#but i also think it adds to her nicely. and i guess she's fairly masculine-looking anyway? i mean there's already the sideburns

[100storiesin2020]

Chapter 10: Welcome Home, Henry

Guess who’s back, yall! Come read on AO3!

******

Henry took a deep breath as he looked up at the Foxhole Court. He was a nervous ball of excited energy, emotions matching the bright shade of orange that surrounded him, almost too much to handle. He’d always loved cheerleading, but hadn’t exactly had the option to pursue that at Aglionby.

It wasn’t ‘a proper demonstration of masculinity’, whatever that meant. Henry smiled, remembering the fit that Blue had thrown when she first heard that phrase. He didn’t much care for the concept of masculinity himself. He just wanted to cheer, to yell, to tumble across the floor, and to be part of something bigger than himself. He wanted to put all his energy to a good use, and cheerleading seemed like a fun way to do that. Plus, he could be close to his friends that way. Exy wasn’t his forte, but he could, at least, make sure to be at all the games. This was his chance. With just one full week left before school started, the Vixens were holding open tryouts, followed by a week-long cheerleading camp. If he made it in today, he’d be set.

His phone started ringing, interrupting his thoughts. It was his mother’s ringtone. He ran his hand through his spiky hair and sighed as the country twangs blasted from his phone, then reluctantly answered. “Hey, mom.”

“I thought you were taking a gap year.”

Henry sighed again. “Not even going to start with a hello?”

His mother continued as if she didn’t hear him. “You’re welcome to start school right away, of course, but I would prefer to be told before you just show up in Palmetto.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “I stopped in to say hi to the Gang,” he told her. He really didn’t want to have the cheerleading discussion until after he made the team, assuming he did. “How did you know I was in Palmetto?”

“I always know where you are.”

“As much as I appreciate the in-case-of-kidnapping precautions,” he groaned, “I’d really rather you did not use them until after I get kidnapped.”

She laughed. “I didn’t, actually. One of my acquaintances was passing through and mentioned seeing you at the airport in Columbia. Complete coincidence. I hadn’t spoken to him in years, but he called to ask if I had any more magical items like RoboBee. Not RoboBee specifically,” she said hurridly, “but anything else along those lines.”

“I’m not asking Ronan if they have anything else lying around, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Oh, no,” she said airily, “I’ll ask the older Lynch boy about that. I was just wondering why you were in Palmetto. Enjoy seeing your friends. Keep an eye out.” She hung up before he could respond.

Mood soured, Henry picked up his backpack and started walking around the Court building. He knew the tryouts were here, and that he was on time but he wasn’t sure where -- there it was. A gate was open with a sign that said Cheerleading Tryouts and a large arrow pointing through. At least he knew where he was going now. Henry followed the arrows until he could hear music going. He walked through a final open door and found himself standing on the edge of the court.

It was a stunning view.

He was a little overwhelmed by the space. This was a proper stadium, so it was huge, and it was so orange why is this place so orange. Girls and guys alike were milling around on the court, warming up and chatting with each other.

A tall, redheaded girl ran up to him as he was taking in the view. “Hi! Are you here for tryouts?”

He flashed her a grin. “Sure am!”

“Sweet! I’m Katelyn. Come on over here, we will get you signed up.” She led him towards a table set up on one end of the court. “I’m excited to see you here. We always have plenty of girls come to tryouts, but we usually need to go recruiting to add boys to our ranks,” she grimaced. “Apparently they all think they’re ‘too manly’ for cheerleading.”

Henry laughed. “I went to an all-boys school, and we didn’t even have cheerleaders for that very reason.”

Katelyn groaned. “Sounds just about right, for the patriarchy. At least you’re not like that. Or, I assume you’re not, since you’re trying out. Do you have any cheerleading experience?” She eyed him up and down. “You look a little wiry to be lifting girls.”

Henry laughed. “Yeah, I haven’t done any of that,” he admitted. “I have done gymnastics though, and am decent at tumbling. Also my friends constantly accuse me of having too much energy for my own good, so I’ve got that going for me.”

She laughed. “An abundance of energy will help, yes. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Coach.” She pointed out various cheerleaders as they weaved through the crowd of hopefuls. “That’s Laura. She throws the best parties. That’s Pete, we dragged him in here freshman year and he stuck around. That’s Marissa.” She paused for a second as the brown haired girl walked past. “Are you straight?”

“Excuse me?”

“We have a bet going on,” Katelyn explained. “Marissa seems to have a knack for only flirting with boys who are not into girls. You don’t have to answer, but it would be fun to add you into the test pool, if you will.”

Henry smirked. “I’ll let you know if she flirts with me.”

Katelyn raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the subject. She pointed out a few more cheerleaders before they came to a table. “And this here is Coach Taylor.”

The coach was about Henry’s height if you accounted for the extra inch his hair gave him. She shook his hand firmly. “Hello, young man. I’m Samantha Taylor but these hooligans call me Coach Sam. Welcome to tryouts. What’s your name?”

“Henry Cheng, ma’am.”

Her iron grey eyes seemed to pierce his soul as she gave him a once over. “You look like you’re probably good at tumbling.”

Henry grinned. “That’s my specialty.”

A smile split her serious face, transforming her almost into another person. “I’m glad to hear that. Go warm up, I’ll look forward to seeing your skills.” He did so, chatting a bit with the many girls and handful of guys he saw while he stretched as thoroughly as he could. The Vixens as a whole seemed very nice, but Henry could tell that Katelyn was going to be his favorite.

