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unnecessarywriting · 3 years

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Him? That’s My Dad - Fred Weasley

Requested: Hi! Can I get a Fred x reader where the reader is Sirius’ child and is best friends with the twins and when he first sees them they are maybe pranking snape and maybe they reunite in the shack cause they are protecting Harry and just fluff really? A/N: Thank you for requesting. First I want to apologize for the wait, but I had some personal stuff going on and I needed some time off. Also, I was a bit confused by your request, so I took it into my hands and tried to match it to the best of my ability, but if you want me to write something else (More of what you wanted) just let me know and I'll write something new! Requests are still open of course, and I hope you all enjoy!!!

ITALICS ARE FLASHBACKS

Him? That’s My Dad

Fifth year at Hogwarts meant that there was a lot of chaos, not to mention that you were dating one of the biggest pranksters in Hogwarts history. Fred had been there in your life from the beginning of your Hogwarts experience. Despite your last name and the reputation that comes with it, you were able to have a decent time with Fred and George by your side. By third year, you had become very close with the twins, and they even began to include you in their schemes. When Fred asked you out in fourth year, you began your work at becoming one of the masterminds behind some, if you dare say, epic pranks. Then, fifth year came around, and well, the chaos of OWLs ensued, and so did your more personal issues.

You had been aware of the return of your father, or rather the escape of the murderer who just so happened to share your DNA. Were you happy that he was out? Well, that question was difficult for you. On one hand, he may have murdered a whole lot of people, and he may have been involved with the dark lord, resulting in making an orphan out of Harry and you. On the other hand, he could be innocent and have a real reason for not making more of an attempt to get out of Azkaban.

Before Sirius was sent away for the murder of the muggles and Peter, your mother had died. Luckily for you, Remus was made your godfather, which gave you a home, but Remus was sure to never overstep his role. He had never wanted to imitate a father to you, but there were times in which you wished it had happened. When you found out that he would be a professor at Hogwarts, you couldn’t tell if you were happy to spend more time with him, or worried that he would become too involved in your personal business. You knew Remus found education very important, as did you, however, spending time with Fred and George was sometimes prioritized. Not to mention, Remus was not familiar with your relations to one of the twins.

You were sitting in the great hall with the twins trying to study, but you couldn’t help but overhear some of the murmurs from around the room. There was a lot more hatred pointed towards you because of the Sirius situation. It was hard to focus on too much that was meant to be actually important to you. Fred saw this, and he was right by your side to remind you of how amazing you were, and not to let the actions of your father define.

“You’re not like Malfoy. Who your father is, and what he has done is not a reflection of who you are. Now, let’s do something to get your mind off of all of those gits.” He motioned to where some other students were loudly whispering. You smiled at him and turned your attention to what George was working on.

“Who’s it for?” A simple question, but the answer would be the secret to your happiness.

“Snape.”

~ A Dog Tale ~

Sirius had his reasons for escaping Azkaban. When he visited Harry, he was in emotional turmoil. He felt terrible for being trusted by his best friend to take care of his son, and yet he failed. Then Sirius thought of you. He was never ready for a child of his own, but he was ready to give anything for your well-being. Him and your mother were not in a real relationship at the time, but he was heartbroken that she had died. He worried about his daughter and the lack of a mother figure, but he was sure that he would do everything he could to give you the life you deserved. When he was sent to Azkaban, however, he didn’t know how to react.

While he was not the one to sell out his friends, he was guilty for wrongly putting trust in someone. He spent his time repenting for making those choices. He reminded himself of his innocence, but there was a part of him that believed that he belonged there. Often, he would find himself thinking about you. He wondered what you looked like and what your personality was like. Did you take after him? Were you happy? Did you miss him? These questions lived in his head everyday, but he needed to grieve and take accountability for his crimes.

When he got out, he wanted to go and find you, but he knew you were with Remus, and he was aware that Remus was very careful. His old friend knew about Padfoot, and for certain, he was keeping a close eye for any dog that came near you. He knew that he needed to go to Hogwarts to get to the rat he once called a friend, but there was a part of him that was convinced his main reason for returning was to answer those questions that had been eating away at him.

When he first saw you, he knew exactly who he was looking at. You were the spitting image of your mother. Despite his dog form, he couldn’t help but feel a smile come on. Without thinking, he let out a bark and a whimper. He watched as your head whipped around to look at him. You stared at him with confusion written on your face, but you quickly returned to the twins that were beside you. He whimpered quietly to himself, but he refused to take his eyes off of you. You had grown up so beautifully, and from the looks of it, you were a bit mischievous yourself.

He recognized the sound of a particular person he wished that he could remove from his memory. Snape. The git himself was a professor at Hogwarts. Of course. He pointed his gaze at your sudden change in demeanor. You got down and cast a spell. One of the twins towered over you as they cast another one. The other twin seemed to be the lookout. After hexing the greasy professor, the three ran off in a direction that would allow them to watch the mayhem ensue without getting caught.

He also watched on the sidelines. He saw the obvious immediate spell cast. It was simple. A color change to the hair. He was concerned that this was the best that the three of you could do, but then he thought that there had to be more to it than what meets the average eye. He hoped that if he got to meet you, he would be able to ask you about it. Then he saw Snape’s legs start to falter, and he ultimately collapsed to the ground with an angry grunt. Sirius did everything he could to keep the laughing quiet, but it was riveting to see his old rival take such a nasty fall, especially at the hand of his daughter. His heart filled with pride knowing that she may not look like him, but she definitely took after him.

Sirius looked over at where you were hiding and watched as you hugged the twins. Then he watched you do the unthinkable.

~ What did you do? ~

When Fred and George had a plan, you liked to add a little bit of your own spice to the mix. You liked adding something that could only be thought of by you. Nothing was different with your prank with Snape. It was simple really. The twins had this new, altered version of the hair color changing spell. The plan was to make it near impossible to get rid of it. In fact, there was a particular potion that was needed to remove the effects of it, however, they weren’t planning on giving it to Snape too soon. The counter jinx would only change the color on Snape’s head. You thought it was genius, but there was a part of you that wanted a bigger reaction.

“Okay, I think that it’s great, but what if, and just hear me out, we change his feet.”

“What does that mean?” Your boyfriend looked at you intrigued by your suggestion.

“It’s easy really, there is an opposites spell that I found, and it would allow me to change his left foot to his right and his right to the left. It could be reversed, but there is a specific spell to do it, and I doubt Snape would know what it is.” George laughed at the idea of Snape trying to stand up without knowing how to fix his issue.

“This is one of the many reasons I love you,” Fred said as he placed a peck on your lips.

The three of you had learned which hallway Snape would be in, and you made your way in that direction. The three of you stood in the hallway chatting, so as not to raise any particular suspicion to your actions. You heard a bark from behind you, and you turned your head in that direction. There stood a large black dog. He looked as though he was trying to smile, but he also looked like he was punched in the head. You gazed at the dog to see if it was deranged or just a strangely happy dog. Eventually, you turned your attention back to the twins.

You heard the slow footsteps of the annoying professor, and you all got into position as you awaited with a nervous excitement. You ducked down to get a more accurate aim at his feet, and Fred towered above you where he focused his attention to the top of the greasy haired man. You both carefully cast your spells and retreated to a nearby space to watch the chaos unfold. As Snape fell, you laughed quietly. When he angrily struggled to stand up, the three of you had to move slightly to avoid bringing attention to how much you were enjoying his struggle. You hugged George, congratulating him on a good idea and a successful prank. Then you hugged Fred and pulled him in for a joyful, passionate kiss. You both pulled away and smiled at each other, while George awkwardly evaded his gaze. You felt eyes boring into you, so you turned your eyes to the culprit. The dog from before looked furious. Then, he began to run away.

“Hey, I’m gonna go for a walk, but I’ll catch up with you two later. Alright?” The twins nodded, but Fred was a bit suspicious of your sudden change in behavior. He kept his eyes on you and watched the direction you walked towards, but he kept his distance. He didn’t want to intrude on your time to yourself.

You followed the dog and watched as it ran into the Whomping Willow. You had a feeling you knew what was going on. You had often referred to Remus as Uncle Moony. When the twins showed you the map, you had a feeling that there was a connection. Cue you Sherlock skills. You thought about the other names on the map and tried to connect them to Remus’ friends.

“Uncle Moony?”

“Yes?” His gaze lifted from the Daily Prophet to your inquisitive face.

“When you were in school, did you ever feel connected to the animals there?”

“Why do you ask?” You needed to cover your ground otherwise he wasn’t going to give any information.

“Well, I know that you don’t remember the events of what happens when you change, but I just wondered if there was ever some sort of connection with the animals on the grounds. I have found that there are some friendly deer around. I’ve also seen a few rats and mice wander around the castle.” You were trying to hint to some of the hints from the map. Prongs being a deer and Wormtail being a rat. Remus chuckled at your words.

“Yes, the deer and rats can be quite kind and they can often invade your personal space. Not to mention the wild dogs. Those can be the most intrusive creatures on the grounds.” A dog. That was the last detail you needed. Padfoot. Now you just needed to figure out who was who.

In your years at Hogwarts, it was relatively rare to find a dog on the grounds. That didn’t mean that it never happened, but this dog seemed different, and you had a hunch as to what was going on. You stood far away from the tree and contemplated going into the whole that the dog ran into. If you were right, then you could easily be heading to your one way trip to the afterlife, but you wanted to protect the people you cared about at all costs. You didn’t trust the professors with this information, and Remus was no exception. Harry had become a friend to you over the years, and if the disgusting rumors held true, this could be your chance to help him. Afterall, this was your father who was trying to kill Harry. The least you could do is fight this man and prove that you were capable of not being like him.

You ran by the swinging branches and launched yourself into the whole. You found yourself in what appeared to be the shrieking shack. The floorboards creaked all around you. You pulled the wand out from your pocket and pointed in the direction you were walking. Eventually, you found yourself face to face with the dog.

“You know, I had a feeling you were the dog. Remus never admitted to anything, but something about all that he told me about you just reminded me of a dog. You don’t have to stay in that ridiculous form since I know it’s you.” You were surprised by your own confidence, but twelve years of anger can spark a lot. Suddenly, you were met with the man you thought you would never see again. You raised the wand up to his face, and locked your jaw in anger.

“You look just like your mother Y/N. I know you think I’m a murderer, but that’s not the case. I’m innocent. Why don’t you lower your wand and we can talk this through.” He spoke carefully and clearly so as not to push you to hex him into another life.

“I don’t know why you came here, but I’m not going to let you hurt Harry, and I sure as hell am not going to let my guard down. You escaped from Azkaban for murder. Did you really think that I was going to believe you? Honestly, you must really be an idiot. Even if you are innocent, you let Harry and I live without you. You were supposed to be there for us.” You yelled the last line with an anger you didn’t know you had. “You were supposed to be there for me.” Your voice was low and full of pain. Sirius felt everything you said to him.

“I know, but allow me to explain.” You kept your wand in place as Sirius told his story. He explained how he was framed by Peter, and his reasoning for returning to Hogwarts. “You’re right. I should've done more to be there for you, but I can’t change the past. I sure as hell am never going to forgive myself for allowing you to grow up without me. I’m here now though. I know that I cannot make up the lost time, but I can try like hell to be there for you now. I have no right to ask for anything but I beg you to give me a chance to be in your life.”

You lowered your wand and sat down on the nearest surface. Sirius sighed at the removal of the threat. He stayed silent as he watched you think about everything he said. He knew it was a lot for you to handle. It was a lot for anyone to handle. Neither of you were aware of how long you both sat there, but when you heard a distant creak and the familiar call of your name, you both launched into action. Sirius transformed into Padfoot.

“Y/N? Are you in here?” Fred appeared in the doorway and sighed at the sight of you. “George, she’s in here. Darling, what are you doing here? We've been looking for you for hours. You had us both worried.” He pulled you into a tight embrace and kissed the top of your head. You breathed in his scent and smiled. Maybe having your dad in your life wouldn’t be so terrible. You thought about Fred and your future together often. You thought about what it may be like to have someone that you could call your dad be there to watch you achieve all of the milestones in your life, and be there for any future children you may have. You thought about how happy Fred and George were with their family, and how jealous you were of their parents.

“Were you just here with a dog all of this time?” George asked as he walked into the room. Fred moved his gaze to the big, black dog in the room. You giggle quietly.

“Oh him? That’s my dad.” You smiled and sat next to the dog and gave him a reassuring look. “And judging by the way he’s looking at you Fred, he doesn’t seem too happy that his only daughter is dating someone.” Padfoot offered a small growl at your boyfriend who was both confused and slightly scared.

“Y/N. I think you might be losing it.” George muttered. You laughed and motioned for Sirius to regain his human form. The look of fear and shock on the twins’ faces were priceless.

“Mr. Weasley I presume.” Sirius held out his hand. Apparently the Weasley hair was something that exceeded generation. Fred reached out his hand to meet your dad’s and he muttered his response. “I understand that you are dating my daughter. I will allow this, however, after I am proven innocent, and we can have a word alone, I think we should get to know one another. Thoroughly.” You watched the interaction with joy. You knew that sirius was pranking Fred, although there was a bit of seriousness in his tone as well.

“Boys, I assume that I don’t need to tell you that the knowledge of Sirius should remain a secret. I will also say that he is of no threat to any of us, so there is no need to worry.” You grabbed Fred’s hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “I think that you two should return to the school. I’m going to stay here a bit longer, but I am perfectly fine.” You kissed Fred’s cheek and gave a side hug to George as they wandered out of the shack. They weren’t happy that you were left alone with someone who was notorious for mass murder, but they understood that you wouldn’t put everyone in danger.

“So, you’ve taken to pranking old Snivellus eh?” You laughed and nodded. You wouldn’t have expected your day to go from terrible to one with an amazing boyfriend, and a supportive dad, but fate works in mysterious ways.

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley imagine #george weasley imagine #george weasley x reader #fred weasley #sirius black x reader #sirius black imagine #Harry potter x reader #harry potter imagine

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random-french-girl · 3 years

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Daughters & Mothers

For a show ostensibly about patriarchy, it’s thematically coherent that when the girls’ backstories focus on a parental relationship, it’s always about the father. Whether it’s a tragedy, like Dot’s dad, a betrayal, like Fatin’s, or a threat, like Shelby’s. Which got me curious: how do mothers fare, in The Wilds?

1- The absent moms

We have two mothers who are absent from their daughters’ lives, Dot’s mom and Toni’s mom. Dot’s mother is so completely absent she is not even a character in Dot’s story. She’s not mentioned once. In fact, we don’t even know if Dot has a mother, and Dot doesn’t seem to care: she has a parent who loves her, and the only problem is that he can’t take care of her anymore, so she has to take care of him instead.

What I find interesting is that Toni’s familial situation is the reverse: she doesn’t know her dad, he’s not in the picture, and it’s her mother who has become unable to care for her. But Toni’s feelings about her mom are starkly different from Dot’s feelings about her dad: there’s a lot of anger and resentment, mixed in with a lingering yearning for connection. Toni’s mom is a drug addict, and she’s the reason Toni is in foster care. Her absence is the stem of Toni’s abandonment issues, of her distrust in people, of her trouble with regulating her own anger.

Things I want: We haven’t seen Toni’s mom onscreen yet, whereas we have seen Dot’s dad struggling with what his daughter has to do, and loving her, so the comparison favors him, of course. But I’d be interested to see what exactly Toni’s relationship with her mom is like, to see if she’s given as much nuance and empathy as Dot’s father. And I would like for Dot to be given the space to be angry about what she was asked to do - even if she loves her father, even if she misses him and mourns him.

2- The traitors

Yes, I am putting Fatin and Shelby’s moms in the same category, even though they are very different people. Mrs Jadmani is a second generation immigrant (I think?), a career woman who earns a lot of money and is pretty strict with Fatin because she wants her to succeed. By contrast, Mrs Goodkind is quiet, nice but effaced, a white Christian woman in a traditional, religious marriage ; we don’t know if she works, but we see her cooking. They don’t have much in common on the surface.

And yet, they both equally fail to protect their daughters from their husbands. They both fail to take the girls’ sides. Fatin’s mom is hurt by the affairs, obviously, and also hurt by Fatin’s reckless behavior, but in the end she chooses to punish Fatin and not her husband. When Dave Goodkind makes decisions about the lives of his children, whether it’s the kind of breakfast food they’re allowed to eat, or a medical procedure, Shelby’s mom may timidly protest, but mostly she defers to him, and doesn’t speak up - instead, just like the children, she waits for the threat to pass. We can feel for her, but she is of no help to Shelby, she is not Shelby’s ally in this conflict with her father.

