#who makes the VERY WRONG CHOICE that makes him honestly a full villain of the piece (and he already was. as well. the war crimes)

[gothamcityneedsme]

ok. i read tom king's mister miracle run and tbh? i don't think i vibed with it. but it DOES read interestingly as a proto-strange adventures though.

[about-faces]

Batman: Caped Crusader, Episodes 1-2 thoughts (SPOILERS)

First things first, Harvey is as bad as I’d expected. I honestly can’t tell whether this is worse than the version we got in the last Timm-produced animated Batman show, “Beware the Batman.” That Harvey was a humorless prick straight out of the William Atherton school of jerkasses, while this one is a smug sleazebag who would be someone you’d love to hate if he weren’t also a complete inversion of a great tragic hero turned villain.

I’m just so sick of people portraying Harvey as a politician first and foremost, performing for the cameras and thinking about his career ambitions. I’m sick of him being a corrupt asshole and even an authoritarian. I’m sick him being two-faced, when the irony of his character is that he himself never WAS. Now that that’s out of my system, I’ll move on, because I know he has an arc in store that may prove more interesting than the usual Asshole Harvey takes.

They tried several things with the Penguin, and I’m not sure they gelled into anything that worked for me this time out. Making her a woman, that’s no problem, and I appreciate her classic style and appearance in a time when everyone just wants to turn Cobblepot into a boring Tony Soprano knockoff.

Ultimately, though, it all just served to make her a standard “Ma Barker” archetype. You know, the alleged matriarchal crime boss who was killed by Hoover’s FBI, who may have dragged her name through the mud to excuse their killing of an old woman? There used to be several takes on her in pop culture, although nowadays the only famous one is probably Ma Beagle from “DuckTales.”

With that in mind, they should have just cast Margo Martindale. Excuse me, didn’t use her full name: Beloved Character Actress Margo Martindale. Minnie Driver is a fantastic actress (I’m still mad that “The Riches” was not only cancelled but totally forgotten), but it was a waste not to let her use her real accent. As it was, she was fine, but she didn’t bring anything special to match the physical design. As an actress, she deserved more to play with.

Also, “Oswalda” is a terrible fake name. Like come on guys, you can do better. That’s on par with Revolver Ocelot’s real Russian name being “Adamska.”

The biggest problem with this take on Penguin is that she’s set up as some kind of brilliant mastermind, only to act incredibly stupid, reckless, and gullible. She kills not one but two innocent goons, including her own son, without so much as an investigation or even keeping tabs on the suspected rats to use them as pawns against Thorne! To paraphrase Dijkstra from the “Witcher” books, you don’t kill spies, you USE them. You feed them misinformation! You blackmail them into being double agents! This Penguin is bad at her job, so no wonder she loses everything within hours. It’s amazing she was able to build a crime empire in the first place!

I also dislike Bullock being a corrupt cop in the mob’s pocket. That fits Flass perfectly, but Bullock? Fuck no. Bullock IS dirty, but he’s dirty in a very acceptable way to cops. He’s brutal, he cuts corners, he’s crass, and he’s probably not above planting or concealing evidence, but selling out to the mob? Hell no. That’s just wrong. Hate that choice. Unless it’s a misdirection. This show sure does love its misdirections from what I’ve seen so far.

Batman himself is… fine. He’s Batman. He’s not a bad Batman. He’s serviceable but unremarkable. But at least he wasn’t an irritating asshole, which is more than I can say for most Batman depictions these days. I liked Bruce trying his “falling off a boat” joke a second time, delivered verbatim after it flopped with Barbara.

Barbara being a defense attorney is a rather contrived choice, one that gets to put her at odds with Harvey while also giving her a professional in with both Batman and Gordon. Essentially, she’s in the role Harvey Dent is supposed to play. Except here she’s a defense attorney, which SHOULD put her at odds with her dad, since lawyers and cops don’t seem to like one another, for SOME reason!

And Harvey, even as District Attorney, can’t be in the role of legal ally to either Gordon, because the story is far more focused on making him a mayoral candidate who throws people under the bus for his own advancement! Feh.

Anyway, that was episode one. It was fine, I guess.

The screenplay is by novelist and DC veteran Greg Rucka, so of course Renee Montoya is the central focus. Seeing her interact with Sleazebag Harvey gave me war flashbacks to what Rucka did with Renee and Harvey in the comics: setting them up with a poignant dynamic of tenuous respect and kindness before dashing it all with “Gotham Central: Half a Life,” which solidified the perception of Harvey as a creepy, obsessive stalker for a generation of fans. That version of them was very much of display here. Sigh.

Also, Lucius Fox is Bruce’s lawyer now? Why? And also, what the hell? God, poor Lucius. He starts off in comics as the guy actually running Wayne Enterprises, then “Batman: The Animated Series” makes him Bruce’s right-hand-man, then Nolan and Goyer get the inspired idea to make him the Q to Bruce’s 007, while the comics don’t know what to do with him and even make him an authoritarian to cause friction with his vigilante son, and now this? It’s such a random choice. There’s no reason why this character should be Lucius. Hell, Lucius could have shown up there WITH the lawyer and that would have been fine. As it is, it’s just weird.

That said! I overall liked this episode an awful lot! For DECADES now, I’ve wanted to see someone remember that Basil Karlo was an older actor in the classic horror movie vein (his name is literally a combination of Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff), but ever since “Batman: The Animated Series,” everyone has just tried to make him BTAS’ Matt Hagen. Like, I really liked the “One Bad Day” issue for Clayface, where he gradually killed his way to the top of Hollywood stardom, but even that was still BTAS Hagen, the Serious Actor, not Karlo, the old horror ham actor.

But with this episode, someone finally drew on the old Hollywood horror roots of the character, and they found a way to combine his shape shifting abilities into the mix! I’m so happy!

Of course, this is me, so I still have criticisms. Like, I think it was unnecessary to frame it as a mystery, because that added unnecessary complications. I know the original Clayface story was a whodunnit and you can’t do that now that everyone knows that Karlo is Clayface. I was annoyed by the misdirection of Karlo’s “death,” in part because I feared this would be another Clever Subversion, just like how the animated adaptations of “Gotham By Gaslight,” “Hush,” and “The Long Halloween” purposely went against expectations from the source material in stupid ways. Hell, they’re doing the same thing now with Penguin (“But wait, there’s a twist: she’s a woman!”) and Harvey (“But wait, there’s a twist: he’s an asshole!”), so I was afraid this Clayface would end up being someone else entirely. I was okay with it in the end, but I’m annoyed at the cheap fakeout as a plot point.

Furthermore, I don’t get why Basil disguised himself as the doctor (whose name I don’t remember) for the benefit of the actress (whose name I don’t remember) he had chained up in his hideout. What benefit was there in making her think he was the doctor? She was already aware she was a prisoner and was scared, so why the facade? It served no purpose in context, only just to misdirect the viewers.

This is what happens when you try to make something a mystery when it would work better as a thriller. Stop trying to wow audiences with twists and surprises when you could just be focusing on telling a good story. So what if everyone figures out Karlo is Clayface? Who cares! Just go with it! Let them be in on it while Batman and Montoya figure it out themselves, that’s where the tension lies! Stop trying to be clever.

Regardless, I really liked this episode. I want this to now be the canon comics origin for Basil Karlo’s Clayface. Just explain that the treatments for his face gradually affected his whole body, and boom, you’ve successfully explained how classic Slasher Clayface became Mud Monster Clayface. This is how Karlo should always be written from now on. If you really want a sensitive, angsty lug Clayface, bring back Hagen. Let Karlo be the gloriously hammy monster with aspirations of stardom.

[pastellia63]

2. What's your favorite and least favorite design in either show?

3. What character do you think has the most wasted potential? Why?

7. What's a ship you enjoy?

Okay so starting of:

2. My favorite design would actually have to be Loopty Goopty's

I know that seems random, but i honestly really love the way he looks! He doesn't look plain-ish, but also not too clutered to the point he becomes a nightmare to animate like certain other characters (cough cough, Fizz and Beezlebub cough cough). Also always a sucker for classic cartoon villain inspired characters, and you can immediately tell that from his design unlike with other characters.

Now, onto the one i dislike the most... Well this one is actually hard, but i think i'll have to go with Asmodeus.

