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siflshonen · 1 year

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Eijiro Kirishima: Positively Reclaiming National Identity and Making Masculinity More Inclusive (featuring surprise guest Mina Ashido!)

Link to the Bakugo presentation 2.0: Part 1 | Part 2

Link to the Bakugo presentation 1.0: Part 1 | Part 2

Link to the Kirishima presentation 1.0

Link to the Todoroki presentation

Link to the Deku presentation

Link to the Uraraka-Bakugo-Toga presentation

Link to the Shigaraki-All for One presentation

Link to the Spinner-Shigaraki-Bakugo-Deku presentation

Link to the BNHA presentations masterpost

Welcome to the Kirishima presentation 2.0!

What you are about to read combines manga analysis, meta analysis, trope breakdowns, watered-down Japanese history as explained by an outsider Westerner (please take it with a grain of salt), and thematic parallels with other characters. Beware of spoilers up to manga chapter 383.

This “presentation” post discusses Eijiro Kirishima’s character and arc as well as the real-life references his character’s aesthetic and “manly” actions and credo are meant to communicate. This post includes a discussion of Japanese delinquents and bosozoku, a brief and simplified history of the relationship of Japanese hypermasculinity and military and naval power, a brief discussion of kouha and nanshoku, and a brief general analysis of how Kirishima's early-series insecurities reflect those of an “emasculated” and outdated Japan in relation to Mina’s “effeminate” Japan of today. It also compares Kirishima and Mina’s history and character growth to Deku and Katsuki. Some of the Wikipedia links are also mildly NSFW, so be careful.

If you take whatever I say about the story personally, or get upset about spoilers that’s on you. On the flip side, if you have something to say on context and history, tell me more! If I offend or misinform in the context of history, please let me know! I have only one perspective, and it is my own.

The color key will make sense in time. I promise.

Who Is Eijiro Kirishima?

Personally, I love Scorpia. I also love Kirishima. But I do not like it when Kirishima is portrayed to be just like Scorpia in fandom works. Sure, they have similarities (some of which may or may not have been intentionally chosen for Scorpia’s part), but they do not have the same character arcs.

In particular, Kirishima’s arc is very pointedly about his pride and identity as a modern Japanese boy unlearning his internalized toxic masculinity and biases as he grows into a man.

But let’s start with the basics.

In case Kirishima’s association with his nation of origin wasn’t clear, his name is a dead giveaway.

Ei: sharp or keen

Ji: kid or newborn

Ro: son

Kiri: jagged or to cut

Shima: island

Eijiro means, as this kind person on the internet puts it, “sharp boy”. They also point out that the “Ei” is written in a way not ordinarily associated with names (which is usually “sharp” like “keen” or “intelligent”), so his name subtly “blunts” his intelligence while still pointing (ha) out that he’s a guy made of sharp rocks. And while that’s cute, it’s his last name that gives us more mileage for interpretation.

Kirishima. “Cut island”. Japan is a nation made up of multiple islands.

Kirishima is meant to be, very literally, a fresh-eyed child of his nation. He is emblematic of masculine heritage and identity. That’s a little more nuanced than saying Kirishima is Japan, but he definitely represents a significant pre-World War II slice of it. And he is on a mission to improve himself, and therefore the country, through a new and improved kind of “manliness”. Plus Ultra, bitches.

Kirishima is a truly wonderful guy and a unifying factor for the class.

One of the first people Kirishima forms a friendship with is Bakugo. I pointed out some of the similarities between Bakugo’s chosen presentation inspiration and Crimson Riot’s background in the Bakugo presentation. I’ll explore that extensively later on, but just keep in mind that it’s not exactly surprising that Kirishima is one of the first to find a common understanding with the class’ resident foul-mouthed, delinquent, western-style-military-costumed bomb.

One of Kirishima’s most notable qualities is his tendency to describe anything he thinks is positive - the ability to show emotional strength as well as physical, shed tears and show sensitivity, do something competently, show consideration for others, act heroically in a general sense - as “manly”. The gender of the person performing the admirable action is irrelevant.

That last part is a big deal for his character, so I will say it again. The gender of the person performing the admirable action is irrelevant.

Crimson Riot, Japanese Delinquents, and “Manly Codes”

Kirishima’s penchant for calling admirable things “manly” isn’t random - it comes from someone else. His personal hero and role model, Pro Hero Crimson Riot, inspires him to use the language and associate it with positive things not limited or defined by gender. Crimson Riot’s dress, speech, and mannerisms, from which Kirishima also draws inspiration, also tell us a lot about him and his beliefs. Basically, we know he’s a Japanese delinquent/Yankee or bosozoku (which is basically a delinquent on a motorbike.)

Crimson Riot’s “manly” credo is rooted in the values and presentation of this real-world delinquent subculture.

If you read the Bakugo presentation, you’ve seen this slide before.

The term “Yankee” was brought over by US soldiers (if you are from the States, you likely already know that a Yankee is someone from the northeast part of the country) and became synonymous with someone from the United States. Japanese delinquents are called “Yankees” because they walk around like a GI from the United States would - rudely, without consideration for others or the existing culture, and with a seeming need to flaunt their status as foreigners (and, more nastily, “winners” over the Japanese.) I talk more about the origins of the Japanese delinquent subculture in the Bakugo presentation, but the subculture’s origin comes down to this: dissatisfaction with the current society and a desire to express individuality born from something that can best be described as Western envy.

In appearance and attitude, Bakugo is also very obviously a Japanese delinquent boy, though he doesn’t use the same iconography of national pride. For the most part, neither do Crimson Riot or Kirishima. There’s a reason for that.

Interestingly, Bakugo lacks these visual markers of the “classic” delinquent look while Kirishima embraces some of them (the color red, the dyed hair with its wild styling, and the modern Japanese flag.) Instead, it seems Bakugo’s chosen delinquent visual identity markers are taken exclusively from the filter of shonen anime delinquents rather than the real world subculture! Their differing attempts to separate the things they like from its historic baggage is fascinating to me, personally.

Bakugo’s outlook and personal presentation leans more towards a fictionalized version of the delinquent than Kirishima and his “manly” mentor’s, but the connection between their masculine presentations and implied personal conducts – or the fact that an underlying code of conduct is central to both identities – is still present.

If you read the article on delinquents I linked, you might notice that it emphasizes that a sense of community and closeness is a probable reason for the delinquent subculture’s enduring existence simultaneous to its rebellious and individualistic slant.

Kirishima and Bakugo are good representations of those two seemingly opposite poles, no? Kirishima focuses on creating a sense of community with himself as the unifying factor while Bakugo initially seeks to separate himself through his individuality.

The Yakuza framing of chivalry is not exactly the same as bushido, but rather the idea of “acting chivalrously” through what they refer to as ninkyodo, or the “way of humanity.” There’s still influence from and elements of bushido in this, however.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a weeb, so you have likely heard of Way of the Househusband/Goshufukudo. The series’ tagline, “housework without honor or humanity!” is a play on the main character’s status as an ex-Yakuza because he left the Yakuza - or strayed from his ninkyodo/path of humanity - to be a househusband. It’s also a play on the Battles Without Honor or Humanity movies revolving around the same sentiment – except without the househusbandry part, of course.

(Also, the Yakuza created a recruitment website called ninkyodo. Considering the bigger discussion of social unrest and subdued envelope-pushing inherent in this manga, this wacky little blog post is worth a look since it pivots around the Japanese mob being upset with the government’s social programs.)

Delinquent codes draw from the Jingi, or Yakuza code and ninkyodo, which draws from bushido. You know what else draws from bushido? Most forms of contemporary and historic Japanese government.

Bushido has seven core values: gi (justice), yu (courage), jin (benevolence or another word for humanity - and yes, this is the same character as the “Jin” in Twice’s given name, Jin Bubaigawara), rei (gratitude - and no, this is not the same character as Rei Todoroki’s given name but it sounds the same), makoto (sincerity), meiyo (honor), and chugi (loyalty).

Why is this important? Because there is one VERY big difference between Kirishima’s presentation and aesthetic and that of Crimson Riot and Bakugo’s, and it also involves bushido and its masculine, militaristic associations.

In addition to Crimson Riot and delinquent culture, Kirishima blatantly includes kouha as one of his inspirations. Bakugo does not, and it is unclear if Crimson Riot pays attention to them specifically.

What Are Kouha?

Kouha are, as Kirishima’s middle school classmates might say, “old school”. They’re even more old school than delinquents (or Crimson Riot), and they are also deeply nationalist. Kouha were a cultural phenomenon born from the student populations of Japanese military schools (the establishment of the Japanese Imperial Army is considered the first formal step of Japan’s westernization, by the way!) during the Meiji era. They held specific beliefs about male supremacy, masculinity, and national pride. To kouha, these concepts were inseparable from one another. They, and their resulting legacy as soldiers and Navy members in subsequent wars, are the main reason that quasi-nationalist or outright nationalist symbolism is so thoroughly entrenched in Japanese presentations of hypermasculinity even in the modern day.

Basically, kouha = Japanese Nationalists. This is an simplification, but you can read this entire Wikipedia article if you want a better picture of what I mean or need a starting point for your own research.

But don’t freak out! Kirishima’s admiration of kouha is, mostly, for the sake of a pun.

Horikoshi lists one of Kirishima’s favorite things as kouha (called “manly men” or “just manly things” in the most commonly circulated English versions), which means, more or less, “hard school”. It’s a pun on Kirishima’s hardening quirk. However, it also refers to Kirishima’s penchant for historically manly things and hypermasculine presentation.

Kirishima’s “Manly Look” and Japanese Identity

So, to review: Kirishima’s Crimson Riot-inspired philosophy and aesthetic is drawn from delinquent culture, which is a subculture that takes its cues from bushido – literally “warrior way” but sometimes called “samurai code” in English – which is in turn associated with Japanese pride and even nationalism. This association is very clear in Kirishima’s aesthetic. Look at his room. The Mount Fuji and ocean wave iconography, his hachimaki (admittedly this is relatively common among modern Japanese students, but it still carries a history), the tacky flames in representation of a “burning soul”…

But you know what he doesn’t use? Red sunbeams. This is really important.

