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lifewithdavefarts · 2 months

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DaveFarts - Episode 29 “Ripped Ripper” [Episode List] Dave’s gym is closed due to maintenance so he decides to do some working out at home. Lazy Tim doesn’t want to join him, but Dave knows how to make things more… interesting for his kinky bro.

POV: Tim

Ripped Ripper

Another lazy Sunday evening, a great reward after a busy week like the one both me and my friend/roommate Dave just had. I was in my bedroom minding my own business, reading stuff on my laptop, listening to some music: perfect pre-Monday night for a guy like me, now 30, too tired at the idea of doing something that demands a bit more commitment than, well, this. I even closed the window shutters this morning so the Sun couldn’t bother me with its very inappropriate life-bringing light.

Luckily, Dave is a fellow lazy man, so I know I have a good roommate when it comes to just chilling in silence, without even interacting, after a long week. I’ll ask if he wants pizza though, least I can do for not, well, not making up any plans for tonight.

“Babe, come here!”

Speak of the Devil.

I heard my bro from his room, next to my own. I know him, he probably didn’t even need me for anything important, as his voice had that tone he uses to mess with me (and our other buds) like the idiot prankster he sometimes can be.

“Here I come.” I replied, very maturely putting a lot of emphasis on that last word.

I… took my time to actually go on check on him, ‘cause I liked the song I was listening to. Once it was over, I managed to get up, almost tripping on my own sweatpants and slippers somehow.

I walked to his room, knocked a couple of times on the door, which was open, and looked at him with the most bored expression I could muster.

“You rang?”

Faint rock music was coming out of Dave’s smartphone on a desk while he was sitting on his bed. He was wearing a blue t-shirt, a pair of grey basketball shorts, and sneakers.

“Not interested.” I then said, walking back to my room.

I heard Dave laugh and then his own footsteps right behind me. He grabbed my left arm and pulled me back to his room. I didn’t fight back ‘cause I know I couldn’t; not because of Dave being strong or anything but because I knew he won’t leave me alone the whole evening.

“Not gonna let you dump me for the fourth time this week.” he said.

“I said I’m not interested.” I replied.

He let me go, sat again on his bed and looked up to me.

“No, you said you wanted to exercise.”

“…eventually!”

“You didn’t say ‘eventually’, you said ’next week’.” He got up and patted my shoulder. “Come on, give it a shot.”

I sighed, defeated, but I still wanted to slip my way out of that situation in a way or another.

“I already tried the gym with you once and I got bored pretty quickly.”

“Oh shut up, you stopped showing up because you were too busy crushing on that hot guy, so much so you got too afraid to work in with him.”

I looked at him with a puzzled look, pretending to have no idea of what was he talking about.

“Also I’m way hotter than him and I’m very offended by your poor taste.” he joked.

I rolled my eyes in response, even though, yeah, I do think Dave is quite hot, regardless of my kink obviously.

“Look.” I said. “I just don’t feel like it today, I hav-“

“I have to work tomorrow” he completed my sentence, also doing a very poor imitation of my voice. “So do I, man. It’s not even 4:00 PM. The Sun’s still up. Do you even look outside of your window sometimes?”

I literally shook my head in disbelief.

“Wait, what?”

I sincerely thought it was, like, almost dinner time. Maybe Dave’s got a point, after all.

“…maybe you’re right.”

I noticed a small exercise mat on the floor by Dave’s bed; I simply sat there, waiting for my friend’s instruction.

“Alright, lead me to a healthy life of wellness where I don’t trip on my own slippers.”

“Well you’re in the wrong place!” Dave excitedly said, in a bit of self-irony since he’s not super fit himself, but he’s better than me at this no doubt.

The room was big enough so the two of us could lie on the floor. He pretty much lied on his back next to me as a way to “guide” me through the first exercise, one I was actually familiar with: crunches.

“Should I do some warm-up first?” I asked.

“Yeah, you should have, but since you’re right here just… give it a shot. It’s not like you’re gonna die.” He placed his hands on the back of his own head, starting the exercise. “…I think.”

Even though the fact that I’m into farts and that my friend right here constantly blasts me should be the most embarrassing thing about myself, my performance during this first, relatively easy exercise was definitely more painful to watch: I couldn’t even finish a set (around 20 crunches), while Dave was humiliating me. I struggled so much and felt pain in my chest for some reason; I was already sweating and panting.

Not even 5 minutes in and I already wanted to quit.

“Yeah.” I managed to say, lying on my back, as my bro kept crunchin’. “Not my cup of tea.”

“The hardest part is getting started.” he commented.

“Wow. Thanks Master.” I replied, sarcastically.

He stopped mid-crunch, and turned to me, looking me at funny.

“Tim, blasting you with my farts doesn’t make me your Master.” he said, with a mocking tone.

I instantly sat back up as if I woke up from a nightmare.

“What the fuck.” I turned to him, as he resumed doing his crunches. “Where did that come from?!”

“It’s fine bro.” he kept teasing me. “You can keep calling me ‘Dave’ if that’s fine for you.” he laughed.

Hearing my straight friend just casually making references to my fart kink, let alone the fact that he constantly face-farts me, will always be wild to me, like a fever dream. And also insanely hot, dammit.

“Is this because I suck at doing crunches?” I asked, not very politely.

“No, it’s because you’re already giving up.”

“It’s just…” I sighed. “That’s just my thing bro, sorry. But thanks for trying to help, really.”

I lied on my back again, defeated, as Dave kept exercising. I could sense my friend looking at me, probably with his usual smirk, completely unfazed by me moping around, exhausted.

“Well… maybe I can do something to make things a bit more interesting for your lazy ass.” I heard him say, finally breaking the silence.

A silence that soon became a distant memory as the sound of Dave’s sudden, loud fart shook the entire room, easily surpassing the faint rock music coming from his phone. I’m used to my bro’s blasts and trust me, they are almost always loud, but this one felt even stronger somehow. It was also, but that goes without saying, long, like 9 seconds long.

As ridiculous as I may sound… I had to see it.

I sat back up one more time so I could get a good view and I saw Dave still lying on his back, one leg up to ease the blast out. How the grey fabric of his basketball shorts could endure that stream of gas is a mystery to me. His eyes were closed: he had the facial expression of someone surprisingly struggling to keep that blast going, a sign that he was holding that gas in for a while, which is unusual ‘cause my friend usually can rip monstrously long and loud blast with relative low effort.

Whether the case… that was a very hot sight, the tent I pitched in my sweatpants being the undeniable proof.

As the fart kept going, Dave lifted his left leg even more, as if there was a recoil, making it even louder.

The fart lasted around 14 seconds and my friend let out a quick sigh of relief as he ripped one last toot out. That sounded (and looked) more exhausting than me trying to do crunches.

The teasing bastard winked at me, ‘cause he knows how to press all the right buttons of my fetish.

“You know what I’m capable of…” he said. “Now imagine my skills, like, powered up by protein shakes.” he laughed and let another loud, but shorter (around 3 seconds) toot out to prove it, not that he needed to, as his farting skills are always jaw-dropping.

Still, he’s a teasing bastard.

The scent of his ass polluting the room reached my nose and I coughed a bit for how rancid that was.

“Are you seriously… bribing me with farts?” that’s a sentence I just said, fuck my life.

“Maybe.” another quick toot followed. “Is it working?”

“I’m going to punch you.”

“Can’t finish a set of crunches and he wants to punch me.” he laughed. “Pissing you off is so easy bro.”

“I’m not pissed off.” I wanted to clarify. “You… you’re just making me hard.”

Even though Dave knows about my kink and fully accepted me, I still have a hard time letting him know that his farting skills (and teasing, nonetheless) never fail to give me a massive boner.

Dave looked at me funny, faking a serious expression. Then let out another loud rip in response, around 4 seconds long. Why do I even worry…

“Of course.” I simply said, too embarrassed to even look at him though.

As usual, he didn’t care, and only found my awkwardness hilarious. Disgustingly hilarious.

“It’s fine… at least you tried.” he then said. “We’ll give it another shot tomorrow.”

I turned to him, appreciating the encouraging words.

“Still.” he said, adjusting his position. “I’m still gonna need a spotter to count those.”

“Yeah.” I nodded, without thinking. “I can do that.”

He let out an evil cackle in response, with that smug, hot smirk drawn on his face.

“So, what are we counting? Pushups? Crunches? Stars?”

I remained seated on the floor as Dave stood up, easily towering over me. He looked down to me and I, silly me, realised too late where this was going, even though I should have known.

“Who said anything about pushups and crunches?”

My gassy friend turned around and, simply put, sat full weight on my head as if it was a stool, his very gentle way to force me to lie down, with yet another loud toot thrown into the mix for good measure, one that I could properly smell this time.

The protein shakes are a powerful fuel and the scent reminded me of rotten eggs, which made me cough again as I lied down, letting my bro’s ass crush me.

However, that didn’t happen, not as violently as I expected at least. Dave’s ass was actually hovering only inches from my face; he could easily simply sit on me and let his ass roar but for some reason he didn’t.

“One.” I heard Dave say.

A fart quickly followed, loud, high pitched and wet-ish. I had to close my eyes as I literally felt the rancid gas erupting on my face, the thin grey fabric of Dave’s basketball shorts being the only thing separating me from his raging anus.

After a couple of seconds, the fart ended, and my bro got back up, but he wasn’t done at all. He let me took some breaths of (relatively) fresh air, only to bend his knees again mere moments later.

He was squatting over my face, basically, his ass barely tickling the tip of my nose.

“Two.”

Yet another impressive fart, the stench adding up to what was left of the previous one. Things were already getting too exhausting even for my trained nostrils: this is why I should never leave my room again.

But as much as I could “hate” what was happening, as Dave’s ass roared all over my face, my boner only got harder. My bro is not the hottest man in the world but he is quite hot and having a guy like him blasting me so effortlessly, no strings attached, will never cease to amaze me.

I was definitely enjoying the sound more than the smell however, which made me feel like I was drowning in a sewer.

“What the fuck did you put in that protein shake, man?!”

I managed to ask, my voice being almost nothing compared to the loudness of the fart Dave was still ripping all over me. However, he did hear me, as his ass “bounced” a bit over my nose, a sign that he was laughing like the jerk bully he sometimes can be.

After a total of 12 seconds I was greeted with newfound silence and my bro got up, but before I could do or say anything or, you know, breathe, he squatted again.

“Three.”

Another loud rip, this time shorter, about 4 seconds, but still extremely dangerous stench-wise. Also, those were getting wetter and wetter. The sweat dampening Dave’s asscrack through his grey shorts didn’t help at all and only made the fart wetter and the stench stronger.

My bro’s ass went silent and I quickly asked a simple question.

“How many squats are you planning to do exactly?”

Dave laughed in response, as usual. “You tell me, it’s leg day.”

The second part of his answer was him squatting again on my face, this time making sure to crush my skull. He then made sure to shove down my throat and nostrils another powerful, protein shake-powered blast.

A wet one, a fully wet one, but Dave was a pro, so I knew it was just very nasty gas. Still, a good challenge to test the limits of my already disgusting kink. The blast was so powerful it made droplets of sweat from his ass rain all over my face: whether Dave was sweating because of the squats or the endeavor of pushing such big farts out I shall never know.

What I did know, is that after 9 seconds, Dave got up again, and at this point I couldn’t even remember what pure oxygen tasted like as not only my face, but the entire room was now basically engulfed with gas.

Dave instead, towering over me, proudly took a deep breath, showing off his muscles (which wasn’t a lot, but he definitely looked ripped when compared to me) and then stared down at his victim.

“And you wanted to quit.” he stated.

