#also like. this also happens to be a critique of mine with the later seasons of the show as well

[dennisboobs]

oh yeah, i love the always sunny book! my favourite parts are the insane cringe-inducing mischaracterization present in every single one of the "audio transcription" sections, the prioritization of shocking, edgy, gross-out humour over actual funny jokes... and you know, i gotta give props to the admirable work of reducing characters to one singular bit, especially charlie's cheese thing, which, while funny in small doses, is absolutely HYSTERICAL when talked about nonstop over several hundred pages. also love the implication that charlie regularly disposes of corpses for the gang. and the addition of slurs in a book that came out in 2015, long after the show dropped their usage, is also really cool.

but at least dennis

[ulquichaan]

Miraculous Ladybug - my thoughts.

Hello!

It's been a while, I know. But I come back to rant yet again! I'm sorry for any mistakes in advance - its 2am and the thoughts won't let me sleep so I have to get them out there somewhere. If you don't want to waste your time - skip it. If you actually want to read it, I'll have a cookie waiting for you at the end of this. :3

My journey with MLB.

Miraculous was that one show that I got to know about through a parody of it on polish yt channel called Surreactor. I didn't know what it was about but it looked interesting and that was a point in time when season 3 was just starting to come out. Sooo, as the curious child I was - I gave it a go. And it captured me very easily.

At first all I wanted is for Adrien and Mari to finally get together. I never had big thoughts about it. Then I got bored between new episodes and just... forgot about it.

After some time however I came back to it. It was somewhere around 4th season airing. I returned to it, watched it all over again and it captured me yet again. I completely fell in love with Adrien as character and started to read loads of fanfiction about the two main heroes. I got invested, started to draw the characters in different settings and what not. I started even posting here on tumblr the rants that blew out about Adrien and about Black Cat holders as a whole just because I was frustrated on how little love he got or that I couldn't find any theories that would make sense.

I made new friend, started to plan stories more than I did before, returned to RP with my old friend through messenger and more.

It was a blow of creativity of mine at that time. You maybe you know of "Sky Is The Limit"? That was the point for me where I had so many ideas that I had to do something with at least one of them. Talking about an overload, right?

Season 4 finale - the best finale in this show in my honest opinion. Though I am based so who cares.

The point is - I deeply fell in love with this fandom for the most part.

And then... season 5 happened.

At first I was hooked. Really. I felt that it was going in the right direction and I even wanted to watch it later so I could see it in order.

Oh boy, did I get disappointed. Very disappointed.

I was never a Senti-Adrien fan, let's be real. But the execution? Even worse.

The finale? The fight yea, fun. But why cut out Adrien out of it???

Chloe as mayor? ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL? It's losing braincells more and more.

And I know the plot armor was always evident in this show and all.... but i feel like it was knocked up 10 times or more in season 5 to the point it could beat Game of Thrones seasons 7 and 8. (Yeah, I know what should compare two shows where one is fenomenal and the other has always been trash, but you can't argue with me that seasons 7 and 8 weren't rushed and had very poor execution)

To say that I was angry is an understatement. I HATED season 5 with every fiber of my existence. I still do, but I'm far more calm about it than I was originally. Believe it or not.

I saw all the drama in the fandom. When people complained about the show and other people came in to defend it. And I have to say - I can see where both sides are coming from.

To the people who enjoy it, all of it - I'm glad you do! I really am!

However.

I can clearly see where the hate is coming from and anytime I saw a valid critique I couldn't help but agree with it. There were some awesome responses to that critique even from people who do enjoy the show still, but there were always people who I'll call "white knights".

Aka people who will ride-or-die for the show and always say there is nothing wrong with it!

Oh how I hate this way of thinking....

Little message to those white knights - yes there are pure haters that hate just to hate, but in the spectrum of people who are critiquing the show are also people who loved it and got disappointed. When people are angry/dissapointed they usually feel the need to express themselves and forums like Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, are just perfect for ranting. I have spent fair share in the horse gaming community to know that every flop will have a retaliation and shutting up people will make them only more angry. :|

I stopped liking the show. Why am I coming back to it?

That's a question that started to bother me just as I was going to sleep.

I have watched Hazbin Hotel (Lucifer my beloved) and fell deeply in love with it. I always liked Vivzie's Hellaverse being it Helluva Boss and now Hazbin, but there is something that just came back to me.

I started yet again imagining Adrien and Marinette but in the helllaverse. Or what if I merged hellaverse and Miraculous together in some way. Or other crazy ideas that will never see the light of day.

It's always those two characters for the most part. But the moment those two show up, the rest of Miraculous cast does too.

I fell put of the show. I don't like it. Why do I keep coming back?

My thought is - the fandom and the work it did for the characters.

I have always loved to read fanfiction even it came to miraculous. And it's always SO MANY! With many different variants of the world or entirely different settings. Ofc there are some bad fics, but the good ones are those that captured my heart and made me love the characters even more.

Let's put in some examples (and recommendations if you want to check them out):

Happiness by Somewhere_Out_Here

Once a Thief, always a Thief by @saijspellhart

Bakery Enemies by @buggachat

Heaven in hiding by @livinglittlelie

I'll guess your heart, if you guess mine by PurpleHeartsOne

Chat Blanc's Moon Waltz by @rileyclaw

The comic dubs by PhantomSavage

The little comics like "Passionate Kiss" by @edendaphne

All of these are just very few examples from multitude of content I devoured when I was in the love stage for MLB. And those things are STILL SO GOOD. (You have to check it out if you haven't already)

The point is - the fandom fell in love with the concept and if not that, then the characters. Yes, they aren't perfect. Some would say they are very much Mary Sue-ish. Some would say they are badly written. While the fact is - the characters themselves aren't badly written, the plot is just badly handled.

I can see why people love Marinette, she is quirky, funny and her ideas, while absurd most of the time, they work. And that's fine! She is supposed to be creative and what not. A great friend to have in corner, that for sure :3

Adrien on the other hand is supposed to be a bundle of issues that come with living a sheltered life and the want to be free.

(The movie handled Marinette much better than the show, let's be real here)

Sad fact - the writers of the show couldn't handle all of the potential they set up. But the fandom could and that's what's beautiful in my opinion.

The show may not be a masterpiece but they made some aspects of it so enjoyable and investing (love-square) that other people decided to execute those good things in their own stories and create something else.

The characters are just so easy to put into other stories too. Because they are written in the way they are (even if poorly handled at times) the aspects of them are very flexible, which in turn makes them easy to incorporate into other AUs.

For me it proves that you don't need a very complicated and deep character to make your story memorable. Even tho that certainly helps depending on your story. Miraculous was really lucky it got that creative fandom in the first place.

And this is what is beautiful.

Ending, some plans of mine that who knows if they will see the light of day. :]

This is only for those who are interested what I have been up to and what do i plan with this blog:

I am not quitting tumblr, oh no. I'll be probably reposting some stuff that I like from time to time.

I am returning to write "Sky Is The Limit", however I am completely rewriting it for the.... 7th time? Something like that. I doubt I'll finish it anytime soon at this rate and if I get the need to draw I might draw few characters from there or designs I have planned.

I have a very big project in mind that I might probably make a new blog for. It's still just an idea but I getting closer to actually being made so stay tuned.

I will start posting stuff from Hazbin Hotel. I fell deeply in love with Lucifer's character and you can't unglue me from that duck man!!

Other than that I went to university and I'm enjoying my time here so yeah.

And here is your cookie for reading all that! You're a legend!

(I'm open for any discussions as long as they stay respectful. Feel free to DM me :>)

[dabidagoose]

which one do YOU think is the worst. i already voted but i’m curious

I would like to start off by apologizing for how long this has taken me. I truly don't know what happened, but now that, months later, I'm back in image analysis brainspace we're gonna do our best to analyze all these images and answer this question. For reference, this ask is referring to this post of mine.

I'm gonna start with my favorite, which is this fantasy high poster. The title is really readable, large, and noticeable - which is great for advertising and for viewers to find the show. I appreciate how Brennan is leaning over the PCs, it's a cute pose and very much conveys that "I'm the DM" energy. I don't love how squished together all the PCs are, but the yellow light scribbles are a nice visual metaphor for a fictional world, and it's nice to see all the PCs in the promotion.

My second favorite is Tiny Heist. The descending height schtick is really cute, and we also get that fun DM-ergy from having only half of a giant Brennan. He also sort of feels like the one human in a muppet movie, which is a really cute vibe and compels me to watch. However his face is super washed out, the lighting from that photo was way too bright for him. I also really like the green slits, as they are a nice clean visual and the green color theme is pretty nice.

I don't hate D20 live either, but here is where I start getting a lot more nitpicky with the posters. Good things first - that title is really easy to read, and I like how the composition sort of mirrors the first Fantasy High poster. The prominence of Live highlights the unique live show element, which is a nice advertising move.

However, I really hate the entire right half of the poster. Brennan's got a real weird expression on his face - almost looks like he's playing Robert Moses or some sort of shitty businessman, which is not really applicable to this season that's a lot more about fantasy and mythical religion.

They've included all the cool new character art but completely covered it up by Brennan's giant body, and made that worse by surrounding him and Adaine's orb with light that makes it harder to see the art (I can barely see Gorgug's beautiful face...). This is especially frustrating when they have SO much free space on the left, and the totally squished right side.

Now we get to Escape from the Bloodkeep, which (and rightfully so) won the poll. I think from purely a design perspective it is absolutely the worst poster. The title is such a similar color to Brennan's shirt that it's very difficult to read, he's once again covering up a bunch of squished together character art, and there's the giant boring background of nothingness.

However, and I haven't watched Escape from the Bloodkeep so this is a lot of guessing on my part, it does feel like the right tone for the season. The red feels angry and villainous, Brennan feels like the right sort of Evil DM for this evil little world, and the expression is pretty fun. You may have noticed that this is only poster 4 of 5, and so this one is actually not my least favorite, but my second most, and this is why. The poster is pretty unappealing design, but it fits, and it prepares people for the season.

Finally, let's answer your question and say - I really do not like the Unsleeping City poster.

My design critiques follow some of the same design themes as before - Brennan is covering up key characters, the title is partially covered up by Brennan and less prominent than I feel it should be, and Brennan's once again been weirdly washed out. They also pretty obviously edited his shirt to be purple, which takes up so much space.

However, the thing I'm angriest about design-wise is that they have an absolutely GORGEOUS piece of art for the background and lettering for the title that is COVERED BY EVERYTHING ELSE! The colors used are incredible (the character art is great on its own but does not match), the stars and rendering are beautiful (which we can see some of but not what's below), and you can't see the upside down city! For a season called the Unsleeping City! Why can't we see the City!!!

I also personally feel like the vibe from all the characters and Brennan don't feel quite right for this season. All their poses feel very goofy comedy (a la Tiny Heist), but to me this season felt a lot darker and more human, especially compared to the earlier more comedic seasons. There was of course plenty of comedy this season, but I felt like some of those most notable things about it were all the mystical magic and tense human moments, which do not come across in this poster. I may be misremembering the season, but it just doesn't seem like it fits to me.

Tl;dr Unsleeping city is my least favorite even though Escape from the Bloodkeep is probably a worse design - because they covered up some cool art and it doesn't feel like it fits the season. An addendum: I have procrastinated this for so long for no good reason. I tried to start this a long long time ago and had no such luck. I really enjoyed writing all this and don't want to just delete it, so I'll leave my half finished bullshit under the cut. It's mostly just a lot of self-indulgent attempts at analysis. Read it if you want, this is mostly here for me.

Ok ok. First off apologies for how long this has taken to post I was inflicted by the horrors (first finals and then just some regular old mental blocks). But oh BOY do I have opinions on this !!!!! Buckle in everyone cause I'm gonna make this post MUCH longer than it needs to be!

So firstly this ask is referring to this post of mine, in which I critique some old dimension 20 promotional posters, and do a poll for which one is the worst. Escape from the Bloodkeep won, which is incredibly fair it's absolutely horrible and second worst in my opinion, however I do not think it's the worst. I've decided to drag this out as long as possible,

Chapter 1: What makes a promo image good?

I know I just decided to split this post up with Chapter titles but we're gonna also split up this section, since I think there's two separate parts of what makes a promo image good - delineated by the two words 'promo' and 'image'.

For the 'promo' part to be good the season needs to be accurately advertised. We need to be able to get the vibe of the season, to feel the kind of energy and appeal it's going to have, and we want to highlight some of the important parts of it. Take the Ravening War promo picture - it's dark and moody and dramatic. Then we've got Matt front and center, of course since he's the DM but also since his presence is a huge marketing point - he's even allowed to cover up the title! The newest DnDrag poster is also (I assume, since it's not out yet) pretty good at this. It's full of bright pink and strong colors and their poses really get across that fab drag aesthetic. They've also put the drag queens ahead of Brennan, since their presence is the big selling point of the season, and highlighted the fun play-on-words title.

Next, for the 'image' part to be good, it should look visually appealing. There should be a nice layout and composition - things that are more relevant should be made prominent and put center or at one of the thirds, and elements should work well together. Also, if there is text, the colors should be chosen so that it is readable, especially important text. The Seven is my favorite example of this. They've got all the silhouettes nicely laid out to form that curve shape.There's some extra free space around the edges which are less important, while the center has the larger characters and the title so that it's more filled in. All the silhouettes have distinct shapes which makes it easy to tell who is who and pull apart the elements. The text is INCREDIBLY easy to read, with the bright pink outline on Seven creating the color contrast that it's important for readability (I'm a bit of a nerd about color contrast and the WCAG guidelines), and that combined with the huge font really highlights that word and its prominence. The weapon through Seven provides a nice thematic touch, and adds to that visual prominence.

Chapter 2: The Uncanny

[d0d0-b0i]

(SPOILER FILLED) alrighty, time for some more cohesive thoughts on prime for me (since my last one was written directly after finishing it and now its had time to sit in my brain) (long post btw, i ramble @w@)

overall, i very much enjoyed it! the animation had me positively salivating over the fact that its /actually/ using animation techniques and not just. moving characters from A to B without the time for proper stylization. the overall plot was enjoyable and i am excited to see what the rest of the season will offer.

the fact that it is only one-third of the whole season also makes me a lot more forgiving about certain flaws i found at first, like only showing three worlds and not giving the characters a lot of time to breathe. theres the very high likelihood that such a thing actually will happen, and we might even see more places and worlds, which is an exciting thought! nonetheless, going in i did not know this as i was sleep deprived and had forgotten how many episodes the season has, so i felt a little bit salty, ngl.

