#I kind of also blame this on the animation production not wanting to be accused of touching on gender fluidity and Digimon

[r0bita]

Not a lot of Digimon series or games touch on the concept of Slide-Evolution (same level, different form or variant) aside from Frontier.

And that's a shame, because imagine how broken that mechanic could be. Or if it was tied into a sudden plot twist about a specific character in a series (The Island of Lost Digimon doesn't count!).

[m-y-fandoms]

1 Thing I Love & 1 Thing I Hate About EVERY Danganronpa Character Part 1

Part 2

SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE MAIN GAMES

I’d love to hear our opinions as well in the comments or my inbox or DM’s! If you try this trend with DR characters, tag me!

Sayaka Maizono

♡ Her passion for her career and friends.

✘ The way she tries to screw over Makoto when the game had just begun. Like wait and see what happens before screwing over such a great guy? Leon didn’t deserve it either.

Leon Kuwata

♡ His voice actor (English), and how real and human his execution was in that we all would be so scared and irrational. It was just so iconic and sad as it’s our first introduction to the death in this series and we all think: “shit, this is real... they are really killing these kids.” I didn’t think it would be that brutal, just seeing his body limp at the end with the haunting music.

✘ His design is disgusting. I hate how he looks.

Chihiro Fujisaki

♡ So innocent, so kind, so intelligent

✘ Shouldn’t have been killed for such a stupid reason, also they did Mondo dirty with that motive for killing as well. Just a mess. As for the actual character, Chihiro cries right off the bat when you do your introductions and that was kind of annoying to me personally.

Mondo Oowada

♡ He has a lot of respect, understanding and emotions for someone I thought would be a hard-ass douche biker.

✘ The worst motive to kill ever in a game where you know you’re getting executed if you’re found out. Like you’d be extra careful and that’s his reason to kill? Lazy writing.

Celestia Ludenberg

♡ Bad bitch energy and her goth lolita design.

✘ Manipulation and double murder. Bad bitch energy only goes so far. Confidence is different then selfishness. Also, of all the chapter 3 triple murders... the worst motive to kill.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru

♡ Emotions: secure in his masculinity, able to cry, show emotions, and apologize when he’s wrong. He’s funny and likable.

✘ The Ishimondo white hair thing was stupid. Taka was fine on his own.

Hifumi Yamada

♡ Writing takes talent, fan fiction as much as any other style or genre. Also the talent of his voice actor (who also voices Kiibo/K1-B0).

✘ Literally everything else about him.

Sakura Oogami

♡ I love everything about her. I love her wisdom, loyalty, design, voice etc. Just step on me, mother.

✘ Why the hell would she ever agree to be a spy even if it meant the end of her dojo? I just don’t think she would do that rationally because she isn’t selfish. The others would suffer for her spying. She remedies this with redemption in her letter in chapter 4 but still she should’ve said no off the bat. Everyone had something to lose. The dojo wasn’t worth spying for monokuma. Also I just don’t think she would commit suicide. She can’t help the remaining students survive and redeem herself truly if she’s dead.

Kyoko Kirigiri

♡ Bad bitch energy, calm and collected when I could never be.

✘ Especially in future arc of the anime, damn can you show some emotion please? Through your words and expressions not just your actions. Sure she was willing to “die” for Makoto but like I just want more emotion from her sometimes, even in THH.

Makoto Naegi

♡ So pure. I Love Bryce Papenbrook. Makoto reminds me of Sora and I love his design.

✘ In THH I didn’t mind his innocence but in the Danganronpa 3 future arc anime, when people started straight up abusing him and accusing him, he needed to grow a little backbone.

Byakuya Togami

♡ Love my dad, king shit, also love how over the progression of the games and animes he becomes a little more kind to his friends.

✘ Why the fuck did he mess with Chihiro’s body? Just so cruel and disrespectful.

Yasuhiro Hagakure

♡ Funny magic man. Sexy voice.

✘ Please. Please Hiro use your brain just once. Why do we have to prove Kyoko isn’t a ghost?!

Toko Fukawa

♡ Character development in UDG and I love Genocider.

✘ Putting down herself and others constantly gets old in THH.

Aoi Asahina

♡ Love her voice actress and her personality

✘ We really just gonna get everyone killed in chapter 4 huh? Surely you know they don’t all deserve that.

Junko Enoshima

♡ A very memorable villain with great hair and design.

✘ I just can’t stand her. I hate her so much.

Mukuro Ikusaba

♡ Her mercenary background is super cool as a concept.

✘ Too bad it wasn’t explored nearly enough.

Hajime Hinata

♡ Seeing the protagonist be a little less naive, innocent and positive than Makoto was a refreshing change, although I loved Makoto. I liked Hajime’s cynicism and expressions that sometimes just screamed “this shit again, huh?”

✘ I enjoy the way Izuru looks but I hate him as a character. He is sexy to look at but Hajime is just a better character overall

Teruteru Hanamura

♡ His love for his family and mother especially is so cute and heart breaking if you know the full story.

✘ He needs to know when to dial it back and quit with the perversions. And no it’s not just how he looks, Miu needs to chill at times, too.

Twogami

♡ I feel like he genuinely cares about his friends, just hides it well

✘ His death felt like a cop out and poorly written. It just didn’t sit right with me. Also his design is disgusting to me, his outfit and such.

Mahiru Koizumi

♡ Loyal to her close friends.

✘ I just have no interest in her as a character and I find her boring.

Peko Pekoyama

♡ Loyalty. Loyalty is something I value very highly in every form of relationship. Peko is also very hot.

✘ Come on girl... I know how you were raised but you should’ve known Fuyuhiko didn’t think of you as just a tool and you two should’ve expressed your true feelings long ago. Like even in secret. How do you live like this? Also I feel like killing Mahiru could’ve been avoided with a calm talk.

Ibuki Mioda

♡ Cute design, positive vibes.

✘ Cringe sometimes in the way she talks.

Hiyoko Saionji

♡ Beautiful character design and some very good insults and snarky remarks at times.

✘ Just irredeemably mean and annoying. Even when you do her free time events she is just so annoying.

Mikan Tsumiki

♡ I like her design as well as her hair, expressions, sprites and clothing.

✘ I hate her. I just hate her whether she’s in her true psycho form or timid stuttering form. She’s just annoying in my opinion.

Nekomaru Nidai

♡ So supportive, can hold my drink at a party. Respects everyone and wants the best for them.

✘ Bro Mechamaru was a stupid plot point. I just couldn’t stand looking at him and couldn’t take it seriously. Still sad when he died though.

Chiaki Nanami

♡ From chapter 5 of sdr2 on she is impossible not to love if you didn’t already. Just the selflessness, the sadness of the reveal and execution, how she returns to help Hajime at the end???? I love her. I love her hair design, color palette, her personality, everything.

✘ I’m bitter and miserable about her being the only class member to actually die (the despair arc anime) also her falling asleep at random times is kind of odd and she doesn’t seem to be like that later on in the game??? Like it seemed like a cheap joke but not actually who she is? Hard for me to explain.

Gundham Tanaka

♡ King shit, couldn’t praise him enough. He’s sexy, loves animals, and is funny as hell sometimes. His voice actor is a saint and a cool dude and I named my guinea pigs after the Dark Devas (yes I know they are hamsters in the games.)

✘ Come on dude. I get that being from Hell and magic and having evil powers is your shtick, but we all know that you and Nekomaru sacrificed yourselves so the others wouldn’t starve. We know you care about your classmates. There comes a time when it’s time to let personas and facades fade and be true to your heart. I just feel like him denying he cared at the end hurt. We all know he cared. I didn’t like how he was haughty until the end. He deserved better. I love him.

Nagito Komaeda

♡ I love him so much. So cunning and intelligent, always a step ahead. And he’s big sexy.

✘ Him killing himself in chapter 5 hurt me so bad I was like in denial for days. Also hate how Bryce Papenbrook gives him a raspy stoner psycho voice in the game then a light airy higher-pitched voice in the despair arc anime. It just bothers me. I love his voice still but the inconsistency just hurts my OCD

Sonia Nevermind

♡ I love that she’s so interested in her passions and love her feelings for Gundham

✘ Her outfit and bow are atrocious. Also why didn’t she start liking and talking to Gundham sooner on? Their romance bloomed late and it would’ve made for a better chapter 4 ending if they were a bit closer.

Kazuichi Souda

♡ Cool design and outfit, love his voice (also voices Kaito in V3) and his backstory is relatable at times. He’s also very human in that he’s scared a lot of the time or insecure or blames others in panicked situations. It’s not always a good thing but it’s human and realistic.

✘ Gosh he can be so annoying. Sometimes flirting or whining too much is well... too much.

Akane Owari

♡ Strong-willed and definitely someone I would be friends with

✘ What the hell is her outfit? Gymnasts and athletes don’t wear that shit. Stop objectifying her when it doesn’t even make the product or plot better. Like there’s absolutely no point to making her dress that way. I was a gymnast for 15 years. Even those who do parkour (which Akane seems to do more often than actual gymnastics in the anime and game) don’t wear what she wears. Also she’s underrated.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

♡ I love him. He’s the DR character I’m most like out of all the games and anime. Tenko is a close second. I think he’s adorable, love his character arc, development, redemption, and love his voice.

✘ In the anime/despair arc, Fuyuhiko is not done justice. He doesn’t get enough lines, has a different voice actor, just doesn’t give off the same vibes.

Izuru Kamakura

♡ Sexy man long hair good.

✘ Boring character. I wish he were just Hajime.

Kaede Akamatsu

♡ Loyalty and leadership are such attractive qualities in her. Also she faced her death with such class and dignity and I respect her because I could never.

✘ Some of the voice lines Erika does for her are just weird and cringe. Just random moans or grunts... I don’t know it’s like when Ann Takamaki from Persona 5 (also voiced by Erika) makes suggestive noises as well. Just grinds my gears. Also hate her outfit down to the hair pins.

Shuichi Saihara

♡ I love his nasally voice. I love his design and he’s so adorable. I love how emotional and compassionate he can be. He ties with Makoto for favorite protag of mine.

✘ That sprite where he sniffs his hand. And his ugly ass hat.

Rantarou Amami

♡ Sexy man, sexy voice, sexy piercings

✘ Ugly outfit, and wasted potential

Ryoma Hoshi

♡ I respect him and feel bad for his outlook on life and for how poorly he views himself. I love his little hat as well and he’s the first “different styled” character (Hifumi, Bandai, Teruteru) that I liked the design of.

✘ I hate when he says “got a long ways to go,” it’s overused and annoying, and wish he gave himself more credit. Also hate that when you first meet him he warns you that he’s killed people and is dangerous to be around. Come on buddy, you know you wouldn’t hurt your friends. Stop pushing them away.

Kirumi Tojo

♡ Competence, well rounded, skillful

✘ Boring as hell. I wouldn’t waste one free time event on her.

Angie Yonaga

♡ Dark skin, super cute, love her talent as an artist myself.

✘ Gives religious people a bad name and is super manipulative which I hate.

Tenko Chabashira

♡ I relate to her and feel bad when she’s misunderstood. She’s a good person deep down. Also love her sprites.

✘ There’s more cunning, funny and clever ways to write her digs at men.

Korekiyo Shunguuji

♡ I’m in love with this man. Long hair, voice, mystery, mask, intelligence, passion, talent.

✘ He definitely was a victim of abuse and a lot of people refuse to see that and just hate him. Team Danganronpa should’ve given him a redemption arc where he realized his sister abused him and changed.

Gonta Gokuhara

♡ I love his design except for his suit. Also he’s so cute and naive. I cried for his trail.

✘ No need talk like caveman. Better way to do this.

Kokichi Ouma

♡ Like Nagito, I value his intelligence and crazy cunning.

✘ Shouldn't have died. Also shouldn’t have manipulated Gonta. That was just cruel.

Miu Iruma

♡ She has her hilarious moments and her death surprised me and was sad.

✘ Sometimes she lacks basic empathy, i.e. calling Tenko “Tencrotch” when she just fucking died.

Maki Harukawa

♡ Amazing character development. Didn’t see her surviving until the end at the start. Also her love and passion for Kaito.

✘ “Do you wanna die?” gets old.

Kaito Momota

♡ Just the overall best bro you could ever have.

✘ Has some toxic masculinity issues and anger issues.

K1-B0

♡ Pretty much everything about him. His design, his attitude and personality, especially how amazing and cool he is chapter 5 onward, his execution made me so sad. He’s so innocent and funny without trying.

✘ When you do his free time events he’s very arrogant and just talks about himself a lot... it seems odd and not similar to the Kiibo we see throughout the game.

Himiko Yumeno

♡ Super cute design, love her voice and “Nyeh...” and her sprites. Her character development is great as well.

✘ Why did they take so long to make her important and likable?

Tsumugi Shirogane

♡ An excellent and well hidden reveal

✘ I hate her. So annoying, from the voice to the references and her personality.

[hellyeahsupermanandwonderwoman]

Hello, guys. I don't know if you have been asked this question before, but I don't understand, why do people hate so much Superman and Wonder Woman being together?

The problem is that rival shippers make ALOT of noise even though they are not in the majority and are a fraction of the  comic market. They also like to troll and stalk anything Superman and Wonder Woman related, be it a comic, animation, video or article etc as if to make it seem it is hated universally and unpopular when in fact the opposite is true. 

They spend time writing articles or starting threads on sites or tweets on how terrible it is despite the fact they don’t buy the comics but begrudge others buying and enjoying them. They even blame SMWW for their comics not selling when SMWW is not even canon and they have what they want!  They attack the writers/ artists too like they did with Charles Soule, Tony Daniel etc. A prime  example can be seen  recently by one who attacked and threatened the writer of Immortal Wonder Woman Michael Conrad simply because he had some SMWW content in his story. The fact SMWW fans appreciated it and actually showed some appreciation triggers the hate. 

This is the level of petulance and toxic kind of behaviour haters of SMWW engage in.  

https://twitter.com/michaelwconrad/status/1362423000830599169?s=20

Many haters cannot bear the fans of the pair get a comic to enjoy. They want all for themselves and if SMWW fans stand up for themselves we are accused of all sorts of nonsense from bullying, homophobia, sexism, racism, xenophobia etc because we like SMWW together. Don’t ask me how I as a female of colour, who is from what some would call a “developing country” , can be accused of those things esp when the accusations come from people who are very priviledged and  who would know nothing about racism, or xenophobia. But those are some of the tactics haters love to indulge in. 

If something is so hated one would assume it is not wanted and would fail in the market, right? SMWW content and merchandise should not even be made or licensed because everyone hates it, right? YET whose merchandise do we see time and time again? Anyone following this blog knows there is a constant flow of SMWW Licensed merchandise. From his/hers sets like perfume as in the Jean Paul Gaultier sets, onesies, robes, rings sets. We had/ have tees, bags, belts, dresses, salt and pepper shakers, hoodies, watches, phonecases, and more. We had not one but TWO Kiss statues that sold out. There were games like Herocix and Dicemasters. There was a recent book from Eaglemoss on THEM , not wonderbat or wondertrev, heck not even clois. They are always popular for Halloween, weddings, birthdays and cosplay. Hell SuperWonder is constantly used in pop art and paintings and on murals. eg See Dillon Boy whose paintings go for thousands of dollars! Superman and Wonder Woman even sell cleaning products and we have pics of scores of couples with their his/ hers tattoos !  Why is this? Because SMWW along with BatCat and possibly Joker/Harley are  popular with the general public and are marketed together. Why? Because WB is not stupid. And nor are merchants. 

The SMWW comic also sold well. Heck, it sold better than the Rebirth Lois and Clark comic by Dan Jurgens and Batman and Wonder Woman one by Liam Sharp. Wondertrev is a weak pairing because Steve was not Diana’s lover for 30 plus years when he was aged up and married to Etta.  It’s only due to Chris Pine Steve had a bit of a resurgence and even then God knows what is going on with them in the Wonder Woman comic. It does not bother us in the least DC has clois or wondertrev content. While it’s not our cup of tea, we get many  fans tend to lean towards tradition. BUT we also know that there are many other fans who like Superman and Wonder Woman together. And we judge this by the sales of the new 52 which was very successful when one goes to sites like Comic Beat and Comichron and sees the actual numbers. Kingdom Come is a perennial bestseller and so is the Dark Knight Verse where SMWW are together.  It’s not hate and hyperbole that sells nor does every fan care about “tradition”. DC understands this and this is why they acknowledge their multiverse because those stories are some of their best selling as opposed to the stagnant/ recycled ones of canon. 

Superman and Wonder Woman currently has an account on Instagram which is at 48k followers and is the biggest shipping one. Bigger than the traditional ones. Its content reflects the large, growing base and how diverse and universal our fandom is.  We boast fans of all ethnicities, religions, orientation, ages, etc and we don’t just talk, we have the evidence to back up our claims. 

So no, we are not hated so much. What we have are people who feel so threatened by our couple they are willing to lie and misrepresent and bully and attack us . They tried those tactics here on tumblr too when we first started this blog in 2011. Just go back and see how salty they were.  They were burning comics and destroying statues. I don’t have the time or money or energy to go buy books of pairings I don’t like just to destroy them to get likes from other haters. I would rather give books to someone or use the money to do something for someone. There is something truly toxic in those actions. 

I can only presume they tried to silence and shut us up because that was their way to keep their pairing on top without competition. They were not prepared to accept we could love these characters too and value Superman and Wonder Woman as individuals and see their heroism was not defined by only being with Lois or Steve. Fact we can see how unhealthy those troupes are when they do that to heroes. Superman becomes evil and forget everything he stands for while Diana is willing sit on her ass and mope for a dead man she met decades ago and only knew for a week or worse use someone’s body without caring about that individual’s right to consent because she wants this one man so much. 

At the moment we are 25,921 thousand followers on this blog. So along with the 48 thousand on Instagram, and the many other groups elsewhere, I think we are doing pretty well. Remember, we don’t have movies and tv series but what SuperWonder has are passionate and enthusiastic fans who buy content and write and draw and even if we had 100 instead of thousands, it’s our right to like what we like and no one can stop us. So be proud and ship SuperWonder.

[travoltacustom]

HYPNOSIS MICROPHONE 4TH INTERNATIONAL POLL (DECEMBER 2020) Part 6: Fandom and the Future of HypMic

Thank you for your participation! These are the final results for the 4th Hypnosis Microphone International Poll. After months of work on this, we have estimates for general fandom opinions. Do you agree or disagree with the general opinions? Please let us know!

The results were held back from original posting as we were waiting to post for a month before the 2nd DRB finals (which is on Doppo’s Birthday this year.) My deepest apologies for how long this took to get out. We will be releasing these results with a section per day, with the end of these results showing the Japanese side.

Click the READ MORE to view the results.

PREFACE

The data collection for this poll received 902 votes to give us an indication of the demographic of those who consume Hypnosis Mic. This poll was open to English speakers, and thus, results may be considerably Euro/American-centric. The word ‘international’ has been used to refer to how fans are from many places around the world, but the poll may also refer to this group as ‘English-speaking’ etc. The Japanese poll had a smaller respondent pool with 400.

This poll received the most activity through Twitter, given that the series is most active on that platform. The poll was also posted on Tumblr, Facebook and the HypMic wiki. Commentary has been given on sections of the poll. These results will be available in full on from this account. The Japanese poll results shall follow about a week with comparison to this poll.

The poll was conducted from December 2020 to January 2021. This poll is UNOFFICIAL and none of the composers of this poll have any relation to King Records whatsoever.

This has been split into MULTIPLE posts due to the amount of data and limitations of tumblr.

PART 6: Miscellaneous Questions

Respondents were allowed to select up to 3 characters.

As we were processing these results, all characters have received some part of character development.

Did MTR deserve the 1st DRB win?

YES, Matenro did deserve the 1st DRB win: 73.1%

NO, Matenro did not deserve the 1st DRB win: 26.9%

Did FP deserve the Rule the Stage DRB win?

YES, Fling Posse did deserve the Rule the Stage DRB win: 83.9%

NO, Fling Posse did not deserve the Rule the Stage DRB win: 16.1%

Who do you believe will win the 2nd DRB? This was not a ‘who do you WANT to win’ question.

CANNOT DECIDE: 23.9%

Fling Posse: 21.7%

MAD TRIGGER CREW: 17%

Dotsuitare Honpo: 14.6%

Matenro: 9.6%

Bad Ass Temple: 8.4%

Buster Bros!!!: 4.7%

Who do you think will win BB vs DH, MTC vs FP, MTR vs BAT?

Dotsuitare Honpo VS Buster Bros!!!

