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moibakadesu · 15 days

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Okay, here we go, my interpretations and rambles about the 4th anniversary art. I know everybody is doing that right now and a lot of my thoughts might be the same as a lot of other people's, but the brainworms are active.

Let's start that it is brilliant that they went with a funeral theme for the 4th anni and to top it off they released it on the 4th of April. As a lot of you might know, 4 stands for death in Japanese (and various other asian countries), as it is pronounced the same.

My initial prediction for the art was, that it would be the funeral of the prisoners themselves and that we would see them lying on the frame of flowers (chrysanthemum, white lilies and white roses, all traditional funeral flowers). But as it turns out, we have the prisoners attending the funeral of their victims, so to speak.

So of course we have everybody in classic funeral attire, and sadly that doesn’t make for a lot of variety for the guys, sans the shoes, some buttons and different seams and pockets, but they all look splendid in it (and it stops Fuuta from combining it with some ridiculous fashion choices), so I can vibe with it.

For the girls we have of course a bit more to look at in terms of different clothes, the ones who are still visiting school in their respective uniforms, although in dark tones to fit in the whole composition, and Mappi with a simple dress as well as Kotoko with a chic blazer and trousers combo.

The wardens take the role of the priest who would attend a traditional Japanese funeral, how very fitting. Everybody is very pretty. I do still prefer akka’s art, but kee did a very good job capturing everybody as well.

Now the really interesting part is of course how everybody is holding their bouquets. I think the general consensus is that they stands for the victims, or in a wider sense the emotional stance that each prisoner has in regards to their murder. Let’s go in order from left to right.

Mikoto: Very prim and proper. I am in the camp that thinks that Mikoto committed the murder, not John, but also that he genuinely doesn’t remember anymore (due to stress-induced amnesia etc.). So it makes a lot of sense that he holds it in the most neutral and normal way possible. He doesn’t know the victim, he doesn’t have any particular feelings regarding it that he can remember.

Kazui: Holding it very lightly, but not as careless as if you would have to fear it falling to the ground. Maybe symbolic for the lack of emotional commitment in his marriage, due to being homosexual? Somewhat fitting to the lyrics of Cat, “let’s keep it simple”, keep it casual, these feelings are not real and very fleeting.

Shidou: Oh, he is interesting. He is holding the flowers exactly like you would a young baby, proper head and body support with both his hands and arm, while being very gentle with it. Further evidence that his murder ended up being one of his sons. As I assume ending up braindead after an accident and Shidou having to give the okay to use him as an organ donor.

Fuuta: My angry little ginger. And his anger shines through, what are you gripping your flowers so tightly for, little man? He is holding it almost like a weapon, very much the hero of justice with his sword ready to strike. I find it interesting that he is the only prisoner not smiling. I thought maybe because he is the one who is the most terrified about what his actions have led to? He was deeply riddled by remorse from the beginning after all, as much as he didn't want to admit that.

Haruka: Oh Haruka, what are you doing? His is … interesting. My theory is still that the murder he is actually is in Milgram for is a suicide, and the way he is holding the flowers does a good job in supporting that thought. He is holding the bouquet upside down, with not much apparent care for its state, some petals falling on the floor, and more importantly, on himself. I think this might represent how he has little to none self-worth and care for himself. Another thing I did see a japanese fan on Twt talk about was the meaning of an upside down bouquet. Apparently there is a superstition about holding flowers upside down, so that they … absorb water faster. This is both a good way to show Haruka’s innocence about the world as he would possibly believe such a thing as well as … very grim, as I think he drowned himself.

Yuno: Similar to Shidou she is holding her flowers a lot like you would an infant, and … well, that speaks for itself I would say. There is no ill feeling or disrespect towards the unborn life, is what just not meant to be with her.

Muu: Holding her bouquet behind her back, just like she does not want the fact that it might in fact have been her fault behind her victim act. Could also go very well with how she most likely did hide the box cutter out of sight until she struck.

Mahiru: She is holding her flowers very gently, delicately, with a lot of love, of course, it’s Mappi after all. Maybe almost a bit too close to her, if she is not careful she could crush or squish them easily. As it is in line with how destructive her relationship ended up being.

Amane: Oh Amane, the disrespect, haha. Carelessly discarded behind her. Sinners are worthless and need to be punished, right? Nothing wrong with quite literally stepping over dead bodies. The little girl is quite savage, I have to give her that much.

Kotoko: She is a bit hard for me to read. Her grip on the bouquet is concealed, does she maybe not want to admit how tightly she is holding on to it as a parallel how she does not want to admit to her sadistic tendencies, because it is after all always for justice, nothing else. Hmmm.

#milgram #haruka sakurai #yuno kashiki #fuuta kajiyama #muu kusunoki #shidou kirisaki #mahiru shiina #kazui mukuhara #amane momose #mikoto kayano #kotoko yuzuriha #es milgram #milgram theory #moi rambles

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good-beanswrites · 2 months

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I wanted to bring up a silly ship idea. Just for fun.

03, 06, 09, 10

Was this before Kotoko attacked them? After? I dunno.

Thoughts?

YES the cringefail 20yo polycule 👏👏👏 Thank you for the request! I've seen a lot about the individual pairs, so it was really fun to think about all their dynamics together! I have a set of hcs that could work in the current canon Milgram, and then a normal au set because it's so fun thinking about them :3

Milgram-focused

The I’m-a-loner-who’s-doing-it-for-justice-don’t-TOUCH-me pair finally meet their match when confronted with the I-loved-someone-so-much-and-don’t-plan-on-stopping pair. They all go into the relationship with grand ideas of love: they think it’s all heroic acts of saving, massive gestures or love, and dramatic confessions. Over time, they realize the real heroism/romance is in the little things.

Mahiru has her hands full with three people who neglect themselves for the sake of their work/interests, but she always loves feeding them and helping give them what they need. In turn, they can give her more affection and attention than she could ever ask for. They make sure someone is always around to spend time with her.

Each of the three is a perfect match for dealing with John’s reveal. Mahiru is calming and helps tone down Mikoto’s initial stress. Fuuta is honest and will help Mikoto finally confront his own situation and move forward. And since Kotoko can match his strength, Mikoto doesn’t need to be afraid of accidentally hurting anyone. Mikoto becomes less stressed with the overall situation as well as more accepting of himself/John.

I always love the idea that Fuuta is secretly starstruck by Kotoko and John’s strength. He’ll never admit how much he admires their ability to stand up and fight. He feels really safe around them. He’s glad to have the opportunity to fight for someone else, too – he likes to be Mahiru’s self-proclaimed protector and hero. (Even though most of the time she can stand up for herself, she still likes letting him take care of her.)

Kotoko’s experiences let her hold solid conversations with everyone. She’s similar enough to Fuuta where they share some interests (social issues, schooling, etc.) She understands hard work and burnout to earn Mikoto’s respect. She understands physical strength to earn John’s. She has a lot of people-knowledge, so she can gossip and talk about Tokyo life to Mahiru (Mappi’s doing most of the ‘gossiping,’ but Kotoko has solid additions). She's a good listener and has a good memory, so everyone feels heard by her.

They start to rub off on each other. Mahiru and Mikoto learn to be a bit tougher in standing up for herself. Fuuta, John, and Kotoko learn to take a breath before jumping right to violence. They stay very much who they are, but pick up on just a few habits that make their lives easier.

Their styles also influence one another: Fuuta gets pointers from all three about piercing his ears (though it takes him a long time to get up the nerve to do it). Mahiru helps the others dress more trendy and boost their confidence, and they teach her to worry less about her appearance and relax more.

If they get together T1, Kotoko is shocked by the T1 verdicts. She might pull away from everyone in initial horror, but after developing a relationship ahead of time, she doesn’t follow through with her attacks. If not, then maybe in T3 when Kotoko is suffering from her guilty verdict, Mahiru and Mikoto are able to bridge the gap and develop a friendship, leading to more. Fuuta would take longer to come around, but I think seeing Kotoko got through the same pain as him, his hero instincts would kick in and he’d gradually help.

