#they're both willing to do what they must even if they become the villain because of it

[moodlesmain]

What I'm Made Of (Sonic Heroes OST) 🤝 With Me (Sonic and the Black Knight OST): Final boss songs who's lyrics apply almost just as much to Sonic as they do to the villain he's facing

[letteredlettered]

Hi!! Out of curiosity, which MDZS character do u think about the most and why?

The answer is, without a doubt, Wei Wuxian.

Part of what makes WWX special to me is he feels really archetypal and yet the archetype doesn't actually appear in most of the western media with which I'm familiar. The archetype may be super common in eastern media or perhaps, more narrowly, Chinese media, but my point he feels singular to me and therefore interests me, and I'm familiar with mostly western media. The comparisons in this post are all comparisons to western media, since that's what I'm familiar with, and I tried to pick popular examples so that people would understand what I mean.

Wei Wuxian is a protagonist who does bad things. Very bad things. We see that in plenty of western stories, but it's less common in western fantasy. That is, you can read a million stories about professors sleeping with their students and making a very bad muck of their lives; you can watch Breaking Bad and The Sopranos, but more often in western fantasy you're going to have a Good Guy who does good and Bad Guys who do bad.

But, okay. There's certainly a significant portion of western fantasy in which no one is a Good Guy, and everyone is a little corrupt: Song of Ice and Fire, Interview With the Vampire. Wei Wuxian feels very different to me than the protagonists of these media, because Wei Wuxian is trying to be the Good Guy. He's well-intentioned. He is willing to stand against all of society to defy corruption and protect those who are weaker than himself. That kind of protagonist isn't very common in the kinds of "dark" genre fiction that are about the corruption of humanity or the political intrigues of society. If they exist, they're usually martyred and disappear from the narrative because they are too good for this world, too pure.

But the point of WWX is that he is not too good; he is not pure. He is good; he is brave; he is righteous; he stands up for the little guy--but he is also over-confident in his own ability. He overreaches. And people die because of it. Lots of people. And then, after he accidentally murders people due to losing control, he goes mad. The Nightless City massacre occurs not due to an accident but because WWX is careless and angry. He kills a lot more people then.

I will say that western fantasy is full of characters who turn to "the dark side. The threat of "going dark" has become, in fact, an integral part of most portrayals of the hero's journey. But in the media with which I'm familiar, when someone does go dark, they become the villain. They are not allowed to live, or if they live, they must still be vanquished. Star Wars is a quintessential example: Luke Skywalker is tempted by the dark side but resists; he is the hero. Darth Vader is tempted by the dark side and gives in. Even though he turns back at the end, he must still be eliminated.

Of course, there are plenty of villains who reform in such stories and then manage to survive. I think you could say that once resurrected, WWX is reformed in this way. He knows he lost control. He knows he hurt people. He's very sorry about it, and while he still has a drive to put his hand in to help others, I can't imagine him coming to the point where he would lose control again, and I also do not think he has the kind of anger or resentment that would allow him to be so careless and wanton with his cultivation again.

So, in this sense, WWX holds the place of a reformed villain, like Zuko or, say, Angel, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One thing to note about both of these examples--Zuko is shown to be "on the dark side" because of the family and culture in which he was raised, and also, he was a child. Angel was "on the dark side" because he didn't have a soul. That is, the excuses for why these reformed villains were ever villains at all exonerate them to some extent.

Meanwhile, WWX was a villain because he was full of himself. Like, it's still understandable why WWX was a villain: he sacrificed all the power he had for someone he loved; he still needed power to protect his own life when he was being tortured, and this took him down a dark path; he needed even more power to help the world fight corrupt fascists; he was villainized by society even before he became an actual villain because that society feared and desired his power; he was literally ostracized and rejected by his own family for doing the right thing. But in the end, it wasn't like he had no other choice when he caused the death of JZX. He didn't feel like he had another choice to save the Wens, but if he had not been so over-confident in his ability to control himself, JZX would not have died. And while I find the massacre at Qionqi Pass maybe excusable considering the pressures WWX was under, WWX goes mad after that. Also understandable, but there is no way in which the massacre at Nightless City is excusable. There's just no way to say it wasn't his fault.

Okay, but there are some reformed villains in western fantasy who really were villains because they just made some wrong choices. They were arrogant like WWX, or they were petty and small, or they had a sucky childhood but nothing that should've led them into darkness. These characters do exist, but I find them few and far between (and I will fully admit here that maybe I just haven't read enough western fantasy to come up with enough examples). When they do show up, they are not usually the protagonist (Snape); they more often play side roles.

And the point with these guys is that they did bad things because they were not well-intentioned. Their intentions change, and therefore their moral alignment changes. But WWX was always trying to do good. It's only at the very end that he is no longer trying, and he loses his mind partly because all of his efforts to do good have flown up in his face. I just feel like I never get to see someone who was honestly trying to help people so earnestly, and fucks it up because he was trying to do too much. The closest example is Xie Lian, and I think we can all agree Xie Lian never becomes anything close to a villain.

However, now comes the trait that really does make WWX different from any other protagonists I've ever read, and most I've seen on screen: he is all of the above, a reformed villain who was well-intentioned throughout his descent into villainy, who doesn't brood.

Everyone I mentioned above--Zuko, Angel, Snape--are all very serious people who are consumed by their pasts. If they're not dour or bitter, they're still unable to be light-hearted or carefree. Meanwhile, WWX is the definition of light-hearted and carefree. He has a lot of regrets and some guilt, but he really doesn't dwell on it. Like, he fucked up. He died. How else can he atone? He knows he can't make it up to the people he hurt. Might as well move on and not get in their face about it.

In general, WWX's personality is unusual for the kind of hero he is. While it's true that the wise-cracking, smart-talking hero is a staple of western fantasy (Iron Man, Spider Man), these aren't the kind of heroes who can make the serious mistakes that WWX makes--or, though they do make mistakes that lead to the deaths of countless bystanders, they are never really confronted with the enormity of those crimes. I know that some people will say that WWX is not confronted with them either, that his crimes are not dealt with seriously enough in the text. I admit that I was very surprised that WWX blames the death of JZX on JGY during the final showdown in the temple. In the end, however, I think there are enough questions about whether WWX is actually a Good Guy that the story of MDZS seems quite different than, say, many western superhero stories, in which yes, superheroes do bad things and make mistakes, but are still ultimately our heroes.

But the other thing about WWX's personality that is unique for such a protagonist and also further distances him from heroes like Iron Man is this: WWX is pathetic. He's allowed to be pathetic, on quite a few occasions. He pretends to be a child. He pretends to be a damsel in distress. He purposely harasses and teases others in a way that is actively annoying to them. He's laughable. The closest parallel I can think of to how deeply WWX is willing to abase himself and annoy the fuck out of others in Deadpool, but the thing about Deadpool is that he is ultimately comedic. You know you're going to laugh if you're reading a Deadpool comic or watching one of his movies. Also, while Deadpool is a badass, need I remind you that WWX is the most powerful and the most feared person in the entire world, perhaps in all of history. The fact that WWX is as powerful as he is and still throws himself on people he likes and pretends to weep is only matched by Luo Binghe, but LBH is different in that his willingness to be pathetic is a tactic of manipulation. Meanwhile WWX is pathetic for fun; he likes to annoy people; he's ridiculous; he's laughable.

He's also lovable, but imo, like Deadpool and like LBH, I don't think we're always supposed to find him charming. We're supposed to recognize that these characters sometimes go too far for a joke. We're supposed to be annoyed at times, at least imo.

But in the end, we are supposed to like WWX. We're also supposed to feel really sorry for him and sympathize with him for what he did. He's an enormous woobie, while at the same time he massacred thousands and then laughed it off. Who does that? Who does it like the Yiling Lazou? When you add in the fact that he's super gay, but all his gay fantasies consist of farming and eating Lan Wangji's cooking and talking about fishing and keeping house, I'm just left asking, Wei Wuxian, who the fuck are you? Who the fuck can match you?

This is why I spend so much time thinking about this character. I can't actually wrap my head around him, and frankly, the way MDZS is told doesn't help. MXTX actually does not really get into WWX's head very much once he starts his path of demonic cultivation, and while we get some insights as to what is going on with him through flashback and his dialogue at the time, I am still somewhat in the dark about why he made the choices he did.

The only character I've ever encountered who even comes close to WWX is Spike from BtVS, and WWX is still on another level.

Lastly, I'll say that the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng is another thing I have never witnessed in western media. It is so complex and interesting to me that I could make a whole post on it, which is why even though the answer to your question is by far Wei Wuxian, if WWX didn't exist, Jiang Cheng would win this question by a landslide.

[proudproship]

Not so friendly reminder that creating "dark" or "taboo" fiction can be a sign of childhood trauma!

More below the cut. Warning: long post.

