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eleni-cherie · 9 months

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a thief's end ✨ || bts • myg - chapter 0.1

"so eager to be in a headlock again?"

"only if it's by you."

he thought he was done with the criminal life and ready for some peace and quiet. but his plans collapsed in the form of a strange girl who was in trouble.

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masterlist: here

— genre: thief au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, sexual tensiON, slowburn, mutual pining, strangers to lovers s2l

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

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Yoongi let the wiskey swey lightly in his hand before he drank the last bit from the glass. His brown eyes glanced up then, wandering around the half-empty bar. It wasn't much of a surprise. It was Sunday after all, most people having to go to work early the next day.

He didn't feel tired, nor did he feel like leaving yet. The night seemed young still. And yet, without company it felt quite lonely and dragged out.

He wasn't mad at his friends for ditching him, Jimin going on a spontaneous trip with Arabella - although Yoongi assumed it wasn't just a vacation but the two rather had an object they were interested in stealing again - and Taehyung leaving earlier to pick up Cassandra from her late shift at the hospital.

Legit reasons, and besides Yoongi wasn't the type to be petty or upset about things like this. The two had other commitments and priorities than he did. And now that he was back in the city, they'd spend enough time together anyway.

Still, it felt rather uncomfortable to sit there on his own.

With a sigh, he heaved his hand to order a last drink when something caught his attention then.

He hadn't noticed first as there were tons of people roaming around the streets still, it was a crowdy area with lots of bars and restaurants after all. So one person more or less passing by the open windows didn't stand out. Only when someone whistled after her and she turned around with a "Cut it, I'm not a dog!" earning a "Wohoo, I like it when they're hard to get" from the guy, Yoongi perked up out of curiosity. Catching a glimpse of the woman who swang around and continued walking down the street.

First, he hadn't noticed anything about her besides that she seemed to be quite attractive. However, as he sat there for a moment a deep frown slowly set on his features, his brain processing something familiar on her. He couldn't really pinpoint what exactly it was, but something about her he recognised.

It took him a few seconds. And then he knew.

The voice. And those eyes.

Obviously he couldn't be entirely certain, but she reminded him of the strange girl he had helped escaping a week ago.

To be honest, he hadn't thought much about her those past days. Everything was quite hectic and he was still getting adjusted to the city life again. However, as he was reminded of her now, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to that young woman. If she was alright or if those men who had been after her had caught her after all. He hoped not. Now beginning getting worried for the stranger.

Was the woman who had just walked by her? It made him wonder after all.

Contemplating, he nibbled his bottom lip when noticing one of the guys who had called for her, standing up. Laughing at his friend and muttering something incohensive before walking out. And Yoongi's eyes shot open, having a bad feeling in his guts.

He instantly pushed himself off the bar stool and quickly left a few bills on the counter. Heading outside towards the street and passing by the man with quick steps. Making his way left, where she had disappeared to.

It hadn't been too hard to find her among the other passerby. She was the only one with long hair and a short black dress, holding a bottle of soju along with her purse. Earning more than just a few stares. And since she wasn't the tallest either, despite her tall shoes, it hadn't been to hard for him to catch up.

She was only a few steps away, when he stopped in his tracks unsure of his next move. It might not have been her after all, making him look like a fool or worse.

Unsure, he licked over his lips, watching her getting further away. What if it was her though? Wouldn't it be nice to know that she made it?

He took a deep breath. "I see they didn't get you after all!"

He simply hoped he hadn't just embarrassed himself in front of a stranger. And if it was a stranger after all, he could at least pretend having meant someone else as there were enough people around to use as a cover-up.

The woman paused at his words, turning around in a swift move with confusion written all over her face. "You.." Her brows furrowed, seemingly finding him familiar looking as well. Taking a closer sight of him in his black and white patterned shirt. Messy waves swaying on each side of his face as he smiled lightly at her. And her features softened eventually. "My getaway driver!"

His tense shoulders relaxed.

It was her and he wasn't a creep after all.

"Yeah, hey," he awkwardly waved.

She walked up to him with a grin and he internally gulped. It was indeed her and yet, she looked nothing like the first time they had met. Nothing alike the brief memory he had of her.

Back then her appearance was rather simple. A baggy t-shirt, shorts and sneakers with no make-up and distress written all over her pixie-like face.

While now, she was the complete opposite. Showing off confidence with her eyeliner-framed eyes and that tight mini-dress. The way her dark almond eyes held his gaze feeling quite bewitching.

"So they didn't get you?" he smirked as he looked down at her. Even with her high heels there was a slight distance between their hights.

The corner of her red-painted lips tucked into a smirk as well and she straightened herself proudly. "Nope. So far at least."

"I'm glad."

Tilting her head, she gave him an intrigued smile. "Don't tell me you were worried for me."

He shrugged, looking away. An irrational feeling of shyness overcoming him all of a sudden. "Maybe just a little."

She laughed under her breath. Feeling her cheeks blushing lightly.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat then, looking around briefly before his eyes met hers again, "Isn't it kinda dangerous for you to walk around alone here? What if those guys show up?"

"I know, I know," she dragged a sigh, folding her arms in front of her chest. Her fingers tightening around the bottle of peach soju. "I swear I didn't leave my new place in a week. But my friend who lives here, found out I'm in town and would've felt offended if I didn't go to her birthday party.. And since I couldn't tell her the truth and didn't have any other excuse either.. I had no choice but to go outside. I'm heading home now though.."

Yoongi hummed, peeking over his shoulder to make sure the guy from the bar wasn't anywhere near either, then looked back at her. "Yeah, do that.. I'd offer to bring you home, but that might appear intrusive so.." He grinned and took a few steps back, beginning walking back to the bar. "Get home safely."

"W-wait!"

He turned around, not having expected her to call for him. Seeing her standing there with an uncertain glance in her eyes as they looked down. Her hand scratching her bare arm, feeling a light chilliness picking up in the warm night.

"Would you actually walk me home? Y-you don't have to. It's not far.. but you know, just in case these guys do show up after all." She let out a nervous laugh, trying to cover the fact the only reason she was walking, wasn't because she was actually fearless or brave, it was because she was an idiot. She didn't have any money left and her phone battery had died, so taking a cab or checking for any public transportation options wasn't possible either.

Truth was, she was terrified from the moment she'd left the club. Her eyes scanning everything and everyone close by, flinching at any unknown noises.

Yoongi blinked. "Y-yeah, of course," he shrugged and walked up to her again. "Where to?"

"T-this way," she said, motioning with her chin to the street behind her.

Both beginning walking in silence then. Neither one knowing what to say. It was a weird situation after all. Besides, she wasn't even entirely sure if asking him to walk her home was that much better than walking alone. Sure, he had willingly helped her back then, no questions asked. And it was quite nice that he had apparently worried for her, and yet she couldn't be sure he was that much better than the people who were after her.

"I just noticed, I don't even know your name," Yoongi spoke up then after awhile. Seeing her eyes widening at the realisation she didn't know his either. "Soyeon. My name's Soyeon."

He smiled. "I'm Yoongi."

And somehow the air shifted between them and she smiled as well. "Thanks for your help, Yoongi."

"I-" He paused. Looking away. "You're welcome. It's nothing."

Pursing her lips, she peeked at him walking beside her with a respectful distance. Hands shoved in his pockets. She really couldn't tell what exactly it was about him that gave her both, gentle along with fierce vibes. Although knowing his name didn't change the fact he was a mere stranger to her, her gut feeling didn't send her any warning signs. More the opposite, she felt at ease with his presence. More than she'd be if she walked home alone right now.

A police car suddenly rushed past them and Soyeon noticed him slightly flinching. Only relaxing when seeing it park in front of a small police station between two buildings further down. Two officers getting out and heading inside, probably returning from patrolling.

While passing by, Yoongi instinctively switched sides with her. As if he didn't want the officers to catch a glimpse of him.

And she wondered if there was a reason for him to react this way.

Shaking her head, she looked away again and they turned around a corner. The smell of food filling the air as they past by a small restaurant.

"May I ask.." Yoongi said then, glancing briefly at her. Thinking that perhaps now was a good time to ask the obvious. "Who are these guys and why are they after you anyway?"

Pursing her lips, she shrugged. And for the first time this night she intentionally avoided eye-contact with him. Staring down at the pavement. "Not exactly sure who they are, but.. I got something they want, I guess.."

He nodded. Even if the voice in his mind was dissatisfied with her vague answer, he could understand that she didn't want to elaborate further. They still barely knew each other after all.

"May I ask you something now?"

He perked up, gesturing for her to continue.

"Why were you so nervous when passing by the police station? And why do you own a katana?"

"How do you know about my katana?"

"I saw it in the car. You know, when we met."

"Ah, right."

"So?"

"I come from a family of swordsmen."

"Oh, that's pretty dope." She frowned then. "And that's why you're afraid of cops?"

It was his turn now to shrug and give a vague answer. Preferring not to scare her off by revealing his past of him and his friends having been worldwide wanted thieves, chased by interpol. "I'm not afraid of them. I just feel uneasy around them. Like many do. That's all."

She hummed. His answer sounded reasonable. And still, she sensed there was more to it. However, she hadn't shared details either so it was only fair he didn't spill his whole life story and secrets to an almost-stranger.

The half-empty bottle of peach soju that she hadn't drank, swayed in her hand while they walked for a bit longer. Occasionally peeking at each other.

"My new place is right around the corner," she explained as they walked in that quieter part of the city. And as they turned around the corner, she bumped into his suddenly outstreched arm, stopping her from going any further. He pushed her back then, startling her. "Wh-"

He held his index finger on his lips, shushing her with a warning stare. Pressing both of them against the wall.

He peeked his head out around the corner again, watching two men climb down the stairs of an apartment building and heading to a car parked in front of it.

"She must've fled again," he heard one of them say.

"Fck-" one of the others inside the car exclaimed, seemingly upset as he hit the steering wheel, "Fine, you two go back. We'll stay just in case she returns."

"Seems like your friends found you," he whispered with a stern look, seeing her frown.

She cautiously bent forward, taking a glance at what he meant. A quiet gasp leaving her lips then and she retreated quickly, her back colliding with his toned chest. If she hadn't been so distracted by the obvious danger right now, she might've put more thought into it.

"H-how did they find this place? I rented it with a fake-name," she whisper-shouted in confusion, almost starting panicking if it wasn't for his strong grip on her shoulder snapping her out of it.

"Hey, calm down," he whispered with a gentle look on his features. One hand lightly grabbing her chin so she'd look him in the eyes.

"First of all," he said then, and he took another glance at the parked car. It was indeed only the two men in there left now. He internally groaned, regretting not having his sword with him. Not having expected to need it tonight. He still had his pocket-knife though for a worst-case scenario - which was obviously the case right now.

His eyes scanned the area, realising the street was on a light hill and a plan instantly formed in his mind. "I got a plan. I know it'll be hard since we're practically still strangers but you need to trust me, okay?"

She hesitated first but eventually nodded her head. Too flustered to speak by his hand on her jaw.

"Good," he sighed and let go of her. "We gotta seperate those two idiots first. Meaning I got to lure one out with some noise and knock him off. Then I'll take care of the other."

"And what do I do?"

"That bottle of soju.."

She nodded and looked down at the green glass bottle in her hand, holding it up. "And what do I do with that?"

"Nothing," he grinned, snatching it from her hand. "I'll make their car crash at the streetlamp and need the soju to make them smell of alcohol."

She blinked at him puzzled. "Okay.. and I..?"

"You'll call the cops anonymously and tell them there was a mild car accident with possible injuries."

"So.. so you'll do the dirty work and I'll just get the cops here?" He nodded at her upset expression. "Yoongi, I can't possibly let you do the dirty work for me. Let's just get the cops together and tell them there are some creeps and.. and-"

"And? If we just get the cops they'll ask you questions about these men and why they'd be after you. Questions you most likely don't want to answer. And even if they got here, they'd just talk to them as just sitting in the car isn't something illegal." The more she listened to his reasoning the more it curdled her stomach. A lump forming in her throat as he continued. "And then those guys will definitely know you're close by. And as soon as the cops leave, they'll look around for you. So our best chance is to knock them off and get rid of them for at least tonight."

This was definitely not how she'd expected her night to play out. Whether she liked it or not, she had to agree with his logic though. Buying her some time would be good. "Okay, so should I wait till you're done or.."

"Remember the playground we passed by? Go back there and call them," he said, pointing to the direction they had come from, "You'll need around five minutes to get there and they'll need another five to arrive. I'll already be done by then."

"You- what? You sure?" She stared at him dumbfounded, making him chuckle lightly.

"I am, don't worry."

Soyeon slightly pouted at this, folding her arms in front of her chest as goosebumps appeared on her skin from both, the night breeze and the situation. "Okay, but my phone battery died so I need yours."

He pulled out his phone handing it to her and she put it into her purse. Suddenly feeling something wrapping around her shoulders. She looked up, seeing he had slid off the short-sleeved button up shirt he was wearing, putting it over her shoulders instead. Leaving him only in his white t-shirt. And she let him.

She could feel her breathing picking up, pulse ringing in her ears, heart beating against her ripcage as her eyes followed his fingers' every move when he began buttoning it.

"A-and you're sure that's enough time for you?"

He gave her an reassuring smile, avoiding her gaze while finishing the last button. "Don't worry. Ten minutes are enough for me."

"Alright, I'm going then," she said, straightening herself. She didn't leave, however, without giving him a peck on the cheek. Causing his eyes to go round and he stared down at her bewilderedly, only to find her smirk at him.

It was quite endearing to her, his way of caring and willingly helping her out. Yoongi was quite an enigma to her. A handsome one on top.

"Good luck with your masterplan."

And with that he watched her turn around and walk back up the street, towards the playground. His eyes dwelling on her smaller becoming silhouette and the way her hips moved under his shirt. He shook his head quickly, having to focus after all.

Looking around then, he spotted some empty cans a few metres away. He picked it up and aimed exactly at the car's back window, hitting it with a loud thud before going behind the wall again. It had clearly stirred the occupants' attention as he heard a car door opening. He then proceeded to throw another can onto the street in front of him. The noise loud enough for the men to get curious but not loud enough to wake anyone in the neighbourhood.

"Go check out what that was," the one behind the steering wheel commanded the other.

With a grin, Yoongi got his knife out. And as soon as the guy turned around the corner, Yoongi pressed his hand on his mouth and nose and in a swift move, cut his blazer in two, pulling both ends to the front. Immobilizing him before he could even realise what was happening. Finishing by a hard hit on the man's head with the back of his knife.

"One down, one left," Yoongi mumbled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He looked over the corner. Seeing the other man getting impatient, calling out for his partner.

Laughing out dryly, he tightened the grip around his knife and stepped out. Walking with steady steps towards the driver's window.

"Hey," he grinned down at the man then who was just arching a puzzled brow at him.

"And who are y-" Before he could even complete his question, Yoongi had pulled his arm from behind the car door, pulling it harshly towards himself. Causing the gun in the man's hand to drop down at the concrete. Then he opened the door while pulling at the man's arm even more, making him wince in pain as he hit his head at the metallic frame. Sinking unconsciously into his seat.

Yoongi exhaled deeply, looking around to make sure he had made as minimal noise as possible. And indeed, no one seemed to have heard him. He bent down then, heaving the man's gun from the ground. Smirking when taking a closer look on it. The serial number was scratched off. "Police ain't gonna like that." And he tossed it inside the car as well.

He quickly made his way to the other unconscious guy then who he had left laying on the pavement, carrying him back to the car and placing him next to his partner in the passenger seat. He then took the soju bottle he had put aside, spilling the remaining content onto their clothes and into each of their mouths, making them swollow it. Just enough so they'd smell of alcohol and would lead police to conclusions. At last, he switched gears and released the handbreak. Starting pushing the vehicle by taking advantage of the slope.

And indeed, the car soon started rolling on its own and after a few metres, Yoongi let go. Watching it gain speed and roll towards the streetlamp, crashing against it just like planned. Not hard enough to seriously hurt the unconscious men, but hard enough to damage the front of the car. And have police file a detention.

This time, however, the noise was loud enough to stir some attention from sleeping neighbours. Lights in some apartments getting switched on. So he quickly headed back to the side-street in the shadow of the night, before anyone came outside to check.

The sirens of a police car echoed in the distance then and he exhaled. His timing was on point as always, good thing his skills hadn't become rusty in the past months.

The sirens became loudef, so he took cover in the dark entrance of a building, waiting for the car to pass by and disappearing into the other street. He was about to step out then, when he heard hasty steps on the pavement coming closer.

And he watched someone pass by, not taking any notice of him. Still wearing his shirt that was way too big for her. Looking even smaller and cuter than she already did.

"Looking for someone?" he asked with a knowing look as he stepped out of his hide-out to approach her. Seeing her stop in her tracks, lips tucking into a smirk. "I assume your little plan worked." She nodded at the direction of all the noise coming from further down the street.

He shrugged non-chalantly. "Always does."

"Kinda sad I missed it.. would've liked to see how you did that," she admitted with a giggle.

Even her giggles were charming, he thought. Laughing under his breath then. "Oh, you're into that?"

"Maybe."

They held each other's gaze and Yoongi felt his blood rushing through his veins. His pulse faster than before. It hadn't done so while taking care of those men. But it did now when looking into her dark feline eyes.

"So, uhm did they ask any questions?" he awkwardly coughed then, changing topics.

"Not really. Only if I saw how it happened. Which I didn't, so that wasn't a lie."

They walked back to her street, ignoring the scene further down. Pretending as if they didn't know what had happened. Bystanders that had left their beds to check out what was going on and the police officers asking everyone to stay back, covering most of it.

"It was good I approached you. If I hadn't, they might've caught you after all," he quietly mused then to which she heaved a sad sigh.

"Yeah.."

They climbed up the few steps to her entrance. Her irises travelled back to the car and the police officers in the distance. "Maybe the safest would be to just leave town again.."