I couldn’t even come up with a proper comeback because his ass was already in my mouth, hastily erupting yet another fart, one I could actually taste.

He kept squatting on my face, repeatedly, each time ripping a fart, a loud wet rip, each time sweating more and more. My friend was wearing a pair of grey basketballs shorts but all of that sweat made his asscrack completely visible, basically proving he went commando for some reason, which also meant that there was basically nothing between me and the sheer force of Dave’s anus.

My bro farted so many times in my face over the last months I couldn’t even count it, but things rarely got this… filthy.

I got my face soaked wet in sweat which wasn’t even mine, but rather from Dave’s ass, fart-scented and fart-flavoured sweat; kink or not, my limits were being tested here.

And apparently, Dave’s job is completely ignoring such limits.

For his 20th and final squat, he just completely sat on my face, spreading his legs wide, so my nose could easily fit in his sweaty, ripe asscrack. He wiggled his ass as if he was wiping the sweat off of it using my face, and then I felt him push.

Bubbles, that’s how I can describe it. That display of flatulence was as wet and disgusting as you imagine, a mix of gas and sweat engulfing my nose and nostrils, making my entire head shake, so rancid I could smell it without even breathing in.

The fart was so thick I could taste it and my eyes were burning for all that gas.

I feared that Dave’s limit were also being tested here, given how wet that fart was; but no, it was just terrible, terrible air coming out from his sweaty ass.

After almost 20 seconds of torture, I was done.

The sewer comparison I made before was now in full effect: truth to be told, I couldn’t take it anymore, I was drowning, suffocating, and I wanted to get out of there, I needed air, like actual air, oxygen.

Mustering all the strength I have in what passes for “muscles” in my arms, I managed, not without struggle, to actually push Dave’s roaring ass away from my face, which actually surprised him as he tripped over.

I coughed my way to freedom and took deep long breaths. The air in the room was still filthy but it felt like pure fresh air compared to the source, the depths of my friend’s ass who, in the meantime, actually stopped farting. I remained there, lying down, wondering how I could even survive those blasts.

Despite being disgusted, pre-cum leaked from the tip of my hard cock, so I guess this wasn’t beyond my limits after all.

As I kept trying to clean my nostrils by taking more deep breaths, I heard Dave, lying next to me just like before, slow clapping, as if he was some kind of villain of a heist movie being (falsely) impressed by the heroes.

I scolded him with an annoyed glare. “What the fuck are you doing now?”

“Not bad for a first day, huh?” he simply said, with a smirk. “You managed to lift me, that’s impressive.”

“Those were my survival instincts kicking in.” I remarked.

I lied down, exhausted, staring at the ceiling, Dave doing the same. I could once again hear the faint rock music coming from his phone on the desk: good, I was afraid today’s ass-thunders made me deaf.

“I wanna try again tomorrow.” I admitted. “No farts though.” I quickly added.

He laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

We remained silent for a few moments, as I tried to ignore the massive boner I still had.

“Look at us.” Dave said. “Covered in sweat, panting. It’s like we just had sex.” he joked.

“You wish.” I replied.

A few more moments of silence, a silence that Dave broke one last time by doing a deft leg-lift to rip a quick, loud, wet toot.

“Told ya it’s leg day.”

The End

#eproctophilia #fart kink #fart story #malefarts #davefarts

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total-drama-brainrot · 2 months

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Total Drama Psycho Noah AU, during the TDWT London Episode... What if Noah doesn't call the hidden Alejandro an eel, instead Alejandro and the other hidden Contestants saw Noah briefly showed his true insane colors to defeat the 'Ripper', with a big psychotic grin?... How would Alejandro feel about trying to bring up Noah's insane side, but Noah keeps denying it (and so does Owen, because Noah asked him to)? 😏

Psycho!Noah, under the assumption that he's alone with only Owen and the camera as his witnesses, going Full On Mania Mode on the Ripper? That's a fun thought.

I think, given the fact that he's on a Reality TV Show in the first place, this Noah would be upfront to the audience that he's... a little unhinged. Maybe he cracks a few jokes in the confessional (either during Island or World Tour) about his eccentricities, or maybe he really plays up the 'crazy' to paint himself as a wolf in sheep's clothing for the audience?

The second option there would probably work more in his favour, since him Just Being There would be a source of dramatic irony for the audience- something to keep people watching in anticipation, waiting for Noah's mask of mundanity to slip. He'd be 'good for ratings'.

I've decided that's the characterisation I'll go with. Psycho!Noah hides his true self from the contestants but, knowing that he'll be recorded 24/7, doesn't bother disguising himself for the audience- his nature will inevitably be exposed to them anyway, so why not cut out the middle man? At least this way, he gets the added pleasure of toying with the viewer's expectations.

So, given the fact that the only people he thinks are seeing him are people already in the know, what's stopping Noah from letting loose a little?

Nothing. Nothing's stopping him.

He and Owen step onto the double decker bus, the larger teen tiptoeing almost timidly onto the vehicle in his trepidation, whilst Noah follows casually behind him. He's a little disappointed, truly; horror themed challenges would be so much more interesting if they were, y'know, scary.

Luckily for him, things soon get interesting.

The shadowed figure of the Ripper drops from the ceiling with a thud behind Noah, assumedly crouched down on all fours like some sort of beast though it's hard to tell behind the inky, billowing cloak they're wearing. The motion would've been too fast for someone less capable to properly react to. Thankfully, Noah is very capable.

He pivots in place, catching the surprisingly fast arms of the Ripper before their taller frame can grapple him in his own deceptively strong grip, then forcibly bends the figure's arms until a sickening crack resounds through the bus's interior. The Ripper cries out a raspy animalistic shriek of pain, their forearms hanging uselessly limp out in front of them at awkward angles, and the clattering of something hitting the floor draws Noah's attention downwards. A knife, the Ripper's weapon of choice, gleams threateningly on the ground under the weak moonlight, having slipped from their incapacitated hand.

Well. That's certainly interesting.

Easing up his iron grip on the figure's disfigured arms, the cynic gingerly bends down to swipe the knife from the floor, then straightens back up triumphantly as he brandishes his new found weapon.

"Noah?" Owen's meek voice echoes from behind him. The bookworm tilts his head towards the other, who's fear-blown gaze is fixated on the sharp object in his unstable friend's unpredictable clutches.

The Ripper, momentarily subdued, continues to whine and groan in pain beside him.

"What's up, bud?" He responds, voice conversationally light and airy- a stark contrast to the Ripper's agonised gargles.

"Is- is that a knife?" The larger asks in a wavering tone. Noah isn't sure if it's the fear of himself with a sharp object, or the frankly pathetic display from the figure beside him, that's causing his best friend's hesitance. But he knows Owen- the big lug is a hardy sort, he won't stay scared for long.

"Hmm," Noah hums playfully, toying with the weapon in his grip. Feeble beams of moonlight shine and shimmer from it's blade, illuminating their surroundings in spectres of milk light, "Yeah, I think it is. Good eye, big guy."

A moment of tense silence passes between the two (somewhat ruined by the Ripper's incessant snivelling), before Owen's face splits into a shaky smile.

"Do you want to, uh, maybe, put the knife down?" He suggests.

Noah shifts his focus back onto the tool in his grip, theatrically ruminating over his friend's suggestion as he raises his free hand to his chin in a pondering motion, whilst his piercing gaze subtly flickers around the bus to locate the nearest hidden camera. He spins the knife in his hand thoughtlessly as he searches, deftly twirling and weaving the blade between clever fingers, sending spirals of light dancing through the darkness of their enclosure.

Once he's spotted the tell-tale red blinking light of a recording camera, he careens his whole body to face it. His features soften into a serene smile, highlighted by trickles of pale moonlight, as he addresses the camera.

"No. Not really. It's quite pretty. Don't you think?"

Noah waits a heartbeat, keenly listening for a response that'll never come from the recording device, before his smile splits into something wider. Something that splinters around the edges of his face and crumbles through his mask of tranquillity, revealing glimpses of wild delirium through its cracks. Similarly, his amusement-crinkled eyes widen with mania, irises contracting into pinpricks of molasses against the white of his sclera.

"And wouldn't it look a lot prettier... in a different colour?" The pessimist halts the spinning of the knife with a flick of his wrist, letting the question simmer in the stale air of the bus.

The Ripper, having finally regained their bearings, stumbles to flee from the bus.

Well. That's not very interesting, is it?

In the blink of an eye, Noah is suddenly nose-to-mask with them, holding the blade millimetres from the figure's neck almost tauntingly as he traps them against the fogged over glass of the bus driver's window, "Red would look really pretty."

"Noah," Owen whines petulantly, "we're supposed to capture the Ripper, not kill him!" As if to punctuate his point, the blonde tugs at the edges of the burlap sack he's carrying, shooting an imploring look towards his little buddy.

"Oh, I forgot. Silly me!" Noah exclaims jovially, smacking at his sizable forehead with his free hand. The Ripper beneath him whimpers at the motion.

In the First Class cabin, the majority of the Total Drama contestants stand gobsmacked at the display they just witnessed. Varying expressions of disturbance and fright are dotted across the crowd, and the more sensitive of the group have turned varying shades of nauseated green or horrified white.

"What the fuck?"

#uh. got a little carried away there. oopsies! 🤭#i wrote this in one big stream of consciousness so sorry if it's terrible #every time i try to work on my fics i get a Really Interesting anon ask and black out for like an hour or so #psycho!noah isn't always stabby/violent btw. he's just commited to the bit #it's a horror challenge he's STAYING ON BRAND! he's just a silly little guy 😖#total drama #td noah #psycho!noah au #tw violence #replies

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lurkingshan · 3 months

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Cherry Magic Episode 10

They tried it again this week with adding another restriction on this show, but we shall persevere! The rest of the episodes are apparently going to be behind a paywall on Viu on air date, and then become free access the following day. The upside to paying the small premium membership fee is we can finally see Tay Tawan in 1080p as god intended (and pro tip: there do not seem to be any screen limits, buy one account and split it amongst friends).

With all that figured out, we got to another excellent episode of this show! Big, big relationship growth for Achi and Karan this week, as they learned that hiding their real feelings and desires from each other doesn't help them (and gave us an A+ forehead kiss parallel). I loved the nuance of it all, too—Karan was lying about sitting outside Achi's house every night and trying to hide how sad he was about Achi missing Loy Krathong, but he also genuinely had no anger toward Achi about it and was just trying to make things easier for him. And Achi was telling Karan he wanted the practice time apart (honestly, horrible idea boys, your time together is precious) while secretly hoping Karan would come see him anyway. In relationships, you can't claim to want one thing while secretly hoping for another and expect that to pan out for you.

And I love that Achi did realize that, and that he does trust Karan even despite these little white lies, and that this time, he had to step up and be the one to make the grand gesture to make sure Karan knows he loves him and will miss him. Roping in the office gang to help pull off the surprise was a fun turn of events, and I love that his confidence has grown enough that he can ask for that help without being embarrassed. They're going to be fine through this separation, and when they are back together I look forward to the show addressing the elephant in the room, because when they were walking together on their date I couldn't help but notice that they would have been holding hands were it not for the barrier Achi's powers present. They need to be able to have intimacy while maintaining privacy and mental space, and we know what needs to happen to get there!

I also loved the Jinta/Min story this episode, and that we got to see Jinta do a much less dignified version of Karan's pining. The plot about fans shipping Min with his dance partner was new and felt like exactly the kind of thing that would come up in his career, and that Jinta would flail over. I like that Min saw exactly what was going on and called him on it. The irony of Jinta being the one who can read minds but Min being the one who actually understands everything happening between them is delicious. And Jinta showed up for him in a big way after his loss by not only affirming how he sees Min, but showing Min that he still has fans who feel the same way. Excellent boyfriend behavior from our friend Jinta.

