he smiles at you, unbothered by your tugging at the sleeve of his jacket. "was a little bummed that we all had separate flights back home."

and it's almost silly how his bad mood could be so easily cured by the mere presence of another person. he'd been thinking that you'd be fast asleep. hadn't thought much about the see you soon<3 message you'd sent him just before the attendant made him switch his phone to flight mode.

he was thinking he'd spend the drive home alone and bored, and make it back to a mansion with nobody to welcome him in, leave his suitcase and backpack in the foyer and go to sleep alone in a cold, empty bed too big for one person.

but — but you're here.

and he feels so warm. so loved. if blue lock taught him anything about himself, it's that he loves hard and takes great pleasure in knowing that the ones he loves do love him back.

and you, he thinks. you love him back.

why else would you be here?

"reo." you urge, pointing at the luggage he'd left behind, and he turns around to give his things a glance, thinking that he's not all alone after all. when he turns back, he sees his car pull in from the back, the driver rolling down the window to lean out and call his name.

yeah, he should get going. shouldn't forget the terrible traffic that lingers around the airport at all times.

"alright, alright, let me go get it." he says, hands on your hips, pulling you into him again. giving you the sweetest look with those lovely eyes of his, smile so tender and loving, he mumbles, "after just one more kiss? can't help it, i missed you so much."

"fine," you roll your eyes playfully as he drags you in. "but only 'cause i love you so much." yeah. you do love him back.

[skyloftsword]

How to criticize something vs how NOT to criticize something

Yes, the Zelda fanbase has done it again, for the 100th time or something. They have decided that a game is objectively bad and that anyone who enjoys it is just "coping". The normalization of pushing something subjective as objective fact has been detrimental to discussing games online. It's astonishing how people continue to behave like little kids over stuff that really shouldn't matter that much. Discussions nowadays are better off with just talking with your friend groups, because having a different opinion will get you lashed out at. You NEED to agree with Youtuber #299999 otherwise nobody likes you. This type of stuff is horrible in general, however it makes it so hard to be a Zelda fan especially (even going so far as to being hypocritical like saying TotK fans are the toxic ones despite BotW fans literally DDOSing a reviewer's site and sending them threats).

Anyways, here's what I feel like good criticisms are:

"I personally feel like this game has a couple of issues with it, so I didn't like it that much".

"I would have preferred it if they handled it like this instead." *gives a well thought example of how they would have handled said thing*

"I think this person at this point of their video expresses how I feel better than I could." *links a video*

"I think this could've been better executed, but I respect your opinion."

Good criticisms try to be respectful and constructive. They provide examples of how they would have done something differently or didn't like an aspect of a piece of media. There are also no insults or pushing opinions as fact involved. There's respect for others involved with this as well, acknowledging that people have different tastes and whatnot. Of course, you can word your criticisms differently if you feel mine are too formal or think they're not critical enough. Just be sure to not be too aggressive or hateful.

How NOT to criticize something:

"If you like this game, you're a horrible person."

"How the hell could anyone prefer X 2 over X 1???????"

"Watch this video and you'll realize that you're wrong and I'm right!!!!!!!"

"THIS IS SO MUCH WORSE THAN THE PREVIOUS GAME!!!!!!!" *lists zero reasons as to why*

"FIRE THE DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER OF THIS SLOP!!!!!!!! WORST THING EVER!!!!!"

"YOU'RE *insert insult here* FOR ENJOYING THIS GARBAGE!!!!"

*Insert spongebob eating mediocrity food bowl here*

"There's too much positivity here!" *insert random negativity for no reason*

These are examples of how you criticize the wrong way. As you can tell, it pushes subjectivity out the window and resorts to insults and harassment. The lack of reasoning to back up these arguments also doesn't help at all. How would the people behind the piece of media know how to improve next time? Not to mention, people often just drop negativity or criticisms in the replies of people who just want to talk positively about said media in peace. "There's a time and place for everything, but not now." - Professor Oak.

[co-mixed]

Doctor Doom - The Loveable Autocrat 

Fantastic Four #247 is quite an issue. It impressed me so much, I decided to dedicate a whole post to a single issue. If you’ve been around for a while, you know I almost never do that. There’s usually not enough to say about just one single. And yet, this one forced me to reflect on real-world history and very controversial ideas presented in the book. 

What’s Up

In this issue, the Fantastic Four are forced to help Doom reclaim his place as the monarch of Latveria. Since he was defeated by, well, also the Fantastic Four, his rightful (according to him, obviously) place has been taken by Zorba. Doom can’t think of anything better than taking FF on a tour of the new and improved Latveria in order to show them how much worse life without Doom actually is. 

Now right off the bat, I have plenty of issues with this whole premise. First of all, Doom is a dictator. A nasty, unapologetically evil dictator, whose country is messed up no matter which way you look. We know that from the issues #84-87 in which the FF with Crystal on their team, end up traveling to Latveria to witness the beauty of Doom state. It’s not a pretty picture either: it looks like the land of the free, dressing like it’s the 1910s instead of 1960s, and fachwerk. 