Nothing really against him altought i do feel like his character could have been way more interesting but then again this Helluva male centric show Boss were talking about. Onto his actual design, he honestly is between having nothing and too much going on. Like i honestly feel like the way he looks is not fit when it comes to having him be the embodiment of lust, and his full demon form Is honestly pretty lacking too which is pretty disapointing as if HAVE seen that this show can in fact have good full demonic form designs. Case in point:

3. Ohhh boy, now that's a tough question. But i think i'm gonna have to go with Lucifer Morningstar himself. He could have been a genuinely interesting flawed character with him being the ruler of hell and the father of the main protagonist herself and all buuut instead we got Stolas 2.0. because it just won't be a Vivzie show if we don't villanize his wife instead. I mean, do i need to remind you that this is the same guy who manipulated Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of Eden just because he wanted to screw God over and making it so that all humans would suffer over it (and then proceeds to throw a fit about how they had a choice to do better despite him starting all of this)? The same one who couldn't haven't even been bothered to watch ONE broadcast for his daughter since she was on it and therefore didn't even protect or comfort her when it horribly went wrong but It's okay because he's really trying you guys 😞😔 please.

7. Alright, back to being positive! I LOVE Chaggie! They're the cutest and It's such a shame the show barely pays any mind to them despite being the main couple! Others i like are:BlitzFizz, CherriSnake (please don't come at me, i too don't really like how it was handled in the show but it's cute in concept), GoldenGoose (Mammon x Stella), Barbie Wire x Verosika Mayday, Wally Wackford x Verosika, and Carmila Carmine x Zestial!

Thanks alot for the ask, this was very fun to do!

[soullessjack]

Full disclosure I am not the previous anon but building off of their message: I'm saying this with all due respect. Not accusing you of abuse apologia for your opinions on a fictional character, but I honestly feel like you have a strange bar for what constitutes an abuser. I strongly disagree that abusers don't regret their actions. An abuser can 100% show regret or remorse for what they did, they can show genuine love and affection to the people they victimize and still be an abuser. Dean is obviously not a black and white villainous caricature, but very rarely in real cases are abusers black and white villainous caricatures. We tend to single out Dean when dissecting the family dynamics because his abuse was the most extreme but all of them, Sam, Dean, and Castiel, are a murder cult who groom Jack into their line of business. So I don't really see the point in the semantics game.

1. that’s a fair point! I just think there’s some distinction between being abusive and being a straight-up abuser, if not distinctive connotations for those terms. I’m also not trying to be apologetic about Dean’s behavior more so than I’m just trying to explain it and make it more understandable than a surface level viewing of him.

2. agree again! nobody is completely black and white and that’s always been a consistent theme (alongside free will and family) within the show, as well as the choice to be a better person, so it’s very confusing to me when fandom discourse is all semantical about who’s worse or who’s better. your favs are wanted by the FBI and violated the Geneva Conventions numerous times, but they still try to do the right thing where it counts.

3. actually I think dumbing down TFW’s dynamic with jack as a “murder cult who groomed him into their line of business” is playing right into the semantics game and the villainous caricature.

for one, hunting just is not a cult. please can we not turn cult into the next internet buzzword. it’s a lifestyle that almost nobody involved actively enjoys living (Gordon and the other dude from Black Rock are outliers) because it’s nothing but trauma and loss and violence constantly, but for one reason or another it’s incredibly difficult to leave, or even compromise with a somewhat normal life. even Dean views it as a death sentence, and the violence he regularly commits within it only ever added to his low self worth as he considers himself a designated “grunt.” even in the later seasons when it’s framed more casually or comedically, the violence and murder of hunting is still ultimately a bleak and begrudging necessity; grunt work for the grunts. to say it’s a “murder cult” is just wrong and, well, a little cartoonish if I’m being fr.

second, jack wasn’t ‘groomed’ into being a hunter/murderer. I swear takes like these make me question what show everyone else is watching ,I’m sorry. he’s literally a born-adult supernatural creature with a heritage and birth circumstance that’s been intertwined with the lives of all three of his chosen fathers since before they all existed and cosmically dangerous powers. there is no way he could ever be normal or have a life outside of hunting (or one that lasts, at least). and considering what we know from his first death now, he probably would’ve just died as a normal baby if Cas had removed his grace. Yes, TFW has some major dysfunctions in their parenting with Jack and it’s absolutely worth talking about, but they still make an effort to be good father figures for him, even with fathers that frankly set them up for failure in that regard. to say they’re all groomers is, to put it mildly, insane and ridiculous

[1960z]

holy shit, dude. what a case. what a game!! I loved it all so much!

it felt like such a unique final trial. playing through a trial where the judge himself is not only corrupt but the true mastermind behind everything was new and honestly kinda nerve-wracking I’m not gonna lie I didn’t know how it was gonna play out.

at first I kinda questioned the decision not to have a jury for the last (technically two) cases of the game since that is supposed to be the “new” mechanic tgaa is supposed to be sporting but honestly it felt like they were there in spirit, their narrative importance were emphasised literally through what happened. the judge was corrupt, so the gallery, the “public” if you will (ignoring the gallery was full of judiciary members in this case) were the ones guiding the trial and demanding the truth and in theory that is what a jury is supposed to be for: so people’s fates aren’t in the hands of one person who’s basically just a politician. (this is re-enforced through what happened to jigoku too)

I’ll be honest, strongheart wasn’t exactly the most subtle choice for a villain, I think within his first couple scenes during the first game I had the initial thought “he’ll be the final villain won’t he?” and yeah I was right. if you’ve played an ace attorney game before he’s already the obvious choice and even if you haven’t he still has a bunch of signifiers that scream villain regardless (imposing, ambitious, calculating, aristocratic etc) all the while the narrative was being a little too nice to him pre reveal.

that’s not to say he’s a bad villain though! he’s a great villain!! he commands such an intimating presence and is genuinely despicable and wicked and the narrative just leans into it and ugh!! it’s great. he’s also insane too lmao. he is what would happen if you tried to do what light yagami did but without a death note. that level of crazy. love it.

I did think the 11th hour sholmes and iris save the day thing was a little hokey I must admit. it was kind of one of those moments where my suspension of disbelief was stretched even by ace attorney standards, and beyond that I just didn’t really like the whole “well the queen decreed that this guy sucks actually” in the face of the “rich and powerful people are super corrupt and don’t have the common man’s best interests” theme. I still do think you can have that moment where sholmes and iris step in but I feel you couldn’t come up with better ways to do it than that y’know. ultimately though I think it was just a minor moment, they wanted to end the case with a bang and that served its purpose. all the moments with more actual weight and meat behind them were done brilliantly.

it was just so great to see everything that was built up finally coalesce and make sense. these games are structured very differently to their predecessors, they’re much less episodic and focused on individual cases and more focused on the larger overarching story, and if I’m being honest I think it would’ve been very easy for that to go wrong but they pulled it off and they pulled it off brilliantly. it really did feel like I was pulled into a whirlwind of mystery and conspiracy and I loved it. like I said before, it feels like a testament to how takumi’s writing style has evolved and more reminiscent of the kind of storytelling we saw in ghost trick and I think that’s so cool!! though I do hope he might have at least one AA game left in him, even if he doesn’t, I’m really excited to see what he does next!

but regardless, I am in fact manifesting the great ace attorney investigations: herlock sholmes. preferably a prequel with him and yujin. this is something that will happen and I’ll hear no word against it happening. I need it idc.

tier list update!

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

You know what I like in superhero stories? When they answer the question of, "Why don't the villains just use their talents for money?" with "Because they're too dysfunctional, too selfish, or too crazy to use their talents honestly."

Because isn't that how it is some of the time? Where you have brilliant people who can easily make a ton of money, but they want it all NOW so they use crime to get it, or they blow it all on hedonism and need more, or something else that ends with them being criminals? Doesn't it also make them such good foils to heroes who often also had a bad hand but chose to do the right thing and put others first, even when it brought great sacrfice?

One side actively chooses to do good, regardless of whether it rewards them. The other side actively chooses to do evil, No matter how much it punishes them.

YES.

Good and evil are choices and the best characters reflect that. To continue beating the Batman horse to death, Bruce Wayne with all his resources and iron will dedication to his cause, could have easily decided to lash out at the world for what happened to his parents. In fact, considering his resources and an upbringing that was more isolated from society than is the norm for most people, I would say most people in his position, in the most corrupt city in the world, would have turned to vengeance and hate. But instead, he made a choice to do the opposite. His vow wasn't to make the people responsible for his parent's deaths suffer. His vow was that no other child would ever have to suffer what he did. His mission is pure. It is noble. And it can never be fulfilled. That's what makes him compelling. That's what makes him a hero.

And that's why all the "Esleworlds" and "What Ifs" where Batman is a murderer and a violent psychopath feel like a water damaged old daguerreotype compared to the vibrant 8k photograph that is the real Batman. Because choosing hate and evil is boring. It's the easy thing to do. It's common and it's commonplace. Reading about people like that does nothing to inspire. It does nothing to make a bad day a little brighter. There's nothing to admire. Nothing to strive towards. True heroism, the choice to do the right thing when the wrong thing would be easier and more satisfying, is noble.