Dotsuitare Honpo: 56.3%

Buster Bros!!!: 31.1%

Can’t Decide: 12.6%

Bad Ass Temple VS Matenro

Bad Ass Temple: 33.4%

Matenro: 50.8%

Can’t Decide: 15.9%

Fling Posse VS MAD TRIGGER CREW

Fling Posse: 44.8%

MAD TRIGGER CREW: 41.5%

Can’t Decide: 13.7%

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO SEE IN THE MAIN PLOT OF HYPMIC?

With 902 responses, we decided not to do a table of these as we’ve already showed which characters respondents wanted to be explored more. However, we will show ‘interesting’ points that we’ve found.

INTERESTING RESPONSES

Exploration of the pre H-era Japan, what caused the war and what the war was like.

Exploration of post WW3 / H-era Japan with politics, society etc.

More female characters as either part of Chuohku, rebellion etc. Possible mixed gender crews

Revolution/rebellion against Chuohku. Referred to as “a SUMMIT OF DIVISIONS moment in canon” and later governmental reform.

Why was the Hypnosis Mic created and more on its development.

In depth explanation as to what happens after being mindhacked.

General insight into more than backstories but their daily lives and possibly romantic lives.

Introduction of more divisions / return of old characters to form new divisions

Another anime season; a proper adaptation of the manga

Why were the Yamadas ‘orphaned/abandoned/separated’ from Rei? Why did Ichiro hide what happened?

BB’s Mother/Rei’s partner - did something bad happen to her?

Jyuto’s past - how he used to be when his parents and partner were still alive.

Why did Jyuto interrogate Doppo?

Does Samatoki feel guilty for blaming Ichiro? Does he feel resentment towards Ramuda even though he figures that he was ordered to do this?

Jakurai’s history as an assassin

More on Yotsutsuji and Jakurai’s relationship

Jakurai and Hitoya’s friendship and how it ‘fell apart’

Who is the original Ramuda and why were the clones created?

Others finding out about the Ramuda clones.

Hifumi and Doppo’s childhood/highschool years.

How did Doppo’s depression get so bad?

The Dirty Dawg’s reconciliation

MAD COMIC DIALOGUE / Ichiro & Kuko / Samatoki & Sasara talking things out and addressing what happened

OTHER RESPONSES

Many responses of just “yes”, “):” “I’m” and “...”, but most importantly “I’m just kind of here for the ride”

There are many that are begging for angst, character death and “chaos”. Some have wished suffering upon certain characters but these will not be disclosed.

“For all of them to get therapy tbh”

“LGBTQ”

“A more complex plot”

“fun and crazy things”

Mentions of ships becoming canon: Hifumi x Doppo, Sasara x Rosho

There were accusations of HPMI being “sexist/misogynistic/not feminist enough” that went on to describe things that have already been addressed.

“I just wanna see Ichiro yelling “fuck you” to his dad”

Otome being Buster Bros!!! mom as well, or that she had some relationship with Rei.

“more test tube babies”

“More Doppo screams��

“(...) Whether or not Rei is worth saving or if I should just rip his tits off (...)”

“An explanation for (why) Rei is Like That”

“Rei vs the rest of the cast just because Mastermind boss battle”

“rei boobs”

“man I just hope they have a nice day. I would like to know about Kuko more :) hes funky and i think that's neat hope hes having a nice day :)))“

“More Kuko feet”

ADDRESSED REPONSES: Responses that have been answered/addressed during the 2nd DRB dramatracks to some degree.

Buster Bros!!! fighting with Rei

Jiro and Saburo no longer being dependent on Ichiro

Jiro and Saburo’s relationship being repaired / seeing eye to eye.

Jyuto’s backstory with the drug problem

How is Ramuda able to participate in the DRB if he’s being hunted down

Gentaro’s identity and brother/family.

Dice confronting Otome

Jakurai coming to Chuohku’s side

Hifumi’s trauma and who Honobono is. (Note: I hope you guys are okay after this one)

Sasara’s time as a gangster with Samatoki

Sasara/Rosho dependency

Nemu being freed from her mindhack/will she be freed.

Is Yotsutsuji still alive/comatose?

WHY DID YOU GET INTO HYPMIC?

Of 902 responses, 166 responses mentioned a character by name or song. Not all characters were mentioned but of the ones mentioned, each was mentioned:

Of 902 responses, 47 mentioned a division by name or song. Each were mentioned:

Fling Posse: 11 times

Bad Ass Temple: 9 times

Buster Bros!!! 7 times

Chuohku: 6 times

Dotsuitare Honpo: 4 times

Matenro: 3 times

Of 902 responses, 43 mentioned a seiyuu. Each were mentioned:

Here are some ‘notable’ reasons people got into HypMic:

“That's a loaded question buddy, assuming I went into this willingly. (...)”

“(...) I love how hypmic combined Male Idols, (Jojo) Stands, and a whole lot of angst in a project (with some fluff here and there).”

“Riou’s tits”

“Because I hated seeing it everywhere so I decided to learn about it before I hate it more. I've fallen deep into this hell.”

“ensemble stars made me v upset”

“I saw bald Ramuda plushie and wanted to know more about him”

“I saw Jakurai and went OOGA BOOGA.

“honestly i saw some fanart of doppo with the fattest and most juiciest ass ever and i was immediately interested, but unfortunately doppo cannonically has a concave ass and jakurai doing a brazillian butt lift on doppo’s ass cannot save it </3 i still love him though”

“Haha pretty rapper bois go brr”

“I'm gay”

“someone was hating on it on twitter and i decided to download arb”

“friend of mine told me to install enstars game, so i installed hypmic”

“I downloaded one of the songs without knowing what it was from for a two week trip into the buttfuck middle of nowhere Wyoming for a school trip in 11th grade and it’s one of the only things that kept me sane”

“Because Jakurai was a hot milf “

“Ice cream spoons”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To see the next part with comparison to the JP fandom, please follow us to the next post. To view ideas on the series’ production, go back to the previous post.

PREVIOUS | NEXT - NOTE: WILL BE POSTED TOMORROW THEN LINKED HERE

[staytheb]

Moonlight Melody - chapter 4

Word Count: 5,557 previous chapter, next chapter

Moonlight Melody masterlist.

semi-proofread. anyways, the fourth chapter allows Joohyun to begin her revenge of sorts and meets her new boss, Jinyoung. happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

The next day Joohyun awoke feeling refreshed, energized, and strangely anew. She felt like she had slept the most peaceful of sleeps she had ever had in a long time. It was if the Joohyun she once knew had been re-awakened to what the world and whatever it had in store for her. There was a spring to her step as she got ready this morning and was even humming a soothing tune. When Joohyun entered the kitchen she was surprised by the meal that her mother had prepared which were all of her favorites.

"Ma, what's the special occasion? Why did you make my favorite foods?"

Joohyun commented with a laugh as she sat down with her mother placing a small bowl of rice porridge in front of her.

"And aren't you in an energized mood today? What gives?"

"Today is the day you start your new job, dear. It's to celebrate the start of a new journey for you."

Jiwoo stated with a smile as she too had a spring in her step before sitting across from her daughter. Joohyun was at first puzzled as she ate a spoonful of the rice porridge. The confusion disappeared once she savored the taste of the hot soup before reminding her mother that she didn't have a new job.

"What new job, Ma? I still work at the bank. I've been there for the last seven years if you don't recall."

"Oh, silly girl, not anymore. Don't you remember?"

"Remember what, Ma?"

"Honey, you quit that job a week ago and a new one right away."

Jiwoo stood to fetch something from out of one of the kitchen's drawers, came back with a letter and some other kind of paper in hand, and placed them on the table for her daughter to read it herself.

"I don't know how you forgot about that when you were excited when these came in."

Her mother went back to eating as Joohyun stopped eating while reaching out to read the letter and the other contents that came with it. She scanned the slightly familiar name of the company and that today was indeed the first day she would be starting. She grew confused as she clearly remembered that just yesterday she was still working for a bank. Her brows furrowed as she recalled Ukulele's words about the tiny wishes that came with the gemstones. Next the image of the unknown man from yesterday also flashed across her mind along with how she pulled the string of the doll last night. Her mother looked at her in concern.

"Joohyun, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Ma, I'm fine."

She answered with a smile to show her mom that she was fine. She glanced down at the paper again with a quirked brow.

"How do I even pronounce this? Mole-Deer? Maul-Dur?"

~~~~~~~~~

Joohyun realized that her new job was the same company as her ex-boyfriend when she stood in front  the familiar building. She didn't understand how she couldn't have connected it, but she remembered that she never really paid any attention to the name or the company itself. Joohyun was more concerned with Bogum to have paid any attention to other things. The last time she was here was when she came to speak with her ex-boyfriend, but ended up doing a product photoshoot instead. Anyways, Joohyun exhaled as she gave herself a once over at her casual outfit consisting of white Adidas shoes, black skinny jeans, a thin black and white striped shirt, and a light blue jean jacket over it.

"I'm so under-dressed for a classy place like this."

She shook the thought away as she psyched herself up. She was already here and would have to deal with the outfit and her ex-boyfriend later. For now she needed to report to her attendance and not make a bad first impression. Before Joohyun could actually walk inside she noticed a car pulling up as Bogum got out of the car and almost walked right by his ex-girlfriend when he actually turned to glance her way and stopped in his tracks. He lowered his sunglasses to make sure what he was seeing was for sure before making his way towards the female while taking off his shades.

"Are you going to cause a scene here, too?"

Bogum accused as Joohyun frown.

"Why would I do that?"

"Never mind. Why are you actually here?"

"I work here now."

Bogum laughed before commenting.

"You really are trying aren't you? Wow, that's a good one."

"I'm not."

She slightly huffed.

"Today's really my first day here."

Joohyun held up her work badge for Bogum to see, but he barely glanced at it.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure it's a fake. I can't believe this is happening. I knew I shouldn't have dated you."

He signed while pinching the bridge of his nose. Joohyun's facial expression immediately dimmed upon hearing those words.

"Look, just go away." 

Bogum did a shooing motion.

"I don't need any trouble here. President Kim is going to be arriving soon and I don't want the likes of you around when he shows up."

"The likes of me?" She asked in shock before shaking her head.

"People like me are the ones that make this world function for the people who are like you."

"What? Say that again."

"I said what I said."

Bogum scowled.

"You need to leave now or I'll call the police."

Joohyun's eyes widened and before she could counter she was interrupted by another person.

"Mr. Park."

Bogum turned his attention to the person and realized that it was his boss, Kim Jaejoong.

"Ah, President Kim. I apologized for not coming sooner. I had an alt-"

Jaejoong held up a hand for him to ceased speaking while turning his attention onto Joohyun.

"And you are?".

"Bae Joohyun, sir. I'm a new hire and I start today, sir."

Joohyun shot him a pleasant smile and hoped that she wouldn't be fired already while holding her badge in front of her like a shield.

"Ah, Ms. Bae. Lovely. Glad to have you a part of the MOLDIR team. I'm Kim Jaejoong."

"Really? I mean. Thank you so much, President Kim. Bogum here thought it was a fake."

Jaejoong turned his attention onto a nervous Bogum.

"Why would you ever think that? Those that are hire for MOLDIR always go through a very thorough screening test."

Joohyun finally learned how MOLDIR was pronounced and repeated it in her head slowly. Mall-Deer. While she was doing that Bogum was stumbling over his own words of how to tell Jaejoong that it wasn't like that.

"Enough."

Jaejoong let out in a cold voice as he pinched the bridge of his nose before focusing his eyes on Joohyun.

"Please report to Wendy at the front desk. She'll notify a Park Jinyoung of your arrival. You'll be working under him."

"Yes, sir!" Joohyun complied with a small salute.

She dropped her hand a second later. Jaejoong chuckled before glancing over at Bogum.

"Let's get going, Mr. Park. We're running behind schedule."

"Ah, yes, sir."

Bogum stumbled ahead towards the car he drove up in as he opened the door for Jaejoong to enter before getting behind the wheel and driving off. Joohyun smiled as a warm-fuzzy feeling settled in her chest. It made the revenge just a little sweeter knowing that her ex-boyfriend was just scolded just now by his own boss. She faced the building and headed inside wondering how the rest of her day was going to go. She freaked a little when she found out that the person named Jinyoung Park was the handsome man she had seen driving in the car yesterday. Luckily, she didn't have to spend her first day with him. She was required to learn the policy, the product line, and other aspects of the company first. It was a very long day, but not as stressful as working for a bank.

~~~~~~~~~

Over the course of two weeks Joohyun worked diligently under Jinyoung's supervision. He was patient and led her well in understanding how everything worked at MOLDIR. Of course when he wasn't around and attending to other work, Bogum found time to bother her. He blamed her for Jaejoong's indirectly demoting him to errand boy. Bogum made it his business to annoy Joohyun so that she would quit. Joohyun didn't give in and wasn't going to let him walk all over her like he did once before. Now that she's been with the company for less than a month now, Joohyun was checking the products currently in stock to log for MOLDIR SHOWROOM's shop hours that was happening in less than three weeks when she felt someone gripped her elbow harshly and pulled her around. She came face to face with a panicked looking Bogum.

"Are you seriously asking for trouble?" Bogum asked her as Joohyun cast him a confused look.

"I don't know what you mean, Bogum."

"There are two police officers that want to speak to you."

"Why?"

"That's what I would like to know."

He let out a harsh breath.

"In all the years I've worked here, there has been no police force involvement in this environment until now."

"Okay, but what makes you think I did something?"

"Because they want to talk with you. Are you dumb or what?"

"I'm not dumb."

"Right."

Joohyun shook his grip off of her.

"Look, Bogum," She started as she took a few steps back away from him, "You're the one that ended things between us and I'm just minding my own bus-"

She was interrupted when Bogum noticed the sweatshirt she was wearing.

"Is that last year's Fall Jeco Animation sweatshirt that you're wearing?"

Joohyun paused in mid-sentence while glancing down at her pink sweatshirt.

"I guess so."

"What do you mean you guess so? How did you even get it? Those are limited items."

"I received it as a gift and was not aware that it was a limited item."

"From who because clearly I didn't gift it to you."

Joohyun frowned at her ex-boyfriend's behavior. Sure his words hurt, but she couldn't help but realized that Bogum was clearly not the perfect boyfriend she had believed him to be. She wondered what she had ever seen in him.

"Clearly it wasn't you, but someone else. Also, I don't have to discuss my private life with you."

The sweatshirt was a gift from Tiffany and as an incentive for her to join in as a side model if needed or wanted to make some extra cash. Joohyun had received three other sweatshirts along with the Jeco Animation, but she didn't really think much of it at the time. Still, she happened to wear the sweatshirt despite her usual wear for today.

"Look, Bogum," Joohyun said his name with a slight sigh to keep herself calm, "I'm just here to do my job. So Mr. Park, per President Kim, expects me to input all of the information by the end of the day to see if more products need to be order or assigned for the showroom next month and I won't let you interfer with that."

Bogum gritted his teeth while trying to keep calm as well, but knew that what Jaejoong  wanted is what he'll received. Despite his reluctance to work with his ex-girlfriend who seemed to be getting the better end of the stick.

"Fine, but make it quick. They're in Room B and don't do anything that'll tarnish the brand. Understand?"

~~~~~~~~~

Joohyun stayed silent after politely greeting the two police officers and unaware that Jinyoung would be sitting in on the questioning due to the fact that he had quite a few meetings to attend today. She felt slightly intimidated about what they wanted to talk about, but oddly with her lead supervisor's present she was feeling weirdly calm.

"Good morning, Ms. Bae. I'm Special Agent Yang Hongseok," The male policeman introduced him while motioning at the woman beside him, "And this is my partner, Special Agent Lee Siyeon. We're both with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department."

Joohyun nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thank you for taking your time out of your work to speak with us." Hongseok said in a calm tone.

"We'll make this as quick as possible for you to go back to what you need to do."

Joohyun just nodded in response once again.

"Alright, we just wanted to ask you a few questions about your old colleague, Jung Eunji. What could you tell us about Mrs. Jung?"

Joohyun frowned upon hearing the familiar name. She hadn't heard Eunji's name used since her death a few weeks ago and her ex-colleagues just went on like she had never existed when the funeral happened. Of course Joohyun didn't keep in touch with her family as she didn't want to disturb them in their time of mourning and simply went on with her own life. Joohyun wasn't sure what she wanted to say about her colleague as they were only friends at work and never hung outside of it. Still, nothing but fond memories invaded her mind and she spoke of those.

"Eunji was such a mom and even treated me like I was one of her children."

Siyeon and Hongseok picked up on the way that Joohyun spoke of Eunji with a fond tone.

"I remember this one time I got a paper-cut and the bank just ran out of band-aids and she gave me one that had a Pikachu on it since her kids liked it. It was quite cute and it made me feel better."

Joohyun recalled more things about Eunji from making a character lunch box for her one day or sewing a costume for her kids' school play to deciding what she wanted to get her husband for his birthday until Joohyun realized that she was kind of babbling.

"Ah, sorry."

Unconsciously she glanced at Jinyoung and he cast her a small smile which calmed her before facing the two police officers again.

"Why the sudden interest in Eunji?"

Siyeon open her mouth to respond, but closed it to let Hongseok handle it instead.

"Well, there's been a new discovery in the case and we're just re-touching bases." Hongseok replied.

"We wanted to know how Mrs. Jung was like before and after her hospitalization."

"I see. Well, Eunji was happy working at the bank and speaking with the clients, but because of her illness no one knew when she would return to work, and then she suddenly passed. I do remember during her stay at the hospital that she wasn't able to do a lot of things except pass the days calmly."

"Honestly, Ms. Bae, we're a little more interested if you could you tell us anything about if Mrs. Jung was unhappy or unsatisfied with her stay at the hospital or with the hospital staff, per se?" Siyeon asked wanting to get to the point of the conversation.

"Anything that you can recall?"

Joohyun tilted her head pondering if anything like that happened with Eunji.

"Not really. Eunji was always sweet and spoke ill of no one." She answered before recalling something.

"But I do remember there were times she told me that she felt out of it and just wanted to go home. She did keep this little ranger figurine with her as her kids gave it to her as a sort of good luck charm to ward off the bad guys. Bunhong and Woonggom were very well behave, sweet and calm throughout the whole thing despite not understanding what was going on with their mother."

Siyeon asked another question as Hongseok side-eyed his partner quietly.

"What did you think of Dr. Kim Sungkyu?"

"Dr. Kim?"

Joohyun said the name before remembering the doctor.

"He seemed quite professional and well kept. I don't remember much as I hardly saw him whenever I visited Eunji."

"I see."

"Do you by chance know a person name Hyun Seunghee?"

"I don't recall the name. No, I do not."

"I see."

Joohyun thought that was it until Siyeon brought up her old job.

"Why did you leave your previous job for this one?"

"Siyeon."

Hongseok firmly whispered her name, but Siyeon didn't care. The female officer just stared at Joohyun waiting for an answer. Joohyun wasn't sure how to respond as she couldn't just blurt out the truth. She glanced at Jinyoung once again as he cast her another small smile. Joohyun faced the two special agents and went with a partial lie that fitted with her situation.

"It was just a change of pace. Since my mother's getting older and hospital visits aren't cheap and MOLDIR was the best route."

"I see. Well, thank you so much for your cooperation, Ms. Bae, and for giving us your time to further investigate Mrs. Jung's case."

Siyeon thanked her while standing up. The others follow suit.

"Yes, thank you, Ms. Bae for your time." 

Hongseok also thanked her.

"Ah, you're very welcome and I hope I was helpful." Joohyun replied with a polite smile.

"You were." 

Siyeon assured with a curt smile. Soon enough the two officers thanked Jinyoung for his time and Joohyun completely forgot that he was here as well. Anyways, Jinyoung and Joohyun led the two police officers back down to the lobby to see them on out. After that did Jinyoung asked her about the situation and she vaguely explained which was good enough for him as he dismissed her to return to her work and that he would check up on her some time later. Joohyun returned to cataloguing the merchandises and didn't realize that Bogum was no where in sight.

~~~~~~~~~

Joohyun returned home, had dinner with her mother, did her nightly routine, and spent a few minutes on her balcony. Joohyun heard a faint melody playing in the distance as she looked around her. Nothing was out of the norm until she gazed up at the moon and just for a quick second she thought she saw a jade-colored rabbit hopping around while playing a flute-like instrument. She blinked a few times and focused her attention onto the moon again, but there no music playing rabbit hopping about. She sighed while rubbing her face. She asked what was going on with her and if her mind was messing with her.

Joohyun returned inside and settled into bed with another deep sigh. She stared up at the ceiling thinking it would ease her mind, but it didn't. The light traffic outside in the distance soon calmed her nerves as she slowly breathed in and out. She wasn't sure if this is what she should be feeling or if it was still so surreal for her to comprehend. It was as if she was questioning if she had made the right choice to believe in the grim reaper or as if she would wake up any time soon and go back to the reality that this was all made up. Joohyun sighed again as she closed her eyes. She opened them again when she heard Grim Reaper Jessica's voice.