TW: Mentions of trauma, child abuse, and paraphilias

Hi. I'm someone who studies psychology and sociology, and someone who also happens to have an interest in this shipping discourse stuff.

So, back to what I said a few paragraphs ago: Creating "dark" or "taboo" fictional content can be a sign of childhood trauma.

How?

When a child goes through something they consider traumatic, their brain will play the situation on repeat subconsciously, which can cause hypervigilance and symptoms of PTSD.

A common sign of PTSD in young children is that they will reenact their trauma with things like dolls, drawings, figures, and basically any other thing they can use to express their thoughts.

For example, a child who has gone through physical abuse may reenact similar things with their toys, such as making their dolls hit or yell at each other.

This symptom isn't limited to children, though. It is a symptom closely related to the presence of flashbacks and nightmares.

Many artists will create a "self-insert" character, "sona," or a character who is otherwise much like it's creator; when an artist creates a character like this and also has past trauma, their symptoms may reflect onto their character.

Projecting yourself onto characters can happen with other characters as well, even if you didn't make the character.

This is a healthy symptom. It shows that the brain is willing to become stronger from their trauma.

Reenacting trauma in ways that aren't harmful can help the brain process what happened to them, and can even help them deal with their trauma directly.

In order to heal trauma, you must know what your trauma is; you can't heal a wound you don't know you have.

While dark fiction creators are indulging in positive healing mechanisms, certain people will shun them for doing so.

"Antishippers" claim to be the "heroes" and to support healing, even though the thing that makes someone be considered and antishipper is if they're "anti healing through fiction."

Antishippers will throw the same ableist rhetorics around by claiming "if you ship adult x child you're a pedophile!" or "if you have age gap ships (even if both are consenting adults) you're a pedophile!"

This, not only is it hurting trauma survivors (especially those who have been harmed by those with paraphilic disorders), it is hurting EVERY disabled person.

Armchair diagnosis is not something anyone should do.

It is when there is little to no evidence that the condition exists within a person, though people still throw labels onto them to make them seem like they're a "bad guy." (Usually.)

This is also hurting people with actual paraphilias. Paraphilic disorder is real condition characterized by intrusive thoughts of a (usually abnormal or harmful-if-acted-on) sexual nature.

Even if someone claims to not be ableist but still demonizes and villainizes paraphilias, they're ableist.

Ableism is ableism.

And before an anti decides to call me a "pedo-apologist," go right ahead! You don't know what you're saying anyways.

There is a difference between a criminal and a disabled person.

Proship people do not support abuse. Anyone who claims to be proship but still supports abuse is NOT proship.

---

Of course anyone who makes dark content doesn't have to have past trauma.

There are many people who make dark content that don't have what they'd consider trauma, or think their trauma is unrelated to the content they create.

What if they did experience something traumatic in the future?

They'd be able to cope with it better, because they'd seen it in fiction before, so they'd know the impact of it, and how they could handle it.

Of course, not everyone who indulges in fiction will be able to handle it, though.

However, no matter if they have past trauma or not, assume the best when it comes to content creators.

They're creative and strong, and we should be thankful that they're adding onto fandom culture by just existing and doing what they love.

All people, no matter what fictional content they create, are beautiful in their own way and should be met with kindness and compassion.

Do not go out of your way to harass/abuse innocent people.

Do not go out of your way to be ableist towards content creators and content consumers.

---

Thank you for reading my long post, I hope it helped at least a bit.

Have a great day/night and stay safe, no matter your taste in fiction.

Feedback is appreciated, and reblogs are encouraged.

[goobtacular]

Be warned, longish mini essay about the Netflix Daredevil show from someone who hasn't finished season 1.

I think the similarities between Daredevil and Kingpin go hard. Both have very similar motivations and backstories. Ironically, Kingpin has a more traditionally good backstory. His harsh taskmaster was his father, and he rose to defend his mother, killing him in the process. But throughout the whole process, the torment of his father's rule, and dealing with the aftermath, he is in the company of his mother.

There is one thread throughout Wilson Fisk's life: he always has a companion. Not someone who can order him around, not always someone he can order, but always someone he is above in some way, and always someone who plays the role his mother did. Before he meets Vanessa, he has his assistant who chooses his meals, plans his itinerary, and is part of every difficult choice or conversation he must have.

Even Vanessa is, unfortunately, put into that mothering role, playing to the more traditional gender roles and even taking on the burden of the emotional turmoil his troubled past gives him. As long as he has his mother or a replacement, Wilson knows he's not a monster, and he can rationalize any sacrifice, usually on behalf of others. His decision to become a public figure is entirely out of his comfort zone, but also something he wouldn't have done if his assistant and Vanessa hadn't plotted to aid him in his turmoil. Functionally performing emotional labor on his behalf.

Daredevils, Mathew Murdock's, upbringing contrasts this. He had a loving, supportive father who had a violent career. Upon the death of his father to crime, he turns to another, harsher, violent father figure who abandons him when he gets attached. Every time someone fills a paternal role, they leave him. And there seem to have never been any takers for a maternal role. Instead, the influences on his life have always been highly masculine, sometimes soft, but always masculine.

In some respects, it seems as though Matt is a success story for toxic masculinity. He's a superhero and a lawyer, he's exceptionally romantically successful, he never lets anyone in, and he solves every problem as alone as he can with the strength of his body and his moral character. He suffers because of this, but even his downfalls still echo the toxic masculinity that's consumed his life.

But for all that, Matt and Wilson come at it from different angles, paternal and maternal, and they ultimately arrive at the same destination. They're both violent men trying to save Hell's kitchen through violent means. The only difference is the extremes they are willing to go to. And even then, Wilson is quite a bit older than Matt, and I'd be willing to believe a middle-aged Daredevil might kill.

Certainly, Kingpin's methodology is more classically villainous, but it is only Daredevil's superhuman abilities that allow him the moral high ground. They remove his ability to mistakenly target innocents, an advantage Wilson does not have.

It strikes me as interesting that the main difference between the two characters is what flavor of toxicity they were molded by: Wilson by a toxic level of support, by people egging him on when it might be time for introspection and pushing him forward when he turns inward and considers stopping. And Matt, by toxic masculinity, pushing him on even when he really should rest—not providing him the support he needed to heal from the trauma of his father's death or Stick's abandonment or even the emotional toll his vigilante career took. Forcing him to bottle everything up and 'stay strong' not to disappoint others, mostly Stick.

That's why I think, ultimately, neither should be doing what they're doing. Kingpin for, I think obvious reasons, he's doing just real bad stuff with vaguely good intentions, and Daredevil for less apparent reasons. He is doing good, and as Matt, I think his choices are solid, but as Daredevil, he's straight up using beating up people as a way to deal with his trauma. It's incredibly unhealthy and even if the violence doesn't take him out, he's still leaning on it to support him emotionally. I fear he can't stop, even if he wanted to. After all, if he did, he'd have to face his demons like the rest of us.

They're just two men running from their problems, and I guess I can't fault them for that. Wouldn't all of us if we could?

[thesevenwondersofawitch]

The Brothers Sun e7

Damn, that was so clever having people kill the Boxers, June really took her job to heart, good for her

I love that the mom also brought tea😂

"The head of the Boxers must be so pissed right now." Man is panicking😂

"My time in the shadow is over."

"Shit, you go, girl! Hey what's yours." Good job TK, being a support dude

"Or or don't go, Girl!" The panic in Bruce's tone😂

The way the mom is literally asking her son who's given everything for her, to support her in her quest to become head of all crime. Wow. And he is gonna do it cause he's a good son 🥺

They're making a seating chart 😂

I like to think the goggly eye is a reference to Everything Everywhere All At Once

I too would have bad blood if someone lost my pet

TK asking Bruce to put in a good word with his family 😂

Yeah, TK is definitely not a good gangster 😂

Aw, the Mama's face🥺

Oooof, Bruce has snapped, and I can't blame him🥺

Aw, the way the mom recognizes that Bruce is a good friend for trying to keep TK away from everything, and how he'd rather his friend hate him than be put further in danger 🥺😭(but what if TK goes to the bad side?)

That's got to be hard for Charles to see how much his mom is protective of Bruce, but not of him🥺

Charles telling him mom he wants to stay, and her saying that a bakery is a great way to launder money😭 I WAS SO SCARED SHE WAS GONNA DENY HIM THE HAPPINESS

Hey who turned out the lights?

IS IT THE GHOSTS

Nope it's just Charles's friends who aren't siblings at all😭😂

OH SHIT THE DAD IS THERE?

Oh shit. Xing, seriously?! You ASSHOLE!