And nobility is something that comics have been seriously lacking, lately.

Now let's contrast that with another dead horse, the Joker, in the deadest of all the Joker's own horses, the Killing Joke.

In that story, at the very end, Joker is offered a choice. Even after everything he's done, to some of the people Batman cares for the most, Batman still offers to help him. He offers rehabilitation. To work with the Joker to get him the help he needs so that one day he can heal and be something other than the monster he is. He tells the Joker he will stay with him so he doesn't have to be alone anymore. And the absolute brilliance of that story, the thing that turns Bruce from a hopelessly naïve idealist into Batman, is that the Joker actually considers it. And the offer that Bruce makes, the way he phrases it, "we can work together" "you wouldn't have to be alone anymore", is him giving the Joker exactly what he's always wanted--Batman's full attention. All he has to do is make the hard choice. To work on himself. To change. To heal and be a better person. And in the end he chooses not to try. And he doesn't just reject it because he's evil, or because he can't understand that what he's doing is wrong. He rejects Batman's offer because he thinks it's far too late for that option. He's done too much, become too much, to ever go back. He chooses to spurn the thing he's always wanted most and to stay on his current path because he thinks trying to go back would be impossible. Which once again brings us back to Batman. Because if you'll remember, the path Batman chooses is also impossible. He can never redeem Gotham. He can never prevent every child from losing their family to violence. He knows this, and yet he still chooses to try.

Once again, that's the difference between a hero and a villain. A hero chooses the right thing. A villain chooses the easy thing. A hero is noble. A villain is common.

Modern comics are common.

[jerseymuppet]

i might be stupid but. is the gothamverse a muppets batman au? is that what the thing in ur bio means? (either way plz do tell me abt it)

That would definitely be infinitely cooler than my idea! Gothamverse is the beautiful result of me playing arkham knight while waiting for an mcr livestream to start up and thinking ‘damn bitches from jersey are fucking insane! ....wait a minute’

It’s basically a silly little idea I came up last March with where all the mcr guys are from Gotham and what their villain origin stories would be etc. I followed the main Batman villain archetypes: extremist, anti-hero, camp, and serial killer, and I had a fucking blast! It’s very silly and just something I did for fun. I guess I can go a lil bit into it here.

full disclosure, I am psychotic and disabled and I do not believe in the vilification of mental illness or disability in media, all of these characters will eventually get the help they need. Batman at its core is about a mentally ill man helping others who have been failed by society and I will never forgive dc for making him into an overpowered, glorified cop.

Frank’s character (Francis ‘Frankie’ Stein) is the extremist (duh). He’s the son of a mafia boss who is steadily ruining their town with crime and Frankie just kinda snaps and kills him to take his place as the head of the family and try to undo some of the damage done. He has great intentions, he’s just very unyielding and kind of insane 💕 his moniker is Frankenstein! And his whole schtick is that he’s very hard (if not impossible) to kill. He’s also chronically ill and Jewish, these are not important to his character but they are important to me !

Mikey’s character (Micheal Way) is the serial killer. He’s a ‘sociopath’ (theres nothing actually wrong with him, people just suck and made him feel lesser and out of place :/) trying to fit in with everyday society but he always feels like something is missing and becomes a neuroscientist to try to find what exactly it is. He invents a machine (the empathsizer) that allows him to experience other people’s memories and emotions as though they are his own. From there he accidentally gets addicted to the chemical responses his brain has to doing that. And keeps doing it. Even after the testing phase is no longer accepting applicants. It gets worse after he experiences someone’s near death experience and starts chasing the high it gave him. Idk what his moniker is? It’s sandman for right now but that’s honestly so boring and uninspired.

Ray’s character (Raymond Ortiz) is camp but very loosely. He’s an engineer by day and a rockstar by night! He’s really only an engineer to save up enough money to pursue music full time but it’s hard because he doesn’t get paid that much. Winter hits and with it, cuts to his hours! So he’s forced to choose between rent and electricity. When he gets really sick as a result, he can’t afford a doctor. And when he wakes up with his hearing gone as a result, theres nothing he can really do but spiral into a depression. Until he realizes he’s a literal biological engineer. If he can’t fix his problem he can at the very least prevent it from happening to someone else! Research does cost money, so it’s very fortunate that Gotham has so many banks. His moniker is Dr. Megahurtz! His weapon of choice is his guitar, which has been retrofitted with sonic emitters to amplify and weaponize the hertz. Not enough to hurt, but enough to incapacitate.

Gerard’s character (Jules Moss) is the anti hero! She’s (yes I made Gerard’s character a trans girl, they took too long to make a trans character so I did it for them) has the same backstory as Gerard actually! On her way home from work she witnesses a terrorist attack, but instead of starting a band she decides to fight crime instead. She does so bad. Literally her first night out patrolling she gets killed by some priest who’s been driven insane by what he claims is an angel that’s ‘chosen him to impart gods will’ but it’s just a fallen star looking for a vessel to possess and the first guy it came across wasn’t dead lol. The star turns into a sword of pure light and that’s what Jules gets stabbed with, but also it fuses itself to her dna so she wakes up a few days later, schrödingers girl, with some scary new abilities and a voice in her head that definitely wasn’t there before. Her whole arc is her trying to find the guy that killed her and get revenge. Her moniker is stigmata! Because when she gets impaled it also goes through the palms of her hands and the wounds don’t heal.

but yeah that’s the bare bones of it all! I’m planning on making this into a comic series but the script is still being written at the moment! Thank you for letting me ramble about it 💕🥰

[argentoheart]

i just watched the mlb movie and i have THINGS to say. this is gonna be veeery rambly so pardon in advance.

Also be warned, this contains spoilers (not to much in the first part, but at the bottom) (long post so i'm cutting it)

First things first!! I absolutely loved the animation, it's really good and the backgrounds and settings felt so real and alive! (and there are actual people walking the streets of Paris A WIN!) Plus the characters felt, again, so alive and realistic! They're all pretty, and I love the expressions they make, they're not overly exaggerated like in the series and I think it just fits better with the story and visuals in this case. I HAVE to mention Chloè, my girl was looking so pretty and gorgeous, like i'm sorry that's my child i will love her forever and i don't care they discarded her redemption arc, she has one IN MY HEART you cannot change my mind!! and i appreciated Sabrina a lot more, that too, she's kinda nice.

Marinette was actually just awkward and clumsy without being borderline a stalker and i love her so much, i really really like this Marinette, she's nice and sweet and has actual development and growth that feels realistic.

Adrien was even more different than his show counterpart but honestly? he's such a lovable boy here too! it felt like they were trying to incorporate more of his chatnoir-esque sides into the og Adrien, and i think it balances perfectly.

I really ADORED how they managed the dynamic between Ladybug and Chatnoir, it was cute, fun and full of tension, I wish we could've seen more of them being kind of frenemies in the show, it really builds up their relationship better and who doesn't love rivals to lovers?

The Adrienette dynamic was cute too, i feel like Marinette being less "crazy" was the best choice to push their relationship forward without making it look forced or rushed. Very very nice!!!

As for Plagg and Tikki i don't really know how I feel about them? Like Plagg was barely in the movie and he didn't do much other than eating, farting and complaining he was hungry (seriously, movie?). I don't want to say he's completely different from show Plagg, but I feel like they didn't do him justice. Tikki, well, I liked her. Definitely less sensible than show Tikki, but I still think it makes sense for her to be a little reckless, she's literally the kwami of creation, she probably thinks she can fix anything if it goes wrong (and that would also be kinda right, sooo).

I actually also liked Gabriel for a change, too. It reminded my of early seasons Gabriel, with all his humanity and just wanting his wife back, and not just the villain who's evil just for the sake of evilness. They brought him back as a three-dimensional with a purpose and regrets. I truly believe this is what Gabriel should've always been.

I am very confused about Emilie's body being there, i thought the movie was a one-shot, but it feels like this is a tie for a sequel maybe?

Also i was wondering why Marinette never used her lucky charm in the beginning only to realize she doesn't have that power here LMAO

NOW TO THE JUICY PART

SO

THE LOVE SQUARE WAS RESOLVED

I couldn't believe my eyes, I was in SHOCK when i realized Marinette saw Chatnoir without his mask and heard him call Gabriel dad and I literally thought nothing was gonna come out of it because it felt impossible BUT THEN she goes and calls his Chatnoir during the ball and reveals herself and I really didn't think we were gonna make it this far tbh adskdsdfh i was squealing and just rejoycing.