Normal-au

Mahiru once again tries out her lovers’ interests, and gets a bunch of new hobbies. Fuuta teaches her to game, she works out with Kotoko, and she tries out photography with Mikoto. She becomes close with Fuuta’s beautician sister, and enjoys bonding over fashion and hair. She helps redye Mikoto’s hair, and give the other two pointers on style now and then. When going to nicer events, she and Mikoto have to step in and stop the others from their sneaker/hoodie combos. As the only one with a license, she’s the designated driver at all events, but doesn’t mind.

Fuuta uses his tech skills to set up social media accounts for the others. He helps Mahiru network her flower shop, fighting anyone who leaves a bad comment/review. He helps set up a complex online portfolio for Mikoto. He and Kotoko still have a passion for justice, and he becomes the tech brains behind her vigilante operations (very Ron Stoppable - Kim Possible) It’s not necessarily healthy growth, but they’re happy with it lmao

Mikoto is the only full-time worker, the others are all still in university, and he makes sure to keep them all on track. He knows the most efficient tricks and cheats about getting papers done, pulling all-nighters, and cramming before an exam. The others have learned to spot when he’s burning himself out for others, and will stop him when he tries to take on too much. They’ll take care of him and force him to rest. While he can still get into a bit of trouble, John learns to call them first and get some help.

Kotoko has trained herself to find people and information easily to catch criminals, but she finds use for it in much more mundane ways – she tracks down clients for Mahiru, snoops around Mikoto’s company to make sure he’s being treated right, and keeps an eye out for the people Fuuta is calling out and/or hanging out with. She goes on runs with Mahiru, and bike rides with Mikoto. Fuuta tags along sometimes to strengthen his legs for soccer.

There’s definitely potential for them all to have their murders pre- or mid- relationship, and they help one another improve themselves and heal. I’m also a sucker for the relationship itself to cause them to change their ways and narrowly avoid the murder in the first place. (For the latter, Mahiru would ironically be the last to join the relationship, since she’d still be with her bf until the other three inspire her to break it off with him gently.)

#milgram #fuuta kajiyama #mahiru shiina #mikoto kayano #john milgram #kotoko yuzuriha #you got a peek at some in the first set but i cleaned them up and finally finished the second set >:3 #thank you for waiting asdfdsf these were really fun to think about :D #im loving the image of the four workout buddies asdfdsf #and id imagine their home is filled with photos as mikoto and mappi take a bunch of everyone :')#even in milgram i can see them snapping lots of shots #i know its harder to swing a post-attack relationship but i do think its possible given how intense everything is #just as prisoners were friends one day in t1 and enemies the next in t2 i think things can change fast #and yeah... im so sappy over them all picturing these massive gestures of love:#beating someone up to protect their lover - gifting them something elaborate - saving them from a burning building - planning an exotic dat #and instead they find that preparing a meal after a long day means the world to them #getting up early to workout and keep them company is huge #remembering little details about them and their interests changes their lives #<333 #OUGH now i just want them to be happy ;---;#headcanon time milgram

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luimagines · 1 month

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Pinky! I'm back, why doesn't a Lynel emoji exist? As it would be super funny. I just need a Lynel and the farm and you know who I am. The one with the Lynel farm.

So to cut to the chase. These headcanons of Bunny!Legend kicked something in my brain and I think it would be cute for Reader but funny for the chain and embarrassing for Legend.

I was a bunny owner myself and I know, that bunnies do nest when they are expecting. So we know that his Dark World form bleeds sometimes into his hylian form. So I think, if Legend has a pregnant S/O. He would go to their shared bedroom and build a nest/ burrow/ den. As soon as his bunny instincts tell him, he will be getting kits.

He will find it embarrassing as soon as he realises what he is actually doing, while Reader finds it endearing. He also sleeps automatically so that he protects Reader and their stomach with his body. Even when Reader turns around, he will turn them back so he can protect them with his kits. Reader is his mate, he has to protect them.

But if the Chain finds out about the little nest that once was a bed. Legend is not going to live it down. Sky and Twilight will tease him relentlessly, but Reader takes the blame in front of them all and says they did it as they miss Legend so much and Reader is pregnant so they can pass it down pregnancy hormones. Legend knows that they did it to protect his pride as they know how much he hates his other form. Legend is glad but also feels guilty as they take the "blame" on their pregnant body.

But if they try to make fun of Legend as he is very protective and soft towards and around Reader. Reader will show that you should never mess with Legend's pregnant S/O. A mother becomes a grizzly bear as soon as they see their baby in danger but their love for Legend strong enough to put them in a similar state and pregnancy hormones, they are dangerous. Damn, Reader is suddenly a WWE fighter and beats the crap out of them, John Cena would be proud as he didn't know he had a hylian child, they even got a chair to smack the boys. All of them got a beating except for Hyrule as he is an innocent baby in their eyes and Time. Wind learns flying. Time didn't do anything so he "just" got a scolding for doing nothing to prevent the group from teasing their hero.

After that the Chain has a new juice to drink "Respect Reader Juice". Legend has to calm them down, normally it's the other way around, as stress isn't good for the baby. Warriors thanks him silently. Wind comes back and asks for another round. Wild wants to fly too! Twilight has to control those two. He drinks "Respect Women Juice", "Respect Pregnant Women Juice" so now he is drinking "Respect Pregnant Reader Or You Turn Into A Punching Bag Juice". Pregnant people are scary.

But I also think Legend would be in a pickle. He needs to travel with the group to slay the Shadow. But Reader is pregnant with his child/ children. In his paranoid mind, he is we all would be paranoid after we go through the same shit he did, he pictures the worst case scenarios. Ravio is a coward, he is incapable of protecting Reader and his kits. In fact, he is sure Ravio would run away as soon as some of Legend's enemies or even monsters from the Shadow come to hurt Legend psychologically. He would break down, if he sees his family dead and knowing, that he wasn't able to protect them! He would lose his will to live. Even if the boys try to cheer him up, nobody would be able to do it as Legend worked so hard for his family only to lose them! So of course, something in his mind he wants to protect them but he definitely doesn't want to take Reader with him or they are really a walking target! And even if Reader says he should go. He can't just pack up and leave! So the group stays until Reader calms Legend down so isn't in a paranoia episode until then the group has to wait and respect whatever Legend's choice is, even if they need his help. Time understands him, he has Twilight as his descendant and he knows how scared he was as Twilight was injured. He would probably react the same if Malon was pregnant as he also doesn't want to lose his loved ones. So he would even persuade the others, that Legend's choice is his to make not theirs. He would explain, that Legend wants to be there when his kit is born, learns to walk, learns to speak, he wants to hear its first words. He just wants to be there and have a kinda peaceful life since the beginning and maybe Hylia did want him to give him that with making Reader pregnant with his kits.

Maybe a Zebra emoji? Honestly, shame on them for not having a lynel emoji.

I actually don't know much about having bunnies either! But I know they stomp when they're mad!

But pregnancy hormones are no joke, what so ever. Especially when they're mad.... Or should I say hopping mad?

.... I'll see myself out.

And poor Legend, worrying his poor little head about every little thing because he wants everything to be nice and safe and homey. Just let the man raise his family in peace. :(

#pinky replies #pregnant! reader #anon headcanons #bunny! legend

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what0smart · 3 months

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Jon Kent being Stubborn with his Principles

One thing i really like about Jon is that he is not afraid to hold back his words or hide when he has a problem. A good example is that there's a handful of heroes who he does not respect/has problems with and he always makes it known, like they failed to earn his respect or they lost it. Those heroes being Batman ,Black Adam, and John Constantine, the reasons are all different but they range from personal issues to how those heroes go about their jobs for example prioritizing the mission over the people it hurts or lacking empathy.

