#anyway if you consider getting real actual mad: don’t obviously this was either genuine mistake or planned

[theminecraftbee]

okay also I’ve seen at least one person theorize this was planned and like, I can see that, right (like obviously it was at least worked out well enough behind the scenes that they made it a whole big plot point in their videos).

however that leads to the biggest possibilities here. being one of two EQUALLY FUNNY things. the first being that scar and grian really did just accidentally fuck up exactly that badly. the SECOND being the hermits going “wow yeah the audience will totally believe you two just fucked up exactly that badly like you all would screw up that horribly on your own yeah that’s a great idea” and frankly both are really funny,

[scintillatingshortgirl19]

Episode 4 Rewatch Thoughts

So first of all, I would definitely say that I have...calmed down a considerable amount since my first watch, so to speak. @delyth88 said some things in her rewatch post about being able to adapt to things and enjoy the episode more the second time due to knowing what's coming rather than having to deal with the uncertainty - which I how I feel about it as well and is a trend I experienced with episodes 1-2 as well, and in some ways episode 3. Once I had a chance to recover a bit from the narcissist thing and the romance thing, it turned out there were a lot of things I really liked! The big issues I had haven’t gone away by any means, and honestly a couple of the biggest ones aren’t even things that specifically happened in this episode - the first is just the gradual realization I’m having that I don’t think they are ever going to properly address Loki’s past trauma, and all those plot points the MCU just dropped are probably forever going to stay that way. And that fucking sucks, there’s no reason it had to be like this, and I don’t see how I could ever not be upset about that or truly get over it. The other thing is that it’s just incredibly frustrating and sad to me that all those theories about Loki having some kind of other plan in episode 3 to explain the bizarre incompetence we saw, or payoff for the weirdness that was the TemPad breaking scene, literally just amounted to nothing. All these things I hoped were intentional subtext turned out to just be nothing more than...bad writing? So yeah, I’m pretty disappointed about that. But at this point I’m trying to enjoy the series for what it is as much as I can, and on the second watch I really did enjoy a lot about this episode. So yeah, long-ass intro aside, here are my (hopefully more coherent this time) thoughts about episode 4:

Damn, that scene with Sylvie as a child really highlights how inhumane and barbaric the TVA is. Seeing her in that little prison uniform was...oof. Not that we didn’t already know the TVA was terrible, but I appreciate that they’re making it unmistakably clear for the general audience.

It's genuinely a good thing that they're going into Sylvie's trauma, and it's important to the plot, but I can't even put into words how frustrating it is to see them do that while simultaneously refusing to address Loki's. (you know, the protagonist?)

"Kind of an asshole and a bad friend" LMAO Mobius the TVA was holding Loki captive and was eventually going to kill him, can you really blame the guy for trying to escape?? Also an additional episode establishing that friendship would have been good - as much as I'm glad they consider each other friends, it felt premature for either of them to use that word yet.

I have mixed feelings about the Sif scene - overall I like it, but I do have some issues:

Pros: 

-   Loki whump! Both physical and emotional! (I want to see Loki win but I also like whump. It's complicated. Also I'm confused about where exactly she kneed him? Everyone is saying crotch but the first time he's holding his inner thigh so I thought it was there? Anyway if it is the crotch I'm not a huge fan of that particular decision, but my general feelings about whump still stand.) 

-    Lots of sad Loki faces, talking about fear of being alone - good stuff!

Cons: 

-    The first of the dreaded "narcissist" mentions

-    It’s kind of odd that he never even tried fighting back?

-    This also could have been an opportunity to acknowledge Loki's trauma, and as usual, they did not take it. I would have maybe liked a scene where Odin was being a dick to Loki and we got an acknowledgement of some of the emotional abuse. They probably could've worked Loki's fear of being alone into just about any memory. Did it really have to be a scene about how Loki's in the wrong? And in itself I have no issue with Loki facing the mistakes he's made! But I've been waiting 10 goddamn years for just one character or even a single solitary line of dialogue to acknowledge that Loki was wronged too, and by all appearances it still isn't going to happen and I'm just fucking tired.

And about the narcissist thing - it's frustrating because if they would just do it right, it could actually be really good?? If an element of the story was Loki (and Mobius) thinking he was a narcissist and then realizing he actually isn't, that would be amazing. The problem is, I'm fairly certain they are not going to go that route. I feel like it'll be more along the lines of "yeah you're a narcissist but you can be Good!" instead of acknowledging that Loki was never a fucking narcissist in the first place. Tbh it makes sense that both Loki and Mobius might think Loki's a narcissist, or throw around the term without knowing what they’re talking about - there are great explanations and meta about that - the real problem for me is that, in the eyes of the general audience, it confirmed a harmful and unfortunately very popular misconception about Loki, and it also perpetuates an incorrect view of what a narcissist is. Those are the main reasons I'm mad about it; if they purposefully, explicitly contradict it later it'll probably be fine! I just really don't think they're going to.

Tbh, after the second watch I'm a lot less mad about the shitty things Mobius said while interrogating Loki - it still hurt to hear and I'd still love an apology, but from Mobius' perspective it honestly makes sense that he wouldn't pull any punches considering he thinks Loki is partially responsible for killing the minutemen and Hunter C-20, and is trying to bring down the TVA.

I do still think Mobius turning on the TVA felt rushed. I'm delighted he got there, and the way he realized things made sense - it just happened unrealistically fast. I felt like a lot of things were rushed, and honestly I think more things will probably feel rushed in these last two episodes as well. This is something I felt with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier too - like they needed at least eight if not more episodes to give proper space for the story and character arcs they were trying to squeeze in. Six episodes just isn't enough.

Although, that said, while I still think this episode had weird pacing it didn't really bother me that much on the second watch? Probably because I already knew what the sequence of events was going to be.

The scene when Mobius was pruned was amazing - I loved Loki's emotions, and the way he walks down the hallway still kind of crying but mostly just looking utterly dead inside? *chef's kiss*

The timekeepers scene still felt off to me, and I still can't really articulate why. It honestly doesn't matter that much to me so I don't want to waste time on it, but I guess it just felt...sort of low-budget? Like we already knew the timekeepers probably weren't real/weren't what they seemed, but did they have to look that obviously fake? Idk.

I'm going to make a separate post about the romance stuff, but basically where I’m at with it is: it's a terrible shame to see such beautiful platonic/sibling energy go to waste, I'm real annoyed about it but trying to make peace with it for my own sanity, and I think there are a million clues pointing to it not actually being romantic but I don't trust that any of those were intentional. So I guess we'll see? 

I'm very intrigued by all the Loki variants. Also I'm curious if Mobius is there as well, or if each variant person has their own world? Either way I'll be shocked if Mobius is actually dead (there's a million reasons for that but the main ones are that it's likely pruning doesn't actually kill any of the variants (not just the Loki ones) and anyway he's supposed to be in 5 episodes). I'm really curious about the variant world in general though and I wonder what exactly the dangers are - why Loki "will be [dead]" if he doesn't come with the other Lokis.

[sapphicwhxre]

tiny pansy rant, cut short so it’s *hopefully* not too long:

i. wanted. to. see. her. change! and in my opinion the reason she never got the chance was because jkr used her character to make fun of people she disliked :/

pretty much all the other noteable slytherins had some sort of redemption arc,, and yeah they’re still mostly problematic people but they got chances: snape, draco, narcissa, regulus, slughorn, leta and technically andromeda? you get the point i just—

like miss ma’am decided to make pansy,, the like slytherin stereotype? and have her want to betray harry? she was seventeen ffs, not bellatrix lestrange. she was in the middle of a war? in my personal opinion i don’t think that she wanted to hand harry over out of cruelty like. it’s possible? but maybe she was just scared? also don’t we know that pansy was terrified at the thought of like. voldemort coming to hogwarts? again: everyone expects all of the children in harry potter to be these selfless brave individuals,, they’re kids :( yes ik it’s ya fantasy but cmon. they were supposed to be stressed about the N.E.W.T exams not the upheaval of their society?

and don’t get me wrong i know that she was. not a good person. she was a bitchy teenage bully who was taught hateful views. but i wanted to see her change even a little– even draco marries someone who presumably teaches him how to treat people equally? like. there was so much room for change: she was a prefect, she was capable of some kindness seeing as she liked draco, or alternatively, we could’ve seen her break away from draco and potentially stop hating harry/all his friends quite so much or develop her own opinions. or maybe her group of friends that she used for validation throughout her school years was uprooted during the war and she had to learn that independency? or her pointing out harry could’ve been turned into trying to be selfless, like she thought they’d be safe that way, or she returned later fighting with reinforcements to show she was on Hogwarts’ side. jkr is always like "well they technically came back to fight, if you squint » but that’s not enough. also? let’s say we did get a glimpse of her during the actual battle: there could’ve been anything, the smallest scene, that showed some sort of support or reconciliation or something between her and hermione, considering how hermione was often pansy’s target. everybody wants to see forgiveness between draco and harry because of minor events/details (i dislike drarry but that’s besides the point), but imagine what could’ve changed with some semblance of apology or assistance from pansy to hermione. there were so many chances for r*wling to give her a smallest redemption

but instead we got her characterized as evil and a stupid, cowardly traitor. she the only person we ever see her care for marries her friends younger sister. she’s the written depiction of jkr’s bitterness and her arc is jkr’s vengeance.

also, another reason that i’m so mad she got nothing is because of the whole slytherin=evil thing. she’s made into a stereotype of a “slytherin”— cruel, selfish, shallow, ugly, and asinine. (also i could rant about slytherin forever, but can we just mention that jkr consistently refers to slytherins as physically ugly and just how fucked up that is? i– wtf). but anyway: to give pansy a chance to change is to give the slytherin house a chance to change its reputation. trying to justify that the slytherin house got its redemption because of the actions of ppl like snape or regulus, etc isn’t possible. because all of those “slytherin heroes” were described again and again as being “different from all the other slytherins”. they set themselves apart by being decent. they weren’t normal slytherins, no, they were set apart, they were brave and smart and kind— not evil. there’s no redemption to be found there. i wish jkr would just fucking say that being sorted into slytherin was being made into a villain. she dodged around it with rhetorical questions and pointing out how not All of them are bad,, and then will go on to mock the other slytherins and talk about how the heroes were Not Like The Other Snakes... again: there’s no redemption of slytherin as a house, as a quality, as a concept there. it’s just the redemption of an individual.

in pansy, however, we could’ve found so much more. like i said, she’s The Average Slytherin: not a hero, not a villain like voldemort. she’s made out to be a depiction of the typical slytherin student, one without a “destiny”, so to speak. and so to give her the chance, to see her change, to have her redefine herself? that would be a starting point for restoring slytherin as a whole (obviously not the best way, and the real best thing to do would be not to make an entire house be the bad guys in the first place, but–) to have someone who’s the figurehead of slytherin (like actually a figurehead,, girl is a even a prefect) show remorse and growth gives the entire house the seed of redemption. it would mean that after over a thousand years there could be peace between the houses. obviously not the only factor in reconciliation but still so important.

and not to just continue to heap on my own issues with it, but look. i know that there are so many other ways to introduce “mundane” antagonists without making them a symbol of anything. pansy could’ve been a bitch without representing slytherin. also pansy doesn’t have to break character and become kind for amends to be made. they don’t even have to be fully made, just started. but jkr chose to:

a.) go with bullying as a minor antagonistic element

b.) create and develop a character around that theme

c.) make this character only based on her own negative personal experiences

d.) turn that character into a representation of a much larger group of people

e.) deny that character any final moment that could begin to make amends for her actions and instead, chooses to make her “defining” moment an act of evil and cowardice

f.) either neglects the character or chooses plot points that would humiliate the character in all the glimpses of the future we are shown (ex. how dracos marriage is)

g.) openly mocks and insults the character repeatedly and never directly comes out and proves she didn’t write slytherins as evil

h.) to the best of my knowledge, ignores that pansy personifing slytherin, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and then characterizing both as “bad” and not giving them a chance to grow, is a summary of her thoughts on slytherin ls and is a possible interpretation of the text (i mean her opinions are already TRASH)

i. ignores the consequences of this or the possible effect it has on her entire fanbase and doesn’t seek to remedy it

but yeah, jkr, it was such a good idea to base a character off of your loathesone memories, take your anger out on her, and that choose to have that character partially represent a large percentage of your fanbase. thank you sooooo much. i really appreciate it!

summary:

I. Pansy— deserved an opportunity to have some character development. everyone else’s mistakes get overlooked to some degree save hers. had so many places to draw inspiration/opportunity from. could’ve progressed other ideas in the book and the analysis of her house while still remaining a “dislikable” character

II. Writing— from a “technical?” aspect, Pansy is underdeveloped and stagnant, used for personal reasons instead of as a plot device. perpetuates the slytherin=bad idea via a sloppy and repetitive characterization and emblem. there are ways around this that weren’t used.

