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codenamesazanka · 3 months

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Since it's obvious that deku is going to save shigaraki and it's very unlikely that Shigaraki's going to die: what are your hopes for the ending? the main theories I have seen are imprisoned (which? Doesn't seem that likely) or being adopted by all might and becoming a pro hero (which seems more likely? But I'd rather have the hero system not survive the manga)

Well, that's sort of two separate things: my hopes for the ending vs what will probably happen.

What I hope for is Shigaraki and the League pulling a karma houdini and running off into the sunset, never to get caught or serve time or pay for their crimes. That’s not to say they don't change - they stop being Villains out to destroy society, they're genuinely remorseful for the damage they've done, they make it up with self-assigned community service (vigilantism) for the rest of their lives. They run an orphanage that takes in the abandoned, the abused, the abnormal, and raise hundreds of children to be healthy, happy adults. Something like that.

I hope for this, because the series has not convinced me that much of anything has changed or will change so that what the League went through won't happen again, that the various failures of Hero Society will be corrected, that Heroes are doing anything substantial to prevent new Villains. A few Heroes here and there have finally approached a Villain and acknowledged that they're human and they have been wronged in some way - but they have not addressed at all the root causes.

The manga seems to believe that if only these Villains had been lucky enough to meet the one person who could've convinced them to endure the abuses, to not lash out, things would've been fine. If only Enji had gone to meet Touya and apologize - never mind the Hero ranking system that contributed to Enji’s toxic mindset, or the existence of the Himura clan who enabled a quirk marriage because they hated heteromorphs so much they would rather inbreed. If only Toga had met Ochako when she was younger - then she could've braved through quirk counseling and her parents emotionally abusing her. If only heteromorphs could've focused on good memories and be shining model minorities instead of being resentful - that’ll get those bigots who commit hate crimes against children to feel ashamed!

At the rate this is going, Deku vs Shigaraki will probably be something like this: If only there was a Deku-like person who was on the streets that day that Tenko was walking - then Tenko wouldn't have become justifiably resentful of the hundreds of other people who did ignore an injured five-year-old. If only he had a Deku-like friend who had magically appeared in the yard that night - then Tenko could've swallowed down his tears and smiled away the pain of his father’s abuse and family’s neglect.

If only a Deku-like Hero could’ve saved Tenko instead of All For One, then everything would’ve turned out okay - because it was AFO who entirely manufactured and introduced to Tenko the foreign, dangerous element of anger. It’s not as if being an orphan with a scary face (Jin), being known as the kid who killed his family/associated with having done something bad despite it being an accident (Gentle), having a strong quirk that people might fear (Toga), the possibility of being placed again in an dysfunctional/abusive home (Touya), the possibility of experiencing bullying because of all these things that make him stick out (Spinner, La Brava), and just having a lifelong tendency to empathize with and gravitate towards outcasts might just give him reasons to get frustrated and lash out at injustice still, even after his trauma was properly handled.

(Perhaps it’ll turn out that AFO gave Tenko the Decay quirk. How evil! We can thus blame everything on AFO and not have to examine the fact that, hey, regardless of how the quirk manifested, it exists and will affect the user’s life largely due to public perceptions of them and their quirk and whether they manage to behave in a way acceptable and in line with how people think someone with such a quirk should behave.)

It's true that sometimes, all it takes is the influence of one person, of a single act of kindness to change things. A single Hero to reach out and save someone in need. But is that not already the status quo in the story? We've got hundreds of Heroes patrolling the streets, ready to save someone; hundreds more students about to join them. We got one super-superman who spent 40 years pushing himself to his limits trying to be everywhere. All these individuals, all these acts of rescues, and still people had fallen through the cracks - which was also where the kindness stops.

What the story suggests is that Heroes should also reach through the cracks and help the fallen. That's a good start! Know what would be better? Fixing the cracks. Especially when those cracks aren't things Heroes can actually do anything about because it’s domestic violence behind closed doors, it’s gradual dehumanization through public and cultural institutions, it’s bigots beating children with shovels using no quirks and the excuse of generations-long communal superstition, it’s a system officially labeling people as Villain/Enemy like they're cartoony evil comic book antagonists to defeat instead of real people.

You might say, it’s obvious those things will be fixed! After the war. It’ll be dealt with! By a single panel in the epilogue. Yeah, fair enough. That’s also just bad writing. The conflict should be resolved within the story, the promise of change should be seen, not just vaguely told to us. I can't trust it.

What the League went through - discrimination, abuse, quirk counseling, marginalization, lack of social support, etc. - was injustice. If the new system that arises after this war - the one that will be led by Deku and his generation - does nothing or barely anything about these things, I cannot trust that the League going into this new system will be given true justice that take into account the crimes committed by them, but also the crimes committed by the people around them towards them and the failures created by the very structure of society.

I’m being very hard on the Heroes, I know, I’m expecting a lot out of them beyond just ‘saving hearts’. But canonically, Heroes are government-funded civil servants, and the Hero System is an important branch of the governance of this society. The responsibility - to all people - is theirs. If they cannot do this, then Heroes as they are should not exist; something different has to be implemented.

Shigaraki started this war against the world because it rejected him and his friends, it denied them a future where they could flourish as themselves. If the world changes, then he has a place to be. If the world does not change, then having him take a place in it is just forcing him to conform and keep enduring the same old injustices.

(But with a Hero friend this time. 🙂 Who shows him how cool Heroes are and teaches him to support the system again. 🙂 Who’s No. 1 in the rankings because competition and popularity has been kept… but it’s gentler or something now. 🙂 And who visits him in Tartarus 2.0, which is largely the same, complete with guns pointed at Shigaraki, just in case he ever uses his quirk because with that power he’s still too dangerous to take chances... but which is no longer staffed by wardens who call their charges ‘beasts in human skin’. 🙂)

The current trajectory of the story does not inspire me that things will change much. Kids wanna graduate from UA - so we gotta keep those Hero Schools! Business class students are filming everything for post-war propaganda! Gotta show how amazing and necessary Heroes are and continue their celebrity status! Wasn’t All Might so cool when he got into a mecha suit to beat up AFO and the whole world prayed for him? Gotta cement Heroism and belief in their righteousness into the collective consciousness and the dreams of humanity!