Soon the tryouts were officially underway. Coach Sam took charge, leading the whole group through a short routine and then testing them on it in smaller groups. They did some cheers and some test lifts. Henry was new to this bit, but the others were helpful and encouraging. He wasn’t sure if he was doing well, but he was definitely having a lot of fun. Then it was time for tumbling skills, his chance to shine. He stood at the end of the mat, received his signal to go from Coach Sam, and took a deep breath.

run run roundoff handspring flip handspring handspring aerial

He stuck the landing with a flourish and looked over to where Coach Sam and her assistants were sitting with big grins. Katelyn ran up to him. “That was great!” she said enthusiastically. “We haven’t had any guys that could do proper aerials in ages! You’re going to be so much fun to work with!”

He gave her the trademark Henry grin. “I’m sure looking forward to it, assuming I make it in.”

“Oh, you will,” she stated. “I’ll take it up with C.S. myself if you don’t.”

**********

The results were posted and Henry was in. Almost all of the boys who had come to tryouts were in, except for a creep who had been thrown out after a rude comment to one of the girls. Still, he was the only boy who got a high five from the Coach, so that was something.

“Welcome to the team,” Katelyn said as everyone packed up their stuff. “Most of the team is going to go get pizza tonight. You in?”

Henry smiled but shook his head. “I’ve got some friends on the Exy team that I want to track down tonight.”

Katelyn raised an eyebrow. “You’re from Henrietta then?” Henry nodded, surprised. “My boyfriend is on the team. He’s been complaining about the freshman this year.” She smiled. “I’ve heard something about a pet bird.”

Henry laughed. “That would be Chainsaw. Ronan thinks he’s so edgy.”

Katelyn laughed. “Well, the Exy team is having a movie night, and I was off to it.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Do your friends know you made the team?”

“They don’t even know I’m in the country right now,” he replied. “Want to help me surprise them?”

“Absolutely!” Katelyn fired off a quick text which was answered almost immediately. “They’re in the girls’ dorm room tonight. Do you need a ride over or do you have a car?”

“A ride would be great, as long as I get shotgun.” They headed to the parking lot and hopped into her car. Katelyn fired it up and drove towards the dorms.

“So what brings you to Palmetto, exactly? Did you come here specifically to be a Vixen or did you just like the school?”

“My friends all came here,” Henry responded. “I’m closer to them than I am to any family I have remaining, and I couldn’t leave them behind for long.” Katelyn’s eyes were soft. “As for cheerleading, I’ve always wanted to do it, but it wasn’t a deal breaker for college. I’d find something else to keep me busy, but it will be fun to watch the Squad at their games.”

“The games are great,” Katelyn agreed. “How did you meet the Squad?” Her lip twitched at the last word.

“Oh, fancy rich kid boarding school, you know how it goes.” Henry waved a hand airily. “You scare a boy half to death and he adopts you into his magical myth-hunting squad.”

Katelyn laughed heartily as they pulled into the parking lot. “That sounds like a story I need to hear sometime.” She parked her car and they headed into the building. “I’m going to stop by my room and change real quick. Would you like to do that?” Henry agreed, and they took turns in her bathroom. The dorms were fairly nice, in Henry’s opinion. Once they had both freshened up a bit they climbed the stairs to the 6th floor.

Katelyn pointed out the correct door. “I usually just walk in since they know I’m coming. Do you want to know or would you rather sneak in behind me?”

“I have an even better idea.” He reached into his bag and pulled out RoboBee, which he handed to her. “This is RoboBee. I can control her from my phone, so don’t be surprised if she moves, okay?”

Katelyn inspected it. “Isn’t one of your teammates deathly afraid of bees? Aaron told me that all three of the boys freaked when a wasp got into the room. Matt had to go kill it for them.”

“Blue told me all about that one. Gansey is allergic to bees, but he knows RoboBee. Plus, if I scare him again that’ll just be a bonus!”

Katelyn laughed and took the bee. “This will be interesting then.” She opened the door and walked in. “The fun has arriiiiiiived! Thank you very much.”

“Stop quoting the movie before Neil sees it!” a boy called. The door swung shut behind her. He typed some instructions into the RoboBee app and waited. The commotion started about 30 seconds later. “A bee! A bee! Everyone hold still, I’ve got this!” said an unknown voice. Then there was Blue. “Hold up, that’s RoboBee! Don’t smash it!! HENRYYYYYYYYYY!” She threw the door open and launched herself at Henry, tackling him to the ground as RoboBee buzzed in circles around them.

Blue had her true smile on. “You’re supposed to be in Venezuela!” She helped him up and gave him a hug. “Also you scared Gansey shitless, I hope you know.”

Henry laughed. “I wanted to surprise you guys. The scare was a bonus.” He looked up to see Gansey himself in the doorway, looking a little shaken but overall happy. “Gansey-boy!” It’s good to see you!”

“It’s a pleasure to see you as well!” Gansey replied before joining the hug.

Some more faces came to the doorway. “So this is the famous Henry,” Captain Wilds said. “Blue talks about you even more than she does her own boyfriend.

He chuckled. “I hope you haven’t gotten any ideas about that working out,” he said to Blue.

She shoved him away. “In your dreams, weirdo.”

“She didn’t even mention that you’re cute as hell,” a boy said. Henry was pretty sure that it was number 8, Nicholas Hemmick. “That’s a crucial detail.”

“Depends on who you ask, I think. Where are Adam and Ronan?”

“Oh, they’re in here,” Captain Wilds said.

“Yes, Ronan has missed you,” Blue said loudly.

“Shut up, maggot!”

“He even said you can get glitter in his car any time.”

“I did NOT!”

Gansey spoke over their continued bickering. “What brings you to our lovely corner of the world, Cheng? Last we heard you were still in Venezuela.”

