#hardy boys season 3

[secondbeatsongs]

my library has a page where you can request titles to be added to the catalogue, and my requests have never, never been turned down

like, obscure book on irish mythology? added! cookbook written by a robot? hell yeah! just season 3 of a 1970s detective series, on DVD? sure, why not!

I don't know if it's that a librarian has decided to humor me, or if my library is particularly well-funded (I hope so; I love my library), but no matter what I request, they buy a copy and add it to the catalogue.

...so now, as I type in a suggestion for a queer romance with a pretty boy on the cover, I can only hope that luck is still with me

#personal #the robot cookbook btw was the one that IBM's Watson did a while back #I don't remember it well #but I don't think I found it particularly interesting #I wish I remembered the irish book #but I can't find it #and the DVD series? #hardy boys season 3 #because of course it was #hardy boys my beloved #update: I think the irish mythology book was #''mysterious world: ireland'' #by ian middleton #the library doesn't have it anymore but that's okay xD #I think I was the only one who read it

[laf-outloud]

Well, shoot. At least they're getting a third season to resolve the cliffhangers and finish on their terms. It's been a fun show!

#hardy boys season 3 #hardy boys #hardy boys on hulu #what TW should have looked like

[drewlyyours]

My mom and I just finished the Hardy Boys (2019) Hulu tv show. It honestly was a blast - highly recommend

MY BOYS!!

#the Bridgeport crew it fire #they also were fully aware they were ending after season 3 and I like the way they closed it out #I would die for Frank and Joe #joey my son #tiny baby Joe #there’s no Nancy but they do have a ‘Drew’ from river Heights 👀 #the Hardy boys #clue crew recommendations #tv #the hardy boys (2019)

[your-mums-nuts]

Just finished season 3 of the Hardy boys and I was expecting to hate if (which I only partially did) but seeing Biff was worth it again, even if she’s basically just Phil’s love interest- anyways Biff and Joe

The way she looks at Phil (mild displeasure) has me cackling

#the hardy boys #hulu the hardy boys #Hulu #renew the hardy boys #the hardy boys season 3 #joe x biff #biff and joe #joe hardy x biff #joe hardy

[kaysoncoffee]

They let me think that for A YEAR and then did THAT excuse me I must go immediately rewatch

#hulu hardy boys #season 3

[lemonadeandlanguages]

ngl i'm not as sad as i thought id be that the nancy drew and hardy boys tv series are on their last seasons 🤷🏻

#i rly like nancy drew but mainly cuz all the female characters are so hot #they kinda lost me with all the supernatural stuff #the books have no supernatural content!!! #this isnt scooby doo! #and lowkey i wouldve prefered a mystery of the week format rather than a long winded plot but ik that format is out of style rn #it wouldve been so much better tho! #as for the hardy boys show they kinda lost me with the season finale twist #but ill still watch season 3 ig #hardy boys #nancy drew #lnl

[bardicious]

do you have a favorite bad guy/villain from hardy boys?

I might be mad basic about this, Gloria of Season 1. Treacherous family shenanigans, she’s ultimately kind of tragic.

Plus, the Tall Man.

Season 2, George and his relationship with the eye, and ultimately when he steals Franks body. SO good. Not George in Season 3 tho.

Season 3, I loved Drew, plot I’m still iffy about but she was really fun even though I would have loved to see her utilized in maybe a different way?

Villains I could live without: Stacy Nabokov, Olivia Sparewell.

#bardicious asks #anon asks #Hardy boys #hulu Hardy boys #basically I liked the main villains #George in season 2 could have been really good in 3 #but he was a bit lackluster

[werezolft]

The Dead Boy Detectives (and crew), have been occupying my thoughts the past few weeks. I’ve watched the show on repeat, rewatched Sandman, actually started reading the Sandman graphic novels (currently on Seasons of Mist, the introduction of the Dead Boys), and I’ve started drawing the episodes in the style of old teen detective novels.

I started these before getting super into behind the scenes details. I went down a bit of a rabbit-hole last night, and was delighted to learn that show-runner Steve Yockey wanted the show to be reminiscent of The Hardy Boys, one of the main influences of these covers.

The accuracy of their depictions varies, I don’t think they always really look like themselves. But I had a lot of fun.

I hope to continue designing these for a bit while the obsession holds, and maybe I can properly bring in purples, Crystal’s hero color.

[Alt Text:

Image 1: A series of covers on a white background. From left to right, "The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine", "The Case Of Devlin House", "The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine" (alt cover), "The Case Of The Hungry Snake", and "The Case Of The Lighthouse Leapers".

Image 2: Three teenagers, Charles, Crystal and Edwin explore a blue green cave with a skull covered in dandelions on a center shrine. Charles holds a flashlight, Crystal is climbing in while her eyes have gone white during a psychic episode, and Edwin is playing lookout. At the top of the page in yellow italics is the text “Dead Boy Detectives” and below in off-white bold caps “THE CASE OF THE DANDELION SHRINE”.

Image 3: Edwin, Charles and Crystal peering around the corner of a yellow-green wooden hallway, looking at the silhouette of a man swinging an axe. They have varying worried expressions. At the top, in yellow italics is “Dead Boy Detectives” and in off-white bold caps “THE CASE OF DEVLIN HOUSE”.

Image 4: Crystal and Niko stare at each other across a green hallway. Niko has her left hand raised and is surrounded by glowing images, stars, hearts, moons, butterflies, rainbows, and sparkles. The cast a faint pink light. At the top in yellow italics is “Dead Boy Detectives”, and in off-white bold caps “THE CASE OF THE DANDELION SHRINE”.

Image 5: Charles and Edwin tied to chairs in a golden yellow room. Charles has an iron collar chained to his neck, and his wrists are bound. Edwin is in a white tank top, and his mouth is gagged with a clothe. On the wall is the shadow of the witch Esther, with her cane. In the corner is a large cabinet, Niko peers out of. On top of the cabinet is perched a crow, Monty. At the top, in yellow italics “Dead Boy Detectives” and in off-white bold caps “THE CASE OF THE HUNGRY SNAKE”.

Image 6: Edwin, Charles and Crystal stand on stairs overlooking the gray sea and red sky. A giant angler fish, Angie, is staring at them. In the corner, on top of the hill is a classic red and white striped lighthouse. At the top, in yellow italics “Dead Boy Detectives” and in off-white bold caps “THE CASE OF THE LIGHTHOUSE LEAPERS”.

Image 7: A series of book covers on a white background: “Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Secret of Skeleton Island”, “Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, The Ghost of Blackwood Hall”, “Nancy Drew, The Mystery at Lilac Inn”, “The Hardy Boys, While the Clock Ticked”, and “The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon”.

#dead boy detectives #charles rowland #crystal palace #edwin payne #niko sasaki #the hardy boys #nancy drew #the three investigators #dead boy detective agency #dead boy detective fanart #the sandman universe #digital art #book cover art #my art

[savkirschtein]

AOT character & their personal fashion styles

characters : Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Jean Kirschtein, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, Marco Bodt

warning: all of these are just purely based off of my personal insight and views of the characters and how i think they’d dress today

🪩🥡🪐🎸🎧

Eren Jaeger: 🎱🌪️🩻⛓️

based off of season 4 Eren

i picture Eren in todays world really rocking with a minimalist street style

he’s all for comfort and breathability in his clothing and his style reflects that

a closet full of loose fitting boxy t-shirts

LOVES the cold months so he can layer his hoodies and leather jackets

while also sporting the slutty tightly fitted black shirt grey sweat pant combo every now and then

maybe even just walking out his apartment with a wife pleaser and baggy jeans on as a fit alone

all paired with sneakers, small silver hoops, and a chain of some sort

Mikasa Ackerman: 🍒💿📷🃏

we all know for a fact that Mikasa can DRESS

she just has an eye for fashion and has a unique style of her own

one that isn’t over the top, in terms of being a spectacle, but just well put together and tailored to HER. a girl you 110% give a second glance

she is a girlie who LOVES wearing any skirt whether it be long, midi, mini or knee length she LOVES them

most of her pieces are pretty free flowing with lots of different silhouettes

absolutely loves a good leather boot, pair of mary janes, or platform loafers

she literally could wear a trash bag and make it look like it’s the next trend

and has a huge collection of baggus

Armin Arlert: 🎧📘🍵☁️

Armin will literally never be free of the soft light academia aesthetic

the cable knit sweaters, soft cardigans, and sweater vests will forever have a hold on him

but what college boy Armin loves more than anything is a good quarter zip or quarter button up

or a nice casual white and blue striped button up

almost all of his clothing is soft and warm materials

definitely withholds the cute boy in the library title

Jean Kirschtein: 🪐👁️‍🗨️⚡️🌉

will live and die on the hill that Jean is a Carthartt guy

his look is a casual-relaxed but clean one

he’s all for clothing that is durable and will last him forever

Jean’s style is honestly super basic but NOT boring

although Jean’s style isn’t one that is made to make it hard to look away from its one that really just compliments him well

loves a good hefty Dickies or Carthartt jacket, basic white t-shirt, or a loose button up over a tank top

while wearing a variety of rings, with small hoops and a chain

his clothes compliment his strongly built and lengthy body well, which is why although they are basic, it isn’t boring

Connie Springer: 🎧💽☄️🩻

Connie is a literal fashionista

he probably is tiktok famous for his fit check videos and adventures at the thrift stores

the street style aesthetic was MADE for Connie

knows how to put pieces that may not look ideal together into a cohesive fit

LOVES JORTS and swears he made them trendy again

and wearing jerseys of teams he has no clue of , but it’s for the fit so who cares

Sasha Braus: 🍰🪩🗽🧸

the DEFINITION of downtown girl or coming of age movie in a city aesthetic

Sasha lives for the nostalgia of 90s pieces and it shows in her clothing

comfort is also a huge factor that plays into Sasha’s outfits

color is another component that makes Sasha’s outfits HER outfits

LOVES a good brown leather jacket

Sasha honestly though has a hard time sticking to just ONE specific style and will wear whatever feels good for her

Marco Bodt: 🍙🪴♠️🍊

Marco is a soft boy at heart but he’s traded in the traditional sweaters vests for hardy collared jackets

he absolutely LOVES PLAID

and loves layering his button ups with his worn out thrifted jackets

has a more warm palette in terms of colors and leans more towards earthy tones

super casual in his shoes though sticking to good tried and true high top converse, sambas, or loafers if he's feeling fancy

#eren jaeger #mikasa ackerman #armin arlert #connie springer #jean kirstein #sasha braus #marco bodt #aot modern au #aot x reader #attack on titan headcanons #aot college au #Spotify

[linkspooky]

Dr. Venture vs. Enji Todoroki: How to Write Bad Dads

This is a post comparing two shows about two abusive dads who are the main characters instead of their children. My Hero Academia is a Shonen jump manga that takes inspiration from American comics and shonen manga. Whereas The Venture Bros is an adult swim cartoon that started out as a parody of Johnny Quest, and grew into a seven season long character study of former child star Rusty Venture.

The idea for this post came from the fact that I've noticed a common hot take from MHA fans that Endeavor's redemption arc is bad because it's wrong to make an abuser the main character.

I've always disagreed, and used The Venture Bros as an example of a show where making an abuser the main character works. Rusty is actually a well-liked character in the venture bros fandom. So my question is if these characters are both abusers why is one of them generally accepted and the other one so controversial?

Before we begin I want to say this is a story with fictional characters. Don't bring real life into the equation. We are doing literary criticism here and only talking about the events that happen in the story.

Anyway, My Hero Academia and The Venture Bros seem like the weirdest shows to compare but they are actually pretty similar. They are both comic book shows that are commentating on the comics they're inspired from.

What My Hero Academia is to Spiderman and Dragonball Z, Venture Bros is to Tom Swift Novels, the Hardy Boys, and old Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. They also make the decision to focus on the characters as people rather than heroes. They are telling the stories of real people that exist in a world overflowing with both heroes and villains.

1. Meet the Venture Brothers

If you've heard of the Venture Bros then you've probably heard of the premise that it's an adult parody of Johnny Quest. Johnny Quest for those of you who have a life and therefore haven't seen every old Hanna-Barbera Cartoon like I have is a show where eleven year old Johnny Quest travels around the world with his super scientist father Dr. Benton C. Quest and their bodyguard Race Bannon, going on adventures in Jungle Ruins or fighting villains.

