#SO I GOTTA SPLIT THEM. MAYBE 3 PART COMIC???

[fujii-draws]

drawing a comic in which Dusknoir is having the worst time of his fucking life

[ceo-of-kimona]

What to do with Scott…

A question that many many Kimona enjoyers face in our time is thus: “where the hell do we put Scott Pilgrim?”

The guy is a weird case. He’s the main character, the damn series was named after him, he’s integral to the life and stories of both of these women. Although; he is also a massive cockblock (or vag block?? Idk) and must be obliterated in order for the two to be happy. So, to prevent Kimona fic writers (also known as the greatest and most noble heroes of our time) from needing to contend with this great query again, I shall compile a list of potential things you could do with Scott to get him the hell out of the way. In no particular order.

1. Break Scott and Ramona up

Probably the most direct and simple answer, especially if you’re going for a more cannon compliant, post cannon universe. Though it does kinda invalidate all of the shit they got through to get together if they just split up like that. So I suggest that if you do break them up, make it on good terms. Make it so that it’s mutual and mutually beneficial and mature. Less of a “I hate you and I never want to see you again” and more of a “it was fun, you helped me a lot, but now we gotta go our separate ways in life.” Their development shouldn’t be rendered moot by the breakup, instead make the breakup part of their development.

2. Create an AU where Scott does not exist

A fairly easy one, if Scott doesn’t exist, you can just go along your merry way with your shipping. Fics where Kim finds Ramona before Scott or fics where Scott doesn’t ever fall in love with Ramona for whatever reason also fall under this category. These are good, but a bit bland. There isn’t a great lot you can tell here cause Scott’s douchery kinda holds together the plot pretty much. It is only by him being a rat-ass fuckboy that anyone ever meets anyone in the comics. Also, without having her relationship with Scott, Ramona just doesn’t have her vital character arc that the relationship brings. She’s always gonna be the same ol Flowers when she comes to Kim.

So unless you plan on retelling the entire story of the… everything with Kim instead of Scott, you’ve gotta very flighty and traumatized Ramona Flowers on your hands for the entire fic. Now, this is perfect for angst fics, as using pre-arc flaws to create a tragedy has been a a tool for angst fics since god damn Shakespeare. Also fluff doesn’t really need the “primest character development” in order to be good, so if you’re planning to either make angst or simple fluff then AU is your best bet. If you wanna make something more cannon compliant or lighthearted yet complicated, you’re out of luck.

3. Polycule

Self explanatory. Why not have both? Keep Scott and Ramona’s cute dynamic; and just bring Kim into the mix. While this can be very fun (I’m actually writing a fic where this happens at the moment) it isn’t great for every fic. Cause let’s face it: if you’re here and queer for Kimona, so maybe you do not want to write for the feelings of the dude who got here first so he’s also tagging along. Some people just don’t wanna write Scott, which is perfectly valid. Also, polycules are messy and complicated, both in real life and in fic writing. While complications can create some good drama, it’s also a lot of moving parts to manage. You aren’t getting a Kimona + Pilgrim fic down to 2k words without sacrificing a lot. This one is not built for oneshots or general Pilgrim-haters.

4. Send him off to be with Wallace

Probably one of my favorite options to use. It’s kinda an extension of the “breakup” idea, but it gives a happier ending for Scott, as it lets the breakup make sense. Scott falls in love with Wallace and can’t bear the pining so he communicates with Ramona about it, and they mutually agree that it’s for the better for them to split so he can be with Wells. It also will keep the Scollace shippers at bay, may their apocalyptic wrath be kept at bay /s.

If you don’t really have much stuff outside of Kimona in your fic and don’t know how to get Scott out of the picture, try this one. Just throw in a sentence about Scott being with Wallace and everything will make sense and be chill. Truly an option for us lazy bitches out there who just want yuri. It can also potentially set up some Scollace content later down in the fic if it comes to be of a larger scale, but if you just want your yuri you can throw out a “Scott is with Wallace” line and not need to elaborate further, we get it. All around a flexible, powerful, potent, and fun option. Though if you have any Wallace pairings already set up in your fic and you can’t fit Scollace in, this option obviously won’t be that useful to you.

So…

That’s all of the “bye bye Scott pilgrim” tropes for Kimona fics that I could think of. Now for which one is the best… prepare yourself, the answer is disappointing.

None of them!

No one of these is always gonna work for everything. These tropes are all just tools in your toolbox at the end of the day, and which one you use is up to what you’re writing and how you’re feeling. So don’t be afraid to try multiple of these for your fics, throw shit against the wall like spaghetti. Maybe you’ll find something new that you’ll like.

But that’s enough yapping from me. Now go forth and WRITE!

[bi-demon-ium]

MBS S2 EP5 LIVEBLOG

going insane. also love that this season is road trip season

“we gotta think like europeans if we’re gonna track Europeans” LFKJGDLKFJG I SIMPLIFIED IT FOR YOU

MARTINA!!!!!!!!!!!! MY GIRL!!!!!!!! MARTINA MARTINA MARTINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and she isn’t captain :((

oh you deserve better

THE COMICALLY LONG PHONE LINE LDKFJGDFGHHFGH

wow martina is so cool

wait why does constance have a doll that is beyond creepy

yeah throwing it is the understandable reaction

DR GARRISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW WE’RE JUST GETTING TREATED HUH

NOW WHERE’S SQ

I mean we kinda figured but still

her “Hello Constance” was so menacing what the fuck

ANYWAY THEME YES YES YES YES YES

rhonda looks gorgeous as always<3 I love her

also gayfear.png we already know rhondas going off on her own if they make this a thing with miss perumal and milligan im .

ohhh I bet rhondas going to find dr garrison and constance

TRENTONIUM DLKFGJ

like trenton lee stewart 😩

shes gonna find dr garrison isn’t she

“one never splits the party voluntarily”

“unfortunately that icant do”

YOU DON’T LIKE HER? SHE HAS THE OPTIMAL FACIAL PROPORTIONS LKDFJGLDKJLKFGHJFGH DR GARRISON

SHE IS OPTIMAL TO STUFF DOWN YOUR WINDPIPE DEATH WILL BE SWIFT

PLEASE I ADORE THEM BOTH

DR GARRISON YOU WEIRD LITTLE MAN

and just shoving it off the bed

also lmao he DID just blame her

she knows about the side effects

oh she really is going full mad scientist huh

wow shes going full nutjob huh

ohhh this is bad actually

I mean good (fun) but bad (terrifying)

ghost in the windmill, the dancer in the dark

I NEED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

oh shes. scary. shes scary

I love constance

ohhh the brains—YEAH

FUCK

no more embarrassing trace memories? uh oh

garrison: I HAVE ETHICS UNLIKE THAT BITCH!

also garrison: I will mind wipe the child

LDKFJGLKDFJGLKFDJG NUMBER TWO KICKING IN THE DOOR

also number two and curtain one on one interaction uh oh

and number two’s WORSD I love her

IVE TRIED AND SUCCEEDED TO BE CIVIL MAAM

curtain believes that I think, in some way, that he’s relieved him of the constant grip of depression and “angst”

number two I love you but this is not going to work

what are you going to do stuff the mandarin down his throat

SHES SO FUNNY

HER AND CONSTANCE HANDSHAKE EMOJI

also love that hes trying to manipulation salad her

I hate him

“im not hungry” oh really

STOP TRYING TO HYPNOTIZE HER

that’s what mr benedict said darling.

also her obstinate tone

“you are carrying a great deal of pain, aren’t you?” oh… oh,, and her reaction, im going to kill someoen

LOST YEARS?? im going to kill CURTAIN

“his service” “his organization” fuck you

I hate you curtain so much I hate you

CHANGED IT TO A STUPID PUN

“nicholas” fuck im going to kill you

I hate curtain so much

NARCOLEPSY MENTION. FINALLY

and curtain wont even acknowledge that part

of course he’ll choose to stay when he’s whammied that isn’t a good or fair option

DKKJLFGLKGFJ SHE JUST TAKES THE PLATE WITH HER

I ADORE HER

commercial break.

I am terrified.

bro im sooo terrified

vibrating with anxiety

ohhhh we’re back ahahhahaahahaha I am Shaking

ldgkhjgh the kids just. walking sadly

think this is the bit where reynie screams

“Terrible roommate. good friend”

DLFKGJDLFKGJ MARTINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ADORE HER

also want to see her interact with the other kids

“CURTAIN CANT SOTP KIDNAPPING” DLKFGJDFGJ

“I cant believe I once looked up to that man”

ohhh :/ so the institute transcripts are worthless

“but none of that matters anymore. I have a mission”

A LEADER LKJGKLFJHFGH

OKAY MARTINA<3

“doesn’t your team need this gear?” “yeah probably”

IF THEY CANT APPRECIATE WHAT I BRING MAYBE THEY DON’T GET A VAN

oh no. oh no. the kids. hes using a kid. that’s bad

oh god that’s bad

“a joyful lens” uh oh

UH OH THIS IS BAD THIS IS BAD

USING A KID? AGAIN? OH FUCK

FUCK

oit cant be the only way but it’s gotta be important

oh so the cult members can infect each other? terrifying

no one will be left out of this family….. ohh…….

oh presenting him with the clothes that’s .. ominiosu considering the promo pic with mr b in the clothes

yeah of course he’s sanguine! he’s been whammied! that’s pretty clear!

oncde again only curtain calling him nicholas :/

it is weird that he’s claiming to be undercover though is he totally whammied or not

oh curtain sort of . forcing him to stay

“AN ENDLESS CHASM OF SHEER TERROR.” “OR A VOID. UTTER NOTHINGNESS.” “OHH”

I continue adore jackson and jillson

OH NO

OH NO THEY WERE COMPLAINING OF A STIFF NECK AND MARLON JUST CROOKED HIS NECK

the water polo team glaring at constance lol

“we were underfunded”

they’re so bitchy I love it

shes so funny

CONSTANCE IS ALSO SO FUNNY

hello constance its so nice to have you back

terrifying

martina youre such a bitch (affectionate)

that’s such an obvious thing to miss???? did you even look

they’re just full on tracks did you even fucking look ldgkjldkjlkfgjhh I love you all

sticky youre so funny

also I love martina

im so scared during this commercial break<3

RHONDA… OH I LOVE YOU

RHONDA I ADORE YOU SO MUCH I LOVE THIS LOOK WOW

i love all her looks though to be fair

CHEMIST. having a baby

rhonda did you just got some new dad fired oh no lkgdjhfgh

and specifically saying a chemist just gets me

:(

MACHINE GRAVE

oh shes not doing it

to be fair I don’t know if she can do it on command last time it was kind of stressful

wow that worked surprisingly well just throwing a helmet at it I love her

wow garrison looks even more crazy evil mad scientist now

the old fashinoned way? terrifying

ooh the subtle theme song

lkfgjfg kate and her spyglass<3

until we proverbially find her lfkgjfgkhfgh

sticky & martina keep agreeing ,

reynie keeps thinking of things right at the right time. reynie ex machina

LKDFJGLKDFJGKDJFG SHES USING THE FUCKING. I FORGET WHAT THEY’RE CALLED. THE CARDS

YOU FEMALE CHILD

GARRISON IS LOSING IT HUH

weird parallel to curtain’s brainwashing kid

except shes going to break dr garrison

AND NOW SHES THE ONE GOING [OBVIOUSLY NOT FINE] I AM FINE

oh shes legit literally about to cry and/or scream

ohhh this is the reynie screaming scene I just know it

or soon

ohhh fuck

bunker! bunker! bunker!

or cellar

ah kate’s turn to find it <33

if they just burst in along with rhonda thatd be very funny I want rhonda, all the kids, martina, constance, and dr garrison to have a huge spiderman point session

martina DFILKJDGJFG “KATE PICK THE LOCK” GIRL SHES ALREADY DOING THAT I LOVE YOU

oh no miss perumal and milligan alone scene please don’t make this a thing

DEEPIKA? FIRST NAME FOR MISS PERUMAL? FIRST NAME FOR MISS PERUMAL?

I don’t love how we got it but

ALSO OH NO THEY’VE BEEN GOT

sensory issues lmao its soft “its soft!”

I know it’s the brainwashing but autism<3

you don’t have his ear. he has you.

im going to cry.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR BROTHER. HE’S COMING WITHUS”

nfiugdmrmtliKLJFKG NUBMER TWO YOURE GOING TO FUCKING KIDNAP IHM?

I LOVE HO SO MUCH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IM LITERALLY GOING TO CRY THIS IS SO GOOD

AND THIS EXTREMELY BLOOD METAPHOR AND HIS EXPRESSION THIS IS SO FUNNY

but you will be together

“well that part, I like” ohhhhhhh

UH OH WE WERE RIGH TTHERE’S MARLON! FROZEN! FUCK

IS THAT DR GARRISON JUST SOBBING FLKGJFHJFGHFGH

THIS IS SO FUNNY

I LOVE HER SO MUCH CONSTANCE IS MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORL

DR GARRISON JUST HEADDESKING

CONSTANCE HURT HER

[dr garrison visibly crying] I MA PERFECTLY FINE

maam youre fully having a breakdown

uh oh! Brainsweeper for all of them!

WAIT NO NO YOU CANT END THERE

I mean I assume rhonda will show up but

FUCK

FUCK FUCK FUCK

[amazing-spiderling]

17, 20 and 22 for the violence asks >:)

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

I feel like this is more of a twitter thing for me because I ended up following a lot of artists from Japan and Korea for Spideypool content there, some of whom have made the leap to Daredevil- but gosh, I keep seeing GORGEOUS anime style Fratt art and I'm like... why no Mattfoggy? T___T Not that there aren't tons of talented Mattfoggy artists, but for whatever reason, Foggy seems really underrepresented in the anime/manga style or if he shows up, it's usually just part of a Nelson Murdock and Page cutesy image. PLEASE put him in your yaoi aesthetic doujinshi four panel comics, I'm begging y'all. XDDD

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

I am trying so hard to be spicy, but unfortunately my taste is immaculate so the things I don't like are pretty much universally panned. XD (No, Cat, you're just basic.)

To take it back to Metal Gear for a moment, I know that fandom is sort of split between what my friends and I used to call the "old" and "new testament" fans. People that were into the games set in the 60's-80's featuring Big Boss, Kazuhira Miller, Revolver Ocelot and the Diamond Dogs etc versus the games set in the 90's-2000's starring Solid Snake, Otacon, Liquid Snake, Meryl, Raiden and also Revolver Ocelot but with a mustache now.

Broadly speaking, while people will debate whether MGS 2 sucks or MGS 4 holds up, or whether the storytelling of MGS V still manages to shine through despite all of the obvious cutbacks caused by Konami- the fandom at large agrees that Metal Gear Solid 3 (the first game where we learn about Big Boss as a hero and his motivations etc) is lauded as the best game in the series. (With some people even saying it's the one you should play first?) And I gotta be really really real here.

I don't give a crap about Big Boss.

I mean, being introduced to the series in something more like release order- he's the antagonist, or at least behind a lot of the events that trouble the protagonists. He set a lot of wheels in motion that had consequences even he couldn't account for. Even when we get his motivation, I'm mostly like, "Cool story. Still war crimes." And yeah, everyone in these games is a war criminal, but some people are war criminals to try and put a stop to nuclear war and others are war criminals bc they think the world should always have a place for soldiers. Basically, nothing anyone could tell me about Big Boss's past could make me like him, and if I don't like characters it's harder for me to care about them. So while I can appreciate MGS 3 and V as games, and still watched people play through them and such... I just don't like... care about them.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

I can't say everyone ignores it, but there's SO MUCH FIC that revolves around Nelson vs. Murdock (and I get it, there's a lot of meat there to chew on) but DAMN the way some of the early S2 episodes make me feel. Watching Foggy running up stairs looking for Matt and cradling his head in his lap before dragging him back to his apartment (somehow???) Foggy strolling into the Dogs of Hell's club- even Foggy's moment of badassery (set to the music from the Columbia steps flashback- maybe hinting at how Matt has changed Foggy for the better perhaps?) in the hospital with the gang members? ARghhh The Daredevil fandom wants to zoom in on the "Matt chained to a brick wall" scene from S2 but I'm like... waving my arms at all this other good stuff from the beginning of that season begging people to do something with it.

[glapplebloom]

What’s so Civil about War anyway?

There are a lot of terrible comic book storylines. One of them happens to be the Civil War. You got Linkara’s video about 15 things wrong about Civil War and he brought up an interesting trivia about it: the creator believes that Iron Man’s side was the right side. So... Let’s ignore hindsight, the comic itself and presume that this is just a debate. Is the Superhuman Registration Act a good thing? Let’s see...