Devon Mack does a very good job as sonic, and it makes me feel warm inside hearing his portrayal! every actor does a great job honestly, and it truly feels like they all understand the respective character they voice act(especially considering they have to acclimate the character /and/ voice for each new world. very talented!). the eggman voice actor could use some rerecords at times honestly;; but he does a good enough job that i only notice it sometimes; and he is fun to listen to regardless, and is just a subjective thought of mine.

the different universes also intrigue me! :D i really enjoyed the first one the jungle one was interesting and had beautiful flora models, but it is with this one that a problem of mine arises (but ill get to that later). the waterworld was also interesting, but kind of boring worldwise, since its just. water. (i get that its a pirate world and thats fine! i just cant give a good description of my feelings besides just. water. yknow?)

ive seen that a lot of people think rouge shouldve been the captain in the third world and. honestly. yeah. i think we might get to see why later on? but idk. i hope they have a reason that makes sense as to why she isnt, like if the worlds stick around and dont fuse back, shed be the next captain? weh! (i do love knuckles in a captains outfit though, so bonus points for that!)

now. i only have a few “criticisms”, and although some can be attributed to not being intended for me(and i will therefore not include cus. duh), there is one thing i just cannot let slip by.

(CRITIQUE START) the issue i have is that it feels so empty. new yolk (i refuse the yoke) is populated, but later episodes only really reuse the same five models roughly multiple times and i think had at most like 30? of them at the same time, and obviously could not have had more due to budget and such (which is understandable, but that still doesnt mean i cant point it out).

the jungle episodes! THE JUNGLE EPISODES?? ONLY HAD 5?? CHARACTERS MINUS SONIC (froggy counts) AT ALL TIMES?? and even the flashbacks only show those, probably so as not to imply death but like. come on. not even a few background characters at all? am i meant to believe they will all die out anyway simply by being the last people on this earth? im sorry i just cant get over this. you can make sean mcloughlin, mr jacksepticeye, get a cameo and his own personal character model, BUT CANNOT EVEN FILL A JUNGLE WITH PEOPLE?? did i miss something? if theyd shown even /one/ bg character once in a single frame in the flashbacks, id forgive it but i. cannot. im sorry. im nitpicking but come on! this is like the only issue i have. you only have 11 of the original characters in the first place (sonic. tails. knuckles. amy. rouge. big. froggy. shadow. eggman. orbot. cubot.), and then half of them are pretty much gone most of the time.

i just. its so empty? DO NOT GET ME WRONG I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS. I DEEPLY ENJOY THIS SHOW! I LOVE THE CHARACTERS WEVE GOTTEN TO SEE !!! THAT DOES NOT MEAN I CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT SOMETHING I HAD TROUBLE PROCESSING. if its gonna be a show about sonic and his friendships. where the fuck are the rest of them? is all we’re gonna get homages to their characters? (jungle knuckles was just sticks. come on now. just put her in shes already canon to the mainline games now) sega, if youre going to make a show about his friendships, why wont you let his friends be there? why can you only license 11 of your characters to the show? please make me eat my words.

and yeah you could say that the reasons others arent there (in-canon, not because of legal issues) is because they werent hit close-up with the prism shatter, but neither was big? he was shown to be down by the hills when it exploded, and i dont know if that counts considering that orbot and cubot arent even in any episode besides the first one, and they werent visible in the blast, i do not know what the blast radius would be to affect anything else. eugh. idk man. this is like the ONE issue i have, and its so small it feels meaningless. yeah yeah the budget the tight grip on characters yadda yadda i get the reasons behind it but it still affects the endgoal and i should be allowed to point it out.                                                                                                                     (CRITIQUE OVER)

that being said. i am in love with the character designs! especially a big fan of sonics gloves and shoes in the pirate world. i fuck w/ that very much <3

anyway, thats it. show good. binge it if possible! we need netflix to know that we like this. and maybe theyll realize that one episode per week for this show would be perfect (im looking at you episode recaps)

[ladedanixie]

What are your thoughts on the new episode on helluva boss? The one with Mammon.

Hiya, thanks for the ask lovely anon. Love any excuse to talk about things I love. Also, sorry it took so long to get to this, its been a long week.

I'll put what I thought under the cut, cause I always get really wordy. What can I say, I got opinions.

Overall, I think it was a fantastic episode. Definitely more evidence, imo, that most of the better episodes in the show are usually ones with Vivzie as the main writer.

There is more to say about it. It's not perfect and while I do think its one of the best episodes of season 2, I think my favorite is still Oops. But episode seven is full of bops, and def trumps Oops in that regard. Don't get me wrong, "Look at This" is a great song.

My main critiques (or more like nitpicks) of the episode though lie mostly with Blitz's involvement and, this is more of something I have a show long issue with rather than just this episode, but the swiftness with which things are resolved. Also I have some issue Fizz continuing to do the clown contest was because he was scared of losing Ozzie.

I don't have much umbrage with Blitz being there. I mean I enjoy him and I like seeing his interactions with both Ozzie and Fizz. But, he didn't serve much more purpose other than as a sounding board for Fizz. Which ok, it works for the narrative, but its not super necessary to the episode. The flashback is great though and I adore seeing teen Blitz and Fizz.

I think if they really wanted Blitz there, there coulda been a bit more screen time attributed to them talking about the stalker. Maybe mentioning how bad that was in the past before the accident. And mention what it was like after. Cause aside from Ozzie, Fizz doesn't appear to have any other friends. But, we don't have the whole story yet. Of the in between of becoming Mammon's brand figure and meeting Ozzie. Or if that happened at the same time. Then again the Mammon episode is the longest episode thus far, and idk how much more runtime they could have spent to make any of that happen. Moreover, usually these things get revealed later on. I chalk things like that up to the understandable release schedule and the mostly episodic nature of the show.

I will mention another way to make Blitz a little more relevant, cause I did think this on my first watch, and I brought up it to a friend of mine, is have a small scene where he calls Ozzie. Like in the scene where Fizz runs to his dressing room and leaves Blitz, just linger on Blitz long enough to pull out his phone and make a call. Though, idk if that'd break the flow. Tbh in the end the Blitz thing is a nitpick and not a horrible thing. I like him there. I enjoy him supporting Fizz. I just think he wasn't super necessary. Especially since we don't see any growing pains of him and Fizz rebuilding their friendship.

As for why I take issue with the FizzOzzie thing. Let me clarify and say, I don't hate FizzOzzie. I love them in fact. Secondly, I don't think the reason is bad or needs to be cut. What I am saying is that on re-watches, I thought that that can't be the only reason for why Fizz stayed with Mammon. His feelings of inadequacy, of needing to be good enough began way before he met Ozzie. Yes I can see that feeding into him not feeling good enough for Ozzie as a result. But him admitting it because he would lose Ozzie feels idk I wish there was more build up to that aside from from sad faces in Oops.

Again Helluva Boss is great at hinting at things and setting things up via what we think are thrown away jokes. But it also is sometimes bad at giving certain ideas time to build up. (Like Unhappy Campers. The one hint we got for that was in Seeing Stars with Millie getting annoyed with Moxxie. ) Usually they are introduced in one episode and resolved in the same episode. Like Oops, and Blitz and Fizz made up so fast. At the time I argued it'd take time for them to get back to friendship, that it wasn't just resolved, there was more time to see that nuaced build back up to friendship, but the Mammon special happened and that didn't seem to happen. Again, I can chock that up to release schedule and episodic nature. And I admit Blitz and Fizz's friendship wasn't the focus of that episode. Opps was. But, that shouldn't be one episode. Ultimately I wish we had more insight or time or build up to why Fizz felt so inadequate. Cause it was clearly an issue since he was a teen. Either way, maybe my point might be moot later. But, I reserve the right to feel that way.

In the end, I loved the episode. Thought it was the funniest episode to date. Thought it had some of the best music to date. And had a lot of fun, cute, and thoughtful moments. It had great character development for Fizz. And I am now a huge Fizz fan. I liked him before. I love him now thanks to Oops and Mammon's special.

[viserya-firstofhername]

The unsung heroes of HOTD • prologue

So here is the thing.

I was planning to make this a singular post, but at this point I am at I don't even know how many names but surely above at least five dozen, so I shall instead jump into my nerd shoes, and shall make of it a series.

The premise is as follows: The writing room of HOTD this season to a large extent failed a rich and marvelous piece of modern media and especially so, the incredibly gifted teams who worked on its production. It saddens me deeply how we only focus on the bad, while we fail to reflect on the enormous amount of talent and hard work so many people put into it. It happened in 2019. It will be happening again.

So what are we to do about it? Whine, dine, overanalyze, scream, cry, laugh, eat cake, repeat the same three curses until D&D reincarnated show up in our mirror?

Yap Condal this, yap Hess that? Condemn Martin for the next damned ungodly reason? Some folk may chose to slander and throw vitriol at the writing team and while I might indeed in the future yap along mine own hopefully constructive criticism (because some is positively and absofuckinglutely in place), I respectfully disagree with this approach of consuming media; yap about the bad, overlook the intensely good.

I should also state that I am sometimes that person to critique the let-people-enjoy-things movement for their certain lack of media literacy, but tis a lack that is often visible in the hotd critical tag as well.

To that statement, I should add, I refuse to become an apologist for Hess or Condal (the latter - let us all for a moment remember and admit - was one of the last saving graces of the rubbish inferno that was GOT's last couple of seasons and if you disagree - here be your invitation to enter a discourse with me). I might in due time issue a detailed post in a mock Shakespearian lingo mixed with High Valyrian & rap rhymes, but the point of this post is:

I should much more delight in praising the talented people who 1000% broke their backs and their hard labor is very clearly visible, because such is the topic I prefer mine own time be invested in.

We all agree across the board (right?) the actors are phenomenal. More than, even. I would love to touch on that as well but it shall be later on. I am much more interested in discussing the production value, because I'm here for this medium with all senses. Thus, I plan to focus on the production teams in this small nerdy series, sharing thoughts hopes griefs and all, as a way to fill the void in my heart until we get episodes 2x09 and 2x10 (my humorous brief on that: here).

For chapter i, we shall be focusing on the casting department, led by one Kate Rhodes James, for she is pure professional peak, more so than Nina Gold, dare I say, and everything she and her team have done for HOTD is purely and utterly ethereal, otherworldly, three-eyed-ravenesque, phenomenal.

When shall this post be posted will be decided by mine own nerdy brain and whether or not it decides to pen a 6000 words essay on a topic I know next to nothing of (surely, I could delve into research and this might be a source of delay, I suppose you see the potential for issues there).

-

TLDR version: I just want to spell the names of the folks that showed up to work and did fucking brilliant, and marvel at a their masterful craftsmanship.

Disclaimer 1: I cannot stress the following enough: I do not lend my support to anyone who would cast shade and hate or outright criticize the opinions of others simply because they diverge from their own. If thou dost desire to experience the show by critiquing the writers, then by all means - you do you, i do me, and we shall be in courteous and merry accord to agree to disagree.

Disclaimer 2: I know just about nothing of producing cinema and tv. I have one (1) friend who works in the industry. Come at me with professional opinions - very very welcome.

If thou would like to follow this endeavor, thou can keep an eye on the #the unsung heroes of hotd tag, no need to follow my daily fulminations.

I've done and made my peace.

[irkimatsu]

Caught up on Hazbin Hotel! It's a fun ride! I don't have nearly enough words for it - there's someone in my circle way, way better at that when it comes to this - but I did want to ramble a little bit:

-Charlie. CHARLIE. I am about 60% here for Charlie. You could have told me nothing about this show besides "the Princess of Hell is basically a shoujo protagonist" and you would have gotten me from there. Is my love for Charlie proof of my namby-pamby hippie ways of love and kindness and forgiveness? Probably! But it's fine. I love Charlie. I want to know her dreams of redemption are possible. (Sometimes I really need to know that you really can be redeemed no matter how badly you've fucked up...)

-I'm also really loving Husk. How much is the personality and how much is the character design? No clue. (I'm a furry, baby~) He's a good straight man, though, and someone that most of this hotel's residents are gonna need, especially Angel. Glad I'm not the only one on the Husk/Angel train, looking forward to where that's going

-Sir Pentious is a pathetic baby man and I love pathetic baby men. (My main fandom is still an anime about six pathetic baby men, after all.) While there's other characters I care more about as a whole, I fully expect to be laughing my shit off every time this guy's on screen. Idiot. <3

-God damn the music is good, just as I expected after years of Helluva Boss. Standouts so far are "Poison" (obviously, even though that scene fucking hurt to watch - which isn't a complaint, it did what it was supposed to); "Stayed Gone" (Vox is such a petty bitch and damn do I see why a friend of mine favors Alastor, he's effective as hell); and "Loser Baby" (maybe because I literally just watched it and boarded the Husk/Angel train, but hey, it was fun, and a desperately needed cleanser after "Poison". You know "Poison" was rough when a cheerful song about how much your lives suck is a cleanser.) There hasn't been a dud yet, though! Gonna have to loop the soundtrack to commit everything to memory, though that might wait until the whole season's out. Don't want to not give later songs a fair shake because I was too busy looping the earlier ones.

-If I have to complain a little, I do admit to being lost on some things, and I don't know how much of that is "I'm supposed to be lost, they'll explain later", "I'm dumb and didn't absorb things properly", or "that was explained in side materials". I hope most of it is those first two and not the third - side materials are fun, but I do think the show should be able to stand on its own. Even with the pilot - is that on Amazon? I don't know because I watched the show, um, elsewhere. I have my doubts about it, though, since so much changed between the pilot and the main show, as it tends to happen with pilots. If it's not, that does feel like a bit of a problem, since I think this show has its best chance of success if someone sees it turns up in their recommended section, knows nothing about it but thinks it looks cool, and tunes in there. Treats for the dedicated fans are great, but continuity lockout makes it hard for newbies to care, and I'd rather this didn't turn into "well you're not a real fan because you didn't read all the side comics and blog posts". No elitism, please! Let people who don't live on the Internet enjoy the funny demon show, too!

-Twitter is annoying and my engagement with this show in public will probably be slim-to-zero because this show's hatedom is one of the most obnoxious I've seen in a long time. It's fine to hate the show, obviously, but god, all the reaching for straws to prove that everyone who watches this show is evil and supports all the crime in the world. It's okay, you don't have to like the violent Hell show where people say fuck. It's not for everyone. You don't need to prove you're better than everyone else for not liking it. It's fine, love, it's fine. Of course there's stuff to criticize, every show can be critiqued, but "it's gross for Niffty to make sex jokes because she's tiny"? Go away with that shit.

I hope at least some of this was coherent. Looking forward to more!

[jimmycarterghostland]

The Lorien Legacies series is awful

Firstly, I have to mention that Ella plot twist.

In the Lorien Legacies, Ella is revealed to not be a Number. It happens in The Fall of Five book. Yet in The Power of Six, Henri's letters says there was a Ten. The writers clearly forgot that. They forgot a lot of things.

Ella being a fake Number didn't even add anything interesting to the book series. It was such a forced plot twist that didn't matter, other than make Ella sad for a couple pages.

I desperately wish The Snark Theater could critique the Lorien Legacies books. I loved his posts about The Maze Runner books and why they were bad. He was hilarious, informative, and gave some great writing tips. The LL series is a gold mine for anyone interested in going into detail about bad books. There needs to be a Cinema Sins for books.