Things I want: Obviously, Shelby and Fatin both have a lot of strong feelings about their fathers - whom they love, and are hurt by - and I think these feelings will continue to be explored in the show. But I hope the show also delves more into their relationships with their mothers, and with enough nuance : how can they negotiate this betrayal from their moms, with the knowledge that these women are also hurting?

3- Moms who don’t understand

And finally, our last category of moms: they are well-intentioned, but they simply don’t understand their daughters, whether it’s because they don’t actually make the effort, or because the girls are too good at hiding their feelings, or a mix of both. The result is a serious communication problem, a growing distance, and the moms’ inability to help their daughters in a positive way.

Leah’s mother, for example, seems well-meaning, and genuinely worried for Leah. But she’s also clearly unable to talk to Leah, or more importantly get her to talk. I’m the first one to make fun of Leah’s dramatic lines (affectionately, I love her), but when her mom refers to what is like... some sort of intense depressive/self-harming state that has been going on for many months? as a “funk”?? I get where Leah’s dismissal/resentment comes from. And that’s not even touching on the fact that Leah’s mom lies to her about the retreat.

Same thing with Nora and Rachel’s mom. She loves her kids, she’s proud of them, she clearly wants the best for them! And yet, somehow she completely fails to understand how isolated and starved for attention Rachel feels in this family, and the extremes to which that leads her. And I don’t know whether Nora has told her mom about Quinn and his death, but it doesn’t look like it, which is partly why Gretchen is so successful in her manipulation.

And then there is Martha and Bernice. Bernice, in my opinion, is the most positive portrayal of a mother in the show - she’s worried, she’s loving, she takes actions, she feels responsible, she tries - yet even she doesn’t understand her daughter at all. Bernice just can’t communicate with Martha in a way that works for both of them. Strikingly, we even get a scene where Bernice is more comfortable talking about Martha with Toni, rather than to Martha. I don’t think there’s any other girl who is absent from her own flashback.

Things I want: “I want my mom,” Leah cries in episode 9. Please, let these kids reconnect with their mothers (and fathers). Let the moms make amends if needed, let them learn to listen to their daughters, and better communicate their love and worry. Let the girls learn that they can, actually, trust their moms to protect them - obviously the experiment is going to accentuate the distrust, for a while, but I’m hoping for some positive resolutions.

4- Gretchen’s mother complex

To end this already very long post, here are a few thoughts on Gretchen, and her relationship to motherhood. We learn at the end of the season that Gretchen has a son, and we get some insight into her immense guilt/fear that she failed as his mother - and how she covers/explains/understands what happened by blaming the lures of patriarchy. I think it’s interesting, in that context, to remember that she refers to the girls as her children, in the mental health hospital, that she refers to her work as the duties of a mother. Gretchen doesn’t just have a God complex, she has a mother complex too. She created her ~Gynotopia : she is the mother both of this new world, and of the girls she chose to inhabit it. And, as gods and parents alike sometimes do, she both wants to control these ~daughters and mold them and bend them to her will, but also, paradoxically, she wants them to grow and flourish and succeed. On that note, I also think it’s interesting that Gretchen chose two men as “authority figures” for the interviews - two “father figures”, if you will, for the girls to confront and rebel against, while she remains, for now, in the shadows, the ultimate authority.

And let me add one more thing : in Gretchen’s team, it seems there’s only one other parent. Agent Young is a father. To a girl. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s the first/only one to break and want to help the girls. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that he is narratively linked to Leah - Gretchen’s favorite daughter - and Bernice Blackburn - our most sympathetic mother figure (since Gretchen asks him to find some blackmail material on Martha). If Agent Young doesn’t redeem himself by helping the daughters, then I hope he will by helping the mothers.

#the wilds #random meta #long post #this post is brought to you by my mom issues :)

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ladyc0312 · 4 years

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A Jikook Guide to Run! BTS: 1-20

Hi all! Welcome to part one of my overview of all jikook moments in Run! BTS and Run BEHIND.

My biggest takeaway from these early episodes is that BH didn't quite know how to make a good variety show yet. Some of the set-ups are awkward and the guys are clearly still getting used to being on camera in this format. The jikook moments aren’t as frequent or obvious. As we go on, expect less “they look at each other in a maybe meaningful way” and more “then he sat down in his lap...” That said, this set of episodes includes both the priest skit and the cops skit, so if you’re into role-play, this was your era of Run!

Episode Guide under the cut, to avoid both spoilers and taking up half your dash...

UPDATED PER THE SUGGESTIONS OF SOME LOVELY COMMENTERS. THANK YOU ALL! New content in bold.

FYI: When you don’t see “BEHIND” descriptions or photos, it means there were no notable jikook moments. I’ve given each ep a general rating and a special Jikook-ery rating, both out of 5. YMMV!

Ep 1 (n/a)

The one that’s just a commercial for the V app

Ep 2 “The Greatest Man” (Ep: 3 / KM: 1)

The one with the most homoerotic series of challenges I’ve ever seen to prove who’s the “best” man

6:28 - Jimin TWICE randomly announces during musical chairs that JK will win

Not ikook-specific, but FYI, Jungkook REALLY likes being tickled. If you want a vague idea of what the beginnings of an OT7 orgy might look like, the scene at 2:09 is for you! And if you’re curious what each member looks like putting on lipstick and holding their mouths open, check out 4:24.

Ep 3 “Theme Park” (Ep: 1 / KM: 1)

The one at Six Flags that’s not worth watching unless you enjoy shaky camera footage of people screaming on roller coasters

5:44 - When Jimin is proud of himself for having ridden a coaster, JK goes to say something to him but keeps glancing at the camera self-consciously.

6:19 - With the camera further away, JK and JM talk with each other while waiting on line

7:06 - JK fast-walks to get to JM and then leans on JM’s shoulder to check the post-ride pictures

Ep 4 “30 Second Gate” (Ep: 1 / KM: 0.5)

The one where they do fairly boring challenges in a pool

5:26 - There’s a super brief instant of JK looking over at Jimin while shyly tugging on his shirt collar. Prob not even worth being noted as a moment, but JK looks so adorable that I’m including it anyway

Ep 5 “100 Seconds Sports Day” (Ep: 1 / KM: 1)

The one with a rather repetitive relay game

5:56 - JM playfully throws a milk carton at JK when JK fails to complete his task

7:53 - JK does some “teleporting” where he goes from being behind Suga in one shot to next to JM in the following one. He stays next to JM the whole rest of the time they’re mixing the drink.

Ep 6 “Sketch: Confession” (Ep: 2 / KM: 4)

The priest sketch that launched a thousand AUs...

3:30 - Jungkook comes in to “confess his sins” to Jimin, who is playing a priest and calls him “darling.” JK confesses to using Jin’s razor while also claiming to be the eldest in BTS. Jimin tells him that he’s so handsome, it must be that he’s blessed by God and can be forgiven for most things. Jimin tells JK to give him a hug to get forgiveness for his sins. As they hug, both are smiling and the onscreen text tells us how happy Jimin is and puts a little heart next to his face during the hug. Jimin strokes JK’s cheek after and it seems to make JK a little shy. Jimin calls out “bye, darling” as he leaves, then calls him “cutie” for the camera. For comparison’s sake, Jimin hits V on the forehead and makes J-Hope do 50 push-ups to earn forgiveness. He hugs J-Hope at the end of it and the difference between how that hug feels versus the one with JK is clear as day.

Ep 6pt2 “Sketch: Confession” (Ep: 2 / KM: 0 )

None (neither appear in this episode)

Ep 7 “Paintball” (Ep: 1 / KM: 1)

The one that reminds you paintball is more fun to play than to watch

I’ll be honest, guys, between the masked helmets they’re wearing and the constant cutting around, I cannot follow the paintball games in this episode at all. I’m going to go out on a limb and say nothing particularly shippy happens during them.

9:54 - JK picks up Jimin from behind and bounces him around for a while (we don’t know how long because the camera cuts before he’s done). It will be revealed in ep. 10 that this is part of JK’s secret mission, which is to get Jimin to say “please stop.” However, despite Jimin not looking thrilled at all the bouncing around, he doesn’t tell JK to stop.

Ep 8 “Treasure Hunt” (Ep: 2 / KM: 2)

The one where they run or ride ATVs to find flags in the woods

1:15 - Jimin says out of nowhere that he thinks JK is going to be running and tells him to be careful not to bump into anyone (I think - the subs are a little weird on this one).

13:09 - JK tries to take one of JM’s meal ticket flags. JM refuses and claims JK called him “trash.” JK (kind of?) denies this and throws his one flag on the ground in frustration. J-Hope grabs it and JK sulks a bit because he’s left with nothing.

13:33 - Jimin reverses course and gives JK one of his flags. JK is delighted. RM asks why (apparently he, Jimin, and V had a deal to share their flags?) and Jimin just responds that Jungkook is very cute (which the on-screen texts puts a heart next to). Jimin ends up giving a flag to V, too, but he makes him beg like a dog first.

14:16 - Jimin calls JK over and gives him a brief hug / pat on the back

Ep 9 “Bungee Jump” (Ep: 1 / KM: 0.5)

The one where it is what it says on the tin

11:25 - Some jikookers have reported hearing JK say an un-captioned “pretty” here (sounds like yebbeo or yeebeun in Korean). I’ll be totally honest that I can’t really make it out, but I will put this note here in case others with better ears than mine want to check it out!

13:59 - JM has his arm around JK at the start of the shot here

Ep 10 “Spy for Silmido Island” (Ep: 2 / KM: 2)

The one where everyone eats a meal as they learn how JK has been doing secret missions the last three episodes

6:16 - JK explains that he failed his mission to get Jimin to say, “please stop.” We see flashbacks of JK trying - in addition to the above picking JM up, JK also pulled on his hair and gave him a shoulder rub (there is no explanation for why he thought that would be something JM would tell him to stop), and spraying him with a water bottle. The main jikook takeaway from this and the confession episode seems to be that JM will let JK get away with anything because he think he’s cute.

7:00 - We see that JM inadvertently made JK fail his mission to feed the camera man because, when JK held out food, JM got JK to feed him instead

Ep 11 "Back to School" (Ep: 3 / KM: 1)

The one where Suga dresses as a girl and gets hit on by the rest of the band

21:28 - Despite Jimin doing nothing but smiling in the sketch, JK says he's the day's MVP and is weirdly sincere about it

24:05 - YMMV on jeon-lous, but he does indeed do the tongue thing here when JM is flirting with girl-Yoongi

Ep 12 "Cops" (Ep: 4 / KM: 4)

The police sketch that launched ten thousand AUs...

6:46 - "Detective" Jungkook pulls "criminal" Jimin away by his collar 8:41 - After Jimin acts cute and says he's bored, JK comes over and slaps his upper thigh before throwing Jimin over his shoulder and slapping his butt. When JK puts him down, Jimin just looks at him with a dazed smile for a moment before they continue on with the sketch.

9:30 - Jimin tries to flirt his way out of of JK’s interrogation, which JK says is for “setting fire to ARMY’s hearts with his smiling eyes.”

10:25 - After a brief interuption by “Captain” Suga, the interrogation starts having flirty vibes again, with JK smirking and making eye contact while Jimin acts bashful and speaks in a whispery voice.

11:00 - JK holds a fake gun on JM as he starts his “Lie” dance, during which he directs finger hearts towards JK. The camera focuses on JM and, by the time it shows JK again, he’s lowered the gun and put his other hand over his heart. The on-screen text says “Detective Jeon’s heart is attacked.”

12:55 - JM and JK switch roles so JM is the detective. He hits JK over the head with a book. JK has basically no visible reaction, but JM has clearly flustered himself.

Note: To explain my reasoning for these originally not being here - if you look at the other skits in this ep, they are all accusing each other of doing things to ARMY’s hearts and being weirdly flirty with each other. Like, this police station has some serious sexual harassment issues all around! That said, the vibes are unique with jikook and, upon rewatch, I came to agree with y’all that the above should’ve been included. 19:30 - Alternate version of the sketch where Jimin and JK have a dance battle that ends in both of them being put in the jail cell and told to dance.

BEHIND 0:58 - Jimin flirt-ily calls out "I'm bored; play with me, Detective" (presumably to JK since they're scene partners). Note: Adults saying they "played" with each other is a common way to describe hanging out in Korean and doesn't necessarily have the sexual connotations it does in English.

4:08 - Jimin stares at JK as he does squats

Ep 13 "The Spy Who Returned Part 1" (Ep: 4 / KM: 2)

The ones where they play games at an indoor water park

1:00 - Jimin does an exaggerated running motion and JK slaps him to make him stop, which JM finds funny

1:43 - JM has his arm around JK

6:00 - JK jokingly(?) tells JM his wet hair looks cool

11:12 - JM calls JK their team's ace and they whisper about who he should call out from the other team

Ep 14 "The Spy Who Returned Part 2" (Ep: 3 / KM: 2)

16:04 - JM jokingly hits JK for getting the answer super wrong and then they go down the waterslide together. (Note: I've seen some jikook-ers claim JK messed up on purpose so the game wouldn't end and he'd get to ride with Jimin, but I'm not sure there's actual evidence to support that theory.)

The moment that led to the picture below isn’t in the ep or the BEHIND, but I raised the episode’s KM score a full point for it

Ep 15 "The Spy Who Returned Part 3" (Ep: 3 / KM: 2)

TW for this ep: 5:14 - during the confessions game, Jin tells Jimin that whenever Jimin asks if he put on weight, Jin wants to say he looks like a pig. Jimin claims to not be upset after, but looks like he's going to cry and seems off for a while. Then, at 10:45, Jin reiterates that Jimin "got fat." Everyone laughs except JK, who widens his eyes and then starts chewing on his finger.

6:37 - Despite being on the same team as JK, Jimin joins J-Hope's complaints about JK coming to their room uninvited, saying that JK often brushes his teeth in their room. He accuses JK of buying the exact same toothbrush as Jimin’s and complains that they can’t tell them a part. JK says it wasn't him and then there's a weird cut to sometime later when Jimin is sitting back down again... Just prior to this, Jimin is looking unhappy as Hobi tells a story about JK seeing him naked, but it’s hard to tell if he’s reacting to that or feeling upset about Jin’s weight comments from the previous round.

16:02 - Jimin defends Jungkook against accusations that he's the spy

BEHIND 4:30 - Jimin sits on Jungkook's lap and, when he leans over to try to get Jin to give him food, JK puts his hand on JM's hip to steady him

Ep 16 "Snowpark Winter Olympics" (Ep: 4 / KM: 1)

The one where everyone plays winter games

4:35 - When JM and JK are the finalists for the sledding round, JM thanks the viewers for their support. JK asks "what does that make me?" and yells/sings badly, which makes JM laugh. I don’t quite get it, tbh, but they seem to be enjoying themselves

14:50 - JK helps JM get his sled in place

BEHIND 3:02 - JK smiles as he gets pushed towards JM on the ice

Ep 17 "Arcade Olympics Part 1" (Ep: 2 / JK: 2)

The ones where we are reminded that playing arcade games is more fun than watching people play them

All of this and next episode, whenever they all reshuffle positions, Jimin and Jungkook end up standing next to each other. This happens pretty frequently in Run BTS generally, but it was particularly noticeable in this ep since it's not like they're on the same team or anything...

4:16 - When Jimin does a dramatic DDR finish, JK calls attention to it. JM turns to him and they lock eyes for a second

15:00 - JK cheers Jimin's name when it looks like he's going to win the basketball game

BEHIND

3:36 - JK & JM play a 4D game together Also, JK has an interesting mark on his neck on his right side that does not appear to be there in the episode itself...

Ep 18 "Arcade Olympics Part 2" (Ep: 2 / JK: 1)

3:30 - JK tries (unsuccessfully) to coach Jimin on the driving game

3:45 - JK stands up for Jimin and says he's getting the hang of the game

14:36 - JM & JK laugh together at RM's failure

19:58 - It's not super clear, but it sounds like JK calls JM "Jiminie" at the end of his sentence

Ep 19 "Strike" (Ep: 2 / JK: 1)

The one where BTS go bowling together and end up bowing down to JK

4:47 - JK shares that he and Jimin used to bowl together

---

If there’s anything I’ve missed or that anyone has different interpretations of, I’d love to hear it.