It’s impossible to hide the fact that the people are brainwashed and afraid of their own shadows.

You are free to call me out on imagining too much, but we all know exactly how these states function. 

The Background

In Latveria, the people are forced to love and praise Doom. As long as they keep their head low, do their job, don’t ask for anything, and don’t cross Doom directly- they can live a normal life. This illusion of normalcy comes from everyone knowing their place and the rules to follow. And on paper, it even sounds like a textbook Utopia. It's anything but.

In one issue, for instance, Doom is exercising a favored trick among his peers: a peasant bumps into him, and Doom pretends to forgive him.

But we as readers aren't that easily fooled. He's obviously terrified because he knows the rules, and the main one is to love and obey the "leader". Already sounds culty if you ask me. But what this does in terms of narrative is it establishes the condition of Doomism — his state is built on fear, not on respect. 

When the FF approach the border, they are immediately informed that neither side (neither the soviet bloc nor the democratic countries) can protect their people within Latverian borders. Latveria does not recognize any international agreements or laws which means absolute, unlimited, uncontrolled power in one set of metal hands. If you underestimate the severity of it, imagine that your absolute authority on all matters including basic freedoms is one man who may or may not be insane. 

Like any self-respecting dictator, Doom has a private guard. The one that shoots people if they try to escape his land (which hey, is one of the basic freedoms, shocking.) Doom is clever enough to know what he’s doing, and not nearly naive enough to imagine that if he had allowed his people to move about freely, they would move outside the border and never come back. You can trust me on that. 

When Doom is once again consumed by his desire to destroy the accursed Fantastic Four, he doesn’t think twice about sacrificing a whole village of his “beloved subjects”. And even before that, when his private bot guard gets out of hand, he even informs the populace that anyone who dies would be considered a hero. Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn’t it? If it doesn’t, consider yourself lucky. But keep in mind that the whole situation is solely Doom’s fault. And he handles it in the worst possible way with little regard for his people. 

None of this screams “a leader who truly cares.”

After reading this issue I figured it would've been better and made Doom more sympathetic if his subjects were actually happy. He could've been established as a just and respected leader, especially considering how his predecessor mistreated the people. 

Even with all that, It's hard to imagine such a scenario since power corrupts indiscriminately. Sure, that could've given a complex twist to his character as well as added conflict to the decision the FF ultimately had to make. It could have been a commentary on cultural and historical differences since:

a: monarchies are not that rare in Europe. 

b: Latveria was surrounded by communist states, so it had enough struggles as is. 

That, of course, didn't happen and we got a plain and simple dictator, who follows every other page from the dictators' handbook. A very black-and-white view that was not uncommon for comic books in the '60s and the '70s. 

Changing Spots

In issue #247, John Byrne takes it upon himself to retcon the essence of Doom. This makes sense, the ‘80s have elevated comic book narratives and gave depth to many characters. 

Doom was not an exception. With the FF walking the streets of Doomstadt, we see the devastation that his successor brings to the land. And to top it off, we hear the tragic story of the last few months since Doom has been ousted.

Zorba Fortunov is the heir apparent to the Latverian throne. His father and brother were both murdered by Doom but you shouldn’t feel too bad because they were terrible people and even worse rulers. So is Doom, but we know Doom and we don’t know those guys. 

Doom also tortured Zorba (because, and I don’t want there to be any confusion, torturing your political opponents is exactly what Dooms do.)

Now initially Zorba was portrayed as a member of the resistance who was looking to restore democracy in Latveria. Well, restore would be a loud word. Long story short, with the help of American superheroes (who shamelessly collaborate with the government) Zorba comes to power. 

But democracy is apparently too hard to handle for the state. Because turns out (according to Doom and his loyalists), the repressive laws were actually for the good of the people. They were too afraid to commit crimes. For some reason, they also immediately stopped working which may or may not indicate forced labor. And the ‘prosperous nation of Latveria’ fell into complete disarray. That’s confirmed by a few destroyed streets and fearful citizens but other than that, there is only Doom’s word to prove that. 

This is a great time to note that any major economic transformations are risky and may result in poverty and a rise in crime. Especially in a society that’s not prepared to said changes in stages. We have actually seen that with post-soviet states. 

Either way, Zorba revoked Doom’s cruel laws and punishments (from what we have seen so far, they include murder if “the master” is in a bad mood and you are in his proximity). People were promised an election (which it seems like Zorba really planned to have.) But some happy and liberated citizens of Latveria chose violence and it became so bad, Zorba declared martial law. Which naturally gave him all the power… that he was supposed to already have as an absolute monarch. But who cares? 

Zorba reprogrammed Doom’s personal guard to police the streets and they are referred to as ruthless (as opposed to Doom’s tender and caring ones?)  

So slowly, learning this story, the Fantastic Four figure that the devil they know is actually pretty good compared to the devil they helped install. Despite there being little difference except the fact that Doom was planning to rule till the day he dies (and possibly after). 

And then we see that he cares so much, his main priority is restoring Latveria to its former glory. 

But… why?