"Good evening."

Joohyun slowly sat up in bed as she noticed that the grim reaper was in the same position as when they had first met.

"Hello." She greeted back.

The grim reaper shot her a small smile.

"How's it going?"

Joohyun smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes when she replied.

"It's going very well."

Soon enough Eclare and Blanc appeared with Blanc lying on his belly upon Joohyun's bed while resting his chin on his paws.

"Tell me everything." The while feline purred.

"I wanna know all the juicy details."

"Are the hellhounds going to be joining us?" Joohyun answered causing Blanc to make a face.

"They're busy. Aren't I enough?"

"I'm not a cat person. I prefer dogs."

"Wow."

Blanc blew a raspberry before disappearing in a puff of a white smoke.

"Don't mind him." Grim Reaper Jessica explained before Joohyun could apologize.

The grim reaper let out a laugh as she petted the black feline in her arms.

"He's just moody because Eclare beat him in a game of checkers earlier."

"Yeah. I got a King Me this many!" 

Blanc announced while holding up his paws to show Joohyun as she giggled at how cute he was and the black cat giggled along with her.

"Anyways," Grim Reaper Jessica interjected, "Is there something you wanted?"

"Huh?"

Joohyun tilted her head in confusion. Grim Reaper Jessica decided to explain it to her.

"You were unconsciously thinking of things that led you to unconsciously call out to me telepathically."

"Did I?"

"Yeah." Eclare answered instead with a nod.

"We get these invisible sound waves when those who want to seek out the other side and we come on over."

"Well," Joohyun spoke slowly," It's more like an answer."

"Then what is your question?"

"Is it normal to feel like this after the revenge is going so well?"

"Depends. What are you feeling?"

Joohyun thought about it before answering.

"Honestly, I'm happy that it's going well, but I feel like it's missing something. Like, I'm not sure, but there’s a void of some sort."

She looked at the grim reaper before continuing.

"I, well, I'm not sure how to explain, but I feel like I'm still incomplete."

"Oh, do you need a massage?" Elcare asked with a smile as he fluttered on over to Joohyun.

"Or maybe you want a slice of strawberry cake? I'm going to get you a slice an-"

The grim reaper whooshed the black feline away and he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Sorry about him. He just loves anything strawberry related."

Grim Reaper Jessica apologized as she now sat cross-legged in mid-air while a black file appeared out of thin air and she read its contents.

"You got a new job that pays well to care for your mother without stressing like before. You have also become a stronger person than before as well. Even your new big boss picks on your ex-boyfriend."

The grim reaper looked over at her charge expectantly.

"What makes you feel incomplete, Bae Joohyun?"

Joohyun couldn't formulate an answer as she herself couldn't figured out the reason why she felt incomplete and simply shrugged.

"Hmm, let me ask you a few things then."

The grim reaper closed the file to which she had opened before it disappeared soon afterwards.

"Why did you date Park Bogum, even though you yourself believed that you were too average for him?"

"Because he made me feel special about myself from the first time we met and had first interacted." Joohyun answered without hesitation before an afterthought came out.

"Or so I had thought I was."

"When did the feeling begin to fade as you continue to lie to yourself that you were still special to him over the course of your relationship?"

Joohyun opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Her expression became thoughtful and curious as she tried to remember when she had felt out of place with her relationship with Bogum. She honestly couldn't remember when she had first started to feel like that. It may have started several months after their relationship, but she wasn't sure.

"Have I really been that blind when I was with him?" Joohyun asked, but it was more to herself than to the grim reaper.

"Did I really disregard the situation so that I wouldn't feel lonely not having someone by my side or that I was just a safety net for him?"

Joohyun looked up at Grim Reaper Jessica.

"Did I get attached just so I can be attached?"

"Only you can answer those questions yourself." Grim Reaper Jessica told her with a calm tone.

"I'm just here to aid you as best as I can."

"I'm sure that you can aid in an answer or two, right? It's basically the same thing as I'm sure it is."

Joohyun reasoned as the grim reaper smiled at the woman's attempt to receive an actual response to her questions.

"You're weird, but no, I can't."

Joohyun sighed while lying back onto her bed.

"I've always been weird."

"And there's nothing wrong with that either."

The grim reaper floated down to stand on her own feet while walking to the side of Joohyun's bed instead of being at the end of it so that she could be in her charge's line of sight as the woman had turned her head off to the side.

"If you listen well, then there is something that I can do to help you find your answers quicker though."

Grim Reaper Jessica told her as she snapped her right fingers together and suddenly Flesh appeared at her feet. Joohyun's eyes sparkled upon seeing the hellhound with red eyes appear. She instantly sat up and beckoned for the canine to come to her to which Flesh immediately leapt on to the bed and snuggled himself against her.

"That is, if you're interested."

Grim Reaper Jessica casually spoke which Joohyun's attention went back to the grim reaper.

"Yes, I am." Joohyunn answered quickly.

"You have a free day tomorrow, right?" The grim reaper asked to confirm.

"I do."

Joohyun answered despite a majority of her attention was on the canine.

"Take care of Flesh for the time being and go out for a walk at the Golden Star Park tomorrow." Grim Reaper Jessica instructed as a dark red leash suddenly appeared beside Joohyun.

"Flesh will know when to let you know when he wants a walk and after that he'll take care of the rest."

"But what if my mom notices him?"

Joohyun's question wasn't answered as she turned her attention onto the grim reaper, but Grim Reaper Jessica had disappeared leaving her alone with the red-eyed mutt.

"Don't worry, Ms. Watermelon. Your mom won't noticed I'm here unless I reveal myself to her."

Flesh assured her as Joohyun glanced at him with an unsure look not minding the familiar nickname she was called by the felines a week ago.

"But how does taking you for a walk tomorrow going to answer my questions?"