More episodes coming soon!

#jikook #kookmin #run bts #jikook guide to run bts

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mc-doppomine · 3 years

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Day 20 Bonus: Bad Ass Temple vs Matenrou

I’m just going in order of the battle dates at this point. And I’m just going to go from the music to the character stuff again because I feel it would just get long again. Look, I wanted to go for Bad Ass Temple. Sometimes you want to hope for an underdog. However when it comes to style...I just couldn’t get into BAT as much. Which is a shame because they have the same foundation of their team as MTR and going in the fight a similar way. But in terms of the individual songs, they’re actually pretty even. I didn’t have many songs that I really liked from either side besides One, Two, Law and Black or White.

I feel this is also the time that I have to say, with music a lot of the time, I’m basing it only as music. It’s lyrics and the like are secondary and mainly used to like inch any song forward if I was truly stuck. So sound wise, it’s been all over the place. Between having flashbacks to high school with Jyushi and feel like I’m being taken to church by Jakurai...it’s been a time. But of course the ones I like are the ones that are ultimately the ones about more mundane stuff I guess?

And with the group songs...I had to grow to like Kaigen. It’s just a personal thing with slow build up songs, I don’t usually have patience for them which is why I usually like fast paced songs over ballads (there’s always exceptions). But when you get to it though, it is good. I won’t deny that. (Yosh, Jyushi part and then him going off, is such a fuck yeah moment!) Well, Kirei, Kaigen is more fast paced than Tomoshibi, what gives? There’s always exceptions. One is that Tomoshibi doesn’t have as slow a build and that it caught my heart without me knowing what’s going on. Like a lot of my initially crying over Tomoshibi was over how it SOUNDS, not their lyrics. Also it’s slow but not ballad slow.

Which then brought us to the actual battle. And they would not make us wait. I was gut punched when they let Jakurai and Hitoya go from right out the gate. Anyone else notice how they mirrored each other’s final line of defeating the other with everything they have? Shivers! I initially wondered why these two were put together to fight but it makes sense after Light & Shadow because they have essentially the same ultimate desire of finding safety and growth with their teams but how they go about it is very different. Neither of them are wrong but it’s a matter of the clash between those difference.

If I had one thing that threw me so thoroughly in this battle though was Hitoya. Like I bet he was the real threat of BAT and I don’t feel I was wrong. But his angle was way different from what I was expecting. Like it seemed like his perspective changed before the 2nd DRB happened. Which ends up coming up really strange, at least for me, in this battle. Because HE is the one that initiated a fight with MTR by challenging Jakurai and was determined to take him down. Not that he still isn’t but he’s already had his chance of reflecting and changed why he’s fighting Jakurai from wanting to drag him down from his high horse to wanting to do this as a challenge against himself. Which isn’t bad, it just makes for a strange dynamic when it felt like it was set up for settling this grudge and he settled it himself before even getting on stage.

As for the rest of the battle, I don’t have as many memorable lines as they go so fast in this one. It’s a lot easier to lose them but considering this track was designed like a final boss encounter, I guess that’s to be expected. But overall...I just felt like Kuko and Jyushi were too...not that they didn’t take it serious but too green to this kind of scene? Like it reminds me of Jiro and Saburo in War War War except I think Kuko and Jyushi delivered some great lines such as ‘you’ve been so shaved off by society, there’s nothing left of you.’ But they also didn’t seem to hit with me? Although I guess there is a small bias there as like...I feel weird hearing them say ‘middle-aged men’ when I’m not that much younger than Hifumi or Doppo. And know that it’s really not that old...it reminds me of my younger sister.

Lyric wise, it felt like they were fighting two completely different ways and I don’t know how it worked out honestly for me. Like I’m really glad for the sound because a lot of it...wasn’t nonsensical but just didn’t feel like they were going at the same thing. Like MTR didn’t even seem to really focus on beating down on their opponents whereas BAT did. And it makes for such a weird confrontation. So I basically defaulted to what I usually do with the music and go with how I feel from the music and I felt MTR through it. To me, I felt more passion from their delivery and also I’d be lying if I I was living through Hifumi’s haughty laugh, Kuko’s roll of words and Doppo’s screaming (how does Itou-san do it???).

So yeah, MTR got me with music.

I said I did the character thing because it’d be shorter to do the music...I didn’t realize I had to so much to say about the music until I was writing. I’m so sorry that this just ends up being super long as I add the character/story aspects...which honestly I guess would be shorter because in the grand scheme both BAT and MTR just have a lot less to lose of going against other teams. Which could be argued is their charm but I don’t know if that alone could save them from future shenanigans to happen in this DRB. But let’s get to the team stuff

BAT vs DH would have to be the most even chance music wise for both teams because they’re new to this battle season. Although I am absolutely terrified of what kind of sound would come from mixing their sounds together. I’m sure all the talented folks behind the DRB music can do it...I just can’t imagine it. I can’t really think of the conflicts here since for the most part they don’t know each other outside of Kuko and Sasara being in MCD for a time.

BAT vs BB would be a chance to make the ‘koi yo Bad Ass,’ ‘Ou yo Bus Bros’ from Division Battle Anthem+ come true. I’ve hung onto that direct call out since I’ve heard it. There should be answers to their fall out. Ichiro didn’t forget it and feels like Kuko had to have some kind of revelation with it. This would be the chance to resolve this. Meanwhile I also entertain that this iust good hearted fun of like Ichiro, Kuko, Jyushi and Jiro all being around the same age and just being boys having fun. All the while, Hitoya is groaning as he pulls out another set of adoption papers.

BAT vs FP...I can’t think of anything really since they haven’t had any real connection outside of Ramuda--and I think it was OUR Ramuda--thinking Kuko was too irrelevant for his plans. What a kick that’d be for Kuko to be like ‘so, I heard you were talking shit!’

BAT vs MTC, I also have a problem seeing as much of an issue. Outside of Hitoya trying to not have a whole ass conniption. He needs to bring like most of these bastards to court. And also dadtoya because he would not want to drag Kuko and Jyushi around these guys. I fear of Jyuto eating Jyushi alive. Although there could be a slight chance of anger from Samatoki towards Kuko because he’s one of the few people that know the extent of Kuko’s abrupt departure left with Ichiro and even if he doesn’t forgive Ichiro, I don’t think that erases that nasty taste in his mouth.

And then to reverse around with MTR vs DH, I still think of it being more light-hearted of Hifumi and Doppo being like an accidental rival manzai to Sasara and Rosho. And just ending up petty over it. Watch Hifumi insult Sasara’s suit, ohmygod Hifumi can you not--And meanwhile I’m pretty sure Rei knows that Chuuoku is trying to use Jakurai’s rap ability and I can’t tell if he’s interested in how it goes or if he’d stop it. Because Rei I feel has less hesitance in doing extremes to eliminate what’s in his way. Be that incapacitating Jakurai’s ability or Jakurai himself or ruining Jakurai in a way that he can’t help...that’s all doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility for Rei to me.

MTR vs BB would also be a lighter affair as it just seems like bros just going against each other as I don’t know, I think MTR has a softer spot for BB than all the other teams. And to BB it’s like going against dad because I will die on the dadkurai hill.

MTR vs MTC is rematch REMATCH. DEATH RESPECT PART II. Let’s get it. But yeah outside of sore feelings from last time, I don’t think it’d be as bad as last time. It’s really a ‘nothing personal but you’re in my way’ sort of thing. There is a meeting for the anti-Honobono club that goes on, maybe? Maybe there could be some bad blood if Samatoki knew about Jakurai thinking of helping Chuuoku with perfecting the thing that, at least for a long time in his head, took Nemu from him.

But unsurprisingly most that would happen is if they did MTR vs FP. Because on one hand, it’s a REMATCH and one I’d personally love because their rap battle was my favorite. But they have the most story threads. I glossed it in the previous but it’s a chance for collaboration or using the other team if Honobono came up. Such as FP throwing MTR at her to distract her from getting Ramuda. They’re cutthroat enough to do it. Or if they could see past their rivalry and work together to save both of their sides from this mutual threat. I think this would be a time for Ramuda and Jakurai to REALLY go at each other.

Because despite their disdain of each other, I don’t think they hate each other as they like to proclaim. Chuuoku seems to know this feeling on Jakurai’s end as they dangle Ramuda’s well-being in front of him time and time again. Even if he can’t get along with Ramuda, he sure as fuck doesn’t want him DEAD. And it seems to get forgotten but Ramuda IS Jakurai’s MENTOR, the person that taught him to survive in the new direction of the world. Even if this was orchestrated, that bond still exists. And it’s not one-sided because I can’t imagine Ramuda being pleased with Jakurai willingly going with the bitches that made his life hell. He’d be pissed as to how Jakurai could roll over to them (as he might perceive) and his effort to keep Jakurai from them failing.

Phew...done...with the thing. But yeah in terms of like story/character....mmm, yeah that would have to go to MTR too. I really don’t feel like it’s BAT fault. I just think they’re at a disadvantage for coming new to a battle season.

#30 days of hypmic challenge #bad ass temple #matenrou #long post #I'm so sorry at the length #and dissolving into gibberish #kuko harai #jyushi aimono #hitoya amaguni #jakurai jinguji #hifumi izanami #doppo kannonzaka

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natsubeatsrock · 3 years

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Did Mashima fridge Juvia?

Well, it was only a matter of time.

I knew I would have to talk about this some year on August 31st. It just happens that this is the year.

For those who don't know, today is a special day in this blog's history. Six years ago, I made a long post talking about Juvia. Most notably, I was fearful about the possibility that Juvia would die. A year later, I was reacting to chapter 499, where Juvia was presumed to have died. Since then, I've used this day to talk about Juvia dying in some way or another.

Last year, I mentioned that I wasn't willing to open this can of worms. And yet, here we are. To be honest, I figured that this was a topic worth talking about, but not in that post. I was already planning to dive into that this year.

To start, let's talk about the term.

Flashback to 1994. In issue 54 of Green Lantern, the main character walks into his apartment. His girlfriend has been killed and stuffed into a refrigerator by one of his enemies.

Five years later, [insert descriptor here] comic book writer Gail Simone took this incident as the impetus to note a trend in writing female characters in comics. They die or face serious bodily harm to advance the arcs of fellow male characters. She teamed up with other writers to start a website called "Women in Refrigerators". It's a list of female comic characters who fit this trope, to some degree or another. It's still up today, and you can see some more recent inclusions.

My own thoughts on this trope are mixed. I think that there's something to be said about one character's development coming at the expense of another character. Especially if that trend is decidedly gendered. Though, this argument is used in ways that come across in ways that are infuriatingly stupid and short-sighted. I've even seen it argued that women being harmed in fiction is inherently misogynistic. (Please don't make me talk about this.)

In any case, the argument has far exceeded the scope of comic books. (I say as if I'm not talking about comics.) This has been brought up in talking about media of all sorts. Video games, movies, television, and more. If a female character is placed in harm's way, people will argue whether or not she was fridged.

So, with that in mind, let's talk about Juvia's death.

Or false death?

I mean, we thought she was dead, but it turned out to be a fake-out.

Actually, let's talk about that. That happens to be a great place to start.

Does it count as being fridged if the serious effects were reversed?

I know that probably sounds like I'm splitting hairs. After all, it's not as if chapter 499 is wiped out of existence because we also got chapter 500. Mashima ultimately decided to kill Juvia. That's what should matter most to our discussion. Honestly, I might be inclined to buy this argument under normal circumstances. However, there happens to be a group of people who argue otherwise. They've convinced me that this is worth talking about.

Who are these horrible misogynists who would discount this kind of suffering on Juvia's part?

The people behind Women in Refrigerators.

At least, sort of?

As you might imagine, people have argued against the idea of this trope. To many people, more men have been harmed in fiction. In many cases, men in pain are treated as nothing special. In fact, there are examples of men dying to further the character arcs of female characters.

As a response to this, the website has included an article entitled "Dead Men Defrosting." Essentially, it doesn't matter if men do go through similar pain. There is a difference between these situations. In many cases, men who get fridged are eventually restored to their initial state. They gain their powers, are healed, or even come back to life. Women don't often get that same opportunity in comics.

Let's stop and think about Juvia's situation for a second. She was dead for all of one week, as far as fans are concerned. In canon, it was even less time. If Gray decided to stay behind for a few minutes, he also would have been healed by Wendy. In fact, with the continental connection to Tenrou Island, the whole scenario is forfeit. In hindsight, Juvia's life was never in danger.

So, could it be said that Juvia was truly fridged if she ended up being "defrosted"?

No, technically speaking.

Then again, I've been very critical of the writing of this. I've made many posts explaining why I think this was bad. Would ending the discussion here be the right thing to do? More importantly, is that the kind of resolution you clicked on this post to find?

There is also an elephant in the room. For better or worse, Women in Refrigerators also includes women whose states were corrected. Now, does this contradict the point they made regarding male characters? It’s starting to feel as though I should make a post about this trope on its own.

In any case, let’s ignore the fact that this didn’t actually stick. For the sake of this, let's assume that this does fall under the definition of fridging. Or, at least, that it could.

Did Mashima fridge Juvia?

To say that it did would mean that the death was done to move Gray's character arc. And... well... I mean...

Look, Gray is pushed to the edge of his sanity because he believes Juvia has died. That much is obvious, given the context of his rematch with Invel. I'm not willing to argue that this wasn't the case.

But...

I can't say that Juvia's death was so big a reason for Gray to change.

If we're talking about Gruvia, maybe it could be argued he decided to take Juvia's romantic feelings seriously after seeing her die. But that only works if you take his words in chapter 499 in the most literal sense possible. It's more likely that he already had feelings for Juvia and was ready to share them after the war ended.

Outside of that, because Juvia died, Gray fights Invel, who he blames for killing Juvia. When he beats the stuffing out of him, he finds out that Natsu was END and directs his fury towards him. They fight for a bit, but they're ultimately stopped. Once he finds out about the Natsu-Zeref death arrangement, he decides the best way to deal with the situation is to go through with Lost Iced Shell.

You could read this as Gray going through with Lost Iced Shell because of Juvia. If Juvia didn't die (but not really), Gray wouldn't think to go use the spell. However, this view discounts Gray's stated motivations for using Lost Iced Shell: guilt over fighting Natsu and wanting to protect him from dying. Gray obviously regrets how the situation with Juvia went if the final chapter means anything. But Lost Iced Shell doesn't seem to be done because of Juvia. (I may rant about a comment I got about this some other day.)

And now, I will defy conventional wisdom and make probably the most controversial argument possible about this moment. Juvia's sacrifice was for Juvia's character arc. Not Gray's.

It's worth remembering what Juvia's arc is. I know that fandom often questions what Juvia's arc is. However, I believe that her arc is best described as understanding love. When she first fights Gray, she says that she has no need for love. A few arcs later, she sacrifices herself because of her love for Fairy Tail.

The motivation for Juvia sacrificing herself for Gray is her love for Gray. No one questions Juvia's feelings for Gray. However, this moment shows that she's willing to sacrifice her own life for Gray. Do you think that Juvia would do this before Phantom Lord?

This isn't to say that I think Juvia's arc was well-written. It's easy to criticize Juvia's extravagant displays of love seem. Or how Juvia's love seems to center more around Gray than others. Or how there are ways to show that you love someone in non-romantic ways. And fans of the series have shared the problems they have with how Juvia's character was handled.

But we're not here to talk about those things. We're here to ask if Mashima "killed" Juvia for Gray's development. And, despite how bad I think the moment was, I can't say that Mashima did.

Consider I’m the one saying this. Like, it would be something if one of the bigger Gruvia blogs made this argument. (I feel as though a couple of them may have blocked me.) That’s something that could be expected. I’ve outright called this the worst moment in the series at one time. I’d love to tack on another reason not to like this moment.

But I can’t.

“That’s because you’re clearly against the idea of this trope existing, chauvanist pig!“

I’ll assume you missed the intro for the trope earlier in this post. I’m willing to admit that this does happen. In fact, I already talked about how I hate how Last Ages happened. Ultear got done way dirtier than Juvia did and didn’t have the effects reversed. Not to mention, it was ACTUALLY done to further Gray’s character.

In Conclusion:

I don’t think it’s a good idea to call what happened to Juvia “being fridged“. Even if Juvia were to have actually died.

