orangerosebush · 2 years ago
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I feel like one could make the argument that Butler is in some ways less naturally** socially adroit than Artemis lol. At least, based on the fact that in the first book, Butler offhandedly goes, "Yeah, Young Master Artemis is basically a younger brother/best friend" before proceeding to then be grandfathered into every future friendship he gets into in the series by virtue of Artemis going all-in with becoming a constant (non-threatening) thorn in the People's side.
It seems "being raised as a child soldier" trumps "neurodivergent, old money child nightmare that never had to learn to play nice with people his age".
I mean, I don't think Tim or Angeline are particularly more comfortable (regardless of what they project as is required by social niceties and status) interacting in a non-business context with strangers for a long period of time.
Honestly, I think if you were to strip away Artemis' intelligence and the fact he has no qualms about making it known when a situation annoys him, he's not that much different, disposition-wise, than the rest of the human characters, regardless of what Colfer's narration comedically suggests sometimes.
**as in, outside of when Artemis and Butler are taking on the persona of someone else for business
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babyboyblasty · 3 years ago
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CHAPTER 12:
All the girls had at least one bag in their hand. Momo had eight (some big but most of them medium sized that only contained one or two things each), Mina four, Hagakure two, Jirou one, Uraraka one, Tsuyu two, and Aoyama five. The only one without any bags was Bakugou since he hasn’t bought anything. So far— and he will rather die than admit it out loud— hanging out with his classmates wasn’t the most terrible thing that has happened to him these past three days. He was actually kinda having a good time.
"You should have come with us to get your nails painted too, Bakugou-kun" Hagakure placed an invisible hand on his shoulder where he saw some glittery blue polish.
"Yeah! I think a nice /green/ would look great on you" Uraraka smiled, giving a wink to Tsuyu who shook her head.
“Actually, I think Bakubabe would prefer a firetruck /red/ ” Mina nudged Jirou who gave her friend a knowing look.
"On the contrary, I believe a nice dark color like black or purple would suit Bakugou-san best" Momo suggested, oblivious to what her other friends were hinting at. "Perhaps Bakugou would like to join us on our next trip?" she turned to look at him and he looked back at her then the rest who were waiting for his answer like they were insane.
"But I won't be a girl then" he replied like they'd forgotten. 
"We know that, kero, but Bakugou-chan is fun when he is not yelling," Tsuyu responded, a finger to her cheek.
"You joining us again would be très bien, monsieur" Aoyama smiled over at him, wiggling his fingers in front of his face to show off simplistic french tipped fingernails. 
Bakugou didn't really respond but he did smile a little on the inside. Not that they needed to know that though.
The conversation was dropped to start another one about what they've bought so far, cuticle care (via Aoyama), and what they wanted to do tomorrow in their free day. That somehow turned into Momo recalling a restaurant she visited with her parents where the food was magnificent and that led to Bakugou claiming he can make the best damn breakfast they've ever had and Jirou challenging him to cook breakfast for them tomorrow to prove it. He agreed of course and the girls couldn't wait. They already knew Bakugou was a great cook but challenging him was always fun for both them and for Bakugou since he liked to prove he was the best.
After walking around for a bit, the girls decided that they wanted to go into a store that just recently opened. It was one similar to Victoria Secret that sold lingerie and other intimate clothing that Bakugou didn’t feel comfortable in so the blonde stayed outside on his phone. 
"Is that Bakugou Katsuki I'm seeing? Or do my eyes deceive me" Bakugou could practically hear the smirk and sarcasm dripping from the words. Looking up, he saw Emo Deku 2.0 walking over to where he was standing, the smug bastard. 
"Is that the human vibrator I'm seeing? Or is it just a big pile of dog shit" he countered back, baring his teeth up at the guy. Shindou Yo always rubbed him the wrong way and just the sound of his voice and that dumb way he patronized and looked down at him like he was better was enough to make his blood boil. He thought he’d seen the end of him after their provisional hero license exam when he was a first year and Shindou was a third year, but fate has a funny way of working and Bakugou seems to run into the guy more often than he'd like when he's out doing public service hero work or at internships. 
"No need for insults, Bakugou. I was just surprised to see you, that's all. I heard about what happened over at the agency but I didn't believe it. I mean, you /are/ supposed to be the best, right? So how on earth was I to believe that a small time thug got the upper hand on the Great Explosion Murder God DynaMight?" Shindou tilted his head, looking down at Bakugou with fake curiosity and concern. "I could see I was mistaken though. Maybe you're just not as amazing as they say you are /just/ yet. That's okay though. It took me all three years at Ketsubutsu Academy to fully learn how to be a great hero but I guess some people need more time. It's okay being a late bloomer. Isn't that right, Katsuki?"