1 - What is the Superhuman Registration Act

So what does this thing even do? This information summary is based off the Marvel Wiki, so if anything is wrong please let me know. First, it requires all super-powered individuals to surrender their real names to the government. So if you got powers, the government, not the public, will know who you are. That way, they can monitor you via getting a license or even a job using said super powers. And said powered beings had to pass some criteria before they could use said powers for crime fighting. And while working for the government isn’t mandatory, it is an option.

2 - The Positives

Well, the biggest for me is that if you got powers useful for stopping crime, you got a job. All you gotta do is go to a training facility, pass some tests, and boom: you got an easy ticket to a paying job with the government. But what if you want to be a hero on your own terms? Well, by doing this licensing deal, you would have a legal license to do hero-ing. No more cops stopping you because they think you’re a menace. You can probably go on trial as the hero without worrying about having an identity revealed. You can get paid as the hero since you got a government licensed identity card so they could sign a check to Spider-man and he can cash it in as Spider-man. 

Another positive, training. No more “I got powers, I’m gonna be a hero! Whoops, blew up the bank” ala Carnage as a hero. They can know what to do, how to do it, maybe get a better understanding of their powers under proper controlled environments instead of on the field. And we know this idea could work out, My Hero Academia is the Superhuman Registration Act realized. Granted, better since you have to be of age to be part of it but still this should be what they had planned when coming up with it.

3 - The Negatives

The Government would have all the information. Said government that could be taken over by aliens, or mind controlled by an interdimensional tyrant, or found in the future by some conqueror going to the past, or maybe Norrin Osborn becomes president like Luthor did and gets access to it. Let’s face it, the government having all this information is a terrible idea. And while hindsight prevents me from showing examples of how bad it went, luckily for me there’s a What If Comic about the Civil War where without Ironman to lead the Pro-Reg side, the Government uses sentinels to kill all the heroes. 

Speaking of Sentinels, they screwed this up already since this is an evolution of the Mutant Registration Act. And we’ve seen how messed up the X-Men Storylines are. Right now they’re on their own continent, becoming their own nation and sniffing their own farts and I still don’t get how they represent minorities when other people get powers and they get treated like Celebrities. So it’s less hindsight and more “people who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

And as Linkara said, this act is only punishing those with powers who are doing good. Villains would still not register, would hide or escape, and even if they get put on a list they’re more likely to use any chance they got to escape prison, escape whatever de-powering device is on them and just get back to being a villain. 

4 - So who was right?

Ironically, Tony Stark. Prior to this Civil War, Iron man made a proposal for a variation of the Superhero Registration Act among the other members of the Illuminati. He saw what was going to happen to the letter: the big act that makes the government rush to release it, the split among those who support it and those who don’t. But if they support it before that moment, they could defuse it and possibly make changes. Iron man even proposed it years prior as having delegates among the Super Heroes to know what’s up and make a united front, a Registration Act controlled by the heroes for the heroes.

But since it didn’t happen, which side is on the right. Well, for me it’s the Anti-Registration Act. The Pro-Side has a lot of benefits, but the fact that the Government has access to everyone’s identity, when we had history of them taken over by evil beings in the past, and spoilers in the future too, is not the most trustworthy place. Heck, I don’t even trust the real world government to not change a lightbulb without spending more money on a military front. 

And that What if shows Tony’s idea prior to Civil War working: the Government won’t be the ones with access to such information: the Avengers would with Capt. America being the only one with access to everyone’s identity. They’ll have the most sophisticated security measure to protect him from mind manipulation or such things and he can handpick the person to carry the information if he dies. And positive, this is before Hydra Cap took over so win/win.

So in my book, it’s a good idea poorly executed. Training young heroes is a good idea. Having easy access to all the heroes to help a problem is a good idea. Having a Registration System so you can be a hero without getting the cops on your case because “you’re not part of the law” is a good idea. But letting the Government know your identity so when, not if, WHEN some evil person takes over and finds out all that juicy information you’re all in danger. But Captain America, that’s a guy I would trust. Be it Steve or Sam. 

[arsquare]

5, 10 and 13 For the art ask game!

Hi Malz <3

least favorite thing to draw

LOL there are so many things I don't like to draw... backgrounds... cars... guns... the list goes on and on... (not quite related but. perhaps you've noticed that despite my voluminous contributions to birdmen fanart in recent times I've casually dodged out of drawing the birds transformed time and time again. there's a reason for that. it's too hard. the markings drive me insane and the wings make creating compositions hell on earth </3)

But! If I had to pick ONE thing that I dislike more than all others, I would probably choose complex cityscapes! More organic landscapes I can just freehand, at least to a certain degree, but cityscapes require a more refined use of perspective and idk. me and the CSP rulers kind of have a long-standing rivalry, I still don't like it that much, which makes cityscapes a huge pain

how many different sketches do you usually have until your piece is finished

LOL... if I have more than one sketch before I do the linework I'm already like "that's way too much". I'm super impatient...

Like for Breaking Stasis I basically used my storyboards as the rough sketch (don't do this lol) because I needed to go fast. Here's a couple of examples...

I went from this kinda messy sketch (storyboards as well in a certain sense) directly to the clean lines. idk what's wrong with me tbh. I'm just lazy I guess

It also depends on how well I can draw the character in question. Like my birds?? from birdmen??? I could probably draw rei eishi takayama and umino pretty well freehanded (kamoda. my bald son kamoda. you're so hard to draw. the line between A bald guy and MY bald guy is razor thin and I often end up on the wrong side of the line)

If I've never drawn the character before? Lollll I probably have to do more detailed drawings...

Sometimes my sketches will be my final as well LMAO. just depends <3

Even for paintings I think I usually go sketch -> colors LOL

^^ shitty pencil sketch that's been tweaked a bit for the sake of composition

^^ directly painting without intervention like a madman????

This one is the one I had the most sketches for in recent memory. It's cause I have a hard time keeping them all in scale with each other (and STILL I failed to take into account how the various platform boots would change their heights. dont think about this too hard please don't think about this too hard), and also because these aren't outfits I'm used to drawing (so not collared shirts or suits, basically...) I had to do a rough and a clean before the final

so yeah anywhere from 0-2, 3 if we're REALLY pushing it (the question asked how many sketches, not how many layers... I do have more layers but I consider them all part of the same sketch)

how long do you usually take on a piece

LMAO THIS IS SUCH A HARD QUESTION. WHAT IS "A PIECE". DEFINE A PIECE.

The fastest stuff are my MS Paint doodles like he is eating raw cloves of garlic like jellybeans or food service Shichiro. I spend no more than 10 or 15 minutes TOPS per illustration on these. like I'm moving fast okay. it's like milk left out in the kitchen it's gonna go bad and stop being funny if I spend too long on it!!!

The next fastest would be short comics in the same spirit as the MS Paint doodles except it's just. not in MS paint it's in CSP instead. like does eishi support birdmen rights or takaeishi horror movie night. I think the cap for these are probably closer to like, 20 minutes per illustration/panel. but these are also almost explicitly always for funnies and again. the joke spoils if I spend too long on it!! gotta be quick!! gotta be speedy!!!

the next fastest stuff is probably colored sketches like Kekkaishi dress sketches or Shinichi birthday kisses. the time starts to get more variable as the complexity changes.. I think maybe an hour to an hour and a half for these?

Beyond that I have to split things up into multiple sittings and it gets harder to time them. Lined and colored artwork maybe takes... four to ten hours on average?? Like for Yoshitoki vibes, ganbare shinichi-kun, and the Lower One's Eyes thumbnail. I'm guessing around 15-20 hours for lineless paintings like Conductor Robin and Reieishi Tattoo Kiss? (<- idk the ship name for them because I don't think it exists actually)

For actual like. big projects. idk how to even measure that chief!! Breaking Stasis was completed in 2 months but I was working my ass off that entire time. like close to the end, like the last week or two I was basically drawing the entire day to crank it out. I don't know how many that is, but hundreds, perhaps? LOL

The music videos too, they're taking up QUITE a chunk of time but I have no idea how to measure that LMAO. oops </3

[sineala]

Is 616 Tony a Democrat or Republican or neither? I’ve seen posts comparing him to Trump (barf!)

Wow. Geez. You don't ask easy questions, do you, anon?

First off, I am going to assume that whoever was comparing 616 Tony to Trump was trying to slander Tony. And I will tell you that we do in fact have 616 Tony's canonical opinion of Trump -- yes, Donald Trump exists on Earth-616 and has been referenced in several comics -- and he doesn't seem to like him much. I mean, this is back when Trump was primarily being known for being a New York businessman. They canonically ran in the same circles and Tony canonically knows him. He doesn't like him.

Here's Tony in Iron Man v1 #227 complaining that Trump bought him out of a building:

And here's Tony again in Iron Man v3 #37 being not especially thrilled when he thinks that the person he is about to meet is Trump:

(The person he is actually meeting is Tiberius Stone, which is also a very bad idea.)

I am also going to point out that due to the way Marvel likes to handle politics in its comics, I don't think we can say anything about the canonical political affiliation of most characters, because Marvel deliberately leaves that undefined. So to the best of my knowledge, we don't have a canonical statement about Tony's political affiliation and we probably won't ever get one.

But we can speculate based on canonical evidence, can't we?

My very long answer is under the Read More.

Your question is sort of framed as "tell me if Tony is a good or a bad person," and I would like to suggest that this is not really a useful framing for several reasons: (1) what the political parties currently stand for is pretty recent, actually, and Tony as a character predates a lot of the modern conceptions of the two parties; (2) the history of the Democratic Party specifically in New York, where Tony is from, is, let's just say, not 100% pure and unproblematic; and (3), when we're talking about someone with the amount of money, connections, and influence that Tony has, party affiliation generally doesn't mean the same thing it would mean for us ordinary mortals. What I mean by that last point is that there is a big, big difference between every one of the following list of statements: "I would vote for Republicans," "I am a registered Republican," "I would give very large amounts of money to Republicans," and "I would accept a political appointment in a Republican administration." For most of us, the last two of those points aren't ever going to be something that comes up in our lives, but they are going to be things that matter very much for someone like Tony Stark. And we have a canonical answer for at least one of those things. We can theorize about at least some of the rest of them.

I'm saying all that because I suspect you're really not going to like my answer.

I think that there is a very, very high chance that 616 Tony is a Republican.

I mean, I don't think he'd be a Republican right now at this exact moment in time, are you kidding me, but I feel like he has definitely been a Republican at some point in the past. Say, before Trump. One of those socially-liberal fiscally-conservative types. With a conscience. Sort of like Mitt Romney. Picture the kind of Republican Massachusetts likes to keep electing as their governor.

Yes, is possible that, since Tony is from New York, he's a lifelong Democrat. It is definitely possible. New York is heavily Democratic in our world, and barring contradictory evidence, that is probably also the case on Earth-616. But I think that, specifically because of the rest of Tony's background and the ways that Tony has interacted with the world of politics in 616, he is most likely to be a Republican. It doesn't mean he couldn't be a Democrat! I have no proof either way! In terms of several elements of his characterization -- say, his commitment to social justice and fighting inequity -- I would say he definitely leans Democrat, because these days that sort of thing is mostly the province of the Democrats, although I suspect that back when Tony was created it wouldn't have been out of character for a lot of Republicans. I'm just saying that Republican seems more likely. If you gotta pick one. I think you could definitely argue for either. He doesn't fit completely into either but his canon interactions with politics push me toward thinking he's a Republican, because he does several specific things that I think it would be unlikely that anyone other than a Republican would be given the opportunity to do at the specific time that he does them.

Yeah. I know.

Right. Okay. Tony is extremely, extremely rich, and even though I know that he is basically the fantasy of The One Good Ethical Billionaire (more on this in a sec), it's probably worth thinking about what actual real-life rich people do with their money in ways that intersect with politics. And the answer to that is, well, generally they give money to politicians who are favorable to, say, helping them continue to have money. Now, yes, as far as I know there is no evidence of Tony doing this in canon -- this is where all the conjecture comes in. So we ask ourselves, okay, if Tony were to endorse particular politicians because of this, what party would he give money to? Who would he want to get in good with? In most parts of the country, that would probably be the Republican party. But, specifically in New York, it's the Democrats.

So, yeah, one of the big points in favor of him being a Democrat is that, well, Democrats traditionally run New York. The class of old-money New York elites are pretty stereotypically Democrats. And that would include Tony. Which is not to say that he couldn't be a Republican, but if he wants to get anywhere with New York politicians, and I suspect he probably does because he is trying to run a series of very large businesses and he owns a fair amount of real estate including several buildings whose permitting processes I can only imagine fall into the category of “probably highly irregular" -- I mean, he has multiple jets that he regularly lands on his house and secret underwater tunnels for a submarine -- he has to cozy up to Democrats. If he gives money to anyone involved in politics, that's who he gives money to. Making superhero bases probably took a lot of money. A massive amount of money. The city planners probably cry when they see him coming.

(At one point I believe they did ban him from keeping the Quinjets in his house. That was when the Avengers had the Hydrobase.)

I tend to assume most people know something about the history of the Democrats in New York, or at least the history of US political parties in general, but the tl;dr version is that the parties haven't always stood for the same things that they do now. They also weren't always the same parties. And historically, in New York, the political machine gives you Democrats. That's just the way it is. The Democratic Party of the past was not really, um, devoted to all the same causes as the current Democratic Party. And it was very hard to get anywhere in New York and not be a Democrat. It still is. If you haven't read up on Tammany Hall, maybe you should. There was a lot of corruption. I mean, yeah, it's not currently a thing, but the Democrats remained in power in New York; it dissolved probably around about the time the Republican Party explicitly decided that the way to win the South was to appeal to the racism of white voters ("the Southern strategy"). Because, yes, before that a lot of white, conservative Southerners were traditionally Democrats. And then the Democrats split about civil rights, and, uh, the Republicans took in the racists.

Anyway! US political history is sure a land of contrasts! Rich New Yorkers are traditionally Democrats! That is a point for Tony possibly being a Democrat, yes. Moving on!

But Tony is not just a random old-money New Yorker. He inherited Howard Stark's money and Howard Stark's company. And Howard was, well, a defense contractor. And so was Tony, until he stopped making weapons. And, uh, being a defense contractor is, um, one of those things that is extremely, extremely Republican. No, I don't have stats to back this up. Just trust me. So, yeah, he's a rich New Yorker -- but he's also a defense contractor from a family of defense contractors. I would be amazed if Howard Stark were anything other than a Republican. Which is not to say that Tony could not be a Democrat anyway, but the job does come with a certain predisposition.

(Incidentally, one of the other things Tony inherited from Howard was his membership in the Hellfire Club, which is one of those things I keep forgetting about until canon smacks me in the face with it every few years.)

We all know that the conception of Tony, as a character, is basically the fantasy of the Ethical Billionaire. He is The Best At Capitalism. He has money and he is not corrupted by it. He has money and he uses it to do the maximum amount of good in the world because that is what he really, deeply wants to do. He supports a large number of philanthropic causes! He has a foundation named after his mother! He funds programs for low-income youth! He runs a homeless shelter for women! Throughout his history, he has been consistently portrayed as a deeply, deeply kind human being, who wants to help people. A lot of people! People who aren't like him! People who might not even like him! That is just... who he is, as a person.

And these days we tend to associate that kind of push for systemic change and caring about social issues and remedying inequity with Democrats, but that wasn't always the case. I think it still would have been believable coming from a Republican, oh, around about the time Tony came into existence. He was created back when you could be an elected Republican and, uh, push social policies that I think these days we would consider progressive. I mean, Eisenhower was the one who started integrating schools, right? The Republicans are the party of Lincoln! It's not like Republicans are prevented from doing good things. And I think we need to keep in mind that Tony dates from the early 60s when socially-progressive was still a thing Republicans could conceivably be.

So, yes, Tony is very kind. It's nice. We all like that about him. But also many of the ways in which he is kind to people are very much Republican fantasies. Like, yes, he's a great boss. He's close to his employees. They're like family. If any of his employees have problems, he helps them out on a personal, individual level -- and that, as an ideal, seems very Republican to me. I mean, he's a CEO, right? He's owned a lot of companies. Are any of them unionized? Combing through Wiki, I find one reference to a union in ToS 63, which is really, really early -- you know, back when unions were more popular. I can't find anything after that. And nothing is coming to mind. So, I mean, yes, we have now established his employees were at one point unionized, but he's certainly not known for, say, running a union shop. Part of the fantasy of the Ethical Billionaire is the idea that Tony's employees don't need unions because Tony is so kind and so generous and so personally selflessly good that he takes care of everyone who works for him. And the thing is, Tony actually does do this. He is fictional and therefore capable of achieving perfection.

