#but also a lot of my characters exhibit murderous vibes

[elliepassmore]

Ship of Theseus review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: puzzles, mysteries, annotated books, murder mysteries, dark academia This is a super interesting book that definitely gives the vibe of one of those murder mystery box games. It tells two stories: one, the 'book' story and the other the annotations written by Jen and Eric. The life of the book really comes from the latter of these two stories and takes place over an unidentified timeline, maybe a year, and includes personal writings as Jen and Eric get to know each other and writings as they try to solve the mystery of who V. M. Straka was. Along with the annotations, there are also pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and postcards, among other things, included between the pages of the book. In the world of this book, V. M. Straka is a well-known writer with an unknown identity. It's a big mystery in the literary world and there are fans and scholars alike dedicated to figuring out the mystery and finding clues from Straka's writings. Eric, one of the characters writing annotations, is an ex-grad student who was doing his PhD research on Straka and, specifically, Ship of Theseus. Despite no longer being a student, he's passionate about his research still and deeply invested in figuring out the mystery. Jen is a newcomer who finds the book when Eric leaves it in the library one night, but she quickly becomes equally invested in figuring out who Straka is, and the two bond over that. There's an element of unlikeableness to both characters at times, but I think over the course of the book that works to make them more realistic. They also both exhibit growth over the course of the book, as is clearly seen in their annotations to one another, and I liked seeing how the 'thems' differed from their earlier annotations (distinguished most clearly by different colored pens). It's also interesting to watch them grow closer through their writings, well before they ever meet in person. Along these same lines, the mystery evolves and grows as they do, and working together Jen and Eric discover things about the Straka mystery that had been uncovered, or relatively little known, until they stumble across it. I have to say, I was very invested in the Straka mystery and loved seeing the little bits of research they included in the margins and the added materials. There's also a code that runs through the footnotes, which was also cool, though I'm thankful Jen writes out what it says, lol. That being said, the Jen/Eric storyline is a little disjointed later on simply because they start meeting in person and not everything they discover needs to be written in the book. It's still relatively easy to follow what's going on though and I don't think it detracted from my enjoyment of the book. The other story, the one Straka wrote, focuses on identity and radicalism and the anonymous helpers vs. the agent in the spotlight, all wrapped up in a neat literary bow. And it is very literary. Straka's book reads like something you might read in a class on literary analysis and is quite loaded with symbolism (again, Eric and Jen come in clutch here and helpfully point out a lot of that symbolism). That literary style isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I was invested in S.'s story (S. being the main character of Straka's book). Like with Jen and Eric, there were times I didn't like S., but overall I found him to be an interesting character and he certainly saw and did a lot of interesting things. When I finished this book I immediately got the sense that I wanted to start over from the beginning and read the annotations chronologically rather than page by page like I did the first time. I think it'll help me piece together certain things on the second go around and pick up on stuff that I didn't initially. This book definitely gives off the feel that subsequent rereads will allow you to pick up on stuff and figure out some of the mysteries in a way you couldn't the first time simply because it was all new to you. That being said, I feel like I got a full experience with the first read, where I read each page and annotations regardless of chronology, and I recommend doing it that way for your first read since it definitely amps up the suspense as you go "wait, why did Jen/Eric just write that? What's going on???" Overall I would say this book is the bookish version of a murder mystery or escape room game. It's got a base story, Straka's 'book,' and then it's got Jen and Eric's annotations and added materials, all adding up to a very layered story with mystery, suspense, and puzzles on all sides. This was definitely one of my most exciting reads of 2022 and very well may be my favorite.

#book #book recommendations #bookblr #book review #books #book lover #booklr #bookstagram #interactive books #jj abrams #unique book #mystery #annotating books #puzzles #fiction #fiction book #murder mystery #dark academia

[trueishcolours]

I highkey agree. About the issues, the lack of trust, and the half naked bathroom situation. I actually wrote a WHOLE rant about the half naked bathroom situation and then I decided that wasn't the main point of your ask and you don't deserve to bear the full force of all my thoughts about Consent, so I'm going to post that separately tomorrow.

I mean, everyone can have their own interpretation of the Bathroom Scene (ep 7) but I think it's been broken down and analyzed enough to show that Porsche wasn't really that drunk or drunk at all during that scene. (I should mentioned that in the video above, it has been enlarged by a fan, he is not shown solely or directly by the camera which may be the reason people don't catch the way his face shifts.)

If you look at all the other times that Porsche has been shown drunk or compromised (drugged) they make it a point to show the audience what he's drinking + a close up of his face: flushed and eyes half lidded/shut. Exhibit A: during the pier kiss, we see that him and the gang are throwing back drinks and his drunk face. Exhibit B: we can also see this when the bartender drugs his drink with a green drug (the date rape drug). Exhibit C: During this episode, we got neither a close up of his face nor him throwing back drinks (at least not up close). Exhibit D: during the time he was supposed to watch over Kinn and instead was throwing back champagne glasses and nearly got Kinn killed by the assassin woman. Which, to me, implies he's not as drunk as he's letting on. When he's acting "drunk" in this episode, we see, in the background, the entire time, Vegas watching him intently. When Vegas is hauling him into the bathroom the screenwriter makes it a point for Vegas to say "I thought you were a heavy drinker" which I think is entirely obvious that 1. Porsche isn't drunk 2. He's acting dumb because he's trying to sus Vegas up. That much is obvious. Not to mention that when he goes to leave the bathroom after Kinn pisses him off, he doesn't stumble or need help standing up the way Vegas was doing when he dragged him in.

In my opinion, he wasn't drunk. I don't think a character needs to say "I am not drunk" when it has already been subtly set up that he isn't.

I just think the audience is just being shown half the information because Porsche is up to something that Kinn is not aware of and in that moment, we are seeing Porsche through Kinn's POV (which is to say, very limited and with no knowledge/context of what's going on).

<blockquote>"If you look at all the other times that Porsche has been shown drunk or compromised (drugged) they make it a point to show the audience what he's drinking."</blockquote>

Okay, but we literally see that in this scene as well? We see Porsche finish his first glass of champagne, then Vegas offering him another, then a montage of him swaying on the dance floor, cigarette in one hand and glass in the other. It seems pretty odd to look at all these clear signifiers that a character is drinking and say, 'actually this is all secret code for how the character is not drinking.' The scene wasn't a shot-for-shot replica of the scene in Yok's bar, but to me the vibe was pretty similar.

Not to mention it seems in character for Porsche to drink at this point. In ep. 3 he was trying to cope with participating in the torture and murder of the man who owed money to Kinn's family. Now he's participated in a lot more torture and murder, plus he's spent the whole episode locked in with Vegas, whom he suspects isn't trustworthy but whom he can't really get away from or protect himself from at this point. We know that when Porsche feels cornered, he acts out in self-destructive ways, and when he's involved in violence, he drinks to forget. I reckon he was drinking in ep. 7.

All that being said, I looked at the gifs in the twitter thread you linked, and I do see the point the commenters are making there. It's noticable that he slumps back against the sinks for a moment, 'flushed face and eyes half lidded' as you described - then sits back up and opens his eyes, glancing about in an aware and thoughtful way. He also does seem to pull it together remarkably quickly when Kinn bursts in. I was willing to chalk that up to the sobering effects of adrenaline, or just a slight continuity error because the writers wanted him drunk enough to be vulnerable to Vegas but also wanted him to be an active participant in the quarrel with Kinn that followed. But it's also possible that he was faking being drunk. I think that would be a pretty cool piece of character development, because so far Porsche hasn't really taken the initiative or shown a calculating side, but he's now more used to how the mafia operates and maybe ready to make a move of his own. I would enjoy seeing him take the drunken behaviour the mafia have come to expect from him and use it as a ruse to get information.

I'm not sure what useful information he might hope to gain from Vegas by doing this, though. The man's unlikely to start villain monologuing just because Porsche is drunk. The fact that Vegas makes a pass at Porsche does prove that he's trying to rile Kinn up and score points against him - but that's already obvious to anybody who sees them interact. What Kinn needs is hard evidence that Vegas is not only fucking with him on a personal level but actually is behind the attempts on his life, and I don't think anything he was likely to say or do to Porsche would prove that. The audience knows that Vegas' attempts to harm Porsche are serious attacks on Kinn, but Kinn's family won't see it that way, because from their point of view Porsche is just a bodyguard and Kinn shouldn't be that invested in him anyway. I guess maybe Porsche has an inkling that Vegas was behind the last drugging and kidnapping, and if he tries it again that could confirm his suspicion? But I'm reaching here.

So yeah. 'Porsche wasn't really drunk' is a cool theory and I can see where it came from, but I don't think we can say it's watertight.

Based on the quote that you chose to start off your ask, I'm guessing that this isn't only about whether Porsche was drunk, but also about whether the bathroom scene was consensual. I'm not going to go all anti about the bathroom scene; it was excellent and emotionally nuanced; but it had MANY consent issues and Porsche being maybe-drunk was the least of them. A more pressing concern to me was Kinn's GUN.

#kinnporsche #monstrous conversations

[filipino-lesbian-pierre-curie]

They Should Be Dead: A Collection of Works by The Living

Early on during the quarantine, I suddenly had more time to indulge in media. After a few months, I’ve notice a pattern, so here it is: a list of shows and stories that all have living dead people. 

TV Shows

Ghosts (BBC) -  The series follows a collection of ghosts from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing the house with its new living occupants. This is a great show with well written plots, characters, and stories. I find it appeals especially to the queer and neurodivergent community.

What We Do In The Shadows - The series follows 4 vampires in a mockumentary format. If you like those shows where fiction meets real historical events, or just plain vampire humor, this is for you.

Pushing Daisies - The series follows a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations. Together with his formerly deceased childhood crush Chuck, private investigator Emerson Cod and co-worker Olive Snook, Ned uses his abilities to solve murder cases. Perfectly pleasing visuals, an interesting premise, and REALLY relatable for all of under quarantine. Lots of yearning.

Dead Like Me - George dies early in the pilot episode and becomes one of the "undead", a "grim reaper".  The show explores the experiences of a small team of such reapers, as well as the changes in George and her family as they deal with George's death. I’m not sure if the show employs edgy humor but I like it. It is slightly nihilistic in tone but the way it connects the experiences of life with the reality of death is a really interesting take. It’s perfect for teens and young adults. Also, Mandy Patinkin. 

The Good Place - Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman welcomed after her death to "the Good Place", a highly selective Heaven-like utopia designed and run by afterlife "architect" Michael as a reward for her righteous life. This series has everything: dreamlike scenes, nightmarelike scenes, philosophy, EAT THE RICH, genderless she/her icon Janet, good characters, accurate representations, and an all-around touching story.

Santa Clarita Diet - The series centers on husband and wife real estate team Joel and Sheila Hammond whose normal, boring lives change dramatically when Sheila shows symptoms of having become a zombie. The bewildered family seek a cure for her condition while dealing with its consequences. Wild family goes on the time of their lives because their mom has become a zombie. It’s great. They kill n*zis and a cop and eat them.

Star Trek - too many Star Trek episodes have the “oh no they died! anyway...” premise and aside from the idealistic paradise Gene Roddenberry pictured, death and resurrection are large themes in Star Trek.

Books/Graphic Novels/Short Stories

The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya (by @reimenaashelyee​) - A two-volume Eisner-nominated graphic novel set in 17th century Istanbul and 18th century England, about a carpet merchant's reconcilitation with faith, love and home in the aftermath of his death by a vampire. It’s a great story. I’ll be telling this to everyone who will listen: the graphic novel is engaging and insightful, life cannot get better than this graphic novel. (Also: ACE REP!) Also by the author is The World in Deeper Inspection which explores the setting and premise of other characters.

The Shadow of The Wind (by Carlos Ruiz Zafón) -  Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. Magical realism abounds, it’s sinister, it’s beautiful, it’s a perfect book about dancing the line between death and life.

The Graveyard Book (by Neil Gaiman) -  Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Well, he would be perfectly normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead. Great book about growing up and leaving childhood. 

The Book Thief (by Markus Zusak) -  It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still. Featuring Death themself as the omniscient narrator, the story intertwines with books and stories of life and of survival. It’s a sobering book but important to read.

May Day Eve (by Nick Joaquin) - Magical realism, time travel vibes. But most importantly, myth, enchantment, the Devil, passion, everlasting love. There’s a reason why this is required reading for Philippine colleges. I cry every time I read it. 