As for Rock and Pai, it looks like we'll be getting our final answer there next week, but given that Pai continues to be uninterested in romance and focused on her work and her hobbies, I don’t think it will go the way Rock hopes. He is barking up the wrong tree (his instincts for romance are clearly NOT strong, given he had no idea Achi and Karan were a couple), and I am hopeful that Pai will tell him so next week.

#cherry magic th #cherry magic thailand #thai bl #shan shouts into the void

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arianjpeg · 1 year

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Martyn and Scott teaming up is really interesting when we look into Last Life and their motifs in the series.

I was recently rewatching LL and got hit by Martyn being tasked by the Watchers with killing Scott , a detail I fully forgot about. Then, on his last episode, Scott is the one to kill Martyn (which is a whole thing in itself) and the Watchers talk to him, having two scenes in question that really stuck out to me:

"Oh, the irony. To be killed by the one you were tasked to destroy."

"Our hunger grew those months, we waited. And all it took was a simple 3...2...1. And you all obliged. Bar one."

"You mean Scott?"

"His will to live was too strong, his flame burned too bright."

Martyn is a listener, encouraged to obey and serve those things. He didn't go through with it, but it was still his purpose. There's some loyalty to obedience there, seen in serving Dogwarts and the Southlands.

Scott, in every moment he could, decided to break the rules and do it his way. Teaming with a red on Third Life, being the only one to refuse to kill as a boogey in Last Life and going against the soulmate bound in Double Life. He never obeys.

They're both survivors. Both were part of the last four standing in Double Life and Last Life, most of their actions are focused on surviving.

Something about these two being teamed up on this season is so interesting to me, especially when we take Martyn's role in Last Life and how he was supposed to end Scott's life.

They also have very similar motifs (or curses, I just like calling them motifs), with Scott always outliving his partners and Martyn outliving the causes he's dedicated to. The pattern can't continue this season for both of them though, with their curses canceling each other out (how @/cherrifire pointed out recently).

There's just some dramatic narrative about them being paired up and I'm so excited to see how it turns out

#inthelittlewood #martyn #scott smajor #limited life #last life #ari rambles

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hamliet · 11 months

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Beauty and the Beast, But Make It BL

Or, about a year after the hype Hamliet finally watches KinnPorsche properly instead of just clips.

My overall thoughts are that I really, really enjoyed it. The characters were likable and interesting, and plenty flawed. The story also had some really fascinating ideas and nice fire, water, and air symbolism, as well as a really beautiful retelling of Beauty & the Beast. The main couples all foiled one another in interesting, thought-provoking ways. VegasPete? Is one of my favorite love stories in any media ever.

The side characters were also really well done, for the most part. I loved Kinn's friends, and Yok was a standout in terms of her mentorly role. And, the other bodyguards each got their own personality. Arm and Big were particular standouts to me, and I appreciated how Big's story arc (his unrequited love for Kinn) was handled: with subtlety, but thematic impact. His sacrifice showed Porsche that love sometimes involves sacrificing for the person you love.

The series also used symbolism fairly well. The lighting always changed to colored/rainbow lighting when it was a romantic scene, and stayed natural when it was not. The use of mirrors and windows, and phoenix/fire with Kinnporsche and water with Vegaspete, was intelligently woven into the story. I do think some of the symbolism was too heavy-handed at points, though.

Of course, because I'm me, I do have quite a few critiques as well, which mostly has to do with what I saw as potential that went untapped. The story never did anything "wrong" exactly, but it just never dug into how much potential it had. The foiling was strongly set up, but it could have been far more powerful than it was.

The plot was basically *vibes* which I'm okay with because I'm not super into plot in general, but unfortunately, as can happen when plot is weak, the themes suffered for it. If plot is a tour guide through a story's themes and characters, this was somewhat of a bumbling one... with an occasional stroke of brilliance that reinforced how satisfying the potential was.

Kinn + Porsche

Let's start with the main couple. I really enjoyed their characters, but I wasn't as invested in them as I was in the other characters I'll be covering. They seemed more like ideas rather than human beings, even though they had more complexity than some of the other, more human characters. While that might sound contradictory, what I mean by that is that the other characters always had drive and purpose for the narrative, while Kinn and Porsche sometimes felt more like vehicles (heh, get it, because--) to get to something that never quite arrived.

Kinn and Porsche also started off the series really strong, but weakened after they got together. After they were together, the writers kept bringing up the issue of "trust" between them, but I wasn't quite sure what they were trying to say about trust. And maybe they were just trying to explore the different sides of trust rather than give any particular message, but I thought it was a bit messily handled.

Still. Still. Porsche's line in the final episode, where he pointed out to Kinn that he was there not because he was on the minor family's side, nor because he was on the major family's side, but because he was on Kinn's side, was beautiful.

Kinn also starts off as a dark foil of Vegas... which is interesting because Vegas is so intensely jealous of Kinn and wants to be like him, and is set up as the antagonist. But we'll get there. Vegas kidnaps Porsche and attempts to make it look like he was assaulted, but Kinn saves him... only to assault Porsche himself. (I did appreciate the way the narrative did frame it well, which I wasn't expecting in a boy's love story.) Kinn then compounded it by punishing Porsche for his mistake--essentially, doing to Porsche what Vegas was doing to Kinn and would later do to Pete.

The irony, of course, is that the narrative still frames Kinn as a protagonist, but without giving him a halo. We're allowed to see that he is, intrinsically, no better of a human being than Vegas. Maybe even worse, depending on how you judge.

Porsche outright telling Kinn that he had hurt him, while Vegas hadn't (even if, kinda) and Kinn actually having to work to earn his forgiveness and trust--all of this was well handled.

Kinn's final realization in the wilderness that he could not keep Porsche and his act of selflessly setting him free , followed by a literal sacrifice, mimics what Vegas would have to do in later episodes with Pete, as well.

When they consensually have sex for the first time, it starts because Vegas again makes a move on Porsche... right in front of a mirror. Then, Kinn bursts in and Vegas leaves, and Kinn takes his place in the mirror with Porsche.

The symbolism is clever here and poignant: Kinn, you are Vegas. I just wish he had been asked to do more with that realization, particularly after the Tawan incident (later).

Again, my main issue is that I wish the show had more an idea of what it wanted to say concerning the theme of "trust" between these two. Especially after they got together, it all seemed a bit hazy.

The theme that was best explored with them was the idea of being a human being. Porsche continually insists that he's a person who decides his future for himself, while Kinn is like "I control your life; your life is mine, I can kill you at any time because you're just a bodyguard" early on. However, towards the end of the series, when they exchange quasi-wedding vows in one of the final scenes on a ship on the same river where Kinn first offered Porsche a job and Porsche told him he'd rather drown, there's a really beautiful moment where Kinn tells Porsche that they are making a new family together, and Porsche tells him again that he's not on any family's side--just Kinn's side. And then he tells him:

Porsche: All my life... is yours Kinn: I promise you, I'll treasure it.

It's almost fairy tale esque in this scene, showing how far they've come. It also emphasizes that the point is that Kinn recognizes Porsche's humanity, and Porsche still affirms his own. Humanity is not a drawback but a benefit, because Porsche chooses Kinn, and choice is the realm of human beings.

Vegas + Pete

*screams* VEGASPETE ARE EVERYTHING

But honestly. I've talked how Vegas (who is, undoubtedly, the best written character) foils Kinn and will talk about Tawan, Kim, and Tankhun later on. Firstly, though, we have Vegas and Pete, asking the main thematic question of this series:

(As a human, of course. Except that's not easy.)

Vegas was so clearly my favorite type of character (Lee Yut-Lung from Banana Fish, Akutagawa Ryunosuke from Bungo Stray Dogs, Illumi Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter, etc.) Someone who just so, so desperately wants to be loved, especially by his father, and cannot fathom why he does not have it. So he lashes out at everyone around him, especially those he's jealous of. He might claim that he's jealous of Kinn's power, but he's really jealous that Kinn is loved not just by Porsche, but by his brothers, by his bodyguards, even by his father (for all Korn's faults--and we're gonna get there--I do think Korn loves his sons).

This is so profoundly seen when Vegas initially kidnaps Pete and forces him to call his Grandma. Vegas leans in, groping Pete to make him terrified, but as soon as Pete tells his grandma he loves her, Vegas jerks back and rips the phone out of his hand. It's another reminder to Vegas that love exists, but he can't have it.

The only thing that truly shows Vegas love is his hedgehog... which of course is a symbol for Vegas himself (here's where I think the symbolism was too heavy-handed--not that he had a hedgehog nor what happened with it, but in that Pete actually bluntly tells him that he is the hedgehog. Leave it to your viewers, we're smart enough to get that.) The hedgehog, of course, is prickly and spiky but soft inside, just like Vegas.

The hedgehog is also specifically Vegas's inner child, in Jungian terms. It's always sick and dying, and he's afraid of it dying, but also afraid to actually recognize it. He doesn't name the hedgehogs because they always die. This is symbolizing how Vegas never really had a childhood, or the chance to develop normally. His father always beat it out of him and let him think that it was his fault, just like Vegas blames himself for the hedgehogs' deaths.

Vegas's father is the biggest obstacle in his growth. He can't ever truly grow up and overcome the father figure until his father's gone. Again, the symbolism is pretty blatant (but well done): Vegas is literally reading the novel Childhood's End, but his father slaps it out of his hand.

The message is clear: Vegas can't ever grow up until he lets go of his father. Fittingly, he's then seen reading the book again after making a meal for Pete.

Vegas and Pete are actually quite similar, not just in their terrible dads, but in that both of them, at their core, truly don't believe they are human beings. They don't believe they deserve love, or life, or anything. They're animals. Hence, Pete actually being called a pet is actually also Vegas pointing out how he sees himself.

But what they really want is to be human, which means to be free and to live.

Consequently, both Vegas and Pete are suicidal. Vegas drops about a million hints that he wants to die before he actually attempts it, even telling Pete he's feeding him so "you'll have energy to kill me."

Vegas self-harms too, and Pete tells him not to. Yet, after they have sex, Pete hits himself when Vegas can't see, telling himself that he didn't like it, even though he initiated. The reason they are both lost after they have sex is that neither of them are free physically or emotionally.

We see Vegas trying to do the right thing and making a fancy meal for Pete, even standing up to his father for a moment, only to have his father tell him he wishes he wasn't his son. At that added cruelty, Vegas smashes the meal he made, proving that even though he thought he was free of his father because he was in love with Pete, he wasn't. Not yet.

And Pete thought he was going to be free because of sex with Vegas, but Vegas still left him chained. Hence, he attempts suicide in front of Vegas. He also then calls Vegas out on everything in a well-done way, pointing out that Vegas is projecting his feelings of inhumanity onto him:

Need me? Like a pet with no feelings for emotional projection? I'm a human, Vegas... I have nothing left, not even my humanity.

Pete is then pointing out to us that after Vegas's childhood is grieved (shown in how Pete helps Vegas bury and put flowers at the hedgehog's grave), Pete embodies Vegas's humanity. If the hedgehog and his childhood should be grieved, because he'll never get them back, he can still have a human future in Pete. But to do that he has to embrace his inner humanity, and he cannot chain it up and take it out when he wants it, because that's just not how human beings work.

Even through making Pete realize and admit just how miserable he was--that he has no use and should just die, thereby showing Vegas that Pete truly does understand how Vegas feels--Vegas doesn't find what he thought he'd find. It's not comforting to be empathized with when it means someone you love is suffering so.