“You’re talking to one of the newest members of the Vixens,” Henry replied.

“No way!” Blue high fived him. “I thought you were going to try out in the spring!”

“I couldn’t wait. I missed you all too much,” he admitted.

“We missed you too.” Blue grinned and dragged him into the room. “Hey everyone, this is Henry Cheng, one of our best friends and apparently now a Vixen. Henry, you knew who everyone on the team was before we did, but that one-” she pointed to the Minyard twin sitting next to Neil “-is Andrew, and that one there next to Katelyn is Aaron. And on that note, we have some catching up to do so we will see you all later.” She dragged him back out of the room. “Adam, Ronan, we’ll be in your room whenever you come back.

“But you can’t just ditch movie night!” Nicky called, pouting.

“Try me!” she slammed the door. “Anyway, Henry, let’s all do a sleepover in the room tonight! It’ll be like old times!”

“We should look into the Fox Tower rules, see if we can add you to our room,” Gansey said.

“As much as I like that idea, I’m probably going to be put in a room with my fellow Vixens. I’m pretty sure we are just downstairs though, so I won’t be too far, and I wouldn’t want to bother you guys.”

Gansey looked stricken. “You’d never be a bother. You’ve been with us since-- you’re a part of us now,” he said softly.

Henry hugged him. “I’ve missed you guys.”

Both of them hugged him right back. “Welcome home, Henry,” Gansey said.

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 12: “You Look Like You’re Having Fun”

My brain’s still kinda fried from the Sarazanmai finale, so my thoughts might not be super coherent or detailed this week, but I still wanna write up my thoughts on this new Fruits Basket episode, especially since it was even better than I expected it to be.

Thoughts under the cut. [Spoiler warning for the whole manga]

I think I’ve said before that by this point we’re in the midst of a fairly good stretch of episodes where the reboot is going to be very similar to the 2001 anime in what material it covers in each episode, and that continues in this one, as I figured.

This episode covers chapters 19 and 20 of the manga, which is the same as what episode 13 of the 2001 anime covered, and from what I remember of that version, the two versions are pretty identical in how they just adapt the manga 1:1, so there’s nothing particularly noteworthy there. I think episode 13 of the 2001 anime was one of the relatively few times where I think they actually did a good job of preserving the emotional depth and darkness of the manga, but I still think this episode did an even better job.

I’m kinda meh about the whole first half [since I’ve never really been the biggest fan of the part of the manga to begin with, which I’ll get into in a minute], but the whole second half with Akito was fantastic. It had been heavily teased at in some of the PVs we’ve gotten, but it still managed to be even more disturbing than I was expecting. It’s not like they added in anything that wasn’t in the manga [aside from a short flashback to that one time Akito had a mental breakdown and painted Yuki’s room black, which I don’t think had been hinted at this early in the manga], but it just executed the material really perfectly. [Though I think the bit at the start of the episode with Tohru seeing Akito’s car pull up at the school might have been a new scene]

The improved voice acting and animation really help drive home the extent of Yuki’s trauma in particular. Even though this is like the billionth time I’ve seen this scene in some form or another, it still kinda shook me, lol.

This whole part also really goes to show how important Tohru is as a person to Yuki, and also to all the other zodiac members in general. She’s someone that’s willing to stand up for him, and to give him happy memories to help outweigh his bad ones. Especially with his whole monologue near the end, I think the badminton scene is probably where he first becomes at least subconsciously aware of how he’s seeking out a mother’s love from her.

Come to think of it, it’s kinda funny how recently we’ve been in a bit of a pattern of going from a fun episode to a more dark one, and so on. It’s not a complaint or anything. I think it does a nice job of not spending too much time in a row on a particular emotional tone. And that sorta pattern should hold up with how the next episode is gonna be Ayame’s introduction, and after that we should get Momiji’s backstory and the grave visit.

And on the note of Ayame’s intro being the focus of the next episode, I’m still curious to see if they incorporate the part where Tohru and Yuki visit his shop in chapter 36 into it, or if they’ll just stick to adapting chapters 21-22 alone, and leave that other chapter for later. I don’t think it’d change much one way or another, but still.

Anyway I guess I gotta address the elephant in the room and say that I’m just not really a big fan of the material covered in the first half of this episode. I don’t hate it, but I just don’t like it as much as like 99% of the fandom seems to.

For one thing, that one Tohru-Kyo scene has always stuck out to me as being a little too . . . generic shojo romance-y for my tastes. It’s one of those few moments where the series unironically indulges in Kyo’s Bad Boy Aesthetic [tm] and it just doesn’t work for me. But I obviously get why lots of people love it.

The part that I’m more annoyed at is the whole sequence with Haru and Momiji’s outfits, and I feel like it’s something that I need to add a whole list of disclaimers to so that people don’t misunderstand me, lol. I just feel like it’s a really good example of how Takaya’s heart is genuinely in the right place when it comes to some of the more progressive sentiments in the series, but the specific angle she approaches certain things at leaves a really bad taste in my mouth, especially when you think about the story as a whole and how things end up.

Specifically I just have issues with how Momiji’s cross-dressing is handled. The part with Haru is fine and I definitely appreciate the whole point of how whether or not someone wears jewelry and piercings and stuff has no inherent bearing on their personality, though the whole bit with him dragging Makoto off to the bathroom, uh . . . maybe hasn’t aged well, lmao. But anyway, I feel like the whole thing with Momiji seems perfectly fine on the surface, but the more you think about it in the context of the whole story, the more it feels uncomfortable.