Flesh snuggled closer to her without answering. Joohyun sighed as she continued to pet the canine while settling back into bed herself.

~~~~~~~~~

Joohyun wore black on white Adidas shoes with white skinny jeans along with a white long sleeve loose top with a thin black and white plaid cardigan over it. Her hair was in a long ponytail as she wasn't sure how hot it would be outside as well as if it would ran unexpectedly either due to it being monsoon seas. With one hand she held a small umbrella while the other hand she held onto the end of the dark red leash as Flesh led her along one of Golden Star Park's path ways like any normal canine would. The pup was happily trotting along on its little legs to which Joohyun couldn't help but smiled. Her mother hadn't noticed the canine's presence despite Flesh scurrying around all over the place.

Of course Joohyun really wanted to questioned what was the plan for today as she had no clue except to give the hellhound a doggie walk like any kind of dog would happily love to engage in. Still though, she didn't want to appear like more of a weirdo with her talking to Flesh as if he could respond back if one of the pedestrians happened to overhear her. So Joohyun just enjoyed the casual walk underneath the partially cloudy blue-gray sky until she felt the leash yanked hard in her grip and Flesh dashed off all of a sudden.

"Flesh?!" Joohyun called out to the hellhound while being pulled by the mutt.

This was totally not what she had expected when the grim reaper told her to take the red-eyed hellhound out for a walk. She was even more puzzled with the fact that the canine led her to recognized her lead supervisor and one of her female colleagues, Jisoo, standing underneath a pine tree. She heard Flesh growling at the young woman who seemed shaken up by its presence. Joohyun wasn't sure what was going on, but felt an unsettling feeling once Jisoo slightly turned and she noticed something shiny to the side of her colleague's waist.

"Call off your dog, Joohyun." Jisoo ordered.

Joohyun's mind blanked out as she had no idea what was going on.

"I said call off your dog right now. Do you hear me, Bae Joohyun? Call off your damn dog."

Jisoo repeated as she motioned with her hand that held something which Joohyun realized was a pocket knife.

"Call off your damn dog and no one gets hurt!"

"Ms. Kim, please calm down. No one has to get hurt."

Jinyoung spoke in a calm tone to de-escalate the situation.

"Put down the knife and we can talk it over. Please."

Jisoo pointed the knife at him again.

"Yeah, right. Why do you think I want to hurt you? I'm just letting you know how I feel about, Park Jinyoung."

Jisoo faced Joohyun once more, but still held the knife at Jinyoung.

"Call off your mutt, Bae Joohyun."

Joohyun opened her mouth, but no sound came. She instead try to click her tongue for Flesh to back off and come to her side, but the dog continued to growl at the young woman. Jinyoung cast a gaze towards Joohyun just as Jisoo barked at him to focus on her to which he did.

"Jisoo, let's calmly talk about this."

"I am calm, but you won't look or speak to me at work. You even threw away my love letter for you."

"I apologize. That was careless of me. But, please, put down the knife."

Make an anonymous call to the police about a fire in the park.

Joohyun heard Flesh's voice inside her mind as her eye widened.

A Fire?

She questioned in her own mind.

You'll learn later, but just do it without letting them know. Hurry!

Joohyun immediately did as Flesh informed her to do without catching the attention of the other two. Then Joohyun watched Flesh run at the pair just as Jisoo who in turn panicked and stabbed Jinyoung's stomach. She immediately let go of the knife in fear of what she had just done just as Flesh tackled her along with the injured Jinyoung to the ground knocking both of them out. Joohyun gasped at the scene before her. She didn't think that this was what the grim reaper had in mind when she meant that Flesh would take care of the rest if she brought him to the park. Luckily there weren't other people in their area of the park.

"What should I do? Call the police? Wait. I just did that. Then an ambulance? Oh my gosh."

Calm down. They're fine. The police is enough.

Came Flesh's voice inside her mind again. Flesh sniffed the two bodies before trotting over to Joohyun.

"Bite into a ruby gem until it dissolves into liquid form combined with your saliva."

She suddenly heard Flesh's voice ordered her snapping her out of her panicked state.

"First used a tiny bit to smear across the female's forehead, and then spit the rest onto the male's injuries."

Joohyun was about to do that, but shot Flesh a disgusted look.

"You want me to do what?"

"Eat the gem, smear some on the female's forehead, and then spit the rest on the male's stomach."

"No that's gross. What happens if-"

"Just do it."

Flesh ordered and something within Joohyun complied. She reached for one of the rubies, popped it into her mouth, waited until it liquefied, and then did what Flesh had instructed her to do. She brought her thumb to her lips and spread some juice onto it to smeared on Jisoo's forehead afterwards. Then with the rest of it she spit onto the stab wound with the knife still intact on her lead supervisor. Soon enough the knife melted away as the wound healed. There was no trace of the injury or that Joohyun had spit on Jinyoung. She glanced at Jisoo's forehead and saw that the residue wasn't there either. Joohyun glanced behind her over at Flesh who sat patiently.

"Now what?"

"Use another gem stone like a lipstick and kiss the male."

Flesh ordered nonchalantly as Joohyun looked taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just kidding."

Flesh laughed just as the sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance. The mixed breed dog quickly ran off to a different pine tree away from the unconsious pair while Joohyun witnessed fire coming out of the canine's mouth spreading onto the pine tree.

"This is what you meant by the fire, Flesh?"

"Yeah. Now c'mon. Let's go!"

"But how does this answer anything?"

"You'll find out later."

"Bu-"

"Trust me, Ms. Watermelon. C'mon, let's get a move on before we're discovered and those two wake up."

Flesh picked up his own leash and handed it to Joohyun before pulling her along. He assured her as they headed on back home. Still, Joohyun wonder if what transpired just now was a good thing or a bad thing. She sighed. She just had to trust in the grim reaper and the red-eyed mutt.

[weaselbeaselpants]

Hazbin/Helluva are hated for the exact same reason they’re loved:

Before I begin I need to repeat something and that’s that you please, kindly, DO NOT BOTHER ANYONE WORKING ON THE SHOW WITH THIS POST. I don’t care if you’re a fan looking for their opinion or a “critic” looking for their response. THESE PEOPLE ARE WORKING HARD, THIS IS NOT A CALL OUT POST IT’S JUST FAN DRIVEL LEAVE PEOPLE ALONE OKAY?!?!?

okey

Here are the facts of the matter:

Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss are independently produced cartoons made by a bunch of people juuuuust breaking in on the animation market, and/or internet famous artists having fun with the world they’re producing. The creator, like her style or not, is inspired and VERY passionate about what she likes and what she wants. Everyone working on the show is really into it and their work. It’s such a self-made fandom it was technically a fandom first and a product second. Fans feel like they (and technically do) have a say in how the show should be run and what the characters should be.

It is popular enough to attract attention online but not overblown by the mainstream media.

On the positive side all those things mean:

It’s crew is tight-nit and very passionate + stick up for each other and their projects. It’s basically a giant colab. Whether they were preexisting fans/friends of Viv, the people working on it got to work on something they liked and with people they liked.

The animation community is super pumped and excited for them be they fans of the animators or just people who like cartoons and monsters and stuff. They’re positively skeptical and in on the hype cause they want to see more fluid adult animation and more indie projects take off (also 2D)!

It’s fandom LOVES the characters, concept, and story. They are more invested in what the characters could be rather than what they actually are, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; to love something based on the concepts presented and use it to make AUs, hypotheticals and what not. Cringe all you want at the Onceler fandom (you can) but it is impressive to make all that material from so little!

They’re both edgy and insensitive based on their subject matter alone. And yet, the creators and fans DO intend for the show to be a net-positive: there IS supposed to a be representational aspect to it’s design and it’s audience. Brandon Rogers, the modern John Waters, is a pure shock-humor artist; an example of the sincere but not TOO serious risque nature these shows should have, and BOTH attract a pretty happy and excitable LGBTQ fanbase who hate bigotry.

The creators directly talking with fans means there’s again a sense of togetherness to the whole production. That the creators tell people to ship what they want BUT NOT TO BULLY is really cool + important.

As an aside, they can only say so much and Viv is at this point not 100% of Hazbin or Helluva’s creation. It’s other people speaking for or with it now. Neither pilot is a singular idea and musing of one person anymore, they are stand alone products and they are not immune from critique or favoritism.

Buuuuuuut, there’s a flipside to these things as well:

Beyond NDAs (as an aside, a lot of productions have these I don’t think it’s amoral that Viv had this) the crew is tight. When they hear how a site that they’ve heard through the grabevine hosted the guy who sent Viv rape porn*, even if the critique is from a user who hates that guy, THEY AREN’T GONNA HEAR THEM OUT. And they shouldn’t. They are tired and don’t want to be involved, at best (or want to move on from past drama) and biased towards Viv, at worst. They stick out for each other in the business and also who are you gonna stan if you were in their shoes? A person you don’t know on a forum you’ve seen post creepy shit OR your friend who paid you, promos you, talks to you and you like to work with?

Ask yourself honestly what you would do if someone said:

“hey I’m from [4chan/Kiwi, ED, Tapatalk, Reddit, ect]. I’m sorry for what happened but just so you know-”

I so get the crew just straight up blocking on sight. I don’t CONDONE it, but in a postGamerGate world I understand it.

AND when it comes to accusations made against the VAs, a producer, or one of the artists, and ESPECIALLY the creator - people are gonna just handwave it away convinced, it’s just whining or has alterier motives + again, friends stick together and choose sides...like Brock Baker’s :B

It’s popular so it’s gonna get love and hate. I know critics are not gonna like to hear the later, but it is true. It feels cathartic to dunk on a property when fans are crazy and you feel it’s overrated/bad. People feel good dunking on this mishandled, problematic clusterfugg cause they know not as many people are watching and unironically liking, say, Alfred Alfer ----- (please don’t look that or Emily Youcis up. Here’s the tvtropes page. Do not look beyond this point PLEASE)

Likewise, the clout surrounding the show is biased and detracted form being too mean as well. Everyone can tell there’s a kind of toxic mess under the covers but no one wants to deep dive or prod the details of something people are working on and liking so much, especially not when the loudest detractors are asshats like P.K. Russel.

A lot of merch has been sold and produced WELL BEFORE the rest of the shows or the finalized series/designs have been laid out. If nothing comes of either show it will be bad having all this merch hyping something that doesn’t exist. If it does but is so radically different than the vision in Viv’s and fan’s heads (these are both PILOTS, I’ll remind you) it’s gonna disappoint. I just know it.

People were writing Hazbin fanfics and AUs before the pilot was dropped and have made sequels to both before we have even a clear picture of what the ending is gonna be. People are in love and writing for a franchise they don’t know. They know the idea of it and the version of it in their head, but they don’t really know it.

The fandom can not take criticism. This is bad. Everyone is a critic and inside every critic is a nerdooo ~ ((critics do have fandoms and everyone will like something problematic for reasons)) Fans want to criticize but they’re scared of being ostracized from the fandom and kicked off of forums/servers, which has happened to two underage fans already. **

The fandom feels entitled to their ideas and to the creators’ attention. If it were any other fandom it is sooper cool that creators allow people to ship as they please, but not one that’s currently still in development and whose finalized characters haven’t been figured out. The babies have been sent into the battle field at only a few months old alongside veteran ship/canon/entitled cartoon fandoms like Steven Universe and Rick and Morty. It’s like the scene from mother! where the crowd dismembers and eats the baby.

Viv and has a serious influence on these people so even when her and a bunch of fans/artists are just gabbing about stupid memes on twitter, this invites a slew of onlookers to attack these people***. Despite the influence you can have or say to stop this behavior, it’s waaaay harder to put a stop to it than just saying “hey guys be nice” (Anyone else remember the inner-drama of Brony fandom? Like chuds would even take the word of the AskMolestiaMod to heart when their one goal was to take down the dreaded Essjaydoublewes that threatened their rape jokes).

Fans also have no boundaries. Sea also; Lincar Rox.

Being a netpositive doesn’t mean everything you say or do is devoid of critique. If you make vulgar/shocking adult content it will have fans and it will have detractors regardless of the positive intent. As I’ve said earlier, the problem with Viv’s works isn’t really the content but the context and the presentation. You can say Angel Dust is an inspiring character all you want. To some people that’s absolutely true but that does NOT absolve the fact that the it’s a cis woman writing and glamorizing an abused crossdressing gay man. People are gonna be offended and the creator needs tougher skin about this be it satire, parody, or drama.

*back when they were fixated on Zoophobia, there was a guy on Bad Webcomics Wiki/Tapatalk for the comic who posted art of Viv’s decapitated head getting raped by Angel Dust as a “joke”. Oh! and he also took the complaints the wiki had and made Viv and ED page. The rest of the forum was not happy but yeah that happened. The forum itself is the same as any reddit thread and NOT a hate site, but yeah um Viv has every right to quit after that, sorry.

The evidence is linked here in this google doc, which is why I linked it. (tbh I sympathize with the author but I don’t think it’s their place to say when Viv should have let the world known about the harassment porn )

**the underage fans who were bullied/blocked/demonized by creators are frootrollup1, for doing redesigned fan art, and StarVader from the Tapatalk/BWW forums, who was targeted and blamed by fans for Lincar’s shit. I’m not linking them for fear of their safety.

***The meme and twitter thread that went off the rails is one you’ll have to scroll down a bit through @gamergirluprising‘s post to see.

Okay that’s all.

---

[bygosscarmine]

W: Worlds Apart - Volume 4: Worlds Estranged

Kang Chul X Oh Yeon Joo - Fix-It Fic (T)

Read from beginning or find previous chapters here: Stories

All that’s left to write together is an epilogue.

Chapter 131 - Oh Yeon Joo and Kang Chul Have A Future (1560 words)

On Monday morning, Seok Bum stuck his head into the office and said, "Oh, hey Yeon Joo. Been a bit since I saw you here."

He sat at his desk, and started to write an e-mail, then stopped and peered at her.

"Are you...humming? Did something good happen?"

And Yeon Joo knew she was blushing, but she wasn't ashamed to say, "Yes. My beautiful friend from out of town that you didn't like hanging around Soo Bong is here now.

"Oh, congratulations!" He went back to typing for a minute.

After sending his e-mail though, he rolled his chair over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Really, I'm so relieved to see you happy. We should all go get dinner sometime. I don't resent him anymore, I promise." After a pause he said, "Wait, how did you know I disliked him hanging around Soo Bong?"

"Soo Bong thought it was really funny, at the time."

Seok Bum made a disgusted noise, and wheeled himself back to his own computer. Soon after this, their productivity was again cut short by the appearance of Mad Park.

"Oh Yeon Joo, I saw a file today that made me think of your father. It's another six months before he comes in for his check-in, so I thought I'd see if you were here. How's he doing?"

"He's doing well. Did you see the release about the animated adaptation?" she added with a false air of innocence.

"That studio has produced nothing but saccharine love story comics! Absolutely not!"

"You know the rights have been picked up before, you only have to worry if it goes into production."

"No, no, no. What we need is a gritty drama, a procedural, and scrap the last volume or two. Maybe starring Won Bin!"

"Speaking of the last volume or two, Oh Yeon Joo's boyfriend who looks like Kang Chul is back," said Seok Bum, forever sowing the seeds of chaos. "That's why she's looking so well today."

Unexpectedly, Supervisor Park gave her a close look, and said, "Well, I'm glad to hear that. You've had a tough time. What's his name?"

"Kang Chul."

"Funny," said Mad Park. "Just as well."

"Why is it just as well?" Seok Bum asked. "Was there someone else you had in mind? That guy I saw MK yelling at the other day?"

"I don't want to talk about that," said Mad Park. "My spirit is broken. And I blame you as much as your father, Oh Yeon Joo!"

He walked away.

"What were you saying about MK?"

"Oh, one of Barking Mad's friends was here, but he was having an argument with MK. I think you got set up with him once. Tall guy, handsome-ish. Apparently up to MK's weight in a fight, which is really something."

Yeon Joo wasn't sure how to think about that. Clearly she needed to catch up with MK soon. She made a mental note to text her--later.

Mad Park stuck his head back in to say, "And that epilogue did not cut it by half! The script has to be by someone who will get it on track. I did like the twist with So Hee, but I hope your father read my comments about the final love-line."

"I assure you he did not," said Yeon Joo waving him away.

-

They were laying skin-to-skin, not ready to fall asleep when Chul summoned the courage to ask, "When did you first think that this might really work? Not closing W's narrative--us together."

He felt her take a breath to speak, ribs pressing a little deeper against his.

"That's a kind of complicated answer. But when you came here and were so appreciative of Soo Bong letting you stay with him, though it was not a great apartment or situation? I was relieved, because you seemed to be able to deal with real world inconveniences with grace."

"But that was nothing," he protested.

"The fact that you thought so meant a lot to me," she said, fingers gently brushing his collarbone. "I didn't know how much your privilege in W would form you."

"Ah, I see. My memories of my childhood are of a very normal home, though."

"What about you? You must be asking because you've been considering it."

"It was a process for me, too. But I have to say when you asked me firmly to let you finish eating, after sneaking into So Hee's apartment, I had this sense that I was experiencing something new and important."

She chuckled. "Yes, someone who wasn't an actual side character."

"Not just that. Even here, people look at me a certain way because of how I look. Or the expertise I have, or whatever. But you looked past that. You can see me, under the all-caps KANG CHUL of my origin."

"I'd already had a chance to become a little resistant to your face," she said, still amused.

"When we met again, after I'd gone into hiding, I understood why you were so devastated every time you met me. But you had still risked your life to help me, and you continued to do your best for me. Even being gentle when I fell in love with you, though it was such a hard thing for you to deal with."

"Was I kind?" she mused.

"Yes," he said firmly. "Because you didn't run away. You were honest with me."

"Looks like it all paid off on my end."

He accepted that she was not going to see herself as a hero in any way, and didn't protest again. It was enough that he'd let her know.

"In case you're tempted to cast yourself in the light of the sole beneficiary," she said after a moment, "what we went through together, all this time, gave me a fresh start. When I saved your life I was on hiatus from medicine and not sure I'd ever go back to it. I didn't remember creating a character that then became so popular, and I didn't know what I was capable of in hard circumstances. This story saved me, too."

"Then it's worth it, and I'm glad," Chul said.

His love in his arms, he listened to the erratic pulse of cars and city life, real and alive.

End Notes, from Park Soo Bong:

When I first set out to write the story of Kang Chul and Oh Yeon Joo, I planned to set the record straight. I realized eventually that even with first-hand accounts and raw material to draw from, I was creating yet another version of the truth. It was a little bit more story than real in some parts, because it made a great narrative. I hope you enjoyed the story you read, and it answers a few questions you might have had.

And now, since it is a story, just like W the comic I'll leave you with the fitting conclusion:

EPILOGUE

Understandably, all those involved in creating W felt wary of continuing work in manhwa after this and moved into different fields.

Park Soo Bong worked as a consultant on new comics under Editor Kim until he sold his first novel. Acclaimed as psychological horror with vivid settings and relatable characters, it sold well, and he is known a prolific writer with a knack for subverting expectations, sometimes with surrealist twists.

Oh Seung Moo's retirement from comics was considered dubious by the general public after the several false ends of his webtoon, but he never released any more material. He created a blog where he reviewed comics which enjoys a modest readership. His die-hard fans loved it while his detractors noted he seemed more focused on aesthetics than substantive writing. Nevertheless, his words of appreciation have encouraged many a new creator in a tough business.

Kang Chul got the job at the publishing house that sold his manhwa using an assumed name. He did well in management and eventually started his own division specializing in true crime and cold case books. He did particularly well interfacing with television companies, and a contract with his imprint was considered a foot in the door for adaptation. After getting more established, he also founded a prize in literature for investigative writing, with a clear mission to vindicate the falsely accused or expose those who escaped justice.

Oh Yeon Joo continued to work in diagnostics and post-surgery support rather than operations at Myung Se until Barking Mad Park recommended her to a colleague at the university who was doing a paper on traumatic impact of emergency surgery on hospital workers. Discovering this field of inquiry was a light-bulb moment. She studied counseling, became licensed, and specializes in medical trauma for both patients and medical personnel.

A year after registering their marriage, Oh Yeon Joo and Kang Chul had a small wedding at which both her parents, Mad Park, MK, Park Soo Bong and Kang Seok Bum were present. There were no arguments or gunshots or even tears, barring Yeon Joo's mother's slight emotional moment saying goodbye to the couple on their way back home. (She tentatively likes Kang Chul, mainly because Yeon Joo is happier now, and partly because her daughter isn't getting any younger.)

And while they still live today, in our world, they are all very happy to have made it to The End.

[zach-the-fox]

Furiends Episode 10: Birth of Heroes

The morning sun lights the entire town square up. Several colorful canvas tents are set up for today’s event; Marketplace Monday, which is an event where many small and big businesses come together to promote their products and services around the public space in front of city hall. Team Rescuers stand before the crowd of people, searching around the perimeter as they remain back from the event.

“Pretty crowded today,” comments Kenji. “A lot of people at Marketplace Monday.”

“Perfect for our plan,” Jay tells him. “Mom should be set up about now.”

“Remind me again on what’s happening,” asks Miffy.

Jay lowers his tone to a whisper. “Mom has gone to place some explosives under the square. They’re set to go off soon. Once that happens, we’ll go in and save the day.”

“Interesting,” Cindy says. “And how does this relate to the flawed brats?”

“Mom has fabricated some pieces of apparel, based on their clothes. She has planted them with the bombs. After we “save” everyone from the explosions, we look around and fish them out, showing everyone what a dastardly deed they’ve done.”

“There’s children and families in the square, though,” Miffy utters. “Won’t they get badly hurt or killed?”

The wolf darts his eyes at her. “Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to get what you truly want, even if it means innocent people die.” He fixes his eyes on the square. “Once all of this goes off, those brats will be run out of town and never be heard of again. We’ll also make sure the whole world knows what they do. Get ready!” The four animals wait, keeping their eyes on the bustling fair as animals, tall and small, go from stall-to-stall. Several seconds go by, and yet not a single explosion can be seen.

Cindy looks to her companion. “So, what am I supposed to see here? Are they going off anytime soon?”

Jay shakes his head. “I-I don’t understand… They should’ve detonated by now… What’s happening?”

“Are you sure she set them up in the square?”

“She told me so this morning… How could she-”

“Hey, Jay,” Miffy interrupts. “Why are you on T.V.?” The wolf stops and looks at the flatscreen television overlooking the square, as does the crowd. His eyelids pull back as wide as they can be while watching himself talk to the hooded figure on the screen. His conversation continues to carry on with the cloaked being as they explain their plan for the orphanage and about setting up the friends. “What?!” Everyone in the watches with shock; their eyes wide-opened like the wolf. He and the team run into the center of the square with his glare still on the television. People in the audience point to him and accuse him of treachery.

“Listen,” Jay utters. “I can assure you, whatever is going on is some kind of trick. That all isn’t true!”

“Oh, it’s all true!” yells a voice. Everyone turns and traces the voice to the fox, who stands in front of the government building in blue goggles with matching-color cape, gloves, and tights. His paws positioned on his hips. “Team Rescuers are nothing but frauds and deceivers! They’re not concerned for your wellbeing, your safety, or your wants and needs. They take their own desires more seriously.”

“Flawed Fox!” Jay takes a step forward, clenching his paws with aggression. “Why you-”

