#but if we saw more character arc in the show itself i may like him better

[gritsandbrits]

In light of recent news over the passing of voice actress Arleen Sorkin, I wish to reflect on the impact of Harley Quinn on my life.

When I was a kid I grew with Harley. From getting fired from a tv show for giving questionable advice, as her backstory in the 2004 cartoon The Batman, to falling in mad love with her own patient as is the origin story in the 92 animated and subsequent media, Harley has such a big role in Batman lore I don't remember a single time where she wasn't involved. Sometimes I wonder what batman mythos was like before her inclusion.

The first thing that drew me to Harley was her design. Red and black the colors of danger which she was. But there was an added playfulness, that she genuinely enjoyed being herself. She was also VERY hilarious and at times out of pocket. Child Me was amazed. Did I want to be her? Not necessarily. But she did look like someone I'd hang out with.

The meta origin of Harley is just as fascinating. The creators of BTAS saw a performance of Arleen in a clown costume. From there inspiration leapt off the pages onto the big screen. Unlike most of the cast Harley didn't originate from the comics. She was created exclusively for the show, an OC if you will. OCs tend to have a mixed reputation. But Harley's concept and execution was so perfect, she almost feels like she could've been a real character in the comics.

And real she became!

Introduced as a psychiatrist, after receiving Joker as a patient, Dr. Harleen Quinzel begins to fall in love with him; and down a path to iconoclastic doom. Her love for Joker is obsessive, hilarious shallow, horrible but also downright entertaining to watch. I enjoyed every moment she was on screen: I still quote "rev up your Harley" to this day! I see her despair, her goofy outlook and morbid ruthlessness. I wanted her to get comeuppance but at the same time I can't help but feel sorry for her.

Joker abuses her, ignores her, and only complements her when she does something good for him. While the makes how awful their relationship clear, there are a good amount of fans who sees the pair as a glamorous whirlwind romance a la Sonny and Brenda or Jane and Mr Rochester. While such fantasies may seem morbid I don't blame them. No matter how horrible Harley is there is a tiny unavoidable spot that aches for her to win. Or at least see Joker for the monster he really is. While Harley is often held accountable for her actions her arc shows that no one deserves to be abused.

Arleen's performance played a major role in brining Harley to life. She nailed her weaknesses and strengths with such a sincere note that elicits pity, humor and shock at the same time. And of course that ear candy of the New Jersey accent that set the standard for future VAs. Whenever I look at a picture of Harley I hear Arleen. Not to say the other VAs aren't bad, but Arleen's performance is that iconic I can't help but think of her!

Over the years Harley grew apart from Clown Prince of Crime. She got her own spinoff comics, made appearances in other DC media. She even gotten her own tv show which sees the DC universe through her eyes. Harley has marginally healthier romances, primarily Poison Ivy (this isn't to say that pairing doesn't have it's share of toxic moments). The Harlivy ship is a fan favorite but even without shipping and the wars, Harley still shines bright as the Bat Signal.

In a way Harley's descent and eventual rise back to normalcy reminds me of my own struggles. I wasn't a happy child growing up, I've made a lot of mistakes and bad choices. To see a person like Harley work to take back control of her life, makes me feel a bit better for my own prospects. Of course I wouldn't torture a kid to near insanity or blow up a whole city but I can at least put my energy towards something constructive. Harley shows people like me thay we can be more than just screwups if we try.

Of course I can't forget Harley's design. The red&black suit is an icon by itself and inspires similar designs in and outside comics. I could talk all day about how cool her design is from a show and historical perspective but that would take me all day. While I prefer her classic palette, her recent blue and pinks aren't bad either and show just how far she's come out of Joker's shadow. It's even to the point where when, I see something black and red and white I have to point it out and say "Harley would love that outfit!"

Nowadays I complain about the oversaturation of Harley quinn (seriously what was DC thinking taking a team started by a disabled character to reclaim her agency) and overshadowing other cool DC villains. But I would be lying of I say she didn't leave an impact. And it's all thanks to Arleen Sorkin for breathing life into a character that proves you don't need to be be from "the comics" to be considered cool.

Thank you Arleen! May her memory be a blessing - Grits.

#arleen sorkin #harley quinn #essay #dc comics #btas #voice actors #batman the animated series #birds of prey #harley quinn show #characters #may her memory be a blessing

[duckiemimi]

you're so right about gojo dying a meaningless death. i hate how he acted fulfilled in the chapter leaks like there's still a lot of things he didn't get to do/accomplish

i think the part that i hate most about it is the fact that compared to the other major deaths in the series, it feels empty and a little…out of character? can i say that? it sounds like gege saw the long road ahead to (for lack of better word) fulfill gojo’s character development, so he decided to take a shortcut by killing him off and shoving everything he hasn’t covered yet into an afterlife/death-dream sequence.

the afterlife/death-dream sequence was beautifully written in concept, just by itself (isolated), but it was rushed and made no sense in the bigger picture. i wish gege utilized the 15 chapters prior to simultaneously develop gojo’s character more during the fight so that the scene wouldn’t seem so out of place and so out of nowhere, so that the scene is called for. we were completely blindsided.

take nanami’s death, for example. it held so much weight. it hurt but it made sense, i can understand why he had to go the way he did. after all the hurt he went through in high school, his denial by leaving jujutsu, his reluctant but hopeful comeback. then his musings about moving to malaysia, the south, his silent pondering about where to lead his life. and when he died, he found the direction he needed to go towards, and it was haibara who showed him the way. his death was incredibly well-executed and it hurt in the right ways. it made people think.

and of course, geto, our one arc character (two if you count vol. 0) who had one of the most poignant character arcs in the series.

i’m disappointed because i’ve seen what gege can do. the story as a whole was so well set-up and characterization used to be one of his stronger points, but i understand that jjk just isn’t his favorite project anymore and i guess he just wants it done and out of the way. it’s become a “come what may” exclusively plot-driven story, which would’ve been fine if it started that way, but it didn’t. i miss seeing the characters as people and not plot-device, yk?

#jjk #jjk leaks #jjk 236 #asks #gojo #nanami #geto

[mochifiction]

Finally finished the new Earthspark episodes and I’ll definitely voice my thoughts on it soon. However, there have been a few complaints I’ve seen on here that genuinely confuse me pertaining to how this fandom interprets this show regarding plot, pacing, character arcs, and target audiences. I saw one user already dislike the fact that the Maltos are the weakest point of this show mostly because of the more slice-of-life episodes that lack that TRANSFORMERS vibe such as conflicts with the war and its lore, consequences of these conflicts, and more. This person rightfully acknowledges that ES was not meant for people their age, and that right there is the point. This entire season was in of itself exposition, to put it in literary terms. It laid the foundations for future conflict, purpose, and development. If you think about it in a timeline of our episodes, we only just met Nightshade, Hashtag, and Jawbreaker not that long ago. It was only JUST NOW that Jawbreaker got an alt-mode. This show is partially if not majorly about growth. The audience grows up with these characters in an initially healthy learning and family environment. The Terrans are discovering the world we as an older audience on this app know already. They were also initially heavily protected to keep them away from Ghost. That healthy and secluded environment leads to discovery and family development. It is only later that this bubble starts to burst, and the more they are exposed to the war’s consequences, the further they stray from childhood innocence. Innocence that we as the audience believes deserves to be protected, but won’t be. It’s easy to be frustrated or bored with the more casual episodes. The amount of secondhand embarrassment I got watching the Terrans break boundaries or go about things I wouldn’t is immense. However, quite frankly, that’s the point. They’re children. Those around them attempted to protect them from consequences of a war that did not involve them. Unfortunately, they fail by the end of the season, which goes into my second point.

A lot of people think some character encounters or developments here were too rushed, but this goes back to my statements about the plot pyramid. This was intentional because it is the exposition. If anyone remembers their elementary school English lessons, they would remember exposition introduces characters, conflict, setting, etc. That was the purpose of this season. We have hints and undertones that were not answered this season, but if all of the conflict was resolved in the first few chapters of a book, it wouldn’t be so entertaining now would it? The things that were not resolved or touched upon this season are likely going to be in the future. Starscream’s time to shine was brief, which a lot of people disliked apparently, but there are clear indications his hatred and resistance against Megatron persist. A lot if not all of the Decepticons heavily loathe Megatron and view him as a traitor. They came to help the Maltos at the end of the season to help save their kind, NOT to resolve this conflict with Megatron. Thrash even in this new chunk of episodes is clearly frustrated that they inherited a war that had nothing to do with them, and this is not the first time he’s said it. That wasn’t resolved this season. We finally got Orion Pax lore! That didn’t get developed this season. All of these things are obviously going to reappear in the seasons to come. That’s how plot works. We got the exposition of a brand new show with new concepts and new takes on old ones. To cram deeply fleshed ideas, arcs, and attempts to satisfy everyone while still catering to kids on Nickelodeon is HARD.

You may be asking where I think these loose ends will go. I think we will probably get more inner Cybertronian conflict next season. With the fallout of Mandroid and Ghost as an organization, humans as the antagonists may potentially shift away from focus. The dust had settled and left Autobots and Decepticons, who still heavily disagree, all together. There is clear resentment from the Decepticons to Megatron, but there is also open hatred between them and Optimus who, to their knowledge, orchestrated and justified their imprisonments. Not only that, but the classic Autobot vs. Decepticon hatred by affiliation remains. I believe the war will be discussed more in the next season along with inner Cybertronian conflict. While this season covered a lot of hatred to the Terrans from people outside of their species, it is possible it will also cover the struggle of receiving hatred or judgement from people you would hope to find kinship with. This will probably be where that childhood innocence dissipates and more individual growing up amidst war aftermath takes place. I’m not sure, but what I’m trying to say is a lot of you are impatient and are asking a whole lot from a show’s first season and then getting upset or irritated when things don’t happen right away. It’s called patience. We are in the exposition. Let them cook for Christ’s sake.