"Understandable, although quite a pity."

"Oh, and why so?" She arched a brow a him, challenging him with a smile which he reciprocated.

"Because I'd actually like to see you again."

For a moment they remained sileng and just stood there in front of the door. Silently smiling at each other, giving her the chance to study his features, and lips, before her eyes found his again. More questions rising about the handsome man with the sweet smile in front of her.

"I still got your phone," she quietly said then and pulled it out of her purse. Asking him to unlock it for her and he did so with furrowed brows. She took it from his palm then, typing in something before handing it back to him with a coy smile on her lips.

Their fingers brushing, adding another spark to the already gleaming fervour which he knew to mask, being trained in staying calm in any situation with all the years of sword fighting and thievery.

It was harder doing so, when someone as beautiful and mysterious as her looked at him like that though.

"I texted myself. You got my number now. And I got yours."

He nodded. His brown eyes never leaving hers. "I'll make good for the peach soju next time."

She couldn't help but bite her bottom lip. "Shouldn't I be the one buying you drinks though? You helped me twice already."

He only laughed dryly, shaking his head. "No need, really."

A hot ache spead in her chest as she watched him take a step back then. Slowly climbing down the stairs and reaching the pavement. Eyes never leaving hers. "If anything happens.. call me."

She nodded. Holding herself back from falling into the urge of doing something rash and reckless now. Like kissing him. Or asking him to stay.

"Goodnight, Yoongi."

"Goodnight, Soyeon."

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next chapter: 0.2 here

Don't forget to like, reblog & leave feedback!♡ It motivates me to keep writing :)

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celcey · 2 years

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When The Sun Comes Out...

... the guns come out, and not the lethal kind.

Or: Gotham's having a carnival, and the Bats are out in full force to enjoy the summer fun investigate. If Tim and Jason happen to meet up, well that's just fine. Tim knows his crush is doomed, but it sure would help if he could stop walking into walls because Jason is too beautiful to exist.

For JayTim Week Day 2: Sun’s Out Guns Out | Carnival/Fair | Monsoon/Summer Storm

Read it on AO3 here.

Some general info that will be useful to know: the Neon Knights is a program Tim created as part of WE’s charity outreach that keeps teens and young adults out of gangs. Panda Red is a comic book tiktoker. He’s the guy with the mohawk who makes Batman skits.

Thank you very much to KNarisse for the beta!

Tim has a love/hate relationship with Jason’s wardrobe. On the one hand, Jason’s cut off tank top shows off his arms beautifully. On the other hand, Tim has nearly walked into a wall because he couldn’t stop staring at said arms. Twice.

He’s long since accepted that his doomed crush on Jason isn’t really going anywhere. It’s a part of life. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and Tim Drake has a crush on Jason Todd. But he really needs to stop staring before Jason notices.

Some moron had the brilliant idea to bring a carnival to Gotham. It’s practically asking for a Joker attack, despite the extra security they’ve placed around his cell for the week of the fair. So the Bats have come out in force, ostensibly to investigate, but also to enjoy the fair. Tim has already gone through the financials with a fine tooth comb, and surprisingly there had been no connection to the Joker. He hadn’t found anything about the council member who suggested the carnival either. He’d even stopped by Robinson Park to ask Harley if she knew of any connections, and it had all turned up clean. So while technically they were there to investigate, Dick had declared it a family bonding experience.

They’d split off into various groups throughout the day, coming together and apart as they went about the fair. Tim had just gotten off the teacups ride, which Steph had flat out refused to ride again. She said all the spinning was “vomit inducing,” as if that wasn’t the entire point. Jason is walking by, so Tim falls into step beside him.

“Find anything?” Jason asks.

“Nothing in the manager’s office,” Tim reports. He had broken into it earlier with Dick. “It looks like this place might actually be legit.”

Jason lets out a low whistle. “That’d be a first for Gotham.”

“Tell me about it,” Tim says. “Where are you headed?”

“Nowhere in particular. I rode the coaster with Dickiebird and did the squirt guns with the demon brat, so I’m flexible.”

Tim is about to suggest they head to the bumper cars when one of the game barkers calls out “You, young gentleman with the white streak! You seem like a strong young fella! Care to test yourself in a true battle of strength?”

Jason turns to see a man dressed as a stereotypical carnie, down to the twirly mustache, calling him from a high striker game.

“Step right up, step right up! If you hit the bell, you win a prize!” The carnie calls.

Jason glances at Tim, who shrugs, and then steps up to the game.

“Only three dollars to play! If you make it past tough guy you win a prize! The higher the puck goes, the bigger the prize.”

Tim pulls out his wallet to pay before Jason can. There are benefits to being a multimillionaire.

The carnie takes the cash and hands Jason the mallet. “Win something nice for your fella,” he says with a wink.

“Oh, he’s not my–“ Tim starts to say.

“I definitely will,” Jason interrupts, smirking at him. Tim feels himself blush, and curses his pale skin.

Jason gives the mallet a few test swings to get a feel for it. Tim can’t help but notice how Jason’s muscles flex as he slams the hammer down onto the lever. The puck shoots up past wimpy man, through tough guy, and finally rings the bell up top.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have got a gen-u-ine strong man over here!” The barker crows, holding up Jason’s hand up in the air. A few people stop to look. Jason grins and flexes, showing off for the crowd.

Tim should avert his eyes. Jason wouldn’t want Tim staring at him like this. But… guh, muscles . Jason’s got guns, and they are his most lethal weapons.

“Pick out your prize!” The carnie says. “And make it good for your fella.”

“Oh I will,” Jason says, grinning smugly at Tim. He picks out a ginormous cherry red stuffed panda and hands it to him. Tim rolls his eyes, but he’s fighting back a smile. Jason throws an arm around his shoulders.

“You guys are so cute!” A teenage girl calls. Jason grins at her and Tim ducks his head, embarrassed. Jason leaves his arm there all the way to the bumper cars. Tim takes a two seater so his panda can ride with him.

It’s a warm, sunny day, so after bashing each other thoroughly on the bumper cars Tim buys them snow cones. Grape for Tim, strawberry for Jason. Jason tries to take his wallet out, but Tim beats him to it.

“You won me a panda, it’s the least I can do.”

“Technically you paid for the panda,” Jason points out.

“Yeah, but I probably couldn’t have won it on my own. You’re freakishly strong.”

Oh, great going Tim. Call the boy you like a freak, real smooth. But Jason just grins and flexes with the arm not holding the snow cone. They take a seat on a shady bench as they eat, chatting. It’s nice. Tim doesn’t often get to sit and talk to Jason like this. Usually when they’re together it’s purely about the mission.

When the snow cones are finished Jason gets up and throws them out, then returns to their seat. He stretches out, putting his arm around the back of the bench. It’s almost like he’s putting his arm around Tim.

“So, there anything else you wanna do?” He asks.

“No, I think I’ve seen pretty much everything. It’s not a huge carnival,” Tim replies.

“It’d be pretty nice if Gotham was able to have this without it turning into a fucking nightmare,” Jason comments idly. He’s started playing Tim’s hair. Tim tries to remember how to breathe.

“It would be nice,” he agrees. “Bruce came up with the security measures for Arkham himself, and Commissioner Gordon’s overseeing the implementation personally, so I think we’ve got a real shot.”

“It’s crazy how different things are. You know the last time Two Face broke out he couldn’t get his plans in motion because he couldn’t find enough men?”

“No kidding, really?” Tim had been in San Francisco during that particular breakout, so he hadn’t been involved.

“Yeah. No recent Blackgate breakouts, so all the old faces are in jail. And the Neon Knights are pretty damn effective at keeping people out of the lifestyle. It’s some damn good work you’re doing.” Tim lights up at the praise. Jason knows the best out of any of them what a program like Neon Knights needs to be, so to hear him praise it means a lot.

“I’ve actually been wondering if you’d look over a few proposals for me,” Tim asks. He had been wondering, but there had never been a right time to bring it up. Now is the perfect opportunity.

“Me? Why?” Jason sounds surprised.

“Because I haven’t been in their shoes. I was never a low income kid who turned to gangs for lack of better options. You were. That plus your night work gives you a really unique perspective that our other workers don’t have,” Tim explains.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sure, I’ll take a look if you think it’ll help.” Jason seems pleased that Tim wants his expertise. He’s blushing slightly, and Tim can’t help the smile that breaks out across his face. Bashful is a good look on him. To be fair, everything is a good look on him, but Tim’s the one who put that look there.

“Is there anything you still want to do?” Tim asks Jason. “The only thing I haven’t done is the tunnel of love.”

“Oh, well we can’t have that. How can you have the true carnival experience if you haven’t gone through the tunnel of love?” Jason says.

“Well it’s not really the sort of thing you ride alone,” Tim snarks.

“Good thing you’re not alone then. You’ve got me and Panda Red over there.” Tim rolls his eyes, but obediently picks up his panda and follows Jason to the ride. Tim clambers on first, and Jason climbs in next to him. It’s a wide seat, but Jason sits close enough that their knees are knocking together, and he puts his arm around the back of the seat again.

Tim is not always the best at noticing relational cues, not when it comes to himself. But he’s a detective. He can pick up what Jason’s putting down. Or what he thinks Jason’s putting down. He decides to test his theory. He scoots closer to Jason, so that there’s no space between them, and tentatively rests his head on Jason’s shoulder. Jason wraps his arm more firmly around him, and Tim relaxes.

Okay, so they’re going there. This is a thing that is happening. Tim’s lifelong crush is maybe (probably?) reciprocated, and he can feel the firm weight of Jason’s muscle through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. His heart spends up and his palms are sweating, but he keeps his body relaxed. He doesn’t want to scare Jason off.

Jason’s hand moves from Tim’s shoulder to his hair, playing with the silky strands. It feels really nice, and he releases tension he didn’t realize he was holding, going boneless in Jason’s arms.

When they get off the ride, Jason keeps his arm around Tim. He keeps his arm around Tim when they run into Steph and Cass, both of whom are well aware of Tim’s crush on Jason and are having frantic but silent conversations about it with only their eyes and facial expressions. He keeps his arm around Tim when they split off from the girls to go order corndogs. He keeps his arm around Tim as they sit down and eat.

They’re walking aimlessly around the fair when Tim can’t take it any more. He pulls away, turning to face Jason properly.

“Jason. Is this… is this a thing? Between us?” He asks nervously.

“Depends. Do you want it to be?” Jason asks, faux casually.

The ball is in Tim’s court. He could lie and say he doesn’t care, say that he could go either way, put it on Jason to make things clear. Tim can lie to Batman, he can certainly handle not telling Jason the full truth. But that wouldn’t be fair to Jason, and it wouldn’t get him what he wants.

“Yeah,” he says. “I want it to be.”

“Good.” Jason grins, stretching his arms above his head. “It’s about time you caught on. I’ve been flexing all day, my arms are gonna be so sore tomorrow.”

“You’ve been doing that on purpose?!” Tim says indignantly.

“Since the first time I noticed you staring,” Jason grins, holding his arm up and flexing again. Tim is momentarily distracted by the display of strength, which only makes Jason more smug.

“I nearly walked into a wall because of you,” Tim grouses, but he’s fighting a smile.

“I noticed. But I wasn’t sure if you wanted more or if you just thought I was hot,” Jason shrugs, and Tim can see the insecurity he’s trying to hide.

“And you’re happy I want more? You’re interested in that?” Tim asks, because he has to be sure. Tim doesn’t usually get the things he wants, not like this.

“Yeah baby bird, I’m happy you want more. I want to give you more. I want this to be a thing.” Tim breaks into a thousand watt smile. He can’t help it. Jason Todd wants to date him. Actually for real date him. The boy he’s been half in love with for nearly half his life wants to date him. Tim’s not sure who’s smiling down on him today, but he’s sure it’s someone.

“I know you’re probably used to something fancier, but there’s a great chili dog cart on fifth that I really like. It’s not far from Robinson Park, there’s a really nice place to sit not too far away,” Jason offers.

“That’s by the good ice cream store, right? They do neapolitan there.” Tim says thoughtfully.

“You know my favorite ice cream flavor?” Jason asks, surprised.

“I… uh, yeah.” Tim says, bashful at being caught in his slightly stalkerish tendencies. “I pay attention, when it’s you.”

Jason breaks out into a grin. “Good to know. Guess I’ll have to catch up.”

“So it’s a date?” Tim asks.

“It’s a date.”

Tim is sure his cheeks are going to hurt from smiling later, but he doesn’t care. He takes Jason’s hand in his own, blushing slightly. Jason grins back at him, and together, they walk off into the sunset.

End Notes

Thanks so much for reading! Please do leave a reply in the notes telling me what you think, I’d love to hear from you.

#Celcey Writes #JayTim #TimJay #JayTim Week #JayTim Week 2022 #Tim Drake #Red Robin #Jason Todd #Red Hood #JayTimWeek2022 #JayTimWeek

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pluckyredhead · 2 years

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DA: Along with competition I feel like the writers unintentionally made interesting decisions on how Jason and Dick react to Roy's mistakes. The clearest example is the addiction angle. Frustratingly writers often seem to use fighting and anger/betrayal as the default ways for Dick to react to Roy's addiction. Titans Rebirth, Rise of Arsenal, Titans 2008, Outsiders all have this. -1

Even in New Titans #101 when we find Dick stayed up with Roy during detox it's during a fight where Dick feels Roy betrayed him. So the information is presented in a "how could you after all I did for you" kind of way and the writers felt the need to have Dick say "that was not a pretty sight". So we only really get to see Dick react in the worse way possible to Roy regarding his addiction and Outsiders/New Titans have writers make Dick will use it against Roy when hurt. 2/

Jason also bad mouths Roy as he is constantly calling Roy dumb or impulsive. But the story always treats this as a joke or harmless ribbing. Every time Jason calls Roy dumb or says he did something stupid nothing bad happens because of Roy's actions. So it comes off as Jason being an uptight cynic complaining for nothing. The main thing Jason complains about is that Roy is too nice/trusting. The intro being Jason calling Roy dumb for helping people and them betraying and capturing Roy 3/

I think the only time Jason has a legit reason to be angry at Roy's mistake is the Rent-a-Bat money problem but Jason just blames himself, still follows Roy's ideas, and they twist the situation into a positive way to fight bad guys. It's mainly only used for a gag about them having a joint bank account. This maybe cause the tone of Jason and Roy comics are more slapstick buddy comedies than high drama but we never get the "fist fighting instead of talking" issues all comics kind of have /4

But because of that and maybe the fact that they only had like 2 books together Jason and Roy have never been written getting into any fights with each other because of or referencing their past mistakes. The closest we get is the argument Jason and Roy have about the Iron Rule where Roy is putting all the blame on himself and saying Jason should be just as mad at him for creating them and Jason responds by just rejecting that idea and saying Roy is good. 5/

Roy doesn’t have any relapse drama with Jason so it’s just pure luck in a lot of ways that there is never a chance for them to fight over that like with Dick and Roy. Still it’s interesting that the writer uses Roy’s Titans Rebirth relapse to strengthen Jason’s trust in Roy. The story focusses on Roy getting back up after falling down and claims this makes Roy even more of a hero. /5

So because of the writers handling of the characters we end of with writing that has Dick be angry about Roy’s past mistakes and Dick and Roy getting into really harsh fights because of them. In New Titans 101 writers even include a line to suggest Dick resents Roy for his past. He says growing up was hard for everyone but he (Dick) managed to stick through it while Roy dropped out or rather “drugged out”. /6

Then you have writing where Jason constantly complains about Roy making mistakes that is treated as a joke and Roy never being hurt by or taking seriously. Then when the writing has Roy make actual mistakes or bring up his past mistakes the writing only has Jason support Roy and never actually judging Roy negatively because of them. Or it has Jason use those past mistakes as evidence for why Roy is a great hero since he over came them. /7

I am trying to make this clear I don’t think Dick’s negative reactions are how the character actually thinks or feels about Roy. I’m talking about the writers and how they craft stories. Many of the instances where Dick is awful to Roy about his addiction are horribly OOC or even retcons to past interactions like Titans 2008. Roy and Dick have always had a very close and supportive relationship and Roy trusts Dick more than anyone else. /8

But writers seem to keep using Roy’s past as a source or drama in their stories with the two and use it to get the characters to fight because superheroes fighting is cool and exciting. I expect if Jason and Roy were in more stories together and were written by other authors as much as Dick and Roy have been this would change and we would see equally bad fights between Jason and Roy as we have between Dick and Roy. /fin (sorry for the long ask my thoughts got away from me)

I'm really glad you sent these asks because it touches on something I think about a lot. When you have characters with thousands of appearances and decades of history, with so much contradictory continuity, how do you decide what "counts" and what doesn't? When a character does something horrible you simply cannot vibe with, do you reject the character, or do you reject the comic that has them doing whatever the thing is?

We all have our different lines, right? Like for me, I cannot get on board with the retcon that Ollie knew about Connor before they met at the ashram. That retcon is 20 years old, it has been supported by many subsequent comics, and yet I refuse to accept it. I know that I'm the one who is "wrong" here because obviously Ollie knowing about Connor is canon, but I will never write it in a fic, and if I ever got a chance to write for DC I'd retcon it back in a heartbeat.

So when it comes to Roy and Dick, I also want Dick to be a supportive friend. I want him to be understanding and non-judgmental when it comes to Roy's addiction. But you've listed five separate examples where he throws it in Roy's face and is as cruel as he can possibly be about it when he loses his temper - examples that take place over 20+ years, pre- and post-Flashpoint, by at least three different writers (Wolfman, Winick, Abnett...). So at what point do we say, look, Dick has many positive qualities, but he is not a good friend in this particular regard?

You say Roy trusts Dick more than anyone else, but is that true? More than Dinah or Donna? Is that demonstrated in canon? You say that "Dick's negative reactions are[n't] how the character actually thinks or feels about Roy...[it's] the writers and how they craft stories." But Dick is a fictional character. He is what the writers say. And the writers say, over and over again, that when Dick is upset with Roy, he strikes the lowest blow he possibly can.