In the Venture Bros the main character Dr. Thaddeus Venture is an emotionally abusive and neglectful father who constantly exposes his sons to danger in his trips around the world. Their bodyguard Brock Samson is a ultra violent and is basically a thirteen year old's idea of what a cool manly man is. The titular Venture Bros, Hank and Dean Venture are sheltered children who are constantly being chased around by men in costumes trying to kill them.

So the basic premise of the show lies in it's dark deconstruction of shows like Hardy Boys, Johnny Quest, these Tom Swift-esque stories where young boys go on adventures by showing the real dangers that children would be exposed to in that kind of life.

Between Johnny Quest, the Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift, what is up with these pie-eyed youths chasing pirates and international diamond thieves and stuff like that? They would get their throats cut the minute that stumbled upon a hideout. And that would be the gag. - ART AND MAKING OF THE VENTURE BROS.

The show does explore Hank and Dean's trauma, but despite the title of the show they are not the main characters. The protagonist is Doctor Thaddeus Venture who himself is other victim of the Boy Adventuring Lifestyle.

Dr. Venture: "Who was, for 43 years, the only son of Dr. Jonas Venture? Who, from the ages of 3 to 17 accompanied him on hundreds of adventures the chilling memories of which rouse him from sleep in a cold sweat to this day?"

Thaddeus used to travel around the world with his father the super scientist Dr. Jonas Venture who was a far more successful super scientist and hero. He's the former star of the "Rusty Venture Show" a cartoon based off of his travels with his father.

Jonas who continually neglected and gaslit him throughout his childhood to the point of not allowing him to go to therapy. He gaslit him so hard there's a scene where he literally pretends to be Rusty's therapist to tell his son to stop complaining.

Rusty: "So I don't know. Sometimes I wish I could just be a normal kid and go out and play with kids my own age and stuff. The only people I get to hang out with are grown ups. The only time I get to leave the compound is to go someplace creepy, like the Bermuda triangle, and then I get kidnapped, by grown ups. And I'm not even sure I want to be a super scientist when I grow up anyway, but I feel all this pressure because of my fa-It feels weird telling you this stuff." Jonas: "Remember Rusty, in here I'm your doctor not your father. Now let's get back to it shall we. You were telling me how you're ungrateful for all the opportunities your father's given you and you blame me for all your problems."

Rusty is both a washed up child star, and a faiilure to his father's legacy. He never formed an identity outside of being the star of the Rusty Venture show or the son of Jonas Venture. He drags his kids all around the world on crazy super science adventures because that's what he knows.

The central premise of the Venture Bros is that Rusty is basically stuck and cannot meaningfully grow up into an adult and his own person, despite the fact he is now a single father trying to raise two sons. The central theme is about three generations of one family, and what it says about the complicated nature of family itself,

As Rusty is both the victim and the perpetrator of the abuse it makes sense he is the main character the story centers around because he's the central link between Jonas and the Twins.

The themes can be summarized in one line said towards the end of the show:

BEN "Just a watch. Tells the time in two time zones. That fourth hand there? Little date window? Those are called complications. Complications make a watch special. More complications the more value. Read the engraving Jonas put on the back there. Elige Tua. It's Latin for Choose your family. Blood doesn't make a family, love does. Choose your family and remember that complications make it special."

In other words it's a seven season long show on how family is complicated.

2. Keeping up with the Todorokis

My Hero Academia is about a lot of things, but the central premise is that in a society where he quirk you were born with can determine a lot about your life, one boy without a quirk sets out to prove that anyone can be a hero.

If Complciations make it special is the central theme of Venture Bros, then the central theme of My Hero Academia is two sentences. "All People are not created equal" and "Anyone can become someone's hero" both said at different points in the story. The story itself is about Deku's attempts to overcome the first statement, that he was not born equal but he deserves to be a hero as much as anyone else because he represents the true spirit of heroes. That heroes don't just show up to beat the big bad, a hero saves people.

The story isn't just about Deku though. We're not even going to talk about Deku in this post, but rather the Tritagonist Todoroki Shoto.

Todrooki is introduced as a foil to Deku someone who is born with an extremely powerful quirk, but who's been groomed from childhood to be a hero.

Shoto's father Enji Todoroki is All Might's ultimate rival. In the world of MHA hers are highly commercialized and ranked by popularity and achievements and Enji has been number two his entire life. He decided to conceive of an heir that could surpass All Might instead.

He purchased a wife with an ice quirk for an arranged marriage to selectively breed for a child with a fire and ice quirk. When Shoto was born he raised Shoto up as a hero, forcing him through grueling training sessions from a young age, and beating his wife when she tried to intervene for Shoto's sake.

That's a lot and I didn't even cover all of it. After this reveal of Shoto's backstory, Enji seems like he's only going to be a one note abuser to give Shoto a tragic backstory to angst over.

However, later on in the show Enji ifinally becomes the number one hero only to realize how empty his lifelong dream has been. He feels remorse for the family he destroyed in pursuit of that dream and starts wanting to make ammends. After this , Enji basically becomes the second most important character of the "Todoroki Family" arc. . A lot of focus is put on Enji's attempts at atonement to the point where some accuse him of stealing the spotlight from his victims.

These two families have a lot in common. They are basically families who are not allowed to have normal lives because the patriarch of the family is a costumed hero. The hero is also someone who is generally well-respected and is considered extremely successful in their chosen career, but are terrible to their family members. They are a hero to the world and a villain to their own family.

If there is a central premise to the Todoroki Family outside of MHA's analysis of what exactly makes a hero, it's this:

Todoroki Shoto: "As a hero this endeavor guy is pretty darn amazing. But it's just like Nasu said. I'm not ready to forgive you... for abusing mom. So, heroics aside. What sort of dad are you going to be? That's what I want to find out?"

The challenge is if Endeavor can choose his family over being a hero.

You can se the parallels in Venture Bros, as Rusty's main struggle is to try to be a father to his twin sons and help them grow up while at the same time struggling in this dangerous worlds of super science. Rusty is a super scientist constantly getting chased around by guys in costumes, but he's also a normal father trying to raise two sons into adulthood with basically no idea what he's doing because he doesn't have a frame of reference for how fathers are supposed to act or what a normal childhood would even look like.

The comic book super scientist, and the comic book hero are expected to act like real fathers to their sons.

However, as I said above in Rusty's case it's pretty uncontroversial that he is the main character of his story, whereas Enji starts fights within the fandom very time he appears onscreen.

Why is this exactly?

It's not because it's offensive to have an abuser be the main character, but rather how these characters are written and how well they fit into their stories. As I said Rusty is naturally the main character of his story because he's the central link in the chain of abuse, but should Enji be the main character of the Todorokis? Does he fit as well as Rusty?

3. Who's your Daddy?

So as stated above Enji and Rusty simultaneously exist in worlds where heroes exist and yet they are also normal people who are expected to provide for their families and raise their kids. They both exist in what is basically the marvel universe, though in the case of Venture Bros it's the Marvel Universe fused with old Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

Because of this world some of the things both Enji and Rusty do are things that have no real life parallels. For example Rusty once created a machine using the soul of a dead orphan as a power supply. You can't do that in real life so I'm not going to use that as an example.

Both of these stories are drawing on real life parallels of parental abuse I'm going to be talking about those to tell what kind of neglectful parent each is.

Rusty raised Hank and Dean Venture as a single parent with the assistance of their body guard Brock Samson. They live on the Venture Compound and only leave when Rusty needs to take a trip around the world. Obviously, there's not many real life examples of parents taking their kids into egypt to fight mummies.

However, Rusty's main flaw as a parent is how much he shelters his children not allowing them to make their own choices. They are homeschooled until they are eighteen and almost never allowed to leave their home unsupervised. Rusty could be compared to a helicopter parent that feels the need to micromanage every aspect of their child's lives, sheltering them so much they're unprepared for the real world.

Rusty is a weird combination of controlling and neglectful, because while he doesn't let either of his childre go to public school aor interact with kids their own age, he constantly exposes them to danger. He is often disinterested in his kid's lives and puts most of the burden of protecting them and raising them on his bodyguard Brock, while he chases after whatever super-science project is occupying him at the moment. He's neglectful to dangerous extents too considering they're always getting cahsed around by crazy men in costumes.

Also, he lets them die a lot.

Hank and Dean have died several times over, only to be replaced by clones that Rusty grew in a lab with all the same memories. Once again there's no real life parallel to this, but it's interesting in the context of the show itself.

How do these children survive being chased by villains and constantly kidnapped? The answer is, they don't.

They die, and then Rusty just clones a new pair of boys. That in itself should make Rusty irredeemable but the show presents it in a more ambiguous light.

Dean: "You're telling me I'm a clone, that I'm not even Dean, that I'm some stupid science experiment." Ben: "No, no, no. You're Dean. There's no other Dean, you're it, flesh and blood. Look I was conceived in the back seat of a packard, you were conceived in a tank. So what?" Dean: "So I have no mommy? No nothing!?" Ben: "Dean, you have it all wrong. You have a mommy, and your dad is your dad. They made you by getting drunk and forgetting to wear a condem like everybody else, and your dad loved you so much that when you got a boo-boo, he kissed it and made it all better and made it go away." Dean: "You brought me back to life." Ben: "Yeah okay, well you and your brother had some pretty big boo boos. Have a kid one day, Dean. Hold it's lifeless body in your arms, and then tell me how wrong it is. Jonas, me, and yes your dad, saw it as nothing more than a fucking band-aid for a really big boo boo."

In the story itself it brings up the argument that if any parent was holding their dying child in their arms they'd want to bring them back somehow. That in the logic of the show it's the same as using magic to revive someone from the dead. At the same time it's not because Rusty's let his sons die multiple times and never changed his lifestyle because he can just keep replacing them with clones.

Super-science aside, it is kind of a metaphor for Rusty's parenting as a whole that his sons have been cloned and replaced so many times they're perpetually sixteen and never allowed to grow up. Rusty's so neglectful he's never taken an interest in raising them and this is the result, they literally do not grow up.

It's also probably relevant to mention that Rusty himself is a clone and died and was replaced multiple times much like his sons, and the technology for cloning Hank and Dean was invented by his father Jonas.

However, after season 3 the cloning lab gets destroyed, and the body guard Brock leaves the family. With the safety net removed Rusty actually starts taking a more active role in both of his child's lives. This is basically a mirror to Endeavor's moment of realization after getting number one hero that his entire family has grown up without him and they all resent him.

Season four onwards Hank and Dean develop into their own people outside of Rusty. He responds to them in different ways but he's actually parenting them this time instead of shoving them away like annoyances. Hank becomes rebellious and fights back against Rusty for a long time after Brock leaves because he no longer has a role model and Rusty's response is to always get strict and punish him.

Whereas when Dean rebels not only does Rusty tolerate it, he also spends a lot more time in Dean's life trying to push him into the direction of being a super-scientist like him, supporting his efforts to go to college, while basically ignoring Hank. It's a running gag in the show that Dean is obviously Rusty's favorite, but even when playing favorites Rusty by this point in the show has reasons for why he's making those parenting choices.

Rusty: "Dean believes in this crap! He should have been Rusty Venture, Boy adventurer. Hank got this life thrown at him. And he fights against it. Just like I did."

Rusty playing favorites comes from an attempt to overcorrect for both children. He rejects Hank because he believes Hank doesn't want to be a boy adventure and therefore pushing Hank away from his family and the Venture lifestyle is what he needs. Whereas, he believes that Dean embraces the super scientist lifestyle and he tries to mentor Dean into another scientist like himself therefore he gives Dean most of his attention because he thinks Dean needs that guidance from him.

Of course, Rusty is totally wrong about his sons. If anything Hank is the one who wants to be an adventurer whereas Dean just wants a normal life away from his crazy family but parents often misunderstand their children. He's not actively malicious, he's just misguided in what he thinks is best for each of his sons. He's not really even playing favorites in this case he's choosing to parent his sons differently based on what he thinks is best for each of them, it's just in this case father doesn't know best.