#maccadam #transformers #tf mtmte #optimus prime #transformers prime #megatron #bumblebee #elita one #transformers earthspark #tf earthspark #earthspark spoilers #mo malto #robby malto #dot malto #alex malto #earthspark thrash #earthspark twitch #earthspark nightshade #earthspark hashtag #earthspark jawbreaker #earthspark megatron #media literacy is dead

[ruporas]

I don't know if this is a heavy question to ask- it may be. Feel free to ignore it.

But I was questioning myself if it was even an okay thing to ship Tristamp! vash x tristamp! wolfwood due to the age gap???

In the manga it was proven ww was of age (since the treatments went over a course of years) but it wasn't so clear in tristamp, especially with the whole forced growth sequence being more cut short than the manga. He may be in the body of a man but, isn't he still a child? is what I mean to ask.

At the end of the day I know they are all fictional and to block if I don't like but it still has me wondering.

I've seen a lot of people simultaneously pull "dni pedos" (which is more than okay and I agree) but then also go and ship what they ship.

I'm just genuinely confused I think. Is there something I am missing? or is he still a child in a man's body?

I don't know who else to ask, because I also know at the end of the day you're just an artist on the other end of the line. I'm sorry 😭

yeah, it's confusing because stampede never states it directly, but i'm certain that wolfwood is an adult from the brief glimpses of time shown in stampede itself and in trusting the studio themselves.

as we saw with rollo, he was experimented on for 5 years before ending up like this

and then we see him again in this same state 20 years later in episode 5. we get concrete numbers for rollo who we can estimate to be in his 20s when he dies. see here too that elendira, 20 years ago, also still looks like that, the same in the present. i'm saying all of this to dissuade any arguments that might be like "wolfwood should look older and not the same as he did in the flashback of ep 6" because there are only so many 3d models orange studio can make and design. i also think that ep 5 itself is meant to exemplify the quick years that can go by when in reference to a flashback.

the mention of wolfwood aging "in just a few months" shouldn't be an indicator of his age because narrative-wise, they only brought that up to emphasize him being a s+ grade and unique and to highlight how much he's suffered in just a short period of time. wolfwood's flashback is put together in one(1) episode, much of it is used to highlight the bond between him and livio in their childhood because that's the point of his arc. because of that, any scenes that shows him working under the eye of michael are all cut because it isn't important at this time of the show. there's a huge time gap missing in wolfwood's history because studio orange chose specific years to give weight to the arc they wanted to present to us first.

this is like the only scene we get of him doing his job under the eom, at the beginning of ep 6

and him here is different from how he is here.

so from the show itself, i think those are the obvious points that suggests wolfwood is not Still 10 years old when he gets sent to retrieve vash.

in reference to my second point of believing in the studio -- because they heavily based stampede off of maximum, i find it Hard to believe they'd randomly make wolfwood a minor because it genuinely serves no benefit to his story to make that change. there would be less weight to his bond with vash because wolfwood has always been the character to challenge vash, they're meant to be equals. much of maximum and 98, Even Badlands Rumble, play up the significance of vash and wolfwood's relationship and how the two can argue and depend on each other as people with similar life experiences. orange studio pour love into stampede and respects nightow and his craft and as a result, i think they'd keep vash and wolfwood on the same level in this adaption too.

all and all, they're both adults in previous versions and they're both adults in this version. final phase will probably give room for more of wolfwood's past experiences now that we know most of vash's story, maybe that would resolve any confusion.

hope that helps!

#asks #if anyone wants me to tag this with cw or tw anything please lmk #but yeah. stampede could benefit from being more direct with it #however i think storytelling wise there's just no point in it. imo looking at how he interacts with the other 3 #and the actions and choices he makes throughout the series is telling enough so

[thelunarfairy]

Hey! I just saw on tiktok that a lot of people are dissatisfied with JSHK's current arc, which for me is a surprise since around here people seem to be really enjoying this arc, myself included.

This arc rekindled my passion for the manga and it is so interesting. In addition to showing a little about the twins' past, it revealed that Hanako doesn't remember what happened before, had practically all the most relevant characters appearing, had many cute and happy moments, revealed Natsuhiko's secret, showed No.1's border, revelations about Tsukasa, Hananene moments, Tsukasa's iconic chapter with Baby Nene, the function of the clock keepers, the trial that was hilarious to read, confirmation that Tsukasa (and Yashiro) really travel through the flux of time, we're close to discovering No.1's yorishiro and the twins getting a little closer. This arc is one of my favorites, maybe because it shows Tsukasa a lot- but it's also good to see so many characters interacting. I also saw people saying that the story is lazy, but I don't think so! I'm not an expert on this but in my opinion it is of the same quality as the previous arcs. I also saw people commenting that Aidairo need a rest, and I don't disagree with that part, but that's up to them to decide I think-

It seems like people didn't like that there was a lot of information in the chapters, but honestly, we're getting some answers (a lot of questions too-) but at least it's something

What's your opinion on the recent arc? Because for me this arc is becoming iconic

What I noticed is that the problem is in the way the narrative is going, you know?

When we tell a story we have the plot, which is the main idea, the story itself, and the narrative, which is how the story is told.

For example, JSHK's narrative is slower, it is detailed and important events take more time to be told, but this doesn't always happen.

If you compare the narrative of Yako's arc and number six, you will notice that Yako's arc was very fast, while number six dragged on for many chapters, that is, from the chapter in which Aoi is taken by number six until after the story of the red house, yes, it is still in the arc of number six, which only ends when Sumire is destroyed.

Did you see the difference? That's the narrative. The story may or may not have cuts or inclusions, it will depend on how it will be told.

It turns out that the arc of number one has a lot of important things happening, as you mentioned, but the narrative is very fast. Many things that usually don't happen are happening to make the narrative move quickly.

I mean, when would Teru from the other chapters just let Hanako escape? Or, why didn't Akane give Teru an alibi if he was with him the whole time? Why was Tsukasa suddenly so vulnerable?

You understand?

The narrative is fast, and if it's fast it cuts things, it cuts parts of the characters' basic behavior, the famous script conveniences. This arc should be developed much more in a slower narrative because there are so many important points in the story.

That trial? it was extremely fast, it was a relaxed chapter for an extremely urgent situation. I mean, several students being attacked by supernaturals, school time stopped, the story had a serious tone, so we have that whole scene of Tsukasa facing Mirai, becoming fragile and being captured, we imagine that the guardians of the clock are ruthless. Even Teru was caught.

But when the trial begins, it's simply a set of jokes, it doesn't have the seriousness it should have as the situation called for. That's why people are dissatisfied, because development is lacking.

Did you stop to think that all the people and supernaturals in the school are conscious while time is stopped and those responsible who can solve this are simply saying that Hanako is to blame because he said he wanted to do perverted things?????

Aida is working on JSHK and the spinoff ASHK, so this could be putting a strain on her, BUT, Iro is the one writing, so she's the one developing the story. We also have to remember that sometimes the company asks authors to do this so they can have time to create extra content.

So in short, the arc of number one is going very quickly, it has to go slower to explain these new events, to respect the usual characteristics of the characters and also to give the due seriousness at the right moments.

All the themes that are being covered in the number one arc, baby Nene, Tsukasa's past, Natsuhiko's blood, etc., are important, but they are not being told with the attention and time that they should be.

Did you understand?

I'm loving this arc, it's one that talks the most about the most important themes in the story, but it's going very fast.

#jibaku shounen hanako kun #toilet bound hanako kun #jshk #amane yugi #tbhk #hanako kun #aidairo #yugi twins #hanakokun #jshk spoilers #jshk hanako #jshk theories #tbhk posts

[lollytea]

Okay I wanna write down a few thoughts on that part of the climax in Thanks to Them that has garnered some mixed opinions. Specifically Hunter’s possession and the subsequent death of Flapjack. 

I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m defending this scene, as people are perfectly within their rights to be uncomfortable with it and criticize everything from its execution to its inclusion at all. Whether this whole thing was objectively a terrible writing decision for Hunter’s character, his arc, and the overall message it sends is....a discussion starter to say the least. Rather, what I wanna do is maybe try and dissect the reasons why these scenes might exist in the first place. From a writing perspective. 

I’ve been thinking about it a lot, trying to figure out just what angle the crew was going for and I think I might have some vague idea. And I’ll admit, I think there’s something poignant in here somewhere. Maybe they fumbled the bag a bit and didn’t consider just how troubling some of these implications could be. Writing gets clunky sometimes. But that’s up to every individual viewer to draw their own conclusions. But personally, I don’t believe that these scenes were intended to be gratuitous. I don’t believe that they were added solely because the crew are sadists who enjoy wringing Hunter dry like an angsty dish cloth. As flawed as they may be, I think I can understand why they were written. Possibly. 

So, I’m gonna try to give an objective look at the themes, storytelling and symbolism at play here and how all of that relates to Hunter’s overall character and the big climax of his story.

We’ll start with the very understandable hurt viewers felt when Hunter’s road to recovery was abruptly relapsed by Belos. The thing many people are vocalizing their feelings about is how the episode made sure to demonstrate just how happy Hunter was. That’s what devastated them the most. Hunter was in the process of healing, which hits close to home for many, making what Belos did to him all the more disturbing on a personal level. 

However, every single one of us knew that Belos was alive before we watched the episode. Hunter did not. Hunter believed that Belos was dead and this was the only reason that he felt safe enough to make such progress in his recovery. So now matter what way you twist it, we all knew Hunter was set up to relapse the moment he realized Belos was in the Human Realm. 

So what was the point of showing this sixteen year old abuse victim experiencing safety, warmth, happiness, confidence and self exploration just to cruelly rip it all away from him? 

Put simply, to establish just how much Hunter now has to live for. Just how much Hunter has to fight for. His motivations for living and for fighting are sprinkled all throughout the episode. This boy has such a hopeful future laid out before him and he knows it. So when he finally gets his moment to tell Belos exactly what he wants for himself, you understand exactly where this passion and determination is coming from. It means something. 