Bakugou was positively fuming and it took everything in him not to launch at him right then and there. He wasn't the same explosive boy from his first year that couldn't control his impulses. Besides, making him lose his composure is what that asshole wanted and he won't give him the satisfaction. He won't compromise his perfect record and possibly endanger someone by using his quirk in a public setting. Clenching his fist as hard as he could, he let the sparks threatening to ignite die in his palms.
"What? You've got nothing to say, Katsuki? How very unlike you" the black haired boy teased. It's been two years since Shindou Yo graduated from Ketsubutsu Academy High School and half a year since he's been working as a rookie pro hero. He was assigned to this mall by the agency he works at and imagine his surprise when he saw Bakugou just standing there in the open like that. Really, he just couldn't resist coming over and saying hi. The blonde was always so entertaining. 
"Pro-hero Grand! May we have your autograph?" a small girl and boy ran over to them, each holding a pen and notebook in their hands up to Shindou's face. The man's condescending smile changed into a friendly one at the flip of a switch. "Of course! It'd be an honor" he laughed and gave them both his signature. Bakugou let out a 'tch' sound, crossing his arms over his chest. "Thank you for your support!" he waved them goodbye and the children waved back with a 'thank you', running off back to a woman who they guessed was their mother.
"Does it ever get tiring being a two-faced bitch?" Bakugou growled and Shindou turned back to him, letting out an amused laugh.
"See? There he is. Or should I say she now?" he made a thinking face and laughed when Bakugou audibly growled like a dog. "That's what I like about you, Bakugou. Always so feisty" he cooed before stepping a bit closer. Bakugou kept his ground so they were almost chest to chest, Bakugou glaring up at the guy because of his new height. If he was smaller by one or two inches before, he is now nearly half a foot shorter than the bastard. "You know, this look actually kinda suits you. It makes you look cute when you're angry so really I can't even take you seriously. Not that I did before, but now I get the sudden urge to hug you. Isn't that funny?" he smirked.
"Well take a good long look, perv, because I'll be turning back to normal tomorrow morning," Bakugou spat. Shindou looked genuinely confused for a split second and it made Bakugou get a sinking feeling in his chest.
"Tomorrow morning? Are you sure? Did Eraser tell you that?" the pro hero raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at his lips. 
"What the hell are you getting at?" Bakugou frowned. 
"Oh nothing, don't mind me. If that's what your teacher said then it must be true" he shrugged.
"Is there something you're not telling me? If there is, spit it out already."
"Like I said, it's nothing. Anyway, I must be getting back to work. The streets don't keep themselves safe, you know?" Shindou smiled and turned to leave but Bakugou immediately grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face him and gripping onto the black and gold top piece of his hero costume to pull him down to his eye level.
"Woah there Bakugou. Aren't we moving just a bit too fast?" the older of the two chuckled.
"Listen up, dumbass. I swear if there's something you're not telling me I'll—" he growled out before getting interrupted by a stern voice.
"Bakugou! What is going on here? Let go of him immediately" Iida stepped up to both of them. Midoriya, Todoroki, and the other three standing behind the tall, navy haired male were all ready to intervene if need be, Midoriya and Todoroki more so than the rest.
Bakugou unclenched his hands from Shindou's hero costume with a huff and Shindou smoothed it out with a throaty laugh.
"Thanks for that. Iida Tenya, right? Ingenium's younger brother?" Shindou smiled. 
The class rep nodded and answered 'yes, I am' before putting his hands together. "Pro-hero Grand," Iida gave a deep bow, "I apologize in advance for my classmate's despicable behavior. As class rep it is my responsibility to ensure everyone acts their best in order to better represent the name of U.A. My apologies again, sir!" Iida was practically yelling and it caused a few heads to turn their way in curiosity to what was happening, but they all looked away with a sharp glare from a certain ash blonde that basically told them to mind their own fucking business. "Is everything okay? Was Bakugou bothering you?"
Bakugou could have laughed. Of course they'd think that so he wasn’t even surprised.
"What?" Shindou laughed before the black haired hero began maneuvering the younger so that he had an arm around Bakugou's shoulders and his other hand was holding one of Bakugou's wrists like they were the best of pals. "Oh no, not at all. Bakugou-kun and I were just talking about old times. I was giving him a few words of my experience so far and some advice as a pro hero" the male gave a bright smile. "What you saw just now was a new move Bakugou was demonstrating to me. There is no problem here, right Katsuki?"
"Whatever."