IS THE NECKLACE POISONED

She's deeply upset by him🥺

Oh shit, the dad got Bruce his dream car👀

Yeah, this isn't good at all

Aw Alexis is in danger

I think the Dad is gonna try to kill the mom👀

Nooooo Charles doesn't want to be the head of all crime he wants to run a bakery🥺

The way the tailor pulled Bruce back😂

Oh no, I'm guessing the dad is gonna try and bring Bruce into the fold 🥺

Nooooo my boy🥺 he looks as if he is about the burst into tears

Oh shit, the mom saying that the dad can't have both of them🥺

Bruce, listen to your mama

The way Bruce asked if Charles would prefer to watch the cooking channel🥺

Charles being totally different because of peer pressure sucks(as a younger sibling I totally get Bruce)

You may be his son, Charles, but you're also your mother's son

The way Bruce is begging his mom and brother to see the truth and do what it is they want, not what is expected of them.

Frankly, if I was Bruce, I'd run away and fake my death, then when the dust settles and hopefully the mom and brother have fixed things, I'd reappear

The way she admitted to manipulating Bruce to his face is so hard, because she's hurting him and I think she knows it,

THE BASTARD DARED TO BRING UP HOW SHE LEFT HER ONLY SISTER TO DIE ALONE? IT WAS HIS FAULT

"The only purpose you were serving was me." FUCK YOU

He's definitely a villain, he didn't wash his hands and then touched her face😳🫣

She's definitely doing more than getting her hair done😂

Grace is pissed

The way Bruce didn't even get the title right for dragon head😂

Bruce is literally the only one who is willing to do anything for his family without his pride getting in the way

Oooooooooooo they shook hands it's a official 👀

Bruce trying to get Charles to go get churros instead😭

Charles' phone is in the other jacket (what if Bruce accidentally takes that one)😂

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww the way Charles is saying he'll send his brother money so he can live his dreams 😭😭😭

The good looks so tasty

All the ghosts have arrived

That's a good question, where IS Charles

Oh he's in the kitchen 😂

Poor Bruce is being haunted by his actions when watching the great British Bake off of 😂

I wonder who he's calling

I'm willing to bet that at least some if not all of the servers are part of the Boxers

Oh shit, Bruce is wearing the jacket with Charles' phone😂

Aw, he called June😂 love how she's happy to go as long as she gets to kill Bruce's girlfriend 😂

Awwww it's also because they're all the family she has left🥺

The way that TK sat in front of the car😂

Why did he get in sideways??😂

Ouch, I love that June just pushed him off😂

The way Charles just noticed Bruce and the others behind a fish tank😂

I don't think that the dad is actually going to put Charles up for the role of head dragon

I feel like the mom is gonna make a grand entrance

Oh, he did put his son forward but I don't think this is gonna end well

Fuck yeah I called it! THE MOM JUST MADE A GRAND ENTRANCE FUCK YEAH

Also, bad bad bad nec

HA THE ONE GUY WANTS TO HEAR WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY LOVE THAT!

FUCK YEAH HE GAVE HER HONORARY MEMBERSHIP!

"Self centered dinosaur"😂 love that

Oh shit, tea leaf story😂

Oh shit IT'S A BOMB

The way everyone is just awkwardly standing

The way that Bruce just ran into the room and got the bomb😂 tripping as he ran away with the cart😂

Oh damn RIP to those FBI guys

It's a shootout!

Damn it Grace killed someone

The way that Xing charged at the guy who killed Blood Boots, that was some swift and brutal justice right there

Charles' friend did the move from his favorite movie and got killed, at least he loved him s dream 😂

The way the mom is getting Bruce out of there

Oh no, the dad now has a gun, and I seriously worry he's gonna kill Mama Sun

I love June

Damn, a fishhook is a big ouchy🥺

I love that TK took the FBI guy down 😂

Charles looking at the chair with a smile😂 he looks like Christmas cake early

Oh police dude, you naive man,of course he survived. He's Charles fucking Sun

Fuck no, Charles don't listen to your dad, don't kill your brother🥺😭

[touchtranscendslanguage]

*cracks knuckles* Janus dies au, you say? well then:

what would Janus "fixing everything" actually look like?

what are Logan and Pat doing in all this?

does Prince Pride ever face consequences?

how do Janus and Virgil react to being reunited?

Okay, so what you have to understand is that Janus was the glue holding the seelie royal family together. They just didn't realize it until he was gone because they always took him for granted (except Remus).

I'm going to put a cut here because this got long

Janus being the villain is what allows Roman to be the hero and Patton to blissfully believe he's morally good because Janus does all the 'bad' stuff so that they don't have to get their hands dirty and covers for them when they do. Janus pushes good mental health and gets them to communicate when things go wrong. Janus is always in the background manipulating and fixing things. He's so good at it no one's aware of even half of what he does.

And then he dies and suddenly the rock they never spared a second thought is gone when they need it most.

Fae don't handle grief well. It's not something they're built for; not something life prepares them for. Fae almost never die, seelie especially. Even the ones who go into combat have long life expectancies. No one ever thought they would lose a member of the royal family.

When fae mourn (especially seelie) they do it with their whole hearts. Sometimes they subcome to the grief and become one with magic or nature, essentially dying of a broken heart. The other princes don't go so far as to give up on life but they do give up on themselves in a way.

Janus literally smacks them upside their heads and bullies some sense into them. And they listen. What else can they do? They're baby brother who they've been mourning for centuries is back from the dead and he's offended by what they've been doing in his name. Of course they're going to apologize and in exchange help him right their wrongs.

Janus kept Roman's ego in check. Time to rein it in again. Remind him it's okay to be proud but he also must be humble.

Janus kept Remus balanced. He made sure he was heard and accepted for all his eccentricities and got the help he needed. Time to kick his brothers' asses into treating him right again and get him back into therapy. (he's going to send all of them to therapy)

Janus made sure Logan knew it was okay to be both emotional and professional. The emotions don't compromise his well-being. At some point Logan forgot that and became cold and heartless. Time to thaw him back into the spring he is.

Janus helped Patton cope with his depression but he also made sure he knew he wasn't perfect and challenged his world views. With no one to challenge the way he thinks Patton became a purity snob and perfectionist. Time to remind him of reality.

As for the war, Janus can manipulate peace if he wants to. It's difficult and takes time but they get there. After humbling Roman and smacking some sense into him of course. He can't undo what's been done but things will work out in the end.

As for fae politics, the seelie gentry have become horribly corrupt. It's time to clean house. Killing their own people when needed has always been Janus's job and he's damn good at it.

As for Remy and Roman. Well, there's not much he can do about that. He can only encourage Roman to reach out to Remy. Because after everything they still love each other. They're still bonded by the claim. That doesn't mean Remy is willing to forgive Roman. Things will never be the same between them, but Roman can try to build something new from the ashes if Remy lets him. First he has to prove he's changed and is going to put in the work he needs to.

Logan and Patton have been enabling Roman. Losing Janus made them lose parts of themselves and what's left behind isn't pretty.

Prince Pride and Prince Ambition faced the wrath of their father which wasn't pretty, but they deserved worse. King Thomas and King Roman wanted vengeance but didn't know who exactly had tortured and killed Janus and none of the unseelie would fess up. They couldn't risk declaring war on all of them, so nothing was done for some time.

When Janus is resurrected he gets his revenge.

Janus and Virgil's reunion is tooth-rotting sweet.

When a faerie who's claimed someone dies the claimed has an option to either let the faerie's piece of soul die in them and go back to the way they were before dissolving the claim or to keep it and stay claimed to someone who is dead.

Virgil had no reason to keep the claim. He barely knew Janus and he was already immortal on his own. He didn't know about the magical benefits of being claimed

Janus doesn't know what's happened in the centuries he was dead or how Virgil's changed. He never really knew Virgil in the first place. But he knows Virgil went out of his way to be with him in his final hours and he kept the claim.

Virgil knows that Janus saved his life and is basically the same as he was hundreds of years ago. He never really could let go of Janus.

Virgil didn't hesitate to run into Janus's arms. A lot of kissing and cuddling ensued.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: Arlo and her friends must decide how far they’re willing to go to depose a cruel ruler in this third book in the Hollow Star Saga that’s The Cruel Prince meets City of Bones.

The die is cast. The era of Spring is over.

Riadne’s bloody coup on the Summer Solstice changed Arlo’s life forever. In one fell swoop and a fool’s bargain, she lost both her family and free will to the newly crowned High Queen. Now, with Arlo forced to use her powers as Luck’s Hollow Star to help summon the rest of the seven deadly sins, Riadne stands closer than ever to achieving her dark goals.

And Arlo isn’t the only one trapped in a frightening new role. Her ex-Fury girlfriend, Nausicaä, is determined to do whatever it takes to stay by Arlo’s side, even if that means becoming Riadne’s pet assassin. Aurelian and Vehan, torn apart, struggle to survive on their own.