And then there’s the possession itself, which everything comes down to. We saw the leaks, we hated them, some of us talked ourselves into believing they were fake but we all kinda knew deep down. It was a very fun very terrible week. ANYWAY. 

I think that Hunter’s arc would have felt incomplete if he didn’t get a final confrontation with Belos. That’s the popular opinion. However, many are also in the opinion that Hunter getting possessed was very unnecessary and violating and it should not have been done in the first place. And I’m not gonna argue with this view. It’s legit. But again, here’s what I believe the crew might have been going for with this.

The possession of Hunter’s body is a symbolic manifestation of everything Belos has always represented in his life. It’s a final culmination of all sixteen years under that man’s thumb and all the damage he’s done to Hunter’s body and psyche. 

Ever since Separate Tides, Hunter has been Belos’ puppet. And honestly, though the specifics of the arrangement have shifted, this was still the case throughout Thanks To Them. Between Separate Tides and Hollow Mind, it’s pretty simple. Perfectly obedient Golden Guard who does everything his uncle tells him to do, without much say in the trajectory of his own life. 

However, after Hollow Mind, Hunter was no longer that. But that didn’t mean the puppetry stopped entirely. He was a nervous wreck for the rest of the season. The mention of the Emperor’s name paralyzed him with fear. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t done directly. Belos still had an alarming amount of control over Hunter. 

So long as he was alive, Hunter knew he wasn’t safe. And once Hunter starts to realize that he’s still out there, it becomes obvious that he will never fully recover until he’s certain Belos is dead. 

Everything about the possession is an encapsulation of what Belos’ years of abuse and manipulation have been like to Hunter. How powerless he’s always felt. But this time, it isn’t done through words or threats of violence. It’s worse than that. It’s physically invasive. It’s desecration. It’s having his very self taken away from him and nothing is more sacred than a person’s autonomy. The weight of what’s happening to him is palpable. 

This is the worst thing Belos has ever done to him. 

But what does Hunter, the boy who spent his entire life petrified of this man, do about it? 

He finds it in himself to rebel against it.

Because, though Belos’ abuse and the negative effects of his upbringing have always been such a crucial aspect of Hunter’s sense of personhood, it’s not all that defines him. 

A long time ago Hunter was given orders from the Emperor to slay a selkidomus. Instead he passed the job off to somebody else because he didn’t want to do it. 

Hunter self-sabotaged his own mission and allowed Luz to escape with the palismen he was ordered to recover. 

Hunter studied wild magic against his uncle’s wishes. 

Hunter went to Eclipse Lake even when he was told not to. 

Hunter had a secret palismen named Flapjack. 

Hunter assigned himself to the Hexside mission without getting Belos’ approval. 

Hunter owned a secret scroll. 

Hunter refused to roll over and die in the mindscape even when Belos decided that he was no longer useful. 

Hunter has a rebellious heart. Had one from the very beginning. He was definitely in denial about it back then (Happily declaring just how much he loves “Authority! And rules!”) but it was there, clear as day.

But this is the moment where Hunter embraces that rebellious heart. And in doing so, he finds the willpower to regain control of his body. To Hunter, this moment is a reflection of everything he’s always wanted to do. To break free of Belos’ power. To speak his mind. To choose his own future. To choose himself. 

And all that genuine joy we saw him experiencing earlier in the episode is what strengthens his resolve to grit out his final words to Belos.

Hunter releases years of pent up frustration that he was too brainwashed to ever let himself think about. 

Hunter openly expresses desire after desire, fully aware that every single one of them will boil Belos’ blood. 

Hunter outrights demands that he be allowed happiness. 

He’s proving, not only to Belos, but to himself that you can hurt him, you can scare him, you can manipulate him, you can even possess him, but you will never own him. Nobody will ever own him. 

So, yes, absolutely. There are valid criticisms to be had of the concept of Hunter being possessed. And it’s likely the writers didn’t really think a lot of the ramifications through. 

But I believe the idea it’s trying to portray was how the intensity of that moment and how violating it was to Hunter further emphasized just how powerful Hunter’s final act of defiance was. It wasn’t just one last fight between the two of them, it was a visceral way of having Hunter confront everything Belos has ever put him through, allow his resentment to bubble over and finally understand that he has the right to reject who he was “supposed” to be, whether Belos likes it or not. 

One thing that came from the possession scene that I believe is genuinely a good and healthy thing is that Hunter’s perspective of Belos has changed for the better.

This was the worst thing Belos could have possibly done to him. And Hunter did not only survive it but he was capable of resisting it. Something he’s never been able to do before. He has officially endured the worst Belos can inflict on him. So, with that in mind, Hunter has no reason left to be afraid of this man anymore. With this, all remaining control Belos had over him has been shattered. 

I have to acknowledge that, though this experience was truly godawful, it did provide Hunter with the closure he needed. It was necessary to how he proceeds forward. With all that fear out of the picture, Hunter’s current feelings towards Belos consist of righteous fury and contempt. Which is cathartic to say the least, as Hunter’s hate can finally be directed at the person who hurt him, rather than himself. In the case of a victim struggling with their trauma, allowing themselves to be angry at their abuser can be a very therapeutic thing. 

This is huge for Hunter. While many have expressed the opinion that the after effects of this moment will be detrimental to Hunter’s overall arc, I honestly think it’s a massive step in the journey to recovery. It’s not the nice peaceful part he experienced while in Camila’s house but not everything about an abuse victim’s healing process is pleasant. Sometimes it’s ugly. But progress is progress. 

And then there’s the matter of Flapjack’s sacrifice which is a doozy of a subject. 

Anyone who follows me is aware that I was very vocal in my belief that Flapjack would survive, because surely they wouldn’t take something so precious to Hunter away from him. Surely. 

(Well I’m Stan and I was wrong, I’m singing the Stan Wrong Song, okay fuck you.)

But once that episode was over and the credits were rolling, I started to think about Flapjack as far back as his introduction in Hunting Palismen. And honestly, I feel like his death was planned from the start. The kind of friend who comes into your life, changes you for the better before inevitably having to say goodbye. But even if it’s temporary, that doesn’t make their presence in your life any less impactful. 

While Flapjack had plenty of personality, he wasn’t so much a character with his own arc, as he was a tool in progressing Hunter’s. His role in the story was to guide a lost and lonely boy into the light and show him that he’s worthy of being loved. 

And with Flapjack’s influence, Hunter let himself meet people who don’t make him feel worthless. He has never felt more loved in his life. 

Flapjack officially imprinted on Hunter when the boy expressed a longing to figure out his own future. Flapjack decided that he would try to lead him in the right direction. 

And in his final moments, Flapjack watched the boy he had been guiding adamantly proclaim everything he wanted his future to be. It was safe to assume he had figured it out. 

Flapjack’s existence in Hunter’s life also represents the link to Caleb along with Hunter’s complicated “relationship” with this ghost of a man that he’ll never know. Caleb is not Hunter and Hunter will never be Caleb. However, they’ll always be connected by the strings of terrible, terrible destiny that Belos tied together. And though Hunter didn’t know it, Caleb lingered in his life in the form of the bird he left behind.

And in all that time where Hunter figuring out his own identity, Caleb’s bird was helping him along. It was when Hunter was finally certain exactly who he was (Not a witch hunting accomplice of Belos) that Caleb’s bird was ready to move on.

With all these ends tied up, Hunter did not need Flapjack anymore. 

But Flapjack still had one more job left to do. And that was to make sure Hunter got to stay with the people who loved him and Hunter got his chance to experience the future he had decided for himself. Figuring it out is useless if it’s all a hopeless fantasy. Flapjack wanted it to be a reality. 

It must have been a relief to the little bird’s heart that his witch had grown so much and he could leave knowing Hunter would be okay without him.

(There’s also the interpretation that Flapjack is an analogy for a service animal/disability aid. But that line about learning to carve could not set it up the future any clearer. Hunter will not be without a palisman forever.

Obviously, it might take him some time before he’s ready to begin again. But he will make a new palismen. As a boy who’s spent his entire arc learning how to let new loved ones into his life, it would make absolutely no sense whatsoever if he didn’t.)

Anyway, my biggest fear when I saw the leaks which showed Flapjack sacrificing himself for Hunter’s sake, was how much something like that could completely destroy all of Hunter’s healing progress. Because why wouldn’t it? He not only lost his best friend but Flapjack died to keep him alive. How could he possibly live with himself after something like that? 

I think this is one of the main talking points over why people are upset about Flapjack’s death. How it’s going to effect Hunter. I’ve seen the belief that this devastating loss was detrimental to his recovery journey and it’s rendered all of the lighthearted scenes of enthusiasm and confidence from earlier in the special obsolete. But I honestly feel like it’s the exact opposite. 

Hunter’s reaction to Flapjack’s death was different than I imagined it would be. And not in an objectively bad way. It’s quite telling of how far he’s come. Compare it to Hollow Mind where Hunter also experiences a traumatic loss which results in him having a complete meltdown. He cries, he hyperventilates, he runs blindly into the woods. It was borderline apocalyptic. And it’s completely understandable. At this point in life, Hunter lost what he believed to be his entire world. 

After Flapjack’s sacrifice, the first thing Hunter did when he regained consciousness was smile, softly greet his remaining loved ones and ask if they were alright. It’s revealed seconds later that he already knew Flapjack was gone. But he still had it in him to smile. Because even in the devastating aftermath of losing the creature who changed his life and introduced him to real happiness, he’s relieved to know his friends and family are safe. He knows he’s not alone. 

Flapjack was deeply important to Hunter. It’s impossible to even articulate just how much he adored that little bird. When he lost his former life, Flapjack was all he had.

However, by this point, Hunter’s life is flourishing with hobbies and interests and ambitions and friends and family and love. Flapjack was no longer everything Hunter had. And being surrounded by so many people who cared about him in his moment of grief is a powerful thing. 