#fairy tail #juvia lockser #fairy tail 499 #fairy tail 500 #i'm trying to be nice #why don't i have an august 31st tag?#i should have some type of tag #oh well...#should i write about fridging?#i'm not sure I should #and yet i very much want to #who knows #i have bigger fish to fry first...

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kemonododo · 4 years

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Decided to rewatch the whole series after seeing the finale, here's my thoughts as they come along part 3

There was an old He-man reboot that was cancelled after two seasons, season 3 was being set up as the horde conquering Eternia with He-man and his kingdom being forced into hiding as rebels. Apparently She-Ra would also appear, though knowing that show she'd be lucky to be 1/4th as interesting or engaging as our Adora. I'm saying this because, even though that cartoon was cancelled before it could finish it's story, we were lucky enough to see ours to it's end and in a way that story they wanted to tell exists here with us now. Plus I always disliked that they called themselves "The Rebellion" when they weren't really rebelling against anything, but they are now!

Poor Adora, even after all this time she still has that hero complex eating away at her, telling her she's useless unless she's serving others.

Entrapta's ramblings about space this season are very relatable.

Catra's face when she sees Glimmer be manipulated, you can see so much behind her eyes. Fear for her standing, flashbacks to her own manipulation, shock at how unprepared Glimmer is for this. Love how Horde Prime sees right through her afterwards, she has no power over him.

Poor Entrapta, she hasn't been with the other princesses since season 1, they're opinion of her has been soured by her betrayal and appearance to not care. We know she loves her friends and is trying her best, but the wound is still sore.

Horde Prime using Glimmer's dad as a bargaining chip is extra horrible when you remember that this is when she discovers he's alive.

It's great that the show takes a moment to allow Adora to come to grips with no longer having a clear destiny she can follow. She's so used to being told what to do, this is the first time she's truly making her own decisions. Agency that Shadow Weaver begins to take away from her later.

I love Catra's internal struggles in these first few episodes. She's trying to do what she's been doing, working her way up the ladder, but she can't. Not anymore. Her heart isn't in it, she knows this isn't what she wants, she's just going through the motions. Spending time with Glimmer is the only thing she enjoys, she finally slows down for a moment to just enjoy someone's company and really bond. Her turn to good isn't a 180, we see her mind working and how she comes to the decision of sacrificing herself. Seeing that Horde Prime is a complete psychopath helped of course.

I love how Horde Prime's ship has star themed beds.

I don't know how they did it, but they made Hordak recognizable among the other clones. It's like twins, once you get to know them the difference is obvious. You can look at a clone and see he's Hordak, yet he looks identical to the others. It's remarkable.

These flashbacks Catra has, wandering the empty corridors that her decisions have left her in, it's a testimony to how far she's come that they don't reaffirm Adora's betrayal to her anymore. She wants to absolve herself of her sins, and she decides a sacrifice is the best way. She wants to go out on one good grace, redemption by death, but that action and her apology is what makes Adora sure she still has good in her. Catra has shown she is willing to be good, and that alone is enough for Adora to give her another chance.

This is the first time the best friend squad has been together since Glimmer pulled the queen card, a lot of the wounds are still fresh. I definitely think this is the point Bow and her truly realize they love each other, they probably had a schoolyard crush but the realization of where they are without each other and how much they mean to each other, something really deep sparked here.

The Star Siblings are here to show what life under Prime is like, but also as a quick show of the Rebellion's message expanding. That's a little underdeveloped though, which is mostly a product of time.

Adora's little "she's not my friend" bit is adorable but a bit out of place imo, Adora hasn't really been this outwardly lovestruck over Catra before, and while Adora has decided to give her another chance I don't think that reignition of love would have happened yet.

The thought that Entrapta went out to find that LUVD crystal to bring with her in the slightest hope she would find Hordak and that he would recognize it. Plus the noises she makes and the fact she immediately adopts Wrong Hordak and that we get to see her without her mask, ah she is so cute!

Hive Mind Catra is terrifying and tragic, it feels so violating. He talks about how she wanted Adora to save her, how afraid she was when she was assimilated. We see that numbness and how it would seem appealing to her, but under the cracks Catra is still suffering, and Adora promises to bring her back, tells her how much she cares about her, transforms into She-Ra to save her. And finally, they are together again.

I love Adora constantly checking on Catra, this is the first time in years she has been with her, she just wants to be with her. Catra starts falling back into her old ways though, that anger still persistent, and Adora's honeymoon phase is over already and for a second we're all afraid nothing has changed. You can see Catra doesn't want to make that mistake again, and she finally lets Adora help her, and likewise Adora finally steps back and lets Catra help her too. They've both grown so much, and that growth is what allows their relationship to blossom.

It's great that Spinnerella and Netossa get their time to shine this season. Their arc here parallels Catra and Adora's earlier, and I would say it's unfortunate they have to go through this, but I love the angst.

Double Trouble! Back for a five minute appearance where they admittedly don't do much, but hey they're fun to watch and have some great lines so it's worth it.

Catra in a healthy relationship, with friends that don't fear her and people she sees as equals. People she can just joke around with and be teased by. You love to see it.

Melog is a pretty important addition, as he gives Catra someone that she can fully trust without the baggage from before. He's literally her therapy support pet, and he's the one that stops her from running away again.

Shadow Weaver's little speech here is great, she's been told that the First One's made the magic stronger when they did the exact opposite. It's a commentary on colonialism, "we brought you civilization, our conquest was good actually" is a very common lie.

Catra holding Adora's hand, Glitra kiss, Best Friend Squad hug, Catra's smirk when Adora says she's right. You love to see it.

I love how Noelle made a self-insert character and also decided she should be evil. "So the only person I'm fighting here is... My own wife" is a mega ouch.

I love Wrong Hordak so much, he not only shows how the Horde Clones are just regular people without the influence of Prime but he is also ridiculously cute.

Did I mention how much I love the new She-Ra look? I liked the old one but damn this blows it out of the park.

I will admit the Heart having a failsafe a d Mara having a rebellion of her own is a bit out of nowhere, but it was a nice reveal of the origin of Grayskull.

I'm a huge sucker for friendship saving the day messages I admit. Not the rainbow lazer kind, but that love and kindness reaching through Prime's control is beautiful. Plus it's wonderful for Catra to see what real friendship is like.

This is a great little moment with Castaspella and Glimmer, this is the first time they've seen Micah since his death.

I love Shadow Weaver so much, she sees Adora and immediately shifts into child manipulation mode. This is the first time I'm actually getting pissed at her though, obviously because she's starting to drive her chisel between Catradora but also because she's reversing all the development Adora has had up until this point.

Hordak: "Go, then maybe these memories and imperfections will leave me " Entrapta: "Remember, your imperfections are beautiful!" The fuck I'm crying in the club again.

I love this Catradora moment, "what do you want Adora" "I have to do this". Obviously their relationship isn't going to be easy after all these years, and both these girl's flaws and insecurities are flaring up again and driving each other apart.

Adora tells off Shadow Weaver for good, she ruins people. This is a huge moment for this character, SW has convinced herself she is the good guy and that she is making the necessary actions to save the world, but this is the one moment she really looks back at herself.

"Adora chose Shadow Weaver, not me. Adora doesn't want me, not like I want her" oof ouch my soul. That with Adora's memories, it's clear they can't just go back to the way it was anymore. They're love is too important to them now.

My headcanon is that Shadow Weaver is drunk here. She's slurring, she's drinking, her daughter is going to sacrifice herself. Maybe her decision to die was one she made totally wasted lol.

Catra promised Adora she'd look out for her, and the soft version of the promise song in the background. Ow ow ow ow my heart.

Glimbow canon!

Mara is here, telling Adora the same thing Razz told her in the 3rd episode of the entire show. Stop looking for what other people tell you to do, you have a choice.

Spinnetossa, Seamista, Entrapdak. It's cliche, but love conquers all is a message I'll never tire from.

I started tearing up with the Glimmer Micah fight, and full on sobbing when Angella appeared. Something that didn't really stop.

I was mixed on SW's sacrifice, but I think it works. Each of them were trying to take the selfish way out, to die for the ones they love. So it's fitting that SW is the one that does it.

Fuck yeah Hordak! What a monumentous but short lived moment.

CATRADORA!!! God, the confession, how Catra whispers it but how Adora hears it as a scream, how it wasn't Catra that made Adora weak but infact the exact opposite, how they're both so surprised and relieved that these feelings they've felt for years are real and strong and true and reciprocated. It's the best conclusion possible for them and it makes me cry so much.

This beautiful moment, where Adora saves Hordak, the ultimate repayal for him saving her all those years ago. He remembers her. Fuck I'm sobbing again.

Scorpia sees Catra again after leaving her, and of course she hugs her.

And it's over. The best show ever made. Netflix automatically resets your watch history and here I am looking at the button to play Season 1 Episode 1 again. This 1 and a half year journey feels like a millenia, it feels so long ago that Adora first picked up that sword. This is a show I will cherish forever, I can see myself binge watching in the retirement home already.

#she ra #spop #analysis

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guyinlovewitheremika · 4 years

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Having finished my rewatch of the first 5 episodes of Part 1, some overall thoughts/personal opinions -Whilst the restructuring of Uprising definitely cost a lot of good scenes and interactions, and certainly makes some of the episodes feel quite choppy and all over the place (particularly the first one), overall I do think it improves the pacing quite a bit and also adds a little more narrative structure to these early episodes, something I think was really quite lacking in the first 2 volumes of the arc in the manga -In particular I like the little added scenes of the government officials schemeing in their throne room--it makes the threat the SC faces and is in conflict with more tangible and focused, and these scenes very nicely lead to their climax in Erwin’s trial, which was beautifully animated and pretty well directed overall (something I definitely can’t say all that often in season 3) -Levi vs Kenny being pushed to the start of the season really adds that initial hook that I feel was missing before-and its brought to life in a much more exciting and engaging way than it was in the manga imo. It’s one of the most impressive piece of animation in the show, Arifumi’s work is insane. I do wish the whole fight could’ve been in the same episode, to avoid the choppy editing that happens now that it starts at the end of ep 38, picks up before the opening in 39, continues after the opening, and concludes in a flashback after the mid episode intermission. Having all of this be one uninterrupted sequence would’ve made it more enjoyable for me personally, but I understand them sacrificing this for creating that initial hook. Hopefully the recap movie might actually edit this all together in one go. -A lot of the dialogue is shot very flat, a lot of shot/reverse shot/closeup, the camera pretty rarely does or shows anything super interesting which is unfortunate. Every shot that looks a bit more unique (like Erwin lighting the candle, Historia in the carriage during his talk with Pixis) stands out a lot more because of this which is cool I guess? but it also just really goes to show just how uninspired and stale the direction has become in season 3, a problem that especially carries over into part 2. I don’t really blame anyone on the creative team for that as WIT was working on such a tight schedule with both parts, but it’s still unfortunate. Attack on Titan exists in this weird space where the least climactic, intense material (season 1) has the wildest and most intense direction, but then season 3 which deals with arguably a lot of the largest and most significant story and character developments also has the tamest/most toned down direction in the whole show (will definitely talk more about that when I get to part 2). Thankfully there are still a few upcoming bright spots I’m excited to get into again. -The music usage itself could be a little better timed every now and then, especially during Levi vs Kenny’s squad, but the actual soundtrack itself is a wonderful mix of both showcasing this very different part of Attack on titan and feeling very unique as a result, while still fitting in with the overall soundscape. I’m glad a lot of the part 1 music returned in part 2 and I hope we keep hearing it in TFS as well. Overall it’s an enjoyable part of the adaptation. Uprising was never my favorite arc in the manga, and whilst I think the anime fixes some issues, it also creates new ones, and some problems from the manga carry over. Both are flawed in their own way, both do some things really well however. I’m definitely looking forward to rewatching the mid section of this part as it’s generally always been my favorite.

#guy watches s3 #I feel like I sound more critical than I mean to #I dont think it's bad at all #I really appreciate a lot of the restructuring efforts #sequences like levi v kenny and the trial are much better here #but a lot of scenes are also bogged by stale direction and not having the greatest art #it still looks good but #not as good as it couldve #man season 2 really spoiled us I feel like #it had the best balance of #sometimes restrained sometimes expressive direction #additional scenes not seen in the manga #and consistently high quality animation #and like #season 2 doesnt even have consistent animation quality lmao #but it still has so many ambitions shots every episode #it was a blessing #I hope tfs manages to come close I really really do

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a-skyfull-of-starz · 4 years

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Anime in the Time of Quarantine

This fine quarantine period, I have made it my mission to watch as much anime as possible, because I don’t know, I guess it’s better than wallowing in self-pity. Here’s a list of everything I’ve watched to date and how much I recommend them, because I don’t know, I’m bored or something.

This list does not contain anime I’ve previously watched, because that would make it normal life anime. So don’t ask me why Shingeki no Kyojin is not on the list. Of course it remains my favourite and I will continue to recommend it until my dying breath.

Also, this list is ordered in the order I watched them in, and does not reflect any standing other than that. Also also, I get bored really easily, so if an anime doesn’t grab me immediately, chances are I’ll close it very quickly. I’ve started a lot more anime than is on this list but got bored and closed it. Hence, this list is almost entirely positive recommendations. Also also also (I swear this is the last clarifier), I’ve been in a slice of life kind of mood, because my slice of life is boring and uninteresting to the extreme, so that genre is kind of over-represented here. So with that being said, on to the list (sorry that it’s so long, I have an issue with verbosity).

Stein’s Gate: I started watching Stein’s Gate two years ago, but didn’t make it past the five minute mark, because I just didn’t get it. I started watching it again a few weeks ago, and I still didn’t get it, but I persevered because I was bored and high on chocolate. By the end of the first episode…I still didn’t get it. I continued to not get it until probably midway through the third episode, but when I got it, holy hell did it hit hard. I absolutely enjoyed every second of this anime. I loved watching Okabe’s journey from imagined insanity into actual insanity and then back again. He went on a true hero’s journey, and I loved every second of it. Miyano Mamoru gives a masterful performance (I always watch the subbed animes, and I recommend that everyone else does too). The chemistry between Okabe and Kurisu is probably the best in anime that I’ve watched thus far (sorry Asuna and Kirito, your time has finally come). This anime is rich with emotion, humour, tragedy, (some) romance, friendship, mad scientists and beautiful characters. If you can stand being confused for the first three episodes, this anime will be an incredibly rewarding journey for you. I highly recommend it.

Ao Haru Ride/Blue Spring Ride: I saw a clip of this anime in a seiyuu video and I fell in love with the art style and decided to give it a watch. I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, the plot is interesting, although having watched similar anime, a lot of it is kind of cliched. That being said, I did like the message of being true to yourself, no matter the cost. And I appreciated the fact that Futaba (our main hero) wasn’t a stereotypical anime girl (although she really does cry a lot and I agree with Kou that it is annoying). I found Kou (our love interest) a very interesting and compelling character. The clear winner of this anime though is the art style. It is beautiful to look at. Unfortunately, the first season ends on kind of a cliffhanger, and there doesn’t appear to be a second season coming any time soon, which is really disappointing. If you like high school romance stories with an edgy bad boy in it, then this is the anime for you, but don’t expect a satisfying ending, because, well, there isn’t one.

Stein’s Gate 0: I watched this because my friend said that it made her cry after every episode (I personally didn’t think Stein’s Gate needed a sequel, but oh well). Based on her recommendation, I went in with high expectations, which were kind of mostly unmet. The plot was way more confusing, less compelling, it felt like the stakes weren’t that high, mostly because they were only introduced way later in the series (I know Stein’s Gate did the same thing, but it somehow felt more shoved in with this one) and because we already knew how it would end. Also the ending felt incredibly rushed. The only episode I really wholeheartedly enjoyed was the reunion between Kurisu and Okabe (sounds weird out of context, but I’m trying to remain spoiler free). For the rest, I was left with mixed feelings, although I have to say, I probably love Okabe even more in Stein’s Gate 0 and Miyano Mamoru gives us another stunning performance. I would probably have been happier if this entire series had just consisted of Okabe trying to move on from the fallout of what happened in Stein’s Gate and there was no drama of World War III. So, I guess if you’re curious to see what happens if Okabe does not look for Stein’s Gate in the previous season, this is for you. Honestly though, I’d probably be happier if I hadn’t watched Stein’s Gate 0.