I was a former LL fan, but I got older, got better at writing and recognizing bad writing, and have read better books, so now the LL books don't intrigue me anymore. Especially now that I became a fan of the ASOIAF series. George RR Martin is a much better writer than the ghost writers who cooked up the LL series drivel.

ASOIAF has amazing character continuity, no out of character moments, little continuity errors(whereas the LL series has dozens of those), better writing in general, proper foreshadowing, etc. George RR Martin's works help me with my own writing. I'm a better writer because of him, and much of his stuff has inspired some things found in my current writing project.

Is there anyone out there who used to love the LL series but fell out of love with it? Anyone who recognizes how bad those books are? When I was younger and dumber, those books were everything to me. Now I wish they had been genuinely good.

The LL books jumped the shark in The Fall of Five. It's popularity was as its peak in The Rise of Nine, but by TFOF is when it started to get Game of Thones's later seasons bad. In retrospect, these books were always bad, but they were genuinely terrible starting from The Revenge of Seven and onwards.

The Fall of Five is when the books started noticably making no sense. Adam saw a blonde Garde girl as one of the nine Garde in his first novella, The Fallen Legacies. Then Five was revealed to be a brown-haired guy in TFOF. This is the moment when the series truly jumped the shark. It made no sense that Five was a girl, and it broke immersion badly.

That same book reveals that Ella wasn't a Number. Yet Henri said there was a Ten in his letter. WTF, right?

A big reason why the LL books are bad is the number of continuity errors. This is probably the worst aspect of the books. With such an extreme amount of errors, the reader's immersion is broken and they can't trust the books to tell a story that makes sense. A writer should never write a plot twist if it doesn't make sense. Five was revealed to be a boy, yet Adam saw a blonde girl who wasn't One in The Fallen Legacies. This is why readers expected Five to be a girl. Also, they remembered Sofia Garcia, who saved a man during an earthquake. She was mentioned in the first book.

In The Power of Six, Marina mentioned a supposed Garde in Bangladesh. This couldn't have been Eight, because he spent his days in India. It wasn't the other Garde either. And in The Fallen Legacies, Adam mentions a Mogadorian who got killed when he tried to kill one of the Garde children. The charm killed him. It was never revealed who this Garde was.

Ella saw a painting of Five in The Rise of Nine, throwing something at Mogs while being in a tree. This plot point went nowhere.

The LL books were such a mess. Clues went nowhere, and sometimes there were no clues or hints when there needed to be clues and hints. It was horrible.

Not only did the Ella being a fake Number not make sense, but it destroyed the amazing thrill I got while reading The Power of Six and liking how Ella met Elder Loridas when she was a baby. And how he sacrificed himself for her. Well, the writers ruined this by making all of that into a bullcrap lie. Ella never met Loridas. I was furious.

In one of the later books, Six and Marina refuse to torture or kill an evil Mogadorian named Phiri. Such a terrible out of character moment.

I wish George RR Martin had written these books. I would've absolutely loved to see that. The LL books are so bad. They're poorly written. And it becomes noticeable when you know what bad writing looks like. The I Am Number Four movie was bad, but so were these books.

[unmotivatedwrit3r]

Don't Mess With a Wayne

Damian Wayne x reader

college athlete!batfam AU

(A/N): This is inspired by Ari (@prettylittlebrownskingyal )'s Jason hockey AU which you can read here. Mine focuses on Damian, so the two aren't similar and this isn't exactly a series (though i could do other things in this verse in the future possibly) but the hockey thing, I got from her.

Also, I know nothing about hockey and this has merely mentions of the sport.

warnings: minor character injury, mention of injury to others

~

in this AU: Bruce played professionally and was a legend. He attended Gotham U and broke every hockey record in existence. Dick quit when he got to college then graduated with a bachelors and now teaches hockey to kids. Jason made it to pro and then was injured and had to leave, Tim played for MIT and then dropped it, and Damian is on track to go pro as well.

~

It’s later than you hoped it would be when you arrive at Damian’s apartment, and you wrap your arms tighter around yourself to try to stave off the Gotham winter chill. It isn’t even that late in the fall, but the temperatures are dropping quickly at night, and the days are getting shorter.

When you check your watch before knocking on the door, the illuminated screen says it's already nine pm. You feel kind of bad that you’re so late; you got caught up with work at the library. On the plus side, your essay is done and you just need to edit it before you hand it in.

You hear rustling behind the door before it opens inward, and you smile at Damian’s roommate as he opens the door. You like Jon very much; he and Damian have been best friends for years, and when he came into your life, so did Jon by default. He’s wilder and more lighthearted than Damian, plays baseball instead of Damian’s hockey, and is overall one of the sweetest people on the planet. You’ve met his parents —his mom is a world famous journalist and his dad plays professionally for the Metropolis baseball team— and they are some of the most genuine people you’ve ever met. You also know for a fact that Jon eats the weirdest food combinations and is pretty smart under all the funny he displays outright.

“Hey Jon.” You peer to the side of him, into the living room. Usually the TV is on at this hour, and either one or both of them is watching something on it, either their own game plays (whether to critique their own performances or watch each other’s games) or something more along the lines of action TV shows. “Where’s Damian?” Jon’s eyes widen at your question, and his facial expression contorts into one that tells you he knows something that you’re not going to be happy with Damian about.

“Did he not tell you?” he asks, backing into the apartment. You close the door quickly behind you as you follow him, eyes narrowing.

“Tell me what?” Jon retreats, heading towards the kitchen to pull out an ice pack. You’re pretty sure it’s not for him. Baseball season isn't even close to it’s start date, so unless he tripped down the stairs, (which has happened before, but he’s moving fine and there are no bruises on his arms) it’s for Damian, who just became the youngest Captain to date of the Gotham University hockey team a couple weeks ago. You cut off Jon’s path around the kitchen table. “What happened?”

Jon’s eyes don’t meet yours, instead looking at the tiled floor. You spare it a glance. One of his socks has a hole in it. “Jon, tell me. I’m not mad at you.” Jon sighs and hands you the icepack.

“I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone, and he should probably tell you. He’s in his room.” You nod and thank Jon, dropping your jacket and boots on the couch and the side of the door respectively before throwing your backpack back over your shoulder and grabbing the ice pack, heading to Damian’s room.

The lights are dim when you enter, and the light grey walls look darker then they usually do because of it. The room isn’t pitch black, though, so you can see that the only other person in the room is sitting on his bed, the TV on low volume in front of him.

Damian’s head turns towards you as you enter, and you stand by the light switch, closing the door softly behind you.

“Can I turn on the lights?”

“Sure.”

You push the dimmer switch up to full brightness and gasp when you see his face, rushing across the room to sit on his bed beside him. Damian’s lip is split in two places and a shiner decorates the underside of his right eye; a cut is held together by two butterfly bandages over his left eyebrow. He’s wearing a Gotham Paladins hockey t-shirt, probably one of his dad’s, and you can see a brace wrapped around his right elbow.

“Jeez, Dami, what happened?”

He winces as your thumb brushes over his split lip, your hand cradling his face.

“Couple of the bigger guys thought it would be funny to try and prove that a nineteen year old wasn’t meant to be captain.” He chuckles bitterly. “All they learned is not to mess with a Wayne.”

“You reported them, right?” Damian shrugs.

“I reported the so-called brains behind their plan. The others were just followers. Took a couple cheap shots and then ran when Harris went down.”

You run the name through your head. Harris is a large, mean senior who thought he was on track to lead the team that year, before Damian took the Captain title. He did have a bit of a following of younger players, but more and more had been pulling away since Damian became Captain, and the practices had been running better than ever before.

“What happened?” you ask, handing Damian the ice pack before you stand up to put your backpack by his desk chair, plugging your computer in on the desk. “What did they do to you?”

Damian shrugs. “Grabbed me, tried to force me down.” He lifts the shoulder to the arm with the bandage on the elbow. “It’s sprained.” Damian winces as the cold pack meets the bruise on his face. “I’m sure it was an attempt at intimidation.”

“And?” you ask, hoping for the answer of what he did to them in turn.

“Tt. Didn’t work, obviously.”

You can’t help but huff a laugh. “I know it didn’t. I didn’t think it would. I was just wondering what you did to them.”

Damian laughs. “Harris is in the hospital, if that’s what you were asking about. Black eye, broken wrist, and possibly bruised ribs, I can’t be sure. The rest of them took one good punch each before running. And even if Harris could play the season, there’s talk of expulsion, and he’s off the team.”

You shrug, walking back to the light switch to lower the brightness back to where it was before returning to Damian’s bed to sit beside him. “He deserved it, though. The guy’s an ass.”

Damian smiles at you, and a bloom of warmth shoots through your chest. He doesn't smile often, usually only in front of you or Jon or his family on rare occasions, and you think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. “He is.”

You tuck Damian’s back against your chest and feel his head come to rest against your shoulder.

“But if you ever withhold information that involves your well-being from me again, you will regret it, you understand?”

You can hear Damian’s smirk in his words, but you both know you're not entirely joking. “Yes, of course, beloved.”

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Here’s the transcript of an interview LB did a couple of weeks ago. Be prepared to be annoyed at her not knowing wtf she’s taking about but pretending she does especially in the Darkling and the decision to make Alina half Shu sections:

https://www.penfaulkner.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Literature-on-Screen-Shadow-and-Bone-Transcript.pdf

So there were a few bits in this interview that I want to talk about. I am going to shock you here and say there were actually parts of this interview where I agree with what LB says and gave me the tiniest bit of hope. But before you get too worried its the parts where she is talking about season 2 and her involvement in the show and writing process. Here is what she said when asked what her involvement in season 2 is:

With season two, I've been able to be a little bit more involved in casting, costumes, production design, meeting with directors.

Then I think I am going to step back. I'm not going to be as involved in reading the scripts. I think at this point, we are going to be diverging quite a bit more, and it's all I can say. I really cannot say more than that. I'm about to be descended upon by Netflix assassins. For me, there has to be a moment of saying, “This doesn't belong to me anymore.” The books are mine, they will always be on the shelves, and this has its own life now.

She also said something similar a little later in the interview when talking about changes between the books and the show and how she got negative reactions to saying the show was like an expensive fanfiction:

Which to me is like, "Why are you so mad about fanfiction? It's amazing, first of all. Second, all adaptation is fan fiction. That's what it is. All adaptation is fan fiction." To me, this is the way adaptation should work, where you keep the core and you keep the heart, but you're allowed to play. Otherwise, you cannot ask, I think, a group of smart writers, talented directors, amazing actors to simply transcribe. I don't think that's exciting for anyone.

That funny thing about that second statement about tv adaptions basically being fanfiction is I said it myself in a post a while back. It does seem like LB is more open to changes from her book and it also looks like she is not going to be as involved with the writing process for season 2, we also have heard in other interviews that they are going to be diverting away from the books in the next season, whether that is a good or bad thing is yet to be seen but I do think it is a good thing that LB is taking a step back from the show, as she herself said the books are hers and they will always be there so the show should be the show and it should be allowed to have a life of its own. I've said before but I prefer it with tv adaptions if they don't follow the books because to me that's more exciting than if I know exactly what is coming next, I like to be surprised.

Something else I learned from this interview is this:

Eric Heisserer, he is our showrunner on Shadow and Bone season one and in season two he'll be co-show running with Daegan Fryklind who is one of the wonderful writers from season one.

So from a google search I found out that Daegan was the writer for episode 6 and episode 8. Again whether its a good or bad thing that she'll now be co-running the show with Eric I don't know but it is still an interesting bit of information and I'll take any info I can get on season 2.

However whilst I was feeling optimistic about everything LB was saying about season 2 and was actually kind of impressed at how she seemed to have let go a bit and was happier with the idea of changes from the books than she seemed in the past, but she then said this:

Petra: Following on from that, actually, somebody is asking, and I know you've said that the story is going to diverge from the books in future seasons, do you – Let's assume this is a spoiler too but I'm going to ask it anyways, and you can tell me to get lost. Do you want the shows and the books to end in the same place, the same way?

Leigh: Yes I do. [laughs] Yes, I do. Look, I wrote the books the way I wrote them for a reason, and that – I haven't seen any sense that that is going to change at all, but there are certain things that I know if we get to move forward will change because we'll want to see these characters continue in their adventures. Also because there's a finality to some things that happen in the books that then is sort of undone in later books, I'm really being abstruse here, but I guess my point is there are certain things that are essential to me that stay the same and certain things that I don't care. You learn which things and, fortunately, I've been on the same page with the writers from moment one.

Just no, please no, no, no. This I just don't understand ok. LB and the showrunners/writers must be aware of how unpopular the ending of her books were right? I mean I've seen an interview where LB herself says that she was aware that the ending was controversial amongst fans and that many of them were angry at the ending. You could put up a good argument that it was the thing people hated the most about her original trilogy, the ending. So why on earth would she or the showrunners want to keep that ending? Like any part of it? I mean she says there are some things she doesn't care if they are changed and others she thinks are essential they keep and unfortunately I feel like it most likely Alina losing her powers that she wants to keep and that for me was the worst part of the ending. To be honest it kind of makes me really wary about continuing with the show because I don't want to get invested in the show just to be really let down by the ending. Also if that many book readers didn't like the ending what do they think is going to happen when the tv viewers see that ending, its likely going to be game of thrones 2.0.

As you predicted some of the things she said about the darkling and Alina being half Shu did annoy me. I feel like with Alina being half shu she just sort of glossed over the question which the interviewer brought up the critique that she had wished that they had explored Alina's Shu heritage outside of just the racism she faces and dive deeper into that which LB just basically said they will be exploring more about what it means for Alina to be Shu and Ravkan in season 2. I will say I do hope that they do cover more of the other cultures particularly the Shu culture as we got to know a little about the fjerdan culture through Matthias but we know very little about the Shu culture.

As for the darkling I am not going to go too much into it because its not really anything new I'm just resigned to the fact that LB and I are always going to have different opinions on his character and not to sound too harsh but I don't really care what her opinion or views are anymore. One thing I will point out though is this little tidbit:

Leigh: Look, there's never been a problem creating sympathy for the Darkling. This is a very beloved character, sometimes to my great frustration.

I mean this is nothing us darklinas didn't already know but the next time an anti says that LB never had a problem with people liking the darkling/darklina show them this interview where she openly admits that she found it frustrating. I do kind of feel for her I guess it must be frustrating to write a villain that you meant for everyone to hate only for them to become the most loved/popular character in your series.

[baldwinboy5ive]

A few scattered Hawk, Johnny, and Demetri thoughts and headcanons 

How Hawk Will Atone in Season 4

This is a dumbass joke I shared this with some friends outside of tumblr, but I needed to save this for posterity, so I’m posting this here as well even though it’s hilariously outlandish. All because I saw this comment and couldn’t stop laughing about it: 

But it turns out this conversation was happening at the same time as a discussion about Johnny’s and Demetri’s heights, and I pointed out Demetri is actually taller. We were talking about how, especially after critiquing Kreese’s tattoo, Demetri needs to insult Terry as well. Demetri goes up against Terry Silver, annoys the shit out of him, calls the earring tacky, you know - just Demetri doing his little Demetri things, hahaha. Then Hawk swoops in, swiping a sharpened sai from the Cobra Kai dojo wall - Stingray pops out of nowhere just to remind everyone that it’s Raphael’s weapon - and Hawk brandishes it over Terry Silver. It probably looks something like the imagery on the Narmer Palette, which shows the king grasping the head of a conquered enemy by the hair, and raising a mace in the other hand to strike him with, a picture of complete dominance.  