Hunter is quiet about Flapjack’s death. He’s weak, he’s exhausted, he’s utterly gutted. But there’s nothing that implies he blames himself. Judging by how he was aware of the sacrifice despite just waking up, I believe they did get one last goodbye via their mental link. 

And I think this is why Hunter seems so accepting of what had just happened. Whatever Flapjack said to him, he had successfully made Hunter understand that this was just how it had to be and that it was not his fault. And with all the love and optimism Flapjack has instilled in him since they met, Hunter decided that what he needs to do now is try and lead the most fulfilling life he possibly can. He has to. This life had been a gift from Flapjack after all.

But as mentioned way up above, Hunter can never have the life he wants until Belos is permanently out of the picture. I think this is where his new lease of life comes from in the final moments of the special. 

Hunter has changed significantly throughout this episode. While in his opening scene, he was completely clueless on how to comfort Luz properly because he equates the guilt she feels to his own and that link between their similar feelings sabotages any attempt at clarity on his part. His words of comfort were basically “If it helps, they’ll hate me more.” 

But before he steps through the portal, Hunter has a new perspective on the self-loathing that has been corrupting both himself and the girl he now calls family. It was never them. It was Belos. It was always Belos. Hunter is able to tell Luz that it was never her fault because he finally understands that it was never his fault. And he’s telling her all of this because she’s important to him and she always will be. 

Hunter still has Luz.

He then expresses his new motivation. To fight back. To regain control of his life. To get some justice for all the damage his abuser has done to him and so many others. To protect the world that he cares about. 

Hunter still has Willow and Gus and Amity. 

Hunter still has Camila and Vee. 

Losing Flapjack did not kill Hunter’s fire. It did not render all of his prior growth in the Human Realm null and void. Hunter has experienced a loss and his grief is palpable but he still has so much left.

In fact, I think if Hunter hadn’t had these experiences, hadn’t built these relationships, hadn’t realized just how much life has to offer to him, he wouldn’t be taking such a defiant stance. He wouldn’t be the first one to march into the portal, taking Flapjack home, determined to end Belos once and for all. And he’s standing on a strong foundation of mourning, experience, wisdom, love and support. 

I keep thinking about that very infamous line by Dana that was misinterpreted to Hell and back. 

“Dana doesn’t like happy endings.” 

That line never bothered me much, even when I didn’t know what the exact context actually was (Dana doesn’t like happily ever after.) Like, I watched the Owl House, I know the kind of stories Dana liked to tell. So, the way I always interpreted that opinion was the simple message that we can never have it all. 

Life is tumultuous. There are ups. There are downs. There are gains. There are losses. And I feel like that’s an accurate summary of Hunter’s development throughout the special. 

Hunter had been mistreated. He now has far more scars than he started out with. He lost Flapjack. These are all devastating blows to him physically and emotionally. 

But please, don’t allow the suffering Hunter went through distract from all of his positive growth in this episode. Hunter spent months making happy memories. He strengthened his bonds with his friends. He now has somebody who genuinely loves him that he can call family. He’s discovered all these brand new hobbies and interests. 

He likes who he is now.

That hasn’t changed. I promise you that it hasn’t changed. 

And most importantly of all, Hunter is no longer ruled by fear of the man who hurt him. He is no longer under Belos’ control. 

Hunter is grieving right now but he is not in ruins. 

This is not rock bottom for him. 

I feel that Hunter’s gains and losses were pretty evenly distributed throughout the episode. However, because of the attachment people have towards him, as a teenage abuse victim who’s steadily recovering, it’s easy to only see his losses. Because it hurts to see, it really does. 

But I promise you all of those happy Hunter memories meant something too. Those are what’s him pushing forward right now. 

Anyway, those are my two cents on that whole thing. Again, I don’t think these scenes are immune to criticism. However, I did want to take a moment to examine them a bit because I truly believe that there was a team of passionate writers attempting to create something profound with this.

I like to write myself and I understand that a lot of the time I miss the mark and don’t always execute the point I’m trying to make. So, at the very least, even if things aren’t handled perfectly, I’d like to try and dissect the message that they were attempting to send. 

It’s absolutely fine if you don’t agree with a word of this. I understand that these scenes have hurt quite a lot of people. But thank you for reading. I appreciate it. 💕

#toh spoilers #tw abuse

[oodlyenough]

I may regret dipping a toe in Doctor Who discourse but … do you have a hot take on Blink? Can we still be friends if I like Blink?

Also, what is your favorite episode? (Apologies if you answered any of this recently and I missed it.)

Hahaha Blink definitely doesn't top the list of episodes I dislike most, it's actually the first episode of the show I ever saw and clearly I liked it enough to watch more. There's some things that irk me (like the "women gradually pestered into loving a man" thing), but most of the things that annoy me the most aren't really in Blink itself, but in Moffat tending to revisit those ideas over and over again in his own seasons. Like I think the Weeping Angels, in Blink, are pretty cool, and so is the time loop idea. By the end of Moffat's run I was sick to death of time loops, and I think the Angels got a lot less cool every time they reappeared, eventually devolved into total meaninglessness. Why am I being asked to believe the *Statue of Liberty* can move across town without anyone seeing it lfhkghlkf...

Also imo an episode that doesn't really do anything emotionally for its major characters being so often heralded "the best episode ever" just agitates me, lol.

For my favourite episode, I usually say the Waters of Mars. By that point I'd been underwhelmed by the other 2009 specials and was expecting another mostly-pointless piece to lead up to the big finale and then that ep blew me away lol. I think the tension is really well done, you get some really great acting from both the Doctor and the guest stars especially Adelaide, the exploration of 'fixed point' was built up to well with previous fixed point episodes like Pompeii, and the ending was sooo chilling and surprising to me. It also felt like fulfilling an arc for Ten that they'd been setting up all along, wrt his capacity for playing god and how that could go deeply wrong. People often criticize Ten and/or that era for deifying the Doctor but I feel like the show itself couldn't be clearer about what a bad thing it is when that happens, and WOM shows that perfectly.

Runners up: I love Midnight and I love Turn Left, for similar reasons. I think they're both good character explorations of the Tenth Doctor as well as the importance of the companion in tempering him, humanizing him, etc. (And Turn Left for Donna and Rose specifically as well.) All three of those episodes are RTD at his best imo.

#themirokai #you've got questions we've got answers #doctor who

[dyed-red]

there was a post on my dash a few days ago about an interview with jensen about the prequel. he talks about casting, and about how the actor they hired for john had both sam (1) and dean (1) in him, and the actress they hired for mary had dean (2) energy (that none of the other actresses were serving, apparently). and the post rightfully pointed out that dean himself is there (3). so three deans to one sam, they noticed.

(edit: here is the link for anyone interested)

-

and looking at the reviews about how bland the pilot is, i can’t help but think that’s part of why? 

the thing that is magic about supernatural is the gravitational push and pull between sam and dean and the forces that are so much bigger than them.

you could have that in the prequel. the gravitational push and pull between john and mary and the forces that are so much bigger than them. 

it’s literally the canon backstory! 

the first time they met, they bumped into each other and (presumably on trained instincts) mary laid john on his ass then apologized, and he was smitten. but he was only smitten because of cupid’s arrow. the cupid we meet in canon tells sam and dean that their parents weren’t a good match, that they didn’t��(wouldn’t?) get along, and that their relationship was ordained and the love was manufactured.

so you have the gravity, right there. the push and the pull. the fighting and the mismatch despite the passion and the love they literally cannot help but feel. and it lends itself so well to telling an unhinged story where two people meet and fall in some kind of love at first sight and are weird about each other! 

(in the way that sam and dean are weird about each other. breaking in in the middle of the night and fighting your brother is weird! disappearing out the door with someone you haven’t seen in two years while lying to your partner about why is weird! it’s all unhinged and so it compels the audience!)

to make that work on screen, you need to set up opposing dynamics so you get the push and pull, and you need chemistry. like, a lot of chemistry. the other magic of spn is the insane off the charts on screen chemistry that J2 have. lightning in a bottle, right?

the thing that made me ultimately decide not to watch the prequel was mary’s casting and character styling. despite being one of the few people actually excited about the story conceit (i love john and mary as characters!! i’m genuinely interested to see how the lying and hunting and vietnam trauma and the personality clash all played out!!), as soon as i saw the first promotional photos, the tentative hope i’d been harbouring for the show died a quiet death.

not only did this version not look much like either of the other two marys we had met in terms of face and height, but she had thick eyeliner and straight hair and a black leather jacket and a hard look and scowl. none of that jives at all with the mary we know and not just because she was sanctified in the memory of winchester men. we met young mary and she was dressed in bright tones with bright eyes! she was full of smiles (and lies), full of dreams for her own future, with bouncy curly hair and emotional frustrations and vulnerabilities. 

she was bringing sam, not dean. 

mary campbell is a rebel. she is like both her sons in different ways, much the same as john. there are parallels on both sides and i think it’s fruitless to say who is paralleled more to whom in the (main) show, who has more of who’s personality. but in that arc, in her youth, mary campbell wanting to leave the hunting life and have a civilian life with her partner john winchester was absolutely a parallel to sam’s similar yearning for freedom, for safety and simplicity. 

so we know already -- mary’s rebellion looks like sam’s rebellion. it’s not the devil may care attitude of dean, it’s a more serious and anxious rebellion against her upbringing. she’s tense but soft. easily annoyed but not sarcastic, possibly too earnest (in itself a perfect lie, something that makes her interesting because she’s anything but honest with john). doe-eyed so that when she drops you on your ass, you’re shocked. this small woman with her sweet smile is kicking your ass? what in the - ? 

casting a mary that is bringing forward features of dean, styling her in such a way as to look harsh and ‘badass’ instead of downright preppy, giving her that look and attitude and all of it? misses the point. 

there is no dean without sam. or at least no story about dean worth watching. because there is no gravitational push-pull between dean and ... dean. meaning that if both the prequel leads are bringing dean’s energy to their role, there is no chemistry. 

electricity isn’t formed without opposing charged ions. there’s no lightning in a bottle when everything is the same.