The message that he should wear whatever he feels comfortable wearing is completely valid, but I just dislike how the story goes about it by saying that ‘it’s fine because he looks good in it, and he’s going to dress normally when he grows up anyway’. There’s a lot going on between the lines here, but I just think it’s really shitty and deceptively regressive that they justify it by pretty much saying ‘don’t worry, it’s just a phase, he’ll grow out of it and dress like a “normal man” later on anyway’. Which is bad enough on it’s own, but then we actually get to see him grow up later in the manga and he definitely does seem to unceremoniously switch to more conventionally masculine fashion because . . . it’s what’s expected of him, I guess? It’s not like he ever seemed to lose interest in wearing feminine clothing, he just stops wearing it after he hits his growth spurt, and it’s framed as something natural and inevitable.

Even the sentiment of ‘he looks good in it, though :)’, in the context of the series as a whole, carries this uncomfortable undertone of ‘it’s fine because for the moment he’s short and looks sort of “like a girl” but once he gets taller and looks more “like a man” he’ll obviously start dressing like one’. It’s the sort of thing that seems like a genuinely progressive and accepting message about how we shouldn’t judge people for the clothes they like to wear, but if you look closely there’s an asterisk and a whole paragraph of fine text at the bottom of the page about how it’s actually only acceptable to cross-dress as a man if your body type, height, etc, make you look ‘like a girl’ in the first place, and that once you hit puberty you should dress like a man because feminine clothing ‘doesn’t fit you anymore’.

In general this series has some weird recurring hang-ups about the specific idea of ‘men wearing girl’s clothing’, to the point where it comes up in different ways with at least three different characters. I know it’s something that a lot of people in the fandom don’t like hearing negativity and complaints about, but I’m not gonna shut up about this, lmao. Y’all just have to deal with the fact that this series isn’t perfect and that I’m allowed to criticize it while also really liking other parts of it.

And on the general note of how the series kinda drops the ball when it comes to pretty much everything to do with gender presentation, this episode brings us another round of the fun game known as ‘the Fruits Basket fandom is in shocked-pikachu.jpg mode at the fact that pretty much every new fan immediately “““figures out”““ that Akito’s a woman’. I wonder what gave it away? Was it that unavoidably female voice? The feminine/androgynous character design that’s explicitly compared to Yuki who’s already meant to look like a girl [apparently]? The fact that we’ve only ever seen Akito wearing either the sort of kimono that at least from a Western perspective would seem very feminine, or this tight-fitting turtleneck sweater? The fact that she’s had romantically/sexually charged moments with at least one or two dudes, which for better or worse ends up making most people view her as being feminine? The fact that like 90% of the dialogue referencing Akito ends up not even using gendered pronouns in the first place? I wonder what could have possibly lead to people naturally assuming that Akito’s a girl and glossing over the, like, five lines of dialogue thus far that even use he/him pronouns toward her, lmao.

One way or another, Akito being a girl has always been the biggest non-twist of the entire series, and the fact that it’s so obvious and that the only reaction new fans have to it is pretty much just ‘oh ok I didn’t really think it was meant to be some kind of shocking surprise or anything’ really just spells out how it’s not even meaningful or interesting as a twist anyway, and that knowing about it from the start does absolutely nothing to hinder anyone’s enjoyment of the series. It’s honestly hard to even tell for new fans that we’re even meant to feel convinced that Akito’s a man, with how little effort the series ever puts into ‘hiding’ her true gender.

I probably sound angrier about this than I am, but mostly I’m just baffled that even though the manga’s been over for like 15 years, people still don’t realize how incredibly lame and shallow this whole plot point is. Like seriously, y’all, what could the reboot have even DONE to actually lead to it not being super obvious that Akito’s a woman? Unless they outright changed her character design to be a lot more masculine, the only thing they could have done would have been to give her a male voice actor, which was almost certainly never going to happen for obvious reasons. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s not like it’s the reboot’s fault that things turned out this way. There’s only so much they reasonably could have done. And even though I haven’t heard much of Akito’s new dub voice, I think Maaya Sakamoto actually does a very good job at sounding androgynous/masculine, and in general her voice work in this episode was really effective and disturbing. I think she’s one of the most masculine-sounding female VAs they could have gone for [aside from maybe someone like Romi Park or Megumi Ogata, but I don’t know if they would have fit Akito very well]. I guess it mostly just bugs me that people are blaming the reboot for something that’s 90% just them following the manga.

Anyway, in spite of my gripes [which are more about the fandom and the series as a whole], this episode was still super good in and of itself, and had some of the most effective voice acting and music that the entire reboot’s had thus far. It’s very obvious why new fans in particular would really really like this one, and for the most part, I do too.

Also, Haru t-posing when he sees Yuki and running over to tug on his shirt is still the most Iconic [tm] thing ever, don’t @ me.

[honeyedmilks]

strong woman do bong soon- the tumbly review

this is gonna come out as a straight up hate post from a tired soul, about a show that could’ve been everything but wasn’t, and i make no apologies for that. it’s messy and unkind (not as unkind as i could be) but... i’m fairly honest.

what i’ll be talking about: 

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)

a biased summary by :

Do Bong Soon, our female lead (played by Park Bo Young), is super strong- thanks to a power that’s been passed down the ladies of her family for years. there’s a serial woman hater in her neighbourhood terrorising everyone, and she gotta stop that asshole! there’s also some good looking men in this show with like four love lines too keep things interesting, and some flailing gangsters who are out there too that she beats up now and then, drinking feces wine. And if this sounds like an awful mess then good, i’m doing the show great justice then. 

a general statement and warning about this show: 

it’s not good. if you’ve not seen it then please do not waste your time and instead watch literally anything else. i say this out of love for you. if you want a female lead who’s cool and cute and punches things then watch legend of the blue sea. it may not be perfect but it’s better than this.