Of course, my main question is the idea behind this whole narrative. Are we supposed to believe that a shaky democratic state is much worse than the iron rule of one leader with order? Or is it something very specific to the people of Latveria? If Doom is so great, why does the Fantastic Four fight him relentlessly when he tries to take over the world? And why do they feel entitled to repeatedly make decisions and instigate conflict on behalf of the people of the country? 

I don’t have the answer, I see the story and the attempt to rewrite Doom’s history into something that can justify keeping him around. But if he’s a dictator, if he’s a tyrant, we probably shouldn’t romanticize him that much. Because once again, I want to look at the Latverians here - we rarely really do. They went with a democratic choice, with a possibility of change. And there must have been reasons for that, I mean they were NOT happy. In one of the issues, Doom murders the Ambassador of his own country (ok it was a doombot but if you ask me, same difference). So how exactly does that align with the just leader narrative?

If the idea was to not interfere and let things flow naturally as they are supposed to, why does the FF help reinstall Doom?

Let’s be honest, Zorba doesn’t care much for the people. He proves it in that same arc. But neither does Doom, that’s no secret. And neither do Reed, Sue, Johnny, or Ben. Everyone is this story has their own interests and not one of them is the prosperity of the country. 

They might be able to rewrite Doom and turn him into a good leader, I wouldn’t be surprised because I’ve seen heroes shake hands with him later on. But it still will always feel like a hypocritical joke. 

The suggestion that Doom might be better for the country is one I have a hard time with, on so many levels. We can’t trust the collective amnesia of the populace, caused by the trauma of drastic changes.

At the end of the day, either option is bad for Latveria. Doom is vengeful and bloodthirsty and so is Zorba. Both occasionally had good intentions. In both cases, they didn't matter. Zorba was the rightful monarch, while Doom was an usurper yet both revolutions happened with the participation of the FF. And it doesn't seem like free Latveria is this team's priority.

[flower-boi16]

Quick question!!

Dunno if you've been asked this before but how do you think Viv handled the relationship between Angel and Valentino? And what's your opinion on Angels development/character arc?

If I'm going to be honest...I don't really know. SA is such a sensitive topic that I, a minor, don't feel can judge whether or not it's handled well in a piece of media. I'm an SA survivor myself at all so I can't really judge it. I've only had to form my own opinion after hearing a bunch of other people's opinions and the responses I've seen towards episode 4 are very mixed.

It is at least good that their relationship is portrayed as abusive and not at all romanticized, as the show doesn't shy away from showing the abuse Angel endures at Val's hands. That part is good, but again, I don't know if I can judge how SA is handled considering how little about the subject I know of, but that is at least my opinion on it (kind of)

As for Angel as a character and his arc, I am kinda mixed on him. I'll admit, episode 4 did give some depth to Angel with him having to put up a facade to cover up his pain from the abuse he's enduring from Val. But...I've talked about this before, but most of Angel's "development" feels very rushed. Him becoming a better person happens off-screen so it takes away from his character. And besides I don't find ANY of his sex jokes to be funny at all.

But again, my thoughts on episode 4 change constantly based on arguments I've seen made in videos so I really have divisive feelings myself. I've seen a ton of videos both for and against how Hazbin handles the subject, though I'd say the best one is this video:

The video is made by an actual, real-life therapist and think it makes some interesting points.

But overall, I'd say that while there are things I like about Angel and Val's relationship as well as Angel as a character, and I don't exactly dislike Angel...there are still a lot of things Viv could've done a lot better in regards to his character, so really he's just kinda eh, which is really how I feel about most of the characters in Hazbin Hotel. And again, I don't think I'm in a position to judge how well Viv handles the topic of SA.

[sobasluuurp]

Hawks' reaction to seeing Twice again is so fascinatingly tragic. Because it shows just how deep the Hero Commission has their claws in his brain.

We know from his interactions with Nagant that he's got the heart of an idealist.  That he still has hope for a better future and sees the best in his disgraced and villainized predecessor.

He even uses the phrase "optimist to a fault" to describe himself. Which is such a strange thing for one of the most morally grey heroes in the series to say. So what does he mean by this and what can it tell us about his character, his circumstances, and human nature?

Like Nagant, Hawks was scooped up by the HC at a young age with promises of heroism and grandeur. Like Nagant, he was subjected to intense training and forced into the role of an assassin for the rest of his childhood with likely little to no contact to the outside world, which might've made him question the HC.

The HC saved Hawks. Saved him from a life of abuse, neglect, and homelessness. So he took his lessons in stride and played his role well. By the time he realized what was up, he was in far too deep to back out and he knew it. But he also knew that he and his mother were in an undeniably better place than they were before the HC stepped in. Knew that because of them, he had the opportunity to save scared little kids, just like Endeavor did for him.

(This is very different from Nagant, who looks to have been feared for her quirk as a child. In the scene when the HC picks her up, she has bandages on her arm as if to keep her quirk from activating. At the time, she probably saw the HC as a savior from her life as nothing more than her quirk -- only to find later that by following that's exactly the life she was binding herself to. Which explains why she defected and he didn't.)