Then they still robbed me of the kiss. WHY MUST I ALWAYS SUFFER AT THE HAND OF THIS SHOW WHY

Overall I LOVED the movie, the only thing i didn't really like was the songs. Don't get me wrong, they're good songs and i actually really like some of them, but it just felt like there were way too many and interrupted the flow of the show in awkward places. So it's a meh, I think the movie could've done with less songs, but it still was very enjoyable, and as I said I very much liked it.

[gleefullypolin]

Glad to be a breath of fresh air! I don't want to say that I cringe a lot in the tag with the takes but, you know, yeah.😩

I don't particularly enjoy the double standard on either side but it really does seem to always come down harder on the women, especially any woman who doesn't present as expected. Just look at our little Pen being called the villain when we know if it was someone else there'd be a lot less of that. I'm still seeing bad takes 4 years later from another fandom I was in where a man and woman both made the same mistake and strangely, only her bad choice is talked about. Never his.

I agree, this isn't even on my list of things to worry about, ha. I have heard two versions of the rumor, one where he's there with them and one where he's watching them. I'm not going to get into the sudden fandom activism taking place about two women being paid to entertain a man but I will say that the distinction (if either is true!) is what I'd be most interested. It doesn't matter either way in the end but if it's the latter with him just watching, that's an entirely different thing that would need to be unpacked. Either way he's using escapism but not participating and a later scene being unable to participate? That's a man going through it and probably deserves some grace when he's also about to make himself suffer needlessly further.

People have made up their minds what the scene is without context or confirmation and it's certainly up to them to do so but having so much fandom experience I can say I've never seen anyone's worst case spiral of doom scenario they proclaim as fact be true in the end.

This man looking all over the world to find what he needs right across the road is great. He's been trying to be a Very Grown Up Man since s1 and he hasn't found purpose yet. I can't wait to see him actually find it this time.

Oh I agree, the media is the worst with fandom. It's best to stay out of it if possible. The media doesn't seem to understand the passion that the fandom has in all and tries to utilize it in all of the wrong ways. They're out of touch with a lot of it and truly, adding in the way a lot of fans feel entitled to what they want, it's always going to end in a melt down. Given the generational divide as well, you're going to have a bunch of people who think something is the worst thing in the world and the people who think it's really not that big of a deal so what are they yelling about?

I'm not saying it's easier to wait for context but in a month I feel like most of them won't even remember the full scope of their freak outs.

I have to say I DO cringe a lot, I try and stay neutral. That’s what I tell myself. I have actually stayed away from Tumblr honestly, but then there were all these pretty pictures, and I couldn’t resist. And then my big mouth takes off and all these ideas get in my head, and I use my blog as my therapy sessions.

Usually, my therapy is just with myself because most people just ignore what I have to say until you so thankfully came along to join into my sessions, and I must say I have truly appreciated not having to talk to myself all day long!

To the issue at hand…double standards…My word. We do live in a world today where women are sure held to a different standard than men and interesting that as I had thought we were moving out of regency standards of women having much more say and agency of themselves, we seem to step backwards more and more each day.

But that is a much bigger hole of a topic, when it comes to fandom however, we do seem to hold our men to a larger standard when it comes to our ships. God help Luke after this season airs. I pray our ladies and gents are on their best behavior to remember that Nic and Luke play these characters with the best intent and love for who they are and what is written for them.

I don’t know what will come of the article, I know the Sun is iffy and I’ve seen a lot of people say, “Yes its true” But there is 1) saying its true and 2) seeing it on screen. Back when screeners would give us a play by play of Glee episodes, they would tell us how a scene would play out and we would all get angry over a single phrase or an explanation of a specific description of a scene. Our brains all would create the story of what the intent was behind this one sentence or descriptor. Then we would get to the episode and the actual script around what played out was nothing near what my brain had created in that 2 second nightmare.

I’m sure we get a set up scene showing us that Colin is knowledgeable around a bodega, he’s been to these in his travels, he’s experienced with women, these are something that interest him and he’s curious about. That’s the set up. Then comes Pen. There is a kiss. There is confusion. Not realization, but confusion. Pen meets Obi Wan Debling. They hit it off. Success. Colin has done what he set out to do. He has accomplished his goal of making up with his best friend for his careless words the season prior. His unnerved, he needs release for some reason. He returns to what has calmed him before…but now scene two returns us to the familiar that is a set up for the audience and Colin to see that now is different. He no longer has interest. His confusion lifts because all he sees is Pen and he no longer wants what is offered in front of him.

And maybe I am also guilty of making up my mind about a scene before it plays out, because I have no context or confirmation either, but I would certainly be ok with being wrong also. I would prefer to take that than spiral into something else. To accept that Colin who has never been needlessly cruel instead is just a whore who is using his friend Pen to hurt her further while getting his rocks off. Because that is not the same person who can’t even swallow because she told him his eyes are really pretty. It just doesn’t compute so I refuse to spiral any other way.

In 27 days, all we will care about is that these beautiful people are staring at each other on our screens and we will be freaking out for more wonderful reasons.

[seeminglyseph]

Okay, because I suck at video games and didn’t have much for systems when I grew up I didn’t really play Metal Gear or know a lot about Hideo Kojima or his writing style, and I will admit. Could stand to interact with and learn to write more women, but he is steadily improving at that I think, and it’s not like it’s a Kojima exclusive problem when it comes to Video Games and Writing Women Characters. He actually writes women with stories, it’s just that his stories are fucking batshit so every now and then you sit there and go “yo wait hold on what the fuck???”

But from what I’m getting, listening to various explanations of the lore and stuff of his games (especially, currently, Death Stranding because I’ll be honest that game’s opening was dope as hell but I did struggle to stay engaged because my ADHD and inability to actually play games meant I was watching other people and that removed a lot of the engagement. I just cannot focus on something long enough to make the experience worthwhile.) is that a lot of his stuff feels like when you’re playing pretend with your friends as a kid, but then also applying the ability to create storytelling and literary devices like an adult who went to University.

Which is very very fun. Maybe literary is the wrong word, it’s more cinematic, but the lore choices and stuff is like. “Is that a biblical reference?” Along with some guy named “Die Hard Man” because he kept surviving things during the war, which tbh if I know nicknames correctly that guy would have gotten a nickname like “Roach” for that. You don’t get cool nicknames from your friends in the military, you get dumb nicknames. Even if Die Hard Man sounds dumb, I think it’s supposed to be cool. I think most military nicknames are insults. Honestly in general most nicknames are insults.

But Kojima works under the same mindset as I did when I in elementary school and played games with the other neighbourhood kids and said I was “Wolf because I was raised by wolves” because that was the level of creativity we were working with because I was fucking 7 and we were basically just riding our bikes in the cul-de-sac or however that’s supposed to be spelled and not actually knowing how anything worked. Because being a child in the 90s that’s kind of a normal activity?

I feel like that’s what Metal Gear Solid feels like, and Snake is just the vibe of “a cool animal name that can be a military hero.” Hell isn’t there a character in the first Metal Gear Solid that was actually raised by wolves? Like just, exploring concepts we all definitely thought were cool at one point or another and then finding ways to either play them straight or pull a full plot out of it, while also just going kinda batshit. I can appreciate that.

I think he needs to maybe meet some ladies that he finds as inspiring as the dudes he definitely maybe has huge fucking muse crushes on because I feel like that might be part of the problem, Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen and Guillermo de Toro have obviously like really inspired him as people, but like. Maybe the memes haven’t been as obvious about the women in his life, but that might also be why the female characters in his games sometimes fall flat? Though I have heard fantastic things about The Boss, and Bridget in Death Stranding is. Definitely notable and interesting and I think she’s supposed to be a complex villain? I think that’s a normal set of feelings to have for her?

Like he’s a Japanese director, wordplay is huge in Japan, and most Japanese names have meaning, especially in media. Those names are picked for a reason. Yeah Kojima definitely picks hammy names but they stand out in part because they’re in English. But he made military and post apocalyptic games with surreal and slightly silly tones despite serious topics, and naming conventions like this aren’t uncommon in Japanese media. They’re just extra hammy in English. And double extra hammy because Kojima is eccentric. But I feel like that eccentricity is necessary to keep games from becoming… the most boring grimy shit you will ever experience. I need inspiration and fun, and Kojima seems to inspire the whole industry to have more fun, and also wants everyone else to play. Which is why he has so many collaborators?

And he designs games to have teams working on them and with the idea in mind that the people working for him should always have work in the future, that was part of the Fox Engine and PT gambits? To keep his team employed in the future, not just himself?