Vegas's apology to Pete is genuine, like Kinn's earlier, and heartfelt. Once his dad is dead, you'd really think he'd be free, but he's very much not. All his self-loathing, all his worst fears, have finally come true. Freedom isn't really found through death, but through embracing life and love. The hedgehog didn't have to die for Vegas to live, because death isn't freeing really. But choosing to live, even when you're in pain, for someone you love--that can be freeing.

Pete's "there is no legacy so rich as honesty" tattoo is somewhat amusing to me, because the quote comes from Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, a play that is considered a "problem play," in that no one can quite decide what genre it is. Also, "honesty" in the play's context is actually "virginity," which also seems to fit, but anyways. The genre/problem play thing is interesting because Kinnporsche itself, as a show, seems to zig-zag between whether it's a comedy, romance, or serious crime drama. I think the reference is somewhat meta, but should have been delved into more.

The play is also relevant in that All's Well That Ends Well is about families, too--particularly how sons struggle to define themselves when it comes to being compared to their fathers, and how they react when they feel like they have limited choices in life. Hrm, hrm, Vegas.

Anyways, Vegas and Pete totally deserved their beautiful ending. When Vegas wakes up post being shot and tells Pete:

You're not my pet. You're the most important person in my life.

It's a great way to tie the themes of their arcs together. Firstly, it is a fairy tale ending. Secondly, it's an affirmation of Pete's humanity, the thing they both doubted they had. Lastly, it's affirmation that Vegas chooses Pete, and in choosing, affirms his own humanity. That Macau then bursts in calling Pete his brother-in-law and welcoming him to the family is adorable and shows Vegas just how much he has.

Kim + Chay

So now that we've talked about two self-destructive emotionally constipated men, let's talk about the other one in the other major relationship: Kim.

Kim's actor does a great job of showing how Kim maintains a veneer of cool aloofness when Chay confronts him, but is internally panicking. Kim is reckless, running into battle to save Chay in literally nothing but a tank top. When Chay calls him on who he is, Kim doesn't even try to defend himself. When he saves Chay again at Yok's bar, he makes sure Chay doesn't even notice.

Unlike Kinn and Vegas, who are too active and possessive, Kim is too passive and cowardly. He cuts himself off from people not because he doesn't love them--he clearly does--but because he feels like he's bad luck. Essentially, the same issue Chay has--that he feels like he brings bad luck.

But, that's not how life works. Human beings don't bring good or bad luck. It depends on choices, another theme from Vegaspete and Kinnporsche that wasn't delved into as deeply as it should have been. Still, choice is an integral part of being human, and the show does depict this.

Still, it was a nice touch to literally have Kim wear a shirt with the word "human" on the front the same episode Pete insists "I'm a human, Vegas." Pete, of course, tells Vegas he has choices to make, and Vegas then tells Porsche that same thing in the final episode: that it's time to make a choice.

Anyways. The unfortunate thing is that the series didn't fully explore Kimchay in the same way they did Vegaspete. That's especially clear in the cliffhanger ending, though I think it was fairly clear that they were heading towards something positive. After all, Kim finally does something he needed to do: saying outright that he is singing for Porchay. Keep working, boy.

On a production level instead of narrative, I'm guessing the actor's ages may have played a role in them not fully exploring their story. Idk. I think the implications--the fade out with a way-too-dramatic kiss on the cheek that the fade obscured and them waking up together--were that they were sleeping together, but because of the actors' ages they clearly cannot and should not show that. But I wish the writers hadn't let that limit them--there are other ways to show growth and explore issues even if you can't directly use sex to do so. See, the sex scenes between Vegas and Pete and Kinn and Porsche were well done, and always had interesting meaning and commentary to them, which is great. I just wonder if they let the fact that they couldn't use this motif stifle their creativity when it came to exploring Kim and Chay's issues.

Tawan

Tawan's story was heartbreaking. He was a fairly well done, pathetic antagonist. When Vegas proposed to him, knowing tha the didn't love Tawan... that broke my heart. He was suicidal and his death ultimately foreshadowed what Vegas would later attempt to do.

But Tawan was desperate for love--truly desperate. He would do anything to be loved by Kinn, by Vegas, by anyone. But it wasn't really love for a specific person (as shown in how he switches from Kinn to Vegas) so much as that he wanted to feel safe in that love. Because denying love means denying safety, which sets him up as a good foil for Kim (who clearly thinks it's safer for your loved ones not to act like you love them)... but it wasn't ever explored.

Tawan's desperate love also foiled Chay. Yet unlike Tawan, and unlike Kim, Chay is able to express what he wants... and to assert himself when he's been disrespected and not seen as a full human being (Kim seeing him as just Porsche's brother is what breaks him).

Tankhun

Tankhun was everything. I love him. I think they could have done more with him, especially around his relationships with his brothers. Like. We only see the three brothers--Kinn, Tankhun, and Kim--in the same room ONCE in the final episode. Once! A crime, a crime, I tell you! I know next to nothing about how all three of them feel about each other and interact with one another and I WANT IT!

Ahem.

Tankhun is still, in many ways, the beating heart of the series. He wears love and his feelings on his fabulous, colorful, patterned, and often feathered sleeves. He chooses to live how he wishes, but will do things for those he loves.

He's also always right, if you pay attention--he knows Gun is bad news, and he knows Pete is in danger while Kinn and Porsche are inexplicably dumb as hell for not suspecting Pete was in danger. When Pete reappears and Tankhun literally thinks he's a zombie, he still rushes to embrace him even so, just because he loves him.

Also, Tankhun is, much like Pete and Chay, fairly pure of heart. I don't mean that in a naive way, but it's clear Tankhun is somewhat childlike because of his trauma... yet, he's still the one who adopts fish and gives them names like Elizabeth and Sebastian and mourns them. He loves his siblings, and he welcomes Chay like a new brother.

The Little Mermaid reenactment with Porsche was A Lot, but also hilarious and fitting. See, he's childish, so of course he's going to like fairy tales. He knows the world isn't one, but he still enjoys ones and wants stories where the good ones don't die, and he does his best to live a fairy tale despite everything. I really think the series should have dug into this more, especially since Kinn and Porsche and especially Vegas and Pete are very clearly modeled after Beauty and the Beast. Sigh. The potential.

Not gonna lie, I think the brother relationships were somewhat failed all throughout. Macau and Vegas's bond wasn't fully explored either, and neither was Porsche and Chay's. Like, Porsche doesn't even know about Kim and Chay, and Chay had told him about being tutored by Wik, so... wouldn't he at least ask? Sigh.

Korn

So, ironically, the brotherly relationship best fleshed out is... Korn and Gun's.

Theirs is highly tragic, and the relationship they have with their foster sister is also clearly a warning to Kim, Kinn, and Tankhun about what they could become if they prioritize the power of the mafia family over each other and their own rights to make their choices and live and love. It seems like that won't happen, given Kim and Chay and Porsche as the minor family head and Kinn, fortunately, but again I think this could have been more clearly explored.

Like, if love, both romantic and platonic and familial, offers a way forward, a potential answer (though no guarantee, see Tawan), which I think the show suggested, it should have been more heavy-handed in showing us. This also actually ties into the fairy tale motif, and the human being theme, and choice, and it just could have been so much more neatly braided together than it was. And also it works with the trust motif, because you can't control someone you trust.

I do really appreciate the ambiguity about Korn, and the uneasy lack of answers about what really happened between Korn, Gun, and Namphueng. On the one hand, Gun's utter cruelty to Vegas and Macau makes it seem more than plausible that he's the worst and he did assault Namphueng and kill her husband. On the other hand, seeing Korn murder Namphueng's husband would surely explain the vitriol he has towards Korn that seems unusually intense even for someone consumed with envy and jealousy.

I think it's clever that the series doesn't answer it for us. Even when Korn kills Gun in the end but chooses to tell his guards not to harm Vegas, despite the fact that Vegas just killed a bunch of his most loyal men, and promises to protect Vegas and Macau, we're left wondering. Is this proof that Korn is indeed the merciful man who would never have harmed Namphueng and her husband? Or is it the actions of a cruel man who killed his own brother and then told his kids not to worry because he'd provide for them, just like he did with Posrche and Chay?

Alas, what would have made this even more powerful would be an emphasis on what trust is supposed to mean... sigh.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. I loved the characters and the three main ships. It had great ideas that could have been better explored.

Also of note: from its lighting to staging of certain scenes, it also clearly took inspiration from Queer as Folk, which is one of my favorite stories ever, and there were some potential Crime and Punishment references in Pete talking to Vegas in a scene that mimicked Sonia and Raskolnikov.

Basically, it was designed for me to fall for it, and fall for it I did. I just wish it had been refined, because it could have also been a masterpiece in addition to being entertaining (yes, really), but alas, didn't quite get there. Still, I'd definitely recommend it.

#kinnporsche #hamliet reviews #vegaspete #kimchay #vegas x pete #kinn theerapanyakul #kim theerapanyakul #kinnporsche tankhun #tankhun theerapanyakul #pete kp #kinnporsche meta #kp meta #pete saengtham #vegas theerapanyakul #korn theerapanyakul #gun theerapanyakul #porsche kittisawasd #porchay kittisawasd

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omarera · 1 month

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Below is a long text. The reason I share this is that I think the article below gives a great insight into Swedish culture and debate climate and views of celebrities taking stands in political issues. I think it is a good to read for those who demand the Swedish cast to actively speak out on different political issues.

It also touches upon Sigge and Alex podcast. I am frustrated to see the polarization and cancel culture and also the narrative of Sigge as a Zionist based on that he followed some Insta accounts. And also Edvin and Felicia being labeled Zionists by association. Maybe the article can give some perspectives.

Sigge Eklund is a provocative person, and his and Alex Schulman’s pod is both popular and controversial. You kind of either love them or hate them, or both. They are both authors, both outspoken what I would call leftists, Alex for example write columns that are very leftist. They are also quite full of themselves and can be very condescending to others and also take ideas and concepts to extremes to prove points. Their takes are often debated. There is a bit of irony in that they have received criticism for not standing up for Israel and stated they were against Hamas attack and now Sigge also being accused of being a Zionists. Sigge is criticized from both sides.

With that said, below is a translation of an article from SvD, one of Swedens large morning papers. It discusses Swedes silence. It shows how celebrities that do speak up are treated in Sweden. Let’s just say they are shot down. Swedes don’t have a tradition of appreciating celebrities to speak up on subjects they are not fully educated on. It’s so easy to get lost. But also that we need to talk about but it’s so damn difficult.

The article below is from Nov 25th 2023. It’s also important to consider when reading it. I still think it showcase Swedish culture really well and our debate climate and view on celebs speaking up and how polarized and infected and hard the long ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict (now genocide) is for us to discuss.

link to article it’s probably locked for non-subscribers.

“That's why I keep quiet about the war"

During a dinner Björn Werner (the author of the article) was at recently, the question came up. The one that not only cuts through the public debate but is strong enough to tear apart friendships and social nets and relationships.

Alex Schulman's voice chokes with anxiety. He stabs himself. And stakes himself again.

"It freezes me now when I hear you're going to talk about it."

Now it must be done. Sigge Eklund has taken the plunge. They will talk about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

It's fast. Just a few minutes. A gentle ripple in a podcast of over an hour. Like few others in public Sweden, the two men are otherwise always carefree open with what they think and feel. Bridges to important colleagues, friends and acquaintances are burned in every other episode. They do everything for the content. But not now.

It is at the very beginning of the war. Barely a week since Hamas kidnapped women, children and the elderly and brutally murdered 1,200 Israelis. Israel's intense bombing campaign has only been going on for a few days. Nevertheless, the Swedish debate about the Israel-Palestine conflict is so feverish that the two seasoned authors and media men prefer not to talk about it.