Shigatsu wo Kimi no Uso/Your lie in April: THIS ANIME OH MY GOSH!!!! I did not even know that this anime existed until I saw it on Kaji Yuki’s Wikipedia page (I’m a fan, so what?). He’s barely in this by the way, but that doesn’t matter, because this anime is amazing. I knew how it ended because I unfortunately saw spoilers when I was reading what the plot was about when I was deciding whether or not to watch this, and I still cried for about an hour after the ending (and I don’t cry easily, especially not with anime). The writing here is probably the best in any anime I’ve watched (yes, better than SNK, the king has been toppled from his throne), the soundtrack is amazing (I’ve been listening to it on repeat for a week now), the acting is beautiful, the artwork is gorgeous (apart from Kosei’s disappearing glass frame, that was weird), and all around, this anime is just…perfect. If you enjoy teenage romance and drama, if you love classical music, if you feel like bawling your eyes out for an hour because right now your life is pretty boring and pointless, then this is the anime for you. And even if you aren’t any of those things listed, I still recommend this anime because it is gorgeous and deserves recognition for how incredible it is.

Welcome to the NHK: this is probably the direct opposite of Shigatsu wo Kimi no Uso in every way possible. I haven’t finished this anime yet because it is extremely heavy, and I can only manage two episodes a night, but I still highly recommend it. It’s a fascinating take on a lot of modern Japanese culture, specifically surrounding mental health, the hentai industry and consumerism. It’s also got a lot of black comedy in it, which I love. All in all (and depending on the ending of the series), I highly recommend this one for its interesting writing and plot and excellent acting.

Lovely Complex: honestly, this anime sort of crept into my heart as one of the most adorable, refreshing, hilarious and unexpected love stories of all time. It basically tells the story of two idiot friends who slowly realise they’re in love with each other, how this impacts their friendship and how they navigate the very dark waters of teen romance. If you’re looking for an uncliched high school romance anime, where the heroine is the opposite of a cute anime girl, where the broody handsome guy is not the object of our affection and where you get flashbacks of just how dumb you were as a teenager and how grateful you are to be out of that age group (if you’re my age I mean, I’m mostly talking about myself here), then this is definitely the anime for you. Also, the opening song is ska, how cool is that?

Orange: another time traveling story, except the time traveling is even more confusing here. Just kidding, the time traveling is probably the least interesting part of this story, which examines suicide, depression, guilt and bullying, and does it in a pretty mature way. Our hero (dear lovely confused Naho) is unfortunately not very smart, but that’s ok, because she has Suwa, the best human being in the whole world, to help her out. Honestly, this story would have ended very differently if Suwa had not been around and he deserves every award that can possibly be given to amazing human beings. This anime is sort of 13 Reasons Why, but in reverse, less exploitative and with better friends (you’ll understand what I mean when you watch it). If you aren’t going to be triggered by discussions of suicide, depression and bullying, then I really do recommend this, as it is very interesting, well-performed, and largely well-handled.

So that’s my anime watch list thus far. I plan to finish Welcome to the NHK soon, and then start watching Mushishi, as I’ve heard a lot of great things about it. Also, now that you guys have seen what my tastes are, I would love it if I could get more recommendations. Lord knows, I’m not going to be doing anything else until I can find a way home, so I might as well expand my horizons. Also also…no, that’s it. Have a good quarantine folks!

#anime #stein's gate #ao haru ride #stein's gate 0 #shigatsu wa kimi no uso #lovely complex #welcome to the nhk #orange #anime recommendation #anime review #quarantine thoughts #gimme recs please #textpost

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angelofthequeers · 4 years

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Hold Me By Both Hands: Chapter 49

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Thank you SO much to everyone that’s stuck with this fic and read it to the very end!

@smolplantmum tagged as requested :)

Chapter 48 | AO3 link

“Selfish! Selfish!”

“Don’t you love me anymore, Adrien? Don’t you love your mother? All it takes is a wish –”

Cold, numb, frozen, not Adrien, not Chat Noir, no one, he’s no one, can’t feel, can’t see, can’t breathe, help, help, someone help –

Adrien gasps and jolts when the underground garden vanishes before his eyes and is instead replaced with a dark room, with unsynced breathing and warm weight all around him. Oh. Oh. Right. He’s not trapped underground with Hawkmoth and his dying zompire mother, her skin grey and black and wizened in the nightmare that haunts him every night. He’s in Marinette’s room, in the middle of a gigantic blanket pile on the floor, with Marinette snoring into his hair, Luka clinging to his left arm for dear life, and Kagami appearing to have an arm slung around Marinette’s waist, from what he can make out in the darkness.

He’s safe. He’s safe. But every time he closes his eyes, he can’t escape: from the comatose mother who couldn’t be revived due to the degree of Miraculous damage from the Peacock, whose funeral had apparently been earlier that week, though he remembers absolutely none of it; from the father who’d been sentenced to life in prison only yesterday in possibly the quickest trial ever held, the universe stripping him of both parents in the span of two weeks, and even Nathalie, who’s taken up damage control for the company but who’s never at the mansion anymore; from the chill, the freezing cold emptiness that plagues him when he least expects it, remnants of the akumatisation that he can’t remember. Have the last two weeks even happened? Or has he just been stuck in one, long, disjointed dream, to wake up before he becomes Phantom and to realise that he has to go through this all over again?

“Are you okay, Mr Adrien?” whispers a small voice. Something small snuggles into the crook of his neck, and Adrien’s breath catches in his chest until he reaches up to feel the softness of fairy wings and realises that it’s Nooroo.

“Sorry I woke you,” Adrien murmurs. Thank god none of the others had awoken, because they’ve been jerked awake enough times lately from his nightmares and there’s no sense in them being as miserably bone-tired as he’s been since Hawkmoth’s defeat.

“You didn’t wake me,” Nooroo says. “I can feel your emotional pain, so I’ve been staying awake to keep watch over you.”

“You don’t have to –”

“I do, Mr Adrien. I’m…I’m the reason why…”

Adrien shakes his head. Careful not to wake his partners, he untangles himself from Marinette and Luka’s grips and then tiptoes over to Marinette’s bed to climb out onto the balcony through the hatch. The Parisian night air is cool but not freezing, thank god, because staying in the cold for too long now makes Adrien’s heart race for reasons he can only assume are akuma-related.

“It wasn’t your fault, Nooroo,” Adrien finally says once Nooroo’s snuggling in under his shirt. There’s a flash of black and green out of the corner of his eye and then Plagg’s joining them, wriggling in on Adrien’s other side and purring against Adrien’s collar. Adrien slumps in his seat and hugs his knees to his chest, shivering when the cool breeze brushes over his bare feet.

“But it was my akuma, Mr Adrien. If it wasn’t for me –”

“Could you help it? Could you stop Father from transforming and akumatising people?”

“N-No…I tried to sway him, to push him away from evil, but he wouldn’t listen. And we kwamis are bound to obey our masters.”

“Then how is it your fault?” Adrien reaches up to cup Nooroo with one hand, then hugs Plagg with his other hand so that his own kwami isn’t left out. “You did all you could. He’s the one who chose to do that. He’s the one who went that far to get Mother back instead of moving on like a normal person. He’s…I feel like the worst son ever for even thinking this, but I’m glad he’s gone. I’m glad I don’t ever have to see him again. And then I remind myself that he was doing the best he could –”

“Nah,” Plagg says. “He really wasn’t. If he was, he wouldn’t’ve grabbed Nooroo in the first place. And you’re not a bad person for feeling that way, kid. He akumatised you. You can play pretend all you want, but you know how violating it is to be akumatised like that. The Butterfly’s meant to empower you, not do…that. And every other friend of yours can back you up, except for Pigtails and Guitar Boy, and Hawkdick didn’t go tormenting everyone else like he did with you.”

“Plagg –”

“Adrien. Kid.” Plagg wriggles free of Adrien’s hand so that he can float up in front of Adrien’s face, his bright green eyes holding Adrien’s gaze captive. “There’s nothing wrong with admitting you need help. You tried to deal with Lila’s touchy crap by yourself and look where that got you till you listened to your friends. I get your dad’s a massive pile of dicks and taught you that you can’t speak up when you don’t like something or when you need help, but he was wrong. You got those amazing partners down there and you got friends that’ll have your back through thick and thin. Lean on ‘em, kid. They’re there to take some of the weight.”

“But…” Adrien blinks rapidly to try and quell the stinging in his eyes, but it just causes the tears to well up faster. “If I admit I need help…Plagg, I won’t ever stop asking. What if it gets too much? What if they can’t handle me? I don’t think I could bear to lose them.”

“They won’t, Mr Adrien,” Nooroo says, still snuggling against Adrien. “I’ve felt their emotions since I bonded with Master Luka. They all care so much for you and all they want to do is help. And you’ll be there to help them in return when they need help. That’s what makes you partners and best friends.”

“Okay, but even if I said you were right – which you’re not – it’s, like, one in the morning,” Adrien says. “I can’t wake them up just for my angst.”

“Why not? You’d insist they wake you if the roles were reversed,” Plagg drawls. “And the fact that you’re calling trauma angst really says a lot about your daddy dearest.” Then he phases through the floor before Adrien can even begin to process that.

“Plagg!” Adrien hisses. “No – don’t you dare – I swear –” He groans and crosses his arms. “Stupid cat. Sometimes, I wish he’d just do what I tell him to do.”

“Trust me, you don’t want that at all,” Nooroo whispers. It only takes a moment of frowning down at the kwami for Adrien to realise the implications of what he’d just said.

“Oh, no, no!” Adrien reaches up to cup Nooroo again. “No, Nooroo, I don’t mean – it’s just something I say when I’m frustrated. God, I’d never…I could never treat him like that.”

“I know, Mr Adrien. I suppose I was just…reminded of unpleasant memories.”

“Adrien?” The hatch door creaks open and a mess of black hair pokes out, accompanied by bleary grey eyes, and holy crap, how can Marinette be so beautiful even when she’s half-asleep? “Plagg said you needed us?”

“I don’t need you,” Adrien snaps. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean – goddammit, Plagg!”

Marinette’s face softens and she holds out a hand. “Come back to bed, kitty,” she says. “Even if you don’t need us, it’s okay to want us.”

“But –”

“Adrien Agreste, if you’re trying to be a martyr, I give Marinette full permission to throw you off the balcony,” calls Kagami’s voice from inside the room. Adrien can’t hold back his snort at that, and that’s the opening that Marinette needs to climb half-out of her room and latch onto his ankle.

“I’ll stay here all night if I have to,” she says. A pair of arms rise out of the hatch to slip around her waist.

“Tell us when to start pulling,” Luka’s voice says. “We’ll get this cat on a leash one way or another.”

A burst of laughter splutters out of Adrien. He fails to hold back another one, then he’s devolving into such a hysterical fit of laughter that he slides out of his seat and ends up on his back on the cool concrete. Somewhere in the middle of his breakdown, his laughter turns to choked sobs, then the dam bursts and tears start streaming down his cheeks for the first time since before his mother had disappeared.

“Shh,” murmurs a voice, enveloping him in warmth, along with arms and skin and rustling clothes all around him. “It’s okay, Adrien. Let it out.”

He’s not sure which one of his partners had said that. Maybe it doesn’t matter. Not when they’re all there for him, each one supporting him all the same but bringing different warmth, different light waves, to him. Luka’s a vivid indigo, somehow both freezing and scorching at the same time, but not the kind of freezing that threatens to pitch him into unwanted flashbacks. Kagami’s a warm gold, fiery and brilliant but also subdued enough to dim herself when needed, to avoid overload. And Marinette’s a deep scarlet, hot and full of passion, throwing herself into life with everything she has no matter her guise, much more a crackling wildfire than a hurricane now that he knows her so much better. And maybe that’s why he loves them so much.

“We can’t thank you enough, Chloé,” Luka says once they’ve left Le Grand Paris to head back to Marinette’s place, with the Gorilla driving closely behind them. “I’m sure Adrien’s aunt is a wonderful person –”

“No need for pleasantries,” Chloé scoffs. “Wonderful person or not, no way is Adrichat going to live with that aunt and cousin of his. As if anyone’s going to let Chat Noir move to England, especially when I’m the daughter of the mayor of Paris…”

Honestly, most of what Chloé’s saying is going in one ear and out the other for Marinette. All she can focus on is the disturbing mix of both overwhelming emotion and suffocating numbness radiating off Adrien, easily detectable even without the empathetic abilities that Luka has or the little purple brooch that’s fastened to his jacket, disguised among other pins. But Marinette doesn’t have a clue what to do. How are you supposed to help someone who’s mourning their mother for a second time and whose father tortured them and now won’t ever see them again?

“The Gorilla’s cool,” Adrien says with a weak smile. “He knows I’ll be at Marinette’s or Luka’s or Kagami’s a lot of the time.”

“Or at my hotel,” Chloé supplies.

“Yeah, that. He doesn’t really care where I am so long as, well…he knows I’m okay, I guess. Physically,” Adrien adds just as Luka opens his mouth. “Thanks for helping him get custody, Chlo.”

“Hmph. Of course.” Chloé flips her ponytail. “I’ve known him for as long as I’ve known you. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to take care of you, Adrichat.”

“Sometimes, I wonder if Gorilla and Nathalie are the only two adults who ever cared about me.” Adrien’s shoulders slump. “Mother can’t have cared that much if – if she kept using the Peacock –”

“Hey.” Marinette stops and grabs Adrien’s hand. Kagami grabs his other hand and Luka, being the tallest, just wraps all three of them in a hug on the spot. There’s a little huff from Chloé, but she doesn’t complain about being left out like she might have just a few months ago.

“You don’t have to forgive her,” Luka says. “You don’t ever have to be okay with what happened.”

“Just so long as you don’t try to be a martyr and push us away,” Kagami says. “You’re so annoyingly self-sacrificing.”

“Yep, that’s Adrikins to a tee,” Chloé drawls. “Okay, like, can I have my best friend back?”

After a few moments, Marinette, Luka, and Kagami release Adrien to let him gulp in shuddering breaths. Chloé jumps onto his back, just like when she used to tackle and cling to him, except that this time, Adrien’s arms fly back to grab Chloé and hold her securely as she wraps her legs around his waist and clings to him like a monkey.

“Are you…giving her a piggyback?” Marinette splutters. Chloé flips her off.

“Buzz off, Dupain-Cheng. Adrien and I used to do this all the time as kids.”

“I just don’t think any of us imagined that Chloé Bourgeois would enjoy piggyback rides,” Kagami drawls. Chloé pokes her tongue out in response.

“If I never see my mother again and cop her “ridiculously childish” lectures, it’ll be too soon,” Chloé says. “Thank god she fucked off back to New York. I’ve never felt this light in years, and I didn’t even realise till now.”

“Last time I gave Chlo a piggyback was when we were nine,” Adrien says, nearly tripping over a crack in the sidewalk. Chloé shrieks and tightens her arms and legs so much that he chokes until she loosens her grip. “Then she sniffed at me and said that only babies did that, but she was a young lady.”

“Are you sure that you’re –” Marinette begins.

“The only reason I won’t deck you if you finish that sentence is because you’re Ladybug,” Chloé says without even looking at Marinette. Marinette’s pretty sure that it’s more to do with not wanting to upset Adrien by attempting to murder one of his girlfriends, but she manages to hold her tongue. Just.

“Please don’t kill my lady,” Adrien jokes, but the twitch of his lips is weak. Marinette and Chloé exchange looks, then come to an unspoken truce.

“Look, Adrikins, you’re not gonna be alone, alright?” Chloé says with an uncharacteristically soft look. “It’s not just me and your fucked-up father anymore.”

“You were nowhere near as bad as him,” Adrien says. Chloé just shrugs.

“Well, you’ve also got those three. And you’ve also got the Ladyblogger and DJ Tupac. I’m not gonna pretend I know how you’re feeling, but I do know what it’s like to have a parent put you through hell. As if I’d let you be alone.”

Adrien’s lips twitch and he stops outside the bakery and sets Chloé down so that he can hug her. “Thanks, Chlo,” he murmurs into her hair.

“Yeah, yeah, okay, enough with the mush!” Chloé protests, though she contradicts herself by moving her hands to his back to hug him. “I so don’t have time for this. Unlike you, I have places to be.”

“Really? Like where?” Kagami says. Chloé raises a perfect eyebrow.

“I…may be hanging out with Kubdel,” she mutters. Kagami tilts her head with an innocent smile.