Meanwhile, Celadon has been revealed as Riadne’s illegitimate son—and heir to both Spring and Summer, the ultimate offense in the faerie world. But the High Prince has secret plans of his own, plans made all the more complicated when the beautiful and deadly immortal Hunter Lethe takes an interest in him…

Five budding legacies will need more than luck if they hope to stand a chance against the greatest adversary the Courts have faced. For nothing’s more dangerous than a faerie tale… except the one who tells it, and maybe what they’re going to need is no longer that story’s hero but its villain.

Review:

A new Queen has taken the bone crown, a prince turned king must plot to destroy his new family, a fury will give up everything for love, and the die will cast a new path for all of them. Riadne is the new queen after killing all of Arlo's family and revealing that she is Celadon's mother. She forced Arlo to be bound to her and plans on reviving all the seven Sins and reshaping the world to her liking. Arlo is determined to find a way to fix everything, and her sort of girlfriend Nausica, fury, will do anything to protect her, even become the new queen's controlled assassin if it means saving Arlo. Meanwhile Celadon is dealing with the death of his family and the reveal of his new mother, and who he truly is and the power he has. On top of that there is a strange connection between him and Lethe, the deadly Hunter who has his own plan yet seems to be willing to do anything for Celadon. This book further explores Lethe's past (he is the son of a titan, Luck and the god of death but was forced into Atlantis to be trained (tortured for years) and his only solace was his friendship with the Moon... who sacrificed their life for his revenge. Lethe has been trying to get revenge and find a way to find his Moon again... and who just happens to bear the same tattoo that Lethe has... Celadon. This book really had the most interesting relationship between Celadon and Lethe, like I could do with an entire book about their relationship. They were the main focus of this book and I loved them. Celadon and Lethe have both gone through so much yet are willing to do anything to protect the other, they're both playing their own games in this terrible situation with Riadne, and I am sat for my Grim and Sunken Kings. Besides them, the rest of the book/couples felt kind of lackluster and a bit slow... the only thing that kept me so invested was Celadon and Lethe. They had the best storyline and the most interesting character dynamic and personality. There is a fourth book coming and I will be reading it just to see where they go with the story and the rest of the characters. This series is a saga, so honestly I don't know how many more books there are going to be. My one big gripe with these books is that they are all over 500+ pages and most of the time it's unnecessary, it truly could be shaved down because the story feels so dragged on and other chapters and events feel kind of pointless..... but anyways, I digress. I'd have to say this is my favorite book from the series so far, it truly is the best of the three and I am curious how the next one will go.

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[space-blue]

The lesson Vander taught Silco

A Theory on Vander's Betrayal

I have a hot take for you guys. I know we don't all agree on what led to the Betrayal, but please consider this :

Silco tells Deckard about this lesson he learnt "when I was about your age" that "power comes to those who would do anything to achieve it"

But, Silco did not get power. He got drowned. He got pushed down to his lowest. What he did to Vander on the day of the betrayal (stabbing and slicing him) was simply to free himself. He's been lurking in the shadows ever since, and though he plans ahead, he has no guarantee that he will succeed, even if he's now ready to do anything to get there... He has not yet achieved power. Ever actually, as far as we can tell.

So... What if he's actually talking about Vander?

My personal take as a fanfic writer has become that Vander turned on him as they became the de-facto rulers of the Lanes, and went on to lead solo. Probably because Silco wanted Piltover's respect and was not satisfied with the Lanes' respect. (As per their dialogue in episode 3). I am envisioning Vander as someone who was much more brutal, much more power driven. Someone who helped Silco craft the Lanes with his charisma but also (mostly) his fists. He was a "Hound", and as we meet him I feel like we're blinded by the fact he argues for peace and is a good father figure. Silco wants freedom and is also a caring father (not looking for that debate here). If you just summarize them that way, they're both lovely men! Except we meet Vander caving someone's skull in, and his first dialogue is to threaten two people of death over short changing someone in his pub.

Vander also threatens Marcus explicitly, relying heavily on his reputation with his gauntlets. His reputation as a killer. He's not some benevolent ruler, and he doesn't exactly take feedback either. Sevika leaves after he refuses to yield. Sure we don't want him to sacrifice the kids either but... it's just a strong representation of his word being as good as the law, and that being backed by his reputation as a dangerous man.

SO!! What if Vander did "anything to achieve power" :

Drowning his beloved brother — and... yeah, it worked.

Silco was pushed to the shadows, and Vander achieved total domination of the Undercity.

He taught that lesson to Silco, and Silco has not yet enacted it himself, but is about to when we meet him, and is likewise willing to sacrifice his brother to reach for the power he needs to achieve his plans for a Nation of Zaun.

I see a lot of takes that Silco must have done something to "deserve" getting drowned. Yet the show is clear : Vander never tries to shake off the accusations of betrayal. No crimes are laid at Silco's feet. We project Vander being a good guy trying to kill a man who has "gone too far"... Yet Vander goes on to lead rebellions that kill a ton of zaunites! He goes on to regret what he did to Silco! That makes his character so much more confusing than the simple progression I'm offering here, imo.

Vander was a nasty, murderous man with big fists and a thirst for violence and power, channeled by Silco's ideology and dreams. Silco trusted him like a hound on a leash, happy to have him at his side and never expecting him to turn those impulses against him (because they shared the dream, so how could he?)

Vander was the villain who created Silco, showed him that nothing short of absolute ruthlessness truly pays. And then he matured, then he repented. Then he regretted the bloodshed, and the hurt he dealt to Silco. Yet he never truly changed his ways. He didn't reach out, and he kept a tight fist on the Lanes.

This makes for a more linear progression of his character, and a simpler explanation over all. Nothing dire needs to have happened. They reached a point where leadership could be seized. Vander took it. Maybe Silco said something to enrage him, or resisted being "demoted" and things escalated. It's very easy to imagine young Vander having little control over his anger issues.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[ignitification]

I highly doubt Horokoshi will redeem them after all the Shit they did.like seriously Shigaraki is too far gone to be saved.Like Ok maybe Killing them is a bit far but it's clear they can't be Redeemed.Horikoshi wouldn't redeem literal Mass Murderers.

Their Trauma and Backstories don't justify or Excuse mass and Serial Murders, Destruction Arson and Torture.Do I feel bad for them?,Yes but they're clearly not able to be saved,This isn't Naruto where you can change the villian's minds by talking to them.

Seriously They are huge Threats to Japan and are literally breaking every Criminal out of prison to cause destruction.

It's Clear the Villians Have to be Stopped,big time.

Dear anon,

maybe. Maybe you are right. But, me and you both are not here to discuss Horikoshi's plan for his characters. I won't pretend I know where the story is going and even if I did, it would probably be just as delusional. What I can tell you though, is that, in my opinion, and please do not take this an offence, what you said is a load of bullshit.

Let me explain before you throw me to the wolves:

The story, from what I get is just now nearing its apex, which means that the whole ordeal of what happened in the last arc (let's call it, PFL vs Heroes because for the life of me I can't remember the name of the place in this moment) is a pre context to what is going to happen right now. PFL vs Heroes has the function to introduce 2 things: villains redeeming arc (or also: AfO being the only real villain of BNHA) and the crumble of society as we know it (heroes retiring and all that crap). Which also means that this, THIS PART, is the origin of what actually is the main arc of the story and which (may, in the long run) might be the why and how of Deku being the N1 Hero in a new society (I talked about this here).

This said, it should appear clear how 'at this point' you mention means jackshit in the timeline. We just now discovered that Dabi, one of the forefront members of the League and Front, is actually the long-thought-dead son of current hero N1 Endeavour. What is then the whole point of introducing Touya just to do nothing with it? Rei has been dismissed from the hospital, Shouto has accepted that Touya is alive and that they might be more similar than he thinks and even the same Enji knows that if he does not try and save the son he already failed to save once there is no redeeming for him.

Which brings me to my next point: if the same Enji knows this, and in light of the fact that Dabi is willing to die in order to expose the abuse that lead him to actually become a villain, what is the point of then just leaving Dabi be? Like, coincidentally if Endeavour does nothing about this situation not only he lets his son die twice, but he also inherently tells that he does not deserve redeeming. In basic words, the only possibility for Endeavour to actually redeem is to save Touya. His redeeming means that he saves a villain. Does it make sense for you to make this whole plot in order to just drop it afterwards and say 'nah, fuck this, i built a whole plot to actually show how society fucks people them up and then destroy that society just to let these people being fucked by society again?'? Cause for me it does not.

Maybe in your eyes they cannot be saved, but remembers what Touya says here:

He is right. All the heroes are as dirty as they are. And maybe some of them are better than others, but always remember that these villains have so many reasons to be the way they are.

Plus: if you think the LoV is unredeemable, then you must think the same of Endeavour and Hawks (who are currently N1&2), you must also think that BJ is an hypocrite (in regard to him not wanting Touya to expose N1) and that All Might, as Dumbledore, is a caring piece of shit because of what he did to Izuku.