So I really want Shigaraki and the League to get to just run off and sentence themselves to what they think is appropriate penance. And if that’s sipping piña coladas on a beach somewhere, that’s what it is.

I apologize if I sounded harsh, anon! It’s not directed at you. My rant is just some of my frustrations with how the story has been progressing, and how either of those theories you’ve seen - imprisonment (likely in Tartarus 2.0) or being assimilated into the (same flawed) system - are lacking, in my opinion. My hopes for the ending are neither of those.

But my hopes are different from what I think is likely to happen. I actually think the opposite of what you think, anon: Imprisonment is more likely. I cannot see people in-universe and out (readers) accepting Shigaraki Tomura being adopted by All Might and becoming a Pro-Hero - it feels unrealistic for the civilian masses of a world that’s canonically wary of Shouto for being related to Dabi, a system that blames Aoyama for being a scared kid and request him to take responsibility for the cowardice of his parents, a moral lesson that says how heteromorphs react to brutal discrimination determines whether they should be listened to or not (and whether their children will be reasonably targeted in revenge); and too at odds with the sensibilities of most readers who are generally much less sympathetic towards the Villains than you and I am (and probably do want to keep the flashy Hero System. But make it ‘nicer’).

I’ve been browsing through Japanese message boards and the general theories I’ve seen actually include the possibility of death for Shigaraki - but it’ll be suicide, as penance for his crimes; or some convenient manner of dying that won’t dirty up Deku’s hands. Deku can offer him salvation for his heart and soul, but cannot forgive him and let him go unpunished. Shigaraki committed too much damage, too big a crime, and is too dangerous a person to be left alive. If he does survive, he should be imprisoned in Tartarus 2.0 for the rest of his life, and he can correctly show his remorse and rehabilitation by obediently following that sentence.

For a story that wants Shigaraki to be saved, to befriend Deku, to lose his anger and resentment and find hope in the future enough to assimilate back into a continuing Hero Society, I think the logical end result would be Shigaraki serving life sentence in Tartarus 2.0. maybe getting parole for good behavior when he’s 50 and not as sprightly enough to be as deadly a threat.

Mostly, though, I try not to predict the ending, beyond a small vague hope of Ultimate Karma Houdini I keep at the very back of my mind. Save myself from any disappointment! I remain in the present and accept chapters as they come.

#ask #asked #answered #anon #anonymous #Thanks for the ask!#sorry if I'm depressing #nalslastworkingbraincell #Shigaraki Tomura

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spider-jaysart · 3 months

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Hi!! Can I ask Damian (and maybe Dick 🙏?) for the character ask game?

Thank you, take care <3

@zephyrwrites2

Damian

Favorite thing about them: I just love his whole personality loll. He's a crazy, funny little guy that I think is really cool

Least favorite thing about them: Nothing. Only when he gets really mischaracterized by official writers who don't understand him, which happens A LOT

Favorite line: "Father, I imagined you taller."

Brotp: Damian and Jon

Otp: Damijon

Notp: Batcest, any of them that have adults paired up with him, including the canon ones Mar'i x Damian, Cassie x Damian, and Cassandra x Damian

Random headcanon: He can do ballet and it's because it's something Talia taught him while he was growing up in the league and being trained to learn many other things. He's a skilled professional at it now because of this and also bonds with his sister Cass over it and will sometimes even join her in her dancing. He also tries teaching Jon too, which can become fun for them both, and his other friends sometimes as well whenever they get curious or don't actually understand it that much like they think they do. Damian also owns a pair of green ballet slippers, but usually keeps them put away in his closet to keep them safe and clean and only takes them out when he really does want to use them.

Unpopular opinion: Okay sooo, a lot of people believe that Talia's character just gets only more ruined because of Damian's existence or whatever, but I don't believe that at all. Damian may be her son and is big part of her life because of it, but his character itself has nothing to do with hers like that at all when it comes to hateful writers choosing to write her horribly and just as another evil, lunatic villain and whatever else. Some people even say that he stole her story, but he did grow up with her during those 10 years of his, so of course he's gonna have the same life she dealt with and is also gonna have to get through certain issues from it now too because of it. But the point is that if anyone's gonna get blamed for Talia's usual trash characterisation, it should be the writers who hate her, NOT Damian who has many writers of his own who don't even treat him that well or like him that much at all either just like with Talia. Trying to pick on him is never going to fix anything about her. If Talia's ever gonna get anything better that she deserves in comics and other things, it needs to be done by writers who actually have care about her character and don't have anything weird against her that just only causes bad intentions of messing her up and then THAT'S what will finally start doing justice for her. And this not meant as an argument towards anyone or whatever btw, this is just me stating my opinion and beliefs about the whole thing

Song I associate with them: Self love by Metro Boomin & Coi Leray (Mostly because even though Damian may always put on a very confident act and always seems so prideful of himself a lot of the times, he actually has a lot of insecurities underneath all of that and doesn't actually always think so great of himself as a person)

Favorite picture of them: Definitely this very beautiful panel of him ofc💖

I just LOVE the way Gleb Melinkov draws him and gives him his Arab features without holding any of it back as well! He even gives him long lashes (longer than Flatline's even, which I noticed while looking at another panel from this series!), which I really love too!!

