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I’m gonna be so real- imo Moonling kind of goes against the entire lesson Lin Ling and Moon are there to show.

Moon doesn’t want to be tied to Nice (and by extension, Lin Ling), she wants freedom. Her power even keeps her tied to Lin Ling(as Nice) because the believers want them to be together.

Plus, the part of Moon that kept Lin Ling alive was what Lin Ling wrote for her to say. That’s the only way he even began caring for her, because she spat out whatever words he wrote for her commercials and that encouraged him to go on.

What he originally loved wasn’t Moon. Without that, there would be nothing- not even a start to anything.

Lin Ling’s arc is to show the struggle to be yourself in a world that wants you to be someone else because the person you are isn’t good enough. It shows that people can break away from what people think you are, and what they think you should be. The people wanted Moon to be with Nice, but she hates it. Shipping her with Lin Ling… is like disregarding that she didn’t want to be tied to him. Lin Ling only “loves” the illusion he created.

all of this is in my opinion.

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This might be an unpopular opinion buuuuuuut...

I'm more interested in the huntr/x girls and their songs and stories rather than the saja boys.

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Maybe you dint ask for it but here it is.. Saja Girls~

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Lin Ling's arc was about establishing what the rules of the world even were

Yang Cheng’s arc was about how malicious actors can use those rules/ others' compliance with the rules to screw people over

Cyan's arc was about how the rules aren't set in stone and that a happy ending is still possible

Liu Yuwei's arc was about how by forming genuine connections and building up a real support system, you can put yourself in a position to reforge the rules entirely

In this essay I will-

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it's not that the past two arcs in to be hero x have been outright bad but i feel like.. idk.. there does seem to be something missing regarding the female leads. i actually don't want to hit the show with "can't write women" allegations completely because imo both moon and bowa were fairly fleshed out. it's just (particularly as leads) i think queen and cyan feel a bit disconnected cuz the show isn't tracing it back to the worldbuilding, the themes that made the first two arcs interesting (ie the negative/dehumanizing aspects of fame/corporatism).

cyan strives for freedom cuz she was raised in this creepy cult orphanage that worshiped her - how does it impact her knowing that the superhero life she chose as an escape still mirrors that in some ways? i'm definitely not against a hopeful/happy story arc cuz the first two have both ended on tragic notes but i think it'd make cyan's story feel a lot more triumphant if we saw her struggling w things abt her new life. her not going back to help the kids at the cult orphanage feels like a semi plothole - what if we saw her being overwhelmed by the obligations and pressure that comes w a hero, needing to constantly keep up her image for the public on top of having to fight (!!) people day to day, so much that she couldn't return to help the ppl in the orphanage like she wants? also what if we see her agency tell her that looking for luo is a fruitless task and she should focus on her new hero responsibilities - that would make their reunion and cyan ultimately saving him hit a lot harder cuz it hammers in how cyan still fights to make her own choices even if the public or her agency feel entitled to ownership over her

queen is a whole other discussion she has SOOOO much potential as a character but she has only two episodes and takes a backseat in both of them which makes me very sad. we Know the unflappable neutrality she has is a facade but can we see more of how she feels besides "frustrated she's not the top hero". Why does she feel like that. What causes her to impose such a pressure on herself (maybe bc female superheroes often get treated as accessories to their male peers and queen doesn't want to be tied down? or maybe bc she feels she has to set an example as a Strong Independent Woman bc of the waves she's making?). also. How alone must she feel not being able to take time to make friends in pursuit of becoming a hero. like for the emotional beats of little johnny and cyan befriending queen to really hit we first need to see queen's lack of any real connections beforehand. does her father worry about her, seeing her deny herself so much in pursuit of her goals? i also think it's a big missed opportunity to explore the public perception of both queen and bowa being boiled down to them being women. bowa took her anger out on queen cuz they were kinda publicly pitted against each other by the media. she's so dismissive of the manager guy trying to facilitate a friendship/sisterhood between them bc in the public's eyes - the public that very materially controls reality - they are direct competitors. i wish there was more in-depth dialogue during their fight, like they don't need to be having long conversations or anything but queen's mask of neutrality falling, trying to tell bowa she's not her enemy, that they've been artificially pitted against each other, trying to connect w her over their shared struggles - would go a long way into fleshing out queen and giving the fight some emotional stakes. the animation is gorgeous but i wish the character depth was at the same level you know

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The Twins of Olympus, forever in balance, the duality of light.

the idea that they look the same as kids, basically indistinguishable but now look different due to their different lives and personalities and how people perceive them

they both changed but they're also the same

(ie, Artemis kept the hair texture, Apollo kept the hair colour)

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Why does everyone respect ego? Do they not understand they're in a soccer prison ran by a maniacal mad man? When it was Isagi talking good about him I was like "well isagi can't really be classified as normal so hes probably the odd one out." but NO! Nagi. Nagi listen to me. This guy publicly insulted you on LIVE TV. WHY DO YOU CARE??? Also why is that dudes name bunny. You are not on 2020 ticktock bro you can be called like steve or something. Also I'm so excited to see rin sae and shidou on the same team. that is peak comedy potential. This was just me, but I thought france would be like the final showdown. but who knows maybe theyll beat blue lock and also progress or something. One things for sure, Isagi will score the winning goal I bet my right kidney on it.

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🕸️💔

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Kakashi trying to figure out Hiraishin

I just thought it was too funny that Kakashi was pretty much inventing string theory and Obito was like “wtf are you talking about, you don’t need all that”

Inspired by this fic ⬇️⬇️

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62374381/chapters/159605083

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Job promotion (now what?)