P. S. I don't think that redeeming the villains of the story is condoning their actions. It's actually trying to say that everybody makes mistakes. It's okay to make them. But you have to acknowledge them and want to correct them, in order to be saved. This is also another reason why I think that AfO, after all, is the only villain of the story.

You have also to understand that Horikoshi does not want his villains to change their minds after talking to them. Why would they? What is the point? Why should you believe anyone in the system that fucked you over repeatedly and then told you that someone will come save you and never did? I, for one, would never trust anything that comes from mouth of anyone in that society, be it good or bad. They condone abuse, corruption and neglect, so who are the bad people here? Furthermore, it's not even about changing their minds, because this is not about perspective, but UNDERSTAND OF WHY THE FUCK THESE SOULS DECIDED THAT THE ONLY WAY OF THEM GETTING THROUGH THEIR MESSAGE WAS THROUGH VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION. Like, they do not need to change their minds. They need to be held together and said that it is okay that they turned out this way because it was not their fault and actually show them why was that not the right way. If they want redemption they will get it. But it's really up to them to do it, however, the fact that they need to be given a choice is absolute. You cannot accuse anyone of not being able to be saved or redeemed if you do not give them a choice to.

Finally, onto the threat to Japan part, I think the threat that AfO poses for Japan and for the LoV (who are puppets in AfO's hands, unless they decide to free themselves) and especially Shigaraki is way more dangerous. You have to separate those actions from the LoV. Liberating criminals is AfO's doing in Shig's body. He does not want to be controlled, but he also cannot sometimes surrender to it. AfO, if he does not need any of them anymore will literally just toss them away. After all, he kept the LoV as it was for Shigaraki, and Shigaraki was strumental to his plans because AfO wants a new body and a new quirk for himself. He needs to be stopped. The others need to be saved (of they choose to). But that was the point that Toga made in that famous panel:

where is the line you draw at being possibly saved? Isn't it enough for you that they are human?

If it isn't, well, I don't know what to say.

I hope this finds you well, and yeah, remember that a choice should be always offered, a hand always out forward (as Izuku did with Bakugō): it's up to them whether they want to catch that hand, but It would be absolutely morally wrong not even try to just because you labelled them as 'not savable'. Everyone is the same. Everyone deserved to be loved and understood. Everyone, here, is worthy of compassion and feelings. Shall that not be the case, the world has failed again. And me, with it.

[palmtreepalmtree]

MANNY IS IN THIS FUCKING MOVIE

So I watched it.

BTW, this is part 2 of my two-part review, so keep scrolling to read the first one first, I guess.

Alright, at this point, I've got all sorts of spoilers coming so

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Anyhow, at this point, Joseph has been at the Brenet family farm/winery for a year. Manny has now become the full time property manager. Joseph's mom has decided she's done with her role as CEO of the family conglomerate so Joseph must return to San Francisco to save the family business. Well this is perfect timing for his new fiancée Callie to meet all of his friends and and see what his life was like in the city, and right before their big Christmas gala too!

Y'all this storyline is MESSY. There are business dealing backstabbings, resurfacing exes, and willful misunderstandings. All the things you would come to expect from this sort of movie. The fact that it all kinda works (*cough* ontheslidingscaleofthesekindofmovies *cough*) is really a credit to the writing.

But honestly, that's also the problem with it too. This movie is just played too straight. It's too serious. It tackles big themes like found families, honesty in partnerships, and the excess of business spending in the face of true poverty. And even though it's saying some pretty simple things about that, it wants us to take them very seriously.

And like... I GUESS? Because there are some moments that I really truly enjoyed (and bawled like a baby through). I thought Manny's story arc in this movie was lovely.

And there's an interesting (if debatable) but nicely written flashback scene with Callie and her mom discussing the baggage people bring into a relationship that I thought was particularly well written.

I liked these moments. And they work because Lauren Swickard who wrote both of these movies does a good job thinking about her characters and what these movies are, and moves gently with the tropes without trying to slice through them, like a swimmer moving parallel to the current instead of fully against it.

But in the end, for all its nuance and thoughtfully written scenes and characters and storylines, I just don't find this movie all that FUN.

There is no fucking camp in this movie. The villain is barely a villain. She just comes over as vapid and dumb. There are fun little moments of awkwardness because Joseph has failed to properly warn Callie about what a douchebag he was, but they're played sooooo seriously they're hard to really enjoy!

And honestly, I don't want to spend 30 minutes in one of these movies crying cause I'm a softie and the homeless kid is getting a pair of shoes and the shelter is getting its funding back.

Sure, the company did not really need to throw its big Christmas gala, and Callie didn't really need to have a fancy city Christmas wedding, but IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FUN TO SEE IT ANYHOW. I mean, FUCK. If these movies are about vicariously getting to be rich and pretty and go to fancy places and do fancy things, THEN LET ME FUCKING DO IT, CALLIE.

We finally got Christmas, but we completely lost the ROMANCE. For fuck's sake.

*sigh*

My secret wish is that Lauren keeps writing movies. But maybe not anymore Christmas romances. Cause I sort of suspect she might be better than the genre.

And in the end, I really just want to watch Manny doing goofy things in his cow print pajamas.

If you're gonna watch these movies, just watch them for Manny.

Seriously, Manny. You need a better agent. I believe in you. You're great. I want to see you get better work.

SOMEBODY HIRE MANNY.

[imo-chan-imagines]

『 Haikyuu!! Week 2020 | Day 3 』

· Sept. 27th → Irresistible Force ·

Characters: Karasuno team

Prompts: A. favourite team + B. crossover/AU

Tags/warnings: Haikyuu!! (anime), PG, fluff, crack, a teensy bit of angst (because who doesn't love a sad superhero backstory), headcanons, AU, superheroes, HaikyuuWeek2020

A/N: Again, I love all the teams and didn't want to pick, but life is cruel, so here I am. This is headcanons about my fav team (Karasuno) in an AU (superheroes). I was thinking of a Hero Association, kind of like in 'The Boys'? But less corrupt... Maybe more like in 'One Punch'? I think you get me.

All of my Haikyuu Week 2020 posts will be SFW, but I have NFSW content on my blog if that butters your biscuit. Feel free to check it out! Thanks for reading! Please enjoy ♡ Imo~

Karasuno / Superhero Association AU

×

☆ Sawamura Daichi ☆

Powers: nigh invulnerability, super strength, enhanced healing

If he's not the ordinary cop that somehow befriends the heroes I was tempted then he's definitely the leader of the superhero group

Kind of like Superman in the old-school Justice League, just not as OP lol

Looks damn good is spandex those thighs *sweats*

Cape!! so ✨majestic✨

Probably wears dark-ish, neutral colours with a dash of blue

A bit serious. Not the kind of hero to go around making quips all the time, but will make light of his own suffering like Captain America

Takes younger heroes under his wing like the true Dadchi he is

Strong moral compass. Unbreakable

Won't hesitate to lay down his life for others

Who am I kidding. He's basically Captain America with a cape

Poster-boy for the Hero Association

×

☆ Sugawara Koushi ☆

Powers: telekinesis

A soft, pearly aesthetic with his suit, hair and skin. Lots of white and silver

A favourite among the ladies he's just too pretty, damm it T T

Very plucky and adorable

People in the vicinity will literally faint when he goes all serious to concentrate and use his powers

Has a duo move with Daichi where he literally throws him like a missle YEET

Has the most followers on Twitter and TikTok and his fans can be pretty nuts

Has a perfume line named after him and models for the adverts

Will smile like an angel right before bringing a building down on top of you fuck, I find this one really funny

×

☆ Azumane Asahi ☆

Powers: regeneration, enhanced stength

Kind of like Wolverine or Deapool but, like, much, much softer on the inside uwu

Wears green and black

Messed up big time back in the day and dropped off the grid out of guilt some people died :(

Was convinced to come back when his old teammates finally found him again because they needed his help in a crisis

Literally shed tears of relief when heroes and citizens alike welcomed him back instead of hating him mah heart *sniffs*

Can withstand seemingly anything and fully heal within a matter of days

Doesn't know the full extent of his powers himself. How exactly do one test it? 🤔

Still has to psych himself up for a fight, though big softy, really

×

☆ Shimizu Kiyoko ☆

Powers: electrokinesis, flight

Powers like Storm from X-Men, and kicks ass like Wonder Woman

Refuses to wear a revealing suit, but looks bomb af anyway

Kiyoko = absolute queen

One of the most powerful heroes, but doesn't throw her weight around unless she's kicking bady-guy booty

Stella gynamast, and has mastered several martial arts

Can literally throw a guy three times her size, all without any strength powers Tanaka: 👁👄👁

Somehow has perfect hair all the time secret superpower??