Movies

Night at The Museum Trilogy - Night guard in charge of museum. Exhibits come back to life, wacky shenanigans follow. The only downside to this is that they visited the British Museum and not one of the exhibits screamed “I DONT BELONG HERE! TAKE ME BACK!”

The Book Thief - I would say it’s a faithful enough adaptation of the book.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock

The Lovely Bones - astounding <3 ik she’s dead but letting her breach the curtain between life and death? Good shit.

What We Do In The Shadows - The mockumentary that started it all. Once again Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement are geniuses. And correct: all vampires know is be bisexual eat hot virgin and fly.

Musicals/Plays

Hadestown- Retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice. Folk type of music, features great talents and songs by Anaïs Mitchell. The story is good, it touches on capitalism, progress, labor, and love.

Indecent- Play exploring the play "God Of Vengeance" which was cited for indecency on Broadway for its themes and indecent acts committed by the actors. It begins as a play brought by several actors who rise from the ashes of the Holocaust and gradually extends to the multiple characters they become. I find this important for anyone interested in queer Jewish history.

I really like media focusing on death and life so recommend some and take some from the list!

ADDITIONAL NOTE: I have a really bad attention span but these stuff somehow get my brain. They're good.

#death mention #cannibalism mention #nazi mention #literature #books #the good place #what we do in the shadows #bbc ghosts #star trek #santa clarita diet #dead like me #pushing daisies #the book thief #may day eve #ph lit #night at the museum #the lovely bones #the shadow of the wind #the carpet merchant of konstantiniyya #indecent #hadestown #show recommendations

[hatchetfieldtheories]

Return to Hatchetfield-Town - TGWDLM Part 3

Have I been putting off this part because of sad Bill? Maybe.  Or is it because of all your amazing Ridiculous Hatchetfield Theory submissions? Yeah, you were right the first time.  I just can’t deal with sad Bill.

We left part 2 of the TGWDLM rewatch where the Scooby Gang had turned up at the spooky mansion, which can only go well, and we come back in part 3 as they’ve left the tied up resident bad guy alone with the one person who has a weakness for said bad guy.

Links to previous parts

It’s Ted loving time and I make no apologies for it.

Am I the only one who saw the scene with Ted and Charlotte and immediately got sent back to MAMD’s Joey and Sally?  It’s so good seeing Joey and Jaime acting opposite each other like this again, they both bring the same amount of chaotic brilliance.  

I have no jokes to make for this, I just needed a gif of the “slap” here.  Beautiful.  Iconic.

Here we see a bit of the true Ted, the Ted we see in Time Bastard.  He’s an idiot sure, but its obvious he is actually a hopeless romantic who really cares for Charlotte, underneath an exterior of “sleazeball”. 

When I originally read what happens in Time Bastard I will admit it didn’t really fit with the image I had in my head of Ted.  Ted is first and foremost played for laughs.  He’s selfish and arrogant and funny.  But rewatching TGWDLM, especially with Time Bastard in mind, you do see where Joey let’s Ted’s façade drop.  You see it at a greater extent later when Charlotte dies and Ted goes off on one to Bill.  But you also see it here (I’m sorry Ted fans):

Serious gifs, who is she?

Now. What’s happening in this next little scene? Are we ready for some tin foil hatting?

What do you want Charlotte?

Continuing our theme of characters explaining what they want in clear and certain terms, Charlotte starts praying to God, then Sam wakes up.  Was Sam waiting for everyone else to leave before “waking up” in order to target Charlotte?  Or were Charlotte’s prayers answered by an Eldritch being with the capability to control the Creedy Chorus?  Later Sam says that he “saw god”.  

In Black Friday, Linda attempts to issue in the “birth of a god.”  God is certainly a word the Devil Dolls are happy to attribute to themselves.  Somehow I don’t think it would have mattered if they had gone to a Methodist or Presbyterian church.

Opinion time: Tied Up My Heart is a full on rock bop and deserves way more praise and acclaim. You could have told me this song was from Rock of Ages and I would believed you.

“Don’t you twust me” – serious Wiggly vibes there Sam.

This is kinda catchy Sam!

In part two we briefly discussed when Hidgens became infected, and there is some theories that believe he was infected from the moment he touched the blue brain goo, leading to Show Stopping Number happening.

Charlotte was infected the minute she touched Sam’s brains.  Like Hidgens, it happened slowly, but its very clear it had begun to take root in this song.  Tied Up My Heart is to Charlotte, what Let It Out is to Paul.  They both find themselves dancing without meaning to, they both begin to hear the music.  I’ve mentioned previously��that Tied Up My Heart is the only song in which there is an offstage chorus, which would be strange unless for the first time we’re hearing the show as Charlotte is hearing it – she’s beginning to hear the rest of the Hive.

 The only difference between Charlotte and Paul is their wants during these pivotal numbers.  Paul is trying harder to fight the song because his want is to destroy the meteor.  Charlotte isn’t able to fight the song because her want is Sam… and the song is giving her that. 

I think this is the part of the musical where most people pause and proclaim… what the hell am I watching. Which, you know… valid.

Can anyone tell me what foreshadowing is?

Ted just casually predicting the ending of the show.  Take out the head and the whole thing falls down – an historically inaccurate statement in the proceedings of Hatchetfield’s apocalypses.

Exhibit A – Taking out the meteor does not stop the hive.

Exhibit B – Sending a Nuke into the Black and White does not stop Wiggly.

I don’t know what Nerdy Prudes will be about but heads up to the characters – maybe don’t try and destroy the root of the issue as your solution.

Obviously there is a lot of story in Emma and Paul’s discussion here, a lot of which gets unpacked and revisited in Forever and Always, but I’m not really going to delve into the specifics of it here.  My biggest take away from this conversation is that Emma explains her past, and her intentions for the future, but at no point is it ever clear what her want is. 

In a musical where character’s are killed because they want something, is it any wonder Emma is the one who survives at the end?  She doesn’t have any big, ultimate want.  She’s jaded and tired, until the end… when what she wants is for Paul to have survived.

This shows a clear distinction between how Pokey and Wiggly operate (and the others, but we’ll discuss them when we get to Nightmare Time.)  Both of these Bothersome Brothers use wanting as their tool of chaos but in very different ways.

Pokey wants you to want something, in order to tempt you with that in order to destroy you.

Wiggly wants to find holes to fill with exaggerated, artificial echoes of a want.

The new game at Toy Zone – Bop Ted

Does anyone else forget for a bit how amazing Jaime’s voice is and then finds themselves entranced when Join Us and Die happens?  I’m sure there is some lore in this song but I’m far too distracted.

If we refer back to our Violence over Time chart from part two of the rewatch you will see we have now fully arrived at the point where the Hive has stopped trying to just entice everyone with fluffy feelings before murdering them, and are now just resorting to “we’re gonna kill you and it’ll hurt a lot.”

I know there is plenty of discussion regarding whether Hidgens is good or bad, infected or not infected etc – but none of that matters.  What matters is he makes the same crappy puns I make in inappropriate situations and I think that’s beautiful.

“The Charlotte you knew and loved was gone the minute a note came out her mouth.” – Snape’s back with the foreshadowing again.

Hidgens then proceeds to subject our heroes to a very intricate test to find out who is human, and who is the musical Doppleganger (one of the AJ Holmes fans there).  I’ve seen Moana once, and I became obsessed with the bioluminescent crab so I don’t remember any of the other songs apart from Shiny.  This is a problem because the only other song I know from Moana has now become Paul’s version of whatever it is he is singing. I refuse to believe there is any other version of that song.

“Their tactic is to hide amongst us, and as their numbers grow, they become more bold.” – yes Hidgens – we’ve all seen the chart.

Acting Masterclass with Corey Dorris

Bill gets a phone call from Alice, she’s stuck at Hatchetfield High and her girlfriend and the other kids have become singing and dancing zombies.  Is this a prequel to High School Musical?

Its worth noting that Alice has locked herself in the Choir room – Hatchetfield High’s number one place to hide when things are going badly - x

Look what happened Nightmare Time.  

Corey Dorris’ face pulls on every heart string I possess.  Not Your Seed is a fantastic song, with some superb singing by Mariah, but the heart of this song is Corey.  Bill is a broken man from the moment he echoes Alice’s words that Grace Chastity is a Nerdy Prude. And the voice crack!

Small warning here for a very brief discussion about suicide. If you want to skip past scroll to the next gif.

The song is an attempt to bring Bill to the Hive, but I think the plan from the start was to push him to shoot himself. Bill wants his daughter back, he wants her to be a part of his life, but unlike with Charlotte, where Hive!Sam attempts to convince her he’s not really dead and wants her, Hive!Alice uses Bill’s want to break him further and further, swinging between Alice’s love and disdain for her father.  This isn’t an attempt to lay a trap and kill him when he falls in it, it’s a blatant push towards him killing himself.  The Hive only picked up the gun because Paul was there to stop him.

I also find the mirror of this moment to later in Watcher World very fascinating.  We obviously know Pokey and Blinky are brothers, and I wonder if the set up leading Alice to point a gun at Bill in Watcher World is Blinky’s twisted humour, echoing what he knows happened in another timeline.  A horrible joke that would be lost on Bill and Alice in that timeline, but very recognisable to all of us Watchers.

Once again the Hive could have easily killed Paul, but they don’t.  They make a big song and dance (get it?) out of how the guns not good enough to kill him with and then they start singing at him just in time for the army to turn up.  The Hive had no intention of killing Paul yet, though obviously they can’t let him know that.  Paul has been chosen as their Hero.  He’s got work to do.

Hatchetfield High Homework

Just the one this week, I’m currently doing an Ask series where I attempt to make ridiculous sounding Hatchetfield Theories make sense.  You can find them by searching Ridiculous Hatchetfield Theories.  Go and have a look and follow the wonderful people sending them in.

When the rewatch returns, we get our first peep into the world of PEIP.

#return to hatchetfield town #hatchetfield #starkid #hatchetfield theory #hatchetfield theories #team starkid #the guy who didn't like musicals #tgwdlm

[theravennest]

Nearly all the mains in “The Blooms at Ruyi Pavillion” are bisexual. I said it, so what?

My Bisexual Agenda is in high gear, y’all.

I’m hard binging the show and I’m on ep 35 now. I know they absolutely didn’t mean it this way but the main female character, Rong, gives me major poly bi vibes and I’m losing my mind over it.

Exhibit A: She sits like this.

A whole bisexual.

Exhibit B: She likes to cross-dress.

Her fit on the left with the snowy white over layer, the silver design work, and the brilliant red under layer? Immaculate.

Exhibit C: A day at the brothel.

Was it for an information gathering mission? Yes. Was it still fruity af? Also, yes.

Exhibit D: This Choice.

After Rong marries Prince Su as his concubine/consort (notably not as his First Wife), her “rival” Princess Xihe tries to weasel her way into their home in hopes of marrying Prince Su as his First Wife instead. She tries a bunch of tricks to get Prince Su to fall for her including playing up an injury to make him stay by her bedside.

So, what does our totally-not-bi female lead do?

She decides to slot herself into all of Princess Xihe’s romance entrapment plots and perform them with her.

What is that look, Prince Su????? The OT3 potential is real, y’all...

---

Except it’s not Prince Su who stays, it’s...Rong!

Bonus shot of Prince Su listening outside while Princess Xihe has a tantrum over not sleeping with him but with his wife instead:

I swear for god, Prince Su spends this whole sequence trying to wingman his own wife into bed with another woman.

Exhibit E: This. Whole. Exchange. Like seriously wtf?!

What in the holy???? This. Was. So. Bi-conic? For no reason, like???

Also why is she me when I see a cute girl I like crushing on a cute guy that I also like?

Exhibit F: Her Primary Emotional Arc

Now, let’s set aside the 2nd ML since she’s not romantically interested in him (and he is complete murdering, manipulating trash anyway so fuck him).

Rong’s biggest emotional arc for a huge part of the show is her being torn between loyalties to her sexy prince and her equally sexy mentor.

Prince Su

A man who’s kind, disciplined, too goofy for his own good, loyal to a fault, reckless with his life cuz he has pretty extreme low self esteem after he’s been told all his life he’s a jinx that curses everyone around him with bad luck.

Madam Ruyi

A self-made businesswoman who built a wildly successful jewelry emporium that acts as the front for a covert spy / blackmail-for-hire agency. So impressive, actually. She’s so morally gray she’ll extort you with implied threats against your chronically sick son while also planning to provide all the ingredients for the kid’s cure later on.

Both are resident badasses, btw:

Turns out Rong has the same type as me: Hot and Deadly.