III. I have no qualifications to be saying any of this lmao. Am I reading to much into it, knowing that Rowling tends to be shitty with writing details? Am I being dramatic and repetitive? probably!

IV. Fuck JKR (for everything. she’s an awful person)

anyways this has been: my mini-rant on pansy and her analysis,,, and i am terribly sorry,, i offer my apologies in advance for randomly dumping this into your inbox. it’s long and opinionated and there’s no real reason behind it! i just thought of it and then thought about it some more and then. here we are

ilysm mwah <3 should’ve definitely done something more productive but shh😭 rat brain hours

this is everything, you're completely right. i don't have much to add but i agree all the way. and people give pansy so much shit for the harry thing but she seemed genuinely scared of voldemort coming back and i really think that she believed he would leave them alone if they gave him up. from her perspective, it's either her and the people she cares about get to live or this guy that she not only isn't close to but probably sees as the bad guy considering she dated/was best friends with draco and witnessed their rivalry from his side. did she make the best decisions? no, not at all but i see her reasons and i don't think it makes her this antichrist that jkr makes her out to be. she pulled the “he's just a boy” with draco and had people sympathise with him when he did so so much worse than pansy did so why doesn't that apply to her? she's a kid. they all are. i love harry, ron, and hermione SO MUCH but jkr really said fuck everyone who isn't them ─ especially any girl who isn't her precious hermione. she projected her own pettiness onto fictional characters who are CHILDREN and proceeded to get upset when people connected to and loved other people that she herself made. creating such an underdeveloped character and expecting people to hate her just because she imagined her as her bully is beyond immature and ridiculous. anyways. jkr take a fucking chill pill and leave my girl alone.

[pluviophile-bookworm]

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Rewatch pt. 4

I really need a pick-me-up after 2x11, and I feel like 1x7 might be what I'm looking for, so here I am again with another HSMTMTS rewatch. I'm genuinely so excited for both of these episodes, so without further ado, let's jump right into

1x6: She stands for... lies, pressure and very inappropriate suggestions (coming here after 2x11 might have been a mistake, actually)

I honestly don't get why Nini's reaction to seeing Ricky in full Troy costume was so big — he actually looked pretty ok to me. Sure, the wig is a bit too much, but so what, it's cute.

Ahhh my boy Reddy is so adorable in that talking head... 'click!' Gosh, I love seeing him so cheerful! Guess he's embracing his role as part of the crew. As he should.

'I'm home'. Yes, Sebby, and you look so good, too! Gosh, I love this scene so much. I can't believe I'd forgotten about it.

Gina looks beautiful, though — I mean, she looks beautiful in anything, but I really like the Taylor look on her.

Ok, I fully understand everyone's frustration about this picture — it's genuinely so hard to get a good picture of someone jumping up in the air, and I can only imagine what it would be like with six people. A bunch of my classmates tried to do something like that ages ago and, needless to say, it didn't go very well. No good pictures were taken that day.

Ah, Portwell: the early days. Ok, but wanting something and feeling like you have to get it is far from the same thing, EJ. Honestly, these two in their early days as accomplices... this is not the first time they've been like 'X is the same thing as Y' when it's obviously not. I mean, of course, that time they became accomplices because 'we want the same thing' — which, at that point, they didn't.

Ok, but they were in such unison with that 'Not now!'... couple goals! You know, even before either of them had considered the possibility of them being a couple for real.

That's a lot of pressure that Miss Jenn is putting on dear Carlito over there. I mean, he's one of the youngest at the drama club and he has to essentially do her job for her, all while she's not even sure if she'll be able to return to her job. I just... keep reminding myself that these kids are closer in age to my little brother than they are to me (except for EJ, who is precisely in the middle), and then the pressure they're under takes on completely new proportions in my mind. None of them should have to deal with all of this. And no amount of 'trust the process' is making it better.

'Should I just live vicariously through someone else?' Oh Reddy, you should just live for yourself. I mean, the truth is I don't practice what I preach most of the time, but I really do mean this. Just go out there and live your best life. You're not Ricky's therapy dog or anything (that being said, Ricky's getting a therapy dog when?).

What part of 'a forest of boys' does Nini not get? It's simple enough. Just help Carlos do his job, how about that? I mean, he shouldn't have to do everything himself anyway.

See? He cracked. That's what happens when you put all this responsibility on a teen's shoulders and be like 'deal with it'. He was just trying his best, you guys. He did not deserve all the clapback.

Ricky's forced optimism about Miss Jenn and the show is too much even for me. Sure, I know everything turns out mostly alright at the end, but this just sounds like Ricky's on the verge of a breakdown. You know, every time someone's been too unrealistically positive on this show, it has ended in a breakdown. And that's the last thing I want.

I do agree about the simple acoustic version of the song, though. Sometimes simple is the best option.

Major props to Carlos for going up to Mr. Mazzara like that. If someone had bullied me, and especially if that someone was a teacher, I'd never have dared to call them 'Benjamin Mazarra!' to their face. Even when he's on the verge of despair, this boy is still the boldest. And we love him for that.

Is this where the 'Carlos Surname' joke started, though? I had forgotten. It was funny while it lasted.

Ricky doesn't know it yet, but he's seriously playing with Gina's feelings there. And I don't blame him because, again, he doesn't know yet, but I still feel bad for her.

'Despite the 4.3 GPA, I'm actually an idiot.' — EJ is high intelligence, low wisdom, confirmed. Not that this is news, but I really don't remember much about this season, so I'm pointing this out now.

Now forgive me if I'm not feeling for Miss Jenn after 2x11... she did some really unforgivable things there. Still, as much as I want to say a real qualified teacher would not do any of that, my personal experience suggests otherwise, quite unfortunately. Miss Jenn might not be very emotionally mature, but not having legal teaching credentials is not her biggest issue, really. It is precisely her lack of emotional maturity.

OMG, Big Red accidentally invited the entire drama club over! And that, I guess, is half of how Redlyn established themselves as the hosts of every out-of-school drama club gathering. Thanksgiving is, of course, the other half. Gosh, those two were the parents of the drama club even before they were a couple. Guess they're soulmates in that way, too.

Ok, so I didn't comment on this after 2x8 when Big Red did it to Ricky, but now that I finally notice that Seb did it to Carlos, too (I took my time, thanks), I need to talk about the knee touch thing. See, this is exactly the amount of touch I used to be comfortable with (since I'm very touch-averse) — both on the giving and on the receiving end — and it can mean so much when you feel bad. It's a subtle 'hey, I'm here, it's going to be fine', a sort of hug-without-the-hugging... I feel like this is a gesture we don't see enough of in media and it can feel just as intimate as, say, holding hands or cuddling. I don't want to talk about kissing because I don't know anything about it. But I just love how we've got the knee touch depicted by both a romantic pairing and a platonic pairing in the show. Ok, rant over. But I just really wanted to talk about this because, well, I saw myself in it.

'Her past is a little bit sketchy'... I see, Ash has already started writing Truth, Justice and Songs in Our Key, even if she doesn't know it quite yet.

Miss Jenn finding out Mike is Ricky's dad is just as awkward as it should be. Whatever they had going on should have ended right then and there.

'... people in the dramatic arts are insane' — 'Thank you.' — Umm, Miss Jenn, you are not really helping your case there. Quite frankly, you're lucky you've got the allegiance of the entire drama club. I don't think they'd have your back as much after 2x11, though.

Ok, but... Big Red wearing a longcoat just to take it off for the dramatic flair of it all? An icon if I've ever seen one. Also, mad props to Larry for apparently learning this number in record time after Dara got injured.

Oh, and... mad props to all the kids in-universe for writing, rehearsing, and learning this entire number in one night.

So both Seb and Natalie have solo lines in the song... and Seb was promoted to main in s2. So does this mean Natalie will get the same treatment in s3? I mean, that will probably mean they'll try to stick her in some sort of romantic plot, and I really don't need that, but I really, really want her to be a main character.

Also, let's not forget we had our first Redlyn moment in this number... seeing them dance together makes my heart jump with joy!

I won't lie, though, the entire dance number and everything was just a little bit uncomfortable to watch after 2x11... these kids do so much for Miss Jenn, and what does she do? Put insane amounts of pressure on some of them, shuts others down at every attempt to put in a word, favours yet others despite their abysmal performance at the audition, and then has the audacity to tell that same person to jump off of something high, with all the implications attached? Not that I'm naming any names, of course. Ok, this has taken a sudden and uncalled for turn for the dark, so I guess I'll just move right along to the next episode now.

1x7: A world where 'That was terrible!' and 'I'm so happy!' can both be true at the same time

My girl Ash is doing the recap! And she's a pun queen, too. 'Miss Jenn was in hot water, Carlos was a hot mess...' — not pleasant, but so true. But wbk. Ashlyn is the best.

And... Ricky and Nini's on and off chemistry is back on. Good for them, because after season 2, I really needed to see a good rehearsal. But I'm thinking EJ's joy at the end-of-school bell had little to do with Thanksgiving...

That look Reddy gave Ashlyn as she was walking out... might be me digging for breadcrumbs, but I think I just saw the exact moment my boy fell, and he fell hard. Ok, I realise now after I've said this that 'fall' probably isn't the best choice of words, but you know what I mean. Fell for Ashlyn. Not like... oh, never mind.

'So meek, so mild, sword!' I can't really explain it, but I love this line. And I feel like it describes Ash so perfectly: like, she might be meek and mild, but if you cross her, she's armed. Gosh, I love her!

Not the Caswell parents leaving their children alone over two holiday breaks! No wonder these two are the way they are. But they're about to get a beautiful Thanksgiving celebration. [Fun personal fact: the year I was born, my birthday fell on Thanksgiving day. That doesn't mean much in Bulgaria, but my dad works with a lot of Americans so my parents knew about it and I've known this and that about this holiday I've never celebrated since I was very young. I have no idea why I'm telling you this, but Thanksgiving has always reminded me of my birthday for this reason, so... ok, moving on.]

So I know she kind of suggested it, but... why does Carlos think it's his place to invite people over to Ashlyn's? I mean, this was part 2 of Redlyn establishing themselves as the hosts for any out-of-school gathering, but... oh well, it led to a beautiful party with everyone, so... I'll allow it.

I really liked Nini's talk with her grandma. It was really nice, and a very fitting way to remind everyone what Thanksgiving is originally about. I feel like people often forget that when it comes to... literally every major commercialised holiday.

Wow, EJ really is that person where once the tap is open, it can't stop spilling. And I kind of like that look on him. It's a transitional stage between EJ 1.0 and EJ 2.0, and I appreciate it for what it is.

Ahhhh it's Redlyn's first proper 1-on-1 conversation! I mean, it got kind of really awkward really quickly because of — surprise, surprise — Nini and Ricky (and EJ), but those two are so adorable! No more breadcrumbs — we're about to get an entire five-course meal here! Which goes really well with the Thanksgiving setting, now that I think of it.

Gosh, they've never really talked and my boy whips out the 'the only thing I'd ever throw at your face is a brighter spotlight' line right off the bat? Boy is whipped! But like, he is the master of grand gestures where Ashlyn is concerned. Still, in this first moment they shared, he really was like, go big or go home, and home isn't really an option here. But I should have known, it's in his name after all. Gosh, I love both of those two so much! Especially when they're together.

Ok, so... this is a really bad way to meet your mother's new boyfriend. Poor Ricky. As if ringing his mum wasn't hard enough already.

See, when I rewatch season 1, I get where the Rina stans are coming from, but then again, remember when I used to say I wanted Gina and EJ to just be friends? Yeah, that's changed too. Not that I ever shipped Rina romantically — I rarely ever ship a pairing unless they're explicitly stated to have something going on, just because I can't see that sort of stuff very clearly — but I really, really want them (Ricky and Gina, I mean) to be really good friends. Once they get past the awkwardness of their sort of history, I mean.

I miss the good old days when Nini was a nice person... I mean, we kind of (really) had a glimpse of that in 2x11 (I'm guessing she was making up for Miss Jenn's very inappropriate slip-up), but I miss the days before she was this big internet-famous songwriter and actually had to be convinced by Ashlyn that she should write songs for herself... wait, now that I think of it... Ashlyn might have helped create a monster there. Oh well. Still love her so much!

You know, I love the Choosical, but it's all a bit sad, if you stop to think about it for a sec. Just picture little single-digit-aged Carlito making this whole thing up in an attempt to participate in his favourite thing... only to not have anyone to play with for the next ten years. Great, I just made myself cry. The thing is, I relate to that story a bit too much. I remember in preschool, when the rest of the children would play together, I'd sit in a corner by myself and read the only book that was there... over and over, day after day. I don't even remember a single thing about that little book right now, but back then I clung to it like it was everything. And I couldn't very much share the experience with any of my peers, seeing as I was the only kid there who could actually read (my grandma used to be a preschool teacher and she taught me to read when I was 4). So yeah. I went off on a rather personal tangent there. Thing is, I know how little Carlos felt and I'm so happy that he finally gets to share this thing he made with a loving and supportive group of friends. Everything has its time and place, I guess.