And look, I 100% get it. I don't want Dick to be doing this either! I want him to be better! I believe he would show compassion for an addict he met on the street or in a shelter, so why can't he have that for his friend?

So that comes back to the question of: how do we handle this? Do we say "This is bad writers creating bad stories"? And yeah, sometimes we absolutely do. But when it's a consistent pattern of behavior, my brain starts to try to make it work with how I understand the character.

So for me, Dick is highly judgmental of Roy's addiction because he was raised with unforgivably high standards that he internalized to an actively harmful degree. We see this over and over again in how Dick treats himself - the way he drives himself to unhealthy extremes, the way he can't forgive himself for any failing whatsoever. I think that could make it hard for him to forgive people he relates to - and he and Roy are so similar and were even more so as teens.

And remember that Dick and Roy were actively on the 70s Titans team when this was all going down, but if we go by the original Snowbirds canon, none of Roy's teammates noticed what was going on with him, and none of them helped him until it was over. I could very easily see that being something Dick has never forgiven himself for, and I can see it manifesting in this super unhealthy way. Is he angry with Roy for failing, or is he angry with himself for failing Roy? (And how pissed off would Roy be if Dick ever phrased it like that?) Is he vicious because seeing how easy it is for someone so much like him to stumble scares him, because it reminds him that he can do the same?

Whereas with Jason...so, okay, a huge part of this is that Lobdell is a bad writer who wrote a bad comic, and one where emotions are often incredibly superficial - and like you said, one with fairly slapstick-y humor. So even though Jason is constantly insulting Roy, none of those insults have heat. None of them mean anything. He calls Roy dumb? They both know Roy's a super genius. It's a silly insult. It's not meant to wound, the way attacking Roy's addiction and sobriety would be.

But I can also take this bad, shallow comic and see how it fits really beautifully with a crucially important fact about Jason: his mother died of an overdose. Jason has seen addiction up close. It's formative for him. He knows how hard it is to fight. Of course he would never use it against Roy. Of course he thinks Roy is strong for getting sober. (Note that Jason has never said anything negative about Catherine, either.) It's not at all surprising to me that Jason would admire Roy for falling off the wagon and trying again. That's the hardest part! That doesn't mean that Roy is weak - that's incredible strength, to know you can fall and still try to climb. Jason knows that intimately, because he saw the person he loved the most in the world lose that fight - not by being an addict, but when the drugs killed her. Every day that Roy is alive means Roy is winning. Jason knows that.

Do I think Lobdell was thinking about that even a little tiny bit when he wrote those comics? No, I think he was slapping his hands on his keyboard like a seal and thinking about how he was going to go sexually harass more women at conventions. (There have been many allegations against this dude, I am not pulling this out of my ass.)

But for me, he stumbled onto something that works really, really well with Jason's past. So yeah, it's bad writing. But it's good characterization.

You don't have to agree with me about any of this! That's what's great about fandom and especially comics fandom, where the source material is so massive and multifaceted - we can all have our different takes on the characters and different interpretations of canon, and even different comics that we say "Nope, don't vibe with that one, throw it in the garbage." It's absolutely valid to reject all those instances of Dick being, well, a dick about Roy's addiction - I am not the comics police.

But like I said, I think about this sort of thing a lot, so I really appreciate you sending me these thoughtful asks and giving me a chance to ramble about headcanons and fanwanking bad comics until we can make them work for us. :)

#roy harper #arsenal #dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #meta

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kashuan · 2 years

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What buffles me about the popularity of Madeline Miller's book is how shallow her characters are. Achilles and Circe have no true, unlikable flaws (they're "timid" and "angry" at worst, when the others are rapists) while everyone else is made comically evil because Miller is too poor of an author to create compelling characters that are loved and appreciated for their complexity, she resorts to vilify the heck out of everyone else so that Achilles and Circe have no "competition". Oh and she made Patroclus from an absolute beast to a simp whose greatest ambition is to be Achilles's housewife. Circe's cruelty is made into yass queen moments, and we are subjected to pages of entirely self-unaware Circe complaining about cruel gods while she is a cruel god. It's like a white person bitching about white people, trying to distant themselves like this doesn't include them too

Honestly though, the black and whiteness of her stories is one of their biggest downfalls to me, especially when your subject is Greek mythology lol? Either everyone needs to be equally terrible or you need to give due diligence with making everyone properly nuanced IMO. I’ll never forgive her for speed running Iphigenia’s sacrifice in this regard; bizarre choice when there’s some great Achilles’ characterization to be had there, but oh no can’t throw any complexity on ach/pats pure gay uwu love by even suggesting he might feel something for a Girl, yuckie [see: deidamia chapter]. This passage was particularly unforgivable for like 10 different reasons:

(Canon patroclus deserves better than this and nothing like some modern day monogamy concepts in my ancient greek fiction. I also love the idea of Achilles saying No to this very common sort of arrangement because his bf was jealous, would love to see how that one went over)

Her then writing Agamemnon being like ‘well that happened’ after Iph dies in less than a page and holding a celebration for the army the same night, lol. Truly gotta cement that this man is The Villain (compare this to Iphigenia 1977 where we can imply he feels embittered and resentful towards the army who immediately begin to celebrate. Heck, even messier modern adaptations like Helen 2003 or TFOAC at least Somewhat understood the assignment and depicted him as genuinely conflicted and remorseful). Like I get Achilles is your focus, you don’t have to develop everyone equally, but at least pretend you’re not incredibly biased/making your story as easily digestible as possible. I just often find myself imagining how different the ‘mainstream’ side of the fandom would be if she hadn’t turned half the characters into mischaracterized tropes just to further sell the ach/pat drama (I won’t even get into thetis' or pyrrhus’ horrible characterization bc enough ppl have already lol).

As for Circe, I only read the first 50 pages or so thoroughly. I was instantly tripped up by what you mention, the same style as before lol. All the male gods are so mean and awful, especially to me :( men amirite?? I’m not fishing here for a certain kind of target audience at all. It was so blatant it immediately put me off. I just skimmed the rest and remember being disgusted by her legit trying to sell circe/telemachus afair. Ultimately if this was OC fiction I wouldn’t care or comment on any of it, would take it as ‘you do you’. But these are preestablished characters we tell shared stories about, and while I think they should definitely still be open to individual interpretation, I do think you should at least like… Stick to at least some of their commonly established traits seen in their original stories? It also wouldn’t be so bad if her writing hadn’t become THE mainstream “canon” though, but because it has I will never pass up an opportunity to complain about it, lmfao

#have i complained about this before #yes #will i complain about it again #also yes #what i deserve after reading 10 posts a day for the past 6 years in the iliad tag treating these characterizations as canon

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davidmann95 · 3 years

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Sooo… Superman and the Authority?

magnus-king123 asked: Your thoughts on Superman & the authority Give it to me...lol

Anonymous asked: Seeing Bezos take his little trip into space the same day Morrison puts out a Superman comic that touches on how far we’ve fallen from the days when we dreamed of utopian futures where everyone explored the stars was a big gut punch. Not used to Superman being topical in that way.

Anonymous asked: What'd you think of Superman and the Authority#1?

This is far beyond what I can fit in the normal weekly reviews, so taking this as my notes on the first six pages, with this and this as my major lead-in thoughts:

* Janin's such a perfect fit for Morrison - the scale, the power, the facial expressions selling the character work, the screwing around with the panel formatting as necessary to sell the effect, the numinous sense of things going on larger than you can fully perceive amidst the beauty and chaos. It's a shame he wasn't around 25 years ago to draw JLA, but I'll take him going with Morrison onto other future projects.

* His intro action sequence is such a great demonstration of why Black actually does have something to offer, and also how he's such a dumbass desperately needing Superman to save him from himself.

* While Jordie Bellaire didn't legit go with an entirely monochromatic palate the way early previews suggested, it's still an effect frequently and excellently deployed here. And glad to see Steve Wands carry into this from Blackstars since there's such an obvious carryover from its work with Superman.

* "Gentlemen. Ladies. Others." Great both because of the obvious - hey, Superman's nodding at me! - and because it's a phrasing that reinforces that this take on him (and let's be real Morrison) is old as hell.

* I'm mostly past caring about whether this is an alt-Earth Superman until it becomes indisputable one way or another, this and Action both rule so what does it really matter? But while there are still a couple signs in play suggesting some kind of division (the Action Comics #1036 cover, Midnighter up to time-travel shenanigans) the "lost in time" quote clearly thrown in after the fact to explain how he could have met Kennedy outside of 5G that wouldn't be necessary for an Elseworlds, the assorted gestures towards Superman's current status quo, the Kingdom Come symbol appearing in Action, and that Morrison would have had to completely rewrite the ending if this wasn't supposed to be 'the' version of Clark Kent going forward as was the intent when they first planned it all say to me that no, no fooling around, this is our guy going forward one way or another.

* Janin and Bellaire making the first version of the crystal Fortress ever that actually looks as cool as you want it to.

Anonymous asked: I like that Superman and The Authority is basically the anti-All-Star; instead of the laid back, immortal Superman who is supercharged, we have a stressed, ageing Superman whose tremendous powers are fading. The former will always be there to save us, but the latter is running out of time and needs to pull off a Hail Mary. Also, he mentions in his monologue to Black that he was "lost in time" when he met JFK, so maybe he is the main continuity Clark. Or he's the t-shirt Supes from Sideways.

* You're absolutely right - the power reversal is obvious and the ticking clock in play seemingly isn't for his own survival but everyone around him as he wakes up and realizes all the old icons grew complacent with the gains they'd made and he's not leaving behind the world he meant to. Both, however, are built on the idea of preparing the world to not need them anymore - it'll still have a Superman in his son, but that'll only work because of the others he empowers and inspires. The question is what happens to Clark if he's not going to live in the sun for 83000 years.

* Clark's 'exercise' here does more to sell me on the idea of Old Man Superman as a cool idea than however many decades of Earth 2 stuff.

* Intergang being noted alongside Darkseid and Doomsday speaks to how much Kirby informed Morrison's conception of Superman.

* This isn't exactly the most progressive in its disability politics but at least it makes clear Black's being a piece of shit about it.

* It's startling how much Clark can get away with saying stuff in here you'd never expect to come out of Superman's mouth. "I made an executive decision" "Privacy, really...?" "You have nowhere to go, Black. Nothing to live for." "There are few people in my life who I instinctively and viscerally dislike, and you've always been one of them." It only works because there's zero aggression behind it, he's just past the point of niceties and being totally frank while making clear none of these assessments preclude that he cares and is going to unconditionally do the right thing every time. He is absolutely, per Morrison, humanity's dad picking us up when we're too drunk to drive ourselves home.

* The story doesn't put a big flashing light over it, but it's not even a little bit subtle having the material threat of the issue be a ticking timebomb left by the carelessness and hubris of generations past.

* Manchester keeps trying to poke the bear and prove his hot takes about Superman and it's just not working. The front he put up under Kelley is gone after decades of defeats, and as Morrison understands what actually conceptually works about him as a rival to Superman underneath the aging nerd paranoia he's exposed as what he absolutely would be in 2021: a dude with a horrific terminal case of Twitter brainworms. I was PANICKED when I heard there was an 'offensive term' joke in this, I was braced for Morrison at their well-meaning worst, but it's such a goddamn perfect encapsulation of a very specific breed of Twitter leftist who uses their politics first and foremost as a cudgel and justification to label their abrasive, judgmental shittiness as self-righteousness (plus it's a killer payoff to a joke from way back in his original appearance). Cannot believe they pulled that off when they're so very, very open about basically not knowing how the internet works.

* @charlottefinn: Manchester Black using his telekinetic powers to force someone he hates to fave a problematic tweet so that he can screenshot it and start a dogpile

@intergalactic-zoo: “Once they cancel Bibbo, Superman won’t be *anyone’s* fav’rit anymore!”

* Friend noted this issue had to be fully the conversation because the whole premise stands on the house of cards of these two somehow working together, and with three 'silent' inset panels the creative team pulls off that turning point.

* So much of this feels on the surface like Morrison bringing back the All-Star vibes with Clark, but when he drops a "That's all you got?" in a brawl you realize what's underlining that bluntness and confidence in the face of failure is that deep down this is still the Action guy too. This dude ain't gonna get wrecked in his Fortress while the other guy chuckles about him being A SOFT WEE SCIENTIST'S SON!

* Bringing up Jor-El made me realize that Morrison already spelled out that this is the final threat to Superman, what he faces at the end of the road:

"Now it's your turn, Superman."

* A l'il Superman 2000/All-Star reference with the Phantom Zone map!

* There's so much intertextuality going on here even by Morrison standards - Change or Die with the old hero putting together a team of morally nebulous folks out to 'fix' everything, Flex Mentallo with the muscleman trying to redeem the punk, Doomsday Clock with the fate of the world hinging on whether Superman can get through to a meta stand-in for an idea of 'modern' comics cynicism, DKR and New Frontier and Kingdom Come and Multiversity and Seven Soldiers and What's So Funny and All-Star and Action and the last 5 years of monthly Superman comics and Authority and probably Jupiter's Legacy and Tom Strong - but none of that's needed. You could go in with the baseline pop cultural understanding of the character and not care about any of the inside baseball shit and get that this is a story about a leader of a generation that let down the people they made all their grand promises to as inertia and day-to-day demands and complacency let him be satisfied with the accomplishments they'd made long ago, looking at a new era and seeing the ways its own activists are dropping the ball. The only thing that fundamentally matters in a "you have to accept you're reading a superhero story" sense is that because he's Superman he's willing to own up to it and listen to people who might know better about some things and try to set things right while he and those who'll take his place still have a chance. And yes, the oldster looking back on their legacy with a skeptical eye and hoping for better from the next generation, hoping most of all that their little heir apparent can fulfill the promise inside of him instead of being a provocating little shitkicker, is obviously also autobiographical.

* The overlaying Kennedy reprisal is such a great visual of a sudden intrusive thought.

* The Kryptonite secret is the obvious "This is going to matter!" moment, but "He lied about his son" is a bit that doesn't connect to anything going on right now so maybe that's important here too? More significantly, the Justice League can't actually be the villains here but that Ultra-Humanite's crew are in an Earth-orbiting satellite makes pretty clear what's up.

* I've said before that between Superman, OMAC, and a New Gods-affiliated speedster this was going to use all of Morrison's favorite things. King Arthur playing a role isn't exactly dissuading me.

* Love the idea that all the antiheroes have their own community in the same way as the capes and tights crew. They definitely all privately think the rest are posers though and that they alone are Garth Ennis Punisher in a mob of Garth Ennis Wolverines.

* Manchester's fallen so far he's gone from trying to convince Superman to kill to convince him to dunk on people for their bad takes and Clark just doesn't get it. Official prediction of dialogue for upcoming issues:

"According to these bloody Fortress scans, the only thing that can restore your powers is an unfiltered hit of dopamine. Don't worry, Doctor Black has a few ideas."

"Hmm. Maybe I'll plant a nice tree?"

"...fuck you."

* Ok I already talked about how great the Fortress looks in here but LOVE this library.

* A pair of pages this seems like the right spot to discuss from Black's original appearance that underlines both his and Superman's inadequacies up to this point:

Responding to the problem of "the government and penal system are hopelessly corrupt" neither of them has any actual notion of what to do about it in spite of their respective posturing beyond how to handle individual outside actors - each is in their own way every bit as small-minded and reactionary as the other. Clark's coming around though, and he's holding out hope for the other guy.

* Superman: Have a lovely mineral water :) proper hydration is important :)

Manchester Black: *Is a dude who can get so mad he vomits and passes out. At water.*

* That last page is the one to beat for the year, and does more to put over the idea of this as an Authority book than that Midnighter and Apollo are literally going to show up. It also feels like Morrison tacitly acknowledging all the ways the premise could go or at least be received wrong - from Superman saying 'enough is enough' to who he's bringing into the fold to go about it - in the most beautifully on-the-nose fashion imaginable. Maybe they'll save us all! Or maybe they'll drown us in their vomit.

#Superman and The Authority #Superman #The Authority #Manchester Black #Grant Morrison #Mikel Janin #Jordie Bellaire #Steve Wands #Opinion

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inactivefandomblog · 3 years

Text

Things I noticed when I re watched Birds of prey last night

Hi all, I watched BOP for the second time last night and I wanted to write down some of the things I noticed as I had seen @wordsoflittlewisdom , Idea credit goes to them on this one. I’m aware that some of these things are not exactly new discoveries and were blatantly obvious to others, but I have ADHD and a processing delay meaning that I don't always take in all the information the first time I watch a film. For example, I had no idea Renee was gay for ages, even though they tell us she had an ex girlfriend (I think I was too busy fan Girling that Ali Wong was in the film then though to hear that bit). I have to focus more on the overall plot when I watch things the first time, but the second time I was able to scan for little details and take in more things. Without further ado, here’s what I noticed.

“Do you know what a harlequin is? A harlequin's role is to serve. It's nothing without a master. No one gives two shits who we are, beyond that.”

-When Harley is talking about Harlequinns serving their master, she is not just talking about her relationship with the Joker, but about Canary letting Roman be her master. She is saying that she felt like she was nothing without the Joker. She is also implying that Dinah feels the same about Roman, and that she shouldn't because he doesn’t actually care about her like the Joker didn’t care about her.

-THATS WHY SHE ONLY HAS ONE SHOE IN THE CHASE SCENE!!!!! SHE USED IT TO PIN DOWN THE ACCELERATOR IN THE TRUCKKKKKK!!! MYSETERY SOLVED!! ... though.. she didn’t change her shoes to a full set between then and the police chase the next day/ later on the same day. Meaning she didn't go home after that...so did she just like wander around Gotham after committing a huge crime obviously tide to her XD of course she did, she’s Harley Fucking Quinn! Either that or she passed out somewhere from being very very drunk, hopefully her apartment and not just a street or something.