Rusty isn't a stagnant character, but also there's no big redemption arc for him the way there is Endeavor. Rusty never narrates about how he needs to atone for his past mistakes. The result is Rusty is a far more amoral character than Endeavor because he's not trying to atone but the narrative also isn't trying to spin Rusty in any way. It's just showing you Rusty as he is, and with all the bad things he does he's still capable of loving his sons.

The question isn't really "Is Rusty redeemable?" but "When is Rusty gonna grow up?"

Then there's Endeavor (everyone starts booing) who is simultaneously a much better, and far worse person than Rusty.

Enji is honestly more comparable to Jonas, an incredibly successful hero who built a career and an empire in heroics and fame and then tried to force his son into that same lifestyle.He's the exploration of that same idea a supposedly great man with skeletons in his closet. Enji technically has saved thousands of people (such as Hawks one of the other main characters). A person who is so good at playing the role of a hero no one would ever expect there are skeletons in his closet.

"Rusty's father was more successful than you could ever imagine. Jonas Venture Sr. was a manipulative narcissist admired by the world for his scientific accomplishements and his hyper-masculine James Bond meets Doc Savage public persona. He's a geniuine villain who was able to take everything he wanted from the world by seamlessly fitting into the role of everyone's hero." [Source]

Jonas is like showing everything nasty about using someone like James Bond as a male power fantasy. He treats women like objects, he thinks he's aboe good and evil, he's effortlessly charming and suave and uses that to get what he wants out of people. Enji similiarly is everything that is wrong with the ideals of hero society. A society that glorifies flashy, strong quirks that are the best for taking down villains. The only person who even seems to care that he's number two is Enji himself, beause Enji is otherwise rich and succesful, a pillar of the hero community, and allowed to get away with a lot because of his position and influence.

Enji is at least a better hero than Rusty, because Rusty is an incompetent mad scientist who does stuff like mutate college interns into four armed freaks and build death rays.

However, as a parent strip away his status as a hero and Enji is little more than a show parent, pushing his children into a life they don't want in an attempt to live vicariously through them. Once again, resembling Jonas more than he really does Rusty. As Jonas forced Rusty to be a boy adventurer, and then made a cartoon out of it to make money like any show parent.

It's also the idea that generation put that kids into films and it was a very horrible selfish thing to do, they were doing trying to live out their own lives through their kids. That didn't exist before that was something that boomers brought to the world. "Oh I can't be these fun new things I'll make you be it." I think Jonas was a pioneer of throwing his kid at the world. I think Jonas was something of a boy adventurer himself, and made his kid be it. But also put his kid on TV to cash in the residuals. Jackson Publick, DVD Commentary

As stated above Enji gave up on his ambition to be the number one hero and so he decided to create a son with the right quirk to surpass All Might. He then pressured a woman into an arranged marriage, basically purchasing her from her parents and conceived four children until he got his designer baby.

Chapters 301-302 the wrong way to put out a fire, detail the slow descent of the Todoroki Household from Enji entering an arranged marriage with bad intention to create an ideal child to be heir to his legacy, into a full on child abuser. Enji is written like a normal person falling into a cycle of abuse, he never intended to hurt his children at first. Abusers aren't evil monsters, they're just people. Most abusers don't even think of themselves as abusers.

In fact he's shown positively bonding with his first born son who seems eager to learn to use his fire based quirk. He even mentions that he was alright at the time with the idea of Toya being the one to succeed him and letting go of his quirk experiment.

Enji only had kids to carry on his legacy, and only bonded with Toya because Toya was eager to participate in the training and become his heir. However, to give Enji some backstory it's quite clear the death of Enji's own father at a young age left him with no idea on how a father should act.

At a young age Enji witnessed his father attempt to save an innocent girl only to end up a burnt up corpse, and probably at that point conflated strength with being a good father. If his father had been strong enough he would have survived and continued to be a father to young Enji. At that point it's almost understandable that Enji thinks in his mind that earning his keep as the patriarch of the family, and being a powerful hero who will come home alive is the same thing as being a good father.

So Enji conflates masculine ideals of strength and heroism with being a good father, all the while not actually showing up to parent his kids. When Toya seemed like he could live up to Enji's expectations and be strong as a successor everything seemed fine.

However, Toya turned out to be disabled at which point everything in the household began to spiral out of control. After learning Toya could not use his quirk without burning himself, Enji tossed Toya aside and left raising him entirely up to Rei and then pressured her to have more children until one with his ideal quirk would be born.

Toya did not like his father ignoring him and began acting out for his attention. The response of everyone in the household was to politely tell Toya to shut up, because Enji while not being a parent is the money maker and authority in the household no one can stand up to him. When Toya's acting up got too out of hand, Enji would even hit Rei instead of just personally dealing with his son.

At the same time Shoto was finally born and being given his perfect heir after four attempts, Enji eagerly began training him. When Shoto resisted him, Enji stepped up to threats of physical violence and long grueling training sessions to force him to learn. All the while Toya continued to mentally spiral.

One day after his flames turned blue Toya asked his father to meet with him on Sekoto Peak. However that day Enji didn't show up, and Toya lost control of his flames starting a massive forest fire that killed him. Rather than changing anything after his firstborn's death, he doubled down and pushed Shoto even harder.

While being a far worse person, as a parent Rusty is far less malicious. He neglects his kids similarly to Enji at first, but when the safety net is removed and he can't keep cloning them anymore he actually does start taking a personal interest in their lives. Maybe it's too little too late because it's the 14th version of Hank and Dean but he does hear the wake up call and change his ways as a parent.

Enji always doubles down on ignoring his sons in favor of heroics when given the chance to be a father.

Even post redemption arc Enji behaves in the same way. There is no point in the story so far where Enji actively chooses to help or be a parent to one of his sons, when he can choose to be a part of a big important battle instead. Let me break out the list:

In the Pro Hero Arc Shoto sets the challenge for Enji to show what he can be like as a father rather than a hero.

In the internship arc Enji trains Shoto up as a hero but not a father. When he brings the family home to dinner they're attacked by a villain and Enji stands and watches as his son Natsuo gets kidnapped y a villain because he felt like it would be too awkward if he saved Natsuo because then Natsuo might feel inclined to forgive him.

In the War Arc aftewards Toya is revealed to be alive the entire time, and when given the chance to see his dead son come back to life, Enji not only does nothing but he sits and watches as his oldest son tries to kill his youngest without trying to talk to or appeal to Toya.

After the war arc, Enji doesn't bother looking for Toya and goes back to his job as a hero hunting down AFO. He also makes a promise to Shoto that they'll search for Toya together, only to break that promise multiple times.

In the second war arc, when Enji is given a chance to face Toya face to face, he instead sends his other son Shoto to fight him, while Enji fights against the big bad instead as the number one hero.

When Toya is literally dying and about to burn himself alive in front of him, Enji who has chosen to run away from Toya too many times by this point picks the murder suicide option and chooses to try dying with his son in a heroic sacrifice.

Every single chance he is given to act like a father, he acts like a hero instead. Enji Todoroki never steps out of the role of the hero Endeavor. Internally he's changed, yeah. He's remorseful now and realzies what he's done wrong. However, externally he hasn't. He doesn't do anything different. He neglected his family for his job his entire life so his way of making it up to them is... to keep going to his job.

The problem isn't whether or not he deserves to be redeemed, but rather that there's no change in his actions. Endeavor at the beginning of the story would have shown up to fight AFO in the war arc too, because being the hero is what he does. It's the only thing he does. The story never asks him to be anything other than a hero.

Which is I think a fundamental difference in Rusty and Enji in how they're written. Rusty is a flawed parent, but he's still a parent.

He does favor Dean over Hank, but that favoritism takes the form of him giving Hank more chores when Hank acts out, but when it's time for Dean to rebel giving him space and letting him have his own separate room in the attic. It's Rusty letting Dean have access to the family checkbook so he'll have spending money at college, but cutting Hank off from the checkbook because they agreed if Hank didn't want to go to college he needed to find a job to support himself.

Rusty is parenting these children. He's parenting them very badly, but he's still their parent. Enji never wanted to be a parent to begin with, he wanted to be his kid's abusive gymnastics coach. He wanted a prodigy that he could push and push until they won gold at the Olympics.

If you ignore the fantasy elements then you're left with how these men are shown interacting with their kids in their day to day lives.

Rusty has absolutely no idea what he's doing, so even when he has good intentions he screws up. However, he is making an effort to guide these kids.

Enji was an intentional manipulator more in line with Jonas. He controlled everything in the household, and was actively trying to groom Shoto into someone who would obediently carry on his legacy. He made the choice to isolate Shoto from his siblings so he'd have more control over him. Rusty keeps Dean and Hank away from kids their own age and from having a normal life because he never had a normal life. He doesn't even know what a normal life looks like.

Enji for most of his life didn't want kids, he wanted heirs. He even purchased a woman so his heirs would turn out with the right genetics, and tossed aside the ones that were disabled or born with the wrong quirk.

Rusty made the decision to become a parent on his own. In the last twist in the series it's revealed Dean and Hank had no mother. They were conceived in a test tube, raised in an artificial womb by Rusty himself. He is both their father and their mother. Kids were a deliberate decision on his part. He wanted to have a family, probably because his own childhood was so deprived of any familial love.

Dean: Okay, so who is our mom? Rusty: Seriously, Dean haven't we had enough family history for one day? I don't even know who my mom is. All you need to know is that the person who gave birth to you. I promise they do.

Remember as stated above the central thesis statement of Venture Bros is "Elige Tua - Choose your family". Rusty chose to bring those kids into the world because he wanted to be a father, it's an active choice his character makes.

Whereas the central statement of Endeavor's arc is "So, heroics aside. What sort of dad are you going to be? That's what I want to find out?" but we never witness Enji doing anything outside of being a hero.

Even post-redemption the only time he ever spends with Shoto is when they're either doing quirk training or working as heroes together. Toya as a character presents this challenge to him, because he's Enji's son, but he's also a villain who's killed innocent people. If he's acting as a hero he has to put a stop to Toya, but a father is supposed to put the safety and well-being of their children above everything else.

We never see Enji make that choice to be Toya's father over a hero. Which is why in story he comes off as a worse father than someone like Rusty, because he never makes any attempt to emotionally bond with his children.

Rusty will sit Hank and Dean down and tell them stories from his childhood. He'll find common ground with his sons to bond over because they've both been subjected to the boy adventurer lifestyle.

Rusty: Dean what are you doing? Dean: Hyperventilating into my knees. That smell a little like spit up... because I spit up a little. Rusty: Dean, you just baby burped onto a speed suit. Not a super scientist alive that hasn't coughed a little acid onto his speed suit. Dean: Really? Rusty: Why do you think these things are like 95 percent polyester? You can clean off fear-vomit with a wet nap. Dean: I thought you were used to this. Rusty: Dean I remember when the action man would wake me up with a gun pointed at my head. He'd just hold it there and pull the trigger. I'd hear the click really loud because it was right against my forehead. Dean: So it echoed. Rusty: Right, it sounded like he snapped one of my teeth out. Click! Then he'd go, "Not day Rusty. Not Today." Dean: Golly, and you took it because you had to? Rusty: No Dean, I took it because I was Rusty Venture. Boy adventurer. I didn't ask for this life, Dean, but it's mine. Sure, I fall down in the Speed Suit but I get up and Wet-Nap my puke off.

We never get any moments like this with Endeavor and his kids.

He only goes so far as apologizing for his past abuse. Yes, maybe it's cathartic hearing an abuser apologize for what they've done but that's not the question the story was asking. It wasn't asking "Can Endeavor be forgiven?" It was asking "What sort of dad are you going to be?"

The narrative challenged him to learn to act like a father to his family, and he never did. He stayed in the role of hero from beginning to end. It might be cathartic for his victims to hear him say sorry, but it's not good for Endeavor as a character because he hasn't changed and we've learned nothing about him. We already knew he was sorry at the beginning of the arc. Endeavor is sorry and knows he's done something wrong has already been established, but by Endeavor stepping out of the role of hero and acting like a father we could have learned something new about him or his character but no he stays the same from beginning to end.

They're both awful people but at the end of the day Rusty is a father, and Enji is not.