the production: 

the show is visually very pretty in some sense. stylish wardrobe choices, nice landscape shots, cool sets, and a whole showcase of good looking people. 

the directing and special effects, the tone of the show, it can all border cheesy, but the intent is to come off quirky, funny and energetic seeing as this a story about a woman with super human strength. 

it’s a bit comic bookish, which again makes sense due to the nature of the show and it’s characters. except it doesn’t work all the time. especially not when the bad guy of your show is hardly a comic book character. he’s a misogynistic guy who likes beating up woman and kidnapping them for his own twisted pleasures. 

the directing and writing of this show fails to balance out the light and the dark in this show, by downplaying Bong Soon’s powers and by diluting the story with meaningless backstories and characters we didn’t need. 

the performances of our leads vary. but the main cast are well known actors, and carry a lot of talent.

Bo Young manages to make our heroine likeable and relatable for a while. She’s believable and gives the show some spark.

Ji Soo who plays our muddled in the heart copper Guk Doo, can be painful to watch in the first half, you end up not liking him and his harshness, but Ji Soo brings a likeable softness to him in the later half. 

Park Hyung Sik, much adored and admired by fans, takes on the role of our lonely chaebol, but he’s not just rich and sad guys, he’s also a video game creator, spy man and tech genius, with flawless skin, who goes by the name Ahn MInhyuk. Hyung Sik’s performance starts off lovably eccentric, bouncing between suave and smart, only to slowly dissipate into boring and even annoying. I’ll talk more about him later. 

our side characters are even harder to digest- mostly unlikable, with the funnies wearing off far too early in the long run of the show, we don’t care much for them- except from the woman, held hostage by the shitty but uninteresting serial villain.

there were so many plot points that were awful that just slashed the quality of the show too pieces, and i can’t even begin to talk about them.

the soundtrack is nice. it matches the zany inside of the show for the most part. it’s noticeably more fun when we get to Bong Soon’s super hero antics. 

the show is bright, bubbly and cleanly set on the outside when it’s a cutesy office rom com, but turns bleak and even mesier when it tries to get serious. 

the romance: 

loads of people say that they only finished this show for otp loveliness but i couldn’t relate. 

people made gif sets with epic romantic quotes... you know those quotes where it’s like “that one guy who looks at this super strong woman and they’re awesome and shit and he loves her strength and shit...” you know those kind? yeah that’s nonsense. here’s why i think so:

Minhyuk sucks as a romantic lead and a partner well mostly when you ship him with Bong Soon. i’m not gonna lie. i was really excited for them at the start, i was head over heels for those moments when he called her sexy for calling him out on being useless and such. i liked their friendly interactions together, but... when you add her strength in the mix, everything turns sour for me. 

Ah Minhyuk... i’m not saying that he should love her for her powers, or because she’s someone who has them. he just saw her as Bong Soon, which i mean.. i guess you can call sentimental? but when he says stuff like “yeah ya strong but your just Bong Soon.” like that’s not... romantic?

he doesn’t trust her when she’s like a million trillion times stronger and powerful than him. i don’t see why she had to go to this guy to “control” her powers. i don’t like how he doesn’t think highly of her powers- he’s just shocked and “shook” but not ever in an admiring way. maybe on the surface, it seems like it but... if you look really closely at the way he says things... it’s not like that. 

he sucked at helping her when she lots her powers, didn’t comfort in the way you would have hoped.

he underestimates her when she’s A THOUSAND TIMES STRONGER THAN ANYONE ON THIS EARTH- I mean almost everyone has seen a super here movie right? mary jane admire spider man, but also loves peter, but trusts him, he’s always doing the saving but she doesn’t think she’s better than him. lous lane and superman? pepper potts (a cool ass woman btw who’s honestly a bit like min hyuk when it comes to some of her skills) and iron man? thor and jane? yet... swdbs... minhyuk is still the super hero. and there’s no one relying on Bong Soon to save the day because ... she’s just a woman... we need to protect her... we can’t let her endanger herself to save some people when... she’s the only one who possibly could. 

this thing in their relationship where he loved Bong Soon with or without her strengths could’ve worked if they had done it well. like if he actually saw how much of a loss she felt when she lost her powers(which she lost for... what reason again?)- instead... it was so underwhelming. he didn’t see her powers as special and heroic... he didn’t see something so amazing like that to be a great loss to her. 

i mean, he’s always down playing her powers- loads of people do, but it’s worse when he does. he’s asked her if she was actually a man and then an alien, like you believe a man could spin a car with their bare hands, but not a woman? so obviously she’s an alien if not a man? how am i supposed to enjoy a female superhero when all anyone does is try erase the fact that she’s a woman?

there’s no empowerment that makes you feel anything for them. that’s usually something you sense but it’s just not there. it’s normal to be worried for your partner but there’s literally no sense of trust and admiration. it’s been a while since i watched swdbs, but i’m pretty sure when Bong Soon saves those women Minhyuk isn’t even happy about it... did she not apologise? that’s nonsense. 

it’s not just that aspect of their relationship that bothers me- it’s how whiny and annoying Minhyuk can be. people romanticised his “won’t you love me?” line but it’s not a good line. it’s not a romantic line that’s makes me swoon or makes me feel like Bong Soon should like him. he comes off as clingy and pining and like she’s got to be with her because he likes her so much. 

he made his bodyguard make him meals... i don’t care how sentimental and sad he is over his mother. he literally moaned on at her. 

he kept a tracking device on her? 

he gave her a desk in his office. it was a cute desk alright, but he did it to keep her close and he didn’t even take her video game designing game serious; everything about their relationship is so flat. 