-BONUS: fanfic idea: DRUNK HARLEY HAS A FUNERAL FOR HER SHOE THAT GOT BLOWN UP IN THE ACE CHEMICALS EXPLSION, WITH BRUCE AND THE BEAVER. after she leaves the crime scene. That just seems like a thing drunk Harley would do, as I imagine she loved those shoes as they were awesome..so were her sequin socks.

-The first time I watched it I didn't realise that the fireworks weren’t actually there - because that was all in Harley's head and the film is from her pov - even though we are showed that when the police arrive there are none and it's just a regular explosion. Not until I was told this was the case and realised we were literally shown this later on.

-She goes from being a Harlequinn to Harley Quinn as she becomes emancipated.

-Roman just lets Zsas grab his arms and restrain him when he’s mad, switch energy much.....also they are defo gay for each other. Zsas was acting like a jealous boyfriend when he gave Dinah even an ounce of attention. He legit told her to come back later when he just started massaging Roman’s shoulders. Roman let's Zsas rub his shoulders and comfort him, Zsas wants to protect Roman...need I go on.

- Cass’ parents are yelling about how they don't want her if you listen to what they are saying, so they’re not just fighting, they’re fighting because they wish they never adopted her. She can hear them saying all this too. This made me feel even more sad for Cass than when I thought her parents were toxic to each other in my first watch through.

- (Trigger warning: mention of domestic abuse and child abuse)

Cass’ parents didn't want her and seemed to be very hostile, its not mentioned how Cass got her cast...but I realised that it could suggest that her parents broke her arm. Which would go on to suggest that they were abusing her physically as well as emotionally. Hence why she didn’t trust people, and was so hurt when Harley betrayed her. Because when she says that she though Harley was different, she meant that she thought she could trust Harley and that Harley wouldn’t hurt her.

-Margot’s real accent comes through when she tells Canary ‘I haven't told that to anyone’ when telling her she Broke up with Joker, as well as a few other times throughout the film.

-Cassandra is quiet and not talkative in her first scene because her throat was hurting because of the diamond. That's why she coughed to try and clear it . At that point in the film we hadn’t been shown that part but it was set after it happened so it makes sense when you re watch it.

-Cassandra’s jacket has a little middle finger logo on it, which I thought really suited her character.

- Cass has ‘asshole’ written on her cast, a drawing of a gun the word ‘fuck’, the word ‘magic’ - which is probably a reference at how she does some stuff that is similar to closeup magic and uses the same magicians technique of the art of misdirection - she also has what appears to be two playing cards, one with hearts and one with diamonds. Which is most probably a reference to Harley Quinn’s whole hearts and diamonds thing she has going. Didn’t comic book Harley also have a link to those specific playing cards too? or something like that?

EDIT: THEY ARE PLAYING CARDS!! I GOT A BETTER LOOK AT THE CAST IN THE COSTUMES VIDEO.

- TW: mentions of abuse and child abuse and trauma

The whole diamonds are a girls best friend is Harley going somewhere else mentally to cope with the trauma of being abused - we see her being spanked by a nun when was younger suggesting she was abused then too, and I think it is a part of her comic book story that she was but I don't know for sure - when it flashes and Guns appear that's reality trying to seep in. She's trying to focus on the diamond and block everything else out

-I spotted what looks like a mini mallet on the wall in her kitchen that could potentially be a meat tenderiser, and if that is the case then that is a fantabulous little Easter egg type thingy. The handle looks too long to be a pot, it has a diamond pattern on it and it is next to another tool for preparing meat...so now I'm just waiting on Margot Robbie,Cathy Yan or Ella Jay Basco to Reply to my tweet and confirm it.

-Helena speaking Chinese makes me laugh for some reason, I think its her facial expression.

- Kid Helena’s crayons when she's drawing the revenge pic are all perfectly spaced and placed like her stuff in her bathroom scene. Further evidence of her perfectionism/ her liking things a specific way.

- The towel in Helena’s hotel room on the bed (seen in mirror reflection) is in the shape of a little person.

- Canary sheds a tear when Roman harasses the lady on the table, I didn't notice that before because I looked away as the scene made me really uneasy.

- Harley screws the cap on the nail polish before putting it down even though there's someone at the door after them. This made me laugh because she thinks the police is after her but still takes time to do this, which is such a Harley thing. Like when she bent down to pick up the penny when that guy was gonna kill her.

- Roman has a shirt with his face printed on it.They did a good job of using the costumes and sets to show his egomaniacal trait.

- The look of acceptance of Harley's face when she realises that no one cares about, after the last person she thought cared about her (Doc) betrayed her, is heart-breaking.

-How was Renee not injured from getting launched out the window? Even if she didn't fall all the way to the ground and landed on the top of the entrance bit, she’d still be injured.

-WHERE DOES HUNTRESSS STORE ALLL THOSE ARROWWWSSSSS????? SHE FIRED SO MMAANNNNYYY! I DIDN’T SEE A QUIIIIVVVER OR ANYTHING. I guess she just stores them in sub space along with her hammer¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-Also I think I figured out what the chain is for, at first I thought it was for the crossbow to attach to. Then I though not as she leaves the crossbow on the floor by itself in the funhouse fight scene, but then I think I saw it attached to it..so I think she can just disconnect it when need be. Plus it just looks cool.

-Alllssoo, she toooottallly checked out Dinah! HELENA IS DEFO GAYYYY! she has big useless lesbian vibes. They really knew who their target audience was when they made Helena look so stunning and badass. The producers really said ‘hello LGBTQ+ community’ (hopefully y’all know that tiktok audio or that wont make much sense) Also, if you don't believe me, I have a gif of her doing it on my blog. So there’s no denying it.

-Why were the lights on in the funhouse if it was abandoned?? Maybe its just more Harley vision? but the carousel was rotating too...

Anyway that's everything I noticed, thanks for reading if you made it this far, and even if you didn’t...you wont see this then but still. Thank y’all .

#harley quinn #birds of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn #birds of gay #birds of prey #dc #movie #dinah lance #huntress #black canary #renee montoya #dinah x helena #cassandra cain #victor zsaz #roman sionis

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rabble-dabble · 3 years

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Johnkat Fic Rec

oh HELL YEAH. THIS IS HAPPENING. i have a google doc open, a drink full of water, and a will full of last-minute idea inspiration. 2020 fic list baby.

Thin Air - NGL this was the first fic i read after i realized i should look at ao3 for johnkat back a few years ago and it was a GREAT re-introduction back into the ship. it’s when john retcons canon but “over the top gay” (LEGIT THE TAGS) and john and karkat’s relationship develops over the time trips. a lil bit of blood at the end but it all ends happily.

(do not ask) the price I pay - multi-chaptered alternate universe sort of take on how sburb works and centers around karkat who is “sacrificed” to the Gods and ends up living with them. it’s REALLY emotional and REALLY sad and it takes your heart and STOMPS ON IT REALLY REALLY HARD. but it is SO worth the read. i’m trying so hard not to spoil it but it’s good.

Dead Man’s Poison - karkat becomes a ghost and it’s such a funny and sad take on his (after) life. time moves on, someone moves in, and karkat discovers being a ghost can be really boring (and really regretful). has a little bit of a horror aspect at the end, but resolves it beautifully. it’s angst cranked to 10 even though he’s already dead.

Carbonated Truth Enhancer - a oneshot vortex of emotional egbert trauma that john TOTALLY deserves. this fic takes up my one braincell at least half the time.

How Not to Make a Species - better to be called “how god underestimated my ability to weep” because it really, really did and it was a lot. it’s just poetically soft and gentle and it brings a tear to my eye just skimming it.

And It Was Clear - karkat needs glasses and john has a really, really good idea. it’s alarmingly short and yet, perfectly clear. (hehe)

Breath & Blood - sadstuck, bloodheavy short story made by FiveTail and if you haven’t even heard of that name i weep for you. i have never felt more pity for a doomed timeline and i think about it constantly.

Waiting For God Tier - I AM GOING TO SHAKE YOU IF YOU HAVE NEVER READ THIS. this is basically a doomed john and karkat going through their afterlife trying to figure out how they died (warning blood and sadstuck) and i cried so much i had to go blow my nose. and then i drew johnkat art cuddling each other before i went to bed thinking about them very, very alive.

Just a Taste - adorable valentines day fic. john thinks he is sneaky to try to get karkat to lick cake batter off his hand and this is probably the closest suggestive fic on this list. AND IT’S NOT EVEN MEANT TO BE SO LIKE ARHJGHGHJHJHJRGHJ-

responsible, forever, for what you have tamed - this SCREAMS fluff and romantic. karkat had made john the stars, but for karkat, john has made him a garden. it’s beautiful and read it to hear my distant happy tears.

Happy Accidents - John and Karkat become parents in the most unconventional of ways. They foster a baby grub and it’s adorable and yes, if you must ask, i did also cry at the end. it has a happy ending though so it is WORTH it.

Blurring the Lines - John is the idiot who goes wandering off and Karkat is the one who has to save him from the stupidity he has before it gets him murdered by an insane clown. So, basically, regular life lol.

In Which John and Karkat are Pranked - in which my reasoning why dave is simply the best person to always have the two idiots get together, and my heart goes out to the poor bastard author who had to format this. it’s PESTERLOGS. and i feel. SO SORRY.

This Could Work - Karkat is scared for the future of their new universe and John decides at the WORST time to confess that he might be in love with Karkat. it’s presented so delicately well that i’m suspicious that they might have just looked into an actual alternate universe or something and saw canon.

A Line Between You and Me - Everyone takes on aspects of each other, and John is led living life figuring out who he inherited his from. sadstuck alarms, this is one story that doesn’t end as well as the others.

Welcome to the Rest of Your Life - this hits ALL the right sadstuck feels and ALL the right “winning the game” feels. sburb didn’t take very kindly to losing so it takes the one thing karkat cherishes: his home.

Surfeit - a comic story au about growing up and childhood crushes and the beautiful, beautiful scene of idiotic love.

Blue - karkat is bored from his marriage, his life, and from his work. this fic really details that feeling about the state of melancholy, where it is all just bland. this was a type(?) of inspiration for Step by Step (i think) and it just pulls you in to read more.

Jesus Wouldn’t - considering how i know the inner workings of being the religious type and how people tend to abuse what messages come with it, this fic is oddly beautiful and inspiring. it truly just quilts together the messages of what is important and how everything is sort of okay on the inside and outside. not exactly johnkat centric, but i thought it was worth it to be here.

i will buy the flower shop, and you will never be lonely. -THIS is moirallegiance or nothing is. pale johnkat is beautiful and worthy and basically i love this one so much it fills my lungs with honey and flowers.

lock it up and leave - sadness sadstuck about how broken karkat is and how hard it is to take care of someone when they think the only thing left to do is to give up. but john egbert isn’t having it, no, he refuses to lose anyone else - “if you go, you’re taking me with you.”

Apocalyptic Literature - i found this in the depths of ao3 hell. honestly, it intrigued me and i wasn’t disappointed with what i found. sadstuck grim, and there’s mention of blood and bodies but the ending is surprisingly soft and on a happy note.

Of Growing Up - Yeah you know of RMWT? Real Men Wear Tights? Someone in the universe got the memo that i am always angry about super hero friends who can’t recognize each other and gifted this upon the world, which I like to think i was meant to find and gush over. this is PERFECTLY executed and even has some detail i was smug on finding, so if you too have read RMWT and want an ending i suggest giving this a look.

and that’s about it! i have more but they’re not really..eh, what i’d want to put here (for now). i’ll keep ya upd8ed if i come across more i really, really enjoy.

#fic rec #johnkat #john egbert #karkat vantas #homestuck #rmwt #ao3 #a buncha fuckin fics #some of these are OLD #and some of them...are still old but not that old #im combing thru the archives again so i might come across more soonish #reading these fics are basically what i characterize them so TAKE NOTES #also kisses because i found these for you <3333

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toujoursmiraculous · 3 years

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Thoughts & Reactions to Sole Crusher & Queen Banana!

Here's my 2 in 1! Starting with Sole Crusher. Loved the tourist feel in the beginning, gives it a very different feel and interesting to see it from Zoe's perspective. Aww Zoe's so nice to Marinette right away. And it's awfully sad that she only ever had one friend. :c I wonder who that friend is? Zoe's right about her family not appreciating the baked goods from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. I don't know if she's fully aware of the history there, or if she just knows how picky her mother and sister are. But it was awfully sweet of her to give them to the tour guide to give to her family instead. So Zoe learned: in order to survive, she had to put on an act and be somebody she's not, because her family wouldn't accept her being a decent person that cares about others. When asked about her middle school, her response, "I found a cockroach in my locker!" Might not be true, doesn't sound like it's the only thing at all if so, but sadly it was enough for her mom to not question anything.

Chloe's definitely a lot worse now after Miracle Queen. In my opinion, this is us beginning to see how low she's gotten and will continue to get. As Avatar Aang once said, "When we reach our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change." I'll write more on this in a separate post later. Zoe's sure scared to object to anything and be herself. Not even hesitating to act like a brat when around Chloe. If she didn't end up growing up around Chloe, how horrible are her parents??? We know Audrey is pretty bad, but even then if she had a decent dad she'd likely not end up like this. I suppose we'll have to see, but this poor girl. :/ Rose: Can we adopt her? Lol awww. Wonderful of Marinette to know that after only one brief encounter with Zoe, she knows that the Zoe at school isn't really her, and wants to genuinely help. How can anybody hate that about her? I don't get it. If it's because she doesn't do things how you'd like them...Most things in life won't go as you want them, or be taken by others as you may intend them, so you have to appreciate what's there and the intent of others actions. "But my family made me think that to deserve my place, I had to give up on some of my dreams." If Andre's talking about his parents here, as he said "When I was young", then oof this poor man, no wonder he's so timid and such a pushover. If he's referring to Audrey and Chloe... then that's a huge oof because Audrey knew exactly who she was marrying and should've never ended up with him in the first place if she didn't want to be with a director. So Zoe left because she couldn't stand it in New York anymore around her dad and the kids at her school. She hoped that she wouldn't have to act anymore and could just be herself. It really sounds like she needed to act a certain way in order to survive getting bullied, or worse. Dang, she really must not have met Chloe before then, or heard anything about her if she thought living with her mom and sister would be better. But in a way, it is better for her, because she has Marinette and the kids at school now. And she has Andre who's probably a better parent to her than her actual parents. Which is surprising and also not at the same time. "We end up hiding our feelings deep down in here." Okay so he says that with a booklet that has Emilie's face on it held up to his chest. Now, it may just be nothing but him thinking about his director dream. But. It could've also been any other object he held to his heart, it could've been something without a face on it or at least not her face. And Andre did work with Emilie. So I would not be surprised at all if there was something there that this is hinting at. Hmmmm. Also, I guess that's not Tomoe Tsurugi? Even though it's Kagami's model they used. And she's really pretty, too! Maybe something will come from this, or the animators didn't think it through when they added that image. Who knows. Even Chloe's first thought when she's in trouble is to go to Marinette what the heck 😂 When Kaalki teleported into Adrien's room...had Adrien turned around as it

happened he would've seen enough of her room to recognize it. Instead the portal changed and was outdoors. But lol poor Kaalki slamming against the window! All his things getting sucked in and Plagg's cheese was hilarious. XD Chloe's second thought of where to go: Luka's. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 🤔 "This winner and loser thing doesn't exist!" Sad that Chloe thinks this way at all, who even taught her this? x.x Chat Noir: Did somebody start off on the wrong foot today? Marinette: I'm not finished! Chat Noir: Huh? LOL I laughed so hard at this moment. Did she forget who she is at the moment because even Chat's like what "I will always support you!" AWWWWWW what a good friend! And I think by helping Zoe become stronger, she'll in turn help Chloe be a better person too. But I'll talk about this again later. Poor Sabrina in this episode, my goodness. She works in a tiny closet and has to run along the limo. Chloe's seriously getting awful. Zoe's charm is the cutest one so far! So pretty. Ivan giving Zoe a hug was the cutest thing ever. Like, I don't ship them, but this shouldn't have anything to do with it. He and the rest of the kids care about her and respect her for being open and honest with her struggles, and want to be there for her. It's so wholesome. 😭 I find it interesting that even Audrey in this episode doesn't always know how to react to Chloe. xD But thank you Andre for caring enough about her to keep her in Paris and trying to keep some peace between the two. "For the first time in my life, I feel at home." 😭😭😭😭😭 Just imagine for a minute if Marinette didn't bother to help Zoe, believed how she acted at school rather than when she met her, and didn't tell the other kids about what was going on. Everything for her would be so drastically different. All because Marinette showed some kindness. Now onto Queen Banana. Well poor Marinette can't help but faceplant on the news. xD I can just tell what Alya leaned into say "You okay, girl?" and Marinette mumbling under the cape, "that's what the news is going to see of me, aren't they?" "Afraid so." "groan" Ah okay, Thomas was an alumni of the school. Cool. Poor Andre, he's just doing what Zoe suggested of him and not give up his dream of directing! I wonder if being around Luka and Juleka made Zoe want to put that pink streak in her hair. xD I want Luka and Zoe to be really good friends, that'd be so cool. Chloe being really awful some more. To everybody. I've noticed a pattern and I think I have her figured out pretty well. I'll be writing a in-depth post about her soon! She's making them change the entire movie just for her. xPP I said to my sister, "as soon as she leaves they should just film their original ideas." They do, thank goodness. xD I got so happy that we get an Adrienette scene in this ep! And then I saw he's locked in a cage, willingly, smiling at Marinette while the door shuts and I just burst out laughing. He's not even nervous he's locked in a cage, suspended in the air! Booooooy must like Marinette a lot! "Now let's take care of Adrien and get him out of that cage." OMG thank you, Marinette. While the image of him is comical, it's making me so uncomfortable that someone's up there like that and that someone also being terrified of being locked up in such a small space. Also, how long do you think Adrien would've stayed up there had Marinette not said something? Oh? What a change of pace, when Adrien goes to try to make things better for everyone, he screws it up pretty badly to be what really drives Chloe to get akumatized. She may have cooled off enough on her own as she tells Adrien "I'm fine." ...until he suggests apologizing to everyone. "You promised to stop being rude to everyone. And I told you that we couldn't be friends otherwise." OOF. Okay so her reaction to this really goes into the territory I want to talk about in my upcoming post about Chloe. "Banana BOOM BOOM!" lololol it sounds so funny in German dub xDD Marinette instantly pulling Zoe away from the attack x33 Ladybug's spin move with Chat Noir XD

it's like what's happening we're fighting an akuma not dancing This entire akuma feels like a Donkey Kong game and I love it. Those games are my childhood. Ooof Ladybug needs to be more careful with her Lucky Charms, they can sometimes be massive! Like that giant doughnut in Weredad. I seriously legit thought that the Gorilla was Gorilla, Adrien's bodyguard before the episode aired. XD The best heroes in this show tend to be the ones that have the most self-doubt, have you noticed? Ladybug, Carapace, and Vesperia all expressed serious doubt in themselves being a superhero, but when they suit up they're fierce! Like they were born to be a hero. Don't worry about Chat kissing Vesperia's hand. That's just the way he is, it's not in a flirting way. c: I remember when people freaked out about Rena Rouge and Chat Noir. It's the same as that, nothing more. "Or I'll turn her into baby mush!" LOL Chloe threatening to turn Ladybug into baby food hahaha that sounds so outrageous and weird that it's funny. And yet in this situation, would be actually possible so it's quite disturbing....hm. Dang, Hawk Moth trying to reakumatize her immediately. You go Zoe, speak up for yourself! And good on Andre for putting his foot down about Zoe too. "You may hate me, but I love you. And I'll always love you even if the whole world hates you." OKAY, THAT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL. Including the way she convinced Chloe to take the charm. Marinette's literally in hearing range of Adrien as she's talking to Tikki LOL she's like 5-6 feet away maybe? But that's okay, he probably would think nothing of it if he heard Marinette talking lol. I really like Zoe's character, I think she makes a wonderful addition to the show and that her character is extremely important. ;) Again I'll talk about it in my upcoming post! I've really noticed a lot of things when it comes to Chloe that I look forward to sharing my thoughts on sometime early this week. I really don't think things are as clear cut as a lot of people seem to think about her.