(there is no sense of pull between them to prompt a push. and when it comes time to write the push in anyway, without the pull? it will feel discordant and unconvincing to the audience’s eye. it will rankle.)

this issue sits as central, to me, even before any retconning of the original story. before the complete lack of 1970s vibe, and before what i’ve seen about them possibly(idk???) getting mary’s age wrong, and what i’ve heard about them making john bumbling or boring despite being a literal marine (who are...extreme) who quite literally just came back from vietnam, likely traumatized and intense. before the fact that they literally copy+pasted the plot of spn to the prequel with mary’s dad going missing. 

all of these features, alongside the casting issues, the styling issues, all of it right down to the original prequelgate itself, speak to the same fundamental issue - 

the prequel is missing heart. 

the lack of sam (not even in presence so much as in essence) functions like a hole in the heart of the show from which it is bleeding inward. the lack of love letter to time era, to the stylings and setting reads like a lack of love to the story itself. the lack of care put in to re-introducing us to the version of mary that we knew, those changes to her style and personality and story, read like an insult to those of us who loved her already, as if she was not worthy of a place in the heart of the creators as she already was.

i wanted to love this show. desperately, i really did. the day it leaked, before i’d heard about the rest of the ensuing prequelgate nonsense, i wrote a post in defense of the concept (since deleted). i wanted so badly to love it. i can’t. because i feel like the people creating it don’t love it. 

many will take this as a critique of jensen ackles and to some extent, it is, but mostly just a critique of trying to create a new show half-cocked while splitting his time acting on a handful of other projects instead of dedicating himself to the time and energy this show needed in order to be a success. i have no idea what his vision was for this story, and i’m not convinced he had a core vision. 

(for whatever else you might critique about kripke’s era of spn, it had a vision and it knew what it was. that vision was central to its resonance.)

more than that though, it’s a critique of all the producers and creators involved who thought that they could build off of what we already loved while gutting the core pieces we loved in the first place, while replacing these elements with their own versions instead, versions seemingly uninterested in the emotional foundations on which they were building. 

i can’t help but feel they were arrogant enough to think that making us love it would be as simple as checking boxes on a list and slapping a shine over it, thinking we’d be satisfied with the empty shell they deigned to put together. that they didn’t need to push each other, challenge the story, question the character favoritism or biases the team members were bringing to the table.

it’s the dean story with dean producers and writers and no one thought to question if they needed more balance? if the story needed more heart? if john was intense enough, if mary was sweet enough, if the characters had dimensions? 

was it ignorance? arrogance? were they all too up their own asses that they dismissed legitimate concerns as fandom wank because of prequelgate and fandom bullshit until it was too late? 

i’m sorry, that got more charged than i intended. bottom line, this isn’t a love letter to supernatural or its fans. love takes effort and dedication and care and heart. i’m not convinced the prequel has any.

#anti spn prequel #anti prequel #negativity for ts #wank for ts #i honestly did not want to say anything #especially until i watched for myself #but i'm not sure i can bring myself to lmao #sorry for anyone who actually watched and enjoyed #and i would genuinely and sincerely be interested in hearing what you enjoyed about it if so #even in anon in my inbox #and if you think this long-ass complaint post is too biased that's fair but like... it's honest too #i don't dislike jensen like literally the opposite #but i can't help but feel that he did not have someone balancing him out and challenging him #and did not hire people who would accomplish that and instead sort of the opposite #and that that is part of the critical difference between being part of a team and creating the team and selecting its members #for what it's worth i have similar if milder complaints about walker but that's also a genre thing and i gather is improving #anyway #phyn rambles #phyn rants

[bibibbon]

JJK hot take and analysis

One of the biggest hot takes I have is that higumara should of been a female character.

As well all know higumara is supposed to be a parallel to nanami and this goes in multiple ways from the way they interact with yuji to the way they view the non Jujutsu world.

Both sorcerers are regarded as the working class sorcerers.

Their Parallels range from both of them wanting to save people. With higurama this was one of his reasons as to why he was a lawyer and it's the reason as to why his cursed technique centers around the judgement system because he seeks justice no matter how harsh ot hard it may be to achieve it. By his strong sense of justice is where his care/relationship with yuji comes in to play. higumara as a sorcerer and person met his match he saw someone so broken down by the system that, that person believed that he was the problem rather than him being a victim. To higumara, yuji is everything that he failed to protect in that harsh society.

This all parallels with nanami and his ideology of "being a child isn't a sin". Nanami is known as the protector of the youth and he died being that to yuji however, nanami also had his own fair share of guilts and as much as he tried to protect yuji from the curse of his last words by encouraging him to finish the job he only makes yuji bare another burden of carrying nanami's pain with him (an accidental yet ironic thing).

Both characters last words and death include passing their will down onto yuji and trusting him to finish the job and continue living.

Both characters are well known for overworking themselves and both of this overwork could of been seen in a selfish way. Nanami took this job to escape from the cruelty of Jujutsu society and only wanted to gain enough to move away and live somewhere like Malaysia but higumara wanted to protect others with all he can and shed lights on the corruption/harshness of the system.

Both characters turning points end up because they went back to their roots. Even though they thought that they changed and escaped from their pasts that catches up to them and drags them down a heavily familiar route all over again. With higurama it's in his fight with yuji that he remembers why he even took said lawyer path and denied the path of a judge and with nanami it's how he came back into Jujutsu society to then meet someone so similar to haibara that he chose to dedicate his life into helping protect the youth.

Both are also classified as grade 1 sorcerers.

Both ended up dying in shibuya but higurama seemed fulfilled he accepted that he did what he could and it was enough for him, however nanami wanted more it was his death that made him value living and made him look towards the future towards a brighter path than he will never live.

Both feel heavily guilty about the things they have done especially when it comes to looking at the injured or killed. Both of them describe it as awful or are disgusted by this. We can see it with nanami in shibuya with ijichi and with higurama with the two people he killed.

Both deeply care for their mentoes and have a good relationship with them. Nanami and ino. Higurama and his mentee.

Higuramas death makes yuji Futher solidify his beliefs allowing him to state," Iam a Jujutsu sorcerer" whereas nanami's is what destroyes yujis resolve and leads to his breakdown in shibuya and then later on gives him strength to continue.

I think that higurama should of been a female character with this development as I think yuji lacks dynamic with older female characters and considering that character in the culling games arc directly are there to critique something about Japan I think that higurama could of been used to show the inequality between men and woman in Japan and any female problems that Japan itself faces. Also Iam a sucker for yuji having some maternal figure

#jjk spoilers #jjk manga #jjk analysis #jjk critical #jjk ramblings #jjk rant #jjk #nanami kento #higuruma hiromi #hot take #higurama should of been a female character #i dont think him being a female character would change much but improve story #yuji and nanami are precious to me so are yuji and higurama

[ckret2]

saw your recent reblog about feedback and, though I’ve been occasionally gushing in tags, you deserve to hear what I tell my friends! In general, your writing style is perfect at capturing the timing and delivery of the show itself. I’ve never read a fic i’ve been able to visualize more clearly than this one. You write each character so well that between chapters it feels like i’m right back where i used to be, waiting for new episodes again. I do think you haven’t *quite* solved your side-character-ification (applejackification?) of Dipper problem yet, but other than that you’re doing an astounding job at balancing all the characters and their interactions with each other and with bill in a way that feels natural (plus with these more recent chapters i’m seeing lots of good dipper stuff so you’re definitely getting there with him too! besides, it is nice to see Mabel get the spotlight after all these years anyway. healing, even.) You know exactly how to control an audience’s emotions, you know when to drag something out and when to shut it down, you know when to cut off a conversation and when bring up the fact it was cut off later. Little foreshadowings like the loose tooth are well-planted and plot beats like lucid dreaming are dropped and picked back up delicately and with precision, like pressing piano keys. i don’t doubt for a second it’s all a part of some grand instrument, though i wouldn’t be surprised if you told me most of it was improvised - another way you’re just like the show was. you’ve done the episodic-and-serialized thing better than at least half of all silver-age cartoons that have attempted to do so! I adore the way you show kindness to all characters in your scenes, from gideon’s characterless mother to the little freak himself. It truly feels as though you pick no favorites, and that’s something you do better than the show did tbh. Not that TBOB needed to hook me in with a marketing campaign, but hypothetically, in a universe where I didn’t own a hand-sewn bill cipher throw-pillow and yet somehow still found this fic, I would definitely be excited for it after reading! you’re gifted, and i hope this does numbers on AO3. I truly cannot stand hazbin hotel, but I may go back and read your other works once this one’s over, just to hear your narrative voice. it’s a voice worth hearing, and may it be forever amplified.

oh WOW thank you so much??? 😭 this is SUCH a sweet comment and it means so much to me that you took the time to write all this!!

APPLEJACKIFICATION... that made me laugh. Dipper will get some serious development before the end of the eclipse plot and he's key in the next plot, so I think that'll help him make some progress. But yeah—he's not gonna be as important as Mabel, but I do want to make sure he has a plot that stands on its own, smaller though it may be.

It's 2/3 planned, 1/3 improvised. 😁 I've got a lead time of about 15 chapters between what I've posted and what I've written, so I can do stuff like write the poppet chapter, write the tooth fairy arc, edit the poppet chapter, realize that as long as I'm giving him a bloody lip maybe I can loosen his tooth, edit the tooth fairy arc, have him mention that that tooth was loose. And many chapters I haven't written or outlined yet I have loosely planned in my head so I know how to aim toward them.

Wanting to show kindness to all the characters and wanting to give as many of them an internal life as possible is so important to me, and I'm so glad that's showing through so far!

And honestly I think "I hate [xyz] but I'll read it if you're writing it" is the highest compliment. 😂 All my hazbin fics were written pre-season 1 when all we had was the pilot, a couple comics, creator comments, and some Helluva to go by; but idk maybe you'd consider that a plus lol. (If you're interested, on ao3 I've also written Transformers, Godzilla, some Pokémon, and a smattering of other things.)