Dick

Favorite thing about them: I really always liked his leadership style, especially in the Teen Titans 2003 cartoon, which I grew up with

Least favorite thing about them: Only when he's potrayed as a dumb, clumsy guy in some canon stories just to lift up other characters and put them in a bigger spotlight instead. It makes no sense because he's a professional acrobat and always has been that way since he was a little kid, so how could he ever be so trippy all over the place as if there are invisible banana peels getting in the way everytime?! And he is very smart, especially with all of the important experience he has from his many years of hero work, so he's not dumb either and if he was, he wouldn't have made it so far with this kind of life because of it or ever get much done like he did because he has to overly depend on others knowledge

Favorite line: "Titans Go!"

Brotp: Dick and Starfire, Beast boy, Raven, Cyborg (I know he's friends with many others too, but this is the group I grew up with and am more attached to, so they're my fave to see together)

Otp: Dickkory because they bring the best out in eachother and have so much love for one another too

Notp: DickBabs because I just don't think they really fit that well together at all and most times Barbara just makes Dick feel bad in a lot of ways with how she usually treats him in a romantic relationship, and that's not a healthy thing to deal with at all. And then there's also Batcest and Slade x Dick (which I don't even get at all because Slade is just such a horrible, gross and very toxic guy)

Random headcanon: Years ago, back when he would used to have long hair still, he one time had it tied up in a ponytail and then a villain chopped it off in half while fighting him. Dick was pissed and really kicked their butt for doing that

Unpopular opinion: People always think of Dick as the positive, sunshine guy and then there are the ones who get very mad about it and say that he's actually the angry, tough guy because him being super friendly and happy is just too "ooc". I don't listen to any of that stuff, because I believe that he's actually both. He IS a friendly guy with a warm, charming, humorous attitude that easily attracts others, and is very much an inspiration to many because of his positive, sunshine vibes as a great, hardworking hero, but none of it makes him dumb, weak or gullible, because he IS also the type who can become very serious and gets mad when he needs to be, also doesn't actually take bull from anyone, can be chaotic and crazy, works a LOT, is independent, does have a lot of intelligence and especially experience that should never be forgotten about just because he's nice, and also definitely has the determined mind to take care of things and get them done even though others will sometimes try to tell him what to do, but he doesn't actually listen because he's not the type to easily be controlled that way like a puppy would be and if he believes it's something that needs the attention and it's what should be done and no one else is doing it, then he will do it

Song I associate with them: Annihilate by Metro Bommin, Swae Lee, Lil Wayne & Offset (because it's about being fearless, embracing self strength and individuality, and becoming a much more independent person, and I think that totally fits Dick because he's not the type to fear much and hates being stuck under Batman's shadow and having independence is something that always had an important role in how Dick's life goes)

Favorite picture of them: Well, I just found this pic of him, which was done by Travis Moore

It's very nice and really shows the struggle he goes through as a hero a lot of the times. Also, I really always liked the way he draws Dick, because he doesn't just look like everyone else and isn't sharing same face syndrome with his brothers and Bruce either, it's just a look that's unique to only him and it fits him very well. It's the exact way I always imagine him looking like whenever I envision him in my mind, even the hairstyle that's given to him by this artist too!!!

Thank you for sending this ask, I enjoyed answering it! And you take very good care too!! :)

#damian wayne #dick grayson #spider-jaysart asks

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spop-romanticizes-abuse · 4 months

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tumblr was being buggy today and this ask got deleted but i do have screencap of it, so i'm gonna answer it here.

hi! first off, thank you and i appreciate you being so civil about this.

i understand what you mean. i wasn't raised in a religious cult so i may not know the nuances of that experience but my problem does not lie solely with catra's toxic behaviour in s1-4. what i dislike is her redemption arc.

if you've read some of my previous posts, you might know that i was never against catra having a redemption arc. i don't think she's irredeemable. i do sympathize with her and i think it would be a powerful message if she really was able to become a kind and compassionate person, after all the hurt that she went through.

i just have a problem with how rushed and frankly unrealistic her redemption was. i wanted to see a drawn out redemption arc where catra makes amends for everything she has done, and earn the trust and forgiveness of the other characters. but instead of doing that, the creators decided that it was easier to have the other characters forgive her unprompted and to have catra act basically the same as she always did.

also, while catra was raised in a cult-like environment, what i find interesting is that the horde has almost no effect on her. catra was definitely very traumatized by shadow weaver's abuse, but there was nothing even close to religious trauma.

she knew from the beginning that the horde was evil, she wasn't taken in by the lies like adora was. i feel like the religious trauma reference falls apart there because catra was working for the horde in her own interest, not because she was forced or manipulated into doing so.

i have mentioned shadow weaver in my blog as well, i just don't go into detail about her abuse because i think the show was pretty straightforward and countless other people have done deep dives on it. shadow weaver was meant to be an unlikeable character anyway, we weren't supposed to sympathize with her or relate to her.

you said that catra was trying so hard to redeem herself. i would like to hear a clarification on that because as far as i can see, she wasn't trying at all. she went back to lashing out at adora, calling her names and guilt tripping her as soon as she was rescued from horde prime. not even a thank you. she doesn't address angella's death at all and glimmer seems to have completely forgotten about it. she still makes unsavory jokes about the princesses after she spend four seasons colonizing and destroying their kingdoms. her apology to entrapta and scorpia was half-assed, to say the least.

catra wasn't trying hard. the other characters just magically forgave her for all her war crimes because that's what the writers wanted. and she definitely did not deserve to get into a relationship with the person who she had been relentlessly abusing, both physically and emotionally, and trying to murder.

i get that a lot of people relate to catra and i'm not saying that anyone who relates to her is automatically toxic. even i relate to certain parts of her. but that doesn't mean she's a good character.

you said it takes time to unlearn toxic behaviours and i completely agree. (also i wouldn't consider 21 “a kid”. she's young, sure, but she's still an adult.) but if the writers cared about that, they would have redeemed catra earlier. they had five seasons to work with, most shows don't get that liberty. avatar the last airbender gave zuko an incredible redemption arc in just three seasons, the owl house wrote a believable redemption for hunter and amity in just one season each, infinity train wrote a good redemption arc for grace in only ten episodes! you can't use the “there was no time” excuse.