So to Hawks, the HC is a sick but ultimately good force in society. Because he believes in heroes above all else. Endeavor, his savior, was a hero. His father, his abuser, was a villain. Even knowing now that both Endeavor and the HC are tainted, the lessons that idealizing both of them taught him remain.

Even when his heart is telling him to go a separate route. Even when he wishes he could save Twice, he leads first with a violent attack and then with a promise of rehabilitation. And in the end, he kills him anyway. Even now, confronted with the fact that killing a person he didn't want to kill didn't actually solve anything, he yells, "Kill them!! NOW!!" without second thought.

Hawks clings blindly to the sermons of his youth like a drowning man clinging to a branch. It didn't work the last time -- but it worked for a while! It meant no Sad Man's Parade in the first war! That's good, right? And these people who he wants to kill are bad. All For One even said so himself! No matter that he can't articulate what exactly "good" and "bad" are. The answer is just as obvious now as it was back when he was a kid! Any other nuance is just AFO trying to manipulate him.

So he sticks to what he's always known. Because it's the only way he's been taught to handle problem solving of this magnitude. Because this is the only way things have ever been, dammit. If things change now -- if the world didn't have to be this way -- then how could his idealist heart ever cope with the lives he's taken? How could he live with himself knowing he could've saved more lives and created a brighter future than the one he's currently living?

I hope that after the war Hawks is able to process his emotions, his past, and his actions. That he's able to move past it and endeavor to create a society where kids aren't taught to kill and problems are solve proactively with compassion first instead of feathers.

[scaryspears]

Vampire Diaries: Plot + Problems

Is the Vampire Diaries fandom dead? If not, I'd like to say a few things. Before we start, I would like to say that I am a Twilight fan who loves making fun of Twilight, so my opinion is unfairly biased, but I digress. Here is my rant disguised as an analysis.

I was fairly young when the Vampire Diaries was aired, and growing up I would often confuse it for Twilight, since they were both vampire centred pieces of media that came out during the 2000s. I was a Twilight kid growing up, even if I didn't understand the plot, I liked cool scenes and stuff.

As a teen (say age 12-13) it was recommended to me a few times by my sister since I liked vampires, but I wasn't really into watching seasons long shows (especially since I was watching anime at the time, which tends to be long as hell), so I ended up doing some investigation before watching a few episodes. I didn't like the sound of the plot, it sounded like the beginning of a porno with a vampire kink added, not something I wanted to subject myself to. Girl has to decide between two brothers who are oh so hot, and the reason they can't be a threesome is literally because they are brothers. I skipped the first season, and then the second season and went straight into Klaus and his hybrids because that was the only worthwhile season for me. I skipped a bunch of scenes and episodes, but you get the idea.

Stefan is into Elena because she looks exactly like his ex-girlfriend who strung along his older brother. Elena finds this out but is still into him. These clowns. I also can't take Stefan seriously because of his eyebrows.

Damon and his dynamic with Klaus and Elijah was the only thing that kept my attention. Not just because I was thirsting over Ian Somerhalder and Joseph Morgan, but also because I loved watching their chemistry through the screen, only to be reminded that it was about Elena and her constant stringing of the Salvatore brothers. The whole show literally could've just been about Damon going against the Mikaelson family and I would watch the hell out of it. Any interaction Damon had with Mikaelsons was such a cinema moment.

I didn't find anything else going on to be as interesting, but I used to ship Jeremy with Tyler. Like, why was he so pressed about Jeremy Gilbert? Always antagonising Jeremy as soon as he saw him, that's some fruity behaviour.

A lot of people love to point out the pedophila of Twilight - as they should - but Tvd had blatant pedophilia. You're telling me that Damon, who was turned at age 25, is trying to (and has) pipe a bunch of high schoolers who are 17-18, and no one batted an eye? I can understand if his emotions were turned off, as learned from the first season, but with his emotions on? Still going after high schoolers??? Ian Somerhalder was also 30/31 when the show started airing, and Nina Dobrev, Candice KIng, and Kat Graham were all 20-21. That's quite the age gap. Not saying he's a pedo, I'm just saying it's a little icky. Let's also address the way Rebekah had a relationship with Marcel despite being his adoptive aunt.

Elena and Marcel are victims.

The worst part is that Damon doesn't act like a teenager, he's so obviously an adult, and hangs with adults (Liz Forbes, Alaric, Jenna, Carol Lockwood, Mason Lockwood?). He even refers to the others (except Alaric) as nicknames you would use when referring to children. Sometimes he comes off as parental, which would've been funny. Unfortunately the story is about a girl having a brother fetish.

I'm aware that a lot of the fans love Katherine Pierce, and I must say, she's a great villain. But she pissed me off so much, getting so angered by people who don't even pay taxes. I get that she was turned at age 17, but home girl you could do better. It was also how Elena and the others handled Katherine. Ya'll are American enough to support Confederacy, nothing should scare you. Why don't ya'll just beat her ass? That would've been entertaining to see.

You're also telling me he saw Bianca Lawson and still chose Katherine. Nothing against Nina Dobrev, but I would move on quickly if I saw Emily Bennett.