'Look, I'm not following Big Red just because he paid me a compliment' — of course not, dear, you know your own worth and we love that for you — but see, when he said that thing that you're referring to as a compliment, he did not lie! You really are the brightest star and deserve the brightest spotlight. See, the thing I love most about Redlyn's compliments to each other is that they're so sincere and state nothing but the absolute truth. Those two just see each other for what they are, and love each other as they are. And I think that is beautiful.

It's so funny to me every time someone gets something wrong and Carlos just walks past them out of nowhere and corrects them without missing a beat. I kind of relate to that side of him, too. Except it's usually about grammar and language in my case, not HSM trivia.

If I were Nini in this scene, and was suddenly put face to face with Emily on the spot like that, I would not have been able to handle it. So props to Nini for handling it.

Yeah, sorry to break it to you, Emily dear, but whatever you're doing is not a Cockney accent. I don't claim to be an accent expert, but I know first-hand what Cockney sounds like and... that's just not it. Even Dick Van Dyke was closer to a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins, and that's saying something. (See, I feel bad criticising any aspect of Emily because her actress is no longer with us, but... I have no idea who let them get away with passing this off as Cockney).

Is this the beginning of Jennzara there? I am loving this.

Of course Carlos was obsessed with Glee as a kid... but wasn't he a bit too young for it when it aired? I know I was, and I'm older than those kids. I mean, I waited until I was emotionally mature enough to watch Glee, and that wasn't until 3 years ago, when I was 18 going on 19. Ok, I'm thinking too much into this. Moving on.

Ahhhhh, Redlyn! Just... all of their moments. But screaming the lyrics of What I've Been Looking For on top of their lungs while looking right at each other... was so beautiful to watch. Give me more of that!

EJ: 'That was terrible.' Seb: 'I'm so happy!' — Moods, both of them. Those two are real-life emojis, aren't they? And we love them for that.

'... without laughing... or killing each other.' — I feel like that last specification was needed given that it's Ricky and EJ we're talking about, and especially what happened last time they had to do a one-on-one exercise during rehearsal. The ensuing scene, however, is the most hilarious thing!

Root beer, huh? Is that the HSMTMTS code for 'awkward' now? I mean, Nini and Gina had a nice talk there, all things considered. I really want the two of them to put the Ricky thing past them and be friends... but we'll see.

Gina is trying to make the sleepover thing look like 'it's not a big deal' despite how big of a deal it obviously is to her... to which I say, good for you, girl, but I wouldn't know. The only sleepovers I've ever had have been with my little cousin who is 9 years younger than me and also insists on sleeping with a very bright nightlight on, which means I can't sleep at all. So yeah, I wouldn't know. But I'm happy that Gina is feeling included.

So this is the exact moment when it becomes clear that Big Red is not telling us the complete truth when it comes to his HSM knowledge... '14 and 10'? Even I didn't know that. I knew 14, but... for someone who allegedly 'hates musicals', my boy has very detailed knowledge of one certain musical movie... I love how it got him a certain girl's attention, though. Not that she wasn't already paying attention to him, if you catch my drift.

Ok, but this hits even harder now than it did the first time — just when Gina has finally managed to make friends, to feel included in their group, her mum has to move her away again. This is straight-up tragic. I'll say it now, and I'll probably say it again when it comes up in the rewatch — Ashlyn is an absolute queen for taking Gina in for the next semester.

'That's sort of what you always do, huh? Take care of everyone else' — yeah, Ash, and you do the same. You two just need someone to do for you what you do for other people. See, guys, this is what I mean. This is why they're soulmates. Because in a world that has more or less forced both of them to put others first, they put each other first. They each get to be the most important person to each other after they've been stepping back for others all the time. And if that isn't beautiful, I don't know what is. I know I'm repeating myself over and over saying this, but... they own my heart and soul and I'm not for sale.

Ok, but Ashlyn's little run after Big Red left was so cute! Girl is... I don't know why I keep using that word, but... falling.

Unpopular opinion: Out of the Old is the best Nini solo to come out of this series to date. Maybe I feel that way just because I relate to it most, but hey, that is a valid reason to like something.

Oof, EJ's losing followers. Oh well, if they're unfollowing him for being too honest, they didn't like the real him to begin with. So good riddance to them.

Yikes... Jennzara fell asleep with flammable stuff left unattended... we all know how that ended, but just the fact that they felt comfortable enough to fall asleep in each other's presence... speaks volumes. So I guess... well, I don't know what exactly I'm saying regarding the fire they caused, but I loved this big little moment they had.

So this is it. That was 1x6 and 7 and, well, they were beautiful, but there are some parts I can't look at in the same way anymore after 2x11. Guess that's the risk of a rewatch. The Redlyn scenes, though — still the best part of both of these episodes. That and a couple of other things for which I don't need to pretend like I haven't seen season 2.

[kisilinramblings]

I'm going to bring out a controversial ask. What are your thoughts on Chat's behaviour in Copycat? I have seen so many salters absolutely wreck the boy for that episode, especially for his last line about being heartbroken. Was what he did wrong? Completely. But I'm pretty sure he knows that. He never acted upon it again and defiently improved since then.

(Not gonna lie, Copycat was one of my favorite episodes during S1, haha)

Honestly, Ladybug herself wrecked him twice in front of him in that episode. 

First, with this statement

LB : Chat Noir may annoy me to pieces, but he's never lied to me.  CN : Thanks for the compliment... I think. 

LB’s line is slightly different in the French dub. She points out “Chat Noir has a ton of flaws”. Still, goal is the same, even if she praises him for not being a liar, the first part hurt his ego there because it is what LB thinks of him. That he is not great. Decent, but not great.

Then we got this line a bit later.

CN : I’m so glad you could tell the real cat from the fake one. LB : Once I’ve figured out which Chat was really in love with me, it was a no brainer.

Here, CN understands that LB thinks he is joking about his feelings. 

Throughout S1, LB is unaware of CN’s romantic feelings for her are genuine. Ever since Stoneheart part 2, she considers CN to be a jokester, so she interprets his flirting attempts , his charming attitude and the little nicknames he gives her as casual bantering. In other words, she doesn’t take him seriously.

So yeah, coming from his crush, this is bound to heartbreak him and he is just mentionning the obvious to himself and the audience. But I don’t think this was made to pity him but rather to show the consequences of his actions. That LB won’t love him for being jealous. And the episode never depicted Chat Noir as a winner after his display of jealousy. 

I mean, when we watch the episode, we follow CN’s POV, yes, but his actions during that episode are never glorified or rewarded. Instead, Chat Noir is the butt of the joke. The Akumatized personifies him, makes him look like a bad individual and ridicules him. The police doesn’t believe CN and lock him down. Plagg’s comment about Adrien’s jealousy was on point. Chat Noir got trapped and outwitted and was unable to defeat the Akuma by himself like he intended. And finally, LB made some remarks about CN that annoyed/hurt him but were true. 

Honestly, everything was against Chat Noir there because of his actions (I loved the episode for that).

Should CN have verbally apologized to Théo about lying to him and for being jealous? Of course! Would he had done so if LB wasn’t there? Who knows. However, LB was present and it was an important variable in the equation.

Should CN have told LB the truth instead of concealing it? Yes, but that he not what CN wanted. He sure didn’t let her know what happened when he called her when infiltrating Théo’s workshop.

LB : Chat Noir, where are you? CN : I’ve found his den. LB : Who? CN : My copycat. LB : I’m not getting you. CN : If you have been there this morning, you would know what I’m talking about. LB : Well, tell me where you are? CN : No. This is between me and him. I got myself into this mess, so now I’m going to get myself out. 

Anyway later, during the battle against Copycat, LB stated she doesn’t like liars. And what did CN do earlier? Lie to Théo. And to complicate the matter, LB is oblivious about CN’s romantic feelings for her. Chat Noir already lost there and prefered to leave ASAP that telling her he got jealous. That doesn’t justify his actions but I can understand why he prefered to avoid the subject. Since he was about to detransform, he used it as an excuse and leaves, the tail between his legs, saving what he can. This is the consequences of his jealousy and he learned his lesson. If he wants LB to love him one day, he needs to not act jealously from now on. Otherwise, he is no better than his copycat.

Again, taking his leave without explaining what actually happened is not the most mature reaction (not to mention LB didn’t demand him to explain himself), but it is not the worst either. Imagine if he had left the scene as a sore loser fueled with angst against LB and/or Théo? 

Here, he is just sad and mentions that both Théo and him have in common there. Only, he doesn’t get to be cheer up by LB. 

Now, another rant some had with the episode is that CN made LB believed Copycat was her fault. 

One thing to note though is that LB did miss the statue inauguration. She was supposed to be there. It was an engagement she took because everyone expected her to show up -- along with CN -- and waited for her. And it was important for Théo that LB was present at the unveiling because he wanted her to sign the picture he used as inspiration for his sculpture. He even plead the Mayor to wait a few more minutes, hoping LB would finally come. However, unbestknown to him, it was more important for LB to erase the embarrassing voicemail she had accidently left to her crush that taking part of an official ceremony she said she would be present to. And her absence did wound Théo as Hakwmoth pointed out :

“Disappointed by Ladybug and jealous of Chat Noir, the perfect formula for disaster”.

But like their whole phone discussion informed us, Chat Noir isn’t blaming her for his actions. If she had been there, she would have witnessed what happened, yes, but he also admits this mess was his fault. Thus why he was so adamant to solve things by himself and didn’t want LB to get involved. And LB sure didn’t wanted to talk about what emergency hold her and never demanded an explaination from Chat. So both avoid talking about what happened that morning and sweep it under the rug for different reasons.

The “his crush just got crushed” line is not Chat Noir made-up excuse either. It is still true as LB did break Théo’s heart for not being there at the unveiling ceremony of the statue he has worked so hard on. Thus why she apologized, signed the picture and complimented his work. She is not taking the blame for the Akumatization here. She is only apologizing because she has missed the ceremony she was supposed to attend. Nothing more. 

If anything, Chat Noir displayed some empathy to Théo and gave him an occasion to have a few private minutes with LB. Which is definitively better than CN’s jealous reaction of keeping Théo away from LB from the beginning. 

It is not a verbal apology from Chat, but this occasion obviously meant a lot to Théo even if the gesture is small. And Chat Noir is not rewarded or thanked for it because this should have been done from the beginning instead of letting his jealousy kick in.

Now, people can dislike the episode or disagree with that ending, saying it wasn’t satisfying enough for them. It’s their opinion. The morale of that part of the episode clearly shows that letting your jealousy get the better of you doesn’t make you a winner. Did they wanted more angst? Did they wanted Chat Noir to suffer even more for being immature and making a mistake by letting his emotion get the best of him? Should the show have expanded and explored on that venue on his character? Maybe for that last point. After all, they sure did so with Marinette afterwards like in Volpina, Animaestro or Ikari Gozen for example. And I know they are fans who are tired of romantic jealousy / envy interfering during a part of an episode. Because we -- older audiences -- already know that acting while motivated by such feelings is not romantic. That jealousy ain’t cute and can hurt other. 

However, I don’t know what to say if there are people still mad over how a character acted during one episode that aired ages ago as we are currently waiting for S4. Not to mention Chat Noir is finally moving on from his crush on LB as shown during the S3 finale. The character is not at the same place anymore in his development. Like you can keep a character actions and reactions in mind as they might ressurface under different contexts in order to compare and note if there was a change. But aside of that? What use is there to be still mad? That, I will never understand I’m afraid =/

[dyxnamicart]

my stupid highschool oneshot thing

look im not a writer, (I used to be when I was fourteen, haven’t done it since then so ya know, you dont use it you lose it lmao)

Anyways this has been highly requested that I post it, im a bit mad because its not exactly how I wish their dynamic was, I’m not great at writing banter (or anything i’m an artist now plewse) but ya know Also DISCLAIMER: This is a piece of fiction, it in no way reflects real life Dan and Phil (In fact my au switches up their personalities a fair bit) and do not tag them okAY P E O P L E They dont wanna see it and I dont want them to see it (Even if this isnt a particularly shippy piece lmao people are getting very angsty as of late) I also don’t have an editor so sorry for any mistakes  Anyway here ya go heathens 

Dan didn’t notice the opposing teams jock barrelling towards him, not until his leg had swept under his own, causing him to fly through the air, ball no longer in his possession. 

In fact it all flew by in a matter of seconds. Dan didn’t really have time to process exactly what was happening until he felt the shock of pain that travelled up his wrist and down his arm as he landed heavily onto it, crying out as he rolled once or twice before coming to a stop… He couldn’t really tell. There was a whistle blow, but the bustling around him seemed dull in comparison to the loudness of the pain in his wrist. 

He hissed as he was righted, pulled up and put steadily on his feet, being ushered to the benches, it only felt like five minutes before the game was back on course, bar Dan to be left on the sides, a few claps on the back from his teammates as he let his head come down from the spinning it was doing. 