---

Quick aside: let’s be honest...the Rong-Ruyi relationship is mentor-mentee with some older sister/aunt energy. I get that. I do. Buuuuuut...I also get big, fat lesbian vibes from Madam Ruyi and I have a weakness for older women so I’ll die on this hill.

Anyway, Madam Ruyi wants to leave literally all of her worldly assets to Rong and made her the spiritual successor of the jewelry business and its metalwork knowledge. While Rong doesn’t know it at the time, Ruyi probably also wants to make her the successor to her spy agency. She just never got the chance to ease Rong into that side of things.

Now at the midway mark of the show, Rong has the choice to either marry Prince Su in peaceful bliss or avenge her mentor because she mistakenly believes he killed her master. 

I won’t get into all of the plot of this though I do have Thoughts. IMO, it makes a kind of sense as Rong’s been resisting falling for Prince Su up to this point due to her doom-filled prophetic dreams. But it doesn’t make sense that she didn’t at least try to talk to him first after what they’ve been through and I’m mad at the writer about it but whatever I digress...

The long and short of it is Rong has to choose between her years-long love for her mentor and the newfound love building for the prince. Guess what? She chooses her mentor and tries to stab the prince on their wedding night. 😬

While this is wrong for various reasons both in the story and because of poor plotting/characterization, it opened the door for my bi ass to highkey ship Rong-Ruyi and it gave a lot of unexpected angst for the Rong-Su ship, which I also enjoy. 

Let me tell y’all, I walked right on through that door into my own fantasy world where this show is 10x gayer than it is irl.

Speaking of...

Prince Su and his best friend Baiqi are FWB cuz Baiqi is also a bisexual, fight me.

What was even the point of this moment?

*yoink*

Also, there is this iconic comforting moment:

Followed by this other bit of tenderness:

Sometimes when the dad you’ve hated for so many years tries to kill you but then later decides to spare you when he blows himself up leaving you all fucked up and confused, the only solace you can find is in the arms of your best friend-boss and/or your girlfriend.

Me too, Baiqi. Me too.

#the blooms at ruyi pavilion #cdrama #liveblogging #Please understand that is me mostly just joking around but also not cuz I love them. #This is literally just me projecting my hots for all the main female and male leads. #long post #fu rong #xu jin #wu baiqi #liu ruyi

[tigerdrop]

Cringe is dead, talk to me about the funny half-life men and their relationship

okay here is my essay. it is titled These Guys Actually Like Each Other, and Gordon Freeman Is Just Kind Of A Dick*

(disclaimer: these are just my 2 cents. dont take me too seriously! im just some guy online who has watched this shit too many times.)

first things first. these guys actually like each other. this is a key aspect of their relationship. benrey, obviously and textually, digs gordon freeman - you dont flirt that heavily with guys you arent into, and so much of what he says and does is geared around making gordon crack up. thats pretty gay.

but the counterpart to this is that gordon freemans pretty fucking gay for benrey, too. you may say, “oh, but word of god says its not requited!” and to you i will say: bull shit. gordon is uniquely obsessed with benrey compared to all the other characters. if gordon didnt like the fucking guy, he wouldnt giggle with him and share in-jokes with him and bring him up every 5 seconds when benreys not around. thats concern, bro. thats worry. thats real shit

but i cant blame people for thinking that gordon freeman genuinely doesnt like benrey. benreys partially responsible for some of the worst things that have happened to him, the Arm Thing among them. and gordons very insistent afterward that he doesnt like benrey. he even goes so far as to try to kill benrey a couple times. to this, i must argue that gordon freeman is just kind of a dick.

lets talk facts here. canon. Lore. from the moment we hop into gordons shoes, we can see that he is a jerk to every npc on his way into black mesa. this is his default: a dude who just runs his mouth and says rude shit. he calls tommy a freak within 5 minutes of meeting him. he infantilizes the guy and barely considers him a real scientist. he doubts that bubby is a real name for like no fuckin reason. in “real life”, this is because its funny, and wayne is trying to make a funny half-life stream. in a textual sense, this is because gordon “hlvrai” freeman is a dick. this is the way he acts, consistently, throughout the series.

(brief aside: this is why the whole “gordon is a nice guy and a great dad” characterization baffles me. the way he actually acts in canon is, in short, bitchy and lacking in self-awareness. and i love that for him, i really do. it makes the moments where he just tries to be a nice guy stand out. but thats the thing: his intermittent moments of decency and kindness are not the whole of his personality! this dude kind of sucks most of the time!)

the way that gordons general asshole attitude extends to benrey is complicated. in fairness, benrey makes it his job to annoy the shit out of gordon as much as possible, and that warrants a negative attitude, but gordons pretty paranoid and ends up blaming benrey for nearly everything that happens to him, regardless of if its warranted. this is a pattern he exhibits both before and after the Arm Thing. its a little bit of a dick move! especially considering that, prior to the whole “betrayal” subplot (which was not exactly planned very far in advance), benrey is no more malicious or annoying than anybody else gordons having to travel with.

(okay, this is kind of a subjective evaluation, but still. my point stands that benrey is not any more of a hindrance to his progress than anybody else in the science crew, and neither is he particularly more violent or murderous. hell, gordon freeman has probably killed more guys than benrey. benrey just tends to get.......special treatment.)

all that said, i am still convinced that gordon really fucking likes benrey. please consider with me the following: it would be remarkably easy for gordon to just ignore him and do what he has to do, but he doesnt. he could stop engaging. he could stop thinking about benrey. he could stop bringing benrey up to the rest of the crew every time benrey leaves to do his own thing for awhile. but he doesnt. and, again, yeah, the extra-textual reason for this is “two guys are doing an improv comedy thing and bouncing off of scorpy is kind of the point”, but within the text it reads to me as gordon not being about to get the dude off his mind.

and this is in addition to all the times we see gordon being genuinely nice and receptive toward benrey! its in the little things: laughing the hardest and longest at benreys jokes. only ever reciprocating that stupid underwater “BBBBB” thing with benrey. trying to catch benrey when he falls, despite his insistence moments earlier that benrey should hop in the wack ass crystal generator and get hypermurdered. fondly remarking that benreys sweet voice sounds beautiful. his sort of flustered responses to most of benreys overt flirting. none of this is the way normal people react to a guy they hate. this is all fuckin gay to me, man.

its this combination of the outward insistence that gordon hates benrey with his inner eagerness to be around him and think about him and engage with him that gives off strong “repression” vibes, to me. for whatever reason - pride, embarrassment, resentment - gordon maintains a front of hating the guy and wanting to kill him for a lot of the series, but it doesnt gel with the way he fucking giggles and plays along half the time that benrey starts fucking with him. its a game, and that game is one of the only ways gordon knows to manifest affection for him.

(remember “oh my god, hes got a knife!”? that was the gayest shit i ever seen in my life. tittering like a schoolgirl while benrey chases him around like “im gonna get you haha”. insanity.)

the cool thing about repression is that you can have it manifest in a lot of ways! and this is where things like “headcanons” and “my own personal affection for repressed bisexual men” come in. a lot of how i characterize their relationship is an extrapolation of a lot of things like gordons canonical insecurity issues/anxiety, gordons whole anti-bootboy thing screaming “internet wokeboy who means well but probably has a lot of repressed baggage” to me, etc.

how do you get massive amounts of sexual repression out of what you see in canon, you might ask? well. if wayne would stop having gordon talking about being jerked off by the suit, or talking about chugging a 40-gal drum of potion and having to hold his piss, or worrying about being eaten by benrey the moment he sees benrey at setscale 10, maybe i would have a higher opinion of gordon “hlvrai” freeman and whatever latent psychosexual issues hes got going on. but here we are

i havent even touched yet upon how benrey feels about gordon. this one is helpfully made a little more plain by the fact that benrey very much wants to suck his dick in canon. (i dont even have to go into details. we all know.) but IMO the best part about this ship isnt just that they dig each other, but how. benrey gets overtly flirtatious in the second half of the series, but IMO his preferred method of flirting is just fucking with gordon: chasing him with knives, shoving him around in a bathroom, trying to get scans of his feet. but all in like a slapstick, giggly, fun-and-games sense, you know? at least when it works.

a lot of the time, though, it doesnt work out that way. he clearly just likes doing it whether or not gordon responds positively. which is, you know, Weird. not very nice. but also in line with the way everybody else treats gordon freeman. gordons kind of the universes chew toy in any given universe, and the same holds true here. hes kind of helpless......subjected to 4 demons attempting to make his life as difficult as possible. in a way its cathartic.

sorry. i got sidetracked. anyway, benrey very much likes to mess with him and unnerve him and demean him and i will be perfectly frank with you: that is hot. i have problems and illnesses and one of them is that i am a masochist who goes crazy for that kind of thing. calling gordon a “dirty lil boy” and telling him to “look at the mess [he] made” is some straight up kink scene shit.

i like to imagine that a lot of this behavior isnt caused just by the guy who played him wanting to be funny and antagonistic, but by benrey as a character not really understanding what constitutes “pushing a joke too far”. hes not human, and whatever he is doesnt have a very normative way of understanding the world around him, full of people who actually get hurt for real and die for real. benrey expresses what seems to be genuine surprise and distress after the Arm Thing, as if he didnt know that his actions would have serious consequences. and it doesnt seem to fully sink in afterward, either.

it reads a lot to me like hes used to video game rules and treating people around him like NPCs. if they get hurt, its no big deal, because its not real. he likes jamming random buttons on gordons interface and seeing what comes out. its probably a lot of fun for him, the same way that seeing a streamer or a youtuber suffer for our amusement is fun. its like, you know, in my opinion, gordons very cute when hes frazzled. hes also cute when hes laughing. pushing gordons buttons has a 50/50 chance of either of these things. and this is how he ultimately flirts with gordon: by pulling his pigtails.

but at the same time, benrey does legit care about gordon and knows some boundaries. benreys the one most often shooting at enemies to protect gordon, and he spent most of the last act trying to convince gordon to turn around and not fight him because they were friends (best friends, to be specific). he just lacks a lot of the emotional intelligence it would take to express the feeling of “he digs gordon and likes seeing his face get all red and sweaty regardless of the cause”. and gordon lacks the emotional intelligence it would take to express the fact that he doesnt know if he likes or hates benrey and hes scared as hell that its the former

because, lets be real. unironic benrey-liking is a sign of problems disorder. just look at all these words ive written about it.

can you imagine? this bizarrely powerful, non-human entity that can shrug off gunfire and grow to the size of a building has decided that youre his new plaything. benreys the bored guy booting up skyrim and fucking around in the console, and gordons the hapless favorite follower that hes taken a liking to. its a really fun dynamic IMO

after all this, its safe to say my title is a little misleading. the asterisk stands for * and So Is Benrey, Actually. they are both kind of awful dudes who thrive off of teasing each other and they deserve each other. and i am crazy about it. thank u for coming to my TED talk

#asky #careposting

[yarrowleef]

Read Darkness Within all in one sitting last night and then passed out so here are my scattered thoughts i wrote down as i read, (afterthoughts in parenthesis)

Darkness Within Spoilers, obv

UGH GOD THE SECOND HAND EMBARRESMENT FROM SQUIRREL FAKE FLIRTING WITH ASHFUR IT HURTS

Just remembered Sandynose died and got a small boost of happiness (will Hawkwing and Plumwillow ever be allowed to talk again now? I mean probly not b/c they aren’t protags and non-protags don’t rly have friends but I can hope. Sorry, Hawkwhing and Plumwillow’s short-lived friendship in Hawkwings Journey was one of the last times I felt something)

Ghost fleas lol

Mothwing: i’m rude now. (but more importantly, Fuck Tigerheartstar for forcing his son to be around the cat that hurt him so badly, like he HAS to know how upset everyone is regarding Shadowsight and his accidentally helping the imposter, and he’s making him be the sole one to tend to him??? There is NO REASON Puddleshine couldn’t have done it. You think Puddleshine is going to try and murder someone?? )

Oh no don't make this a traveling book, and a ROOTBRISTLE traveling book this is going to be insufferable

BACON AND EGGS

Lightleap Is Good (Hey didn’t Shadowsight have another sister? lets be real we all knew Pouncekit was going to end up as the forgettable 3rd one)