Emmy appears by Zach’s side, wearing her goggles, purple tank top vest with the same color gloves, but with darker-colored pants and belt. “They were going to blow up the square, along with all of you in it, and then put the blame on us to deceive you all that we were nothing but terrorists. That way, you’d run us out of town or even kill us!” The crowd gasps in shock.

“Are you kidding me?” Miffy asks.

“Afraid not,” shouts the brown cat, making herself visible on the fox’s other side by zooming into arrival. She dons a black jumpsuit with blue lines to highlight it, along with blue goggles. “They weren’t acting alone, either! They had a lot of help from the headmaster of the orphanage! It was very clear she, along with your “favorite hero team,” were going to attack many innocent beings.”

Brook comes into view next. She dons a blackened mask with a hooded cloak to cover her dark jumpsuit with lime green around the area between her legs. Hovering behind her are the explosives that were buried underneath the marketplace. “Man, these things would’ve caused a massive number of casualties. We wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?” She sends them all flying away into the sky, deep into space, dazzling the people.

“We were able to stop your horrific plan just in time,” Zach claims. “You could’ve killed innocent people and children.”

“Flawed Fox!” utters Jay, pulling out a radio. “You didn’t think ahead with that, though! Come in, Mom. Those brats are here!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Wolf,” shouts Hatboy, flying in and landing on his feet as a bird before changing back to his original form. His costume consists of a red mask and white bodysuit “Your mother won’t be helping you out right now. She’s all tied up…” By his side, the robed figure is released onto the ground from his grasp. The headmaster’s constrained in a set of ropes around her arms. “One villain down, four more to go.”

“You’re not going to get away with faking anymore!” yells Emmy. “It’s time to come forward and accept your fate!”

“What would you all know about being heroes?” Cindy cries. “You don’t have what it takes to be courageous and cunning!”

“We are better than you, though!” shouts Carly. “We don’t go after harmless civilians and blame a group of unfortunate animals! You lot are too unethical to be called heroes!”

“I’ve had enough of this!” Jay sharpens his claws. The friends ready themselves, equipping their weapons and getting into fighting stances. “You will never beat us!”

“We shall determine that!” Zach retaliates. Jay immediately goes for the fox, but Zach blocks his attacks with his metal staff. Emmy pushes the wolf away and joins Zach, but soon Jay is aided by the monkey. Cindy and Miffy go after the cat and purple rabbit. The four intertwine in engagement with fists, leaving Hatboy to struggle with keeping the headmaster contained. The square stirs into chaos as the battle endures, causing the spectators to back away from the area. Tables are thrown and tossed around, tents are torn with animal claws, the sounds of clinging metal and shouting deafens other noises. The animals try to gain the upper hand on each other. Zach whacks the wolf away with his staff.

Jay growls. “I am impressed, Fox. But whacking me away will not do you any good!”

“There’s more where that came from, Jacob!” Zach responds. The wolf charges toward him, but Zach remains still. As Jay is three feet before him, the fox catches the wolf, lifts him up, and tosses him into a fountain. Jay is quick to stand and charge toward the fox again. He is no match with Zach as he readies himself. Zach jumps into the air, then comes back down with his foot against Jay’s head, knocking him down to the floor. The fox stands by his face and looks upon him. “You didn’t account for my new abilities.” He turns to see Emmy struggling with Kenji as he sways his tail at her. Zach runs over and whacks the monkey in the face, knocking him away. The fox then turns to the warthog. “You good?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Emmy replies. The two notice Kenji getting back up and holding out a wooden staff. “Uh oh!” The two animals prepare to battle him.

However, Hatboy zooms in as a car and hits into Kenji, causing the monkey to fly and hit the tent ahead, knocking him out. He changes back and looks to the two. “I’m sorry, Fellas. Did I steal your target?”

Zach smiles. “Not at all.”

“Uh, aren’t you supposed to be watching the headmaster?” Emmy utters.

Hatboy looks and see the prisoner has vanished. “Crud! Got to go!” He runs off.

Brook dodges some punches thrown by the cat. “Whoa! Nice kitty!”

“You dumb rabbit!” shouts Miffy. “You and your flawed friends will pay!”

“Don’t ever call me dumb!” The purple rabbit uses her mind to pick up a dumpster and toss it at the cat, hitting her back. Miffy gets up fast, then runs to her.

Carly immediately speeds in, kicking her away. “Man, you are one mean cat!” Miffy gets back to her feet. “Uh oh!”

“I’ll let you deal with her!” Brook focuses on the sheep for a fight.

Carly quickly paints something in front of Miffy. The beige cat pounces, but slams right into a wall spawned by Carly. Miffy struggles to stand, soon closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep. The brown cat paints again, this time, some rope around her to keep Miffy in place. “That’ll teach you.” She jumps when a flying lamppost lands near her. “Yow! Hey!”

“Sorry!” Brook ells her. “Just a bit distracted!” She evades the sheep’s attacks. “Whoa! You’re very feisty for a sheep!”

“You are a weird rabbit!” responds Cindy.

“Am I?” Cindy comes at her. “Oh!” The purple rabbit focuses her mind, conjuring a tornado gobbles Cindy and spins her around quickly. Once the tornado dissipates, the sheep stands, but wobbles. “Cool, I can conjure wind as well!” Cindy sets her eyes on the rabbit and charges again, but her dizziness causes her to stumble. Brook places her foot on her back to ensure she stays down while Carly paints restraints on her hooves.

The headmaster, having been chased by the stands by Hatboy, goes to pick up a wooden stake. She cuts herself free. Hatboy charges, but is tripped by the robed animal’s foot. She then points the weapon at Zach. “I will kill you for this, Flawed Fox!” She runs toward Zach with the wooden stake, but her attack is blocked by Emmy’s sword. The hooded figure tries desperately to hit the warthog, but when Zach aides her, the two repel her in an instant, disarming her weapon and kicking her back into a stone wall. The headmaster then takes the stake and throws it at them. The wooden picket is caught in midair by Brook’s ability, then tossed away. The headmaster gets back up in anger and charges at them again, but is stopped by Zach, who grabs her arms with his, picks her off the ground, and tosses her at a nearby tent.

Carly makes quick with her paintbrush to draw a jail around her, enclosing her in. “There, that should hold her.”

“I… I can’t believe it…” Zach looks down at his paws, then at Team Rescuers. “I… I just saved people… I actually saved people!” A smile occupies his face. “I AM A HERO!”

“WE are heroes,” Emmy implies. “WE saved everyone in the square.” She gives him a smile. Zach reflects her expression and nods.

“Hooray!” Hatboy shouts. Brook quickly picks him up and hoists him in the air. “Whoa! Hehe.” She then sets him back down, smiling.

“They won’t be deceiving and hurting people anymore,” Carly says. “Not after we exposed them for who they really are. People now see them for what they really are.”

Zach approaches the restrained hooded figure. “Looks like the tables have turned, Headmaster…”

“You!” the headmaster calls out. “I will get you for this, Flawed Fox!”

“That’s all you ever saw me as,” Zach says. “You and everyone else in Heroto, all because of my biological parents and disorder…”

“I didn’t care about what you did!” she cries. “But when you harassed my son and his friends, you went too far!”

“No, Headmaster… YOU went too far: Attacking innocents and blaming all of it on us… Putting me down was all you’ve ever done for me… I fell down and lied on the ground for some time, but then Emmy stood before me with Carly. Brook and Hatboy, too. They offered their support to me, so I took it, and I got back up. My friends are amazing, and we will continue to fight off anyone who messes with us or anyone unfortunate.” Zach turns away and sighs.

Emmy looks at him. “You okay, Zach?”

“I-I’m fine…” Zach puts his paw on his head. “I’m just a little empty inside, that’s a-…” His eyes widen as he puts his arm down. “Empty… That’s what it is… All my life I’ve been dubbed a “flawed fox.” However, I faced my darkest fears, and now I’m not worried or afraid anymore…”

The warthog pulls up beside the fox, wrapping his arm around his back for comfort. “You aren’t a flawed fox, Zach. You are more of a “fantastic fox”.”

“Fantastic Fox,” Zach repeats. “Such an interesting name for a superhero. I am Fantastic Fox! Hero of Heroto!” He looks to Emmy. “You know, you were pretty courageous and daring to take on Team Rescuers. You are also a good edition to the team.” Emmy smiles and thanks him. “What shall we call you, though? Super Emmy?”

Emmy puts her hoof on her chin. “How’s Acroswine? You think it’s a good name?”

“Suits you,” Hatboy spurts. “Oh! I want to be called Shapeswift! Because I change into anything I want!”

“Sweet,” comments Brook. “Hm, I’m not sure about my name. It’s quite hard to come up with one. Maybe Lafaun?”

“How about Dark Mage instead?” asks Emmy. “You look like a mage, and you can make things levitate like one.”

Brook agrees and settles on it. “I think I’ll stick with that.”

“Hm,” Carly thinks, holding her brush up. “Not sure what to call myself. I do love this paintbrush a whole lot.”

“How’s “Palette Cat”?” Zach suggests. “Good for an artistic superhero like you.” The cat smiles. Her expression spreads to the fox. “Seems like this is the beginning of new lives for us. Fighting crime, saving lives, and keeping peace.”

“It sure is,” Emmy tells him. “Sure is.”

@carlycmarathecat​ @emmy-the-absolute-goof​ @bendy-bear-15​

[allgirlsareprincesses]

Why Jasmine is the greatest Disney Princess

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while and I wanted to do more research before I did, but then the new Aladdin (2019) came out and HERE WE ARE. So this is me winging it with what I hope is still a pretty convincing case for Jasmine being the greatest Disney Princess so far.

What makes a great Disney Princess? Well, you could argue they all have something to offer: Snow White rocked some impressive sarcasm for a 14-year-old, Cinderella was pretty bold for her time, Sleeping Beauty was a dreamer with epic hair, Ariel is spunky and brave, Belle is bookish and kind, Pocahontas is regal and self-sacrificing, Rapunzel is sweet and empathetic, Tiana is passionate and hard-working, Merida is independent, and Anna is loving and faithful. There are others I didn’t include, of course, but the point is that there’s something to admire about every princess, and they all represent the modern woman in their own way. But did they need to be princesses in order to be these amazing characters? With the possible exceptions of Pocahontas and maybe Merida, I’d argue no. These stories would hardly be different, for the character at least, if she was any non-royal woman. And yes, I know Cinderella and Belle only became princesses by marriage, but even then, their stories could have been the same with any powerful man. It didn’t have to be a prince.

Of course, historical princesses and fantasy princesses are not the same thing, and we’re definitely talking about the latter here. Except for a few incredible and very unique ladies, most historical princesses were property whose carefully-preserved virginity was sold for a treaty, land, or a lot of money. They often lived and died miserable, their spectacular portraits notwithstanding. Fantasy princesses are, on the other hand, unabashed wish fulfillment for centuries of women who had little to hope for. These are the beautiful, powerful women we wish we could be, how we might see ourselves if our circumstances were different and nothing prevented us from realizing our potential. Fantasy princesses live the lives we want, and Disney princesses live the most flawless, perfect, clean version of that life. So by that metric, the greatest Disney princess might be the one who lives the most fully realized life that most girls can aspire to.

Jasmine in the original 1992 film

So, let’s talk about what we know of Jasmine (animated by the brilliant Mark Henn) from her introduction in the animated film. The first we see of her, she’s just rejected a suitor, so right out of the gate, we know she’s got no time for egomaniacs. A great trait, but not necessarily unique just yet. Belle also had zero tolerance for pompous douchebags. Next, we get some exposition setting up her conflict (and Aladdin’s) in that she’s legally bound to marry a prince, and she has a deadline. Naturally, she wants to marry for love, which is again sweet but not really original: Aurora wanted to marry for love, too, despite her betrothal. Then, Jasmine mentions that she’s never done a thing on her own, never had any real friends, and never even been outside the palace walls. This seems to be a hint that she might be spoiled and naive, if still sympathetic and appealing.

Finally, we get the line about “Maybe I don’t want to be a princess any more!” Ah, now that’s new. What does this mean? Is she declaring her ultimate goal, to reject her title and birthright, and become something new? Or is this setting up a lesson she’s going to learn about embracing her role? We don’t know, but suddenly we’re paying attention, trying to figure out if this is a spoiled brat or a girl on the verge of becoming a fully-realized woman. The next time we see her, Jasmine follows through on this thought, escaping over the palace wall to take her future into her own hands. We know now that, foolish or not, this is a woman with agency, who’s going to move the plot forward through her own actions rather than sit around and be an object for the hero.

In the market, we see Jasmine’s wonder at the world she’s never seen, but more importantly, we learn that she’s not just a self-absorbed teenager: she has a kind heart. She notices a hungry child and gives them food. True, she doesn’t understand that she needs to pay because she’s never had to do that, which is a consequence of her tremendous privilege. But, for someone who apparently had never before had direct contact with her people, simply recognizing hunger and instinctively seeking to correct it is encouraging. Importantly, this is also the first time we see her actions mirror Aladdin’s: we saw him offer food to a child only a few scenes before. The audience is starting to recognize that this girl is our hero’s equal (if not more).

Now, we come to the inevitable Damsel in Distress moment, and this is where Jasmine really shines. Caught off-guard by the abrupt cruelty of the outside world, she’s not quite able to talk her way out of having her hand chopped off for stealing, but thankfully Aladdin steps in to help. Jasmine, rather than being rattled and afraid, is intrigued and doesn’t miss a beat when her savior whispers “Just play along!” She follows his cues and immediately gives an Oscar-worthy performance as his insane sister, getting so into the ruse that she gives a glassy-eyed greeting to a camel as if it’s her doctor. To my knowledge, this kind of quick thinking is totally unique among the Disney princesses, certainly at the time. Even better, as we’ll see, Jasmine uses her smarts and acting ability several more times in the film, so this scene isn’t just a contrived meet-cute.

On the rooftops, we learn more about Jasmine: she’s genuinely grateful, she can graciously take a compliment (her blush when Aladdin tells her she “stands out” is adorable), and she is, in her own words “a fast learner,” at least when it comes to imitating Aladdin’s street sense. Finally, they arrive at his hovel and she’s entranced by his apparent freedom. Upon hearing how impressive he finds the palace, however, we see her sink back into her own problems, focusing on what she doesn’t have rather than her extraordinary wealth and luxury. From the audience’s perspective, this is definitely a flaw, but one that makes sense given her life experience up to that point. Once she and Aladdin connect over their mutual feeling of being “trapped,” Jasmine completely succumbs to his clumsy charms, and they nearly share a kiss UNTIL….

They are surprised by palace guards and the iconic “Do you trust me?” exchange takes place (this will set the tone for their entire relationship throughout all of the animated content that came after, but more on that later). Aladdin is captured and without a second thought, Jasmine reveals herself and in a commanding, regal tone, ORDERS the guards to release him. For a girl who declared only a few scenes ago that she didn’t “want to be a princess any more,” she changed her tune FAST when it suited her. In fact, from this point onward, she embraces her power and wields her position like a weapon, never again seeming to question her role as Princess of Agrabah. When the guards try to question her, she tells them her actions are “not your concern” and when they tell her she’ll have to take her complaint to Jafar, she gives the most menacing glare of any Disney heroine, ever (fight me), with a sinister “Believe me, I will.”

A quick note before we continue our recap of Jasmine’s epic badassery: during production of the animated Aladdin, the crew had a bit of a crisis with Jasmine being so amazing that she completely overshadowed the hero. Studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg (a horrible human who nonetheless brought a few nuggets of wisdom to the Disney Animation Renaissance of the 90s) is on tape saying he understands why Aladdin would like Jasmine, because she’s fantastic, but that he doesn’t understand why Jasmine would like him. At the time, Aladdin was written and drawn younger, scrawnier, more boy than man and more befitting his “street rat” title. There was a song about his mother, which also contributed to the impression of him as a child, and it quickly became clear that the hero was not really worthy of the heroine, as written. Aladdin was completely redesigned by supervising animator Glen Keane to have a more adult, heroic physique (despite the fact that much of his animation had already been completed), the mother character was removed, and Aladdin’s personality was patterned after popular film stars like Tom Cruise. To further “age up” the cast for this new, more adult take on the story, Jasmine voice actor Linda Larkin was trained to record all her lines in a lower register than her natural voice, making Jasmine sound more like a woman than a girl.

So, back to the palace (which, remember, she’d left because she didn’t “want to be a princess any more”) and Jasmine marching right up to Jafar to get in his face about the boy he took from the market. Still with that same commanding tone she used with the guards, the princess wastes no time on pleasantries and invades Jafar’s personal space, demanding answers and admitting no resistance. When he accuses Aladdin of kidnapping her, Jasmine doesn’t hesitate to tell Jafar she ran away, clearly more concerned about the boy’s freedom than any consequences she might suffer for her actions. But when she hears that Aladdin was executed, Jasmine mourns…. Not only for the kind young man who helped her, but for the damage that her selfishness caused. Though she blames Jafar when speaking to her father, Jasmine reveals to Rajah that she feels Aladdin’s death was “all [her] fault.” It’s not supposed to be her story, but we’re clearly seeing the princess learn a powerful lesson about the consequences of her actions. This is why we see Jasmine continue to mourn for multiple scenes, really right up until she realizes that Prince Ali is Aladdin: the guilt she feels is devastating. She’s reaching a new level of moral maturity even as the object of her affections is constructing an elaborate lie to win her back.

When Jafar is chastised by the Sultan for executing a criminal without consulting him first, he makes a silky and obviously insincere apology to Jasmine, who utters possibly her best line of the film: “At least some good will come of my being forced to marry. When I am Queen, I will have the power to get rid of YOU!” And then she marches off. DAMN, GIRL. And the best part is that Jafar takes her seriously. He knows that was no empty threat, and he discusses with Iago whether Jasmine will have him banished or simply beheaded. Tell me, when has a truly menacing Disney villain ever been that TERRIFIED of the heroine? That’s power, people, the kind that most women can only dream about. Jasmine has it and she’s going to USE IT. Jasmine, First of Her Name, Queen of Agrabah….

Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, Jasmine scaring the sh*t out of Jafar like the badass b*tch she is. So anyway, Jafar realizes the only path open to him is to marry Jasmine (and then kill her, of course), so we see that plot being hatched just as Prince Ali comes to town. Unsurprisingly, Jasmine is even less impressed by the princely pomp and circumstance than usual, if that’s possible, and she literally ignores the parade when she realizes what it is. Then she overhears Ali bragging to Jafar and the Sultan that he will “win your daughter” and she snaps with undisguised fury: “How dare you! All of you! Standing around deciding my future? I am not a prize to be won!” And again with the storming off (there’s a lot of that, I mean she’s nearly 18, after all). But seriously, this woman is my feminist icon. She literally just took down a potential suitor, her own father THE KING, and the second most powerful man in the kingdom with one line.

Finally, Ali shows up at her balcony and Jasmine is blunt: “I do NOT want to see you. Just leave me alone.” Of course, when Ali takes off his turban, she recognizes him immediately. She doubts for a moment when he lies to her, and then he starts attempting to impress her. This is the second time we see Jasmine turn to her considerable acting skills, and the first time she uses her considerable powers of seduction to fool a man: she stalks toward Ali like a she-wolf, telling him everything he wants to hear. She takes his compliment about her beauty (and remember, we’ve already seen her blushingly accept that same compliment before) and turns it into a weapon against him, drawing him in only to put him in his place as a “swaggering peacock.”

Naturally, Jasmine is intrigued by the magic carpet and the opportunity to taste freedom again, but it’s Aladdin’s ultimate tell of “Do you trust me?” that finally draws her into his arms and out into the night sky. Love, for this princess, is an expression of her desire for freedom: it’s what she chooses to do with that freedom, more than an end in itself. And both the music and lyrics of “A Whole New World” speak to that freedom as much as or more than romantic love. For two people who feel “trapped,” this song is the ultimate anthem. And as they soar, Aladdin tosses an apple to Jasmine with his signature move, and she’s again certain that it’s him. Rather than confront him directly about his lie, she again uses her smarts and performing ability to entrap Ali into admitting he’s Aladdin. She really lets loose on him once he realizes he’s caught, asking if he thinks she’s stupid. Then, Jasmine demands the truth…. And of course she doesn’t get it. Though this naivete could be viewed as a flaw, we know that their early relationship was built on trust, so it makes sense for Jasmine to bestow this on her suitor without reservation. We’ve seen so much of her harsher side ever since Aladdin was dragged away a prisoner, so this glimpse of her soft heart is refreshing and reminds us of why she is so extraordinary.

Back at the palace, Jasmine is in full teen-girl-in-love mode, having her first kiss and then dreamily humming as she brushes her hair (this is the only time we see her hair unbound in the film, signifying her achievement of freedom through her love for Aladdin). Upon discovering Jafar’s plot to marry her, Jasmine of course refuses forcefully, declaring without hesitation her love for Prince Ali. During the ensuing confrontation, Jasmine is a bit more the object for Aladdin than his equal, unlike in the rest of the film, but this doesn’t last. We next see her excitedly preparing to introduce her betrothed to the kingdom, even as he tries to confess the truth to her. While this analysis focuses on Jasmine, it’s notable Aladdin respects her enough to attempt to admit his lies and reveal his true identity, however belated. This shows how worthy she is, that in spite of the risk of losing her, Aladdin wants to be honest and be her equal partner. This is another theme we’ll come back to later.

When Jafar steals the lamp and makes himself Sultan, he demands that Jasmine and her father bow to him. Once again, she defiantly refuses, even as her own father begins to bend in submission. When Aladdin’s identity is then revealed, Jasmine is understandably startled, but there’s no indication she’s deeply hurt or angry, especially as she’s confronted with a much greater immediate threat in Jafar, and that Aladdin is obviously attempting to protect her. Alone with Jafar and reduced to a slave girl in chains, Jasmine still tries to fight back in any way she can. She pleads with Jafar to show mercy to her father, then throws a goblet of wine in his face when he suggests she marry him. Understandably, she’s terrified when Jafar uses a wish to attempt to force her to fall in love with him. Again, since giving her love is Jasmine’s ultimate expression of her desire for freedom, to be forced to love against her will is the greatest possible threat to that freedom. It’s not just that it’s a heinous thing for any woman or person, but that it’s the worst for Jasmine, specifically, because of what we know of her character.

A quick note here about the similarity of Jasmine’s situation to another princess who has recently joined the Disney family: Princess Leia. Like Jasmine, she is captured and chained by a villain (Jabba the Hutt) and dressed in a “sexy slave” outfit meant to demean her as a sexual object. Also like Jasmine, Leia keeps fighting back, and eventually finds an opportunity to turn the tables on her lascivious captor and use the conditions of her captivity (literally, her chains) to destroy him. In both cases, there tends to be undue audience attention to how sexy the character looks (hello, Male Gaze), rather than how she uses her strengths to defeat the villain.

So then, Jasmine spots Aladdin creeping up the steal the lamp, and this is where she cements her place as the greatest Disney princess, IMO. Just as she has several times before, she uses her wits and her Oscar-worthy acting skills, and makes Jafar believe that his wish has been granted. In a startlingly mature turn for a G-rated film, Jasmine uses her sexual appeal as a weapon against the villain, to enable her lover to defeat him. All undulating hips and shoulders, a sultry purr, and excessive flattery, she slinks toward Jafar, distracting him as Aladdin draws closer to the lamp. When it seems Jafar might suddenly notice his enemy, Jasmine takes the drastic and self-sacrificial step of pulling him in for a passionate kiss. What’s notable about this moment is that Aladdin, in a classically male possessive moment, becomes just as distracted as Jafar, and misses the opportunity Jasmine gave him. It’s another example of how, though Aladdin has many wonderful qualities, the princess really is still out of his league. The filmmakers made her so brilliant that it’s tough for the “diamond in the rough” main character to measure up.