you have to keep in mind that a lot of people who hate catra and her arc are also people who relate to her. a lot of my mutuals relate to catra and her struggles, and that's exactly why they hoped for a better redemption arc. they wanted to see her work on her mistakes, face the consequences of her actions and change realistically. they didn't want to see her just get forgiven out of the blue. imagine if that's how we treated war criminals in real life.

if i was like catra and i heavily related to her, i wouldn't want to see her never face the consequences of her actions and be coddled. i wouldn't want that for myself either. if i made some serious mistakes (especially to the extent that catra had), i would be prepared to face the consequences of my actions and i wouldn't expect anyone to forgive me.

anyway, sorry about the long post but i hope this gives you an idea of why i have a problem with catra and spop as a whole.

#spop critical #spop salt #spop #spop criticism #spop discourse #she ra #anti catra #anti catradora #anti spop #anti c//a #antic//a #anticatra #anticatradora #tw abuse #tw religious trauma #tw religious guilt #tw cult

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fancyfade · 2 years

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I always thought it was a shame that Ostrander and Yale never got to write for Jason Todd because essentially everything that happened to him because of his publication as Robin made him the perfect candidate to what they usually liked in their comic book characters. Just food for thought as I’m someone who really looks at the writers who are behind decisions before I pass judgment on characters as a whole. My favorite character is Barbara Gordon and while I understand the general hate for Todd, I’m angry that DC took a character that was relatable to kids during the Reagan era and then revived him with white writers who absolutely did not come from the same background or cared for those who were rooting for him and didn’t want to be seen as poor = evil or always meant to be evil.

look anon, I'm not trying to be mean here. I like Robin Jason too. I actually don't hate Jason, I think there can be some interesting stories with him, I mostly hate fan discourse around him, how many characters are simplified or have their edges shaved off for him in fandom and sometimes canon, and how many of his fans wind up repeating pro death-penalty rhetoric or war-on-crime stuff but think they are being super progressive about it.

And like... most Jason fans wind up liking Jason for Red Hood Jason. Many of the times I interact with people who like Winick's Jason... until I point out that he's still written as not a great person. So this is part of my general short patience here. IDK whether that's you or not. But I hear people talking about Jason and whatever Jason is doing as an adult, I generally assume it's Red Hood Jason

Also like. Jason is white. it seems kind of like... IDK a distractor? To be bringing this up. and I disagree that the writing of Jason was classist. Winick's writing of Jason did not tie any of villainous actions into his poverty as a child. His actions were tied into his death. Some fandom interpretations of Jason are far more classist than canon ever was about Jason, deciding of over-emphasize the misery in his childhood to a trauma-porn like extent, as well as new 52 lobdell making Jason's bio father abusive since he was poor and involved in street crime.

Ostrander and yale are good writers, but there's no guarantee they would've made Red Hood Jason more soft or palatable to the reader or whatever the idea they'd do here. there are lots of characters in suicide squad who are good (written) characters, but not very sympathetic and still do questionable or bad things or are undone by their flaws. I can easily see Red Hood Jason fitting in there, even with the flaws he demonstrates under Winick. I think his flaws he demonstrates under Winick (lashing out at the world, unable to get over his trauma, killing w/ zero compunction) could fit in pretty well in suicide squad

#jason todd #jason todd negative #just in case #anon #ask #dc comics

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sidespart · 3 years

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For the fake fic title, if you're still doing it: Why do you hate me? (I honestly don't know where I came up with this lol)

X-Men AU!!! Found Family + Anxceit friendship. TW: child soldiers, child endangerment, abuse etc

(So typical X-men universe set up: some people are born with the X gene, which typically triggers during puberty, giving that person a mutation which normally results in cool powers. Many people hate mutants for their differences (/ bad press of people using their mutant powers for the evilz) and so most mutants live in hiding. The Xavier Institute is a school set up by an extremely powerful mutant which seeks to provide a safe space for young mutants to learn to manage their powers, get a regular education and hopes to see peace between humanity and mutant kind. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is a group of mutants who believe humans will never let mutant live in peace and do various anti-human, pro-mutant vaguely terrorist-y actions (there’s like a billion version of the x-men and these details may not be correct for all the versions all of the time because comics but this is the vague idea))

ANYWAY PLOT - Containment breach at the Super Secret Child Soldier Lab (SSCSL) - Subject VII has escaped. Subject VII is only 6-7 years old but his mutations were artificially triggered much younger than is normal. He can warp reality and create very sophisticated illusions, but has very limited control over his powers.

Cut too - Virgil and Dee, a couple of teenage mutants living on the street. They find a little boy with a buzzcut wandering around The Bad Part Of Town and Virgil immediately decides they need to adopt/help him (Dee makes more of a fuss about how this is not their responsibility and the kids barely even talking and do you know how hard I work just to keep you and now you wanna add another mouth to feed?? Huhh?? but obviously does not actually say no) (Dee is like. Barely any older than Virgil he’s just dramatic).

Naturally, just as the three of them have had time to bond, the SSCSL and other assorted bad guys show up to try and take VII back. There’s a big fight, Virgil and Dee have a lot more experience with flight and would probably have ended up dead if the X-men (Patton and Logan) hadn't shown up to save them.

But they lose VII.

Patton and Logan take them back to the Xavier institute to recuperate and offer to let them stay. They can go to school there, get some training and help the X-men track down VII and the whole SSCSL. Virgil says yes, Dee says no.