Okay. He's a fictional character. Let's step back a little and think about fictional characters, and specifically the way Marvel Comics depicts fictional characters interacting with well-known real people. Many real people from our Earth do seem to exist in 616. Earth-616 is not our Earth in a vast number of ways, but one thing it shares with our Earth is presidents. Whoever is the real-life president when a comic comes out is pretty much generally president on Earth-616 at the time. Yes, I'm going somewhere with this.

Now, for whatever reason, Marvel often does not canonically refer to presidents by their names in dialogue, but the artists pretty much draw whoever is president at the time when someone in canon needs to meet the president. (Captain America seems to get to meet the president a lot. I'm sure you're shocked.)

There are a couple exceptions to "everyone who looks like the president is the president,” namely that Marvel says that the villain who was Number One of the Secret Empire in Captain America v1 #175, who attempted to conspire with aliens to take over the Earth, whom Steve watched commit suicide -- anyway, the official Marvel word is, I believe, that this guy is not Richard Nixon, but Steve Englehart, who wrote the comic, says it absolutely was:

And, yes, this is the incident that causes Steve to lose faith in America and become Nomad. You can kind of see why that would be traumatic. Marvel clearly had some feelings about Watergate they needed to process.

Anyway, I just wanted to put in a picture of that time Ronald Reagan was turned into a snake person. It's Captain America v1 #344:

I love comics.

More recent presidents still make appearances in the comics, and they are the president who was the real-life president at the time. For example, the president who pardons Steve for all his SHRA-related crimes in Who Will Wield The Shield is definitely Obama:

And that means that I must also unfortunately inform you that Hydra Steve also received a presidential pardon:

Though the issue in question (Captain America v9 #8) does not specifically name the president, following the "whoever is the actual president is the 616 president" rule, the president who canonically pardoned Hydra Steve is... Donald Trump.

Let's just pause here to contemplate this. Take as long as you need.

(I was today years old when I learned that Hydra Steve has been dead in comics for over a year. Since the issue in which he was pardoned, actually. Which is an issue I am sure I read the day it came out, but somehow I missed the four entire pages where Hydra Steve is set on fire and burns to death while hailing Hydra with his last breath. I guess it wasn't memorable! I mention because I am pretty sure I am not the only one who missed this.)

Anyway. I do have a point to make here, and my point is this: Tony has received political appointments. Two of them, in fact. In the 2003-2004 Iron Man arc "The Best Defense," Tony becomes Secretary of Defense. He does get Senate confirmation; it's not a deputy appointment. He actually gets unanimous confirmation. And I know that Tony had this job is a fact that everyone knows about Tony, but I feel like a lot of people may not be totally conscious of the timeframe involved here, and by that I mean that he is absolutely, positively, the Secretary of Defense for Earth-616's George W. Bush. Yes, I am sure of this.

Here is Tony with the president in Iron Man v3 #78, being told he got the job:

Yeah. That’s George W. Bush.

Can a Cabinet appointment cross party lines? I mean, sure, it's possible. I am not the kind of giant politics nerd who has this memorized, but there is in fact, a Wikipedia page for US political appointments across party lines. And it looks like there have been five cross-party Secretaries of Defense and five Secretaries of War. So, I mean, yes, it's happened, but it's fairly rare. None of the cross-party Secretaries of Defense (deputy secretaries excluded, since they weren't confirmed, obviously) were ever Democrats appointed by Republicans. And since we're looking at Dubya's administration specifically, it looks like only one of his Cabinet appointees (Transportation) was cross-party. So it looks like he in particular would not have been especially likely to appoint a Democrat to his Cabinet, since in real life he only had the one.

So to me it seems that the most likely party affiliation for Tony has to be Republican, because of this. Sure, the appointment could have crossed party lines. But I feel like it's just... not likely. Being a Republican Secretary of Defense in a Republican administration just seems way, way more possible.

(Also I'd like everyone to remember that Tony is replacing the previous Secretary of Defense because the previous Secretary of Defense was secretly the Red Skull and released an engineered flesh-eating virus at Mount Rushmore. Just, y'know, to set the mood.)

What's more, Tony gets a second political appointment from the Bush administration. It's not a Cabinet position, but he does become the Director of SHIELD in 2007. Here Tony is with the president, slightly earlier, in Civil War #1:

This is not really as good a likeness of Bush as the previous and I guess you could argue that the artist was drawing A Generic Politician but I feel like, y'know, it's probably still meant to be Bush. And Tony may not have wanted this particular job -- we know he definitely didn't -- but he absolutely wanted to be Secretary of Defense. So we know that he is definitely fine with serving in a Republican administration.

So, yeah, that's my argument: odds are pretty good that Tony has, at some point in his life, been a Republican. Maybe not right now. But probably in the past.

Having said that, given the way Marvel handles politics, I don't think it's likely to ever be much of an issue in canon; the Avengers mostly just tend to get to get along with whoever the president is at the time and I can't recall really anything about partisan issues. However, you're never going to convince me 616 Steve was anything other than a New Deal Democrat -- even though I know that in Cap #250 he turns down both the Democrats and the Republicans when they ask him to run for president -- because, I mean, come on. I assume that he and Tony probably try not to discuss politics ever anymore, because we all know how the SHRA went. They probably mostly agree, but when they disagree, people have a tendency to end up dead.

That was probably more than you ever wanted to know about my thoughts on this topic.

[dakotacrisis]

Topsy Turvy (3)

By popular demand and my current Ladrien fixation I bring to you part 3 of this fluff fest. Enjoy!

---

Plagg was this close to throwing an extra large wheel of cheese at Adrien’s head. After Ladybug left last night he had been skipping around his room with the biggest, dorkiest grin imaginable. Every once in a while he would stop to contemplate how hurt his friend Marinette would be about this before he perked up again. Now he was standing in a pile of clothes trying to pick out an outfit for the movies tonight.

"What about this?" Adrien held up a black button up. "It's nice but understated and it would match Ladybug’s costume. Or is it weird to coordinate? Or maybe too fancy for a movie date? I have a black v-neck that may be better. What do you think?"

"It all looks the same to me," Plagg answered, not bothering to look up from the comic book he was reading.

"Plagg! Come on! Just give me an opinion. This is a big deal for me!"

Plagg grinned, a wicked thought entering his brain. "Oh I just don't know, Adrien. I don't wear clothes so I don't have the best source of judgement. Why don't you ask the designer friend of yours? I'm sure she would love to help you."

"That's actually a great idea--hey, wait a second--Plagg!" Adrien torn the comic out from under him like a tablecloth, "I can't ask Marinette for help regarding my date with Ladybug! Are you mad? Did you forget that she's the one that I need to reject after this?"

"Oh? Is she?" Plagg feigned ignorance. This was just too good to pass up. If only this poor little kitten of his knew the truth. He was rejecting the same girl he was going on a date with. He had to mess with him a little.

"Yes, Plagg, I have gone over this at length already." Adrien sighed, with a shake of his head, "Just work with me here and say button up or v-neck."

"Nude,"

Adrien tossed the comic back down. "You’re not funny."

"Really? I'm pretty sure I'm hilarious. You are just too young to appreciate my humor."

"Yeah, sure, that's the problem." Adrien looked between the two shirts he had before tossing the one aside. "V-neck. Definitely the v-neck."

He cradled the shirt close to him and Plagg had a moment of sincerity. Adrien was really happy about this date. He had never seen him so excited before. For decades Plagg had watched humans fall in love over and over. He could never really understand it since kwamis were incapable of the romantic love humans felt but he knew what familial love felt like. He knew that he loved Adrien as his chosen. If romantic love was anything like that then he wouldn't spoil the experience for Adrien anymore today. Tease him about any funny slip ups he may experience later, yes. But for today he would let the boy be. He deserved it.

---

"You really didn't have to see me off for my date, Alya." Marinette said, "I'm fine."

"You know I had to come. It's your first date with Adrien. No way was I gonna miss this." Alya kicked her feet excitedly, "I wanna hear all about it when you get back."

"What? Are you just gonna hang out here until I get home? Are you that interested in how my date goes that you’re going to wait up for me?"

"Duh, was that not obvious?"

"Well then," Marinette transformed, "how do I look?"

"You look like Ladybug."

"Right…" Ladybug looked at herself in the mirror before pulling the ribbons out of her hair to let it loose. "There, a little more casual. Right?"

"Sure, girl, a superhero wearing her hair down. Casual to the max." Alya rolled her eyes. "Now get going or you'll be late."

"Okay, see you later." She jumped through the trapdoor of her balcony and was off. Her heart was thundering loud in her chest the closer she got to the theater. She stopped at the building across from it and searched the faces heading inside. Then like a beacon under the neon lights she saw him. Adrien.

Okay. Be cool. Don't do anything stupid.

She fixed her hair and jumped off the building. She landed in her best hero pose across the street from him. When she looked up he was staring at her in awe.

Nailed it!

She then promptly tripped on the curb crossing the street.

"Watch it!" Adrien caught her by the arms before she could collide with the concrete, "You okay?"

"Yeah! Thanks! I've taken much worse tumbles than that." she laughed it off. "Guess you saved me this time."

"Uh yeah, I guess," Adrien fidgeted with his ring, "You look really nice. You're wearing your hair differently."

"Heroes gotta let their hair down sometimes, huh?" she chuckled to herself. "Consider it my unofficial off-duty look. Not that I'm ever really off-duty but you get what I mean."

"I get what you mean." They stood for a moment just staring at one another in mutual lovestruck awe before either of them remembered they were here for a date.

“Should we head in?” Adrien pointed back to the theater.

“Right, yes, we should do that.” they wandered inside and immediately gazes were drawn as they made their way to purchase their tickets. Despite her arguing that she could buy her own ticket Adrien insisted on getting it for her. She played truce and bought the snacks instead.

They followed the crowd into the theater. A few people stopped Ladybug to get some pictures or an autograph. Adrien patiently waited with the snacks as he scanned the room for good seats. It was surprisingly packed for such a late showing. “Uh Ladybug,” Adrien called for her attention, “I’m gonna go save us some seats so you come by whenever you’re done.”

“I’ll be right there. Thanks.” she gave him a thumbs up before going back to her fans. She really didn’t mind when fans came up to her, she was always honored, but she was here for a date. It didn’t feel right to let him go off on his own so she could take pictures.

The lights started to go down and she used that as her excuse to take her seat. She edged past the other theater goers and sat down in the chair next to Adrien. “Sorry about all that,” she whispered as the movie started, “You have my attention for the rest of the night. Promise.”

“Don’t worry. I totally get it. People stop me when I’m out with friends from time to time.” Adrien assured her. “I’m just glad to be here with you at all.”

Marinette blushed red hot and she found herself thankful for the dark theater. “I’m happy to be here with you too.”

The movie started in ernest and they drew their attention to it. Every once in a while she would catch him watching her instead of the movie or he would spot her staring at him. They’d quickly look away and smile, trying to keep their attention on what was happening on the screen. At one point she went to put her arm on the arm rest between them and nearly jumped out of her seat when she fully laid her hand overtop Adrien’s without noticing.

“Sorry,” Adrien blurted out but was quickly shushed by the audience, “sorry,” he whispered in a quieter voice, “you can have it.”

“No, no, you can have it--I just--”

“No. Really, I’ve been hogging it all night. You take it.”

“I don’t need it. Please, just take it--”

“One of you had better take it and shut up already.” someone behind them hissed.

“Sorry,” Ladybug squeaked. She moved to put her arm back and bumped into Adrien who was doing the same thing. They giggled for a moment. Then Adrien rested his arm on it with his palm facing up.

His eyes met hers with a shy, expectant smile. Oh! She bit her lip and laid her arm on top of his and interlaced their fingers together. Tonight was the best night ever just for this!

They stayed holding hands for the rest of the movie and when they got up to leave they were still interlocked. Neither wanted to let the connection break just yet. They walked out of the theater and into the cool night air.

“This was a lot of fun.” Ladybug said, “I’m glad you agreed to come out with me.”

“I’m still surprised you asked me out in the first place.” Adrien said, his gaze traveled down to their interlaced hands, “This was really nice.”

“Do you have a ride home?” Ladybug asked.

“No chauffeur tonight,” Adrien looked down the street then back at her, his voice dropping low to a whisper, “Between you and me, I’m not supposed to be out here.”

“How rebellious!” Ladybug scoffed, with a mock scandalized face, “Did you sneak out to come here tonight? I don’t know, Adrien. That’s top tier felon behaviour. I may have to turn you in.”

“Oh please, Ladybug, have mercy.” he pleaded with the same level of theatrics, “I meant no harm! Don’t send me to the slammer!”

“Oh alright,” Ladybug giggled, “I can’t throw a pretty face like yours in jail. You wouldn’t last ten minutes with all those other big bads. All those jaywalkers and litterbugs, they’d tear you apart.”

“You underestimate me, I could have control of the yard in five.”

“I bet you could.” she shook her head. “So since you don’t have a ride home did you need a lift? I can get you back lickety split.”

“How about instead of a lift you give me an escort.” Adrien asked, his big green puppy dog eyes blinking down at her, “As fun as the movie was I didn’t really get to talk to you which is the one thing I wanted to do most tonight.”

“How can I say no to that?” she squeezed his hand tighter, “I want to get to know you better too.”

They left the theater on foot back towards Adrien’s house. Neither had anywhere to be and no rush to end their date just yet so they kept the pace slow and let themselves take the long way around.

“Let me start simple,” Adrien said, “What is your favorite color?”

“Pink. But not like a hot neon pink, more of a soft sunset pink. What about you?”

“Blue. It’s just so relaxing to look at in almost all its forms. I think my favorite shade would have to be a soft sky blue though.”

“That’s nice. Alright, my question.” Ladybug pondered it for a moment, “What is your most treasured memory?”

“Wow. Starting off strong huh? I feel kinda ridiculous with my color question.”

“Don’t be. Sorry. I should have said something a little simpler, shouldn’t I?”

“No. I like your question. I just need to think about it. Gimme a second.” Adrien said as he started to think. He was really thinking this through. “I think my most treasured memory would be Christmas Eve when I was six.”

“Not Christmas morning?”

“The morning was great but I’ll never forget the night prior.” Adrien’s eyes took on a far away look, “It was as basic as Christmas Eve’s go. I wanted to stay up so I could meet Santa. My parents said that he wouldn’t come if I stayed up though and sent me off to bed. It was around midnight and I heard a noise coming from downstairs. I assumed it was Santa so I swung out of bed and raced out of my room to catch him before he could leave.

“I got down there and I found presents under the tree but no Santa. There was a light on in the kitchen and I figured he must be getting his milk and cookies. I go up to the door and push it open. There’s no Santa in the kitchen but there are my parents. My mom is sitting on the island munching on a gingerbread cookie, father is looking in the fridge, there’s quiet Christmas music playing on the radio next to them.

“My father closes the fridge and holds up a piece of mistletoe he must have hidden in there. Mom laughs and when he went in to kiss her she held up the gingerbread man so he kissed that instead. Father looked grumpy and bit the head off. Mom gasped and was all like, “I cannot believe you decapitated Mister Gingy! He had three kids you monster!” which made me laugh. Of course now they know I’m there and father picks me up and tells me I should be in bed and all that stuff. I wasn’t listening and instead I grabbed the mistletoe and held it up to mom. I meant it so my parents could kiss but instead they both kissed my cheeks instead. We stayed up for at least another hour eating cookies and drinking warm milk and hot coco before I fell asleep and they put me back to bed.”

“That is so cute!” Ladybug gushed, “I can see it all in my head. Squishy faced kiddie Adrien sneaking out of bed and eating cookies with his parents. That’s a really sweet memory.”

“I’ll never forget it.” Adrien sighed. For a moment he looked so sad and Marinette wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have asked him. The memory of his mom probably hurt to think about. “What about you? What’s your most treasured memory?”

Now that was a tough one. She couldn’t really go into childhood stories since it would give away too much as to her identity. It was then she thought of the perfect story. “There is one memory I hold really close to my heart.” she said.

“I was on patrol one evening by myself. It was raining but I didn’t want to go home cause I was going through some stuff emotionally and I didn’t want to be cooped up. So I’m running and running and I almost slip off the roof. I realize I should take a break so I huddle under this awning of this closed cafe to catch my breath and see if the rain lets up. I’m waiting for maybe five minutes and because I’m not moving my emotions from before I starting to catch up to me. I’m on the verge of breaking down when out of nowhere Chat Noir lands on the sidewalk in front of me. I say land but he more or less faceplanted. He has a box covered in a plastic bag to keep it dry that he’s holding off the ground. He pulls himself up like he didn’t just have an intimate meeting with the concrete and walks over to me like it is the most casual thing in the world. Now mind you, I was not expecting to see him. I didn’t tell him I was coming out here nor did he have any idea where I was but he found me nonetheless.