Midoriya's eyes flickered over to Kacchan. Honestly, he doesn't think that that was what happened at all. He thinks Shindou said or did something that made Bakugou react that way. He's known the blonde for a long time now and while his childhood friend might be a hot head, he wasn't the type to start fights without reason. Todoroki, Shoji, and Koda thought the same but didn't say anything. They didn’t get good vibes from Shindou either.
Todoroki didn't like the interaction between those two one bit and Izuku felt the need to go up and pull his Kacchan away from him.
"Well, that's a relief" Iida answered with a bit of hesitance. He was still a bit suspicious but let the matter slide.
"I hope to see you all out in the field in a few years. Work hard" Shindou said his goodbyes to all of them individually before turning to Bakugou. "It was nice bumping into you, Katsuki-chan. And I meant what I said earlier too. You look good" he winked and Bakugou growled. "Take care, guys" he smiled, waving goodbye. 
They all watched the hero go before Iida was turning to Bakugou. "What happened between you two, Bakugou?" he frowned and Bakugou grumbled.
"Nothin' that concerns any of you. Now quit buggin me."
Iida tried not to take offense. After a few years of being classmates, he should be used to the blonde's somewhat hostile way of speaking. “As you wish. Why were you alone? Where are the girls and Aoyama?” he asked.
“In the store” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
Almost as if by magic, Bakugou’s group started walking out of the store, some carrying new small bags. 
“Deku-kun! Iida-kun!” Uraraka grinned, going up to them excitedly.
“Uraraka-san. It’s good to see you” Izuku smiled. The rest of them caught up before Iida started lecturing the girls about leaving Bakugou alone.
“I can take care of myself, four eyes!” he yelled but Iida paid no attention to him as he continued talking to the rest about what he saw happening with Bakugou and Shindou earlier to make a point about why we should all be in groups or in pairs at all times. Mina gasped loudly and Momo turned around to look at Bakugou with sympathy.
“Did he do something to you, Bakugou?" the pink girl was stomping over to him, a furious look on her face. "Where is he? I’ll beat him up I swear” Mina frowned, looking around to see if she can spot the black haired hero around. For his sake, he better pray she doesn't. Apparently she thought the same thing Midoriya did.
"Bakugou-kun! I am terribly sorry we left you alone. I should have known better and stayed behind with you. I am so sorry for your troubles" she apologized.
"Hah? Do you think I'm some type of damsel in distress now or something? It's fine, ponytail. Quit apologizing" he grumbled, looking away. “You too, Pinky.”
Momo gave him a soft smile and went in for a hug. She was sure he'd most likely push her off so when he didn't, she was very surprised. He didn't hug back but Momo didn't expect him to and she hugged him a bit tighter, the rest of the girls going in for a group hug as well. The boys were unsure what to do (even though some of them really wanted to join) so they stood to the side and watched how Bakugou started telling them to quit being "sentimental fucks" and let go already. They could tell he didn’t really mind it when he didn't immediately threaten to blow them up though.
Bakugou couldn’t wait until he went back to normal tomorrow.
[ word count: 2318 ]
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(the shindou and bakugou inspiration for this chapter was these two pieces of fanart!)
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Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)
As always, thanks for being here my friends. There’s definitely more nuanced discussion of this show, but I’m here for the vibes. Anyways, here’s my thoughts on Episode 3 of Loki. Bear in mind I hadn’t watched episode 4 before I wrote the review for 3. No hate on anyone/thing, it’s all my opinion.
Episode 3: LAMENTIS
Pre-title scene
I rioted when I heard Hayley’s voice. It’s a win for all of us.
C-20! Sylvie!
C-20’s lil dance was adorable. I love her.
I want Sylvie’s tie dye.
Is that Ralph Bohner?
The same place, but at night. Coincidence? I think not.
Sylvie’s powers have limits. She can’t search someone’s mind and take information, she needs them to willingly tell her though she can use her powers to do that.
TVA
Sylvie’s experienced. Always tie your hair into a bun before a fight.
Her music is nothing like what we’ve heard previously. It’s the Sylvie show folks.
The mural on the left side of the hall is the one from the credits scene.
The plaque above the elevators says ‘FOR ALL TIME ALWAYS’.
Even in the mural on the right side, the Time Keepers aren’t equal, the middle one takes up the most space.
Ravonna!
I love how their movements are similar. The head-snap-hair-flip combo is nearly identical, reflecting how they are the same person to some extent.
2077 Lamentis - 1
“Get off my leg!” SiblingTM energy.
“Goodbye, variant.” She sure has the Loki drama.
I finally remembered it’s called a TemPad. Rip.
“Don’t ever call me that.”
“Tech savvy?”