(So, reasoning - Virgil's mutation developed when he was 12. It was not pleasant. Various students at his school were injured and the media set up a which hunt for the mutant that caused the chaos. Virgil ran away from home because he was worried about the backlash on his family and about hurting anyone else again. So to him, this school full of mutants who can help him control his power, can offer him stability and a return to normal structures and routines, who are promising to help him get in contact with his parents if and when he’s ready?? This is like every fantasy he’s ever had come true

Unlike the other characters, Dee’s primary mutation is physical. He was born with it, its very obvious and its resulted in him being rejected for most of his life. He bounced around increasingly disturbing foster homes before running away when he was very young, so most of his memories are of living on the streets and surviving on his own. So, to him, number one: all adults are inherently untrustworthy idiots and number two: stay at a school? where they expect him to have a curfew? and, what - write essays? follow all their random arbitrary rules? rely on them for food and heat and all that shit? Completely ludicrous.)

It doesn't occur to either of them that the other one isn't going to agree with them. The resulting argument is epic and cruel, both hurling accusations at the other (Ungrateful /controlling are two of the big ones..) and both basically feeling hateful and 100% betrayed. Dee leaves and although they look for him, he’s got a lifetime experience of hiding and they cant find him.

CUT TO - 5 years later. Virgil is a (semi) well adjusted 19 year old junior X-men. He’s still a bit withdrawn, but is very close with Patton and Logan. He’s still holding out hope of finding VII one day and still firmly pretending he’s not listing out for any possible news of Dee (there were rumours some years ago of him joining the brother hood of evil mutants but then it all went quiet) who he, of course, hates for his betrayal.

BUT THEN - mysterious knocking at the door in the night. Dee, now wearing a hat and cape and calling himself Janus, has returned. And he’s brought with him a little boy with a buzzcut and a tattoo of XXII on his foot.

Janus and Virgil need to put aside their resentment and work together to help XXII, who really does not seem interested in helping them, and hopefully use any clues he can give them about the SSCSL to track down VII. But that's difficult when they’re both still struggling with their own trauma and have no idea how to reconnect - both of them want to ask why do you hate me but are a bit too scared of the answer. ...

This already got way to long so mutant power/ extra back story descriptions under cut!

Patton - 22/27 years old. An extremely powerful telepath/empath. It takes him serious concentration and focus to not hear peoples thoughts and its almost impossible to not feel their feelings. Some people dislike him because of this as they feel he's spying on them. Grew up in the Xavier institute and 100% believes in and is committed to the future where humans and mutants live in harmony. Has pretty limited life experience in the real world. Sometimes floats. (inspired by professor X)

Logan - 21/26 years old. Fires destructive laser beams from his eyes. Was in a car accident when he was younger leaving him with permanent but apparently harmless brain damage - until his mutation developed and he slowly realised that no matter how much he trained he just couldn't control his power. Has to wear specialised eye guards at all times to keep himself from accidentally destroying everything around him. Had big plans to go to university and was angry at his mutation for a long time for getting in the way of that. Eventually enrolled online and is now a very dedicated teacher at the Institute. (inspired by cyclops)

Janus - 15(?) / 20(?) His primary mutation is lizard/snake like scales over most of his body, but especially the left side. Has oversized fangs, and yellow eye and a short lizard tail. His secondary mutation makes him immune to almost any sort of mental based mutation (so Logan could still knock him on his ass with his lasers, but Patton cant sense anything form him and Virgil cant whammy him). Spent a lot of his life on his own and got by being sneaky, cunning and charming. Initially took Virgil in because he saw that his powers could be useful for keeping them both safe, but eventually Virgil became his first real friend.

Virgil - 14/19. Shadow manipulation and ‘draining’. Virgil can make himself (and with practice, people he touches) literally disappear into the shadows. He can also direct shadows as powerful energy ‘blasts’, but in order to do so he has to drain any surrounding living things of their energy. When his mutation first developed he took out half of the school hall where his exam was being held, leaving 15 students in a coma. (inspired by rouge/shadow cat)

VII - 6? / 11? Reality warping/illusion powers. One of the institutes first successful subjects. He was able to escape by changing the wall of his cell into a door. He finds it hard to talk but can project his ideas as lifelike illusions who can talk for him. One of his best is the image a handsome grown up Prince and he will often use this Illusion as an avatar to communicate. When he was 6 he did have some hazy memories of outside the SSCSL and expressed a desire to go home. Current status is unknown.

XXI - 7. Illusion powers (reality warping has been removed from the program by his time as subjects proved too difficult to control). Has no memories of outside the institute and is extremely uncooperative with his new captors/guardians. He does not understand the affection they’re trying to show him and lashes out a lot, often by creating a lot of extremely disturbing and graphic illusions. Bites.

#sanders sides #anxceit #virgil sanders #janus sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #fake fic meme #remus sanders #sidespart writes #x men au #giving it its own tag because ive been thinking about this one for a while and might do some more with it.#Anonymous

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aros001 · 3 years

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Going in blind: Watching season 4 for the first time. Random thoughts.

I never said anything about it before but I love Shadow Weaver's DCAU Batman eyes. They're so expressive.

Episode 1: Okay...I wasn't expecting Catra to do that. I mean, it makes sense. If she has leverage over Hordak then she's basically in charge of the Horde and that's what she's wanted (or at least believes she wants) since episode 1. It's an aspect that made her a good antagonist, that she's not blind to the evil of the Horde, she just doesn't care as long as she herself is secure. Which naturally begs the question, when the rebellion and the princesses are crushed, when the Horde is on top, when Adora is dead, when Catra finally has everything she's ever wanted...will she actually finally be happy? Somehow, I have my doubts.

I definitely feel for Glimmer in this. When you go through as big a loss as she did you need to be able to feel and vent if you're ever going to get through it. It doesn't have to be right away but everyone doing everything in their power to avoid the topic entirely can make you feel like you're going crazy. It'a especially bad for her since it unintentionally makes it feel like everyone is acting like it doesn't matter that Angela is gone when it clearly means everything to Glimmer.

Episode 2: I actually had a potted cactus plant once. Accidentally forgot about it and left it outside for an entire winter. Once the snow was gone the cactus looked like it had melted.