Bristlefrost’s crush continues to feel unnatural to me. It’s like she’s grasping at straws romanticizing the most generic things.....wow....I love how ur just so...bare minimum competent....being polite to the loner we came all this way to ask for help like any somewhat reasonable person would....How admirable...I love the way you just *clenches fist* exhibit some basic traits of loyalty and skill that literally every warrior has (I s2g I’m this close to head canon-ing Bristle as a clueless aromantic who doesn't understand what romance is actually suppose to feel like so she just looks at feelings of low-bar admiration and assumes “oh I guess this is that “romantic attraction” everyone’s always talking about? guess I must be in love???” because both her crushes have felt out of nowhere and like. Idk fake/forced sounding like she’s just telling me that that she’s In Love Now while I continue to not actually feel it at all from her end. I know it’s just that I hate the way Erin’s write female characters in love but this head-canon makes me laugh)

Got scared because I thought they were going to villainize Spotfur for not wanting kits for a minute, but also excited at the concept of maybe exploring a female character that doesn’t want to be a mother, but it turns out she was just pulling a Sparkpelt and actually DID want the kits all along and was only hesitant because she’s sad. Shrug oh well.  (the only female character in warriors that was distinctly upset about pregnancy and motherhood was Lizardstripe and as we all know she was eeeeeevil and abusive and “overly ambitious” because why else would you not come around to being happy about motherhood?? YES I’M STILL SALTY ABOUT YELLOWFANG’S SECRET, BAD BOOK)  Whatever it’s fine so long as Spot doesn’t lose her rebel leader spirit forever and default to “soft mom” personality for the rest of her life, I gotta have hope because I actually like Bristle and Spot’s current relationship. Also I am actually very grateful they never made Bristle resentful at Spot for getting with her crush, as lots of middle grade/YA media has a very bad habit of demonizing female romantic “competition” and its super gross, so I rly do like that Bristlefrost is so protective and caring towards her instead. )

This series is trying to tell me that Rootspring is actually Big but I refuse to accept that. he has dumb scrawny bitch energy and we all know it

Sunrise: “Thunderclan may be better with a new leader” lol go off (i mean........they right tho...It’s unfortunate that the tension in this whole plot is a bit dampened by the fact that i DO in fact want bramble to die v badly. I don’t even have special hatred for him, I’m just bored of him.)

Yes Lionblaze beat the shit out of Ashfur

*HOLY SHIT THAT’S FUCKED!!!! (I wrote this in reference to the ghost summoning scene, this was all I could manage at the time, that scene was WILD and I am VIBING WITH THE HORROR OF IT ALL)

* Brashfur: Oh yeah? Could Ashfur fake THIS? *stands up with slightly better posture* Shadowsight: oh damn you got me there...... (asdfhhfhhgh im sorry that was really funny, how did that prove anything?? ONLY A ~REAL~ WARRIOR COULD STAND UP STRAIGHT WE ALL KNOW ASHFUR IS INCAPABLE OF GOOD POSTURE!)

End of the book: *LAUGHING NERVOUSLY* WHAT THE FUCK??? (I thought he was just gonna kill Squirrelflight right there holy shit can you imagine the RIOTS that would ensue in the wake of all this Squirrel/Bramble discourse I was so scared for a second.  

 But it’s fine, she just....went to super hell instead......Warriors has come so far lmao WHAT IS HAPPENING

Final Notes:

*On Mothwing, I don’t think her behavior struck me as “CHARACTER BUTCHERING” as much as it did for other people? I mean.....Warriors fans will say that literally any time a character does ANYTHING less then perfectly nice I think her actions just seemed that much harsher because we are reading from Shadowsight’s POV, and Shadowsight is taking everything 10x more personally right now (understandably so, but Mothwing isn’t inside his head) she wasn’t trying to hurt him. Also... like... Shadowsight DID get his name too early. It’s not Mothwing’s job to put his feelings above everything else, she’s not even his mentor, Puddleshine on the other hand, as his main mentor, I don’t understand what his deal is ignoring Shadowsight, that’s not how you help an apprentice but I suppose I chalk many of his mistakes up to also not being the most experienced medicine cat (he barely even had his own mentor.) Maybe he’s distant because he feels guilty and actually blames himself for not guiding Shadowsight better?? the two of them haven’t communicated about it yet so idk

 any way I give Mothwing a pass to be a little short tempered right now as a cat who has had her abilities periodically questioned all her life no matter how hard she works or how much experience she has, just because she doesn’t vibe with the spiritual cult side of the clans, I can understand why she’s a bit defensive of being questioned and frustrated watching so much hurt happen Yet Again due to reliance on StarClan visions over common sense, and I for one still stan her for slandering StarClan and refusing to accept Mistystar’s bullshit banishing like everyone else. Sometimes a character is at the end of their rope and can’t manage to be 100% nice 24/7 and that’s maybe not inherently bad writing? idk just my hot take. At a certain point we all gotta reckon with the fact that our perception of most popular supporting characters in heavily colored by fanon and we can’t always get mad at the authors for not adhering to it

*The sisters magic shit is my fav worldbuilding warriors has had in AGES, I love the way it’s described and it actually feels like it adds something to this world. I love this horror imagery with the ghosts, very excited for that. 

*still won’t be thrilled if Ashfur is working alone, because his motive doesn’t make sense right now. I mean the trying to get Squilf thing, sure, whatever, but the “I will make everyone pay for what they did to me”???? cause like?? Who??? they didn’t do anything to him?? Ashfur’s grievance was very specifically JUST Squilf. He has no other cause for revenge, he had no other beef or complaints about the clans to my knowledge? The cat that killed him is dead, and she’s like, the only other one that I could see as having “wronged” him?? I guess he also didn’t like Firestar much according to Graystripe’s Vow (and on account of how willing he was to kill him w/ Hawkfrost) but Firestar is ALSO dead. I don’t understand his angle. Will have to see last 2 books to judge i suppose.

*All in all I am interested to see where this is going!! but also the pacing as I feared is becoming a major issue. It’s better then ending the main conflict on book 3 like Vision of Shadows did, but omg. Hardly anything happened in all these pages. I realized I was over half way through and nothing about the situation had actually CHANGED or advanced at all in all that time. Similar to the past 2 books which I believe could have been combined, this plot felt like it should have been the first half of a book. Discussing whether or not to kill the imposter isn’t much of a standalone plot, it’s just the set up to a plot. Finding the sisters didn’t need to be a whole long thing, the debates about the Imposters fate didn’t need to be repeated 10 times, all those chapters illustrating that “Shadowsight is sad” were also drawn out, repetitive, and interchangeable, we probably only needed 2 or so chapters showing his struggles to get the necessary information across. It felt like a lot of padding, it was really slow and I did a lot of skimming. I am still very interested in the overarching plot and mystery behind the ghosts so that kept me reading but man this “will they won’t they kill him” plot did not justify it’s own whole book. Alas this is a persisting issue that will never be resolved while they continue to force 6 books into 1 series that doesn’t need 6 books. I’m sure the writers are doing the best they can with these unfortunate constraints but still, it’s a wonder this slow padding isn’t more of a detriment to their younger readers that the books are supposed to be marketed to.

#warrior cats #the broken code #darkness within #the darkness within #darkness within spoilers #wc tbc #tbc #is that enough tags #yarrow speaks #wc criticism #long post #the broken code spoilers #warrior cats spoilers

[forevercloudnine]

new 52 riddlebat ship meme

(@heroes-etc picked me out a lot of questions and we’re still going. This set is from this ship meme.)

1. Who makes the first move and how?

Ostensibly it would be Edward, if putting together a subtext-laden citywide scavenger hunt that threatens the lives of hundreds counts as “making the first move.” But there’s a limit to how much deliberately obfuscating any expression of your feelings can be considered making any move at all. He also doesn’t seem to really know what he wants from Bruce — in “Alone,” he’s quick to say that he designed the puzzles to lead Batman to him on purpose, but doesn’t have an answer when questioned on what he wanted Batman to do other than catch him.

So even though Edward is technically the instigator here, he places the burden of actually doing something entirely on Batman. Which is difficult, because Riddler’s increased brutality in the New 52 makes him like the last possible version of the character Bruce would choose to pursue. BUT Scott Snyder made Batjokes practically text in this continuity, so obviously New 52 Bruce does not have a problem getting overly emotionally involved with supervillains who have unrealistically large body counts. In fact, the brutality may work to Edward’s advantage here; if he caused enough damage, maybe Bruce would kidnap him and keep him in the Batcave the way it was revealed he was keeping the Joker in Dark Days: The Casting #1. 

What could be more romantic than being imprisoned in the batcave? Well, probably a lot of things, really. But in this case, having a lot of quality time together in which Riddler is not actively murdering anyone is probably the only way that these two could work out what they have going on between them. 

Edward could also earn his way down there by figuring out Batman’s identity, which he’s clearly pretty close to in Batman Annual #4. There’s only so much mental distance between “Bruce Wayne is obsessed with the death of his parents and his drive for justice and revenge has led him to bring Batman into existence, making him responsible for everything Batman has ever done” and “Bruce Wayne IS Batman,” especially when Bruce Wayne does things like climb museum exhibits to leave through the skylight or pull off a trickshot that ruins Riddler’s whole evil plan directly in front of Edward’s face.

And if he DID figure it out, New 52 Riddler would probably be less courteous about its secrecy than Joker is. (Not that Joker is THAT polite about it, given that he keeps trying to use the information to either kill Bruce’s whole family, or... I don’t know... whatever he did with Wayne Enterprises in Joker War. Wait, is THAT why Bruce was keeping Joker in the Batcave in Rebirth?) 

So just to review, I am *checks notes* arguing that Bruce would instigate a romantic relationship by kidnapping Edward and imprisoning him against his will. Yes, that sounds about right for DC’s current continuity.

6. Who would they ask if they ever had a threesome?

If Riddler DOESN’T know Batman’s secret identity, then he would want to have a threesome with Bruce Wayne. Batman Annual #4 suggests that he might have already been a bit obsessed with Bruce even before suspecting his involvement with Batman, given that he talks about how watching Bruce in the tabloids growing up was everyone’s “favorite tv show” and reminisces about learning a lot of information about Bruce’s life that way, including stuff that wouldn’t have made it to the news, like Bruce anonymously setting his teacher’s yard on fire as a teenager.

It’s actually almost a Batman Forever vibe, or it would be if New 52 Edward wasn’t so much less endearing. Is his childhood fascination with Bruce part of why he got a job working for Bruce’s uncle at Wayne Enterprises as an adult, or was that just a happy accident in his preparations for Zero Year? Either way, he’s clearly obsessed with Bruce now, and he’s definitely under the impression that Batman knows him well. So as long as he didn’t know they were the same person, he would probably try to arrange a ménage à trois (wouldn’t that be awkward).

If he DID know they were the same person, then unfortunately Edward would definitely try and instigate a threesome with Joker. I’m not saying it would work, I’m just saying that all of the War of Jokes and Riddles reads like Edward trying to insert himself in the middle of Batjokes and getting rejected by both of them repeatedly.

Joker wasn’t interested the first time Riddler came on to him (or the second time, literally in the same office, Edward please learn how to read a room), so he probably wouldn’t go for it if Edward tried again. But if The War and Jokes and Riddles demonstrated anything, it’s that Edward doesn’t know how to take a hint, so he’d probably try again regardless. And then blame Bruce when it doesn’t work, probably. I always thought it was dumb when Riddler hyped up the oh-so-horrible thing that Batman did to him in the War of Jokes and Riddles in Batman #19, only for it to turn out that Bruce just, like... almost stabbed him.... but didn’t. After Riddler had ALREADY betrayed him.

But it makes more sense that Edward is being such a dramatic bitch if you’re instead interpreting “I still remember what he did” as just a summary of the conga line of rejection that Riddler received over the course of that arc from both sides of Batjokes.

(TWOJAR as helpfully summarized by @heroes-etc​)

11. What do they hide from one another?

I don’t think they can really hide anything from each other, actually. I mean there’s the obvious “Batman is hiding his secret identity” and “Riddler is hiding evil scheme of the week #39.” But Bruce is the “World’s Greatest Detective” as per usual, and Edward is actually not that far behind him in this continuity (even if his delusions can cause him to project and misinterpret his findings, i.e. assuming that Bruce purposefully went bankrupt so that Riddler and the other Arkhamites would have to live in Wayne Manor and be reminded of him every second of every day). Batman Annual #4 has a great example of this where Edward reveals that he knows about how Bruce tried to treat his paranoid vigilante compulsions with shock therapy when he was a teenager. No one but Alfred and the doctors know about that — and I’m just assuming that Alfred knew, it’s not something that was stated in Zero Year.