Is active on the political stage as a human rights activist, headlining women's rights yes, yes yes

Will strike you with lightning for sexual harassment

Comes up with really good mission plans

Is a soothing balm for Tanaka when he loses it

Black and gold aesthetic✨

Asymmetrical cape! super fashionable

Poster-girl for the Hero Association

☆ Tanaka Ryuunosuke ☆

Powers: fire generation and manipulation

Tanaka brings the heat literally

A bit of a chaotic-good, but what's new there?

Can get out of control if he loses his focus, so his friends have to keep him grounded Kiyoko is a literal angel when that happens

Kiyoko: Sun's getting real low...

Bonus points if you get the reference

Is terrified of hurting innocents if he gets out of control

It rarely happens, but if he loses his self confidence, his powers don't seem to work

Shouts cringy lines at the villains before roasting their asses lmfao

Wears a black and orange flame-retardant suit, and actually looks pretty fine in it 😌👌

Literally head over heels for Kiyoko just imagine it. Biggest hype man

×

☆ Nishinoya Yuu ☆

Powers: animal metamorphosis, enhanced speed

Think Beast Boy from 'Teen Titans', but less green he's more likely to be yellow or orange, lmao

Handy in lots of different situations. Very versatile

Incredibly cheeky and joins in with Tanaka's cheesy jokes and one-liners

Absolute maniac, but the people love him, especially schoolkids lmao

Has his own energy drink flavour, and he's STOKED about it

Yellow and black suit, kind of like his hair

Has a surprisingly large following of fans

Laps up the attention, but it doesn't really go to his head

Quiet and serious when he's on a mission/fighting

☆ Hinata Shouyou ☆

Powers: self replication, super speed, levitation

His powers took a while to properly manifest, which left him feeling isolated as a teen

Was pretty lost until Ukai helped train him

Got into a fight with Kageyama in an alleyway when he first met him MET HIM IN THE STREET, LMAO

Argues with Kageyama a lot at headquarters, but they work together like a dream when taking down bad guys

Has a heart of literal gold precious baby

Is contantly amazed when he helps significantly

Was inspired to become a hero by his idol, the Little Giant and it's his dream to inspire someone else 😭😭

Uses his replication ability to confuse the bad guys ULTIMATE DECOY

Levitates around the room when he's excited like Aang from ATLA, hahaha

Wears an orange, white and yellow suit with little wings on his heels cuuuute

×

☆ Kageyama Tobio ☆

Powers: water/ice generation and manipulation, breathing underwater, superhuman reflexes

I was tempted to give him fire/ice powers like Todoroki, but I didn't want to detract from Tanaka

Has problems focusing his powers, and can be quite turbulent in the heat of battle

Finds it hard to work well with others initially, but really makes an effort

Has hurt people close to him by accident before and never wants to do it again it would tear him apart

Becomes a power duo with Hinata when Ukai helps train them, even though they don't seem to get on well at first

Broody boi on the surface, but a cinnamon roll deep down

Wears a dark blue and deep purple suit that has fins to assist in underwater escapades which are his forte

Freezes Hinata's feet to the floor when he pisses him off or anybody's feet, tbh

Can dodge almost anything because of his reflexes don't ever try to punch him. You'll look stupid

Is surprised by the number of people in his fan club especially the number of women asking to marry him??

×

☆ Tsukishima Kei ☆

Powers: telepathy, superhuman intellect, mind control on weak-willed individuals

Prefers to outwit his enemies rather than getting into a brawl

But his self-designed gadgets and tech help him out if he has to a bit like Tony Stark, wink wonk

Sometimes makes you question if he's really a hero or not Tsukki, please

Doesn't take orders well

Baits villains by insulting them and getting the better of them with his words it's hilarious

Comes up with good plans, but improvises well with whatever he's got

Probably wears suits over his spandex most of the time fancy shmancy

Is prepared to die to protect Yamaguchi waahhh

×

☆ Yamaguchi Tadashi ☆

Powers: invisibility, force fields, teleportation

Susan Storm with added teleportation, lol

Often finds it hard to value his powers because they're not as visually strong and impressive as other people's

Rather than squaring up to a battle, he often has to 'hide' from it by literally going invisible

But he gradually becomes aware of how vital his powers can be, and learns to control them and make them as advantageous as possible

Is a highly important and valued member of the team

Soft bean that gets nervous and throws up before a fight

But he's hella determined and won't back down

Honestly, just wants to protect Tsukki and make him proud PROTECT HIM

×

☆ Yachi Hitoka ☆

Powers: size manipulation

She can shrink and enlarge herself and objects she touches at will, including other people

Sometimes shrinks really small to avoid social situations she doesn't want to be in samez, honey

The clumsiest and least experienced on the team

But she tries her best, gradually getting to grips with her powers

Sometimes uses her powers by accident, like when she's nervous

Once touched a watermelon slice on the refreshment table and accidentally blew it up to the size of a car Hinata, Kageyama and Noya fully dug in with their faces 😭😭

Nearly passed out when Daichi, the literal god of the Hero Association, told her she had great potential

Don't worry, Yams teleported and caught her

☆ Ukai Keishin ☆

Powers: laser vision, metal mimicry

The has-been hero who lost his enthusiasm for hero-ing and retired some years ago

Was really cool back in his hayday. Big hot-shot with a fan club

Has been working as a convenience store attendant to pay the bills and is bored out of his mind but refuses to admit it

Was convinced to get back in the game when he found Hinata and Kageyama fighting, both struggling with their abilities. He broke up the fight and agreed to coach them

Doesn't do much of the flashy hero stuff anymore, but will occasionally get stuck in when he's needed must protecc his children

Is only, like, ten years older than the other heroes, but they treat him like some fossilised sensei out of Natuto, or some shit

Tbf, he has the back problems of one 😭😭

×

☆ Takeda Ittetsu ☆

Powers: power absorption

Transferred from being a hero to hero management after having having issues with the effects of his powers he has a conscience :(

He felt guilty and responsible for permanently taking the powers of others, even if they were criminals

It was like removing a piece of their souls it kind of broke him

These days, he makes sure nobody knows about his powers, so it can't be used against him

He helps in any other way possible

He would only use his powers again in dire circumstances he knows he'll eventually have to

Is generally chipper and good natured, though

If he was ever captured by a villain, they'd probably send him back because he talks too much omg, hahaha

Helps gather info for the team and direct them on missions and in fights

Gives bomb inspirational speeches ✊

© imo-chan-imagines 2020

[kiingocreative]

We’ve got a YouTube channel! Search “kiingo” on YouTube and subscribe.

.

.

In many stories there's a moment between the protagonist and the antagonist that has almost become a cliché. The antagonist starts monologuing about how the protagonist isn't blameless or completely separated from the antagonist. "We're not so different, you and I." Why do we see this moment over and over? Why does the antagonist seem to mirror the protagonist so often?

The protagonist and antagonist are typically some sort of mirror images of each other because it's a powerful tool to explore a story's theme. Recall that in his book Invisible Ink, Brian McDonald defines clone characters as "characters in your story that represent what could, should, or might happen to the protagonist if he or she takes a particular path." By ensuring that the protagonist and antagonist are struggling with the same underlying problem or fear or desire (but perhaps in different ways or using different strategies), we ensure that the antagonist is a "clone character" of the protagonist and that they're a natural mirror.

Recall also that one of the best ways to send a character through an arc is to introduce an "influence character". An influence character is a specific type of clone character that spends time with the character-to-change (typically the protagonist). The influence character has a completely different approach to life and thus forces the protagonist to confront their own approach to life (like Dory with Marlin in Finding Nemo).

In Toy Story, Woody's dealing with the underlying problem of what it means to be a toy and whether he can be valuable without being the top toy. The opponent of the story, Buzz, is someone who not only doesn't want to be the top toy, but he doesn't even *believe* he's a toy. By ensuring that the protagonist and antagonist are both approaching the same problem (albeit in a different way), we see them as clones. Woody needs to learn a lesson from Buzz--that being a valuable toy isn't all about being the top toy. We see the antagonist as going down a path that the protagonist could, would, or should go down.

In the movie Collateral, this mirrored relationship between hero and villain is clear. The antagonist embodies something that the protagonist needs to learn. The villain represents the path that the protagonist could go down (when it comes to initiative and ambition, not necessarily immorality) if he were willing to take life by the horns. Max, the protagonist, must learn from Vincent, the antagonist. And when the protagonist is able to learn a specific lesson from the antagonist, the two aren't so different.

[misstrashchan]

The Man With Two Souls, Pt. 2

Okay, so this ended up being a fucking long part 2 to my previous meta post. There was a lot I wanted to get down, and if it doesn't make sense or you don't agree with it, that's fine, I'd just be happy if you read it. Now I can rest until the finale comes and beats me up.