I kind of want to see what an interaction between Double Trouble and Clayface from the Harley Quinn animated series would look like. I'm guess Catra was just testing how good Double Trouble was as a doppelganger because it doesn't seem like she did anything while Adora was being distracted, though I suppose that could be a reveal in a later episode.

Not much to say except that I love how buff Huntara is while still clearly being a woman. Like, women can have a variety of different body types, as this series and Steven Universe show, and Huntara's build isn't just, like, Bow's body with lipstick and ponytail and the animators calling it a day. No, she looks like a freakin' jacked adult woman.

Episode 3: I didn't figure out the Flutterina = Double Trouble twist until a minute before it was revealed, so good job there. Before that I was wondering if Flutterina was some fan's original character where they won some contest where their OC got to be in the show for an episode. She was giving off some weird self-insert vibes. That twist made it all work though. It's honestly not a bad plan. Shapeshifters haven't really been a thing in the series before now so there's no reason to suspect it. Even if they did they'd probably be expecting it by way of magic or technology, while Double Trouble's seems to be a natural ability.

I like that even though Bow is definitely the goofier one of the trio he is still consistently shown as competent. That's never in question. He was very heroic and reassuring to the villagers this episode. I get why those kids idolize him so much.

Catra's having guilt over what she did with the portal and to Entrapta and her response is basically to just double-down. She doesn't know any other way to be. Not going to lie, I am kind of hoping we get another moment in the show where Adora just completely overwhelms Catra with the sheer power of She-Ra. I'm not saying like brutalize her or anything but just something where Catra is made to realize just how powerful Adora is and that she could just destroy Catra if she had a mind to do so.

Episode 4: Well, I was saying I wanted Adora to do it but I guess I don't mind Glimmer being the one to get some good shots in on Catra. Like I predicted, Shadow Weaver's moving in to become her teacher like she was with her father. Honestly I like that that was more Adora's problem than Glimmer using her as bait, which she seemed to get over pretty quick. Yeah, it was kind of a heartless thing to do but it was an understandable tactic and she clearly outright told Adora that she did it and why afterwards, which at least means she's still being honest.

It occurs to me that Glimmer and Catra may be the ones running parallel right now. Both are basically leading their respective sides of the war. They both have lost someone very important to them. And both are trusting someone they probably shouldn't. Both even have outfits that've been updated in the intro. The difference is Glimmer's just trying to deal with a bad situation while Catra's is entirely self-inflicted.

Minor thing but I like Glimmer's new outfit this season. I'm sure this is the intention but it makes her look older and more mature. A little more muscular in some shots too.

Episode 5: Heart of Etheria project. No idea what that is but assumedly whoever's a part of it doesn't like Light Hope and Mara being friends. Sounds like it's very much interested in She-Ra being just a warrior, and perhaps a tool, for the greater good. It does make me wonder though how much Light Hope remember from when she was rebooting. Even if she deleted the Mara memory she could potentially still have the memory of her and Adora watching the Mara memory, as well as Adora asking to be her friend.

Episode 6: Yep. Scorpia; definitely favorite supporting character. There is something kind of funny about her whole "Scorpions are loyal" line when you remember the story about the Frog and the Scorpion, where it stings the frog despite it meaning death for itself as well simply because that is its nature. But finally we're having someone go save Entrapta, and I can only assume at some point Scorpia's going to access the power of the Black Garnet.

The parallels between Catra and Hordak are definitely at their max here with that speech of hers to him. She's basically trying to convince herself that she doesn't need anyone, the timing of which is appropriate since she just drove away Scorpia and now truly doesn't have anyone. Not that I blame Scorpia, obviously. Like Adora before her, however good you believe someone can be and that you can help them, at some point you just have to cut the toxic people out of your life. You have the right to be happy too.

And man, Bow is just the best. He saw something was wrong between Adora and Glimmer and defused the situation like (snap) that, pushing them to talk like any sane person would.

Episode 7: I'm sure it is just because I've seen way too many TV shows and movies (both animated and live action) that don't do it but it is just such a relief to have a show where the characters just TALK and LISTEN to each other. It doesn't solve all their issues but they're at least not being stupid and freakin' petty. It helps the drama feel a lot less forced and contrived.

Episode 8: A little bit of amusement in Bow thinking at first that Glimmer and Adora didn't even notice he was gone despite them coming to his rescue very shortly afterwards, given Catra is only now realizing Scorpia has left and assumedly she did so a while ago. Bow and Sea Hawk hadn't been gone for that long so it's not unreasonable Glimmer and Adora wouldn't be worried about their absence (Bow was literally talking about "me time" when they last saw him), while Catra is only noticing Scorpia's absence now and it was because she wanted something. Like Scorpia said, she's a bad friend.

Kind of ironic given that a lot of Catra's issues are the direct result of Shadow Weaver giving her very little love growing up but it does seem this tough love is probably what'll get through to Catra the best. She might finally stop making bad decisions and lashing out if she's forced to live with the consequences of them, like Adora told her last season.

Glimmer gets a bit of slack from me since she suffered through a huge loss, that being her mother, and then was immediately thrown into being queen right after. It'd be hard for anyone to be 100% on their game and well-adjusted in a situation like that, and I buy that she was on some level resentful of Adora for coming back instead of her mother, even if unintentionally so. What definitely helps is that Glimmer very clearly and immediately regretted what she said to Adora. Like Catra she's lashing out but unlike Catra Glimmer recognizes some of the damage she's doing and knows, at least in this case, that she went too far.

Episode 9: Now that I can see the design in color I definitely prefer Mara's She-Ra with pants to Adora's She-Ra with shorts. Honestly, while the differences are pretty minor, I do think Mara's She-Ra design is overall a lot better than Adora's. Sharper shoulder guards. Bigger cape (especially the cape, I love capes). I don't know, there's just a lot that clicks with it and I wouldn't mind Adora getting a similar outfit later.