Bruce obviously solves pretty much every riddle that Edward puts in front of him, but he picks up on the stuff that Riddler is purposefully trying to obscure too. Whether he was researching Edward ahead of time (likely) or just so good at snap psychoanalysis he should have a job at Arkham (possible, Zero Year was written by Scott Snyder), his summary of Edward’s life during their first interaction as Batman and Riddler in Batman #31 is clearly too accurate for Edward’s comfort, as it ruins what had previously been excitement on Riddler’s part that Batman was still alive. 

So good luck to both of them at hiding absolutely anything from each other. The best they can hope for is if WHEN the other person finds what they’ve been hiding, they misinterpret either the information or the reason why it was hidden from them in the first place. Both of them are always willing to jump to the worst case scenario (which, given who they’re dealing with, fair enough), so I’m sure the resulting miscommunication would be both extremely entertaining and highly likely to lead to city-wide destruction.

27. Why do their friends get annoyed with them?

Does New 52 Riddler even have friends? He and Scarecrow claim to have respect for each other in Detective Comics ft. Scarecrow #23.3, but it’s in the context of Scarecrow lying and manipulating all the rogues in the lead up to Forever Evil, and it comes about three panels after Riddler passive aggressively mocks Jonathan’s childhood trauma at the hands of his “daddy.” (Rude, Edward. Rude and gross.)

If they are friends, then the reasons why Riddler dating Scarecrow’s arch nemesis would annoy Jonathan are pretty self-explanatory. Also Edward is clearly the kind of person who would taunt the rest of the Arkhamites with any privileges earned/information gleaned from getting closer to the Bat. When I was younger my mother would always warn me not to waste emotional energy on girls who ditch their friends to prioritize their relationship as soon as they get a new boyfriend. Well, Riddler is that girl.

Bruce’s friends and family obviously also have nearly infinite reasons to be annoyed with Bruce for dating a supervillain (shoutout to Duke Thomas, who was unfortunate enough to have Riddler’s Zero Year during the most formative time of his childhood), but Barbara Gordon would doubtlessly be more pissed than most. Riddler deciding that he’s in love with Batgirl out of the blue (despite them never having met before?) when he finds out that Batman’s marrying Catwoman was already irritating, but I can only imagine how much MORE annoying it would be in the context of Riddler later hooking up with Batman.

If Barbara ever found out about them hooking up, she would immediately have war flashbacks to Batman: Prelude to the Wedding pt. 3. She has a great memory so unfortunately she probably has perfect recall of having to spend an entire evening listening to a pre-recorded monologue of Riddler philosophizing about why he’s not bitter that Batman and Catwoman are getting married and how he’s still straight even though he’s never felt lasting attraction to a woman. And then she would rightfully go apeshit.

29. Why do they fall a little bit more in love?

Thinking of how this question could possibly be answered from Bruce’s perspective made me laugh out loud, which is probably not a good sign given that I’m 4/5 of the way through writing a ship meme for him and Edward. But Riddler is just. So much in the New 52. Okay, I’m taking it seriously now. WHY DOES HE FALL MORE IN LOVE. Well, the fastest way to Bruce’s heart (other than being an attractive woman with dark hair, green eyes, and ambiguous morals) is to assist him in his crusade against crime. While that doesn’t initially seem like something Edward would do (as we see in Batgirl vs. Riddler, he seems to think the key to romance is “mixtapes”), he does go out of his way to give Bruce information about a Gotham-wide criminal conspiracy in Batman Eternal #39. He doesn’t appreciate that Batman’s current opponent is actively trying to wear him down — he wants to fight the Bat at his best, when he can think clearly. So he gives Bruce information he needs to solve the mystery.

Edward seems to also be under the impression that this would endear him to Batman, because he gives Batman a series of riddles that lead Bruce right to him so that they can talk in person. And then gets very surprised when Bruce subsequently arrests him. You’re still a criminal, Edward. This is like the first favor you’ve ever done him. Do it a dozen more times and then MAYBE you’ll start getting the free passes he’s been handing out to Harley and Ivy. But Bruce DOES save him from an avalanche after this, even though in the past Bruce has left him to die out of apathy (The War of Jokes and Riddles) or actively tried to kill him (also The War of Jokes and Riddles). So Edward IS winning him over, just very, very slowly.

Riddler pretty obviously just enjoys having someone to talk to that he feels is “on his level.” Even though he’s already arranged for Bruce Wayne’s assassination by the first time they meet in Batman #39, he obviously enjoys conversing with someone who can and will unravel his riddles and double meanings, to the point that afterwards he musingly wishes that they’d have an opportunity to talk again. Obviously they do, but it’s no thanks to Riddler. You can just NOT assassinate someone if you think they’re hot, Edward.

It’s what seemingly endears him to Batman too (at least, until Bruce ruins the mood by calling him an attention whore in front of all of Gotham). Though it’s basically always bad news for him, Edward clearly enjoys any time that Bruce or Batman exhibits his intelligence. 

#riddlebat #riddler #edward nygma #batman #zero year riddler #this was hilarious because this version of edward is. so awful #like entertainingly so #also i sent this to my partner to beta read and they argued that actually being imprisoned in the batcave is peak romance #so i rescind my implications to the contrary #ship meme

[missallsundaes]

And allow me to ask about your selfships in flowers now, iris and zinnia

Both of these have a little bit diff answers to the rest.

Iris - Does your self insert for your f/os source material have a detailed and complex story and character arc, or are they just kind of vibing?

EVENTUALLY I will need to do a self ship post I can link too, because I have a different self insert for each of my top threes. The SIMPLE answer is they all have detailed backstories. The detailed answer I'll put under a cut at the bottom of this post.

Zinnia - how often do you think about your f/o? Do they live in your head rent free, or do you not think about them for months on end before suddenly hyperfixating on them nonstop for a week?

; w ; I feel like you've seen my blog, I never stop thinking about my boys. Sanji and Corazon occupy the most of my brain, but if I see Buggy I get emotional over him too.

OKAY SO HERE I GO about my self inserts. All three are me in personality, interests, and talents. All three have pink hair and green eyes, and glasses.

My s/i Ace x Sanji is an art historian from the South Blue.

They were traveling on a ship that was transporting priceless paintings from one island to another for an exhibition, when the ship was attacked by pirates after the artwork to sell for the Beri it would get them. They were one of only a couple of survivors of this attack, getting away on a scrap of wood that was floating that they managed to scramble on top of. They were rescued by the Straw Hats. This fits in canon timeline between Little Garden and Drum. They fall for Sanji very quickly, despite his bad habits, infatuated with his flirty nature and constant compliments. Despite Nami's warnings that he was like that with "all women," after they come out as nonbinary to Sanji during a heart to heart, he still treats them with the love and affection that made them fall for him. They bond while cooking together, taste testing each other's food and experimenting with new recipes at dinner for the crew. Make quick best friends with Usopp over mutual loves for drawing, plants, bugs, and being snipers. (They are trained in archery.) Jinbei reminds them of their late father, and they quickly get very attracted to the Fishman, looking up to him and asking him for guidance often. Other best friend is Robin, they bond over art history and how it related to archeology, she helps teach them to read poneglyphs so they can help her. [[Sometimes trio ship with Usopp bc I also love Usopp and Sanuso is my otp]]

My s/i Ace x Corazon is a Selkie from the North Blue. This OC is Canon Divergent

Info on Selkies (mostly based on Real World Mythos, but some tweaking done for OP Universe)

Legends Say that a man who finds a selkie for a wife are blessed with a beautiful obedient wife. At least that’s the human version of the tale. In the selkie world, it is a warning, a cautionary tale: never be caught by a human man, lest you have your coat stolen and never return to the sea. Selkies are generally only found in the farthest north points of the North Blue, where seals are abundant. True to legends, Selkies can shift between human and seal form with the use of their coats or seal skins. Selkies are thought to be rarer than mermaids, but due to the nature of their transformation, true numbers are unknown outside the community. When a selkie has her skin stolen she has a compulsion to marry the person who stole it, usually with discomfort to the selkie. If her coat is willingly given to a man, it must be willingly given back. Selkies sometimes bare children to the man they marry, but when they find the hiding place of their coat they will abandon these children to return to the sea. Some legends say that these children are sometimes visited or saved by large seals later in their lives. When selkies first transform, their coat is the clothes they are wearing, so they are naked until clothed in the human fashion.

My self insert specifically!

In seal form, they are a harp seal, dusty grey with dark spots. In human form they have long dusty pink hair and deep dark green eyes, large like a seals. Their coat takes the form of a fluffy winter coat, with the same colors as their seal skin. When they are wearing their coat, it works similar to a zoan fruit, they can transform by choice, and can do a hybrid form (similar to a mermaid) as well. Not trained in any particular fighting style, they're not much use in a battle, but they know basic first aid and are a good support to a team. They witnessed the murder of Corazon by Doffy (and prior, saw Law being placed in the treasure chest). //Canon Divergent// When Doffy leaves the island, leaving Corazon dying in the snow, They nurse him back to health slowly, giving him their coat to keep warm so that he doesn't freeze to death, and builds a small fire to keep him alive. When he comes to, they help him move inside the partially destroyed building. He gives her coat back willingly after explaining to him what it means to her, and that and his deep caring nature made her fall for him. When he's well enough to travel she travels with him so that he can reunite with Law, and they 'adopt' him.

My self ship for Ace x Buggy is a performance Clown part of the Buggy Pirates.

Ace has been a part of the crew for as long as any of the other original members and harbored feelings for their captain for a very long time before eventually breaking down and confessing after feeling like they were going to lose him to impel down. Buggy is initially very awkward and flustered and nervous about the confession but admits that he had feelings too. He's a bit of a tsundere so sometimes it takes a lot to get hid real feelings out in the open. Buggy has huge jealousy issues and will be very very possessive. Has a huge soft spot for Ace. They fight with a comically large hammer, and with a similar style to capoeira where they are dancing as they fight. They are obnoxious after they're officially together, but it's cute.

#acacia self ships

[solitaire-dreams]

Pokespe Gold, Silver and Bronze? An Arc Progression Analysis

Hey readers! I'm back and ready to attack a long post that had a long time coming. It is time for the part 2 of my prediction for the Gen 8 Pokespe dexholders/dexholder analysis. I would recommend reading my previous “What Type are you?” but there is a recap below for need-to-know info. Skip to the asterisks if you've already read (thanks).

Grass type dexholder = character who has self-intrinsic motivation despite life pushing them down and the path to their goal doesn't hurt many people.

Fire type dexholder = character who tramples over anything or anyone in the way of their goal.

Water type dexholder = character who hides important information from other characters and is secretive.

Gen 8 Male Character Counterpart = water type

Gen 8 Female Character Counterpart = fire type

Relationship (platonic) between the two = more emotionally charged and dramatic than other pairs.

***Today in our analysis, part 2 looks at exploring the progression of Pokespe against the evolution of...comic books of all things...and how the sets of holders mirror the ages of comic books.

DISCLAIMER: I am personally not a fan of comic books, despite my love for the superhero shonen of BNHA, and all this information is extrapolated from online research. Also this post was inspired by a post on the dexholders opinions of the pokedex which I can't refind for the life of me because I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THIS FREAKING SEARCH BAR CORRECTLY. Credits to them for inspiration. Somewhere out there.

SPOILERS BEWARE.

So, let's start at the beginning with the main arcs for our first three dexholder trios (RGB, GSC, and RS; with Yellow and Emerald to a lesser extent). These arcs represent the Golden Age equivalent in Pokespe.

The Golden Age (from the late 1930's to the middle of the 1950's) is described as the introduction of archetypes for the genre, and heroes and villains were depicted as very white and black in order to provide moral for a society in wartime.

While the original arcs of the manga were marketed towards 10 year olds in the 1990s-2000s instead of 10 year olds in the time of WW2, there is many of the same patterns in how they present the stories.

The RGB arc is the most shonen-esque out of all of them, where Red simply plays the role of the standard protagonist you've seen countless times and an episodic formula for chapters. The rival of Blue also feels standard by this definition and the conflict with Team Rocket is pretty black and white. Giovanni is a mafia boss who kidnapped an entire town, genetically engineered multiple Pokemon through harsh experiments, was willing to murder kids; and all for “The Glory of Team Rocket.”

GSC gives you the exact kind of story you expect with a shonen target market and a hot-headed + headstrong main protagonist (a f*ckboy). The main villain of the Masked Man who kidnapped children also keeps him firmly on the evil side and our protagonists who oppose him firmly on the good one.