So, there's a few more Salem and Adam parallels to start off with like

(8) Having the same reaction to hearing someone mention Blake and Oz and the possibility of them getting the upper hand against them

(9) Chronologically after this happens (we see Adam destroy the throne room in Volume 6 episode 2, but we see him lose his mask at the end of the Adam trailer) deciding to go after Blake on his own while Salem creates the winged Beringel grimm and plans to go to Atlas herself, presumably to go after Oscar/Ozpin so he doesn't get in the way of her plans (as well as Ruby since she clearly needs her as well)

"If you want something done right, you do it yourself" - Volume 6 Chapter 13

(10) Adam and Salem telling Blake and Oz about how they're going to destroy them and those around them

"The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my effort to snuff it out. How does it feel? Knowing that all your time and effort has been for nothing. That your guardians have failed you. That everything you've built will be torn down before your very eyes."

"So you send your guardians, your huntsman and huntresses. And when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise. This is the beginning of the end, Ozpin. And I can't wait to watch you burn." - Salem, Volume 3 Chapter 12

"What you want is impossible! But I understand. Because all I want is you, Blake. And as I set out and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love. Starting with her." - Adam, Volume 3 Chapter 11

(11) Salem and Adam's perception of Oz and Blake affecting their perspective of themselves... and the audience.

Okay, this one's honestly kind of weird. For so, so long there were a lot of people who bought into the idea that Ozpin was secretly evil or somehow worse than Salem, or that he'd done something terrible and unforgivable to Salem. I fully admit, I was one of those people. I mean, I didn't think he was evil, but the way Salem talked to him at the end of volume 3, listening to the song Divide, I thought, he must have done something bad to Salem, right? How could she hate him so much otherwise?

And the worst thing he did... was leave her. When he couldn't go along with being a genocidal dictator of the whole world alongside Salem, and didn't want their children to be a part of that either.

And as for Adam, he tells Blake that she hurt him more than anybody because she left him.

"All sorts of people hurt me in all sorts of different ways. But no one hurt me quite like you, Blake. You didn't leave scars. You just left me alone." - Adam, Volume 6 Chapter 12

And Salem would also have been hurt from Ozma trying to leave her. Especially when you think about her backstory, how she was kept isolated in a tower, and instead of finding freedom in the outside world, found it in Ozma. And then he died, and she was alone again. And then the Gods destroyed humanity, and Salem is left alone one again for god knows how long.

"Once again, Salem was alone." - Volume 6 Chapter 3

And weirdly, similar to Ozpin there were people who bought into Adam's false perception of Blake too. That Blake is somehow the one who hurt Adam more than he hurt her (which is, completely insane).

And Salem and Adam want Oz and Blake to feel that way. To be paralyzed with self hatred and doubt, to be stuck in the past, and feel as if everything is their fault. That Salem and Adam are their responsibility, at first to save them, and then to stop them.

You see it with Adam's gaslighting, trying to paint her as an unfaithful coward. And I mean, just listen to the song Divide. The whole song is Salem trying to make out Ozpin to be the villain, that she's killing people but the real murderer is him for trying to give people hope, even if it was hope based on a desperate lie.

"It was you who ended their lives! Made them to dig their own graves! With your dark, sick, cruel design, convinced them their world could be saved." - Divide

And there were a lot of people convinced by Salem's song Divide that Ozpin was far worse than he really was, to the point it was surprising that he hadn't wronged Salem in some way like most people were expecting.

And Adam tries to make Blake believe that she's a coward, that she's selfish and weak, that running away from her problems is all she knows how to do.

And for a long while, Blake believed he was right. That she was toxic to the people around her, that she made things worse for them. And there were some people in the fandom who thought that she really was this toxic person.

It's actually kind of scary, but Salem and Adam managed to manipulate not only Blake and Oz's perception of themselves, but also the audience as well in how they saw them.

I don't doubt for a moment this is going to extend to Oscar as well if she meets him, that she'll likely try to convince him that he's just Ozpin and that he, Oscar, doesn't matter, and he'll fail and make the same mistakes as their past lives. Which undoubtedly parts of the fandom are going to take Salem's false perception of Oscar to heart as well and believe her.

Which brings me to move on from Blake's parallels with her first "soul" and Ozpin, to her second "soul" and Oscar.

Now Blake alluding to the Man with Two Souls is metaphorical, while in Oscar's case it's very literal, and it's no coincidence she's the one who first introduces us to the concept to us with the book she's reading during the Shining Beacon.

"...It's about a man with two souls. Each fighting for control over his body"

(It's important to note that the conflict between the two souls is not one of Good vs Evil)

Blake's conflict of her two metaphorical souls fighting for control, is the false perception Adam had of Blake and who she used to be with him, her past that she can't escape, and the struggle for her smaller, more honest soul, trying to define herself and decide who she wants to be. And for Oscar, he's struggling to define himself and decide who he wants to be, because of the merge with Ozpin, and that his past will become Oscar's too.

Both of them want to do the right thing and rise to their challenges, but it seems like such an impossible task to them that they're afraid to meet it.

"I'm... scared. I'm more scared than I've ever been. Than I ever thought was possible. I always knew I wanted to be more than a farmhand. But this? Who would ask for this?" - Oscar, Volume 5 Chapter 5

"I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsman and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy what will I... How can I undo so many years of hate?" - Blake, Volume 2, Chapter 10

But the person who sees Blake's "other soul" the person she's truly capable of being, who she really is, even when she can't herself, is Yang.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. You're not one to back down from a challenge Blake." - Yang, Volume 2 Chapter 10

And the one who sees Oscar and who he's capable of being even when he can't himself, is Ruby.

"Hey Oscar? I know this isn't going to be easy. But the fact that you're trying says a lot about you. You're braver than you think." - Ruby, Volume 5 Chapter 5

Blake and Oscar are also the first people we see Yang and Ruby open up to about their past trauma. The difference between the two being that in the Burning the Candle scene Yang is more willing to be vulnerable around Blake, to let her guard down and open up to her about her abandonment issues and how they've affected her.

Because as a more emotionally mature character she understands she needs to do that in order to properly relate to Blake so she can offer her support. She gets frustrated however when Blake still refuses her support, and so she has to give her a push to accept it.

Ruby, however, isn't as emotionally mature as Yang, and doesn't find it easy to let down her guard and talk about her emotions. Her mentality being described as "I don't have time for my emotions, I've got to make sure everybody else is okay" - RWBY Rewind: Ruby Rose Rewinds With Us

She feels like she constantly needs to be a pillar of strength and support for everyone around her as a leader. She has a hard time opening up about her own feelings and being vulnerable around others. For her, it seems much more natural to internalize those feelings rather than face them head on. As a leader, she feels she isn't supposed to show fear or doubt. If she admits how she's hurting or how scared she is, she'd be afraid of those around her losing faith.

Ironically, it's Ozpin's words of advice to her that enforce this mentality

"But if you aren't constantly performing at your best, what reason do you give others to follow you?"

So even though only a minute ago Oscar saw that Ruby was clearly upset over something (being reminded of Penny's death)

Ruby then goes on to act like nothing's wrong when she then attempts to reassure Oscar. And it feels like a performance, and though Ruby genuinely does want to reassure him, it comes across as insincere to him. He's frustrated because Ruby isn't being honest about how she's feeling, and is only concerned with his feelings.

So in the Dojo scene we have Oscar start to push Ruby past that flawed mentality that Ozpin enforced, to be more honest about how she's feeling, to talk about how the Fall of Beacon and the loss of Phyrra and Penny affected her, how she's afraid of Salem killing people she cares about, and that she'd kill anyone regardless.

And with both Ruby and Yang opening up about their past experiences they can relate to Blake and Oscar's own fears, doubts and insecurities. Blake's need for answers and Oscar's fear of the fight with Salem, and Yang's need for answers and Ruby's fear of the fight with Salem.

"I told you! I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't. To this day I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me. But I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process what good are we?" - Yang, Volume 2 Chapter 6

"I am scared! But not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows that Salem doesn't care if you're standing against her or not. She'll kill anybody. And that, scares me most of all. Phyrra... Penny... I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. That I didn't think about them every day since I lost them. That I didn't wish I had spent more time with them. If it had been me instead, I know they would have kept fighting too. No matter how dangerous it was. So that's what I choose to do. To keep moving forward." - Ruby, Volume 5 Chapter 5

And by demonstrating their own resolve, as well as their belief in the kind of people Blake and Oscar are capable of being that inspires them to be that person.

"I'm. Not. Running."

"You. Will." - Blake and Adam, Volume 3 Chapter 11

"She made a choice. To put others before herself. And so do I."

"Then you've chosen death." - Oscar and Hazel, Volume 5 Chapter 12

There's also Blake expressing her doubt in Yang during volume 3 after she attacked Mecury, causing Yang to question her own judgement.