“He huddles under the awning with me and takes the plastic bag off the box. I realize at this point it is a wrapped present. I ask him what this is supposed to be for and he tells me that since we don’t know when each other’s birthdays are he was going to pick a random day to give me a birthday present. And apparently this rainy evening was that day. I tried telling he didn’t need to but he insisted so I take the present and unwrap it. When I tell you, this idiot actually gifted me a black cat onesie with a cat ear hood and little toe beans on the feet. I started laughing and asked if he had a matching ladybug onesie and he told me he did. I start laughing harder and I can tell he thinks that I’m laughing at him so I quickly assure him I’m not. I tell him I really love the gift and I give him a hug. To him he probably thinks that he just gave me a nice present but in reality he pulled me back from a really sad place without even knowing it.

“Of course the second I got home I put the onesie on and started thinking of a birthday present I could get for him. I wanted it to be perfect as a sort of thank you for cheering me up when I was in a really bad mood. I never told him just how much that one little present, that one encounter, helped me but it did. I like to think about it whenever I get in a bad mood. Remembering his mop of drenched hair and that big expectant smile never fails to cheer me up.”

When she looked back at Adrien he looked close to tears. “Oh hey, are you okay? Did I say something? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he wiped at his eyes with his free hand, “It’s just, your friendship with him is great. I think that the next time you see him you should tell him how much that meant to you. I’m sure it would make him really happy.”

“I think I will,”

They got to Adrien’s house and they both stood frozen on the sidewalk. “Guess it’s time to say goodbye now.”

“Guess so,” Adrien stared up at the tall stone walls. “All good thinks must come to an end.”

“There are always more good times to come though.” Ladybug said, “Speaking of which, would you be interested in going on a second date sometime?”

“I would love to.” Adrien answered with a bright smile. “How do I get a hold of you?”

“I’ll come to you.” she let go of his hand to wrap around his waist. With a flick of her wrist she sent her yo-yo up and pulled them off the ground. They swung into his room and she deposited him back down safely. “Goodnight, Adrien. I had a wonderful time and I’ll be by to see you again soon.”

“Goodbye Ladybug. Tonight was...it was perfect.” He leaned in closer or maybe it was Marinette that leaned in but one of them leaned in. Then just as quickly they withdrew. Arms hugged close to their sides.

“I should get going,” Ladybug stumbled back towards the window. She poised to throw her yo-yo but she made the mistake of taking one final look back at Adrien. He was watching her with such a soft and loving expression. She couldn’t just end it like this.

She rushed back to him and kissed his cheek. “See you later, bye!” she fully vaulted herself out the window the next instant and booked it as fast as she could back home. She dropped down onto her balcony. Her heart was beating fast and her face ached from how hard she was smiling.

---

(Part 1) (Previous) (Probably another part cause I know no self control and you people enable me)

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

i’m an idiot. i screw everything up.

Titans 3.03

still here, still doing this. these reviews take a fair bit of time that i cobble together across days (like, ten minute chunks during breaks, etc) and i tend to struggle to keep up with episodes as they come out. this means that by the time i’m done with one, most of my stuff is jossed (or geoffed in this case? idk) or outdated and the post sinks like a stone into oblivion. so! i’m going to change things up a bit with this one and write as i see the episode rather than collecting my thoughts later. in my experience with spn, that was a faster way to get them done. 

anyway. let’s see how it goes! *shadowboxes*

SPOILERS ahead.

1. an auspicious start with some grave-digging!

digging up a grave and breaking open a coffin is some serious, back-breaking work--that dick did it on his own, likely straight after that fight with red hood, is a testament to the sheer intensity, stamina and discipline that he’s capable of. like, we like to joke about dick cooking cauliflower crust pizzas and making gar and rachel spar and memorise sun tzu--and despair at the obvious consequences of some of bruce’s parenting skills--but imagine crime-fighting almost daily without any superpowers, performing some of the most intense parkour in bulky, uncomfortable armour, doing detective work, pushing through every last barrier of exhaustion and then getting up to repeat it all over again the next day. dick probably thought he was going extra-easy on rachel and gar.

1.5. then again, dick probably had a hundred different easier ways to confirm whether jason was still buried or not, from using equipment to merely asking connor to have a quick look with his x-ray vision. but, no, he’s too caught up in confusion and terror, not really having come to terms with jason’s death in the first place, leave alone the possibility that he could be alive after all. he can’t possibly let the others know until he’s confirmed it himself, even if it means digging all through the night until his arms are jelly, thinking over and over again about jason’s eyes, jason’s voice, from behind that red mask. 

... besides, dick has good reason to believe that he could’ve been hallucinating. wouldn’t be his first psychotic episode, after all.

that just imbues this sweaty, desperate, fingers-scrabbling-in-gravedirt scene with that much more poignancy, and a fair bit of bone-chilling terror. dick is horrified to realise that jason’s grave is empty, but a part of him is also probably relieved.

1.75 (... also it’s curious that we’re never shown any of the team asking to see jason’s grave after they come to wayne manor. i guess it’s because the writers--and the audience--know that jason is actually alive, but these people don’t know that. i don’t know if it’s sad or infuriating or both that they’re barely shown mourning him.)

2. oh GOD the sheer TENSION in kory saying, “i don’t want to say it, but--” and dick quickly interrupting, “it was jason. i saw him,” and hank giving him this loaded sidelong glance. i love how dick’s precarious mental health from last season is still this big elephant in the room but at least nobody’s blowing up in his face and questioning his every decision yet

2.25. i love the relative matter-of-factness with which they’re discussing a possible resurrection. and, of course, ra’s al ghul is brought up and quickly dismissed

(still wouldn’t put it past this show to bring him up at the very last second as the real real mastermind)

2.5. “maybe they can bring donna back” OH KORY

2.75. didn’t they have this same conversation about killing/not killing rose last season? man, the og titans make me tired.

and i don’t know if it’s just hank, but there’s a definite in-group/out-group vibe going on with the og titans, where they’re not only ready to consider killing anybody who threatens the group but makes it difficult for new people to fit in. donna and kory got along well with each other, but the dynamics between hank/donna/dawn and gar/rachel/rose were somewhat strained, and with jason, they were really fucking terrible. it makes sense when you think about how the titans started and how they broke up the first time--both were fairly disruptive events, i’d imagine, in that they probably got together to break away from their mentors and strike out on their own, and when they split up, it was the first time they felt directly responsible for the loss of an innocent life.

but the titans that dick is leading now is explicitly about mentoring a young generation of heroes, about second chances and found family. dick definitely wants to reach out to him first, and i have a feeling he’s going to be forced to make some sort of terrible Choice later on in this episode. 

2.8. (honestly tho, this also seems like hank struggling with his own guilt re: jason; if red hood is not the kid that he failed, it’d be easier to fight him.)

3.

HANK NO

4. honestly this season is already ticking off so many things on my wishlist, but i really wish dick would sit down with the newer members of his team and trust them with important information the same time that he’s telling them to the other members. gar searching for help and reassurance from a man who just dumped all of his responsibilities on his son overnight and went AWOL is a sad sight

4.25. has it only been just 48 hours????? wow! jason’s definitely been planning the red hood gig for a long time now...

5. ezekiel, my man! shady looking guy gets into your cab without a destination in mind... no problem, get right in! said guy gets a call to go to the observatory when he’s barely even looked out of the window so far at gotham... yep, a damn tourist! i want more ezekiel in this show.

5.25. (of course jason has upturned table lamps all along the floor... we have to *gritted teeth* balance the TEAL with the ORANGE don’t we?)

5.5. “dick’s a fucking psycho--he could be following you right now.” hank... has no objection to that lol

5.25. hank, hank... this is bad-decision-palooza. i can’t imagine that hank actually thought that jason was reaching out to him for help, given that the last time hank and jason had any substantial interaction hank had been one of the people accusing jason of sabotaging the team. but for him to go seek out jason and go along with his demands without any backup, weapons or equipment? not the best idea he’s ever come up with.

(add to that getting into the swimming pool of a condemned gym... oh yuck.)

((yes, i have enough self-restraint to not cap his ass.))

(((cap his ass! HA!)))

5.5. do you think jason has bugs/monitoring equipment planted in wayne manor to monitor the titans, or remote access to the cave’s systems? wouldn’t put it past him.

6. oh man, hank came back before dick and the others could meet ezekiel! this is TRAGIC

6.25. i mean, it’s plot-convenient that connor was able to give so much information about the bomb from just looking at it once, but i also like to think it’s the luthor-side of him coming to the fore. it also reminds me of that (in)famous scene from the new52 run of Nightwing comics, where a bomb was attached to nightwing’s heart and luthor disabled it by killing nightwing (temporarily). it’s a neat little callback. 

6.55. “where i come from, you go after family? there’s no mercy.” BUT THAT’S THE PROBLEM ISN’T IT

6.75. i mean, dick’s making sense: this is a game, and they need to get it off playing out on jason’s terms. but having a member of his team in his face, doubting his reasoning and every decision? a very familiar sight. 

6.8. krypto with an a+ sense of humour? also a very familiar sight.

7. wayne enterprises... providing the military with... bombs that can be implanted in humans? a BIIIIG yikes. i guess it’s not too many steps above developing clandestine intra-dermal trackers and implanting them in your own sons, and bruce probably thought they could be used as part of negotiation tactics, but still... YIKES.

7.5. on the other hand, conner being asked to build a deactivation advice seems part of a growth arc that started from last season... he knows so much, but part of growing is learning, and part of learning is using what you know to create something new.

8. oh man, my heart broke at hank going “i’m an idiot... i screw everything up.” like. for him to go like this, after being brought down to such a low last season? struggling with pain and addiction and his relationship with the love of his life? it’s so sad.

9. oh, oh, oh! ronnie from schitt’s creek! i love her!

9.5. “one of jason’s minions” took his body out of the morgue... how deliciously morbid that he planned out his own death like this!

10. TALK TO HANK, DICK

honestly, tho, i’m quite impressed with dick here. trying to think beyond just the most alarming part of the crisis at hand, keeping his cool, delegating tasks, frequently touching base with different members of his team... well done. 

10.25.... whoops, spoke too soon. i’m genuinely confused here, tho. where did the van full of gold bars come from? why did they stop there and get out? how did dawn even know about this?

on the other hand, it’s cool to know dove has bulletproof feathers!

10.5. eh... curran walters isn’t really selling red hood’s menace to me so far. but then again, if titans version of red hood is vulnerable-kid-with-father-issues-trying-to-overcompensate, then yeah! yeah, it makes sense. 

11. “when bats have sex, they gotta have something to hang from” OH GOD HANK

... because i want smiley!gar on my blog :)

11.5. awww. i feel sorry for hank but NONE of these fuckers deserve gar except maybe kory

12. ohhh FUCK! look at jason being exactly one step ahead of the titans at every turn. nice.

no really, i love the building stakes and the building mystery - i feel like the deathstroke arc from last season should’ve been more like this. the flashbacks about jericho and rose came too late and after too much build up, which resulted in a very underwhelming and confusing season throughline.

13. HANK AND DIIIIIICCCKKK

“you’re doing your best by me. always have.” WAILING HERE

it also kills me to think that hank thinks that his imminent death is because of his failure to keep the team together (when he was clearly struggling with his own issues and was spiralling towards rock-bottom) and his fear that he will once again be the cause of the team falling apart. 

also:

14. “i grew up... you can, too. you just have to face your fear.”

yep, got scarecrow’s grubby little fingerprints aaaaalllll over this. 

14.25. nightwing’s got specialised batarangs! yay! (somehow i can’t see this universe’s dick calling them “wingdings”)

15. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

oh man, that was devastating. well done, show. fuck, well done, jason.

this is going to bring up all sorts of “if onlys” for the team. i can’t wait for some fucking aftermath. 

[livesincerely]

it’s beginning to look a lot like...

Part 3 of the Domestic AU, found here: x

Also on Ao3

00000

The First Christmas

“Jack!” There’s an excited shout, tiny hands slapping excitedly at his shoulders. “Jack, wake up, it’s Christmas!”

Jack jolts awake. The room is shadowed in blues and grays, the air cool and crisp the way it only is in the very early hours of the morning. Tony is kneeling on the mattress next to him, tugging insistently at Jack’s shirt sleeve.

“Wake up, Jack! It’s Christmas!” Tony says again, eyes wild with joy, shaking Jack once more.

“Christmas!” Charlie echoes, crawling up onto Jack’s bed as well, his hair sticking up on one side from where he slept on it. “Christmas!”

“Alright, alright,” Jack says, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. “I’m gettin’ up, give me a sec.”

Jack throws back the covers and swings his legs over the side, then lets the boys lead him into the hallway. Tony and Charlie hop and skip around him like the pair of tripping hazards they are, nearly breathless in their enthusiasm, stopping every now and then to throw Jack a pleading look or pull on his arm, urging him to move faster.

“Jack, are there presents? There are, right?” Charlie asks, his crutch knocking against the baseboards as he wiggles around.

“Or did you forget?” Tony cuts in, his face screwed up in the sort of perfect seriousness that only a six-year-old old can manage. “You can tell us if you forgot, we’ll still love you, promise.”

“I didn’t forget anything, numbskull,” Jack says, ruffling Tony’s hair. “I just knew better than to leave your presents layin’ around ‘cause you’d find ‘em an’ open ‘em early.

Jack wanders over to the cupboard and pulls out a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, then goes over to the fridge and grabs a jar of jelly. Behind him he hears Charlie hiss, “See, I told you there was presents!”

“So, where are they?” Tony eagerly asks, looking at Jack like he might whip a couple of gifts out of his pockets.

“Hey, breakfast first, then presents,” Jack says, popping a few slices of bread into the toaster and pulling the lever down. “Don’tcha know ya can’t open Christmas presents on an empty stomach?”

For a moment it looks like Tony might argue, but he obediently climbs up to sit next to Charlie at the kitchen table, kicking his legs impatiently back and forth as he waits.

“Charlie, do you want jelly or peanut butter on your toast?” Jack asks.

“Can I have one jelly an’ one peanut butter?” Charlie says.

“Sure, bud.”

“I jus’ want peanut butter,” Tony announces, like this is new information. “Jus’  peanut butter.”

“I know, Tony,” Jack says with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, I won’t let any jelly touch your toast.”

Jack makes quick work of fixing the boys’ food, then reaches into a drawer and grabs a few napkins for them to use, making a mental note to swing by the McDonald’s up the block and grab some more, and maybe a few extra sleeves of plastic silverware while he’s at it.

“What do we think boys?” Jack asks, turning on the tap. “Red cups or blue cups?”

“Don’t we got any juice?” Tony asks. “I want juice.”

“We only have two juice boxes left,” Jack says. “You can have yours now if you want, but then you won’t be able to have any juice with dinner.”

Tony considers this conundrum very carefully. “Yeah, okay. Red cup, then.”

“Red cup for Tony,” Jack repeats, filling up a plastic cup with water and setting it next to him. “How ‘bout you Charlie?”

“Red, please!” Charlie chirps, just as Jack knew he would.

“And a red cup for Charlie,” Jack says, placing a second cup next to him.

Jack fills his own glass, then pops two more pieces of bread in the toaster for himself, leaning with a hip against the counter as he waits for it to finish. Tony and Charlie scarf down their toast like they’re starving for it, clearly eager to get to presents, and Jack calls, “Hey, slow down over there, you’re s’pposed to chew your food before you swallow it.”

“Jack,” Tony whines out the moment he chokes down his last bite. Both sides of his mouth are coated in crumbs and smudges of peanut butter. “Can we open presents  now? ”

“Wipe your face,” Jack reminds him, adding a smear of jelly to his own slices of toast. “And your hands.”

“But can we?” Charlie asks, rubbing at his mouth with a napkin too. “Can we, can we, can we?”

“Well, I dunno...” Jack says, pretending to think it over. “Maybe we should wait a few more hours, make sure the Christmas spirit’s really sunk in…”

“Jack!”

“Okay, hold your horses,” Jack says, laughing. “We’ll open presents, just give me a second to grab them.”

He takes a step, then reconsiders. “Hey, close your eyes,” Jack instructs. “Shut ‘em really tight, okay? Peekers don’t get presents.”

Jack waits for them both to cover their eyes, then lifts up on his toes and grabs the boxes from where he’d tucked them into the cabinets above the refrigerator. He pushes Tony and Charlie’s empty plates to the corner of the table, safely out of the way, then places a present in front of each of them. “Okay, go ahead.”