#ml #miraculous ladubug #ml spoilers #ml season 4 spoilers #ml spoilers season 4 #sole crusher spoilers #queen banana spoilers

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scottymcgeesterwrites · 3 years

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Final Fantasy V Review

Year: 1992

Original Platform: Super Nintendo

Also available on: PlayStation One (Final Fantasy Anthology), Game Boy Advance, Steam (updated graphics)

Version I Played: Game Boy Advance

Synopsis:

Bartz is a drifter, riding across the world with his chocobo – Boko. One day, the wind seems to fall. Lenna’s father, the king of Tycoon, goes off to make sure the Wind Crystal is all right, but doesn’t return. Meanwhile, a meteorite falls. Lenna and Bartz check it out separately, where they find each other and a man named Galuf with amnesia. Together they figure out that the world is falling apart – the crystals that drive wind, fire, earth and water are dying out. They stumble upon a pirate hideout led by Faris, and together they seek to restore the world and uncover the mysterious forces behind the destruction of the crystals.

Background:

Once again, this Final Fantasy game was originally unreleased outside of Japan. Unlike II and III, the developers thought that the game was a different tone than the others and the vast job system would be too complicated for Western audiences. The West didn’t experience Final Fantasy V until 1999 with Playstation One’s Final Fantasy Anthology; a compilation of both V and VI. One notable change from the Japanese version is the name Bartz. The original name for Bartz in the Japanese release was translated as Butz, but because Americans are immature and laugh at such a name, they changed it in the localization to Bartz.

Gameplay:

Holy capitalism, Batman – so many jobs!

Not only that, but each job has abilities that you can mix and match! Every time you level up a job, you earn a new ability for that job. You can switch those abilities across jobs.

The possibilities are seemingly endless!

The gameplay is the most fun I had with customization in a while in any video game RPG. The best part is that the Job System is so rewarding by the time you reach the third act of the game. It gives you such a variety that it allows you to approach battles from many different angles. There’s no one way to be a badass and deal destructive damage.

It’s so much fun that once a year, Final Fantasy V gamers join in “Final Fantasy Five Four Job Fiesta”. It’s a challenge where you are randomly assigned four jobs in the game and have to finish the game ONLY with those four jobs. I’ve joined in the challenge myself and it’s a great way to come together with Final Fantasy players.

I had fun unlocking the legendary weapons and hunting down the most powerful summons - this time naturally without looking anything up. I find it interesting to say that I had legit fun hunting down all the extras. Sometimes in other Final Fantasy games I get weary over hunting for some extra, higher powered spells and summons. I sometimes even wonder if I should bother going after them. The vast Job System in Final Fantasy V keeps you occupied for the entire game and more. I finished the game and there are still some jobs that I haven't even touched. Luckily, the Game Boy Advance version adds some extra dungeons after you complete the game.

Graphics:

The sprites in this game look a bit rough around the edges. They also come off as too small in my opinion. The same is said of the Game Boy Advance version. Regardless, it now looks like an actual SNES game. Unlike Final Fantasy IV, it has more color, structure, and doesn’t look faded.

Something irked me though about the sounds. I never have anything bad to say about the sound effects, but for some reason, in this game, the battle sound effects were meek. Even when someone had a sword, the attack sounded puny.

The PlayStation One version has an FMV sequence that look awkward and ugly as fuck, just like the FMV sequence for the PlayStation One version of Final Fantasy IV. As much as I love Yoshitaka Amano, trying to transplant his style into 3D is not a good idea.

Story:

The story transcends that of Final Fantasy IV. Where Final Fantasy IV can feel weak or simple at times, Final Fantasy V delivers a strong, emotionally charged storyline.

It starts simple. Once again, the world is in danger because the crystals are in danger – but this time because humans are misusing their power and breaking them. So this is a rare Final Fantasy game without any evil empires or rebellions.

Out of all the Final Fantasy games, I had heard the least about what happens in V. Heck – I knew more about II before going into it, mostly because of what people said about the Star Wars parallels. It’s been a long time since I went into a Final Fantasy game completely blind. I kept it that way and was very pleasantly surprised.

I can see what the developers meant by a “change in tone.” Final Fantasy V is probably the funniest of them all. It’s not campy – just humorous. Galuf loves to share puns. Bartz can be a klutz. The characters bicker a lot during their journey. One part actually made me genuinely laugh out loud when you are in a certain underground place searching for clues:

Despite the lighter tone, each character has a pretty sensitive, delicate backstory. I cared for Bartz’s personal history with his parents. I worried about whether Lenna’s father would die or not. I wondered what Galuf forgot and who Faris really was. There are dashes of tropes here but none of them stand out too much. You have to remember that tropes themselves are not inherently bad – what matters is how you utilize them. There’s no hokey romantic subplot thrown in either, which is extremely rare in a JRPG.

It was so rewarding to go into it blind because there was even a shocking death. I thought maybe they would be all right in the end through some Disney cop out.

No. That person is dead. Dead as a door nail. Never coming back. I also enjoyed the bit where they tried to revive said dead person with spells and phoenix downs. They finally imply that there can be a point where someone can go beyond and it’s too late to bring them back.

The henchman Gilgamesh is very memorable and lovable, probably the most memorable character of the entire game. He serves as great comic relief while not being at all annoying. I kept hoping he would show up.

My only real complaint, if I’m ever forced to say anything bad, is that Boko wasn’t really an asset in the story, at least not as much as I assumed he would be.

The story is unfortunately very overlooked. I can understand that maybe at the time American and other Western gamers may have found the third act strange – especially after learning about the villain Exdeath’s true nature. Compared to the other Final Fantasy backstories, it’s a little out there, and something tells me it relates to Japanese mythology. But today? You’d be sorry to miss out on it.

Music:

Final Fantasy V’s main theme is somewhat reminiscent of Final Fantasy IV’s main theme. They have this melodic soaring feel with a continuous beat. “The Four Warriors of Dawn” in Final Fantasy V is reminiscent of “Red Wings” in IV. Meanwhile, the biggest and most interesting display is “Battle with Gilgamesh”. (sometimes titled “Clash/Battle on the Big Bridge”). The piece opens up with some intense drumming. While the later orchestrations and adaptations of “Battle with Gilgamesh” are pretty good, nothing seems to capture the tempo and umph of the original.

“Dear Friends” is probably the most endearing tune in the soundtrack. It’s played at the end and gives a really bittersweet feel. The Distant Worlds concert version is extremely bittersweet. It has a sweet, gentle guitar, and it reminds me of how Uematsu said one of his inspirations was Simon and Garfunkel. “Dear Friends” definitely has that folk tune.

Exdeath’s theme song gives a heavy rock vibe. That heavy rock vibe was last heard in the opening segment of the final boss fight in Final Fantasy IV. The rest of the score has a lot of drumming incorporated, partially due to the fact that pirates are involved in most of the plot. Ultimately, this Final Fantasy score broke out all of Uematsu’s classic and hard rock inspirations – and it’s fucking awesome.

Notable Theme:

“Battle with Gilgamesh”

I have replayed this song over a thousand times by now.

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Verdict:

Definite must-play. It’s the most underrated Final Fantasy game. The Kob System can be overwhelming, especially if you have never played a Final Fantasy game before. I wouldn’t suggest playing this for beginners – more after you get your hands wet.

Direct Sequel?

Yes. And No.

While not a video game, Final Fantasy V did receive an anime sequel titled Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals. It’s technically the first sequel to a Final Fantasy game. The anime is set 200 years in the future, with the heroes of the original game having become legend. Critical reception of the miniseries was mixed.

#final fantasy #final fantasy v #square enix #super nintendo #nintendo #underrated video games #video games #onvideogames #fantasy #rpg #jrpg #rpg game #video game rpg #chocobo #four job fiesta #final fantasy five four job fiesta

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just-honey-dewd · 4 years

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What medium best expresses Sonic’s character?

Right, so this is a bit of a detour from the typical Hazbin Hotel posts I’ve been making, but I really did a heck-ton of work to come up with this. Then again, I type overly long paragraphs as a hobby, so jokes on anyone who thinks I don’t do this for fun... but then again... jokes on me for making the time to type Hamilton-esque essays on fictional characters ._.

Okay enough with tangents, this is an essay dedicated to answering what medium -- songs, scenes, cartoons, maybe even a comic issue -- best encompasses Sonic’s character. Take in mind, throughout the 29-almost-30 years of Sonic, there have been many iterations and takes on the character that either differentiate on a minor level, or to the point that some Sonics when compared seem to be starkly different characters altogether, so this is purely what I feel is the best take on Sonic’s character. For my sake, I’ve sworn off including material that require a long-winding read through some mediocre storylines -- nothing personal, Archie Comics. I won’t be covering Archie Comics because I’ve yet to finish reading all 200+ comic issues because that’s not humanly possible for me. If I ever manage to though, I might make a post about Archie Comics in some way. For now, here’s my personal essay on “What medium best expresses Sonic’s character”

Starting off with shows...

Sonic SatAM (1993) and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) are products of their time, and I never got to watch them when I was young, so I hold no sentimental nostalgia. Sonic SatAM seems in-line with Archie Comics, with the Freedom Fighters plotline and the infamous Sonic mohawk with lasted for a significant amount of issues. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was pretty comical and lighthearted in comparison. Both were voiced by Jaleel White, had the same artstyle, and established Sonic’s character in vastly different tones. It’s rather outdated as Sonic has lived past the 90s for 20 years, where he got revised and reinvented to suit the decades. So both characterizations are simply inapplicable to Sonic’s character.

2003′s Sonic X worked off of the newly reinvented Sonic and paved way for Sonic’s personality for the following years, but I do have critique over the show, and their execution of Sonic’s character. Though they did provide Sonic's "constant desire to run", he lacked soul and the over-the- top nature of his character. Sonic throughout this show displayed a rather hollow connection with his relationships, was as distant and aloof as Knuckles for seemingly no reason, lacked much depth and barely developed, and was overall, very poor with communicating his thoughts and actions -- which ultimately led to a number of plot lines where his friends and/or authorities saw his intentions as malicious or even evil. Sonic is hyperactive and free-spirited -- something this show doesn't fail to display -- but Sonic lacked his heart. Where was that desire to hang out with his friends? Where was the underlying love and compassion he'd constantly display in and out of battle? Where were his cheesy yet well-meaning impromptu speeches? These aspects of Sonic were sorely lacking and missed when I watched through this series which is why I believe this anime didn’t really express Sonic's character.

Sonic Boom...

...is a lighthearted, slapstick sitcom-based comedy. Very episodic, which is aight, but the the show’s execution as a whole was mediocre-borderline-bad. It doesn't have much elements inherently Sonic-esque -- it's a product of the Modern era, which at this point, doesn’t seem to have good connotations. No worthwhile soundtrack, stunted animation and movement, embarrassingly heavy reliance on overused archetypes/stereotypes at the expense of the characters, repetitive plots that get the THICC layer of frosted sarcasm and self-awareness. Sonic had attitude sure, there was a clear level of disinterest and cynicism to this portrayal -- it was as though protecting people felt like a burden and chore to him. It doesn’t help that this feeling is justified as Eggman’s been reduced to a pathetic Saturday Morning villain with lesser competency in being a world threat, and much rather a constant nuisance to Sonic’s town than anything else. Subjectively speaking, this show's clearly not for me -- even when I was in the supposed age range at the time. Objectively, this Saturday morning cartoon should've been branded as it is, rather than a Sonic cartoon because the identity of Sonic the Hedgehog definitely got skewed and misconstrued by the eyes of newcomers whose first exposure to Sonic the Hedgehog character was this. Ironically, due to this show, I subsequently furthered my distance from the franchise at that age, and got into it much, much later in life.

Now moving onto the songs...

Initially, I considered “Escape from the City”, “Live and Learn", "His World" and "Fist Bump" as good contenders in defining who Sonic is. But through some vigorous looping of those songs, I've pinpointed what they've to offer in showing Sonic's character, and due to my consistent nature of typing overly long arguments about anything I find interesting, I'll be putting each song into its own paragraph -- picking out any significant verses, and explaining why I think each song subconsciously contributed to my thought process that they would be the best take on his character. Afterwards, I’ll finish with my conclusion. (I personally suggest you go listen to each song as you read each paragraph)

"Escape from the City" is a timeless bop, and I will play it in the car whenever I'm actively escaping from authorities in my city. What this song does is use rhythmic beats and repetitive bass line to emulate the constant adrenaline and excitement Sonic feels when he's moving around, it embodies his carefree nature and spontaneity to a T. It succeeds in portraying the energetic, upbeat aspect of his personality as the song itself contrasts the very dangerous implication of being chased down by the government for a crime you didn't commit. Sonic doesn't get enough credit for the amount of cheerful optimism he has -- always moving with a spring in his step, or steps considering the speed part. He brushes off the most life-threatening dangers he has to face and takes it all in with that well known Sonic™ grin. It also shares a constant message of "Live and Learn" (which the song of the same title) -- this is a rather succinct version of Sonic's mantra. The song is very Sonic, but only manages to show his surface level personality. Kinda like Sonic X's theme song "Gotta Go Fast" but it's much less in your face about Sonic's whole shtick. Another thing to note is the element of "escape" is a constant in both "Escape from the City" and "Endless Possibility", which I'll get further into later. Given that this song was more focused on the primary objective of ‘City Escape’ the game level rather than exploring Sonic’s fundamental character, it's very cool how it just so happened to tie in well with him...

"Live and Learn" was more of a Sonic and Shadow song, so I already kinda figured it wouldn't manage to explore Sonic's character much. The first verse and chorus offers as much for Sonic's character as Shadow's oh-so few lines of verse 2 does. Again, the song only manages to provide Sonic's surface level personality. Reason it came up in my mind was because of the words 'Live and Learn'. It's a very motivational and inspiring line -- what got me thinking about Sonic’s character in the first place. It's an unspoken rule for him to take life headfirst and live in the moment, and legit the second issue of the IDW's comics reiterates this by Amy expressing that this free-spirited approach to life is what essentially makes her love him.

"Fist Bump" was like my first exposure to Sonic main theme songs -- and I'm still into listening to the song. I realize the lyrics are pretty generic, but it does reflect the general focus of Sonic character very well -- which may further explain why Modern Sonic is much less... developed, to say the least. What the lyrics essentially hone in on are Sonic's loyalty to his friends and his.... unyielding determination? Honestly, a very generic take for a main theme, and it reflects on the quality of the game if even the music lacked much personality compared to any heroic video game character theme song. Sonic had more personality to offer in his silent protagonist games, compared to this. This issue with Sonic's character barrels down to Modern Sonic retaining his previous counterpart's cheesy insistence to spout improvised speeches and embrace the power of friendship -- though it's definitely gotten out of hand in this case. We need balance.

Making Sonic more family-friendly ≠ Dumbing down what nuance or individuality there was to his character and making him every other generic hero protagonist who quips for 90% of his dialogues.

Finally, "His World", but I'll do Crush 40 and Zebrahead's separately, sort of. Crush 40 explicitly tells Sonic's character how it is -- his strict moral code, good intuition, confidence in himself, "seize the day" mentality, straightforward disposition, stubborn determination, love for his friends, and fearless risk-taking -- it's pretty lengthy but it does a good job as Sonic's theme and manages to state what it's like in his world. However, the song faces eerily similar issues to "Fist Bump" with it's lack of creative interpretation with its lyrics, and compared to "Escape from the City", it seems more formal and serious in tone which is reflective of their portrayal of Sonic.