Kind of mad that they killed off Mason, and there was potential when they brought him back. You're gonna have boring ass Alaric, but not hot werewolf Mason Lockwood. Sure, let's have a bunch of vampires walking around, but 2 werewolves is asking for too much. Could've focused less on Matt Donovan and just have the show be more interesting with Damon and Mason learning to be mutual with each other if it means protecting their loved ones.

Also, the show was just... so boring. The camera quality, and the background music that sounded like something only a person who's never listened to mainstream music would listen to. I was being tortured. It was so mid.

I am going to lay out a scenario written by me, using dialogue that had potential.

Such as Damon going out of his way to get the tomb opened only to discover that Katherine isn't there, therefore becoming disillusioned with her and Elena by extension. Since a lot of viewers said Bonnie and Damon have chemistry (they do, I just don't ship them) I'm just gonna say that he should've sworn to protect her from then on, thus sealing the deal he made with Emily Bennett to protect the Bennett line and becoming her guardian. Damon still continuously butts heads with Stefan, causing Elena to think he's still romantically interested in her, when in reality Damon is just looking out for them in his own way (the typical, hardcore Damon way).

Since Bonnie goes into conflict with her friends anyways, she starts to withdraw from them. As they keep asking her to do spells for them, Damon steps in their way. It also would be cool if they kept his powers in the show, that way he can use his crow to report to her. Damon killing Jeremy to hurt Elena can actually just be misinterpreted by her self centred mindset, because he really did it to get back at him for hurting Bonnie. I might be messing up the timeline because I don't remember things very well, but that would've been great. 

Bonnie doesn't go to the Mikaelson ball because she doesn't trust the family, so Damon attends as a sort of spy. Damon turning Abby into a vampire also has to do with the fact that he's supposed to protect the Bennetts. Damon is fine with dying but isn't going to let Stefan die, nor is he going to break his deal, so it was a tough decision on his end. While he does kill Abby she also lives, kinda. It takes a while for Bonnie to come to terms with this even though she's rightfully angry.

Back to Season 4 and 5 and stuff, I think it's around this time that the Originals started airing. Damon becoming more involved with Jeremy is his parentified side of him trying to guide him but is misread as him using Jeremy to get close to Elena. 

Bonnie is waiting for college to start, and Damon suggests going to New Orleans because there are tons of witches there so she can get guidance on her powers, which is how Lucy can be reintroduced. (They had Lucy show up for like one episode just for her to never show up again.)

Marcel had a great entrance, and Klaus' went all colonist on him. Marcel got me curious about the Originals but then they pulled a Twilight on us and brought in Hope, that turned me off from the series so I don't know what goes on. I am aware that Klaus terrorised a few witches. So let's say Damon and Bonnie go to New Orleans for a little vacation + training for Bonnie before college starts, and they both find out what's going on in New Orleans. Damon meets Marcel, and while their personalities do kinda clash, they bond over their mutual distaste for Klaus, with Marcel even opening up about his past once he sees how protective and dutiful Damon is towards Bonnie.

Together they must find a way to bring an end to the Originals without killing every other vampire in existence. It could also be a thing where Damon reflects on his past as a confederate soldier and questions himself (this needs to be addressed).

Lucy trains Bonnie and Davina. The reason Damon is uncomfortable around Mikael drinking vampire blood is because of his time in Augustine. And Kol has met Damon, but doesn't remember him until one fateful bar fight. (I heard that someone had an idea where Damon and Kol met in a bar fight, but the idea was scrapped). Also an opportunity to get Kol have an infatuation with Bonnie, I remember that glance in the hallway.

I, ladies and gentlemen, have come up with a fanfiction that I will never write. I bet it's a better storyline than whatever happened in canon.

[humming-pokemon-helpers]

//Hey guys, probably an expected post with how little I've been posting lately and how there's a few very good asks I haven't even touched (I appreciate all of you who've been paying attention to this arc and supporting me along the way), but due to a buildup of a lot of life circumstances lately, I've hit a pretty major motivation block for all of my blogs.

//As for the arc right now... I'm probably just going to bend time and pretend everything's suspended until I'm ready again. I need time to figure things out anyways, and I don't feel up to properly handling some of the subjects I wanted to cover, currently. I don't want to drop this or those subjects because it has plot-relevant material, and I do care a lot, but I should've planned it out better. That's on me. Sorry to anyone I'm causing trouble to by stringing things along for so long. I feel like I could've made things a lot more engaging along the way, or made more connections... or something like that. I think I just need some time to reflect because I'm getting pretty self-critical.

//The same pause goes for my other blogs, @swagtastic-bougie-pompadour (expect maybe occasional posts if I think of something silly, same with @malie-city-library), @pkmnathlete, and two blogs I'm putting on semi-hiatus for now, @mc-pokeprincess and @wigglytuff-guild. (Will probably make my own post for some of these blogs. Maybe.)

//I think when I come back, I'd like to focus on building more community connections with my blogs, rather than just posting sporadically and hoping for interactions. Might make a few "poke me if you'd like an interaction" posts when I'm feeling more up to it, just to get more involved. I want to support the rest of the community and the amazing stuff you all are doing too, and hopefully keep more on top of all of the cool things I see on my feed but feel too nervous to get involved in.