"I hardly think it can be done without arousing so much hatred that in the end it won't be worth it," Schulman continues.

Eklund basically agrees:

"I've really felt at a loss for words," he replies and goes on to explain that it's not because he doesn't have anything to say, but that he himself doesn't know exactly what he's going to say once he starts. The feelings are too strong.

It is, of course, easy to call the podduo cowards. That they want to wriggle out of this deeply polarized conflict without clashing with anyone – whether listeners or advertisers. But in that case they are not alone.

There are many who, for social and understandable reasons, avoid the question. The price of taking a stand can be very high. For one thing, what one says can be taken out of one's mouth and reshaped into something grotesque and ugly. For one thing, the risk of losing control over one's own emotions is great. Then it is easy to end up wrong. To say wrong.

An abyss you like to avoid thinking about and talking about, if you can.

During a dinner I attended recently, the question came up. Someone admitted that he "sympathizes with Israel's cause here." Another then raised his hand: "I don't agree with that, and I think we should leave it like that, so it will be nicer." The entire table nodded in agreement. Everyone exhaled. A similar dynamic exists in the group chats I'm in, which have morphed from lively, fun conversations to cautious, polite flirting. Everyone sees the dark clouds towering. Nobody wants to see the rain fall.

A lot of this depends, I think, on the complexity of the situation. The vast majority of people outside the Israel-Palestine conflict are touchingly in agreement that it is terrible for all innocent people to die, regardless of nationality. It is all the more difficult to navigate beyond this single, self-evident opinion. Because one needs to have one after all. In everything else it is more difficult. They are looking for a scapegoat. The violence can't just happen? It must be someone's fault. Demanding a ceasefire also leads to the natural follow-up question: and then?

In both the issue of guilt and in the conversation about the future, dangers lurk wherever you turn: those who rush forward without a map and compass risk quickly running into both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic cuts.

Not that it is necessarily easier for those who actually take the time to read up on the issue. Is it about a multi-thousand-year European oppression of Jews? That Arab leaders have consistently refused to accept Israel's existence since the UN proclaimed the state in 1948? Is it the fault of the many Jewish settlers who drove Palestinians from their homes? Arab countries that in turn expelled Jews from theirs? That Palestinians by both Israel and Arab countries are used as a real political playing cards? Netanyahu? Hamas? It's just a matter of choosing. Everything is right – at the same time.

Whatever you think, however educated you are, there is always a weighty opinion that speaks for the opposite of what you have come to.

The situation is bizarre. Despite the fact that there is a terrible conflict going on where innocent children are killed daily, it is therefore a socially viable, perhaps even wise, strategy to just keep quiet.

the public also has results on how it goes for those who speak first and think later. When 160 celebrities signed a petition to stop the bombing of Gaza, they came under fire for not showing the same commitment during Hamas' massacre of Israelis. Artist Stina Wollter's star now appears to be falling after she mixed up her commitment to Palestinian children with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. And the competence of the Green Party's Märta Stenevis is being questioned because she liked Stina Wollter's (not entirely clear) apology.

It is quite unusual for external events to cut so deeply into interpersonal relationships. Not least in the consensus-seeking country Sweden, which is otherwise known for its lukewarm political temperament. While the 1968 movement in Paris led to street battles between students and police, the student movement in Stockholm occupied its own union building. When Sweden, after 200 years of non-alignment, joins NATO, everyone just sighs amicably. The war in Ukraine has, if anything, acted as a unifying force, where people from left to right could confidently state that the world in this particular case really is black and white.

But there is a force in the Israel-Palestine conflict that is strong enough to tear apart the social net and relationships. Partly because of the horrific images we are all exposed to, but also because of the historically deeply infected nature of the issue. It's all starting to resemble the climate of debate in Britain about Brexit, which went to such levels that the prestigious British etiquette magazine Tatler raised the topic as one of twelve things you absolutely should not talk about at the dinner table.

Anyone who puts their faith in the ability of public discourse to unravel complex events also has nothing to gain from the issue of Israel-Palestine. The ongoing debate has quickly degenerated into a hopeless meta-debate about who thinks the most "wrong". The amount of constructive, well-read and nuanced posts that have been put forward since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel's subsequent bombing of Gaza can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Expressen's Per Wirtén succeeds, through a combination of solid humanism and understanding of the matter, to tackle the subject in a dignified way. Another is SvD's Elaf Ali, who from his personal perspective testifies to the polarization in the Swedish debate.

But - the more texts are about things that could just as easily take place at a dinner with a lost footing. There and in social media, the waves are high. Are leftists anti-Semitic because they react more strongly to Israel's attacks than to Hamas? Are right-wing debaters really Islamophobes, because they so fervently defend Israel while at the same time advocating cooperation with the newly anti-Semitic SD?

Who is foolish enough to stick their head into this hornet's nest willingly?

Maybe Alex and Sigge are doing the only reasonable thing. Despite one's instincts screaming to react when news of dead children sweeps by, there is not much to say – because hardly anything can be said without being taken as revenue for something else. But the question is whether it is even possible to be silent. According to today's twisted logic, there is also something to be said.

Shortly after "Alex and Sigge's podcast" was published, the right-wing comedian Aron Flam responded to X (recently on Twitter): "So Alex Schulman cannot condemn murder, torture and rape? Hard to say anything about murdering women, young, old, pregnant, babies? Speaking. He who is otherwise so full of goodness.”

And it hasn't stopped there. In a later episode, both podcasts return to the consequences of not taking a stand. Their social media inboxes are overflowing with anger.

Swedes are one of the world's most educated peoples, and at least until very recently formally non-aligned. The majority have few personal connections to either the millennial suffering of Jews or the Palestinian people's quest for their own state formation.

If even a remote, frostbitten nation of newly urbanized farmers can't pull themselves together, who can? If even we can't talk to each other, then who can?

#don’t know how to tag this #Swedish. culture ?#why Swedish celebrities are silent?#edvin ryding #felicia truedsson #Sigge Eklund #and also #omar rudberg #yr cast

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a-dauntless-daffodil · 7 months

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i am not allowed to watch the newest ep before posting this

ghouls forgive me for over analyzing- but i LOVED how Frankie's place on the leader board doesn't change! The i m p l i c a t i o n s

so the point of the growing ghoulia ep is both Ghoulia and Draculaura are feeling a lot of pressure to do really well at their school stuff:

Ghoulia because zombies in general have a hard time squeezing all the extra stuff that would earn points, and she wants to be first to top the chart. Draculaura, fresh from the ep where her dad was worried her witchcraft would make her life harder, wants to 100% prove she can be a witch AND do well in her other stuff.

(ohhh the DElicious irony of that urge pushing her to accidentally do the thing she NEVER wanted to do- hurt monsters with her magic- i AdORE every time she draws the line of I Will Not Hurt People With This. i LOVE the look at how she realizes Ghoulia shouldn't have to compete against MAGIC along with everything else- AND AND AND how they both decide to be little less frantic about leader boards. we don't even see what the final redone results are! Because that's the point- they aren't THAT important! without the time spell there's a good chance ghoulia stayed in 1st this time, but the episode doesn't care, and the meta of that is vrvrvrvvrrbrrbrbrbrbr)

where was i. Oh yeah, Frankie!

they are second to last before the new points are tallied up- just above Ghoulia- and they're STILL second to last after the new calculation is done, this time just ahead of Heath!

First tally: 1 Drac, 2 Spec, 3 Heth, 4 Lag, 5 Claw, 6 Man, 7 Frank, 8 Ghoul

Second Tally, before drac jumped ahead suddenly: 1 Ghoul, 2 Man, 3 Claw

Second tally after drac did her thing: 1 Drac, 2 Ghoul, 3 Man, - - - 7 Frank, 8 Heth

(forgive, i cannot take scream caps right now)

WHY IS THAT EXCITING??? BECAUSE>>>>>> everyone else that we see DID move on the board. but not THEM!!!

and the only extra curricular thing we see them part of in the ep? the only thing they do that could get them points? It's something they already do and like.

It's a queer club- Frankie, the only openly non-binary monster we've seen, who introduced themselves with their preferred pronouns- there is no way they're doing a queer club for points. they're there because they want to be, it's fun, it's something they enjoy-

AND THAT S THE THING

so MANY of the kids at monster high are trying to live up to something! or prove something!

Cleo needing to earn a sliver of the respect her big sister gets

Duce trying not to let down the new Gorgon tradition of school excellence

Draculaura desperately wanting to make her dad proud AND be a witch AND earn enough positive interaction so's not to start decaying

Toralei and HER mom who is..... yeah....

heck even Spectra mentions bad grades could get privileges revoked by her family

Clawdeen doesn't have pressure from her dad (or mom, obviously) but she does struggle with wanting to fit in and belong in the monster culture she's still really new to- she's solidly in the middle range for spirit points, showing how active she is in school unlife- and several of her eps are about learning NOT to focus too much on fitting in or going with the monster flow. Instincts. The push to ignore them sometimes for her new home and peers is sTRONG.

but Frankie?

Frankie's got brilliant brain bits. They're smart, perceptive, sometimes VERY intuitive without noticing it-

yeah they have a permanent case of the stumbly clumsies and their brain sparks make them zone out sometimes- and they've literally only been alive for a few months so there's a LOT of normal everyday stuff they don't know about, and...

...... that rarely seems to bother them?

They're made from famous and talented monsters, they know it and are HAPPY to show off all their cool brain bits

and so far they haven't ever worried about living up to those monsters' reputations or legacies. their parents made a teen stuffed FULL with smarts, but getting amazing grades isn't something Frankie frets about?

they are SECOND TO LAST on the LEADER BOARD and they STAY THERE

the implication, the unspoken thing about all that is-

Frankie was made to have fun.

They're here at monster high, also to have Fun. To experience stuff. Make friends. Learn things, sure- but learn things they like, at their own pace

this could change if we ever see their parents but- but for NOW, the way things have been shown-

Frankie at least doesn't seem to be feeling any pressure to be anything more than what they already are. And that's really. Very. Wonderful to see

#mhg3 #monster high g3 #frankie stein #ghoulia yelps #draculaura #BLARGH #REEEEEEEEEEE

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y2kbugs-moved · 1 year

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As I re-read Viktor and Jayvik fanfiction, I’m seeing a pattern in which people try to make Viktor insecure and self-loathing about his own looks. This is not Viktor. I think a lot of fanfic writers are doing some form of projection (especially if they are also disabled), or in the case of abled fanfic writers, falling back into ableist tropes that Arcane specifically averted with Viktor.

Viktor is not a man of publicity, this much is true. Being someone who is reserved and not fond of much publicity doesn’t equal someone who is introverted in a way that means they’re self-loathing, insecure, or anything like that. From everything else we have seen on Viktor, he is confident in his own skills and intelligence, he has strong will, and is not afraid to take risks. Indeed, his lack of self-preservation and willingness to take risks is often cited as his fatal flaw. You can be self-confident and have a strong will without wanting to have too much publicity. He just likes the privacy.

He says it himself in the second episode, making a comment on how no one believed in him, in a way that I think is misinterpreted by the fandom. He isn’t saying that he thinks he is a poor, and visibly disabled person from the Undercity. He is saying that in a tongue-in-cheek sense on how other people perceive him as a poor and visibly disabled person from the Undercity.

He knows he is dying, and he’s understandably depressed over the fact, and we see that in episode 6 he specifically talks about how he won’t be around long enough to leave a legacy, and that he feels he’s only accomplished a fraction of what he could do. He realizes he might not be remembered as anything more than a Zaunite scientist who was Jayce’s co-worker and therefore couldn’t prove himself to be more.