Thanks again for sending such a nice message!

#cartoonchaos #ask #about my writing #bill goldilocks cipher

[lovewaterforthesoul]

*spoilers for herogasm*

To reduce Hughie’s actions to toxic masculinity overlooks the complexity of his motivations and what set him off this path initially. We just saw his residual rage and grief of Robin’s death in his scene with A-train. It never left Hughie. He never had the chance to protect her. It makes his decisions a lot more nuanced, compounded by the crazy shit he has survived in the last 3 years. He also has had to reconcile with Neuman’s betrayal and the fact that he contributed to Vought’s strength in government which completely upended his life. That alone was a huge blow to his confidence and everything he believed in about doing things the “right way.” I just wish Annie, MM and Butcher did more to correct him like, “nooooo babe, you’ve done so much xyz.”

I do like that it shows the challenges of being in a supe relationship and with Hughie its also informed by his knowledge and experience of the collateral damage of supes and the life it took away from him. This is why I think it’s bigger than Annie just being physically stronger.

An underrated moment: In a way, Annie proved Hughie correct. When he was standing in her way, she used her powers against him to get him out of her way. If he wasn’t suped up would he be able to withstand the attack? She was willing to physically hurt Hughie for the greater good to try and save multiple people at herogasm. And Hughie is the same. He did everything he could to make sure Soldier Boy focused on the twins. He failed in this endeavor but the question remains, what’s damage and carnage of a supe party compared to the potential of Homelander taking out New York, the country?Thats why I completely understand team whatever it takes. Hughie was ready to die to take out homelander.

I really enjoy Annie as a character but she’s been allowed to change course multiple times and naturally we root for her but Hughie despite everything he’s experienced is expected to do the right thing. Like no sis! Please my favorite morally upright character, please continue fucking shit up.

It looks like the lesson the show is trying to demonstrate with Annie is that you fight your enemies with the truth and honestly that is really an idealistic and pretty way of looking at the system. I think the show itself may not be ready to reconcile what it’ll take to disrupt systems of capitalistic oppression. But that’s a whole other post.

I really love MM’s arc because his motivations continue to be revealed to us. He’s a man consumed by the trauma and grief of his past which informs his OCD, anxiety and depression. His mental health severely impacts his ability to move forward, to be present and focus on his relationship with his family. For all the talk about Hughie’s codependency with Butcher, MM’s codependency with Butcher extends much longer and deeper. He was willing to lie to his wife multiple times in S1 for Butcher. And for all of Butchers fuckups and multiple betrayals, MM finds his way back to him. I always thought that during the course of 2x01, 2x02 and 2x03, Hughie had every right to feel betrayed by Frenchie and MM when they sided with Butcher even though he straight up left them for dead and Hughie had to step up to help keep the team together. I just hope MM and Hughie can reconcile once the dust settles. Hughie never gave up on MM when he was dissociating and depressed over losing his family in 2x01 and had initially chose to focus on building a dollhouse rather than the mission. Hughie “what if he does this to the Brooklyn bridge” still cares about the greater good. MM more than anyone should understand Hughie’s plight and allure of not only being with Butcher but making fucked up choices motivated by revenge. Ahhh the drama, soo good!!

Thanks for bearing with my excessive train of thoughts. There’s so much more to unpack with Ashley, A-train and others but I’ll need to assess and rewatch.

#the boys #the boys tv #Hughie #hughie campbell #Annie #annie january #the boys spoilers #butcher #billy butcher #my love for hughie? the limit does not exist!!! #mm #mother’s milk

[bougiebutchbitch]

https://www.tumblr.com/avelera/733616528394715136/i-feel-like-one-unexpected-side-effect-in-the

Can I ask your opinion on this post I saw? Just really enjoy your critical input on things. It’s okay if you don’t answer this, I’m not trying to demand spoons you don’t have <3 thanks for reading

Hm! I think it's an interesting post for sure. And I think it's a valid vent to make, from someone who's obviously been in fandom for a very long time!

But I do think it misses A Lot Of Things Out in order to make its point.

I do agree with their point about how fandoms prefer 'potential' ships to the actuality. But. The exact same preference for 'ship bait' is common with loads of popular ships, regardless of whether they're queer or not. Mulder/Scully works so well because they never get together. There's a reason why House/Cuddy was teased for so many seasons before it became canon (and why they broke up pretty damn quickly after becoming established). Ditto with Garcia/Morgan in Criminal Minds, who flirt constantly but never progress to romantic interest.

The preference of viewers for 'will they/won't they' narratives is certainly not unique to queer media, and it is, in fact, well known and accepted across show writing? It's not just fans of queer ships who are lured in by the premise of 'ooooooh are they gonna kiss'.

I'm certainly not so keen on the subtle inference of this post (and the less-subtle inference of the comments) that queer people should Sit Down, Shut Up, And Just Be Grateful because a few years ago, there was so little canon queer rep. Like... That is exactly how progress stagnates. Do other queer people really think we should be happy with scraps tossed to us by studio executives, and thank them for daring to write about queer relationships in the first place?

Um. No?

Keep writing meta. Keep writing criticism. Keep pushing for better and better rep, and don't let anyone tell you 'it was worse in my day, so you should be thankful now'. That sort of subtle conservatism is really damaging, especially when it comes from within the queer community.

And just... Saying that Izzy was 'never even canonically established as queer' when he confessed his love for Edward, had a clearly established Toxic Past Romantic Relationship with him, was said by his crew to be in a "toxic relationship" with him, had a whole arc about accepting his queerness that ended in him dressing in drag and singing La Vie En Rose while his ex and his new boyfriend fucked, and had ridiculous amounts of gay tension with numerous men in the show, just because he never kissed a man on screen is....

Um.

Well, it's certainly A Take, I guess. But. Uh. Buddy. I think you may need to rewatch the show. The baseline for engaging in discussion of queer media should really be recognising that a character can be thoroughly established as queer without them kissing another guy.

And just on a more personal note: I and many other queer fans loved the Good Omens ending because it was perfectly in-character. From the start of the season, we were shown that these two characters love each other, and that is a love that has developed over centuries - but they also have a fundamentally opposing relationship with authority (Heaven in Aziraphale's case, Heaven and Hell in Crowley's). We are shown the chief conflict between them from very early on, and this crescendoes to create a dramatic, bittersweet, brutal, perfectly in-character finale.

OFMD could not be more different.

Most of the criticism of Ed/Stede in S2 is wholly from a storytelling perspective. Yes, it's a canonical central queer relationship; that's great. But like.... the development of that relationship was all over the place. They moved too quick. They agreed to slow down. They immediately had sex after this.

In itself, that's interesting!! That shows a lot about their characters! There's the potential for growth and progression here! Hell, I was happy when they broke up because they had different life goals, because it felt as if they had been building towards that point all season. I wanted them to be a happy endgame, yes, but I expected all that divergent character growth wouldn't be thrown away; that we would get Ed perhaps retiring while Stede stayed at sea, with the suggestion that they're in a long-distance relationship, or that when Stede is ready, he will join Ed. That could have worked really well!

Buuuuuuut.

Instead, Stede gave up on his life goals that have driven his character from the very start with literally 0 build up or in-character reasoning. They settled down together, after an entire season (two seasons, in fact....) of a show demonstrating how and why that wouldn't work. And we're supposed to view it as a 'happy ever after'.

In short: the problem is not nearly as simple as 'queer fans aren't satisfied with a queer relationship'. The problem is with the plot, the pacing, and (predominantly) the character writing. If Ed or Stede were a woman, I doubt anyone would feel differently.

Ed and Stede both went on a self-discovery arc, but that self-discovery was entirely 180'd for both of them in the final episode with only clumsy foreshadowing (mentioning the inn in the early episodes is.... not the sort of solid character development you need to lay if you want to make a character like Stede change the direction of their life so utterly!).

#more thots #may be a little blegh because I am a little blegh today

[queerlyloud]

To continue my random intermittent mxtx posting binges, I am once again sozzled and watching cql and I just noticed something I've never realized before and it punched me in the solar plexus. So we all remember the scene where Wei Wuxian gives Wen Qing the special satchet to protect Wen Ning, and we see how she hold it in her hands and lightly caresses it, right before the camera cuts away to Jiang Wanyin BUYING HER A GIFT.

MAJOR CQL/MDZS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Okay, so we know that Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian are narrative foils in a lot of ways but one way I never noticed was that they even juxtapose how Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin each desire to befriend Wen Qing and how they approach that with a gift. Wei Wuxian's attempt to befriend Wen Qing is so overtly unsexual that I never even realized these two scenes were side by side so we can see the differences in how they view and approach Wen Qing. Neither of them know her yet, but they both want to for different reasons. So I want to do a quick side-by-side comparison and breakdown of how the gift giving foreshadowed the entirety of each character's arcs with Wen Qing.

1. The Initiative of Each Approach:

1a. Wei Wuxian approached Wen Qing in the chamber where she was tending her sick brother. He went out of his way and made the actual real effort to visit and speak to her about her brother and had even thought enough about doing it beforehand to prepare a handmade gift specifically for her brother. This required a lot of thought and action already, and he doesn't even know if she'll give him the chance to know them yet. He's already investing real time and energy into a potential relationship with them.

1b. Jiang Wanyin's awakened interest was caused by a chance encounter, and the effort he makes is by chance, too, at a time that is convenient to him since he was already strolling in the market. He did have to work up the courage to approach the stall and buy the comb, but he is so mortified and worried about how other people might see him that he dithers long enough for us to not even see him actually purchase the comb. Like all his future efforts with Wen Qing, he will only do what is convenient and will only do it where it is invisible and no one can say anything to him about it. When it comes to how other people see him, he waits too long and thus loses his chance.