It is important to note that while some of those aren't that bad Jon very rarely talks to people like this, especially if they're heroes. To him it is not about just getting the job done but about how you do it. I love how much he sticks to his principles.

This can also lean into how while Jon is a very sympathetic person he doesn’t just hand sympathy out to everyone. While I have many problems of his story with Injustice Clark the way he handles that versus villains like Luis is very different. Jon could see that Luis was more of just a lost kid and he had yet to do anything unsalvageable and he prioritized wanting to helping Luis despite his issues, but he could tell that Clark in injustice was too far gone and put more of a priority on trying to make him face justice. In both of those stories before going after these villains who are less power hungry and more struggling to cope with loss he takes his time to analyze the situation and how they got there as well as the damage they caused along the way before moving forward.

One of my favorite things about Jon is his unwavering hope and idealism but I love that he doesn’t let it cloud his judgement and he understands that there is a limit to how much pain/damage a person can cause before you need to handle the situation differently.

#jon kent #dc comics #batman #bruce wayne #john constantine #black adam

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dashawns-world · 9 months

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Been a little bit since my last post! Sorry this one isn’t going to be a very long one either. I’ve been very busy with my new job and personal work, but I did want to talk about three movies I saw recently! And while I won’t spoil anything major, these thoughts may cloud your judgement going into the films, so I recommend avoiding if you wanna go in with an open mind. Anyway, let’s go:

BARBIE

Barbie was such a fun film! It made me laugh out loud way more than it had any right to. Seriously, there’s a joke Will Ferrel nonchalantly says that I can’t get outta my mind. I had tears in my eyes. Not gonna spoil it but if you know, you know. The themes are quite existential, but in a playful enough way that I didn’t leave it thinking “bummer…” If I had to complain about anything, it’s that Barbie was kinda inactive for the final act. To the point where I was asking myself “what is Barbie doing?” Maybe you’d see what I meant if you watched it. (Or disagree) I still had a good time tho.

It’s worth a watch!

TMNT MUTANT MAYHEM

This is my favorite TMNT movie now, and my favorite personification of the turtles. The art direction, emotional stuff, comedy, action, and characters were all on point. There’s a moment where Leo has a heart to heart with his bros that didn’t feel as earned as it could’ve (on first viewing) I only bring this up because it’s a thought I had as the scene was going on. Where as everything else in the movie felt organic and original, this scene felt like a tried and true motivational speech beat that these types of movies generally have. If that makes sense? I’d have to watch it again to be sure. And thankfully, I’d gladly watch it again because I had such a good time.

Watch itttt!!

THEY CLONED TYRONE

This is a Netflix original and boy was I blown away. I swear, John Boyega is on Leo DiCaprio’s level of changing into a whole new person for his roles. I’m never sure who I’m gonna get. He really killed it. I’m not gonna spoil this movie and honestly if you go in blind it might be better. The directing is really REALLY good, too. There’s a scene that I really loved, where we’re with a character for an extended amount of time in one shot. This is to build tension for a pretty crazy moment afterwards and it was VERY well done. These types of scenes are so cool to me because I’m used to cutting often in animation. But in live action, these scenes are really good for getting inside a character’s head. I really can’t explain without spoiling but if you’ve watched the movie, I thiiiiink you know the scene I’m talking about.

Anyway, the cast, direction, and plot are all top notch. Jamie Foxx is hilarious as always, and Teyonah Parris gets to shine in this film. I loved her character in this compared to Wandavision where her talent was wasted.

I think this movie is perfect for the culture, but if you’re not typically into movies with a majority black cast that deals with African American issues (in a really good way) then you probably won’t be impressed. Your loss, though! I believe that this, alongside movies like The Woman King, The Harder They Fall, and Get Out are examples of movies that have clear parallels to others in their respective genres, but add a twist that I appreciate because of their characters and writing. I used to be stuck with hood movies, but now I get hood mystery movies. I love it, is all I’m saying.

Anyway, I know what the next deep dive is gonna be. I just need to set aside free time to write it up. I’ve been wanting to do a write up about beat em up games. My favorite one, in particular. I want to analyze what I like about it, and what I don’t. Might do more drawing to go alongside it too. Anybody remember Advance Guardian Heroes?? Brace yourselves, lol.

#movie reviews #barbie #artists on tumblr #mutant mayhem #teenage mutant ninja turtles #they cloned tyrone #netflix #film review

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maleyanderecafe · 6 months

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Kimbark Street (Visual Novel)

Created by: AspenGlen

Genre: Horror

Kimbark Street is made by the same person who made Infatuation and just like before does a good job showing the horrors of a yandere. You actually play as the yandere in this one, so you get to experience first hand what he does. There are about four different endings that you can get, and I really think that @aspenglen outdid themselves in this game from the UI to story to art.

The story starts with a radio talking about the disappearance of Kennedy Smith, as he was a respected hero, believing that he simply left the town. The main character turns off the radio, stating that he got what he deserved. He seems very surprised and happy that he has succeeded. He hears someone in the snow, realizing that he had been caught, before cleaning himself up to meet his love, Annie. He meets Annie in front of Kimbark Street. He thinks about all the wonderful things about Annie, only to see Chuck talking to her. Chuck is a local politician and seems to have said something to Annie, making the main character get very angry. When he returns home, Chuck had sent him a note telling him to meet up at the bar. While going there he tries to think of a distraction so he can get rid of him. He meets Chuck in front of the bar before they both go in. Chuck and the two talk, revealing that the main character was an admiral back in the day and the two argue. Chuck eventually reveals that he knows about what he did to Kennedy.

If he decides to intimidate him and blackmail him about ditching his draft to the military since he's going into be running for office in town. The two make a deal for an oath of silence and Chuck ends up winning the election. John ends up marrying Annie, and while Chuck tried to find the missing bodies, he never did. When Chuck died, John ended up burying him to rot as well.

If he decides to intimidate him and threaten him physically, he punches Chuck, but ends up going home afterwards. While stalking Annie and Chuck, he ends up getting arrested and sent to prison. Upon getting out, he kills and guts Chuck to take Annie back.

If the main character decides to create a distraction, he will smash his pint against the floor, causing a ruckus in the bar, before bringing Chuck outside and bludgeoning him to death on the side of the wall.

If he decides to gut him in front of the school and hang him, the next day he goes to meet Annie, who is in shock after seeing Chuck's gutted body in front of the school. The main character, John, corners her after, wanting her to say his name. When Annie can't remember him, he admits that he killed people for her as he's exasperated that she's forgotten him. He ends up killing her and carving his name into her eyelids.

If he decides to bury him where he buried Kennedy, then he successfully gets away with it, as he's buried him in a burial ground of the unmarked graves along with the three men he's killed. As now he's gotten away with it, he goes to meet Annie, introducing himself as John. He mentions that he knew her during the war, since she was his nurse. She doesn't seem to remember him as she's tended to a lot of people in her time in war. As they talk we learn that Annie wanted to continue being a nurse after the war, but couldn't stand looking at blood anymore and became a teacher instead. John admits that she saved her life, thankful that she tried so hard to save him despite everyone treating him like wasted space. The two talk about their family, then with Annie talking about how he wanted to find a specific soldier and why he moved here. The two end up eating out together, leading to the two getting married, and him getting away with all of his crimes.

First things first, I think it's pretty cool seeing a yandere story in an American historical setting. Generally the types I see are either more European centered (basically most iseakis) or more Asian historical (so Chinese, Korean or Japanese). The setting is in Wred, California in 1949, which does explain the outfits and general attitude of the town people there, seemingly having a lot of them come back from war. Despite being a short game, I think that Kimbark Street was able to capitalize on the feeling of being in the time through not only it's artwork but also it's UI as well, since it gives off a more dusty (I guess it's called) look. There is a glitch in the menu since I can't go back if I press the settings button, but other than that it seems mostly solid.