That’s so Ragnarok.
I love the music as we pan up to the planet. It’s the familiar, anxiety-inducing ticking for me lads.
“You idiot! This is Lamentis - 1.”
“I don’t know what that means!”
My siblings when I can’t restart the router (every country has an AT&T).
I like that it’s a moon that’s inhabited. It’s nearly always the planet, still not great for the people on it.
That slide to get under the dump truck was so smooth.
“So we’re a team now?” Jesus Loki needs friends. Probably a good therapist too.
“Didn’t need your help!”
“You’re so weird!”
I like the way Tom runs. Don’t know why. Just do.
Sidenote, my favourite running form is Chris Evans’.
Sylvie’s magic flickered so I genuinely think the enchantment didn’t work.
“Well then I’ll cut it out.” I like the way she says that. I am questioning so many things rn.
“Just because I have to work with you doesn’t mean I wanna hear your voice.” It’s ironic since they spend so much time talking about themselves.
“Alright, well, slow down… Variant.” They really play off each other’s egos to find weaknesses.
“You don’t know what you want.��� Sylvie’s more straightforward in everything she does. She efficiently points out Loki’s flaws but when it comes to a goal, she’s meticulous.
“...just walk away.” Loki stops walking, but Sylvie does walk away. There is distance between them (for now).
I’ve had experience with mining towns like this one and whilst they weren’t so out-of-this-world (ya know) there is a tendency for rural and isolated communities to struggle with old/not maintained infrastructure. This is not everywhere, but it’s not uncommon from what I know. Even though these towns are a source of wealth, there isn’t distribution of the money and it’s a grim reality that’s being shown. I appreciate it.
The shot of them walking past a slab of that planet towards the hut is incredible. Wow.
The person in there is just waiting for their death. I’m going to be addressing a lot of the harsh realities in this episode folks so it won’t be so cheerful.
I understand that people weren’t so happy with this being a filler episode, but I think they got it right. It’s strange that a literal planet-moon collision doesn’t bring the tension that the hurricane did in the last ep, but by having an atmosphere that wasn't so omnius, they conveyed (to me at least) that hope was already lost. In the Roxxcart Disaster, the people believed that it wasn’t going to be the end. There’s desperation on Lamentis - 1 but as Sylvie said, the collapse of society occurs. That’s a large group of people realising that class divides will cause slaughter. It’s greed portrayed in two different ways, one being the integration of excessive capitalism into society, the other being social structure based on oppression. Not everyone’s reading into Loki like this but it’s a change from how Marvel usually approaches conflict.
We learnt about the characters and whilst I’m not a fan of when a plot line is moot (my bet is that Loki and Sylvie will be rescued next ep, making all the attempts to get off Lamentis - 1 pointless), it’s necessary for the characters to develop. The way Loki and Sylvie end up on Lamentis - 1 makes sense and the plot doesn’t feel forced.
“It’s remarkable that you made it as far as you did.”
Devils is recurring in this episode. Maybe this has implications on future episodes?
“Which one was that, diplomacy?” Why are their interactions so funny?
I don’t think I need to comment on the significance of the train station scene.
I would like to acknowledge that though this is good writing that’s relevant in the time it was released, we shouldn’t forget it’s coming from large corporations who aren’t perfect.
How do they just walk past the line?
The people who snitched were right in front of them.
Did the cat get Loki’s silvertongue? That was the most graceless lying I’ve ever seen.
Sylvie not sitting with her back to a door makes sense, but why won’t Loki go backwards on a train? They both have little quirks.
“That’s not a plan. That’s just doing a thing.” Loki went to the Thor school of planning, it’s Get Help all over again.
Loki’s exaggerated nods at the other guards lol.
Sylvie growls whenever she’s mad, it’s hilarious.
The close ups of their faces when the conversation gets personal and isn’t just trading jabs is great for conveying the authenticity of their answers.
Loki not pressing Sylvie when she clearly didn’t want to talk about what happened to her mother is something I appreciated.
Here’s to Tom for having to do magic for more than 10 years now. He’s so serious, I can only imagine how funny it is without the effects.
“Well she did.” Yeesh, has Loki gotten time to grieve?
Sylvie is genuinely impressive.
“Pity the old woman chose to die.”
“She was in love.”
I don’t quite understand what they were talking about then, I guess we’ll find out later?
Loki, why are you so unnecessarily dramatic?
I laughed. Who am I kidding, they’re dorks and I love them.
Loki is trying to find out anything, anyone who could be used against Sylvie.
Here’s to the postman, they’re probably dead but we appreciate Sylvie’s happiness anyways.