Hawk then leaps at Terry and slices the sai across his neck offscreen. (I recall it was @phoomwhoosh​ who reminded me that the hawk screech sound effect has to be played here, as well.) Next thing you see is Hawk victoriously brandishing the ponytail and yelling in triumph, holding it up for everyone to see, and all of the other students cheering him on, with Terry slumped on the ground, defeated and humiliated. 

Hawk goes up to Daniel-san, reverently lays the ponytail at his feet, and says with a bow, “For atonement, for what I did to your dojo, and for stealing your sensei’s Medal of Honor.” 

Daniel: “........................ you did fucking what now” 

“Babes means babes.” 

“Babes” is gender-neutral. I love the notion of bisexual-even-if-he-doesn’t-even-know-that-word Johnny Lawrence just calling any hot person a babe. He thinks Daniel LaRusso’s a babe. He told Hawk at Valley Fest that the flashiest way to show off the board breaking was to “pull the hottest babe onstage and make them hold it” (Hawk listened). 

Daniel: “Johnny, when you constantly say that you hooked up with plenty of ‘babes,’ do you mean men and women, or -?”

Johnny: “Babes means babes, LaRusso, don’t be weird about it.” 

Just Hawk

Not sure if this is just another dumb joke of mine or a realistic headcanon, but I say Johnny doesn’t actually know Hawk’s real name. Maybe this is realistic, though? Which is sad. I mean, he ignored that kid so much. And I genuinely think it might actually be possible that Johnny never had a single kid fill out paperwork, and only Kreese had them do it once he stepped in (he mentioned Tory’s) and took care of administrative things like paying Johnny’s bills and the like. (Oddly enough, Johnny does know Demetri’s name. Not sure why, but he does.) 

Speaking of names:

The Assassination of Eli Moskowitz by the Coward Demetri Nolastname 

Really, most of the things I desperately want for season 4 are not going to happen, so I’ll just lower all my expectations and just wish for this one single thing: please give us Demetri’s last name. I need to know it! 

Important note: I do not think of Demetri as an actual coward, this is just the same damn dumbass joke I’ve been recycling for years now, starting from way back when I said “The Assassination of Greedo the Rodian by the Coward Han Solo.”

And a tangent: I’ve never even seen that movie, but after hearing Martin Kove talk so much about his love for Westerns I’m kind of interested, haha. 

Demetri’s Future

This one comes straight from @idontknowkaratebutiknowcrazy​ and I love it so much that I have majorly latched onto it: Demetri becomes a standup comic when he’s a little older. The credit for this idea goes fully to her! And it truly is an amazing idea. @idontknowkaratebutiknowcrazy​ also suggested Demetri becoming a comic book creator, which I also love so much, but he could be both! Because whatever he ends up doing, he can definitely do standup on the side. And, man, I just rewatched The Assassination of Eli Moskowitz by the Coward Demetri Nolastname (again: not actually a coward) and his delivery is SMOOTH as silk. He’s so good. And obviously very engaging with the crowd. 

If only I could write fics, I’d love to write this one: Demetri starts finding some success after awhile, and his binary boyfriend Eli attends some of his sets, and they both watch a lot of other comics because of Demetri being in that world now. Some of them kill, some of them bomb, and some are just average. Demetri does all three, sometimes all in the same night. Eventually, Demetri has a big night where he headlines a show, and a bunch of their friends come, along with their senseis. Demetri spends a good portion of his set roasting Sensei Lawrence. (The man spent years listening to and following orders from a dude with an inaccurate cobra tattoo, for crying out loud - round pupils, REALLY.) Sensei LaRusso loves it. Eli’s so proud of how well Demetri did in his headline show, but because Sensei Lawrence was in attendance too, Eli says to everyone else later: “I’ve never seen someone kill that hard, and then be killed that hard after the show.” 

Hawk’s Just a Simple Man, Trying to Make His Way in the Dojo

Hawk’s trying to figure himself out. He has a bit of an identity crisis when he’s in the transition period between Cobra Kai and Eagle Fang/Miyagi-Do/Whatever the Fuck, and is still figuring out who he is, and whether or not he still does or does not like Nerd Shit. Even more confusing is: does Star Wars count as Nerd Shit? It’s pretty nerdy, yeah, but is it really Nerd Shit when it’s so popular and almost everyone watches at least the main movies? 

And Johnny was really at the actual perfect age for watching Star Wars when it came out. Look, I don’t care how much the guy rewatches Iron Eagle on a loop, Star Wars was a cultural juggernaut when it happened (and never went away) and - really, I don’t care who you are, Star Wars is for everybody. I’m even hearing Johnny’s voice in the bit where he goes “It doesn’t matter if you’re a freak, or a nerd, or a loser... all that matters is that you become badass!” 

It DOESN’T matter! It doesn’t matter if you’re a freak, a cool popular kid, a loser, a weirdo, a nerd, a normal everyday average joe, or anything at all really - you can watch and like Star Wars, haha. 

Sure, maybe Johnny didn’t watch many, if any at all, of the movies past the original trilogy, but here’s another headcanon. He really enjoyed at least the OT, and once Hawk and Demetri find out, it starts to crack at the walls Hawk put up around himself about all the Nerd Shit. He still isn’t sure whether it’s okay to like Star Wars because it’s cool, or whether it’s okay to like Star Wars because he really is still into all that nerd shit... but then Hawk eventually comes to terms with all of it by realizing that it doesn’t actually matter what kind of labels get put on all of this. After all, Sensei Lawrence doesn’t care that much, despite how much he throws words like “loser” around. To him, it was just a cool movie. (Later, when Hawk gets much more comfortable in his own skin, then he can enjoy the truly nerdy shit like Clone Wars and Rebels ahahaah.) 

So far, they didn’t really do too many of these kinds of training exercises on the show, but Mr. Miyagi blindfolded Julie Pierce and trained her to use her other senses. Perhaps Daniel got some of that training off-screen too, and begins to teach it to the students. They all start with a kata and blocking drills with their eyes closed. Hawk has some trouble at first, and it’s actually Johnny who says “If you keep opening your eyes, I’m gonna come over there and put a bucket on your head like Obi-Wan did to Luke. And we used that bucket for washing the cars for like the hundredth time.” 

“Sensei, you know Star Wars?!” Hawk says incredulously. 

And then it’s everyone else who’s incredulous: who the fuck doesn’t know Star Wars? 

And that’s how that all began. 

[sicklyscribe]

y’all thought I forgot about this one

a good (3) of you really wanted this meta and well. It’s been like. Four years? Anyways. 

‘Stolen Dance’ was on the radio today and it makes me think of Klaus and Care, because I get it mixed up with ‘Dangerous’ and that’s my song for them. Also, Stolen Dance has a line that I THOUGHT was ‘Stolen Paradise’ and it’s ACTUALLY ‘stoned in paradise’ so I USED to get K/C vibes from that. Anyways. Whenever I think of that ship I think of @hairzier, and I remembered that I had given her a teaser of this meta a while back. Before I got home, I had FINALLY constructed a thesis (wow amy what a nerd) for this analysis that I’d tried to write FOREVER ago, but it didn’t have a central focus and it was way too bogged down with me trying to find one as I went along. 

Don’t know what the hell I’m talking about?

The meta is this: Klaus as an artist + Klaus’ relationships with three featured women in his life circa 2010′s. If you came to the fandom late or haven’t ever seen my username, hi, I used to write a ton of TO meta, I Don’t Do Ships Really At All For It. At least, not the ‘big’ ones. I digress. Just -- don’t expect me to bash or gush over any ship, I’m gonna compliment and critique them all. Please avoid or read on accordingly <3

Caroline: The Art

I tried to find my write-up for Sahar from ages ago, because it was clear and concise and exactly what I intended. Oh well. Once more. 

Shippers and Antis pretty much love it and hate it for the same reason: Klaus is so different around her. Well, that and it’s either empowering for Caroline or abusive. Depends on perspective. I am firmly in the camp that every relationship in Klaus’ life during this time period is abusive in some way. What he does to Caroline is particularly messed up, but also particularly kind, in turns. The lightness and puppy-love-ness of Klaus around her was so jarring, is so jarring, because he doesn’t display that behavior for anyone else. He allows himself to be foolishly partial to her, but he also seems to only have selective guilt for the horrors he subjects her to. As a viewer who will bend over backwards to create complexity rather than label something ‘bad writing’, I found that Klaus’ relationships, especially with women, especially with Caroline, are steeped in his relationship with art. 

To Klaus, Caroline is an exquisite work of living art. Pleasing to the eye, challenging to his thoughts, but benign -- safe, and static. More than wanting to ‘own’ her, though, I believe he wants to join her. Make himself into something that compliments her colors and her lines, because the experience of interacting with art is one of the purest joys Klaus knows. In this way, he intimately analyzes her life and feelings, he inserts himself into her narrative, he plays a part that he enjoys -- maybe one, at times, he truly wishes was not a performance. In this way, he adores her, he respects her, but not really as a person, and certainly not as an equal. He values every moment with her, treasures it; lets himself get drunk on it. She’s the Mona Lisa, living, breathing, and bold enough to insult him to his face. When she breaks the frame he makes for her -- when she really challenges him in ways only a person can -- he can only retreat, and lash out. 

And ask for forgiveness with acts of kindness, or material value (he even, incredibly, uses his art to soften her to him, on more than one occasion) -- trying to shift her attention as if she can forget his abuses.  In all: he wants her to enrich his life, not change it. 

Hayley: The Clay

(Or the canvas, or materials, or what have you.)

One of Hayley’s first scenes with Klaus sets her up as a direct foil to Caroline: 

Klaus: Painting is a metaphor for control. Every choice is mine-- the canvas, the color. As a child, I had neither a sense of the world nor my place in it, but art taught me that one's vision can be achieved with sheer force of will. The same is true of life, provided one refuses to let anything stand in one's way.

Hayley: So this is your thing-- show a girl a few mediocre paintings, whine about your childhood, and I swoon and spill all my dirty secrets?

Hayley doesn’t want to see him as a person. Klaus doesn’t really want to see her as a person, either. Eventually, he learns that he has to respect her as a mother, at least, or he will not deserve his daughter. Eventually, he learns to see her as family. But at the core, and I don’t think he ever loses this -- he sees Hayley as his work-in-progress. Potential. Not only to be a strong ally, but to be -- just maybe -- an equal.

Which is annoying for him, because she also happens to be the only person he cannot reliably control, or predict. His only choice is to try to shape her into someone that he can work with. That someone is himself, mostly, but with some key improvements. His tone with her is so often instructive, mentor-ly, a thin veneer above his need for her to be someone he doesn’t have to worry about, damn it! He can understand her so why can’t he control her! 

This kicks into gear, mostly, after Hayley’s transformation. She estranges herself from Elijah, somewhat, and Klaus does not interfere with her spiral into blood and rage because it’s part of the process. He sees himself in her, but not like he saw himself in Marcel. His perspective on Marcel was so tied to fatherhood that he was trying to raise a young Klaus, while in Hayley’s case, he is trying to sculpt her in his image. 

His advice on how to deal with rage, vengeance, and wildness is sincere and from personal experience. His advice on what to do about love? Well, certainly stay with Elijah while it’s convenient for me, but don’t let love blind you to what you need. What we need. What I need. Don’t tell Jackson you slept with my brother -- honesty won’t keep this vital political alliance strong. Don’t forget you’re one of us now. It’s what I would do. 

I guess you could even say that Hayley, while pregnant, was a very different kind of work-in-progress for Klaus that made it near-impossible for him to see her as anything but a thing meant to be changed or cause change. Art, unfinished, and his. 

Camille: The Critic

All of these relationships are unique and powerful in their own ways. I admit I’m partial to the poetry of this one, the radicalness of this one, but again, I don’t really ship it as a romance? Maybe I do, now that I’ve had time away from it, but I don’t ‘stan’ it as ‘otp’. 

This one is obvious. Their ‘art’ scene is straightforward, and kind of cliche. A woman watches a street artist fill a huge canvas. Another passerby notices, and stops to ask her what she thinks. She floors him with her response -- so insightful, so bold, and so compassionate. The clever bartender that Marcel has a crush on just so happens to be a psychologist -- and, he learns later, with a particular, personal empathy for violent and cruel offenders. 

He feels a unique desire to be seen by her, and to be considered by her, in his entirety. Not that he does not want to control what she knows -- obviously -- but that he does not want to put on a single, convenient mask with her to accomplish his ends. He wants to be known, and he wants to know what she thinks of him. 

Again, he does not want any of this to touch him, or change him, really. He begins his Gallery Of Self not by making a therapy appointment but by ‘hiring’ (forcing) her to transcribe his biography (and making her forget everything she knows the moment she leaves his sight). This is safe, and it lets him bring out the masks and the goals and the good and the ugly of him and air them for her reaction. Will he, too, be worthy of empathy? 

Yes. But he’s also worthy of critique. Eventually, he takes baby steps to allowing her to impact his life (to varying degrees throughout all seasons that, in my opinion, make for a shamefully circular set of arcs on the writers’ parts. The point is I saw where they were trying to go with it, and letting Drama of the Week get in the way). Eventually, he makes real appointments. Tells himself he needs to change, somewhat, for Hope’s sake. 

And Camille is the kind of strong, confident woman he can imagine Hope to someday resemble. He wants his daughter to be free from the cycles of Mikaelson abuse, and he wants her to know goodness and have no reason to be evil. And if he is to do that, and if he is to know that Hope, then someone like Camille should be able to look at him and deem him capable. Worthy. Warts and all. He’ll spend time with her because he likes her, because he’s attracted to the beauty in her heart (like Caroline!) -- but he opens himself to her scrutiny because for once in his life he knows he has to change for the better. He knows he has to get help, and, well, the clever bartender seemed to fall into his life at exactly the right time to take in all of his decades and all of his deeds -- piece by piece, movement by movement, style by style, and understand them. Critique them. Maybe with that in mind he can make himself into a work that he can one day show to Hope. 

With that in mind, I can’t help but have a soft spot for those cheesy lines from the very first episode.

Klaus: Do you paint?

Cami: No, but I admire. Every artist has a story, you know.

Klaus: And what do you suppose his story is?

Cami: He's...angry. Dark. Doesn't feel safe and doesn't know what to do about it. He wishes he could control his demons instead of having his demons control him. He's lost. Alone.

Cami: Or maybe he just drank too much tonight. Sorry. Overzealous Psych major.

Klaus: No. I think you were probably right the first time.