John as a yandere in the traditional sense, with his tactics of murder and wanting to wed Annie, but it does work with the setting of the game. To me, I always love reading or playing games that have the story from the yandere's point of view because we get to see just how twisted they are and how they think. John is very violent and jealous, gutting his victims and bashing their heads against walls, cutting messages into people but can also be very manipulative as well. It fits as his persona of a soldier, a person who is willing to be brutal while still trying towards his goal. I imagine he learned how to gut while surviving out in the wilderness as a soldier. It's interesting to see that he always "wins" in one way or another, even in the worst ending where he's jailed, he still gets out 10 years later to kill Chuck and take Annie. Chuck just always ends up dead in these situations- shouldn't have confronted him in the first place.

Overall, a very nice game created by Asper. If you are interested in the setting and plot of this story, please try it out! I think it's very good for what it is.

#Kimbark Street #male yandere #yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #completed #visual novel

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purpleheartskies · 7 months

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In my recent post, Robby's rejection of toxic empowerment, I talked about many of Robby's positive traits that exemplify healthy/positive masculinity. These traits are one of the main reasons why I find Robby to be such a lovable character and why I continue to support Robby each season. No doubt I want him to get all the wins in life because of all the traumas he's experienced and continues to experience, but also because of who he is as a character. His traumas and trauma responses don't define him. No matter what happens, Robby tries to stay true to these traits, and when he falters, he course corrects. (This of course doesn't include his unhealthy fawning behavior in s5.)

Interestingly, Johnny wants to be like Rocky Balboa. In s5e8, Johnny and the Sekai Taikai judge bonded over the fact that Rocky is their hero. Later in the episode, Johnny quoted Rocky to him, "If I can change, and you can change. Everybody can change." This in context to Johnny and Daniel now combining their karate styles. There have been other references to Rocky in the show and some specifically in relation to Johnny. In s4e1, Miguel tried to convince Johnny to reach out to Daniel to work together like Creed had with Rocky, but Johnny didn't want to be Creed. He wanted to be Rocky in that scenario, even though "striking first is badass". In s4e5, Johnny dressed kinda like Rocky and trained to the song "Burning Heart" from Rocky IV in his silly training montage.

Johnny, Chozen, and Daniel also sang "Eye of the Tiger" in the limo in s5e9. Interestingly, the lyrics of the song have two meanings in the context of the story. For most of the song, they're happily singing. They didn't really "win" against Silver, but they're still in the fight against him by getting accepted in the Sekai Taikai. And, that was after they'd snuck up and snagged a chance to try out.

Rising up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

[Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet]

[Just a man and his] will to survive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all

With the eye of the tiger

They're the tiger in the song. But then they realize that someone's hijacked the limo. Earlier in the episode, they assumed that Silver's been stalking them because they've been trying to thwart his plans. The lyrics that play after Chozen suggests that Silver had their limo hijacked feel different in this context:

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all...

With the eye of the tiger...

implying Silver's now the tiger in the song and they're his prey.

John Avildsen, who directed the Karate Kid movies, also directed Rocky and Rocky V, so these Rocky references in general have a special meaning for the series.

Rocky is a popular example of a character who exemplifies healthy/positive masculinity. Johnny in turn exemplifies toxic masculinity. Johnny aspires to be like Rocky, but to be like him, Johnny has to outgrow his toxic masculinity traits and adopt the healthy masculinity traits that Rocky has. In this regard, Robby is more like Rocky than Johnny is. Actually, Rocky is a popular example of an underdog too, and Robby is the main underdog in the series.

I've heard that there's some criticism of Rocky's portrayal of masculinity especially because he was a boxer. However, it's really his many character traits, like his kindness, sincerity, respectfulness, vulnerability, accountability, accepting influence, etc that people refer to when they speak of his portrayal of healthy/positive masculinity. Especially given the time, a character like that exhibiting those traits while being athlete is an interesting thing to see. And although Rocky was a boxer, he hadn't wanted to break people's thumbs for the mob. He kept his aggressiveness for the ring. With Cobra Kai being a series about karate, I think it's an okay comparison to make, especially since we're focusing on the emotional journeys of the characters, their struggles to be better versions of themselves, and how they interact with those around them.

After 5 seasons, I continue to stay for Robby because he is the superior character 😌. He always has been. If Johnny wants to be more like Rocky, then Johnny should learn to be more like Robby.

#cobra kai is robby's story #robby keene

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smkkbert · 5 months

Text

Time for a story - City of heroes

After however long she had been staring at the ruins of their house, she realized what made it so hard for her to accept the loss she had just faced. It didn’t look like their house anymore, so how could she believe that she had lost it as well as Hawk?

Losses always felt unreal. Denial was one of the famous stages of grief after all. The brain couldn’t understand that something wasn’t there. If you tried not to think about something, it didn’t work. It was always on your mind. So how could the brain truly understand that something was gone and taken from you? Never mind the heart.

What was lost of the home they had lived in were ruins. It was burnt out, a black, smoldered wreckage. There was nothing to live in anymore and as far as Felicity could see, there wasn’t anything to rebuild either. It was too destroyed for that. It had to be rebuilt from scratch, and that would mean that it wouldn’t be the home it had used to be.

Felicity wasn’t sure how much more her heart could take. It was in pieces already, and every new blow that it needed to face just shattered the pieces into even tinier pieces. It wouldn’t take much longer before there wouldn’t be anything left.

Lowering her gaze to her shaking hands in her laps, Felicity’s gaze fell on her engagement ring and her wedding band. How was she going to tell Oliver that the house he had built for their family had been set on fire – at least that was what she had overheard some people of the fire department say to each other – and destroyed?

It would hurt him as much as it hurt her, and they wouldn’t be able to comfort each other. For the first time in what felt like forever, they both needed to live with their pain and grief separately. They couldn’t lean on each other and endure it together. They-

Another noise of cameras clicking behind her, made Felicity close her eyes and take in a deep breath. She had heard the reporters from time to time. They were lurking close, trying to take the perfect picture of devastation. Someone – John or Bruce or some firefighter – had always chased them away quickly though.

“Have some decency guys,” she heard Bruce’s low voice just a moment later, “and stop taking photos.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Way-“

Whatever protest the reporter had planned on voicing, he didn’t. Either Bruce had offered him a lot of money, or he had just shot him one of those ice cold looks that made everyone shut up instantly. Bruce was powerful. Nobody with a sane mind would pick a fight with him. It was good to have a friend like him here. He would block everyone from approaching her because he knew that she wasn’t in any state to talk to anyone.

Felicity glanced at her watch briefly. She had lost all sense for time. It could have been seconds or hours since she had kneeled down at the side of the driveway where she wouldn’t be bothering anyone and just started staring. She felt utterly lost in time, space and everything else really.

She couldn’t stay here forever. The kids were in some hotel, distracted by Raisa and Alfred for sure, but certainly in need of their mother to show up and tell them that everything was going to be alright. Emmy might have already caught wind of what had happened to their house. She did know how to stay updated on the news, and she also had friends that might have heard about it and would text her.

There was a part of her that didn’t wat to leave though. Leaving felt like accepting that all of this was true, and Felicity wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet.

“Felicity?”

John’s voice was gentle. She could feel him right behind her.

“I’m not ready to leave yet,” she whispered, still looking at the ruins of he home, “not yet.”

“There is someone who wants to see you.”

Felicity frowned, still not looking back. “I don’t want to see anyone.”

“I disagree,” John said.

When Felicity turned around to protest, John had already turned his back on her and was walking away. She frowned, wondering what exactly that conversation had been, and was already about to turn back to the house when she noticed the little standing a couple of feet away. The girl – maybe four years of age – looked a little shy. She was holding a stuffed unicorn clutched to her chest and looked at Felicity with her big, hazel eyes.

Despite the emptiness Felicity was feeling in her chest, she cocked her head at the little girl and flashed her a smile. She was rewarded with a smile in response.