Then while RS may have been unexpected for most readers, considering a secretive male protagonist clashing with a headstrong female protagonist, a stronger character focus and development was to be expected. Plus, despite Ruby initially ignoring the fight against the region and Norman (who I still maintain is a sh*tty parent and should not have been forgiven for his treatment of Ruby that easily) both are still painted on the side of good. Ruby does the closest in giving a complex protagonist, but by the time he locks Sapphire in the aircar and teams up with Courtney, the reader can understand he's still on the side of good.

Mainly, the reason they never seem too morally grey in the first arc is that the in universe characters do not address their flaws as in depth as they should. Plus, the villains of Maxie and Archie are both shown be extremely corrupt and willing to endanger their own for the end means; providing a level of villainy to overshadow the grey tones of Norman and Ruby.

The arcs are all often grouped together when talking about Pokespe as well because the first three regions of dexholders are the only ones that have actually interacted with one another. And the post which I CAN'T find classified their stance on the Pokedex as they take their roles as protectors of the region seriously and accept the responsibility.

This translates well into the Golden Age characterization as this view of all the dexholders makes them appear more noble than most; magnifying the heroic traits of dexholders and heightening the contrast with the villainous teams.

Next up in the timeline was the Silver Age. The notable features of the Silver Age (mid 1950's to 1970) are hard to peg down, but they conclude important aspects are: targeting a wider audience including girls and adults, science fiction overcoming gods and magic in use in stories, and the pop art style started in this time period.

The Silver Age honestly doesn't have much to apply to Pokespe, but the Silver Age is a transitional era for comic books, as its boxed in by the much more influential ages of the Golden and Bronze ages. For Pokespe, its version of the Silver Age does seem to adjust its target audience to a wider audience of kid Pokemon fans (as there isn't too much “mature” content in Sinnoh or Unova arcs). However, its new hook lies in “the power of friendship”; also noted in that elusive post.

The DPP arcs centres around a trio that all become very close friends, with the Pokedexs canonically serving a role to demonstrate the bond all three of the characters have developed. Plus, Dia is a protagonist who completes believes in friendship for all as he listens to Cyrus is the Platinium arc, possibly giving him the chance to amend his wrongs.

BW may not have a trio of great dexholder friends, but the connection that develops between Black and White have a strong focus, and Black's friends of Cheren and Bianca also have a strong present in the story and exhibit the friendship that exist all between them. Meanwhile, the power of friendship cannot really apply to Team Plasma, but they definitely manifest the transition from “evil for the sake evil” to “complex motives that may not make them evil”. Despite N being the near definition of “morally grey” in Pokemon, the manga keeps him in a dark enough light that the reader can't fully think of him outside of evil—unlike the game.

Following up the Unova adventures in B2W2, this arc does a better job of emphasizing friendship. While Lack-two/Blake claims to lack any emotions, I'm not sure if it would hold up to a power of friendship punch in his emotionless face. Whi-two/Whitley also learns a lot about becoming friends as she gets closer and opens up to Blake—despite it being a ploy for information—still pushes the friendship theme. The evil is team is dealt with better as well, because Whitley has sympathy for N and the old values of Team Plasma, being a former member herself; and we see one of the older members aid Hugh in his search for Purloin. By having the new terrorist branch of Team Plasma cover the evil, it allows the members who follow the previous values to be painted in a redeemable light.

Finally, we arrive at the two most recent arcs of XY and SM/USUM. Or the Bronze Age equivalent of Pokespe.

The Bronze Age (1970-1985) of comics is the one people who are fans may know fairly well. Darker plots returned in full forces, tackling more serious topics such as poverty, pollution, and dangerous substances. Heroes were also more flawed and complex than they had ever been; and villains were dipped deeper into grey.

And if you've read the XY arc, these traits are probably ringing some alarm bells. The arc was extremely dark, expanding on the games in a way they never managed to achieve. The main theme of the arc is the apathy of society and how its flawed, self-serving natures screws over anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake. This stance that Team Flare took against society had radical actions (tons of it), but the sucky behaviors demonstrated by Kalos citizens in the manga prove society is far from perfect. The story of Emma/Essentia is also compelling as you understand she is on the wrong side, but with some right reasons.

X is additionally one of the most flawed male player character protags by far; the best way to describe him being all the negative mental problems shoved into one 12-year old boy (which I mean in the most loving way possible). Y also has her repressed problems, and a standoff-ish/headstrong nature that puts her at odds with others; most notably with the huge fight with her mom.

Then, in the SM arc, despite the more lighthearted vibes that come from Alola; that does not undermine the Bronze age themes present throughout the arc. The manga does not shy away from manifesting the trauma Gladion and Lille have sustained from Lusamine going insane, Guzma smashes his head into a wall after losing a fight, and Lusamine's fusion with Nihelego horrifies our protagonists; as it probably should if you saw that for the first time. The manga seems to be going in the direction that Lusamine has lost all her marbles and can't be fully held responsible for her crazy actions. Plus, Sun's flaw of hyper-focusing on gaining all the yen he needs to buy back the island/hatred for the Aether Foundation; and Moon's flaw of a hero complex that causes her to help one problem, but abandon it for a new one when it comes up (on top of her cold attitude to people initially).

Their Pokedex stance was summed up in the post by: “WTF is this thing? I don't want it.” which fits pretty well with their overall stance on the region crisis. None of these four protagonists ever truly consented to saving the region. In Kalos, the reasons the protagonists fight back is that their town is destroyed and they are being assaulted by the evil team. And as for Alola, both Sun and Moon get sucked in slowly with smaller events until it's like: “Hey, you've bonded with the incarnations of the Sun and Moon. Guess you’re the last line of defence for Alola now!”

Thus, if the Ages have each of the three rotations sets in it, Gen 8 in the Galar region will also stick with the Bronze Age vibes. Though, that's to be elaborated on in a later post (so sorry).

Tl;dr The progression of arcs in Pokespe follow the same progression of comic books throughout the different ages. RGB-RS (also Emerald) are in the Golden Age, with standard archetypes and black and white divides between heroes and villains. The Silver Age doesn't tie in much to DDP-B2W2, but they are both transitional periods for villain characterization (evil, but with a chance for redemption) and have a new hook; this time in the form of friendship boosts. Last lies the Bronze Age for XY and SM arcs, known for darker plots, and complex and morally grey villains paired with complex and flawed protagonists.

#pokemon #pokespe #original #analysis

[chilltouch]

9, 17, 39, 50

9. is the oldest? the youngest?

out of my current characters Iris is the oldest easily (WAIT A MINUTE IT'S [REDACTED]), with the youngest i guess it's yuyu.

However, lemme tell you that the youngest character ive ever played differs depending on if we're talking chronological age or maturity. Youngest overall is either Adam who I started playing as a DM PC at 12 years old OR Rha (they/them) who is an adult aarakocra at 10 years old. I played both characters with the same friend group. They exclaimed why i continue to either play birds or children

Now my oldest character overall is probably my god of Death and Judgement in my Godsend twoshot named Etros (they/them) but that feels too easy of an answer so im gonna focus on my dnd charact-

oh wait there it is it's the same answer as above so true Iris and [Redacted]

17. has killed the most?

ngl it's prob Mycena if im doing dnd only but i think it would be fun to think who else would be the first/second, sooo

hmmm, it's likely Etros as an alternate highest or my demigod in the Godsend twoshot named Beris bc Beris is an Incarnation of War

my Karanduun character Duma who is a Sitan martial disciple of the Sibat, the bamboo spear that slays anghels/angels, could work as a distant second [Karanduun is a ttrpg system that focuses on killing god(s). You get to attack and dethrone god in this combat-leaning system and it's fun to fight; pbta inspired iirc].

OR my character Valur (they/them) [no origin ttrpg system for them bc the creator of that system who i used to go to college with is homophobic/transphobic] who is a spirit/ghost/elemental? creature summoned in the middle of war by forces unknown to serve as a neutral party that fucked up soldiers going after innocents/non-combatants and therefore killed Many before the war ended.

OR Duroth from Big Gay Orcs who killed so many people in his last stand before dying

OR Val/Bedlam who is part of the assassins crew and likely has racketed up a kill count since starting a life of crime in Duskvol

hmmm gonna focus back on dnd characters now bc there's Still More to this list that can count as if not a distant second a close third

Gurra (he/she) and Iris would kinda tie for similar reasons of killing bc of orders from higher authority, as would LUC-A honestly but instead of for orders (derogatory) it would be bc of loose orders/missions from higher authority (dad who is her god) that eventually turned into "i will kill you bc im filled with righteous fury at the injustice here" and That happened a lot more often than either her or their dad expected adlnaldn

fuck me Kiran (they/them) ALSO falls in line with the above bc of their past as a soldier while serving under their god bc that's what they were raised to do as a protector aasimar who grew up under their god's church,

Ignatius and Opuntia Robusta (she/her) make it up to here in the kill list for criminal reasons. i think if the two ever met they would not get along (also fire with a plant person is 😬)

Ritalin and Ishara (she/her), the spirit tied to the kalashtar Ishtar, have an honorary mention bc those two killed in self-defense and also have a lot of deaths tied to them by association tbh but they Do exhibit murder vibes

(s/o to that one time where Ritalin asked their party member with an abusive/evil brother if she wants him dead bc he'll Do It, and the abrupt silence on that character versus the shocked laughter of the rest of the group made it into the highlights doc)

39. is the best with animals?

Mechanically it's Pandora bc shepherd druid, but emotionally, it's, hmm, actually idk if any One character i have is good overall with animals

there's like Ritalin who is good with birds, yuyu and Praden who makes regular friends with the sea life, S-POR theoretically is good with animals like wolves and ravens :] but is more of a plant person y'know

Kaius is my underwater warlock who can also make friends with sea life but idk if Kaius would since that's not a character ive yet to play after leaving the group this PC was for

50. is or was your favorite to play in combat?

For #healer/support rights it's S-POR bc of the combination of being to help people and access to AOE's. I can't wait to play S-POR in CoS as level 14 with the condition immunities and unable to get crit damaged on lovelove

For battlefield control, it's LUC-A bc the combo of spirit guardians and spiritual weapon is lovelove and I Also get to heal though emotionally it doesn't feel as necessary in the middle of combat

For damage output and tank rights, it's Praden during that level 15 oneshot where I had 24 AC with him and then nearly killed someone in one hit with a crit smite :)

Ishtar gets a special shout out for having a vorpal sword in that high-level oneshot i played them in and critting (decapitation) in the final boss

#ask meme #julia5e #wow there are a lot more soldier characters than i remember playing #they're all around a similar era of time too #that kill list got way too long #but also a lot of my characters exhibit murderous vibes #which makes sense for the dnd games bc it thrives on combat #makes a lil less sense for the non-combat focused ttrpg characters #char: Valur #char: Duroth #char: Etros #char: Beris #char: LUC A #char: S POR #char: Praden #char: Iris #char: Mycena #char: Mayuyu #char: ritalin #char: Pandora #char: ishtar #char: ishara #char: robusta #char: gurra #char: kiran #char: val #char: valur #char: duma #char: adam #char: rha

[lovelysparklypeanut]

Bad Boys [AU One-shot Series]

This is my first Haikyuu AU one-shots featuring multiple characters who I find very hot and sexy in the franchise.The title was inspired by Alexandra Burke – Bad Boys which also includes the chorus below. This will be the main theme of this one-shot series while imagining these characters as bad boys or ‘disturbingly bad boys.’

Warnings: Could be triggering for some.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything.

“Yeah, the bad boys are always catching my eye. I said the bad boys are always spinning my mind. Even though I know I know they’re no good for me. It’s the risk I take for the chemistry. With the bad boys always catching my eye.”

PART 1: Kuroo Tetsuro as a Yakuza/Mafia Boss of the Nekomata Group

Kuroo is the youngest Yakuza/Mafia boss of a rapidly growing group. After his mother was murdered when he was 15 years old, his father and grandparents have been training him to become the most capable and strongest boss to dominate the Tokyo territory in order to minimise the fighting and deaths of the people around him. [For the sake of this AU, his grandfather will be Nekomata Yatsufumi].

He usually wears tracksuit bottoms and a black t-shirt when jogging around the vicinity. But when he has business to attend to, he usually wears black polished shoes, black trousers and black casual blazer with a red collared long-sleeve shirt.

He is normally accompanied by his childhood friend, Kenma Kozume, who is their strategist and his right-hand man whenever there is conflict involving their group. He is the ‘brain’ and a very important figure for the group.