//Lots of love to all of you, you're amazing and I'm always grateful to be a part of such a vibrant and creative community. Hopefully be back soon (usually I am when I post these, but hey, who knows).

[k3yreviewer25]

been thinking a lot about the dsmp's canon ending with the timeline reset for a little fic I've been working on, and tbh i don't think i completely hate the idea? like i for sure don't think that the writing quality of the server would've been quite up to handle the subject super well, but i am pretty intrigued by the idea of, like, them eventually breaking out of it and having to come to terms with the things they did in each loop.

like maybe some people remember the past timelines better than others, having memories layered over each other and trying to sort them into cohesive narratives and struggling to figure out who they are in this timeline. some people barely remember anything but they know they must have fucked up somewhere because the others keep their distance from them. people wake up from nightmares of battles they never fought in, watching the land they're living on be crumbled all the way down to bedrock.

i dunno man, like i totally get why people hated it, but i feel like there could've been something there with the right approach

[richardsphere]

Leverage Log: The Rundown Job

Pig farm. (please dont be a serialkiller feeding his victims to his pigs. Please dont be a serialkiller feeding his victims to his pigs. Please dont be...) Angry farmer calls about rent. Guy stabs him with syringe gun. "know your sacrifice will save millions of lives." Probably not a serialkiller, either a conspiracy theorist, or a government agent part of a conspiracy.

--- Ok we've got a government hearing about a guy (not the same guy) doing "counterterrorism" (read: Murdering innocent civilians in Rome)

Oh no, we're doing one of those "cop who doesnt play by the rules is actually right" copaganda stories arent we? (but like, for US Blackop squads)

i already hate this episode with every fiber of my being. (and I eat a lot of fiber.) --- Oh, nice. The fight-scene in front of the elevator has a shot from below that lets us just see the overhead vent-passage Elliot just dropped behind the guard from. --- Not a fan of the Hardison HUD. It feels like we're stretching his already god-like hacking powers a bit too far. (like he's good dont get me wrong.) --- Parker definitly stole one of the diamonds. Those are way too many diamonds for any orphans to need and she is a legitimate kleptomaniac. (Like remember the 12 step job, she legitimately needs medication y'all.) --- Ok so this is our Elliot episode (already had a Parker one with the Broken Wing) Also this is probably happening simultaniously with the previous episode with the painting. Which means its three episodes in a row with the gang split. (that is... interesting. Either a scheduling thing or foreshadowing the season ending with the gang splitting up as Nate and/or Sophie retires and/or dies) --- "you stole a michelangelo with tinfoil and a chewing gum, Figure it out!" Nice callback to the Davids.

Oh disguise the sniper in a golfbag. Nice idea, unfortunately this means Elliot gets to practice his driverswing. --- They always were illegal, and I do not like that we're going the "US government black-ops are morally right to do their shit" angle on this story. --- "Better or worse, we change together", good line. simple. 9.5/10 Oh right, Parker is a dangerous driver. (i dont like that form of humor) Oh no, we're going for extremely racist bearded middle-eastern terrorist because god forbid the terrorists be anything but an affirmation of Bush era bigotry and propaganda. --- Ok old pre-CDC lab. (the pigs from the cold open are definitly of the Guinnea variety. Expect them to be dead if we ever see them again) Oh, we're dealing with the Spanish Flu. Well this episode definitly didnt age badly with an entire generation of people having suffered Plague-based traumatic experiences in the inbetween. (im not blaming Leverage for not knowing the future im just worried how this episode ends up handling such a now-sensitive topic)

--- 150 million, thats a big number.

Bro-trust moment between Elliot and Hardison. Hardison is so going to steal the "creepy spy truck" isnt he? I will not be satisfied if this episode does NOT relieve the US Government of 1 creepy ass violation of civil liberties and gives us a new Lucille. --- his name is Ahmed, because it couldnt just be Jim or Jordan or anything, had to be the most stereotypically propaganda name for a terrorist ever.

--- Oh thank god its just a white guy using xenophobia as a distraction to hide his real identity. (thank fuck)

Trailer is a trap. --- Ok good, well explained use of the hacking powers. (like the little detail about "always a little power, its how electric locks work") Tiny note: Usually an SOS means you are about to die. (either way it would've worked here. cause Vance could've turned around to find you and abandoned the trailer.)

--- Parker has stopped the train, Subject has cuffed himself to his briefcase (as if handcuffs are gonna stop Parker.)

--- Wow, this nutter actually managed to shoot Elliot. She kept the diamond, (I get its meant to be foreshadowing, but there is no way Parker doesnt regularly carry glasscutting equipment on her anyway. Im fairly certain its one of the first tools we saw her use back in the Nigerian Job)

And Parker with the little torch-thingy. (she is definitly the next Nate) --- Were Elliots eyes always this blue? (also how overlit is this scene? He's got like, no pupil)

But yeah, somehow this guy has been the most dangerous person Elliot ever had to fight. Even the guy they had to blow a Looney-tunes style hole in the ground around with C4 didnt hurt Elliot this much.