The specific “tackiness” and “kouha look” Kirishima enjoys can definitely be indicative of outright nationalism, but it is also associated with other hypermasculine subcultures that are not necessarily nationalists, including delinquent subcultures (though modern ones don’t often use the sunbeam-laden rising sun flag anymore. Modern delinquents usually stick to the modern Japanese flag as part of their uniforms or flags)

The fact that Kirishima’s “kouha look” does not include the sunbeam-laden Rising Sun flag (which, from the perspective of non-Japanese, is associated internationally with war crimes and, for related reasons, the Japanese Navy. Consider it a Japanese swastika—not to be confused with the Japanese manji, which is actually a totally different thing) or red sunbeam motif. This could be because My Hero Academia is set 200 years in the future and the rising sun imagery has fallen out of public memory. But personally, I think it is more likely that Horikoshi (and therefore Kirishima) wants to signal that Kirishima doesn’t hold the same beliefs as kouha and Japanese nationalists.

Even so, Kirishima’s “look” still suggests kouha and still associates his masculinity with his national identity.

This isn’t a perfect one-to-one localization, but, for us in the West, we can sort of think of it like this: the difference between Kirishima and a neo-nationalist is not unlike the difference between guys who authentically really like Viking iconography and neo-Nazis who appropriate Nordic iconography for their beliefs. It’s just that Kirishima seems to be reclaiming these symbols in reverse. (It’s probably a really good thing Mina knows Kirishima from his time before UA, or else she might have given him a way more intense and judgemental side-eye over what’s in his room.)

I suppose if one really wanted to, one could use everything I’ve written as an argument to say, “If you like Kirishima, you fell for the Japanese militarism and neo-nationalism apologist ploy”, but I don’t think portraying him as an apologist was the intent. I choose to see this as a shonen comic about superheroes and connecting the past with the present in pursuit of a better future because that’s all I think it is trying to be.

Again: Kirishima and Crimson Riot’s “manliness” philosophy departs from that of the kouha, Japanese nationalists (and neo-nationalists) because it is inclusive. The use of elements of their aesthetic preserves Kirishima’s personal pride as a Japanese guy - specifically as a “masculine” man - while his take on “manliness” is modern and geared towards celebrating the intrinsic goodness of humanity that isn’t defined by gender, sex, skin color, or even nationality, really, except as it applies as it being a thing for each individual to celebrate about themselves.

There’s other stuff kouha did and didn’t do that Kirishima doesn’t seem concerned about, either.

As I’ve said, modern Japanese sociopolitical (and masculine) identity is strongly associated with bushido. Bushido and kouha, particularly during the Meiji era and Russo-Japanese war (y’all ever read or watched Golden Kamuy?), is consequently associated with the Japanese Navy and nanshoku (THIS WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE IS MILDLY NSFW), or the practice of male-male relationships ranging from ritual pederasty to what one could interpret as “just plain gay” by modern western standards.

Whenever the Eastern or Western fandom discusses the possibility of Kirishima being gay-coded, this association between his kouha aesthetic and nanshoku is almost always at the heart of it. Well, that, and Kirishima’s dogged telegraphing of how much he’s into the kouha aesthetic and other “manly” things. To the modern Japanese, a high degree of overblown hypermasculine presentation and speech can come across as performative overcompensating.

However, there’s one big detail that’s usually missing from these discussions in fandom: generally, the display of hyper-masculinity that is associated with performative overcompensating from closeted gay men includes constantly talking about how much heterosexual intercourse they have (which, according to them, is a whole lot) and how much they love women. Carnally. Sometimes they may even hit on women to an absurd and almost cartoonish degree – but usually only performatively in front of others or to try and fool (or repulse) the woman on the receiving end! The goal of a closeted gay person telegraphing heterosexual stereotypes to such an extreme degree is to either:

1. fool other people into thinking that they are not gay (which is often not very successful)

2. Keep themselves in denial by playing the part of an ultra-straight dude.

So, if I am using hypersexualized hetero behavior as the main parameter for how gay-coded a character is, I could argue that Mineta is more gay-coded than Kirishima is. He’s not, but I could make the argument.

But why would a gay person feel the need to do either of these things? Oof. Ain’t that the question. Masculine fragility has different nuances between cultures, but it isn’t exclusive to English-speaking countries. Modern Japan (read: Meiji era to post-World War II Japan that did its damnedest to Westernize as rapidly as possible) is relatively homophobic and views homosexuality as, well, “unmanly”. You can read more about that in the kouha and nanshoku Wikipedia articles I’ve linked. That’s the power of comphet!

That said, I don’t think Kirishima is gay-coded based on his affinity for manly stuff. He’s not using it to compensate for his sexuality. If anything, at his lowest, he used his “kouha-manly” presentation to compensate for his self-perceived lack of heroic and “manly” spirit. True heroism is what defines Kirishima and Crimson Riot’s perception of “manliness”, not sexuality. In fact, that’s the core of why their ideology is so progressive and why it flies in the face of its kouha-presenting packaging.

I mean, Kirishima could have any sexuality out there, but I don’t think his “kouha-manly” look is meant to be indicative of it, whatever it is.

Mina Ashido: A Portrayal of Power in Modern Japan

Mina is a major foil to Kirishima, so this writeup would be incomplete if I didn’t talk about her. If Kirishima is the “manly” Japan of a bygone era questioning how he can be relevant, Mina is “effeminate” modern-day, westernized Japan. Also, Kirishima’s key color is red. Hot damn, that’s flashy! It’s also the color of the sun on the Japanese flag! How fitting that Mina is represented by pink, or “light red”.

Simplifying the characters of Mina and Kirishima primarily by gender categories like that is a little more charged than I would prefer, but let me explain my logic.

During Japan’s occupation by the Allies after World War II, women gained, among other things, the right to vote. To quote Wikipedia directly: “It has been argued that the granting of rights to women played an important role in the radical shift Japan underwent from a war nation to a democratized and demilitarized country.”

They also were no longer bound exclusively to the home as wives and mothers, but could also take employment. Got it? Good. While I needed to explain this to set the stage for the stark difference in gender politics between the kouha’s heyday and womens’ standing after World War II, this is only loosely related to Mina and her portrayal.

Much like Kirishima, the biggest tells are evident in Mina’s look. In simple terms, traditional Japanese femininity isn’t flashy, isn’t westernized, and women don’t take the lead. Mina is flashy, westernized, and she does lead. In the manga, this is framed as a positive by her peers and something Kirishima admires and envies. (I have no idea how the older generation feels about it. We don’t know much about Mina’s personal life, unfortunately.)

Mina is a very modern girl. She stands out because of her natural appearance, but she also dresses ostentatiously whenever she isn’t wearing her high school uniform. Her look favors an updated spin on the gyaru subculture. In fact, while part of her natural appearance rather than intentional choice, I could argue that Mina’s startlingly black eyes and “unusual” skin is meant to indicate the yamanba (spinoff from ganguro) fashion subculture, but I’m not sure I am meant to go that far. Regardless of the specifics, everything about her appearance implies the largest commonality between most modern young Japanese women and every female-specific fashion subcultures (including lolita or kogal – Toga is a kogal): rejection of traditional gender roles and presentation.

I’m gonna sum up Kirishima’s own personal plot and backstory for the sake of reference.

Kirishima is a guy with a hardening quirk. It’s not flashy or particularly suited for offense or rescue, and he’s self-conscious about how “worthy” he is to be a hero not just because of his lackluster power, but because, in the past, he’s avoided stepping in situations where, if he were a true Hero, he would have stepped in and offered support without thinking about it!

Sound familiar?

Instead, his childhood friend (that he secretly admires very much but also feels very insecure around) stepped in to be capital-H heroic while he stood and gaped uselessly! And what’s worse? She is a GIRL. A WESTERNIZED GIRL did what he couldn’t do. So, obviously, if he can’t be more heroic and “manly” than a GIRL, he isn’t manly at all. And he’s scared of that.

Sound familiar?!

In high school, Kirishima puts on an outgoing persona (complete with a new hairstyle) inspired by his childhood hero (and also, lowkey, the childhood friend with which he associates the same kind of true heroism) to cover for his insecurities!

SOUND FAMILIAR?!

But that’s enough about how Kirishima and Mina’s story parallels Bakugo and Deku’s for now. Allow me to throw the other parallel in your face - the one between Mina and Kirishima and Japan and the US’s policy changes after WWII.

Mina, the modern, westernized Japanese girl, was first to act when “foreign power with old loyalty” Gigantomachia threatened their classmates. She solved the confrontation – and solved other confrontations with her peers – nonviolently. Meanwhile, kouha-aligned (militaristic and masculine Japan) Kirishima was not only unable to act (aka did not have any military influence), but felt completely useless and superfluous in both of these instances. (But later, when Gigantomachia re-emerges in a context that Mina cannot possibly solve on civil terms or with misdirection, Kirishima is able to defend her and do what she can’t. Even later, Mina learns the best ways to kick someone’s ass with her acid. She acts as the sword - or perhaps more precisely, the spear - to Kirishima’s shield.

If you didn’t know, the “sword and shield” analogy, or more commonly, “spear and shield” analogy is, or, at least, was, used to describe the US and Japan’s relationship after WWII. Whenever Kirishima talks about being the “ultimate shield” or “ultimate spear”, this means something.)

So, yes. This story is about the modern and traditional; the feminine and the masculine; the West and East. Just like Bakugo and Deku.