Eyes fly open, then twin gasps of excitement.

The presents are pretty underwhelming to look at, just objectively speaking, if Jack’s being honest. Two boxes wrapped as neatly as Jack could manage in old newspaper—it took several Sundays worth of papers to get enough ‘Comics’ pages to cover both of them—and taped at the corners. But Tony and Charlie seem happy enough with Jack’s mediocre attempts at wrapping and really, it don’t matter what the outsides look like as long as they enjoy what’s inside, right?

Charlie blinks up at him with big, awestruck eyes while Tony shakes his box back and forth, giggling when he hears the contents rattle around inside. “What are ya waitin’ for?” Jack asks, waving a hand. “Go on, open ‘em up!”

Scraps of paper fly in every direction as the boys tear into their gifts.

“Oh, wow!” Tony exclaims, unearthing a toy racetrack and a set of cars from it’s packaging. “This looks like the one on the TV! It’s got the cars and the track with the loop-de-loop and—”

“Thomas the Tank Engine!” Charlie screeches, practically vibrating in excitement. “Jack, Jack, it’s Thomas the Tank Engine—”

“—and the cars have the little lightning bolts on the sides! Look, Jack,  look at the lightning bolts!  Ooh, and it even—”

“—and he  talks!  Jack, didja hear? Listen,  Thomas talks, you just hit the button and—”

“—stickers! Jack, didja see the stickers? Look you can put ‘em anywhere you want—”

“—it makes the noise too! Listen, listen! Jack are you listening? See, there’s a switch—”

Jack’s grin feels like it’s all but splitting his face apart. He’s been more than a little nervous the last few months trying to work everything out, worrying about what toys to get the boys, sneaking singles and bits of change out of Snyder’s booze fund on top of setting aside his own portion of the grocery money this month to pay for them, swinging by the dollar store at peak hours one Sunday and using the crowds to hide the AAA batteries stuffed into his pockets, and finding time to wrap and hide both presents. So to see his brothers so completely overjoyed… the anxious flutter in his stomach soothes and settles.

“So I guess you like the toys, huh?” Jack says when the flurry of chatter quiets down enough for him to get a word in. “Here, give me a sec to get the dishes taken care of an’ I’ll help you get it all open and set up—”

“Jack?” Tony asks, his voice suddenly taking on a strange tone, placing his toy gently on the table. The tiniest hint of a frown is starting to form between his eyes. “Did… Did Santa bring us anything for Christmas?”

Jack freezes. “Santa?”

“He did, right?” Tony says, his eyes bright with fragile hope. Charlie perks up at the mention of Santa, turning to look at Jack as well, and there’s so much trust in his expression. So much faith. Jack feels like the floor has fallen out from underneath him. “‘Cause I was really good this year. Charlie was too. So he musta left presents, right?”

Tony looks around, then seems to realize that there aren’t extra-special Santa presents hidden in any nooks and crannies.

“Well, I thought we was really good. I thought….” Tony’s expression dims. “But, Mr. S says lazy, ungrateful, good-for-nothins don’t get presents from Santa, so I guess—”

“No!” Jack blurts, unable to watch Tony’s face fall any further. “No, Santa did come by, baby, and he left somethin’ extra special for you both. Even better than presents.”

“Better than presents?” Charlie asks, caught somewhere between disbelief and wonder. “What is it?”

“It’s… Well, ya see, it’s... “ Jack’s mind races, fueled by an explosive mixture of buzzing adrenaline, icy panic, and a fundamental need to  fix. “Last night, while youse were asleep, I was up gettin’ a drink and I saw Santa.”

Tony’s eyes go wide. “You saw Santa?” he gasps.

“I sure did,” Jack says, nodding sagely, making it all up on the spot. “And you what else? Santa gave me a message.”

“A message from Santa?” Charlie squeaks.

“That’s right,” Jack says. “Santa wanted me to tell you that he’s been keepin’ a close eye on you both an’ that he’s real proud of how good you’ve been all year. He said that you’re right at tippity tip-top of the nice list and that Snyder is just jealous ‘cause he’s got a permanent spot on the naughty list for bein’ a mean old grouch.”

This earns a flurry of giggles. “What else?” Tony demands. “What else did Santa say?”

“Santa said that, since you and Charlie were so good this year, he wanted to give you something extra super secret and special. Something that only the two of you get to have, out of all the kids in the whole, entire world," Jack says, keeping his voice in a dramatic hush. 

“What is it?” Charlie asks, and he’s whispering too, thoroughly caught up in the story. “Jack, what is it?”

“Santa gave you…” Jack pauses for effect. "Permission to break the rules.”

Jack gets a pair of blank stares in response. He hurriedly continues, “See, ‘cause other kids have to be on their best behavior on Christmas day: they gotta put on their itchy sweaters and, and their collared shirts and pose for a million photos until their faces feel like they’re gonna fall off. And they got to sit at the table and eat dinner all polite like while the grown ups tell boring stories about taxes and stuff. ‘Cause that’s what Christmas is supposed to be like, when you have to follow the rules.”

“But, see, for us? We gets to be  rulebreakers,” Jack explains. “Santa himself said so! So that means we’s gonna stay in our pajamas all day, and watch movies on the TV and eat cookies and chips and, and just do whatever we want to. We don’t have to do any chores, don’t have to clean up at all for the whole day!” 

There's another pair of excited gasps, Tony and Charlie both starting to respond to the narrative Jack’s spinning. “I’ll get your toys set up for you and you can play with ‘em as long as you want, as loud as you want—Snyder ain’t here!” 

And then it hits Jack, something he can do for the boys that’s special, using the limited items at his disposal. “And the first thing we’re gonna do is make a Christmas pillow fort.”

“What’s a Christmas pillow fort?” Tony asks eagerly.

“It’s like a regular pillow fort but even better, ‘cause it gets to stay up all day and all night and it’s giant—we’ll have to push the couch outta the way, that’s how big it’s gonna be—and ‘cause you only get to have one if Santa himself gives you permission,” Jack says. “Which is very hard to come by, 'cause Christmas pillow forts are a trade secret, ya know? Very hush-hush.”

“We can keep a secret!” Tony promises. “Right, Charlie?”

“Yeah, it’sa secret!” Charlie agrees, miming locking his lips and throwing away the key.

“First things first, we gotta gather our fort making supplies,” Jack says, relieved that this makeshift plan seems to be working. “Tony, you’re gonna grab all the blankets and sheets off our beds, okay? And Charlie, you’re gonna get all the pillows and stack ‘em up for me, okay?”

The boys race away to do as instructed, talking and giggling as they go. Jack uses the brief reprieve to let out a sigh of relief, then starts pushing furniture out of the way to clear a large space in the middle of the living room floor: smack dab in front of the TV and close, but not too close, to the radiator. He turns the couch to face the other way, thinking that they can use the back of it to hold the fort up, then snatches up all the couch cushions and places them to the side.

He squeezes past Charlie and Tony in the hallway—Charlie’s got two pillows tucked beneath his arm, another two looped through the spaces in his crutch, and you can just barely see Tony’s head from underneath the mountain of bedding he’s carrying, the tail end of a sheet dragging along the floor behind him. Jack eases his mattress off its bedframe and lugs it into the living room, going back twice more for Tony and Charlie’s mattresses. Then, they get to work constructing their fort.

Tony and Charlie can only help so much since they’re just munchkins, but they seem to get a kick out of telling Jack how drape the sheets  just exactly right , deciding where all the pillows should go, and testing out if they want to sit on the mattresses or use them as fort walls. Jack finishes the whole thing off with a box of string lights he’d picked up back before he realized that Snyder wasn’t gonna let them have a Christmas tree, and it all looks… nice. Really nice, actually, all cozy and festive and fun.

“Great job boys,” Jack praises, giving Tony and Charlie a round of high-fives. “And now, the snacks!”

They’ve got two family sized bags of doritos and an unopened box of oreos with the red holiday filling in the pantry. He lets Tony carry their glasses over to the designated ‘Drink Spot’ Jack created to help prevent spills—”One at a time, Tones,” Jack reminds him—and soon enough they’re all pilling into their first ever Christmas Pillow Fort.

It’s a little snug, but in the best possible way. Jack’s got a kid on each side of him, one tucked under each arm, sharing blankets and food and laughs. Charlie finds them a rerun of the original, animated, ‘Dr. Seuss’, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’ to watch, Thomas the Tank Engine perched in a place of honor next to him, while Jack helps Tony get his racetrack set up and running. 

Jack already knows he’s gonna have a hell of a time getting all the crumbs swept up later and it looks like tomorrow’s gonna have to be a laundry day, now that all the linens are dirty, but he lets all of those worries go for now, just trying to relax and enjoy the holiday. Because it’s Christmas, and Tony and Charlie deserve to have the best day Jack can give them. As long as they’re happy… it’s all worth it.

“Merry Christmas, guys,” Jack says.

“Merry Christmas, Jack!” his brothers chirp back.

00000

Chapter two here.

Tag List: @yahfancyclamwiththepurlinside

[hyuniebaby]

Focus (6)

Pairings: Baekhyun x Y/N x Junmyeon

Genre: fluff, i guess???

AU: College student! Baekhyun, Professor! Junmyeon AU, college!au

A/N: Y/N found a new bestie!!! Anyway, thank you for everyone who has been reading this fic ❤️

@coffee-prince-kyungsoo

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11

“Sehun?”

“Well if it isn’t lovely Y/N.”

“I can’t believe you study here! I haven’t seen you around before!”

“I’m sure you haven’t,” he gives you a smile. “I’m a Performance Arts major. I just wanted to take some science courses.” He starts walking to the direction where you’re going so you walk with him.

“So about last night...”

His smile grows wider. “You’re very talkative when you’re drunk. I didn’t think you were actually the shy type.”

You were flustered. What could you have said to Sehun?

He enters the room on his right and says, “Here’s my stop.” You look at the room number and gasp.

“You’re in Bio class?!”

“Yes.”

He enters the room and you follow. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Sehun. I’m in this class too. Why haven’t I noticed you last time?”

“I didn’t attend the first meeting.” He shrugs.

He sits at the second row and you sit beside him. “Uh not to be rude or anything, but aren’t you gonna sit by your friends?”

“Actually, they don’t have this class. I wanted to take up an extra Biology class to learn more about it.” You answer. You lower your voice and say, “So how much did I spill last night?”

“I know everything about the two men.” He answers with a smirk.

“Well you see... They’re both in this class too.”

This surprises Sehun. What a small world. “Well then I can’t wait to meet them. Let’s see if you have a great taste in men. But in my point of view, basing from your rants last night, you have terrible taste.”

How rude.

Speak of the devil and he appears. Baekhyun enters the room and immediately scans the room for the sight of you. He pouts a little when he sees you were seated with somebody else. Without hesitation, he walks towards you.

“Hey Y/N, can we talk later?”

“I - uh...” you look at Sehun, silently pleading for him to help you in this situation.

Sehun smirks and puts his arm on your shoulder to taunt him. “The lovely girl says she’d love to.”

Baekhyun squints at Sehun’s arms. As if staring at it would remove his hold on you. Something catches him off guard. When Sehun’s arm moved a little, he caught sight of several hickeys on your neck. He knows he only marked you once. After seeing this, he full on glares at Sehun and decides to sit behind you. Just so he can see if Sehun would try something sketchy to you.

You tried to maintain the neutral facial expression when Sehun blurted out that you would love to talk to Baekhyun. When he was out of your sight, you lean in to Sehun and hiss. “What part of the pleading eye look don’t you understand?”

He shifts his hand from your shoulder to his stomach as he laughs at you. “I will kill you.” You say with gritted teeth.

Sehun tries to stifle his laughter when Mr. Kim enters the room. He leans in to you and whispers in your ear, “So I’m guessing this is Junmyeon.”

You nod in response without looking at him. Baekhyun watching the whole interaction with eagle eyes.

Mr. Kim also caught the interaction. “I see we have a few new faces.” Obviously referring to Sehun. Sehun completely wipes the laughter off his face after being called out by Mr. Kim.

The class drags on, Mr. Kim being passive aggressive the whole meeting. Very much pissed off by Sehun’s nonchalant attitude and the way he’d be whispering to you every chance that he gets. He was taunting him.

You’ve got to hand it to Mr. Kim, he doesn’t scold or call out students about their behavior in class. What a professional. He just clenches his jaw for a split second and continues to discuss the lesson at hand. But as soon as the class was dismissed, he rushes the door with his jaw clenched, not even sparing you a glance.

You fix your things up and get ready to head out when Sehun whispers, “Your men are both passive aggressive. It’s amusing to watch them.”

You stare at him pointedly. Baekhyun takes this opportunity to get your attention. “Y/N, I’ll wait for you outside,” he says with hopeful eyes. You nod at him and watch as he retreats.

“You can thank me later.”

“Oh no, I won’t. You owe me! I’m so not prepared for this conversation!”

He just smiles at you.

“You will buy me food every single time I see you. If not, I will kill you.” You threaten him.

“I’m sure you’ll do.” He winks and leaves you without saying good bye.

You take a deep breath and head outside once Sehun was out of your line of vision. You wouldn’t want him interfering with you and Baekhyun again. God knows what he’d do!

When Baekhyun sees you step out of the room, he immediately walks towards you. “Y/N, first of all, I wanted to say I’m sorry for yesterday... Jongdae is a jerk and I thought... Well I thought something happened... I told him about us and he said he’d seek you out so when I saw you with him...” he pauses. “But yeah, I’m sorry.”

You nod at his words. “It’s okay Baekhyun...”

“So... you and that other guy, huh?”

You were surprised he assumed you and Sehun were together. Maybe he missed the death glare you keep on giving Sehun?

“I mean, it’s not anything of my business. And I kinda saw the hickeys.” He continues, trying to act nonchalant, even if he was absolutely jealous.

Your eyes widened comically and your hands immediately went to cover your neck. Damn, with the hangover and the talk with Mina, you actually forgot to cover them up!

“It’s not what it looks like!”

Baekhyun gives you a confused look. He stares at you as if asking you to explain further.

“Me and Sehun... we just met last night and I got drunk and I told him embarrassing things. I literally bumped into him a while ago and found out he was in the same class. And now he’s making my life a living hell.” You say in one breath.

Baekhyun was trying hard to fight the smile that was making its way on his face. He found you endearingly cute, especially when you’re trying to explain yourself. You looked like a child who‘s afraid to be scolded. Suddenly, the hickeys on your neck was pushed to the back of his mind. All he could think about was you’re so adorable and that he’s happy there’s nothing going on between you and Sehun.

“Stop smiling.” You pout.

If he thought you were cute a while ago, then that’s where he was so wrong. He thinks he could literally melt at the sight of you pouting.

All of a sudden he pecks your lips. You were both shocked at the action. You touch your lips. Did he just kiss you?

“Oh my god. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what came over me.”

You blush furiously. “I- I gotta go Baek.” You stutter and then you run down the hallway.

Baekhyun remained at his place. “What was I thinking?” He mumbles as he softly hits his head on the wall.

[cratmang]

Steven Vs. The Multiverse - You Too?

Nora Maheswaran and White Diamond Steven bond over a common past.

<< Previous Episode (Questions)

>> Next Episode (Mentor) (Coming soon!)

Conga: Ah, what a lovely day it is, here in the multiverse.

Conga: Well, we should be careful not to lose track of time. Steven and Nora should be here in 10 minutes--

Nora: Hey Conga, we woke up early--

Conga: (Too early!)

Steven: Pink AND White Diamond are here!?

Wait a minute, I'm White Diamond. The Diamond Alert is just detecting me.

But then why--

Nora: Pink Diamond must be nearby! We should hide!

Conga: Err, yes! You two go hide! I'll go distract her, and we'll regroup in ten minutes!

Nora: But you said that we shouldn't fight the Diamonds by ourselves, unless we want to get--

Conga: We said I'll distract her. Not fight her. Besides, I'm a Throne-Holder. We can hold my own against a D-D-D-Diamond! Heh heh!

Steven: Alright. If you say so. See you in ten minutes.

Nora: Do you think Conga’s alright? She should have met back up with us by now.

Steven: Well, this is a huge strawberry field, and we didn’t exactly agree on where we’d meet. She’s probably still looking for us.

I wish I had brought a lunch though. I skipped breakfast, and I’m getting hungry.

Wait, we’re in strawberry field! Lunch is literally growing off of the bushes, waiting to be picked!

Nora: I thought gems didn’t need to eat.

Steven: That’s what I heard, but some gems like to eat anyway. I guess I’m too used to eating to just... stop eating.

Actually, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to finish this huge strawberry. You want split it with me?

Nora: God, yes! ... please.