Comic 1: Interrogation

Caught him lurking in the background (he was being suspicious in their defense)

Comic 2: Everywhere you go.

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That in-universe sexist comedian/talk show guy salivating over the idea of Bowa and Queen fighting as if it'll be a sexy mud fight only for it to be the most brutal fight of the show since the literal fight to the death between the E Souls.

And iirc we saw more skin during the E Souls fight lol

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TBHX and the disposability of man pt 4

Part 1 Nice's arc

Part 2 E-soul's arc

Part 3 Lucky Cyan's arc

(The irony of my title has just begun to dawn on me)

While I do wish the 2 episodes did give us more focus on Queen herself I do find the dynamic between Queen and Bowa to be really interesting and a major part to the 'disposability' theme that the show presents.

Bowa and Queen are two capable heroes who have achieved fantastic goals within their own right. However, society and those around them, such as Micky, keep pairing and diminishing their achievements. Bowa becoming X is seen as something that only happend because of Queen's speech and Queen getting the chance to take the X title is seen as Bowa giving it to her by the public and Micky planning exactly that for Bowa to give up the title to Queen.

Micky has made it clear that he simply views his employees as decorated chess pieces that play the game he tells them to play and this is exactly that. Yes Bowa fought for the spotlight and she earned the title of X fairly but the world isn't fair and she is going to be replaced forcibly by someone whose younger than her (interesting connotations)

While this interpretation may seem somewhat farfetched. There can be something to be said about the hero industry and the similarities it shares with the fashion industry. Heroes have to always keep in shape, be on top, be perfect, be young, and get replaced when they're old or when they lose. This isn't something new that TBHX hints at in Queen's arc but we get mentions of this in Nice's arc through lin ling's of own words " You're not going to be perfect forever as soon as you get old and ugly they'll find a new you."

Bowa and Queen two overachievers. Bowa is the youngest Commission agent, while Queen is the youngest and smartest university graduate. Queen and Bowa both have their own speeches and interviews being deemed as career aspiring and perfect. Both of them actively hold the belief to believe in yourself and to work hard to achieve your goals. Bowa the women that came from nothing. No power, no connections, just strength, stubbornness, and pure determination, getting her through what she deems necessary to achieve her goals. On the other hand, Queen a hero born to a father with connections, a power to make rules and an incredibly naturally talented individual yet she also worked hard to achieve her goals just to be beaten in a blink by a "nobody".

Even with all the similarities that Bowa and Queen share, they are pitted against one another for an absolutely unsignificant reason : the title of X. A title and role that neither get but the public officially views and actively pushes the narrative that Queen has replaced Bowa driving Bowa to insanity for a way for her to get back and reach for the role that was once rightfully hers. In this context, the title they are now fighting for isn't truly the title of X, but it is the title of the female hero. Who can be the female hero, the spot that society wants filled and only wants one person to be THE female hero, the one who can have it all in an industry that lacks diversity.

This ultimately causes a huge conflict between Bowa and Queen. Bowa who wants to cling and hold the title naturally for as along as she can considering the fact that she spent her whole life trying to achieve the perfect mix of perfection by being 50/50 power and beauty. Due to this, Bowa easily consumes the narrative that society and the industry itself have been spewing out and plans to eliminate the next threat even though at this point in time Queen doesn't have the title of X (but a man does) and Queen is only in the top 10. Public perception and view alongside Bowa's own research send her into her own downward spiral, leading her to the only solution she deems viable : kill your 'replacement.'

Bowa and Yang cheng parallels, I see!

Alongside all of this, Bowa's abilities have constantly been undermined by Micky, who literally tells her that the only reason she is a hero is because he chose her and he invested in her and now its time for him to invest into someone else : Queen.

Essentially, the people have been waiting to see someone else ever since Bowa managed to become the number one hero, and when the queen doesn't live up to that expectation, they immediately find a way to continue the cycle by trying to pit cyan and Queen against one another with the only reason a fight like that not occurring is due to Queen actively taking actions for Cyan to clear her name and for her to personally support cyan instead. Even their own public relation cyan and Queen aren't afraid to show that they are close.

While Queen and Bowa's relationship focuses on dispoabaility through the lens of who can be THE female hero, it also focuses on the idea of disposbaility through nepotism.

While the public isn't aware of it, Bowa becomes aware that Queen has connections, and she has abilities that Bowa lacks and that's one of the reasons why she gets all the support to become X while Bowa has to fight and gain connections herself. This is one of the things that drives Bowa to try to kill Queen, to fully eliminate the threat that Queen poses through her connections because at the end of the day, Bowa is a self built chess piece while Queen was given the chess board in the first place.

Within an already such a competitive industry, nepotism is actively looked down upon due to the unfair advantages it gives individuals and the reputation it has for robbing those more competent of the role they deserve and this is an aspect of Queen and Bowa's story.

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Bowa is stronger than me, because if I saw Queen like this I would be simping hard instead of fighting

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Since it seems like we're giving up on Lucky Cyan and Queen being our doomed yuri I'd like to bring up these two for your consideration:

Pros:

They're probably around the same age since they both appear to be in college together

We haven't been shown that they have any mutual parental figures

someone would have the opportunity to animatic this clip with someone running around shouting "Loli fucked Ghostblade's daughter"

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Anyways since Loli's arc is next...

🕯️manifesting Loli x Nuonuo yuri 🕯️