Stories are kind of like essays your English teacher used to force you to read. You need to make a thesis statement in the story itself, and then have evidence to support that thesis statement. The theme of Venture Bros is choose your family, and family is complicated, and in support of that theme we have Rusty choosing to connect with his sons. Jonas is basically nothing more than Rusty's biological father. Rusty's chosen a different way to connect with his sons, and he is their dad, and they can bond about the complicated lifestyle of being a Venture together.

The actions Enji takes in his story don't line up with his thesis statement. The Todoroki Family subplot is supposed to be about how one family was messed up because Enji only chose to have a family to further his career as a hero, and choosing his career again and again made things worse. The thesis statement was that Enji needed to choose to be a dad, but he's never shown doing that in the story.

So Enji as a character seems like he doesn't fit in with his narrative. Which is what I said at the very beginning about Rusty and why he works as a main character. Rusty is the center, because he's had this horrible life inflicted on him by his father, and he's in the process of raising his sons but he still has a chance to choose to be better.

Enji could also work as the center of his story, he has a chance to choose his family over his work as a hero, but he's ultimately not the one who does that, it's Shoto. Which yes Shoto is the main character of the Todoroki plotline, but by the end Enji's gotten as much screen time as his son. If the plot was going to focus on Shoto and his choices to begin with then he should have been the central point. You spent a lot of in story time asking this question with Enji on whether or not he's going to be able to choose to be a father over a hero, and who Enji is outside of being a hero only to not give the audience any answeres.

This again has nothing to do with Enji the person and whether I think he's likable or not, because Enji's a fictional character. He's an idea. If writing is communication, then a writer is trying to communciate some idea with every character in their novel. We're asking what is the author trying to say with Enji, and do they do a good job of getting that message across?

4. What's the Big Idea?

So the above section was mainly about the personal arcs of each characters: How do both of them fail at fatherhood and do they learn to be better fathers over the course of their narratives?

However, these characters are part of a much bigger world. How a character interacts with both the world around them, and the extended cast of characters is another way a story relates it's theme.

Venture Bros and My Hero Academia both exist in comic book worlds. There are people running around in costumes calling themselves heroes and villains and fighting each other on the streets.

In My Hero Academia heroes are basically professional athletes who sell sports drinks and pose for ads and compete for rankings on a big board, and heroics for the most part has been reduced to a day job for people with particularly powerful quirks. Heroism is an entire industry that's for profit, and run by the shadowy hero council who has far more power over their society than they let onto. You could compare Endeavor being the top hero to him is like a combination of being the best pro athlete, and also the best salaryman ever.

Ironically, the worldbuilding of Venture Bros is pretty similar. In Venture Bros. the villains are all unionized. There is a super villain trade union. It's a secret organization known as the guild of calamitous intent, which makes villainy into a bureaucracy.

All villains in the world have to register with the guild. If you're a part of the guild you receive the protection that the guild offers, as long as you follow the guilds rules and regulations. There's lots of small rules, like you can't torture someone who's having a medical issue, and if you're fighting a good guy and they have a doctor's appointment you have to let them go.

They even rank heroes and villains by their threat levels called "EMA LEVELS (equally matched aggression) and then assign you a hero who's about your equal so you won't get killed by someone way stronger than you. The guild basically decides who you're allowed to fight as a villain and picks a hero for you. The act of being someone's arch villain is called "arching" you show up to harass them once a week like a Saturday morning cartoon villain, fight them, then do it again next week. You're not allowed to kill your hero and you're supposed to follow specific rules. The tradeoff is the heroes won't kill you either, because you have guild protection.

The Monarch: I don't know, just keep it cat and mouse not cat and missile. JJ:: So it's a game? We fake fight? That's ridiculous. The Monarch: No, it's like fencing, it's about the art of the fight. JJ: Well, I'm about to deliver my killing stroke. Then what? Dr. Girlfriend: Then the guild steps up their game. You throw a rock, they throw a knife. You throw a knife, they come to your house when you're sleeping and murder your family. The Monarch: Look Dr. Venture you call the guild and you get the damn rulebook, I'll be waiting.

The justification for why the guild exists is that in world if you didn't give the villains a system with a bunch of rules, then you'd have a bunch of crazy people in costumes running around causing havoc.

Brock: You wanna what? Shoot him? And all his men and his wife? You could steal his cattle, too. Maybe burn his village down? JJ: It's an antiquated system. I mean my father did this fake arch enemy nonsense in the sxities. Maybe my brother is good with this namby pamby guy in a costume chases you around nonsense, but I'm not. Brock: Hey no disrespect Jonas, but it isn't so easy. These guys like their system. It's what they do. You take that away and you're looking at a bunch of pissed off nut bags with ray guns, and giant -- i don't know, a giant octopus / tank with laser eyes.

The villains and the OSI (who are like the GI JOE) of this world have signed a very long and detailed treaty that keeps both sides in a cold world stalemate and lets them fight every week like how the good guys and bad guys fight constantly while maintaining a status quo where neither side wins.

In MHA heroics is a commodity. It's commercialized and sold to the public. Heroes are like professional athletes selling you sports drinks, it's a spectacle to the public, and it's even intentionally made to be that way by the Hero Commission who use heroes as a bright shining light to distract the public while they do shady things like assassinate antigovernmental protestors from behind the scenes. The entire of hero society in MHA is built on the spectacle of heroes.

In Venture Bros heroes and villains are a spectacle too. It's just a job to them. Heroes and villains both show up to work, get in their costumes, fight each other and then go home. In Season 6 of Venture Bros, a parody of the Avengers is actively charging people to provide their services as heroes in the city of New York and you have to sign up for a protection plan if you want to get saved. Then the local mob boss takes a cut of the protection money they're charging.

In both settings the ideas of heroes exist, comic books exist, but the heroes themselves are incredibly mundane, they're just people showing up to jobs and making money for the most part. The only difference really is that in MHA the villains are societal rejects and trauma victims, whereas in Venture Bros they've unionized. In Venture Bros the villains and heroes basically fake fight under strict rules. Even in MHA though the villains need to exist in order to give the heroes someone to fight in front of the public. "Villain" is an actual legal term for a certain kind of quirk criminals with more than three strikes who gets sent to a super max prison if they're caught.

Both of these works are making comic book heroes and villains seem a lot more mundane by deconstructing them with this layer of realism. By making the roles of "hero" and "villain" seem much more mundane, and therefore more human, it also asks us to look at the characters who call themselves heroes and villains as human beings.

The Venture Bros like many richer takes on superhero stories really likes to play with the concept of identity. It's the idea that Good and Evil, Heroes and Villains, are just roles we play. They're not something fundamental or innate they're constructed by the world around us. In the show the main villainous organization the GCI is really just a bureaucracy of larpers sustaining their violent rolelplaying through organized crime. Rich and powerful lunatics who built the world around a game they wanted to play. There's really nothing of substance keeping Rusty on the "Good Guy" side. The good guys are also a mix and match. Shield, GI JOE, FBI. Another exmaple of people who never grew up. Only these people are running things, playing out their childhood power fantasies. They're barely less insane and blood thirsty than the bad guys. So what's even the point of being a good guy in the first place? That's the world Rusty is caught between...[x]

MHA and Venture Bros are both works that feature societies that divide people into two distinct categories "hero" and "villain" and then go on to show that these two categories are not as black and white as they would like us to believe.

Venture Bros features Brock Samson, a character who is ostensibly on the side of the good guys who also highest body count of nameless henchman who we see him gleefully kill onscreen over and over again. There are members of the OSI who are just as trigger happy as the guild so what's the difference between them besides what they've decided to personally identify as? On one side you have the Larpers who are roleplaying villainy, and on the other you have the military soliders who think they're real life GI JOES.

In My Hero Academia you have heroes who are essentially state sponsored peace keepers who suppress anyone who disrupts the status quo with violence, and villains who are rejected from that status quo who eventually turn into violent terrorists. While yes heroes have the responsibility of protecting innocent civilians, most of what heroes do is fight villains, in fact heroes with quirks suited to rescuing people aren't nearly as famous as ones with flashy violent quirks like Endeavor.

You have two sides and one calls themselves villains and the others heroes, but they both use extreme violence as a way to accomplish their goals.

Rusty and Enji are two characters who are caught between these two categories which aren't as distinct and separate as we'd like to believe they are.

Enji is basically the first deconstruction of heroes in MHA. He's a hero who's not interested in saving people, but instead wants to be the strongest and does everything in pursuit of selfish glory.

He's simultaneously the hero with the single most resolved cases in history, but at the same time he's always number two to All Might because he's not "super" enough of a super hero. In a manga where Deku's natural desire to save others make him a candidate to b ahero even without a quirk, we have a character who's a hero for purely selfish reasons. One that only cares about having the strongest quirk because being the best is all that matters to Enji.

In many ways the way Enji treats his family is more like a villain than a hero. Main villain AFO himself comments at one point he wasn't able to manipulate Toya, because his father did too good of a job manipulating him already. In fact you can draw a parallel between his actions of manipulating and grooming Shoto to be his heir, to how AFO raised orphaned child Shigaraki Tomura as his successor.

This is a good use of Enji's character, because making it hard to label him as hero and villain makes us think about who he is as a person instead.

There's an entire episode of Venture Bros dedicated to a villain Mentor named Dr. Henry Killinger, showing up and basically mentoring Rusty Venture when he's at a low point. He gives Rusty money, workers, gets his business up and running again and at the very end reveals that he's setting Rusty up to be a villain to arch his brother as a hero. Rusty is tempted with the idea that he'd make a much more successful villain than he ever would be a hero (because as a hero he's kind of just a loser) but he still chooses to be a hero at the end of the story because he doesn't want to fight his brother.

At which point his mentor, all his hired men, all just walk off and he loses all the money he would have gained and he goes back to being a mediocre super-scientist.

"Doc has the whole thing laid out for him clear as day. This role is here for you. Waiting for you to claim it. You have your nemesis. You have your means. You have the ability and the pain. You can do this and you'd be good at it. And Rusty can look at all of that, everything he's been through and say, "Yeah... but I don't wanna be evil." [x]

Rusty walks away from the chance to be a villain, but he's not exactly a hero either. He runs illegal cloning farms, he does lots of unethical scientific stuff and he's not even remotely the hero his father was considered to be.

Because he doesn't fit well into the category of hero or villain, the show instead asks you to evaluate who Rusty is as a person. He's one of the few characters in the show that's capable of stepping out of those categories.

"That's the great thing about him. Sometimes being disillusioned just means you can see through the whole thing. Sure the whole super science villain game feels stupid. It's not going anywhere. No one's accomplishing anything. It's all violence and roleplay. But at the end of the day it's still real. And it still means something to us. Choosing to be a villain means choosing to be a bad guy. It means relinquishing the premise that you could ever do better, ever actually help anyone. And that's not who Rusty is. He's a scum-bag, but he's a grown up. Even in a show with brilliant characters, old pros, and actual supermen, Rusty is the adult. And adults don't put on rubber masks and terrorize people for fun because that would be fucking silly." - [x]

Rusty spent his entire childhood being terrorized by guys in costumes, so he's now the cynical straight man pointing out how ridiculous this all is. He's the one normal person among the crazies.

Rusty is just too incompetent to ever be like his father. Jonas Venture is scum bag, but he's also a well-respected scientist and a world wide hero. Everyone in the scientific community thinks that Rusty is a joke, and his friends just barely put up with him

Jonas gets away with it because he perfectly fit what society's idea of a hyper masculine strong hero was, and no one questioned it or how he treated his son, whereas because balding, impotent, pathetic Rusty falls so short of toxic masculinity's standards he doesn't get the same respect or leeway that Jonas did. Jonas Venture continually got away with murder, and Rusty can't get away with anything.

He's a pill-popping, middle aged man who ran his father's business empire into the ground who continually gets laughed out of any scientific conference he tries to attend.

He can't be a hero. He can't be his father. He fall short of toxic masculinity's standards. He falls short of everyone's standards. The only way in which he's better than Jonas is that he's a much better father to both of his sons. His greatest triumphs as a character come from bonding with Hank and Dean. Jonas for all his accomplishments wasn't capable of bonding with Rusty because he didn't really care about anyone but himself. Jonas Venture is someone who perfectly fit society's standards of toxic masculinity, but he wasn't a person outside of that.