Madam Razz definitely had a Yoda feel this episode. I was very much expecting her to start wacking Mara with a stick over the sugar like Yoda did with R2. Though while that was Yoda acting crazy, for Razz it's because she experiences time out of order, and I don't think I've ever seen that concept taken to this extent, or at least done this way before. There are characters like River Song from Doctor Who, Professor Paradox from Ben 10, or even the Reverse-Flash who interact with other characters in time out of order but those characters are still on a linear path from their own perspective, even when travelling through time. Razz is just bouncing around her own timeline, seemingly not even any real reason or cause to it like Subaru from Re:Zero. Clearly she's not just remembering things oddly because her talk about things of the present are heard by people in the past and have an effect. I wonder if maybe the reason why is because Razz was at ground zero of Mara's actions and this is a side-effect of pulling Etheria away from the rest of the universe.

Bringing more Star Wars into this, it basically sounds like the Heart of Etheria project has turned Etheria into a magic Starkiller Base; storing power that'll be unleashed to destroy whole planets. And jeez, I think this was the first time I really felt creeped out by Light Hope when she was talking to Mara.

I'm looking forward to seeing what it means that the First Ones only made the sword and that Etheria made She-Ra. If that's the case, why is only the sword able to bring out the She-Ra form? Is it like MCU Thor's hammer and the weapon was just meant to help him control the power he already had? Or is what we think is She-Ra not actually She-Ra and that form that Adora and Mara take is just a stand-in for the real thing?

Episode 10: It didn't even occur to me until now but Double Trouble's capture is another blow to Catra's circle of "friends" too. They were at least able to make her laugh. One less person for her to talk to and just...really just distract her from her thoughts.

It's a good dilemma this episode presents about what to do with the Heart of Etheria. The safest and probably best option is to just dismantle it, like Adora and Bow want, since it could easily lead to the destruction of the entire planet if it goes off. Not the mention there's so little they know about it and what it was intended for and the one person who can potentially tell them, Light Hope, they were warned not to trust. But it's not hard to understand where Glimmer is coming from in wanting to use that power to fight the Horde. They're already losing the war and now she knows Hordak Prime and his FAR more powerful forces are on the way. Tapping into the Heart is a huge risk but she's not seeing any other paths for the rebels to win. It's a really good dilemma, with good arguments presented from both sides, and I buy this widening the schism between Adora and Glimmer.

Episode 11: I have mixed feelings on King Micah still being alive. On the one hand there's a lot of good potential interactions we can now have with him, primarily between Glimmer and Shadow Weaver, and he is a fun character. But on the other I can't help but wonder if this kind of lessens the impact of what Angela gave up to overcome the false reality. Part of what made it so emotional was that she had to accept the person she loved was dead and not coming back...except now we see that he wasn't dead and now he is coming back. Yeah, their family lost out on years together and that does still carry some emotional weight but I was already also half-expecting Angela to come back later in the series because she's stuck between dimensions, meaning there's a chance she could still be alive. If both Glimmer's parents come back then that really feels like it takes a lot of weight out of her story. But I guess we'll see what happens.

Also, why did the Horde exile him to Beast Island? Why not just kill him?!

Episode 12: So the Horde exiles Micah to Beast Island instead of killing him. The First Ones protect their secrets by sending their bad tech to Beast Island. Does no one know how to just destroy things in this world?

Ohhh, I am so looking forward to next episode. While it's debatable whether Glimmer should be going through with her plan she is at least being smart with how she's going about it. Double Trouble was being paid by Catra to work for the Horde, not out of any sense of loyalty. Glimmer has the resources of Bright Moon at her disposal so it's reasonable she could pay them more to switch sides. Double Trouble was very good at sabotaging even a group as tight-nit as the heroes, so Hordak and Catra are probably easy pickings with all their issues.

Episode 13: ....WELL THAT AIN'T GOOD!

I'll admit, I had a little bit of an unintended laugh. After all we've heard about Horde Prime, like this shadowy all-powerful monster, I wasn't expecting the fabulous flowing dreadlocks and smoothness. Credit where it's due, man has charisma and charm, which goes a long way in helping your big evil world conqueror not be a very flat character, because it's doubtful he's going to have the same kind of sympathetic motivation as Hordak or complexity as Catra to keep him elevated.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Double Trouble kicking at Catra while she's down. Adora and Scorpia were honest but they never wanted to hurt Catra. Not so much with Double Trouble and they just shove reality into her face. Everyone leaves Catra because of Catra. She's the common factor. It's her fault and no one else's. Again, I don't know for certain if Adora and Catra get together at the end (Catra would have a LOT to make amends for regardless) but Double Trouble was definitely implying Catra had feelings for her with the way they put Catra's hand on "Adora's" cheek while talking about how she left her.

I like that we see Glimmer's plan actually working at first. The princesses get a massive power boost and decimate the Horde forces. But the minute it starts going wrong she immediately admits Adora was right and she tries to stop the energy flow. I imagine having her there with Catra was intentional by the writers. Despite some parallels, Glimmer can actually accept her failures and work to try and fix things. Unlike Catra, she didn't blame Adora for things going wrong.

So the sword allows the First Ones to control She-Ra and the energy she'd be absorbing from the planet. Assumedly that means there are at least some parts to She-Ra that have nothing to do with the First Ones and thus maybe Adora can still use some of those powers without the sword.

Season 4 verdict: Yeah, the show keeps getting better, though I will admit last season's finale had me more emotional, but that's a bit of an unfair comparison given everything that happened in that finale vs. this one. This is definitely the series hitting its darkest hour, where it feels like EVERYONE lost. Not just the rebels but the Horde as well. The sword and Light Hope are gone and She-Ra (for now) along with them. Glimmer and Catra are basically prisoners. Hordak's probably going to have his personality stripped away. The Fright Zone is in ruins. The only one who's gained anything is Prime.