Additionally, he does not seem like the kind of person who is self-conscious about his own appearance due to disability. I definitely don’t mind that I have a deformed ear or that my gait is uneven, this is just a part of me and how I have always been, and I personally think Viktor sees it that way too. The only thing that he would be self-conscious of is his augmented parts and the rune scars he carved into his flesh, because that’s a sign of his own desperation and extreme risk-taking behavior that he knows people (especially Jayce) will freak out over, not disability that he was born with.

Look at how Viktor is introduced. He’s an intelligent and studious man who works for the academy. He happens to have a cane, and stands tall and has sharp eyes. He tells Jayce that he’s broken the rules and makes a little comment about it. Seems like a guy you don't want to get in trouble with. But it turns out he likes what Jayce's talking about and joins him in this dream AND he's actually taking risks and getting into trouble! He steals the book, and unlocks the key to the laboratory, all without a second thought. We have a man who is smart and crafty and will do what it takes to get him to his goal, even if it means taking risks, contrasted with Jayce. There's literally nothing about his disability beyond the fact he uses a cane, and the single comment he makes, which is punctuated with irony. There isn’t a single thing about how he should be pitied and that he’s sad and disabled. Even post-timeskip we see him working together with Jayce and showing their inventions, and only at episode 5-6 does worsening condition come into light, then it becomes a part of his story. Nothing is brought up about the fact he looks different, and has switched from cane to crutch. This is also a testament to Arcane’s excellent “show, don’t tell” approach and visual storytelling. We don’t need to be told that Viktor’s health is getting worse. We can see it.

To my understanding, he only really becomes more secluded and desperate after his stay at the hospital and knowing he is living on borrowed time,and that is when Heimerdinger points out that he's changed. (Yes, he was right on that part, admittedly).

He is frail, he has low muscle tone and is underweight, but the fandom has flanderized this to the point where they write him as if he’s going to shatter like glass. This man knew he was actively dying and he knew Zaun had intensifying threats of an attack against Piltover, and yet he walked his way to Singed’s laboratory. He also lifted his stool high above his head, but briefly and this may just be adrenaline, but point is, he walked all the way to the Undercity fully knowing his condition and the political tensions. (Granted, he likely left early in the morning because he is smart, had enough energy at that time to go and return, and is keenly familiar with the Undercity). There’s a kind of preseverance in this character that people are choosing to erase when writing him. There are things he can’t do, yes, but if you take those things and exaggerate them to the point where he becomes a carciature of himself, that’s a problem.

People are doing this wonderful character a disservice.

"When you're going to change the world, don't ask for permission."

#viktor #viktor arcane #arcane #long post

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zzzzzestforlife · 3 months

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Is it still too early in the year to get my life together? 🙈😅

(it's not that serious, i just like being dramatic sometimes 🎭 and feel the need to make up for yesterday)

morning 🌄

🎧 watched an episode of 独家童话 over breakfast for motivation 💕🥓

📚 read 2 chapters of Sophie's World while a customer service rep kept me on hold for 30 minutes just to tell me that they can't do anything about my problem with their product that i paid good money for 💸💀

👩‍💻 sync with the intern i'm mentoring, which made me question my maturity and abilities as a mentor 🥲

👩‍💻 deploy a high-priority hotfix, hoping it doesn't crash and burn (it didn't, yay! ☺️)

🥰 full-body workout before i need to sit through a hour-long meeting 🙃

📝📝📝 Chinese lesson (2x), Korean lesson (1x)

🎧 simple Japanese short story that i can actually understand quite a bit?? 🙀 i'm so surprised and happy and motivated, ahhhh 🤩

afternoon 🥵

👩‍💻 hour-long meeting with my fellow socially-awkward engineers 🤗

❤️ guided breathwork meditation for balance and being more present (the irony is i was doing it while in the meeting 😂)

👩‍💻 plan massive refactoring project (i hate it 😅 i want to throw it into an inferno and not look back as it explodes into a million pieces 🔥)

👩‍💻 higher-ups wanted to call a meeting but idk what the purpose was, tbh

👩‍💻 planning meeting that left us with more questions than answers, what else is new? 🥴

🎧 Korean short story that i was surprised i could understand easily 👀 until they repeated the same story using different words, then i was suddenly lost 🥺

❤️ journal in Korean using my last brain cells

evening 🌆

🧠 plan my studies for the week — the urge to make a pretty planning system is so strong but nothing beats the simplicity, efficacy, and flexibility of a good old list 😛

🧠 psych reading (child development as a topic is interesting, but my readings are so boring and contain nothing i haven't heard before 😒)

🎧 Chinese short story that i love so much because it's nice and repetitive like a children's story for people like me who forget easily 🙈 great for learning!!👌

💌: yay, you made it to the end!! hope you had a good day too, whatever that means for you 😇 i'm definitely going to try to slack off tomorrow, but i don't think i'll have much luck 🌝

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hughjidiot · 5 months

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Thoughts on the TDI Reboot Season Two, Episodes 5 and 6

Okay the next two episodes of the reboot have premiered, and here are my collective thoughts on the characters and what's been happening. Spoilers below the cut, obviously.

Nichelle is out 5th and quit on top of that thanks to a fake movie contract planted by Julia. Honestly that kind of surprised me; my prediction was that Nichelle would make it to the merge where she'd get voted off because her improved athleticism made her a threat. I thought it would be ironic: in season one she was eliminated for being weak, and in season two she'd be eliminated for being too strong. Well at least Julia got some villain cred, even if it was a bit contrived and felt like Nichelle needed to lose some IQ points to make it possible. I'm not too broken up, but I can see why others might take issue with it.

(You know what would be hilarious though? If when the eliminated campers return for the finale, Nichelle reveals that people in Hollywood saw her improved performance in season two and actually did give her a movie deal.)

Instead, it was Bowie eliminated first after the merge. Now this makes much more sense: after MK's cheating was exposed, Julia convinced team Rat Face that it was Bowie's idea. Priya and Caleb were both victims of Bowie's schemes at some point, Zee is easy to fool, and Axel and Damien wouldn't know Bowie and MK well enough to know for sure but they do know Bowie placed second last season so they know he's a threat. In any case I really enjoyed Bowie this season: I loved the drama of him being torn between wanting to play dirty while not wanting to upset Raj. And he and Raj are adorable together, so I'm glad the cheating didn't lead to any major problems in their relationship.

Speaking of which, I loved Wayne and Raj standing up for their principles in episode five and refusing to go along with MK and Julia's schemes. And they continue to be hilarious on top of that. If I'm being honest though I kind of hope one of them goes soon, so we can finally see how the other gets along without his bro.

Then there's Zee, who continues to be absolutely hilarious. "I killed Priya's pillow boyfriend!" had me rolling. And he's actually involved with a plotline now! He knows about Priya's crush on Caleb and that Caleb is only looking for an alliance. Or at least, he was...

Caleb appears to be actually falling for Priya. Very interesting development. And Priya continues to be head over heels for Caleb, but at least she recognizes that she can't let it affect her game. Very interested to see where things go with them as a potential ship.

As for our other ship, Ripper and Axel seem to be getting along very well. I've seen some people comparing them to how Geoff and Bridgette were in TDA, but I think that's unfair. Sure they're into each other but not to the point where they can't focus on the game. (Axel getting distracted by Bowie's claim that Ripper was making out with a raccoon not withstanding.) Now that the teams have merged I hope we can see them spending time together and bonding in a way that involves more than making out. I'm surprisingly invested in this ship.

Well look at that, Damien actually won a challenge! I was hoping he'd start being more proactive in season two, and now we might finally be getting that. Especially since he's said he wants to find the immunity idol that's now in play, which Priya and Caleb are also hunting for...

Last but certainly not least, Julia and MK. Julia got some major villain cred these episodes, getting Nichelle and her arch enemy Bowie eliminated. Meanwhile MK's intern scheme was exposed, so that plotline's over. (I love how Chris had no problem with her cheating, but her stealing his hairdryer crossed the line.) They continue to be great together as a bad guy duo, and I can't wait to see more of it. (Especially if it evolves into romance, as I and many others are hoping for.)

Also, here's a bit of irony I noticed: in season one, Julia got eliminated in episode 6, and in season two Julia saved MK from elimination in episode 6.

And that's everyone. Aside from a few minor complaints, I'm still loving this season! The characters are all great, the plotlines are engaging, and the jokes are absolutely hilarious. And best of all I have no idea who could be going home next, so I'm very excited for the next episodes.

#hugh jidiot rambles #total drama island #total drama spoilers #tdi 2023 #td nichelle #td bowie #td mk #td julia #td priya #td caleb #td zee #td damien #td ripper #td axel #td wayne #td raj

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geekgirles · 1 year

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So we're going the Feligami route, huh?

Disclaimer: I am well aware of the contents of the leaks. However, I will not discuss them in my posts out of respect for my fellow Miraculers that wish not to be spoiled. So, please, if you read this and are aware of the spoilers as well, refrain from discussing them. At the very least don’t do it on the notes. Please and thank you.

Before I say anything else, I want to first make it clear that this is in no way meant as an attack towards Feligami shippers. Just because I don't share your enthusiasm for the ship doesn't mean I'm going to declare war on its supporters. I just...I just need to get this out of my chest. Because I have so many feelings, and thoughts, and opinions regarding these two as a couple and its execution...and not necessarily of the good kind.

You might be thinking my main beef with Kagami and Félix dating may come from the fact that, morals aside, these two are too similar.

Both are intelligent, capable, well-educated kids from rich families who at first glance have a more dignified and serious vibe going on as opposed to Adrien's more laid-back rich kid energy. A perfectly crafted image of elegance and aloofness that underlies strong emotions, a mischievous side, and a warm heart (which in Félix's case sort of contradicts his gremlin child personality from previous seasons, but that's a topic for another day).

However, while that does play a part in my disinterest in the ship, it is actually the least of my concerns.

So please let me explain why I just can't help but roll my eyes at this development:

1. It's rushed and feels forced:

Leaving aside the obvious reality that it is that Félix has only been featured in 7 episodes in the entirety of the show (with his Multiplication appearance being important but minor), there is also the fact that these two have interacted thrice in all that time.

With their first interaction back in Gabriel Agreste being reduced to giving a side-glance to each other. And not even a friendly one.

Truly, they are soulmates...

Now, the irony doesn’t escape me regarding the fact that some of the Love Square issues come precisely from the fact that it’s taken them too long for Adrienette to be canon. One of my personal issues with Feligami happens to be that their relationship came a tad too soon.

Can you please explain to me how do we go from “I begrudgingly acknowledge your existence” to “I can’t stop thinking about you”? I’m sorry, but that is too much of a shoujo manga cliché even for Miraculous.

Mainly because that was basically the kind of dynamic Marinette would have had with Félix had he remained Chat Noir and Astruc, being cognizant of this fact, chose to scrap him because of that.

Because at least Marinette crushing on Adrien after thinking he was a jerk comes from the fact that he went out of his way to apologise to her, make amends, and show he is truly kind at heart. Feligami just comes out of nowhere.

Moreover, their current relationship status also feels forced due to their previous interactions. I’m sorry, but let’s face it, nobody in their right mind would think falling for or even trusting Félix/Argos is a good idea.

If my memory doesn’t fail me, in Multiplication Ladybug and Chat Noir declared Félix as a public enemy due to willingly betraying them and allying himself with Shadow Moth, which directly resulted in him getting the miraculouses and becoming Monarch. (I could be mistaken on this one, though)

And as former miraculous holder, someone who is aware of the fact that the power is granted by sentient beings whose fates are unknown to them, there is just no way Kagami would come to even consider trusting Argos.