The nurse on staff did a pretty shoddy job of bandaging, but to her credit she did ask if he wanted an ambulance. If his dad knew an ambulance was called because he hurt his wrist... he didn’t even want to imagine the searing look of disappointment he would receive. 

So he just declined. 

The game was one of the final ones of the season, they were playing against the local private school, which had a surprisingly amount of suspiciously beefed up kids, though with private school money Dan wasn’t surprised they probably had some ins with the law and extra ‘help’. 

He really wanted to play in the final, in fact his coach had even been considering him for the team, not that Dan was amazing at football, but he wasn’t the worst. He was passable at best, probably why his parents weren’t here right now to witness the semi, something he supposes he should be counting his lucky stars for now he had an injury as mediocre as a sprained wrist, but now there was a nagging pull in his gut of his own disappointment. 

He waited out the game on the bench, figuring he should at least be there for his team for the results, even with a sprained wrist he didn’t want to run away without at least talking to a few of his mates afterwards. 

-

Phil didn’t see the tumble. 

He was perched up in the bleachers, trying to ignore the way the mild and darkening sky had began to stew whipping winds that tore right through the threads in his sweater, by sketching insurmountable things he could see. 

He didn’t usually go to games, not only was it not his scene, but he would either end up insanely bored or find his eyes following Dan Howell’s god damn limber body. But this was the semis, and he totally wasn’t here to occasionally glance at a certain panting number 91, he at least wanted to show his support for the school. It wasn’t his fault this game was boring and his sketchbook looked far more inviting. 

He only looked up when there was a big murmur and gasps coming from the crowd around him, and he couldn’t see who it was at first, but there was a boy sprawled on the ground. 

It didn’t take long to figure out it was Dan, and his eyebrows furrowed deeply, closing his sketchbook and shoving it into his bag. He ended up walking down a few rows in the bleachers, just trying to see if the daft idiot was okay, and he sat down again much closer. The nurse did an awful job at bandaging his hand, he could see that from here, and he would have to fix it after the game. Well.. he didn’t have to, of course, but he figured Howell was too much of an airhead to fix it properly and as much as the other grated on him he at least wanted him to be comfortable. 

When it came to the end of the game, Phil’s school lost, and there was a brief celebration for the other school as they paraded off the field, while Dan’s team just huddled around to talk to the coach and then walk to the locker rooms, obviously trying to act casual even if they had essentially just been eliminated from the finals. 

Looking around, a lot of the families and students were milling out, many of them disappointed by the outcome of the game.  

This was their star team, and there had been a surprisingly large turnout for the event, to have it all end this anticlimactically felt a bit wrong, if he was being honest, even if sports definitely weren’t his thing. 

Phil headed down towards the locker rooms, some of the boys were already heading out, chatting and bumping into each other as they walked. Boys were talking, over half of them shirtless. He tried to avoid looking at them, while Phil had come to terms with his sexuality internally, he wasn’t out to his school, despite the obvious digs lots of the jocks and ‘cool kids’ would make. He wasn’t exactly subtle. 

Dan hadn’t noticed him, he was sitting on a bench and chatting to a teammate, but some of the boys closer to the entrance had. 

“Ay! It’s Danny’s little bitch, what’s new Lester?” A boy Phil knew as Jason laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulders, leaning heavily on him. 

Phil grunted, and shoved him off. “I’m not anyone’s bitch. Especially not Howell’s.” 

There was an ‘oo’ that rippled through the boys, and it was safe to say that Dan had noticed him. He furrowed his eyebrows, and stood up. 

“A teacher told me to help Dan.. carry his stuff with his hand like that.” He faltered off, because that half baked excuse really did make him sound like someone’s bitch. But by this point people were beginning to lose interest and ended up either packing up to leave or going back to chatting amongst themselves about a hot girl or something Phil honestly couldn’t care less about. 

Phil walked towards Dan, throwing on a mastered look of indifference and annoyance.

“What are you doing back here?” The brunette sighed deeply, running his good hand through his hair. “As if I don’t already get clowned on enough from seeing you during actual school hours.” He said dryly. 

Phil rolled his eyes. “I saw that sad excuse for a nurse ‘wrap’ your hand. I’ve seen children under the age of 4 wrap toilet paper around themselves better.” 

Dan groaned as he fell back to his sitting position on the bench. “Good deed Lester huh? You aren’t a guardian angel you know.” 

“Are you going to turn down actual help with that wrist, Howell. Seriously.” He dropped his bag on the ground, and knelt down, ignoring the few whistles he got from the people still in the room. 

Dan rolled his eyes as he looked down at Phil, arched eyebrow and holding his injured wrist with his hand, like he didn’t trust him. “Fine.” He sighed, setting his hand down on his leg, looking down at Phil with a suspicious and unless he was imagining it, flushed face. 

Phil carefully lifted the brunettes injured hand, frowning at the small pang of guilt he felt when Dan hissed in a sharp breath, quiet, as if being a little louder would shatter his reputation in one fell swoop. 

By now the locker room had basically emptied out, Dan’s mates sauntered away, hefting their heavy gym bags over their shoulders as their voices echoed down the hallway and slowly faded into the cool night air. 

Dan and Phil sat in silence for a few moments as Phil examined the bandage. Dan seemed to relax a little, and he allowed the feeling of calm to wash over them now there was no eyes examining their every move. The indifference and hostility seemed to drain from the air.

He didn’t know if it was the late night game or the lack of people, but he felt as though he was back before highschool, back before their fall out. Before their life became a series of quips and tension seeping into the fond memories he once had for the boy in front of him. 

“Why do you play, when you end up hurting yourself like this?” His question was genuine, none of the concealed fire that was usually behind his voice when he talked to Dan. 

Phil used his other hand to unroll the bandage. He had seen the first aid kit it came from, the contents being the single bandage, two band aids and a single cotton swab. Not the most ideal for a sport like this, hands on and physical, but their school wasn’t really known for their state of the art resources. 

Dan looked unsure of whether or not he should give a witty response or answer seriously. In the end he seemed too exhausted to spit out a clever one liner. So he opted for the truth. 

“I don’t know..” Dan huffed a breath out of his nose, like he was out of practice with talking about his emotions. “The guys are cool.. people like a jock you know?” He pauses for a moment, like he was struggling with whether or not he wanted to continue. “And I kind of want my dad to be proud of me? You know my dad. I want him to think.. I’m one of the lads. One of the boys.. not a royal screw up son.” He snorted, good hand rubbing the back of his neck like he was trying to play off his words as ridiculous. 

But Phil didn’t laugh. 

“Proud of you?” He repeated, slightly quieter as he slowly started to wind the bandage around Dan’s stiff wrist. 

Dan shrugged, looking away and seemingly focusing on a spot far across the room, like he was trying to be anywhere but here, talking to a friend who had been distanced by time and change. 

But Phil remembers, he remembers his curly brown hair bouncing around when he was excited, when he was jumping around playing cops and robbers, he remembers his loud and boisterous laugh and the way his cheeks dimpled and filled with colour. He remembers a time when he knew the boy in front of him more then he knew anyone in the world. When he thought Dan was his forever friend and that nothing would ever change that. 

Guess something changed. 

“You know I’m proud of you,” He continued, not looking up from bandaging. He could feel Dan’s eyes on him now, he could feel the incredulous and doubtful eyes bore into his skin, see into his soul. He didn’t seem to have expected an actual answer in response. “I’m proud of you when I see you play piano. When I see your eyes light up and when you lose yourself in the keys. When you recite dumb Shakespearen poetry and when you are on stage commanding the spotlight, when the only person who matters is you. That’s what I’m proud of. That’s what makes me think, THIS is Dan Howell. THIS is who he is meant to be. Not a shallow jock with a sharp tongue and attitude. I’m proud of the real you.”

He clipped the bandage pin on the end of the roll, now safely locked on Dan’s wrist, and he went to pull his hand away but was stopped by a hand placed over his. 

Dan’s eyes were how he remembered, not in way they were for the past two years, glazed over as he tried to cram his way into a puzzle he didn’t fit into, but filled with an unfathomable tenderness and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on 

They didn’t need to exchange words, the soft smile Dan gave him spoke a thousand words, making up for time that felt lost before now. 

He stood up, finally dropping Phil’s hand and grabbing his jacket off the bench. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” 

-

Their silence was welcoming as they walked down the hall towards the exit. The last few years had been full of quips and jabs, fast insults and banter that sometimes toed the line as not quite friendly. This silence, it was new, but it felt right. Dan couldn’t quite understand, but there was a shift that felt comfortable. 

Dan had known Phil a long time, longer then anyone in this god forsaken school. He was quiet and reserved and he enjoyed painting and drawing. He was creative, and he didn’t care what people thought of him. He was unapologetically himself, and that was something that he only wished he could be. 

For the longest time it was him and Phil. Dan and Phil against the world, playing Mario cart and watching shitty movies, always at each other’s houses like they belonged together. 

Then high school happened.

The desire to fit in hit Dan like a ton of bricks. While Phil was content to remain a Mario kart loving geek, Dan couldn’t stand being the butt of the joke. He couldn’t stand his dad being disappointed whenever he brought Phil home to do something nerdy. As the years went by it became a sort of crutch for him and Phil to make snide remarks at each other as they passed in the halls, glaring across the halls and that’s how it stayed. 

Don’t get him wrong, he loved to see Phil riled up. He loved to see his eyebrows furrow together and his eyes roll. His arms crossed and his posture unimpressed. If anything that was his favourite part, the way his voice flooded with heat and passion, as he stared at him with the intensity of a bonfire. He loved to tease him and play his surprisingly short temper like a fiddle.

But he wasn’t attracted to him. No way. Phil wasn’t a pretty girl. He did NOT find his eyes pretty and the way his hair sometimes fell into his eyes and his hands didn’t itch to run his hands through it. 

He was straight. He had to be. 

His heart dropped a little, and he couldn’t explain why, but he looked over at Phil, who was walking beside him. 

They were outside now, and it was raining, not too heavily but enough to get you fairly wet. Despite the fact Phil was wearing a sweater and long overalls, he could see him shiver, the fabric of the sweater probably allowed the biting wind to nip tight through it.

He shrugged off his jacket, and gently wrapped it around Phil’s shoulders, forcing them to stop momentarily. The street light cast a soft light over them, and his eyes met the other boys, and for a moment they stared at each other, Dan watching as raindrop followed the contours of Phil’s face, a drop following his cheekbone and the slope of his jaw. 

He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck again as he started walking. “Okay okay, lets get you home, Lester.” 

“Are you sure you aren’t cold?” Phil enquires inquisitively as he sped walked a bit to catch up with him. 

He shrugged. “Still running on adrenaline I guess.” It was a lie, he was slightly cold. But it felt right, and he continued to walk with him in silence. 

Phil was holding the jacket around himself as they approached his house, and they stopped just under the porch, the light flickering on to illuminate his face. 

Dan stuffed his good hand in his pocket, and he clicked his tongue as Phil went to shrug off the jacket to give back. “Nah, wash it first, don’t want your nerd germs on my clothes.” Despite the insult, he found himself smiling warmly, and Phil too just chuckled. 

“Alright, I’ll give it to you on Monday or something, Howell.” 

Dan saluted as he turned to walk away, and he could feel Phil staring through his back as he walked back into the rain. They were only a street apart, but he knew that was going to be one long walk. 

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #248

“i was unprepared for fame, then everybody knew my name.”