"Jonas Sr realized this too, but to him, it was a joke. To him it meant being above everyone. Rusty can't be above everyone so he has to meet them at eye level. Part of the bitterness of growing up is realizing that we're all just chidlren who got old. No one knows what they're doing and when you come to terms with that you can look down on people or give them the respect everyone deserves. How you treat children says a lot about how you treat people which in turn says a lot about you." [x]

Now returning to Endeavor we run into the same problem that we did earlier. This whole post is comparing Rusty and Endeavor because they are the protagonists, but Endeavor is far more like Jonas. He's someone who sees through the hero system and only cares about climbing to the top out of his own self interest. He knows it's a game, but he wants to win at the game.

Enji even sort of looks like Jonas.

They're both extremely bulky men at peak levels of physical fitness. Meanwhile Rusty is a balding, short and out of shape middle aged man.

In story Jonas is still widley beloved by the public and is constantly praised, while no one but Rusty is aware of his faults, but there's a reason for that. Jonas is someone who is basically allowed to do anything he wants, because the patriarchy means all of society is built around letting men like Jonas succeed.

Jonas is also someone who literally uses his position as a hero to manipulate people into getting what he wants and glorify himself.

Jonas can casually destroy people's lives, all while still believing he's the good guy because in his world being good guy is just a role to play and he plays it well. One of the best three episodes of the series is the Morphic Trilogy, the opening to season 7 where some of Jonas's past crimes are revealed.

In the past he tricked a married man into making a sex tape with him, and then when that man Don Carraldo aka the Blue Morpho turned out to regret that, he used the tape to constantly blackmail him into doing his dirty work. Killing people in secret while Jonas Venture remained Squeaky clean. After years of being forced to act as a mercenary for Jonas, the Blue Morpho died in a plane crash. Jonas then revived his best friend as a cyborg. He got bored of his new cyborg within a few months and reassigned him to babysit his son Rusty. The cyborg glitched and started to strangle Rusty and then he snaps his friends neck, and throws the cyborg away in the garbage.

Jonas can just completely destroy a man's life because he can. Because everyone around him enables him and no one is going to stop him. Because this is how people in power act when they're given too much power. Because might does not make right.

He's the gold standard. He's the ideal. Who would question him?

Enji occupies a similar position in the story, where he fits the role of a hero so well that even when his family abuse is revealed to the public basically every character and their mom is tripping over themselves to defend him.

Jonas is constantly praised in story years after his death and every bad thing he's done is swept under the rug, but that's because number one Jonas was a manipulative monster, and number two it shows toxic masculinity is a false ideal. This is how Jonas who everyone thinks is the ideal man's man, really acts. This is what he gets away with it, because the thing society glorifies are toxic and bad.

When people bend over backwards to defend Endeavor what does it say exactly? Because we're supposed to believe that Enji's willing to work for redemption even if people don't forgive him. We're not supposed to think Enji is a manipulative monster intentionally twisting people around his finger like Jonas was.

There are some ways Enji is like Jonas, especially in his backstory. He did use his money and influence to buy a woman. Rei was definitely not going to get the option of divorcing him if she actually wanted to leave.

However, in the present time we don't see Enji doing the kind of manipulation that Jonas does, because really he doesn't have to. Hawks does it for him. There is a character in the narrative named Takami Keigo / Hawks who is a little boy that Enji indirectly saved as a child by putting his father in prison. Because of this he is obsessed with making Endeavor live up to the hero he imagined him to be when he was young, and does everything he can to prop Enji up behind the scenes and make him look like that hero to the public.

Hawks is a whole other can of worms, but in effect what this means is there is someone manipulating public opinion in favor of Endeavor so he'll be able to shine in spite of the numerous skeletons in his closet, it's just not Endeavor himself. Hawks also takes away a lot of the active decisions on Endeavor's part. When Endeavor chooses to ignore Toya in the latter part of the story, it's not Endeavor's choice, he's just following Hawks plan to fight AFO. When Endeavor makes a public apology, Hawks is the one who wrote it for him.

The result is that Endeavor comes off as less of a Jonas, after all Hawks is the one manipulating his public image. On the other hand, he's also less good of a character because he's not making choices anymore. It'd be better If Enji was trying to manipulate the public into forgiving him in the wake of his scandal, because that'd be an active choice on his part. When a character makes a choice it tells us something about who that character is.

Horikoshi doesn't want us to think that Enji is the kind of selfish monster that Jonas is, but then who is he supposed to be?

The entire point of this post is to compare Enji to Rusty, but Enji's far too successful to be Rusty. Rusty is a failure in basically everything he set out to do in life. He's the butt of the series jokes. He's the victim in as many ways as he's the perpetrator. He had a lot of money and then wasted it all. None of his inventions are succesful. The scientific community thinks he's a joke, or they don't even know who he is. Women won't even go near him. No one ever defends him. At no point in the story does someone stop and say "Hey, Hank I know your dad's an asshole but he's really good at science so that makes it okay."

Rusty's such a failure at being a hero that he's forced to be a person. He's as equally narcissticic and toxic as his father, he treats women like objects for sex and comfort like his father does, he just doesn't get away with it. You can't point to some heroic feat of his that justifies his toxic behavior because he doesn't have any.

The story however can't stop singing Enji's praises for what a good hero he is. He's never forced to step out of the role of hero and be a person like Rusty is, and because of that the message of his character becomes confused.

Are we supposed to think he's a manipulative narcissist like Jonas is? Are we supposed to think he's an incredibly flawed individual trying to figure out how to be a father late into his kid's lives like Rusty?

Rusty has a clear role in his story, and what the author wants to say with Enji is unclear.

Everyone praises Jonas to death and no one can see him for the terrible purpose he is, because that's the point. Venture Bros is about failure. It's about the death of the space ag optimisme. It's about how much the boomer generation sucked.

From the Radiant is the Baboon Heart Commentary. Question: Did Jonas only keep Rusty around for the press and his cloning tech or did he actually care about him? Answer: . The show has a villain called the monarch, but if you watch all the show the villain is Jonas Venture Sr. He is a bad dad. What you need to realize is that in this kind of baby boomers gen x millenials kind of thing we are of the generation that had bad parents. For the good and the bad of it. The good was we were all left alone by our parents, and we had a freedom in our thought that I don't think the millennials have. Because we made the millennials, and we were like You know what Our parents suck and we're gonna be great parents." And they helicoptered them and they gave playdates. [...] I did hate the boomers, they were awful fathers they were terrible people they did horrible things to our world, and at the time they were celebrated as good people. They were a bunch of hippies and they failed and they did everything wrong that they wanted to fix [...]. You and I are lost people we observed our generation. We are fully aware of it. We observed our parents generation. My actual father was a classic distant father, very bright had a lot of work to do, but I observed that generation and the way that toxic masculinity was set in stone. Just branded onto their tombstone. Toxic masculinity. Our generation grew up wanting to be adults, childhood was something that was not examined. When people were growing up we wanted to be grown ups, we wanted to wear suits, it was something you guys don't have. It was a very different way to grow up. So we wanted to be like this generation that immediately we looked at and went oh my god they're monsters. So Jonas Venture Sr. is a monster.

Jonas is a commentary on how much the boomer generation is glorified, and how much they suck if you look at them critically at all. It's written by authors who were observing basically three different generations of parenting, the way boomers parented, the ways Gen-Xers did in response to that and now the way millennials act as they reach adulthood. Rusty can't escape Jonas' shadow because Toxic Masculinity is set in stone.

The role of Jonas in the story is to serve as an antagonist to Rusty and be the cause of Rusty's struggles, and also his impetus to change because Rusty doesn't want to be like his father. Rusty and Jonas both exist as characters to show the author's observations on parenting through the generations, and yeah it's a very american idea of parenting and family but it's you know... a cartoon made in america.

What is Endeavor's role of the story? If he's a criticism of toxic masculinity he's not criticized enough, because the story spends just as much time glorifying him his obsession with strength and power as it does criticizing him. There's no scenes like this for Rusty to show off how cool he is, or how determined. The story wants you to believe that there's something redeeming in the fact that Enji is always struggling to be the greatest, even though his obsession with being number one is what caused him to abuse his family in the first place

It's criticizing and praising Enji's obsession with power in the same breath, because My Hero Academia can't fully deconstruct toxic masculinity the way that Venture Bros can. It keeps trying to find something redeemable in Endeavor's toxic pursuit of power, but that's the whole point. Toxic masculinity isn't redeemable, because toxic masculinity is toxic. There's nothing wrong with masculinity itself, or the values people traditionally consider masculine but the kind of hyper-aggressive pursuit of physical strength Endeavor chases after is toxic masculinity. In Endeavor's mind men are warriors, protectors and providers and nothing else, and he never learns to be anything else either.

MHA would never treat Endeavor the way Vbros treats Rusty, constantly humiliating him or making him the butt of jokes. It would never make Enji out to be weak or pathetic the way Rusty is.

The central concept of Endeavor is struggle. His chosen hero nae "Endeavor" means to try hard to achieve something. His entire character is based around the concept of struggle. His central struggle is that he's a normal guy trying to compete with a superhero like all might, and everything he does he struggles with even if that struggle is pointless.

However, in the actual narrative itself he doesn't struggle. He definitely doesn't struggle the way Rusty does. Rusty's a lazy, incompetent, and entitled man sitting on a pile of money he didn't earn who thinks he's entitled to more who fails at all he sets out to achieve. Rusty never gets what he wants, and even when he does get what he wants like when his brother leaves him a billion dollar corporation in his will, he bankrupts that company in two seasons. Struggle means that the world isn't going to give you what you want and you keep trying anyway.

Endeavor's never subjected to nearly the same amount of narrative punishment that Rusty is. He's still well-respected. People defend him. He fights in all the major battles of the series and gets victories. No one's disgusted when they hear that he's a wife beater. We are told that he struggles, that the central concept of his character is struggle, but the narrative keeps handing him wins and cool moments.

As I've said above several times, Enji's never really forced to step out of the role as hero because he's not a failure the way Rusty is.

My Hero Academia hits some of the same notes as Venture Bros. It's criticizing apanese hegemonic masculinity, specifically that of salaryman masculinity and the way men in japan completely put their careers over their families. Read about it here in this convenient power point presentation. Enji is essentially an incredibly successful salaryman who has completely disappeared from his kid's lives in order to earn money and success and believes that he's still entitled to be a father because he's performed adequately in his role as earner of the household.

The story does show how giving too much power to the patriarch of a household can cause a house to fall apart. It shows that traditional family roles aren't all they're cracked up to be. Enji is assigned the role of father but he doesn't live up to it. The very rigid and traditional Todoroki Household crumbles because basically everyone fails to live up to their roles. The father isn't present. The mother isn't a good caretaker. The first born is defective. The youngest is given all the responsibility of the first born. No one is able to live up to those roles because maybe those rigid set in stone roles shouldn't exist in the first place.

Once again though, that's all in the backstory. Enji never changes from the Pro Hero Arc to his last showdown with Toya. The story never tells us anything about who Enji is as a person. Therefore, it also never comments on Enji's role as the patriarch. What is Horikoshi using Enji to say about patriarchy besides... it exists?

The story shows you how destructive the idea of patriarchy that Enji represents can be in the backstory, but because Enji doesn't do much for 90 percent of the story it never says anything about how Enji can learn to be a father or if it's even possible for him to be a father this late in the game. Because Enji's story isn't about fatherhood ultimately, it's about him becoming a less selfish hero.

Which might just be a problem with the whole of MHA. Venture Bros is about who the characters are outside of their identity as heroes and villains, but MHA is ultimately more about the optimism of heroes and what it means to be a hero than these characters personal lives.

Rusty is never going to be as sucessful as his father. He's always going to be mediocre, ad even if he's sympathetic he's still a scum bag. However, Rusty has one thing his father doesn't have which are his two sons who he made a deliberate decision to get closer to. Unlike a serial user of people Jonas, Rusty has the ability to actually love and care for people and he chooses to make those connections.

Endeavor never chooses to be a father. He didn't choose to go to Toya's side. He was too busy being a hero and fighting the big bad. As a result of that we never learn anything about Enji as a character outside of being a hero because he never chose to be anything other than a hero.