Her ruse having ultimately failed, Jasmine still tries to fight back physically against Jafar, but of course she can’t. But Aladdin can, so he yells to her to get the lamp and she nearly does, until Jafar traps her in a massive hourglass. At this point, she’s back into Damsel in Distress mode since it is after all Aladdin’s story (I guess), but thankfully our hero uses his own cunning to trap Jafar in time to free Jasmine. To his credit, the first thing Aladdin does when he faces his lady after the battle is apologize for lying. Her response is perfect: “I know why you did.” She doesn’t say it’s okay, she just expresses empathy for him, because she doesn’t doubt his feelings for her. His judgement, maybe, but not his love. And then, she doesn’t hesitate to express her love for him, directly. And finally, when Aladdin tells her he must do the right thing and “stop pretending to be something [he’s] not,” she says “I understand.” She accepts that him making the right decision means they can’t be together. It hurts for sure, but she has the moral fortitude to cope with it. Seriously, Aladdin doesn’t deserve this goddess.

So Aladdin makes the right choice and frees the Genie, and then the Sultan changes the law so Jasmine can marry him. Her father’s justification for this decision is that Aladdin “proved his worth,” rather than that his daughter has the right to choose ANY suitor she likes, which is kind of unfortunate. If anyone has proved their worth at this point in the story, it’s Jasmine, who has defended herself, her family, her city, and her lover throughout the film. Fortunately, this is something the creators of the 2019 film recognized and corrected…. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

As far as we knew at the end of the original film, Aladdin and Jasmine had married, and I believe that even if you considered ONLY this movie canon, the point that Jasmine is the greatest Disney princess stands on solid ground. But as we know, that was NOT the last we saw of these characters, and all the content since then has only reinforced how uniquely awesome Jasmine is.

Jasmine in the animated sequel content

After the smash success of Aladdin in the theaters, and the Little Mermaid TV show, Disney read the tea leaves and decided to create the first of its direct-to-video sequels. These cheaply-made, poorly-written debacles (often derisively referred to as “cheapquels”) would be a staple of studio income for some time, and were an intense topic of debate as well. That’s a tale for another day, but the point is that the first of these was The Return of Jafar, in 1994.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this film simply because it’s horrible and I have zero desire to watch it again, but I remember Jasmine being a lot more damsel-in-distress and less badass than she was in the original film, right down to her voice being higher than the carefully-crafted and mature vocals she had in the theatrical release. The film was mostly designed to set up the TV show, by removing the obvious remaining threat of Jafar, rehabilitating Iago for additional comic relief, and bringing back the Genie. It did all of these poorly, but the show afterward was better for having these issues resolved before it began. And the series, whatever its faults, had lots and lots of great Jasmine moments.

For example, in only the second episode of the entire series, Bad Mood Rising, Aladdin and Jasmine are sent on a diplomatic mission to a neighboring kingdom, to establish trade. Interestingly, there’s no indication that it’s Aladdin’s mission, merely that the two of them are “the delegation from Agrabah” and the episode starts with Jasmine giving Aladdin crap for his lack of diplomatic experience. They find the kingdom devastated by famine, and discover this is because the king, a young child, is enchanted such that his moods determine the weather. The kid’s boredom and tantrums are causing his people to suffer, so our heroes attempt to entertain him. Only Jasmine succeeds by telling him a story, in a delightfully direct reference to Scheherazade from the original 1001 Arabian Nights. The boy king is so fascinated by Jasmine’s storytelling, he commands her to stay with him forever.

At first, Aladdin and Jasmine try to escape, but when confronted with the suffering of the people, Jasmine agrees to stay with the king. Aladdin of course protests, and Jasmine utters my absolute favorite line ever: “I was raised a princess, Aladdin. And a princess knows: the needs of the people outweigh her own.” Like WHAAAAAT? I was about nine when I saw this and I swear it blew my tiny mind. I loved princesses, but the idea of them having a responsibility to their subjects had never once crossed my mind. Hearing Jasmine declare herself a servant and protector of the people completely changed my perspective on mythical (and to some extent, actual) royalty, and influenced my opinions of fictional princesses forever.

Jasmine freely chooses to go with the young king, even refusing to accompany Aladdin when he comes back for her again, but we see her mourning the life she lost. Even in a cheap and immature kids’ show, it’s clear that she’s made a real sacrifice to save the people. Thankfully, our heroes are able to teach the boy king that being kind feels good, and he releases the princess back to her city. I noticed when rewatching this episode that Aladdin’s first instinct is always fighting and physical aggression, whereas Jasmine turns to diplomacy. This is both a trend throughout the series, and also a setup for Aladdin’s eventual maturation. The show nearly always casts Aladdin’s aggressive stance as mistaken, which is an interesting commentary given the time.

In a much later episode, called “The Ethereal,” Jasmine has a dream foretelling the destruction of Agrabah. She is, of course, extremely disturbed, especially when events from her dream start occurring in sequence. Eventually a sort of Angel of Death called The Ethereal arrives to pass judgement on the city. We are made to understand that this is a very serious threat, as this same being has already destroyed Atlantis, Pompeii, and Babylon. While Aladdin attempts to make a magical spear that will destroy The Ethereal, Jasmine and her father take her on a tour of Agrabah’s wonders, to convince her to spare the city. They show her the fine library, the marketplace, and works of art, but The Ethereal is unimpressed. She begins to rain fire down on Agrabah in a fairly Biblical vision of the apocalypse, complete with smoking rubble and screaming citizens.

Aladdin attempts to use his spear to nullify the Ethereal’s powers, but his efforts fail. Our heroes come to accept that the city will be destroyed, so they turn their attention to saving as many of Agrabah’s people as they can. Jasmine sees a child about to be crushed by falling debris, so she uses the same pole-vaulting move Aladdin taught her at the beginning of the theatrical film (nice continuity, Disney TV writers!) to leap over the rubble and push the boy out of the way. She is then crushed by the falling tower. Just in case you weren’t SURE that they just killed off the princess in a Disney property, they have Aladdin finding her body in the rubble and saying in a devastated whisper, “She…. she’s gone.”

Holy sh*t, Disney, did you just DO that??? What? Keep in mind that this is at least two years before Hercules was released in theaters, in which Meg was also crushed by a falling column when she pushed Herc out of the way. So not only did Jasmine sacrifice herself first, as far as audiences were concerned, but she did so for her people, not just her lover. This is not to say that Meg’s act was selfish, of course, but it’s notable that Jasmine’s sacrifice was for someone she wasn’t particularly close to, yet she acted without hesitation all the same.

As the people of Agrabah visibly mourn their princess, The Ethereal floats down with a smile and says “I have seen what I needed to see. Your princess’s sacrifice makes it clear: she understood.” She restores Agrabah, then resurrects Jasmine, who tells Aladdin “It’s the people. The people make Agrabah great.” The Ethereal then warns them not to forget this lesson, and leaves.

Though these are the two episodes that most stand out in my mind, they clearly demonstrate that Jasmine thinks of herself not as Aladdin’s girlfriend, but as a public servant, a political figure with responsibilities to her people and a genuinely empathetic heart for them. It makes very clear that when the Sultan’s reign ends, Jasmine will absolutely be the ruler of Agrabah. While this is never stated explicitly to my memory, it’s obvious that Jasmine would be the wisdom and power behind the throne, as there is no clear arc built around preparing Aladdin for any kind of leadership. Despite the Sultan’s proclamation in the original film that Aladdin will be Sultan, it seems he’s really more of Jasmine’s consort, which appears to suit both of them just fine.

This leads me to my last point about the TV series, and one that segues well into the “threequel” that ended the animated content: Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship is treated in a surprisingly mature fashion. What I mean is, though the writing on the show is often cheesy and a little cringeworthy, this is also a kids’ show that uniquely features a committed, long-term adult relationship. They often reference their plans to marry, and frequently say “I love you” to one another. Though there are ups and downs in their relationship, they remain committed and mostly very honest with one another, consistently demonstrating that their bond still rests on that trust that was so heavily emphasized in the 1992 film.

One episode in particular demonstrates this deep commitment, called Eye of the Beholder. In it, recurring villainess Mirage transforms Jasmine into a snake, to test Aladdin’s love. Aladdin determinedly sets out to find a way to break the spell and change Jasmine back. When they are unable to find an antidote, a devastated Jasmine tells Aladdin to leave her, believing that she will be a snake forever. Instead of leaving, Aladdin eats an enchanted fruit that also turns HIM into a snake, declaring to her “If we can’t be together as humans, then we’ll be together as snakes.” A furious Mirage screams “No, this was supposed to tear you apart, not bring you closer together!” And of course the episode ends with them being transformed back into their human forms.

While this is definitely more of an Aladdin moment than a Jasmine one, it’s important that her lover is shown being committed to her, because it demonstrates that he is truly worthy of her. Remember that in the original film, it was a major problem during production that Jasmine overshadowed Aladdin, so seeing him grow and become an equal partner is tremendously important to keep the audience invested in their relationship. I appreciate that instead of forced breakup plotlines, the writers of the series chose to show Aladdin and Jasmine growing even closer over the course of the show’s run, making them excellent romantic role models for kids.

Eventually, Disney chose to bring Aladdin and Jasmine’s story to a close, creating Aladdin and the King of Thieves in 1996. Blessedly, this film again featured Robin Williams as the Genie, and some much better animation than what we saw in Return of Jafar or the TV series. The story started with an obnoxiously-Westernized wedding, which was then interrupted by the appearance of the legendary 40 Thieves. We see here the return of Badass Jasmine, who punches out one of the thieves as payback for “ruining [her] wedding.”

Consulting an Oracle, Aladdin learns that his father, whom he had presumed dead, is still alive. There next follows another of my favorite Jasmine moments. She sings a beautiful song to Aladdin, about why she loves him and how special he is to her. The key line is “People like you don’t just come out of thin air.” Aladdin also has a verse trying to describe his painful childhood, including the wrenching line “Your father’s a man who taught you who you are; mine was never there.” I love the acknowledgement there that the Sultan, despite his faults, has been a good father to Jasmine, and that in particular, he shaped her and made her understand her place in the world. At the same time, Aladdin spoke to a generation of lonely kids with Daddy Issues, and there was Princess Jasmine, listening sympathetically and offering support.

The song ends with Jasmine encouraging Aladdin to go find his father: “Our wedding can wait. I think it’s worth a small delay. And won’t it be great to have your father see our wedding day.” No bridezilla here! Jasmine is happy to support her partner and put his needs first. When Aladdin learns that his father is “trapped within the world of the 40 Thieves,” Jasmine tells him “Take as long as you need.” Wow. He really, really doesn’t deserve her.

Aladdin goes off, finds out his dad, Cassim, really did abandon him and his mother, and confronts him about it. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie, but I remember being fascinated by how Aladdin didn’t let his father off the hook, but told him that his family had needed him. In an attempt to rehabilitate him, Aladdin brings Cassim back to the palace, where of course temptation gets the better of him and he gets caught stealing (again). Out of a sense of grudging loyalty to his family, Aladdin frees his father, but at the border of the kingdom, refuses to continue on with him. Cassim points out that Aladdin is a criminal now for helping him escape, and tries to convince him to leave Agrabah together. It’s at this point that Aladdin finally becomes a real man, defiantly shouting at his father, “I won’t walk out on Jasmine!” and turning his back on Cassim. DAMN RIGHT BOI, YOU TELL HIM. And as his father rides away, Aladdin returns to Agrabah to face the consequences of his actions.

Of course, they forgive him immediately and Jasmine even helps Aladdin rescue his dad later, but how great is it to finally see our hero show that he really is worthy of the princess’s heart? After this whole story has been told, this is where we end up: with Aladdin reaffirming his commitment to Jasmine, because homegirl is a damn QUEEN, thankyouverymuch. So Aladdin and Jasmine win the day and are finally married, and while we don’t hear anything of their lives together afterward, it seems like they probably had a wonderful life together, and that Jasmine was a wise and fair ruler with a supportive consort who always put her first. Or at least that’s the headcanon I’ve developed over the years.

Jasmine in the 2019 Live-Action Film

So this brings us to the latest of Disney’s live-action remakes…. BUT FIRST! Some context: I’m pretty lukewarm on this film. It’s fine, but IMHO it doesn’t hold a candle to the original animated version. That said, this rant isn’t about critiquing the film as a whole, so I’m going to set all of my nitpicks aside and focus just on the treatment of Jasmine, and whether she is STILL the greatest Disney princess in her newest incarnation.

Short answer: Yep, she is. While I can’t be certain that the writers for this movie had watched any of the TV series, I was struck by their choice of arc for Jasmine: whereas in the original film, her goal was simply freedom (expressed by loving whomever she wanted), her goal here is to literally rule Agrabah. That’s incredibly bold and of course anachronistic, but remember that we’re talking about a fantasy princess here, not an historical one. As in the show, Jasmine demonstrates an understanding of statecraft when she urges her father to maintain peace with the kingdom’s allies. Since she is interfering with his plans for a coup, Jafar insists she remain silent and enchants the Sultan into agreeing. This leads to an “I want” song for Jasmine, which she did not have in the original, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

While this Jasmine is missing some of the endearing traits of her animated predecessor, like the quick thinking and the acting skills, her ambitions to leadership create a similar problem to that of the original film. Remember that the 1992 filmmakers never quite solved the problem of their Jasmine overshadowing the hero, and now, with a new arc of her own that really has nothing to do with Aladdin, this Jasmine doesn’t really NEED him. Unfortunately, this leads to their two stories happening in parallel, rather than as part of a clear singular plot. Worse, it means that the climax of the film downplays Jasmine’s role in favor of Aladdin, robbing her of that wonderful moment from the animated film in which she tricked Jafar to help her lover. In the end, Jasmine’s achievement is her father formally declaring her his successor, and marrying Aladdin is more of an incidental bonus.

Issues with story structure aside, this Jasmine is much more academic than the street-smart girl from the animated content. She’s clearly well-studied in geography and diplomacy, which is why she has no patience for doltish princes like the one she rejects at the beginning of the film. She even has the self-awareness to recognize how being cooped up in the palace makes her an unfit leader, which is why she’s in the market the day she meets Aladdin. Whereas 1992 Jasmine left for selfish reasons - she wanted to be free of the royal pressures she faced - 2019 Jasmine left the palace specifically to learn how to serve her people. This is a level of maturity that the animated princess does not reach until fairly late in the TV series. While I miss the feisty, sharp-witted girl from my childhood, I have to admit that I love the compassionate, driven, calculating woman depicted in this new film, as well.

Which brings me back to the new song, “Speechless.” First and foremost, it’s fantastically performed by Naomi Scott, who has easily the strongest set of pipes in the cast. The musical style is out of place with the other songs, and the scene itself is a weird music video dropped into the middle of an otherwise tense moment nearing the film’s climax, BUT! It’s such a great girl-power ballad that it really doesn’t matter. Honestly, the lyrics don’t really even reflect Jasmine’s inner struggle THAT precisely, but this is because the song isn’t really about her, it’s about the audience, specifically the young girls in the audience. Disney understands that girls will project onto Jasmine as they do all the princesses, so they’ve given us the new “Let It Go” to belt out when we need to get psyched up about anything. I mean, I could easily hear this being played at a Women’s March or similar event. It might not make a lot of sense in the film, but Jasmine is definitely the perfect character to deliver this manifesto to the young women of 2019.

Point being, the only must-have on my list for the 2019 remake was that it not ruin my beloved Princess of Agrabah, and blessedly, they didn’t. And I think she still holds a solid first place among the princesses of the Disney lexicon, as the only one to seriously treat her role as a head of state. Pocahontas, Merida, and Moana all had moments of service to their people as well, but none with quite the boldness, cunning, and selflessness that Jasmine achieved in all of her many incarnations. I assume that Disney is seeing dollar signs and will put out another live-action sequel at some point, and it will probably be terrible, but honestly I don’t mind seeing more Jasmine as long as she continues to be the example of a powerful princess.

So thanks for reading my first unnecessarily-long Tumblr rant, and if you made it all the way to the end, please comment or reblog and let me know what you think!

[innuendostudios]

A video essay on the complex morality of Princess Mononoke and the importance of picking a side. My contribution to Mikey Neumann’s Lessons Animation Taught Us. If you like my videos, do please consider supporting me on Patreon!

Transcript below the cut.

Here’s the thing about Princess Mononoke: Lady Eboshi is wrong. She’s wrong. But we’re still expected to care about her.

Most animated films have a linear correlation between how good a character is and how much we’re supposed to care about them. A character we’ve been considering a villain for the entire movie shares a sympathetic backstory and immediately they’re one of the good people. A character we’ve spent the movie building an emotional investment in does something evil and our empathy for them is null and void.

But Miyazaki movies tend to traffic more in this kind of emotional landscape. Everybody, right or wrong, no matter what they’ve done, is deserving of empathy. The whole of Princess Mononoke is a parable against hate.

By way of our avatar, Ashitaka, we see the conflict from all sides. We get to hang out in the forest, see its beauty, commune with its spirits, be in awe of its deer god. We get to hang out with San and see the tensions between the apes, the boars, and the wolves. We see him earn the respect of Moro. We see the damage caused by the encroaching humans: ruined trees, dying gods, and a wolf girl who despises her own humanity and wants to murder every human she meets.

And we get to hang out inside Irontown as well. We see the remarkable community Lady Eboshi has built, see the women rescued from brothels, the lepers rescued from begging. We see the pride they take in their work, and are proud to join in. We see the esteem the community holds Eboshi in, their willingness to fight and die for her. We are vaguely aware of how hard and hopeless their lives would have been without her. And we see how they fear for their loved ones after an attack by the wolves, and with them we mourn their dead.

The fight between Irontown and the forest has no obvious villains. Lady Eboshi clearcuts the forest to fuel her ironworks and provide a better life for her people, and San tries to kill Lady Eboshi to keep the forest from dying. Everybody’s protecting what they love, everybody’s doing what’s right in their worldview, everybody’s lost loved ones at the hands of the other and is poisoned by hate over it. Everybody’s guilty of something.

Ashitaka understands all of this, and pledges to see with eyes unclouded… but he still picks a side.

Because Lady Eboshi is wrong.

What if there were no blood feud? If Lady Eboshi had never entered the forest, San wouldn’t hate her. The wolves wouldn’t attack, San wouldn’t infiltrate the town, no one would have died in raids. But if San had never attacked Irontown, Lady Eboshi would still be cutting down trees, depleting the land, and polluting the air, and the forest would still be dying. The destruction wouldn’t be hateful, but it would still be death.

Ashitaka wants peace, wants Irontown and the forest to live together without conflict. Which means he has to side with the forest. He has to stop Lady Eboshi from killing the forest spirit, because there will never be peace between humans and nature if nature dies. He still does everything he can to protect the ironworkers, to secure their town, to de-escalate fights, and he never stops caring about Lady Eboshi. But caring about her doesn’t mean letting her do what she’s going to do.

There is a tendency, especially in animated films, to treat empathy and approval as the same thing. If you tell someone they’re wrong, you’re telling them you don’t care about them. To judge someone is to vilify them. And if you empathize with all sides of a conflict, then you understand no one’s right and no one’s wrong, everything is subjective, and all struggle is simply miscommunication.

But this is not a difference of opinion that would get hashed out if San and Lady Eboshi would just sit and talk. One opinion is that the forest deserves to live, and one opinion is that the forest will die because it doesn’t matter. There is no middle ground on that, no golden mean. Which means not picking a side is a luxury we don’t have. And Lady Eboshi is wrong.

Not to deny the existence of the actually irredeemable, but most bad opinions are held by good people, and you have to learn to love them while you judge them. And you still have to stop them.

You could tell Lady Eboshi, “San blames this fight on you, because you attacked her home and shot her mother.”

And Lady Eboshi might reply, “I could say the same. She attacked my home and killed my men. I think she’s to blame, she thinks I’m to blame. Who’s to say what’s right?”

But, well, we are.

From comments on my other videos I gather this is the most controversial thing I will ever say on this channel, but: truth exists. Douglas Adams said, “My view is that the moon is made of rock. If someone says to me 'Well, you haven't been there, have you? You haven't seen it for yourself, so my view that it is made of Norwegian Beaver Cheese is equally valid' - then I can't even be bothered to argue.” Truth is not subject to opinion. The forest either matters or it doesn’t. And, if we don’t intervene, it’s going to die.

Morality depends on believing some things are simply true. That life has value, that cold-blooded murder is wrong, that pain and suffering should be alleviated. And not just in the utilitarian sense that you agree not to kill other people so they’ll agree not to kill you, but that anyone killing anyone is objectively bad. We can acknowledge our fallibility, that we are products of our environment, that our needs and loyalties will affect what we think is right - obviously Lady Eboshi is going to believe the forest is expendable, her livelihood and the wellbeing of her entire community depend on it; she believes what she needs to believe - but morality means, if we could somehow cut through all that, there would still be a difference between right and wrong. If you don’t believe that, maybe what you believe in isn’t morals, maybe it’s self-interest and tribalism.

It’s impossible to know whether this is true. Maybe Jigo’s right: Long life, short life, everybody dies and it doesn’t matter when. Maybe if we could cut through all our biases we’d see that nothing is objectively anything, morality is just a tribalism that extends to all living things, self-interest on a grander scale. We can’t know for sure, but the world seems to be a better place when we believe otherwise.

So pick a side.

Ashitaka chooses the forest. Because Lady Eboshi is wrong.

But he refuses to hate her. Hate is not the source of this conflict; of all the major players, Jigo is the least hateful, merely selfish and mercenary, but he’s also the closest we come to a proper antagonist. Quelling grudges won’t solve this, but hate does prevent people from seeing what needs to be done. Lady Eboshi doesn’t need to be killed, she needs to be saved. She would disagree that stopping her at every turn is salvation, and call it condescending, if you want, to say we know better, but it’s true.

And maybe that looks like hate to her. Maybe that’s what she’d say if things would slow down for thirty seconds: “Ashitaka, why do you hate me? You have devoted the last third of this movie to getting in my way. I let you into my home, was kind to you, fed you, let you befriend my people. Why have you sided against me?”

No explanation could possibly sound, to her, like anything but hate. But it isn’t. Ashitaka’s just doing what’s right.

Did I learn this lesson from Princess Mononoke? I don’t know. I don’t remember how old I was when I first saw it. I think it was high school, might have been earlier. I don’t know if this is where I first heard the idea, but it’s always the place that comes to mind: That you have a responsibility to consider all sides of a problem, and a responsibility to make a judgment, and a responsibility to care for all involved. That picking a side doesn’t always mean casting a villain, no matter how much the other side accuses of doing just that. That empathy is not synonymous with letting people do whatever they’re going to do. And that, in considering every view, it’s your job not to be paralyzed by too much perspective.

And that’s daunting. To hold not only your own biases but those of a number of very worked up people all in mind at once, often while they are lashing out at you, and somehow cut through to decide what’s right? Is that even possible? Is it arrogant to think it is? What if you get it wrong? At the end of the day, who can really know anything?

That’s the struggle, isn’t it? Don’t know if you can. Just know you gotta try.