There exists a complicated relationship between national shame over losing the war, shame from Japan’s own war crimes, shame in Japan’s continued political ineffectiveness without a strong established military, and outright Japanese envy of the West for not only winning the war but epitomizing prosperity and modernity (or appearing to do so, at least.) I really don’t have the background to talk about this in-depth or respectfully. The point is that overt pride in the Japanese identity is a complicated issue, but particularly as it reflects in expressed Japanese masculinity. For Kirishima, his early relationship with Mina and the envy he feels towards her is a succinct crystallization of these feelings in allegory form.

In the Bakugo presentation, I mentioned that the shonen genre was “born” after World War II and the art form still incorporates postwar baggage. This includes the aftermath of the nation reeling from its lack of military power after the war. I’ve already drawn a clear line between Japanese military might and its masculinity, so I don’t feel I need to elaborate much about why I make this next statement: a significant swath of the Japanese felt the loss of military power emasculated the country (which, as discussed through Mina, made it “effeminate”. Or, depending on the perspective, it “infantilized” the country. This introductory course examining shojo manga and identity touches on the infantilization of Japan through media exports and branding if you’d like to read another perspective using this terminology.)

I feel I should mention that Japan’s current crisis regarding declining birth rates is often associated with the lack of “properly masculine” men and the growing ability of modern Japanese women to put off or refuse marriage.The first observational piece about male subgroups discusses how masculine identity and neo-nationalism seem to be closely associated or even conflated for one another by the individuals in the neo-nationalist subgroup, but also alludes to the fact that a lack of clearly defined masculinity is being treated as a national crisis since it is seen as a prohibitive factor for Japan’s current generation to start families. To that end, Prime Minister Shinso Abe pushed for a variety of measures to encourage people to have kids.

In fact, Shinso Abe has achieved meme status in international otaku circles because whenever an anime or manga encourages or portrays sex for the purpose of procreation and raising a family as expected and singularly correct, the community wonders if it’s anime propaganda aimed at encouraging Japanese viewers to go have kids. This, combined with the fact that Shueisha/Shonen Jump upholds certain beliefs and gender/sexuality power dynamics in their company policy that is reflected in their published titles, will be important later in this series of presentations. For now, it’s just something to think about.

In shonen manga, including this one, the focus on men/growing mens’ identity (and the Japanese-specific flavor of masculinity) in a modern and changing world comes up a lot. While not directly related to Kirishima’s chosen counterculture influences, here’s a link to download an observational piece describing three notable cishet male Japanese subgroups struggling to define (or redefine) their own masculinity and identity: herbivorous men (kind of like western hipster metrosexuals), otaku (you know what these are), and Japanese petit-nationalists (basically neo-nationalists. And yes, they share elements from Kirishima’s aesthetic. If this were about Spinner and any heteromorph characters, this particular group would be much more relevant to this discussion.) Here’s another piece focused on “genderless” danshi and masculinity. Both of these pieces discuss the precarious correlation between male identity, community, presentation, and values. That, and I think they’re neat topics – though I do suggest you think critically about what you read in them.

Anyway, let’s get back to talking about this damn manga.

If you ever asked yourself, “How would Bakugo and Deku’s relationship differ if Deku had a quirk?” or, “How would Bakugo and Deku’s relationship differ if one of them was a girl?”, here’s your answer: it would be very similar to the relationship between Kirishima and Mina. Most of the relationships between pairs or sets of characters is meant to reflect off of the relationship between Bakugo and Deku in some way as either a compare/contrast exercise or to show how different things could be if fate had conspired to make one or two small differences in their lives.

This is thematically crucial to understand for almost every moment in the story.

Reflections of Kirishima’s Feelings of Inadequacy and Powerlessness

Kirishima and Bakugo have a lot in common. It’s not terribly surprising they became friends even when Bakugo was at his worst, since Kirishima could likely relate to where he was coming from and how he was feeling on some level.

If you thought Mina being a girl was inconsequential to Kirishima’s feelings of inadequacy, think again. Luckily for everyone, Kirishima isn’t as much of a sensitive, fragile, and dramatic bitch as Bakugo about his insecurities.

Kirishima also hadn’t been explicitly stewing on them as they applied to one specific person for roughly 11 years of his life, either, so. There’s that.

Bakugo’s relationship with Kirishima is an introductory course for him on how to have a positive relationship with Deku. For Kirishima, Bakugo is a proxy for relating to and helping the person in his life that he admires most: Mina.

But the Kirishima-Bakugo parallel isn’t the only parallel we need to draw.

Arguably, Kirishima shares more similarities with Deku than Bakugo (but, of course, Deku and Bakugo are also very similar, too.) Kirishima is not confident in himself, mimics his idol very closely, is very concerned with upholding the status quo (through interpersonal harmony), got into UA through his effort rather than because he has a well-suited quirk, is quick to act “heroically” and put others before himself, is quick to throw himself into danger on others’ behalf (he’s got a hardening quirk, so unlike Deku he doesn’t mangle himself repeatedly with these stunts), and has an I-won’t-admit-it-for-most-of-the-series-but-I-will-broadcast-it-in-other-ways object of admiration in his childhood friend Mina.

Also, Kirishima feels woefully inadequate when compared to Mina because, in his eyes, she already has the appearance of a hero (and professional Hero.)

Kirishima’s outgoing attitude is a product of him pushing himself to be more like Mina in charisma and approachability. The horns of his hair are also inspired by her, too. While both of these things can be framed as parallels to Bakugo’s admiration of Deku as I did earlier, they are more on-the-nose for Deku’s penchant for intentionally talking like Bakugo when he wants to psyche himself out and copying all of Bakugo’s moves in order to best harness his quirk. And, of course, when Kirishima and Deku don disguises to go save Bakugo, they choose outfits with exaggerated horns (like Mina) and a Yakuza/delinquent persona (like Bakugo) respectively.

Kirishima seems to be able to “read the room” when it comes to the relationship between Deku and Bakugo - and in both directions. Personally, I am not surprised that he chooses to quietly support both of them when it comes to the other.

But perhaps the more interesting parallel is the one drawn between Bakugo and Mina.

When Mina uncovers Kirishima’s “secret” (he dyed his hair and changed his outward persona to make a good impression as a friendly and outgoing guy with his “high school debut” rather than come off as a shy fanboy), it’s analogous to Deku telling (albeit vaguely) Bakugo about One for All at the beginning of the manga. Both scenes even take place at the start of the school year with cherry blossoms in the background and stuff. Later in the series, after Bakugo figures out the full secret of OfA (much like Mina figures out that Kirishima wants to be popular), he even explicitly says he’ll keep Deku’s secret.

Mina and Bakugo are both described as “amazing” and both imply significant discomfort over the generalized compliment. It’s a huge expectation to carry.

Mina’s “Alien Queen” is denied as a Hero name just as Bakugo’s “King Explosion Murder”. Huh. Funny, that.

Kirishima and Mina are constantly improving using the other as inspiration, just as Deku and Bakugo do. They learn from other sources, too, of course, but these two sets of characters have an established feedback loop.

While Bakugo doesn’t struggle academically like Mina, especially during the training camp, his personal failures, many of which are social, are often broadcast on television. Both of them look like idiots in front of their respective foils.

Also, Bakugo and Mina both kicked ass at the school festival - Mina with the dancing and Bakugo on the drums. Deku and Kirishima were, you know, support. Extras.

During the festival, Mina and Bakugo were also both demanding taskmasters - Mina expected the best of her dance crew while Bakugo always had something to say about the pace and technique of his band members. Ha!

When Kirishima saves Mina in their confrontation with Gigantomachia, he does it without regard for his own safety (after initially hesitating and panicking like Deku did for the first part of the sludge villain incident!) Gigantomachia is also, interestingly, a shared past foe of Kirishima and Mina much like the sludge villain is for Bakugo and Deku.

Considering how they parallel one another and how Mina’s Acidman Alma is inspired by Todoroki and Bakugo, I like to think that her win against the sludge villain was an inadvertent moment of revenge on Bakugo’s behalf, even if her character didn’t intend for it to be.

Chapter 383′s initial fan title translation of “A Small Heart” is also interesting, considering how the turn of phrase relates to the figures of speech used for Bakugo’s ego in the manga’s early chapters (inflated heart.) Viz translated it as “Meek Spirits”. A “small heart” seems to indicate cowardice or fear on Mina’s part (or the Sludge villain’s.) Despite Bakugo’s inflated ego (heart), his was also rather small in terms of facing his secret fears of inadequacy and, well, Deku.

The point is, even when Mina and Bakugo’s hearts were “small”, they saved Kirishima and Deku respectively.

Someone who knows more about Japanese could say more on this, as well as share more disambiguation between whether the English or Japanese connotations of the word “heart” are at play here. There’s some discussion about that in the Uraraka-Bakugo-Toga presentation.

For all her confidence, Mina gets scared and nervous, too. But she doesn’t give up!

Mina gets it done!

Will Bakugo and Deku accomplish what Mina and Kirishima have? I dunno. But even so,

Kirishima rocks on his own and alongside Mina!

#bnha #bnha meta #bnha manga spoilers #kirishima eijiro #mina ashido #kirimina #bakugo katsuki #izuku midoriya #bakudeku #kiribaku #mha meta #mha spoilers #my hero academia #kirishima presentation

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too-many-rooks · 17 days

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Spoiler warning: Long rambly notes I took while watching season 3, disclaimer that a lot of this is just character moments/lines I found interesting and initial bones of an au idea for a burgeoning, extremely self indulgent slightly-darker-Alex in season 3 wip I’ve started.

Also it was the middle of the night and I was very tired and wired out of my gourd on some mix of cheap white wine and floods of hyperfixation-sourced dopamine. Also also I only started taking notes at ep 3?

Episode 3

Alex is SUCH a better spy this season than when he began even in the first few episodes prior to SCORPIA training he’s more careful and precise and the team feels better organised - he did so well on that boat I’m so proud of my baby

I’m actually enjoying Tom and Kyra fucking about more than I expected. Tom pulling Kyra together after the boat explosion suprised me by how emotive it was. But I do want them to.. go away. Alex should more isolated/desperate/have NO other choices than SCORPIA.