She compares it to how Adam used to attack people, and of course she knows Yang wouldn't do something like that without good reason, but she can't but feel like the situation is very familiar. And Blake knows Yang isn't Adam, and makes it clear that she's decided to trust Yang.

"I want to trust you. I will trust you." - Volume 3 Chapter 8

But despite that, Blake's words do still weigh on her mind even when she's alone, where Qrow comes to talk to her about what happened and reassure her, and then they end up talking about her mum.

And then with Ruby in volume 7, Oscar expresses his doubt in Ruby in her decision to lie and hide the truth from Ironwood, comparing it to how Ozpin did the same to them, which, similar to Yang, causes Ruby to question her own judgement. And obviously he knows Ruby isn't Ozpin, that she probably had a good reason for lying. But again, the situation just feels so familiar.

But ultimately he decides to put his trust in Ruby, even before Ironwood.

"I do believe in you. But not only you." - Volume 7 Chapter 7

And by episode 9 they're both on the same page in deciding to choose the truth over fear. (if only James could have stayed on that page too)

Similarly to Yang, we see Ruby alone in episode 4 of volume 7, and you can tell Oscar's words are still weighing on her mind, as Qrow comes over to talk to her and she asks him if she is like Ozpin, and he reassures her that she's not, and then they end up talking about her mother.

Okay, so I'm going to go out on a limb here, and you can call me out on my bullshit if you like, but I'm making a prediction (like, 12 hours from the finale, but hey, it might happen later in the series for all I know)

If we're going full in on the parallels here, remember how Yang lost an arm trying to protect Blake from Adam, and afterwards Blake ends up leaving Yang like Raven, believing she'd be better off without her?

And how Salem is on her way to Atlas after hearing Ozpin had reincarnated, the foreshadowing for Ruby losing an eye and them bringing up her trauma around Summer in Chapter 11?

On top of her wanting Ruby alive?

I'm gonna guess Ruby loses an eye trying to protect Oscar, and then afterwards either Oscar or Ruby tries to sacrifice and give themselves up to Salem, except it ends up being a hollow sacrifice like Summer's

"I didn't have a choice I did what I had to do I made a sacrifice but forced a bigger sacrifice on you!" - Red like Roses Part 2

Because Salem would end up taking both of them either way. I actually can't imagine a scenario where she doesn't, because she needs both of them. But one of them has a worse fate, a "bigger sacrifice" in store for them when they reach Evernight (which I'm still thinking is Ruby)

[snarktheater]

Series review — Quantico (Season 2)

So this is…something that happened. Yup. It sure is something that happened.

Just to be clear: this review is probably going to go off the rails a little bit. Because let's be real, there isn't one show on television right now that is as interesting as an individual piece as the sharp, sudden turn that American television as a whole has taken in its winter/spring 2017 season. So I'm gonna talk about that.

Last year, I didn't give Quantico a lot of attention. It was among my favorites, but it was hard to really talk about without spoiling it, and so all I could say was that it didn't fail in the classic ways that tends to happen (you know, racism, sexism, that sort of things).

Luckily, this year, I do have a few things to say about Quantico's second season itself. While the show does mostly retain its strengths, it has definitely struggled with its plot. I wouldn't be surprised if this was actually a conscious decision, because as we reach the final third of the season, the main plot that had been the central focus of the season (an attack on a G20 summit) is abruptly wrapped up. The show's formula of following both a major crisis in the present and following the protagonists' training and how it ties into that crisis is chucked to the garbage, and instead we get a singular plot line. It deals with the consequences of the previous events, but still, the change is jarring.

And that's where the real-life stuff becomes relevant. I mean, we are in a post-Trump election world, whether we like it or not. And while all media is inherently political (by virtue of representing world views from the creator(s)), suddenly a lot of the media has become intentionally political. It's hard to know how much of it is pandering and how much is genuine.

For instance, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD repeatedly using buzz phrases like "fake news" in its third seasonal arc (which, incidentally, deals with an alternate reality where fascist Hydra took over the world post-WWII) teeters on that edge, and it's hard to tell which one it is. Mostly because while the story's concept is definitely an apt metaphor for the current political climate. And I want to thank whoever made this line happen:

But that said…the show doesn't really go anywhere with it. It's saying Nazis are bad, and fascism is bad, and bad guys must be defeated. It creates an implied link between Trump, nazis, and fascism. But it falls short of adding anything constructive to the conversation beyond that. It feels very "white person calling themselves woke", in that it's only the basic stuff. Aside from the metaphor, it stays too confined within its own supernatural narrative to add anything of value.

It's clearer in a show like Supergirl, ironically, where our fascist is an alien invasion that only starts in the penultimate episode of the season. I guess it's a case of "less is more", because it still gives us this speech, which in my opinion beats all of Agents of SHIELD's "Agents of Hydra" arc in one moment.

“Resist these invaders. They come with empty promises, and closed fists. They promise to make our world great again. They think they can con us.”

Like…it's actually almost laughable how on the nose it is. It doesn't even completely work within the context of the show, because the villain isn't really trying to con people, nor do they come with empty promises beyond "accept enslavement and you will live". But at the very least it's trying to be relevant to its audience, which is kind of the most important part when you do something like this. (Speaking of "on the nose", the season finale is titled "Nevertheless, she persisted", which is just amusing to me)

Of course, Supergirl had an advantage on SHIELD. It's a show that started its pilot discussing feminism, and has consistently come back to it, including discussions of intersectionality. That it gets political now isn't as sharp a turn, and the writers are clearly more comfortable with it. I mean, this is a show set in a world where the POTUS is a woman (and an alien, but who's counting).

But then we get back to Quantico. That show was also political from the start, which also questioned sexism and racism with its pilot. To boot, it doesn't have to deal with a supernatural plot to divert its attention from its message. You don't need to make a fascist metaphor when you can just have…plain old fascism as your villain.

And they went there. In its final third, Quantico's second season focuses on our protagonist setting up a task force to fight a shadowy conspiracy of people from the high spheres of society aiming to take down the current government, instate one of them as the POTUS, and…well, profit from it. While the "conspiracy" part is (arguably) fictional, and it's based on forcing the current president to resign because the previous season just had a presidential election in its epilogue, it's otherwise a pretty clear parallel to Trump's rise to the presidency and the people who chose as members of his staff.

And yet, the show's writers have proven to be way too optimistic. The conspirators are actually competent at their work (also, for some reason, capable of holding their own against trained FBI and CIA agent in hand-to-hand combat, which is kind of weird to me), both in their business and as people who want to run a country. They also seem to genuinely believe to be doing what is best for the country, even if that happens to be having them be in charge of it. I don't think I'll face a lot of pushback when I say that that is clearly not something that can be said of the Trump administration. And if you are a person who wants to argue with that fact…how the hell did you find this little blog? (Also, don't bother)

And then there's the season finale. Spoiler, I guess, but this is where that ironic optimism becomes the most obvious. Because that episode's resolution relies on two things: 1) the protagonists, in an act that they are aware is treason, leak information to the Russian intelligence so they can pressure the Trump analogue in compromising himself; and 2) once said Trump analogue is shown to be compromised to the Russian intelligence and willing to bow down to their will, he immediately, unilaterally loses all support, leading to impeachment being drafted almost at once.

Ironic, considering what news broke out on the exact same day that the episode aired, and how little reaction there was from the Republican base since then.

But even with all of that, the show still does an impressive job with its portrayal of a Trump metaphor. In particular, it continues what it did in its first season with debunking the amalgamation of Islam with terrorism, and showing how that amalgamation serves very specific interests. And, perhaps most important of all, it finally takes a definitive stance on what was probably one of the show's biggest flaws: the fact that spy work, while it can be useful, will ultimately only serve the people in power, no matter who they are. Transparency is the only way to let people have agency in the democratic process.

So the show spent two seasons telling us that the characters have to "do what they must" and "work in the shadows". And while it did also point out that intelligence agencies needed oversight, it's in the finale that it gets its best moment. Warning for spoilers (and if the video gets taken down, let me know).

"This country will not fix itself in the shadows anymore. The light is all we have, and the truth is all we can trust. So resist. Fight back."

Note that, just like Supergirl, the show uses the #Resist hashtag that's gotten so popular. Still on the nose here, but it works much better in context. After all, the context is basically the same as ours.

So…yeah, the season ends up being structurally weak because it made such a wild departure before the end. It's still highly enjoyable, but honestly, at this point…I think it's way more important than it is good or bad.

Do I think it's a must-watch? Well…maybe, maybe not. I still recommend watching the show, but don't do it for the political message. You can just get that anywhere on social media too, or just by staying informed. But I think it's an excellent move to reach the people who do watch the show. So there is that.

Someday, someone much better versed than I am in analyzing pop culture will look back at how American television changed basically overnight and derive much deeper conclusion from it than I could. In the meantime, this is my little contribution to the pile.

And yeah, hashtag or not, you should resist. All of us should.