[romana73]

REYLO VS BALDIOS

Post written by ME. The animated gifs and pictures shown, however, AREN’T MINE and DON’T BELONG TO ME IN ANY WAY. Sorry for my mistakes, but English isn’t my first language

"I'll destroy her...and you...and all of it" (Kylo Ren, from "Star Wars, Episode VIII, The Last Jedi" movie) I read much worry ‘cause at end of movie and book "Star Wars. Episode VIII. The last Jedi ", Kylo Ren has decided and declared he wants to destroy Rey... who could read Episode VIII script said, at movie’s end, Rey and Kylo are described as" enemies with complications". In book, after explosion caused by their struggle for possession of Anakin’s old lightsaber, Kylo wakes up surprised to be alive. He discovers Rey has awakened before him and he understands she hasn’t killed him and... he blames her. Kylo thinks Rey was wrong and decision didn’t kill him would have destroyed her. He would have destroyed Rey. This is perfectly in line with Kylo’s character. Unlike Anakin who fell into Dark Side for FEAR OF LOSING LOVE, his wife Padmé, Kylo REFUSES any kind of feeling. Commenting on Finn’s escape, a former First Order soldier who, at the beginning of "Star Wars. Episode VII. The Force Awakens" movie, Kylo observes:

“How capable are your soldiers, General?”

“I won't have you question my methods”

“They're obviously skilled at committing high treason. Perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army”

(Kylo Ren and General Hux, from "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" movie)

Joke about Clones isn’t just a reference to Star Wars prequels. In Star Wars. Episode II, it’s explained clones are PROGRAMMED to war, to take orders, without disobeying or posing moral dilemmas. In this perspective, we also understand some parts of this dialogue between Kylo and Rey, in "Star Wars, Episode VIII, The Last Jedi" movie:

“Why did you hate your father? Do you have something? A cowl, or something you could put on? Why did you hate your father? Give me an honest answer. You had a father who loved you; he gave a damn about you!”

“I didn't hate him”

[...]

“No? Your parents threw you away like garbage”

“They didn't”

“They did, but you can't stop needing them. It's your greatest weakness. Looking for them everywhere, in Han Solo, and now in Skywalker [...]”

“Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. That's the only way to become what you were meant to be.”

(Rey and Kylo Ren, from "Star Wars, Episode VIII, The Last Jedi" movie)

Kylo was TEACHING Rey to have less possible feelings ‘cause, for Kylo, ​​HAVE FEELINGS means having WEAK POINTS. ‘Cause this, Kylo becomes enraged when he realizes Rey might feel something for him: ‘cause it means he hasn’t taught anything to her, ‘cause HE has become Rey's WEAK POINT, 'cause he’s in DANGER, since he could REPLACE Rey and this would be an OBSTACLE to accomplish what he proposes ... to explain all this and to reassure those who believe Ben Solo/Kylo Ren CAN’T REDEEM HIMSELF, ‘cause he killed his father Han, he chose Dark Side in full awareness, etc... I decided to propose parallels between Reylo and old robotic cartoon "Baldios". Comprised of 34 episodes, Baldios was produced in 1980 by Ashi Production. Unfortunately, cartoon was too modern for that time and, due to poor audience, it was interrupted abruptly, leaving without end Earth’s story and LOVE STORY between MARIN, male protagonist and APHRODIA, Marin’s BIG ENEMY. Fortunately, in 1981, Toei Animation produced "Baldios. The Movie" animated movie, which represents story’s end:

Story is this: getting too close to sun, contaminated by radiation, Saul 1 planet (S1) is dying. Sea and vegetation have disappeared. The air is unbreathable and population is forced to live underground, but even this solution begins to no longer work, due to lack of resources. S1 EMPEROR is called to make a decision, mediating between two groups in struggle: scientists, led by Professor Reigan who found a solution, able to make living S1 again, but they need time to study it and implement it. Military, led by Theo Gattler, commander of Aldebaran’s army, S1 militias, wish instead to take away S1 population and colonize a second habitable planet, Earth. Battle also ends with Marin Reigan, a pilot, Reigan’son who, in front of room hosting the meeting, clashes with soldier Miran and two of his friends. To sedate spirits, arrived Aphrodia, Miran's elder sister and head of Gattler's guards, as well as his beloved. Affected by girl, Marin doesn’t realize he has lost his identification card, collected by Aphrodia. Gattler proposes to Aphrodia and Miran a decisive solution to win dispute: murder Emperor and all scientists. Aphrodia is responsible for Emperor’s murder, in whose room he drops Marin’s ID card so he’s to be blamed for murder. Miran and his men will instead take care of killing scientists. Plan’s first part is fine: Aphrodia kills Emperor, dropping Marin badge on floor, while Gattler declares himself Dictator, electing Aphrodia as ARMY’S SUPREME COMMANDER. Miran goes to scientists' lab and, showing Marin's card, he informs Professor Reigan his son is accused of murdering Emperor. Knowing Marin is innocent, Reigan reacts to defend him. Miran prepares to shoot, but Marin arrives to save his father. Miran tries to kill man again, but Marin throws a piece of iron into his neck, killing him. Aphrodia arrives, to whom dead brother’s  sight breaks her heart. Learning Marin was who killed her brother, Aphrodia swears she will never forgive him and she will take her revenge. Marin answers he will never forgive her. Marin and his father try to escape, but man is killed by military. Marin takes his spaceship and tries to stop Gattler's mother ship from leaving S1, but Aphrodia arrives trying to kill him. In battle, Marin's ship is sucked into a vortex temporal space. Marin crashes on Moon where he’s picked up by the Blue Fixers, a special team at United Nations terrestrial service, which take him to their base on Earth. At beginning, Marin was met with suspicion and treated as a prisoner, interrogated and incarcerated. Only beautiful Jamie Oshino and Professor Era Quinstein, base scientist, seem to believe him. Upon forces of Gattler and Aphrodia’s arrival, who have decided to conquer and colonize Earth, everything changes. Marin’s knowledge and his skills in battle make him win trust of Blue Fixers and Jonathan Bannister, base’s head. Marin accepts to stand on Terrans side against Aldebaran. Meanwhile, despite battles and hatred, Aphrodia begins to feels something for Marin, but... In a flashback we learn as children, Aphrodia and Miran lost their parents in a tragic car accident. Gattler has come to their rescue. He has adopted and educated them. A Baldios. The Movie’s scene suggests, having become ADULT, Aphrodia was ABUSED by Gattler, although this is NEVER explicitly said:

Kylo Ren was MANIPOLATED and CORROTTED by Supreme Leader Snoke, who took him to Dark Side:

In closing theme of each episode of Baldios cartoon series, Marin and Aphrodia hold hands, watching sunset over sea:

In "Star Wars. Episode VIII. The Last Jedi" movie, Rey offers her hand to Kylo and he ACCEPT TO TAKE IT:

In first cartoon’s episode, Marin notices Aphrodia is a beautiful woman, despite always wearing glasses, uniform and wear hair hidden under military hat:

In "Star Wars. Episode VII. The Force Awakens" movie, Rey remains disoriented when Kylo removes his mask, revealing to be a normal boy:

In cartoon’s first episode, Aphrodia declares: "Emotional alterations lead to unpredictable mistakes ..." (Aphrodia 1x01 Baldios)

In "Star Wars. Episode VII. The Force Awakens" movie, when Snoke informs Kylo that BB8 is on ship of Han Solo, his father and Kylo will have to kill him, he answers: "He means nothing to me" "Even you, Master of the Knights of Ren, have never faced such a test" "By the grace of your training I will not be seduced " (Kylo Ren and Snoke, from "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” movie)

Marin and Aphrodia flee from Gattler. Arrived on Earth, exhausted, they faint on a lighthouse’s floor. Aphrodia recovers first and she tries to KILL Marin, still unconscious, but she can’t do it:

In "Star Wars. Episode VIII. The Last Jedi" movie, Rey and Ben Solo/Kylo Ren fight over Anakin's lightsaber possession. Fight causes explosion of spaceship on which they are and throws Rey and Ben Solo/Kylo Ren to opposite sides of Throne Room. They falled unconscious. Rey recovers first and flees, LEAVING IN LIFE Kylo Ren:

Awakening, Marin leads Aphrodia to base, where she’s imprisoned and brutally interrogated. Marin disagrees, but his friends remind him how many terrestrials Aphrodia deliberately killed, including their families. In end, Marin blocks interrogation, bringing Aphrodia to doctor who, reluctantly, cares her:

In "Star Wars. Episode VIII. The Last Jedi" movie, Kylo Ren brings Rey in Snoke’s presence, who interrogates her in a brutal way:

In "Baldios. The Movie ", Gattler incites Aphrodia to KILL Marin: "Come on, Aphrodia, it's your time! You take your revenge for your brother! Isn’t it true you fought until now for this moment? " (Gattiger to Aphrodia, Baldios the film)

But Aphrodia kills Gattler himself:

In "Star Wars. Episode VIII. The Last Jedi" movie, Snoke incites Kylo Ren to KILL Rey:

“My worthy apprentice, son of darkness, heir apparent to Lord Vader. Where there was conflict, I now sense resolve; Where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training, and fulfill your destiny”

(Snoke to Kylo Ren, from "Star Wars, Episode VIII, The Last Jedi" movie)

But Kylo Ren kills Snoke in order to save Rey:

To escape from Blue Fixers' base, Aphrodia takes Jamie hostage. Marin, Oliver and Roy arrive in order to save Jamie: "Aphrodia, let go of Jamie, please. I know you well, I know you would not be able to do it ... " "…but please! Do not make me laugh! What is it, do you think you allow me to be touched by your COMPASSION? " "Heard? In that witch hasn’t been humanity left" (Marin, Aphrodia and Oliver, Baldios, the Movie)

In a deleted scene from "Star Wars. Episode VII. The Force Awakens" movie, but reported in TFA novel, Snoke accuses Kylo to feel COMPASSION for Rey: The Supreme Leader's voice was flat. "You have COMPASSION for her." "No-never. Compassion? For an enemy of the Order? " (Snoke and Kylo Ren talking about Rey, from "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" novel)

In "Star Wars. Episode VIII. The Last Jedi" movie, Rey tells Luke there isn’t LIGHT in Kylo Ren:

In "Baldios. The Movie ", Aphrodia asks for a DUEL with laser guns with Marin, to kill him and avenge his brother. Marin accepts and, before starting, he says to Aphrodia: "Perhaps, Aphrodia, if you hadn’t chosen to go wrong way, things between us would have been very different" (Marin to Aphrodia, Baldios, The Movie)

In "Star Wars. Episode VII. The Force Awakens" movie, Rey and Ben Solo/Kylo Ren fight a DUEL :

In "Star Wars. Episode VIII. The Last Jedi", with a broken heart, Rey looks at Ben Solo/Kylo Ren to replace Snoke as First Order SUPREME LEADER and she asks him DON’T TO DO THAT :

In "Baldios. The Movie", Aphrodia is badly wounded and exhausted, so Marin SCOOPS HER IN HIS ARMS and he take her on beach:

In "Star Wars. Episode VII. The Force Awakens" movie, Kylo Ren captures Rey, he falls asleep her and he SCOOPS HER IN HIS ARMS, take her on his spaceship:

[prorevenge]

Don't f*ck with IT, we run the world.

long story. tl:dr at the end.

All names and locations changed. About 10 years ago, on Neptune, I was working in my first software development job out of university. We made websites, promotional material, and supplied equipment for conferences and trade shows. So if a company wanted a booth at some event, we would produce everything and support them for the duration of the event. This is where I came across Maleficent. She was in charge of the marketing department of a company on nearby Pluto, and they hired us for a convention they were attending. I produced the website for them, which consisted of some pictures/videos of their latest product with a few paragraphs of text. Also some links to their social media, a sign up form etc., pretty basic stuff. It's important to note here that I never met Maleficent in person during this time, just talked to her once on the phone, the rest via email. She mainly dealt with our project manager, a lovely woman called Credenza, who made sure all the different parts worked together.

Part 1: The f*ck up.

Everything was going fine, I'd produced their website and was just waiting for Maleficent to send some images and videos of their product to replace the placeholders I had been using in the meantime. This was a Tuesday, the event was the following Monday. I emailed Maleficent asking when I could expect the files and got no reply. Still no reply Wednesday, so Thursday I asked Credenza to chase it up. She stopped by my desk a short after, a bit flustered. She'd just spoken to Maleficent, who had angrily claimed that she had sent them the previous week and had emailed me - she blamed Credenza and me for being incompetent. I could find it nowhere in my inbox/junk folder, so as far as I was concerned she was lying or had sent it to the wrong email. Credenza contacted her again, confirmed my email address, and asked her to send them again. She shouted at Credenza some more but eventually sent the files, but not until the last moment on Friday afternoon as I was getting ready to leave for the weekend. B*tch. I had to run that evening, but I promised Credenza I would log on Saturday morning and copy the files to the website and everything would be ready for Monday. Saturday morning and the video files didn't work. I don't remember the details exactly, but the files were made using some kind of proprietary codec that I just couldn't convert to something usable on their website. Long story, marginally less long, I spent Saturday praying to gods I didn't believe in for a miracle that wouldn't happen while trying to get in contact with Maleficent. Eventually on Sunday she replied back and I slowly walked her through the process of using another video format - she was using some crappy pirated software I'd never heard of to produce the videos. When she finally sent it, it still was wrong, but at least it was in a format I could read and convert myself. It all worked out in the end, the website was ready by Sunday evening and the convention went well.

Part 2: Trying to get me fired.

Following the convention, Maleficent was furious. She again accused us of incompetence and me personally for f*cking up her weekend (what about my weekend?!). I fired back at what a pain in the ass Maleficent had been (the guys who met her at the event said she was no easier in person) and how I'd done everything I could, but Maleficent denied everything and questioned how I was still in a job. This made Credenza look bad and her and her bosses (none of them tech savvy) didn't understand what I was talking about with 'wrong codecs' and file formats - it probably sounded like I was just trying to cover my ass after the fact. Plus, when it comes to money, the customer is always right. So it ended up becoming a sort of "let's just agree that we all made mistakes" thing, but it was clear that all fingers were pointing at me. Consequently I didn't get a pay rise I had been in line to get (meaning I couldn't move out from my parents’ house, which was killing me) and was put on probation for 6 months, though I left for another job on Vulcan after 2.

Part 3: Revenge is dish best served with béarnaise sauce and Sauvignon blanc.

About 6 Earth years later, I joined a company that sold women’s boots, all shapes, colours (that's how we spell it on Vulcan) and sizes. They had their own IT department that produced their websites and other internal systems. Little did I know that Maleficent had also moved to this company at some point, again in the marketing department, which was downstairs from me. There was a promotional event soon where our company was giving away goody bags with some freebies to anyone who signed up. The bags themselves were some high quality laminated things that were being specially printed up with our company's branding, plus a QR code. The QR code would take you to a special page on our website with discounts. I met with Maleficent (who clearly didn't remember me from before) and talked about the special page I was to produce for the website. She was a pain in the ass again. She was never available (she would take an hour and half lunch every day, and reclaim it on expenses) and when I did meet with her, she changed the requirements constantly, "Can you just change that bit? Never mind, put it back. Oh, actually could you put this shitty animation at the top of the page, no that's a terrible idea, why would you suggest that?" etc. Also, sitting with her, I witnessed how belittling she was to everyone in her team and would gossip about anybody if they weren't there at that moment. Obviously all the while remembering our previous encounter where she had all but got me fired. I thought about calling her out on this, but it would have achieved nothing and I had only just started working at this company a few weeks ago, I didn't want to make waves. So, I persevered and eventually my web page was done and I gave her the URL to send to the bag makers for printing the QR code. But she screwed up. I was copied into an email chain with her sending off the URL to the bag makers and she had done it wrong. The URL was something like "http://www.ourwebsite/offer" but she had sent "htttp://" instead. I double checked what I had sent her and mine was correct, she had obviously typed it out rather than using copy/paste. We were ordering 1000 of these bags from the printers and they were £1.15 each (I mean, 1.15 space credits). Then I noticed way down in the email chain, she had copied her password for the bag website: it was "password" - yes, these oxygen thieves exist by the millions. I logged in with her details (from outside work, with a proxy, just in case) and could see she had indeed ordered 1000 of the bags with the wrong URL for the QR code. I quickly added an extra zero to the quantity and also pushed the requested delivery date back to a day before they were needed. I wanted to change the URL to some porn website, but that wouldn’t match what she had sent in the email, and I wanted her to be unable to escape blame.

Part 4: The aftermath.

Honestly, I thought nothing would actually happen. I assumed the bag company would spot the URL mistake and just fix it. I assumed someone would notice the tenfold quantity increase and delivery date change. But as they say, when you make an assumption you make ass out of you and umption, because none of these things happened. The bags arrived at the last minute and the URL didn't work. Maleficent stormed upstairs and asked why our team had f*cked up and demanding we put it right. I acted innocent, did some trouble shooting, and explained to her the URL had an extra 'T' in it. "Fine, change the URL on our website" - nope, the "http" bit is out of our control I'm afraid, it must be the bag company's fault. But wait, what's this? Your email to them with the wrong URL? This doesn't look good for you. Meanwhile someone comes up stairs and asks "Weren't we only getting 1000 bags? There seems to be a lot more..." Maleficent rushed downstairs to sort out this fresh hell that was rising around her as a warm glow welled up from inside me. I actually never saw her again, I had to travel to one of our other offices that afternoon, but a friend filled me in later. With not enough time to sort things out with the bag company, Malificent had to rush around town to find a stationary store that could print 10000 QR codes on sticky labels to stick over the wrong one on each bag. Apparently she was there most of the night attaching them all, which was doubly funny as I'm told we didn't quite manage to give away the original 1000 bags at the event the following day anyway, let alone the other 9000. She was put on 'gardening leave' and fired for gross incompetence and costing the company all the extra money - now the marketing department is run by a guy called Theodopolopodous - he's much nicer.

tl;dr Evil marketing queen doesn't keep track of who she f*cks over, got her fired several years later when we ended up at the same company.

(source) (story by ImperiousChipmunk)

[etherealellaelf]

So I just saw Cats 2019 and here are my thoughts:

(I’mma talk about the good and bad things) So I went into this movie both worried about the cursed design and also as a longtime fan of Cats: the Musical. I first watched the 1998 filmed stage production on PBS when I was a little girl, and then I revisited it when I was older and became a fan of all the colorful characters, the haunting music, and the great dance performances. It’s based on the Poetry book by T.S. Elliot “Old Possum’s book of Practical Cats”. Since it’s a poetry book, there is a problem: each poem about the cats doesn’t flow very well into a cohesive plot. So the new movie fixed that. Here are some other good things about the 2019 Cats movie: *spoilers*

(And before I start I was sitting beside an old woman who told me that she saw the very first stage production of Cats in London many years ago and she said to me in a very concerned voice after the movie was over, “It wasn’t THAT bad, was it?” I looked her in the eye and shook my head and I told her it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t lie. It was just a little bad. But my heart went out to her nostalgia.)

-Victoria is the main character now, so the audience is seeing the cats through her eyes. She’s our vehicle. That makes the songs that the cats sing introduction songs; they’re introducing themselves to us and Victoria.

-Like I said before, the plot is a lot more cohesive. The new script explains what jellicle cats are, the purpose of the jellicle ball, and who macavity is. They also added a ton of stuff, like Macavity kidnapping the other contenders to become the “Jellicle choice”, the cat that the leader will choose to be reborn(like, cats have 9 lives? It’s a bit weird, just go with it), because he wants to be chosen. Macavity didn’t really do this in the old one, this cements him as the villain. Also other cats like mungojerry and rumpleteazer and bombalurina are helping macavity. 

-I have mixed feelings that Grizabella is being shunned because she used to work for Macavity. It does give the other cats a better reason to hate her, but they don’t hate mungojerry and stuff. I’ll talk about that later.

-These new additions to the story made it a lot more palatable, but at the same time I like the old version as well. They’re both good. This one is just a lot more cohesive.

-All of the ballerinas, dancers, and singers were really good, and the acting was pretty good too, for people pretending to be cats. I thought taylor swift’s rendition of “macavity” was really good, and they brought a new facet to her character and the odious nature of the song, as it’s now a villain song and she is a villain.

-Tom Hooper as director. I really liked his style in Les Mis, and I guess it kind of worked here.  (Also I love you so much Tom Hooper I feel bad that this movie did so badly because I want you to succeed, you have a great style and vision and it really worked for Les Mis.)

-They left out that awkward *scene*. You know the one. The o-r-g-y scene. Good on them. Thank you. I read somewhere that it was there, but when I watched the movie, it was not there. I’m confused by some reviews saying it was there. It wasn’t there?!?!?!

Now let’s talk about what I didn’t like.

-The “cursed” design. Clearly everyone agrees with me about this. I forgot about it within the first ten minutes of watching. I really liked the look of Old Deuterotomy, who was a very fluffy, long-haired cat. That’s what made the old designs from the musical so memorable: the wigs were really big and poofy and the leg and arm warmers looked like fuzzy cat legs. The floofiness gave them character. Making all the cats shorthaired just made them look pretty naked, and I know they did this to accentuate the line of dance(it’s why dancers wear tight clothes), but they should have had fluffier cheeks, fluffier heads, and fluffier limbs. That would’ve prevented all the naked-looking cats. I understand the animators wanted to try something new, but they should’ve taken a page out of Sonic the Hedgehog movie’s book and redesigned.

-They totally changed Mungojerry and rumpleteazer’s song! It used to be a vaudeville production and it was so mischievous and fun. Now it just doesn’t have much tune. 

-They cut the Pekes and the Pollicles, the song where the cats are making fun of how clumsy dogs are. But I suppose it’s probably for the best. Lots of people like dogs nowadays. 

-Grizabella getting shunned because she used to work for Macavity??? The integral part of her character is just that she’s old. They should have made the Jennifer Hudson cat look a lot older, with greying fur and hair and stuff. The other cats shun Grizabella because she’s a reminder that they will die one day and she used to be beautiful and wonderful like them, once. It’s a big part of their character and despite them trying to explain and gloss over why everyone hates her, my friend who’s never seen cats was still confused. I wish they hadn’t said she worked for Macavity, but at this point it’s canon so who am I to question it.

-They totally cut Munkustrap and Macavity’s fight. 

-Although they cut out the weird scene, there was a really strange scene where all the cat’s tails quivered in the moonlight and they started just acting so strange. Then suddenly everyone started dancing! I could’ve done without the tail quivering.

-The cockroaches and at times, the mice, with their human faces, were a bit weird. Especially when Rebel Wilson ate some of the cockroaches. Also a bit weird was when she unzipped her skin, but it’s fine, she did that in the stage version, too.

-The Rum Tum Tugger did not need to catch Victoria’s foot the way he did, as it was really close to his mouth and it was just a really weird decision. 

-I’m sorry, but when the Cats rubbed their heads against each other’s heads, it was a bit weird. In the stage production, head rubbing is done very fast. It’s over with. It’s done. In this one they lingered and stared a lot. I guess real cats do that. But anyway. It’s whatever.

-Some cats wore clothes and took them off at points as well while other cats did not wear clothes. I think it actually was good that the train cat wore suspenders and the fat cat, Bustopher Jones, wore a top hat and evening jacket. It was charming for them. I don’t think Idris Elba’s fedora and trench coat needed to come off of his body at all. He should’ve kept them on. Just make his ears poke out of his hat or something. He totally looked naked.

-”Jellicle” is a weird word. There is a jiggly sound associated with it.

-The opening orchestral music is, at times, hit or miss. I personally like it because it sounds eerie and strange, sinuous and slithery, like how a cat do. It can come across as creepy though, especially during the song “The Naming of Cats”. In the stage production I can’t really watch because those cats all, as one, look at the audience, staring into my soul, and chant the song in one voice, and then they advance on the audience and it’s creepy but I guess it’s interesting. Idk how to convey in words. I am glad they cut that particular element about that song from the movie. 

Okay, now I’m going to address people who won’t give it a shot:

-Give it a shot. You forget about how they look like ten minutes into the movie. If you think about it as an arthouse film about dancers pretending to be cats, then it is enjoyable. 

-There was a lot of time, money, talent, and effort put into this production. All the ballerinas and other dancers are very passionate about their performance and it shows. 