if he was such a skilled fighter, did he really need to have Bong Soon as his bodyguard? (she was also a terrible bodyguard but you know). 

i know i’m nit picking, but i could over look some of these things if there weren’t so many things that made no sense to me. if only half of these things weren’t based on weakening Bong Soon and her relationship with her super strength. 

i blame a lot of this on crappy writing because this could’ve been about Bong Soon and her journey to being a hero but it was just nonsensical. 

it was all done so crudely that... i just don’t find anything solid about it. 

i felt no chemistry- i liked them best when they were bickering or just being friendly. 

like Bong Soon saw her powers as some kind of hardship? something she couldn’t show Guk Du, who she was in love with for so long, but sure Minhyuk sees them and accepts them, but he’s not there to help her realise all the things she can do, or admire and respect her. NOTHING MAKES SENSE. 

i don’t even know if i’m right in thinking that Minhyuk could’ve been someone to help her harness her powers and be supportive and help her on her way of becoming a superhero- because does a man who loves you have to be the one to make you see your worth as a hero? but he didn’t even not do that, instead, he just felt like an obstacle telling her that she may have powers but she’s still just Bong Soon. 

It just seems like a confusing jumble to me. 

were the writers trying to normalise her powers in their relationship? because i could watch any other crappy show with a strong woman who’s human talents are put under her to save the man’s fragile masculinity. but she’s got super hero powers... super heroes are admired and thought of as freaking cool and shit- it’s supposed to be awesome and all that jazz. it’s not much fun otherwise

all these things just annoy me. because if they wanted to make Bong Soon’s journey with her powers be her own, then why was Minhyuk such a useless involvement in them? why did he have to come save her from getting stabbed... why... if they’re gonna add romance in with the story line with her powers... why are the writers so scared of making her powerful... why does she need this mediocre mans help? 

i don’t care if he’s a ceo... or a tech genius... he used the lgbt identity as some kind of publicity thing, he’s not nearly as zany and cool as he could've been as he just ended up as another person telling Bong Soon she’s not a superhero. 

this ain’t the avengers- it should’ve been Bong Soon’s story as a badass super hero, why do i have to see Guk Do and Minhyuk devise some genius dumb ass plan at the end? why not let Bong Soon defeat the asshole on her own? 

why are people scared of a woman being mighty? and a man being there for it without having to to larger than her? while caring for her safety at the same time? it’s just so poorly done. all these things shadow over any cuteness and softness these two had. 

Bong Soon, I see why she would fall for him, but in the end, I really didn’t care about them. 

it’s almost like her powers are a plot device for their romance. it wasn’t an epic story about a girl with out of this world strength. 

i guess their is a development that can be viewed as nice at that point where Minhyuk has to process the discovery of our leading lady being the same mysterious girl that saved his life. he has to love Bong Soon but also separate his idolisation for this hooded girl from his image of Bong Soon and then combine it all at once so what he feels is real love for Bong Soon as he had known her before. so it’s not some twisted sort of mess that’s him loving but then also being with someone he imagined as an angel sent from above by his mother. 

it can be seen as romantic that he would take a knife wound for Bong Soon and call people to take her wild drunk videos offline, but it comes at the expense of Bong Soon and her image as a strong women. like she can be weak at points in the story, it’s called character development, but to be constantly pulled under him isn’t what i would call pro female superhero story telling. it’s not feminist and it’s not a romantic dynamic i want to root for.

his heroic acts kept climbing higher than Bong Soon’s, and when we got to hers he was still there, apparently doing half the work.

the characters: 

Minhyuk: some final ranting about him. i’ve noticed that Hyung Sik has a pattern when it comes to acting out his male characters; no matter how soft and cute they are, they always have this brimming masculine toxicity to them. in swdbs it’s really unbalanced (even worse in hwarang). i honestly tried feeling sympathy for him, with his messed up family and his dead mum and all that but he was honesty no fun to watch. he wasn’t offbeat and interesting. he was saturated down to some rich ceo manly man who said that he was a “healthy man” instead of gay. 

like he could’ve been so much interesting if he actually were bisexual or a supporter of lgbt rights, if he weren’t making Bong Soon do this and that, asking if she were a man and pining here and there- honestly these characters are such a waste of potential. 

Bong Soon: i’ve not talked enough about her. i like how she can be brash and i like how she can be caring with her friends, and i know she’s not a genius of any kind but she can be a bit thick. the writing sacrificed Bong Soon’s intelligence for plot points- like she wouldn’t be that careless to send her friend out on her own when their’s a kidnapper out there would she? and then be so mad that she had to catch the guy? 

she has like three interests. Guk Do, video games and cooking. i just wish she were more developed, i wish this story was about her and not a thousand other things. 

i really loved how feminine she was at the same time as being strong. you can be powerful and kick ass, unashamedly girly and womanly and sensitive all at once, without erasing any of the other things to make way for the other. but lazy sloppy writing didn’t let these aspects of her character shine.

i liked how Bong Soon, for the most part, was very unlike her mother. her mother was abusive and mean and even though the show tried to redeem her, she still should've been called out for her behaviour because if you’re gonna write how woman can be just as horrible as men who are domestic abusers then you better hold them to the same standard and let your viewers know that it’s wrong. 