“Hi,” Felicity said and quickly cleared her throat when she heard how much it croaked, “did you want to talk to me?”

The girl nodded her head. She looked Felicity up and down hesitantly before she took some cautious steps into her direction.

Looking at her, Felicity cocked her head a little more and narrowed her eyes at her slightly. She had seen the girl before. Although there were a thousand different possibilities where and how she had met her since Felicity had her own children and was often in places for children because of that, Felicity knew exactly where she had met her.

Somewhere in chaos that she had faced when she had arrived at

“I saw you at Rainbow Bridge-House, right?”

The girl nodded her head. She angled her head back for a moment and looked at the sky. She smiled cautiously and mouthed some words. Felicity’s heart ached at the sight, knowing that the little girl’s brother or sister must have died.

Despite all her rage and all the hopelessness, Felicity also felt warmth spreading in her chest. This little girl had come to see her. Despite the pain she had to be feeling, she had come here. It was admirable.

“I’m Felicity.” She held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Nayeli.”

She shook Felicity’s hand, releasing a long breath. She seemed a little nervous.

“That is a beautiful name.” Felicity shot her a smile and did her best to hide her own pain. “I am not sure that this is the right place for you. The firefighters said new fires could start. It’s dangerous.”

“I want to give you this.” The girl held out her stuffed unicorn for Felicity. “Maybe you need it comfort you.”

Felicity looked at the unicorn. It was white with a mane and tail in all colors of the rainbow. Just looking at it had something comforting to it because of its bright colors. Felicity knew that her kids would love the unicorn.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to keep it?” Felicity asked. “I am sure you need some comfort from time to time too.”

“You helped when Avila died.” She took a step closer and urged Felicity to take the unicorn. “Now I want to help you.”

When someone wanted to help, especially at this young age, Felicity felt like you shouldn’t reject the help. Empathy and willingness to help were rare in adults because they had learned as kids that those competences weren’t appreciated. Felicity didn’t want to be responsible that this happened to Nayeli.

She took the unicorn, lifted it to her face and breathed in its scent. There was some smell of hospital left in the fabric. The toy had certainly been disinfected thoroughly. There was something else though, its own smell or the smell of the children it had comforted. It stuck to the fabric as well as the disinfectant did.

“That is very kind of you.” Felicity clutched the unicorn to her chest like Nayeli had done before. “I am indeed in some need for comfort.”

Nayeli smiled and looked back over her shoulder. A woman – not the one Felicity had seen her with at Rainbow Bridge-House, but some other adult woman – was standing a couple of feet away, shooting Nayeli a proud smile.

“A friend of yours?” Felicity asked.

“My aunt.” Nayeli turned back to Felicity once more. “I need to go now.”

Felicity smiled at her. “Thank you for coming here and giving this to me. I will cherish it.”

Nayeli, unsure what more she could say, just smiled once more before she turned around and ran over to her aunt. The young woman smiled at Felicity before she took her niece’s hand and took her away.

If Nayeli was so strong that she could stand here just days after her sister had died, maybe there was still hope that Felicity’s kids would be able to get through the losses that they had to face. At least Felicity knew that she herself needed to be strong through it. If Nayeli could be strong, so could she.

Shooting one last look to the ruins of her home, Felicity released a long breath. She clutched the unicorn even closer to her chest and got up onto her feet slowly. Her legs were trembling slightly since she had been sitting on the for so very long. Standing still for a moment, she felt the sensation returning to them though.

Although it felt so incredibly hard, Felicity turned around and took the first steps away. Just as she had taken two steps, a car stopped at the edge of the driveway. Lyla got out from the driver’s side, followed by Roy at the passenger’s side and Thea from the back of the car. Thea’s face was almost white. Tears welled in her eyes and she shook her head in disbelief.

John, Bruce and Tommy all joined the three. Felicity approached them too.

As soon as she was close enough, Thea crossed the rest of the distance to her and hugged her tightly. Felicity wrapped her arms around Thea just as strongly and closed her eyes for a moment.

There had been a time when they had been very close. As sisters-in-laws they still were of course, but things had changed through the years. When Felicity had first gotten together with Oliver, Thea had been very close with the two of them. That had only increased when Emmy had been born. Thea had taken her job as a godmother very seriously. Of course she had gotten married then and had had her two sons, so her focus had, understandably of course, shifted to her own little family.

Holding Thea in her arms now, Felicity realized how hard all of this had to be for Thea too. Just like Felicity, Thea had lost Oliver before too. He was the one part of the family that she had grown up with that had been left. When he wasn’t around, a lot of memories they had created together in their childhood weren’t present for her either.

When they released each other from the tight hug, they were still holding onto each other’s hands. Their gazes locked for a moment, sharing a moment of pain and comfort at the same time. They let go of each other completely soon though.

“We need to do something,” Felicity said, her voice as firm as she managed it to be, “because all of this has gone too far. Blood Rose needs to be stopped, and the city needs to be reminded that Starling City is at its best when everyone is united.”

“That is certainly true,” Bruce replied, looking at her intently, “but you need to sleep first.”

Felicity shook her head. “There are more urgent issues. I can deal with a couples of sleepless hours. We need to stop this craziness before people get hurt even more. Starling-“

“-needs to be you second priority,” John said softly.

“They are right, Felicity.” Lyla took Felicity’s hand and squeezed it gently. “You need to be at your best form to face this, so you need some rest. And I am sure your kids would like to see you too before you face the struggle of the city.”

Releasing a long breath, Felicity nodded her head. When Lyla thought this was right, it had to be. She was a crime-fighting working mother too, so she knew what she was talking about.

“Fine.” She tightened her hold on the unicorn and rubbed a hand over her tired face. “I will go to the hotel, see the kids and sleep for three hours. Then we will work on putting an end to this.”

“Five hours,” Bruce replied, “but agreed on.”

Since Felicity knew that there was no reason in arguing with Bruce, especially given how tired she was, she nodded her head. She probably wouldn’t sleep at all, but five hours of rest might help her.

“I will get you to the hotel,” Lyla suggested.

“And I will drive you two home,” Bruce said to Thea and Roy.

“I will stay here.” Tommy shot a look towards the house. “Just in case there’s another emergency."

Felicity nodded and followed his gaze once more. It still felt unreal, but the thought of reality started so sink in slowly. Her home was no more, but it was time to look to the future. If she wanted a safe home for her family then, she needed to do something about it.

“Alright. Let’s say we will meet at the bunker at nine.”

“Are we sure the bunker is safe?” Thea asked.

“I will talk to McKenna and check on that,” Tommy offered.

They parted ways. Bruce, Thea and Roy went to his car down on the street. Tommy and John went to talk to some firefighters. Lyla nodded towards her car. She and Felicity went towards it, and Felicity had already grabbed the doorhandle when she heard a noise that she couldn’t really say what it was yet.

She turned her head back over her shoulder, trying to find out where that noise came from. There was nothing that caught her attention though.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Felicity turned back and looked at Raisa over the roof of the car. “I just thought that I heard-“

Again, Felicity heard that noise, and this time she knew exactly what it was. She turned around fully, scanning her environment for what she was sure she was hearing. It only took her a couple of seconds to find the source of the noise.

Hawk came running towards her between the trees that surrounded the estate. He was barking and waggling his tail in excitement. Felicity had never seen him like this before. He was shaking from nervous excitement.

“Come here, Buddy!”

Felicity let herself fall on her knees just when Hawk come to an abrupt stop only to jump up and put his front paws on her shoulders and lick her face. He was whining while he was doing so, and his entire body was still shaking.

Petting him and hugging him, Felicity laughed with relief and excitement. She didn’t know if Raisa and Alfred had left the door unlocked and Hawk had just opened the door for himself and escaped when the fire had been set or if, whoever had set the fire, had let him go first. It didn’t matter anyway. Hawk was back with her and the family. She didn’t have to tell the kids that they had lost their home and their dog. They would never know what sorrow Felicity had felt, thinking that Hawk had been lost in the fire.