Nora: Can I ask you something? You “grew up” on Earth, right? Did you always know you were a gem?

Steven: Hmm? Oh, no. I didn't even know anything about being a gem until after I met Rose and the Crystal Gems. And that was... about a year ago? Give or take?

Nora: Wait, so up until then, you had NO idea you were a gem? You just thought you were a regular human?

Steven: Well, "regular" would be a bit of a stretch. But yeah. The weirdest part? Apparently, I had a life way before I came to Earth. I used to be THE White Diamond.

Nora: That's actually something I've been meaning to ask you about. Isn't White Diamond "the most powerful gem?" Not some chubby little kid? No offense.

Steven: Yeah, the one gem that rules over the entire empire. But I have no memory of any of that. Heck, I barely remember anything that happened 10 years ago, if at all.

Nora: ... Me too.

Steven: Wha?

Nora: For the longest time, I thought I was a human. But my healing powers, my "albinism," and my... gem... made it clear that there was no one else in the world like me. Then I met Amethyst, and I felt ecstatic... for all of 3 seconds. Afterword, she began talking my ear off about how she and I were "gems." Then later, I found out about my “past life” as Rose Quartz, and... well, I guess it’s nice to know my origin, but now I just felt even more out of place.

Steven: ... You too...?

...

Steven and Nora: FINALLY, SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS!

Steven: That's it, this is officially the weirdest and also the best day of my life! I-I'm sorry for asking, but I gotta know, did you have to go through foster care too?

Nora: Yeah. Connie found me and took me home to her parents 8 years ago, and I've been living with them ever since. That is, until we moved to Beach City, and this whole "gem" thing came up, but once it's all over--

Steven: Wait, back up for a second. You grew up with Connie's family!?

Nora: Yeah? Why, who were your foster parents?

Steven: ...

I actually bounced between a lot of foster homes growing up. Generally, they weren't very good.

Nora: Oh... I'm sorry to hear that.

Steven: It's fine. Things have been much better for me after I ran away and met Earl. She and the Crystal Gems have felt more like a family than any of the ones I lived with.

Though to be honest, I kind of wish I was just a normal human, and not a gem. Or even a or half-gem, or whatever Rose-Quartz-Steven is.

Nora: You’re definitely not alone there. Being a gem has just been nothing but trouble for me.

Steven: But there’s not much we can really do about it. The only thing we can do is to live in the moment, and try to make the best of it. I mean, that's how I've been able to get through my hell of a life, and it’s worked out so far.

Nora: Yeah... you know what? You're right. I’ve got superpowers that I still don’t understand, and I’m part of a happy family. I should count myself lucky.

Steven: Take it from me, having the “intergalactic dictator” backstory is a real drag. You’re lucky you were Rose in your “past life,” and not a Diamond.

Hey, I just had an idea!

Nora: What is it?

Steven: You should meet Rose! From my universe! We’ll ask Conga to summon her, and then you can get to know her! Maybe she could even teach you more about your powers!

Nora: Are you sure that’s a good idea? If my “past life” was so eager to wipe her memories and live as a human, I don’t think an alternate version of her would really want to talk about her past. And to be honest, I don’t want to think about it either.

Steven: You don’t have to talk about your past. I just think you should meet her. Trust me, you’ll like her! She’s really kind and gentle.

... at least, towards people and gems that AREN’T Diamonds.

Nora: Heh heh. Alright, you’ve convinced me. Next time we see Conga, we’ll ask if she can summon Rose from your universe. 

Conga: They have no idea... SHE has no idea.

Should we tell her? Should we say... anything?

"Hey Nora, you know Rose, right? Well, guess what? She’s not real! You’re actually Pink Diamond! Yes, THAT Pink Diamond! You and Rose were the result of an era-long con that was hatched with the intention of protecting the Earth!" Yeah, I'm sure that will go over well.

But she's going to find out the truth eventually, right?... right?

Perhaps, for now, she's better off not knowing...

After all, we’re in the midst of a grand performance. The last thing we need is the reveal of some life-changing secret on our minds.

TO BE CONTINUED...?

Thank you for reading!

<< Previous Episode (Questions)

>> Next Episode (Mentor) (Coming soon!)

Enjoying those higher resolution portraits?

If you think about it, Nora and Steven have very similar backstories. I like to think that the two of them would bond over their shared experience of being raised in human society, without any knowledge that they were a gem (but knowing that they didn’t fit in).

Actually, that’s half of the reason why I love the concept of crossovers - we get to see interactions between characters that would otherwise never interact.

Characters in order of appearance:

Conga Tourmaline: OCDoNotSteal

White Diamond Steven: @ask-whitepearl-and-steven​ (Read comic here)

Nora Maheswaran: @amnesia-au-nora-maheswaran​ (Read comic here)

BONUS

Hey, do either of you guys know a Lapis Lazuli? Just wondering.

Don’t think so. Is she a gem?

Yeah. She’s blue, and she has cool waterbending powers.

Wait... was she some sort of terrifying water monster that was bound to a mirror?

What? No! At least, not in my universe. I mean, I guess it’s possible she could have been, but that would’ve required me to heal her gem before befriending her and pulling her out of the mirror.

You guys... didn’t do that, did you?

Oh... Uh...

No.

[drshojo]

The World, My Childhood And My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Hello friends!  

Its Dr. Shojo coming at you with a post that will be divided into three parts!

Part One: The world as we know it! 

The world has changed a lot since we last connected. For starters, TOILET BOUND HANAKO KUN HAS NOT ONLY A PHYSICAL RELEASE BUT A GORGEOUS ANIME! And not only that, but MY NEXT LIFE AS A VILLAINESS: ALL ROUTES LEAD TO DOOM! IS GETTING AN ANIME AS WELL! The last time I wrote about Katerina there wasn’t even an official English translation of that long-ass light-novel-title. And now?

A WHOLE ANIME. A BISEXUAL HAREM AWAITS! I am JAZZED!

Do you think it’s my fault? No matter, I’ll take all the credit. All the manga I talk about are getting anime adaptations. I’LL DO MY DUTY AND TALK ABOUT SOME MORE!

But first. Let us address the Covid-19 shaped elephant in the room

I deeply regret that it took a whole-ass pandemic to get me back to writing. In my defense, I bought an iPad and started drawing like 900 kokichi oumas. I was really busy with that. And then I started reading fanfiction. Then that got me thinking about how fanfiction such an interesting look into how people interpret fandom, use it for wish fulfillment and escapism, and good god is everyone OK cause that bulimia fan fic was super detailed....and I am officially on a tangent. Off track. Ahem.

We are all staying inside a whole lot more which means y’all probably need some reading material and Dr. Shojo has your back! Go read “Horimiya”! It’s amazing! Ahhhh, my work here is done! I'm serious, if you’re here for a Shojo rec, that’s it! There's also like 8 million more Otome Isekais to check out now. It’s like they’re multiplying like rabbits..............

As a Doctor, I must advise you to stay inside and read some manga and practice social distancing. Embrace your inner hikikomori. 

Allright? All good? Okay now one final disclaimer:

This post is going to be talking about something a little different than usual and I want to start by giving you some context about who Dr. Shojo is in real life. 

Part Two: Dr. Shojo Exposed 

You see, when I was little I was obsessed with Japanese media. This doesn't surprise you at all I can tell. Probably because I walk around calling myself Dr. Shojo and shout about manga that you should read.

Anyways, the reason why I was obsessed wasn’t because of the big eyes or the spikey hair or the interesting new culture. It was because it tended to have more character development and overarching plotlines than the media I was used to in Canada. Dexter’s Lab, Magic School Bus, pretty much everything I saw on TV was episodic in nature, so imagine how much my mind was blown when I saw Naruto and Card Captor Sakura, heck, even Pokémon had the Indigo Plateau! Here were kids that were learning more and more each day and got to see enemies become friends and vice versa. They lived and grew older just like me. Except they were cooler than me. And had more interesting lives than me. I gotta tell you, I was so sad when I was 12 and Kero didn’t tell me I had latent magical powers. But there was magic in my life and it was the magic of a complex narrative story. And not only that, it had a sense of movement and had cool costumes. I was hooked immediately.

Also, fun fact, at that age I happened to be a complete and utter tomboy! I loved pretending to fight my friends in the playground and was really worried that puberty would ruin my life because being a girl sounded so CUMBERSOME.

Which leads me up to my confession. Before I became Dr. Shojo, I was in fact......Dr. Shonen.

Bleach? Naruto? One Piece? I've read every single chapter there is.  

Hundreds of hours of watching fight sequences. Another fun fact, I only got into shojo because my aunt bought me volume 7 and 8 of Fruits Basket thinking “all mangas like the same right? Kids love comics?” It’s a tribute to how episodic western media was back then that she thought buying volume SEVEN and EIGHT was a REASONABLE PLACE TO START READING.

Now you might also say, Hey! Dr Shojo! Cardcaptors was a shojo! And you are right! but back then the anime was marketed to boys over here in the west and they actualy like, edited out episodes that they thought wouldn't interest boys?! Second fun fact, Once when I was in Grade 3 I was told I was not allowed to join a club under the stairs cause I was a girl and it was BOYS ONLY. The point of the club? To talk about how great Cardcaptors was! I Kid you not!

So anyways, your pall Dr. Shojo loves Shonen manga to this day!

The only reason I made this Dr. Shojo blog specifically about shojo is because, being a tomboy with no female friends, reading shojo manga was the first time I really thought about what it meant to be a girl and fall in love. And y i k e s. Shojo manga, like most media, fails miserably most of the time in displaying real world relationships. Or at least, it  doesn't prepare you for how disappointing everything can be. When I had my first kiss, I was thinking about how it didn’t feel at all like how I felt reading Zen and Shirayukis kiss in Akagame No Shirayuki Hime. Those were formative years, and shojo was one of the only places I saw romance being talked about for younger audiences. I liked reading romances where no one had any sexual experiences and were figuring out what love meant to them. But let’s shelve this topic for now.

The point is that gender roles are dumb and if you have an open mind there's a world of stories out there for you. Take this time inside to read something you wouldn’t normally. Critically think about the ways that the worlds you see in stories and how you experience the world differ. What are the messages a story is trying to tell you? And why do you like the stories you do? Reflect on how the stories you tell yourself color your view of the world. Even mindless entertainment leaves an impression on us. Anyways.

Whilst you're doing that, I'm going to absolutely lose my hecking mind over the Shonen Jump series MY HERO ACADEMIA: Vigilantes!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Part Three: I downloaded the one month free trial of the Shonen Jump app and made you read all that, so I can tell you that today Dr. Shojo is going to rant about a spin-off of a shonen manga

THAT’S RIGHT, OF COURSE I READ HERO ACA AND YES I DID PICK UP THE SPIN OFF SERIES. SHONEN JUMP LETS YOU READ ALL THE NEW CHAPTERS FOR FREE ON THEIR APP. KIDS, IF YOU LIKE SHONEN AND YOU’RE PIRATING ON A SCANLATION SITE STILL GET OUT BECAUSE YOU DON’T NEED TO SEE THOSE WEIRD PLASTIC SURGERY AND DENTISTRY ADDS ANY MORE.

SHONEN IS HERE AND ITS LEGAL AND ITS FREE FOR YOU. GET OFF MANGA FOX OR MANGA ROCK OR WHATEVER THE KIDS ARE USING THESE DAYS.

OK, so by this point in the article you have learned two very important things about me: 1) I love Shonen manga and 2) I read a lot of fanfiction.

Specifically, I read an absolutely biblical amount of My Hero Academia fan fiction and let me tell you, A solid chunk of it is vigilante/ Deadpool / criminal with a heart of gold themed.

So when I saw Hero Aca had a spin off, and it was about vigilantes, I was NOT SURPRISED IN THE SLIGHTEST. Ao3 sure is powerful.

Now, if you will permit me a tangent in a post full of tangents—HOLY CRAP, THERE ARE TOO MANY VIGILANTE AUS. I CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF EM. IT’S THE ISEKAI PROBLEM ALL OVER AGAIN. I GET AN EMAIL A FIC HAS UPDATED AND I’M LIKE IS THIS THE FIC WHERE DEKU HAS AN ABUSIVE MOM OR THE ONE WHERE HE HAS SPLIT PERSONALITY DISORDER OR THE ONE WHERE HE’S VIGILANTES WITH HITOSHI. OH WAIT, nvm, it’s the one where deku has a healing quirk.

OH WAIT WHICH OF THE 6 DEKU WITH HEALING QUIRK VIGILATE AU FICS IS THIS ONE?! ARGH WHY DIDN’T I WRITE A DESCRIPTION IN THE BOOKMARK FOR THIS!

My gripes aside, there's a reason why there's such an abundance of vigilante story telling—

Deadpool made like an absolute buttload of money and people love sass and memes.

People have a desire for a story in which they see themselves. Or, how they think of themselves.They like a story about someone who maybe came from nothing. Someone who has less money, maybe someone who is unlucky and had some bad breaks. Someone who never learned they had magic, never got their Hogwarts letter, never saw Kero, someone who never got that God-level quirk from All Might. And if your on Ao3 They want someone who also has seen a lot of memes and kind of wants taco bell and is also questioning their sexuality a bit?

Enter our new hero VIGILANTE DEKU.  

But the cannon can't do this, cause hey, Deku is the chosen one. Albeit, chosen by All Might, He’s got his own thing to do. But how can we still cash in on a vigilante story?

And thus enter our New-New hero KOICHI HAIMAWARI—code name Nice Guy and then later The Crawler. True to his relatable roots. He’s just a dude in an hoodie who can go about as fast as a bike.

First off, I love Koichi. He wants to be a hero and fight crime, but most of the time he has to run away because at the end of the day he's just a dude.

He’s cute but not wildly good-looking, A bit of a nerd but not like an extreme okaku. He’s got a part time job and hates violence.

And this is where Koichi really shines—in every day stuff. He helps out wherever he can. Often, that just means listening to people complain and maybe helping his friends out with whatever they’re going through. He’s the kind of guy who smiles, not because he's especially brave, but because he just takes things one at a time and doesn't sweat the past. I think it’s really telling that he missed getting into hero high-school because he skipped the entrance exam to help someone. He’s the kind of person who lets us experience the superpower of human decency and empathy. And you know what? That’s something the world need desperately.  

This theme of human decency is really the driving force of Vigilantes—it’s a manga about how the laws are there for a reason but sometimes they unfairly impact the poor and vulnerable. It's about how a lot of criminals are just people who fell into bad social circles or on bad times. People have the capacity for cruelty and violence but that’s never all they are.  

Now, speaking of crime, the entirety of Hero Aca falls into some murky water when it comes to its evil doers. Much of the fandom has a huuuuuge problem with how much the franchise is willing to sweep under the rug in the name of redeeming their baddies. RE: people getting mad about forgiving Endeavor’s child abuse, or Bakugo’s suicide baiting. Or Mineta’s blatant sexual harassment.

But this theme is in Vigilantes even more than it ever was in the main series. To start off with, there’s this guy who tries to rape Pop Step early on, and the later he later winds up befriending everybody. It becomes a running gag that each new villain winds up befriending the other villain guys and then they all open a cat café together.

Using jobs as a way to lift people out of lives of crime is great and all but in the story there is no nuance or consequences for past wrong and well.....it feels very weird.  It's like Vigilantes plays at having an opinion about moral ambiguity and the complexity of human existence and then just.......lets everyone get along because who has time to get into all that. Make of that what you will but it sits weird for me personally.

Anyway, let's move on and talk about POP STEP our main girl!

I love pop stars and I love vigilantes and a guerrilla performer is defiantly a character I could get behind. And I think they do a good job with Pop. She is actually kind of shy, but has this secret edgy persona she puts on when she performs. She is every girl on tumbler in the early 2000s. I also looooove that they make her not that great a singer. SHE’S GOT PASSION AND CHARISMA and maybe not born talent but like why should that stop you! Talent can be earned through practice and this is a great lesson to show people.

Unfortunately, Pop is also a great example of everything wrong with romance in Shonen.

It’s established early on that Pop loves Koichi because she is the girl he rescued all those years ago and yada yada yikes we’ve heard this one before. Many times before.

Sure, it's fine that they’ve met before, but gosh am I sick of damsels in distress. It's like she can't love him just because she respects what a great guy he is in her life and in the community at large, no no, she just needs to be rescued on top of that. And LOLOLOL isn't it funny he never noticed she was a girl because she was a child with short hair?! Once he realizes she has boobs now they will for sure fall in love! That’s how love works!

She's just with him all the time—nothing romantic ever happens she just gets a little tsundere.