@florafaunaandeldritchhorrors @ptonkin @furrydolphin @jungshoook (DID YOU ABANDON THE KLEBEKAH URL REDIRECT????? MOM??????!?!!?!??!?!??!?!!?!!?!??! I JUST CHECKED AND IT’S NOT THERE ANYMORE???? I NEED TO *MOURN* AND YOU JUST DIDN’T *TELL* US??!)

[10nant-obsessed-writer]

Somewhere Only We Know: Alec Hardy x Reader

Warnings: N/A, it’s pretty much a fluff fic

Word Count: ~4.55 K

Sidenote: This is the first fic I’m posting for this blog. It’s just one of many works in progress. It’s loosely based off the song Somewhere Only We Know by Keane. The fic is taking place in the 3rd season timeline for Broadchurch where Alec and his daughter are having their issues. You’re also going to see a softer side of Alec, who only wants to be a good dad and wants someone to love and be loved by. So enjoy everyone! Critique is always appreciated and if you want to be on a taglist (permanent or for a specific character) please let me know. Happy Reading!

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

Detective Inspector Alec Hardy is very hard to get to know. We’ve gone on a few dates over the course of a few months, that’s of course when he’s managed to take some time away from work. I do like the man and I like to think that he likes me too, except he has a hard time showing that. I see his daughter Daisy every day since I’m one of her teachers, so I’ve been trying to get her to spill a few details about her dad without her knowing that’s what I’m doing, but I’m also just trying to be there for her because I know she needs an adult to look up to.

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

The bell for the beginning of free period just rang and that happens to be the last period of the day. Daisy stays behind and spends part of her free period with me because as of late there have been a few boys messing with her.

I said, “Dais you want to tell me what’s going on?”

She said, “not really no. Nothing’s changed, they still won’t leave me alone.”

I said, “have you told your dad? He is the DI after all?”

She said, “no. I don’t really see my dad very often. He’s always at work.”

Oh, don’t I know that sweetheart, don’t I know that.

I said, “I’m sorry. I know you wanted to finally have that bond with your dad.”

She said, “yeah. I think I’m going to move back in with my mum.”

Oh, sweet girl don’t do that. I know just how much that will kill Alec because she’s about all he ever talks about when we do see each other.

I said, “I think you should wait on that Daisy.”

She said, “I don’t know if I want to though Ms. Y/L/N.”

I said, “how about this: give it a week. If things don’t seem like they’re getting any better then we’ll talk again okay?”

She said, “I think I can do that. I’m not going to make you any promises though.”

I nodded my head and said, “that’s more than okay. I’m just glad that you will consider it. Now how about we leave early?”

She said, “I’m so ready to go and are you walking me home?”

I said, “that’s what I was thinking to do yes, so that I know you’re safe, and not being ambushed by those guys.”

She said, “oh okay. Yeah let’s go. Thank you though. I’ve never had someone take this much interest in me.”

I said, “oh you darling girl. I’ll always be here for you. You’re my favorite after all.”

She smiled and collected all of her things throwing them into her bag. I did the same. We walked out of the classroom, down the hallway, and exited the building.

As we were walking back to her house, we were stopped by her dad, who must’ve been on his way back to the station.

Alec said, “Dais what’re you doing?”

Daisy said, “oh um hi dad. I’m just walking home with Ms. Y/L/N.”

Alec said, “I see that and Y/N what’re you doing?”

I said, “walking Daisy home Alec.”

Alec said, “and why are you doing that?”

I said, “I will tell you later.”

Daisy gave me a look like please don’t tell him.

Alec said, “why don’t you both get in and I’ll drop you off at home Dais.”

We both got into the car. Daisy got in the backseat, so I was forced to sit in the passenger seat next to Alec. It was like a 5-minute drive to their house, where Alec dropped Daisy off.

Daisy said, “see you tomorrow Ms. Y/L/N and maybe I’ll see you sometime tonight dad” before turning and walking into the house.

Alec turned and looked at me. He said, “where to?”

I said, “take me home?”

He said, “I can do that. Now are you going to tell me what’s going on with Daisy?”

I said, “I don’t know if I can break her trust by telling you.”

He said, “please?”

I said, “if I tell you, you don’t say a word of this to Daisy and just wait for her to tell you these things on her own. Promise?”

He said, “right yes I promise. Just please tell me.”

I said, “basically there’s these guys who have been giving her a real hard time and have photos of her that they’re threatening to leak all over the school. Also, she wants to move back in with her mum.”

Alec said, “you mean to tell me that there’s these boys threatening my daughter with what I’m only assuming are nudes, and she doesn’t even want to live with me anymore.”

I said, “yeah” and looked down at my lap.

He fell silent and just nodded his head. I could tell it was taking everything in him not to break down into tears or go into protective father mode or both.

I looked up and said, “hey Alec look at me.”

He turned and looked at me.

I said, “I’m doing everything in my power to protect your daughter and keep her here with you. Why do you think I was walking her home today? I don’t want anything to happen to her either. She’s a bright girl with a beautiful future ahead of her.”

He said, “thank you. I know I’m not the easiest person to deal with, but I want you to know that I’m trying. I do wish she would feel like I would be there for her and that I’d do anything for her. Also, I’m sorry I haven’t been too engaging with you. We’ve been going on dates for the past few months, but I’ve yet to try and let you in.”

I said, “hey it’s okay. You take as much time as you need okay. I know you’re always caught up with work, so I don’t even mind. If anything, I should hope that you’d spend more time with Daisy than you do with me. She misses you; you know? She’s been staying in my classroom for free period and we’ve had a lot of heart to hearts. I mean today was the first time she ever mentioned she wanted to leave, but that’s not the point. She needs you Alec, and I know you would do anything for her because she’s all you usually want to talk about. I can wait, your job can wait, but I don’t think Daisy can.”

He said, “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but thank you. I will focus more on Daisy, but I also want to focus more on you too.”

I said, “I’m glad that you will focus more on Daisy because you both deserve that. I won’t stop you if you want to focus on me too if that’s what you want” and tried to hide the smile that was appearing on my face with my hand.

He said, “no you don’t. I want to see that pretty smile you have Y/N.” Then he took my hand in his.

We were turning down my street when he took my hand in his, so that I had no way to hide my smile. Alec pulled his car up front of my house a minute or so later.

I said, “well thank you for the ride home Alec.”

He said, “it was my pleasure Y/N. Do you think you’d like to come over to mine later tonight?”

I smirked and said, “that depends Detective Inspector Hardy, are you actually going to get off work at a reasonable time tonight?”

He said, “for you Y/N I think I might.”

Is he actively flirting with me right now?

I said, “well in that case, how could I say no?”

He said, “so should I pick you up on my way home then?”

I said, “yeah and you get to tell Daisy what I’m doing there.”

He said, “ugh okay I’ll go back home quick and explain everything and see if she’ll talk to me before I go back to work. I’ll see you later tonight then?”

I said, “it’s a date.”

Then I climbed out of the car and walked around his car so that I could walk into my house. I stopped in front of Alec’s rolled down window first. I leaned in and kissed him. The look of shock was so worth it when I pulled away.

I said, “bye Alec.”

He said, “until later Y/N.”

I walked away from his car and into my house.

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

Is this the place we used to love?

Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

It was about 6 hours later when I saw Alec pull up outside my house. It’s almost 10 o’clock. Damn he did get off relatively early for him. He got out of his car and walked up to my front door. I opened it before he could knock.

I said, “10 o’clock that’s fairly early for you there DI Hardy.”

He said, “yes, it is. Can I come in?”

I said, “yeah of course. Come on in.”

I moved out of the way, so he could walk into the house. I closed the door behind him. He walked into the front room and sat on the sofa. I went and sat down next to him.

I said, “I thought we were going round yours?”

He said, “yeah we are, I just wanted to talk to you before we do.”

I said, “okay?”

He said, “so I went back home and talked to Daisy after I dropped you off.”

I said, “mhm. How’d that go?”

He said, “not so great.”

I said, “what went wrong?”

He said, “she bought herself a train ticket, so she could move back in with her mum.”

I said, “she did what!? I told her to give it a week and see if things would get better between you two.”

He said, “yeah that didn’t happen. Miller told me to just rip Daisy’s ticket up and tell her that there’s no way she’s leaving.”

I said, “that’s not a bad idea. Ellie’s pretty smart, but if you don’t do it, I definitely will.”

He said, “I’ll give it a couple of days because the ticket isn’t for another week.”

I said, “that’s fair.”

He said, “I also told her about us.”

Just great, now I doubt she’ll trust me as much.

I said, “oh and that went over how?”

He said, “she was actually okay with it. I think she thinks you’ll be good for me.”

I said, “well I’d like to think I would be good for you too.”

He said, “you are probably too good for me, but I’m going to be a bit selfish and keep you.”

I said, “I don’t think I’m too good for you. I think I’m just the right amount of good for you. And from what I’ve heard when aren’t you selfish there Alec?”

He said, “really? That’s how you want to play this then” before pulling me into his side.

I never knew he could be this playful, but I really like this side of him.

I said, “so when are we going to yours?”

He said, “whenever you want to. Just know I’m keeping you overnight, so bring a change of clothes.”

I said, “now when did I agree to this Mr. Hardy?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at some of his facial expressions when he was thinking up an answer.

He said, “alright you win. Would you like to stay over at mine tonight Y/N?”

I said, “yeah I really would.”

He said, “good. Go get your stuff then.”

I said, “yep still bossy.”

He said, “will you please go get your stuff, so we can go back to mine?”

I said, “I was just teasing you, but yes I’ll go get my stuff when you decide you want to let me go.”

He said, “I think I’m just going to hold on to you for a little bit longer and then I’ll let you go.”

I said, “or you could let me get up and get my stuff, we go round yours, and you can hold me for longer.”

He said, “that’s actually a better idea” and let me out of his arms.

I got up off my sofa and walked into my bedroom to grab the clothes I was planning to wear to school tomorrow. Once I had gotten my things together, I went back out into my living room, where Alec was still sitting on the sofa.

I said, “alright, I’m ready lets go.”

Alec got up off my sofa and walked over towards me.

He said, “you got everything?”

I said, “yep.”

He said, “well alright. Lets go.”

Alec walked out the front door. I made sure to shut any and all lights off and lock up the door, before making my way to his car. Alec was leaning up against it, just looking at me.”

I said, “what?”

He said, “nothing Y/N. It’s just you are stunning.”

I just shook my head and said, “you’re not so bad yourself there Alec.”

He had the audacity to look shocked and said, “the cheek.”

I knew the look he was giving me was fake, so I laughed and said, “you’ll get used to it.”

He said, “that I will Y/N.”

I smiled and walked around the car to get into the passenger seat. I threw my bag into the back and then fastened myself in the passenger seat. Alec got himself situated in the driver’s seat before driving us to his place.

The car ride was quiet save for the radio playing in the background. Alec did take my hand in his though when he was driving. He’s really trying to make an effort and I like that.

When we got to his place, Alec shut the car off. He let go of my hand and got out of the car. He walked around the car and opened the passenger door for me. Okay that’s new, but I’m not going to complain. He also got my bag out of the back for me, and took my hand again as we walked into his house.

Alec showed me around his house for the most part. Daisy’s room wasn’t included for the fact that she was already asleep. He took me into his room. I set my bag down on the floor next to his bed.

He said, “if you want to change into something more comfortable and then come back in here, we’re just going to be laying here and watching some telly if that’s okay.”

I said, “that sounds good to me, but I um forgot to bring something comfortable to change into. I just brought the clothes I would need to go to work tomorrow.”

He said, “oh! Well do you want to borrow something of mine?”

I said, “I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

He said, “no I insist. I don’t want you to have to sleep in your work clothes. I definitely do it too often, so I know how uncomfortable it is.”

I said, “well then sure, if you don’t mind.”

He said, “of course. Just hold on a second.”

Alec went over to his wardrobe and pulled out two pairs of sleep pants and some old t-shirt. He walked back over to me and handed me the t-shirt and a pair of sleep pants.

I said, “thank you.”

He said, “you’re welcome. You don’t mind that I don’t sleep with a shirt on do you?”

I said, “no that’s perfectly fine by me.”

He said, “alright good. I’m going to go ahead and change now.”

I nodded my head in understanding. I’m not going to go change in the other room. I’m not ashamed in the slightest of my body or anything like that.

I look over at Alec and he’s already out of his suit jacket and shirt. He was in the process of taking his tie off. I went ahead and pulled my cardigan off before then taking my blouse off. I noticed Alec staring. I just blushed and slipped his t-shirt on before focusing back on Alec. He kicked off his shoes and socks, and was sliding his trousers down his legs.

Damn he has a really nice body. I slid my jeans down and contemplated putting Alec’s sleep pants on. Alec pulled his sleep pants up over those ridiculously long legs and then went to lay on his bed. I’m going to skip the pants, I think. I went and climbed onto Alec’s bed next to him.

He said, “didn’t want to wear the pants?”

I said, “I usually don’t wear sleep pants to bed, so I really didn’t want to put them on. If it makes you uncomfortable though, I can go put them on.”

He said, “I don’t mind, as long as you’re comfortable.”

I said, “I’m very comfortable. Thank you.”

He said, “good. Do you have any preference to what we watch on the telly?”

I said, “no. You can pick because I’m not sure I’m going to stay awake once it’s on.”

He said, “alright. I’ll put something that we both won’t actually need to pay attention to on.”

I said, “that’s perfect. Now I was promised more holding once we got here Alec.”

He said, “let me turn the telly on and then I’ll hold you for as long as you’d like.”

I said, “don’t tempt me.”

He just smiled and turned the telly on. A rerun of Top Gear was on, so he just left it on. Alec turned the volume down on the telly though. Then he placed the remote on his bedside table next to where his glasses sat. He opened his arms for me to scoot into. I moved so that I was laying in his arms. My head was on his chest and his arms were wrapped around me. It definitely won’t take long for me to fall asleep like this.

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

And if you have a minute why don't we go

Talk about it somewhere only we know?

It’s been a couple of days since I’ve spent the night at Alec’s. He’s been really attentive to not only me, but to Daisy. I really like how Alec is choosing to let me into his life more. I knew there was an awesome guy under that hard exterior.

Alec had texted me earlier this morning and said he was going to stop by the school on my lunch break because he wanted to talk to me. I don’t know if I should be concerned or not.

It was just after 12 o’clock when my lunch break was set to begin. Alec texted me saying he was outside, so I walked out of the building. I saw his car and he was leaning against it. Honestly what a sight to see. I walked over to his car.

Alec said, “good afternoon Y/N.”

I said, “good afternoon Alec. What did you want to talk to me about?”

He said, “get in the car and we’ll talk.”

I said, “you know that doesn’t sound too promising.”

He said, “I promise it’s nothing bad. I just want to give us some privacy.”

I said, “okay I’ll get in the car.”

I walked around the car and got into the passenger seat. Alec climbed back into the driver’s seat.

Alec said, “so I talked to Daisy this morning.”

I said, “and how did that go?”

He said, “well I managed to get her to tell me what was going on with those boys, but then we saw them when I was driving her here this morning.”