Are you more positive or a debbie downer? I don't think I'm either, honestly. I'm realistic. How many meals do you eat a day? Since getting a calorie & macro counting app, I try to aim for three, but sometimes I only manage two. I have to be conscious of how I'm spacing out what I eat. If you could have any talent in the world what would it be? Be realistic. Draw exactly what I see in my head. Do you brush your tongue with your tooth brush? Bitch you better brush your goddamn tongue. I didn't know until I saw this as a survey question a while back that there were people who didn't. How many times do you brush your teeth a day honestly? Once. What are you favorite type of jeans? I don't wear jeans anymore, but aesthetically, dark, skinny, torn jeans. Do you pop your bones, crack your knuckles? NO it disgusts me omg. There's this girl who sits in front of me in Women Writers class who cracks her back ALL the time and I have to fight cringing so, so hard. Do you eat your nails? YO NO. I may peel my nails when they get long (to me, anyway) but who the fuck eats their nails. Do you eat the ice in your drink? If it's that good cronchy type, fuck yeah. What do you order at Chic-Fil-A? I used to just get the classic sandwich and fries, but I stopped going there forever ago due to their connection to anti-LGBTQ organizations. By now I can't even stomach the thought of eating something from there. Damn are their sandwiches good, but I'm not giving them business. If you had to go to Mcdonalds what do you order? "Had to" lmao. I have no problem with McDonald's, honestly; you couldn't make me go, because I'd be quite willing. I love their cheeseburgers and, of course, their fries. But because I'm a fatass I have to at least get a double cheeseburger. Have you ever been addicted to cigarettes? No. Which do you use more? Facebook or Instagram? Facebook. Are you a student? If so, what classes will you take next? Yes. "Next," I don't know, considering I haven't chosen classes for next year. Currently I take Painting, Women Writers, Psychology, and Biology. Are you a good kisser? I don't know? How many real bf/gf have you had? Two. Did you enjoy your past relationships? Sure, save for the one with Tyler. That was pointless as shit. Would you ever get back with your ex? Sara, if certain conditions were right. Jason, I honestly don't know and hope I'm never put into the position to need to decide. Other exes, no. Do you like 80’s music? Rock and metal, absolutely. It was a great decade for the genres. Name a comedy that you like. Rush Hour 2 popped to mind first because we mentioned it in school yesterday. Do you like homework? ??????????? WHAT IS THIS QUESTION???????????????? NO??????????????? Something you want to buy real bad? Ugggghhhhh a lot. Being unemployed is a BLAST!!!!!!!!!! Something you would buy a friend as a gift? It depends on the person, of course. I try really hard to give very personal gifts, so what it would be would greatly vary. What is something that would be a good birthday gift for you? Donate Big Bucks to my tattoo fund and I'll give you smooches. Something you would gift yourself? Still tattoos lmfao. Favorite candle scent? Cinnamon rolls mmmmmmmmm. Do you watch beauty videos on YouTube? So here's the tea I genuinely love Jeffree Star and I'm digging NikkieTutorials lately LOOK idk I guess because I find makeup to be an art, I like watching that stuff. My YouTube interests have become seriously diverse lately. Have you ever questioned your sexuality? Ha ha obviously. What is the best thing about life? Man, that's a loaded question. I suppose having people in it that make it worthwhile and a true privilege to simply be here. What do you think will happen when you die? YO, HONESTLY, I don't know, man. I've even questioned reincarnation lately. I 100% believe we are not hollow bodies meant to just decay after death, but creatures with spirits that live on in SOME form or way afterwards. I don't believe in the concept of a "Hell," but I don't really think I accept there being a true "Heaven," either? I think there's just... something. What, I don't know, but guess I'll figure it out at some point. Are you superstitious? No. What kind of surveys do you like the most? Random ones, especially the ones that make you think. Do you go to church? No. Do you like Christian music? No. I get frustrated from just bad memories/associations. Have you ever skateboarded and failed at it? Never really tried. What show/concert have you went to that you didn’t like much? N/A Is sex a must in your life? Nah. Could you wait until marriage for sex? Lol I was the abstinent one years ago, so obviously I could, because I understand it. What do you think about weed? Medically, it's fantastic. Too much evidence of it being so to argue it anymore. For other use, I feel the same way about it as I do cigarettes: bad idea, but whatever. I personally don't care if it's made legal for recreational use or not, so long as it's treated similarly to alcohol, ex. illegal to drive while high. If you found a baby turtle on the side of the road, would you pick it up and keep it? With it being a baby, I'd probably take it to an animal rescue or something. Did you and your mum ever have a big fight that caused you to move out? I stayed at Dad's for a handful of days. Has the last person you kissed ever been to your house? Yes. Does anybody have a tattoo with your name on it? My sister has my initial, anyway. Who did you last see shirtless? My mom. Do you like to make the first move? NONONONONO I'M SHY. Do you think you will ever be married? Probably. If the last person you kissed saw you kissing someone else, would they be mad? I don't think she'd be mad, no. Do you understand football? Nope. Who last called you beautiful? Probably Mom. If you fell pregnant to the last person you kissed, what would you think? We're both female so like- Do you think the body is the most beautiful thing that was ever made? No. Name five things you did today? Stayed at the hospital for my beautiful niece to be born :'), slept far too little after getting home, and that's... kinda it. What kind of phone do you have? It's literally a Tracfone, BUT WAIT! I actually wanted it, ha ha. Mom has one and it is *genuinely* a good phone, so I got one for my birthday. Hell, it's cheaper than paying monthly, so I'm fine with it. When was the last time you talked to one of your siblings? 5 in the morning when we were all still with Ashley. Do you like fire? Sure, I like watching it. Have you ever been to a spa? Noooo, not my jam. Do you know how to do a cartwheel? No. Who’s the funniest drunk person you know? Ehhhhh. When he drank, my dad was either hilarious when drunk or hateful and short-fused as fuck. 50/50 shot. But yeah, if you got Version 1, he'd crack anyone the hell up. Now that he's sober and happy he's always like that. What would you do if your partner still kept pictures of their ex? Well, I'd say it depends on the picture's context. Like, a picture of you two kissing, then I'd be uncomfortable as shit. If you have prom pictures or stuff like that but don't like go looking through them regularly, idc. It was a special event. What if your partner went through your cellphone? BYE, CUNT. What if your partner was flirting with another girl/boy? BYE, CUNT. Is there really a difference between Coke and Pepsi? YES. I can absolutely taste it. Pepsi sucks. Are there any mistakes with your recent ex you wish you could have changed? Stupid and/or impulsive shit I'd said, sure, but for the most part, no. We had a good relationship. Has anyone ever been with you while you were throwing up? My mom always is if she's present. I am terrified of vomiting and even at my age still want her there, even though she can't do anything, obviously. I turn into a baby when I'm about to throw up. Background on your computer? My favorite picture of Teddy. Who has hurt you the most? Jason. Or hell, my own head, idk. Are you happy with where you are relationship-wise now? Sure. What language do you want to learn? I wanna be fluent in German. Who’s the last person that came to your house? A family friend. Is there anyone you would like to fight? God no. I'm not a fighter. Who did you dance with last? Sara. Who is your best friend(s)? Sara. Song playing? "It's A Raid" by Ozzy feat. Post Malone. The album's out T O D A Y , B O Y S. Who is your arch-enemy? I don't have one. What's the most attractive thing on the opposite sex? GODDAMN shoulderBLADES Do you want platinum or gold for your wedding band? Not normal gold, I know. Rose gold is my ideal one, but I really don't care much. Have you ever paid to have your eyebrows waxed? I mean my mom has, seeing as I didn't have an income then, either. Got that done regularly in high school. Not because I asked, but because it was just "normal" since my two sisters did it, too. Do you think that the tobacco companies should pay for people’s medical bills? No, it's not their choice to use the product. Sure, they're making it, but it's really too late to cease production of tobacco. It'd be catastrophic in terms of the job industry. Do you curse in average conversations? Yes; I have to actually make an effort to not curse if needed. Have you ever bought a shot glass? No. Do you have a therapist? Not anymore after my previous one that I loved and trusted gave me every reason to break her jaw. I kind of want another one, but also don't. I'm supposed to, considering my history and that I'm on a lot of medication, but I just do nooooot want to go through the whole trust process again. Do you ever fall for spam mail? No. What color do you wear the most? Black. Do you only eat cough drops because you like the taste? No. Have your parents ever walked in on you having sex? No. Do you like getting stoned? I've never been so and aren't interested in ever getting there. Have you ever gotten a bloody nose from snorting cocaine? YOIKES THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY lol no, I wouldn't touch coke with a ten-foot pole. Red, white, yellow, or pink roses? Pink. What’s the worst name your mom has ever called you? I don't know. She hasn't called me anything too awful that I know of. Have you ever done acid? No. Were you at a rave? Never been, definitely not my scene. Do you post pictures where you look good but your friends look bad? Well, I don't hang out with like... anyone, so, lmao. But I wouldn't. Are you friends with any of your exes? Yes. Would you ever dye your hair pink? ACTUALLY! Pastel pink is on my list. I tested some soft colors out in Photoshop on me and it actually looked really cute. I think I wanna be a smaller size first, though. Do you ever masturbate? I haven't since I came off that godawful birth control that drove me batshit insane in terms of libido. I still don't think it's a bad thing, my interest in that is just, gone. Are you embarrassed about your sex life or lack there of? No. Who’s the last person you said I love you to? My sister. Did you like your life when you were in middle school? Actually fuck middle school with a maul. If you went on American Idol, do you think you’d go through to Hollywood? Nope. Have you ever received an anonymous gift? No, I don't think so. What kind of laugh do you have? A loud and obnoxious one. Do you hoard anything? "Hoard" isn't the right word, no. Are you afraid of flying? I am, but I feel it's only a realistic apprehension. Especially going back and forth to Sara's a few times, you kinda have to get used to it. Most recent Facebook ‘like’? Shit man idk, I "like" a load of stuff. Have you ever camped out somewhere for an event the next day? No. Do you do anything regularly that could damage your body? Can someone please eliminate soda from the face of the earth???? What do you love most in the world? Those closest to me. What woke you up this morning? Ugh, the sun. I need to put my curtain back up after Roman tore it down. Who was the last person you rode in a car with? My mom. Is anything bothering you? There's always *something* bothering me to some degree, but nothing seriously at the moment. Are you in a good mood? My niece was born overnight and is gorgeous and healthy so I have to be. :') When were you the saddest in your life? 2016. Do you own more than one cell phone? Ha ha, I have two old ones. One I used for pictures because the camera was good, and the most recent old one, I just need to get some pictures and contacts from... but I'm lazy. Have you ever had a song written about you? No. What songs make you happy? Depends on what I'm feeling. Next concert? No clue now that Ozzy had to cancel his, bless his old heart. As a child, did you ever get the chance to go to Disney World/Disneyland? Yes. When was the last time you fought with your significant other, if any? I’m single. Do you know anyone, personally, who is in an abusive relationship? Are you? No, thankfully. When was the last time you were on a boat? Where did you travel on it? Not since I went fishing with my old best friend a few years back. We were just in a pond. Are you planning on going anywhere with someone, some time today? Probably not. Do you like cereal? What would you consider your favorite kind of cereal? Hell yeah. Cinnamon Toast Crunch is *maybe* my favorite? Idk, I like a lot. Are there any people you don’t like for your significant other/crush to talk to? This doesn't apply to me, but even if I had one, they're not my damn child. I'm not gonna police whom they talk to. I mean I guess there are exceptions, like, talking to a drug dealer to name one, but talking to most people, that's their business. Just don't hide it from me. Have you ever forgotten your birthday? Did you soon figure it out? No. What color are the curtains in your room if you have any at the moment? Maroon. Is there anyone you are currently trying to get out of trouble? Why? No. Have you ever wanted your significant other to get rid of a friend? Well, calling back to that other question, there was one in a previous relationship that I really couldn't stand, but it wound up working out. If you have siblings, have they moved out or do they still live with you? It's just me and Ma now. Do you ever go to Blockbuster? How frequently would you say you go? WHAT A CALLBACK!!!!! Omg did I love BB. Went like every weekend to rent a game, and sometimes we'd go there Fridays before a sleepover to grab a movie. Do you ever listen to music so you can actually change your emotion? Sure, sometimes.

[discyours]

I finished watching the latest season of Shameless and it’s reaffirmed to me how terrible this show is at LGBT representation so I’m gonna complain about it. Spoiler warning, obviously. 

Okay so first of all, Ian and Mickey were one of the best parts of this show. I’m not a gay man so my opinion on this is not that valuable, but as far as I know it was very well received by the gay community. Their relationship was as raw and as realistic as everything else that’s good about this show. How uncommon is it, even now, for media to show that guys like Mickey can be gay? How uncommon is it for them to show a genuine connection between growing up being shaped by an environment like Mickey’s and the way he deals with his sexuality, rather than just creating a character that never took on any part of their upbringing because they were simply too camp to fit in. The way Mickey and Ian both felt about their sexuality very much shaped their relationship at the start of it, but it grew from there. The writers didn’t make the mistake of making the relationship about the fact that it was gay. Neither character was killed off, the relationship was very on-and-off but wasn’t intentionally cut short, and they didn’t shy away from showing on-screen affection while also (in my opinion) not coming off as fetishistic either. Mickey and Ian was everything that is usually done wrong done right, and unfortunately the only real example of that on this show. 

The Kash storyline actually came before Mickey, but I wanted to start this post off with a positive example so I didn’t sound too salty. I have mixed feelings about how realistic this one was, and since I’m not a gay man I really don’t think it’s my place to state whether it was or not. But one thing is for sure; it wasn’t positive. I mean, it’s an affair between a seriously underage Ian (I think he was around 15 in the first season?) and his significantly older, married with children employer. Kash is also middle-eastern so this story fed into both homophobic and racist stereotypes. 

In season 2 Ian sleeps with yet another married man: Ned/Lloyd (Jimmysteve’s father). Lloyd is even older than Kash (likely 50s/60s) while Ian is still underage. Lloyd describes his sexuality as “anything that walks” meaning this isn’t actually bad gay representation, but terrible bi representation. 