I interpret Sonic as a multifaceted character, but when listing out all those traits in the verses and chorus in the song’s tone and format melody-and-lyric-wise, the song makes it appear as though Sonic is strictly a pillar of justice and represents the strong, untouchable hero persona -- which I find to be a detrimental writing aspect for his character. It writes off his personality as second priority to the reputation that would have receded him through the years of defeating Eggman and saving the world -- and subsequently, paints his character in a rather dulled and overly no-nonsense light. Not saying I don't want Sonic to be serious at certain points, but I think with this song, and this game as a whole, there was some truth to the issue of Sonic '06 being a little too serious. While these characters were well-written in this game e̶x̶c̶e̶p̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶r̶d̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t, I've had personal issues tied to em:

Shadow coming back was quite risky and foolhardy for his character journey and I believe if it weren't for the great execution for his storyline in '06, his appearance would've been viewed as fanservice -- which is what he's sadly been reduced to now

Silver's character concept as a whole was pretty dark and serious, which again isn’t a bad thing, but with the plot resulting in him seeing Sonic as the Iblis Trigger, it limited Sonic's ability to play up his easy-going, carefree nature since he couldn’t just brush off that accusation with offhanded remarks as that would’ve risked Sonic coming off as insensitive and unsympathetic at that moment. Which is not what the writers want their characters to go.

Elise. There, I said it.

On top of it all, "His World" is pretty slow-going for Sonic’s theme, which I could try justifying by saying it might’ve been a representation of significant growth to Sonic's character -- perhaps the journey managed to shape him into a man (hedgehog) who could spare a bit of time to contemplate his next course of action -- as this game definitely explored a major deviation from typical Sonic game story lines. But, even with that, I still really prefer Zebrahead's version.

Zebrahead's is vastly the same when telling Sonic's character how it is, but the instrumentals, pacing and speed is increased significantly that it definitely sounds more reminiscent of Sonic's musical style -- fast-paced rock and roll. But, I’ve yet to figure out the significance of the lyrics:

Especially when it follows right after "Never fear the fall" -- so you take the leap of faith, but also don't let yourself fall in the process? Pretty weird flow of words there, but maybe I’m just not getting it at all. Point is, what both songs hone in on is Sonic's intuitive sense of justice and a bit of his carefree nature -- since the lyrics from Zebrahead's specifically highlight on Sonic's "leap before looking" nature. What Zebrahead further hones in on is his adventurous and hyperactive qualities as verse 1 and the bridge show. It's a timeless song of anticipation and build-up with good execution, but it doesn't cover the main essentials in what makes Sonic Sonic.

Finally, reaching the song I've found best covers the basics and essentials to Sonic's character is...

Believe it or not, “Gotta go fast” encompasses the defining characteristics of a well-written Sonic -- the title itself is a testament to the his motto and is all things Sonic stands for.

While this refers directly to the plot of the show itself, it manages to familiarize us with the speed and urgency crucial to Sonic’s character and--

Okay, clown time’s over, here’s the real winner.

Unleashed's main theme: "Endless Possibility"

From the get-go, intro already separates itself from the other songs by being freeing and exciting, without being too carefree like "Escape from the City", too orchestral or urgent like "His World", and definitely more compelling lyric-wise compared to "Fist Bump". This tone is a constant throughout the song, and makes it seem like Sonic's the one directly singing -- the singer nailed it with the level of obnoxious and genuine tone to his voice.

This song, like the rest of the other main themes, reflect the game itself. Unleashed is a race against time for Sonic to fight Dark Gaia before the Earth gets torn apart. But similar to the gameplay and form of story, the music is very fast-paced yet unburdening, with hints of inner contemplation, and darkness (or how I like to put it, edge). The first verse already succeeds in getting into the bare bones of Sonic's character -- he runs, he can never stay still out because he knows that's not who he is, he's free-spirited and will run around the world out of his own volition, it's a form of escape and liberty to him -- and this is what ties into "Escape from the City”. This verse sums up the essential traits to Sonic better than any of the previous songs without letting one attribute overpower it. It refers to his three fundamental traits: that he's fast, adventurous and carefree.

The pre-chorus further expands from verse 1's establishments, by showing the deeper, inner turmoil that pass through Sonic's mind -- “How will I know when I get there? And how will I know when to leave?” -- these are the rare instances where Sonic is found in inner conflict with himself which came out of his simplistic philosophy rather than an external conflict or influence, and it's more of unspoken and nuanced as Sonic never usually calls himself into question for the way he lives. This showcases that he's capable of processing the long-term effects of living and moving around aimlessly -- constant adventure and freedom might eventually feel mundane, so he might eventually find the destination his heart feels is right for him, so what will he do when that period of his life unfolds, and will this period end the days of adventure and freedom? The possibilities are never-ending, so as always, he'll take everything in stride, and prepare for whatever hits him.

This is what the song's main theme is. Endless possibility. Potential and growth -- which reflects back to Sonic: mentally, physically and emotionally. Mentally, he's acknowledged that he's always growing and developing throughout his adventures -- as there's one thing that no one, not even Sonic can outrun, and that's change. "Endless Possibility" opens us up to the concept of ever-changing development for Sonic, and the possibility that he might eventually reach his unknown destination and end this long-running journey, while also implying that every journey that he goes through and ends -- whether it directly ties into the games or off-screen adventures -- will always lead with a new one. Unleashed encompasses this youthful feeling of change and vigor. Sonic is in his element and is going through a personal journey to save the world once again, but as always, he'll do it with enthusiasm and unbridled drive.

Interestingly, Unleashed feels reminiscent of Sonic X's Sonic but done right. Both have the character mostly isolated from his friends for the majority of their respective stories, but where Sonic X forces Sonic to clean up on Isle Eggbot each episode, Unleashed puts him through a singular adventure that requires he takes care of the major issue at stake while the others are doing their respective jobs or living their own lives. Unleashed's Sonic even has a temporary companion which he clearly warms up to and befriends throughout the whole journey, whereas Sonic X shows Sonic actively dismissing his previous friends to sleep, travel, and adventure for the heck of it -- while they spent a majority of the first season trying to find the chaos emeralds without him.

Sonic being isolated is usually due to situational happenstance rather than conscious preference. Sonic isn't inherently solitary or aloof, it's just due to his ability to move from place to place with ease that he subsequently has to leave his friends behind to confront the source of the problem. It's not a part of his character that he plays lone wolf like those archetypal "cool characters", the nature of what he does and excels at leads him to fight front and center, even if it means doing it alone. Despite this, he still is the sentimental, over-the-top dork that believes in the power of friendship and will go to the ends of the Earth to protect his friends. Which is exactly what he does in Unleashed.

The bridge provides the hints of edge where Eggman and Sonic exchange dialogue in the song, very much referring to the events of Unleashed's intro battle between the two. Eggman essentially tells Sonic to give up as he's actually beaten him -- which Sonic replies that it's not over, that this is just another start to another journey. The lyrics aren't very subtle about what they're saying, but it does a good job in encompassing two key traits when Sonic responds to any threats -- his cheerful optimism and unyielding determination. He doesn't respond to danger with simply quips, he responds to it with a campy but genuine declaration of strength and courage. The cheesiness in his words are very prominent, but he says them with a straight face like he's announcing his battle cry and promise to do what it takes to save the world and protect the ones he love.

In short, "Endless Possibilty" manages to fully encompass the best iteration of Sonic, and humanizes him to the point that I can only really see this as the current best sum up of his character without any needed dialogue, animation, or prior context. This song could just be tied directly to Sonic's overall character outside of the game's plot, and I'd be fine.

#my posts #sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sonic character essay #my character essays #small spoilers for idw #another session of overly long essays from yours truly

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mochuelovelli · 4 years

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Some Alt. Jobs for the Kids in the Future:

Mainly doing this as just a thought experiment. Usually people are of one mind on what the kids will *probably* be when they are older(myself included) so I wanted to give some alts that could fit their personalities.

Louie-Manger/Agent:Making this list mainly for him because I recalled Princess Carolyn from BoJack and how her job could fit Louie pretty well. Ik a lot of people headcanon Lawyer! Louie, I do too, but I think this would be a fun idea.

A manager's job is basically finding ways to get their client's hired or trying to tailor a client's project in order for it to be marketable. We already seen Louie do this in his ep this season but I think it be cool if became a legit job for him. He's still a McDuck ward so nothing with his business would be "normal" and he would have to do similar "schemes" to get his clients jobs, especially if they are inter-dimensional goat demons.

Louie would probably say the reason he became a manager would be "because I've been trying to convince people I am good enough my entire life, might as well make a career out of it". Edgy ik, but this is Louie we are talking about of course he say some dumbshit.

Dewey-YouTube Personality: this is probably just a less popular hc rather than one that's not talked about at all like the Louie (or the next couple examples). For me, I can't see Dewey being anything but some kind of globe trotting adventurer who would also record it for views. But in the case that DIDN'T happen, I think he'd become a youtube personality and make shows with his friends and family. I think it be really cute, that even as they grown older and become more independent, Dewey can still find ways to bring them all to his house to be apart of his youtube show(s) where he and a guest try to guess obscure history facts Webby comes up with (Watchers know what I'm talking about) or where he and some friends try to solve unsolved mysteries or try and bake without a recipe (im really showing what content i watch).

His Youtube channel would be sporadic like, "series" but he doesn't make actual playlists (Huey or Violet do) and uploads whatever he wanted to do that week. Good thing is, he never misses an upload date. Almost.

Huey-Military Engineer/Tech Guy (IE better Beaks): I had the hardest time with figuring out Huey since like Webby, he can pretty much be in any field to me (as long as its stem related). This suggestion to me is the least chill out of all of them but I picked it because 1. Huey likes structure and chain of command and 2. Science and defense systems.

Out of his brothers, Huey isn't the most WORRIED about safety but he definitely is the one who would do something about it to fix it. I can see him making some intergalactic defense systems and various prevention junk. Maybe he works under Gosalyn's administration[see gos] or he makes "unnatural-natural phenomenon" protection stuff. Kinda like the seawalls in Venice but like, stuff to make sure the Earth doesn't get destroyed because of all the crazy shit the duckverse has. Like ghost forcefields or the reversal of timephoons. I don't think he would be a Tony Stark character tho so I am not 100% with this one.

He could also just be a tech guy, but yknow, better than Mark Beaks. He accidentally has more followers than him would crush him in twitter fights (an example would be something along the Logan Paul vs Chris D'Elia). I find this just really funny, Huey would actually be what all those "good guy billionaires" claim to be (also he wouldn't be one just as a matter of principle). Owlson would probably be his mentor or maybe just business partner.

Webby-Comic Artist/Cartoonist: Webby, to me, can pretty much go into any field and I would be like "yeah makes sense". However I know in my heart she'd be some kind of spy or detective. Thinking about her being anything else was honestly kinda hard but then I realized she DOES have another hobby which could be turn into a career - her drawings and stories. Webby is definitely a creative person, maybe the most creative so far in front of or slightly behind Dewey, so I think she would like to make comics and cartoons.

If you want to be angsty, maybe she chooses this mundane route because she was somewhat conditioned by her granny (or her creators if theories are to he proven right) to be a super spy; choosing to be a cartoonist is something she was never trained to become and yet she still did because it's something SHE wanted to do for herself.

Lena-Poet/Song Writer: okay another one that might not be uncommon but I like to just see it thrown out there. Lena is cool in large part because of her magic but in a possible similar motivation to Webby, she wanted to be a poet not only because she was good at it but because she wanted to be. This doesn't have to be her main hussle, usually I don't see it as such, but I also think it be cute if she became a new Robert Frost (this is the only poet ik sorry).

Violet-Cosmologist: Most people see Violet as either some kind of chemist, professor, or occasionally a witch. I think another good alt tho would be cosmology since Violet herself wants to understand the world around her, which is a bit different from Huey who wants to obtain knowledge for knowledge sake in the case it might come in handy though not extremely. Cosmology as field in the dt universe must be WILD too since im pretty sure most scientists know of all the magic and junk, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if there was a legit subject on it or multiple. Trying to make sense of YOUR universe while knowing others exist along with time travel, possibly multiple after lifes? Its a lot. Perfect job for Vi.

Boyd-Therapist/architect: I feel like this isn't such a niche hc, but I do see more folks make him into his own superhero and/or an accountant. I might be playing into the Baymax stereotype of robots being good mental health assistants but idc, I think it's warranted since he has gone through and understands trauma. Maybe he focuses on those who need rehabilitation or are unable to get paid treatment. Maybe he just helps those who have committed crimes. Another alt is that he becomes an architect, building well planned buildings and public spaces in a flash by utilizing his vast abilities. He might even be commissioned to make space colony housing.

Gosalyn-Politican: Alright so, Gosalyn being a superhero like her dad is like, canon but again in an alt universe where it WASN'T (or maybe later in her life) I can see her becoming political. Frank even laid out some of what inspired this iteration of Gosalyn which included notable political activists, so as of rn its not that far of a stretch to say she might be interested in that. I have a feeling its happens because she gets riled up for something in particular rather than she always wanted to be a career politician or whatever. She would definitely be a less polished politician and that be her appeal, she'd kinda be like an AOC in that regard(im sorry I tried really hard not to name drop political figures but-). An example of her "abnormal" diplomacy tactics is where she stopped Ragnarok semi permanently by absolutely wrecking their shit. (She be dramatic about it like her dad, coming in her normal President wear and then throw it off to reveal some crazy wrestling shit. Louie would also make a lot of money that day.)

#ducktales #dt17 #ducktales 17 #ducktales 2017 #huey duck #louie duck #hdl #dewey duck #webby vanderquack #gosalyn mallard #lena saberwing #violet sabrewing #boyd gearloose #boyd drake #boyd

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jimintomystery · 4 years

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I saw posts speculating about possibile TB movie/series (of course I take it with a grain of salt) and theres been theories about the team lineup being makr up of pre-existing mcu villains like Ghost, Justin Hammer, Bucky, Yelena Belova and Zemo instead of the og Thunderbolts form the comic (except Zemo). What are your thoughts on that?

I think speculation about a Thunderbolts movie/TV show has been out of control for years, and fans are getting ahead of themselves.

Suppose this rumored team lineup is legit--like, it really came from a secret Marvel memo or something. That suggests pre-production is well underway, and principal casting is largely complete. Which would mean Thunderbolts is further along than either the Moon Knight series or the Fantastic Four reboot, both of which were officially announced last summer. So why didn’t Marvel mention it at SDCC or the D23 Expo? Because they’re probably not working on Thunderbolts--it’s probably so far off their radar that it isn’t worth teasing yet.

These rumors are pure conjecture. That’s why they always focus on characters we already know about, because it’s easier to speculate about Marvel expanding upon pre-existing concepts. Predicting Songbird will be in a Thunderbolts movie is a shot in the dark, but predicting Ava Starr is at least an educated guess. So everybody “knows,” for years in advance, that Helmut Zemo or Thaddeus Ross will be in a Thunderbolts project. And yet, the same detective work couldn’t deduce Dane Whitman would be in Eternals until right around the time Marvel just told us.

Interest in Thunderbolts speculation is driven by two ideas, that 1) the pre-existing MCU villains who aren’t dead should all team up, and 2) the MCU should introduce the Thunderbolts in a slow build like the Avengers. These aren’t bad ideas, necessarily. But there’s no indication that either of them is actually going to happen, let alone that they’ll both lead to the same movie. The closest we’ve come to this sort of thing was in Justice League. And even there, Lex Luthor is recruiting a new character (Deathstroke) instead of someone who had already been in a movie (such as the Joker).

In any case, the logic behind all this supposition is faulty. Yelena Belova has to be in the Thunderbolts movie because she was a member of the Thunderbolts in the comics. Actually she wasn’t, that was Natasha Romanov impersonating Belova to infiltrate the team. But that’s okay, because the MCU doesn’t have to follow the comics super-closely. In that case...why does Belova have to be in the Thunderbolts movie? It doesn’t add up. She might be in it or not, or the movie might not ever happen. All we know for sure is that Marvel can literally do anything it wants.

Another problem with that rumored lineup is that it feels kinda arbitrary. I suppose a Zemo/Bucky team-up is intriguing, and they might have need of skills that Belova and Ghost possess. But now we’re basically assembling a black ops unit, not a superhero (or supervillain) team. What’s this group going to do that you can’t see in the Black Widow movie, or a hundred non-Marvel spy movies about gritty mercenaries? The only reason to call it Thunderbolts is because the characters were all in a comic called Thunderbolts, but not at the same time, and in stories that had nothing to do with this premise.

It seems to me that if Marvel wanted to make a live-action Thunderbolts project, they’d start with the brand and build a story around that brand. And the strongest story idea for the brand is “bright, flashy new superheroes are secretly scamming the world.” That premise lends itself to the MCU formula, and avoids the appearance of copying Suicide Squad. At that point they'd start deciding which characters to put in the team, and not before. And I can’t imagine why Justin Hammer would make the cut.

#thunderbolts #marvel cinematic universe #Anonymous #thunderbolts: the movie?