“I didn’t hear you. Could you speak up?”

“I’m hanging out with Alix Kubdel because I’ve been thinking about her since the Sanguisuga thing, okay?” Chloé shrieks. With a huff, she crosses her arms and stalks off.

“Did I do something wrong?” Kagami says as Marinette holds the bakery doors open so that they can slip inside and head on upstairs. “I was only trying to tease her as a friend.”

“I guess it just wasn’t the right time?” Marinette says. Kagami sighs and looks down.

“I wish I could “read the room” better, as most people say. Now I have to go and apologise to her.”

“You can’t exactly help not being able to read the atmosphere sometimes.” Marinette waits until they’re in her bedroom to grab one of Kagami’s hands and squeeze, and Adrien takes her other arm and pulls her close. “What matters is that you realised you messed up and you need to apologise.”

“What Mari said.” Adrien leans down to kiss the top of Kagami’s head. Her cheeks pinken and she leans into his touch with a soft smile. “It did make me want to laugh, if that makes you feel better.”

“…A little, yes. We should –”

Whatever Kagami’s going to say is cut off by a colossal roar from outside that shakes the building and nearly sends them crashing to the floor. What the heck? An akuma? But that’s not possible! Luka and Nooroo are right here!

“It’s…a lava monster?” Luka says once all four of them have scrambled up onto Marinette’s balcony and are leaning over the railing to find the source of the sound a few streets away. “But how? I haven’t even tried to create any champions!”

“Oh.” Nooroo’s wings droop as he’s joined by Tikki, Plagg, and Longg. “It’s not an akuma. It’s a sentimonster.”

Marinette’s mouth dries until it’s more arid than a desert. “A sentimonster?” she croaks. “But that’s – the Peacock creates sentimonsters, and it’s not broken anymore since Master Fu got back from Tibet –”

“Indeed,” Longg sighs. “It seems that whoever has stolen Duusu and Roaar is Hawkmoth’s ally after all. It’s possible that we will also encounter a Tiger wielder, if this Peacock has an ally of their own.”

“Just when I thought it was all over,” Adrien groans.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Marinette takes his hand and runs her thumb over the back of it.

“I mean, I was kind of expecting it. I guess I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop since the Peacock and Tiger were stolen. But we’ve got something that the Peacock and Tiger wielders don’t have.” Adrien takes Marinette and Kagami’s hands, and Luka grabs Marinette’s free hand. “We’ve got each other.”

“That,” Marinette says, “was the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard, and I’m so exposing you in the group chat tonight.”

“But milady!” Adrien pouts. Marinette absolutely refuses to acknowledge the way her stomach flips and shivers at those kitty eyes, because there’s no way in hell she’s handing Adrien that victory. “I thought you loved me!”

“Oh my god, can you guys hurry the hell up?” Honeybee’s standing on the roof behind them with crossed arms, tapping her foot, as the four of them whirl around. “That thing’s not gonna ice itself! Shut up!” she splutters when Adrien grins at her for her joke.

“Ladybug! Chat Noir!” A slim figure with magenta-tipped brown hair and a tight magenta suit lands on the building next to the lava sentimonster. From this distance, the only details Marinette can make out are that her long hair is bunched near the end and her angular face is framed by two thick locks of brown hair. “Come out and give your Miraculouses up, or Mayura’s sentimonster and I, Felina, will destroy Paris! Where are you, Adrien?”

Adrien immediately throws himself to the ground in case the magenta girl – Felina, obviously the wielder of the Tiger Miraculous – happens to look his way.

“Looks like it’s time to introduce Morpho to the world, then,” Luka sighs. “Not that anyone will trust me. I’m pretty sure the sight of an akuma’s going to make them run the other way.”

“We did mention in our press conference that the Butterfly was in good hands now instead of evil,” Marinette says. “But yeah, I think Hawkmoth’s wounds are too deep to heal overnight. It can’t hurt to try, though.”

“We should transform before Honeybee Venoms us and throws us at the sentimonster,” Kagami says. Honeybee’s eye twitches.

“Don’t give me ideas. I’ll meet you losers there.”

Marinette grins at her partners as Honeybee leaps away. “Ready, guys?”

“But of course, bugaboo,” Adrien says from the balcony ground. “Plagg, claws out!”

“Always. Longg, bring the storm!”

“I’ll always have your backs. Nooroo, wings rise!”

Marinette’s grin widens at the sight of Chat Noir, Ryuuko, and Morpho before her. Morpho’s outfit is less formal and stuffy than Hawkmoth’s had been; his rich purple blazer is open over a button-down shirt that’s silver with black butterflies and artfully undone a few buttons down from his throat. The sleeves of both his blazer and shirt are rolled to his elbows and the lapels flare out like butterfly wings, and he also has a pair of black fingerless gloves and silver boots that rise halfway up his calves, over his tight indigo pants. His teal tips have turned the same rich purple as his blazer and, in contrast to his distressed formal outfit, his mask looks airy and delicate, with silver butterfly wings arching from the sides of his face, a silver butterfly body and antennae over his nose and forehead, and pale purple detailing that blends with the silver. The Butterfly Miraculous, now with four thin lilac spikes like wings, rests on his left breast.

“Not bad, Morpho,” Chat Noir says with his usual roguish wink. “I don’t know why you didn’t let us see this until now.”

“I was trying to get used to the fact that I had the same magic jewel as the major supervillain,” Morpho says dryly. “And it’s only the second time I’ve transformed.”

“Well, it suits you. A lot,” Marinette says. “It’s perfect for kicking sentimonster butt. Speaking of which…Tikki, spots on!”

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austencello · 4 years

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Crisis on Infinite Earths, Parts 1,2,3 - Arrow Music Notes

While many events and cameos took place during the first bunch of episodes, this review will focus primarily on Oliver’s journey and sacrifice…with a little detour about Smallville and Superman Returns near the end. (After all, John Williams themes were used. How can I not talk about that?)

Oliver Queen and Sacrifice

The whole of Season 8 has been leading up to Oliver Queen’s death. In fact, the biggest surprise to fans (including myself) was that it happened in the first episode. While many people had expectations for Crisis and the end of Arrow, one of mine was that the music “Sacrifice” would be used for Oliver’s death which we all knew would be a noble sacrifice to save many. I was quite pleased to hear that theme being used in that way. However, I was also correct in mu guess that his Arrow theme would be used as he died. But before we jump into that, I want to go through why “Sacrifice” was used for crucial moment but also in two other moments in Crisis.

Sometimes the titles of themes are just as important as the events they hearken back to but in this case, they are connected. This theme has been the journey of loss and becoming a hero for Oliver. The loss that made him a hero and overcoming guilt and grief. It intertwines saying goodbye to Tommy, his mother, Laurel, Sara, William and Felicity as well as the call to keep fighting, to choose good, and show the best parts of himself.

“Sacrifice”/“Not Going to Make it” was first heard in 1x23 (in strings) as everything came to a head with the Undertaking. Quentin said goodbye to Laurel telling that he loved her, about to sacrifice himself to save the city in trying to stop the earthquake machine, Roy and Thea saved people in the bus, and Tommy saved Laurel only to die himself. Oliver’s mission was to save the city not expecting to live but he failed. Not only that but he lost his best friend who had hated him and his vigilante life. This was not the sacrifice Oliver expected to happen and it rocked him to the core, staying with him and influencing him to no longer kill, to do things a new way.

Part of the theme within “Sacrifice” is “Just Listen” (1x08) where he showed Sara’s grave to Helena, recognizing that he hadn’t been a good person and how that affected those around him, including Sara’s death. This bit is also used in “I who Failed” (1x09), “Salvation” (1x18, when he saves Roy: “Give him a second chance”), “Killing Count” (2x07 - rescuing Felicity but breaking his vow to kill after Tommy’s death), “Reveal to Roy” (2x12 - revealing his identity to Roy to break him out of the Mirakiru haze), “Taking a Hand” (4x13 - defeating Malcolm for good, bringing things full circle from his fight in 1x23), and in 6x13 when Oliver saved William and the city from a bomb attack by Cayden James. This part of the theme is a theme of both failures and second chances, saving those he loved and providing justice as well. It is the actions of a man becoming a hero, believing in others, providing protection and safety, getting up from failures and trying again.

The inner part of “Just Listen” and his guilt over Sara’s death spills over into the future, alternate earth Oliver. “Sacrifice” plays both in Legends 1x06 when Sara meets the angrier bitter version and in the first Crisis episode as she speaks to a shaken, older, emptier Oliver who feels a great deal of guilt for bringing her on the Gambit. She tells him that it was destiny and her decision but also that they both became the best versions of themselves. Her (and our) Oliver became a hero, a father, and a husband while she is loving adventures through time and space. She reminds him that he is a good man on every earth (we are going to ignore the Nazi version for now).

While Sara gives hope to these broken future Olivers, it was Felicity who helped our Oliver grow in his hero journey, giving hope when he had about given up: “Oliver Gives Up”/The Essence of Heroism.” The electronic background is different for this version of the “Sacrifice” theme and a little slower in the strings but it still reflects Oliver’s despair mixed with light and hope, redeeming the theme of loss. Oliver sees no way to beat Slade, having lost his mother, seeing the city over run with Mirakiru soldiers, seeing no way other than his own death to save those he loves by giving up and over to Slade. Felicity reminds him that he is not done fighting, he is not alone, and then tells him that she believes in him. Tommy had hated him for being a vigilante but Felicity tells him that he is a hero, giving him strength with her faith in him. This theme of faith in the darkness returns in “One hand tied” in 2x23, where once again Oliver feels stuck in a corner seeing only one way for things to end and Felicity suggests a different way of making Slade outthink him. It is through this suggestion and belief that they defeat Slade together.

The theme returns in 4x18 during Laurel’s death “Canary flies away,” a reversal from 1x23 when Quentin was saying goodbye and now instead, it is Laurel who died. It also harkened back to the loss of Tommy in flashbacks to his funeral in 4x19 (in the piano) as Laurel spoke about how both she and Oliver loved him, the theme connecting Tommy’s death with how he saved Laurel and also how much Tommy’s death affected Oliver to the point where he couldn’t even fully attend the funeral. (Which also happened with his mother.) The loss of Laurel affected the whole team, this time leaving Quentin and Diggle with guilt, and Oliver with grief over losing someone close to him. He had grown enough to know that it was not his fault however and helped to recognize her as a hero to the city during her funeral.

A bit of “Sacrifice” plays at the end of “Leaving the Hallucination” (5x08) when Oliver leaves the alien hallucination, hearing the words and voices of all those that he lost and loved spurring him on to be the hero that he is, including Felicity’s words from 2x22. He could have stayed in a world where his parents were alive but he chose reality because his journey as a hero was not over yet.

Oliver becomes confronted with another kind of sacrifice as he faces trial and jail in 6x21 and 6x23. In 6x21, he doesn’t want to admit to being the Green Arrow and face prison because he was hoping for a life with Felicity and William at some point “Never a Normal Life.” Felicity reminds him that they fight for each other (harkening back to 2x22…you are not alone) but he cannot handle the idea of putting a target on them. The idea of losing her and William is intolerable. While he was acquitted for that moment, this comes back in 6x23: “What a cost.” He gives himself up to protect his family and the team, sacrificing himself to protect them as he says goodbye to William with Felicity in the background. Not quite sacrificing his life the way he expected to in 1x23 or 2x22 but still offering his life to protect those he loved most. It is an Oliver who fights to live for his family, who has been giving second chances in love and family. This is a man who has grown in accepting life and fighting for the good parts instead of just fighting the bad. This is emphasized in 7x21 as a dream/hallucination version of Tommy gives a speech of hope. While Tommy never came back from the grave, he has heard Tommy forgive him through dreams and the like. Here the theme “Sacrifice” returns again as Tommy tells Oliver to show the best parts of himself: loyalty, courage, selflessness, compassion.

These are the essences of being a hero and the core of who Oliver is and has become. The journey of loss and guilt turned his despairing guilt of sacrifice into selflessness, having courage to choose and put others first, having loyalty towards his friends like Barry and Kara, having compassion to save all earths. He had been confronted with the fact that his death could help save numerous earths including his wife and children. He knew that a sacrifice was necessary to help them survive, even more pressing now that he has his adult Mia in front of him. That is why Oliver didn’t hesitate to fight the time/space demons to help as many people survive the earth 38 evacuation. He had no idea that that was not the way the Monitor had foreseen his death. He took his future into his own hands, stoping the Monitor long enough to help a billion people survive even to his own demise. Which is why “Sacrifice” plays as Oliver fights even without arrows and facing them without a bow. It is the heart of a hero, fighting to give everything he has to protect others, sacrificing himself so that others might live. (Side note: this wasn’t my favorite musical version of this theme. I do realize the drum kit and electric bass gave it a cool badass aspect, harkening back to the pilot sound, but it didn’t carry the emotional weight that I would have liked. I did like that the melody was played in the heroic sound of the horns as well as the strings though. That was quite fitting).

Oliver’s actual death with Mia and the other heroes around him was a mixture of new and old music. A little bit of “Sacrifice” returns as the Monitor tells them that Oliver saved 1 billion people. A theme based on an upward scale in the violas and cellos played throughout. changing after the scale each time, matching his goodbyes to Barry and Kara versus goodbye to Mia. This natural minor scale (a minor scale that doesn’t change notes from the key signature) fits with the core sound and harmonic nature of Arrow since its inception. There are melodies throughout Arrow based on a scale in strings like “Honor Memory” (1x02) or “I forgot who I was” (1x05) and many of the repeating aspects of the fighting Arrow music include 4 notes of a scale since the pilot “Five Years”. So while using almost all of the scale is unusual, it still fits with the musical landscape especially as it is accompanied by horns (heroism) and toms (percussion) giving it a weight and gravitas. As he closes his eyes, the horn holds on to a major chord for a little bit giving Oliver a little peace in saying goodbye. What brings more pathos is changing the scale to a melodic minor scale after he dies. It’s almost jarring because it doesn’t fit with what we are used to, signifying that things aren’t right. The Arrow theme plays over it as the Monitor tells them it wasn’t supposed to be like that. It highlights the tragedy of losing our beloved hero too soon, both for the team but also for us as an audience. A bell also tolls at the beginning of that scale after Oliver’s death. The horn plays Oliver’s hero theme as it pans away looking at Oliver.

As tragic as this was, it turned out not to be the end of Oliver’s journey. Mia, Sara, Barry, Constantine, and Diggle all work on bringing back Oliver (more on that in a bit). After they find Oliver’s soul in purgatory and bring him back to himself, they meet the Spectre (Jim Corrigan) who tells Oliver that it is his destiny to become Spectre to save everyone. As this happens, the version of “Sacrifice”/“Never a Normal Life” plays as Oliver tells Diggle and Mia that it is ok. He chooses to sacrifice coming back with his closest friend/brother and his daughter to once again save them all. Mia begins to say “I love you” but is cut off as they disappear back to the ship, telling Sara that he chose to stay behind. Each time, it is a choice that Oliver has to make and he does so willingly because Oliver loves deeply and will do what is right to save others no matter the cost.

Oliver, Sara, and Mia

Near the beginning of Crisis, Sara and Oliver have a brief moment together on Earth 38 where Sara comments on parent Oliver and while it is a little weird, it looks good on him. The theme “The Real Me” (2x01) plays in the horn which first played when Oliver started to fit into his cooperate job, bringing in Walter against Isabel, having family to help him. She comments that he isn’t what he seemed to be and he answers that most people fail to see the real him. Many people had an idea of what Oliver seemed to be but Sara is one of the few who has known Oliver the longest in all his forms: playboy, vigilante, now a parent. Sara and Oliver genuinely care about each other and have been through the good, the bad, and the ugly. She is happy to see this new side of her friend.

Oliver also has a brief moment with Mia, giving her own Green Arrow suit as a variation of Oliver’s hero horn theme (no 2 - the descending one) plays. Drum-kit and strings play, giving a sound of new beginnings (drum-kit was used in the pilot as we see Oliver in the suit for the first time) and then Mia’s Blackstar theme plays in electric guitar as she is left looking at the suit when Oliver leaves.

Mia and Barry take Oliver’s death the hardest, determined to find a way to bring him back. They enlist the help of Sara and Constantine to find a Lazarus Pit, who both have their reservations considering they have been down this road before with Sara. Once they find a Lazarus Pit and put Oliver into it, the music hearkens back to Nanda Parbat when Sara and Thea had been put into the Lazarus pit. The female vocal and choir sings as crazy Oliver leaps out with a repeated electric bass note to add to the tension and adrenaline.