Jumping ahead to season 6 (after Ian has been working in a gay club and had many hookups, but no real relationships aside from Mickey so nothing worth mentioning), Ian started dating Caleb, a black firefighter. Caleb turns out to be HIV positive but the show (in my opinion) handles it extremely well, making it a point that it’s possible to manage it with medication to the point where you can’t transmit it to anyone. It was a genuinely great, healthy relationship, until they decided to make Caleb cheat with a woman. Again, terrible bi representation, and once they’ve broken up the experience leads to Ian attempting to have straight sex too. It’s something a lot of gay men go through so I don’t think it was necessarily bad to add it to the show, but I do take issue with that even being needed as a plot device to show that Ian is truly gay, as that’s the way a lot of society views homosexuality too. 

Shortly after this, Trevor is introduced. Like I said, I’m not a gay man so my opinion on all of the former was of limited value, but I am a trans man and dear fucking god I hated Trevor’s story. Trevor is the embodiment of a character whose only defining trait is that they are LGBT. He’s overly sensitive to anyone not being immediately understanding about trans issues, and his relationship with Ian infuriated me. Trevor was offended that Ian lost interest upon finding out that he was trans, and the show made it seem like he was in the right for it. Ian apologised and they end up dating. They end up fucking. All this right after having shown that Ian tried to sleep with the opposite sex and absolutely hated it. Pure virtue signaling and my personal annoyance that every trans person in Trevor’s friend group was shown to be an “SJW snowflake” who had to introduce themselves with their pronouns is worthless next to the genuine harm that was done by showing that gay men can and totally should sleep with the opposite sex as long as they’re trans. 

I don’t even want to move on from that because of how genuinely terrible it is, but let’s do so anyway because there’s more. Further building on the pattern of terrible bi representation, there was the minor season 1/2 character Jasmine. She’s married but unfaithful, and her showing interest in women is seen as a part of her being so “free spirited”, if you can call it that. 

The “throuple” between Kev, Vee and Svetlana is another example. This post is getting long but I mean, for god’s sake can this show have a single bi character that isn’t super promiscuous if not a fucking unicorn? Every bi woman who’s ever used dating apps deserves to be mad at this storyline. 

Now for the thing that actually got me to write this post; the lesbian representation in this show. The first lesbian we see is Bob/Roberta, in season 1 and 2. She’s a literal stereotype as an extremely butch truck driver, dating a woman who is generally presumed to be straight. She and Monica try to take Liam away on the basis that he’s black and needs a black parent. Just like with Kash, this is doubly negative representation. She’s a minor character and all she does is “turn” a character by being so butch, and try to steal a fucking baby. 

In early season 9 this stereotyping stunt is repeated. Debbie meets Alex, another black woman so butch that she’s introduced as someone who’s passing as a man. Alex makes Debbie question her sexuality (though Debbie is later revealed to be bi, she wasn’t at this point so this was still falling into the “straight woman is ‘turned’ by an ultra-butch lesbian” trope) and they move in together right away. When they have lunch together after an argument, Alex spends hours talking about all of her exes, eventually reaching a point where Debbie can’t take it anymore and leaves. 

Also introduced in season 9 is Carl’s girlfriend, Kelly. When this character was introduced it was immediately obvious to me that she was coded to seem like a lesbian. She's the daughter of an army officer and plays softball, and just about everything about the way she looks and acts seemed gay. I initially thought that they made this character date Carl to kill any suspicions of her being a lesbian before they could begin, but then they actually turned “queer baiting” (not my term) into a plotline. They made her character flirt with Debbie, made Debbie try to “steal” her from Carl (again, a bi character not respecting established relationships), and very much hinted at a relationship happening. The preview for season 9 episode 13 showed them kissing, and they still ended that story with her being straight and apologising for accidentally leading Debbie on. 

I’ll throw in an honorable mention to Lea Delaria’s very brief appearance as a character so minor I can’t even remember what it was called; Lip’s potential AA sponsor; another ultra-butch stereotype, and an asshole. Oh and there was the whole gentrification plotline, where a bunch of rich lesbian couples (you guessed it, stereotypes!) moved into the southside. And Ford’s exes that Fiona met when she went bowling, which were barely actual characters and more of a joke about how gay they looked and how Ford clearly had a type. With Kelly being revealed as straight, the closest this show has ever gotten to a lesbian character that took actual part in the plot beyond being a stereotype was the lesbian couple in Fiona’s apartment building, and they still had one of them sleep with a man (off-screen, luckily) as a Totally Necessary Measure to get pregnant. 

Shameless was genuinely one of my favourite shows and it wasn’t too hard to look past most of this at first, considering so many characters are terrible people anyway. But I can’t ignore the flaws at this point. This goes beyond comedy and I’m almost angry that Shameless has ruined itself for me just by being homophobic.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

winstonthequant replied to your post: winstonthequant replied to...

Ah…don’t remind me of that first GMA performance. Yeah, some were unaware of the need to PG-fy daytime tv. I’m cool with those that were simply questioning but man, blaming Will for the rewrite? idk… And I have to admit, Will didn’t sound his best there but due to circumstances, I understood. Like man, why schedule that thing on a two show day??? He’s got to save his voice somehow and I think that was after/during opening week and that’s typically when voices get strained.

Like, from intense tech to previews to opening…that’s gotta tire someone who’s onstage for 90% of a 2-hour show. There may be a bit of respite after that but not much considering it’s straight to campaign/awards season.

But thankfully it’s mellowed out but I guess people still think liking Will is the unpopular opinion? Like how do you measure that? Genuinely curious… 

i love every time we got a Necessary Lyric Change to censor a lyric or two for some daytime pg program and it was like no porn, no Shit......only all-day preoccupation lmao.......honestly the Creativity in it was fun and the replacements were all pretty golden actually and it’s like oh crap wouldn’t mind if some of these were the official lyrics really, wow. but yeah the idea of remembering alternate lyrics and skipping over entire segments of the song to cut it down for time being Mistakes like.........you’re really going wild to not automatically assume those were deliberate changes. and like that was one zillion years into will having the part lmao, and how’s everyone just happen to be precisely coordinated with said allegedly forgetfulness? it’s wild

“i don’t know if i always sound good at 9 am” lol.....honestly i don’t vividly remember how the performance went but i certainly wasn’t like, struck by anything like some wildly noticeable disastrous nightmare quality that would make me go “take that role away from that menace right now” lmao like even if he Did, you’d have to have some real vendetta to think that one rough performance means that you were right all along and this casting choice is an undeserved outrage!! but wait, people Do really have that idea, so obviously yknow why not reach for the stars at anything you can possibly perceive as not the everlasting perfect unimpeachable performance to end all performances. ppl really are gonna be out there deciding that anything material must either be proof that he’s not good enough for the part if anyone even Notices anything they can at least imagine as inadequacy and it proves you’re justified in complaining His Casting Is A Mistake / Bad, and if that fails, you begrudgingly Don’t complain that his casting is a mistake / bad...........really anyhow i Am amazed they were up at like, 3am or whatever to do 4? 5am? staging and rehearsing at that studio....on a two-show day......like, that must have been just some terrible coincidence in scheduling necessitating that b/c god, surely if they had Any other options........like ffs i’d Hope will wasn’t giving it his all. for one thing that space was very small compared to say, the lyceum, so idk that anybody’d even need to be giving it that full voice commitment for everyone there to hear........and like obv it’s a bit important he not overexert himself re that vocal strain and fuck himself over b/c he did still have two entire shows to do, and like, you wanna be able to perform those properly And not worry that you hurt your voice thx to the extra demand........Pacing............but like, why be reasonable and understanding when you can just assume that will has just showed up out of nowhere with no idea how to sing, and that every single day everyone’s at the top of their game and this is a known fact so if someone’s struggling more on one day that means that’s their True And Constant Ability. and i am a touch skeptical of taking any rando’s complaints in good faith when there’s people left and right who are like No He Just Can’t Sing. Doesn’t Know How. That’s It. like,,,,,,and who are you??? god damn i Wish i could sing 25% as well as 9-years-ago will roland. i really do. Please

anyways lol the point is that these people are really like, navigating their bias like an artform. somehow always sticking the landing in the complex routine of their mental gymnastics. i really doubt any of these people are trying to be all about Statistics and Consistency in their takes.......people will be like “Unpopular Opinion” about absolutely everything, like i’m sure some people who are aghast at will’s casting will say it’s an Unpopular Opinion to be mad abt him having the part like......is it though. you can find plenty of people who agree, i’m sure. but really like, an Okay thing about me arriving in between 2.0 and 3.0 is that i like to think that truly some people have Gotten Over It / resigned themselves to it / gone away / realized the virtue of just keeping those thoughts to themselves at this point b/c what could it possibly accomplish? and yet some people are that dedicated to voicing their malcontent on various platforms for their own sake i guess. like. is this about 1.0 still. because that content is still there for you

[meanderfall]

I haven't seen many people talk about it, but Temple was right, the Reds & Blues *do* treat Caboose with kid gloves. They see him as stupid and sometimes annoying, but ultimately harmless and sweet and childlike (most of the fans do too, as did the last two writers). Alpha was really the only person who ever treated him like an adult (he still found him annoying, but tbh I think a lot of that was just bluster), who acknowledged that he was capable and *dangerous*. Maybe Tex did too, but [1/3]

[2/3] they didn't have many on screen interactions.And at first Wash did, but after Alpha died no one did. Which I think wasactually on purpose in regards to Epsilon? Because even though Epsilonacknowledges Caboose's strength at the end of Season 10, he still treatsCaboose like the others do. Whereas Alpha was *always* aware of how destructiveCaboose could and would be, to the point where he'd hide behind him in diceysituations because he didn't want to get caught in Caboose's crossfire.

[3/3] I also thinkit's a little interesting that Temple was supposed to analogous to Alpha(although how tf did the Director know that Alpha would be enough like Templeto make the stalemate work again? Also the stalemate only really worked in thefirst place because Temple and Biff were friends so?? But I digress!), and hadalso been the only one since Alpha died to acknowledge that Caboose was anadult, and even though he was cruel about it he still treated Caboose like hedid everyone else.

Hello, Anon! It was so nice to see this in my inbox omg, and I’m sorry this took so long, life has been hectic and stressful! Not to mention, I wanted to take the time to ponder about this, and lol I’m definitely going to be rambling a lot woops.

You’re absolutely right, anon. We, the fans, and the writers and even the BGC tend to baby Caboose a lot. Mostly, at least in my case, because he tends to exude innocence and naivety and you just wanna protect him as much as possible from the real world. But just because he does seem innocent and naive, it doesn’t mean he’s a kid. Alpha was probably the one who treated him the most as an equal, though that’s probably mostly because he’s an asshole to everyone. (Though maybe not?? Remember that RVB 360 video with Church doing the Dad Knee to Junior and talking to him?? Maybe he does know the difference between how to treat a kid and an adult. Won’t stop him from complaining about the kid around said kid though lol.)

I’m not going to lie, anon, these asks gave me some kind of existential crisis as I tried to figure out what exactly is the difference between a kid and an adult, besides ages, and how we’re supposed to treat them, (because it seemed like part the argument that you were implying about how Caboose is an adult and doesn’t need to be treated like a child was that he’s dangerous, and that didn’t sit well with me tbh so here I am over-analyzing a simple ask yet again lmao im sorry if i was wrong or misinterpreted).

Anyway, I’m pretty sure the difference has do with cognitive development. Kids’ thought processes are pretty simple, and this is especially clear from their idea of morality. I’ve heard my younger siblings exclaim so many times that something was unfair, and y’know sometimes they were right, but other times they weren’t taking into consideration other circumstances that made it so the situation was fair. Not to mention, that they’re selfish, through no fault of their own. So far, in their minds, they can’t really manage to consider other people’s point of view, and unless they’re taught differently and actually make the effort, that won’t change. And that’s where the difference between how adults are supposed to treat kids and other adults comes in. Adults, esp their guardians, are supposed to help them grow. They are there to encourage more complex thought processes and and help them walk through the logic if necessary. And they are there to offer advice bc adults have so much more life experience then kids do.

Caboose isn’t really like a kid at all. A lot of people might mistake the things he says as him being simple-minded but really, he just sees things differently from others and processes it differently. And that of course, seems weird and probably child-like to the others because by now they’re so used to how ‘normal’ adult minds work. And like, there are so many examples of posts on this site of adults or teenagers being surprised or caught off-guard by something a kid said or did, so I guess when the BGC encountered Caboose and had that happen to them, they kind of went Caboose = child.

Not to mention, Caboose is easily one of the most caring and empathetic characters on the show??? He loves his friends so much, esp Church, and would do anything for them. (Good examples of Caboose having complex thought processes and empathy: his speech to Tucker in s12 about how he shouldn’t be mad at Church, that episode of s14 ‘Caboose’s Guide to Making Friends’ or whatever it was called, s8 in general when he kept wanting to help Epsilon esp the end of s8. ‘But they’ll die!’ he says. He is completely aware of the possible consequences of what’s happening. He isn’t dumb.)