And don’t try to bring her friendship with Lila up because at least there she has the excuse of not being aware of the full extent of Lila’s maliciousness and manipulations. In Félix’s case, she is 100% aware of what he’s capable of.

Hell, he literally snapped her loved ones out of existence! And regardless of how terrible Tomoe is, she is still Kagami’s mother and she loves her. Just how she adores Marinette who, to her knowledge, Félix almost killed for real.

And you expect me to believe she would just move past that? Please, don’t insult me like that.

As much as I love my girl Kagami, there really isn’t enough content between these two to justify either of them falling for the other.

Which sort of leads us to my next point...

2. The implications behind the ship:

There are a lot of unfortunate implications between their interactions. The kind that makes this pairing becoming canon very questionable because it just wouldn’t bode well in any long-term relationship, let alone a real one. And this actually comes from both sides.

But let’s start with Félix, okay?

Ah, yes. The ring close-up.

What was originally meant as a “mere” confirmation of the fact that Kagami is most likely a sentimonster as well (a shock in itself if you didn’t buy the Sentimonster Theory), has the unfortunate side effect of implying the main, or even sole, reason Félix ever developed a crush on her is because the two are sentimonsters...and that’s it.

Which is a terrible thing to base an entirely relationship on, because it would mean that Félix isn’t in love with Kagami as her own person. Because, quite frankly, he barely knows her to really come to appreciate her as such. But rather, his interest is born from the fact that the two are one and the same.

It just reads as Félix being desperate for companionship, instead of actively looking for Kagami’s companionship.

And speaking of things that just don’t bode well...Kagami’s side in all of this isn’t much better.

Ever since she was first introduced as Adrien’s potential alternative love interest, or more accurately, ever since Frozer, Kagami has made it a point to let Adrien know she wishes he were more proactive and assertive, which sort of culminated with that harsh phone call from Risk.

And would you look at that!

Aside from his more manipulative side, being more proactive and assertive than Adrien sort of is Félix’s deal! Looks like Kagami finally found her match after all...

Sigh...

All that would be fine and dandy if it weren’t for the fact that all of season 5 so far, and especially Protection, have shown Adrien finally taking measures to try and be more in control of his life. Which good for him! We all know he needed the character development. Unfortunately this also comes with the canon fact that his new personality also reignited the flame of Kagami’s love for him. Which, again, was the main conflict in Protection:

Kagami trying to keep her own growing feelings and jealousy in check now that Adrien and Marinette are an item.

And where does this leave Feligami at?

Well, coupled with the fact that for some weird reason the Fathoms and Agrestes couldn’t be bothered to give their children individual looks, that is to say, that Félix is a carbon copy of Adrien and that Kagami was once again in love with him (Adrien) because he was finally turning into the kind of person she always dreamed he would be...let’s just say it all feels as if Kagami is projecting her feelings for Adrien onto Félix, rather than learning to love him for who he is.

And that is just not fair for either character. Because it feels as if neither Félix or Kagami are being loved for who they truly are, but for what the other wants them to be. Which is the wrong approach to any relationship.

4. Kagami deserves a girlfriend

5. Even though my previous point is (half) meant as a joke, given what’s happened in Pretension it still holds a certain weight. Mainly because what ultimately seems to endear Félix to Kagami is the fact that some of his mannerisms remind her of Marinette.

I'm not making this up. Félix suddenly acting like a mess around Kagami could not be any more of an obvious parallel to Marinette's own bouts of nervousness around Adrien throughout the show.

Let’s that sink in for a minute, okay?

You’re telling me, Kagami for the most part is justifiably and understandibly hostile towards Félix, but the moment he starts acting like Marinette her whole demeanour softens? You say that she cares for Marinette so much that anything that resembles her becomes an immediate soft spot for Kagami?? And I’m supposed to believe she’s falling for Félix instead of getting deadass gayer for Marinette each passing episode????

Now, if that’s not a comphet narrative when I see it...

Which, combined with my previous point about Kagami projecting her feelings for Adrien onto Félix, only gives further credibility to the popular “fanon” idea that Kagami is bi. Now, if you could just let her meet some nice girl from her fencing class and let her explore that side of herself in peace instead of forcing her into a nonsensical relationship, that’d be great.

6. It just reinforces the show’s blatant amatonormativity

Believe it or not, this is actually my main beef with the pairing. This is what makes me grit my teeth and roll my eyes in annoyance.

I get it, I get it.

“Miraculous takes a lot of inspiration from rom-coms”, “it’s a show based on magical girls; of course romance is important!”, “the Love Square is one of its main pillars, what did you expect?”

I know.

However, and I cannot stress this enough, you do not need to be in a romantic relationship to be happy and fulfilled. Not only because of the existence of these wonderful groups of people called aromantics and aroace people, but even the most straight, cisgendered, hopeless romantic can be perfectly content single.

Also, being in a relationship is just not something Kagami and Félix’s characters need. But the writers insist that being romantically involved with someone is the only viable happy ending for anyone.

In Kagami’s case, in my humble opinion, taking control of her life from her controlling and strict mother while working on building stronger platonic relationships with her friends would be a very satisfying way to conclude her character arc. Because as touching as it was to see everyone assuring Kagami that they love her in Perfection, aside from Marinette and Adrien the only person her age she’s been interacting with is Lila.

Not exactly the image of honesty and genuine support one would expect in a friendship, huh?

Maybe it’s just me, but seeing the once lonely and socially awkwad Kagami aurrounded by people she’s actually friends with rather than kids that hang out with her by association (that is to say, they are either Mari or Adrien’s friends too and that day they just happen to be all together) would feel like we’ve come full circle.

From the aloof and lonely girl that is only focused on being the best and making her family proud we met in Riposte...

...to the warm and happy girl who greatly values her social circle she’s slowly been turning into.

And as for Félix...

Well, truth be told, the show hasn’t really given us much to work with. But maybe a happy ending for him would be if aside from finally being free like he wants to be, he rekindles his relationship with Adrien. If the two really were close in the past, then it would be a pity to lose that.

But no.

Instead, the show just has to reinforce the idea that the only way you can possibly be happy is by being in a romantic relationship. Never mind if they have neglected that subplot for so long it just comes completely out of the blue and feels unearned.

I love Miraculous, I love the Love Square, and I am a shipper first and a person second, but this is ridiculous and a huge disservice to all parties involved.

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astrolavas · 1 year

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Hey Astrolavas, Idk if you still answers Ask. But I wanted to know what to expect or do you want to happen with Hunter in the last ep of How do you want his arc to end?

cracks my knuckles OKAY, SO...

when it comes to just watching and dreaming, i feel like he probably isn't going to have too much focus on him plot/character-arc-wise so there isn't going to be any main subplot for him, but i would love to see some particular scenes or things still.

we know he's going to go against belos again (not on his own but. he WILL confront him again) so that....... that's a scene that i feel like has so much potential to be so good and so satisfying.

belos creating hunter as caleb's next disposable copy, seeing him as only another number vs belos being defeated by his own "creation"... having that moment of realization and fear as he's going down, knowing that none of his plans succeeded and that hunter is going to outlive him. the sweet, sweet karma and irony of it all...

belos already losing it, seeing "ghosts" of caleb and the grimwalkers, just getting worse and worse in his obsession and pursuit for revenge. and now, with hunter having brown eyes... with belos not having seen "caleb's" eyes in almost 400 years............ this is just very interesting to me. see, i still miss his magenta eyes a lot sometimes </3 especially since they were his only "visible" grimwalker trait, but i feel like THIS might be why they changed hunter's eye color. belos seeing "caleb's" eyes on hunter, belos seeing eda with evelyn's haircut too, him just completely........ freaking out. AGH.

and all of this, the eye color change, along with the fact that belos keeps calling hunter "caleb", how no one- not even luz- has called him out on it as of yet... how when he sees hunter again, next episode, sporting the brown eye color at that, he's definitely gonna call him caleb again....... i'd rly love to see a throwback to either hunter's "my name... is hunter" scene with luz or his "my name isn't caleb, it's hunter" scene with emerald entrails. said in a different, more serious tone; in like a dramatic finale moment of confronting belos.... AGHGHHHH YEAH???? yeah..... that'd be neat.

besides that, i'd love to see more of his grief for flapjack.

we've seen him being very clearly affected by it in ftf, and the arc was semi-resolved for a moment with the "flapjack will always be with you" metaphor thing, but it was also... more about the problem of him pushing down his feelings. in ftf, he was trying to mask his grief and sadness with anger and coldness (a similar defense mechanism and behaviour that we've seen from him in s2a, or labyrinth runners, or like any instance when he's not feeling well. that's how he always reacts to traumatic events, negative feelings or hard moments in his life. it's what he had to do in order to survive in the coven). so he kept pushing people away, distancing himself from others, acting irritable, focusing solely on the mission at hand, just wanting to find belos immediately; thinking about literally anything but flapjack or what happened just a few hours prior, cuz it hurts too much to think about it. but just like willow had her arc of repression and finally realized she can rely on other people too and allowed herself to show feelings and vulnerability instead of letting it all consume her from the inside out, hunter similarly let himself show some of that vulnerability to his friends, he let himself think of flapjack for a moment, to truly miss him, and he realized a part of him is always going to be with him. (hunter and willow both actually struggle with vulnerability and repression but in totally different ways and it's also so interesting, but. that's an essay for another day so kxjsjsk)

but yeah, even though the initial stage of grief has been slightly resolved, and he can go on without as strong feelings of anger and without repressing what he feels, this is still only a start. because we see he misses flapjack, he's still gonna mourn flapjack for a long long time; he hasn't even had the time to truly go through it, and he probably will once belos is dealt with and everything kinda settles down, and he gets a true moment to breathe, goes back to a daily routine... and flapjack is not with him. like, that grief and hurt is still there, and it's not going anywhere, just moving forward.

so... i'd like to see one more scene dedicated to flapjack in the next episode. sth that'll be private, sth just between hunter and flapjack, sth quiet maybe. it can even be hunter talking to himself as if he was talking "to" flapjack (like in the "i wish you were here" scene kinda) or saying sth abt flapjack to belos, i'd just love to see more to feel fully satisfied, cuz it doesn't really feel "concluded" at the moment. (and on one side, sure! it's not going to be for a long while, but also.... sth more.. would be so nice) not sure if we're actually going to get a scene like that, however, cuz there's gonna be little time so h.......... but i would like it.

another thing i'd love to see is a hunter and darius reunion, and possibly even a talk.

there's!? so much they can talk about??!? their complicated past in the coven, darius' mentor, the previous golden guards, sewing, hunter's grief and how darius has experience with it too...... yeah. like, their arc doesn't feel complete, they haven't interacted since asias (the only episode they directly interacted with each other, in fact) and have only been mentioned by one another a few times and it's been merely hinted that their relationship has progressed positively behind the scenes. so, there should be a conclusion here. a reunion, a talk, possibly a future mentorship of sorts. that'd be cool.

now, as we're moving towards the end.......

i'd really love hunter to be adopted by camila. there are ofc other options but this one just feels so, so, SO good, and it fits the narrative so well, it fits the story so well, it's perfect for both him and the nocedas. UGHHH... so that'd be cool.

i know sth like this likely won't happen (cuz time restraints and all that), but imagining... the quiet after the Last Big Battle; after belos is defeated and everything starts settling down. everyone else reuniting with their families and hunter just... standing there; cuz he's not sure what he's meant to do now or where to go, now that everything is over. now that he can breathe, now that the world can go on. camila approaching him and inviting him to stay with them for good, because ofc there's NO way she's just going to make him move out or leave him be when he has nowhere to go, yet she still gives him a choice to decline if it's not sth he wants. but it IS what he wants... hunter just feeling happy but also being in such disbelief because whoa??!?...... aughhh you know??!? hunter noceda... camila, get hunter and vee those official adoption certificates ASAP.

as for the possible epilogue/timeskip/credits/future:

we know hunter wants to learn how to carve palismen. the clawthornes are palisman carvers, eda has that palistrom seed... a clawthorne woodcarving mentorship sounds too perfect, i'd LOVE to see it. i feel like hunter would love to be able to make palismen, whether it be for himself or others or just for the sake of creating and bringing new creatures to life... it could make him rly happy, imo. also the contrast between hunter peacefully carving palismen, maybe working towards making palistroms non-endangered again or working with the bat queen, just.. caring for these little beings... vs belos destroying, killing, feeding off palismen; to the point where they almost go extinct, trapping them in his mind, treating them like dangerous pests. life vs death... AGHGHHHH

we know he'd like to attend hexside and play flyer derby too! i'd love to see a snippet of him at hexside post-canon, maybe even in a multitrack uniform. and an emerald entrails comeback <3 with hunter borrowing (bird-shaped?) stringbean from luz for the games, or maybe even having his own new (wolf?) palisman, if enough time passes and it's sth he decides he wants.

and just........ some cool slife-of-life post-canon things. there are so, so many things he can do and so many things i'd love to see, agh....... yeah.