I said, “let me guess, she told you not to stop, but you did anyway. Then you threatened them?”

He said, “I knew there was a reason I liked you. Yes, that’s exactly what I did and the boys didn’t like it too well especially because I’m the police, but I’m a dad first. They had it coming though and if they keep messing with my Dais I’ll cut their pricks off.”

I said, “good for you Alec. I’m proud of you and I almost wish I could’ve been there to witness it because I’d love to have given them a piece of my mind too. Well that and because I think you look mighty attractive when you’re angry, not more than you usually do of course, it’s just different.”

He said, “Thank you Y/N. Anyways when I got back in the car after confronting them, Daisy wasn’t too happy with me, but at the same time she was because she knows I’m not going to let anything happen to her. Then I asked her for her train ticket, which she gave me, and then I ripped it into many small pieces.”

I said, “good on you love. It’s better for both you and Daisy if she stays here. You’re finally putting her first and I’m sure even if she doesn’t show it, she appreciates all that you’re doing for her.”

He said, “yes you’re right, but I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for Daisy too. You’ve been there for her since she moved here with me, and you’ve always stayed objective not letting our relationship get in the way of doing what you could for Daisy.”

I said, “well thank you. I would do anything for Daisy. She is a sweet girl, who’s been having a rough time, and I can completely relate to her. Also, what relationship of ours would that be Alec?”

He said, “oh don’t make me say it.”

I said, “come on Alec. You know you want to and I know I want you to.”

He said, “well even though I unofficially considered you my girlfriend, would you be mine?”

I said, “yes I would Alec. I unofficially was considering you my boyfriend too just for your information. All I wanted was for you to say it aloud because then I knew it was for sure a real thing and I wasn’t getting my hopes up.”

He said, “after the other night there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be with you even if I am difficult to be with and I’m not the best at opening up.”

I said, “you know that never bothered me. I’m willing to give you as much time as you could possibly need, especially with the job you have because I know how hard opening up is. We’ve got a way to go jointly with opening up, but I have no worries that we’ll get there in time.”

He said, “I don’t deserve you and everything you’ve done for me and mine, but I’m definitely keeping you.”

I said, “it’s a good thing I’m keeping you too then huh?”

He laughed and took my hand in his. Then my phone dinged. I checked it and it was a text from Daisy.

I said, “Alec, your daughter can see us and she says she’s ‘ill’ and wants to go home.”

He said, “since when does my daughter text you? Also tell her that I know she’s faking it, but it’s fine I’ll give her a ride home before I go back to work.”

I said, “Daisy texts me whenever she wants to or whenever she needs someone to talk to. I gave her my number ages ago. Alright I’ll tell her to get her arse out here then after she goes and signs herself out.”

He said, “you want to take the rest of the day off?”

I said, “and how am I going to do that Mr. Hardy?”

He said, “I’ll just say I need you down at the station for questioning about a case, that doesn’t actually exist, and you can come over to my place and well spend time with Daisy and me.”

I said, “so you’re going to take the rest of the day off too then if I say yes.”

He said, “yes because the both of us have been working too hard and need a good half day.”

I said, “and how would you get away with that?”

He said, “I’ll put Miller in charge and say that I’m needed at home because Daisy is sick.”

I said, “and the school thinks Daisy is sick, so it would be believable. Also, Ellie is the best and will see right through it, but yeah alright I’ll take the rest of the day off.”

He said, “great. Well I’m going to go inside and talk to the administration, but also grab Daisy and tell her you’re coming over to spend time with us. You go get your stuff and meet me outside of the office.”

I said, “sounds like a plan.”

Alec leaned across the console and kissed me.

Oh, okay yeah that was nice, a bit unexpected, but definitely nice. I blinked in surprise, but I kissed him back. We pulled away though after a few moments and we got out of the car. We walked into the building and went our separate directions. I walked to my classroom and grabbed my things, thanking god it was nearing the end of the lunch period, so my room was still clear of students. After grabbing my things, I made my way back towards the office.

As I was nearing the office, I saw Alec and Daisy waiting for me. Alec was on the phone and Daisy was smiling at me. I stuck my tongue out at Daisy and she laughed. Alec noticed and rolled his eyes. Some things never change. I walked over to them and all 3 of us walked out of the building and towards Alec’s car.

Daisy said, “so you’re really taking the rest of the day off to spend time with me and dad?”

I said, “yes I am. It seemed none of us wanted to finish our day doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”

She said, “yeah you’re right.”

Alec finally hung up the phone.

He said, “I just got off the phone with Miller. She’s taking over for the rest of the day. Now, Y/N the administration knows you’re done for today and they didn’t question it. Also, Dais you’re going home and you’re not leaving the house to keep up the idea that you’re ill.”

Daisy said, “whatever you say dad.”

I said, “okay.”

Alec said, “don’t give me that cheek Daisy.”

She rolled her eyes. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Then we reached the car. I got in the passenger seat, Daisy got in the back, and Alec got in the driver’s seat. Alec pulled out of the car park once we were all situated and we were off to their place. I’m going to have to get used to being there because I know that’s about to be where I spend a lot of my time outside of the school.

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

It’s nice that I have the opportunity to be integrated into this little family and for that I’m going to be forever thankful. It’s going to take time for all of the kinks to get worked on and out, but I’m happy. The future is going to go somewhere only we know.

Permanent Taglist: @jiswoogannon

[lesbianrobin]

oh.... yes..... as an adhd steve-lover (and person who has a history of unknowingly crushing on adhd characters) i beg to hear ur reasoning......... please...

alright so a lot of this is gonna be like projection ddnkjcn and it turned into more of a general character analysis than an adhd analysis and i’m sure that some things i describe will differ from your personal experience so feel free to critique me but here goes:

Why Steve Harrington Has ADHD

Steve struggles in school, yeah, but that’s not really… crucial to my reasoning? I personally did pretty well in school despite having difficulties with getting work done on time and understanding certain things. The fact that he clearly tried to do well and just couldn’t is what’s important. That’s a classic ADHD thing, feeling like there’s some kind of invisible block making it impossible to think the way you’re supposed to be thinking and do the things you’re supposed to be doing. We see him studying a few different times with Nancy (though he’s reluctant to focus on the task in s1), it’s implied he’s written multiple drafts of the essay that he shows Nancy in the beginning of s2, meaning that he wants to do well. After Nancy critiques his essay, he basically decides to give up because he’ll never be able to make it good enough, and he probably shouldn’t even bother applying to college, and he’ll just end up working for his dad anyway. It’s a bit of an extreme jump from the relatively mild criticism he receives, but it seems to me like the kind of mindset that I (and others with ADHD) fall into constantly. First of all, rewriting something you’ve already written when you have ADHD can be… torturous. It’s impossible to focus because you’ve done it already, it feels pointless and boring, and your brain is just done with the topic. To Steve, there’s no point in even trying because he’s never gonna get it right, and he’d rather not even try than apply to college and have to suffer rejection. ADHD isn’t laziness or apathy. People with ADHD actually tend to care a lot about their performance in various aspects of life, and they care so much that it can often either propel them to excellence or drive them to depression over failure (whether that failure is true or perceived). Spoiler alert: we’re about to get into rejection sensitive dysphoria, folks!

I think this describes Steve perfectly. He wants to be the best at everything (Prom King, anyone?) and he cares a lot about what people think of him (to the degree that he spent three of his four years in high school behaving specifically to avoid the possibility of Tommy H and others making fun of him). Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD, is a condition which impacts almost all people with ADHD. This means that they are far more sensitive than most people to what others think about them. Think about Steve’s entire character arc: he essentially spends season one chasing the approval of Tommy, Carol, and Nancy. When Tommy and Carol’s desired behavior differs from Nancy’s, causing conflict, he’s forced to take a look at himself and decide what’s more important to him: pleasing his friends, or doing what’s right. Since Steve is a certified angel, he goes with what’s right, and from there goes on to apologize to Jonathan and help him and Nancy fight the Demogorgon. (Sidenote: the fistfight with Jonathan could definitely be considered as further evidence of ADHD! RSD can cause extreme emotional reactions when the person in question feels that they have been hurt or rejected, such as Steve believing that Nancy cheated on him with Jonathan. The fact that Steve resorted to cruel insults that he clearly doesn’t believe shows that he was acting out of his own hurt and anger, not out of true hatred for Jonathan.) 

Anyway, s1 Steve’s entire life is built around seeking approval from his peers. He realizes that his desire for approval has turned him into somebody that he doesn’t like, so he makes a change, and by s2 we see that he’s shifted somewhat: Now, he wants to please Nancy. He’s able to handle being mocked by Billy and Tommy H because he no longer puts any stock in their brand of approval, but being told by Nancy that she doesn’t love him elicits another (somewhat) extreme emotional response: he immediately leaves her at the party with Jonathan and doesn’t pick her up for school the next morning. He’s upset with her. Later on, he goes to her house with flowers intending to apologize, though he doesn’t actually know what he’s apologizing for. All he wants is for Nancy to be with him and like him again, because he can’t handle feeling unloved and rejected. S2 is also where we see Steve’s academic insecurity, and he hints at issues with feeling like a failure in the eyes of his father. By the end of the season, he’s able to handle not being loved by Nancy because he’s found a new source of self-esteem and approval: Dustin and the rest of the kids. Through acting as their “babysitter,” Steve’s found something to take pride in that nobody can take away from him. Billy may have overshadowed his basketball stardom and broken his keg stand record, but Steve no longer needs these shallow achievements to feel a sense of self-worth. 

S3 shows that, although he’s moved on from seeking approval from specific peers, Steve is still stuck searching for validation. He flirts indiscriminately hoping for anybody to respond positively, and he gets a job to appease his father. Here, I’m gonna jump ahead a little bit (because that’s just the way my brain is saying it’s gotta be lmao) and talk about a few of Steve’s other canon traits, then circle back around to how we see his ongoing struggle with RSD manifest in s3.

Now for the trait that people more commonly associate with ADHD, especially in men and young boys: hyperactivity. This one is a little more self-explanatory so I’m not gonna spend as much time on it. Steve excels in situations with clearly defined rules and expectations where it’s easier to stay on-track, as well as in high-pressure, fast-paced environments. This is why he succeeds in basketball and why he’s such a big damn hero every season. He thinks on his feet and steps up in intense situations without hesitation. Steve is the one who wedged something under the elevator door so that everyone could escape, he’s the one who took out a Russian soldier before he was able to alert anybody else, and when he saw Billy about to ram into Team Griswold Family, he crashed into Billy’s car. Part of this is the fact that it’s a sci-fi action horror show, and there are going to be dramatic action-packed situations, but it’s telling that if Steve is around, he’s almost always the one leaping into danger and adapting to the situation to deal with it quickly. Speaking of s3: The conversation Steve and Robin had on the floor in the Russian torture chamber!

This feeds into an even more elaborate Steve meta theory of mine about how he basically lives his life as if it’s a play and there’s a script and a set of rules that he’s gotta follow to please the audience, so I’m not gonna go into ALL of it, but this conversation is also important to the idea of Steve having ADHD and struggling with RSD. Steve says, “It just baffles me. Everything that people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it’s all just… bullshit.” When Robin says that she feels like her life has been “one big error,” he agrees. So far, Steve has lived his whole life according to one set of rules. If you flirt with girls and go to parties and play basketball, you’ll be cool and popular. Now that he’s graduated, he’s floundering. The structure of high school is gone and everything he worked for doesn’t actually matter in real life. People with ADHD often struggle more than others with the transition from high school to either college or the working world. Loss of familiar frameworks, routines, and actions can hit the ADHD mind hard, and this is pretty clearly happening to Steve in s3. In the beginning of the season, he can’t even manage to have a decent conversation with a girl without bringing up school and his own perceived failures. Sidenote: Robin also mentions that Steve was late to class every single day, which is both extremely relatable to me and the most ADHD thing I’ve ever heard. I knew exactly how long it took me to get from my house to the school, and I woke up with plenty of time to get ready every single morning, yet I somehow managed to be late so many mornings that I got multiple detentions and ended up having to skip a couple of classes entirely because another tardy would have fucked up my disciplinary record.

Later on in the bathroom scene, when he’s talking about why he didn’t talk to Robin back in school, Steve says, “…maybe ‘cause Tommy H would’ve made fun of me or I wouldn’t be Prom King. It’s stupid…” and it’s somewhat of a continuation of the earlier conversation. Steve is expressing the same sentiment. Now that he’s out of high school, everything that he once used to measure his success and self-worth is just stupid. This is another classic RSD thing! People with ADHD/RSD often set impossibly high standards for themselves and then struggle with self-hatred and doubt when they cannot live up to these expectations. Robin kind of inspires and encourages him to set new, more attainable standards for himself. Spending time with Robin makes Steve happy in a way that he’s never really been before, and he realizes that all of the benchmarks of normalcy and success that he’s been striving for don’t guarantee happiness like they’re supposed to. Instead of finding happiness in academic, romantic, or athletic success, he finds happiness in an unlikely friendship. His whole arc for three seasons has essentially been a big struggle with RSD and impulsivity where he learned how to handle social rejection and place the needs and feelings of others before his own.

There’s also a ton of little things in Joe Keery’s acting choices that support ADHD Steve, like his near-perpetual motion and the way that he’s gotta pace and eat a damn banana (both the traditional way and the no-homo breaking it into pieces way, might I add) so he can listen to Dustin talk about the Russian code. I personally relate to a lot of things he does, like mixing up basic names and facts (like Nazis/Germans in s2 and Gumby/gumbo in s3), and needing to explain a whole situation out loud before he really gets it (like when he runs down the entire monster situation in the mall in s3). I don’t know if those are ADHD things but they make me feel Seen. 

Anyways. That’s about it!! Thanks for asking lmao

[grouchomarxiste-blog1]

Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite: Marx and Violence

Warning: A majority of this was written pre-pandemic, so please excuse my overly optimistic tone. It was a different time.

Yes, another Bong Joon-Ho film. Can you blame me? The guy’s a genius. Parasite was another one of those great films that will never leave you. You can watch the movie simply without doing a major analysis in your head and you will still agree that it’s a great movie. Which personally, is why I believe it's made its way into the major American awards season. Parasite winning Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes was one of the few decisions I’ve agreed with. I didn’t see any of the winners in the film categories besides Parasite, and I’m very much ok with that. It’s making its way into Hollywood and the favorite lists of celebrities. Elon Musk said he loved Parasite (he also turned Grimes, the former “anti-imperialist,” to the mother of his future child). Chrissy Teigen loved Parasite (a lot can be said about her, so let’s not). Obama loved Parasite (but I have some serious doubts about the authenticity of his yearly favorites list. Mainly because I can’t imagine him listening to Summer Walker). I was completely boggled at all of those tweets. How? How is one so blind? How did one watch Parasite and not feel a thing? After I watched Parasite, I rushed back to school to attend the discussion section of my Political Theory class so I could read and discuss primitive accumulation through dispossession with revolutionary fervor. I recommended it to everyone near me. I even wrote a note to my professor who tucked it into his book. But is that the problem- that all these beloved figures (not mine) end up loving the sheer adrenaline of the story and tweet to their followers about how great the movie is. Those followers, with their favorite celebrities’ seal of approval, watch the movie, not putting it together either. Bong Joon-Ho is critiquing those very figures! In every post-Parasite interview, Bong Joon-Ho has said that Parasite is about America and capitalism, but we have just reduced those statements to memes on Twitter. As funny as they are, Parasite is rich for its class analysis. The Hollywood reaction is just as important. Marx is all over this movie, there's no question about it. I also want us to understand these controversial moments from a Fanonian perspective, again all with relation to Marx. I hope for us to understand that everything about this movie is intentional and every bit of it is worth pages and pages of discussion. I nearing 11 pages as I write this. I also hope that this film can be a way for us to understand economic exploitation in the 21st century. While many celebrities have misunderstood it, it is important that you, us, the people, the working class, grasp every bit of this radical film.