Kai Nobuyuki is his personal bodyguard, who is a cinnamon-roll-but-will-actually-kill-you type of character and the one who calms Kuroo down when he gets too hot-headed and can’t make decisions rationally. 

Haiba Lev is Kuroo’s connection to the Russian Mafia, dealing with selling, exporting and buying drugs and weapons around Tokyo and Moscow. Haiba Alisa is the head of the largest Russian Mafia group and monitors the illegal transactions between Japan and Russia.

Yamamoto Taketora is a hotheaded but loyal companion of Kuroo. He is the vanguard of the group (kinda like a bouncer, or at least give off the vibes of one). He picks up his younger sister, Akane, from school and usually intimidates the boys who like her but it usually happens the other way when Akane notices what he’s doing. She gives him the look. He is also best friends with Tanaka Ryuusuke and often go on a pub/bar crawl him around Tokyo.

Yaku Morisuke is the interrogator of the group. He is, by far, the best at getting information from enemies, even Nishinoya Yuu admires him a lot. People underestimate him a lot because of his height but it bites them back in the ass sooner or later as Yaku deliberately baits them into doing so.

Inuoka Sou and Shibayama Yuki are the newbies of the group and are pushed around by a lot of the ‘seniors’ in the group in a ‘tough love’ kinda way. They’ve recently been recruited properly and Yamamoto teaches them the ropes and usually jokes around them a lot. They are seen family by the Nekomata Group as they were taken care of from a young age by them when they were neglected/abused by their own.

Fukunaga Shohei  is your typical silent guy, very analytical but very funny. Dad jokes are his thing and usually picks up people’s slack. He can be manipulative in getting people to do his bidding but chooses not to unless it’s enemy, in which case, he’s more than happy to.

Hope you enjoyed reading this! These are just ideas in my head that I need to regurgitate so bear with me if it’s weird.

Next up is Miya Atsumu as an obsessive freak exhibiting stalker tendencies [Part 2 - Coming out soon]. This is a trigger warning so if you feel uncomfortable, please don’t read and move along. 

I appreciate all the likes, reblogs and comments! :D 

#haikyuu #haikyuu!! #nekoma #Kuroo Tetsurou #nekomata yatsufumi #kozume kenma #kai nobuyuki #haiba lev #haiba alisa #yamamoto taketora #yamamoto akane #tanaka ryuunosuke #nishinoya yuu #yaku morisuke #inuoka sou #shibayama yuuki #fukunaga shohei #miya atsumu

[walklikeanavenger-blog]

REVIEW: Ballet Philippines Presents Snow White – A Timeless Classic by Rafa Ticzon

DISCLAIMER: first and last photos from John Paul Manlapaz

Growing up, I have always been a huge fan of Disney. In fact, most of my childhood was composed of countless hours sitting in front of the television watching whatever classic was on air. On most days, I’d even strictly follow the TV schedule just so that I could rewatch Disney movies that I had already memorized. My favorite ones of course were the stories of the princesses, more specifically The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Snow White. The former because I absolutely adored the princesses themselves, but the latter also because it was a story full of friendship, magic, and had a happy ending. That being said, I was absolutely thrilled coming into Ballet Philippines’ Snow White. 

Effie Nañas, the choreographer, is a very prominent artist and former dancer of Ballet Philippines. First staged in 1988 for their 19th Season, and staged three more times since, first in 1993, then in 1999, and most recently in 2007, Snow White once again hits the stage this December 2018 with the help of Rhea Bautista, as she too returns as regisseur. Along with Denise Parungao, Monica Gana, and Katrene San Miguel as alternates for Snow White, while Victor Maguad, Ronelson Yadao, and Ian Ocampo as alternates for Prince Charming. Not to mention the notable Liza De La Fuente as the Evil Queen.

The story of Snow White is a classic that everyone knows, whether it be a child or grown-ups, everyone is bound to enjoy. The moment the show started, it was as if I was immediately transported to a different time and place. As the curtains rose and the first act began, the notorious Evil Queen was revealed, dancing around in her chamber, distraught after being told by her magical mirror that she is not the fairest of them all, but in fact a young, fair skinned, and diligent beauty known as Snow White. Angered, the Evil Queen sends a Huntsman and instructs him to do away with the young beauty and kill her in the forest. All of a sudden however, the doomy vibe from the first scene immediately changes and it was like I was whisked away to the world of Snow White, in that magical forest. Despite the horrible attempt of the Huntsman to murder Snow White, I was still totally blown away by the Set and Costume designer Arturo Cruz’s work. Not only could you tell that the production value of this show was indeed given value, but you could truly see that magical world of Snow White transcended from Arturo’s vision onto the stage, and onto the hearts of the audience. The lighting design by Katsch Catoy did not disappoint either, matching every sequence to the respective feeling that it produced.

The rest of the story unfolded almost naturally, and all the other elements continued to astound me. From set transition to set transition, it was always smooth and appeared very well-rehearsed. One remarkable instance for me was the second time the Evil Queen was presented, and as she mixed her ingredients together to produce her special potions, was a very quick, but not so obvious, change wherein she turns into the old woman. It was so smooth and seemingless that it took me a while to realize that the switch had been done and immediately found myself applauding this transformation.

The establishment of the other characters of the production was another great aspect. One of my favorite parts of the first act was the introduction of the famous seven dwarves, each displaying their own unique personalities that even though you did not know any of them prior to the show, you would still be able to establish it through their performances. All throughout the first half of the show, it seem authentic and indeed made the audience feel as if they were part of their world, and not once did I feel that I was in the Cultural Center of the Philippines, sitting among the audience and watching a performance. 

Come the second act, the most awaited wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming takes place, with almost everyone invited to the celebration. This was displayed with succeeding dance pieces from each division of the guests, all leading up to the lovely couple’s dance together, as well as their solos. Though each sequence was breathtaking, it seemed as if the entire act was a bit of a drag. This did not have anything to do with the choreography whatsoever, but in fact the narrative in itself. In act one, a whole story was revealed, from the Evil Queen’s anger towards Snow White, until her journey through the forest, meeting new companions, and finding refuge in the Dwarves’ cottage. Although in act two mainly consisted of the dance successions, and after having each group perform, would simply head to the back towards the staircase and stand there, watching the next group. For me, a huge part of a show is always the ensemble. They are just as important as the leads, filling in and making the entire show a whole. However, during this entire act I felt as if they were severely under-utilized, merely standing at the back, not even interacting with one another, and simply just watching sequence after sequence. 

With regards to technicality, everyone involved in this production, even the ensemble, whatever age range they may belong to, exhibited a skillset that was remarkable. It definitely showed that this was something they loved to do, and poured their hearts out through each movement, through each sequence. The agility and athleticism of each performer was nothing short of brilliance, most especially the lead birds, the lead friends, and of course the shining, happy couple, Snow White and her Prince Charming.

Nañas exhibited a lot of diversity in her choreography, playing around a lot with movement exploration, gestures, energy, and space. I do not know a lot about ballet as a genre of dance, but I was able to observe that most of their movements were obviously divided in specific parts of their body only. For example, a simple point-toe then foot shake or a movement in the arms, exhibited isolation towards a single section of their body, which indeed isn’t an easy thing to do, and showed dexterity among the performers. Gestures were a big part of the choreography too, and was most frequently seen among the characters with specific personalities or characteristics, being the trees, bats, owls, butterflies, birds, and even the dwarves themselves. Though simple, they helped in establishing what they were, as seen for example with the birds and butterflies’ smooth up and down of their arms to establish their wings, every time Sneezy the dwarf would sneeze, or even every time Dopey would turn to the audience and wave exhibiting each of their unique personalities. Energy played a huge part in the performance, varying from each character. With Snow White, the energy of her movements were slow and graceful, perfectly matching her sweet demeanour. When it came to the dwarves however, they exhibited a more excited and frantic energy, because that’s just who they really are. As with the Evil Queen, her energy was much more intense and doomy, fitting her role in this entire spectacle. Being that the Cultural Center of the Philippines is a very big venue and had a huge stage as well, I commend both Nañas and Cruz for making sure to maximize it at all times. With the choreography, Nañas always made sure to make her pieces much more dynamic, utilizing the space on stage to ensure that it never seemed flat in any way as well as varying the blocking of each dancer. In addition, and one of things that I liked the most about her play with space, is when she had all seven dwarves deviate from their own blocking, sometimes not even having any blocking at all, to establish their very playful manner and to highlight once again their unique personalities. 

Snow White, though not perfect, still truly is one of the highlights of this year’s productions. The long time fairytale classic, along with all its magical elements and timeless narrative, is a spectacle made for all audiences and is something that one can look forward to for its next restage, which for sure is soon to come.

[howdoyousayghibli]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on a Cliff by the Sea in the Outlet by the Light Switch and the Goblet of Fire

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a pretty wild shift from Ponyo, let me tell you. It may not be a beginning-to-end delightful joyride like Ponyo was, but it feels much more important.

A quick note, going forward: Although Ponyo was picked essentially at random for my first review, from here on out my plan is to review every Studio Ghibli film in order of release. Technically, Nausicaä isn’t a true Ghibli film, being released before the formation of the studio, but most people consider it one anyway due to the people who worked on it and the general vibes.

A second, even quicker note: in Chrome, you can type ä by holding down the alt key while pressing 1 3 2 on the numpad. Now you can all write your own Nausicaä blog posts!

Alright then. A quick summary for those who haven’t seen it: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is set centuries after our civilization has collapsed. Humanity survives, but their primitive settlements are threatened by the toxic jungles that cover much of the globe, filled with poison spores and giant, hostile insects. Our protagonist, a young woman named Nausicaä, is caught between warring nations who just might be about to trigger a fresh apocalypse before the old one's even worn off. There’s a bunch that I can’t include here; Nausicaä has a lot going on. You should really just go watch it.

This movie is outstanding in several ways. The first and most obvious way is its

design.

This proto-Ghibli film doesn’t quite display the incredible animation of Ponyo or the studio’s other subsequent films, but the designs of the characters and creatures in this movie are striking and create some truly memorable shots, like when Nausicaä finds the Ohm exoskeleton.

Great Design Highlights:

 - Nausicaä: you KNOW that she’s getting her own section later, but suffice it to say that her design rocks. Her original outfit tells us a lot about her (practicality/experience with the jungle), but she’s also well enough designed that she remains recognizable through multiple outfit changes.

 - The Ohm: Is “OHM-G” too obvious??? I don’t care, these bugs are incredible. Miyazaki purposefully gave the movie an uphill battle in making the audience care for these utterly alien creatures, a battle which it wins handily. They exhibit a perfect balance of creepiness and a strange, surreal sense of wonder. They almost remind me of the Great Owl from the Rats of NIMH, in that they come off as strange and dangerous but also wise and knowledgeable.

 - The Great Warriors: If the Ohm have a sense of unease that’s tempered by wonder, the Great Warriors ditch the wonder and replace it with despair. Everything, from their first appearance in legend/flashback to their actual on-screen appearance, is calculated to instill a deep sense of dread, in me at least. A+++

Oh, and there’s this lady:

If you can believe it, she only gets cooler from here.

Ok, so the design is amazing. Know what else is? The

protagonist.

Nausicaä is one of my favorite movie protagonists in a long time, despite the completely unnecessary umlaut/diaeresis in her name. I like that when we meet her, she is already extremely competent. The film immediately establishes that she is experienced with travelling through the perilous toxic jungle, and comfortable enough there to take a quick nap on top of the Ohm exoskeleton. Every action we see her take, from loading and firing her gun, to flying her glider, to using her sword, to calming angry insects, speaks of mastery and practice. This could result in a boring protagonist who already knows everything; however, Nausicaä does undergo character development in this movie, it just doesn’t relate to her skills.

Despite the harsh world she’s grown up in, we get the sense that Nausicaä has enjoyed a fairly happy childhood. She loves exploring the world around her village, she is beloved of the townspeople, and oh yeah, she’s also a princess (and a scientist??? She’s the best.). She’s used to danger, but when her sheltered valley in caught in a war between to larger nations, she’s confronted with things much worse than danger: hatred, cruelty, and senseless violence. Nausicaä is used to the peaceful people of her village, and the dangerous but, to her, logical violence of nature; she is brutally awakened from this dream as an invading foreign power needlessly murders her ill, bedridden father in front of her.

She flies into a rage, defeating (I don’t recall it being clear if she kills anyone or not) multiple armed soldiers on her own and without much difficulty. This scene was critical for me, because by explicitly showing us that Nausicaä is capable of great anger and violence, is makes her later actions much more powerful. Nausicaä’s journey is about choosing compassion in the face of cruelty and kindness in the face of violence, which is absolutely something that more adventure movies could stand to build their character development on.