-The animators for this movie were only given 7 months to model and do special effects for every single character on this movie, and there are hundreds of cats. Toy Story worked on its movie for 4 years. So I guess it’s easy to accuse the animators, but they were just doing their jobs; they weren’t given a lot of time to make the designs look fantastic, and they couldn’t deviate from what their art directors told them to do. I’m sure that some of them wanted to do the stage makeup and hair and whatnot, but you have to remember; the actors and director had no idea what the finished product would look like. Don’t blame them.

-Let’s just face it: Cats is a really weird concept to begin with. Andrew Lloyd Weber had some good ideas, like Phantom of the Opera, and he had kind of strange ideas, like Cats. It was really popular in the 70′s because the play has music that is very 50′s themed(note the malt shoppe that is a milk bar in the movie and Rum Tum Tugger is supposed to be like an Elvis character) and 20′s themed(the vaudeville Mungojerry, Rumpleteazer, and Macavity themes), so in its time, this show was a lot like Stranger Things for us. It was a nostalgia trip. And even amongst theater fans, there is a tiny niche who love Cats. This is not a huge fanbase. I liked it by accident, stumbling upon it by coincidence. I don’t understand why they put so much money into it knowing this. They should’ve cast much smaller celebrities and advertised much smaller, but we all know that Andrew Lloyd Weber is Mr. Moneybags and Mr. Outlandish, so of course he wanted to attract a younger fanbase to keep the spirit going for years to come. I, as a dance and musical fan, liked the stage production. I think if you’re willing to overlook the cringe, how a lot of the cats wear clothes and others don’t, and Idris Elba’s neon green contacts, you could like it. I don’t know. I’m not you. I just think this movie was made for certain people who like the old version of Cats, and they should’ve marketed it to them, and the reason why they tanked so hard is because they didn’t. They should’ve put them in stage costume and makeup and only CGI’ed some things.

-Maybe it would’ve worked better as an animated movie, where the designs for the cats was simply a cat who does ballet. It worked for the stage production because we used our imagination and we thought they were cats with emotions, personalities, attitudes. I think if you squint you can imagine this on this movie as well. But the thing is there was just too much backlash and nobody wanted to see it. Fame is dictated by social media these days, and if they meme you, you’re done. There’s really nothing you can do.

-The moral of the story is maybe see it, but if you don’t want to, don’t. But keep in mind Cats isn’t for everyone. It’s only for people who liked the Cats musical. So if you did, great, if you don’t, then you don’t have to see it.

[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #116

People like to complain when WataMote dishes out a really short chapter, and as an artist, I don’t think that’s really fair. Given that Nico Tanigawa are running three different manga at the same time, I think we should be more appreciative to how much work they put in to give us these chapters on such a tight schedule, ‘cause let me tell you, it’s damn hard. 

Thankfully, the really short chapters tend to be something fresh to compensate, and in this case, it’s the perspective of Tomoko’s long-suffering brother, Tomoki. What fun awaits us in these four pages?   

Chapter 116: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Attend My 2nd Graduation Ceremony (Side Story)

The mangaka has really gotten the hang of replaying scenes from the another character’s point of view. Not Rashomon-style, but just seeing how the exact same events look through the eyes of someone else. 

I think it’s sweet how indirectly concerned Tomoki is about her sister’s wellbeing. He can easily criticize Tomoko when she does things out of her own idiocy, but when given the possibly that Tomoko could be the victim of someone else, Tomoki genuinely worries, as any decent brother would.  

This is something I’ve been dying to see ever since the Kyoto field trip arc.

How would Tomoki react if he met Tomoko’s “friends”?

First on the platter is Yoshida, the resident delinquent girl. It’s pretty funny how she does that stereotypical yankee thing where she interprets eye contact as an invitation to fight, especially since its been pretty much established that the whole “tough girl” thing is mostly an act. 

It’s a nice little parallel on how, like Tomoko, Tomoki is sure that Yoshida is a delinquent. Not that I blame him or anything, since that’s definitely the image Yoshida projects if you haven’t spent much time with her. I also appreciate how both Tomoki and Yoshida are presented in antagonistic greyscale. Clearly, they don’t have very good first impressions of each other.

Props to Tomoki for not wavering even a bit when confronted. Come to think of it, other than Tomoko, I don’t think we’ve seen anyone who is frightened by Yoshida. Wonder why that is...

This also confirmed something else that I’ve pretty much assumed until now, in that Tomoko has never actually discussed her new “friends” with her brother, at least with enough depth that Tomoki could recognize them by description alone. This leads me to believe that Tomoko hasn’t reached a level in which she feels Yoshida is someone worth discussing about. Poor delinquent girl. 

Next on the menu is Ucchi, the stalking emoji-girl. You know, a part of me had felt that I was overreaching with the idea that Ucchi was attracted with Tomoko, lesbian or otherwise, but here, I think its safe to say the Ucchi at least feels something for her. See how she accuses Tomoko of putting the moves on Imae, when in reality, it’s Imae who’s showing affection towards Tomoko. Ucchi’s obsession has gotten to the point where she’s now looking for nonexistent excuses to justify her attention on Tomoko. 

Awkward.

I’m only including this part of the panel, if only because this face deserves it.     

Again with the adibos :p.

As it turns out, Tomoki has yet to learn Komiyama’s name. I think it’s a nice touch on how Nico Tanigawa will use faces for characters whose name is unknown or insignificant to someone else. 

Oh, and Tomoki, if you thought Imae was normal...

...you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

For dessert, the queen of normalcy, Yuri Tamura. 

One thing that I feel should be acknowledged is that based on how this chapter flows, Tomoki’s minor interaction with Yuri may actually be the most important one out of all the girls. Consider how after Tomoki runs into Yoshida and Ucchi, he makes the opinion on how they are collectively Tomoko’s weirdo friends. By presenting it this way, his run-in with Yuri is singled out. And looking at how it plays out, this isn’t incidental. Yuri makes a comment that from Tomoki’s perspective, is not only normal, but kind as well. It’s a far cry compared to the others, whose relationships with Tomoko were perceived as strained. It also stands out from Imae’s kindness because in that case, Tomoko was directly receiving it. 

If this is confusing, consider this: people are more likely to make fun of others if their target is not there. In Tomoki’s eyes, Imae was nice because, well, any decent person would be cordial to someone right in front of them. But Yuri has no such obligation. She doesn’t have to be nice right at that moment, but she is anyway. And given how Tomoki views his sister, that’s probably the biggest surprise of them all.

Lowkey shipping TomokixYuri. 

I must say, I like how the manga has been portraying Tomoki as of late. Given that he’s a supporting character, much of what we know of him is in relation to his sister. In the early days of the manga, he held nothing but disdain for her, trying to avoid talking to her more than necessary. Nowadays, while he still views her as an oddball, he is much more tolerant of her, even having something resembling a sibling bond at times. He still has that air of “cool apathy” to him, of course, but the bitterness he gave off is mostly gone. Now that’s how you do a natural character development.  

The last thing I want to note is Tomoko’s topic of conversion in yet another chat in her brother’s room. Though Tomoki says nothing’s changed, something has changed. Before, Tomoko’s talks were often a: something niche, like her interest in current anime production trends, or b: flat-out lies, like having a boyfriend. Either way, these talks were always a way for Tomoko to feel better about her then-shitty social life. But now, Tomoko is speaking in a way that suggests just a bit of self-confidence. Consider that here, she’s actually entertaining the idea that a guy might genuinely like her. With Hatsushiba and Kousaka, her idea of them liking her was more out of delusion and desperation. But now her ideas are just a bit more grounded in reality. Wishful thinking, but still in the realm of possibility. 

Man, I think I tend to make longer reviews to compensate for the shorter chapters. Aw, well. The third year is upon us, folks. And I’ll be sure to mark each mourning as they come. 

[zach-the-fox]

Furiends Episode 10: Birth of Heroes

The morning sun lights the entire town square up. Several colorful canvas tents are set up for today’s event; Marketplace Monday, which is an event where many small and big businesses come together to promote their products and services around the public space in front of city hall. Team Rescuers stand before the crowd of people, searching around the perimeter as they remain back from the event.

“Pretty crowded today,” comments Kenji. “A lot of people at Marketplace Monday.”

“Perfect for our plan,” Jay tells him. “Mom should be set up about now.”

“Remind me again on what’s happening,” asks Miffy.

Jay lowers his tone to a whisper. “Mom has gone to place some explosives under the square. They’re set to go off soon. Once that happens, we’ll go in and save the day.”

“Interesting,” Cindy says. “And how does this relate to the flawed brats?”

“Mom has fabricated some pieces apparel, based on their wears. She has planted them with the bombs. After we “save” everyone from the explosions, we look around and fish them out, showing everyone what a dastardly deed they’ve done.”

“There’s children and families in the square, though,” Miffy utters. “Won’t they be badly hurt or killed?”

The wolf darts his eyes at her. “Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to get what you truly want, even if it means innocent people die.” He fixes his eyes on the square. “Once all of this goes off, those brats will be run out of town and never be heard of again. We’ll also make sure the whole world knows what they do. Get ready!” The four animals wait, keeping their eyes on the bustling fair as animals, tall and small, go from stall-to-stall. Several seconds go by, and yet not a single explosion can be seen.

Cindy looks to her companion. “So, what am I supposed to see here? Are they going off anytime soon?”

Jay shakes his head. “I-I don’t understand… They should’ve detonated by now… What’s happening?”

“Are you sure she set them up in the square?”

“She told me so this morning… How could she-”

“Hey, Jay,” Miffy interrupts. “Why are you on T.V.?” The wolf stops and looks at the flatscreen television overlooking the square, as does the crowd. His eyelids pull back as wide as they can be while watching himself talk to the hooded figure on the screen. His conversation continues to carry on with the cloaked being as they explain their plan for the orphanage and about setting up the friends. “What?!” Everyone in the watches with shock; their eyes wide-opened like the wolf. He and the team run into the center of the square with his glare still on the television. People in the audience point to him and accuse him of treachery.

“Listen,” Jay utters. “I can assure you, whatever is going on is some kind of trick. That all isn’t true!”

“Oh, it’s all true!” yells a voice. Everyone turns and traces the voice to the fox, who stands in front of the government building in blue goggles with matching-color cape, gloves, and tights. His paws positioned on his hips. “Team Rescuers are nothing but frauds and deceivers! They’re not concerned for anything; not your wellbeing, your safety, your wants and needs, but take their own desires more seriously.”

“Flawed Fox!” Jay takes a step forward, clenching his paws with aggression. “Why you-”

Emmy appears by Zach’s side, wearing her goggles, purple tank top vest with the same color gloves, but with darker-colored pants and belt. “They were going to blow up the square, along with all of you in it, and then put the blame on us to persuade you all that we were nothing but terrorists. That way, you’d run us out of town or even kill us!” The crowd gasps in shock.

“Are you kidding me?” Miffy asks.

“Afraid not,” shouts the brown cat, making herself visible on the fox’s other side. She dons a black jumpsuit with blue lines to highlight it, along with blue goggles. “They weren’t acting alone, either! They had a lot of help from the headmaster of the orphanage! It was very clear she, along with your “favorite hero team” were going to attack many innocent beings.”

Niji zooms by the warthog’s side with Eren jumping from his back. The rainbow-haired wolf has a mask to cover only his eyes, a blue shirt with a red and yellow ‘w’ on it, steel-blue pants, and red gloves while the deer covers himself in a grey hood and mask, along with a white and lavender sweat jacket and grey shorts buckled by a golden belt. Niji sets a pile of explosives he’d been carrying down. “Man, these things would’ve caused a massive number of casualties. We wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?”

“No indeed,” Eren adds. He takes out his wrench. “Best to make them all into scrap.” He whacks the bombs with his tool, changing them all to nothing but metal in one hit, dazzling the people.  

“We were able to stop your horrific plan just in time,” Zach claims. “You could’ve killed innocent people and children.”

“Flawed Fox!” utters Jay, pulling out a radio. “You didn’t think ahead with that, though! Come in, Mom. Those brats are here!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Wolf,” shouts Navy, flying in and landing on her feet, showing off her costume which consists of pink mask and cape and a ring on her right wing, as well as a white pouch around her waist. “Your mother won’t be helping you out right now. She’s all tied up…”

The newt stomps in with the robed figure in his arms, then sets her down in front, showing the headmaster constrained in a set of ropes in her arms. His white jumpsuit with red lines are the opposite of Carly’s suit. His mouth and nose remain covered by a red mask. “One villain down, four more to go.”

“You’re not going to get away with faking anymore!” yells Emmy. “It’s time to come forward and accept your fate!”

“Yeah!” shouts Eren. “Your days of lying to people are over.”

“What would you all know about being heroes?” Cindy cries. “You don’t have what it takes to be courageous and cunning!”

“We are better than you, though!” shouts Carly. “We don’t go after harmless civilians and blame a group of unfortunate animals! You lot are too unethical to be called heroes!”

“I’ve had enough of this!” Jay sharpens his claws. The friends ready themselves, equipping their weapons and getting into fighting stances. “You will never beat us!”

“We shall determine that!” Zach retaliates. Jay immediately goes for the fox, but Zach blocks his attacks with his metal staff. Emmy pushes the wolf away and joins Zach, but soon Jay is aided by the monkey. Cindy and Miffy go after the bird and the newt. The four intertwine in engagement with fists, leaving Eren and the cat to struggle with keeping the headmaster contained. Niji helps guide the spectators of away from the area for safety before joining in the battle. The square stirs into chaos as the battle endures. tables are thrown and tossed around, tents are torn with animal claws, the sounds of clinging metal and shouting deafens other noises. The animals try to gain the upper hand on each other. Zach whacks the wolf away with his staff.

Jay growls. “I am impressed, Fox. But whacking me away will not do you any good!”

“There’s more where that came from, Jacob!” Zach responds. The wolf charges toward him, but Zach remains still. As Jay is three feet before him, the fox swings his staff at him, knocking the wolf into a fountain. Jay is quick to stand and charge toward the fox again. He is no match with Zach as he uses his mind to predict when the wolf will strike. Zach jumps into the air, then comes back down with his weapon against Jay’s head, knocking him down to the floor. The fox stands by his face and looks upon him. “You didn’t account for my new abilities.” He turns to see Emmy struggling with Kenji as he sways his tail at her. Zach runs over and kicks the monkey in the face, knocking him away. The fox then turns to the warthog. “You good?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Emmy replies. The two notice Kenji getting back up and holding out a wooden staff. “Uh oh!” The two animals prepare to battle him.

However, Niji zooms by and smacks him with his paw, causing the monkey to fly and hit the tent ahead, knocking him out. Niji looks to the two. “I’m sorry, Fellas. Did I steal your target?”

Zach smiles. “Not at all.”

Navy dodges some punches thrown by the cat. “Whoa! Nice kitty!”

“You dumb bird!” shouts Miffy. “You and your flawed friends will pay!”

“Don’t ever call me dumb!” The bird flaps her wings rapidly to push away the cat with her ability. Miffy gets up fast, then runs to her.

Carly immediately steps in, catching her in midair with her telekinesis, then drops her to the ground. “Man, you are one mean cat!” Miffy gets back to her feet. “Uh oh!”

“I’ll let you deal with her!” Navy changes into her lizard form to fight the sheep.

Carly quickly paints something in front of her. The beige cat pounces, but slams right into a wall spawned by Carly. Miffy struggles to stand, soon closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep. The brown cat paints again, this time, some rope around her to keep Miffy in place. “That’ll teach you.” She is then smacked by Navy’s lizard tail. “Yow! Hey!”

“Sorry!” Navy tells her. “Just a bit distracted!” She evades the sheep’s attacks. “Whoa! You’re very feisty for a sheep!”

“You are so ugly as a lizard!” responds Cindy.

“Am I?” Navy then changes back to her bird form. “This better?” Cindy comes at her. “Oh!” The bird flaps her wings fast, creating a small tornado that gobbles Cindy and spins her around quickly. Once the tornado dissipates, the sheep stands, but wobbles. She sets her eyes on the bird and charges again, but her dizziness causes her to stumble. Navy places her foot on her back to ensure she stays down while Carly paints restraints on her hooves.

The headmaster pushes Eren off and knocks Silus back to stun them, then goes to pick up a wooden stake. She cuts herself free, then points it at Zach. “I will kill you for this, Flawed Fox!” She runs toward Zach with the wooden stake, but her attack is blocked by Emmy’s sword. The hooded figure tries desperately to hit the warthog, but when Zach aides her, the two repel her in an instant, disarming her weapon and kicking her back into a stone wall. The headmaster then takes the stake and throws it at them. Time slows for everyone except Eren, who walks over, faster than everyone else, and catches the stake in the air. The headmaster gets back up in anger and charges at them again, but is stopped by Silus, who stands in the way and grabs her hands with two of his own, then lifts her off the ground and tosses her at a nearby tent.

Eren reaches for his wrench and hits the little shelter, turning it into a jail cell for her. “There, that should hold her.”

“I… I can’t believe it…” Zach looks down at his paws, then at Team Rescuers. “I… I just saved people… I actually saved people!” A smile occupies his face. “I AM A HERO!”

“WE are heroes,” Emmy implies. “WE saved everyone in the square.” She gives him a smile. Zach reflects her expression and nods.

“Yeah!” cheers Niji. “We did it!” Navy joins him in celebrating.

“Hooray!” Eren shouts. Silus quickly picks him up and hoists him in the air. “Whoa! Hehe.” He then sets him back down.

“They won’t be deceiving and hurting people anymore,” Carly says. “Not after we exposed them for who they really are. People have now seen them for what they really are.”

Zach approaches the restrained hooded figure. “Looks like the tables have turned, Headmaster…”

“You!” the headmaster calls out. “I will get you for this, Flawed Fox!”

“That’s all you ever saw me as,” Zach says. “You and everyone else in Heroto, all because of my biological parents and disorder…”

“I didn’t care about what you did!” she cries. “But when you harassed my son and his friends, you went too far!”

“No, Headmaster… YOU went too far when you started attacking innocents and blamed everything on us… Putting me down was all you’ve ever done for me… I fell down and lied on the ground for some time, but then Emmy stood before me with Carly, Niji, Eren, Silus, and Navy. She offered her hoof to me, so I took it, and I got back up. My friends are amazing, and we will continue to fight off anyone who messes with us.” Zach turns away and sighs.

Emmy looks at him. “You okay, Zach?”

“I-I’m fine…” Zach puts his paw on his head. “I’m just a little empty that’s a-…” His eyes widen as he puts his arm down. “Empty… That’s what it is… All my life I’ve been dubbed a “flawed fox”, however, I faced my darkest fears, and now I’m not worried about that anymore, or afraid…”

Eren pulls up beside the fox, wrapping his arm around his back for comfort. “You aren’t a flawed fox, Zach. You are more of a “fantastic fox”.”

“Fantastic fox,” Zach repeats. “Such an interesting name for a superhero. I am Fantastic Fox! Hero of Heroto!” He looks to Eren. “You know, you were pretty courageous and daring to do everything that’s happened today.” Eren smiles and thanks him. “However, you like to manipulate time and speed. How’s the name “Quick Pause”?”

“Quick Pause?!” Eren utters. “I… I like that name. No, I love it.”

Zach then looks to Emmy. “What should we call you, Emmy?”

Emmy puts her hoof on her chin. “How’s Acroswine? You think it’s a good name?”

“Suits you,” Navy spurts. “Oh! I want to be called Feather-Morph! Because I change into anything I want!”

“Sweet,” comments Niji. “Hm, I’m not sure about my name.”

“Why don’t we call you Werewonder?” asks Emmy. “I know you’re a fast, but also a wolf.”

“I think I’ll stick with that name.”

“Hm,” Carly thinks, holding her brush up. “Not sure what to call myself. I do love this paintbrush a whole lot.”

“I’m thinking “Palette Cat”,” Niji tells her. “Good for an artistic superhero like you.” The cat smiles.

“Eren, Honey,” Silus starts. “How bout you give me a good superhero name? What should I be called?”

“Um…” Eren rubs the back of his head. “I’m not sure… You do have immense strength… Is “Mightymander” okay with you?”

“No,” Silus responds. “It’s not okay with me. It’s GOOD for me, and it fits my abilities. Thanks, Quick Pause.” Eren’s smile grows bigger.

“Well,” Zach starts. “Seems like this is the beginning of new lives for us. Fighting crime and maintaining peace.”

“It sure is,” Emmy tells him. “Sure is.” @carlycmarathecat​ @emmy-the-absolute-goof​ @rainbow-strike​ @ask-choro-mama​ @pink-unicorn-blood​

[solarpunkdreams]

Food Rant

Important takeaway from Michael Pollens Netflix movie ‘Cooked’: as a society we have lost the art and joy and time for cooking. Processed food is inherently worse for you than anything “natural” or “whole-food”. The closer to nature you can get it the better for you. Making your own ice cream and eating it fresh isn’t that bad, buying it from a store is different. We are all so spoiled that we can have anything we want with a quick trip to the store that we’ve become detached from the actual food. Who grew the food that went into the processed foodstuff you got off the shelf? Where did the soy grow that turned into the soybean oil that was used in the product? Who was the farmer? We’ve let other people and large corporations separate us from the process, brain-wash us all into not caring. We’ve made it normal to be ignorant about the most important thing we do on a daily basis, the most important purchase, the stuff we let pass between our lips and enter our system, the thing that gives us life, that fuels our every move. Our sustenance, the thing that all animals must obtain to survive and we’ve become ignorant and apathetic. Why is it that making ethical and intelligent and cautious moves when it comes to our food are we looked down on? People get defensive, immediately assume “vegans” think they’re better than non-vegans. Probably because in their subconscious they’re guilty and they know that one is superior to another in terms of morality but they don’t want to feel like they’re being accused, they’ve only been doing what everyone else is, after all. They’re not a bad person, and society still sees it as normal, so why should they have to change? And why should they have to defend themselves? The main reasons people stick to their habits are selfish, and that is not meant to be rude or to point the finger but it’s true. Their main arguments are the 4 N’s: Natural, Normal, Necessary, & Nice. Once they realize that science has proved it’s not necessary and in some ways a bit unnatural all they have left are Normal & Nice. Or: everyone else does it, it’s part of my culture, change is too hard, and I enjoy the taste of flesh. These are selfish reasons. When people talk about doing something personally to help with issues, others say they cannot because it’s "too hard”. The quote I love is “Those that say being vegan is too hard are thinking about themselves. The people who say being vegan is easy are thinking about the animals.”

Along w/ being vegan I am attempting to avoid palm oil & slave trade chocolate. I am attempting to buy exclusively organic & will be visiting the farmers market for the first time since living here & doing a bit of research on that. I’m also trying to buy more in bulk and zero waste if i can. Sure, it would be easier to just buy w/e I want and not think about each purchasing decision and who or what it will affect but I can’t do that anymore. That’s what most people do, and I don’t blame them because I understand. But we have a duty to each other, the earth, and the animals to take the extra time it takes and make the right decisions. Unfortunately voting with our dollar means quite a bit more than voting sometimes does. We should continue to do both. Support business that support others, the earth, and animals. That pay their employees well, that find the most sustainable way of doing business, and that harm “zero" animals in the process. It’s hard but not impossible. And obviously I long for a world in which I don’t have to put in so much effort when buying everything. A world where everything you buy is sustainable and from an ethical business because we lived in some kind of large Solarpunk city, maybe within a resource based economy. One could imagine a place like that being much easier to make good choices. Maybe slave chocolate and palm oil products wouldn’t even be allowed within it’s walls. Protecting it’s citizens from making unethical choices. Maybe that sounds a bit apocalyptic. Your first reaction is: that’s taking away my freedom of choice! And I get it, I’m not sure how I feel about it. But I wish it was easier to be ethical in this world. 

For now, try your hardest, if you make a mistake forgive yourself, move on, and promise to do better. Be an activist for stopping these products from even being made. Obviously the corporations that commit these crimes are atrocious but that doesn’t excuse the consumer anymore when the information is widely available. 

Get educated. Do your best. Educate others.