2. The Motivation of Each Approach:

2a. Wei Wuxian is not interested in Wen Qing for her own sake. Instead, he is concerned about her younger brother being ill and in the middle of a brewing conflict. Wei Wuxian looked at Wen Ning, saw an innocent young man in trouble, and decided that there was no other recourse than to offer his aid to the boy's more world wise elder sister with whom he could work to protect Wen Ning. Wei Wuxian may have poked at Wen Qing while she was poking around where she shouldn't have been on the back hill, but what ultimately drove him to seek her approval was the desire to save her brother.

2b. Jiang Wanyin's interest, on the other hand, is purely in Wen Qing, the pretty and talented young doctor. He purchases a comb in her colors, an aesthetic choice that showed that he recognized her background, and in a shape (the comb itself) that expressed romantic interest. His interest was only ever in Wen Qing, never in anyone that belonged to her.

3. The Ultility of Each Approach:

3a. Wei Wuxian's gift is a functional item that he himself took the time to handmake specifically to serve a purpose that is important to Wen Qing. Again, he had to think about what would be useful to them, gather the materials, craft it, and then approach them to offer it with the full understanding that the gift might be refused.

3b. Jiang Wanyin did what any normal teenager with a crush would do and saw a thing that reminded him of his crush and bought it for her with no idea if it would be useful to her. I cannot emphasize how normal and healthy this perfectly average teenage behavior was, I'll give this one to Jiang Wanyin, 100/10, you are living the teenage experience, good job, king, so proud of you for this. But it was, unfortunately, not the correct approach for Wen Qing who is already a traumatized war hostage in her own sect at this point (Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing's complementary instinctive trauma bonding is a topic for another post).

4. The Reception of Each Approach:

4a. Although she was suspicious and afraid, Wen Qing still ended up accepting Wei Wuxian's gift because, even if she didn't yet know where she would end up during the war, Wei Wuxian still managed to convince her even in that one interaction that he only wanted to help her younger brother. Wen Qing had her brother continue to carry that protective item even after he died.

4b. It is important to note that Wen Qing did not reject Jiang Wanyin's attempt outright. She gave him time and chances to prove that his gift was more than it seemed, that it could mean something more than just a gifted comb. Ultimately, because Jiang Wanyin fails to rise to the opportunities Wen Qing allows him, she ends up rejecting his gift because in the end, whatever feelings the comb represented meant nothing when they were not backed by action.

5. The Conclusion of Each Approach:

5a. From the beginning, Wei Wuxian acted in the interest of people under Wen Qing's protection. He worked alongside her to protect the people she loved all the way to the end, just like he gave Wen Ning the gift that remained with him until and beyond his death.

5b. Jiang Wanyin hesitated to take action on Wen Qing's behalf because he was too afraid of what others would think of him. He thought only of Wen Qing, giving her a gift that was just for her and generally aesthetic rather than functional. No matter how real the feelings or good the intentions, the gift was useless to her and she rejected it outright once she knew that for sure.

Ultimately, the way to Wen Qing's heart, for better or worse, has always been her people, and Wei Wuxian, with no other motives or intentions, helped her protect them from the very first day of their friendship and continued to do so long after she left the world. And the way they foreshadowed all of that with just those two scenes is so cool, 100000000/10, will watch this show smashed again and again and again.

#mine #mxtx meta #mdzs meta #cql meta #the untamed #cql #wei wuxian #jiang wanyin #wen qing #wen ning #the symbolism and foreshadowing inherent in gift giving #i love this stuff so much #accidental poll at the bottom btw #i accidentally clicked the poll button while typing and couldnt figure out how to erase it #ah well

[bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse]

Ok I spiraled in thoughts again.

So I was thinking about the Tenrou arc and how some characters physical injuries didn't make sense for how they were injured (Like Gajeel having more visible injuries than Mira despite her getting blown up) and I got to Makarov Vs Hades and started thinking.

Both Precht and Warrod were Yuri's close friends so it's likely they were both named as uncles or godparents to Makarov and I started looking into it because I remembered that Makarov's mum died only seconds after he was born but I couldn't remember when Yuri died and well. Makarov would have been 3 to 4 depending if Yuri died before or after March.

Meaning that either Makarov was raised by Fairy tail itself or Warrod or Precht stepped in to raise him. The second seems most likely as Warrod shows he has compassion for his friends and I doubt he'd ignore one of his best friend's son who is now without both of his parents and Makarov and Precht show at least enough of a relationship to make me think that they were close when he was younger, similar to how Laxus was originally close with Makarov.

Which would lead into how being faced with the reality that someone you likely saw as a second parent. Someone who likely helped raise you has become the leader of a dark guild after already having to banish your son and then your grandson had to hurt a lot.

I may have my gripes with how Makarov handled Laxus after Ivan was banished because it's at least implied that Makarov did very little but to scold Laxus with little other repercussions for his actions (Which while Laxus is at fault for his own choices, enabling his bad behaviour wouldn't have taught him a lesson and likely only made him angrier if he thought Makarov didn't care which he kinda did since he mentioned how Makarov should just banish him as well after Ivan was banished) but that would have to hurt a lot and I'm surprised at how little it's touched upon.

Like that would be a great moment to focus on some Makarov character and how that might impact him knowing that two of the people he cared for turning down a cruel path and the third almost joining them only to have the sense literally beaten into him by other people.

I want to know more about what happened in the Dreyar family. Because I do not believe Ivan was born bad. Despite every trait in him trying to convince me that he was always going to be evil because he is the odd one out and everything else under the sun. I can't.

I can see Ivan's behaviour stemming from him feeling neglected as a child. Perhaps Makarov had just recently become guild master and was spending more time focusing on that than on Ivan and we never see Makarov's partner so it's plausible that she isn't around to care for him. It would explain why he hates Fairy tail so much. While Jose was taught that by his dad, Ivan despised the guild because he saw it as the thing that took his father's attention from him which could result in his anger which is then translated onto Laxus. Whether Ivan taught Laxus to hate Makarov and Fairy tail or that was just something Laxus picked up on, it's clear that he didn't see Laxus as a person but more a means to an end. He forces a dragon lacrima into him at a young age which could have killed him if he wasn't so lucky (possibly having an inclination to lightning magic) and how he tries to manipulate Laxus into giving him information on Lumen histoire.

Like Makarov thinking back on how he has handled his own family whether due to his focus shifting unintentionally or something else would be such a powerful moment and more insight into Ivan and possibly Laxus as well as Makarov and would show some flaws.

Because I doubt it would be easy to manage an entire guild and care for a child on your own, never mind a guild as destructive as Fairy tail. It's a lot of responsibility and if he just got given the position recently, of course he'd be focused on his job while he adjusts to the situation.

It also gives Ivan some background to his actions instead of just 'another generic evil dad' because despite how much Ivan gets built up in both Battle of Fairy tail and Grand magic games, they barely do anything with him.

I do like his fight in the games but it just doesn't feel like what was built up to.

I personally would have liked to have more focus on Ivan for a whole arc or have him do more in the games. Have him find out Gajeel was a double agent and want revenge. Go after more members of the guild to antagonise Makarov. Try to use Gajeel or Laxus against Fairy tail in more ways than just information. Force Gajeel to deliberately botch an event in the games to prove loyalty to Ivan or have him risk getting hurt. Have his guild members do more than just mildly inconvenience the FT members. Flare did the most intense stuff with threatening a child and trying to burn the RT symbol onto Lucy and Minerva still upstaged her in brutality. Have the other members get brutal with FT. Instead of winning Chariot, have them attack Natsu and Gajeel because their vulnerable and could make for easy prey to piss off Makarov. (Plus possible parallels to when Gajeel was in Phantom and attacked Levy) Have RT target more members during the night to where they feel unsafe. And then finally, after 3 days of this, Laxus finally sees what his father is truly like in their fight and goes off for all the harm Ivan caused. That would be so much fun to watch and tense. RT just feels like a second fiddle to the Dragon king festival and Sabertooth even though they are the main antagonist in the first three days then Sabertooth picks up that mantle when Minerva beats on Lucy.

I know I went off on a rant about Ivan in a post about Makarov but I sometimes can't help but being up other Dreyar family members in posts about each other. Especially when they are so connected to one another.

#fairy tail #makarov dreyar #yuri dreyar #hades #Fairy tail hades #precht #Warrod #ivan dreyar #laxus dreyar #rant #discussion

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase Character Discussion (for your local Cyberchase trivia quiz) - #4: The Hacker

You all knew this one was coming.

#4: The Hacker

Let's talk about The Hacker's character, as well as the lore around him. We can start with his original character bio. Of course, keep in mind that this info was laid down nearly 25 years ago, so much of what we talk about may no longer be canon. The Hacker is a particularly interesting case, as they have presented different origin stories for him over the years which contradict one another. These don't seem to affect how the Cybersquad views him, though. I remember reading a post not too long ago about someone pointing out that our three Earth kids don't seem the least bit interested in The Hacker's origin. Yeah, I agree on that point.

So, we know from this panel that he is pompus and power-hungry. We also know that he wants to take over Cyberspace. It is a bit weird that they call it "Cyberworld" here. Maybe that was some sort of early name. They already knew that his wig (or was it real hair at this point?) was going to be important to the character.

His favorite color is puce. We all remember how upset he was during Season 1 Episode 1 "Lost My Marbles" when he was stuck using pink fog instead of puce fog to make sure the children would be lost on Topsy-Turvy Island forever.

We also know about his interest in Elvis and becoming the Big E E (Evil Elvis).

We also saw his love for Elvis in the official Cyberchase web comic "Cyber Idol" from Ron Barrett.

He also loves Judge Doom from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".

He enjoys "The Prince" by Machiavelli, which is a very old and famous book going back to the 1500s. The book present itself as a guide for how princes should act when they gain their power. There's a whole section about princes gaining their power through criminal acts, which I'm sure The Hacker would have enjoyed very much.

The Hacker's original original story came from the oficial Cyberchase Prequel web comic, "How It All Started" (episode 1). It is about as simple as can be.