He also never failed. As I said the narrative kept handing him wins. You'd think never choosing to see Toya would mean he can't save Toya in the end, but in the end of the story Toya's just fine. There are no consequences to his choices. He's revealed to be an abuser to the public but he gets to keep being a hero. Enji never really fails in some big way that forces him to rfelect and change on his actions, so he just keeps doing the same thing from beginning to end.

Which is why Enji doesn't work as a character compared to Rusty. He doesn't fail. He's supposed to be a flawed protagonist struggling against himself, but he never really loses. He's too much like Jonas and not enough like Rusty.

"I think Jonas was something of a boy adventurer himself, and made his kid be it. But also put his kid on TV to cash in the residuals. He was just a shitty parent. When he went to bed he was just, he was moral, and he was fighting the good fight. When he woke up he ignored his son and made his son do terrible things. He voted for nixon like a good american. He was a winner and our show is not about winners. Our show is about losers and people we love." Jackson Publick. n

#venture bros #enji todoroki #mha meta #bnha meta #my hero academia #i put so much effort into this post only two people will read #rusty venture #doctor venture #doctor thaddeus venture #endeavor

[pitconfirmbutton]

carnations and clementines (IV) | lance stroll

lance stroll x reader

wc: 4833 words

warnings: controlling relationship (not an f1 driver, made up character), physical abuse (never written but implied), emotional abuse, motorsport accidents (no one harmed)

part 1 - wildflowers and fruits

part 2 - petals and peaches

____________________________________________________

The race was going to have a rolling start. It was pouring but this was your element. You were a god on wet tyres and you were half confident that it could be your chance to take the lead in the championship. 

“Focus, P. We have a long one ahead of us. Go hunting.” “Copy that.”

P was your team nickname. It stood for princess which had been your nickname at the start of the year, when you were new and you being a woman was low hanging fruit. Aston Martin, your mechanics, engineers, Jimmy the social media admin, Lance and even Mike had noticed your annoyance and taken the nickname to empower you instead. Even most of the commentators and journalists called you P too.

You were the princess of Formula 1 but not in the way that most men thought. You weren’t a soft, delicate flower ready to wilt away. You were a hardy rose, thorns out to get anyone who dared try to hurt you, your beauty hiding the strength that was within.

Princess became ‘P’ on the radio as it was shorter and the rest was history.

“Copy that, G.” Radio silence until I needed him, just as I liked.

---

“Oh that is a terrible spin, that was a cheap tactic from Verstappen. He is getting frustrated with his 5th position behind her and has spun her around trying to overtake. He is definitely getting a penalty for that, that’s not on.”

“Absolutely Crofty, he knows better than to do that in the wet at Suzuka.” 

“What a dick! Asshole! Check for damage please.” You had been spun 360 which meant you were facing the right way but as you got going, the car felt off and you suspected you had a puncture.

“Puncture rear right. Box, box.” 

You wanted to scream but made your way safely to the pits, your team out waiting for you. They were a dream and your pitstop was over before you could blink and you were out re-entering the track in 7th.

“That was a sparkling pitstop from the Aston Martin team. How did it look down there for you, Ted?”

“Yes, Crofty, a 1.95-second pitstop, so the fastest we have seen this season and as I look into the garage I can see Seb Vettel clapping enthusiastically. He has clearly realised that she has taken his place as the 3rd fastest pit stop of all time. Very impressive work from the boys and girls down here at Aston Martin.”

“Bloody brilliant guys.” “Chase them down, P.”

Over the next 20 laps, you had gotten back up to 3rd, with Lance in 1st and Max in 2nd. You could see them battling up ahead of you. You were nervous for Lance, it was clear that Max was getting desperate for that first place.

As you exited 130R, you watched up ahead as Max tapped Lance down the straight. You gasped reflexively and held your breath. Lance’s car swerved slightly on track but he managed to catch himself as Max hurtled off through the grass into the barrier. 

“Is Max ok?” There was a moment of silence.

“Yeah P, he is out of the car.”

“Well… play stupid games, win stupid prices.”

You were now second with a wounded number 18 car infront of you.

“Do you want me to defend?” You caught yourself as you let go of the radio button. Instead of asking permission to attack, you had instead offered to defend your team mate to the finish line just 2 laps away. That wasn’t like you, you were a blood thirsty racer, who, now that Max was in the gravel, was leading the championship.

The more you looked ahead at Lance’s car and in your mirrors for Daniel in the other Redbull 5 seconds behind, you suddenly realised why you had offered to defend. Because Lance was defending you in the exact same way off track. You were paying him back in the only way you knew how.

“Starting the last lap now, P. Ricciardo 3 seconds behind. Hold strong, he shouldn’t catch you.”

Lance was struggling to keep the car on track, his steering column must be bent but he was keeping a good pace and you were able to drive in the clean air around him. 

“G, are we going to make it?” You were watching Ricciardo in your mirror’s as he seemed to be getting closer. “Hold position, P. He is 2.5 seconds behind.” 

“Keep me updated.” You were beginning to panic now. Do you leave Lance for dead and overtake him for P1? Do you continue to stay back and hope you can defend the skilful late-breaker behind you?

“2 seconds behind.” You had a half lap left and Lance’s car was starting to slow. “Lance has an engine problem.”

“Fuck.” You were thinking on the fly, literally, as you exited 130R again at 303km/h. Then you had it, this idea would work perfectly as long as Lance could hold enough speed to get through the Casio Triangle.

“You have permission to overtake, P.” You didn’t move position. “Does Lance still have race pace?” 

“Just about, P. Be smart, ok?” “Copy. Tell Lance TRS round 3.” “Copy.”

Did he remember? It has been a whole 8 years ago back when you were teammates again in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. Although a move that you had used in qualifying and not to save your team’s 1-2, it would work. As you entered turn 18, you shot past Lance who had left an opening for you out of the turn. As you surged past, he swiftly moved back to slot in right behind you and you created a tow, pulling him away from Daniel and across the line in 2nd. 

You were elated, screaming down the radio but not because you had won, not because you were now margins ahead in the championship, but because Lance would be standing on the step right next to you. 

“P, when you retire as a driver one day, you can have my job. That was bloody brilliant. You are a legend, P. The Princess of the Paddock and the Princess of Tactics. Well done, bring it back to parc ferme, you know where to park it.”

“Thank you a million everyone, the best team a girl could ask for, tell Lance congrats.”

As you did your lap around Suzuka, waving to the fans as you went, you didn’t know what was happening back at the garage.

Sebastian was hugging and cheering with Hanna both delighted that Aston Martin had gotten a 1-2. Mechanics that he had previous worked with were jumping on him and clapping his back before they all ran to the barrier. 

Seb felt a buzz in his back pocket and pulled it out to see who had messaged him, most likely in congratulations of you. Instead he was met with a vaguely familiar email. 

Hello family and friends of the Lyons, I am pleased to announce that in order for my fiancée to focus on her 2023 driver’s championship, we have moved our wedding to the 1st of October in Qatar. We hope to see you all there still. 

Many thanks,

The Lyons

Seb’s hand immediately came up to cover his mouth and he felt dizzy. Their plan wasn’t going to work. They didn’t have time.

Hanna peered over his arm to read the message before also covering her mouth, attempting to hide a loud sob.

Sebastian brought her into his arms and tried his best to comfort his wife. His eyes were teary but he was holding it together.

“We are going to make sure she is ok. Lawrence is making sure of it. I will talk to him after this.”

Hanna nodded against his chest and leaned back to wipe her eyes before plastering a fake smile on her face. “Let’s go cheer on our girl.”

As Seb walked down to the podium ceremony hand in hand with Hanna, he felt a pair of eyes burning into his head. He looked around before catching Harry looking directly at him, a shameless smirk on his face. Seb balled his fists and Hanna looked over to where her husband was staring, noticing Harry too. 

“It isn’t worth it, Liebchen, leave him for later.” With that, Seb turned around and kept on walking.

---

Lance had watched in real-time as his race had gone from near ending to a miraculous P2. And it was all thanks to you, the love of his life, his teammate, his best friend. As he pulled up in parc ferme, he couldn’t have jumped from his car any quicker, running over to you.

He knew that if he wasn’t high on adrenaline and full of love and respect for you that he would have just given you a sensible one armed hug and a helmet pat but he wasn’t thinking clearly. Or he was thinking clearly, for the first time in a long time. Because he ran over to you, lifting you up and spinning you around in circles, your giggles were more rewarding than any trophy he could receive.

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” Was all he could say as he placed you back on the ground, whispering into your helmet so that no one could overhear.

“We did it! I am so proud of you, Lance.” You had so much more to say but now wasn’t the time. 

As if you were once again reading each other’s minds, you both ran and jumped into the team’s arms, hands patting backs and slapping helmets as they chanted your names on repeat.

The chants continued as you were the last to take your place on the podium. Before you got there though, you decided to do your iconic podium curtsy.

What had started as a continuation of taking back the ‘princess’ nickname had become a podium ritual, in the same way, Danny had his shoey. It had been lost though, like everything that brought you joy, when Harry came along. But now felt like as good of a time as any to reclaim it.

As you bow to your team, the roar of the crowd is deafening. However, as your anthem begins, it quietens down. 

A tap on your arm pulls you from your thoughts and it is Lance giving you a friendly arm squeeze and smile as a way of saying ‘get out of your thoughts and enjoy this’. Before you can look away, Danny has his champagne and is spraying you both. 

Had you been staring into Lance’s eyes… on the podium… the whole way through the anthem? 

Oh no. 

Oh well.

Lance had the same idea and both boys chased you around the podium, making sure that every single strand of hair on your head that was champagne-soaked. Once it all died down, Danny offered his shoe to you and you chuckled before strutting over to the barrier of the podium and placing a finger to your ear, just like Daniel usually did. Your team erupted with cheers and you placed the boot to your mouth, letting your other arm extend out to the side. Classic Daniel shoey pose. It was fun and your ribs hurt from laughing as you watched Lance try to not gag as he finished his shoey too. 

Trophies were collected and photos were taken. It was straight off to the press conference.

---

“Well, welcome to the post-race press conference here at Suzuka, I am Tom Clarkson and I am joined by our three podium placed drivers today, well done to you all.” You all beamed at him as you sat perched on the couch. You had been able to grab a team shirt to replace your champagne soaked fire-proof and your manager had a brush and cap ready to cover what was now an sticky, knotted mess of a braid. 

“Daniel I would like to start with you. You put up a hell of a fight today against the two Aston Martins but I am interested in your charge from P18 to P3. How did that feel?”

You smiled at Daniel who was sat to your right. You knew he wouldn’t usually be so happy with P3 but considering he didn’t know if he would even be driving this year, it was clear that he was rather chuffed. Especially after he was out of Q1 due to a power-unit issue.

“Yeah, look, P3 is always a little bitter-sweet but honestly, coming back from one of the worst qualifying sessions, with my power-unit issues and being stuck in the garage, I can genuinely say I am pleased with the work I was able to put in today and a massive props to these two today.”

He looked at you and then peered further down at Lance who was beaming just like he had when Danny had praised him on the podium back in 2017 at Baku. You’d been at that race as a rookie F2 driver, Charles had taken the win and you second but you had gotten to see your childhood bestfriend stand on the podium. You felt like a winner regardless.

“They were both so quick and honestly that move from you at the end. Bloody hell mate, get you on the pit wall.” He chuckled as he elbowed you gently, knowing that you were no doubt sore after that race. You were sure he was too.

“Thank you Daniel. Over to you Lance, for a while there it seemed like it may be a DNF for you today, rather than a podium place, talk us through that drive.” Tom had such a calm voice and his questions were always so fair, it was a gentle ease into the conference that was always filled with harsh questions from journalists in the latter half. 

“Yeah! Ha! It was obvious we had the pace today, both of us were quick but we were both unfortunate victims of Max’s driving today. I won’t comment on that till I have seen the onboards but I know that our team has made an appeal against his driving today on the count of unsafe driving.”

Lance looked at you and smiled, nodding his head, checking if you were ok with his answer. You smiled back, you were.

“But yeah, I thought my race was over, my steering colum was bent which is the worst possible scenario at a wet Suzuka track but I knew I could hold it steady for 2 laps. Unfortunately you can’t do that if you have no power though.” Lance chuckled to himself. Many of the journalists also laughed along with him.