I’m not going to bother with another one of my “brief summary” because I’m assuming, we’ve all seen it. It's on Hulu now and I believe Apple TV. If you don’t want to pay for either platforms, watch a pirated version online, I genuinely don’t think Bong will mind.

I want to talk about the home. I know we all had the same reaction to that beautiful home: awe, admiration, and envy. The Park’s home itself is significant, but also in contrast to the Kims’ home. The Kim’s live in a small semi-basement home, where they have to reach up in order to look out their window and see the street level. Their home is dirty, cramped, just not a place where anyone wants to be. But immediately, I thought of Fanon and the native sector. I know that Parasite isn’t about colonialism, but space is important to Marx (I’ll return to Fanon). In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels attribute many things to the process of proletarianization. To name a few: literacy campaigns and public education, the politicization of the proletariat towards the end of feudalism, expansion of media, etc. One that stands out, is the mass migration and urbanization of the proletariat. Through that, the proletariat was concentrated into the poorest parts of the city where they shared their most intimate quarters with workers like themselves (Marx and Engels, 15) One might dismiss this as a historical example specific to Europe, but if we go back to my thoughts on Memories of Murder, we’d note how Korea’s transition to a modern capitalist society, was a fairly recent one (from 1987 onwards). As the agricultural sector suffered, Koreans living in the rural provinces were forced to move into the major cities. Park (Song Kang-Ho’s character in Memories) was lucky enough to become a successful businessman, unlike the Kims who earn their livelihood by holding pizza boxes- the most insignificant work. Along with urbanization, the proletariat also occupied the small space of the factory, where they are reminded of the everyday brutality of their work. The Park’s home is not cramped, but the one scene where everyone is rushing to hide from them, results in Ki-taek, Ki-jeong, and Ki-woo hiding underneath a coffee table overnight. After that lengthy battle with Geun-sae and Moon-gwang, the Kims are exhausted. They do not want to be laying side by side hearing the Parks have sex. My friend Sef also reminded me that the Parks had weird sex as Mr. Park recalled how their old chauffeur possibly had sex with a drugged-up prostitute, a scenario that previously made Mrs. Park scream out of disgust. Revisiting this, I believe this definitely deserves a psychoanalytic analysis.

This isn’t their breaking point, but also hearing Mr. Park say that Ki-taek smells like the subway is a factor. Once making their break they run outside where it's raining heavily. They come to their home which is flooded and destroyed. Here is where I’ll start talking about Fanon. [READ NOTE]. Again, I know the colonial system is not the case in Parasite. Fanon was a Marxist and expanded on Marxist theory in the colonial context. I just want to warn you that I am using Fanon as carefully as possible, not using concepts that are distinctly racial. I know there’s probably also much more relevant work out there on spatiality and violence, but I think Fanon’s prose style in The Wretched of the Earthis quite appropriate for the film. Let’s consider the colonial bourgeoisie as the Parks and the natives as the Kims. Fanon calls the colonial world, a “compartmentalized world.” The colonists’ sector is clean and protected whereas the native sector is overcrowded, envious, and starving. Sounds about right so far.

The colonist’s sector is a sector built to last, all stone and steel. It’s a sector of lights and paved roads, where the trash cans constantly overflow with strange and wonderful garbage, undreamed-of leftovers. The colonizer’s feet can never be glimpsed, except perhaps in the sea, but then again you can never get close enough. They are protected by solid shoes in a sector where the streets are clean and smooth., without a pothole, without a stone… The colonized’s sector or at least the “native” quarters, the shanty town, the Medina, the reservation, is a disreputable place, inhabited by disreputable people. You are born anywhere, anyhow. You die anywhere, from anything. It’s a world with no space, people are piled one on top of each other. (Fanon, 4)

This becomes extremely relevant when the Kims run out of the Parks’ home in the pouring rain. I kept noticing that they were all barefoot, only focused on getting out of there. My toes curled in the movie theater watching that. Running away from that traumatic house to find your own home destroyed, relocating to a displacement camp, THEN going to work the next day for your unaffected employer who has the audacity to audibly take a sniff of you. I don't know about you, but to me, this sounds like the conditions for a proletarian revolution. Besides the literal allegory, the tone sharply shifts. One could argue that it began to change when they found Geun-sae in the bunker or when Moon-gwang hit her head but that was just some good old dark comedy for me. After the flooding, things are different. Ki-taek has this unmoving face. Things turned grim and we knew something climactic was about to happen. Fanon’s most famous chapter, “Concerning Violence,” maintains that decolonization will always be a violent event because colonialism is a violent system itself. Something that I absolutely love about this chapter is that it isn’t some dense, theoretical work. It’s a revolutionary call to arms for all colonized people. It has a strategic pace which parallels Parasite so well. He sets the scene- the compartmentalized, Manichaen world. He slowly intensifies the antagonistic relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, until this culminating point:

The colonized subject thus discovers that his life, his breathing and his heartbeat are the same as the colonist’s. He discovers that the skin of the colonist is not worth more than the “natives.” In other words, his world receives a fundamental jolt. The colonized’s revolutionary new assurance stems from this. If no longer strike fear into me or nail me to the spot and his voice can no longer petrify me. I am no longer uneasy in his presence. In reality, to hell with him. Not only does his presence no longer bother me, but i am already preparing to waylay him in such a way that he will no longer have any solution but to flee (Fanon, 10)

As corny as it sounds, when I first read that, it brought me to tears. I’m not sure if it was just because I was up for three days straight writing my midterm and I was finally breaking, or because it just meant that much to me. But that section in which the colonized discoversthat his life is worth as much as the colonizer is such a crucial moment. This parallels the infamous birthday scene. Geun-sae gets out of the bunker, stabs Ki-jung, the Park’s kid (I’ll look his name up later) has a seizure, and Chong-sook is wrestling with Geun-sae. Shit is going down. If we recall, Mrs. Park mentioned that it takes a few minutes for her son to die after a seizure and needs to go to the hospital immediately. So much is going on and Mr. Park starts screaming at Ki-taek to give him the keys. Ki-taek is immobilized at this point. His daughter has been stabbed, son attacked, wife almost killed, the Parks’ got him dressed up in some cultural appropriation, Hollywood Indian regalia. In fact, I find it very fitting that he’s dressed up as a Native American at this moment. I see this as Bong’s satirical nod to old ultra-capitalist Hollywood. But if enough wasn't going on, Mr. Park sniffed. He got close to Geun-sae, a man who’s been living underground for 3 years and audibly sniffed him in disgust. The same way that he sniffed Ki-taek. Of course, there’s probably a difference between a “subway” smell vs. “I haven't showered in 3 years” smell but at the moment it feels as if it's almost the same thing. In my initial viewing, I thought what happened next was because of that, but no. Ki-taek realized that his life was worth the same as the Parks, and their presence no longer bothers him, but he is now plotting against him, and the time of action is now. Ki-taek stabs Mr. Park and flees. Annoyingly, the YouTube section for this clip is filled with people feeling bad for the Parks and discussing how what Ki-taek did was wrong. Of course, the average viewer will view the Parks as some sympathetic rich suckers who only treated the Kims kindly. The casual reader who picks up Fanon for the first time would also dismiss his theory of violence as immoral in comparison to non-violent methods like Gandhi’s. A lot can be said about Gandhi, but Fanon says that non-violence is a strategy created by the colonizer to deter decolonization and paint the colonizer as a gentle ruler who wants peace. This is not the case. Colonialism is a violent system. Capitalism is a violent system. Colonialism can only be undone violently. Capitalism can only be undone violently. Now I don't mean to make this all about colonialism, as my friends say I often do. But the similarities are clear. The question isn’t whether the murder of Mr. Park was a justified act, but what were the conditions that forced Ki-taek to murder. Geun-sae killed Ki-jung, but no one in the comment section is having a debate on whether his murder was ethical. Because in our heads we feel bad for him, and the life that he’s lived- why don’t we feel the same towards Ki-taek? Geun-sae and Ki-taek are two sides of the same coin. Geun-sae’s exploitation is naked. He’s confined to the basement, controlling the lights of the home. A feature of the house that Mr. Park doesn't even pay attention to, never mind considering that there is someone manually operating it. A clear example of how our labor is alienated. All while blindly worshipping Mr. Park- a man who knows nothing of his existence. Honestly, I hope some of you see yourselves in Geun-sae the next time you defend billionaires online. But Ki-taek is just another exploited worker. I understand this can be hard to understand in our current understanding of the world. How is Ki-taek exploited? Him and his family conned their way into their jobs and leech off of the Parks. Again, we must return to the system as a whole to understand. None of this wouldn’t have happened if the Kims weren’t desperately poor in a capitalist society, which enables families like the Parks, to live a life of excess at the expense of the Kims. Capitalism is a system of exploitation; we cannot forget that. Quite simply, no one is rich without thousands that are poor.

          The levels of the home are also this unforgettable feature. I just want to make this quick note about the issue of the ghost. Did you forget about the ghost? Da-Song didn’t (yes, I finally looked his name up!). I find the story of the ghost such an interesting touch. Not just as a way for Bong to warn the audience about Da-Song’s history of seizures. When Mrs. Park tells Chung-sook of the story, she says “they say a ghost in the house brings wealth.” This, of course, is true since the exploitation of those like Geun-sae are responsible for the wealth of the Parks, in the larger picture. I’d like to look further into this. There's a twofold meaning to this. I do believe that this ghost is symbolic to the exploitation of the Kims, and the proletariat in general, but that’s Mrs. Park’s understanding of this ghost. The way she understands this ghost, is as a source of wealth. Maybe Mrs. Park isn’t as ditzy as we imagine- she to some degree, understands her class position. But like most, she doesn’t question the ghost, or her class position. She knows that if she looks into either, it would result in the ugly truth. Da-Song, however, is just a child. He’s too young to really understand the economic and social relations which are responsible for his wealth. He’s also too young to consciously suppress any desire to investigate the matter like his mother. He is a child after all and is naturally curious. But his first encounter with the ghost was the one that resulted in a near fatal seizure. This can be his body’s reaction to the life-threatening figure of a ghost. The ghost isn’t just a threat to his mortal life, but his wealth, some may argue that these are the same. Mrs. Park pays for therapy for his “trauma” so he could forget the event, but he still knows. He saw this ghost and is the only one to seriously consider its threat. Mrs. Park knows it's real but chooses to not think about it. I want to return to the Manifesto. Let's hear these famous words: “A specter is haunting Europe- the specter of communism… Two things result from this fact: Communism is already acknowledged by all European powers itself to be a power...” (Marx and Engels, 8). Don’t think I’m just including this because he’s talking about a specter, in fact, I think this story of the ghost is an intentional allusion to the specter of communism. Da-Song represents this figure of the bourgeoisie who is in constant anxiety over the threat of his wealth. When he reappears at his birthday party, he has another seizure. Also, at this time, the family, and all of their guests are witness to the horrors of their wealth and what it's created. This naked, hideous display, this moment of confrontation is a pivotal point in the dialectic. Of course, this murderous moment is not seen as a success to the viewer with Mr. Park, Ki-jung, and Geun-sae dead, Ki-woo presumed to be dead, and Ki-taek missing. This just shows us that the bourgeoisie are their own gravediggers- to again invoke the Manifesto. On a larger scale, this would be the moment of a revolution- but we don’t. Ki-woo survives with Chung-sook and is put on probation. Ki-taek is missing to the police, but Ki-taek realizes that he’s living in the bunker in hiding. Ki-woo declares that he will make enough money to buy the home and free his father. At first, I wondered “why couldn't he just sneak him out of the house when the new owners were asleep?” “Why did he have to buy the home?” As much as I wanted to portray the Kims to be revolutionary figures, Ki-woo has the common fate of most. Instead of usurping power from the bourgeoisie, he believes he can free his dad from the home, by owning the house. Everyone who lives in the basement is stuck there for a reason, because someone is forcing them to stay there. A perfect allegory for the relations of production as I have repeatedly mentioned throughout this text. Ki-woo desires a bourgeois life (as most working-class folk do!) in order to lift his father out of the despair of poverty. He believes the only way he can save his father is to own the home, which could easily be seen as the means of production. A nice touch which I had to look up, was as Ki-woo tells us of his desire to buy the home, a song plays called “546 years”- the amount of time it will take for him to earn enough money. I wish this song title was more obvious for the American viewer. I am not trying to take away from this film by saying that, but for a viewer who knows Korean or the song title, they’ll understand the tragic nature of his dreams. Whereas the American viewers will sympathize with his dreams- as we’ve done with immigrants and “the American Dream” or the bootstrapping mentality of some people. In some way I do think Bong didn’t want an overtly revolutionary ending. I don’t think the average viewer, especially in this day, could handle an ending like that. Not to say that we don't understand class inequality and such. We are not living in, say the 60s/70s where there were Marxist movements all throughout the world. I don’t think we have the conditions for a revolution at this moment, although I do think the mass unemployment and the other severe economic consequences of this virus will radicalize the working class in large numbers, to a degree that we haven't seen in a long time. But to make my point, I feel that we are living in historic political times and we are coming to understand ourselves in a liberating way.  It is my hope that films like Parasite will awaken the revolutionary potential in us all.

Note: I wanted to use Fanon’s theory of violence and diagnosis of colonialism as a violent structure, in relation to capitalist society. I don’t want us to interpret his writings as something that can be isolated from the racial structure of colonialism, but i do think it is a beneficial guide to understanding this film.

Work Cited:

Philcox, Richard, translator. “On Violence.” The Wretched of the Earth, by Frantz Fanon, Grove Press, 2004.

Joon-Ho, Bong, director. Parasite. Barunson E&A, 2019.

Marx, Karl, and Frederick Engels. The Communist Manifesto. International Publishers, 1948.

[mannatea]

Not That Deep: A Psycho Pass Critique

This post is not spoiler-free, and is the result of multiple rewatches over the span of five years. If you remember any of my old Psycho Pass meta, please toss it straight into the garbage. I swear I’m better at conveying my thoughts now. (Joke’s on you if you think I’ve learned to condense my posts, though.)