This has been a very long rambling nothing, but while he costs a lot of money to create things, I think he also is like… actually interested in just… “let’s see what this baby can do, shall we?”

And I think we really fuckin need that in video games. Like damn. Yeah. Go ham dude. Figure it out, fuck Konami. Let’s play some games and get wild or something. Be weird.

[bunny-rambles]

Some thoughts of the quest ;

if you thought scaramouche should’ve stayed as a harbinger and have no development, and think the character has been ‘destroyed’ because of his development and the writing in the quest, idk what to tell you it just kind of feels like you don’t get him at all.

Wouldn’t you want to erase your evil doings from a mistake you made, if you could? Mf has been manipulated and abused all because of the harbingers. Of course he wanted to erase his past and his connection to them, he had absolutely nothing to lose, and certainly nothing to gain.

And the ‘nice’ scara, I actually think that was a part of him he thought was long dead. I think that was who we know to be as Kunikuzushi. That was who he was before his betrayals. He’s literally always been described as innocent, sweet and kind before he turned into a villain. How anyone calls this ‘destroying’ his character is ridiculous, when it’s always been apart of him.

He returns to himself afterwards too, albeit a little less harsh because really, he has no problems with us. He never has. As a harbinger, it was simply just his job to antagonise us because we’re the ‘good guys’. But personally? He’s never held a grudge because we’ve never done anything to harm him specifically, apart from our fight with him as a ‘god.’ So yeah, it’s kind of obvious that he wasn’t going to be as ‘mean’ as he usually is, why would he when we both protected and helped him?

And even he himself sees relationships as transactions - ‘you do something for me, I’ll do something for you.’ Because it’s all he’s known. Even Niwa, despite being the kindest to him, got him to work as a weapon maker, it was still a transaction of sorts. The little boy promised to be his family, and scara repaid by keeping the same promise, they both did something for each other - a transaction. He feels indebted to us because of his view on human relationships. He needs to be useful so he has worth, and he’s always been that way.

So saying it destroyed his character is, sorry to be blunt, fucking mindless and wrong. You don’t have to like the choices they made in the story, but thinking this was a character assassination of some sort because of the way things played out is beyond stupid.

Twitter is just genuinely full of people who are brainless and only simp for ‘evil’ characters because they’re hot or degrading, but fail to see anything other than their perceived view of a character.

Again - You don’t have to agree with how the story played out, I have my problems with it too, but it just makes me roll my eyes hearing all this complaining when this is, at worst, a ‘mid’ quest, and not the shitshow we got for inazumas ending.

Now, as for people worrying about the consequences of this - dw, I’m in the same point. I don’t know how this is going to play out and my thoughts are so mixed about Kazuha not remembering what happened at the festival because the history changed. Or maybe he remembers it, just without scara? I’m not sure honestly.

But one more thing - this didn’t destroy Kazuha’s development from the festival. Think about it. Kazuha forgives Sara for killing his friend, forgives raiden for all that’s happened, and accepts the past. He’s always been this way. He’s not one to hold a grudge, and he wants to move on from his past. Even if he still remembered scara, I don’t think it’d change much. Him forgetting scara and just remembering the events but slightly differently really doesn’t change his development- because that development happened way before that festival.

I think I’m done, I’m tired and very sick (and honestly I should stay off twitter bc why was I expecting anything positive from that cesspool of an app) so Goodnight

And remember, you’re completely within your right to disagree, doesn’t make your opinion any less valid than mine. I just think it’s really dumb to disregard facts when making claims like it destroyed scara’s character. That’s all;;;

[just-another-misfit-lunatic]

I already said this but I want to add this again that I think a very important part of the podcast is what abuse and violation does to victims, how sometimes, a literal predator (Jonah) can take a very traumatic thing which deeply hurt them and over which they had no control over (Jon's childhood trauma) to twist it in a way that would help a predator to gain control over the victim and later paint it as "the victim chose it."

To me, the podcast is about how abuse, grooming and violation chips away at a person's control, self-esteem and the ability to make correct decisions, often ostracizes and isolates them. Just like Jon, people in abusive situations don't often have social network of support because the abuser stripped them of that too, and just like Jon, they start blaming and loathing themselves, denied kindness or understanding which they need to heal. No one took Jon's side. In fact, characters surrounding him believed JONAH, who painted Jon as a monster. His words, "you chose it," were nothing more than guilt-trip Jon, knowing that Jon, already suffering from guilt, would fall for it and hate himself, as well as others (Basira, for example) would blame him too. This is absolutely terrifying and sadly, if we take away the supernatural part, very realistic too. For me, the podcast is about that. How sometimes, someone can use you and hurt you without your knowledge or consent, cloud your judgement with constant gaslighting and emotional abuse to trip you into serving their goal, and sometimes, you can do nothing to prevent it. What happened to Jon can just as easily happen to anyone, because people like Jonah exist and the problem lies in them, rather than in their victims' "wrongdoings" or "mistakes."

But I see that many people in the fandom take this and treat this as "Jon was SO asking for this because he did X and he did Y" and you know what's funny? It is NEVER a question of what JONAH did. Never. No one questions HIS actions. It is ALWAYS about Jon or how wrong was JON or how JON ''shouldn't have done this and shouldn't have done that so this is his fault actually cause free will etc etc." You know, almost like in real life no one questions the actions of the aggressor, it's always the victim who has to justify their behavior and prove that they were, in fact, hurt and didn't want it.

And I'm used to it. I mean, I come from somewhere where this kind of victim-blaming rhetoric is (unfortunately) a very wide-spread thing (as you can guess, typically against women.) But hearing it in supposedly progressive spaces, I'm… flabbergasted, honestly. And I know the podcast is just the podcast and it's entirely fictional and no one actually got hurt, but I can't shake the feeling that saying ''It was Jon's fault entirely" may kind of gradually shape the way we as a society (a progressive society, too) view and treat victims. I hope it's not the case, but for someone who knows irl people who were severely emotionally abused and got blamed for it (and who blamed themselves) it's painful and upsetting to hear. Anyway, I just want to repeat this: Jon was groomed, force-fed trauma, drugged against his will, consent or knowledge, violated, made to compromise his bodily and psychological autonomy, got stripped off his agency, humiliated and traumatized, with Jonah Magnus in ep 160 taking full control over him and violating him completely. It is cruel, it's disgusting, it's repulsive, it's abusive, and I view everything that happened as Jonah Magnus's fault, because HE knew what he was doing, HE actively, actually chose it without remorse, he planned and orchestrated this for his own benefit, and then, as typical abuser, painted it as Jon's choice and Jon's fault, in typically abusive, manipulative ways.

Everything else is confetti.

And using mental gymnastics to justify and defend Jonah's behavior to paint Jon as the villain is... well, let's say I'm not interested in this kind of "perspective" at all.

i saw the ask about how people taking elias’s “you didn’t want this but you did choose this” speech literally is wrong and you can’t trust it because elias was trying to manipulate and groom and emotionally abuse jon and therefore everything he said was bullshit and just. wow. did you forget that the main theme of the podcast is choice and the blurriness of free will? did you miss the entire arc where jon began to willingly give himself to the eye? did you miss how the story makes it clear that becoming an avatar requires voluntarily becoming a servant of your patron? no, it’s not a contract with set terms and conditions, but anyone who becomes an avatar knows damn well what they’re doing, and jon was well on his way to avatarhood before elias even knew who he was.

also, it always strikes me as a little silly when people try to label elias as a groomer, and say he’s a bad and untrustworthy person because of the emotional manipulation. like yeah he was manipulative! that is correct! remind me, how many violent mass murders have been committed in this podcast so far? how many of the “good” main characters have personally killed people and committed atrocities?

.

[frogtanii]

warm.

it’s too warm, was your first waking thought as you sluggishly waded through the mound of blankets that encompassed you to get a breath of fresh air (you assumed bokuto and kuroo were the culprits for your warm and fuzzy hellhole). your eyes first fell on the television playing the credits to the second or third pirates of the caribbean movie on mute, the remote haphazardly thrown somewhere to your left as though the person who did so left in a hurry.

speaking of people, there was no one left in the room as you slowly joined the land of the living. a part of you suspected everyone had gone to bed but atsumu or akaashi would’ve woken you up if that had been the case.

belatedly, you recognized voices coming from the front door and your still sleep-addled brain lit up. oh! you thought. food must be here! untangling yourself from the blankets proved to be an exhausting feat because by the time you were done, your body was covered in a sheen of sweat underneath oikawa’s sweats and sakusa’s hoodie.

ugh, gross.

you began to make your way towards the door, the blood rushing through your head preventing you from hearing the details of conversation but knowing atsumu, he was just haggling for a lower price even though you told him repeatedly, that isn’t how pizza places work tsum.

as you drew nearer to the commotion, you started to pick up on the heavy tension in the air, leaving you extremely uncomfortable. you had no idea what the cause of it was but you did know it was making most of the boys upset, who, by the way, hadn’t noticed you creeping around just yet.

a feminine voice rang out from outside the doorway and though you were still attempting to gain your hearing, the sound sent chills down your spine. it sounded saccharine, sweet, familiar, and oh so evil.

even with a head full of cotton, you figured now wouldn’t be the best time to reveal yourself, what with the clear discomfort permeating the atmosphere, but your big fat mouth apparently had other plans.