“This one saved me though, she defended me so selflessly and at the end, she gave me that tow that saved my race. I am so grateful, she is such a team player.” Lance leaned his fist over to you and gave you a fist bump.

“A question for both of you on that. We heard you come over the radio, P and tell you engineer to tell Lance TRS round 3. I quite enjoyed that message but tell us what it meant for those that don’t know.”

Lance looked to you and nodded his hesd, letting you explain the story. Danny was also leaning forward now to look at both of you, interested himself in the story.

“TRS stands for Toyota Racing Series which Lance and I both did together in 2015. We were teammates in M2 Competition but Lance and I had been teammates the year before in Fromula 4 so we were very used to working together on track. Anyway, during qualifying at Christchurch, one of us would come out at the right time to be able to drop behind the other and at the last turn, give each other a tow up the straight to the line. It annoyed everyone else greatly and their new quali challenge was to split us up but it worked pretty well for us. I actually had no idea if he would even know what I meant but he clearly did and we pulled it off again, some 8 years later.”

“I absolutely love it, very quick thinking on your part, P. You both are very close friends and have been teammates a total of 5 years between now and 2014 but we don’t often see you playing the teammate game, what changed today for you?”

You were speechless and you couldn’t come up with an answer that wasn’t ‘I am madly in love with this man’. You just slowly nodded which your brain raced to think of something but it was empty, every brain cell had been used in those 53 laps.

“I mean, just look at the standings man, she is 1st now and I am 4th, it was the least she could do to help me back, eh.” Lance’s contagious laugh filled the space and the journalists chuckled, surprisingly content with this answer. His Canadian accent was turned up to the max and he laughed along with Danny who never passed the opportunity ot get his pearly whites out.

“Exactly! When Max sent himself off into the gravel, I knew I was 1st in the championship and this team does mean the world to me, the points are important and he still let me cross the line first like a gentleman.” Tom nodded and laughed, moving on to another question for Danny before he opened up to the other journalists. 

You smiled and laughed along with the jokes and questions for both yourself and the other two drivers, letting yourself enjoy this win and take it all in. You were safe in the press conference room.

“P, we have just heard from your fiance that your wedding date has been moved to next weekend so that you can spend the last 6 races focusing on the championship. How has planning a wedding and racing at the highest level been?” 

You froze and for the first time you couldn’t hide your face. Your relationship with Harry had been a series of fake smiles and the practiced art of applying concealer but in this moment, you didn’t have the energy to hide anymore.

Your face dropped, your eyebrows furrowed slightly and you felt sick. Both Daniel and Lance had whipped their heads around to look at you. For a split second Lance was livid, he was angry at you for not telling him, there plan was ruined now but as he turned to you, he knew immediately that you didn’t have a clue.

You opened and closed your mouth like a fish before turning to look for your PR representative in the crowd behind the cameras. All she could do was nod sadly, confirming the journalist’s statement. 

“I’m sorry” was all you could say before you shot out of your seat and ran to the side of the stage and out the exit door. Lance and Daniel were quick to follow you, saying good bye swiftly to everyone there who was left in stunned silence.

You pushed on a door but it was clearly locked, your vision was starting to go as you hyperventilated and you just wanted to disappear for a bit. The next door you tried was unlock and you pushed your body weight against it, falling to the ground as it gave way. You moved yourself into a corner and curled up. You were never escaping Harry no matter what happened.

“Lance, Lance wait! What is going on?” Daniel was following closely behind Lance as he started peering into rooms along the main F1 building corridor. Lance continued on, ignoring Daniel until he felt the Australian’s hand on his shoulders spinning him around as they entered a room.

“Mate, I can’t help if I don’t know what is going on!” Lance had always admired how oblivious Daniel was sometimes. He was empathetic and caring but he rarely picked up on the context clues to get there.

‘Ok, fine! Fine!” Lance shimmied Daniel’s hands off of him. “But only because I know you would and always will go to hell and back for her. You cannot tell a soul.” Lance gaze him a stern look, trying to signify the importance of his statement quickly so they could continue looking for you. 

“Harry, Harry is a really bad guy. P doesn’t want to marry him but she is being forced.” Daniel’s face turned from one of shock to one of anger. His jaw gritted and his fists balled and the vein through his forehead stood out more and more.

“I am going to kill that fucking cunt.” He was dead serious. Daniel had grown up the youngest and like Charles, had adopted the younger sister mentality when you had met. He wasn’t opposed to violence either.

“Not now, trust me, I will be right there with you but first we need to make sure petal is ok.” Daniel nodded and they were off again.

---

As you sat there in the cleaning cupboard, your breathing unsteady and sight blurry, you begged the universe to give you Lance. You knew he would have followed you out of the conference and you knew you weren’t hiding from him, everyone but him. 

Your tears fell, staining your deep green t-shirt. You just wanted him to hold you and tell you it would be alright.

The door swung open and through your blurry vision you saw him standing there looking down at you. “Lance,” you whispered as you extended your hand towards him, tears still running down your face. 

He bent down in front of you and reached to wipe your tears away, except at the last moment, his fingers curled around your neck. “I saw everything and you are as good as dead, so is Lance Stroll.”

You’d know that voice anywhere. Your tears picked up again and your body shook from fear.

---

“Can anyone find her?” Charles said, curled up in one of the Aston Martin conference room chairs. He would have chuckled at being in the enemies camp if it wasn’t for the reason why.

“No, I have checked everywhere for her in hospitality and the garage. Even the cupboards.” Seb was at a loss for words, standing up and pacing through the space. Hanna was sitting near him, watching him walk around through her tearful eyes. 

Esteban and Mick came back into the room, a downturned smile showing that they brought no news on your whereabouts. Daniel and Lance were next to return. Lance plopped down in one of the chairs, his hands over his face to hide the tears that were brimming.

“Guys! Guys, guys, guys!” The group could hear them before they saw them. Lando and Pierre smashing the door open and running in, Lando had his hands on his knees, steading his breathing, while Pierre was walking in a small circle, hands behind his head, sucking in air.

“We know… where… she is.” Lando puffed out while Pierre held up his phone for the group to take. 

Thanks to the boys always being online and Pierre being a massive snoop, they had managed to find an article about you. 

The photo attached gave anyone little comfort. It showed Harry’s hand around your fore arm as you walked through the airport, your hoodie pulled up over your and sunglasses on. Lance knew what they were covering.

He stood up grabbing his water bottle and threw it at the ground as hard as he could, the bottle’s thick plastic cracking. 

“Everyone sit.” Lawrence had walked in to the conference room in the Aston Martin hospitality and taken a seat, gesturing for everyone else to do the same.

He lay out all his plans on the table, trust being put completely in Mick, Esteban, Charles, Pierre, Lando and Daniel who were not part of his team but were in a way part of your team instead.

“Holy shit… they weren’t kidding when they said Aston Martin and James Bond went hand in hand.” Daniel sat back in his chair, trying to keep it light-hearted after Lawrence had explained what would be happening. 

“Well I’m in.” Daniel raised his hand like some sort of oath and looked around the room. Everyone’s hands slowly rose up.

“I didn’t doubt for a second that any of you wouldn’t be.” Lawrence gave everyone a nod before standing and leaving the room, not before giving his son a massive hug.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

#formula 1 fanfic #lance stroll #lance stroll x reader #lance stroll x y/n #lance stroll x you #f1 fic

[laf-outloud]

I know y'all have been sending me some great recommendations of Emmy-nominated shows, but forgive me while I get ready to watch my favorite guilty pleasure! (Seriously, I've been collecting the books since I was 9.)

If you're missing your favorite show about brothers and the lengths they'll go to to save each other, then I recommend giving The Hardy Boys a chance! It may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it's certainly fun to watch!

#the hardy boys #the hardy boys on hulu #frank hardy #joe hardy #the hardy boys season 3 #Youtube

[iconuk01]

Sometimes I wonder why American shows cast people who are clearly way too old to play teenagers, and then you see what happens when they cast truer to age

In the most recent Hardy Boys TV series from Apple, Frank is 17, played by 23 year old Rohan Campbell. Joe is about 12, played by then 16 year old Alexander Elliott.

This is their appearance in Season 1 in 2020

And this is their apperance in Season 3 in 2024

One of them has changed a good deal, and it ain't Frank.

It might not be quite so startling a growth spurt for Joe, until you remember that ALL the events of the three seasons are supposed to happen within a few months at most!

In their defence, they do sort of comically lampshade it in one of the final episodes where they show the boys heights marked on the wall of their home and mention he seems to have grown six inches, and I think that's probably the accurate height Joe was at the start of the series being pointed at.

In most other cases (I'm thinking of Wil Wheaton and Cirroc Lofton's respective growth spurts in ST:TNG and DS9) they at least happened over several years series time.

#the hardy boys #frank hardy #joe hardy

[drewslegacy]

So lately I've been watching Hardy boys (Hulu) and finished with Season 3. And honestly, i LOVED the series. Especially S2 & S3 are my fav!

And ofc, not to mention, I've had a solid Deja Vu, in best possible way. So many parallels with Nancy Drew (The CW). So many similar episodes/ scenes. Names,

Lucy (who is a red head), Ted CARSON, Abigail OWENS, Biff (Elizabeth), DREW Darrow, LAURA Hardy, (So many more.)

I highly recommend fans to watch the Hardy Boys. You'll realise the prove that Ace being a Hardy boy was right there. (I'm realising it now coz i didn't watch S2 any sooner).

Here are some refrences/parallels that just can't be ignored.

1. The Claw / WILT'S Deli (a hanging spot of the detective gang)

2. The blue house.

(Nancy's house / The Hardy's house)

3. ✨FLORENCE✨ and the family car of the Hardy boys. (So technically Ace is driving his father's car 💀)

This parallel/reference was a STRAIGHT prove that Ace is Hardy boy. And it was right under our noses, from the day one.

4. Ace and Joe dress up in the exact same way. 💀

There are more that I'll add to this post later. Or post as Part 2. Till than Ciao! 👋😊

#Nancy Drew #Ace #Nace #the cw nancy drew #nancy x ace #nancy and ace #ace x nancy #ace and nancy #drew crew #The Hardy Boys #nancy drew and ace #Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys #Hulu #the cw #the hardy boys hulu #Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys mysteries #Nancy Drew and Hardy boys parallels

[jupitermelichios]

What the fuck is Riverdale actually about anyway?

that's not an easy question to answer, but I've been asked it a lot, so I'm going to do my best.

disclaimer: while the plot summaries are accurate, my interpretation of the themes is just my interpretation. other fans might disagree, and that's valid. unless it's about season 6. if you disagree with me about season 6, you're wrong. archie literally sings bread and roses. union busting is compared to mass murder. that one's not up for debate.

Season 1

[ID: a promo image for riverdale season 1, showing the characters of betty, veronica, and archie in the diner, while cheryl, josie, and jughead pose dramatically outside the window. The words 'riverdale series premier tonight' are superimposed over the picture]

The Plot: the murder of a highschool student leads his classmates to discover that the adults in their small town are all hiding dark secrets. also there's a love triangle.

What it's actually about: mostly just that, tbh. there's not a lot of subtext in season 1. This is the season where they let showrunner Roberto Aguierra-Sacassa (he of glee and pretty little liars infamy) write stuff, before the writers all barricaded themselves in the writing room and started writing plots which are just about how much they hate him and his ideas

Season 2

[ID: a screencap, showing archie posing with the vigilante gang he starts. the gang is made up of shirtless men wearing red balaclavas. archie is wearing a blue shirt and his face is uncovered, because when you're bating a serial killer it's important to let them know what you look like]

The Plot: A serial killer, the black hood, begins terrorising the town. Jughead accepts his birthright and joins a biker gang. Meanwhile Veronica's gangster father begins trying to take over the town so he can commit crimes with impunity

What it's actually about: this season is mostly a series of increasingly self-aware riffs on different horror and thriller subgenres. It's the transition between the uninspired first season and the genre-parodies that make up the rest of the show, so it's not as tight as other seasons. It does feature an episode which is almost entirely just the writer being real pissed off about aguira-sacassa framing a teacher-student relationship as romantic and consensual in season 1, in which the teacher in question is shown to be a serial abuser and then immediately brutally murdered because of it, and ngl, that was pretty based.