Hawk was back and that was probably the best news that Felicity had received in a while.

→ → → → →

The moment Laurel stepped into the small room Oliver knew something had happened. Despite the smile that she flashed the guard that had opened the door for her, Oliver could see the tension on her face. He felt his muscles growing tense in response.

As soon as the guard had closed the door from outside, Oliver looked at Laurel intently.

“What is it?”

Laurel didn’t seem surprised that he knew something was up. She placed her briefcase on the table, sat down on the chair at the opposite side of the table and released a long sigh.

“Before I tell you, you should know that everyone is safe.”

Oliver clenched his hands to tight fists, trying to swallow the wave of rage that swashed through him. Laurel wasn’t to blame for whatever had happened. She was just the messenger. Given how much she had been willing to give up to get him through this situation he had gotten himself in, she was one of the last people that deserved to be at the receiving end of his anger.

“What happened?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Someone set your house on fire.”

The words felt like a punch into the stomach. He didn’t know what he had expected. Maybe what he had expected had been worse. Maybe it had just been different. Either way, he felt terrible at the thought that the house he had built for his family had been damaged.

“Nobody got hurt?”

“Nobody,” Laurel assured him, sitting down, “I promise. Raisa, Alfred and the kids were already at the hotel. Felicity wasn’t at home. It looked like Hawk was in there, but apparently he got out soon enough. He is unhurt and with Felicity now.”

Oliver nodded his head slowly. Nobody had been hurt. That was what really mattered. He let his face sink into his hands and groaned.

“How bad is the damage at the house?”

The long silence that followed from Laurel made Oliver’s heart sink even more. He lifted his head, his shoulders sinking.

“Is there anything left?”

“Nothing that can be lived in.” Laurel shot him an empathetic glance. “Sorry.”

Oliver nodded his head once more, not saying a word. It wasn’t even the worst message that he had received in the last days, but it was bad even within all the others bad news. He had built that house, not with his own hands, but in his head. It had been built with his ideas because he had wanted to have a real influence on how the house that his kids would grow up in would be.

Once he had Felicity had gotten together, it had all happened so very fast. He had proposed to her in the early stage of their relationship when there had still been so many insecurities and so many unanswered questions. They had gotten married a year into their relationship, and they had had Emmy eleven months into their marriage. Presenting that home to Felicity had been his way of taking the next step. He had wanted to give his family what he had never had – a true home rather than a giant house you lived in incidentally.

Everything he had tried to give to his family – love, safety and privacy – seemed to be gone.

Well, the love wasn’t gone, but he felt like he couldn’t give it to his family the way that he had used to and the way he had always intended to do. As long as he was here, he couldn’t.

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut for a moment a released a long breath. If this happened so early while he was imprisoned, who knew what else would happen. He had never planned for something like this to happen. He had tried to do everything to not make it happen. Now it was time to discuss other options.

“I need to talk to Felicity,” Oliver said, “and Lyla.”

Laurel looked at him intently. “Felicity won’t agree to that.”

“She has to for her own safety and the one of our children.” Oliver dipped his head down slightly. “Can you arrange that.”

“Yes.” Laurel sighed. “It will take some time, but it shouldn’t be too long. Felicity will be focused otherwise, anyway.”

Oliver perked up his eyebrows. “Which means?”

“Lyla convinced her to go to the hotel and catch some rest, but Felicity is determined to take down Blood Rose as soon as possible. She wants to put an end to the madness. Understandably.”

“In that case,” Oliver said, “you should be there too. The team needs all hands on deck. The fight for the safety of the city is more important than the fight for my personal freedom is right now.”

Laurel cocked her head slightly, looking at Oliver with slight disagreement. She didn’t seem to be willing to start a fight though because she didn’t say anything.

“You need to go,” Oliver insisted once more.

Although Laurel didn’t look like she agreed, she shook her head and leaned back in her chair. She was giving in to what he wanted because she knew that she didn’t really have a choice anyway. If he wanted her to leave, she would have to leave, or he would be the one leaving.

“Just let me tell you this,” Laurel said, getting up and grabbing her briefcase, “it’s not looking too well. Perrez was on your side. He doesn’t dislike the Green Arrow per se. He is worried what this case will do to his career though. He feels like he needs to take a stand, especially since you aren’t willing to name who you are working with.”

“I will never tell who I am working with.”

“I know.” Laurel shot him a smile. “People you love are well-protected. You wouldn’t give them away for anything.”

“I started this,” Oliver explained, “so everyone else just joined in because they wanted to support me or the mission itself. I won’t give away their identities to save myself.”

Laurel nodded her head slowly. “Like I said, I know these people are well-protected. I am sorry that you are losing so much because of that though.”

Oliver lowered his eyes. He was losing more than anyone would ever be able to truly understand. With the way he had been brought up and after these five years away had shaped him, he was losing more than he could ever put into words.

“I’ll go now,” Laurel said quietly and went to the door where she turned around to him once more, “but I will make sure that Felicity and Lyla will come to visit you and that you stay somewhat updated in here.”

“Thank you, Laurel,” Oliver said, smiling sadly. “I appreciate it.”

“I wish I could do more.”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone is doing what they can. As long as Felicity and the kids and all of you are safe, I can take whatever will happen.”

He needed to believe that. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure if he could take it all.

→ → → → →

Felicity arrived at the bunker, accompanied by Bruce, she was happy and relieved that the entire team had already gathered in the bunker. Roy and Thea, Tommy and Laurel, Curtis, John and Lyla – they had all come because she had asked them to.

When all of this hard started, it had been Oliver’s mission. Then it had turned into a voluntary service for the city. Eventually, it had become a calling for all of them. Somewhere in that process they had grown from strangers to friends, and now they were a family.

As soon as Felicity had joined the others in her working area, she opened her mouth to speak as everyone was looking at her to say something anyway. She wasn’t sure how to start though. She had considered thanking them for coming, but she knew that it wasn’t necessary to do so.

They just needed to jump straight to action.

“We need to stop Blood Rose,” she said, “now.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Thea mumbled, massaging the back of her neck, “but how?”

“Did the bug in Rose Obold’s office do any good?” Felicity asked, turning to Curtis.

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’, “because the bug is defective.”

“The bug was produced by Wayne Enterprise.”

Bruce’s voice was low and dark. Although he had simply stated that Wayne Enterprise had produced the bug, he could have as well just insisted that products by Wayne Enterprise never showed any defects. Admittingly, Felicity too found it hard to believe that Wayne Enterprise had failed producing a bug.

“Still, it does not work as it should,” Curtis said even more quickly than he usually did, sitting down in front of the computers, “because most of the times, there are glitches. The sounds are blanketed by noises. You can hear it yourself.”

“I will.”

Bruce shooed Curtis away from the computers with a gesture of his hand. Curtis lifted his hands in defeat and made room for Bruce to take over. He hurried to play some of the recordings that the bug had made. His facial expression darkened when he realized that Curtis had actually been right.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Bruce mumbled through gritted teeth, shaking his head, “so why does this happen?”

“She probably noticed that we are intercepting and uses a jammer on us, don’t you think?” John asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and stepping behind Bruce’s chair.

Lyla shook her head, stepping next to him. “The bugs Wayne Enterprises developed are almost impossible to jam. We used some prototypes at A.R.G.U.S., and only the strongest of jammers achieved anything and nothing like this.”

“So a malfunction.” Roy shrugged his shoulders. “Happens. We need to find another way and-“

“It is not a malfunction,” Bruce insisted. “It has to be something else. Something is jamming it, but I wouldn’t know how Rose Obold could have produced a jammer that would be strong enough to create a disturbance like that. Even if she was Mida’s girlfriend.”

“Well, Midas was a good and skilled inventor,” Felicity said, “otherwise we probably wouldn’t have needed to take him down in the first place and-“

The words died on Felicity’s lips. One of the monitors showed the recording of the press conference Rose Obold had given. Something – something so small that Felicity wasn’t sure that she had really seen it – had caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes, taking a step closer towards the monitors.