“‘tsum, just let the poor pizza lady go,” you muttered, the beginnings of a headache making itself known at the back of your skull. you were a little too caught up with the dwarf banging at your head with a sledgehammer to notice the shock that everyone in the room turned to look at you with.

a gentle hand grasped at your forearm, whispering something into your ear before attempting to pull you back to the living room, but that same familiar voice from the door kept you planted where you stood.

“oh, the princess finally makes herself known,” meiko sneered, her face finally coming into focus, striking you with pang of fear straight through your heart. “funny, i thought i left you speechless the last time we... ‘talked’.”

“ya shut yer fuckin mouth,” atsumu lunged at her but was stopped by sakusa’s arm around his waist, successfully holding him in place. meiko just giggled, taking a step into the house, her heels clicking as she glided across the hardwood floors.

in the back of your head, you noted that meiko looked unusually beautiful, her makeup flawlessly done and her outfit complementing it perfectly, almost reminiscent of how she used to be before... well, just “before”.

you watched the boys unconsciously angle themselves as a protective wall around you, the person holding your arm (who you now realized was koushi) pulling you in tighter until your back was resting against his chest.

a part of you couldn’t help but feel a little suffocated but the other, more self preserving, bit felt irrationally safe and protected around these boys. it was nice... or it would’ve been if meiko wasn’t taking herself on a tour around the house as though she hadn’t been living there for almost the past year.

“you all can tone down on the guard dog act. i’m not here to fight,” she said as she pretended to wipe dust off the island. “you’re not?” bokuto’s skeptical voice rose up from behind you, one of his hands finding yours underneath the massive sleeves of your (sakusa’s) hoodie.

meiko shook her head with an empty smile, her perfectly painted red lips stretching unnaturally wide. “no, of course not! i’ve just come here to collect.”

the boys collectively tensed around you, akaashi whispering for kenma to go find yachi and quickly. as he slipped away, you made eye contact with sakusa who gave you an imperceptible nod that you assumed meant one thing — keep her talking.

“collect what?” you asked, your voice coming out weaker than you wanted, but you hoped she didn’t notice. she cocked her head as her eyes snapped to you as if she’d forgotten you were there, but judging by her growing smirk, you knew that wasn’t the case.

“my boys of course!” meiko clapped gleefully, clicking her way over toward kuroo to run her hand over his bicep, laughing when he jolted away from her touch. “they’ve always been mine, you know that don’t you?”

it felt like a cold bucket of water had been dropped over your head. you felt frozen again, the same feeling of dread creeping up your spine as it did when meiko attacked you. in turn, you barely noticed kenma’s return who whispered something to sakusa — an action that didn’t go unnoticed by meiko.

“what’re my boys talking about? are you plotting against me?” she pouted, scooting closer to the pair. kenma visibly paled and moved to hide himself behind sakusa’s broad shoulders. “we aren’t doing anything, meiko.”

wrong answer.

“oh, we both know that isn’t the case kiyoomi. i’m not a fucking idiot.” meiko’s voice filled with venom before moving even closer still. you felt your heart beating rapidly in your chest, your hand gripping bokuto’s even tighter.

what if she brought some kind of weapon to the house? what if she hurt you? what if she hurt them?

before you could think, you were standing in front of the group, the boys calling out your name as meiko’s face lit up. “so the precious little princess wants to take a stand! let me have it then, huh? let me see what all the craze is about!”

despite the fear thudding in your chest, you stood tall, glaring at her with your head held high. “the boys are not yours, meiko,” you declared, her mouth instantly opening in protest but you refused to let her speak.

“they aren’t possessions or objects you can own and treat like shit. they are people, real living, breathing people and they aren’t mine either. they have full reign to do what they want, when they want, to make their own choices and decisions. and you know what? they didn’t choose you or me. they chose themselves and their happiness over any bullshit you or i could try and sell them. so please, for the love of god, get your shit together, put it in a box and take it to fucking therapy.”

by the end of your impromptu speech, your chest was heaving but you felt good. really good. adrenaline was rushing through your veins and you felt powerful. out the corner of your eye, you noticed osamu and daichi standing at the bottom of the stairs with something akin to awe on their faces.

yeah bitches. take it all in.

unfortunately, while you were basking in the feeling of badassery, you completely missed meiko’s eyes lighting up with pure, unadulterated,

rage.

you faintly heard someone call your name before you were taken to the ground by meiko leaping at you like an animal. the two of you scrambled about on the hardwood, her hands yanking at your clothes and leaving scratches on your skin but you were sure as hell giving her a run for her money.

you finally managed to get on top of her, pinning her arms to the ground but that wasn’t before you gained a hard elbow to the side and a bruise to your face. meiko thrashed and shook in your hold but you were not wavering, trying to keep her entirely still for...

well, for what exactly?

almost as though they were on cue, you heard the sound of police sirens wailing in the distance, growing louder as they drew closer to the house. underneath you, meiko’s eyes widened before she began fighting even harder than she’d done before, her erratic movements making it much more difficult to keep your hold on her.

luckily, you had extremely muscular men at your disposal, one of which (osamu — even though he was a dick, he was still incredibly muscular dick) held down meiko’s arms as the lapd stormed the building.

the police officers easily retracted meiko from your arms and cuffed her, taking her to the back of the cop car, despite her loud and insistent threats on you and everyone you love.

very disney villain-esque.

a kind looking officer helped you to your feet and walked you out to the porch where he began to ask you and the boys a few questions. you answered them honestly and you were genuinely proud of how well you were handling the whole situation when—

“bubs, you’re shaking.” sure enough, when you looked down at your hands, you were twitching uncontrollably, the reality of the events that just occurred finally sinking in.

you were just attacked. again.

you and your friends were threatened.

meiko was sitting in the back of a fucking cop car.

“what the fuck,” you whispered, eyes staring unblinking at your palms. the same officer mentioned something about shock, prompting all the boys to gather around you; atsumu pulled you in between him and sakusa, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, kenma and bokuto took hold of your quivering hands, sugawara and oikawa sat off to the side watching you with blatant concern, and kuroo and akaashi spoke to the officer in hushed tones.

the man nodded and shook their hands before shooting you a pitying smile and heading back to the car where meiko was waiting.

“it’s over angel, ‘s over,” atsumu muttered into your hair, pressing kisses to your forehead in between each phrase. you leaned into his touch but you refused to take your eyes off meiko who was watching the whole scene from the backseat, her eyes wide with anger, hurt, and confusion.

you didn’t bother dwelling on it, instead focusing on evening out your breathing and looking at the car drive over the horizon. you heard yachi’s soft voice calling everyone inside, atsumu lifting you up to your feet and walking with you, never once taking his hands off of you.

still, his words echoed in your head, even as yachi spoke of the end of the hyper house, even as the boys brought you to your room, and even as they all automatically cuddled around you in an attempt to get you to sleep.

it’s over. it’s all finally over.

you couldn’t keep the grin off your face if you tried.

℗ poker face

it’s over

series masterlist

(●’◡’●)ﾉ

an - OK THE TITLE IS MISLEADING THE STORY IS NOT OVER YET SKENSM (there are 2 more official story chapters before all the endings :3) also m not the biggest fan of this chapter?? so i’d love to hear what y’all think <33 don’t forget to feed me!!

taglist - if your name is in bold, i cannot tag you

@boosyboo9206 • @geektastic84 • @elianetsantana • @trashy-simp • @infinitebells • @6mattsun9 • @suhkusa • @katsulovee • @kotarosbabygirl • @fucktheworlddude • @insomniacwreck • @calumsfringe • @saltylettuce • @chai-blu • @al3x1ss • @hawksyoongi • @jooleuuh • @loubells • @kissungjae • @liberhoe • @tetsurocore • @animeoverdosee • @duhsies • @saiKishaircLip • @afire24 • @premiyagi • @kit-kat428 • @doctorspencereid • @daphnxy • @kyomihann • @maer-333 • @sinoflust19 • @peteunderoos • @peachiikichu • @iidanotlida • @yongboxerrr • @kac-chowsballs • @tanakaslastbraincell • @memorableminds • @risjime • @starry-magicshop • @sugavwara • @smuttyanimeslut • @kiwibirbs-library • @haijkk • @airybnb • @crybabygumi • @iwaisa • @decaffinatedtealover • @notameera • @kawaii-angelanne • @rintarovibes • @urlocalsimp • @keiarma • @shrimpypenis

the rest of the tags will be in the replies!!