---

Ok on to adress the 2 concerns i mentioned with this episode: The plague thing was fine, everything was contained and the thing didnt explode. If anything the real pandemic made this episode age better by giving it an escapist value. The Islamic Terrorism as a fakeout was... insensitive. I didnt like it, felt bad but not as bad as it could have been.

[districtfourmermaid]

They should've let Katniss be unhealthily skinny in the movie.

I understand a little bit how Jennifer Lawrence or whoever didn't want to present yet another very skinny main female character. They didn't want to ~promote~ anything. They wanted their main girl to be a healthy-looking skinny. However, I think they missed an opportunity.

Katniss as a character is starving to death. She is struggling to survive. In the books, her drive to feed herself and her family is an important part of her character, and it's important that she isn't skinny because she wants to be; she's skinny because she literally cannot get herself to a healthy weight. The Capitol designers wanted to give her a boob job after the Games to make her look better. Seeing a healthy-slim Jennifer Lawrence represent this felt dishonest. It does her character a disservice to ignore that reality. And frankly, it felt like it had the opposite effect of its goal, because it sent the message that this is what people who are starving to death look like. That starving to death produces a hot skinny.

What if they'd given us a scary skinny Katniss? What if they'd started the movie with her starving to death, showed her struggling with energy and strength, showed her eating a lot during training to try to bulk up? The movie could have used this opportunity to focus on the detrimental effects of low body condition and malnourishment. We could've had an obviously healthier weight Katniss in Catching Fire and Mockingjay and seen her enjoying no longer starving to death. We could've seen her training for the Quell, putting on muscle like she's never been able to before. They could've left in the Capitol party vomit scene, too, and not shied away from the subject matter.

The movies tried to dodge the problem of ~promoting~ unhealthy thinness and ended up ignoring the way that very issue is tackled in the books. I almost wonder if the problem isn't that Hollywood didn't want a skinny Katniss detrimentally affecting young girls' body image, but that Hollywood couldn't handle an honest representation of what being starving skinny actually means. They didn't want to be the "bad guys" for this one, but they didn't want to be honest about the problem or fix anything either. The decision not to give us starving skinny Katniss was because showing a healthier female body was trendy, not because they cared about any message. Cowards.

[surplus-of-sarcasm]

HI would you consider doing a second part to the latest piece you posted? it's so good!! hope you're well :7

Sure!! I'm sorry it's a little late but to give you a reference of how much work I've got, yesterday I stayed up till 4 am doing homework, falling asleep at 5 am. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it ;).

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

The Eighteenth One, Pt.2

TW: Torture mentions, blood, vomit, refrences to a difficult past

Villain makes their way out of the cell, relocking it again with their fingerprint which is difficult because they need both their hands to keep Hero's unconscious form from tumbling to the ground.

They stomp upstairs, their nemesis's body now slung over one shoulder, and they head straight to Supervillain's office. They knock carefully on the hardwood door and they're met with an exasperated sigh and "For the last time, I told you, Supervillain ca-"

Henchman immediately stops in their tracks, transfixed as they catch notice of their superior's face, one eyebrow raised in mild annoyance.

"I-I'm sorry, Villain. I didn't notice it was you and. . ." they stammer.

Villain cuts them off, raising one hand and then pointing to the door.

They smirk a little to themselves as Henchman scrambles aside to let them through. They were guilty of having a taste for power. It could've come come from the many years they'd spent stripped of control, fighting to scratch out a name for themselves, even if they had nothing but their own nails and teeth.

"Ah, Villain!" Their boss's smile slowly fades as they raise an eyebrow at the sight of the unconscious crime fighter in their arms.

"How did the interrogation go?"

Villain feigns a tired sigh of exasperation. "They won't talk. They're one of those 'moral high ground' types. And they seem to be trained to handle a lot. But definitely not what I've got planned for them."

Supervillain's eyes light up in that creepy, sadistic manner of theirs that had always secretly made Villain uncomfortable. "And what do you have in mind?"

"I've been working on something for a while now. Pain-inducing chemical with very potent effects. I needed a human test subject, and who better to fill this role than lovely, little Hero over here?" They shift the hero's body, so that they're in their arms again, and their stomach twists in knots at the fabricated, sick, twisted smirk that they know is playing on their lips.

"How ingenious! I'd love to see a demonstration." Villain had never seen their superior so nauseatingly excited as whenever someone was about to get hurt.

How could someone have that much of an affinity for pain?

"The thing is, the serum's back home, so I thought it'd be more efficient if all was said and done there." Their heart hammers in their chest, and the air seems to have been knocked out of their lungs, the facade of composure becoming more difficult to keep up.

After a few unbearable seconds, Supervillain nods their confirmation at them. Letting a small, fake grin cross their lips, they make their way out of the office, and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

They don't have time to worry about their sore arms as they drive to their house, Hero laying across the backseat.

They lift them into a bridal carry once more, and the crime-fighter begins to stir in their arms.

"W-whe-re am I?" they slur.

"My place. Supervillain took the bait, and you're in no condition to just be left like that on your own."

Hero nods shakily at them in response.