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lightshielded · 5 years

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spoilers and very VERY long, so below cut.

tl;dr - jarv is a character going through a lot of emotional turmoil caused by the lose of trust in close friends, lose of his family to the very magic they were working to promote ( suggesting to him it was the wrong idea to promote it ), having little healthy support network, and around him is a game of politics where those older and more experienced on the council are influencing him heavily in his altered state of mind. however, he is still a character who cares for his people, wanting to protect his people from future catastrophes cause by magic but also knowing they aren’t all bad so is also shown tentatively reaching out to foreign advisers of allied nations which have advised his father in the past on the subject of magic and is trying to do his best despite being king far younger than anyone should and thrown into the position in a truly horrific way.

important - all is subject to change as we are provided more info, this is just a pouring out of my first impressions and my attempt to understand and rationalise everything under the current state and info provided. also important to note, this includes mentions of suicidal tendencies, depression, ptsd and other like matters. please read with caution.

so as you may know ( or don’t and do not care about spoilers ) our dear prince, or rather king now, has had a very bad day. like he was almost made to eat a rat, and marvel didn’t want to draw him in his actual armour and did in the ceremonial / ig armour instead so i got big cucked out of my hopes and dreams, he got hit with a morg ult when trying to gank mid lane . . . oh and the mid laner killed his dad. what a wonderful day for our dear prince, i mean king.

so a couple things that are unrelated to what i am about to talk about but things that are true in my mind. riot removed jarv’s capture and torture by noxus just so they could have sy/las say he has no idea what he has experienced. just saying. 8 years of basically the exact same lore only to have one of his key points removed at the addition of the character? who then mocks him for it? just saying it’s true. tho i personally still go by that he was capture on my own blog and all, but i have cracked riot’s code.

also like where was shy? i think jarv kinda mentions her but like she is his bodyguard. that’s her whole thing. where is she? i get she tries to lay low but she is meant to be on jarv’s personal guard, but she wasn’t there. now i have a short theory on this. for those who don’t know, shyv is genetically a dragon, her real magic is the fire rune inside her. but otherwise she is a dragon that some how fucked up and became a human ( prior to sy/las it was caused by magic so the magic is technically making her human not a human becoming a dragon and after sy/las the shitty lore we don’t like is that it is the weather ).

so my theory is, since her dragon - ness isn’t magic but is like genetics, she would just eat him and he actually can’t use it against her so they had to remove her. some how. cause plot. and jarv is mopey that she isn’t around, for a reason they wont say :///// that or riot doesn’t care about her or forgot she existed :)))))))

so the actual things i wanted to talk about, jarv’s very harsh language and actions in the comic and short story. they seem so violent from what we know of the prince of the past. and while that might be true i would like to point out a couple things about jarv as a whole before we begin:

jarv was never brought up to fear or dislike mages - ( though would have heard stories i imagine ) which is evident in his father’s own opinions and his lore. this makes his point of view here seem obscure, he seems to hate very strongly despite not doing so before. this is true, but i believe i can provide some enlightenment on this. something similar to this has happened in his lore before. his first conflict with noxus he was introduced the harshest realities of war, it is the innocents that die first. in both new canon lores ( prior and post syl/as changes ) it is stated there were only a handful of survivors out of dozens of towns. it is said what he saw deeply affected him. the carnage there so deeply troubled him and he could not forget the faces of the dead. the atrocities he witnessed were far greater than he had anticipated and it left him very shaken and unable to correctly reason. this caused him to ignore all rational plotting and sense, pushing away all his advisers’ ideas, wanting nothing more the avenge those who died. and this ends badly for him. like jarv really, really loves his people and would do anything to keep them safe. in fact, it is known from other stories jarv doesn’t ask of his soldiers to do anything dangerous he himself isn’t doing. if they must face the risk of death he will do so too. and he has earned himself a lot of respect for that. so we know, jarv is deeply affected by his people’s deaths and is not unknown to react mindlessly out of rage when they are hurt, and thinking the ‘villain’ need to be punished.

our now king is younger than you all probably think - if you take demacia’s lore and the dates / ages we are given, he is quite young. low 20s with a max of about 25 but even that is generous. it is noted he doesn’t know what to do, his mood fluctuating like rising and falling flames, his lore says he needs to be ready but not that he is. this is not to say he is incompetent or emotional because of he age, but with age comes experience that he has not had the chance to garner yet. he is not ready yet in his own opinion and i would agree as well.

jarv loves his family, a lot - and his only family was his father and xin. i think it is important to note, jarv has a lot of love for his family for they are the only people that really see him as a person. his closest friend even had to be reminded to call him by name. so to lose the closest people to you hurts man. his dad just died. okay.

jarv’s part in turmoil - there is actually a story which occurs after the time frame of the lu/x comic ( unless they are going to say the events of the last volume cover a full month? ) which has some interesting links and i’ll summarise all that with my conclusions at the end.

so. onto the main part. why has our fair king turned from someone who sees ‘ the true strength of the Demacian people—standing together as one in defense of their homeland, no matter their differences or misgivings. ’ to ‘ Mages? . . . We should have executed them all. ’ it is shocking. even xin is shocked by how much he has seemingly flipped noting, ‘ Indeed, he knew the prince had always been troubled by Demacia’s treatment of its mages. But that was before. ’ note, xin is saying he was troubled once and these anti - magic outbursts are new. though, i will like to point out, i don’t think the outbursts in the short story or the comic are particularly anti - magic as they are anti - syl/as and anti - murderous rebellion. so from now on, i am going to work through the sections of the comic and then the short story and kind of evaluate jarv’s thoughts and feelings and what i think is happening with him. wow, i hope you like your posts long. ( oh, and i recommend turning the pages along with me since i will not be posting pictures unless it is very important to save on length )

so to begin, we first see jarv at a meeting with a mage - seeker, some council members and his father, reacting to what happened several hours ago. honestly here he is as normal, he is thinking first and foremost for the people and with a very strategical focus to his thoughts. he is trying to both reassure his own father while working to capture the murderers. truly nothing remarkable other than him being a little taken aback by his father chiding him. i can talk a long time how jarv was brought up with very zealot ideas despite the king’s best intentions but that is not for now.

next page is mostly focused on the riots outside but does show jarv’s priorities. protect my father, fight for my people. heck this is even brought up in his ( now very outdated ) voice lines ‘ for my father, the king. ’ ‘ protect the faithful. ’ also cue me getting excited they would show jarv’s actual combat armour since they have the guards all in that good shit but nah they didn’t and i am big sad. i get they set all the demacian champs to their in game stuff ( and for jarv that’s the for show / ceremonial armour ) rather than their lore stuff for accessibility but still i am sad.

and now we get to the fun stuff. wow look at jarv straight beating the shit out of people. legit knocking several people down, making someone into a kebab. the come at me stance. that face he makes when sy/las calls him princeling. so many people call him that in lore. is it even a unique insult at this point? get new material you chain gremlin you.

in the next page we do see him angry tho, at first he is controlled and stoic with his speak, not too many emotions showing on his face. but it is when he puts a threat on his father do we see his brows furrow and leave him quite angry in the last panel of this page. tho, while obvious mad at the threat on the king he is actually keeping his cool. rational thought based on what he knows of the magic syl/as has. but he is a bit ticked off. ( OH ALSO THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART DON’T @ ME BUT JARV IS TALLER THAN SY/LAS WHILE BENDING DOWN AND IN A FIGHTING STANCE AND SY/LAS IS UPRIGHT BY LIKE AN INCH. HE IS PROBABLY SEVERAL INCHES TALLER UPRIGHT. I STAN THIS TALL MAN. )

so the next page is very interesting, we see syl/as talk of ancient and powerful struggles then conjure fire from the pillars. so as far as i am aware this is meant to be a reference to our favourite angels but i am trying to work out when this would have been. i thought they fought in a small town which was all but destroyed and not in the capital city. it is possible that the petricite keystones were at the town and those keystones moved to where the capital would be considering their reverence of kay/le and stuff but idk. super cool tho! it might be explained in the future, or not but i think what i have there is the most rational ( or maybe they mean like various conflicts involving them but not them against each other ??). anyway, we also see jarv getting madder obvious from the last page and then the language he uses, gone from the neutral ‘ mage ‘ to negative terms such as ‘ thugs ’. so the fire heavily wounds or kills the guards and jarv jumps head long into the flames.

the next page continues with their fight which is frankly brutal but they really skimped on detail here. it is shown that jarv cut syl/as in the chest and stuff but 1) no blood and 2) it is no where to be seen later in the comic which is unfortunate. would have been cool. other things which is cool, jarv pinwheeling kay/le’s fire away. i love the dumb ways jarv is shown to use his lance in various media, just spectacular. but yeah, syl/as going for blows in calling him ignorant about the heritage he loves. cause we know how much our man loves demacia. but i think he is trying to goad him. like i said before, jarv wears his heart on his sleeve a lot. he is an emotional man, but emotions can make you sloppy.

so on the next page, we see morg’s magic and again i love this touch but who really knows how it is there. so jarv is taken down by that which is interesting because it affected him a lot more than kay/le’s? i have theories about the magics and how they affect people based on their judgements but again that’s for discussion for another post. so with the guards taken down and then their prince, syl/as finds himself victorious.

so skipping through gar/en’s bit, we next see jarv tied up and being walked ahead of some of the mages. notably he isn’t wearing his crown helm. but also, he is very calm. jarv doesn’t really fear his own death much, he has faced dying before and to him it is simply a risk a soldier faces. so he is rather calm on the walk while syl/as threatens him. though, likely also subdued by the magic from before. but he is also talking a lot of sense, this does end badly, really sy/las doesn’t get what he wants out of this venture, not really. sylas however thinks this funny and mocks him about eating rats ( which honestly i question what he actually ate because 1) idk about you but i didn’t see rats in these panels of his cell and 2) he looks very fit and healthy for a man who eats rats. personally i think they feed the prisoners but since their magic is being sapped constantly by the petricite that they likely get hungrier faster, like they are constantly exercising, and so he ate rats. but also again, lets be real, they removed jarv being tortured so he couldn’t reply ‘ well no, but i survived being tortured by noxus. i have eaten much worse. ’ ( also syl/as uses incorrect style of address here which is either an accident or an interesting hint to the next page - majesty is for kings, highness for princes ) anyway, he drags the prone jarv to the door and...

surprise. the king is already dead by the time they get there. now jarv is obviously shocked and horrified and sy/las is too but i think that is because someone is stealing his thunder and hello his plans aren’t going to plan. this is when things start going down hill for jarv’s mental state. before he was mad but controlled, jarv’s expression on this page are wild eyed. and very much lacking of any confidence he had prior. for once, the prince looks as young as he actually is, rather than acting a stoic faced prince.

now the next page is actually the one i think the artists drew the best for jarv. i really love his eyes in the first panel. jarv’s hunched posture, the looking over his shoulder and upwards, got to say i love the composition. also i didn’t mention it yet but jarv and syl/as’hair almost look the same and idk if that is intentional but i like the idea that it might have been cause it makes our fair prince look very rugged and references his position as a prisoner. anyway. but just jarv’s silence in the last panel, before he was confident and speaking and now his words are trailing off and he has nothing to say. he lost his family and the idea of mages being monsters comes to his mind here. ( also note, while i have cut this out of the image, when syl/as is asking about who killed the king the mages say it wasn’t them but possibly another mage that came with them. this is probably true since it is anarchy at the moment but also there is no blood so unlikely to have been caused by a weapon and poison doesn’t make sense since the guards were dead too. )

but that isn’t the end of it, that is for sure. syl/as lost the king to his own anarchy so he needs a new star of his show. and so jarv continues to have a bad time. he is dragged from his grieving and through the citadel ( and past some really fucked up and burnt bodies wow trying to give jarv flash backs are you? ) and here jarv is starting to have doubts about his father and his own views. ‘ my father was wrong about your kind. he thought he could make peace with you. and you murdered him. ’ jarv puts the barrier between his people and mages at this point, condemning any thought which would have allowed this as wrong. now syl/as then insists that the king could have changed this at any time but we also know the council of demacia is quite powerful itself and the king leaves it to a more democratic style of coming to decisions together and actually regrets letting them have so much power. and jarv is marched outside to be made an example of and executed.

passing over ‘lu/x being a bad ass part one’, we return to jarv being cuffed to this really fancy chair. i like it, but also how extra can you be sy/las. anyway, as this page goes on we can really see the prince’s loss of confidence and despairing states. he starts strong when syl/as claims he has been complacent on things ( finally confirmation that he hasn’t cause riot wont tell me anything !!!! ) and he denies that neither he or his father have, and syl/as knows nothing about either of them. but his words trail off, he is stuttering through his words, head bowed, skin clammy.

what he is talking about is 1) his backstory where he fought noxian invaders of demacia’s outer borders and allied lands, 2) meeting with exiles and we know in demacia their exiles tend to be mages as magic use is given imprisonment or exile - this quite happily aligns with my own head canons that he meets with them to help provide safe passage and resources similar to j3 to the noxians in his and xin’s story - 3) now we can assume he is talking about the same person from before in the earlier comic but he is really dodging around a name. i’m inclined to think shyv right now based on the ‘not so different’ so implying similar but not mage but magical creature. but really we don’t know. though that’s cute. but syl/as simply laughs this off, deeming any effort they have made and mocking his relationship. anyway, jarv just looks really sad and upset man.

and so the next page goes on and sy/las is calling for the crowds opinion on if he should be executed. some ( likely the rebels ) say yes and some ( likely town folk ) say no and beg for someone to save him. syl/as of course listens to his own people only and takes execute as the option, and starts firing up the mages on that. some call for him to be bled ( oh i see this is where they wanted to put the noxian blood letting torture. they got rid of it to be put here i see. ) and another to behead him. and up until the end, jarv simply seems like he is simply given in, accepted his death. eyes closed and almost willing it over. he has already had to deal with one drawn out (near) death before, he doesn’t particularly want another. he only seems perturbed when syl/as tries to force him to eat a rat before he dies. again he is wide eyed, and very disgusted by the prospect.

he is already in a state where his father has been murdered, he has been pulled away from him and forced to march past the magic warped remains of his people both soldiers, councillors and innocents, his death is being made into a sceptical and now he is also being humiliated. also important to note is that he is alone in all of this, his uncle is nowhere to be found, his father is dead, when forced into an arranged marriage with someone he considered a trusted friend he was given no answer but abandonment, and his two friends are no where to be seen. that mixed with the people he loves so dearly gathered to watch him die and some even calling for his death. he is hurting really badly, and if he didn’t want to be sick at the sight of burnt bodies he now wants to be sick at the thought of eating a live rat.

and now we have ‘lu/x being bad ass part two’ and ga/ren rushes in to save them both. the comic doesn’t say and what exactly happens next is likely a flash back at the start of the next comic as i believe the next comic occurs after the short story, as it was released now and not then. but i imagine two things occur in jarv’s mind during this event of him being saved ( which he know he is ). 1) gar/en is right. he can always trust ga/ren. we know his friend is vocal in his dislike of magic and belief in the laws in place, so jarv after these events probably takes to leaning on this view point as it comes from on of the only people he has left and feels safe with him after all he has gone through.

2) can lu/x really be trusted? jarv isn’t blind nor deaf. he heard syl/as and lux talk about them used to being friends, and that he used her to kill people. he doesn’t know about her magic i don’t think, but could clue it out from that maybe, and it is unsure if he knows her involvement with syl/as but he now knows she wouldn’t even deny the proposed arranged marriage to his face and she was apparently friends at one point with the one who lead to his father’s death. this cuts him a bit. ( also i see again, the trying to insert jarv lore into here? with gar/en saving him? interesting but not nearly as emotion jerking as gar/en finding his armour blood soaked and empty next to an executioners post with the pin signifying them as the closest shit in each other’s lives in the bloody mud c’: )

now, we do not know much until the events of the aftermath short story. this story, told through xin’s point of view, is honestly very depressing and provides a lot more focus on jarv’s collapsing mental state. while in the comic he is hurt and distressed, struggling with the idea of his own views on the matter and then the significant pain cause to him by magic and the possible danger it could cause his people, aftermath shows us a prince who has been stewing on it for the night. occurring the day after, it is told to us he does not look like he has slept and his emotions are raw at the surface. i suggest reading the full story but i will only be talking about jarv’s mentions in this.

so our encounter with jarv in this short story occurs with xin finding him at the training fields. he is described as already breathing with exertion and drenched with sweat, a suggestion that he has been doing this for some time now, and his emotions wild and clear. he is also attacking wildly at the dummy, very much venting but also showing us he isn’t poised or in control of himself. yet when he speaks, calling xin uncle, it seems uncertain. i surely read it with a tired and tentative voice in mind. yet, after a pause, his emotions re-flare and he becomes angry again (something which happens several times over the course of the short story). he speaks coldly, harsh, trying to find someone to take the blame for the events, shifting rapidly from seeing xin as family to seeing him as a simple bodyguard ( something from the previous flash backs show the later of being untrue, and that xin is extremely close to jarv ). i also see this as him struggling with his own thoughts and passions, a war of heart and mind - xin being family vs xin being his father’s bodyguard, in extension we have seen mages murdered my father vs not all mages are guilty, i hate them vs i hate them all.

the prince then decides the best way to interrogate xin is by also trying to vent his frustrations with sparing. in jarv’s short story ‘ ebony, ivory, jasper ‘ we see him as a very level headed tactician which is controlled and ultimately able to see the right plays and choices in things where others can not. this is not that jarv. he is literally striking first, thoughts and questions later. xin mentions he is also not taking his strikes lightly, that he is swinging hard enough to break bone, something one wouldn’t do unarmoured or with someone you care about. he is pacing like a stressed animal, gripping his weapon like it is only lifeline, and forcing xin to fight him like it is his only reprise. another point made which shows jarv’s very altered state of mind is how xin also notes his form is sloppy, jarv is a good fighter, one of the kingdoms best, yet he observes there to be ‘ little finesse to the strikes ’ and that ‘ at any other time he would have berated the prince for his poor form—he was thinking only of attack, and leaving himself open for ripostes and counter-strikes ’. now since we know xin trained him and considers this poor form for him, it is likely jarv is definitely not of these traits normally, something further confirmed when he notes these are something he wouldn’t do now or take advantage because he sees them as caused by his justified anger.