[greenhappyseed]

BNHA Ch. 364 - Review, parallels & comparisons

Piping hot take: It’s possible that Edgeshot, Mirko, and Bakugo will live, as we’ve still got multiple characters in play (Eri, Overhaul, Twice) that have powers capable of rewinding/reviving the dead. Or, events that take 25 chapters could be unfolding over minutes in-universe, making permadeath less likely. E.g., time seemed to stop during the war arc’s vestige battle. Honestly, I really don’t think there’s much more to say on this, as I personally try not to get super worked up every single week when Best Jeanist calls a time of death.

This chapter is called “Why We Wield Power,” and it’s an interesting theme that runs throughout the 3 featured storylines. Structurally, we once again have an AFO sandwich, this time with US beef between the AFO buns (of the Gunga and UA variety). Each of the 3 parts explores a character’s “why,” reminding me of the question All Might asked Endeavor during the remedial arc: What purpose does our strength serve? All Might thought the answer was simple, and in Ch. 357 Endeavor finally confirmed it’s securing a bright future for the next generation.

Original Recipe AFO also thinks his worldview is simple — the world should be “me” and “not me,” with none of the tints or tones that Izuku discussed with Lady Nagant; certainly none of the moral grey area that heroes like Hawks exist within. I wish there was more between AFO and Hawks here because AFO managed to extract concessions of weakness from both All Might (agreeing he wasn’t a very good teacher) and Endeavor (agreeing his hands ruined Toya’s future, which in turn led to “so many stolen futures”). I’d like to see if AFO can break through Hawks’s shell when his full attention is on Hawks. The discussion about “what counts as ‘bad stuff’” is a great start because, yanno, he murdered Twice. Oh, and Hawks is completely wrong that the answer is “villains do bad stuff;” Midoriya expressly said the opposite to Aoyama. Doing wrong does NOT make you a villain for life.

But, as a stalling tactic, Hawks’s choice is fantastic. AFO has long questioned what makes a “villain” and denied that it has anything to do with a legal label. He loves to wax poetic about this. FWIW, I wrote about the definition of “villain” vs criminal in this ask here during the traitor reveal so I won’t go off on it now.

There is a bit of melancholy for AFO here too. As much as he wants to be the Demon Lord from his comics, this body will never transcend its human limits. Even with hatred in AFO’s heart, he will never truly steal OFA, because he cannot have “emotions so strong, they’re too much for one person to bear.” Moreover, AFO only had enough power for one Rewind based on Ujiko’s vial, so if he’s wounded in the future, he’s done for. (I speculated that this would happen back in 357, because Rewind is like AFO or OFA — they’re “blank,” hollow quirks that require a power source. AFO may have drained some of his other powers to use Rewind.) AFO is back to prime condition, but he’s vulnerable to take damage. His hope for immortality rests with TomurAFO. Or, at least that’s what he wants us to believe. I have doubts that AFO is heading to UA to “rescue” Tomura because…has he EVER rescued Tomura?? Do we really think the guy who took longevity quirks and used Rewind on himself wants to secure a bright future for TomurAFO?

That takes us to the United States, with the President and Agpar. Apparently this is how the Japanese imagine post-apocalyptic Washington, DC, and honestly the senseless gun violence tracks (even though the tall buildings are so not DC):

The US is a “half step” into the red zone with Star & Stripe dead, and they’re now saying the quiet part out loud: TomurAFO can’t be stopped through conventional fighting tactics. His body, with or without quirks, is a perfect monster. Therefore, instead of trying to kill him, developed nations are racing to appease him and let him rule. Why? To secure a bright future for the next generation.

“Cool motive, still enabling a Demon Lord,” says Agpar. He thinks appeasing TomurAFO means no future for anyone (and he’s the more accurate of the two). Agpar continues to challenge the President, saying Star and Stripe was following in her idol’s footsteps because she observed All Might as a child. “Adults, in turn, support the children as they pass it forward…and so on…to the next generation. Heroes have always wielded their power in the name of that cause!” The art is beautiful, but it bothers me so I’m not posting it (hey, it’s my blog).

The thing is, All Might didn’t exactly support what Star & Stripe did. He asked for international support, and she took off on her own with a small squad. She then engaged TomurAFO entirely on her own with her squad. It doesn’t even seem like All Might got a chance to speak to Star & Stripe, let alone meet her.

I’m uncomfortable that Agpar is positioning Star as All Might’s successor, passing on All Might’s heroism to the next generation when (1) THE MAN IS ALIVE AND CAN SPEAK FOR HIMSELF THANK YOU VERY MUCH TIM; (2) All Might has an actual hand-picked and trained successor in Izuku; and (3) All Might pledged his support behind Class 1-A, wherever their heroic flame leads them.

If the Americans once again fly to Japan, I just wanna see Koichi Haimawari show up. :)

[beckface]

Bestie I am requesting a ramble post about Bectoria (Becky Botsford and Victoria Best) because my Becky introject is gay as shit for her and I wish to make them suffer with gay things

BECKTORIAAA I love this ship it’s got such a fun sitcom couple dynamic :D

I think that if it happens it’s definitely when they’re older, at least 7th grade-ish, when Victoria really starts cracking under the weight of her parent’s pressure. We all know that she is 100% not into men at all but I bet her parents don’t like that very much, so she’s in denial. Little Miss Perfect and all that.

I think Mr. and Mrs. Best have the sort of “we’re fine with it… as long as it’s not our kids” view about sexuality, but one of them is absolutely gay and repressing it. I do NOT believe these two genuinely love each other like, they absolutely live their life as a show and CONSTANTLY compete with each other on who’s the better spouse/parent (they both suck and struggle to acknowledge each other doing well if it directly overshadows themselves)

So Victoria picks all of this up from her parents. She tells herself that she’s not gay and I think she’s the type of person to go through 10 boyfriends each school year because she just can’t hold down a stable relationship due to her competitiveness, desperation, and general lack of attraction towards men.

She also just IS Regina George in middle/early high because of god damn course she is. She has a weird bond with Eileen and I'd like to imagine, like Eileen is just happy to have a friend but Victoria doesn’t know what to do with just pure friendship. Also they get on eachothers nerves with their villain quirks.

Victoria was actually “close” with Tobey in elementary school (they butted heads and fed each other’s egos, it was toxic but what other choices did they have) but she and him drift apart, because aside from being egotistical villains they really didn’t end up having much in common. Also I think that Tobey would reform himself before the other two kid villains (if Tobey DOES reform and doesn’t grow up to have villainy be his career)

Despite being feared and popular and having a lot of boyfriends, no one’s really friends with Victoria, and she likes it that way. Her “friend group” full of vain popular kids is the best you could get in high school status-wise, and it pleases her parents.

The issue is, pleasing her parents has started to feel less like a need, less like a want, and more like a chore.

This is where Becky Wordgirl Botsford comes in. Now she’s just been coasting like she always does, living her life with her secret job of being a superhero, and she’s just as stressed as ever. She’s far from miserable, her family is lovely (even if she still can’t bring herself to tell them the truth) and her friends are super supportive. Some parts of being Wordgirl have just been getting to her more than they have before.

She’s a teenager now, so the press is ALL up in her personal drama. Every time she seems slightly off in her Wordgirl form now, people are speculating. She can’t talk to Scoops as Wordgirl, she can barely talk to Tobey, the press just makes wild dating accusations. The perfection expectations are also getting on her nerves, it’s been so long and it’s just grating honestly.

Becky is sure she’s bi or pan at this point, but is terrified of expressing it. She worries that if she allows it to happen as Becky, then it might slip through as Wordgirl, and she’s just a big anxious mess about what would happen. She’s avoiding dating all together really, she doesn’t want to get serious with someone and then have to lie to them about being Wordgirl.