Anyway, back to the rest of the asks! About them treating Caboose with kid’s gloves.... I waffle between saying you’re absolutely right and going “Weeeellll....”. Because Temple says that right before he reveals that Church really is truly dead and Tucker is trying to stop him from saying it. And you’re right. Caboose shouldn’t have that hidden from him. He’s fully capable of hearing the truth and starting to process the grief. But the thing is, isn’t that what he was already doing in the beginning of s15? Before Temple sent them that corrupted message and gave him hope again? (Not to mention, in the grand scheme of things it probably isn’t that weird to thing Church could’ve honestly come back, he’s died and come back so many times.) And, as a friend, wouldn’t you want to do anything to protect your friend from getting hurt or from grief? Especially when the news is coming from your enemy? Of course Tucker wanted to stop Temple from revealing the truth like that. And it kind of happened in a tense moment. And Tucker hadn’t really been at his best emotionally all season (which believe me, I’m kind of displeased with :/    s15 Tucker is not my Tucker.) (The Blood Gulch Chronicles was probably the best in terms of Tucker treating Caboose like an equal. They definitely had sibling bond there, annoying each other and trying to get Dad’s Church’s attention XD)

I think Wash is pretty good about Caboose though. I still remember that s11 speech when he validated Caboose’s feelings of loss and asked for forgiveness for not being a better leader when he really needed him. I’d probably need to re-watch the seasons for myself in order to really confirm if they treat him like a child constantly that can’t comprehend what’s happening. It’s hard to tell for sure, because the writers kind of fuck that up from time to time, making Caboose seem dumber and the others reacting more harshly to it. Though where do we draw the line of them baby-ing him and caring for him? Like when Sarge let’s Caboose push the button in s3 and calls him a ‘litle rascal’ (i think?), is Sarge treating him like a kid there or just engaging in his enthusiasm? Or in s7 and s8 whenever they leave Caboose behind out of the fights, are they doing it to stop him from accidentally hurting others or because they genuinely think he’d be useless in the fight? Whenever they decide not to explain something to him, are they doing it because they think it’s a waste of time to explain something Caboose won’t understand anyway? (Personally, whenever Caboose misunderstands what someone explained to him, I think it has to do with a lack of concentration than just not being able to comprehend what they’re telling him. He probably has a tendency to drift. And he can concentrate when it’s important, so I think he’s okay) There are probably more examples, but I can’t think of more, I really do need to do a rewatch goddamn.

One last thing! About how Temple is analogous to Church and the stalemate. Correct me if I’m wrong (and I might seriously be, I watched s15 with friends, so I probably missed a good quarter of information), but isn’t the similarities between the two groups completely coincidental? Because Alpha wasn’t implanted and put into Blood Gulch until after Project Freelancer was destroyed, and Temple and the others were in an simulation outpost while Freelancer was still running, evidenced by Carolina and Tex showing up. And I don’t think it would be too hard for them to purposefully create a stalemate? The Counselor probably evaluated them and interviewed them, and learnt that Temple and Bif were friends, and just created the teams in such a way that they would either more or less take charge of their respective teams or be too lazy to fight, creating a stalemate between the two. Also I’m pretty sure Florida created the Blood Gulch teams on his own??? so it really is a coincidence. A freak-ish one for sure, and obviously kind of contrived because it was for plot, but it isn’t that bad.

Also, totally jumping off that one tiny thing you said about how Temple and Alpha were the ones to treat Caboose like an adult. First, I’m about 99% sure the reason why that’s the case if because they’re both huge assholes omg nothing will stop them from treating you like a dumbass. And, this is totally a more personal thought process that I’m just shoving at you, even though me and my friend spent most of our watch saying things like “Alpha would never do that!”, looking back on it, I think Alpha would. Keep in mind, Alpha was an AI created by Leonard Church. A man that when his wife died and he had been powerless to stop it, started torturing his own mind in the hope’s of one day creating an AI of his wife, and performing psychological experiments with the people under his command, who he is supposed to guide and train, and on his own daughter. If there had been a clear cause for what had happened, like in the case of Bif’s death, he probably would’ve gone absolutely insane in his quest for vengeance, like Temple did. And Alpha would’ve done the same, at least, probably before he had been tortured and fragmented. Afterwards, he didn’t really have much emotions or energy to bother with vengeance plots.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my inbox! I hope you enjoyed this read through lmao, though it’s probably filled with stuff you already know and understand! Also looking back on it, I realize I’m all over the place about whether the BGC treat Caboose like a kid woops. I might do a rewatch just for this lol.

[miraculousstorytelling]

Think Outside the Lovesquare Day 7: Soulmate AU

This is late, but to be fair, it also ended up being much longer than I expected. I wanted to write a Chlonette soulmate AU, and I wound up going with one where your injuries are healed when you’re close to your soulmate (from this list).

She wanted to believe it wasn’t just the ladybugs that healed her scraped knee. After all, she was sure it had healed itself before the hole in her pants had repaired itself. She desperately wanted to believe that Ladybug’s presence, just the fact that they were in contact had been what healed her.

Unfortunately, Chloe had no way to prove it.

Every time she got close to Ladybug, though, she couldn’t be sure or she wasn’t injured or any number of things stopped her from being able to confirm that Ladybug was indeed her soulmate. Akuma after akuma went by with nothing to show for it but more news for the Ladyblog. It wasn’t until Nathanael was akumatized and Chloe was bruised in the struggle that she was able to watch it fade away when Ladybug jumped in front of her.

They were definitely soulmates.

Now, she just needed to figure out a way to tell her. Maybe she could hire someone to spell it out with flowers in the park or build a commemorative statue in gold. Maybe she could pay Jagged Stone to write a song telling everyone that she, Chloe Bourgeois, was Ladybug’s soulmate.

“Marinette, could you pass these out to the class?”

Chloe barely noticed when Marinette stood and took a pile of papers from Mrs. Mendeleiev. She just held out a hand when it was time for her to take a sheet.

Marinette frowned and shoved it towards her.

“Ow!” Chloe scowled, glaring up at Marinette. “You cut me!”

“Where?” Marinette asked, looking down at Chloe’s fingers.

Which was odd, because Chloe had seen it. She’d felt it. She knew she’d gotten a papercut.

“Just be more careful,” Chloe snapped.

Marinette bristled and moved on, shooting her a nasty look.

Obviously, Chloe must have imagined it. Maybe it just felt like she’d gotten a papercut. Maybe she just wanted it to be a papercut because it was easier to be mad at Marinette when she could come up with a reason.

Then, she looked at the back of the page.

She wasn’t imagining a small line of her own blood on the page. She had definitely been cut. And she’d definitely been healed, which meant that Marinette was also definitely her soulmate.

And if Ladybug was her soulmate and so was Marinette, that meant…

Chloe jumped to her feet. “Mrs. Mendeleiv, I need to go to the nurse. I’m not feeling well.”

Their teacher rolled her eyes and gestured for Chloe to leave.

“Are you okay?” Sabrina asked, her voice soft as Chloe snatched up her things.

“No,” Chloe murmured, a sick feeling spreading through her stomach.

She spent the afternoon staring at pictures of Ladybug and comparing them to Marinette. Part of her simply refused to accept it was real. Marinette couldn’t be Ladybug, and Marinette certainly couldn’t be her soulmate. She didn’t even like Marinette, and Marinette definitely hated her. There had to be some kind of mistake.

Still, pictures didn’t lie, and the evidence was building up. She’d never seen the two of them together, and they did have the same hairstyle and the same height and build. In fact, listening to videos of Ladybug, she could almost hear a hint of Marinette in her voice.

It was infuriating to find out this way, because they’d known each other for years now. How could she have possibly missed it? How could she have not seen that Marinette and Ladybug were the same person?

Chloe missed the next day of classes with a badly faked cough. Her father believed her, and she knew that her attendance until now would protect her from one missed day. She had to find a way to make sense of this. She had to confront Marinette.

So, she spent the day mentally preparing herself before taking a trip to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, just in time for classes to be over.

Chloe arrived as Marinette was waving goodbye to Alya.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Chloe smirked.

“I thought you were sick,” Marinette grumbled as she glared at her. “I didn’t know faking a papercut would do that much damage to your immune system.”

“We need to talk.”

Marinette raised a brow. “Okay. Talk.”

“Not here. I mean in private.”

Marinette scoffed. “I’m not going anywhere private with you. You just want to get in my room and-”

“I know who you are.”

“What?” Marinette stilled and watched her carefully. “I mean...of course you do. We’ve been classmates for-”

“No.” Chloe took a step closer. “I mean, I know your secret.”

“What secret?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You know exactly what I mean. Or would you like me to tell Alya instead?” She glanced down to examine her nails, keeping her face as expressionless as possible. “I’m sure she’d be very interested to learn you’re actually La-”

“Okay!” Marinette held up her hands. “Okay, let’s talk in private.”

Chloe smiled. “I thought so.”

Marinette led her through the bakery, waving a quick hello to her mother, and through to her home. They were silent as they walked up the stairs to Marinette’s room, and Marinette took a steadying breath before pushing open the trapdoor.

Marinette stepped in and closed the door behind them. “Okay. Tell me what you know.”

“You’re Ladybug. And we’re soulmates.”

Marinette turned to face her. “Hilarious.”

“I’m serious.” She frowned. “You really did cut me. It just healed. The same thing happened with Ladybug.”

“That’s not possible,” Marinette said softly.

“Really?” Chloe snatched up a sewing needle from the pincushion on Marinette’s desk. “Watch.” She pricked her finger and held it up in front of Marinette. It healed immediately.

“But…” Marinette shook her head. “We can’t be soulmates. We don’t even like each other.”

“Well, I like Ladybug.” Chloe scoffed and tossed the needle on Marinette’s desk. “I can probably figure out some reason to like you.”

“Fine. I don’t like you, then.” Marinette folded her arms over her chest. “You’re selfish and horrible, and you’re a bully.”

“Soulmates are just people you’d choose anyway. You know that,” Chloe snapped, ignoring the barbed comments. Besides, she wasn’t exactly thrilled with the decision herself.

Marinette shook her head. “Maybe it’s a mistake. Maybe there was a mixup. I’m in love with Adrien, not you.”

“Apparently you’re not as in love as you think.”

They were quiet for a moment, Marinette glaring at the ground and Chloe drumming her fingers on her arm. “So, what exactly are we supposed to do about this?”

“Well, either you figure out why you’re supposed to like me or you stay single forever.”

“I’ll stay single forever,” Marinette answered without a second of hesitation.

Chloe frowned. “You could at least try to think about it.”

“I don’t have to.”

If it had been anyone else, Chloe would have scoffed, turned on her heel, and walked away. She would have found someone else and happily settled for good enough while her soulmate denied the inevitable. But this was Ladybug, and Chloe couldn’t let that happen to Ladybug. “What if you gave me a chance?”

Marinette raised a brow. “A chance?”

“Let me show you why you should like me.”

Marinette watched her for a moment, considering the offer. “Okay, but only if you swear to keep this a secret.”

“Of course. I’m not a monster.”

Marinette didn’t say it, but Chloe knew she was thinking that the term was more accurate than Chloe liked to imagine. “I don’t just mean my identity. I mean the fact we’re soulmates.”

Chloe waved a hand in dismissal. “Fine.”

“Okay, then. I’ll give you a chance.”

“Trust me.” Chloe smirked. “You won’t regret it.”

Marinette might not have, but Chloe certainly did. Every snappy comeback during class earned her a warning look from Marinette, and apparently half-hearted apologies didn’t really count as making it up to people. Even worse, simpering sweetness directed at Marinette alone only earned her immediate suspicion from everyone in the class, but especially from Alya. Buying Marinette nice clothes or inviting her to concerts or shopping trips only made it worse.

Adrien, the one person who really should have been on her side, was even starting to suspect she was up to something. When did he start being better friends with Marinette than with her anyway?

Chloe scowled and read through yet another magazine article about “How to Make People Like You in 10 Easy Steps”. Nothing new, and worse still, nothing helpful. She tossed it aside and glared up at the ceiling.

“What am I doing wrong, Sabrina?”

Sabrina frowned. “I don’t know why you want Marinette to like you anyway.”

“I just want to. Call it charity or whatever.” Chloe sighed. “I don’t understand why she’s being stubborn, though. I’m so likable!”

“Maybe you should try asking her.”

Chloe frowned. “That’s stupid. I-” Then, she sat up. “Wait, maybe that’s not a bad idea, actually.”

It was easy to engineer a press conference for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Chloe had connections, and she was ready for answers.

She waited until Ladybug was taking questions from those attending before she raised one perfectly manicured hand. She could see Ladybug’s expression fall when she noticed it.

Still, she called on Chloe anyway. “Yes? What’s your question?”

Chloe beamed. “Ladybug, how would you describe your ideal romantic partner?”

The look Ladybug sent her almost made her regret this scheme. Marinette was smart. She’d probably already figured out Chloe was the one who planned this conference for this very reason. “Kind, genuine, and dependable. Next question?”