The movie may take a wandering path to get to its climax - the pacing is a little weird, there’s definitely a chunk in the middle where I wondered where it all was going and I think the movie could’ve worked with one less nation for us to learn about - but wow, that climax. If you didn’t already sympathize with the Ohm, GET READY. But yeah, it was basically the best possible resolution for a movie about the power of compassion and the bravery inherent in pacifism.

So

basically

while Nausicaä doesn’t have the same rewatchability that Ponyo has, it does have something to say, and it says it well. Everyone should watch this movie.

Next up: Castle in the Sky! How long will the streak of movies named “X on/in/of the X” continue??

Alternate review titles:

Nausicaä of the Children of the Mind

Nausicaä: The Movie That Made Me Care About Bugs

Another really good review of Nausicaä can be found here at Tor: https://www.tor.com/2017/03/29/nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind-a-new-kind-of-action-hero/

#studio ghibli #ghibli movie #nausicaä of the valley of the wind #nausicaa #film review

[thinkingaboutsimbaspride]

Even though Zira is frequently overlooked in the general Disney fandom because she’s a sequel villain, she’s genuinely one of the most disturbing animated villains I’ve ever seen. Some of it may not be obvious at first glance, but there are a lot of things about her that are downright scary:

- She’s motivated almost purely by vengeance. Where most other villains use violence as a means to an end, for her, it almost becomes the end goal. Her entire villain song is about how much she enjoys bloodshed.

- She’s very personal about most of what she does. She’s not distant like Scar was, she feels strongly about her relationships with others – there is a lot of raw emotion in her actions.

- She uses her children to achieve her ends, brainwashes them, twists their minds and makes them complicit in murder. You can also notice by their appearances that her children are fed according to their usefulness. Kovu gets the biggest share because he’s the focus of the plan, Vitani is fed enough to stay healthy to be a proper fighter, and Nuka gets scraps at best, and there is a certain implication in his words “every lion for himself” (it doesn’t help that he apparently gives the food he finds to Zira).

- She’s arguably turned her pride into a cult. Furthermore, she’s shown that her “ideology” is more important to her than others’ lives. She’s not just someone you shouldn’t cross; she’s also someone who can’t be reasoned with.

- She’s nearly killed Nuka at least once. As pointed out in the comments for my comic on DA, she’s almost hit him with enough force to rip a thick tree branch in half. That could easily have killed him if he hadn’t dodged, and this likely shows how little she cared.

- I know this is something “not to be mentioned” on this site, but in some scenes she acts vaguely creepy towards her sons. I’m talking about things like the scene where she assesses adult Kovu, or when she sings about her bloody revenge fantasies into a visibly scared Nuka’s face. There’s also the bigger picture; she’s named Kovu after Scar, who she was clearly in love with, and tries to turn him into a copy of Scar. Meanwhile, Nuka exhibits signs of an Oedipus complex of sorts, constantly competing with Kovu for her attention, and apparently resents Scar. It’s not really something that’s directly pointed to, but the vibe of it all…

- Not only is Zira’s remorse after Nuka’s death so brief it’s almost non-existent, she also puts the blame on Kovu and rages at him, going back to trying to convince him he cannot escape being like Scar at Nuka’s funeral.

- She’s threatened to kill Vitani over perceived betrayal. Speaks for itself. (And in the comic novelization, she’s also said that she would kill Kovu “with pleasure”).

- She’s very real. You wouldn’t frequently encounter a prince who kills his brother for the throne, but an abusive parent? That’s someone a lot of people sadly had experience with.

That’s why I find her character so fascinating. She is a villain whose actions are often insidious, but when you look at it, a lot can be traced back to her influence, and she was treated seriously from start to finish.

#random meta post (kind of)

[jellojolteon]

Hi! I know you get a lot of asks on the grey long Ay but I was curious about something. How are some of the main characters supposed to get Akumatized. Eg. Nino wanted Adrien to have a birthday party but that didn't happen because Gabe was being a jerk, or Alya when she got Akumatized because she wanted to find out LB secret identity. I know this might be too much to ask but I'll ask anyway. Could you make a master list of how the Champions were made in this AU? (pt. 1)

No, no worries! Every ask I get makes my day! In fact you made my dreams from last night come true by filling my inbox haha ;u;

So as a basic pretense, the champions still come about the same way; the folks who get made into Champions are still upset about something when Greyling reaches them, but it’s the handling thereafter that makes the difference between what Hawkmoth does and what Greyling does. I can still make a master list for you of people who have been akumatized up to S1 (sorry if I miss anyone lol), but there are only a handful of changes. 

As for Chloe? An excellent question. I think it’s complicated because she’s still Adrien’s oldest friend and now she’s indirectly doing him a huge favor, but he is also much quicker to wake up to the bully she’d become since he see what she’s like when he “isn’t watching”. 

Unfortunately for this end of the story I’m more interested in the interactions between the main three, so it’s likely that a lot of this, if I can get this big ol thing off the ground, won’t make the actual cut.

(See below cut- numbering is not indicative of order, but if order is important I’ll mention it. Also note that this may change in the final go, if I get there.)

1. Stoneheart - This is LB’s first fight against Tux and while the theory of it is the same, Greyling does not exist yet to bring Stoneheart to life. Marinette encourages Ivan much the same way as she does in canon and he and Mylene still get together.

2.  Stormy Weather - We’ll go with this one as Greyling’s first Champion. Aurore loses the weathergirl competition, but Adrien tells her that if it’s recognition she’s looking for, he might be able to help. Help he does.

3. Mister Pigeon - Ramier gets chastised by the police for feeding the pigeons. Adrien consoles him (somewhat regrettably considering his allergy) and tells him that pigeons are not inherently bad, and that a good way to show how honorable and invaluable pigeons can be might be for Ramier to help enlist them to fight Tux. This champion marks the beginning of Mari’s internship.

4. Lady Wifi - Alya snoops in Chloe’s locker, she pitches a fit, gets suspended. Greyling comes to her explaining that he knows her intent was innocent, and that if she really wants to show everyone she’s the bigger person, perhaps she can help him fight Tux today. Alya is of course like “oh fuck, I’m communing with my homegirl’s crush” and wholeheartedly agrees. Things look dire, and hers is the first instance of possession we see. I’m going to (unoriginally) henceforth call this special “ability” the Butterfly Effect.

5. The Bubbler - Mari introduces Adrien to Nino and Alya via video chat. Adrien is super excited to have friends and both Nino and Alya want to meet him. Adrien’s birthday is soon and Nino suggests a party. Gabe never yells at him directly but Nino finds out from Adrien that it’s a no and gets upset on Adrien’s behalf. Greyling suggests later, when Tux attacks, that it’s no birthday but hoo boy would Adrien think it great if Nino helped fight one particularly nasty adult. It might help get all those negative vibes out.

6. Copycat - This one might ultimately not happen in the AU, just because the pretense is so intertwined with the canon dynamics.

7. Kung Food - This is the first time LB witnesses and must repair a cataclysm death. Mari is lucky that her Uncle is in town to help her through the experience. Greyling reasons with Kung Food in Chinese (which is much better pronounced than in the show) that the cooking competition isn’t the end of the world, and that he’ll help him get another chance to prove himself in a fair environment.

8. Darkblade - not sure where this one falls, but when D’Argencourt loses the mayoral election, Greyling explains that maybe he can help show Paris true nobility by standing up to another person who has usurped the peace.

9. Vanisher - Greyling catches Sabrina at a low point when Chloe is snubbing her. He points out that there are many many unsung heroes throughout history but if it would help her, he might be able to arrange something that would get her recognized in the form of assisting LB.

10. Antibug - Here’s a fun one! This one doesn’t go super hot but I think this is where Chloe develops a little bit. Greyling tells Chloe that if she really wants to make a good impression on LB, maybe getting in the way isn’t the answer. But what if she was a champion instead? Chloe is too bitter to be working alongside LB at the moment, but things eventually turn out ok, even if it involves Tux getting the upper hand for a bit there.

11. Horrificator - Mylene is scared and Greyling explains that sometimes it takes some help to face your fears. I’ll help you face down the scariest monster in all of Paris, and I assure you that you’ll always be able to face your fears after that. This one is also a bit of a shaky one but it works out ok because as she grows bigger, Tux gets more frightened by her.

12. Timebreaker - another that I’m not sure happens? I feel like time travel is a bit of a slippery slope in this AU for some reason.

13. Princess Fragrance - After Chloe belittles Rose, Greyling compliments her heart and says that helping him fight tux might be a good way to prove Chloe wrong. (Aside: I can’t imagine a lot of these kids would normally have the sense to take down a murderer. But Ladybug hasn’t lost anyone yet and the trust they put in her to keep them safe is immense)

14. Reflekta - You might see that showing Chloe what a good person looks like is a pretty common thread here. Greyling gets good at convincing people that Chloe is wrong and that fighting Tux with the things she demeans about them is a great way to prove it. She slowly learns.

15. Evillustrator - Nath wants a date with Mari, and also for Chloe to Not. This one doesn’t go well.

16. The Puppeteer - This is where Greyling figures out that Tux is his dad. In his rage, he makes a very bad decision to send out Manon after Tux. Granted she’s not doing anything directly but still. Ladybug deadpans him a look through Puppeteer and he has an ‘oh shit’ moment. He pulls her out and goes for Simon Says instead.

17. Simon Says - Adrien isn’t quite ready to let go of his petty yet and this is just as much for himself as it is for Simon. Nooroo and Adrien have an important talk about choosing champions after this battle is over.

18. Heartbreaker - Much of the same spiel about proving Chloe wrong, though I don’t know how his powers could be of threat to Tux. Not sure if this one makes the cut.

19. Rogercop - After getting fired, Greyling hits Roger with the whole “If you really want to serve and protect, boy could I really use your help.” After Roger’s proven bravery against Tux, he regains his job. There are probably more long-winded effects of this in the au but I’ll have to get there before I figure it all out.

20. Animan - When Kim insults Otis’s prized panther, Greyling suggests that maybe a catfight is exactly the kind of shakeup Tux needs, and it would certainly prove Kim’s ridiculous comments wrong. As for Alya and Nino getting together? I can still see them getting locked in the exhibit for their own safety.

21. The Gamer - Mari and Adrien kick ass in a gamer tournament, and Max gets upset because he’s overthrown by someone he’s never even met. Adrien just has a lot of time to play video games when he’s shut in, y’know? But Adrien realizes he may have gone a little too hard and requests Max’s help defeating Tux. He fluffs Max’s confidence by pointing out what a skilled and analytical fighter he is. Ladybug could use someone like that (instead of someone who sits from afar… hm…) in her fights against Tux.

22. Guitar Hero (pffff oops) - “Hey Jagged Stone, you know what would absolutely skyrocket your popularity? Riding around Paris on a DRAGON while blasting a cat man with SOUND WAVES. Does that sound like some killer album art to you? It sure does to me. Also I’ll throw in glowy tentacle hair as a bonus, I’m a big fan of your work actually.”

23. Pixelator - Greyling says, “Hey, man, maybe let the guy have some space, y’know? Being famous is stressful. Here, if you really want to be like him though, help me fight this guy.” Please don’t ask me how that works Greyling just gets real good at his job at some point.

24. The Mime - Fred’s meddling understudy tricks him into missing a performance, but Greyling sees an opportunity for the most kickass show of Fred’s career. He’s not wrong.

25. The Pharaoh - unfortunately, another one I’m not sure happens? Remnants of this ep might be involved though, with Jalil helping LB uncover some of the history of the miraculouses. Looks like the Kubdels get off easy in this story haha

26. Volpina - Lila’s compulsive lying gets her into a sticky situation (probably actually not with LB tho) and Greyling tells her that maybe he can give her a true story about herself worth telling. Greyling has been itching to get out for a few attacks now and this is where he finally gets the opportunity to go out. He just has a bad feeling about things and goes out to check. As I mention in the comic about their first “meeting”, Greyling’s intuition is correct and he saves LB from a nasty head injury as she passes out on top of a building from a previous wound. This also incidentally marks, for the most part, the end of Greyling’s use of others to fight. He still brings a few out (maybe I’ll get to integrate some from S2?) but this pretty neatly ties up most of the pre-outside timeline.

Sorry this got so long, but thanks again for the ask, @randomstar365! I hope this is a satisfactory answer. 

#greyling au #miraculous ladybug #jello gets an ask #long post #akumas