Everything in Malagosto seems so staged to just see how Alex will react to it all - here’s an unlocked door, here’s an Alex sized vent and a dead spot in the cameras, what are you gonna do about it? +Alex absolutely speaks French I think he’s just not giving that away yet

Oh yes yes lingering bad touch from Julia Rothman hitting the right notes even though that costume is a WILD kaftan moment. Evil carmen sandiago/noir femme fatale aesthetic where are you I miss you so much

Ohhhh Julia saying Ian walked away and abandoned him and that was what hit him worst oh my goooooooooood

(Outfit change from julie mean day change or is she just a multiple outfits a day kinda person. Believable, I guess)

Julia’s gaslighting I ssoooo crazy ‘we trust you. We want you.’ After having his closest people not trust him, and now maybe questioning if Ian even wanted him!

Julia fucking loved this, she’s totally thrilled by her own power. Queen 👸🏻.

God Jones and the department is going THROUGH IT THIS SEASON, just suddenly surrounded by corpses

Julia : offers irrefutable proof, upsets him, then presses him to continue believing what he did before and belittling his objections - very subtle but more firm tone of voice, less motherly/accepting, very clear that the noose around Alex’s neck is always there.

She’s so delighted at the prospect of making Alex into the perfect soldier

Julia: “I want you to meet your tutor”

Me: ‘here he here he comes here he comes.’ And then I threw of my blanket, pushed myself onto my knees, and started bouncing and palm clapping in sheer delight. I basically never happy stim like this but MY GOD the flood of dopamine is IMMENSE.

More manic laughter at the start of episode 4 realising I’m about to see John and young Yassen. Nicuragua! 18 years ago!

God nervous baby Yassen with a gun

HES!! SO!!! BABY!!!

Baby boy already got his colour scheme locked down

Baby Yassen has curls - is it just the humidity or maybe does he have naturally curly hair that he straightens so he looks less cute?

Johns actor has a real resemblance to Ian (and Jack Lowden) but less so to otto

Ohoho scar moment scar moment bc Yassen was nervous and fucked up two people one bullet

“Close your eyes” as I tell these people I’m going to shoot you and have faith

God cut to adult Yassen WATCHING ALEX SLEEP LOOKING SO INTENSE

“Leave the past behind us.” “Ian rider was a professional. It was not personal it was my job.” “Think of this as a school and your dead by the end of the day” (actual honesty for the first time)

Alex not committing to being able to work with Yassen is perfect

Yassen taking Alex TO HIS KNEES so easily besties not been slowed down too much by a bullet to the chest

Soaking wet!!!!!!!!

Alex shooting scene amazing, as was Yassen bursting into his room immediately after for a murder pep talk. Alex has no privacy privileges from Yassen

Yassen removing the humanity from his targets, names/faces/lives are irrelevant, they are just blank targets. “One day you’ll have to murder them.”

“That’s not gonna happen”

Yassen *be so ffr rn face*

Really interesting to see the other side of the department covering up an agent death and lying to the family - I like the department with more humanity/emotional resonance than pure ruthlessness

Shitty Malagosto communal dorm room and matching drab grey hoodies my beloved

Shame there’s no ‘your not afraid of a little prick are you?’ ‘I wouldn’t call you that’ line. (But switching out the ‘getting vaccinated will implant you with secret nano tech that will kill you’ plottline probs a good idea)

Ooooh Julia creepily poisoning him so excited making me think of her delighting in drugging him in a cocktail of ‘let me take care of you’ ways

Yassen pulling rank to break up the fight!!

Ooh Nile wants to take down Yassen so bad.

Toms film skills coming in clutch recording/ documenting things so Alex will be taken seriously, glad to see him be… less of a dead weight to the team

Begrudgingly-impressed-at-Alex Yassen, even with the “come on that’s a bad idea”, “yeah, but!” Teenagerisms

Yassen’s core (suppressed) emotions: fear, doubt, panic

Alex: love, hope, friendship (okay dear, 🙄 but remember you’re literally becoming an assassin why are you so niave all of a sudden?)

Alex insisting John saved him bc he had compassion and was his friend and that Yassen’s rejection of that makes him lonely oh oh my heart my heart

I LOVE how much fun Nile has being evil at his job, which is threatening children.

Episode 5

Oh my god HIT HIM ALEX where do you think you are? How do you think you’ll actually manage to get those trainees to trust you? Stop whining and hit the man with a wooden sword, christ

Smithers (in reference to Alex) “he’s out there being a teenager because of us” *cut to Alex, very much in danger, contemplating his capacity to kill*

Julia: “no one leaves,” [scorpia, me, interchangeable to her]

mission with Yassen!

Packing for the mission with Yassen!!!

Yassen can’t read his handwriting!!!

“You’ve put… lockpick?”

“I left my last one in Nile. “

Alex bitching about his meagre gadgets at point Blanc 💯

Matching tactical turtlenecks!!!

“I don’t want you to fail. I don’t want you to die.”

Alex and Yassen are a team but Yassen gives Alex command of them oh boysieeeee

Again glad they dropped the vaccine bit: vaccines aren’t dangerous, but vaping is!!

Of on a road trip with Yassen!!

A murder road trip!

Love Kyra seeing the shot and the body - I know why it didn’t happen but I do kinda wish for a more corrupted violent Alex coerced/bargained into firing it himself

That Tom confrontation was great - I do want to see it as like a ‘your getting in my way’ intentional cruelty to push him away and keep him safe when Alex is too deep in SCORPIA to be deluded about thinking he can go home

Alex rejects intimacy with Julia and she cracks down her authority ‘no one leaves’

Ep 6

Love Alex spooky in the cemetery, SCORPIA hot on his heels

Sharing a grotty safe house together god SO GOOD

“We trust each other. You should try it sometime.”

“If it’s not emotional why do you do it?”

“Because it’s my job. (Identity/life/personal connections/sacrificed everything for) I work for SCORPIA. I’m good at it. You could be too.” Olive branch of intimacy - wants alex to be more like him, so they can be equals, can share this life that he apparently finds satisfaction in, not thinking or making decisions beyond how best to achieve his goal/finish the task(/order)assigned to him/subject himself to feeling emotions/thinking about his life beyond his attempts to depersonalise himself as just a weapon - just a professional with no emotions, and that that is fundamentally who he is. Evidently having some inconvenient feelies about Alex tho.

Oh no his delivery disguise makes him look like a caveman. Glad he took off the accessories for the Jones confrontation, his hair actually looks great there all tousled. (Beginning to realise how important characters hair is to me bc I still hate Julia’s I want some dark perfect waves this Bob is ough)

I’m really glad they settled on Yassen NOT knowing about John - he twists it that John didn’t betray him bc he had nothing to gain from being kind to him, so it wasn’t false, but he is so 100% loyal to John, eager to twist any criticism. I do wish we’d seen more of their relationship, but expecting some Russian roulette bits was overly optimistic

“I know my place” he’s IMMEDIATELY off to rescue his boy (actually, where did he go? All of that last episode I was just WHAT ABOUT YASSEN? Was he just plotting a rescue that didn’t need to happen and waiting for his boy to show up?)

Dare I say… good for blunt? Stephen dillane is just so charming I can’t help but like him. And you see some flashes of his ruthlessness like when he talks to Greif but he’s not a 24/7 conniving monster. Also Jones in charge and Alex possibly (definitely) returning to spy work in a couple of years? I like that. Totally abandoning it would have felt unsatisfying.

Loved that moment on the roof - missed opportunity for them to awkwardly wave at each other, but I’m so happy I predicted wrongly and Yassen gets to live and walk away and put down his weapons. There’s so much space for how they can reconnect in that.

#alex rider #alex rider spoilers #Alex rider season 3 spoilers

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sandeewithtwoe · 1 month

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Hold on- If Ink is Entrapta, then…

Killer would be Scorpia 👀👀

I don’t know who that is 😭

Her? Killer would totally dig the scorpion aesthetic

#me answers #I’m loving her black lipstick thooo #I would let her crush me #who said that

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spop-romanticizes-abuse · 7 months

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Other than catra/catradora, what problems do you have with the show?

oh boy, where do i even start? i'm just gonna try and keep it short because if i try to explain every single aspect in detail, this post could be turned into a book. so i'm just gonna list out all the problems i have with this show, both in terms of problematic elements and poor writing.

blatant ableism towards the autistic character

bullying and mistreatment of a young boy being played for laughs

war and desolation being used as an Aesthetic™ rather than a theme/message

rushed and poorly written character arcs (and no, it's not just catra)

amatonormativity and forced ships (the show is supposed to be representative of the LGBT community, yet almost all of the characters need to end up in a relationship, in order to have a happy ending)

boring and poorly written Final Boss™

too much fanservice (little snippets of fanservice is fine but when you ignore and disrespect canon just so you can make the viewers happy, that's a problem)

an entire kingdom is conquered and its people probably killed/seriously harmed, and its ruler is shown moping around in a bathtub and eating ice cream as if they got stood up by their date instead (this connects to my earlier point about war being trivialized)

the only non-binary representation being a shapeshifting lizard creature (look, i like double trouble as a character but you have to admit that they're not exactly good representation)

one of the most powerful female characters in OG she-ra being reduced to the "doting aunt" (for a show that claims to be about empowering women, they sure ignore the powerful women in canon)

weird pacing and inconsistencies (apparently two or three years passed within the five seasons, yet the characters haven't aged at all, especially frosta who supposedly went from 12 to 14, yet looks exactly the same)

the princesses are useless (they should have named the show 'Catra and the others' lmao)

overuse of character archetypes instead of making original characters (the peaceful vegan flower princess who sometimes loses her temper, the depressed emo girl™, the hyperactive child™)

stereotyping of certain communities (the high-functioning autistic genius, the angry latina, the predatory lesbian, etc)

bad comedy (this is probably subjective and i don't expect everyone to agree, but most of the comedic elements is SPOP was just.. corny. only scorpia worked well as a comic relief character imo)

the only polyamory representation being two bullies and their victim

death of the author™ (basically, confirming things outside of the series, instead of portraying them well in canon)

plot holes and unsatisfying conclusions (adora's origin was a huge plot point in s4 but they completely abandon it in the last season)

there may be a lot that i've missed because i have a goldfish brain and tend to forget stuff. but i'd say these are the main problems i have with the show. it did a few things right, but fucked up on a thousand others.