Bong Soon was flawed, and i’m not going to lie about that- but her flaws were used for comedy. and i don’t know if i like that or not. 

i wasn’t a fan of how she favoured people over the other- like the case with sleeping Guk Doo and Minhyuk but now that i think about it... i don’t care if she treated Minhyuk meanly or cursed him behind his back.

the way she viewed her powers and the way she handled them... was a convoluted tangle. she wanted to keep her powers secret and couldn’t hurt people but ended up making a mess almost everywhere, she said she never used her powers to help people and we were supposed to see this decision she made to step up and use her powers for good as a turning point but we know she’d been doing kind things with her powers for a while by helping old grannies up streets and saving people from the fate of a broken bus. her relationship with her family gift is not clear. there is no clear arc in this story

she’s not a fantastic female lead, which should’ve been the case since, well, THE SHOW IS NAMED AFTER HER AND HER STRENGTH. so that’s disappointing.

but again, in the hands of capable writers, she could’ve been an audience favourite. 

Guk Doo: at first, we all pretty much hated him. whenever he came on screen i felt like i was suffering for some sin i committed in the past week. 

but in the end, as we got to see how he felt about Bong Soon and when he found out about her powers- i really liked him. i liked him when he told his (not great) girlfriend about how he felt about someone else. in fact, i liked Guk Doo because he was never short of caring. even though he was busy and forgetful, he always tried to make up for it. he still cared about her. okay so maybe the whole bit where he realised he loved Bong Soon was a mess but again there’s the case of rubbish writing. 

he didn’t think Bong Soon was fragile and needed protecting because she’s a small women. he didn’t say his type of woman has to be small and flowery and fragile out of vanity or misogyny... he says it because that’s what he thought Bong Soon was, as she led him to believe. I phrased that badly but in short i’m saying he loved Bong Soon as he thought she was, and loved her still and as much with her powers in a way that felt sweet and sad (because as that moment rolled around when he found out about her powers, her heart was already somewhere else). 

dramabeans said it better and i’ll paraphrase: this image of his ideal women that he painted out loud was based around Bong Soon and when he find out about her powers and how she’s not as weak as she led him to believe, that feeling of love didn’t change.

he was also mature and almost gentle while he handled the discovery of her secret, fairly well might i add, as he realised all the things he missed as they were growing up. 

the villain: awful, who’s crimes on screen could potentially hurt people who’ve been abused in the past as they watch. the fact that the point in this was to have a women hater be defeated by a powerful woman was not driven home well. it could’ve been so good but instead we got a noodley thin version of this premise.

side characters: they were tiring. we didn’t need half of them. some stayed too long and the joke soon turned stale. some where offensive. Guk Doo’s girlfriend all i can say is... at least she talked to him and was honest in the end (after doing things behind his back). 

in conclusion:

i’m tired of people saying that the main pair are a power couple and that they’re the otp of all otp’s. 

the show is so overrated. it deserves the harsh comments that come it’s way. it was rampant with offensive bits for laughs and maybe we could let this show slide if it weren’t for these rubbish jokes, and how serious it took it’s main themes of women and power only to botch it completely.

other people's posts have been much more concise and articulate as they describe what i’ve talked about. these are just the thought’s i had to get out of my sore head.

here is a post that is very clear about what’s wrong with this show, in a much quicker way. and i whole heatedly agree with it. 

anyways. yeah this was rubbish and if you have high hopes for this like most of us did, then you’ll be sorely disappointed.

[chocodeedee]

Hey Guys...

So I had an idea the other day...

And I became way too invested in it and started writing out a whole sort of Pokemon AU for the Smosh Fam.  They’re all gym leaders or Elite 4 members and it’s super long.  So here’s part 1!!

The Kostral Region

The Kostral Region is an urban paradise with a few pockets of nature here and there.  That being said, it offers a diverse and rich cultural experience.  All cities and towns in the region have something to offer you.  However, the real gem of this region is its intense pokemon league.  It’s eight main hubs will each bring you new, different, and exciting adventures.  The Kostral League is on a level like no other.  It’s gyms and gym leaders are set to challenge you in ways you never thought possible.  The Kostral League prides itself in its excellence.  Only the best can defeat its challenge.

Jugo City: Home of Kostral’s Best Juice

Everybody needs their juice.  Or at least, that’s what they believe in Jugo City.  Their farmers market boasts some of the best juice in the region for both trainers and Pokemon.  However, young trainers know this city as the site of the first Gym in the Kostral League.  The Gym is located right on the edge of town.  You would never guess that the fortress in the woods in the gym, but it is.  Sometimes the size of the place itself scares off young trainers, but the brash and the crazy march into the fortress in awe.  

The only path through the gym is a bridge over a pit of lava.  Along the way, there are various trainers stationed to test your endurance.  For a first gym, the process is grueling.  Once you beat all the trainers in your wake, only then will you challenge Shayne, the leader of the Jugo City Gym.  You meet him on a platform right above the center of the lava pit.  He makes sure he’s in the shadows, only his imposing figure visible  If his Numel doesn’t soften you up a little, his Growlithe is sure to give you a run for your money.  

Once the battle is over, he reveals himself.  To the surprise of some trainers, he’s fairly young and handsome.  He flashes you a charming smile and asks if you’d like to come back into the office to chat and heal your Pokemon.  You’ll follow him into the office where you’ll find a cozy little room.  There’s a fireplace, two recliners, and a coffee table.  His Arcanine and Ninetales are usually lying on the rug.  He’ll offer you a seat and a glass of juice.  Why?

“After a hard fought battle, Daddy needs his juice,”

Most of all though, he’ll make sure you’re ok.  He’ll crack a few jokes and sometimes mention something about “munge”. If you won, he’ll make sure to tell you what you still need to improve on.  If you lose, he’ll make sure that you understand what you did wrong and most importantly, how to apply it.  He’ll let you pet his Pokemon and he’ll heal yours.  Then he’ll give you his age old advice.