“Thank you!” Okay, Chloe could work with that.

Dependable had to be the easiest one. All she had to do was prove Ladybug could rely on her, right? So, Chloe made an effort to follow through on everything, even if it was a simple homework assignment.

Marinette didn’t seem impressed when Chloe pointed it out to her.

 Genuine was next. Chloe was always genuine. She never held anything back. That had to be easy, too.

When someone asked her opinion, she was honest.

“That haircut’s awful. You look like a mushroom.”

“Did you get dressed in the dark? You couldn’t have picked that out on purpose.”

“Of course Adrikins scored higher than you. He’s brilliant, and you spent all your time roller skating instead of studying.”

For some reason, Marinette didn’t seem to appreciate that one either.

That left kind. Chloe hadn’t been looking forward to this one, but she knew it had to happen eventually. She read up on her compliments and brought a platter of pastries to her class as her first try. Surely, Marinette would be impressed once she demonstrated all three of them.

Sabrina was the only one to eat any of the pastries. Everyone else didn’t trust them. Kim even suggested she might have put something in them.

Chloe tried to take it a step further and compliment Mylene’s new jacket, but half the class ended up yelling at her. It was utterly baffling, because sure she didn’t really like the jacket all that much, but at least she was doing her best.

Finally, as everyone was leaving for lunch, Marinette paused by Chloe’s desk. “I know you’re trying, but I don’t think this is working.”

“Well, what more am I supposed to do? This is what you said you wanted.”

“Maybe we just need to wait. You don’t like me-”

Chloe sat up. “Yes, I do.”

“No.” Marinette shook her head, lowering her voice so they couldn’t be overheard. “You said it yourself. You like Ladybug.”

“I can like you.”

“Until you do, I don’t think you should keep doing this.”

Chloe frowned. “Fine. Then, I like you.”

“Why?”

It should have been easy to come up with an answer. Any answer. Anything besides “because you’re Ladybug” would have worked, but Chloe came up empty.

Marinette turned and headed to the door. “Let me know when you have an answer.”

Chloe slumped back in her seat, stunned.

It was time for something drastic. Chloe had to actually try and like Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She had to watch and understand exactly why everyone seemed to fall for Marinette at least once throughout the course of their education. It was something that had baffled her for some time now.

Sure, Marinette was passably pretty, but that was just because Ladybug made the ponytails look good. The freckles, up close, were a little endearing, sure, but mostly Chloe just wished she could give Marinette a makeover.

Occasionally, Marinette was inspiring. Mostly, Chloe had always found it annoying how she could rally their classmates around her. Leadership qualities had to be objectively positive, though, right? Besides, Ladybug was an amazing leader, and Chloe had always loved that about her.

There were times when Marinette smiled, and the room actually seemed brighter. That was a cliche, and part of Chloe was wondering if she’d just watched too many romances lately. As much as she tried to deny it, once she saw it, once she recognized the effect Marinette’s joy had on everyone and everything around her, she couldn’t unsee it. The room was noticeably sunnier when Marinette entered in a good mood.

Sometimes, Marinette had designs that were better than the average student. Chloe hated to admit it, but now that she was trying to be objective, she had to acknowledge when Marinette wore a flattering skirt and happily relayed to Alya that she had designed it herself. Marinette did won that hat contest, though, so it did make sense.

Plus, Adrien seemed fond of her, so maybe that was another reason to like her. Although, if Chloe were to be honest, Adrien could probably love anyone. He was much too sweet to turn anyone away. Why couldn’t he have been her soulmate?

Chloe had filled two journals with ideas and reasons and arguments all about Marinette. Months had gone by, and she felt like something was simply missing from it all. She had hundreds of reasons, but none of them felt genuine.

Until the day Chloe and Sabrina both had the flu at the same time.

Without her best friend there to take notes for her during class, Chloe had to hope Adrien would help her out and bring her work by. Maybe he’d even stay and keep her company. Being sick alone was a special kind of miserable.

She texted him, and he assured her he’d make sure she got her assignments.

When the school day ended, however, she didn’t expect Marinette to be the one who delivered them.

“Hey, Chloe.” Marinette held a large bag in one hand and her tablet in the other. “I heard you were sick.”

“What are you doing here?” Chloe rasped, too tired to be angry.

“I asked Adrien if I could come take care of you.”

Chloe groaned and flopped back into bed. “You should go home before you get sick, too.”

“I brought you some soup.” Marinette set it down on the small table in Chloe’s sitting area. “And some tissues and cough medicine.”

“I’m fine.”

Marinette eyed her for a moment. “You look like death.”

“Gee, thanks,” Chloe grumbled. “Seriously, you should go home.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Marinette motioned to the seat beside her. “Come over here. Let me take care of you.”

For the first time in her life, Chloe actually believed she could like Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Objectively speaking, Chloe was a miserable patient. She whined and refused to eat or take her medicine. Marinette was patient enough to convince her, promising a rooftop dinner with Ladybug if she did both. She rubbed Chloe’s back when the nausea set in, and she walked her through their assignment, her soothing voice the perfect sound to lull Chloe to sleep.

When Chloe returned to class four days later, still sniffly and still a little feverish, she handed Marinette an envelope, so full it was almost bursting.

“What is this?” Marinette asked, staring down at it.

“Open it when you get home.”

No way was Chloe going to let Marinette read her list of reasons why Chloe liked her in front of anyone else.

Ladybug visited later that night. “Do you mean all of this?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.”

Chloe shrugged. “I’ve been working on it for a few months.”

“When I asked for an answer, I wasn’t really looking for 1000 reasons, you know.”

Chloe chuckled. “I’m an overachiever when I want to be.”

“Well,” Ladybug let her transformation fall, leaving Marinette and a small red creature beside her. “I guess that means I’ll give you another chance.”

“You won’t regret it.”

Marinette laughed. “You know, I actually believe you this time.”

[oumakokichi]

I just realised that Ouma probably died while thinking that Saihara would be happier seeing Momota alive instead of him. And I just. I'm sorry okay.

I’ve often thought about the fact that pretty much everycharacter in Chapter 5 is much more appalled at the idea of Momota being theone under the press than Ouma. It’s something that’s sort of vaguely touched on—“Ouma”in the Exisal, likely according to script, does have a few tongue-in-cheekremarks about the fact that everyone would probably much rather him be deadthan Momota.

But it’s still something that’s not ever really fullytouched on. Even at the very end in the post-trial, when everyone finally knowsthe whole truth of the catbox and sees Momota alive and well with their own twoeyes, there’s sort of a distinct absence of grief over the general loss ofhuman life.

Of course, I understand very well that Chapter 5 wanted toparallel Ouma and Momota’s last moments, with Ouma choosing to die willinglyinside the catbox and remaining an enigma while Momota went out beloved byeveryone in a blaze of glory. I understand as well the fact that manycharacters had conflicting (to say the least) feelings about Ouma as a person.Up until the end, from their perspective, he was hostile, antagonistic, he tookcredit in front of all of them for awful, horrible things, and scared them allhalf to death.

Still, one of the most consistent points of Ouma’scharacter, the thing that’s most central to his moral code, is his distaste forkilling, period. Loss of life, any life, is something that Ouma himself veryclearly detested. Despite his act and all his facades, the loss of each andevery one of his classmate’s lives was something that very obviously hit himhard, as all the evidence from his motive video to his whiteboard proves lateron in Chapter 6.

Again and again, Ouma warns the group that they aren’t takingthe very real possibility of death seriously. He outs Maki as the SHSL Assassinprecisely because her talent is way too dangerous to run the risk of herkeeping that secret and doing as she pleases behind the scenes. He tries sohard to bring the killing game to an end himself because, from his perspective,everyone else seems to be doing nothing but trying to continue it. And when Makiultimately barges in and poisons him in Chapter 5, he’s appalled, asking herpoint-blank, “do you really enjoy killing thatmuch?”

Even if Ouma had been half the villain that they allbelieved him to be (and he definitely wasn’t), the almost noticeablenon-reaction to his death would still be a little bit… well, off-putting, in myopinion. Even Junko’s decision to execute herself warranted more of a reactionof shock and horror from the dr1 survivors. It’s just very hard not to feellike Ouma did make a few valid points about how little the loss of human lifegets taken seriously by the rest of the group, especially as long as it’ssomeone they don’t like.

By contrast, all the characters’ reactions to Ouma’s deathin Chapter 5, even when they know for sure that it’s Ouma who died, feel alittle more like non-reactions. Like, “oh, well I guess that certainlyhappened.” The idea of dying painfully and slowly from literal torture poisonand a hydraulic press simultaneously is enough to make them feel sick to theirstomachs when it’s Momota who they’re picturing dying, but suddenly seemsrelatively unimportant as soon as they know that it was actually Ouma.

A large part of this is actually lampshaded in the trialwhen Momota within the Exisal actually asks Saihara to back him up and prove tothe rest of the group relatively early on that Momota is alive and Ouma isdead, and Saihara literally can’t. He considers all the possibilities andevidence that they have currently, and he starts freaking out, saying he can’t. He wants Momota to be alive, Momota seems like the obviously “better”choice to be alive, and yet he just doesn’t see how it could be possible, goinginto such a state of denial that it shocks even Momota and forces him to goback to playing “Ouma” within the Exisal until everyone can piece the rest ofthe clues together.

Again, I do understand thematically why it was done. Oumawent out in the method of his choosing, and keeping his mindset and motives amystery to the end was part of what he wanted, too. It’s very telling that inChapter 5, blaming Ouma himself is always an option, in a very Umineko-like “blamethe witch” sort of way. Even at the very end, even after his death, Ouma givesthem the option to continue blaming him, to choose the “gentle lie” that he wasevil and horrible and a villain if that’s more comforting to them than theharsh, unchanging truth—the fact that the ringleader is someone they know andtrust within their group.

But it really is sad that most of the group genuinely justdoesn’t react to his death much. It’s not so much about the fact that they werehappier to see Momota alive. Obviously, Momota was their friend, an inspirationand a role model to many of them. It’s more about the fact that very few ofthem are actually saddened by Ouma’s death at all, or even horrified at thegrotesqueness of it.

Maki’s attempt to kill him with literal slow, painful,torture poison, and her willingness to throw absolutely everyone’s lives on theline at the school trial and get them allkilled, warrants little more than a slap on the wrist—no one in the groupactually gets mad at her or stays mad at her for this, or even brings it up atall after the trial is over.

And I can understand making some allowances for thinkingthat Ouma was the ringleader and the leader of the Remnants of Despair, butMaki did promise in front of the whole group not to try and kill Ouma, the sameway that Naegi and the dr1 survivors didn’t actually want to kill Junko, but to talk to her. And still, her recklessnessand attempt to murder not only Ouma but the entire group at the school trialhas no lasting consequences. None of the other characters mention it, everyoneacts as if being in love is a perfectly reasonable motive for murder, no oneeven seems particularly scared or afraid of being friends with her after thetrial is over with.

Asahina, who attempted pretty much the same thing because ofSakura’s death in dr1 Chapter 4, was still so appalled by her own actions whenshe realized how close she had come to killing everyone over a lie and amisunderstanding that she almost threw up. She apologized to the group atlarge, the whole group acknowledged her mistake, talked about it, and discussedthat Monokuma was the one who was really at fault, and it felt like the issuewas really being handled properly, rather than brushed under the rug entirely.

I wish that had been more of how things had gone in ndrv3Chapter 5, because it really does feel like none of the group take Maki’stalent as a SHSL Assassin or her disregard for human life seriously as apotential threat even when the entire point of her character is how recklessand dangerous she is.

Basically, Ouma is hardly a poor precious cinnamon roll: he’sa complex character who demonstrates morally gray behavior frequently, and whohas huge, glaring flaws even if he’s well-intentioned. But it is definitely hardto not feel kind of bad for him knowing that there was some truth to hisfrequent accusations that the rest of the group didn’t really care about humanlives as much as they claimed to.

His bewilderment at their willingness to make excuses formurder is rather understandable on some level when he gets choked on severaloccasions in front of all of them and the only reason anyone stops him fromdying is less because anyone thinks his life personally has meaning and morebecause they don’t want Maki to dirty her hands again.

The point with Ouma was certainly that, by isolating himselfso much from the entire group, he inevitably made himself into someone who wasimpossible for others to understand. And while part of this was his own desire,because of his paranoia and inability to trust, it also became a self-fulfillingprophecy of sorts, where he couldn’t trust them because they couldn’t trusthim, either. All of those things make thematic sense, but still… the fact thatmost of the group failed to revise their opinion of him even after his death (avery gruesome, horrible death which he went to willingly for the sake ofpreventing anyone else in the group from dying when he didn’t have to) willalways probably make me sad.

Anyway, I got a bit long with this ask without meaning to.It was an interesting point you brought up, anon (and a sad one), so I justwanted to share my thoughts in return. Thank you for stopping by!