“A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.” AND THAT’S HOW YOU WRITE IN REPRESENTATION FOLKS!
Let’s just take our scraps and be happy, eh? It made my week.
They both need real relationships of any kind, guys.
“Love is… uh, something I might have to have another drink to think about.” Me whenever anyone asks me about my love life.
“You do realise… ...a civilisation’s only hope?” I think this was Sylvie’s way of making sure Loki’s (albeit grey) morals and drinking habits don’t interrupt her plan.
The train sure gives me Snowpiercer vibes.
Do I have to talk about Drunk Loki?
Tom’s singing voice is lovely.
Sylvie’s eyes shift nervously to the door and then back to Loki. She’s initially tense but she relaxes slightly though she knows she’s gonna have to clean up the mess.
“Nobody cares. It’s the end of the world.” Again, Loki’s headspace is one where existence is futile.
The green walls contrast the purple lighting nicely.
You can see plants (?) from the outside if you look out the windows. Talk about attention to detail.
Bruh what is the dagger about? Drunk Loki’s a comedic genius.
The descending notes in the background of Loki’s fireworks.
Sylvie’s smile when she goes to attack is animalistic. I’d like to see her character explored more in terms of how she views violence.
YEET.
“You’re right. I’m a god.” Loki’s defense mechanism is to state that his motives are above the understanding of others.
“You’re a clown.” Sylvie tells it as it is.
Loki and Sylvie’s reactions to the TVA contrast the most here. Sylvie is potentially motivated by vengeance or a need for revenge whilst Loki has resigned to numbing the pain (for now at least) as he comes to terms with his reality. The question of what drives you is so important for these characters, I’m excited to see whether they’ll find a common ground and wreak havoc on the sacred timeline.
Loki and Sylvie both struggle with communicating in a healthy way. Sylvie calls him out on his directionlessness and Loki tells her what may be the harsh reality of her plan. Neither of them are willing to accept it, but there’s potential for a strong bond if they do.
Sylvie’s scream lmao.
I love the colour of Loki’s pants.
Problem? Solution! Do thing! Is Sylvie’s method of thinking when all is lost.
Gosh I love the shots in this episode.
“That’s a pretty good life.” Sylvie’s definitely not lived as a royal, or not from what she remembers.
“I just need to know if I can trust you.” Sylvie giving up how she enchants people is an olive branch because as useful as the things that Loki told her may have been for manipulation, they both know the importance of her upper hand. But she only relents once Loki doesn’t have the TemPad. Later, when she asks whether she can trust Loki, it’s more of a reassurance because he’s already been vulnerable around her.
The actor’s body language and facial expressions are incredible. Loki’s eyebrow’s furrow slightly when Sylvie mentions C-20’s mind but Tom takes a second for the information to be processed rather than instantly reacting to Sophia’s next line. She does the same when Loki talks about the TVA workers being created. What skilled people they are.
The city is a wonderful piece of set design.
“We do, and you can.” They step into the light, neither of them have tunnel vision and are able to see a bigger picture.
“They’re gonna let these people die.” This show explores a side of Loki we haven’t seen before, his morality and compassion. He has grey areas that could be explored in the next season. It also points back to how Sylvie and Loki differ in their view of others. I think this is partially because of their childhoods. Loki was raised as a prince and cared about his people, but Sylvie doesn’t share that perspective (“...they usually survive”), maybe because of her past. Hopefully in the upcoming episodes we’ll get a bit more of her backstory.
That sequence is beyond words. The constantly rotating and revolving camera really hammers home that it’s a disorienting fight for their lives at the end of the world. I’m speechless, just watch it.
The music in that blue-purple-pink club was banging tho.
Loki and Sylvie’s posture, facial expression and general body movement is similar. The variant point is hammered home here.
It’s interesting how Loki is in shock/denial of the Ark being destroyed whereas Sylvie immediately leaves.
The end music of this episode is beautiful. I love how it all builds to leave us on the soft tones of Dark Moon.
No one’s interested, but my mum and I bonded over the Jim Reeves version of this song and the Bonnie Guitar one.
Ep 3 review
Short episode with not much going on other than character development. However, if the first two were anything to go by, this episode will have greater implications on the plot. The pacing of this show is a bit strange, but we may see this change in the next season.
I mentioned previously that it would be a shame if the entire plot of this episode was made irrelevant by how they get off Lamentis - 1 next ep. This show has been really good at keeping us on our toes with the writing so they probably won’t take turns that have been speculated.
Happy mid-season guys! The following two episodes were apparently Tom’s favourites so we can expect some mayhem up ahead. See you next time!
Here's the link to my Ep 2 review
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