#hunterrrhrgghrhhh.............#so so so so many things i'd love to see but also i'll eat up everything that happens #i'm also curious which hunter character dynamic is going to be highlighted this ep since usually that's how charas are grouped in subplots #but atp... i just love every single hunter dynamic so kxjsjsksk #if it's luz or willow or camila or gus or amity or someone completely NEW.... i win #so yeahkxjsjsk hunter...#nicole answers #hunter toh #my toh talk #Anonymous #also i DO need to catch up on asks... oofkxjsk

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starguardianniom · 1 year

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Amélie's hatred of Gabriel

After seeing the leaks it makes sense.

Émilie was the heiress as she was the older twin and had the responsabilities and status that came with it.

Except when she met Gabriel, who was Gabi Grassette at that time, she decided to throw it all away to be with him.

So it all came down on Amélie's shoulders.

And it got decided she would not be making the same mistake as her sister.

She got married to a man who didn't love her, and who treated her son poorly.

Outright says the marriage was abusive.

From her point of view, her life turned for the worst when Gabi showed up in Émilie's life.

And now Émilie isn't even around anymore but Gabriel still is.

I can almost feel the saltiness coming from her at Gabriel being a nobody yet treated his wife lovingly, while her husband was someone important but couldn't have cared less about her if he bothered to even lift his little finger to try.

And somehow I can understand her.

The only good thing she ever got from it was Félix.

Probably why their bond is so strong.

Félix sees her as much as a victim as he was.

Like Amélie sees him as a victim as much as she was.

And given how she witnessed Colt's abuse of Félix, she made extra sure to love him even more.

It wasn't Félix's fault.

He's just a kid in all this that got handed one of the worst father.

After Colt dies, they're finally free.

They can be happy.

Amélie lets him have all the freedom he can have.

After what their life was like under Colt it's kind of understandable.

Félix in the show goes too far in his episodes.

Strike Back was the turning point.

I feel somehow that he tried to make up for it in Emotion with Red Moon though. By wiping Gabriel out, the kwamis that he gave him in Strike Back would be free, alongside his cousin.Freeing Kagami from her mom was also a bonus, but a welcomed one. When one thinks about it he was kind of undoing his treachery in Strike Back by going after Monarch himself and taking him out in 1 second with Monarch being completely neutralized.

Except his plan fell apart because of Marinette and her alter-ego Ladybug.

The irony that he had basically got rid of Monarch and freed the kwamis and he doesn't tell Ladybug about it means he loses his chance and she loses the opportunity of gettting them all back without knowing it I'm dying.

And he brought everyone back.

I feel he could have brought back everyone but Gabriel and Tomoe though.

Heck he could have kept Chloé's parents too.

She would get raised by her butler.

Chloé and Zoé deserves better parents.

Adrien would get raised by his bodyguard.

Kagami could be raised by Anarka, Luka and Juleka.

Back at Félix, his plan failed.

So he's gonna make a new one.

This time with Kagami's help.

I didn't see the leaks about what he would do apart from impersonating Adrien at the New Year's Eve party I think.

So let's see how it will goes.

Probably be his redemption?

Since he's seen with the other heroes in the storyboards of the full hero team.

I have no idea.

We'll see.

#ml leaks #ml bible spoilers #ml season 5 spoilers #ml s5 spoilers #ml s5 leaks #amelie graham de vanily #gabriel agreste #félix fathom #felix fathom #colt fathom #ml emotion #emilie agreste #adrien agreste #kagami tsurugi #ml analysis

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raayllum · 1 year

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Was mulling over CHET alternatives, specifically re: Ezran for a few different reasons

Ezran is the one textually compared to the previous holder of the Key, the Orphan Queen, as well as directly being her descendant, while Callum has thus far only been compared sub-textually. Right now he has more in common with the Jailer, who was a human mage and also helped construct the prison (assumedly)

Callum would of course hand the cube over for his brother and there would be some delicious irony in the Orphan Queen having the key only for it to be turned over on behalf of her descendant, the lengths siblings either will or will not go for one another being a prevalent point we keep returning to in the show, etc.

Ezran also is related to the game motif, albeit in a different way (connected only to hide and seek rather than the cube)

So like, why have I always leaned towards it being for Rayla > Ezran?

Well, for starters, Callum loves Rayla and Ezran equally. While his relationship with his brother is Callum’s cornerstone as a character, Rayla is very much his agent of change that pushes him to become someone new (and textually, more of himself: “When I could do magic, I finally felt like myself” --> “And then you called me a mage, and that felt right”). Callum himself compares the love he has for Ezran to the love he understands Rayla has for him as early as 2x03, stating “I couldn’t tell him. And I understand why you couldn’t tell me. When you are about someone, it’s hard to hurt them” and similar language is used to describe each language: “You’re my brother and you mean everything to me” (2x06) / “Rayla’s strong thin arms wrapped around him meant everything” (2x04, novelization). They are his two pillars.

Thus, CHET is less about Callum’s particular relationship with Rayla from a structural standpoint, specifically (although that too but more on that later) as it is “This is the dynamic still in conflict, and it needs to be resolved”. CHET has always specifically been a finale theory - i.e. the last 2-3 episodes of a season - and a theory of how their TTM plot line could be wrapped up, in addition to specifically answering the question of what Callum’s role in freeing Aaravos may be, under the assumption he’s going to have a direct one at all.

The two options are currently under possession, which guts Callum’s agency (and can work in a tragic way, but also removes more of the consequences because people can just say “you didn’t mean to” and it’ll be true) or him doing it under some kind of coercion that’s ultimately a choice, a la Soren choosing to stab Viren to save Ezran when push came to shove. This would also further the clear comparisons and contrasts he’s had with Claudia and Viren as a character throughout the show, specifically both ramped up in S4.

Which is to say: if Callum and Ezran were in major conflict, I’d consider him more as a real option for being who Callum says “Just take it” for. But the brothers currently aren’t in conflict, and so nothing needs to be resolved. This could change in S5, but as of right now, we have no reason to think it will (although yes give me broyals angst, I’d adore it). I do think they will be tested and maybe disagree on some things in S5 or going forward because of their Viren-Harrow parallels, but IDK if it’d amount to a finale conflict (and largely never has before, outside of 1x09, which is introduced and resolved in the same episode rather painlessly).

But beyond just plot, there’s also the fact that TDP is 1) deeply symbolic, 2) all about inverted and repeating patterns, and 3) the Theme / foreshadowing, y’know? Which is to say:

1) Ezran is with Callum for 3/4 seasons he has the cube. Callum never talks about the cube with him even once. Every scene in which Callum discusses the cube Ezran is either absent or, if he is there, he isn’t weighing in and isn’t non verbal. To the degree I don’t think Ezran has ever even referred to the cube at all, even to draw attention to it whatsoever in a small way.

2) The only people Callum talks about the cube to or adjacently are Rayla (1x04, 1x05, 1x09, 2x07, 3x08, 4x07) and Bait (2x06, 2x07, 4x02). Bait is easy to explain as he’s a good excuse for Callum to say certain things, or add something/someone for him to react to, without actually being a conversational partner (hence why so many Disney princesses also have animal sidekicks, ‘cause we can’t get away with having characters just talk to themselves too much, most of the time). Rayla is harder to explain, because it would’ve been very easy to finagle some scenes with the cube, especially in S1 or even S4, to have Ezran conversing with Callum about it, being excited (like he is with the Sunforge dagger), trying to distract his brother from something, etc. But no, it’s always Rayla.

3) If you want an in depth meta on Rayla’s weird connection / Cube associations, you can read it here. But really all I gotta say is that Rayla is the character used to foreshadow the cube’s connection to Aaravos well before the letter in 2x06, the only person to routinely call it a game piece / toy, and the only reason Callum has it at all. And again, it did not need to be her consistently, just like she didn’t have to have it on her shoulder, glowing with the Star primal, for her grand re-entrance in Callum’s life. But she does, so. Something’s gotta give

4) Layers of irony. Turning the key over for Ezran only presents one layer of irony, with the Orphan Queen connection. Turning the key over for Rayla offers at least three: doing anything to save the life of a person who tried to kill you / who you asked to kill you; “I hope it was worth it to you putting everyone’s lives in danger” (when it was really just hers back in 1x04, hence why that line has Foreshadowing feelings) now being true; Rayla not being the one who sacrifices, but the one who is sacrificed for, and much more, tbh. As well as the fact it would add layers to her arc and dynamic with Callum that just wouldn’t be applicable with Ezran because, unlike his older brother and best friend, he just doesn’t have the same relationship to sacrifice, martyrdom, or the love-death duality Rayllum are constantly walking the wire’s edge to.

As well as then what it gives, Callum, as well? Just structurally / from an arc standpoint

Him having a vested motivation to then reclaim the cube and fully make it his own, as Rayla says in 1x04: “Hey sad prince. Let’s go get your cube” which could also parallel a journey with magic and understanding the other arcanum

Finally addressing and bringing Callum’s flaw of selfish tunnel vision to a head (1x04 -> 2x04 -> 5x09?) as well as his ruthless side

The possible guilt over how things went but not regret over the choice he made and how complicated those emotions are

Possible fallout with Ez who disagreed in the moment and/or other characters like Soren or Opeli being upset with him, having to deal with that

Furthers the Callum-Claudia and Callum-Viren parallels, allowing both antagonists to remain sympathetic because a ‘hero’ made a similar choice and for similar reasons

Possible Rayllum reconciliation in time for Callum to be able to address his big messy feelings about Runaan without big messy feelings for Rayla also allowing him to create a distance from Runaan, either

And a big personal one-on-one score to settle as right now, Callum is scared of Aaravos only because he may hurt his loved ones, not because he’s actually tried to. Let the kid be angry and protective, y’know?

Callum possibly doubting if it’s a good thing he ever became a mage in a first place, exploring what his self worth looks like outside magic / that he has worth even without it, reaffirming his status as a mage, possibly inspiring him to want to share it with more people and help them connect to arcanums too, etc.

Also giving Callum’s heavy associations with freedom/liberty throughout the seasons its own double edged sword it largely hasn’t had until now that I think is Neat

And last but not least, continuing arc 2′s trend of moving past “making up for our parents’ mistakes” to “how do we make up for our own mistakes or complicated choices?” which are chef’s kiss

#cube hostage exchange theory #mage boy #analysis series #analysis #s5 speculation #two pillars #tdp #mini meta #arc 2

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