I am never ever going to believe Koichi likes Pop because he spends like sooooo much time with her and they never have like, a moment. The first time he considers her is when Makoto is like, ‘hey I would love to get together with you, but have you thought about if you are crushing on Pop’. (Also this entire plot point is suspect—she's arbitrarily falling for Koichi cause he.......is the protagonist?)  

Say what you will about shojo, they give you the emotional conversations, the moments where you think.....ahhh I can see why she is falling for him. They give you context! Shonen likes to just say HERE’S A GIRL YOUR AGE. YOU CAN DATE LATER WHEN THE ADVENTURE IS DONE.

Just when they might get together, Pop suddenly turns evilllllll. The evilllll beeeees made her eeeevilllll (and more sexy).

*Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

Because why on earth would they get together if Koichi didn’t get to rescue Pop one more time?

I’m tired. These troupes are tired. I’m sure you are too. HOWEVER! If your still with me, Let’s move into why I'm really writing this post. Let’s get to the part that got me screaming to my friends, who by the way, don’t even care bout Hero Aca….but listened anyways. May you all find nakama like these my friends.

Anyways,

HOLY FUCK ERASERHEAD’S ENTIRE BACK STORY IS IN THIS AROUND CHAPTER 60 AND IT IS WONDERFUL AND ABSOLUTLY HEARTBREAKING AND IS ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTER BACKSTORIES I HAVE EVER SEEN AND IS THE REASON WHY THIS SERIES IS A MUST-READ FOR MAIN SERIES FANS.

AND BY ALMIGHT.  

WHY. IS. IT HERE.  

I present to you my late night text messages to my friends

ALSO, AIZAWAS TEACHER IS PRINCE?!?!?!

AHEM, so as you can see, I kinda lost my shit.

And now, I would like to formally defend my claim that DESPITE HOW AMAZING IT WAS, ERASERHEAD’S BACKSTORY HAD NO BUISSNESS BEING IN THE VIGILANTES SPIN-OFF MANGA.

Eraserhead, aka Aizawa Shouta, is a side character who is working with the police on some crime stuff. He is not a main cast member in this spin off. He’s a guest character that fans of the main series will be like OH COOL. GRUMPY CAT MAN LIKES CATS ON HIS OFF HOURS TOO. LOVE THAT FOR HIM.

So, my imagine my absolute surprise when Aizawa runs into Koichi and the following happens:

It starts to rain, so, like in any good manga, this means some great FORCED BONDING TIME

Except no. It doesn't because rather than start talking, Aizawa JUST STARTS REMEMBERING—ABSOLUTLY SILENTLY TO HIS OWN PRIVETE SELF—HIS ENTIRE TRAGIC BACKSTORY.

AND THIS GOES ON FOR CHAPTERS.

THIS GOES ON LONGER THEN ARC ONE IT FEELS LIKE.

I LOVE IT, BUT KOICHI IS ABOUT TO JOIN ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA IN THE DUBIOUS CATEGORY OF “PROTAGONISTS THE SERIES FORGOT ABOUT IN LIEU OF COOLER SIDE CHARACTERS”.

AND LO IT HAS NO BEARING ON THE REST OF THE PLOT, CHARACTERS, OR STORY

What the ever-loving-just WHY?

WHY?

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

SURE, IT’S A COOL TIE-IN.

YES, OF COURSE I LOVED IT. I SHIP ERASER MIC, I DREW THIS FOR HECK’S SAKE:

AND YET I AM ANGRY.

I AM ANGRY BECAUSE MY FRIDAY WAS RUINED BECAUSE VIGILATES SUCKER PUNCHED ME WITH AN AMAZING STORY THAT REALLY WASN’T PLOT RELEVANT AND PROBABLY SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THERE.  

IS THIS WHY THEY TOOK LIKE NEXT-TO-NO CARE WITH POPS ARC?!?

I mean its ongoing, so it’s too early to say but—

In conclusion—

Excuse me one more,

AIZAWA WAS TAUGHT BY PRINCE!?!??!?!?!?!? PURPLE RAIN PRINCE!?!??!?!?!? WHAT!??!?!?!

It’s so ABSURD that I HAD TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I HAD TO WRITE PARAGRAPHS TO JUSTIFY YELLING ABOUT THIS ONE THING. WHAT THE ABSOLUTE—

Ahem,

Anyways, I hope you liked this weird rant/personal-story/random-diatribe in three parts.

If you’re reading this, thank you, stay safe, and I’ll be back with more shojo manga next time.  

Ciao!

Dr. Shojo

(aka Dr. Shonen)

[scourgewins]

Halloween Invasion (Part 6)

(Warnings for entire work: fighting, lots of action, panic and fear, someone gets knocked unconscious, people get captured, killing mention (it’s meant to be comedic so all of this is pretty mild))

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)

The hallway had become a maelstrom of inky carnage. Ink ran in rivulets down the walls and pooled around Thomas’s feet. It clung to his clothes, dripped from his clenched hands and down his wrench. There were only three ink monsters left; the rest stirred uneasily in their puddles, too frightened to reform.

Thomas wiped some ink from his eye and beckoned to the remaining creatures.

“Let’s finish this.”

They lunged. With a savage grin, Thomas tore into them. They tried to encircle him, but the mechanic was too quick and leaped over the nearest, felling it with a few hefty blows from his weapon. The other two seemed less keen on approaching, but Thomas wasn’t going to leave anything to chance.

Once all ink monsters were cowering in their puddles, Thomas at last allowed himself a respite. With a loud exhale, he sank against the wall.

“THOMAS!”

His head whipped to where he’d heard the voices. Grant? Shawn? He’d almost forgotten about them in the heat of the moment. It seemed they hadn’t fared as well as him against the monsters.

With a deep sigh, Thomas heaved himself off the wall and made for the stairs.

Guess I gotta save them.

Luckily for him, he’d have help. Grant and Shawn were fast being swept away so Thomas had to put on a burst of speed to keep them in sight. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Thomas was met by the sight of even more ink monsters as well as a defiant Lacie and a terrified Jack.

Jack was tossed in with Grant and Shawn but Lacie managed to dodge out of the way. She glared at the remaining creatures bearing down on her, a pipe raised in defense. Thomas moved to help her but paused as he heard a call for help from the projection booth.

Lacie turned at the same sound and caught sight of him. She gestured up the projection booth steps with a hasty flick of her pipe.

“You help Norman, I’ll get the others!”

Thomas eyed the mass of ink monsters, “You sure you can manage on your own?”

Lacie shrugged, “Only one way to find out. Go!”

Thomas dipped his head in acknowledgement and sprinted up the stairs. The door was locked but that evidently hadn’t stopped the ink beings from seeping in. Taking several steps back, Thomas charged the door and bust it down.

Norman was in the grips of several ink creatures, about five on a quick head count. Despite this, the blobs were struggling to keep their hold; Norman was putting up quite the struggle. Thomas would have considered the sight almost comical were the situation not so dire: a vampire hissing at wobbling blobs of ink.

“About time!” Norman cried as Thomas burst in. One of the creatures tugged at the cape of his costume and Norman swiped it viciously from their grip, “Watch the cape!”

Thomas rushed forward, “Hang on!”

Norman’s hands scraped against the wall and floorboards in a futile attempt to gain purchase, “Been trying to!”

The ink beings shied away from Thomas, their arms curling protectively around Norman as if to say “No, this is mine!”

Thomas swung at them, aiming at their hands to get them to release their hold. He’d managed to prize one hand away when the ink monsters got crafty. Twisting, they maneuvered themselves so any time the mechanic tried to land a blow he’d have to pull up at the last second to avoid hitting Norman. Norman did not take kindly to being a human shield and fought all the harder.

“I’m going to kill Joey!”

Thomas managed to land a hit and had to dance out of the way when the creature lashed out, “Yeah, you’ll be queuing behind me to do it!”

The creatures were shifting ever closer to the ledge where the projector was still resting. Thomas caught a glimpse of Susie, Alice, and Sammy fighting tooth and nail down below. The music stand Sammy was using as a weapon snapped suddenly and Thomas was just able to see the musician retreat behind Susie before he had to focus back on his own troubles.

It seemed he was making headway. One of Norman’s arms was free and soon a leg would be too. Once he’d been fully liberated, Thomas decided he’d go help Lacie.

Or maybe, he thought as he noticed more monsters pouring into the music department, I’ll go help those three.

“Uh, Thomas?!” Thomas had been so preoccupied trying to free Norman’s leg that he hadn’t noticed the projectionist’s precarious position. The ink beings had raised Norman up into the air, right over the ledge.

“Norman!” Thomas’s wild grab was too late. In one coordinated movement, Norman was tossed over the side.

The projectionist sailed through the air, his cape billowing out around him. Susie, Alice, and Sammy all looked up in confusion and no small amount of panic as a vampire descended upon them.

“What the-” Whatever Sammy said was cut off abruptly when Norman crashed into the floor, landing squarely on top of a cello.

“NO!” Sammy flung himself toward the projectionist, practically shoving ink creatures out of the way to reach him. For a moment, Thomas was surprised by Sammy’s concern, then he realized the true reason for it and became a lot less surprised.

The musician shoved Norman’s unconscious body aside and gathered the injured instrument up in his arms. Trembling hands grazed the split wood and lingered over the bent strings. Even from this distance, Thomas could swear he saw tears in Sammy’s eyes. The sight might have actually been touching if he wasn’t crying over an inanimate object while his coworker lay face-down on the floor.

“Sammy!” Alice rushed to the musician’s side to pull him and Norman away as more ink things approached. Susie had become separated from them and desperately tried to reach their side, though was stalled by inky troubles of her own.

Thomas dodged away as the blobs that had thrown Norman now turned on him. Spinning on his heel, he sprinted back down the stairs shouting “Hold on! I’m coming!” over his shoulder at Susie.

Lacie would have to wait. It looked like he was needed elsewhere.

[dexi-green]

Rise of Skywalker was good. Rant/Appreciation, spoilers ahead. Super long and rambling. This is all personal opinion, if you disliked it, thats fine. If you disagree, great.

First some quick points, then the longer stuff.

I loved Babu Frik and D-O

We finally got to see the Knights of Ren in action!

Also all those Star Destroyers?? Like those things are gotdamn huge... and that many of them? Actually scary honestly.

LANDO LANDO LANDO! LANDO AND CHEWIE IN THE FALCON!!

WEDGE!!!

CHEWIE GETS HIS MEDAL!!!

Also not gonna lie.. I wanted to see a gungan. Put some respect on Jar Jar. Or confirm the Darth Jar Jar theory you cowards.

We got to see a proper version of Rey’s version of Luke’s Dark Side cave vision (The TLJ one just wasn’t it for me. The mirrors..okay...)

Storm Troopers fly now... Did they steal stuff from some Mandalorians. Mandalorians are like..the only ones ever to have jet packs like that (that I’m aware of). Maybe the Mandalorian show will see some leftover imperials stealing Mandalorian armor, which they will replicate (obviously badly, because there stuff is no beskar).

I was so happy to see the interactions between Leia and Connix, because I just loved to see Billie with her mom <3 I’m so glad they gave her a role and just kept expanding it.

Hux... I love the back and forth between him and General Pryde, (I was hoping Richard E Grant would’ve played Thrawn but alas...) wondering who the mole is, and OF COURSE ITS HUX! Because he just wants to see Kylo lose. We love it.. I’m kinda sad he was taken out so quick, but it was good while it lasted.

How they tried to push Poe into some kind of.. not relationship, but not too subtlety trying to tell the audience, no he’s not gay, in like...just a bad writing way, like okay gosh, he’s straight (Also Poe was a drug runner...). That LGBTQ “representation” was trash, but definitely better than Endgame’s so-called representation.

I also wished we woulda got more (legacy) cameos, especially in the final battle when all the ships arrive. Maybe the Ghost Crew (I think you can see the ship though), or a character from the Mandalorian show (I was hoping for more tie-in’s in general (baby yoda), but The Mandalorian did sorta set up the force healing ability). My foolish soul was hoping for a super old old clone or a super old and scarred up Mace Windu, or just super old Ahsoka, but this film 100% confirmed no going back that they are totally dead with their voices amongst the other dead jedi :/ I can’t have everything and thats alright. I’m just glad they were in there in some capacity.

JJ has said that the thing Finn was going to tell Rey was that he was force sensitive (none of the good ships flew sadly imo) but that is still...amazing to me. I love it so much. Especially with that exchange between him and Han in TFA “We’ll use the force.” “That’s not how the force works.”. Hopefully he got or gets the chance to tell Rey because then she could train him and <3 Also I think that now makes it go back to no non-force sensitive people have used a lightsaber in the films (aside from Grievous). I loved the inclusion of Jannah and the other storm trooper deserters. Not only because of the kinship with Finn, but also... They are on a moon of Endor... So moon of the Endor system inhabitants, with slightly primitive techniques and tools and things come to help in the final battle? I love it. Putting some respeck on the Ewoks (also we see Ewoks?!?! Specifically Wickett <3) (Also I noticed a Fire, Water, Earth theme. The final battle in the prequels was in fire/lava. The final battle in the original trilogy was on the forest moon of endor, and while not the final battle, Kef Bir is the ocean moon of endor)

Palpatine doing what we all knew he was, using bodies to live through. I mean thats why he always had apprentices, just so he could skip over to them when his body got gross and weak, or at the very least work through them. I definitely wanna know more about the whole Snoke operation. We knew it was insane for some rando to be that powerful to be whispering and seducing Ben to the dark side from birth. And the cloning? like please, tell me more. I loved Palpatine’s exclamation of “Return of the Sith!” as an obvious nod to the films Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, but also the fact Return was going to be Revenge of the Jedi.

I LOVE LOVEDDDD the small scene of Luke training Leia. Yeah the CGI on their faces wasn’t the best but just being able to see it and knowing that he did go forward and train her as well as other students was everything to me. I’ve always wanted Leia’s force abilities to be more acknowledged outside of the comics, so you know I went crazy in the scene from TLJ (for multiple reasons). Leia training Rey?! Rey referring to her (and Luke) as her jedi masters?! we love to see it <3 Rey going back to Tatooine, back to the moisture farm (I could just hear Aunt Beru calling out for Luke (but also him calling for her and uncle owen when they got disintegrated..oop)). Calling herself a Skywalker, AND SEEING LUKE AND LEIA’S FORCE GHOST!! WE LOVE TO SEE IT (but hate it because it’s the end). THE TWIN SUNS AS THE SAGA ENDS WHERE IT BEGAN!!

The voices of the Jedi at the end?!? I cried. I mean there was Anakin, Obi-Wan (both old and young), Qui Gon, Mace Windu, Yoda, and Luke of course, but also Aaayla Secura, Luminara, Adi Gallia, KANAN JARRUS (who is voice by Freddie Prinze Jr. aka the best Fred Scooby Doo could ask for) , AHSOKA TANO!!! Nothing I want more than more Ahsoka <3 I would’ve loved to see them all show up as Force Ghosts at the end ala the ghosts of Harry’s family in Harry Potter Goblet of Fire/Deathly Hallows but I understand why they opted for voices only. Also no Ki-Adi-Mundi because while everyone was saying, “Rey, You can do it! We are with you!” he just woulda been like, “But...what about the droid attack on the wookiees?”

Han!! Han!! When he appeared to Kylo, after Leia pulled him back as much as she could, and Rey healed him and inched him further, and then of course, Han finished the job. Leia asked him to bring him back and he did in the end. The person he seemingly hated the most (maybe thats tied with Luke. I honestly would’ve liked to see some kinda of thing between Luke and Ben, some reconciliation). The famous Solo “I know” which we all know means I love you. like come onnnnn <3 AND Ben and Leia’s bodies becoming one with the force... but Leia only after Ben... like she was holding on, waiting for him <3 This really made me like Ben/Kylo a bit more, obviously the light side Ben more, because Kylo is actual trash imo.

I cried when Chewie cried for Leia. Her death was sad on it’s own, but Chewie just broke me. He had a happy family, then Ben went bad, Han and Leia split, and Luke left, then when he thinks everything is coming back together, He lost Han, then he lost Luke, now Leia? If you actually watch him he just collapses to the ground, throwing his arms, sobbing... AND HAVING TO SEE HIM IN SHACKLES!?!? And not like “oh we gotta trick these guards” but actually captured and shackled, After all the wookiees being captured and enslaved and he how he had to deal with that...come on man....

I cried when Luke pulled his X-wing out of the water. We all saw it submerged in TLJ, waiting for that moment when someone would do it. The fact that he does it, when he couldn’t back when it happened on Dagobah. It shows how much he’s grown, showed him stepping into Yoda’s role even more fully. He never got to leave that island in it, but Rey did. Plus Rey wearing his Rebel helmet like she wore the helmet in TFA?! Honestly... Two “nobodies” from nowhere sand planets who become the hope and saviors of the galaxy (you could include Anakin in that as well, but he just...kinda sparked the hope in Luke and was his savior so...indirectly the hope and savior).