“She didn’t say anything interesting,” Laurel explained, shaking her head, “I watched the entire press conference on their website. A lot of empty phrases mostly. She plans on making an anti-vigilante law. It’s been discussed ever since and-“

“It’s not that,” Felicity interrupted her, and beckoned Bruce to get up from the chair which he did, “it’s something else.”

She called up the video on the central monitor and wound it back for a couple of seconds. Moving her face even closer to the monitor, she fixed her gaze on the spot where Obold’s jaw joint her neck. She narrowed her eyes, forcing herself not to blink, so she wouldn’t miss the moment when-

There it was. A glitch. It was barely there, and it only lasted the blink of a second. For Felicity, who might have known – even if only subconsciously – what she was dealing with, hadn’t missed it though.

She turned her head back over her shoulder to look at the others, who were frowning at either her or the screen.

“Did you see it?” she asked them, unnecessarily though as she could read their answers in their faces. “Look closely.”

She wound the video back a couple of seconds once more and zoomed in on the spot that she had watched so intently before. She even slowed down the video then. At a little more than five minutes, the glitch showed again. Something on her skin opened like a hatch, revealing small wires and some blinking button. Obold lifted her hand quickly, pushed the hatch back into place and tightened her scarf around her neck. This time it was visible for everyone.

“Is that-?” Tommy started without ending the question.

“And does that mean that she is-?” Thea leaned forward and stared at Obold. “That’s not possible, right?”

In some way, it felt like a lot of puzzle pieces suddenly fell into place. Felicity didn’t know if she just felt that way because it seemed to her like there was real proof that Rose Obold and Blood Rose were the same person or because she felt like she was finally back in her element. Everything that had happened lately had felt uncontrollable to her. Now this was different. This was something she could, at least in parts, take control of.

Felicity turned in her chair, so she could face the team. She looked at them one by one and nodded her head, confirming all of their suspicions.

“Back when we went after Midas the first time, he was experimenting with robots. He had started with helping, human-like robots that could be used in different professions like housekeeping and at reception desks. His latest experiment back then were solider robots. He needed to be stopped.”

“But his ideas had made him a loner,” Bruce added, nodding his head, “so he used his skills to create the perfect partner for himself – someone he was attracted to and who could be useful to him.”

John angled his head and looked at them incredulously. “You want to tell me that Rose Obold isn’t only Rose Blood but a robot, too?”

Felicity nodded her head slowly. “That is exactly what it is.”

“But that means that she has someone she is working with now, right?” Roy asked. “I mean she couldn’t have planned all of this by herself if she is a robot.”

“Why not?” Felicity cocked her head at him. “Robots today are smart and programmed for problem solving in their field. Midas was good at what he was doing.”

“But I shook her hands numerous times and she felt like a human,” John said.

“Midas was that good,” Bruce said, shrugging his shoulders, “so good that I might have hired him if he hadn’t been so grimly determined. Something was off about him.” “Which is why neither of us hired him.” Felicity got up. “But forget about that. Let’s just assume that we are right and Obold is Rose Blood like we assumed and she is indeed a robot. Everything she is doing is determined by algorithms, and she has weaknesses like every computer system. We need to examine the robots Midas invented and check out their weaknesses. If we find them, we will know Blood Rose’s weaknesses. Then we can finally take her down.”

#arrow #olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfic #time for a story

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kaseyskat · 9 months

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many of yall either already know this or probably could've guessed by my general thoughts and census in this fandom but! i am putting this here for the record: i strongly, STRONGLY believe lark was the one training hero with sparrow's biggest crime being encouraging/actively letting it happen, and here's why.

one of my favorite things to do with media and like. god especially dndads? is connect puzzle pieces of information, draw connections between scenes and base my thoughts entirely around my conclusions. not taking stuff at face value is my entire MO! i think it's fun to analyze situations and the characters and use prior information to figure out Why they are doing what they are doing in any given scenario. because of this, my favorite characters tend to be ones who aren't usually given that nuance in their respective fandoms, and it's definitely a big part of why i gravitate towards sparrow so much! i do feel like most of sparrow's actions get taken at face value without thought as to WHY he's acting the way he does in canon, something that is afforded to most of the other kiddads pretty easily.

because of this, when hero was first said to be the chosen one and speculation about her birth began to circulate, i reevaluated the canon material, reflected, and made a decision of what i personally believed to be true as shown in canon prior to this episode. and that decision, ultimately, was this: the twins trained hero because she was born to be the savior of the world, but lark was the one who really took charge while sparrow is ultimately the one to put a stop to it. so far, as of ep37, this opinion of mine has not changed.

"but nyx, hero blames them equally!" i know this! and i'm not saying sparrow is blameless in the matter, i just personally believe that his involvement was mostly limited to things like. taking hero places. bandaging her wounds when she got banged up in training. being COMPLACENT but not actively the one to train her. and, ultimately, when she was unhappy and this was going to ruin her, it is sparrow who recognizes this and puts a stop to her training before it can change her as a person, because it is sparrow who has seen the consequences! first with grant, and then with lark.

and ultimately, to me. to me! it makes sense. i love lark to pieces, i find him fascinatingly complex, but i feel like sometimes his treatment in the fandom... varies a lot? from the treatment sparrow gets? and i think there is something Very Real about lark being the leader of hero's training. for one, we know that lark wanted normal to be trained as well, even offering to teach him "valuable skills" in the very first episode of season 2. we know he disapproves of the way sparrow parented normal- not because sparrow's a bad parent, but because he was too SOFT. sparrow says lark is the one in charge of violence, and lark seems to be the ringleader of the kiddads entirely- at least, when it comes to the doodler. and sparrow as a character is defined by how much he caves to pressure, how much of himself he hides in favor of being more like lark, even if it means doing things he doesn't agree with.

and, we know that lark doesn't blame sparrow for the doodler. he only blames himself, he says as much to normal when pretending to be sparrow at papa john's. it would make sense for his character if he took charge with hero, wanting to be responsible for her so that he's still the one handling the doodler and not sparrow. sparrow, of course, feels differently, but all that means is that he lets it happen! not that he's the one who actively encourages and trains hero in things we KNOW sparrow doesn't agree with, like killing animals.

this has gotten so long and so wordy but its been sitting pretty heavy on my chest for a few weeks now: it really bothers me that we are willing to take anything sparrow does at face value - hero was trained so it HAD to be entirely sparrow, he married rebecca so they HAVE to be in love even though they got married at 19/20 at the latest - while lark and the other kiddads are explored and given nuance. sparrow is such an interesting character BECAUSE of how different he truly is from lark, and the way his guilt over letting hero's training happen manifesting in him trying so hard to protect the teens from the same fate is just SO INTERESTING and i hate how he gets bashed for assumptions?

so yeah, that is my 2 cents SHFKDSHFSDKFH agree with me or disagree, it's really all for fun anyways, i just hope that someone sees this and understands the Pain i have gone through ahaha

#dndads #kasey rambles #sparrow oak garcia #im also a little tipsy so forgive my rambling HSDKFHDSKFH its just been such a thing on my mind recently #the twins are both sooo fucked up but i LIKE that theyre fucked up in different ways!#and i think people forget that lark literally tells normal he can teach him useful life skills in the first episode

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 5 months

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//So with 30.8% of the vote, Seiko Vs The Lizard takes the spot for our 10th round.

//Dr. Kimura Vs Dr. Connors. I'm actually REALLY excited for this one! The things these two can do against each other are so interesting,

//But let's move onto the semi-final...And I'm happy to say...It's TIME...!