Really looking forward to what the final season has in store, especially since there seems to be the implication that Catra just saved Glimmer's life.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o1j5gk/going_in_blind_watching_season_4_for_the_first/

#she ra #she ra spop #random thoughts #reddit repost

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rimurutempest · 4 years

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i have a very loose theory that peter quint was, if not possessed, haunted throughout the scenes we see him growing more possessive of rebecca.

i don't know that he was being influenced by someone in the house the same way he influenced/possessed miles or rebecca, so much as he was being haunted by the spectre of his parents, esp his father, much like dani was haunted by edmund, but of course unique to his own trauma.

we know with certainty he was being manipulated by them, that he'd been used and abused as a child as well, but i think it went beyond them blackmailing him about the money. i think it affected his whole life in varying ways and to varying degrees.

when he reached out to stop rebecca from leaving to check on the kids, i think that was his father haunting him. when he watched rebecca taste the batter in the kitchen, and later berated her for it, i think that was his father - or both parents - haunting him.

dani and peter's hauntings remind me of hugh crain's haunting by olivia in hill house. the olivia hugh saw wasn't the olivia in the house, it was an olivia of his own making - arguably the true olivia, considering how the living woman was changed and what her ghost became, considering how truly he knew his beloved wife. he had preserved her within himself.

dani however, was haunted by her guilt. her guilt just happened to be edmund, in the moment he'd hurt him most, the moment she'd lost him so suddenly and traumatically.

peter was haunted by the torment his parents had put him through, and the looming control they still had over him, even long after he'd thought he was free of them.

now, im not trying to excuse peter's actions. he hurt rebecca, he wanted her to hurt for her perceived slight. i just think who he really was at his core, the real peter quint, wasn't like his parents. he was a desperate man who loved and respected rebecca deeply, but he was so afraid and so damaged, he wound up killing her to keep her despite himself.

i think his character is a very interesting take on the way people cope(or fail to cope) with trauma and abuse, just like dani and hugh. i just think the ways these series explore so many different ways of haunting and being haunted are incredibly insightful and creative.

it's also possible peter was in fact being haunted by something inside the house leading up to his death - maybe even by himself. his behaviour when he is getting to know rebecca and falling in love with her is so starkly different to his abuse the night he lashes out at her for tasting the batter, and then on top of that, the next time they talk, he doesn't remember it.

i have seen someone point out that that sort of thing happens with abusers, and it does, but it's also just as possible he wasn't in control that night. it's similar enough to miles' disorientation and concern when peter does something awful through him and then miles resumes control. sometimes he doesn't even know it was peter, and seems confused. he mentions at least once that he doesn't remember saying/doing something when asked about it (because he didn't)

and...the scene in the old wing, with the fur coat...his expression when he watches rebecca in the mirror...i think that was one of the first instances of us watching someone (peter) who is "tucked away" in a memory. i think we never did see the way that scene happened the first time, with both peter and rebecca living through it together.

as for peter's actions after he's been killed? i think he was so damaged and weak willed that he became twisted and warped by death. he was changed by the experience of death, and by the agonizing repetition of drifting through memories.

of course, rebecca overcomes those experiences and chooses to defy peter and reject his plan. she chooses to protect flora, and to go through the pain of dying again for her. but then, rebecca was always a better, stronger person than peter. she was "too good" for him. (and that really was what scared him the most)

when viola enters dani and peter, along with the others, is freed, we see him realise what he's done, what he's been doing, what he was trying to do to miles, and he's mortified. his apology to miles is so full of grief and regret. he's truly, truly sorry.

because while he may have been doing those things as a result of outside factors, he still did them. he was still responsible for the pain he inflicted on others.

and he knows it.

EDIT:

I want to add these additional thoughts, because @sleepynegress brings up some good points, and has a really different perspective on this whole shebang.

Firstly, I want to highlight this post because it helped me understand where she was coming from, and she gives some very valuable insight into this series and characters.

Secondly, I am ultimately an idealist and an optimist, and that absolutely tints my view on things, so while this is my honest perspective, take it with a grain of salt please. Also I realise saying “I think you may be misinterpreting that” is...not the best response, and I apologise. I also freely admit that I may be the one who misinterpreted the statement in context.

[Image ID: Two screenshots of the comments of this post. The first includes a comment by @sleepynegress and the first portion of my response, and the second contains the rest of my response, broken into two comments. The comments are as follows:

“sleepynegress said: He was *absolutely* in control of his actions. If you pay attention it is literally said during one of his turns in memory, that while he had no choice as a child, as an adult he decided to be this way and *that* is why his particular hell is that confrontation as an adult. Peter literally says this as figures out why his drifts never go to a happy memory or worse places in childhood.

daiinu said: @sleepynegress I hear what you’re saying, and you may be right, but personally I think you may be misinterpreting that statement. I understood it as him saying he had no choice as a child, but he still allowed himself to be manipulated by his parents, still couldn’t break away from their control. it was his greatest regret that he went along with the heist. because it was the pressure from them that agitated him, made him so desperate, and placed him in viola’s path.

daiinu said: @sleepynegress It may be that I find myself sympathizing with him as a man who had similar childhood trauma, or as someone who was similarly desperate and possessive of someone in the past (though in my case, i was a teenager at the time), and I may just be hearing what I want to hear, I won’t dismiss that likelihood. but I also want to see the best in people, and I want to believe that there was no real evil at play in that house…just pain, desperation, and regret.” /End ID]

(I see that there are further replies, so I encourage others to check the notes of this post for more!)

#long post #thohh #the haunting of bly manor #bly manor spoilers #the haunting series #peter quint #rebecca jessel #the haunting of hill house #hugh crain #dani clayton #abuse mention #csa mention #mike flanagan #meta #sorry this got rambly lol #thobm #bmlb

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