“Don’t be afraid of Gym Leaders, we’re here to help you.  This is just your first battle, there will be plenty more.  Maybe when you have more experience, we can have another battle.  Don’t be afraid to come back later on,”

When you leave, you’ll have a list of the best juice makers in the city and a little bit of his favorite juice for Pokemon.  Oh, and if you win you’ll also have an Ember Badge and a note for Damien of Rivulet Town.  Shayne claims it’ll make sense when you get there. 

(Yo Dia here.  I feel like Shayne is the type of guy where you need to give it your all and prove it to him.  He’s willing to help you grow and learn, but you need to have the conviction to challenge him on your own, to face the challenge head on.  He’s a goofy guy, but to me, he’s also a guy with passion and heart.  He loves what he does and wants other people to love it too.  He can’t have mediocre trainers coming through.  With that said though, he would totally comfort them after he scares the shit out of them.  Anyway, onward!!!!)

Amaranth Town: Home of the Dreamers

Amaranth Town is a home of wishes, dreams, and dreamers.  It’s full of artisans and businesses that push boundaries and bring culture to the Kostral Region.  The streets are made of cobblestone and lined with outdoor markets.  Everything from fresh produce to jewelry is sold here by friendly vendors.  The city is one you just want to wander for hours on hand. It’s a nice stop for trainers to rest up before they take on the Amaranth City Gym.  

The gym is completely outdoors and also boasts a large fruit orchard.  Trainers are milling about.  They’re usually helping each other pick fruit.  If you talk to them, you can battle them.  In theory, you can skip all the trainers and go straight to Gym Leader Noah but he’s also picking fruit.  In order to battle him, you have to find him amongst the trainers.  Once you find him, you guys will go to a large field in the middle of the orchard to battle it out.  His Clefairy and Togetic are cute and deadly as you battle through his fairy type Pokemon.  

Win or lose, he’ll invite you to pick fruit for a while.  Walk around, pick some fruit, enjoy the serenity for a little bit before you run off to the next town.  He’ll let you interact with the fairy Pokemon running about while he gives you his advice.

“I’m not the most masculine guy, I train Fairy Type Pokemon, and I don’t care what people think about it.  I love what I do, and you shouldn’t be limited in what you do by what others believe.  Nothing should limit you when you’re capable of anything.  Do what you love and do it well.  Don’t listen to the haters.”

When you leave, you’ll have a small basket of Noah’s favorite fruits.  You’ll also have a list of his favorite restaurants and his favorite dishes.  A word of advice though, no matter how bland his dishes sound just tell him you’ll try it.  If you win, you’ll have a nice Wings Badge to add to your collection.  You’ll also get a note meant for Gym Leader Keith in Feldspar City,  and that he’ll know what it means when he sees it.  

(Noah would run a super chill gym, but he would still make you work your way to him.  He doesn’t really agree with Shayne’s policy of “scaring the shit out of them” so he instead makes sure his gym is warm and inviting.  That said, it’s still a gym.  If you need your but kicked, you need your butt kicked.  Noah isn’t held down by what others think and is pretty secure in himself even when faced with adversity.  He’ll make sure that the trainers know battle doesn’t have to be all rough and tumble.  You don’t have to fit into any trainer stereotype to be a good trainer.)

Medina City: City of Stars

Medina City is the scientific center of the Kostral region.  All the latest research on things such as Mega Evolution, Z moves, and Legendary Pokemon are centered here.  Also, space travel and exploration are explored here as well with frequent rocket launches.  The city is an urban paradise with busy streets and new things in every corner.  It’s also home to the third stop on a trainer's journey to the top.  

Compared to the rest of the city, the gym almost looks plain.  It’s a simple dojo with one room.  Some say that the challenge of the gym is finding it.  It’s hidden in plain sight as a plain shop.  The front is a store for Pokemon treats and toys.  However, carefully hidden in the back is a door with the Kostral League symbol on it.  If you can find it and find Gym Leader Matt, more commonly known around town as Sohinki, you can challenge him in a battle for your third gym badge.  Win or loss, he offers you a chance to sit and pet his Stufful.  If you’re interested, he’ll tell you part of his story.

“I was offered a spot in the Elite 4 with Mari, Joven, and Lasercorn, but I turned it down.  I’m happy here in Medina City.  Life on the Smosh Atoll is all fast and furious.  Sometimes I think they forget to take a break to eat.  That’s not my style.  I love battling, sure, but I love taking the time to pet my Pokemon and run my shop too.  There’s more to life than training and battling.  Stufful here has been with me for years.  He’s one of my most faithful Pokemon.  In the glitz and glamor of the upper parts of the league, you can forget about the simple things.  Don’t forget to make yourself happy on this journey.  Your Pokemon can tell if your heart isn’t in it anymore, mine sure did.”

You’ll leave the shop with a few treats and a 20% off coupon for the next time you drop by.  If you win you’ll also have a nice Star Badge to add to your case.  Oh, and you’ll probably have a message for the Elite Four.  

“Tell Mari I miss her and we need to catch up.  Tell Joven and Lasercorn I could still beat them any day of the week.   Most importantly, tell Olivia she’s doing a great job,”  

(Sohin is a simple guy.  I was originally going to make him a member of the Elite Four, as he, Joven, Lasercorn, and Mari have been around the longest at this point, but it didn’t seem to fit.  He would still get to enjoy a normal life as a Gym Leader.  In the Elite Four, you're held on some sort of pedestal.  As a Gym Leader, you’re still real.  He wouldn’t want the glitz and the glam, but he’d still love battling.  Also, Stuffuls are sort of based of red pandas, so of course his main Pokemon would be Stufful.)

So yeah!! There’s the first part there.  If you liked it, let me know and I’ll put up the other parts!