Cameos - primarily Superman

One of the fun parts about the Crossovers is all the musical themes that return and get woven together, like Supergirl and Batwoman’s themes interweaving as they face off each other in the 3rd episode. Not only were a lot of characters brought in for small or longer cameos but most of their musical themes were as well (which is quite impressive from a copyright side). While I needed help identifying the Batman characters, thanks to @jorahtheandal, I did recognize their themes from the various shows and movies. However, the ones that made me excited were the Smallville cameos and Superman Returns. My first introduction into the world of DC were through those two and “Lois and Clark.” I loved hearing the sounds of Smalliville again especially in the clarinet. There weren’t a lot of winds in this Crisis (the orchestra was made up of strings and brass) but that made moments like this even more special. Smallville had two composers and the second, Louis Febre, used a lot of solo winds, especially clarinet for the Clois theme and the feeling of home during seasons 7-10. It felt like truly returning home to the Kent farm and you could feel the warmth of the love Clark and Lois had for each other and the farm. (“The Proposal” is a good example of the solo winds used on the Smallville soundtrack)

Even more impressive was the fact that Blake Neely and team got permission to use John Williams’ themes for Superman. While the main Superman theme was used throughout Superman Returns, the love theme was not used much. (Superman Returns was written by John Ottman since John Williams was busy with Star Wars). However, in the second episode of Crisis, both the love theme for Lois and Superman and Superman’s main brass theme by John Williams appeared, definitely cementing that Brandon Routh’s Superman was a continuation of Christopher Reeve’s Superman. It was a lot of fun to hear those themes as he interacted with Earth 38’s Superman and Lois, especially when Clark switches into the Superman suit and his iconic brass theme is heard.

Other notable themes heard included Danny Elfman’s Batman theme at the beginning as well as his Flash theme for the ‘90s Flash TV show when Barry from earth 90 died. Black Lightning made an appearance in the 3rd episode along with his theme which was cool. The Crisis had its own theme of doom in the brass as well as the heroes banding together to fight against the Crisis (heard in trumpets) throughout the episodes. While Crisis on Earth-X is still my favorite both story-wise and musically, this definitely had some cool moments.

@dust2dust34 @academyofshipping @smoakmonster @ah-maa-zing @herskirtsarentthatshort @dmichellewrites @almondblossomme @withgraceandlight99 @jorahandal

#crisis on infinite earths #oliver queen #sacrifice #smallville #superman returns #sara lance #blake neely #olicity #felicity smoak #mia smoak #tommy merlyn #clark kent

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emperorsfoot · 4 years

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OC Spotlight: Lord Hode

I got a lot of positive feedback about my OC Hode from my fic series for She-Ra, “A Song of Steel and Light”. So, guess who’s featuring in my next OC Spotlight!

This post contains spoilers for the fic. If you do not want spoilers, stop reading and scroll past now.

Hode is one of the clones of Horde Prime, the same as Hordak. He is from an older generation than Hordak and, at the time that the main plot of the series takes place, he is dead. His character arc is told through flashbacks.

Click the “Keep Reading” for a complete bio.

When Hode was a fresh new clone, his name was not ‘Hode’. In my AU, only Prime’s generals are allowed to have names and at the time, he was just a soldier with just a serial number.

66634-19-086

And he was assigned to the garrison occupying the planet Eternia.

He was a competent soldier and became promoted to sub-Commander fairly quickly. Around that time, Eternia had an active rebel faction that was trying to combat and push out the Horde. Their leader of King Hiss and was at the top of the Eternian Horde’s ‘Most Wanted’ list.

Zero-Eight-Six managed to deduce the location of King Hiss’ base -it was Snake Mountain- and he snuck in to assassinate the rebel leader. Zero-Eight-Six and a small contingent of soldiers managed to fight through Hiss’ Snake Men, allowing Zero-Eight-Six to get to the throne room where Hiss was.

But someone else got there first.

Zero-Eight-Six arrived just in the to watch an different Eternian -a Gar, a member of the blue skinned race- kill King Hiss instead.

It was this Gar:

Only younger than he appears in that picture. There are no young pictures of this character from the MotU franchise.

Zero-Eight-Six is so confused. Weren't they all Eternian natives? Why would the Gar kill one of his own. (Spoiler: He had personal reasons, but this isn’t his bio, it’s Hyde’s.) When Zero-Eight-Six asks this, the Gar gives him this really maniacal grin, takes one of Zero-Eight-Six’s weapons and impales the already dead body with it.

“I didn’t kill him. You did.” Says the unnamed Gar. “Congratulations, clone, you just killed Eternia’s Most Wanted.”

He leaves.

Zero-Eight-Six is left just standing there, blinking. Equal parts confused and impressed. His soldiers come in and see their sub-Commander standing over the rebel leader’s dead body with his weapon in it and they assume he was the one who killed him. There’s a round of congratulations and they go back to the capital victorious.

The cabinet Lord who was overseeing the solar system at the time was so impressed that he promotes Zero-Eight-Six to Territory Captain. Zero-Eight-Six is not the highest ranking Horde officer on Eternia. He basically rules the planet now.

Some time passes. Not much. Like, a year. Maybe two.

A new rebel picks up where Hiss left off. King Miro this time. Calling himself the “rightful ruler of Eternia”. He has a stronger following than King Hiss did. Hiss was only supported by members of his own race, the Snake Men, while Miro has support among all the peoples and tribes of Eternia. He is a much, much bigger problem. Zero-Eight-Six is always stressed. He tired and over-worked. He tries deducing where King Miro could be hiding like he did with Hiss, but every place his soldiers raid, there are signs that rebels had been there, but no solid arrests.

Until, one night, that same Gar from Snake Mountain appears inside the palace in Eternos -where the Horde set up their seat of control. Zero-Eight-Six has no idea how he got it (spoiler, it was secret passes, he used to live there). He is flustered, and angry, and bordering on hysterical. This isn’t like when they crossed paths at Snake Mountain, then the Gar had been calm, and cool-headed, almost icy and cruel. Here he was hot-headed and flustered. Cheeks flushed (a different shade of blue) and eyes puffy as if he’d been crying.

The Gar glares up at him and growls darkly. “I can give you Miro.”

So, Zero-Eight-Six captured Miro. Alive at first. Then executes him.

The Gar watches the execution with mixed and conflicting feelings. Afterwards, Zero-Eight-Six confronts his Gar informant for an explanation.

The Gar explains that he is actually Prince Keldor, the eldest son of King Miro, the dude Zero-Eight-Six just executed. Keldor always assumed he was going to succeed his father as heir, but Miro decided to pass Keldor up for his younger brother, Randor. Keldor goes on to explain that Miro’s organization was much more organized than King Hiss and he might have killed Miro, but his lieutenants -and his heir- are still free and able to fight the Horde. Zero-Eight-Six would need his help if he really wanted to put an end to any unrest on Eternia, once and for all.

So, they became allies.

Over the course of their alliance, Keldor helps Zero-Eight-Six become more familiar with Eternian culture and how Eternians think. All the different languages of the different peoples and tribes (most of which are not languages clones are programmed with). Keldor also teaches Zero-Eight-Six to READ the Eternian written language. Clone are programmed with the spoken language so there is no verbal language barrier between them, but clones cannot read the sigils of their writing. Reading Eternian writings, he learns about modern Eternian, middle-Eternian, and olde Eternian. (This becomes important later as his name, Hode, is derived from olde Eternian.)

Impressed with all his successes on Eternia, Horde Prime promotes Zero-Eight-Six to his cabinet.

Zero-Eight-Six leaves Eternia.

The night before he leaves, he tells Keldor that he’s being promoted and that its been fun but he’s got to go.

Keldor tells him that he could still be useful. In such a short time, he went from sub-Commander, to Territory Cabinet, to the Emperor’s own ruling cabinet. Why stop there? Why not make a grab for the throne? Keldor could help. He’d been playing court intrigue and “game of thrones” (ha ha) his whole life.

Zero-Eight-Six refuses at first. No one can replace Horde Prime. He’s not just their Big Brother. He’s their god!

Zero-Eight-Six leaves Eternia.

Some time passes.

Some sort of cathartic epiphany happens but this author hasn’t exactly decided what yet.

In a moment of role reversal, Zero-Eight-Six comes to Keldor on Eternia. Flustered, breathing hard, the color high in his cheeks, second set of eyelids blinking frantically. He tells Keldor that he was right. Prime isn’t a god. They can supplant him.

If they word together.

That’s when he tells Keldor the name he chose for himself as a cabinet Lord. Its an olde Eternian word.

Hode.

Which means ‘to hide’ or ‘to conceal’.

Hode puts Keldor in touch with other rebel faction across the known universe. Helps then get organized. Makes then stronger and a more significant threat. Chipping away at the Horde Empire from the outside.

While Hode slowly takes out the other members of Horde Prime’s ruling cabinet and replacing them is people he knows he can manipulate, weakening Prime’s power base form the inside.

Its a slow process. They went in for the long con.

They meet occasionally in person. To give each other updates or information too sensitive to be sent over transmission.

Over the years they grow closer. From allies to friends.

As their plan becomes more and more complicated and they grow closer and closer to their goal, they have to meet more and more often. One time, during one of their rendezvous, one of them kisses the other. I haven’t decided which one yet.

Then, BOOM, from friends to lovers!

Suddenly they’re not meeting just to share the plan anymore. Now they’re meeting because they miss each other and wanna see each other.

Keldor tells Hode about the original King Grayskull, the two swords, and teaches him the “Song of Steel and Light”.

Since Hode had been consistently manipulating things to make the rest of the cabinet look incompetent, or framing some of them as traitors, Horde Prime comes to rely on Hode more and more and Prime eventually allows Hode into his Inner Sanctum. There, Hode sees a sword hanging on the wall and it looks exactly like the picture that Keldor showed him of the legendary swords. Hode plays it cool in front of Prime, but the moment he is able to get away, he goes straight to Keldor and tells him that Horde Prime has one of his legendary swords.

Suddenly, their carefully laid plan goes out the window.

Fuck the long con! Let’s get that sword!

Keldor convinces Hode to sneak him onto the Velvet Glove and break into Prime’s Sanctum to steal the Sword.

They do.

They are inside Prime’s Sanctum.

Keldor is holding the Sword in his hands.

For one brief moment, it feels like they’re already won. Everything’s right with the universe and they’re victorious!

Keldor raises the sword above his head and speaks the words:

“By the Power of Grayskull!”

But nothing happens.

Keldor looks so betrayed and confused.

But they don’t have time to ponder it, as Prime and a whole bunch of guards burst in.

Hode grabs Keldor to get him off the Velvet Glove ASAP. Keldor drops the sword, but Hode won’t stop so Keldor can pick it up. Hode practically carries Keldor to the escape pods and shoves him in. But he can’t escape with him because Prime’s solders grab him and pull him away. Hode kicks the release button to launch Keldor’s escape pod as he’s being dragged away so that at least Keldor can live.

Hode it thrown down in front of Prime.

They exchange some words.

Then Prime cuts his head off with the Sword of Power.

Hode dies.

((Meanwhile, Keldor’s pod enters the atmosphere of “Horde World” Capital Core, which has a highly acidic atmosphere. Trying to get back to Hode, Keldor damages his pod and a tiny bit of the highly corrosive atmosphere sprays through a breach in the air-seal. It melts Keldor’s face off and- well, if you look up Keldor on the Grayskull wiki, you’ll know what happens to him.))

#a song of steel and light #spop #she-ra #he-man #fan fcion #oc spotlight #hode #oc #original character #hode prime #hordak #horde empire #keldor #skeletor

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laufire · 4 years

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Roswell NM 2x05

My thoughts of this episode could basically be summed up on “Extremely Mixed Feelings” lmfao.

Let’s start with Rosa, obviously. Gosh, I adore her. ADORE her. She feels so lively and real and colourful among... well, everything and everyone else xD. She did even in death. She makes this show better by being the point of contention in the narrative. The mixed feelings come when she interacts with anyone else, because though she remains her incredible self, (almost) everyone else isn’t and I keep chaffing against the dominant narrative :P. She’s also hilarious lmao. I love every one of her zings xD. The “bitch-ass aliens” was obviously the winner, but her calling Max & Isobel’s nonsense “psychic twincest weirdness” was close LOL.

Like, I don’t know how I feel about the show even JOKING about Rosa possibly forgiving Max & Co. The scene itself with Rosa DEMANDING her own room was perfect, but. Yeah. Don’t even joke about that xD. To add that, I actually really love her scenes with Max, both in previous episodes and this one, when he briefly convinced her of stopping his resurrection (I kind of love that the episode was so close to Easter, btw, it’s so on the nose xDD). The energy between the actors works REALLY well and I find myself suddenly paying attention to Max, which hadn’t happened so far xDD. However, I’d enjoy those scenes even more if I could be reasurred that Rosa is always going to have mixed feelings at best about him, and will never be reduced to prop him or Liz/Max (like in the moment where Rosa almost has to comfort Liz about Max loving her. Leave my kid out of this pls). But. Yeah. I also have some guesses as to where the Rosa vs. Max storyline will go now that a.) she has more control of her new powers, and b.) his resurrection is the one that’ll follow the Came Back Wrong pattern, but they’re half-formed/half-wishful thinking so far lol.

I love love love the physicality of Rosa’s scenes with Liz too, even if sometimes I’m bothered by other elements. I’m just amazed by how the actresses manage to make it come across that despite the obvious visuals, despite how ~youthful and reckless Rosa feels... she’s the older sister, still. That’s how she feels, and Liz gets ~swayed by this. Like how she bundles herself agaisnt Rosa’s chest for comfort (and in the second one, the transition to that after Liz holds Rosa’s face in her hands), or how Rosa talks about her “sweet little sister”, etc. It also helps making the relationship feel less proppy than it would otherwise --younger sisters doing something for their older ones feels different than the reverse, idk. I have Thoughts about this but they’re all tangled up with myself projecting stuff on them, so idk what I’m trying to convey here xDD

I’m less conflicted about Rosa/Isobel. STAY AWAY FROM HER ISOBEL. Seriously, I full on despise her now. Fuck her. At the beginning of the season it looked like I might start finding her interesting, but nah. That’s over. And in particular I want her as far away as possible from Rosa. I’m even surprised by the strength of my reaction lol, but I wanted to yell at her to take her dirty paws off Rosa xD (seriously, the scene where she puts her hand on Rosa’s chest felt so so creepy? Was that just me? Add that in Isobel’s comment about having a “threeway” and deugh. GO AWAY ISOBEL). And frankly, it’s hard to miss how Isobel is always at her worst with women of color (I’m wary of her attitude to men of color, after the blatant sexualization/mind control thing with Kyle or all her bullshit with Arturo, too). Her comments on Rosa’s addiction (let alone assaulting her or locking her body in a closet ofc) didn’t help her case. I really, really wish Rosa had chocked a bitch xD. BTW, I’ve seen people attribute Isobel’s shittiness to her connection to Max and his darkness when a.) we saw NO SIGNS of this, and b.) she’s been terrible from day one, okay xD. If the show goes there to absolve her of responsibility like it did in s1... ugh.

My connection was crappy af last week and I somehow missed Michael’s “help me move a body” scene until I saw the parallel done with the one this week and... did this bitch really joke about desecrating Rosa’s body in front of Liz’s face?? (who said nothing because she’s now completely on pod-people’s POV land, ofc. I had flashbacks to Delena joking about Caroline’s rape right there, too). Seriously, the pod-people, ALL of them, have an enourmous debt with Rosa (EVEN MORE NOW), and I really, really wish she collected.

I wish we’d seen Arturo & Arturo-Rosa stuff this episode. It’ll still be tainted by the circumstances (*hates Isobel even more*), but I’m very curious about them. And about how Rosa’s bio-father ties to this stuff --that side of Rosa’s family is being left out of things so far and I don’t like it, tbh. It seems to be simply because it’s too far from the pod-siblings circle of influence ¬¬. Or about how Arturo is processing all this (he still thinks Rosa drove and killed the two other girls and that Max is A Very Nice Boy *barfs*. I seriously resent the very real posibility that Rosa’s story will never be untangled, to her father and to the town).