#spop critical #spop #spop salt #spop discourse #spop criticism #anti catradora #she ra #anti catra #feel free to add your own grievances in the replies or reblog!!

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doctordumblesstark · 17 days

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Things I loved about season 3 of Alex Rider

Yassen as Alex's mentor and guardian

Julia Rothman as the vengeful leader of Scorpia, she plays Alex and Yassen very well, pulling the strings behind their backs.

Mrs Jones. Just wow. Her scenes were so powerful, just all around impressive

Nile and Yassen's relationship

The water bottle fight. World class.

Alex being sassy and a little brat

Alex complying when Yassen declared the training over after refusing when previously told to stop.

Albert Bridge! The way they immersed Blunt and Alex in showing what really happened was a wonderful piece of film work.

The planning of the operations Alex carries out with Yassen, just gave me so many Devilverse vibes

The department actually having Alex's back and them working together. Especially the rescue mission from the home secretary.

Alan Blunt getting character development and not just being a cartoonish bad guy as he is in the books. I actually prefer this more rounded version of Blunt

The action scenes were better choreographed, more visually impactful and really well done. The overall mix of action, dialogue, stealth, drama and humour just was well done

Malagosto. Not surprising that with how they have chosen to depict the department (in constant darkness!) Malagosto would be underground, but it really worked well with the aesthetics they have chosen and makes sense in the universe. Also the rivalry between Alex and the others... I'd be worried too if the newbie gets a single room when I have to share with the others ;)

Scorpia's threat level. They are a really well balanced opponent to the department, making them hard to take down and in charge and control for most of the season with the department having to work incredibly hard to take them down

A great balance between technology/gadgets and old school spying. Really felt realistic and good use of Kyra, Smithers and Scorpia tech without it becoming a trope like Batman's utility belt

The overall more rounded off storytelling approach and more realistic character representation

Things I thought were unrealistic or unbelievable

Jay not knowing his brother is into film, when he clearly knows Tom and Alex are not going to the beach. Tom's character is shown again and again as a film buff and we all know his desire for pursuing a film career

Also felt weird of dropping that in and then never resolving that storyline. What was Jay's purpose other than some comic relief and one piece of wisdom and for Tom to show he chooses Alex over himself?

Jack saying "if Alex can do spy shit so can we". What an utterly stupid line. That's not how it works, Alex is trained and has skills you guys don't have. There are many good reasons Alex is good at this and not many for the rest of you to think you'd be too.

Kyra saying to Tom not to say anything to the police and then answering the police officer after Jack has already essentially freed them

The whole conversation between Jones and Jack in the garage was confusing. It felt like they switched roles halfway through.

#alex rider #alex rider series #alex rider season 3 #alex rider spoilers #yassen gregorovich #mrs jones #alan blunt #tulip jones #julia rothman #scorpia

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rheesvandar · 6 months

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She-Ra characters’ favorite movies!!! This one will probably be pretty controversial.

Adora: Alien. But she gets scared and has to cuddle with Catra (that’s her favorite part).

Catra: Predator. She can’t tell who she’s rooting for half the time though.

Glimmer: Captain Harlock: Space Pirate. She loves the aesthetic.

Bow: Star Wars. He’s very opinionated on the watch order.

Perfuma: Up in Smoke (never gonna let that joke go)

Mermista: Knives Out (but she’s waiting for the MerMysteries movie franchise)

Sea Hawk: The Princess Bride. He fancies himself Westley.

Scorpia: She’s a MCU fan and can’t pick her favorite of them.

Double Trouble: They hate watch Master of Disguise regularly.

Entrapta: Pacific Rim. Giant mechs! Fighting! Tech!

Hordak: Sleepless in Seattle. He loves romcoms!

Madame Razz: Primer. To her the plot is very straightforward, predictable, and linear

Shadow Weaver: Matilda. She has no idea why such wonderful and caring parents were so maligned!

Frosta: Godzilla movies. She has plans for an ice kaiju once she gets better at controlling her powers.

Micah: Star Trek: Wrath of Khan. He and Bow get into arguments about the better franchise and Glimmer has to tear them apart.

Kyle: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - He fancies himself Scott. He isn’t.

Kadroh: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He loves how wrong it is about the universe!

Melog: The Aristocats. ‘Nuff said.

Netossa and Spinnerella: Lord of the Rings. They watch the Extended Editions together at least once a year.

Horde Prime: Horde Prime The Movie: A Horde Prime Production by Light Of Horde Prime Studios

#she ra spop #spop #spop entrapta #spop hordak #spop catra #spop adora #spop glimmer #spop bow #spop perfuma #spop mermista #spop sea hawk #wrong hordak #kadroh #madame razz #spop frosta #shadow weaver #spop kyle

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edge-lorde · 1 year

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more spop world building notes

i was talking with an irl friend about my brightmoon head canons and mentioned to them how odd it was that the boats in spop don't seem to sit in the water, as can be seen from this screenshot of sea worthy:

they also float in the air sometimes i guess.

example of them in the water:

my friend noted that the fins look like hydrofoils , something i hadn't known about. theyre basically fins that go on the bottom of a boat and, qutoe from the wiki--

"As a hydrofoil craft gains speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the water, decreasing drag and allowing greater speeds."

real hydrofoils look like this:

the resemblance is even better with hydrofoil boards.

real hydrofoils have structures that go under the water in order to give the boat/board the lift to be able to rise up like this

but what if the same effect could be achieved a different way?

we know that there's a stark difference in technology between the horde and the rest of etheria, but Horde navel vessels also appear to float just over the surface of the water despite looking much heavier than the other etherian ships we see.

we also know they have other floating land vehicles like the skiffs.

much of their other vehicle technology has a scorpion aesthetic, as it was adopted or stolen from scorpias former kingdom. examples:

we also know that first one's technology combined magic with regular technology, and entrapta seems to be the first person to have been able to reinvent this kind of tech during the events of the show.

We also know that the galactic horde doesn't use magic in its technology at all, as its a major plot point in season 5.

other people have made theories that i agree with, (but don't feel like trying to dig up their posts) that when hordak arrived on etheria, he did so at a time when anti-princess sentiment was already high and was adopted into an existing conflict because he brought with him stronger technology that could even the playing field with people with magical powers. he then would joined with the scorpion nation in this effort in some way-- whether it was mutually beneficial or not.

this is the image of the scorpion nation being taken over by the horde that light spinner showed micah as a child to convince him to help her grow her own magical abilities

it should be noted that light spinner/shadow weaver was at this time a powerful sorceress in illusory magics and is a villian well known for manipulating children in her care (adora, catra, micah). The scorpion kingdom take over could have happened like this or been more of a mutual endeavor and this is just what she chose to show micah because she knew it would compel him to action. Evidence could point either way. Scorpia is the only living scorpion person we ever see in the show, but she's also been treated well (has her own room with a picture of her parents with her on display and a closet full of dresses) and been given status beyond her abilities in the horde. she's supposed to be a force captain in season one, before even catra is made one, and yet when she is left in charge of a crew of soldiers its played for laughs, as if she's never had to do that before in a meaningful way. at least to me, speaks to there having been an alliance between the growing Horde and the scorpion kingdom at least at some point, and maybe a promise to take care of a young princess that was honored.

the textual evidence in support of hordak bringing advanced tech to an old conflict is scorpia mentioning before the prom that the other princesses didn't like her kingdom even before the war, the face that the horde cadets grew up being fed anti-princess propaganda despite the horde harboring a known princess in a position of authority, and the tech that the horde has. As i said before some of it has a scorpion motif like it came from the scorpion kingdom, but some of it does look like what we see of galactic horde tech, notably hordaks lasers and the green forcefield prison cells present in both hordes.

we also know that hordak himself is an engineer, having made many technologies presumably by himself-- such armor to hide and manage his medical condition, something he did not want other people to know about. So its my opinion that all of the tech we seen in the etherian horde is an amalgamation of scorpion tech, galactic horde tech adapted by hordak as well as new designs he invented. none of which use magic before entrapta joins the horde.

so what is my point? well, the other etherian kingdoms other than dryl dont seem to use any modern tech at all, at least at the structural level. like bow and his parents have a data pads they can call each other with, but much of the way people are living in etheria looks almost medieval. the princesses dont seem to have any ground vehicles at all for example.

and yet both sides have floating boats.

one could say the princesses boats are magical while the horde boats use some kind of magnets or some other floating technology we don't have.

you know what they do both have?

FLOATING ROCKS

so all of this to say...

what if they put rocks in the boat and it make it go up instead of down????

#and this is a technology that predates the horde which is why they both have it #but simple enough they dont need the secrets of first ones tech to do it #spop #shera #rambling #scorpia meta #hordak meta #spop meta #thoughts #sorry #this went on for way too long lol #i had a bit about hordak inventing the internet #i left it out cause its too long as it is but theres not much more to it than that #i just think it was him

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imaginationfanstar · 4 months

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Spop Beauty Pageant AU

So it’s kind of a twist on the pageant trope because I want it to be more inclusive and focus on cis nonconforming beauty standards. So the pageant would feature the entire cast and the different ways they express their beauty and confidence.