Narration: Needing an assistant with a high level of intelligence, Dr. Marbles assembles a cyborg who calls himself The Hacker.

The Hacker (thinking): Hmmm, someday I'll take over all of Cyberspace!

He picked out his own name, and he decided he would take over Cyberspace shortly after birth. He also always looked like his current self. Is assembly the normal process for birthing a new Cyborg? Did Slider start out the same way? You know what? I don't even want to go into the confusing mess that is Cyborg biology or how it compares to Robot biology on this post. We know that Cyberchase is never going to explain it.

I'll keep the rest of this origin story brief. The Hacker stole Motherboard's Encryptor Chip and locked in a Vault.

Digit was able to retrieve it, and Motherboard declared that The Hacker must be banished for his crime. Dr. Marbles drained his power, which ensure that he needs to regularly recharge himself. Then Dr. Marbles sent him to the Northern Frontier via a remote-controlled pod.

I love Dr Marble's line here. "Page down, Hacker. You file is closed!"

It is revealed that The Hacker brought Digit with him into exile against his will. Somehow, neither Motherboard nor Dr. Marbles realized this.

I've already talked at length about The Hacker causing disruption on the Valussa Cybersite, which led to Digit fully defecting to Motherboard.

We actually got an animated adaptation of this version of The Hacker's origin story in Season 1 Episode 11 "A Day at the Spa".

It gives us The Hacker having his perpetual power supply down-graded by Dr. Marbles prior to being launched into exile.

However, the show has not maintained the origin story from "How It All Started". Starting with Season 3 Episode 4 "A Piece of the Action", we see The Hacker in his younger years. I'm not sure if his hair was a wig back then or not.

We got more of this during the Transformatron Arc, where we saw Coop destroy the Transformatron Blueprints to prevent The Hacker from using the machine to take over.

We also know that The Hacker went to school, though it's not clear if this was high school or college.

So, yeah, it seems like the writers decided to move away from The Hacker as being born evil. They wanted to flesh him out more and have him turn to darkness over time.

All of this could still fit with his original banishment though. Maybe Motherboard never learned about the Transformatron, since The Hacker damaged Coop's hard drive and sent him into exile. Maybe Coop didn't want to go to Motherboard and harm The hacker more once the Transformatron plans were disposed. Perhaps The Hacker's theft of the Encryptor Chip still happened later on and triggered his banishment.

And then Season 5 Episode 6 "The Flying Parallinis" happened.

Oh look, that poor cyborg is trapped on top of Mount Way-Up-There in the Northern Frontier.

Good thing The Flying Parallinis are here to use their flexing power to build a tower to rescue him.

Oops.

And so, having accidentally freed The Hacker from his prison, The Flying Parallinis vowed to put aside their special talent for who knows how long. No doubt that was pretty traumatic for them.

One central point of The Hacker's situation is that he no longer has the amazing power supply he started with. It was downgraded, so that he requires regular recharges. Did Dr. Marbles and Motherboard just stick him on top of a tower all by himself to die?

Well, if Season 12 Episode 8 "Hacker Hugs a Tree" is his canon origin story, then the answer is no. Here is how his banishment was portrayed during that episode.

So, we have Hacker in his young form being shoved through a portal to the Northern Frontier all alone. This breaks the idea that The Hacker was in his final form when he was banished. This breaks the idea that Motherboard and Dr. Marbles put him on top of Mount Way-Up-There. This breaks the idea that he took Digit with him when he was banished. I'm not even sure if Digit exists at this point in the new timeline. They don't explain why he's being banished here. It may not have even been over the theft of the Encryptor Chip in this timeline. Given that he looks the same as he did when Coop shredded the Transformatron plans, I wonder if Motherboard found out about him giving Coop magnetite poisoning a few days later, and that got him banished.

In hindsight, maybe I should have made a separate post all about The Hacker's origin story and its retcons. On the other hand, I don't know that you can talk much about the character without at least trying to explain his banishment.

Okay, let's fast-forward to the present. What does The Hacker really think of the Cybersquad? With Motherboard damaged, but not destroyed, Matt, Jackie, Inez, and Digit are usually the only ones standing between him and controlling Cyberspace. Assuming Digit's origin story hasn't been ret-conned, he is basically The Hacker's son, even if he has betrayed him at the point. Matt, Jackie and Inez are actual children. Would The Hacker really go as far as trying to kill them all if he had the chance?

Yes! Yes he would! One stand-out example is Season 3 Episode 7, where he uses lava to flood the pyramid stairs that they are climbing. That was attempted murder.

We can also consider Season 1 Episode 7 "Zeus on the Loose" as a stand-out example. The Hacker openly states that he intends to open Pandora's Box in order to unleash death and destruction. As a children's cartoon character, he isn't even supposed to use the word "death", but he does it anyway, because he's The Hacker.

But what about Cyborg children? Is The Hacker willing to hurt them too?

Yes! Absolutely! The most notable case was probably giving Slider magnetite poisoning in Season 4 Episode 5 "Measure for Measure".

And what about Digit? What is The Hacker willing to do to him?

How about we use Season 6 Episode 1 "Digit's B-day Surprise" as an example. The Hacker spends Digit's B-Day with him breaking his self-esteem down. Digit is convinced that the kids dislike him for being clumsy. He is almost convinced to sign a consent form to let The Hacker reprogram him to make him less clumsy.

Of course, this is a trick to let The Hacker turn Digit into an obedient henchman. The kids are so fortunate that Digit defected to Motherboard. Buzz has no special abilities. Delete has his seldom-used elongating arms, but he is a wishy-washy mess. Digit has an all-purpose beak that can open nearly any lock and drill through nearly any material. He's also the only Cyberspace resident who is immune to magnetite. Also, he can fly. He could be a goddamn Terminator.

What's next for The Hacker? Will he hurt unborn babies?

Oh yeah, he already went there in the pilot, "The Poddleville Case", where he stole the Poddle's eggs.

Anyway, what else can I say about The Hacker? He's quite happy to bide his time and play the long game with his plans. We saw this in the Snelfu Snafu, where he let the kids get the last bid on the auction for the Encryptor Chip. They took it back to Control Central, plugged it in and...

...it turned out that The Hacker sabotaged the Encryptor Chip ahead of time to allow him to take over Cyberspace.

We could also look at the Transformatron Arc, where the kids won in small ways, while The Hacker slipped away laughing with another piece to his blessed machine.

Ascension.

I suppose we can finish up with his official trading card.

The only real piece of new information here is that he refuses to provide his age. So, your guess is as good as mine. He could be 3 years old or 300 years old.

#cyberchase #cartoon #2000s #nostalgia #pbs kids #2000s childhood #inez #the hacker #archived web content

[flaringgoosebumps]

I may just be reiterating what was said in this post (please read that one first) but anyway,

"Why do people want two teenage boys together so bad?"

This question only seems to come up about queer pairings, people don't seem to go out of their way to shame shippers of mlw pairings, especially in times where they should. For example, since literally forever and even in stranger things, there are sex scenes or implied sex scenes with teenager characters. The concern only arises with the mere idea that there would be a queer couple merely kissing or hell, even holding hands.

While I relate to everything @hey-its-bucky said, I have more reasons why I want Byler to be canon. Not just because queer people past, present and future, deserve to be represented and humanized and for their experiences to be validated but also!!

Queer representation in movies and tv are genuinely so boring! While I appreciate that we are getting representation, it is crumbs in comparison to what we could have. I'm tired of the whole shtick of a story centering about a young queer person trying to figure out who they are, in normal settings lol I don't find that appealing, it's not my ideal form of entertainment. I want Byler to be canon for selfish reasons.

I want a canon queer couple with proper build up in my niche interests! I want them to exist in horror and sci-fi and be treated just as important as cishet couples.

I deeply enjoyed fear street because while it did center around a few queer characters, it didn't center about them finding out they were queer. It centered around some fucked up supernatural shit trying to kill them and a girl desperately trying to save someone she loved. And we got a good ending! I want more of that!

I've seen very few queer pairings or characters in shows I've watched and a majority of them didn't get good endings

In Buffy the vampire slayer, Willow found out she was gay in the middle of the series and fell in love with a girl named Tara who also became a main character and they killed her off. Then they gave Willow a girlfriend that kind of felt rushed but that could be me being biased because they killed my girl!

Aubrey Jensen in MTV scream, was in love with her gf who was murdered in 2nd episode, then it's revealed she did some questionable things because she had a crush on her childhood friend (who didn't return her feelings) and they gave her a gf by the end of her story arc but it wasn't someone we saw build up with like??

There are shows I haven't even seen and I know their queer pairings are severed the same way.

Stranger things has the appeal of a lifetime! It's not a show that marketed itself as queer, but they planned for Will to be gay from the jump. They are building something and if they're building what we think they're building. It will be a game changer.

This is one of the most popular shows that is out, it is virtually inescapable even if you've never shown any interest in it or anything like it. If they make Byler canon, it would be a coming of age queer love story epic sci-fi saga. As far as I know, that hasn't been done before on film.

If they follow Leigh Janiak's lead with queer story telling, it would hopefully be the first of many stories that humanize queer people, and more than that, make us the hero, give us a happy ending, final girl(person lol) endings, romantic storylines on par with cishet people in the sense that it was planned out and executed in a specific way instead of just throwing someone in there and hoping that's enough crumbs for clout.

Representation matters for a multitude of reasons but Byler specifically, isn't just about representation to me. It's about good story telling and if they intended on making Will gay since they began writing and let that be the center of his character arc for an entire season and don't plan on letting him have the happiest ending possible with the guy he's in love with, what the hell was the point of bringing attention to it at all? Narratively. What the hell would be the point of that? Also what would be the point of building milkbones just to break it down so easily? Why would they go out of their way to do this to the characters they spent years on crafting just for no pay off?

The strangest thing would be if Byler wasn't their plan in the first place lol

#byler #byler rant #byler brain rot #Queer representation #byler endgame