Not-Rosa-centric stuff under the cut, I guess, because this is getting long xD

I also have mixed feelings about Maria’s scenes with Alex (and Maria’s scenes in general). OTOH, she looked amazing (this is important, js. It’s such a shame we didn’t see Michael’s reaction to that last outfit of hers *-*); I love the actor’s easy chemistry, too; and I think it’s very, very interesting, that Alex basically nudged Maria towards Michael and Miluca. OTOH, I dislike how the conversation immediately turned to supporting him, and especially the false equivalences between Maria falling for Michael and Alex contributing to the lies to her (though I don’t find him as responsibly for that as Michael and especially Liz --since it was Michael’s secret and he planned and struggled to tell her, while Liz was pretty comfortable keeping her in the dark except for her own emotional needs, and knew too well why those secrets could cost), or between looking at your mother’s search history and forgiving someone for keeping you in the dark and endangering your life, js. That he guilted her into forgiving Liz (and so fullfilling Maria’s prophecy about how Liz only struggled to tell her because she wanted support, and my own about how little her anger was allowed to last) made it worse.

I feel terrible for Kyle. You could feel the toll he’s taken smh. My heart broke a little when he told Liz “you called, I broke the speed limit”, too :/. His relationship with his mother is hanging on the balance after all his lies too, which doesn’t bode to well for him either. I liked the scene between him and Alex, at least, though I still don’t think I could ever ship them, given Kyle’s romantic history with someone that ALSO was hung up on another person, js.

Other people have talked about how Alex’s scenes with Michael often highlight his classism and how little it’s talked about in this fandom, but yeah. His comments about Michael’s “wasting” his life... I Felt that.

Related to that, Max’s comment about how someone “has to clean up [Michael’s] messes” is part of why the pod-siblinghood thing is never ever ever going to work for me, sns xDD. Sure, it’s mostly because I don’t like Max or Isobel at all, or Michael 40-50% of the time, but yeah, things like that, or Isobel assuring him of the BLATANT lie that Michael means as much to her and Max as each other... they make it harder to get into the ~spirit lol. Another issue is how TERRIBLE the editing to make them appear younger looks xDD

I had to, HAD TO, roll my eyes at Max’s martyrdom. Ooooh, he’s not doing this for HIMSELF, he would NEVER care about being in PAIN, he’s doing this for US. And the narrative conveniently doesn’t take him at his word and saves him, ofc, because’s he’s a lead and that’s what’s up. It was interesting seeing the other characters coming to acceptance at first, however --I hope it’s a Sign. There are other Signs (of Max’s narrative maaaaaaybe weak spots) that really *pop* in this episode. Like the fact that there’s doubt over who is more important to him, Liz or Isobel. In a show with a really strong male lead, the answer would unquestionably be Liz: she’d know it, Isobel would know it, we’d all know it. And sure, I know a lot of people would say that it’s “better” (?) for a show to acknowledge the ~importance of familial and platonic bonds~ and what not, but c’mon. I don’t doubt that if Liz had been white things would be different. But that’s not the case here. And there are strong arguments for Isobel being number one... like the fact that this amnesia plot in the promo seems to ONLY involve Liz? I mean, he seems to remember Isobel just fine. A male lead forgetting the love of his life is very, very tricky. OTOH this is good in the sense that I’m all for anything that makes Max take a fall... but his & Liz’s stories are too tangled up and I’d fear she’d surely go down with him :/

#roswell: new mexico #rosa ortecho #maria deluca #ortecho sisters #roswell thoughts #roswell spoilers #my thoughts #talking to the void #antimaxevans for ts #antimalex for ts #except not but i Say Something Negative so *sighs*#antiisobelevans for ts #kyle valenti #liz ortecho #antilizmax for ts #antimichaelguerin for ts #antipodsiblings for ts #bitter lau tag #favourites: soul siblings

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sparda3g · 5 years

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Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Le Dessert Chapter 2 (315.2) Review

Gather ‘round, everyone. It’s time for a story about a man, who lost his passion for cooking, and a woman, who saved his life. That’s not all this chapter has to offer. We have a growing teenage girl, who is taking a step to be a matured young adult. This is the second part of the Le Dessert, now unveiling the past and a sign for a better future. Unless we don’t have a pairing. Then screw it! But seriously, it’s a good sign.

The flashback covers the moment when Joichiro got his groove back and it happened when he stumbled upon a place called Yukihara Family Restaurant. It’s simple, sweet, and adorable. Joichiro thought he would have recovered after taking some time off, but after he did favors to cook for people, the burning passion he once had was still missing. That’s where love comes in play.

Fate must be set when you have a guy, who is the best among chefs, went to a small restaurant, a place no one would think twice of considering as top quality. In a way, you can say the role is reversed in the present time, with Soma being a “nobody” and Erina being the top chef. Interesting reversed parallel. Anyway, it’s rather funny that Joichiro first met Tamako by ordering a Chef’s Special. Logically, it would mean it’s the best preferable choice on the house, but with everyone reacting like Joichiro signed a will, that’s not the case. I suppose you can say he knows how everyone feels when his friends tried out his “experiments.”

Tamako was a delinquent in the past; sure came a long way. Then again, some of her habit such as smoking occurred once in a while. It’s telling that customers or regulars knew her childhood; smiled like they’re part of the family. Despite her poor quality as a chef (no offense), everyone there were high-spirited; something Joichiro yet to understand completely. I like the fact the more Joichiro come to the restaurant, the more he becomes one of them. Although Tamako was a bit annoyed and envied, he can cook at least; can’t argue against that. Funny how she called it a gang. I guess her side of nature reflected well there.

After taking some time at the restaurant with her, he asked her why does she cook? That’s a valid question. Maybe she got the wrong message from Ratatouille animated movie with “Anyone can cook!” Joking aside, it’s simple: she’s just do what she wants to do. Besides, if it does bring a smile to people’s faces, that’s enough to be proud of. It’s a simple message that Joichiro overlooked; a talented man can forget a simple moral. The satisfaction is enough to feel good, especially with a smile. Who better to show him than Tamako. That’s when he has fallen in love and she promoted him as her special someone. How sweet.

I really like the montage of those two as a family, starting with Baby Soma. Before it, it has to be addressed that Joichiro didn’t want Soma to know about his background. He didn’t want to influence his life and let him to decide. Charmingly enough, Kid Soma was into cooking. Whether it runs in the family or not, Joichiro can’t help but felt joy; possibly the starting point of their rivalry.

The part I like the most is when Tamako decided to get a new hairstyle to look like a lady, public appearance wise. She was going to get a haircut that not only look similar to Current Soma’s, but going against the idea in the first place. Thankfully, I think, the stylist went out of her way and made her a bona fide lady. Say…that haircut looks awfully familiar. She didn’t want it, but Soma loved it. Hm. Finally, the famous chapter one photo was taken and the rest is history.

The story was about Joichiro’s love, so there’s no need to go further than that. I can’t be certain, but it does feel like a parallel address to the present timeline with Soma and Erina. It’s different in terms of direction, but anything is possible. More importantly, this does help Erina to understand more on life and relationship. I find it funny how she wished Nakiri can be closer to Yukihira when it comes to trusting. It can; it’s called marriage. Ahem. The starting point or test to her understanding comes right away when Azami, her father, returns with a shocking news.

I have to admit, I didn’t think we will get more of Asashi after the main series ended, but here he is in the last pieces of the story. He goes back to the graveyard to meet his mother; clarifying that his chapter isn’t exactly over. He has no direction to go; no future in sight. Her old friends, I assume, were there to meet her as well. Although Asashi doesn’t have good memory with her, others suggest she was broken when she’s drunk. In other words, she wasn’t always bad until alcoholism kicks in. That aside, the real point to address the new revelation: his father. It’s like stepping into Maury Show; time to find out who the father is. The answer: Azami.

I know I got mixed-up with SNS (Shokugeki no Soma) and SNK (Shingeki no Kyojin) a long time ago, but now they’re more similar than I remember. Who knew half-sibling is a trend. Anyway, Azami was messed up a long time ago, and before meeting with Mana, he knocked up with Asashi’s mother. In short, the last arc was the hidden Attack on Titan’s Final Arc. Joking aside (kind of), it was basically the Revenge of Azami, only it’s not him. Think as Friday the 13th Part 2 Film. Now, that premise would have worked, but due to time constraint and questionable planning, it never reach its potential. I suppose this pulled a Gundam Seed plot twist to avoid a pairing and simply say, “They’re related.”

Anyway, the idea is Azami has really screwed up big time; a point of no return in a way. He wants to take the blame and go with Asashi to make up for his mistake. That would have been fine, but if he does as he wishes, then what would Erina learn from the story earlier? It would have been like last time, where Erina just let him disappeared. They got lucky on finding him, but now he’s about to go away again. Of course, she calls him a terrible person, and rightfully so. However, the follow-up action is funny but relieving.

You can say that Azami deserved the next part. Rather leave it with an insult, Erina smacks the hell out of him. I like how she did it with a “fierce” face of dominant. Instead of letting things go, she takes a stand and solve the problem her way. The idea of Asashi being related is a test to her development; one that need to prove her understanding of Joichiro’s story. Mana practically said that Erina is on her way for a brighter future.

The last part is nice for what it is. Asashi learned about his father; now knowing the damage he has greatly caused. Well, at least he saved himself from becoming the Lannister. Erina finds him, more dominant than ever. She almost sounds like a tyrant, asking if he has plans or anything. What she wants the most is bring family together and he is no exception. I got to admit, it’s nice to see his expression like a kid who finally received motherly love. I know he’s not liked by fans, but I do like it, especially since Erina took a stand.

It was a nice chapter when all things considered. The flashback was sweet; served its part to introduce the origin. The last half was more of concluding other missing pieces that weren’t addressed before, starring Azami and Asashi. Huh. Their name is almost the same. All that’s left is Soma; wherever he is. I noticed Erina practically took the protagonist’s role in Le Dessert, and I’m not complaining. I don’t know what the next and final chapter holds, but it will be the end. Interesting to note that it’s releasing before the creators’ visit to Crunchyroll Expo. Start gathering all the questions. Who knows if the last chapter would clear out some, but in due time. The dessert is almost over.

#food wars #shokugeki no soma #shokugeki no souma #le dessert #chapter 2 #chapter 315.2 #review #spoilers

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orenonahaichigoda · 4 years

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ほっとけない Types, or Yes, There Are Similarities Between Mun and Muse

I'm gonna share something that someone said to me earlier, because it... doesn't sit right with me for the main reason that I picked Ichigo.

So, a couple of weeks ago at work, I got pepper sprayed by accident trying to protect co-workers from a violent robber who was hitting them. (The co-workers being attacked were both women, and one carried Mace on her keys, and was trying to spray the assailant, also female, but taller than all of us, I'm short, as she [assailant] lunged again and I tried to stop her)

The next day, I was one of a few people who stopped a drunk man on the subway from beating up this guy in his 60s that he just randomly decided to come over and kick.

The conversation started today because I kinda bagged up my clothes and threw them in the closet until I had time, and today, I had time to treat them, so I was buying the stuff. They are soaking now in a bucket of water mixed with cold cream, which is apparently a good idea.

Anyway,this person was saying it's best to protect yourself and not get involved.

She did note expectations difference between men and women, but her point remained essentially unchanged except that maybe men should protect women from other men.

I... don't see why that matters the gender of the attacker or the attacked.

If I see someone who is essentially innocent being attacked (i.e., if it's someone screaming "Kill all [oppressed group here]" through a megaphone in some L.A. suburb being attacked, they brought that on themselves), I don't really care if it's the 140 cm 20 year old woman in my building when I lived near L.A. being attacked by the 190cm guy downstairs because she wouldn't sleep with him (she later decided me trying to help her in that incident and a few where she had no food meant I was kind, ergo, weak, and it would be funny to have these other guys *my age* who like-liked her harrass me, but that's aside) or if it's female co-workers being beaten up by a really tall violent woman, or if it's an older man falling asleep on the train and kicked awake by a crazed drunk 30 year old.

I can't just stand by and watch these things happen. I will usually try to pull the victim away and shield them if it's possible (wasn't at work) because I have arthritic joints all over and I can do more to help if I get the victim to safety than if I'm shattered into splinters and also become a victim.

But I can't just sit there and...do nothing.

And that was probably the biggest thing that drew me to Ichigo. Remember the whole "mountain of people" speech? (Mountain of X is a Japanese idiom for "a lot of X," Japan is full of mountains--it's actually why the cities are so crowded) I liked that he was realistic in knowing he couldn't save the world (so many college students are more idealistic), but he still had that same basic thing where he couldn't live with himself if he'd sat idly by. This really never changes. It never changed with me either, except as my joints went, I had to change *how* I handled it.

Now do I think he suffers for it? There's no way he wouldn't incur PTSD. Point blank, here. He's seen a lot of violence. Frankly, he--quite reasonably--seems to have it around his mother bleeding out in his arms before the start of the story. (Clearly, mondo survivor's guilt as well. I knew someone who ended up with that in real life. Ichigo has flashbacks. Ichigo becomes not himself on the anniversary. Ichigo *wants to be blamed for her death, when he was a small child and couldn't have reasonably done a thing* )

But he's also worse off when he's disempowered. I use that word intentionally. I really wish we'd seen more of powerless Ichigo. But, again, what little we see, he's quiet,withdrawn, in his head a lot when he's not focused on earning money or something.

Anyway, yeah,either way, the guy... frankly probably needs someone like what Ikumi was trying to be, but, you know,who could at least see spirits so he actually *could* talk to them about everything.

But I think a ほっとけないtype (dunno how to translate that!), now, you're just gonna incur damage. Aside from panicking and great pain because I'd never been pepper sprayed before, I've gotten blows to the face, I've gotten thrown into things, and I have PTSD from years of violence happening to me, so naturally, violence itself is triggering, but I... couldn't live with myself if I just did nothing.

And that's also key with Ichigo. He is just the type that is going to incur damage. But the damage is worse if he doesn't/can't do anything.

Barring the fact that in Bleach, death really is "just a flesh wound," his choices are really just between being turned into a child soldier/pulp (remember Tesla?) and "useless/put out to pasture," as far as he would seem to feel.

I do think he might be *too* self-effacing, if that's the right word. Does he ever seem to derive his intrinsic value from anything but protecting others (what he can succeed in doing for others)? Doesn't seem so to me.

I do feel like others-based self-worth is both something a lot of people struggle with, and something a ほっとけないtype might be particularly disposed to. It might also be something enforced on AFAB people, which, boy, if only savings account interests compunded at the rate of these problems!

Anyway, to this type of person, it's so much worse to spare oneself the flesh wound than to just stand by and watch others get hurt.

Ichigo has a doctor dad, a time-reversing comrade, and I have enough money and health coverage to get my clothes/skin/body/stress treated.

Rather, the stress part, choosing inaction would be something I would have to *live with.*

Ichigo is trying to do that, jumps at the first sign of hope he can be empowered again, and when (for a few seconds) that's taken away...do we ever see him cry any other time that's not a memory of him being a small child? I don't think so. I'm gonna guess that that's supposed to be he just can't handle it anymore. I'm actually not quite sure there.

They gloss over Ichigo's time powerless, but even though he was sorta forced into it, I don't think it would be all that different, especially for someone who derives his self-worth almost entirely from... something he can no longer do.

Could that also be why he was going into chasing money? Trying to find a new measure of self-worth/efficacy as an earner? They never expand on that. My project is different, but something to think about for RP.

But yeah, this type of person, well, it's not the safest type of person to be. But it's not like you consciously opt into being this type of person.

I don't really have a conclusion here, but this is actually what drew me to Ichigo. And what drew me to Bleach overall was Ichigo and...I have a lot of deceased family, so I like stories where the living and the dead just kinda hang out. So Ichigo and living-like ghosts was what brought me to this show.

(After writing this I realised that the advice I got today is just not something I can or should follow, although I should really be smarter about how I get involved)

(Also note, I've been exposed to violence, had to learn to fight it, and also just *alive and gaining life experience* for a good few decades. Teen readers definitely shouldn't throw themselves in fights with, say, middle age armed muggers. Rather, the teen should really go run to a brightly lit place with multiple people, like a store, and get help. The key is to try your best to be smart about how you get involved. Again, if you also become a victim, you aren't helping. Actually, after the pepper spray rendered me useless, all I could do was call for help, which was actually the best part of what I did)

#about mun #about muse #Evenings when you live alone are boring okay?

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