Double Trouble is a nonbinary icon. They make anything and everything look good 😎👑🧑‍🎤

Bow is a transmasc gender nonconformist. Dude loves his crop tops, and has no problems wearing flower crowns or donning a skirt when the mood strikes him.☀️🌼🏹

Glimmer is a short, chubby queen. She enjoys frills, pastels, and sparkles 💖 She, also, prefers to wear boots with everything and short hair; a sort of Rebel in Pink kind of style. 🦹‍♀️ 💅

Adora’s got a strong athletic style that leans towards gender neutral. However, it’d be fun to explore her softer feminine side with formal wear.👟🎀⚔️

Catra has this Punk Rock meets Femme Fatale vibe that’s super attractive 🎸🗡️ and yet she’d never be caught dead in a dress ☠️. A plaid skirt with ripped leggings underneath is the closest she’s likely to get. 😼

While Scorpia is a gorgeous wall of muscle she has a strong feminine style 👠💋. Additionally, in modern AUs, she is often times depicted with a prosthetic arm or two 🦾

Mermista and Perfuma have a pretty self explanatory aesthetic. However, Mermista’s character is meant to explore a non-western culture, while Perfuma herself could be read as a trans feminine woman. 🔱🥻💐💚

I’d love to explore Frosta. She also comes from a non-western cultural background with an elemental aesthetic but her style isn’t fully fleshed out either. One could lean towards multiple directions. I’d like to play around with her hair maybe add multicolored streaks, possibly an undercut. 🌨️❄️⛄️

Then there’s Sea Hawk who while very masculine in appearance is also very bisexual and body positive with his flamboyant over the top appearance. 🔥🏴‍☠️⚓️

I could see older characters like Angella, Light Hope, Spinnerella and Netossa, even Hordak acting as the judges. 🪽⚛️ 🌪️🌐💃

I’d probably add Entrapta as a stylist since she has no interest in competition. The spacesuits she took the time to design, along with Hordak’s armor, demonstrates how admirable her skills for fashion are. 👩‍💻 🪡🧵

Shadow Weaver could be a scorned and bitter pageant Queen trying to relive her glory days through one of kids (probably Adora). 🤡😒

Casta and Micah could be the cohost. I could see Micha dressing in drag for some his appearances too. 🧔‍♀️🔮🎤

Edited Jan. 22, 2024

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multifandomthoughts · 3 months

Text

TW: AFAB reader, pain play, BDSM, restraints, penetration with a strap on

Author’s Note: I’m aware that Scorpia’s tail normally induces paralysis, but I felt that didn’t exactly work with what I wanted to produce, so I just reduced it to a bit of pain.

“We’re gonna be late!” You shout, trying to get your girlfriend to hurry up. It was your anniversary, and you had planned a spectacular night out filled with fancy food and incredible atmosphere. You were dressed in a sleek black strapless dress, with matching pumps. Unbeknownst to Scorpia, however, there was a fun secret with your outfit to be discovered later.

Scorpia, had finally finished getting ready, and you could feel your eyes pop out of your head. There, in all her glory, she stood in a shimmering red dress with high heels that seemed a bit difficult to walk in. You giggle a bit and go over to her. “Are you sure you want to wear those darling? What happens if we decide to go dancing or do something more active, like dancing?”

“I’ll be fine, I promise!” She laughs, shrugging off your concerns. “Plus, I know you wouldn’t pull something like that on me without giving me an out!” “You’re right, I’m just concerned about your safety. I wouldn’t want my special girl to hurt herself on a night out!”

With a blush, her claw grips your hand as the two of you walk out to her car. Getting into the passenger seat, you psyche yourself up. It’s been a while since you’ve been out to dinner at such a fancy place, partly because your dates with Scorpia had been so casual.

You arrive at your destination, and enter the premises. You had heard about this restaurant from some friends, and the way they described it, it seemed like the perfect kind of unique and sophisticated for your anniversary date.

Ducking inside, you grip your girlfriend’s claw. You stand up and gawk at the walls. The walls are made of rock, and have plants protruding from the ceiling. You had been told the aesthetic was cavernous, but you didn’t know exactly how cavernous. Scorpia is in awe as if she’s never seen a cave before, despite having lived a lot of her life in the horde. As you admire the decor, you stand and wait quietly to confirm your reservation.

The waiter leads you to the table, as you can see Scorpia visibly struggling with her heels. Wrapping your arm around her back, you help to steady her as the two of you reach your seats. Plopping down, you give her an “I told you so…” smirk. Looking away, her face flushes a deep red as if she doesn’t want to admit her mistakes.

Crouching underneath the table, you slip her shoes off. “C’mon, you didn’t have to do that, you’ve already caused me enough embarrassment….” Clicking your tongue and shaking your head, you say nothing and just remove the offending shoes.

Without a word, you sit back in your seat, scooting closer. You slide your hand up her leg, leaving gentle lingering touches. A light blush dusts Scorpia’s face as she nods at you, a signal that she’s okay with the physical contact.

Throughout the rest of your dinner, you exchange subtle touches, tossing compliments at each other, doing your best to get the other riled up. When it comes time to pay the check, you were practically vibrating in your seat.

You had Scorpia so riled up, that she couldn’t even look you in the eye without blushing. The bill is paid, and you practically bolt towards the door with her. She doesn’t even seem to notice, or mind that she’s not wearing her shoes, clutching them in her grasp. It’s probably better that way.

Running out to the car, you plop down into your seat. Before you can say anything, you put your hands on scorpia’s face and pull her in for a long and passionate kiss. Pulling away, you two are breathing heavily, looking into each other’s lust filled eyes. “This is just for until we get home.”

Silently, you return home, the air in the car thick with tension. You get out of the car, opening Scorpia’s door for her, gripping her claw tightly. You unlock the door to the house, and immediately lead her to your shared bedroom.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, you beckon her with your finger. Once she gets close enough, you pull her down on top of you with another passionate kiss.

“Scorpia….restrain me….” You gasp in between kisses. It’s something that you’ve mentioned before in passing, but never had the guts to actually tell her during the act. “Alright, I can do that….but in exchange I want you to allow me to use my tail on you.”

You nod, gently pushing her off you. Now that you have her attention, you begin to peel the black dress off your body, revealing a matching set of sheer red lingerie. It’s no fun if you can’t surprise her; it’s best to show off now before you’re bound.

You pull Scorpia onto the center of the bed, kicking the pillows off for more space. Pulling her in for a kiss, your lips connect, igniting a fire in your bellies. As the kiss continues, your hands roam all over Scorpia’s body, slipping up the underside of her dress.

Grasping her ass, you give it a squeeze. Scorpia looks over you with a faux-shocked face. “Oh, how naughty! I think you’re going to have to be punished….but before that…” Before she can finish her thought, she grabs the straps of her dress and pulls it off.

You can’t help but stare and revel in her bare body. Every curve, every shape was perfect for you and you just wanted to touch it. Reaching out, you prepare to touch. Gently, Scorpia pushes your hand away, a teasing shake of her head.

“Ah ah ah….you’ve been naughty, remember? It’s time for the punishment.” You frown, giving her the puppy dog eyes. Until you see the punishment. Hand cuffs. Not only that, but fuzzy handcuffs.

With your consent, Scorpia handcuffs you to the bed post as your eyes glimmer with delight. “If you continue to be naughty, you get the tail. Deal?” You nod your head yes.

Her claws then begin to roam over your body, removing the lingerie you had on. “So pretty…but it’s getting in the way of my claws. Be glad I don’t just snip these off.” Once it’s off your body, she begins to caress your hips, your legs, your chest. Once her claws reach your chest, you can’t help but squirm. And that’s when you feel it, a dull pain in your side.

Your eyes go wide, and you hold back a yelp. “What did I tell you honey? If you disobey me, you’re going to get stung. Now, as long as you don’t squirm, you won’t get the punishment. However, I want to hear all your moans.” All you can let out is a soft “Yes Scorpia.”

She then goes back to what she was doing, delicately caressing your body. This time you let out all the sounds you can, whimpers, moans and gasps. You can feel yourself begin to get damp as each minute movement makes you feel so good. Containing your movements were relatively easy, except when it came to your chest. She could clearly see you struggling with staying still, so she decides to kick it up a notch.

Her claws run from your ankles up to your thighs, admiring every inch of your body. “How are you feeling honey?” All you can muster out is a “G-good…” “What’s that? I can’t hear you, doll. Speak up.” This time, a bit more confident, you state: “Good, I’m really feeling good Scorpia.”

“Good. You know that at any point if it gets too much, you can tell me to stop, alright?” You nod, knowing from past experiences that this is true. Scorpia then goes back to what she was doing, caressing your hips, your stomach, your ass. It’s then when she begins to press gentle kisses against your inner thighs that you can feel what was a gentle heat in your body turn into a roaring inferno.

Scorpia looks up at you, your face turning a subtle red. “It looks like you’re ready for the main event doll, give me a second.” Turning around, she rummages through the bedside table, digging until she finds what she’s looking for.

A bright pink but rather girthy strap on, one that you hadn’t seen before. She must have got it specifically for your anniversary. You watch in awe as she slides on over her body. Once again, Scorpia reaches over to the bedside and coats the strap on in a generous amount of lube.

“You ready, honey?” She says in an almost sickly sweet voice. You can’t help but gasp out “Yes Scorpia, please give it to me!” With a smirk, she lines up the strap, and gently slides into you.

Your breath hitches, and you can’t help but let out a deep moan. “Fuck yes, Scorpia, that’s it.” With that comment, she begins to softly thrust in and out. If you weren’t bound, you would most definitely be covering your eyes in bliss.

Scorpia watches as you make such lovely sounds, and that only encourages her to go a little bit faster. You can feel yourself straining, doing your best not to squirm. It’s so pleasurable, so wonderful, that you can’t help but twitch. The familiar pain envelopes you once again, but it’s only sends more pleasure flowing through your body.