They insist on cleaning themselves up unassisted, showering and only letting Villain bandage up the wounds they can't reach.

But all of a sudden, Hero grips the doorframe with both of their hands and rushes into the bathroom. They grip the sink tightly with both of their hands and start dry-heaving.

They start to throw up heavily, and it's not just bile, but there's blood mixed in with it too.

Goddamn it.

They don't know what could possibly lead to this. Poison seems like the most likely option. They stand there, almost glued to the floor, their brain seeming to have short-circuited.

Villain peels off the sweater they lent them, now dirty and covered in vomit. They notice their back is covered in dull, ugly lacerations. Which weren't characteristic of Supervillain's prisoners before they even got the chance to be interrogated. Weird.

They place a hand on Hero's upper back, rubbing circles into it with their fingers. They've seen it in movies, and strange as it sounds, it was their only refrence for comforting touches, a seemingly alien concept in Villain's world.

It seems to have reached the desired effect because Hero eases up a little, letting their shoulders fall as the criminal dissolved the tension in them with their touch.

They wash the Hero's face for them. They shift their position so that they're sitting with their back against the bathtub. Villain hands them a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Drink slowly. Don't rush so you don't throw it all up again. Anyway, were you poisoned?"

Hero coughs a little. "Water wasn't clean. Nor enough. But it was this or total dehydration. You know how Supervillain cares that their guests get the best treatment. And I got lavished with extra pampering of course." They let out an inelegant snort, coughing again.

Villain feels an odd tightness rising in their chest. Hero was right. Supervillain had gone further than usual with hurting them.

"Thank you," the crime stopper breathes out, somewhat awkwardly.

"You're welcome."

"Uh, are you alright?" Hero raises a concerned eyebrow.

They must've pulled a face because they catch themselves, quickly settling the muscles of their face into a more neutral, unreadable expression, and almost forcibly relaxing their posture, and they stop fiddling with strands of their long, wavy hair. "I'm fine," they state imperatively, in a tone that leaves no room for futher discussion.

But here they were, all because one hero had spared them. Taking care of them as though they weren't mortal enemies. Could this be a tactic? Would they hurt them once they recovered? Their head burned with questions.

But their mind was in shambles. They'd never had doubts about their, uh, profession, if that's what they could call it. All what they'd been through had eaten away any guilt or remorse for the things they'd done. Sure, Supervillain was a nutcase, but they'd never let that disturb them. They paid well, so they put up with it. But now more than ever, it was starting to get to their head.

Or was this one of those hazy times where black and white overlapped into a grey blur and things weren't so concrete anymore?

[generouskittentidalwave]

Atom the beginning, does it work?

My answer being.. yesn't

OKAY HEAR ME OUT I KNOW IT IS A SORE SUBJECT BUT LET ME SAY MY PEACE

Atom the beginning I think is a great prologue to Astro boy regarding the parts that are the actual prologue to the OG story. It is meant to be an official prologue, and the story makes it like that (most of the time), I say most of the time as the manga runners nearing the time skip to the future decided to throw in the goofy ah time travel plot Tezuka made oh so long ago and used that as a way to make it their own reimagined world.

Basically, in Tldr, everything is an official prologue to the Astro story, but the character changes/add ons are caused by the time travel shenanigan which technically isn't official.

NOW THIS WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM AS IT'S A VERY CREATIVE WAY OF GOING ABOUT IT

HOWEVER

There are some things they did good and some things could've been done better. For example I think we can all agree that they overwhelmed Tobio's character way too much way too fast with his abilities and traits, especially when his character is meant to be more of a temporary kid who struggles and leads as the pathway to Astro in his own unique ways. Although all of it fitted Tobio and his character perfectly the pacing made it a bit overwhelming/confusing at times. Sometimes they added in little nice details from the OG story and the OG prologue to the characters and stiey and then added in their own spin on things. Some of it was great, the personalities are perfect and spot on, the dynamics are perfect, their thoughts, actions, and designs are all perfect for their characters. Meanwhile other things could've been handled better, but overall aside from the changes and goofy ah time travel I love every little bit about it!

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PAIN OF MY HOMIES IN THE WEST

Listen, the access availability to this manga is next to NONE in the west, you really gotta hunt or get help from others just to find it, and the anime suffers the same way and unfortunately the anime didn't do the best review wise, so that caused more people to just avoid the manga and I think this is why we hardly ever see anyone talk about it or give it a chance.

SO THAT BRINGS US TO OUR CONCLUDING QUESTION

Is it worth looking into as an Astro fan? Is it good? Is it worth my time?

I say a big ol' HELL YEAH to ALL OF THESE

Listen, it may not be the greatest thing since toilet paper and it clearly has it's flaws, but the parts that are an actual prologue to the OG story and other bits when they get something right believe me they get it RIGHT. Besides the issues I mentioned before are in the future time skip part of the manga, most of the manga is about Oshay and Tenma having the bestie relationship while also doing robot fighting and getting into various dangerous situations while being struggling college students. I absolutely adore it despite it's few flaws and I think you will too so I definitely recommend checking it out if you can! ^^