Disclaimer: all opinions expressed within this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of my followers or friends. I welcome discussion/debate.

Psycho Pass (abbreviated to PP for simplicity’s sake from this point forward) is an anime in that very specific genre that belongs to societies that are portrayed as Utopian but aren’t. For the record, the setting can’t really be described as ‘dystopian’ or ‘futuristic hellscape’ either. The series calls itself “cyberpunk.”

In the year 2112, Japan has closed itself off from the world and implemented the Sibyl System: a judgment oracle. Citizens of the country are monitored by the system and have a “psycho-pass” assigned to them. This “psycho-pass” measures their stress levels, brain activity, and potential to commit a crime. When a person’s crime coefficient (CC) exceeds 100, they are considered a latent criminal and put into isolation to receive mandatory therapy. If they do not recover, they remain in isolation. The story follows the main character, Tsunemori Akane, as she joins the series’ version of a police force.

Trigger warnings for this series include gore, violence (sexual, emotional, physical), and an obscene amount of philosophy.

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Again, below the readmore/cut will be spoilers.

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Worldbuilding/Craft

I feel like it’s important to get into the meat of the discussion as quickly as possible with this series, especially considering the title of this post: Not That Deep.

I’m not going to bother ‘rating’ the different facets/aspects of the show because I don’t think it’s necessary, and this isn’t really a review so much as a discussion/critique. Either you liked the series or you didn’t. If you’re reading this you either have an open mind or you want to get angry, and both reasons are at least a little valid.

PP is a series that REALLY wants to be deep, but falls flat in almost every conceivable way. I’m saying this as someone who enjoyed it enough to write fanfiction about it the last time I watched it, and who not only recommended it to multiple friends, but screenshared the entire series with one recently so that she could see it.

I think the general concept of Sibyl and Akane’s futuristic society is presented in a digestible way. I appreciate the attempts to integrate cool future tech into the show, but I’m especially impressed by the way they go about it. It’s all stuff that your average person living right now would adopt and use regularly if given a chance (auto driven cars, drones, AI secretaries, holo clothes/outfits). Without those specific scenes, I feel like the worldbuilding would almost collapse in on itself; these little details made it easy to imagine living in the world, and gave a little personality to the characters as they made use of them—like little glimpses into their personal taste.

It also helped to take the focus and pressure off of the less-nice aspects of the Sibyl System. No wonder people are generally pretty happy/content in this world: they can wear sweatpants and just holo something else over it! (Sign me up!)

Unfortunately the worldbuilding beyond that isn’t great, but I also don’t think it’s fair to say that it’s bad. It’s just...kind of mediocre...while still managing, at least for the first season, to feel coherent.

We have hues and crime-coefficients. They are not the same thing, but they might as well be because one isn’t bad without the other being bad: EVER. Ginoza’s CC rises as his hue darkens throughout S1. Togane’s hue is black and he has the highest CC on record. Makishima’s hue is clear and his CC is 0 (when he wills it to be). What’s the point of having both, then? Is it just for a fun color-coding system? It’s never explained in any way that makes sense. The one character likely to have a high CC and a clear hue is Makishima (a sociopath), but he has both a clear hue and a low CC. (Kamui is another anomaly, but he can’t be measured at all, so he doesn’t really fit into this specific discussion.) Basically, having hues and CCs both exist just feels a little bit too much like “it sounded cool so we included it” instead of: “These both serve serious purposes in the world.” They want really bad to fling philosophy at the viewers, but seem to neglect this really large aspect of the world where it would be perfect to latch on.

Technology is advanced to the point of having cybernetic arms that function effortlessly and people can almost achieve full cybernization if they have the money/will to. Kamui was 184 people stitched together lol... And yet Akane has just one living grandparent (who apparently can’t even move on her own). I’m not really put off by this, but you’d think the technology/health debate would be a much bigger part of the story beyond the news broadcast that was shown.

I think the biggest niggling little worldbuilding issue is the fact that the implementation of Sibyl happened ~20 years ago. I like the detail for what it gives us for some characters (Masaoka and Ginoza specifically), but I find it mostly implausible. Maybe it was fully implemented 20 years ago, but the framework was another 20 years in the making. It just doesn’t work otherwise. The second it was implemented families would have been shattered and that shattering would have put even more people into isolation due to their CC rising. I mean, if someone took my 5-year-old away from me, I’d be in isolation REAL QUICK, ‘cause that’s the kind of trauma you don’t just Get Over or Move Past.

Speaking of five-year-olds, in the boarding school episodes, they mention a law that protected minors, which feels out of place because Kagari was not protected by that law...which means it couldn’t have been around very long in the first place. If the scanners can flag a 5-year-old child and take him away from his parents, high school students aren’t exempt either. The mention of the law would have been a nice touch if it had only recently been appealed/removed, but it was only around for a few years ~20 years ago, so it feels awkwardly placed/silly.

Again, not everything worldbuilding/craft-related is bad. Like I said earlier, the world in general feels pretty cohesive and the characters belong there. The issues mostly sit with the fact that they tried to include a lot of ‘neat’ or ‘dramatic’ (or even ‘dark’) things...without stopping to consider if they actually fit within the narrative they were trying to construct.

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Plot/Storylines

This is where the series shines. Or at least, this is probably the strongest point in PP’s favor.

The biggest criticism I have: it doesn’t actually do anything new and exciting.

That said, I don’t think every bit of media out there needs to flip the script to be enjoyed, and I liked PP just fine for what it was.

Season One was definitely stronger in this department than later material.  What made S1 feel strong was having enough time to actually move the plot along while also developing the characters. S2 was comparatively rushed and had a lot of really unnecessary plotlines and gore. The movie was...eh, but I think it was an improvement over S2. (I haven’t seen Sinners of the System yet, so I can’t comment on those installments.)

I can find fault with a lot of S1 stuff, but for the most part I think it did a pretty good job and any faults I’d bother to point out would just be me nitpicking. The storylines melded into one another, everything was connected, et cetera. Unfortunately this comes at the cost of character relationships/development, but I’ll talk about that later. Besides, I’d rather have a cohesive series than not, so this isn’t exactly a criticism so much as an observation. The production team(s) did an excellent job of making the most of the screentime they had to work with.

S2 feels flawed almost from the start. Rather than build off of what we already learned in S1 and further develop the characters, it chose to rush headlong into a half-assed plot featuring an unbelievable antagonist. Yikes. I think it brought up an interesting question in “WC?” but instead of striking a believable balance they really just made an antagonist who was 184 people’s bodies stitched together. I can’t get over how stupid that was. Honestly, it was straight-up foolish of the writers to go through with that concept. Makishima might have been a pretentious pile of shit, but at least he felt like a human being. Kamui as a concept was just too overblown to work.

Also working against S2 was Togane. That whole plotline was completely unnecessary and throwing Akane’s grandmother under a bus on top of that was just the icing on the idiot cake. S2 was the Break the Cutie trope tenfold, but there was no danger and therefore no sense of urgency or fear. It was just gross for the sake of being gross, which was disappointing. I’m not saying that Togane isn’t the type of person to beat a crippled old lady to death, because he is, but I also never thought he was an idiot, and the progression of his attempts to blacken her hue jumped straight to the moon instead of progressing at a pace that felt more natural/reasonable. If the guy hasn’t been eliminated by an inspector after blackening many of their hues, he’s not the kind of dope to take silly risks. He could have tried any number of things to ruin Akane that didn’t involve her poor old granny (who had no real screentime and whom the audience had no connection with anyway).

S2 also gave us Ginoza doubting Akane’s sanity early on (acting like she might have written WC on her own wall), which not only feels incredibly out of character for S2 Ginoza, but never amounts to anything/goes anywhere anyway.

Hungry Chicken was an interesting touch, but SO MANY PEOPLE DIED that its impact was diminished. Division 3 had such a non-appearance in the series anyway that them being there at all just felt stupid without more lead-up.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think S2 is irredeemable, but I feel like it missed the mark consistently from start to finish. A shame, because the concept of a ‘plural’ psycho-pass might have been nifty if, say, Kamui was made up of 5 or 6 people’s bodies. Then the holos would feel meaningful. Then each ‘part’ of him would feel like a different person with different feelings and motives and skills. 

Anyway, I think S2 muddied the waters too much with Kamui and the body doubles and Shisui all that nonsense, too. At a certain point if your plot gets too complex, especially with overblown concepts thrown into the mix, it just feels silly. That’s basically what happened to S2.

Again, S1 wasn’t perfect. Makishima was exhaustingly boring. Cool, so you can quote a bunch of crap you’ve read. Great. So can I. Who are you as a person, though? That Guy in my Philosophy 101 class who argued with the professor? Yeah, I could picture that! 

People love waxing poetic about how amazing an antagonist Makishima was, but the dude was a hollow shell quoting things other people said 100+ years ago. It felt like he didn’t even have his own thoughts, and as far as I saw, there weren’t even any fake philosophers mixed in with the rest to make us feel a little extra immersed in the world (and/or give us another philosophical spin on the situation).

Hey, maybe that was the point, but I’ve never seen that criticism leveled fully at the character/plot in general, so here we are.

It was just too heavy-handed. By the end of the series I wanted him dead just so I could stop listening to his mini-lectures.

Still, it may as well have been amazing compared to 184-People-Stitched-Together being the main antagonist. 

I think the movie jumped in face-first and was perhaps a little too...all over the place? But I didn’t have to endure 184 people as a single person, or ears in boxes, so... I consider it a win.

The bitter reality when it comes to Psycho Pass and the plot is that...the plot is its greatest strength, but it’s Not That Deep...even though you can tell that it’s consistently trying to be. Oof.

I think if they’d shot for something less complex, especially in S2, they’d have at least met their goals of depth/consistency. Instead what we ended up with was having a fairly decent plot devolve into one of the worst second seasons I’ve seen.

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Characters & Character Development

For such a small cast, I think PP did a pretty piss-poor job with most of their characters, but the series as a general rule is so plot-heavy that it’s not really surprising.

I can’t help but expect a lot from a series that only has a few ‘main’ characters. In this case, Akane is the Big Main Character, and is flanked by Kogami and Ginoza. In S1, there was a decent balance (with Masaoka and Kagari thrown in). In S2, it was mostly just Akane and The Bad Guys, which would be fine if the plot was incredible, or The Bad Guys were super duper interesting, but as discussed previously, the plot was akin to liquid cat barf and the characters weren’t treated much better. It was a little insulting to be handed characters who could be really fun in the right hands (literally everyone) only to see them used as plot vehicles/hallucinations/memory thoughts. Kogami randomly appearing for long boring scenes wasn’t fun or cool; it was uninspired. It’d be way cooler if it was for five seconds and felt like a...memory, almost...a passing thought. For more screentime, it could even happen more often. But no, it’s gotta be like two minutes long. 

How about the scene where Saiga talks to Koichi who just keeps turning into Kamui and he talks for like five straight minutes? UGH. Is this supposed to feel deep and meaningful? It doesn’t.

Shion sleeps with Yayoi so she can monologue plot things while Yayoi is getting dressed. Can I add that Yayoi doesn’t matter at all at any point, and Shion conveniently can do anything that needs to be done because Reasons?

Togane isn’t around long enough to feel like a worthwhile villain. Nobody cares about Shisui because we honestly don’t even know who she is! Oh, were we supposed to feel bad for Division 3? We’re supposed to feel gross about Akane’s grandmother but the writers took one line in S1 and used that to try and break the character (while also knowing full well it wouldn’t have any effect on her). Let’s not forget Mika, who is remembered as being incredibly annoying...while everyone forgets/doesn’t notice that she’s the student from the boarding school who didn’t die (and we never see her outside of work doing her own thing, which adds to her just being a pain).

Ginoza seems a little like he’s supposed to fill a spot his father left, but he doesn’t, and he’s pushed to the background to...not really do anything of import. Hinakawa is a worthless character who exists just for one plot-specific purpose. Saiga exists so that more dialogue can happen and not seem too out of place.

I’m not saying the character writing overall is trash, but it definitely ain’t good, and I think S2 is where it really struggled. S1 gave us a really interesting character in Kogami. Akane was learning and struggling to fit in at work and do things well, which was somewhat relatable. Ginoza was struggling with his mental health throughout the entire first season and had a lot of character development. But then S2 happens and the development kind of...stopped? Akane didn’t seem to really learn much because she was too busy always being right? Kogami noped out of Japan so I didn’t expect anything with him specifically, but why couldn’t Yayoi have moved into the limelight? Shion? One of the new guys? ANYONE?

Don’t get me wrong. I still have characters I like, and I can see potential in the others. I just wish I was seeing more than potential is all, especially with characters like Yayoi that have been around from Day1 and still haven’t really done anything noteworthy.

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General Criticisms/Other Thoughts

There’s a lot of shock-value violence (SVV). I guess you could say I ‘get’ the purpose of it, but there’s literally no reason that helmeted person couldn’t have beat a man to death with a hammer instead of a woman, especially considering that we have to see Spooky Boogie’s corpse looking grotesque and plenty of other crimes against women.

I feel like S2 was especially guilty of SVV, but it existed in S1, too, pretty much to the point that it started to anger me. It might not have bothered me as much if some of the violent acts were cases that stood alone, but they were all linked to the main plot and that somehow seemed to make it worse.

I also wasn’t a fan of Akane constantly being naked/near naked, of Yuki being in her underwear/negligée, of every crime against a woman ending up with a woman’s clothes being removed, and (the list goes on). One of these things? I might be able to overlook. All of them? Come on. Don’t pretend these creators weren’t doing this for their own purpose.

(I know the scene with Aoyanagi gave us the men getting undressed too [This is your natural self!], but then they showed her with all these action scenes, legs spread wide open, coordinated lacy undies/bra... C’MON. All the butt-shots of Professor Saiga and Kogami don’t make up for this or cancel it out. I KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING AND I DO NOT LIKE IT.)

The music was mediocre but acceptable/fitting. 

The animation is nice. 

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Overall

This isn’t a series I’d recommend to just anyone. It has a lot of issues, and they range from being petty annoyances to straight up offensive. If you can ignore the misogynistic undertones and general lack of consistent attention to the characters, there’s a decently interesting plot waiting for you.

Unfortunately the series just feels...lacking, in the end. There is a S3 coming out (apparently featuring other characters), so the creators aren’t done playing in this world. Maybe S3 will fix some of the consistency issues?

I’ve seen a lot of people make comments about Psycho Pass being a ‘genius’ work, ignored by the general public despite its godliness. I agree that it doesn’t get the attention you’d expect a series of this caliber (nice animation, decent soundtrack, likable main female character who isn’t some moeblob) to have, but I think I hit upon all the reasons it’s not everyone’s cuppa in the first place...and while it is open for fanfiction and so on, the lack of attention to the characters by the series itself makes it less likely to appeal to the sort of people who write fanfiction. So there you have it: a pretty decent, mostly coherent series that’s terribly violent and misogynistic. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but worth a watch if you can get past those pesky negatives.