As time goes on, you could feel yourself getting hotter and hotter, as not only was Scorpia going faster, she was getting rougher. You can’t help but let out ear splitting moans as she hits your sweet spot, again and again.

Finally, you can feel that coil in your body at the point of snapping. Your wrists are beginning to become sore from leaning against the handcuffs so hard. You begin to twitch uncontrollably, and you know that Scorpia realizes that. In response, instead of stinging you multiple times, she just does one deep sting.

“Scorpia, I-I’m gonna….” And before you can finish your response, she retorts with “Go ahead honey, despite being so naughty, you’ve earned it.” And in that moment, whether it be from the pleasure that she’s making you feel, the pain, or both, that coil snaps. You can feel an overwhelming amount of pleasure cascade through your body as your body begins to go limp.

Breaths, ragged and shallow escape from your mouth. Scorpia, removing herself from you, crawls over to undo your handcuffs. “You did so good today….” She coos to you. “I know both of those things were new to you, but you seemed to take to both of them as a fish in water. How are you feeling?” Once your restraints are unlocked, you can’t help but lean forward and encase her in a hug.

“That was absolutely amazing and I’m feeling as high as a kite…we have to do it again sometime, but you in my place. But for now, let’s just relax, and unwind together….”

#spop x reader #she ra princesses of power x reader #she ra: princesses of power #she ra x reader #Scorpia #scorpia x reader

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n7punk · 1 year

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Let Me Ride Fic Notes

These notes are going to be shorter/looser than usual, this was an utter lie and I don't know why I thought I could abide by it when I wrote it a month ago. Anyway, Let Me Ride is done and as always I have meta.

Epilogue Life:

It's all set up in the fic, but they start working on spending time together more, talking things out, and generally fixing their relationship. They still have more growing to do, and integrating their lives and new friendships is kind of a struggle, but they get there.

Catra focuses on street racing a while, which is honestly good for their relationship at first because Catra feels like her skill is finally respected, but it's also really dangerous. As she slowly gets brought on as additional help ("as needed") around the track, she also gets access to the track itself during downtime through favoritism, and though she finds street racing a lot more fun, she can also acknowledge it's a lot safer for both herself and others to race on the track. She never fully quits being a nuisance on the roads - and neither does Adora, even if she stops participating in organized races - but she does slow down ("You've made me boring," she accuses Adora. That kind of stuff), it just takes a while.

Entrapta and Scorpia keep living together for a while until Scorpia ends up meeting Perfuma through the track (context further in the notes) and they spark up a relationship.

Playlist:

Dressed To Kill by The Wombats, Disco Heart by Gia Woods, Lesbionic by Gia Woods, Pineapple Slice by Tove Lo, WET by Lauren Sanderson, uh oh by Tate McRae (again), Whiplash by Alex Cappelli, 20 Questions by Zolita (yeah, I know it's a cheating song and the hook-ups aren't actually a problem in here, but it's more the energy of "Oh, did you get everything you wanted? Was it worth it?" applied to Adora leaving), and finally: Kiss Goodnight by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME. (All of this capitalization is correct).

Chapter 1:

"Let me ride" is... well we all know what it is, but it's also Adora quite literally going "Angella please let me ride", being told no, and then going sulking - accidentally - right into Catra's arms.

I don't think I ever mentioned this, actually, but there's been a steady amount of motorcycle catradora art over the years that of course acts as the big inspiration/motivation for doing a motorcycle AU.

Adora says she "shouldn't" look at the magicat because she's expecting one of two outcomes: 1) it's some random magicat and she might be in for another painful experience like she talks about in Chapter 4, or 2) it actually is Catra and everything ends up hurting more. She wasn't expecting a third choice.

As implied later and unsurprisingly, Adora is autistic in this, hence her strong attraction to certain sensations and need for them or else she gets deeply unsettled. She's just the rare case of an autistic not bothered by sound.

I decided to go with naming the bikes Swift Wind and Melog partially because Swift Wind just made sense for Adora's bike but also because Melog's role in the show as, essentially, a therapy animal for Catra underscores how much of her mental well-being is coming from racing at that point in her life.

Chapter 2:

Neighorhoods like Glimmer's are far from standard where I live right now, but I have seen them here and there when traveling in both fancy and Very Average (or less) neighborhoods. There's no driveway in the front, so the front yards have ~aesthetic~ paths to the front door, and then there's a normal backyard and behind the back fence is a hidden driveway with a back street between the street rows to reach it. It kind of doubles the amount of street needed for a "single street" of houses since they have the "real" (for show) wide streets out front and then narrower backstreets between backyards.

Mentioning them using the strap facedown the first time was supposed to lowkey be a reference to toht, which was the first time I wrote strapping, only I just realized I'm actually thinking of the first strap scene in SLAS so... listen all the smut blends together.

This whole fic was supposed to be 20k and then chapter 2 alone ended up 9k because I couldn't control them and I realized I was a lost cause.

Chapter 3:

Adora speculates on it, but Catra cut her hair both because it was getting in the wound on her neck and making it hard to care for and because it changes her appearance pretty dramatically and makes her feel better about avoiding the Horde and the cops.

Of course Adora blames herself for Entrapta leaving. She's Adora. It's not like she's the newbie and no one who knew Entrapta better could do it either - no, she's the reason Catra found out about Entrapta, so it's her fault.

Adora genders her bike because she has pack-bonded with it, but Catra (though Extremely attached to her own bike) finds it weird to gender cars and the like.

Catra and Scorpia are staying at Entrapta's apartment because Catra ended up moving in with Scorpia after the breakup, and then they were worried about the Horde seeking retribution on them (rightfully) so they moved in with Entrapta since the Horde hadn't actually had reason to learn her address yet, and that way they could all be together to fight back if someone came after them.

Shadow Weaver betraying Catra and the Horde is a mirror of that arc from season two/three, but in this case Catra ended up fully banished because she was never given a path of redemption (even one that was intended to be a suicide mission so Hordak could keep Entrapta happy) and she's lowkey a shoot on sight order for the Horde, only the Horde doesn't really kill people, it's just that if they did she would be the first. She knows way too much and supposedly is already willing to work with the cops, making her a bigger risk than Adora was when she walked. She isn't actually in danger of being killed, but it's best she steers clear from the Horde in every way that she can.

Hordak "seducing" Entrapta wasn't like, real seducing for multiple reasons. In this AU, Hordak is focused on getting in with the Prime organized crime group to work towards expansion, so he hasn't worked with Entrapta but he is around the shop enough to know how useful she is and thus tried to convince her to stay. Part of that "seduction" was stuff like offering her better builds, which is better than sex in motivation for Entrapta lol. In the end, though, he was threatening to kill her friend for something Entapta couldn't see being Catra's fault. Entrapta was also pretty close with Catra and Melog was enough motivation on their own.

She was kind of missing the racers back at the track, too, and sticking with the Horde through this meant she had little chance of going back. While she was free to build without legal restrictions, monetary ones were a much bigger confining factor than they had been at the track, and she wasn't really allowed to do whatever she wanted on most customer cars since they asked for one thing and that was all Shadow Weaver and Hordak wanted to give them. Giving out upgrades for free is bad business, as is doing expensive upgrades that weren't asked for and holding the car hostage until they're paid for. The shop had downsides along with its benefit.

Catra was out in the garage for several minutes because she was 1) composing herself but also 2) looking over "Swift Wind" and inspecting what changes Adora had made (basically everything but the frame) and especially how careful she was when she removed things, looking to see if she left dents or scuffs on Catra's bike (for the most part she didn't because she was careful). It was her trying to determine how respectful Adora was when she took the parts (an act Catra considers disrespectful in itself, but she's aware at this point that Adora doesn't see it that way, so she wants to see how well she did treat it in the process).

Adora just happened to throw her jacket really well so it stayed hanging up on it all night. It seemed like the kind of stupid, jocky thing that Catra thought Adora would practice so she looked smooth when she took off her jacket and acted all effortless - probably flexing her muscles in the process, which would be impressive if they weren't already making out at that point.

When Adora says Entrapta "cuffed" Swift Wind it's not supposed to be racing terminology, but rather personal slang they use do to their origins in this fic, referencing being arrested and handcuffed.

Adora calls Swift Wind "one of the few things Catra has taken proud in", which is partially true, but mostly that's because she's never had the opportunity to do a lot of things she's proud of. Her mechanical skill is about all she has gotten and Swift Wind, being a long time project of her with lots of funds poured into it, and being the only vehicle she has worked on other than Melog that she "keeps", is in another league. It's also missing the context that Catra wasn't only upset about Swift Wind being taken apart because she was proud of her own work, but also because it was the only damn thing she has ever been able to do for Adora with how Shadow cornered them.

Chapter 4:

I was really hoping this would be the last chapter. So hopeful, in fact, that my chapter headings looked like this:

(Obviously I did not end up needing a Chapter 6, but whenever I make a doc I always include a few more chapters than I think I need because I know myself at this point. Also I wrote this bulletpoint before I was halfway through Chapter 4, so hubris really could have gotten me there.)

Obviously Adora isn't really a pillow princess but Catra likes to rile her up.

Catra is so boneless after taking care of Adora because she has been soothed right down to her soul by Adora giving everything over to her like that, trusting her in a way she now knows Adora has only ever trusted her. And then it's her turn 🥰

Adora's speculation was right. Part of Catra's planning was just general scheming behavior and she absolutely wasn't sore after breakfast - and wasn't even really that sore in Chapter 3 either - but letting Adora think that gave her an excuse for slow sex without admitting that's what she actually wanted.

I had so many ideas for when they were laying in bed (pre- and post-sex) in both this chapter and chapter 3, it was ridiculous. Like there's no way I could have used all of them and some of them contradicted each other anyway. That's part of why the smut in this surprised me: 90% of what I had outlined was cuddling and conversation, and then that did Not end up being 90% of the fic.

The "dark edge" to Catra's voice when Adora said her time with the other magicat was gross was her being 100% ready to kill the other woman if she had mistreated Adora.