The only thing I didn't like was the Ben and Rey kiss at the end but luckily it wasn't drawn out and he died right after. Cause you really expect me to believe that within the same movie of him pushing her to her limits and making her believe she killed a friend that she gone be like...oh but you still cute tho?  Also while re-watching everything and watching the prequels last month I remembered how Palpatine influenced the midichlorians/force to make Anakin in Shmi (it might not be canonized though, I’m not sure...). Obviously he’s not a biological father but...he is responsible...so that in a way makes him Kylo's grandfather in a sense. Rey is Sheev’s biological granddaughter so...big yikes. To me Kylo/Ben and Rey have a much better dynamic as brother and sister anyway.. I think a brother and sister bond suit them so much better. A rhyme of Luke and Leia, and the forged sibling bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin. It has pieces of both and would have been beautiful for it to play out that way. About Rey pulling her family in Ben Solo back to the light. I mean she even thought of Han, Leia, and Luke as parental figures... but luke and leia kissed so :/  guess just a family thing. 

Running themes in all of star wars is hope, family, and who you are. In this, the prequels were the darkest. They end in a family divided, hope seemingly lost, and giving into the worst parts of yourself. The original trilogy was about finding the hope in the darkest times, becoming more than you think of yourself, and that family can overcome anything together. This trilogy was about clinging onto hope that you can find and making it a beacon for others, becoming more than what you and others think of you, "subverting destiny", and the fact that family isn't blood, not always. Just because someone tells you you're a monster, just because you started to believe it, doesn't mean you are. Once you have hope you hold onto it with everything you have, no matter how many times you fail or slip.

Rey being a Palpatine isn't "the bad guys bloodline living while the good guys die out". It isn't about bloodlines. Sure Kylo and Vader's terrible deeds will live on in infamy, but so will the entire rebellion's. Instead of being like, "oh well by blood I'm a Palpatine so I gotta use that last name" she made a conscious choice to go by Skywalker, because of what the Skywalker family meant to her and the galaxy, so that their deeds live on and not Palpatine. He will become a bad memory, a scar on history, while Skywalker’s, the positive idea of them, will continue to live and spark hope year and years into the future. Her blood isn't tainted and her grandfathers nature isn't hers, if it was she really would be the empress on the sith throne after Palpatine's death. She would've took Kylo's hand and offers before. Its the same with Kylo. He succumbed to what Rey was actively fighting against. Its the idea its harder to be good than bad.

Palpatine's bloodline living on means nothing unless Rey decided to make it mean something. But she didn't. As far as I'm concerned the only thing the bloodline might've impacted is her connection to the force and how strong it was naturally (like Kylo because of Leia (maybe Han..debatable, i like to believe he’s a little force sensitive) and her and Luke's connection to it because of Anakin). Her parents also actively fought against Palpatine as far as we know, Luke and Leia fought against Vader like... To say oh your parent was like this so you are gonna turn out the same? Yikes. Also Finn and the other stormtrooper deserters? Literally brainwashed from such a young age to be killers but they said no? It seems like the theme was you can fight against your destiny or like Yoda said about the future being hard to see because its constantly moving so "destiny" is kinda just a trash idea, be who you are or the person you want to be, not what others tell you.

Also I see some people saying it destroyed Anakin's legacy, and I have to disagree. To the fan's Anakin's legacy was never killing Palpatine. Sure that was the action, but the act was saving Luke. It was coming back from the dark to the light to save his son and in a way, the rest of the galaxy, at least for a time, it was betraying his master. It was the why he did it, not the how. Not only did he save Luke's life, but he fueled Luke to go forward and continue down the path of hope and light as long as he could. Anakin's true legacy lives on in Luke and Leia and the Rebellion. Palpatine's return doesn't diminish Anakin's sacrifice. Because it wasn’t about just destroying Palpatine. Anakin/Vader's thoughts went to Padme and Luke, and the prophecy of bringing balance, he knew he had to do something. When Luke takes off his helmet when Anakin is dying he thinks, “The boy was good, and the boy had come from him–so there must have been good in him, too. He smiled up again at his son, and for the first time, loved him. And for the first time in many long years, loved himself again, as well.” (coming from the novelization of Return). As long as Luke lived, and Luke's legacy lives on, so does Anakin's and so does Anakin’s return to the light. Anakin's legacy and impact, the good and the bad, will continue. Maybe the people of that galaxy won't know of the person named Anakin compared to sith lord Darth Vader, but his impact will always be there.

Yeah they aren’t always the most perfectly written stories with the best effects and yadda yadda, I know there are some missteps and less then stellar things in this films, but they are here to entertain, and I’m entertained. There is probably so much I’m missing, and I really want to go see it again, and can’t wait till it’s out on DVD or streaming services... 

It was a beautiful film that did the best it could to end a saga thats bigger than anything ever, thats been going on for years, something that is unheard of and never been done. I just want to honor the history, the memory, and the work it all took. I just love these films so much. <3 Also, always remembering Carrie, Peter M. and Peter C., Christoper, and Kenny, and all other actors and crew who have passed who lent their time and effort to all of these films and this entire franchise <3 

[onepunchmiss]

OPM s2e12 Live Blog

“The Wiping of the Disciple’s Butt”

The season finale. I’m nauseous. Lets begin. 

As always, I’m watching from the perspective of someone who has read the manga and webcomic. 

Right where we left off. Again I love the music. I’m just like, really calm right now actually. hhhhhhhhhhhokay. OOF oh god all the crunching sound effects oh no, this is already so weird watching Garou get his ass handed to him since he’s pretty much curb stomped every other hero in battle thus far, or at the VERY LEAST avoided taking so many hits. This. is so uncomfortable to watch. WOAH ????? THESE SHOTS WERE ONLY THERE FOR A SPLIT SECOND BUT??? HOLY SHIT???

GAROU’S HAIR OH MY GOD 

Oh god oh god Bang is relentless this hurts please stop guys GUYS PLZ  HAS NO ONE REALISED THAT NOT ONE HERO HAS DIED CMON PLZ IT HURTS calm down stop trying to kill him plsplspls OH

THIS 

IS WHY

WE STAN GAROU

HE SAYS FUCK DEATH HOW ABOUT I JUST GET STRONGER INSTEAD QUE EPIC THEME MUSIC

oh god damnit him legit running on all fours right there just looks goofy tho F “preposterous style” Bang you aint lying asdfghjkl really though OH MY GOD EVERYONE IS DRAWN SO BEAUTIFULLY THIS IS SO BLESSED 

WAIT 

NO OPENING THEME???????????????????? WHAT?????????????????????? WHY????????????????????????? ONE, I WANTED TO SEE THE CHIBI OF THE WEEK AND 2 

I WASNT PREPARED FOR MY FAVORITE DOPEY BIRD MAN THE FUCK PHOENIXMAN PLS NO ILY I know people hate him a lot but I just really dig how he feels like a fleshed out character compared to most other monsters, like he’s legit lookit him being all smart and stuff plz I just,,,,,,,,,,,, want to hug dumb fluffy birb ;-;

Woah again I’m being blown away by the animation??? Garou getting smacked around is really fluid and this just looks really cool in general?????

FUCK I CANT DO FLASHBACKS MAN JUST HEARING THE KID VOICE MAKED MY STOMACH LURCH OH NO 

OH NO I SCREAM OH NO I CANT OH NO GIMME 5 MINUTES PLEASE I CANNOT BBY NO I FORGOT ADULT GAROU IS IN THE FLASHBACK WATCHING THIS TIME PLS NO 

LIKE???????? I got kinda a comedic vibe watching him comment on it in the manga but the slow music and shit is just FUKKIN ME UP RIGHT NOW I HATE IT THANKS IT HURTS

oh god his face he has the seething thousand mile stare of quiet rage and its burning a hole STRAIGHT THROUGH MY ENTIRE BEING “But me I was the loner kid. Always gloomy and without friends” STOP. YOU STOP THAT RIGHT THIS INSTANT. IM CRYING AT U RIGHT NOW STOP

NO DONT HOLD HIM LET HIM GO S T O P OR SO HELP ME i can’t watch this what the fuck “I was always the loser” SHIT this legitimately hurts me “I dont want to be the monster anymore” GArou hey did you hear that part?? hEY GAROU DID YOU HEAR YOURSELF THERE??? 

WHAT DID I SAY WHAT THE F DID I JUST SAY STOP HOLDING HIM STOP STOPPIT  THE HELL MAN What if……….. I just go BACK IN TIME AND ADOPT BB GAROU CAN I DO THAT IS THIS POSSIBLE IS THIS ALLOWED ? ?? ?

oh my god it keeps getting worse. I mean. I already knew garou was being disproportionately reprimanded for what he supposedly did, but watching this scene just fucking kicked me in the teeth. As if my stomach wasn’t already in knots. The fuck . why does this hurt so much more watching than reading the frustration in seeping into me ffffff.

This looks really cool but, i can barely focus on that because im pretty much being exsanguinated on the floor over here by this whole sequence look at him crying. do it for me cause I sure as hell can’t 

“I want to strike a blow for the little guy”

Fukkin GETTEM GO GETTEM 

HOLY SHIT HIS VA IS GOING T F OFF 

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH LOOKIT HIM ILY SO MUCH SAVE THE DAY BIRB SAVE 

ASDFGHJKL THIS IS SO INTENSE EVERYONE IS SO INTENSE I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS BUT HOLY SHIT FUCK IM SCREAMING GAROU IS SCREAMING BANG AND BOMB SCREAMING GENOS AND EVEN PHOENIXMAN EVEN THE MUSIC IS SCREAM WE ALL JUST SC R E M

OH MY GOD AND THE LITTLE HEAD NOT GENOS AND BANG GIVE EACHOTHER SAVING THE HEROES OH MY GOD OH FUCK AND THE WAY THEY ANIMATE BANG JUMPING AROUND IS DOPE AS HELL AND ALSO HOLY SHIT ELDER CENTIPEDE I MISSED THE UNSETTLING SMOOTH CG LIKE ANIMATION FOR THE CENTIPEDES EVERY CELL IN MY BODY IS JUST SCREAMING RN I AM OVERLOAD HELP 

Garou flailing in the air in Phoenixman’s grip is … really adorable oh my god. “It’s your fault for not finishing them” ooooooo that shut him up didn’t it oof. Also nice cameo by Tatsumaki there 

ASDFGHJKL THE MUSIC AGAIN I LOVE IT I LOVE THEM LOOK AT THEM OH MY GOD 

THIS IS SO BAD ASS

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS IS SO BADASS

Genos’s eye static, The brother’s fists swirling, THE FUKKIN CARAPACE SHATTERING 

THIS FIGHT IS SO WILD MY COMPUTER CANT EVEN TAKE IT. ITS GLITCHING AND FREEZING UP HOLY SHIT

oh god ok the face coming out of the face was pure nightmare fuel alright then

WAIT

I FORGOT GENOS IS A SELF SACRIFICING DUMBASS. NO IM NOT READY GENOS YOU DOOF LISTEN TO KUSENO LISTEN TO HIM 

oh no 

oh no

im crying oh no

this animation is beautiful first of all and the music like im just here this is where I’m at and I’m crying oh no 

He’s an angel. A literal angel. Look at that and tell me he doesn’t look like a fucking angel in the sky with the rays of light casting shadows around him. 

Genos you are too good and pure for this world but that DOESNT MEAN TRY TO GET YOURSELF KILLED 

Shit they really made it look like he was gonna self destruct there for a second which MADE HIS LAST STAND EVEN MORE INTENSE OH MY GOD SWEETHEART Y’all ever get into a show because you keep seeing one character that catches your interest, and you keep seeing them pop up on your dash or wherever until you finally decide ‘well fuckit, this is the asshole that’s gonna get me to finally watch the show’, cause you’re already invested in them anyway? Genos did that for me with OPM. If this fool didn’t exist Who knows how long it would’ve taken me to get to watching OPM, if ever. And shit like this is why I STILL love him. I usually move on to new faves 90% of the time but nope. Genos earned his spot and is keeping it. Look at this insane shit. My heart. Uhg

Enough gushing asdfghjkl ok but Genos, you just went INTO THE DAMNED THING’s STOMACH,,,,, and you’re SURPRISED that there’s STOMACH ACID?? But real talk. What the EVERLONG FUCK is that thing’s insides made out of? How did it NOT DIE. the FuCK

asdfghjkl Phoenixman’s chuckle???? I love 

Oh Bang no, this is wrenching my heart like I know that he doesn’t actually use his power but its built up so intensely like,,, would he be ok if he did??? and actually more concerningly since it even WAS brought up that he has some hidden true strength, will we EVER get to see that??? Oh Shit well when they word it as “All the power left to me in this life” then yeah, that seems pretty life or death ish???? THE FUCK 

Oh thank god comedic relief is here I feel like i’m about to have a heart attack my chest is so tight hhhhhh ok breathe WAIT THIS ISNT COMEDIC THIS IS BADASS AS HELL JEEZUS witht he flashbacks to the Saitama encounter and THIS LOOK

The Anime is really fucking with the audience huh??? Making it look like KIngs about to throw hands like???????????? OH SHIT AND THIS MUSIC IS DOPE AS HELL TOO IM JUST laughing I have so much excessive energy right now???

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHZAHAHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASDFGHJKLJHGFDSWERTGYHUIUJHGFDFGHJKJHGFRE THE FUKKIN SONG THEY BROUGHT IT BACK THE ULTIMATE SONG I GOT THREE NOTES IN JUST THREE NOTES AND I KNOW IM SCREAMING I GOTTA GO RUN BRB 

IM STILL SCREAMING FADFJSAGFJDSLKAHVFSKLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OUR MAIN MAN THERE HE IS THERE HE IS IM GONNA THROW UP 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

OH MY FUCK THATS WHAT THE OPENING SEQUENCE EXPLOSION WAS FROM OH GOD OH FUCK BEAUTIFUL THIS IS BEAUTIFUL OH FUCK OH GOD 

The REPRISE oh no oh NO OH NO OH NO NO ITS NOT OVER im not ready its not I cant no no no i dont want to press play cause if I press play it will end soon no no no Oh my god and at the end there isnt gonna be a title card for the next episode because THERE IS NO NEXT EPISODE no non o nonononon on on on ono no no no 

NO 

HEY IVE BEEN RIPPED OFF. WHERES THE FACE WITH HIS HAIR BLOWN BACK??? ASDFJKL fine I cant even be mad everything else was tooo  ofdbghjfshkggfhsjgbfhjka

KING WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT REACTION ASDFGHJKL W H A T 

WAIT THEY ARE DOING THE OPENING THEME AT THE END NO I CANT HANDLE SEEING EVERYOONE NOW OF ALL TIMES GOD DAMNIT WHY ok yknow what. I knew it would be king. I dont know how but i did 

Wha

wh

fkin cliffhanger no please no 

I.. I’m kind of at a loss for words. I’m. That’s it, huh? It’s really over. It doesn’t FEEL over. There’s so much unfinished business. Well, the only way to really neatly wrap everything up as neatly as S1 did would have been to get ALL THE WAY through the Garou arc, which obviously wasn’t going to happen, but this is not a great spot to leave off if we’re going to endure another few years hiatus. My hope is that, with biweekley manga updates, we should wrap up the Monster Association/Garou stuff (assuming it doesn’t diverge from the web comic too much) some time next year, and I’m HOPING that s3 is already being planned accordingly along side manga publications. So MAYBE it will at least be announced around that time 2020. That’s my wishful thinking at least. I don’t think I can survive 3 years. anyway

You could really tell JC Staff poured their hearts and souls into these last 2 episodes. Absolutely gorgeous, paced well, so completely satisfying and making every second of s2 worth while. For me, at least. I’ve already seen people still complaining and I’m just sorry they didn’t have as much fun as I did. 

Seriously, thank each and every one of you guys. This has been a wild ride, I’ve barely had this blog a few weeks before season 2 started airing (and honestly just got into opm maybe a month before that?), so I owe a lot of the success on the blog to the anime I bet. This was the first series I’ve never tried live bogging, and I honestly can’t believe that they were as popular as they were? Especially since I never have any idea what I’m doing but yall listen to me ramble anyway?? Yall are crazy thank you so so so much. Now my tuesdays are gonna feel really empty… next week is gonna be weird as hell. Though I’m gonna get mad nostalgic good vibes rewatching this season in the future in no small part from sharing my experience with everyone who's stuck around. I can’t say see yall next week this time, but, see you next season whenever it may be for sure.