Gay scene one day Victoria is stealing a trophy or whatever and hid it in her house, and just annoying the shit out of Wordgirl when she comes to confront her. Becky is having a bad day, and Victoria says something that pressed just the wrong button, and instead of bantering back she grabs Victoria’s arms, lifts her up and pins her to the wall in midair and is all intimidating “Where. Is. It.”. Victoria’s brain turns off and she goes red, she stutters out where it is, and when WG lets her down Victoria’s like “I just learned something about myself”

Another day Victoria is really downtrodden and her heart just isn’t in the crime she’s doing, and she asks WG “Can I just… please have it. Just to make my parents think I got it.” And Becky feels really surprisingly sympathetic. They have a long conversation that ends with “You know Victoria… I never really liked your parents. They never really seemed to have their priorities straight” Becky gives her a smile and flies off. Victoria thinks about this. A lot.

Victoria gets a little hero-worship type crush on WG

One day Victoria snaps at her parents and they kick her out. She ends up walking through the rain with just her phone and some belongings, and Becky superhearings her crying and goes to figure out what’s going on. She ends up bringing Victoria home with her to stay.

Becky is understandably standoffish with Victoria, and the girls just kinda let each other be at first. It’s a problem though because more and more Victoria is realizing she has a stupid crush on the other girl

Living at the Botsfords means that Victoria is subjected to family bonding and physical affection from adults that she has never had before, and she doesn’t really know what to make of it. Slowly though, she realizes that it’s safe here, and that she can just. Be a kid. And little by little she starts relaxing, stops competing over every little thing, and stops judging other people so harshly. She still does it ofc, that kind of behavior built from years of abuse doesn’t go away with the snap of a finger, but she’s better and happier. And she’s spending a lot more time, on purpose, with Becky.

Becky cannot believe she likes hanging out with Victoria so much. Turns out that when she’s not being an egotistical brat she’s actually really fun. Turns out years and years of taking classes for literally everything imaginable can make a pretty interesting and dedicated person. Victoria teaches Becky some cool things she learned sometimes, and Becky teaches Victoria how to do it without being condescending. They’re both having fun.

We can’t have Becktoria without making them couple fight a LITTLE though so like. Imagine what I said with the fluffyness and stuff, but the entire time Victoria is just saying stupid shit purposefully to make Becky roll her eyes

Victoria is also highkey flirtatious. Like she tells herself it doesn’t count if it’s a joke, or it’s just friendly and platonic but she’s literally saying things like “Omg Beckface I could kiss you right now” and is very physical with her, like playfully holding hands and putting her arm around her and stuff.

One day Victoria says something flirty and Becky just snaps and flirts back, like leans towards her and puts her finger on Victoria’s chin and goes “Why don’t you do it then?” And Victoria just shuts down again

Victoria figures out she’s Wordgirl because she took superhero-identity classes or smthn I don’t know anything could happen in this universe

Victoria has to battle with her identity as a villain and her newfound happiness staying with Becky and the Botsfords

Victoria also misses her brother a lot. She tries multiple times to reconnect with him.

I think Becky makes a huge plan to try and ask out Victoria, and then Victoria does it first.

Victoria got over her fear of her parents and really just holds resentment for them now, but Becky’s still terrified of the city finding out, so they keep it lowkey. She does come out AS Becky though, and they date publicly after a bit.

Their first kiss was in the sky. Becky flew Victoria up to catch a glimpse of Lexicon, and fell a little bit in love with her as she watched Victoria watch the night sky so close to her for the first time. She had never really taken in the beauty before, after all, to be the best you don’t have time for sitting around staring at stars.

In a scenario where it’s unrequited love on Victoria’s end I like to imagine the song “Andy you’re a star” Goes with it

Victoria teaches Becky how to dance. It helps a little bit but she’s still a mess and they fall over each other a lot.

They’re that couple that acts like they’ve been married for 50 years but only started officially dating a month ago

CUTE GIRLS CUTE GIRLS LKSDJLFSFD

I kinda ended up ranting about mostly Victoria here i’m absolutely gonna do a followup centering Becky at some point

[metvmorqhoses]

I understand you like villains, but the Darkling is a manipulative and abusive person who doesn't care about Alina. He only wants to use and enslave her. Even the small nice things he does are manipulation. Their ship isn't healthy. Alina belongs with Mal.

look, the darkling is a thousands of years old ethereal being who almost completely lost any form of attachment to his humanity, being completely lost in the rivers of time and of his own devouring power, with the sole exception of a loosely defined sense of patriotism (which is filtered by altered, almost god-like morals that cannot be understood nor can apply to normal human beings), and his recognition in alina of his only equal mate, his only place of belonging in endless oceans of solitude, recognition that deeply unsettles and enrages him at first (after all she is an oblivious child and he an ancient superhuman), but that he’s too mature and intelligent not to accept and respect in earnest in his own way.

so, saying that he doesn’t care about alina and that he’s only there to play with a naive girl’s head to obtain her power, is nothing but sheer oversimplification and lack of understanding of his character.

of course he constantly manipulates her, he’d manipulate reality itself given the chance, that’s the way he navigates the world, through power, coldness and charisma. i think it’s quite obvious he thinks best being in control of everything important, he is the one having the bigger picture after all, he’s everything he has ever had since remote times, he’s been alone in his godly point of view for thousands of years, it’s only natural he thinks his agenda and opinions superior to those of a bunch of children (the king himself to him is but a child). in his eyes, he is the centuries-old man and she is but a precious little girl in whose hands the very reason of his every battle and hope is being placed by fate. his succeeding in having her power by his side is capital for him, after all his ambition and distance from humanity is endless, and so is his desperation. that’s why he opts for the most effective way to ensure having it (putting the collar on her, being sure to be in control and not subjected to the whims of a teenager). honestly, from his point of view, this is simply mere logic and effectiveness, nothing particularly evil or personal. let’s not forget he was hoping all along she would join him willingly.

yet, leaving aside the political agenda, the very fact that he does take the time to “manipulate” alina, that he cares enough to spend himself, the detached uncaring god, to try his best to be liked by her, to be admired and somehow understood by her, even to confess himself in his own subtle way full of half-truths, is the proof that he does care for the person behind the power he so much craves. there’s literally no pragmatic reason to charm someone you already have de facto captive in your own guarded palace and that you plan to enslave, if you don’t somehow crave her attachment. she fashinates him, she unsettles him. she reminds him of who he used to be. what we perceive as manipulation is his immoral and very wrong way of caring. he probably believes she would never love the real him, he probably thinks she would flee screaming. and, honestly, he wasn’t that wrong after all.

yet he craves and he tries to touch this light from his abyss of darkness, he’s anything but cold indifference. his manipulation probably wants to have many different effects on alina, that don’t necessarily exclude one another. one simple act of manipulation can have the aim to secure her trust in order to claim her power more easily and can at the same time aim to make her simply smile. these two facts can peacefully coexist in such a man���s mind. the first doesn’t make the second less real or important.

asking mal for her favorite flowers and then giving them to her himself can be a way of charming her and can be a way to literally give her her favorite flowers. It’s undoubtedly a petty move, yet very effective and even somehow funny if we shed the very popular woke indignation. it’s something very childish and very human to do. this is not so much political scheming as it is kindergarten rivalry, if we are honest with ourselves. in the darkling’s mind, the end always justifies the means and the evil plan behind giving alina her favorite flowers stealing the information from her sweetheart or reading their letters, is being able to get to her heart in the easiest way possible, disregarding every rule because he thinks himself above them all.

i’m honestly astonished adults don’t seem able to understand that the darkling wanting alina’s power and aiming to be in control of it, having his way in everything, and the darkling loving her are not only compatible truths but also in many ways codependent ones.

and how lame constantly labeling every unusual relationship “unhealthy” as if that would immediately rule out their right to beauty or complexity. especially in fiction, adults should have the right, the agency, to have their disgustingly unhealthy relationships in peace, without moralists constantly trying to diminish what they share because of it. the majority of fascinating things in art and in life are unhealthy. grow up. the women in these relationships are not fragile little flowers, they can deal with abysmality, they can even enjoy it. you are taking their choice and their own complexities away from them.

and really, in this very case don’t even have me started with mal. his love confession at the end of shadow and bone was cringe-worthy. “now i see you, alina”. like literally this boy fucked everyone that moved but alina, who lived for him and who clearly needed help because she was literally rotting away, and yet he didn’t even know she existed until she became important and famous, then proceeding to shame her for it in the little palace, only in the end to confirm his shallowness by saying “now that you are basically a goddess personified i see you”, and she is even supposed to deeply appreciate that? seriously? is this the healthy love you want women to lower their heads to? not to mention the only thing that keeps that love barely lukewarm is alina’s childhood trauma and obsessive attachment to the only person who was with her during those hard times. what a fairy tale.

in short, nothing wrong in having banal points of view, to each their own i suppose, but i’d appreciate if you’d avoid coming in other people’s inboxes acting like the moral artistic police when you clearly even lack the means to do it. thank you.