Honestly my first A/N in the fic was more about the emotional growth these girls still need to go through than the... questionable decisions they have made. Adora is still in her "don't be a burden" mode, and Catra needs to grow into vulnerability more, although she makes good progress in the fic. The rest of that growth is set up by them finally getting back together. They have more to learn and they are going to fight, but after going through the breakup, they can handle it now.

Catra isn't trying to be mean about the plushie - honestly, it makes her affectionate - but it's extremely Adora and that makes her laugh.

When I say the unicorn's mane is "plastic" I mean like really shitty synthetic threads that straight up feel like plastic and tangle easily. That shit is all over "little girls'" toys and it's a nightmare both to touch and maintain.

Adora mentions buying the lingerie for herself because she's never actually worn it in front of anybody else and she didn't want Catra to think she'd done it for some hookup. She had a lot of issues post-breakup, including esteem issues, and it was Glimmer's suggestion. She has put it on once or twice but mostly relegated it to a corner. Post-making-up, however, it finally gets some fun use.

My outline for the end of the chapter was: ["let me drive you home?" "no you cant" BECAUSE SHES ALREADY HOME].

When Catra mentions going back to check on Entrapta, that's partially because Entrapta is getting increasingly more unhinged the longer she goes without work, and because she wants to go talk to her about coming back to the track so they can move onto the next phase of the plan now she knows she wants to go through with it.

Obviously the chapter title is in reference to how I was supposed to have everything wrapped up in the fourth chapter, but it's also kind of the thread throughout the entire fic, expecting every kiss and interaction to be the last.

Chapter 5:

I like the bookending of music being in the first and last chapter, the mentions of sound distortion being in both, and each one ending with them racing off together. I find that kind of thing fun.

Entrapta "isn't a threat" in that everyone at the track knows she would never do anything to hurt them. Girl can absolutely be a threat if she wants to be.

Entrapta hadn't come back to the track immediately because, after becoming friends with Catra and hearing all her rants about Adora, she realized she might not be welcome and they could be mad at her for abandoning them, something that had never occurred to her. It's an aspect of relationships that wasn't immediately obvious to her, but she's been misunderstood and outcast before, mostly in school when she was the subject of a misunderstanding, so it was just easier to not go back and tell herself she liked the freedom of doing whatever personal project she wanted. It was really starting to wear on her though and she wasn't going to be able to hold out for much longer. Catra knew that and getting Entrapta settled back at the track was also part of her agenda when it came to going home with Adora. Catra promised her she could come back that night, after Adora had texted, and she wasn't at all surprised when Entrapta wanted to go immediately, though she convinced her to wait until morning. It moved up the time table on her though and made it harder for her to plan past that in time, something she couldn't do before without seeing how Adora would react to her first.

Entrapta used a simplified ("for younger audiences") dictionary to fall asleep (if she had it her way, it would have been the full thing, but 1, her parents were the ones who had final say and 2, kiiiiind of hard to find audiobooks of the dictionary), one that was designed to introduce new words to kids/teens without going into a million variations of them. I decided this because when I tried to use a real dictionary, I couldn't find my physical one and online dictionary databases are like, a word and then 20 variants of it before moving onto the next one, which didn't really work well for the joke. I ended up searching "words that start with 'au'" on wordhippo and filtering it to common words and then using a couple of the unique words.

Catra went the club a few times without Adora showing throughout the year they were broken up, but like half the times she went without Adora showing were very recent, once she put this plan together and just needed to run into Adora to enact it. As Adora made partying more infrequent, it was harder to find her, but since Adora was also pretty consistent on which days she went, it wasn't all that hard.

I got an ask about what "The Scene™️" is for LMR, and I couldn't answer it 100% honestly then, but I can elaborate now. If you're new, The Scene is the scene (or scenes) that I consider the "big scenes" for the fic, things that really motivated me to write it in the first place or that a lot was building up to/riding on, or that are just a part of the fic I'm super excited for, whether that means to write or share it. For this fic, I had so much outlined that I was excited to write that it's hard to pick one, but if I have to narrow it down to Just One, the conversation in the kitchen where Catra reveals she's hooking up with Entrapta and they finally start to talk things out is probably the answer, with runner-up the scene in the observation deck where Catra reveals the events of the entire fic were planned. When I wrote chapter one at the very beginning, I didn't really do it with that context, but by the time I was doing the final edit I think I knew that was going to be the big reveal, so it has been a secret throughline from chapter 2 at the latest, depending when it happened and how you want to count it. The fic was both building to it, and could exist outside of it, because while it contextualized Catra's actions, before that it was just a hookup and growing fic, and that worked too, but I do think this is a pretty solid moment. I was really excited for all the cuddling and morning after conversation, though, so it's really hard to pick one and say that's it.

I just realized I never said it, but Scorpia got Catra the leather jacket (along with matching ones for her and Entrapta, though Scorpia's is actually a vest because finding one that fit her arms and worked with her spikes wasn't happening. Entrapta doesn't really wear hers because it's a Restrictive Sensation to her) after the stabbing as a bonding, here's-the-symbol-of-our-new-group thing, even though they didn't really have a new group, she was just trying to make Catra feel better about being kicked out of the Horde.

I also never said it in the fic because the scene mentioning it got cut, but the Horde isn't actually based out of Bright Moon, they're like an hour away over the city line to the next town, where Glimmer drove when she wanted to see street racing hoping to avoid people recognizing her (and Bow went with her to make sure she was okay). Catra came to Bright Moon downtown to dance the first time she ran into Adora because they just have a better scene there and then after that she kept coming back for her. It means it isn't too hard for them to avoid the Horde and their old life once they decide to move on.

Sea Hawk is a racer and Mermista is his girlfriend who he has been trying to convince to be his umbrella girl for ages just because he wants to show her off (in a "that's my girl!" way not in like, an objectifying way) but she's refused because that means publicly acknowledging she likes him, something she'll still deny to their friends when they catch them in the middle of making out.

Ok, so umbrella girls (or, apparently, just "the umbrellas" which is. insanely objectifying). I'm not going to pretend to know a lot about them, but I did google some stuff. I was introduced to them when I watched a MotoGP race to see what I was dealing with back when I was first planning this and there were tall supermodel ladies holding umbrellas over the racers before the race started to... protect them from the elements, I guess? Anyway, I don't know if they have to meet all these Requirements like cheerleaders, but it's my AU so I say that in Etheria they're Some Hot Lady who also does promo work for their racer/team and helps deal with sponsors. If you want to be more diverse (and/or get some publicity) you can pick a more unconventional choice like a dude or something. Perfuma is Adora's usual umbrella lady, and she's also a model with this basically being a sidegig she does because she finds the racing and racers hot. Also racing isn't a segregated sport on Etheria, which I'm Pretty Confident it is IRL.

Original Outline:

Surprising Nobody, Probably, this AU is actually two AUs combined. I had the backstory for Let Me Ride (MotoGP/street racing AU) with a few failed attempts at a story for it that never seemed that interesting to me (interesting to read, but not to write, at least not enough for me to actually do it) and I had what I called the "fuckboi drummer" AU, which is what half of the plot for this fic is, but that fic had no backstory or justification for why they were fighting and I just couldn't come up with one that matched the animosity between them, so the two ideas ended up fitting together well.

There were several original stabs at plot for LMR, but the most recent state of it before it became This was that Adora and Catra were both street racers, but they only had the one bike (Adora's bike) so Catra was mostly shoe-horned into the mechanic role, and when Adora got basically sponsored by Glimmer to become a real racer she was like "this is great, we'll move to Bright Moon and I'll pay for you to go to college and do whatever you want", not realizing what Catra wanted was to race and that had been totally discarded. Which like, still is kind of the backstory of the AU, just with some details changed.

The only plot I had after that was that Catra went solo in illegal races once Adora was gone and had her own fancy bike (thus not needing the one Catra built anymorer) and so Catra started tricking it out and eventually got sponsors. She was able to buy her way into low-level professional races and worked her way up through the circuit the traditional way instead of getting scouted and jumping straight to the big leagues. Aaaaaand that was mostly it. I took a couple stabs at coming up with a plot beyond "Oh Catra went up a rank and is getting one step closer to racing Adora" but nothing ever really materialized. At one point they were orphans who stole the bike and Adora was the only racer because they only owned one helmet lol.

For the fuckboi drummer AU, I'd been thinking for a while that Adora would like drums because it feels like hitting shit, and well, there's that TikTok, so I was bored waiting in the parking lot and basically started outlining the hook-up and morning after scenes with the vague idea that the backstory was they ran into each other again at a club and Catra is aware Adora has been hooking up ever since they broke up because she's a little broken inside. Catra comes home with her, they have one night together, and Catra Does Actually Leave in the morning.

The part that existed in the parking lot but that I was never planning on actually writing was that then a few days later Catra does a splice with one of Adora's TikToks - because Adora's drumming was vaguely plot relevant and she sometimes posts short drumming covers on her TikTok just for fun and the compliments she gets on her arms - where Catra sings the words that would go with that part of the song. The song in question was the one I was listening to in the car at the time, the chorus of "Good For Her" by Mothica. Adora comments back "this is so fucked up, Catra", leading to some mild internet drama since they both had a few thousand followers and people in the comments were like oo what 👀 Yeah I wasn't ever planning to write that TikTok part but I was bored XD After that Catra comes around for a second time and this time she stays and there's all that morning after stuff.

When I went to actually write the fuckboi drummer AU, it got condensed down to meeting at the club and going home together with Catra staying permanently after that and all the morning after type stuff. Of course, as I went to write it I found I needed a legitimate backstory, and that's when the "all backstory" AU combined with the "I'm bored in the parking lot" AU and we got the final version of Let Me Ride with at least a bit of an overarching plot in Catra secretly planning it all.

#lmr #ficmeta #fic notes

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