skipping past the first flash back, jarv continues to press xin and eventually just tosses his weapon away when he doesn’t get an answer he wants. the frustration and anger is palpable. the prince isn’t the kind of person to discard something so carelessly, to be so disrespectful as to throw something of his to the ground. jarv has been raised to have the ideas of honour and respect and personal value and virtue as being very important, and the disrespect of tossing one of his weapons, staring at it while someone else picks it up, isn’t something jarv in his stable mind would do. yet he does such and grabs his lance - a sharp and deadly weapon in comparison to his blunted sword - and xin protests using them because jarv is unarmoured. now i have not heard anyone cover this exact fact but i want to talk about it for a bit, xin is armoured but jarv is not. jarv is attacking and not caring about his defence. and now he is making xin fight him with their actual sharpened weapons while only xin is armoured. either of these weapons could kill him, even his own by his own hand if he isn’t careful as noted by xin. and just, he doesn’t care if he gets hurt.

i think this exemplifies one fact about jarv, the first fact i mentioned above. he experiences a great amounts of survivor guilt in the time he failed his troops as a youth and now he sees himself as failing his people and his father by not saving them. he couldn’t even beat syl/as. and now he has to live with that fact, and very alone with it now. he is both trying to find someone else to blame to share in his own self torment or at least have someone either take him out of his misery or give him a punishment that jarv thinks is fitting for his failure. and i think perhaps, while not explicitly noted, xin acknowledges it ‘ “You are not armored,” . . . “I don’t care,” . . . Reluctantly, his heart heavy, he retrieved his spear and moved back out into the open area in the center of the hall. ’ after all, it was xin in jarv’s earliest lore which remarked on the prince’s altered mental state as one of the people that knew him best, i would say that perhaps this is our new lore equivalent. and perhaps bring another down with him. ( jarv has always had a slight discard for his own life - see his quotes and his colour story - but this is quite excessive. the others can be seen as brave, this is different )

one more flash back later, they are fighting and we know jarv is not holding back. none of the fighting right now is casual, he is serious and very angry. this is contrasted with memories of xin with jarv and how jarv once idolised heros and here he is wielding the weapon in a very non-hero-like way. and yet drakebane itself moves in conjunction with his own actions like a perfect extension of his body. we are told that drakebane ( as obvious by its name ) was forged by the great weapon smith orlon, the same who made pop/py’s hammer, in order to combat a powerful frostdrake named maelstrom and her brood. perhaps digging into it too much, but i do see in essence that while the sword was not working for him yet his lance remains faithful is by his conviction in its original purpose. this lance was created to slay great beings of magic, to kill dragons, for the great kings of demacia to wield against the mages of the runewars. and this fits the mindset this king currently has.

another flashback passed we come back to a xin who is facing a new set of concerns, before he was worried about fighting the prince with dangerous weapons while jarv are unarmoured and now he is concerned that maybe the prince getting horribly wounded is not the only issue. here we see another drastic flip in jarv, he would never hurt someone he cared about, he is especially known to put himself in harms way before anyone else. and yet. he cut xin and xin is reasonably concerned but also unafraid. while it is only explicitly stated that xin thinks there is balance in dying here but it surely seems jarv also has this opinion. they both seem to think death is what they deserve. yet ( as angry as jarv is ) he doesn’t to want kill xin as much as xin wishes not to harm him. he stops as the blade ghosts xin’s skin, begging xin for answers but upon receiving it ( if not by xin’s confession but by his own reasoning ) he just deflates. he works out xin was sent away and so he is left as the only one at fault for ‘failing’. xin was fulfilling his duty, while he failed in his.

instead, jarv is just remains tired, tired and grieving and alone. through the next two flashbacks and jarv’s reaction to them we learn the late king was a stubborn man about what he believed in and that he often put his work ahead of himself and his family despite his love for his son. and just as quickly did jarv sober did his temper re-flare, upon hearing about the rebellion again he declares that they should have killed all the mage prisoners instead of imprisoning them. xin is shocked by this for he remarks that once jarv used to be concerned with the treatment of mages in demacia like his father but acknowledges that this was before what they did to him and that his anger in the moment is justified. but he still reminds him that his father wouldn’t agree with that, as he wouldn’t have once agreed with that. here it is key to see one of the great hurts in him right now is he feels both a failure and he feels betrayed, he snaps back ‘ and they killed him. ’ the lightshields had been working towards making things better for mages and in jarv’s angry thoughts and he feels betrayed by the ones they were working to help, he feels as if his good nature was taken advantage of and hurt by those he cared about. ( also note, canonically, execution is a murderer’s punishment. killing another is punishable by death and this is shown in some stories. )

just as quickly as this outburst begins does it end however, his fire dies and he sheds any mask of princely facade and anger, revealing he is simply lost, scared, sad and confused again. he grips feebly to support, and weeps. likely not the first time given his earlier description, but likely the first true time where he might realise the full emotion and weight of the situation. and he tries to hold strongly to it, he doesn’t have confidence or stability so he is all but begging xin to be it for him. when he is told that xin sees his life as forfeit, jarv grips at strings to keep xin with him. while desperate it is still very controlled though, controlled and thought out. begging wouldn’t work, but xin’s sense of duty would. and once xin starts to relent, he asks formally, appealing to the formal requirements. and once that digs at him, he appeals to the side that is his uncle, for he needs him as much as his kingdom. strategic in all things but it also shows his reliance on xin emotionally in this point. i strongly believe, if xin denied him he would crumple and things would be a lot worse. even if xin thinks he looks more composed after his breakdown.

and the short story ends with xin accompanying jarv to a council meeting. xin remarks at how controlled jarv is compared to his outburst, likely due to two things: 1) he had his outburst and is now not bottling up his emotions as much and is able to control himself better, and 2) jarv is required to look regal. xin notes that demacia needs a strong leader right now and jarv likely knows that just as well ( which will play a part in his next actions ) and so is portraying himself in such a way regardless of how his emotions might still be. i think this is shown well when he asks to see the note xin was to deliver, the contents of which anger him. it is a reminder of his older self, of his old ambitions and everything that he lost. and so he wrings its neck like he has to his old self and what he wishes to do to those that caused this. this shocks and disturbs xin and he is concerned. it is also important to note that the mageseekers are trained to combat magic so keeping them with greater powers, he increases arrests while the note wished to limit them, is advantageous to his wants.

after this point lu/x 5 will fill but we don’t know much of it so we shall skip over it for now. lastly, we have turmoil, a short story i really suggest reading which takes place one month after these events. as not much is relevant other than a few details and the laws of stone i will summarise. in turmoil, it follows a group of demacian soldiers as they are sent to escort a foreign dignitary to the capital, a mage from arbormark called arjen. the soldiers are uneasy with this and some wish that they could be out hunting the rebellions in the woods instead. two mageseekers accompany them as is now required by the laws. as they escort the mage they run into trouble. fearing the villages of the town wish to hurt the mage they are escorting, the soldiers form a tight perimeter and try to escape through a passage and a building. however, it is revealed the mob is not mad about the mage but one of the mageseekers with them. this mageseeker, under the new laws of stone was made to remove a young girl who he had been working with prior, he laments he didn’t want to remove her for she was innocent and he wouldn’t have required to prior but the laws have changed to become stricter and so all mages are considered guilty. the mother of the young mage tries to kill him but she is talked down but the crossbow still fires in a shot which would have killed one of the more vocal mage hating soldiers but arjen carefully uses his magic to deflect the bullet with only that soldier and the main character noticing. the mage hating soldier is conflicted and says nothing, implied to be having a turn of heart. the mother tells the mob to disperse and the envoy continues to the capital.

now from this we learn a couple things: 1) is is now illegal to BE a mage. prior to sy/las it was only illegal to USE magic and so benign mages were actually educated on how to control themselves at times and we treated more of a sickness at other. but now you’re life is a crime. 2) some of the mageseekers themselves are uncomfortable with this. while mageseekers have often been portrayed as horrific people, it is shown in this story as being more a magic focused police service which holds some corruption in higher ranks but also employs people who simply want demacia kept safe and don’t agree that magic is bad but rather bad mages are bad people. 3) that demacia has a lot of allies due to their defence of realms beyond their boarders and also that they understand demacia’s place and don’t condemn them for it. they understand the position of demacia based on its history. 4) these allies are sending who they think will help advise the new king of demacia best including mages and jarv is NOT denying them entry, which shows a willingness to listen which is a step beyond his much more aggressive stance one month earlier. 5) the punishment for being a mage is exile or imprisonment. currently the prisons in demacia are overloaded and there are prison camps in the outskirts. also exile is seen as one of the worst punishments in demacia. and 6) the rebellion is being hunted by the demacian army.

so, after all this, what can be conclude? it is obvious jarv is GREATLY affected by the barrage of death around him. his pre-existing survivor’s guilt is further exasperated by the failure to protect his father and those he swore to and he feels greatly betrayed by many people in his life ( lu/x for claiming to be a friend of the one who killed all these people, the mages he was trying to help striking when he is most vulnerable ). he is greatly alone with losing many friends and family and others being seemingly absent from the events, giving him only those with views which would increase his own anti-mage sentiment if he listens to them. he is lost in his grief and his depression and his anger, his empathetic nature stretched to its breaking point and he has no respite. in the end, jarv is doing what he thinks will protect his people, note he likely does not think mages among his people anymore, and will do anything for their safety. but he is also trying to be reasonable by reaching out to his allied nations as a new king and accepting the advise of mages on these topics. he isn’t murderous, but he is hurt and alone and his actions in his hurt are making him more alone. it’s a vicious cycle demacia has always been in, and now our dear newly crowned king has fallen into it.

a little extra: i do think there is a bit of jarv’s lore MISSING given the situation with shyv. i hope this will shed light on what he was doing and how that also affected him before this happened. i also hope they eventually show us jarv being redeemed for this is FAR from the jarv that the bio shows us on his page and i think that is his true self. just, if i can recall, someone i know once said at your lowest you become your opposite and i think this is true here.

#wow um okay #thats long #like 7 k words long #kudos to you if you read it all #its just me throwing out all my thoughts on the events to read #also not going to lie #this was so long #i didn't edit it at all #sorry for the grammar errors #about /#— out of character `

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whenimgoodandready · 5 years

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Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, Adrienette, Lukanette, ADRIENETTE! LUKANETTE! ADRIENETTE! LUKANETTE! IDK!? STOP BADGARING ME FANDOM!!! Even Marinette is indecisive about it! She’s just a dumb teenager who doesn’t know what she wants!..........does she?

*Desperada-Marinette and the girl squad were hangin’ out at Julekas house boat listening to Kitty Section rehearse and Marinette and Luka get cozy with each other. It also looks to be that the squad is starting to jump onboard with the Lukanette ship. Well, Adrienette isn’t goin’ anywhere so how much longer are they gonna support something that hasn’t even set sail yet!? Adrien and Kagami show up (having ditched fencing practice) and Marinette quickly leaves Lukas side to not give Adrien the impression she likes Luka. Oh, Marinette, what are we gonna do with you? She even says they’re “just friends” too🤨.

Jagged Stone arrives and he tries to get Juleka and Lukas mother back into the band cuz they had “history”. Oh! Thing is, he fired his guitarist, Vivica, and now he’s looking for a new one. Hmmmm, a new guitarist? Like, someone who knows rock n’ roll? And who’s young and talented? Marinette knows a guy like that! IIIIIIt’s Lu-Adrien!? Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! 🤦‍♀️. Marinette WTF!? Adrien is a classical pianist! I highly doubt he’s strummed a guitar! She knows damn well Luka is a better fit and yet she’s still trying to give Adrien hints she wants him! Okay, Marinette, I know how much you want Adrien, but you can’t just ignore talent when you see it from Luka.

Just then, Vivica shows up in her akumatized form calling herself Desperada! OOOOOH! So she’s that mysterious villainess I saw in “Gamer 2.0”! Well, thanks for the closure! (I’m talking to you person in charge of episode scheduling 😑). Desperada, I like that name, reminds me of a Rihanna song. Thing is, it’s more like a Western name and she didn’t really look “Western”. I mean, she kinda did with the whole musical skeleton make-up look, which is pretty cool, but nothing really “Wild Wild West” to me. It was more like something outta “The Book of Life” or “Coco” with that sugar skull thing. I’m a little fan of westerns where there’s a female outlaw that’s why. Her powers were using any instrument like a gun to capture people in her guitar case with a pic of them appearing on it as a sticker. Let’s just say if she wasn’t a musician, she’d make a bada** sniper!

Anyways, Desperada captures everyone except the love triangle kids and Ladybug is given the lucky charm to bring in extra help from Master Fu again using the snake miraculous! The snake miraculous!? OOOOOH! We saw who that was! (“Party Crasher”), some people in the fandom were right about it too! And now, ladies and gentlemen, the holder of the snake miraculous, (drum roll) Luk(trumpets begin to sound)-ADRIEN!? AGAIN!? (trumpets die out). WTF!? WHY!? Okay, I get it, he did save Luka when Desperada almost got him and as we know, Marinette/Ladybug doesn’t know Adriens Cat Noir, but still! Adrien agrees to it thinking he’ll win over Ladybug in a new superhero form since this time, she knows who he is and becomes “Aspik”...........(turns to the trumpeteers) you guys can sound I guess, (trumpets sound, but not enthusiastically). Okay, thank you.

So um, the snake miraculous is a bracelet of a snake swallowing itself, a Kwami snake like being named Sass (remember him from “Sandboy”!? He’s kinda like the leader of the Kwamies), a harp weapon and its power is “Second Chance” where they can go back a few minutes in time by turning the snake head on their bracelet back and it’s not a one hit power! It can go on as many times until the snake head gets to the end! It’s almost like Bunnyxs power except hers is more serious and can go back (and fourth) many times and it’s more fragile. Huh, I always thought the snake miraculouses power would be hypnotism, but I’m thinking too much “Jungle Book” here (what do snakes have to do with time travel!?). That’s cool! So it’s just Ladybug and Aspik vs. Desperada. It. went. TERRIBLE! Ladybug kept getting captured again and again and again and again and again AND AGAIN! And do you know why!? Cuz Aspik over here was too busy trying to woo Ladybug and not focusing on defeating the bad guy! That’s why!

ENOUGH! Adrien quits cuz he’s had it with being a f**king failure as it’s been 25,913 times! 25,913 TIMES!? 25,913 TIMES!? 25,913 TIMES!? 25,913 TIMES!? DAMN ADRIEN! YOU SUCK! Ladybug finally sees she’s wrong again! So Adrien suggests Luka take the miraculous instead. HALLELUJAH! Ladies and gentlemen, the real holder of the snake miraculous, Viperion, a.k.a. Luka Couffaine! (trumpets sound and end with a big finish!). Now this guy, this guy! Does a hell of a better job than “Aspik” did and it only took him a few tries! Humph!

I apologize for my wild outbursts there, I’m a very passionate writer and I speak what others are afraid to say. I’m like a voice for the people. I’m sure that’s what all of you were probably thinking way in the back of your heads there about the plot that occurred in the episode. I’ve settled down now and I’ll explain more. Ahem, first off, the girl squad are now leaning towards the Lukanette ship cuz they’re probably sick and tired of all the Adrienette nonsense and want something new. More importantly, they think this ship better since Marinette is more comfortable with Luka and how he’s more liberated than the sheltered Adrien. Fair point. The character Vivica/Desperada was based off a fan who won a contest at comic con and was originally supposed to be a veterinarian until they changed it to a guitarist (she looked so cute!). I heard about that, they also said she was supposed to be a fan of Cat Noir and was upset that he wasn’t getting as much recognition as Ladybug. It would’ve been nice cuz according to my Love Chart (which I legit have), nobody and I mean NOBODY likes Cat Noir, so cut him some slack and give him at least one fangirl! C’mon! Adrien failed at being the snake miraculous holder, but it’s not because he sucked (25,913 TIMES!? That’s like 3 months!), but it’s cuz there was no black cat hero to assist Ladybug! It was just Ladybug and Aspik and no Cat Noir! I thought they would’ve realized by now that they can’t defeat the villain unless it’s both of ‘em (plus a third or fourth party if necessary) to stop ‘em! Sure Ladybug defeated Style Queen by herself, but at least she had a “black cat” like someone there to help! It has to be Ladybug and Cat Noir! Good luck/Bad luck, Yin/Yang! That’s the idea! The reason why they didn’t see that was cuz they were both blinded by love! Marinette/Ladybug mostly picked Adrien to be the snake miraculous holder cuz she thought, “OMG! I’m gonna be fighting crime with my crush!” and Adrien/Cat Noir said yes cuz he thought, “Maybe she’ll love me this time if she knows who I am!” :P. Even Plagg thought it was a bad idea cuz he knew they needed Cat Noir and they weren’t even focused on Desperada and just trying to court each other! You’d think Marinette/Ladybug would’ve listened to her own words about Adrien being a distraction in her life (“Chameleon”). Speaking of courting, during one of Aspiks failed Second Chances, he confessed to Ladybug that he was Cat Noir (cuz she knows he’s Adrien as Aspik) and we only see a brief look of shock on her face before she’s captured again. Wonder what was quickly goin’ through her head at that point? Flashbacks of all her moments with him as himself and Cat and how she acted like both herselves in front of ‘em realizing how stupid she’s been? Lol! The shocks gonna be more wilder when it happens though and I’ll be there to see it. Ladybug really should’ve picked Luka first cuz at least he was bold enough to step in and distract Desperada to save Ladybug like he did as Viperion. Poor Adrien though, now he’s gonna think his Lady is too incompetent to be a hero. Well, not a “snake” hero at least, but a different animal hero if only she knew. The problem is Marinette is indecisive. She doesn’t know what she wants which is why she can’t choose between Adrien and Luka. Tikki and Kagami can see that and the latter even points out how Marinette needs to make up her mind already! Actually, according to the Season 3 canon episode order, this is actually the start of the mid episodes which means things won’t get more complicated ‘til the end. Especially when the last few episodes are more focused on the love issues. Currently, we’re dealing with plot right now, but we’ll eventually get there.

#miraculous ladybug #desperada #miraculous ladybug desperada

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