[NOTE: I have shown my bias towards one particular matchup on this list (you'll know which one if you've followed me for a while) and while I personally would love to do it, do not let my opinion sway your bias]

//Connections are under the cut:

Deku: Both were born as starry-eyed kids in a world populated with powerful people with unique powers and abilities as one of a few people who do not possess one themselves, driven by their affection for a faction that represented their world (Ultimate's and Heroes). Both wished to have powers of their own but are driven by different motives (While Hajime's motives were rather selfish, wanting to become someone that mattered, Izuku wanted to become a Pro Hero to help people with a smile). Both would be given the chance to receive these abilities, along with a title they would inherit with a similar "Hope" theme ("The Ultimate Hope" and "The Symbol of Hope") from some of the most important people in their world that they greatly admired (For Hajime, it was Hope's Peak Academy, a school he attended as a Reserve Course student that he looked up to since he was a kid, and for Deku, it was All Might, the Number 1 Pro Hero and his idol). The power they inherited is among the greatest power in their worlds, and permits them to use various powers and abilities from other individuals (The Ultimate Hope Talent, which bestows upon Hajime every known Ultimate Talent in history, and One for All, which bestows upon Deku the power and quirks of previous users.) Both would attend a school full of individuals with similar capabilities (Hope's Peak and U.A.) and for contrasting reasons, this led to them taking on different identities (Hajime's personality and individuality was erased by the researchers that gave him his talents, becoming Izuru Kamukura, and Izuku Midoriya adopted the Hero Name of Deku to represent his own individuality and what he stands for). At their best, both characters are selfless heroes who are admired and looked up to by their classmates and best friends (Class 77 and Class 1-A respectively), who include a jealous rival (Nagito and Bakugou), a love interest (Mahiru and Ochako), and their best friend who always looks out for them (Chiaki and Iida). Though fundamentally similar heroes, their tales, however, are not the same; Hajime's is of a fallen hero, whereas Izuku's is of a rising hero.

Sunny: Both characters are the seemingly depressed main characters of their respective video games, which largely take place within a realm separate from that of the normal human world (Danganronpa 2 takes place inside a virtual reality, and over half of Omori is spent within Sunny's Headspace, a world made of the machinations of his mind) Both realms also exist as a coping mechanism for each character's trauma (Hajime/Izuru was placed into the Neo World to restore his original personality after he and his friends were brainwashed into being Remnant's of Despair, and Headspace serves as Sunny's "Happy Place" which he closes himself inside to cope with the death of his sister Mari) but both realms came under threat of a demonic force that threatened to take it over (Monokuma/AI Junko and the "Something"). Both characters suffer from experiencing the traumatic death of the person they loved the most, which was inadvertently caused by them (As Izuru, Hajime worked with Junko to mastermind the original Chiaki Nanami's death, and Sunny accidentally killed Mari during an argument where he pushed her down a flight of stairs) and through different means, both developed a second blank-faced and soulless personality from this trauma that existed purely in their minds, which one way or another, threatened to take over, though by different means and motives (Izuru Kamukura was born when Hope's Peak wiped Hajime's personality away after giving him infinite Ultimate Talents, and then remained as a spiritual figure inside Hajime's mind until Hajime was almost killed during a fight with Nagito, and Izuru automatically took over. Sunny has Omori, which is the manifestation of himself inside Headspace, and threatened to take over Sunny in the real world, inviting unimaginable horrors into the poor boy's mind until Sunny confronted his trauma and defeated him). Said alter-ego's also have contrasting relationships with their dominant personalities (Hajime and Izuru are shown to be quite chummy, and in spite of Izuru's lack of personality and emotional attachment, he does seem to hold Hajime in high-regard. Omori however, represents the side of Sunny that closes him off from the outside world, the "killer" he believes he is, and basically represents all of the boys inner demons).

John: Both went to a fundamentally depressing school full of remarkable people, where there is a hierarchy based on the abilities and talents of the students (Hope’s Peak acted as though Talents was the reason why someone matters, and New Bostin views the higher tiered students to be literal Kings and Queens), as two people who lacked these abilities, being given less than flattering nicknames (Talentless and Crippled respectively). As a result, they grew up as resentful and jealous young men until they were given the chance to possess the most potent gift of all; one that enables them to possess enhanced forms of other people's abilities (Hajime became the prime subject for the Izuru Kamukura Project, which granted him access to every talent in the universe, making him superior to all others, while John unlocked the power of Aura Manipulation, a power that allowed him to sense other people's powers and fighting capabilities, as well as duplicate them and amplify said powers.) But as a result of being the top dog, getting these would make them go down darker paths, and as a result, they would lose not just their former selves but also any close friends they may have had, becoming the opposites of what they once wanted to be (Hajime would transform into Izuru Kamukura, the Ultimate Despair, who contributed to the Tragedy by upsetting the stability of life at Hope's Peak and ultimately causing the death of Hajime's closest friend, Chiaki Nanami; while John would turn into a ruthless tyrant seeking vengeance on those who had bullied him and his friends, eventually becoming a bully himself and losing his friendship with Claire and Adrion.) Eventually, both would conquer their pasts, even though hints of their original personalities remained (Izuru remained as a fragment of Hajime's mind and John retained some of his savagery and violence) but were saved by new friends who helped them come to terms with themselves (Chiaki for Hajime and Seraphina for John).

Min-su: Though starting out as notably kind and thoughtful people, a great tragedy turned both of them into fallen heroes and the deadliest villains known to man (Hajime took part in Hopes Peak Academy's Hope Cultivation Plan following the death of his fellow Reserve Course students that the academy completely ignored because of their lack of talents, with the intention of developing his talents; but Izuru Kamukura, a more cynical character, was born to host his body. Min-Su is an Isekai hero who returns from another world only to confront the somber reality of losing his family and being rejected by society as a pitiful nobody). Even though each of them was given their powers with the intention of using them to save and bring hope to their own worlds, once they turned evil, they started abusing and unleashing their abilities to cause the world to descend into complete misery. They are both the de facto leaders of a group of people in a similar situation as them (the Brainwashed Class 77-B and the 9-Heroes) and both have also waged war against the entire world with the sole intent of plunging it into pure Despair. At one point or another, both were battling a group of resistances that pushed them to stop trying to build a utopia centered around despair and free the world (The Future Foundation; the Restoration Government and the Resistance Heroes.) The difference lies in that Hajime eventually overcomes his despair, returns his original personality and joins the hero team, whereas Min-Su only progressively loses his mind more and more as the series goes on.

Infinite: Both signed their lives and what heroism they had away after being tempted by the ultimate power of their universe (Hope and Talent and the Phantom Ruby) which was eventually gifted upon them, or rather infused into them, to use at their leisure by a powerful group of people with a dark underbelly (The Hope's Peak Academy Steering Committee and the Eggman Empire). Both characters snapped and gave up everything, including their old personalities, to undergo said villain's brutal experiments, with the catalyst for their decision being told to their face that they are weak, useless and don't matter in the grand scheme of things (by Juzo Sakakura and Shadow the Hedgehog respectively) and through some coercion and manipulation, the two became the right hand man of the most evil villain in their respective universes (Junko Enoshima and Doctor Eggman), aiding them in bringing complete control and destruction to the entire world, in which they succeeded (Izuru led the Ultimate Despair against the world and helped Junko bring about the Tragedy, and Infinite defeated Sonic, allowing Eggman to conquer the world). Thus becoming the biggest and most powerful threat to the resistance organization that battled against them, including a spiky-haired protagonist (Makoto Naegi and the Future Foundation, and Sonic the Hedgehog and the Resistance). Both characters are also shown to possess a degree of boredom to the world that they let guide their actions (Hajime/Izuru is so powerful, he doesn't have to put effort into most of what he does, taking the excitement out of doing anything, whilst Infinite initially accepted Eggman's offer to join his army because he was bored with the peaceful world as it was) Both at one point possessed a title with the word "Ultimate" in it (Hajime is the "Ultimate Hope" and Infinite was once the "Ultimate Mercenary").

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #mod #seiko kimura #hajime hinata #izuru kamukura #death battle

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