Season 3

[ID: a screencap, showing the main actors playing their character's parents in a flashback to the first gargoyle king murder. the characters are dressed as fantasy stereotypes; a paladin, rogue, warrior-king, nobleman, and wizard. they are pointing their weapons at someone off screen]

The Plot: A new serial killer, the gargoyle king, begins terrorising the town and seems to be connected to a ttrpg which mind controls its players. Meanwhile a cult which claims to allow its members to contact the dead has started recruiting at the school. Also Archie is sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit and forced to participate in an underground fightclub but that only lasts like 5 episodes.

What it's actually about: wouldn't it be ridiculous if the shit people believed during the satanic panic was true? wouldn't that be insane? wouldn't it be unbelievable. wouldn't be insane if, say, a huge portion of trump voters still believed in the satanic panic? tell me you believe in the satanic panic, i dare you, i fucking dare you-

Season 4

[ID: a screencap showing the entire cast dressed as Hedwig from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with blond wigs, blue eye make-up, denim miniskirts, and high-healed boots]

The Plot: Jughead gets involved in a murderous battle to become the new ghost-writer for a hardy boys parody that ends with him faking his own death. Archie starts a boxing club for underpriviledged youth but Veronica's dad keeps trying to shut it down because he thinks Archie might be going to uncover his illegal paladium smuggling ring. Veronica becomes a bootlegger and opens a speakeasy because she wants her dad to respect her and thinks the only way to get that is by being the fucking worst before she realises that actually he sucks and she shouldn't care what he thinks.

What it's actually about: rich people are the fucking worst and we should probably just kill all of them. Listen. Listen, they're evil. It's very important to all the writers that you know this. They're all evil.

Season 5

[ID: a screencap showing what is referred to in the show as mothman, a boney humanoid with no hair, ridges over its eyes, and boney stubs that may be the tops of wings growing out of its back]

The Plot: following a 7 year timeskip, the gang return to Riverdale as adults and try to stop the town from being discorporated and demolished by Veronica's dad to make way for a new property developement. Betty hunts a serial killer who's been targetting sex workers in the area. Also Cheryl starts a Maple Syrup-themed cult and controls bees with her mind.

What it's actually about: Honestly, this season is mostly just about genre parodies. They're good genre parodies, don't get me wrong, but there's not a lot of coherent theming.

Season 6

[ID: a screencap, showing archie topless and tied to a saint andrew's cross, wearing a crown made of antlers. cheryl is standing in front of him wearing a red robe, elaborate headdress, and holding a knife, as she prepares to sacrifice him to ensure a good maple syrup harvest]

The Plot: after riverdale colides with a parallel universe, the gang find they have developed superpowers which are all related to their key character traits, which they must use to battle an evil wizard called percival pickens who is trying to destroy the world using a magical train. the genre parodies get weird this season, because a lot of them are comics riffs rather than movie or tv riffs. also there's an extended alan wake parody.

What it's actually about: Unionize. Unionize right the fuck now. Why are you not already in a union? Don't you know joining a union will literally improve your changes of getting into heaven? Look at Archie Andrews singing bread and roses and tell me you still think unions are bad you coporate bootlicking piece of shit!

Season 7 (so far)

[ID: a promotional image for season 7, showing betty, archie, and veronica wearing costumes based on the archie comics of the 1950s. They are sitting in the diner, and Berry and Veronica are each holding one of archie's hands]

The Plot: as a result of stopping the evil wizard in S6, the gang are sent back in time to the 1950s with no memory of their previous lives, where they are once again in highschool. Jughead has been told by an angel to make the town more just as this will help the angel bring them back to their own time, but someone is commiting murders and framing kids in the highschool for them. also there's an extended reference to alex hirsch's fight with disney S&P over gravity falls, which I did not see coming

What it's actually about (so far): oh, you think this show would be better if it was set in the 50s? You do know the 50s were the fucking worst, right? You do know the apple pie america the archie comics are set in never existed, right? you do know people who insist the 50s were a great decade are all racist homophobic sexist pieces of shit, right? right?!

#riverdale #long post #riverdale happens on purpose #it's important to remember that #they're not trying to make a normal show and failing #they're trying to make riverdale and succeeding #and also they want so badly for you to join a union

[saltygilmores]

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS: SEASON 3, EPISODE 3-“Application Anxiety"

I'm once again going to need my mutuals to tell me if they see this on their dashboard. It occured to me that I'd suddenly experienced a massive memory black-out about what happens in S3 between episode 3 and up to the Dance Marathon. And I fancy myself pretty knowledgable about season 3. In addition to Francie and her squad, I'm assuming that the truly insane number of new characters that are intoduced in s3-Alex, Nicole, Lindsay, Dave Rygalski and the other members of Hep Alien and probably more I'm forgetting- may all be introduced in this span of time? It's going to be a jam packed roller coaster ride of new people. Soo jammy. Oh god, and I just remembered LIZ. Does she make her debut in season 3 or 4? I don't know. I fear it may be season 3. Have mercy on poor Salty. I'm scared. Fun fact: I was on YouTube recently, and rediscovered an early 2000's MTV cartoon called 3South, a truly absurd work of art about a pair of idiot college students. This is the type of stuff I was watching while the rest of the Youth at the time were watching...Gilmore Girls. Anyway I heard an an unmistakable voice and realized it was none other than Kathleen Wilhoite (Liz Danes) playing.... a raging alcoholic who frequently gets run over by cars.

This episode is called "Application Anxiety". The Netflix synopsis hints at the introduction of the fandom's fave, and also the favorite snack of the Male Gilmore Girls Character California Wormhole, Rygalski. Other than that, mayhaps we have a sort of filler episode on our hands here. I can remember the events of most S3 episodes by their title, but this one isn't ringing any bells, besides the fact that Rory and Paris must, uh, be anxious about college applications. I call anything "filler" that doesn't involve a lot of man or boy drama. The episode opens with Lorelai and Rory snarking on some more corny entertainment from the days of yore, this time some kind of Brady Bunch variety hour. Fine. It's at least more fun and modern than "Shane" and Andy Hardy, it's recognizable to the masses watching GG, it's in color, and they're having fun watching it. Two...no, three...no FOUR observations:

1.Lorelai keeps a picture of Sookie and Jackson on her living room end table 2. The mailman, Eddie, walks through their open door and directly into their home without knocking or announcing himself to deliver the mail. Rory and Lorelai don't blink at the intrusion. Eddie looks like a catch, Lorelai. Steady government job. Enjoys sticking his package into slots. Has no respect for privacy or personal boundaries. You love that shit. Go for it. 3.Clown Pillow. 4.Lorelai's shirt. CUUTE.

I let my guard down for mere seconds.

"Holmes & Yoyo is an American comedy television series that aired on ABC for 13 episodes during the 1976-1977 season. The series follows police detective Holmes and his new android partner, Yoyo, on their misadventures investigating crimes." You have GOT to be fucking kidding me, AmyShermanPalladino. At least I've heard of HeeHaw.

Rory looks like a scared little mouse holding her Harvard application. Rory references a book she's been reading called Dead Souls. I looked it up. "Dead Souls is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adventures of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov (Russian: Павел Иванович Чичиков) and the people whom he encounters. These people typify the Russian middle aristocracy of the time." Some light reading right there. When I tell you Lorelai (not Rory) nearly has an orgasm holding the Harvard envelope (it's not Rory's acceptance/rejection letter, it's just the application itself). She needs to get laid by someone who isn't Crusty. #AlexAlexAlex A moment later Rory and Lorelai are in the kitchen going over the application. Lane suddenly barges into the kitchen out of nowhere, states her dilemma in under a minute, then immediately exits. Bye? I feel like we haven't seen Lane in a while, but now we're going to get a lot of her this season. Lane is planting the seeds for Hep Alien and has placed a "Drummer seeks Rock Band" classified ad in the paper (how quaint). I just saw Adam Brody's name in the opening credits, so it's almost Rygalski Time. I like Dave, I really do. But I guess I just don't assign him the God- like status some people do. I only worship one deity and it's Jesstopher Mariano. And he's a fucking full time job.

Rory is drinking a can of Hansen's brand soda. The brand apparently still exists, although I have never seen it in the wild. I'm thinking Hansen's sponsored this show or something because this is all Rory ever drinks soda wise, including at the Chilton cafeteria, along with her favorite sandwich of two slices of white bread with nothing in between. And a better shot of Loreai's shirt. I want one.

Lorelai says this in reference to the application asking for Rory's picture (is that actually a thing?) Ladies and gentlemen, TWO Modern Entertainment references (the caption cut off Spongebob). Back on her home planet, AmyShermanPalladino must have just signed up for the ultra deluxe premium Earth cable package that included Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. Welcome to the early 21st century. Straight off of Harvard's own website, from their archives, dated October 3rd, 1958: "The University will not require photographs from any applicants to the Medical School, the Law School, and the College this year. This decision was made in compliance with the Massachusetts Commision against Discrimination's December, 1957 ruling that all schools in the state must stop requesting pictures from applicants." Yes, since 1957 it has been literally illegal for colleges in Massachussets to ask for photos from applicants. Carry on.

Who's "they"? Luke knows Lorelai, and Dean Forrester's mom doesn't acknolwedge she has a son so she can't care if he drinks coffee. Where is the display stand of Doritos that used to be behind Luke? Is there a Dorito shortage in Stars Hollow? There is little else to make life in Stars Hollow worth living.

Dean's chores: Whacking off to pictures of Lorelai, hogging oxygen from more deserving people, stacking cans of corn at Doose's.

Rory doesn't know anything about jobs. Full time, part time, hand, blow...none of it.

Oh god. Not another negotiation! What is Rory going to agree to this time in exchange for Dean agreeing to a movie she wants to see?

Dean was actually paying attention to Rory when she discussed her plans for the weekend? That was a plot twist I never saw coming. Me keeping my little eye on Dean because he's acting a bit too nice right now

Rory informs Dean she is going to write her college essay about Hilary Clinton.

WHAT? DEAN IS BEING SUPPORTIVE? HE'S UP TO SOMETHING. At first I was going to put my money on Dean making a sexist remark about women in poltiics, then I thought he won't because he doesn't even know who Hillary Clinton is and he'll probably ask Rory, because he has melted crayons for brains, and I was right. Rory asks Dean if he's ever watched Hilary speak and we come to find he only knows who she is because of Rory's insistence that he watch her speeches.

I'll give you this one Deano. That sounds like literal hell on earth and I'm sorry you had to endure that. Even you don't deserve that. I hope Rory at least gave you some handjobs for that one (she didn't) Still a long 14 years away from the 2016 presidential election fiasco, Rory speaks of Ms Clinton's future in politics with sunny optimism. Nobody tell her. Dean tut tuts and shakes his head while Rory talks about Hilary but he appears to be listening and keeping his trap shut, so that's a first. Rory skips out the door without paying for her breakfast as per yoozh, leaving Dean to pick up the tab. Luke strolls by the table. L:She's fast. D: It's the coffee. L: Not your face? Hahahahahaha!! GET HIM LUKE! She has picked up a nice fear-sprint in the two years she's been dating Dean though. Making a quick exit is a vital survival skill when you're dating a serial killer psycopath. Luke looks out the window to see Taylor photographing the building in a suspicious manner. Cut to Chilton and Paris is having another nuclear panic-meltdown over the non-perfection of some school related mumbo jumbo. Rory and Paris are hosting a seminar at school about the college application process.

Both some college admissions reviewer dork attending the seminar and Paris agree that writing essays about Hilary Clinton is passe. Admissions Dork says reading so many essays about Hilary Clinton is making his head explode. Paris says nobody over the age of 12 would write about Hilary Clinton. IMMEDIATE rejection to Harvard if you write your essay about Hilary Clinton. If you write your essay about Hilary Clinton, some goons from Harvard will visit your home in the middle of the night and break your kneecaps. You're fucked, RoryGil. Things Googled While Watching Gilmore Girls Holmes and Yo Yo, Dead Souls, Do Colleges Require Photos with Applications. I was already well versed on Hansen's soda, because I'd already researched it in the days of yore (2020) when I wrote about GG on Twitter.

#gilmore girls #denise rewatches gilmore girls #application anxiety #rory gilmore #lorelai gilmore #paris geller #PariMore #chilton nonsense #gilmore girls season 3